8:30 am, breakfast of soft boiled eggs

& cheesecake stuffed crepes.

9:45 am, a clementine snack at the beach.

10:45, swimming in the deep blue sea.

11:30, lounging with J.

12:55 and walking to get a snack, these seagulls can’t seem to fly forward because of the strong gust of wind.

1:30, snack time.  Yellowtail and spicy shrimp/crab rolls.

2:45 and walking back home, J plucked a flower for me

Pizza wars!  20 local vendors compete for the title of best pizza in town.  My belly was more than happy to be involved.

A juicy gouda, bacon, avocado, onion string burger at the new joint down the street.

Sushi with J,

and a show afterwards…

and another,

and another…

polishing off the
night with Miss Mena Mae and her champagne burlesque.

Baking up red velvet, funfetti, lemon curd, vegan chocolate, chai, and violet flower cupcakes for my friends huge birthday party.

At the birthday bash.

An exquisitely sad and bittersweet romance that sweeps you off your feet to a place that is both hopeful and detached, lovely and scary, all at once. I most enjoyed how the author spun magic and myth with reality together.

Me and mama’s haul.

My haul from the super coupon event.  Grand total?  $5 + giveaways for Pack Away Hunger!

And speaking of great causes, Mary from love, the secret ingredient has created a fun box filled with foodie goodies with 10% of its proceeds going to help the organization, Feed The Children.  Each box is a bundle of culinary surprise and I can’t wait to see what’s in mine.

Rounding off the weekend by making kimchi with mama.

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

Sunday morning, I woke up to 10,000 subscribers on my Youtube channel.  Considering that I had to begin from scratch a year ago and leave my old, established channel behind, I feel humbled and grateful.  #1 loving lately?  All of you!!

My celebratory German chocolate cupcake

Pad see ew at a new Thai spot.

Tuna & King Crab Roll.
The light shows at this weekends Wolfgang Gartner.

My favorite read at the moment—an elaboration of why I too read and write…eat and cook.

And the premiere of The Walking Dead!!!!

This Katana-weilding badass finally had {a bit} of her story told.

What are you loving lately?

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

This weekend was non-stop between baby brother’s arrival, mother’s day celebrations, and J’s birthday, but boy was the entire stretch delicious!

Lunch with mama {for the noodle & beef recipe}

Late night dinner

Lobster fondue

Afternoon BBQ at friend’s

Red Velvet birthday cupcakes

Cheddar eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing–yum!

Mother’s day/birthday dinner

and I capped off the weekend with a swing in the hammock and fresh, hand picked flowers.

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Love,

Your very full Squishy Monster ^.~

In the past week, I’ve consumed an absurd amount of  sushi.  If Korean food is my favorite cuisine, sushi is a strong second contender.  I never tire of the stuff though, my concern will momentarily flick back at the realization that the vast quantity of it at the rate I greedily gobble it up has to exceed the recommended intake by any physician *shrugs*

Have you tried Toro?  He’s rich, fatty, and delicious (tunas heavenly version of bacon, if you will).  However pricy, I can’t deny he’s worth every penny!

Hello delicious friend, we meet again!

Nigiri Sampler, striped with my best friend, sriracha (in my opinion, it’s best to order a la carte or you end up with some filler items like ebi).

The Domino was a drag.  It was suppose to feature seared ahi tuna but was so overcooked, it really looked and tasted like some canned stuff.

I’d have to say that Eel is one of my favorites (sorry Flotsam and Jetsam)

This was my least favorite of all as the new spot I’d decided to dine at on a whim attempted to cast off surimi as crab.

All in all, it’s been a pretty yummy sushi adventure this week so far and I certainly wouldn’t complain for more.

Wishing you a bright and sunshiny smile from the oh-so-dreary/rainy/grey Carolina’s,

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

I’m all about some fusion.  Korean bbq pizza anyone?  How about some gochujang shrimp tacos?  Kimchi & bulgogi quesadillas?

Whichever the case may be, I find that with food, spreading the love is the best case scenario.  Take what you love and attach it to another and remember to share with your loved ones and you’re guaranteed one delicious, helluva time!

https://youtu.be/CUkko-U6xNg

5.0 from 3 reviews

Cheeseburger Sushi

 

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Serves: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients

• Sheets of nori/dried seaweed paper
• 3 c cooked sticky rice
• 6 slices of cooked bacon
• 1 lb hamburger
• 2 c shredded cheese
• Toasted sesame oil

Instructions

1. On the bottom portion of your nori, spread out your rice in a thin layer.
2. Begin layering on your bacon, meat, and cheese.
3. Starting from the bottom, roll upwards, tightly and securely (a sushi mat helps with this). Smear a bit of rice on the top to help seal everything together.
4. Rub your entire roll down with a bit of toasted sesame oil.
5. Serve with sriracha aioli/ketchup/soy.

