Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Expensive bottled raw sugar syrup being sold in grocery stores had me scratching my head. Why buy them when one can just simply boil water and raw sugar crystals to make syrup. Well, I also could not understand people paying insane amount of money for bottled flavored water and for Starbucks coffee.

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Maple Walnut Apple Crisp

Apples apples apples! I just love apples. Cakes, muffins, ice cream, pies, you name it, I'll eat it. Today it's an easy baked apple crisp topped with walnuts and oats, the recipe adapted from here. The apples I used called zestar, an early autumn variety, were very fresh from a local apple orchard. They're crispy, tart, and a tad sweet; great for snacks, salads, and baked desserts.

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Egg White Kimchi Omelet

My refrigerator and freezer have lots and lots of egg whites. I've already used a few cups for cookies and other desserts but the containers always seem full. Omelet to the rescue! I added chopped kimchi and scallions to the beaten egg whites, cut the omelet into rectangles, and layered with roasted nori (seaweed) and rice for a healthy meat-free lunch. Simple, delicious, and satisfying.

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Pistachio Paste

One of the cooking ingredients that is not easy to find in grocery stores is pistachio paste or butter. However, in recent days, pistachios in shells or roasted shelled started to have a significant presence almost everywhere, from the local grocery stores to Walmart and Target, and of course online stores that sell nuts in bulk. I bought a 3-pound bag of shelled raw pistachios because I wanted to make paste to use for ice cream and baked goods. The roasted ones are just too brown and produce an odd color that is not too appealing.

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