Thursday, April 11, 2019

Red Hot Kitchen Book Review

Disclosure: I was provided with a free review copy of Red Hot Kitchen. As always, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, and www.andreaswellnessnotes.com will benefit from actions taken on the links. 

I recently was provided with a review copy of Red Hot Kitchen, and I fell in love with the book. For one, I love spicy food, and the book contains a myriad of spicy recipes from all over Asia. There are recipes for home-made sriracha, Thai red curry paste, sweet chili sauce, gochujang (a personal favorite) and more. And there are many recipes to make with the spicy sauces. Besides the amazing recipes, the book is filled with a plethora of information about chili peppers and how to cook with them. Finally, the photography is beautiful. In fact, I put the book on my coffee table, and a number of visitors have already enjoyed reading it and looking at the photos.

Red Hot Kitchen

Here are all the amazing sauces you can make with Red Hot Kitchen. Below I will take a closer look at some of the chapters.

Red Hot Kitchen

I love that the first chapter is devoted to all types of chilies and how to cook with them.

Red Hot Kitchen

There is a chapter devoted to sambals - chili sauces and pastes native to Indonesia and Malaysia.

Red Hot Kitchen

The next section is devoted to sriracha. I can't wait to make the Sriracha Garlic Brussels Sprouts for my son, who loves spicy foods as well as Brussels sprouts.

Red Hot Kitchen

I love all the interesting information that is provided about the sauces and their history.

 Red Hot Kitchen

The next section is about Thai red curry paste, and I can't wait to make the Thai Red Curry Butternut Squash Soup soon.

Red Hot Kitchen

There is also a section about sweet Thai chili sauce. 

Red Hot Kitchen

XO Sauce was created in Hong Kong a few decades ago. "XO" refers to something of high quality and luxurious in Hong Kong. Lately, XO sauce has spread around the world. There are recipes for traditional XO sauce as well as vegan version in Red Hot Kitchen.

Red Hot Kitchen

There is also a section on gochujang, admittedly my go-to spicy chili sauce. However, I had never made my own, but I will from now on. It's so easy and delicious!

Red Hot Kitchen

There is a recipe for traditional gochujang. 

Red Hot Kitchen

And there is also a quick and easy version in Red Hot Kitchen.

Red Hot Kitchen

Red Hot Kitchen ends with a few cooling drink recipes, which is much appreciated after all the spicy food.

Red Hot Kitchen

Questions: Do you enjoy spicy foods? If so, what's your favorite spicy dish? Are you tempted to make any recipes from Red Hot Kitchen? If so, which one?

Be well,
Andrea

Monday, April 8, 2019

Stripes on Stripes in Downtown San Jose

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and www.andreaswellnessnotes.com will benefit from actions taken on the links. 

Last weekend, the rain finally stopped, and we enjoyed a lovely Sunday afternoon outside. We went to downtown San Jose, where there is more and  more street art everywhere.


Then we walked to the SJSU campus, where both Andy and I got graduate degrees. It was fun to see how the campus is the same at some spots but has also changed quite a bit at others over the years. 


For this casual outing, I wore my new striped linen pants and a striped long-sleeve tee. I love the casual vibe the Converse add.


After we walked around the SJSU campus, we came across more fun street art, like this fun HaHa sign.


Questions: What spring outfits are you currently wearing? What are you looking forward to wearing? I know I'll wear these linen pants a lot this spring and summer.


Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with

Be well,
Andrea

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Sentence a Day: March 2019

I have again written one sentence a day. You can read my past sentences on my Sentence a Day Page. A HUGE Thank You to Leslie from Once Upon a Time & Happily Every After for keeping us all organized every month!


Friday, March 1, 2019
Today is my mom's birthday, and I'm very happy that our older son is in Germany, celebrating with her. Andy and I had to run some errands and went out to lunch for the first time in quite some time.


Saturday, March 2, 2019
We took our daughter-in-law out for brunch and had a great time with her.


Sunday, March 3, 2019
After not going out for weeks, we went out again for the third day in a row! This never happens! This time we went to brunch at Il Fornaio in Burlingame, and it was delicious.


Monday, March 4, 2019
I had planned to get back to workouts this week, but a short neighborhood walk really humbled me. It's going to take a while before I can get back to "real" workouts...

