The result was a smash hit: bubbly, oozy sweet blueberries topped with a chewy-oat topping. Sort of like a pie on a diet. Everybody loved it, including myself, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the recipe.

1. Begin by making the blueberry "interior" by placing the following into a small pot or pan: 4 cups blueberries (can be frozen), 1/2 cup white sugar, and 3 tsp cornstarch. Heat until bubbly, mushy, and lava-like. Okay to start the process with a tsp or two of water, as the mixture starts on the dry side. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp lemon juice. Pour into a scalloped oven-proof dish or pie-pan.

2. The oatmeal crumble (which can be made in advance, probably preferable) is created by mixing the following with a fork: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Use a fork to mix until the texture is a rough dough.

3. Crumble the oatmeal mixture evenly on the top of the blueberry mixture. Bake at 375F for 15-20 mins or until the oats begin to brown. Remove and served warm, room temperature, or cold.

First I cut the dragonfruit into very small pieces -- about 1/2 cup of them. These were then allowed to soak in Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). (This gives the pieces color, sweet taste, and softens them enough to be integrated into this recipe).

Second, I added the following to my Kitchenaid mixer with the paddle attachment: 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/3 cup butter/margarine cut into small cubes, 2 tsp Stevia. I whisked these until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs.

Next I added 1/3 cup soy milk and mixed until a ball was formed. I then folded in the drained dragonfruit pieces by hand and pressed the mixture into a flattened ball shape. At this point I also cut the dough into eight wedge shapes.

This was then placed on to a buttered, floured baking sheet and baked at 350F for approx. 20 mins.

This was more a fun experiment than anything, but I thought I'd go ahead and post my experiences as I can't be the only guava-lover out there looking for new ways to make use of this wacky tropical fruit.

I love the taste and smell of guavas. Though I have a guava tree in my backyard -- a rather unusual tree for California but thriving nonetheless -- it is still only a few years old and hasn't begun producing more than a couple guavas a year. So for this recipe I've used canned guavas which I purchased at the Mexican grocery store.

1. I started out by making the crust. First I placed 1 1/4 cups sifted flour, 3/4 tsp salt, 7 tsp cold butter cut into pieces, and 1 egg yolk into a mixer and mixed. Once mixed, I dropped 2-3 cold spoonfuls of water into the mixture (while mixing) and watched the mixture magically coalesce. This was formed into a ball with my hands and placed into the refrigerator (in a plastic bag) to cool.

2. While the crust dough cooled, I placed 2/3 cup blanched almonds and 2 tsp flour into a food processor and created an almond flour. I then placed this mixture into a mixer and combined it with the following: 7 tsp room temperature butter, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tsp vanilla extract. This was beat until light and fluffy.

3. I then took the dough out, rolled out the dough on a flour surface, and transferred it to a tart pan. Once the dough was molded to the shape of the tart pan, I pricked the bottom with a fork and placed the pan into the refrigerator to cool.

4. While the dough was cooling again, I cut approx. 8 guavas into slices. I then (after about 10 mins or so) took the tart pan out and filled it with the almond cream, topping this with the guava slices.

5. The tart then went into an oven preheated to 400F, baked for 15 mins. The temp was then turned down to 350F for another 15 mins. During the last 10 mins, I placed two spoonfuls of sugar over the top to caramelize.

Lessons learned: leaving the guava seeds in doesn't work! They are too hard, so remove the guava seeds before arranging them on the tart. Also, do not pile the guava pieces to compactly in the center of the tart because they will release too much water. Other than this, this recipe worked for me and tasted yummy. But one piece was enough... this is sweet, fatty, and decadent!

1. I started out by mixing 5 tsp soy milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 oz of yeast (I used dried). Set aside and wait for the froth.

2. I then mixed together in a mixer (with bread paddle attachment): 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, dash of vanilla extract, 1 heaping spoonful of dried cocoa powder, 1 egg white, 2 tsp vegetable oil, and the yeast mixture (see above). If too dry, add a little more soy milk until the mixture is firm but pliant. Set this aside for 45 minutes covered with a damp cloth in a warm place.

3. Next was the fun part, melting 1/4 cup of butter and then placing the liquid in a bowl. Cut the dough into 12 parts, rolling each part into a very long rope. Dip the rope into the butter and then coil the ropes into round disc on a buttered sheet. Repeat until there are 12 coiled discs. Cover and allow to rise again for 45 mins or until doubled in size. Space them so they have room to rise.

4. Finally bake the coils for 10 mins at 375F. Before placing them into the oven, baste with a little water and sprinkle caster sugar over the tops. Bake, remove, place on wire rack, and dust again. Finally, before serving, shave a chocolate bar over the top.

Not overly sweet nor overly chocolatety, these were just great for a cold day and for helping to tame the Chocolate Monster which lurks inside each and every one of us.

