Hi! This is Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower. I’m back this month on Ask Anna to share with you a brand new recipe perfect for the summer.

We don’t have that many hot days in San Francisco. But when we do, during warm summer days, I really prefer meals that don’t require much cooking. The simpler the meal, the better. Mostly because a hot kitchen on already hot days is not my favorite place to be. For this month, I wanted to share with you this honey garlic soy avocado cucumber salad.

This salad is sweet and tangy and even a little spicy. You can easily customize the sweetness, tanginess, and spiciness to your level of comfort. It has all the ingredients that you probably have on hands. And it’s super easy to make.

Is there any particular dish that you like to go to when it’s hot out and you prefer not to have to turn on the stove or the oven?

In a small bowl, add minced garlic, Thai chili, scallions, lemon juice, soy sauce, water, honey, red onions, and black pepper. Stir to mix all the ingredients together. Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.

In either a Tupperware or a medium sized bowl, add sliced avocado and cucumbers.

Pour the spicy honey garlic soy sauce mixture over the avocado and cucumbers. Allow the avocado and cucumbers to soak in all the flavor.

Best served cold so I would either use avocados and cucumbers that came from the fridge. Or refrigerate the avocado cucumber salad for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Serve the honey garlic soy avocado cucumber salad cold with rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

Andrea

Cooking with a Wallflower

Honey Garlic Soy Avocado Cucumber Salad

 

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Avocado, cucumbers, and red onions tossed in a sweet and tangy garlic sauce. This honey garlic soy avocado cucumber salad is simple, delicious, and refreshing, perfect with rice or noodles.

Author: Andrea Giang

Recipe type: Side

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Thai chili, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame seed
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
• 1 large avocado, sliced

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, add minced garlic, Thai chili, scallions, lemon juice, soy sauce, water, honey, red onions, sesame seeds, and black pepper. Stir to mix all the ingredients together. Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.
2. In either a Tupperware or a medium sized bowl, add sliced avocado and cucumbers.
3. Pour the spicy honey garlic soy sauce mixture over the avocado and cucumbers. Allow the avocado and cucumbers to soak in all the flavor.
4. Best served cold so I would either use avocados and cucumbers that came from the fridge. Or refrigerate the avocado cucumber salad for at least 20 minutes before serving.
5. Serve the honey garlic soy avocado cucumber salad cold with rice or noodles.

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Here are some other easy summer recipes!

Sweat Tea Popsicles

Summer Caprese Tart

Peach Glazed Shrimp Skewers

The post Honey Garlic Soy Avocado Cucumber Salad appeared first on Ask Anna.

Hi! This is Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower, and I’m back this month to share with you a brand new recipe perfect for summer picnics. It seems like it’s been forever since I shared a new recipe with you. But there’s been so much going on.

We’re expecting a baby boy in December! And the last few months have been really rough on me. Morning sickness and food aversions have made it really difficult to develop new recipes and even talk about food the way I did before. But now that things are starting to settle down, I can start sharing again!

With summer in full swing now, I thought I’d share with you this recipe for one of my favorite pasta salads. During warmer days, we like to go out to the park for picnics to enjoy the sun. But even if we’re not picnicking, this pasta salad would make the perfect weeknight dinner meal too.

This pasta salad is filled with rotisserie chicken to make things simple. Add some tomatoes, escarole lettuce or other lettuce of your choice, and red onions. Of course, you can also add other things that you like such as avocado or corn or mushrooms or cheese. It’s up to you. I kept this pasta salad nice and simple.

For the dressing, I whisked together honey, Dijon mustard, kewpie mayo, rice vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the pasta salad, and mix well until all the ingredients are well coated.

Serve this honey mustard chicken pasta salad cold or at room temperature. Seriously, it’s so easy to make and prep and doesn’t take much time at all. You can make this as a weeknight meal on a hot summer night or you can pack this for your next picnic!

Enjoy!

Andrea

Cooking with a Wallflower

Honey Mustard Chicken Pasta Salad

 

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Pasta tossed with rotisserie chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, and onions in a honey mustard dressing. This honey mustard chicken pasta salad is simple, delicious, and perfect for picnics.

Author: Andrea Giang

Recipe type: Entree

Serves: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked pasta
• 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
• ¼ cup lettuce
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• ½ small red onions, thinly sliced

Honey Mustard Dressing

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons Kewpie mayo
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Add shredded chicken, some tomatoes, escarole lettuce or other lettuce of your choice, and red onions to your favorite type of cooked pasta.
2. For the dressing, whisk together honey, Dijon mustard, kewpie mayo, rice vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the pasta salad, and mix well until all the ingredients are well coated.

