My Adventurous, Spicy Twice-Baked Potato

Use large baking potatoes (These exact measurements were used for one large potato. Alter accordingly.)

Per potato:

1 ½ tsp mayonnaise

½ - 1 tbsp butter

1 tsp of honey mustard

1 tsp of yellow mustard

1 tsp of Sriacha Hot Chili Sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Scoop out the yummy, starchy insides.

Put this into a bowl and smash a bit with a fork. Pre-smash if you will, more smashing will come later.
I like a rugged twice-baked potato, if you desire a more creamy texture, put this mixture into a blender, I use a fork and good ole’ elbow grease.

Then, I add the butter and
mayonnaise or substitute.

Continue SMASHING.

Next, I blend in the honey mustard and yellow mustard. (I like the combination)

Closing in on the finale I add some Sriacha Hot Chili Sauce and then
a few dashes of crushed red pepper.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

*One of my secrets to a mouth watering potato skin, good enough to eat afterwards is to sprinkle just a dash of salt into the boat of the potato before filling with the pre-baked mixture. 

I love to eat the skin.

Do you?

Some time away... For Zero..

I may be taking some time away from Somewhere in Between to make myself more available for Zero. 

Who is Zero?

This is Zero! 

He is the little man that my husband I saved, along with his sister, from the streets. He was no more than a mouse with no eyes when we found him and we brought him to a place where we thought he was going to live a long and happy and long life.

Well he is sick with FIP now and may not have such a long, long life.

I will be writing daily about the remainder of his life at

fourcatsfiveeyes.blogspot.com

if you want to keep up with how he is doing. 

Enjoy life, every day! 

Half-vegan Citrus-Nutmeg Banana Bread

I love to bake and eat and share banana bread. I especially love to share banana bread.  When my bananas get a little bit speckled and brown, that's when I know it's time for 

banana bread. I have milk or eggs in my house, I try and steer more vegan, but I did 

have butter to use so I searched for the appropriate recipe. I found one 

at food.com and made an 

adaptation from there. 

Mashed bananas and butter...

 But then when the recipe called for applesauce, I worried because I have never seen canned applesauce in Korea and I don't have any apples to make homemade applesauce in a jiffy. Thinking on my feet, with a cat under my feet, I decided to take a chance on some fresh juiced tangerines.

I had been given a box full and was searching for tangerine recipes too. Well, now I have one!

After I juiced the tangerines I thought some nutmeg might compliment the citrus and give the bread that holiday taste. I was delighted.

I made up my own from scratch, Half-vegan Citrus-Nutmeg Banana Bread! 

I loved the subtle undertones of citrus and know that when I make this again I am going to add more juice and more nutmeg.


Here's what I did use:

1.5 cup wheat flour

1tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup sugar

3 beautifully brown bananas

1/4- 1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice

3 tbsp. butter (you can use vegan substitute)

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix the first five dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl

3. In a smaller bowl mash the bananas and butter together well.

4. Add the tangerine juice to the banana mixture along with the vanilla extract.

5. Then add the banana mixture into the dry ingredients little by little. I did this by hand.

6. Add walnuts and then pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check to be sure the inside is well cooked with a fork or toothpick.

7. Enjoy!




This is a perfect recipe for the holiday season! It'll be at my Thanksgiving table!

That's it, move over husband...

I've fallen in love and, well,  you and your stinky socks and messy ways just don't compare.

I take that back, but this is a pretty close second. So watch out.

I created a new version of a macaroni and cheese using what I had in my house. I am not vegan, but I lean more in that direction, so in my refrigerator there is not milk, but soy milk. Butter but no eggs. And occasionally, there is cheese. Not often, but once in a while. And noticing this cheese the other day made me think of my mother's homemade macaroni and cheese.

Well, this is not my mother's macaroni and cheese. But with changing times and altering diets, this is a better, more modern twist on it.

My mouth fell in love.

There's a secret to why, I'll let you know in a minute.

It was one of those mornings..

I woke up to my cat drinking out of the toilet bowl.

I had to remind her that she has a bowl full of water right next to her food bowl in the kitchen. Silly kitty, I think she just likes the thrill. She's a thrill seeker.

The beauty of a mountain...

It's autumn and the mountains just thirty minutes north of where I live in Seoul were beckoning. 

Bukhansan was calling me. 

And my kitchen was calling me too. My basil plant was screaming "COME AND PULL SOME LEAVES OFF OF ME ALREADY!" 

So it is time to make some pesto. 

But when making pesto, one must have a great pesto recipe in mind... and my mind was thinking pesto pizza! 

Homemade Apple Cider...

I wanted to use some apples that I bought from the farmer's market at the corner but didn't have time for a pie, yet... I'll find time to make an apple pie... don't doubt that. 

So I decided to go for a batch of homemade apple cider. Crisp, sweet, and perfect for the oncoming fall weather that I'm so excited about! 

Basic necessities: Sugar, cinnamon, honey (or maple syrup) and some nutmeg for extra spice.

I used only about 5 of these apples and pulled about a quarter of a gallon (give or take). 

Taking the leap into fall...

The weather has officially turned the corner and welcomed cool breezes along with shorter days. I pulled out my sweaters the other day, along with my zipped up storage bag of hats and scarves and mittens. I love wool hats and scarves and mittens. I don't always like the blistery, cold weather that demands them... but I don't have to think about that for at least a couple more months. 

