In the Kitchen Archives - Creative Jubilee

Because this is how we roll

By Christina Lee| February 18th, 2021|Creative Inspiration, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, In the Kitchen, Learning from the best, Oh My Crafts!|

It’s been nearly a year since we’ve been working remotely and zoom fatigue is at an all-time high as we continue to buckle down on work and hang tight hoping the tides will change this year. Increased levels of productivity and stress call for a much needed time out and a chance to come together as a team to reset.

Our manager suggested a virtual team building activity — one where we can sculpt and make something out of clay or one where we can fill our bellies with chocolate goodness — and the scale tipped at chocolate making (which was almost a no brainer!).

We each got a kit from Tiny B Chocolate where we got to learn Brigadeiro Basics, Brazil’s most loved dessert and cousin of the chocolate truffle. The kit came with three jars of brigadeiro, eight toppings and a jar of spread along with plates, spoons and everything you need to get started on becoming a chocolatier.

Making these brigadeiro chocolates couldn’t be any easier than 1-2-3. You scoop out the chocolate and roll it into a ball, dunk it in your favorite topping, and set it aside or put it into your mouth. There is no need for baking. What’s great about this virtual team building activity is you get to make gourmet Brazilian chocolates and bond with your team without any “whoopsies”. And best of all, you create photo-worthy creations that are yet to impress your friends and family. What a fun way to break away from the office.

Merry Christmas!

By Christina Lee| December 25th, 2020|Holiday Fun, In the Kitchen|

It’s been a tough year and this Christmas will be unlike any others. Many people won’t be able to travel or spend Christmas with their family. Many people have lost loved ones or are hurting. I, along with my immediate family, am one of the lucky ones who has good health, a stable job and a warm roof over my head. In today’s times, that’s all that matters.

While this will be the first year that I won’t be able to spend Christmas with my extended family, I am more than happy and humble to be afforded the opportunity to share Christmas with my mom and my sister. I invited them over for a small, intimate gathering at my place. It will be the first time I host Christmas. Because things are very different this year, we focused on making this cozy and warm — and at the center of all of this is gratitude.

To get into the holiday spirit, we made hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies. This time I decided to make the icing. I usually get store-bought icing along with sprinkles and an assortment of little candies to decorate cookies, but I couldn’t pass up the idea of homemade icing — especially since it only took three ingredients to make. Plus, I also secretly enjoy playing with food coloring. Mom, Susanna and I each sat down at the table decorating light bulbs and only light bulbs this year since Mom lost all of the Christmas cookie cutters. Sticky fingers and crumbs on our faces, we managed to decorate a tray full of cookies!

As the Christmas music played in the background and the living fireplace warmed up the room, I rolled up my sleeves and put on my chef’s hat. On the menu is vegetable pasta with summer squash, red and yellow peppers, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and capers, and cheesy spinach-stuffed pork chops. With the banging of pots and pans, I was able to plate the pork chops with pasta and sit around the dinner table together. We raised our glasses and toasted to family, health and a better year ahead.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without presents. Cooper was most eager to open his last day on the Advent Calendar, this time with Grandma and Auntie Susanna. With a hearty treat in his mouth, he was already onto the next, sniffing out his Christmas gifts under the tree. He was eager to get a new set of tennis balls since tend to lose them by the handful. I watched Mom and Susanna open their gifts and tore a few open myself.

Despite this hellish year, we are so lucky to have each other. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas.

Hot Cocoa in my Cooper cup

By Christina Lee| December 1st, 2020|Creative Inspiration, DIY Home, Holiday Fun, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, In the Kitchen, Oh My Crafts!|

With Thanksgiving out of the way, it’s officially Christmas season every single day of this month. Christmas music on KOIT 96.5, living fireplace (with the Christmas tree), warm scones and hot cocoa in my official Cooper cup.

Earlier this year, Cooper and I decided to make these photo cups as gifts to the family in honor of his tenth birthday. Each mug has a photo of Cooper as a puppy and a more recent one throughout the year, paired with a family photo. Of course the red and green ones have a special holiday family photo with Cooper. It’s especially difficult to get Cooper to look at the camera if we are all in the photo, but sometimes the photographer just has that magic touch. Regardless, I love that we have Cooper cups for every season, but the Christmas ones just seem more magical.

Well, now that I have my hot cocoa in my Cooper cup in hand, it’s onto holiday cards.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By Christina Lee| November 26th, 2020|Holiday Fun, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, In the Kitchen|

If you’ve got loved ones, a roof over your head, and food in your stomach, you’ve got more than many people around you. With the unforeseen circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and the unsettling increase case count, this Thanksgiving will not be like any others. Friends, family and loved ones may or may not be able to pull up a chair at the dinner table, and thus, it’s so much more important to find meaningful ways to stay connected with the people you care about most. Inspired by safety and health precautions, I spent this year’s Thanksgiving with my Mom and sister.

While we missed out on our usual 30lb turkey and my Dad’s famous sticky rice stuffing, we did make it up with cornish game hen and sides of brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and candied yams. And because no meal would be complete without dessert, we (over-) indulged in an apple and persimmon crumble along with pumpkin pies from Petaluma Pie Company (worth the extra trip!).

