Our Kickstarter fundraiser ended at the end of September. To all who donated towards this project and the production of our pilot shoot, thank you so much! We can’t express our gratitude enough. And thank you to everyone for all of your support, encouragement, and excitement for this show.

Follow us through our Facebook page! We post tips and interesting findings and articles during the weekdays!

Our very first production shoot took place during the last weekend of September and we all had a blast! We’ve posted some behind-the-scenes pictures from our pilot production shoot on our Facebook page! Feel free to have a look. Thank you for your support and interest!

Feel free to look around this website to find out more about what this show is going to be about and how we’d like to serve you. Feel free to leave us your suggestions and comments! We love feedback and ideas!

For other questions or inquiries, opportunities to partner with us, or to donate to our production by alternative means, please contact us by email at onetwosimplecooking [at] gmail [dot] com.

Serving size: 1-2 people

Ingredients:
- 1 cup cubed leftover chicken (cooked, not raw)
- 1/4 cup red onion, small diced
- 1/2 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 green onion, chopped
- red grapes
- handful of toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 avocado, cubed
- salt and pepper to taste

Combine and mix all the ingredients as demonstrated in the video. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread, on a bed of greens, or by itself. Enjoy!

Copyright 2012 1-2-Simple Cooking. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2012 1-2-Simple Cooking. All Rights Reserved.

20-Minute Chicken Drumsticks

Ingredients:
4 chicken drumsticks (skin off or on, your choice)
seasoning of your choice (lemon pepper used in video)

Place foil on your toaster oven pan to keep it an easy-to-clean bake. Next, place the drumsticks on the pan. Cut a few slices into each drumstick to the bone. This ensures the chicken will be cooked thoroughly every time despite size differences between drumsticks. Season drumsticks with a seasoning of your choice (i.e. lemon pepper, chili pepper, etc.).

Pop the drumsticks into the toaster oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Make sure chicken is cooked thoroughly by checking to see that the meat inside is not still pink and that the juices run clear. Ready to serve. Enjoy!

*Note: If you don’t have a toaster oven, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line your cooke sheet with foil. Prep the drumsticks the same way and pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Copyright 2012 1-2-Simple Cooking. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2012 1-2-Simple Cooking. All Rights Reserved.

I find in my (late) twenties I’ve fallen into a period of confusion.  A seemingly backwards evolution from my cheeky and egotistical adolescent years.  What had happened??  How is it that the older I become, the more I begin to realize how little I actually know?  The more answers I get the more follow up questions I have.  Everything is suddenly backwards where I actually beg my parents to lecture me, because YES I am finally ready after all these years to receive their wisdom. It’s hard to find and maintain the perfect balance between love, work and self preservation.

Recent influx of work has taken time away from the kitchen.  It’s been fun, exciting and exhilarating, yet at the end of the day I felt like something was missing.    It wasn’t until I got back from our vacation that I realized how deeply rooted I am with food.  As much as I enjoy a nice dinner at a restaurant, I can’t help but be that control freak when preparing my meals. Since being back I’ve done nothing but cook in the kitchen — getting back to the rhythm, feeling my food, enjoying the beauty of self preservation. I relish in working directly with the ingredients I cook with — feeling them, smelling them, tasting them — it’s become this deep connection between my heart and the earth and the result?  A beautiful recipe.

I bought these organic strawberries last Friday and then left town for the weekend, completely forgot about them and come around Tuesday they were not at their best.  What to do with these slightly wilted beauties?  They only have a few wrinkles after all.  I could’ve easily tossed them in the trash but I managed to salvage the little life they had left and transformed it into something blissful.  The best way to salvage old fruit?  Roast them.

Roast them with a little cinnamon and sugar or I tossed mine in some Balsamic Vinegar from Modena Italy (available through Artizone) and brown sugar.  The sugar, vinegar and juices from the berries caramelize into a luxurious fruity and tangy reduction — perfect over some rich and creamy creme fraiche ice cream.