1. Start by preparing your liquid seasonings. Mix 1 tsp palm sugar (or brown sugar), 1 tsp white sugar, 2 tsp fish sauce, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 large tsp chili flakes, and a dab of tamarind concentrate. Mix until the sugars are dissolved and then set aside.

2. Cut a bunch of green onions into 1-inch lengths, at a diagonal angle. Set aside. Place a handful of peanuts in a plastic sandwich bag and hit them softly with the bottom of a soup can until "chopped" looking. Set aside. Cut 1/3 of a block of firm tofu into rectangle shapes and set aside. Rinse a handful of bean sprouts and set aside. Rinse some fresh cilantro and set aside. Coarsely chop two red shallots and set aside. Shred 1 tsp worth of white radish, salt, drain by squeezing, and set aside.

3. Bring a pot of hot water to a boil and place 1/2 package of pad thai rice noodles into the water, stirring and testing continually until the noodles are al dente and not soggy. This goes very quickly so DO NOT OVERCOOK. Pour the water and noodles into a colander and rinse with very cold water until noodles are cool/cold. Set aside noodles.

4. Fry two red shallots in a wok (or any onion will do), coarsely chopped with a pinch of salt in peanut oil until fragrant and beginning to color. (Here now you can fry an egg if you like but I don't like eggs so I omit them.) Add fresh shrimp and fry until pink. Add tofu and drained radish, frying briefly, then add noodles.

5. Turn up heat after adding noodles and stir fry for a minute until noodles turn color. Add liquid seasonings and combined, frying for about 30 secs to one minute -- this process flavors the noodles and gets rid of some of the excess liquid. Turn off wok burner and then combine noodles with green onions and bean sprouts. Serve, topping with peanuts, cilantro, a couple reserved green onion pieces, and squeeze lime juice over the top.

Voila, pad thai in under 20 minutes. Enjoy.

I'm always on the lookout for good kimchi preparation methods and am officially chalking this one up as excellent. Unlike more formal kimchis which require that the cabbage remain somewhat whole, sokpakchi is a type of kimchi that is chopped into pieces (together with radishes) before being fermented. This makes everything a little bit easier both in the preparation process and also when it's time to eat -- simply open up the container and take out as much as you like. No fancy cutting mechanisms necessary.

1. To prepare sokpackhi, take one briefly rinsed Napa cabbage and cut it 1/3 of the way from the stem into the heart. Pull apart with your hands to make two pieces. Salt it liberally with sea salt. Be sure to put plenty of salt inside the leaves. Allow the salt to remove the water -- this process will take about 5-6 hours. Rinse briefly and then squeeze out the water your hands. Squeeze tightly to remove as much water as possible, because excess water will lead to early mold.

2. Cut one Korean radish or Japanese daikon into flat, square pieces (about 1 inch across on each side). Also cut one bunch of green onions into 1 inch pieces, cut diagonally. If you have access to Korean water cress, trim one bunch and add to the cut green onions.

3. Next combine cloves from 1 bulb of garlic together with a large knob of ginger (about 1/2 or 1/3 the amount of the garlic), cut into small pieces. Place both into a food processor and combine. (If liquid is needed, use a little of Korean fish sauce.)

4. Combine the cut cabbage (cut into 1/2 pieces, removing the hard stem), radish pieces, and garlic-ginger mixture together with 2 tsp sugar and red chili flakes. (The red chili flakes amount should be equal to approximately the amount of garlic used, so, about two heaping tablespoons.) Secret: don't limit yourself to chili flakes alone because you'll be missing out on that gorgeous flaming red color one sees in restaurant kimchi. Add an additional teaspoon full of red chili powder (as in, the powder used for Korean chijae soups).

5. Now add fish sauce to this mixture until the chili seasoning looks "wet." (In other words, enough so that it stops being a dry mixture.) Combine with very clean hands. Add a sprinkling of sea salt and mix again.

6. The kimchi is now ready to be placed into an airtight container. Top with a little bit more sea salt and place the lid on top. Allow to ferment at room temperature for 30 hours. Do not open the container at any point. After exactly 30 hours, move the container into the refrigerator. This 30 hour period is an absolute requirement -- otherwise your kimchi won't have that outstanding, pungent taste so vital the kimchi experience. Enjoy!

In this case, I've altered the traditional aloo gobi recipe -- a "dry" Indian potato and cauliflower curry, dispensing with methods which either boil the cauliflower until it is nothing more than mush or methods that steam all the nutrients out of the cauliflower before it actually becomes part of the curry. In this method (see below), the vegetables are not overcooked and retain just a hint of crispness. (I also enjoy my version with a little bit more liquid so that chapatis can be dunked into the thick, gorgeous curry.)

