Darius X Personal Chef

Image Description: Darius, a trans-masculine Korean person, wearing glasses, an apron, and a mustachioed smile, stands in a kitchen holding a large cooking utensil. The image is framed by rainbow-colored drawings of fruits and vegetables and has four banners pasted to it that read: Darius X Personal Chef, Home cooking in your Home; Healthy Eating, Kid-friendly foods, Allergen-Free Specialist; Personal Chef Services, Private Cooking Lessons, Creative Kitchen Solutions; Book a Free Consultation, email: [email protected], text:1-206-709-4401

My first foray into open-fire cooking with Manila clams foraged on Vancouver Island.

I admit, I consider myself to be a pretty decent car-camper. Aside from casual cooking with a propane stove, I have never had the opportunity to try open-fire outdoor cooking. I want to give a BIG shout out to for inviting me to go clam digging, then a cookout, and THEN producing an amazing video to document our time together! If you like videos about vanlife, homo-steading, free diving, nature and more, you gotta check out their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/flossyroxx

Link to the video about our outdoor cooking adventure is here:
https://youtu.be/zYqK257pdGo?si=SaQ4E7dUZpFGAPP0

It’s been a wild year. We’ve lost lots of dear friends and made some new ones. This one’s for the friends we call our chosen family. Now, let’s get cooking!

An Epic MegaCook on the hottest day ever 🌡️🥵
12 L Carrot Lemongrass Soup
12 L Ymir Coconut Curry aka “everything but the kitchen sink” curry
8lbs of Asian-style Meatloaf

We got the stovetop and oven going! We got the AC pumping at full blast! Thankfully, my good friend and client, agreed to be my sous chef and dishwasher because I felt like I was working in sloooooooow motion. Thank you for the cute photo of us!

This week’s haul will feed five hungry adults. Everybody gets to take home 3L soup, 3L curry, over 1kg of meatloaf, condiments, and garnishes.

Would you be interested in organizing a MegaCook for you and your chosen family? It’s a win-win for everyone involved - everyone chips in a bit of $ and gets a week’s worth of meals. Vancouver friends, I’ll be back on the mainland in mid-August and there’s room in the calendar. Please email me at [email protected] for inquiries.

Meanwhile, I’ll be right here sippin’ on a chilled bowl of carrot lemongrass soup 🥕

Grilled Pork Loin with Raspberry Maple Compote served over Herbed Farro & Kale Pilaf.

Ah yes, I love a budget meal challenge, aka “What’s in my fridge?”. Summer is definitely here ☀️ and our raspberry canes keep on giving 🩷 I wanted to figure out what I could do with an excess of raspberries aside from eating them with my oatmeal or freezing them (believe me, we’ve been doing plenty of both!)

A while back, a friend gave me an unopened bottle of Raspberry and White Balsamic Vinegar Dressing. It’s been in my pantry for months and I was waiting for the right moment to use it. I normally NEVER buy commercially made salad dressings… because 😑 why would I? I figured that this would make an excellent marinade for this package of pre-sliced pork loin (end-cuts btw) that cost less than $10. Pork loin is super lean meat, making it easy to overcook and dry out, so I really wanted to infuse flavor and fat into the pork before it hit the grill.

Once the grill started, I stewed the rest of the marinade along with a generous bowl of fresh raspberries, thyme and lavender from the garden, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, a splash of red wine vinegar, and some salt-n-pepa.

I love farro, and I love kale even more, so it made sense to make a quick and easy pilaf. Add some more fresh herbs and sliced green onions (still waiting for the onions in our garden to be ready) and voilà! Dinner is served.

What are some of your favorite Summertime go-to meals? Let me know in the comments.

Hey friends, I’m coming to Seattle in two weeks! Do you need help with your weekly meal-prepping? Do you know someone who could use a little help feeding their family? Allow me to help you to eat better and enjoy more of your time☀️

Accepting bookings for July 17-22. No DM’s please.
Email: [email protected]
Text: 206-709-4401

Fill your Fridge, Fill your Freezer: Budget-friendly ideas to stretch your meals.

This week’s haul will feed 3 adults for about 3 days, probably more after they add a pot of rice and salad. Beef Coconut Curry is a fan favorite because it’s a delicious way to highlight a budget-friendly cut of meat PLUS it’s super easy to stretch one batch. You can add more protein or veggies on day 2 or 3, add more coconut milk to temper the heat from the curry, plus you can freeze some of it for later. I particularly don’t mind eating the same menu for days but I totally get that some people just can’t. So eat some of it this week and freeze the rest for later.

From left to right, you’re looking at 4.5L (4.75qt) of Beef Coconut Curry - plus there was more that is not pictured here, a 1kg (2.2lb) package of Japchae noodles, and about 1.8kg (4lbs) of Gochujang Chicken Drumsticks.

How do you like to stretch your meals?

This Week’s Menu: Asian Flavors
First photo, from left to right: Beef Coconut Curry, Japchae Noodles (vegetarian, gluten-free), and Gochujang Glazed Chicken Drumsticks

Note: This entire menu offering would be easy to convert as vegetarian and or gf. For the beef coconut curry, I would leave out the fish sauce, and swap out beef with tofu and/or way more veggies (cauliflower would be an excellent choice); I’d also have to double check the label on my favorite brand of curry paste to make sure it’s vegetarian.

Japchae noodles are already gluten-free as they are made from sweet potato starch! They are also so chewy and fun to eat. The sauce can be made gf by using gf soy or tamari. There is quite a bit of sugar so for some folks I either leave it out or replace it with coconut sugar. Adding any kind of protein like beef, chicken or tofu is easy. This version has neither, just a lot of yummy veggies especially marinaded sh*take mushrooms, which add a lot of umami!

For the Gochujang Chicken Drumsticks, I could replace the chicken with tofu. Not all gochujang is gluten-free, in fact, it’s usually made with wheat starch (and corn syrup). I always scour the labels to find the brands using only rice.