I remember the first time I met Collin.  It was at my friend’s party and I was 20 at the time.  I decided to drive up to Dallas and visit my good friend, Mr. H to celebrate the annual TX/OU game. He raved to me that I’d love his roommate: tall, blonde, blue eyes, six-pack abs — yep that sounds like my type! However, first impression I didn’t think he was all that and a bag of chips, to be honest I found him to be quite rude. There he was standing outside with a muscle shirt on with some dirty ripped jeans, holding a beer in one hand and rubbing his abs with the other — who the hell was this guy?

Sup, my name is Collin.

He extended his ab rubbing hand towards me, I raised my brow at him.

Hi, I’m Joy.

And that was pretty much the end of our conversation. He turned around to laugh at his friend’s dirty joke as his cup of beer sloshed inches away from my new stiletto shoes. What a dick. Little did I know the seemingly self-absorbed meathead with the cut off shirt would be my future husband. Who would’ve thunk it?

The weekend ended up being pretty much uneventful. Oh yes, he helped me set up my wireless internet and that’s how we actually started to talk afterwards because he had added his screen name to my buddy list. But there was one thing I couldn’t get over…he was just so so cute with his blue eyes (and abs). Call me shallow but ladies, he had it going on. So one day I decided to message him, you know, just to say “Hello” again and the rest? Well you know how it goes.

I fell deeply and madly in love with the tall blonde boy with the blue eyes and abs. After months of online conversations, ab boy turned out to be quite easily one of the funniest, caring and most eccentric guys I’ve ever met. He liked to do impressions and often made goofy jokes, he always helped me with my Physics homework (because that shit is impossible), he was an Electrical Engineer major and spent most of his time building underwater submarines, he shopped at the local Chinatown market because he enjoyed buying the gigantic one pound box of WuMu noodles for a shocking deal of $2.99 – what can I say? I knew this was love.

Five years later, my love for ab boy just keeps growing day by day. Granted I’ve now downgraded his abs to a cute little smushy belly, he swears to me he’s bringing it back this year for our wedding. It doesn’t matter to me though — abs or no abs he’s won my heart forever. He’s the perfect fit for me, like PB&J or peas and carrots or cheese and crackers!! (can you tell I’m hungry?) I count my blessings every day that somehow in this vast world I was able to find my one and while some may call young love naive, I can guarantee this is the man I will spend the rest of my life with. (He eats chicken feet and pig ears for christsake what more could a Chinese girl ask for??)

I’ll cut this love shpeal short, I’m sure the faint-hearted are puking from this mushy love declaration and can barely contain their mangled expressions of agony so I’ll spare you, for now.  It’s just that he made me the most wonderful heart-shaped blueberry pancakes with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice this morning since we were stuck at home due to the Ice Storm in Dallas.  Anyways, just enjoy this Roasted Tomato Soup.   It has a nice kick and like all things in life, everything is better when you add a little spice to it (ya know what I’m saaaayin?).

Ingredients for Roasted Tomato Soup: (serves 4-6)

Prep time: 10 minutes; Total cooking time: 1 hour

• 2 pounds fresh tomatoes
• 7 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cayenne
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, optional
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes and garlic cloves onto a baking tray lined with foil. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes and garlic from the oven and set aside.  In a large pot melt the butter at medium high heat.  Once it is bubbling add the diced onion, carrots and cayenne.  Saute until onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and roasted garlic and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Wash and dry herbs and add as a garnish when ready to serve. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish in bowl with fresh herbs and crostini if preferred.

Growing up, my relationship with my mother was far from harmonious.  We seemed to clash about everything: anything from curfew, clothes to taking summer school, piano – and oh yes, food.  From a young age I’d remember my mother telling me “You cannot eat candy or potato chips, they are bad for you and make you fat.”  So what would I do?  That’s right.  Eat candy and potato chips behind her back.

She was always nervous about my weight – I am a rather big-boned girl for an Asian but while I learned to embrace it, it completely geeked my mom out.  “You must watch what you eat, you big bone you get fat.” As she would scoot the fried dish away from me and smoothly replaced it with something steamed or boiled – “See, you mostly eat this and not that.”