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Here are some other easy summer recipes!

Chocolate Covered S’mores

Peach Glazed Shrimp Skewers

The Perfect Mojito

The post Honey Mustard Chicken Pasta Salad appeared first on Ask Anna.

Hi! This is Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower, and this month I wanted to share with you a brand new recipe perfect for weeknight dinners.

We’ve been working longer hours lately so we’ve been doing a lot of meal prepping. And if we didn’t meal prep, then we’re always on the lookout for quick and easy meals. For dinners that don’t take long for us to prep and cook. And one of our favorites? Fried rice.

Fried rice does not need to be fancy. All you really need is leftover rice that has been dried out in the fridge overnight. Maybe some garlic and onions and soy sauce. This is the simplest version.

For today’s recipe, the flavor of the fried rice is a little different. Black pepper mushroom fried rice is a little bit sweet and a little bit savory. Slight spicy from the freshly grounded black pepper. It gives the fried rice a little more depth in flavor. I also added items like frozen corn, or canned, and mushrooms. But you can easily add your favorite ingredients.

In a small bowl, add soy sauce, honey, water, garlic, and oil. Then whisk together until combined. Set aside for now.

In a medium sized pan, add vegetable oil, and allow it to heat over medium heat. Once the vegetable oil is hot, add onions, then stir the onions and cook them for a couple minutes.

Add mushrooms to the pan next, and cook for a few minutes until soft.

Then add the rice and corn. Pour the sauce over everything and stir until combined.

Add black pepper, and stir everything together until incorporated. Add butter just as you’re about to serve. Mix to let the butter melt into the fried rice. It elevates the flavor of the fried rice.

Serve the black pepper mushroom fried rice hot.

Enjoy!

Andrea

Cooking with a Wallflower

Black Pepper Mushroom Fried Rice

 

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Leftover rice cooked with pantry ingredients like corn, mushrooms, and scallions in a black pepper sauce. This black pepper mushroom fried rice is simple, delicious, and perfect for a weeknight meal.

Author: Andrea Giang

Recipe type: Entree

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Fried Rice

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 4-5 mushrooms, roughly torn
• ½ cup corn, canned or frozen
• 1 ½ cups cooked rice, refrigerated overnight
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 stalk scallion, finely sliced

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, add soy sauce, honey, water, garlic, and oil. Whisk together until combined. Set aside for now.
2. In a medium sized pan, add vegetable oil, and allow it to heat over medium heat. Once the vegetable oil is hot, add onions. Stir the onions and cook them for a couple minutes.
3. Add mushrooms to the pan next, and cook for a few minutes until soft.
4. Then add the rice and corn. Pour the sauce over everything and stir until combined.
5. Add black pepper, and stir everything together until incorporated. Add butter just as you’re about to serve. Mix to let the butter melt into the fried rice. It elevates the flavor of the fried rice.
6. Serve the black pepper mushroom fried rice hot.

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The post Black Pepper Mushroom Fried Rice appeared first on Ask Anna.

Hi! This is Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower, and this month I’m back to share with you an amazing dish. Especially if you love cheese. I’m always looking for appetizers and snacks that can be served for all purposes. And this one is seriously delish.

If you’re a fan of brie, this salted honey pistachio brie puff pastry will be the perfect appetizer and snack for you. You can serve it on Game Day. You can serve it as part of a date night in. It’s great as part of your wine and cheese night.

To make this dish, preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside for now.

Slice off as much of the rind on the brie as much as possible. Or if you like it, you can keep the rind on. Cut the brie into cubes. You can either use a round brie or a wedge of brie. Either works.

Place the brie in the center of a puff pastry sheet. Take each corner of the puff pastry sheet and pull it to the center to cover the brie.

Whisk together an egg and milk to create an eggwash. Brush the egg wash over the puff pastry. This helps the pastry to brown evenly.

Sprinkle coarse sugar over the puff pastry.

Bake the brie puff pastry for about 20 minutes until the puff pastry has browned and the cheese has melted.

Drizzle honey on top. Add crushed pistachio and then sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.

Serve the salted honey pistachio brie puff pastry immediately while the cheese is warm and melted.

Enjoy!

Andrea

Cooking with a Wallflower

Salted Honey Pistachio Brie Puff Pastry

 

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Melted brie wrapped in puff pastry and topped with honey, pistachio and sea salt. This salted honey pistachio brie puff pastry is simple, delicious, and perfect for get togethers.

