TLT – Tempeh, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich


This is how I fell in love with tempeh.

A few years ago, I decided to eat healthier and start exercising. It wasn’t a weight issue. In fact, I’ve always been on the very scrawny side – much to my mom’s chagrin. And because of this, I ate whatever I wanted. My biggest weakness was fried foods. But you know what? If it doesn’t show up as excess weight on your body, it will show up in some other form. Mine took on the form of CONSTANT fatigue – oh, and the moodiness, probably because I felt so run down all the time.

This is when I started cooking regularly. It’s so much easier to eat healthy when you have control over your environment and your ingredients. But it wasn’t easy in the beginning, because cooking can require some time and patience.

Continue Reading TLT – Tempeh, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich . . .

Sweet Potato and “Un-Fried” Bean Tacos


I love Mexican food. I partly “blame” or “credit” this affinity to my aunt. My aunt was a big part of my life growing up. And we spent a lot of time together when I was little.

When she became pregnant with her first child, the only dish she craved for a short period was rice and beans. I’m not kidding you. The only craving of this pregnant Korean woman was rice and beans. And she would take me along to various Mexican restaurants. It was at this time I realized how much I LOVED Mexican food. And not unlike my aunt, I am crazy about refried beans. I love everything about it: the creaminess, the slight saltiness, the richness … Yum.

Continue Reading Sweet Potato and “Un-Fried” Bean Tacos . . .

How to Keep Guacamole from Turning Brown


The darkening of the guacamole or avocado is due to the process of oxidation – reaction with oxygen in the air. The skin of the fruit, whether apples or avocados, provides protection from this process until it’s broken.

Before I go on, I will start off by saying that I was a chemistry major in college. So I find things like this quite fun. Yes fun. I am a major nerd. So if you want to skip over the next few paragraphs and right into the instructions, I will not be offended; it’s because you are probably much cooler than I am. And believe me, that wasn’t an attempt at self-deprecation or sarcasm. It’s highly likely a statement of fact. 😛

I will be very brief. But I believe that a basic understanding of the process comes in handy. And knowing WHY you are doing what you are doing will help you do it correctly.

Continue Reading How to Keep Guacamole from Turning Brown . . .

Spicy Guacamole!

I’ve been shunning social media most of my adult life. I neurotically guarded my privacy. However, now that I’ve started a blog, that point is moot. So I’m wading in slowly into the medium. To aid in that effort, cHow Divine is now on Pinterest. You can also find me on Google+. Why Google+ and not facebook? I will eventually get there (to facebook), but my extremely brainy little brother and his equally brilliant wife (my SIL) work for Google. And my SIL highly recommended it. Now. I wouldn’t be a good sis if I didn’t support and love everything Google! So follow cHow Divine on Pinterest and add me to your circle on Google+, and get to know (seemingly) one of the last cyber-hermits on earth.

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Now that I’ve thoroughly embarrassed my brother as big sisters are wont to do, I will move on to today’s recipe.

Continue Reading Spicy Guacamole! . . .

Grilled Cheese and Dark Chocolate Sandwich with Strawberry Dipping Sauce


Last week, I read on The Huffington Post that dark chocolate and Parmesan cheese make a great pairing. Well, their exact words were “scientific pairing.”

However, we didn’t have any Parmesan. We usually don’t have ANY cheese in the fridge. I’m lactose-intolerant for the most part with the exception of little bits of goat cheese and butter. To make matters worse, I LOVE cheese. So, having cheese in our fridge would be akin to torture for me. And when I do have any substantial amounts of cheese, it better be worth it.

But for reasons too long to explain, we had Gruyère, Havarti, and Cheddar in our fridge. If dark chocolate pairs well with parmesan, why not with other types of cheese? I decided to put that to the test by making grilled cheese with the existing cheese I had in the fridge. It is grilled cheese month after all.

Continue Reading Grilled Cheese and Dark Chocolate Sandwich with Strawberry Dipping Sauce . . .