3.2.2807

Wishing everyone a most fun and delicious weekend!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

When we were itty bitty, Mama would put something on your plate and you knew not to gripe or pout and stomp.  You ate it or you didn’t eat.  An array of ruby colored salads would be paraded before us but really, as a kid, it all kind of bled together into one heap and this salad was just another I gnawed on, not appreciating it for what it was.  Today, it sits high on the shelf labeled “delicious delicacy” though, many would disagree.  One could say it has a distinct smell.  We eat it cartilage and all (its entire skeletal structure is comprised of it) with not a single complaint.

What in the world is Skate?

It belongs to the shark family and resembles a sting ray (sort of).  We consume the “wing” portion and often serve the “mottled skate” variety.

I’ve actually never had it prepared any other way but raw.

Here’s mama’s recipe for fermented Skate fish salad.

5.0 from 5 reviews

Skate Fish Sashimi Salad 홍어

 

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Cuisine: Korean

Ingredients

• 2 chopped skate wings
• 2 ts salt
• 3 tb apple cider vinegar
• 2 tb minced garlic
• 1 ts finely minced ginger
• 2 ts sesame seed
• 3 tb sugar
• ½ chopped Korean pear
• ½ c julienned Korean radish
• ½ c chopped cucumber
• 3 tb red pepper flakes (Gochugaru)
• 2 chopped green onions
• Optional: watercress

Instructions

1. In your first bowl, combine your wings and vinegar. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. After this time has elapsed, squeeze out all the excess moisture.
3. In a second bowl, sprinkle the salt on your radish and cucumber. Let this sit for about 15 minutes and squeeze out the excess moisture from them as well.
4. In your third bowl, combine the rest of your ingredients and add in your first and second bowl as well. Mix and toss to combine.
5. Garnish with green onions.

3.2.1753

My hope is that you’ll at least give this a try once in your life but then again, your Squishy friend also adores durian so it’s all up to how brave you are.

Are you up for the challenge?

Love,

Your (loves stinky foods) Squishy Monster ^.~

I think the worst part of having your teeth pulled is not being able to eat what you want (at least for me anyways).  As soon I was able, I hit the ground running and went a bit crazy, I think and gobbled up everything in sight.

This is all that a very hungry Squishy Monster eats in a week.

Lemongrass Chicken

Tom Yum Soup, Edamame, Squid Salad

Summer Rolls + Almond Cookies

Aunties Rice Cake Soup {Ddeukguk}

Spinach Gyoza

Mee krob (and tuna roll)

Mango Shrimp

Scallop Pud Puk

Fried Oreos

Oreo Cheesecake

Carrot Ginger Soup

Lentil Burger

Beet Juice

Steak Burrito Bowl

The best hummus I’ve had in town.

Gyro

Trout and Veggies

I do believe I polished off an entire plate of steak, veggies, 2 corn muffins, a bowl of cheesy grits and a kids stack of  buttermilk pancakes that night.  Oh yes–it was a good night.

This is about how much a Squishy Monster eats in a week…give or take a few midnight snacks and munchies to keep me going throughout the day.

Love & lots of food!

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

Last week, I found myself at familiar places and those not so much.  The Charlotte community is opening up and developing a taste for foods that fall so neatly into the “ethnic” food category.  Why must they be considered “ethnic” anyways?  Aren’t we all about cultural pluralism?  Aren’t we supposedly a melting pot?  Hm…

I always think it’s funny when I walk down the “international aisle” which really just consists of a sprinkling of Goya or those unmistakable ruby bottles of Sriracha.  Consequently, I must venture off to a second store to obtain my Korean groceries, but I’m optimistic that this won’t always be the case.

Here’s my food line up for last week (end):

Mama’s Soybean Soup, Galbi, Tofu, and Korean Radish.  YUM!

Crawfish étouffée, extra spicy please.

Spicy Salmon & King Crab Roll

Spicy Mediterranean Potatoes from a Jewish cafe that just opened across the street.  (I’ve been there 4 times since they’ve opened…shhhh)

Cuban Sandwich for lunch

Best Fish Tacos in town!

I also visited an Ethiopian place that I shudder to think about.  I can’t say based upon my experience if I enjoyed it or not but I decided not to share until I visit another one to make a better assessment.

I hope the rest of y’all had a delicious week (end).

A new video will be up this week

Love,

Your happy-belly-full Squishy Monster ^.~

There’s been a ton of thunderstorms lately.  There’s been a ray of sunshine through it all and she goes by the name of Gab’s.

Our silly edamame ‘staches.

Squid salad

Chefs choice sashimi

Yellow Tail, Tuna, and Salmon Roll

Chocolate Cake Batter Fro-Yo–YUM!

Gab’s heart-man doodle

…& we finished off the weekend sweet with rolo cookies!

Doodles & Cookies,

Love,

Your Squishy Monster