It all began in 2009. I couldn't sleep because I had this idea that was growing. Have you ever had an idea that kept spinning into a bigger one? Well that's what happened — idea mitosis. I didn't hold back. I actually got out of bed and created a Keynote presentation to outline my idea.

The last time I blogged, I was living in San Francisco dealing with a destroyed kitchen. Fast-forward to today, and my family has moved south to Sunnyvale to be closer to my husband's work, but we're settling in quite comfortably in the much-dreaded suburbs. But no worries, it's still the bay area and there are plenty of fun things for families to do in the South Bay! I'm even enjoying being a two-car family, which is necessary for suburb life. While cruising around in my mama-ride, I've been exploring and running into Indian markets, Japanese markets, Chinese markets, larger-than-usual Whole Food markets, and farmers' markets. Living in San Francisco is a food paradise, but there was so much inner-city traffic and parking was always a fierce competition. Now it's easy wide-street! Okay, not really, but it is nice having a little more room and easier access to a greater variety of food sources. We are feeling grateful.

After settling in a bit and feeling the fog of baby brain finally dissipate, I've been trying something that really helps save time -- and money — when it comes to feeding the family. I've been meal planning. The first two weeks I created a Google Spreadsheet and fumbled with the cells between my iPhone and laptop, but then I found something so much easier that I haven't yet stopped this money-and-time saving practice. AnyList is a mobile app that allows users to create reminder lists and share them so that two people can use the same list (like a grocery list) and update in realtime. My husband and I have tried other apps, but this one is superior. As if I didn't like this app enough, AnyList is also the best way to meal plan. I can create recipes or import recipes from online then simply add them to my meal plan. I can add the ingredients to my grocery list straight from the recipe. I'm kind of a geek when it comes to using new technology to live life more conveniently. I keep trying new apps, but this one is hands-down, one of my favorite and most useful apps. As a mom and home chef, I'm in love with this app! Can you tell?

​Check out my little step-by-step process below for how I added Food52's Quinoa and Kale Crustless Quiche recipe to my AnyList. Later I cooked a version of the recipe for my own family. Of course I snapped it and shared it on Facebook. Here's my version of the recipe I promised my friends: Kale and Quinoa Crustless Quiche

After a couple of years settling back home in San Francisco, I've come back to what I love most—sharing stories and easy homestyle recipes. I'm a mom now! That means I am in short supply of time. But I love cooking for my family and recounting stories from when I met families in China and learned their favorite family recipes. I collected over 400 recipes since 2009. The best part about these recipes is that they were taught to me by other families without a lot of time and with a lot of mouths to feed. 

After meeting many families around the world, it's become clear to me—especially now that I'm a mom—that cooking quick and easy recipes to eat together with the family at the dinner table is a universal joy. If we are fortunate to have the time and resources to cook for our families and eat together, we are blessed.

Please enjoy these easy homestyle recipes I've learned from other families in China and other parts of the world. We have more in common with each other than we realize: we all love sharing good food with our families.