Today was all about being thankful for good health and being able to spend time with family. I am ever so grateful for these blessings and having my loved ones humbly share this holiday with me. Staying safe for a better tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Homemade chicken jerky treats

By Christina Lee| July 19th, 2020|Humbling Hobbies and Habits, In the Kitchen|

If you’re willing to spend a day making sourdough bread, you better believe I’m equally willing to spend a day making chicken jerky for my dog. It’s what we as dog moms do. Plus it’s healthier and more cost effective.

If you know me, I’m not that big of a meat-eater. If it’s there, fully cooked and prepared well, I’ll eat it. Otherwise, I don’t normally go out of the way to make it unless it’s for a special occasion or it’s for my dog. But since I’ve given him a meat-only diet (with a side of kibble), I spent a lot of time in the meat aisle. Chicken, beef, pork, turkey, cornish game hen, shrimp and salmon. None if it is off the table for this little guy. Out of them all, hands down, he’d prefer chicken over any of these, unless it’s a prime rib.

When it comes to buying chicken, lean meat is healthy, but secretly, we both prefer a little skin on the bone, so it’s rare for me to buy the chicken breast. But the chicken breast is great for making chicken jerky. It’s meaty and plump, and you can make a whole bag of chicken jerky with four hefty chicken breasts.

Now, we just need to wait 12 hours.

Eight tomatoes and 14 hours later

By Christina Lee| May 31st, 2020|In the Kitchen|

With strict social distancing rules and grocers limiting the number of people in their stores, you’ll notice that a trip to your local grocery store is no longer a quick 10 to 15 minute outing. Brace yourself for long lines in and out of the store, and new one way aisles which can quickly double the time spent — especially if you head there during “rush hour.” Make sure to plan ahead and make a shopping list if you haven’t already done that. Chances are you’ll want to stock up and make one big trip to the store instead of several small ones.

One of the items on the menu this week is homemade tomato chips. They make a great addition to salads or if you’re like me, you can just munch on them as a healthy, afternoon snack. Making my way down the vegetable aisle, I got a haul of organic tomatoes. I grabbed as many round, plump juicy tomatoes as I could without breaking the plastic bag.

I sliced them and lay them flat on the dehydrator. Tomatoes are one of the vegetables that don’t really need any additional seasoning since it has a good balance of natural sweet and savory flavors. And the rich, red color makes it look so vibrant and fresh.

And 14 hours later, we have two mason jars of tomato chips from eight tomatoes!

Homemade Dog Cookies

By Christina Lee| April 11th, 2020|In the Kitchen|

Happy National Pet Day from Cooper Crazy Lee! I am so grateful for having a best friend and roommate who never argues, sleeps when I want to sleep, eats when I want to eat, exercises when I want to exercise, and just does everything I want to do. It’s amazing how these animals love you unconditionally and blindly follow you on any adventure — except when they hear the words B-A-T-H, B-R-U-S-H Y-O-U-R T-E-E-T-H or V-E-T. Then the paws firmly plant themselves in the carpet and they back pedal looking for a place to hide.

These past few weeks have been especially trying for most of us. But thanks to Cooper, we still manage to get out of the apartment about three times a day. We go for long walks, climb stairs, go for a jog along the marina and play ball. To be honest, I can’t think of a single furry little friend who opposes the new normal and the new work from home policy.

Today, we’re celebrating National Pet day by making peanut butter and banana dog cookies. Yum! You can find the recipe for PetSmart’s Peanut Butter & Cereal Dog Treats.

Ingredients

1 cup of flour
½ cup of vegetable oil
¼ peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 cups of honey nuts toasted oats

And, since I have a hard time following recipes, I added in one banana (!)

Mix up the ingredients and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes and you’ve got yourself a batch of freshly baked peanut butter and banana dog cookies. Mom tested, dog approved.

Gosh, you sure know how to pawty!

By Christina Lee| January 29th, 2020|Humbling Hobbies and Habits, In the Kitchen, Oh My Crafts!|

Happy 10th Birthday Cooper Crazy Lee! I can’t believe you are TEN. Welcome to the Super Senior club!! From ordering off the doggy menu to hiking around the 500 acre resort in Carmel to making s’mores and buying your favorite dog cookies, we hope you had the BEST birthday weekend ever!! We love you so much!!

Love,
The Family and Mom

For Cooper’s big birthday, he wanted to let the family know just how much everyone means to him and how lucky he is to go through this journey called life side by side with the ones he loves. After many dog kisses and tail wagging, it didn’t take long for him to convince me to pull out my computer, dig up happy memories and log on to Shutterfly to make his birthday gift to the family. We went through an entire process of flipping through each category on the site before he landed on the personalized coffee mugs. I think the last time my mom dropped a mug on the floor, it only made him shutter and reinforced his idea of making matching mugs for the family.

It took a while to go through the photos, but lucky for him, we are a photo-happy family so it wasn’t too difficult to find family photos of the five of us. From our annual trip to Tahoe to long weekend walks to holidays and family gatherings, we have a lot of happy memories to celebrate. It made me smile to go through all of the photos and relive those moments. Each time we took a family photo or a snapshot of Cooper, we had to take them in series of five or ten to make sure we had his full attention. It usually took a squeak of his toy and him being surrounded by family for him to spread a smile on his face. Cooper is indeed a happy dog.

Finally, I convinced Cooper to pick out photos of himself. He was a bit shy, but after dangling a few treats in front him, he didn’t mind at all. We picked out photos from his first to weeks with us to his first few months and then some recent ones.

Well, I must say they turned out pretty darn cute!! Cooper loves his family so much and can’t wait to see the look on their faces.

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