1. I began by peeling a dozen or so small red potatoes, and then cutting them into halves or quarters depending on their size. I also chopped about 1/4 of a cauliflower into bite sized pieces.

2. In a pot I heated a little peanut oil and 1 tsp cumin seed until they began to sputter. I then added 3/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 tsp ground coriander, and 1/2 tsp ground cumin. I allowed this to fry briefly.

3. I then added in the potatoes pieces, covering them in the flavored oil. Next added was 1 tsp salt, 1 cup purified water, and 1/2 can of tomato concentrate, or about 4-5 spoonfuls. The potatoes were allowed to simmer on a low flame in this mixture until about 3/4 of the way cooked through. (Keep tasting to see where they are.)

4. By the time the potatoes are nearly cooked, it was time to add in the cauliflower. Rather than steam them, I placed them into the potatoes and curry mixture, covering everything with a lid, allowing the cauliflower to steam inside the pot with the curry mixture. (It's important not to stir because the cauliflower is tender and will fall apart.) If the mixture has gone too dry, add just a little bit of water so the cauliflower can properly cook through.

5. The aloo gobi is finished when the potatoes and cauliflower pieces are cooked through in tandem. Now add 1/2 to 1 whole bunch of cilantro, chopped (feel free to include stems), into the mixture. Remove from heat and serve.

1. I began by combing 1 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 3/4 cup boiling water in a mixer and combined until a firm, smooth dough. I then added a few drops of peanut oil to the exterior and kneaded by hand briefly. This was set aside in a bowl with a wet cloth over the top.

2. In the meantime I combined chopped shrimp, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg white, 1 tsp sherry, 3 tsp ginger juice, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, and a handful of green onions in a bowl. I then added 1 tsp corn starch, mixed again, adding a little more corn starch until the mixture began to firm.

3. I then cut the dough into 12 pieces, rolled into balls, flattened each with my hand, and then rolled out each ball to form a flat wrapper. In the middle of each, I placed a spoonful of the shrimp mixture and then pulled up the side, twisting the top to form a dumpling. These were then steamed in bamboo steamers for 9 mins.

4. After steaming, I then heated a skillet with peanut oil and fried the har gow until their bases were crispy.

For a dipping sauce, I combined soy sauce with a little rice vinegar and chili sauce (Sriracha). I also placed a dab of Chinese mustard on my plate and dipped into that as well.

This was an easy dish to prepare and requires no special flours or ingredients. Only standard wheat flour was used. Feel free to replace the stuffing ingredients with anything you might have on hand, but be aware that greens and mushrooms release a lot of moisture and may require more corn starch than normal. Enjoy!

When my friend so kindly gave me a bunch of her Hibiscus sabdariffa (Roselle) seeds, I must admit I planted them and promptly forgot about them. But as the plant matured and produced unusual, bulbous, deep-red calyces, I dove into the culture of the plant and learned that I had actually consumed it before in the form of Mexican jamaica -- a type of agua fresca. I love this drink and looked forward to making my own refreshing drink by boiling the succulent calyces myself.

I started my experiment by boiling a handful of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces in hot water, mixing in about 1/4 cup sugar for about 10 mins. I then placed this mixture into the refrigerator to cool down. This alone makes a nice tea which can be enjoyed over ice.

I used a little bit of the tea and mixed it together with ginger ale, which created yet another fun drink. Hibiscus-infused ginger ale tasted zesty and sweet with just a hint of bitter which was immediately appealing. I plan on making it again.

I then went on to think how unique hibiscus frozen yogurt might taste. Armed with my new ice cream maker, I made my first batch by doing the following:

1. First I boiled down my Hibiscus tea until it was a syrupy liquid (about 1/4 cup of liquid). I let this cool completely to room temperature.

2. Next I fired up the ice cream maker and mixed 16 oz of Greek yogurt, the Hibiscus syrup, 1/4 cup of additional sugar (for total of 1/2 cup), and a dash of vanilla extract. I allowed to churn until very firm and then placed into the freezer to harden.

The result? My best frozen yogurt to date. The sour pungency of the yogurt worked perfectly with the sweet but slightly bitter Hibiscus syrup, mellowed by the aromatic vanilla essence. Ahhhhhhh, this recipe was a success and I'll be making it again.

Lusse Bread (Lusse Bröd, or Swedish Sweet Saffron & Almond Bread) is made by combining a mixture of flour, almond meal, and saffron infused milk. As you can imagine, this combination of flavors after being baked is nothing short of bread nirvana, both for the tongue and for the nose.

1. Begin by heating 1/2 cup milk (or soy milk, which is what I used) and a few strands of saffron. When the milk begins to boil, turn off heat and allow to infuse for 15 mins.

2. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup almond meal, 3 1/2 cups flour, 6 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt in a mixing bowl.