For now, it's fall, and I love it. I'm going to take it all in, one day at a time.

Starting by making banana walnut bread... 

Stopping to notice the dragonflies...

You say Potato...

I love to cook in the morning, on the weekends... or in the evenings during the week... but mostly anytime. These potatoes are a healthy, taste bud waking alternative to the usual "hash brown". It's a recipe that I've been making for a few years but it seems as more time passes,  I add more and more to it. 

It started off with just your average potato and onion mixture, grilled on the range and served with toast and either egg or tofu scramble. 

BUT NOW, this potato breakfast delight could stand as a meal itself if it had to.. (sometimes it has too!) 

The base is onion. Lots and lots of onions. Then potatoes, garlic and some hot green peppers. 

So much to do... so little time.

 

 This is a project that I am working on. I say 'a' project, because I seem to have a hard time completing one thing before I'm making headway on another. 

So I am beginning to make another "Granny Square Bag" but I think I want this one to be even bigger. I am working out the dimensions and how many squares I will need, and then putting them together to see if the colors work out symmetrically. 

I love Blueberries!

So I wanted to make my first Blueberry Pie. Like I said to myself when I started this blog. I want to do a lot of "firsts" this year. So here's to blueberries being in season and oh-so super yummy. (not to mention a superfood so I can add this to the healthy desert basket!) 

And here's to blueberry pie!

I used a half version of this recipe from Simply Recipes.

Vegetarian Paella

So I wanted to make my husband something yummy and full of vegetables (he was lucky enough to marry a vegetarian who loves to cook) and he pointed to the picture on the cover of one of my cookbooks. Marie Simmons: Fast and Fresh Vegetarian; Recipes That Make a Meal

So I set off to accept his challenge. 

Here I am sauteing the peppers and mushrooms.

Things that are brown...

I think the color brown gets a bad rap.

When you watch children coloring, brown is always the last crayon picked from the box to add to the picture, if at all.


It's rare to see houses that are chocolate colored brown (I grew up in a chocolate colored house and I'll tell ya, though I loved our house, it seemed to be the talk of the neighborhood for a couple of years)

So in celebration of brown, here are some of my favorite brown things...

The brown pattern in my beach towel.

An adorable brown puppy.

Brown non-leather furniture.

A cute brown bear. 

And who wouldn't love Chocolate Covered Katie's No flour, Black Bean Brownies! 

I've made them and they hit the spot!

What are your "favorite things that are colored brown"?

Fresh cilantro and tomato salsa; Perfect for summer tomatoes!

These are the ingredients I used. I just love the bright red, fresh, local tomatoes! Red wine vinegar is the key.

I blended the tomatoes, garlic, onion, hot peppers and cilantro in a food processor, just enough; but not enough to turn it into soup. I'd rather have a fresh salsa than a cold, summer tomato soup. 

Then I added some fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper and about 1tbsp of olive oil. Voila! It's all ready for the chips to get a dippin! 

Try it yourself! Let me know what you think!

More things I like... and think are funny..

I like 

Brightly colored fire hydrants. 

Kittens who ask to come in...

Who could get enough of Cambodia?

So here are a few more that we took...

Siem Reap

Sihanoukville with a storm a'brewin

Our amazing trip to Cambodia...

To start off I want to say that Cambodia is by far, my favorite place of the places I have traveled. The people have a kindness likened to the Thai people and the landscape is lush and diverse, but I found that the strength and resilency of the people was most moving. I wanted to learn more about what had happened in this country just 35 years ago. What I found out amazed me and spawned a thirst for more knowledge.

Our trip began with us landing in Siem Reap after having spent only a few short hours in HoChi Min, Vietnam. 

The Sights of a Sunday Walk...

A gorgeous tomato salad and sangria.

A colorful storefront. 

Cucumber water

In the summer, when it's scorchingly hot, there's nothing like a tall glass of ice-water. Well, almost nothing.


Maybe a room made out of ice, serving drinks in large ice-blocks.



 Or to sitting by a pool wearing your favorite wig.

Or a tall glass of cucumber water!

         







If the first two suggestions are out of the question, then this simple recipe for a refreshing, thirst-quenching drink should be right up your alley.
Here's how it's made...

It's the end of the summer...

So it seems the hottest days of summer have passed, well, my fingers are crossed. This means that I can break out my knitting needles again and resume my guilty pleasure of making bags among other knitted projects! I just couldn't bear to hold wool yarn in my hand or allow it to sit on my lap in order to knit a project during the most beastly days of summer. Instead I sipped lemonade and made cucumber water while basking in the sun on my apartment rooftop. (A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!).

So here are some projects that I had finished at the beginning of the summer. I think I may just make more of this bag because I love it so much and just bought some lime green yarn that would look awesome with creme and purple!

The "Granny Square Bag"

Additionally...

I like...

Gardens with stone bridges where a troll would love to call home..

Over sized chess games.. 

Things that I think are funny…

         

       

        Jump roping with my husband, trying to see who can jump the most. 

                            Looking at old photos of people jump roping. 

Budding fashion sense. 

 

Cats who appreciate your concern.

Things to Do...

So it’s summer in Seoul and it’s getting hot.  Like, I want to be in my bathing suit all the time hot. I want to be sitting by the swimming pool hot. I want an ice cream and to sit in the shade kind of hot. The, I want to do everything and nothing all at the same time hot. 

But instead I’m sitting on a subway going to a job, with sweat dripping