I’d hate her for it.  I wanted to eat what I wanted, when I wanted without the pestering voice over my shoulder asking “SHOULD YOU EAT THIS XIN-XIN?”  Damn it, yes I should!  So from as early as I can remember until I was 18, my mom controlled nearly every meal I ate except for the occasional outing with friends and family.  She made sure I ate mostly vegetables that were both low in oil and flavor, we never had juices or sodas, and pizza night?  Forget about it, I never even experienced “delivery food” until my first sleepover in 3^rd grade.  It drove me crazy and as I reached adolescence I started to take her pestering personally and began the downhill cycle of an eating disorder.

A lot of things were going on back then; my parents were fighting, I was still trying to figure out where I fit in at school, oh and the whole awkward puberty thing didn’t make matters any better.  My mother’s pestering soon became hurtful and her once “suggestions” became “attacks” to me – the only words I heard were “You’re fat.”   Combine that with the influx of magazines I’d read with the gorgeous leggy models and soon enough it became true: I’m fat.

I obsessed over every little thing I ate, or lack thereof.  I desperately wanted to be a size where my mom wouldn’t give me suggestions anymore – week after week, pound after pound, and before I knew it I was struggling to keep a pair of size 0 jeans on.  It’s the lightest I’ve ever weighed: 103.5 pounds yet it had to be one of the lowest points in my life.  I didn’t feel good, look good and was constantly tired.

I couldn’t take it anymore.  I went into my mom’s room one night and screamed “I’ll never be good enough for you! No matter what I do it’s never good enough.  You think I’m stupid, you think I’m fat! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?”  She looked so confused – “When I say you stupid?  When I say you fat?”  I didn’t realize it at the time but she really didn’t say those things, or mean them rather.  But her reaction made me angry; I couldn’t believe she didn’t know what I was talking about.  I left it at that.  I eventually got over trying to please her and with the help of friends I eventually maintained a weight of 130 pounds by the end of my senior year in high school.

Going to college away from home was a huge milestone for me.  It forced me to make my own decisions without the constant watchful eyes of my parents.  Most importantly I was free to eat what I wanted, when I wanted, wherever I wanted.  Think of it like a kid and his very first time at a candy store – I didn’t even know how to handle it.  Late night snacks at 2 am, breakfast and lunch buffets at the cafeteria, deliveries to your dorm room, my mother would’ve been appalled.

By sophomore year, I had gained a whopping 35 pounds — my mother’s worst nightmare had come true.  I was officially fat.  What the hell?  How did it happen so fast?  Just yesterday I was fitting into my size 4 jeans and looking fabulous and suddenly I find myself trying to hide my muffin top as best as I could under the fold of my size 10 pants.  Freaking lame, all the pesky suggestions I use to hate hearing from my mother were suddenly ringing in my head again – “Do not eat those fried things!  Oh tsk tsk, fast food Sooooo bad for you.”  Okay mother, you win.

It wasn’t until I went back home to visit her a couple years ago when I finally understood why she always pestered me.  By then, I’ve reached a comfortable weight of 135, worked out 4-5 times a week and ate a healthy balanced diet with the occasional treat.  For the first time in my life she said “Xin-xin, you look good.  Mommy no worry about you anymore, you take care of yourself.”  I lifted my shirt to show her my abs – “What do you think of those apples ma?”  She shook her head and laughed.  She sat down next to a box of pictures she was organizing “Sit down, I show you something.”

She handed me a thin, worn down tiny album – I opened it and gasped: there I saw my mom, FAT.  Mind you, my mom has maintained her weight of 130-133 pounds from age 30 to 55.  She has never fluctuated outside of that range in 25 years.  THAT my friend is called magic.

“You see why mommy always worry about you now?”

I couldn’t help it, I had to laugh “Mom, you can’t even see your eyes.”

“I KNOW!  I so fat back then, I embarrassing. I don’t even like to show these pictures, soooo ugly.”

I smiled and kissed her – “You’re not ugly mom, you’re beautiful.”

“NOOOooo…” She giggled as she playfully pushed me away – “But seriously!  You see why I tell you you cannot get fat???”

