Persimmon Mini Bundt Cakes

For my brother's Christmas Eve goose dinner, I wanted to make something a little more festive than just Persimmon Muffins. So I baked the other half of the batter into mini bundt cakes. Dusted with powdered sugar for a wintery effect.

Why yes, this is the exact same recipe as the persimmon muffins. :P Search engine optimization, yo! Plus, quickie post!

Persimmon Muffins

I made persimmon muffins to bring to my brother's Christmas Eve goose dinner. When persimmons are in season, and if you know someone who has a tree, then you know that when they ripen, you can't eat persimmons fast enough.

The big, pointy hachiya persimmons have to be very, very ripe before you can eat them. But once they're ripe, you can spoon them and eat them like pudding. I chose to mash them and make them into a couple of dozen muffins. You can also use the squat fuyu persimmons for this, just double the amount since they're smaller. Make sure the fuyus are also very ripe before doing so.

Christmas Eve Goose Dinner

For Christmas eve, my brother bought a roast goose for dinner. Comes from all the years of watching "A Christmas Carol, he said. Made him curious to find out what roast goose tasted like. I don't recall Ebenezer Scrooge bringing a goose to dinner?

He got it from Sham Tseng BBQ Shop - Monterey Park, which replaced Sam Woo. The goose was roughly the same size as a roast duck, and to be honest, tasted mostly like duck too, although a bit deeper in flavor. It was more than double the cost though!

Chinese Ramen Noodle Stir-Fry with Cabbage, Carrots, Spam, and Eggs

I think we've all have moments when it's late at night and we're too tired to get take-out or to go grocery shopping, but we're huuungry! It's at times like this that my pantry and fridge staples come in handy.

I almost always have ramen noodles on hand. Mostly, made into soup, but sometimes a quick noodle stir-fry hits the spot. The Spam is less a staple, usually purchased if it's on sale. I've taken to buying half sizes of Spam, because sometimes a whole can is too much. Cabbage, carrots, onions are frequent grocery store purchases because I use them in so many dishes.

Ramen noodle stir-fries remind me of when lil' sis was on the high school dance team. For one of the competitions, each team member brought her a package of ramen noodles. We cooked a couple dozen packages together and my mom made a gigantic ramen noodle stir-fry for lil' sis to bring to her teammates.

But, you don't have to be a teenager to enjoy ramen noodle stir-fries. Sometimes, comfort food is such because it's so very basic.

Sentimental

After a jam-packed day-and-a-half in Albuquerque, I was back in L.A. Since I decided to join my brother and his family in New Mexico sort of at the last-minute, I ended up taking a different flight back that arrived an hour before they did.


While waiting at the curb for my brother to pick me up, I noticed all the other people who got picked up too. The anxious faces of the drivers as they slowly drove along the curb and then their faces lighting up when they see their loved ones. The hugs and hand shakes that signified either close or just friendly relationships. As happy as those meetings are, I think the curbside pick-ups today pale in comparison to the meetings at the gate of before.

Years ago at O'Hare International Airport while waiting for a flight, I remember observing a young woman fluffing her hair while waiting for passengers to disembark from a flight. Then she decided to sit up high on the back of the chairs, the better for whomever she was waiting for to see her. She nervously crossed and recrossed her legs.

Was the reunion worth all that primping? I don't even remember. The anticipation was what lingered with me. To have someone that excited to see you, to be that excited about seeing someone. That was always the best part of being at the airport.

Turkey Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Now that you've made Turkey Stock, you can make soup. I've made Turkey Vegetable Soup plenty of times, but decided to go a little fancy by adding quinoa and some of my favorite vegetables such as, chayote squash, turnips, and leeks.

Quinoa, the Bolivian grain that's gained popularity, is packed with protein so you won't even miss the meat. You can swap out the turkey broth for vegetable broth and easily make this vegetarian.

I chop vegetables and add them to the pot as I go along, so the key is to start with harder vegetables that take longer to cook first. Then by the time I add in the tomatoes, I can enjoy a bowl of soup while waiting for the rest of the pot to cook.

Turkey Alphabet Soup

There's something so comforting about a bowl of turkey noodle soup. With alphabet noodles, of course. Sometimes stars too. I would say it hearkens back to childhood, but my childhood soups were mostly Vietnamese broths with leafy vegetables.

Sure I've blogged Chicken Noodle Soup before, but this is turkey. Totally different! :P