Author: Andrea Giang

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

• 1 puff pastry, thawed
• 1 brie triangle, cubed

Eggwash

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

Toppings

• Coarse sugar
• Honey
• Crushed pistachio

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside for now.
2. Slice off as much of the rind on the brie as much as possible. Or if you like it, you can keep the rind on. Cut the brie into cubes. You can either use a round brie or a wedge of brie. Either works.
3. Place the brie in the center of a puff pastry sheet. Take each corner of the puff pastry sheet and pull it to the center to cover the brie.
4. Whisk together an egg and milk to create an eggwash. Brush the egg wash over the puff pastry. This helps the pastry to brown evenly.
5. Sprinkle coarse sugar over the puff pastry.
6. Bake the brie puff pastry for about 20 minutes until the puff pastry has browned and the cheese has melted.
7. Drizzle honey on top. Add crushed pistachio and then sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.
8. Serve the salted honey pistachio brie puff pastry immediately while the cheese is warm and melted.

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Here are some other great Puff Pastry recipes!

Baked Brie with Honey and Walnuts

Sun Dried Tomato Puffed Pastry

The post Salted Honey Pistachio Brie Puff Pastry appeared first on Ask Anna.

Hi! This is Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower, and this month, I’m back on Ask Anna to share with you a brand new warm and comforting recipe, Korean Style Spicy Mushroom Soup.

I’m hoping that you are safe wherever it is you are right now.

It’s been as wintery as it ever gets in the Bay Area these past two weeks. We’ve been in a drought for years with very little rain. But this winter, it’s been different. We’ve had so much rain in the past two weeks that it’s equivalent to half a year’s worth of rain last year. That’s how much rain we’ve been getting.

So, we’re definitely in need of some warm and comforting foods. My husband and I have been making a lot of soups lately for dinner. Mostly because it’s cold and rainy and we wanted something cozy.

And this Korean Style Spicy Mushroom Soup is one of our favorites.

If you’ve had Korean tofu soup, you know that it can be pretty spicy. Obviously, you can adjust the level of spiciness to your taste. But I love that this tofu based soup is very filling and you can customize it however you like. In this version, I added various mushrooms to give it texture. But I’m also obsessed with mushrooms so I like adding it to everything.

To make this soup is pretty simple.

In a small pot, add dashi packet with three cups of water. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.

In a stone pot or a regular medium sized pot, add la yu chili oil and gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) over low to medium heat. Cook for a few minutes until the chili flakes are lightly toasted to bring out the flavor, but be careful not to burn the chili flakes.

Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic has softened and become aromatic.

Pour in the stock. Season with soy sauce.

Add sliced green onion, mushrooms, and soft tofu. Cook until the mushrooms have softened. You can use any type of mushroom you like: oyster, button, cremini, enoki, shiitake. I personally love oyster mushrooms and cremini mushrooms. They have a chewy texture that just works well in the soup. Try not to stir the soup too much. Otherwise, the silken tofu will break apart. Gently stir in sesame oil

Right when you’re ready to serve the soup, crack an egg into the simmering soup and allow the egg to cook a couple minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Serve the Korean Style Spicy Mushroom Soup hot.

Andrea

Cooking with a Wallflower

Korean-Style Spicy Mushroom Tofu Soup

 

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Silken tofu cooked with all sorts of mushrooms in a spicy broth. This Korean Style Spicy Mushroom Tofu Stew is a classic at Korean restaurants and so comforting on a cold day.

Author: Andrea Giang

Recipe type: Soup

Serves: 1-2 servings

Ingredients

Soup Base

• 1 packet kombu or bonito dashi or anchovy stock packet
• 3 cups water

Spicy Tofu Stew

• 1 tablespoon la yu chili oil, or other chili oil
• 2 tablespoons gochugaru
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2-3 cups broth
• 12 ounces silken or soft tofu
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 cups assorted mushrooms
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 large egg
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a small pot, add dashi packet with three cups of water. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
2. In a stone pot or a regular medium sized pot, add la yu chili oil and gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) over low to medium heat. Cook for a few minutes until the chili flakes are lightly toasted to bring out the flavor, but be careful not to burn the chili flakes.
3. Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic has softened and become aromatic.
4. Pour in the stock. Season with soy sauce.
5. Add sliced green onion, mushrooms, and soft tofu. Cook until the mushrooms have softened. You can use any type of mushroom you like: oyster, button, cremini, enoki, shiitake. Try not to stir too much. Otherwise, the silken tofu will break apart. Gently stir in sesame oil
6. Right when you’re ready to serve the soup, crack an egg into the simmering soup and allow the egg to cook a couple minutes. Season with salt to taste.
7. Serve the Korean Style Spicy Mushroom Tofu Soup hot.

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Here’s another delicious comfort food with mushrooms!

Mushroom Vegetarian Chile

The post Korean Style Spicy Mushroom Soup appeared first on Ask Anna.