It all made sense now.  She just didn’t want her daughter to be her old chubby shadow, why didn’t she just say so?  In every dark cloud there’s a silver lining, without this experience I would’ve never learned to be creative when it came to cooking healthy.  I would’ve never learned to allow myself to eat what I wanted in moderation.  I would’ve never learned the negative effects of being underweight and overweight.  Most importantly I would’ve never learned to just love my body for what it is: big boned, curvy, beautiful.  So what if I’m not “petite” like the other Asian girls?  So what if my arms are kinda big?  I can still strut my stuff like Beyonce in some 4-inch heels any night and feel just as sexy as Adriana Lima (of course with the help of my Victoria’s Secret Miracle Bra!).

Embrace your body for what it is, love yourself because you’re fabulous, and if you want a piece of chocolate cake at the end of a long hard work day, treat yourself — but to a small piece instead of the whole dang cake.  I love this Strawberry Lassi because it’s not as decadent as a strawberry milkshake, but just as satisfying.  The tartness of the yogurt immersed with the floral cardamom notes and fresh strawberries, makes this the perfect, healthy drink to welcome the simply beautiful Spring weather we’ve been having here in Texas.  So enjoy this recipe, sit back and relax and think about the importance of living a healthy life through food, exercise and spirit.   You only have one life to live, let’s make it a good one.

Ingredients for Strawberry Lassi (serves 4-6):

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

• 1 lb fresh strawberries, trimmed and halved (3 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 cups plain yogurt (whole-milk or low-fat)
• 1 1/4 cup ice cubes

Purée strawberries with honey, cardamom, and a pinch of salt in a blender or hand held immersion blender until smooth. Add yogurt and ice, then purée until smooth again.  Serve immediately.  Feel free to garnish with honey, cardamom seeds or fresh strawberries. 

Made from rice paper and rice noodles, this recipe is gluten-free and serves as a perfect appetizer or snack for any occasion.  Pair it with a spicy peanut sauce and it will be guaranteed a hot item with any crowd.  Save yourself the work and ask guests to roll their own, the best part is that any mistakes can be quickly eaten.

Feel free to substitute the shrimp for bbq chicken, avocado, jicama – let your imagination create new and exciting flavor combinations.  These spring rolls are best eaten the day they are made but can also be covered with saran wrap and eaten the next day.

Recipe for Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli (60 mL)
• 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
• 8 large cooked shrimp – peeled, deveined and cut in half
• 1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil (20 mL)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves (45 mL)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (45 mL)
• 2 leaves lettuce, chopped

Soak vermicelli in cold water until soft.  Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and cook vermicelli for 2-3 minutes, or until al dente.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

Fill a large bowl with warm water.  Dip one wrapper into the hot water for a second and lay the wrapper on a flat surface.  In a raw across the center, place 3 shrimp halves down and top with vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce – leaving about 2 inches on each side.  Fold the uncovered sides inward and roll the wrapper tightly.  Serve with Spicy Peanut Sauce.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

• ½ cup peanut butter (120 mL)
• 2 tablespoons water (30 mL)
• 1 tablespoon hoisin (15 mL)
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (5 mL)
• Handful of peanuts, crushed

Mix peanut butter and water together until thoroughly mixed.  Add more water (1 teaspoon at a time) if the consistency is too thick.  Stir in hoisin and Sriracha and top with crushed peanuts. Serve with spring rolls.

Exciting news — I am now a contributor at Honest Cooking which is a new international online culinary magazine with the ambition to truly change the face of online food media.  They feature over 50 of the world’s most interesting food and beverage writers, bloggers, photographers and Chefs and I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of them!  Honest cooking aims to become the leading and most inspiring place for serious culinary debate, salivating recipes, interesting food news and international food-fun. You can also check out my recipe for these Spring Rolls over at Honest Cooking!

With the recent tragedies in Japan along with the stifling conflicts going on in Libya, Egypt, much of the Middle East – one can’t help but feel distressed or depressed even, about the troubling issues happening around our world.  It’s frustrating to watch the chilling images of death, sadness, murder, and anger plastered all over the media and knowing that there’s nothing we can really do except donate what we can and hope for the best.  This feeling of powerlessness really set this burden against my heart, I felt suffocated, guilty even, that these families, mothers, fathers, grandparents, children were all suffering as I sat here in my home, unscathed, my belongings intact, my refrigerator…full.

