My ethnic background is so mixed and confusing, that I tend to associate myself with Asian cultures since that’s what I grew up in.  But I know I’ve got some Scottish and English blood running through my veins, and I think I’m part Irish as well.  I’ve always felt a longing to visit Ireland, Guinness was the first beer I actually liked, and my iPod is full of Celtic tunes (a lot of which were played at our wedding).  One of my favorite ways to get in touch with my Irish roots, is the best beef stew on the planet. Read more

I’m constantly asked for tips on how to save money on food.  I even had someone come up to me at church the other day asking if I could give them some pointers.  I get stoked when this happens because I know how much the things I’ve learned the hard way have helped me, and I love passing them on to others.  This is a little long, and I feel like I still left so much out, but here’s ten tips to saving money on groceries: Read more

I had some ground beef to use up the other day, but wanted a light lunch that wouldn’t make us feel stuffed.  I decided to make lettuce cups, a treat my friend’s mother used to make for us when I’d come over.  My friend’s mom is Thai, Filipino, and Chinese, so I wasn’t sure what culture the lettuce cup recipe comes from.  I tried doing some research but found similar recipes for both Thai lettuce cups and Chinese lettuce cups.  I decided that, like most foods in Hawaii, it’s the result of a myriad of cultures living and eating together.  So I’m calling them Asian Lettuce Cups. Read more

I haven’t decided yet if it should be crockpot or crock pot.  I’ve seen both spellings in different online dictionaries, but my spellchecker doesn’t like crockpot, so I think I’ll go with crock pot, what do you think?  Anyway, this crock pot stew recipe is so simple to make and pretty tasty.  It’s a Greek stew that uses the chopped butternut squash from Wednesday’s tutorial.  My favorite part of the recipe was left out of the photo above, and it’s the feta sprinkled over the top at the end.  Whoops! Read more

It’s time to share some details of the huge project I’m currently undertaking.  I live in Auburn, Washington which is about 45 minutes south of Seattle. I’ve spent the last 5 months writing grants, doing research, and talking to the community about what their needs are in the area of diet and cooking.  I’m now in the process of developing a curriculum that basically runs with the theme of my blog, learning to cook healthy meals on a tight budget.  It’s super exciting and I thought I’d fill you in about why this is so important to me. Read more