Playa Jambalayafeatured
This year I won’t be able to make it to Burning Man, and you’d think that after four years straight I’d be ready for a gap year…but no, I’m pretty bummed about it. I’ll miss the electricity in the air as we turn off Route 34 and hit the dirt road that means we are so close to Home it’s palpable. I’ll miss the bike rides out into Deep Playa with my love — pretty much the best date nights ever. I’ll miss the sunrises and sunsets, the ultimate freedom, the pure delight, the creativity and humor, the extra long hugs, the dancing beneath the vast black night, the dust devils, the magic.
If you are headed to BRC, I’m so excited for you. If you’re still looking to do some meal prep before going, this Playa Jambalaya is a Burning Man Meal Plan favorite. It feeds a lot, freezes well, and is full of that meaty, salty, savory flavor you crave so much out there, not to mention the veggies (read: fiber) that your body needs. And like most jambalayas, this is a hefty meal. It will sustain you through your adventuring well into the night.
Burn bright, my friends!
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Arsicault Bakery and its Life-Changing Almond Croissantfeatured
Life. Changing. Almond. Croissant.
The pictures don’t even come close to doing this beauty justice. Flaky, airy, and tender, with a vanilla bean-speckled almond filling that’s gooey and generous (and not overly sweet). A bit of the filling is spooned on top of the croissant so that it bakes up to form a bonus golden crust, and best of all, the bottom is deeply caramelized so you get that laminated brûléed sugar crunch reminiscent of a kouign amann.
This is the best almond croissant I’ve ever had, and I do not say that lightly. For real, this is the kind of pastry that will haunt your dreams. And it looks like Bon Appetit agrees with me because they just named Arsicault “Bakery of the Year.”
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Healthy Lactation Cookiesfeatured
Well…here’s a recipe I never thought I’d be posting here! I didn’t even know lactation cookies were a thing until I became a new mama. Before I lose the attention of the 99.9% of you to whom milk supply health is not a riveting and applicable topic, let me reassure you that this is a delicious recipe with AND without the active lactation supporting ingredient in it, so if you’re just looking for a healthy snacking cookie this is it! Gluten free, dairy free, and with no refined sugar added, it is nothing short of a miracle that these cookies actually taste great! The bulk of the cookie is made from oats, and it is bound together by mashed banana, peanut butter, coconut oil, and a generous handful of dark chocolate chunks.
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In Gratitude of Mom + a Recipe for her Famous Toishan-Style Stir-Fried Vermicelli Glass Noodles (Chow Fun See)featured
Hello, old friends! So…I went dark for awhile, sorry about that! There have been so many times I wanted to tell you about some new dish or recipe or meal I had, but alas, life has been keeping me on my toes with a new business (ad)venture. Oh yes, and last month I had a baby (!!!), there’s that too. She already shares our love for eating, so she’s fitting in quite nicely.
My parents were recently here to help out and spend some QT with their new granddaughter. They were a Godsend – cooking, cleaning, taking the night shift with the baby, and, taking good care of me. My mom taught Hua and me how to make some of her signature dishes, which brings me back here.
As I took notes and wrote down her recipes for these dishes she’s made for me a hundred times, dishes I wish to commit to memory, it reminded me of why I first started Lick My Spoon long ago. I started writing about food and documenting recipes because I wanted to create a space to share with others the joy I derived from things I’ve eaten. I also wanted to create a place to remember. To keep safe these precious recipes.
As I watched my mom make her famous stir-fried vermicelli noodles — an old Lee family recipe her grandmother (my great grandma) taught her — I realized, this is important. I need to document this so I can recreate these flavors of home whenever I want, so I can make it for Hazel one day, and so I can share it with you.
So on this Mother’s Day, my Mom is the person who has pulled me back to this blog. (Thanks, Mom!) No, seriously, thank you Mom, for everything you’ve ever done for me. Motherhood is hard, yo. I actually wanted to give her something just because it was a nice thing to do, and i found several New Born Gift Baskets where you can choose depending on the babies age and its functional and great.
Mother-daughter relationships in particular can be complicated. After this past month though, I have an entirely new appreciation for my momma. Her unconditional love, patience, selflessness, and overall super mom-ness. Thanks, Mom, for taking such good care of me. Thank you for feeding us, for vacuuming my apartment, for sitting with me while I pumped and massaging my wrists because they were sore from holding my baby. Thank you for doing all the sewing patch ups and fixes I’ve been piling up for you, for knowing I didn’t mean it when I got snippy, for teaching me how to put a shirt on a newborn (it’s scarier than you’d imagine), and how to bathe a baby (also potentially terrifying). Oh yeah, and thank you for everything else from the past 33 years. I can only hope to be as good a mom as you.
Now, on to the recipe, shall we?
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