I realize from the minute I open my eyes each morning, I take simple things for granted: my closet full of clothes and shoes, the roof over my head, the fact that I am able to live in normalcy and pursue a happy and content life with my Wells.  I realize life shouldn’t be about materials, it shouldn’t be about vanity, it shouldn’t be about greed.  Instead we should wake up each day and be appreciative of the things we already have, be thankful for the way we are, and be compassionate and giving always.

Life is too short to live otherwise.

I wake up now with different eyes – I hope for only the simple things.  I strive to be respectful to our Earth keeping my negative impact at a minimum.  I push to be somebody, because without a voice you cannot be heard.  I want to stay constantly compassionate and understanding, because it’s the answer to any conflict.  And I pray…I pray that each day I am alive, I will be able to find happiness, even when life seems to have turned its back on you.  Because at the end of the day, that’s all we truly have: our emotions, our memories, and our will.

Okay sorry for being a debbie-downer, I guess that’s why I had to peel myself away from the news and make these grilled fish tacos on a Monday night to get a kick start back into normality. They sure did do the trick though.  This recipe is simple and straightforward – no frills, easy prep and made from fresh healthy ingredients.  The jicama slaw adds a bright crunch to the Cajun spiced tilapia and can be prepped ahead of time.  Don’t forget to throw those corn tortillas on the grill to give them a slightly smoky and crispy touch.   Last but not least, don’t be shy on the lime; that kick never fails to put a smile on my face.  Oh yes and p.s. I always make Wells fire up the grill, therefore please excuse the lack of instruction on how to fire up a grill.

For those who are interested in helping the recent victims of Japan and Libya, you can donate at The American Red Cross, Direct Relief International, Mercy Corps,  or Global Giving.

Ingredients for Grilled Fish Tacos: (serves 4-6)

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Total Cooking Time: 55 minutes

• 2 pounds tilapia fillets (about 8 pieces)
• 2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning ( I used Tony Chachere)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 48 pack corn tortillas, (I used white corn)

Jicama Slaw and Garnish

• 1 ½ cups jicama, peeled and small diced
• ¼ cup red bell pepper, small diced
• ¼ cup orange bell pepper, small diced
• ¼ cup green bell pepper, small diced
• ¼ cup purple onion, small diced
• ¼ cup frozen corn, defrosted
• ¼ cup green onion, small diced
• 1 fresh lime, squeezed
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Salt pepper to taste

• 4 cups purple and green cabbage mix, thinly sliced
• 4 limes, sliced into wedges
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 2 avocados (optional)

Yogurt Remoulade Sauce

• 2 cups fat-free Greek Yogurt (I used Fage)
• 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Creole mustard, or grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• ½ lime squeezed
• Salt to taste

Have man prep grill, make sure it’s hot ~ 300-400F.  (If you don’t have one handy do a google search or grab a friend or neighbor)

While you’re waiting for the man to prep the grill start prepping your jicama slaw.  In a large bowl whisk together lime juice, sesame seeds and honey together.  Then toss mixture with jicama, bell peppers, onion, corn, and green onion.  Use salt and pepper to adjust your desired taste (adding only ½ teaspoon at a time) – adding more honey and lime if needed to balance out the sweetness and tartness.

Next prep your yogurt sauce.  In a medium bowl mix the yogurt, seasoning, mustard, Tabasco and lime juice together.  Salt to desired taste.

Spray the grill with a light coat of non-stick spray or use a paper towel to wipe a light coat of olive oil or vegetable oil on the grill.  Drizzle fish fillets with oil and evenly sprinkle each side with Cajun seasoning, adding more if needed.  Place the tilapia on the oiled portion of the grill and it is best to keep the fish out of direct contact with the fire.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes.  You can check for doneness when the tilapia meat is white all the way through and the juices from the fish run clear.  Set aside when done.  Next fire up the corn tortillas, about a minute on each side depending on the heat of your fire.  Keep tortillas warm by wrapping them in a towel until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, I recommend starting with a couple corn tortillas, layering it with the cabbage mix, then pile a generous heaping of tilapia filet topped with jicama slaw, avocado and dollop of Remoulade sauce.  Finish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime and it’s bon appetite y’all!