3. Mix 1/2 cup warm water and 25g fresh yeast until a froth forms. Add to flour mixture and mix. Finally, add 50g softened butter (about 1/3 stick butter) until dough is elastic. Set aside for 1 hour to rise.

4. Cut dough into 12 parts and roll with hands into long ropes. Form curly shape on either end and place on oiled baking pan. Allow to rise for 30 mins.

5. Combine egg white and 1 tsp water. Baste the bread pieces and sprinkle a little sugar on top.

5. Preheat oven to 400 and bake for 15 mins or until golden. Convection oven time will be about 10 mins.

1. First begin by peeling two Korean pears (aka Asian pears) and chopping into small pieces. Place the pear pieces together with a dash of lemon juice into a blender with just enough water as was necessary to grind them to a smooth mixture.

2. Combine 16 oz of Greek yogurt (rBGH free) together with the Korean pear mixture and 1/2 cup sugar in the ice cream maker.

3. While the mixture is churning in an ice cream maker, add 1-2 tsp ginger juice. Also add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

4. After 30 mins of churning, the frozen baesuk yogurt will be ready to freeze in a freezer. Place into a plastic container and allow to freeze for at least four hours before serving.

1. To begin this dish, harvest a handful of zucchini flowers, rinse, and set aside.

2. Next fry half an onion in a liberal amount of olive oil. Add to this mixture 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, 2 tsp salt, pepper.

3. Next, add 1/2 cup dry rice and 1 cup water. Cook the mixture until it is soft but the rice is not fully cooked. Set aside.

4. Hold a blossom propped up by three fingers (including thumb) and place a spoonful of the rice mixture into the blossom, closing the blossom quickly with the petals. Place into an oiled baking dish. Repeat until the blossoms are stuffed. Place the stuffed blossoms very close to each other (touching) so that they stay closed while baking.

5. Pour a small amount of water into the dish -- just enough that will complete the process of cooking the rice inside. Place into a pre-heated oven at 375F and cook until water has boiled off. I also suggest sprinkling the tops of the stuffed blossoms with olive oil so that they begin to brown while being baked.

Remarkably, the blossoms do stay together while being baked, forming an omusubi-like rice ball full of delicious and healthy herbs. What a delicious treat.

1. First I began by pureeing two fresh mangoes in a blender with just enough water as was necessary to grind them to a smooth mixture.

2. Then I combined 16 oz of Greek yogurt (rBGH free) together with the mango mixture and 1/2 cup sugar in the ice cream maker.

3. While the mixture was churning, I also added 1/2 tsp cardamom and 3 drops yellow food coloring for a vibrant yellow color. I additionally added 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

3. After 30 mins of churning, the frozen mango lassi was ready to be frozen for about four hours before being served.

Result: awesome!! This is my new favorite frozen treat; I'm kind of surprised you don't hear about "frozen lassi" more often. The combination of the sweet-sour mangoes, the tartness of the yogurt, and the sweetness of the sugar, vanilla bean, and cardamom was a winning combo which I will surely be preparing again and again.

Though there are certainly more fun things to do than squeeze dozens of tiny, hard key limes for a measly 1/2 cup of juice, the idea of making my own ice cream for the first time injected some fun into the endeavor and the end goal made it worth the effort. I'm not sure I've ever tasted real key lime pie so I can't tell you how authentic tasting this recipe is, but the combination of sour and sweet was tasty, I thought.

1. Start out by squeezing key limes to produce 1/2 cup key lime juice. Strain and set aside.

2. Heat 3/4 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar on stove until the sugar dissolves. When dissolved, through in some ice cubes to cool down the liquid. Add 1/2 cup lime juice and a 14 oz can of sweetened, condensed milk. Mix. (The original recipe suggested icing down the liquid before going any further, though I didn't do that.)

3. Add a dash of vanilla extract to the liquid and a few drops of green food coloring.

4. Remove the ice cream freezer bowl from the freezer, pour in the liquid, and mix for 20-30 minutes until the ice cream begins to solidify. (I added some crunchy chocolate wafers for texture during the last minute.) Freeze in a non metallic container.

Who doesn't like ice cream?!

You can make a Korean stew out of basically anything -- just use what you crave and what you've got available. Although everyone has their own style, here's how my version goes:

1. Add a little fresh onion, sesame oil, and garlic to a pot or ceramic stew pot. Saute the onion and garlic until soft.

2. Add water together with a teaball full of dried anchovies (this is how I make my soup base), 1 large spoonful of chili powder, one piece of laver (seaweed -- also to flavor the broth), and sea salt to taste. Allow to boil briefly.

3. Add what you're craving. This time I made my stew with shrimp, crab, and tofu. Cook until shrimp or other protein is cooked and serve topped with fresh green onion and chili strands. Be sure and serve with with a big bowl of white rice.