ACK Cooking Series : Chocolate Chip Muffins

Since I had some extra ingredients lying around and I was tired of eating turkey and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, had to give this recipe a shot.
I love chocolate chip muffins from Dunkin Donuts but since there are no Dunkin Donuts on Nantucket island, I wanted to make some. So I found a recipe on allrecipes.com, made sure to read the reviews on it, and adapted to my own.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

You'll Need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

How to Make It:  

>Heat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease bottoms only of 12 muffin cups or line with baking cups.
>In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips, and salt; mix well. 
>In another small bowl, combine milk, oil, vanilla, and egg; blend well. 
>Add dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy.)
>Fill cups 2/3 full into muffin pan. 
>Sprinkle tops of muffins before baking with a combination of an extra 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
>Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan. Serve warm. 

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chip-Muffins/Detail.aspx

Also because I made so many for one person to eat (and trust me, these muffins are filling), I froze the extras. Then whenever I wanted to eat one, Id reheat them in the microwave for 30 sec to a minute and it was be good as if they were fresh from the oven.

ACK Cooking Series : Easy Chicken Bake

So I am currently on Nantucket (or code name ACK), a quaint 14-mile-length island off the coast of Massachusetts. It is an awesome and beautiful place... when it's not raining. Monday I left 70F and sunny New York City for 50F and windy. Boo. But I really do love the people here, the quaint shops, the beaches, and the scenery. So I hope the weather gets better! Cross fingers. But Im pretty ecstatic that I will be here for the entire summer :) That means Ill be doing a lot of cooking :D

So anyway, because it was ridiculously cold I wanted to try to cook something warm and comforting.

Stove Top Easy Chicken Bake

You'll Need:

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1-1/2 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1/3 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green beans, peas), thawed, drained

How to Make It:  

HEAT oven to 400ºF.
PREPARE stuffing as directed on package.
MIX remaining ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with stuffing.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done. 

Adapted from Kraft Foods Stove Top Stuffing
 
It was a good recipe. It was sorta tad too creamy for me and hence a little bland. If I was to change one thing, I would maybe add more spice, garlic powder, pepper? I dont know. 

But overall, I love cooking :)

Vietnamese food vs. Chinese food

While giving a friend a tour around New York City, I was asked the question, "What is the difference between Vietnamese food and Chinese food?"
Good question. Vietnamese and Chinese are both Asian right?

Well, even though it may seem that there isnt a big gap between the two, (people who speak Chinese work at Vietnamese restaurants, right? And there are also Vietnamese people who can speak Chinese (with the exception of my downstairs neighbor's wife..)) there is a huge difference. And there are definitely some restaurants that there are people who speak Vietnamese, those are the good restaurants.

Speaking of languages, there are people who can speak both Vietnamese and Chinese. One of my good friend's dad is this way. But let's go back to food.

I think Viet food has a more fresher taste. Whenever you order a Viet dish, there is usually a hint of mint or cilantro or lemon and those ingredients adds a lighter taste and feel to it. Heavier ingredients like meats are usually cut very thin but still packs quite a flavor. On the other hand, Chinese food is usually has a thick handed of sauce and the meats are kind of big and has a bit of bulk.
The country of Vietnam is a warm place surrounded by mostly water, they are big on fishing and lighter island flavors.
China is a big country both has very warm places and cold places. Most of China is mountainous and  inland and those areas are colder in climate hence heavier and thicker meats and sauces are essential.

At least that's how I think of it.

I thought about this while eating Viet food for lunch at Pho Hoai (8616 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11209) with another good friend of mine. Sporadically, I was like "wait, let me take pictures of the food we're about to eat and post it on my blog." Haha.

Cha Gio Vietnamese spring roll. Note the mint off to the side.

Com Ga Nuong Grilled chicken with rice. Off to the corner, is an orange liquid that is fish sauce. Many people think its smelly but I dont know; it has a nice taste to it like a sweet and sour taste, and I like it. Also note the cucumber off to the side for freshness.

Bánh mì Vietnamese sandwich. It comes in many variations but it's basically a baguette with thinly sliced pickled carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, chili peppers, pâté, mayonnaise and Vietnamese sausage.

Oh, I forgot to also add that Pho is big on the Vietnamese menu. Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usually served with beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). The soup includes noodles made from rice (vermicelli) and is often served with Vietnamese basil, mint, lime, bean sprouts that are added to the soup by the diner. The fun part of it is that the beef usually comes to you rare so you have to submerge it in the hot soup and cook it from there. It is quite delicious; it's just that my friend and I didnt order it at the time.