myretroperspective

Remember those friends that I met in the grocery store? Well let me tell you, she is an amazing cook! Just when I thought that I was doing good and cooking grilled chicken pasta for dinner, I call her up and she tells me that on nights they don't have much time, she just 'whips' together some sushi. Pretty sure I couldn't just 'whip together' anything if I tried, especially sushi. It would turn out like a bad Pinterest fail. But she can and she does quite well. And thankfully she was kind enough to have me over and teach me her skills. So here ya go, for those other women who want easy meals besides peanut butter and jelly (which is what we have on way too many occasions). What you need: Avocados Crab Cucumber Seaweed paper Rice What you do: .Gather your ingredients. You can put whatever your heart desires on the inside. We stuck with crab, avocado and cucumber but also tried some tempura shrimp which was to.die.for. Slice veggies in long strips. You can also c...

Our cooking list for the day One of my favorite parts of living overseas is all of the different cultures you cross paths with. Especially on our small island where the community of teachers and engineers is exceptionally dense and diverse, bringing people from all corners of the world. I feel like I have now experienced the true meaning of a 'melting pot'. In just our church alone, which consists of about fifty people, we represent nine countries and speak 13 different languages. It is here that I have had the privilege of getting to know two Indian families that decided to invite myself and some other girl friends into their home and teach us how to cook some authentic Indian dishes. Rolling the chapati The first dish that we made was chapatti, or also known as roti. When you are eating curry, this bread is used as a sort of utensil to grab and pick up food since instead of using silverware, hands are traditionally used.   Chapatti / Roti   (This will make approximately 6 ro...

Have you ever immediately put your palm to your forehead when you read a new recipe? As in ' why have I not known about this until now?!' I had one of those moments when I finally got around to making these after months of being on my 'recipes I need to try' list. I made them when I knew that I couldn't serve cereal for one more breakfast but all I wanted to do was lay in bed for five  more minutes  instead of getting up and cooking. Thankfully these came to my rescue.  Puffins {pancake + muffin} What you need: .1 cup pancake mix .2/3 cup water .1/2 cup syrup What you do: .Preheat oven to 350 .Mix pancake mix, water and syrup .Pour in greased muffin pan .Top with banana, blueberries, chocolate chips, bacon, etc .Bake for 12-14 minutes and serve What do you make when you don't want to make anything at all? Linking up with BreAnna  and Molly

Have you ever tried making body scrubs? I tried one this summer with brown sugar and honey and while it sounded like a good idea and smelled amazing, it left my face raw and bright red for the next day. Attractive huh? However, after the redness subsided, I had the softest skin I have felt on anyone older that two (probably because I rubbed a whole layer of skin off in the process). I was scared away from any sort of scrub for awhile but with this harsh winter weather I decided it would be better to have bright red skin versus it look like it was snowing every time I undressed. Luckily for me, I recently found a recipe for a body scrub that not only smelled good but left my skin baby soft and non irritated. Win win. Mix the sugar, olive oil and vanilla together. Lastly, add the zest from the two lemons and the juice from one. This recipe is perfect because you can easily scale it up or down depending on your needs. The quantities listed below filled up six of my small bottles perfectly...

With the weather turning cooler and while we're now in the middle of the holiday season, I've been trying out new simmer pots to make the apartment smell a little more festive. One of my favorite combinations is shown below but I have also loved to use cinnamon as well. These have quickly become part of my daily routine to make the house smell fresh and festive. Lemon, Bay Leaves, Cloves, Vanilla Instructions:  Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the ingredients from your favorite recipe, continue to boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat down to simmer. Add water as needed, usually every 30 minutes or so. Recipe #1 Cinnamon sticks Apple peels Orange rinds Whole cloves Recipe #2 Peel from 1 lemon Peel from 1 orange 2 bay leaves 3 cinnamon sticks 2 Tablespoons whole cloves Recipe #3 A few drops vanilla Orange peels Recipe #4 1 cup dried lavender 1 tsp anise 1 Tablespoon nutmeg 1 Tablespoon whole cloves 1 Cinnamon stick Recipe #5 5 bay leaves 1 Tablespoo...

I never craved red meat while living in the states but as soon as we moved to the land where beef is immensely expensive, I started to crave it more and more. You know it's expensive when you feel guilty eating it alone. Since being home from our vacation in the States we've been craving it more than usual. So what's the only logical solution? Driving to Cost-c0 (thank God for Cost-co in Korea) and picking up some steak. I've always used store bought marinade but decided to try to make one from scratch (how hard could it be right?). I googled steak marinade and "The best steak marinade in existence" popped up on allrecipes. It was a sign for sure. What you need, minus the garlic powder Yum! I've never been so excited for steak before. What you need 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup olive oil 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder 3 tablespoons dried basil 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes 1 teaspoon ground white...