14 days to go… :(

Teresa & Kirby say hello...for what might just be the last time from NYC until ...next year?...it's up in the air.

 With my days left in the beloved New York City dwindling down to single digits, I can’t help but get a little bit emo. Afterall, living in this city with 2 of my closest friends with me has been nothing less than spectacular (Thanks Donna & Teresa!). I’ll be leaving NYC for San Francisco August 24th; stay in San Francisco for a little more than 36 hours before I’m off to Shanghai for a year. Leaving NYC will be a huge milestone in my life…I guess you guys should be expecting food blogs from China now…and I promise I won’t let you down!

 

So after a semi-long night of dancing, bar-hopping, warding off Teresa’s flock of black men and my one persistant male…we decided to go to the 24 hour french cafe. (But only after walking 10 blocks instead of the simple 2 blocks—if we had paid attention to where we were going -_-)

Marbled cheesecake. Steamed hotchocolate. in a candle lit atmosphere & the sounds of New York City in the background…with a good friend. Perfection.

One of the many reasons why I will miss New York City...

More bites of the big apple! :)

So, I’ve just had a box lifting(you know how well that goes with me & my “strong arms”.. -_-), 20 flight stair climbing, 12 hour day in leather shoes and Sephora-colors-only professional attire, as a nobody nonpaid intern. No complaints, great experience, blessed as can be to be working where I am (really, I’m not being sarcastic). My point was, I am dedicated to purplerice, even after such a laborious day!!! <3 I am so sore…on top of that, I think I really should start going to the gym because I cannot lift anything that a normal person could easily carry…but maybe I’d rather have skinny arms. So here’s the food update:

Yesterday, to fulfill our asian pastry craving, we went on an adventure to Chinatown. Needless to say, a lot more happened than anticipated, including the first Yelp let down of our lives….DO NOT buy pastries from the four star rated Fay Da Bakery. But desperate times calls for desperate measures, only after scarfing down the unsatisfying pastries we did buy(which was not picture worthy)…did we find the local bakeries. Eh, next time.

Also, since Teresa’s arguably favorite thing in the world is cake, more specifically Tiramisu, she could not pass up a sign that said : “Little Italy’s #1 Tiramisu”. Wait, I think it said that…or something along those lines…the critique of the cake must come from Teresa because I only had two bites, not to mention I am definitely not a Topnotch Tiramisu Taster. So let’s have Teresa, the TTT describe:

&&& of course pictures of us with food. What’s a purple rice blog without a pic of us stuffing our faces?

‘Til next time, if I’m still alive after this crazy week of goodness! xoxo

New York City Food Adventures

Hey everyone! KT are now busy busy busy interns in NYC:)! Must confess that since we hardly have time to breathe nowadays, our home cooked meals are quick, easy and repetitive—thus probably not purplerice worthy or has already been posted. If we do cook elaborate meals worthy of our viewers, we will not hesitate to blog! Until then, we will keep you guys up to date with our food adventures in the BIG APPLE.

Here are some pictures of:

1. Magnolia’s Bakery (cupcakes from SEX & THE CITY)

2. Pinkberry…..vs. YoWo? (teresa has even said she thinkS she prefers Pinkberry over YoWo…the audaciiiityy???) [EDIT FROM TERESA: I changed my mind halfway through my Pinkberry. I was just hungry because I hadn't had breakfast!]

3. *** too bad we didn’t take a picture of this one… but at Crocodile Bar in NYC, every beer bought came with a whole pizza. It looked like an undercooked flat bread, but apparently it was not bad. how do they make money?? It helped that the boys bought the beer… all Teresa had to deal with was the guy shakin’ his tip jar at her.

Stay tuned!!!

Apologies!

Trips back to the Bay Area, dead camera batteries and busy weekends (oh, who are we kidding) don’t lend themselves to Purple-Rice-ing it up. But I guess you can see pictures of how fatty we are anyway, regardless of whether or not we are cooking. Some delicious things I’ve eaten lately:

1. Tomato and egg — a classic!
2. Teriyaki salmon, spinach, and roasted cherry tomatoes over purple rice
3. Chicken soup made with leftover rotisserie chicken. Throw in some gojiberries, onions, and shiitake mushrooms: my mother would be proud.
4. Fresh strawberries picked at a farm in Carlsbad for $11 a bucket!
5. Cupcakes all the way from Sprinkles, courtesy of my best friend
6. More cupcakes — red velvet! — for Sylvie’s birthday.
7. Baby bok choy, our standby vegetable.
8. Tiramisu a la our neighborhood Ralphs store for Margie’s birthday. I can be a cake snob, but I will take Ralphs tiramisu over $8 slices of Extraordinary Desserts cake any day.
9. Lastly, heaven in a cup: taro milk tea. Excluding my love for cheese, Kirby and I have the exact same taste in food, I swear it.

Purple Rice Pudding

So, this is not your traditional boring cinnamon and white rice pudding. I mean, props for the typical rice pudding lovers—but KT love to switch things up. And add a surprising kick of healthiness too—by using our favorite…you guessed it: PURPLE RICE. Read on for a yummy dessert or snack (if you’re obsessed like us..you’ll find any reason to make it—no matter what time of day!)