Tuesday, March 5, 2019
I taught my class and went for a short walk; unfortunately, I had to rest afterwards, but I'm thankful that I'm much better than I was in the past weeks.  

Wednesday, March 6, 2019
I did an "easy" The Yoga Collective online yoga class; after not being able to work out for so many weeks, it was REALLY hard! I'm trying really hard to be patient with myself, and I think I'm doing better than I did in the past.


Thursday, March 7, 2019
Taught my class, did a short yoga practice at home and went on a neighborhood walk. Still feeling quite weak and very out of shape. 


Friday, March 8, 2019
We are leaving for the Central Coast for one night tomorrow, so I spent the day getting caught up on work, doing the laundry, buying snacks for the trip and cleaning. I was exhausted at the end of the day.

Saturday, March 9, 2019
I got up bright and early, packed snacks and after a pleasant drive we got to spend the day at the coast where it luckily didn't rain until the late afternoon.



Sunday, March 10, 2019
We spent more time at the beach, which was really good for body and soul. 


Monday, March 11, 2019
It was a busy day getting caught up after our little getaway, but I was very happy that I was able to take a barre class at a new-to-me studio - Flex Fusion Studios in Campbell. It was a great class with a wide variety of exercises, and I had to remember to be kind to myself. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2019
I took another barre class at a new-to-me studio - Alkalign in Los Altos. Another great class. 

Wednesday, March 13, 2019
I started the day with a 6:00 a.m. express barre class; loved that I was done by 6:45 a.m. so I didn't have to rush so much.

Thursday, March 14, 2019
I'm still feeling sore from the last three barre classes, so I took a break from barre classes today but made sure to get 10,000 steps by going on a couple of walks. In the evening we had the kid's middle school orientation.

Friday, March 15, 2019
I started the day with a barre class, and Andy and I went on a lunch date at Pop Pot, a Taiwanese hot pot place.


Saturday, March 16, 2019
We started the day with a short weights workout at the gym and then went on a beautiful hike at Wunderlich Park - so good for body and soul.


Sunday, March 17, 2019
We went on a morning walk at Shoreline Park and Lake and then had breakfast with the older kid and his wife outside - felt so nice! 


Monday, March 18, 2019
I started the day with a barre class, and then the kid (who had the day off from school) and I worked on several projects around the house in the morning; unfortunately, our daughter-in-law had caught a very bad stomach bug and her doctor sent her to the ER. I'm glad I was able to spend the afternoon with her there and that she ended up being ok.

Tuesday, March 19, 2019
I can't believe this quarter is almost over, and I'm busily tying up all loose ends; luckily, I was able to take a lunchtime barre class.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019
I started the day with a barre class and then was very busy with work; unfortunately, the kid has been suffering from an upset stomach for the past few days, and I think he may have caught a mild stomach bug.

Thursday, March 21, 2019
Taught the last class of the quarter today (only finals left next week) and then got a haircut.

Friday, March 22, 2019
I went to a work meeting in the morning and got caught up on work and life in the afternoon.

Saturday, March 23, 2019
We ran errands in the morning and then went on a walk and had a picnic at Shoreline Park.


Sunday, March 24, 2019
I took a great barre class at The Barre Code in Sunnyvale. 


Monday, March 25, 2019
I started the day with a 6 a.m. barre class and worked on finalizing my classes the rest of the day.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019
I gave a 7:00 a.m. final and right when my students were done, the power went out, which allowed me to go on a four-mile walk, which was wonderful.

Wednesday, March 27, 2019
I started the day with another barre class and worked on grades; in the evening Andy and I went to a fabulous wine dinner at Il Fornaio Burlingame. 



Thursday, March 28, 2019
I took a great, challenging barre class at barre3 in Los Altos, which was very needed after yesterday's decadent dinner. 

Friday, March 29, 2019
The kid had his last piano lesson before his test tomorrow.

Saturday, March 30, 2019
The kid had his piano test in the morning, and the older kid and his wife came over for dinner in the evening. 

Sunday, March 31, 2019
It was a quiet day, but we managed to go on a fun outing to downtown San Jose, and the weather was beautiful. 



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Be well, Andrea