Cooking with Gojee

This week, I stumbled upon a new food website that is sort of exciting! It’s called Gojee, and it has a pretty extensive database of recipes from different blogs. The best part about it is that you can search recipes based on what you have in your kitchen, foods that you’re craving, or by eliminating foods that you don’t like! The other night, I made the above recipe for Mustard-Maple Chicken with Quinoa Cucumber Salad (found on A Spicy Perspective), and it was FANTASTIC!

There are definitely a few complaints that I have about the site — namely that you have to be very specific when you enter a food into the “I’m Craving” field… for example, I can’t say that I’m craving “vegan” or “Indian,” it has to be a food name like “asparagus” or “curry”. You also can’t just flip through all of the recipes — different ones appear depending on what you enter into the system. I do think it’s kind of fun to aimlessly flip through though. I’ve already seen so many inspirational recipes! Definitely check it out the next time you’re in a dinner rut.

Fashion Fixation: Red Pants

Red pants have been all over the place this spring and summer. I’ve tried desperately to find a pair of my own that were both flattering and affordable, but so far I haven’t had very much luck. I’m not worried about it though — after taking a look at the Claudie Pierlot Winter 2011 look book, I’m pretty sure that the style can be easily transitioned into fall and worn with fun knits and rock-chic separates (I love this trench with leather arms!). Here are a few pairs that I’m hoping I’ll have more luck with than I’ve been having so far!

1. ASOS Tailored Slim Waistband Crop Pants — $51.72

2. Rachel Roy Tropical Wool Skinny Zip Pants — $103.50

3. BDG Twill Grazer Mid-Rise Pant — $29.00

Rose Iced Coffee

The first iced coffee of the season is so satisfying, isn’t it? We’re in high-season for iced coffees by now, but last weekend was the first time I had the chance to pick up my favorite rose iced coffee from a little shop called T-Magic near my apartment. I’ve definitely mentioned my obsession with all things rose-flavored here before, and this iced coffee is no exception — slightly sweet with a hint of floral, it’s a decadent treat for a lazy summer Saturday.

The only real undesirable thing about this is the $5 price tag, so I tried making my own version at home with rose water simple syrup (just mix equal parts sugar and rose water and bring to a boil for about a minute. Then let it cool before adding to the iced coffee!). It definitely wasn’t as good as the version from the shop, but I’m going to keep trying different methods to replicate it. I’ll report back if I find a better way!

Guest Post on Style Obsession!

Just a quick update — I put together a guest post for Jessica over at Style Obsession that went up yesterday! She creates some of the best “Under $25” and “Under $50” posts, so I was thrilled when she let me put together this one all about awesome items for the kitchen under $25 (including the adorable apron above!). Visit Style Obsession to see all of my picks — Thank you, Jessica!

The Foreign Fourth

Happy Fourth of July weekend! I hope that everyone has a little time off to relax, spend time with family and friends, and maybe have some good barbecue. I’m still not sure what this holiday weekend will entail for me… I’ll just be happy to hang out with my boyfriend and be able to enjoy a little good weather (fingers crossed!).

I was recently thinking about the summer when I spent the holiday overseas in Tokyo — of course July 4th is just any other day in Japan, and I remember awkwardly wishing the other Americans I knew a happy fourth and then carrying on with our day by eating udon and toasting with a Sapporo. I’m quite the sucker for fireworks though, which was the one thing that was really missing that year. Coincidentally, the family I was staying with brought me to the famed Yokohama fireworks display just a few weeks later, which filled the void a little bit! As you can see, it is essentially the same picnic-style setup, but I would say that seeing everyone dressed up in their summer kimonos (yukata) was just as much fun as actually watching the fireworks!

Have you ever spent the Fourth of July abroad, or will you this year?

(Top Photo Credit: Koen BL via Flickr)