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cooked purple(or whatever color you prefer) rice
• 3 cups of 2% milk, or whole milk, for non dieters
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1-2 eggs (depending on how thick you want it)

Directions:

1. Pour the milk in to a pot and heat on medium high.
2. Add in the rice, and allow it to boil until simmer. Meanwhile in a seperate bowl, mix together brown sugar and eggs. If you want a thick pudding, add 2 eggs(We prefer a milkier rice pudding vs. a thick one).
3. Once milk and rice simmers, add a few spoons of milk into the sugar-egg mixture, stirring consistently. (We do this so that the eggs won’t lump up in the pudding but rather mix smoothly into it.) Add more milk into the bowl and continue stirring. Repeat 2-3 times until milk and eggs are cleanly blended together.
4. Next, add the bowl of brown sugar, milk and egg into the pot while stirring rapidly. Allow it to blend well with the fire on low for a few minutes.
5. Finally, serve piping hot! You can garnish with raisins, cinnamons or anything you can think of. We prefer it absolutely AS IS. Because trust us, it’s the BOMB!

Teresa mesmerized by the Purple Rice Pudding…(CAUTION: Becoming mesmerized and dreamy is not an uncommon side effect of the PRP!)

Mango Refresher

Our Mango Refresher is the perfect drink on a hot summer day! It is entirely presentable and great for entertaining guests. AND believe it or not, you can make this year round without a burden on our wallets…thanks to Trader Joe’s frozen mango chunks!

Yields: 2 regular servings or 4 small servings

Ingredients

• 2 cup of frozen mango chunks
• 1.5 cups of (1-2%milkfat) plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp of honey (to taste)
• a few slithered almonds or mint leaves

Directions:

1. Toss frozen mango chunks(save a few cubes for end garnish), yogurt and honey in to blender.
2. Blend until consistency is smooth and creamy.
3. Pour into small cups, garnish with slithered almonds and a few mango chunks!
4. Enjoy!

Purple (Fried) Rice

You had dinner last night. You made some bombass purple rice. But alas, you still have a little rice left. It’s too yucky to heat up and eat as is… so what in the world do you do with it?

Make the world’s freakin’ healthiest fried rice, that’s what!

Purple fried rice is seriously the easiest thing to make. You can pretty much throw in whatever you want: eggs, veggies, sausage, spam, firm tofu, etc. and it will still be delicious. (Purple rice not necessary — that’s just how we like to do it.)

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp finely minced garlic
• 1 cup raw spinach
• 1 cup raw mushrooms
• 1/2 cup soycutash
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Beat eggs together in a bowl. Chop your veggies into small pieces.
2. Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil on medium-high in a large wok. When oil is hot, add garlic, stirring until fragrant. Add veggies in order of how long they take to cook–(in our case, mushrooms first. then spinach and soycutash). Season with 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce.
3. Add in egg. When slightly solidified, start moving it around until bits of egg are evenly dispersed throughout.
4. Finally, add the rice. Throw in the remaining soy sauce, and a tsp or so of sesame oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Fry on high heat until rice is heated thoroughly.

Note: A great addition to fried rice, if you aren’t going for that whole nutritious thing… Chinese sausage. Filled with flavorful fat, they add superb flavor to your fried rice. Cut the susage into 1/4″ pieces and heat them on the wok over low heat for three minutes or so. If you want to use Chinese sausage, start with it at the very beginning before adding other ingredients.

Colorful Couscous

With bikini/speedo (haha, jk!) season coming along, it seems like everyone and their mother is watching their figures! As we all know, staying in shape is no easy task, especially when it comes to our diets…goodbye, decadent triple layer chocolate mousse cake . BUT, not to worry, for all you deprived dieters, here is a healthy alternative that is just as satisfying to your eyes as it is to your tastebuds. Without further ado, KT presents to you the amazing COLORFUL COUSCOUS!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a can of chicken broth
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup of whole wheat couscous
• 1/4 of a red onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup of trail mix (chopped almonds, dried blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, etc.)
• 1/2 cup of frozen veggies (corn, edamame, peas, etc.)
• soy sauce, sesame oil to taste

Directions:

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic.
2. Heat olive oil on medium in large saucepan for one minute (we use a wok!). Sauté the onion and garlic.
3. Once onions are translucent, add couscous and sauté together for a few minutes.
4. Pour in chicken broth and wait until it simmers. Toss in frozen veggies.
5. Wait until frozen veggies are cooked, and then remove saucepan from heat.
6. Drizzle soy sauce and sesame oil over the couscous to taste, mixing in thoroughly.
7. Finally, add and stir in the trail mix, fluff up couscous and brace yourself for the compliments!

Kidney Soup

Sounds disgusting, but no kidneys involved… trust us.

“Kidney soup” was derived from the day Kirby and Teresa decided we were going to New York. KTNY = thus, Kidney. It became our signature, quick and easy go-to recipe. We’d make soup, apply to internships, and then have dinner! When we finally landed both of our internships… we celebrated with, you guessed it, kidney soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 box firm tofu
• two fresh tomatoes
• 1/2 cup mushrooms
• 2 cups raw spinach
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• 2 tsp hot soy paste
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Pour chicken broth into a large stockpot. Add one can full of water to the pot.
2. In a small bowl, mix miso paste with hot soy paste. Add two tbsp of broth from the pot to your mixture, thinning out the paste to a more sauce-like consistency. Then add this into the stockpot.
3. Slice mushrooms, cut tomatoes into wedges, and cube the tofu. Throw these babies in!
4. Boil on medium for 10-12 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked.
5. Lightly beat the eggs so that no bubbles form. (This part may be tricky.) Pour egg in a slow stream into the stockpot, turning off the heat the minute you begin pouring. Begin stirring rapidly in one direction as soon as you start pouring in the egg.
6. Add spinach last (it wilts quickly, so you don’t need to put it in too early.)

Tada. Delicious, simple soup in 15 minutes!