4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup coarsely grated peeled fresh gingerroot 2 tablespoons water 2 cups half-and-half 1 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup crystallized ginger* *available at some supermarkets and specialty foods shops.
In a large bowl lightly whisk yolks. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook sugar, fresh gingerroot, and water over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Add hot half-and-half mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let boil.)
Pour custard through a sieve into cleaned bowl and stir in cream and vanilla. Cool custard. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.
Finely chop crystallized ginger. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker, adding crystallized ginger three fourths of way through freezing process. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. Ice cream may be made 1 week ahead.
 |
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Ginger Ice Cream
The month of July has flown by. There were so many 90-plus degree days that it was difficult to enjoy the outdoors. During one of those many hot days, I made ginger ice cream, using this recipe from the November 1998 issue of Epicurious Magazine.
The ice cream was delicious. It was a little spicy for our littlest guy, but our oldest daughter loved it. Boy, I will miss having her around when she goes off to college in less than three weeks.
Friday, June 08, 2012
The amazingly versatile tofu noodles
A couple of days ago, I had lunch with a colleague at Lao Beijing in Chicago's Chinatown. In case you are not aware, celebrity chef Tony Hu owns a bunch of restaurants and they are also quite good. Lao Beijing has some terrific vegetarian choices that we sampled that day.
We ordered the vegetarian buns as soon as we sat down, because those take 25 minutes to steam. Then we ordered sauteed Chinese squash (絲瓜) and tofu noodles sauteed with vegetables. Unfortunately they did not have Chinese squash and we switched to deep fried eggplant instead. The eggplant turned out to be surprisingly good, crunchy and flavorful thanks to a spicy chili sauce. I had never had tofu noodles before and came away amazed by this versatile food item.
Tofu noodles is, obviously, made from tofu, and is therefore low carb. It is a little chewier than the rice noodle, and tastes light like a rice noodle. Being a tofu product, it picks up the flavors from the sauce or soup it is cooked in. Our tofu noodle dish was lightly flavored and full of fresh vegetables.
I looked up the product afterwards and found that it comes in all kinds of shapes, and while low carb and low calorie, has a nice 10% calcium content. I love expanding my repertoire of food all the time, and am glad to have found this little treasure.
We ordered the vegetarian buns as soon as we sat down, because those take 25 minutes to steam. Then we ordered sauteed Chinese squash (絲瓜) and tofu noodles sauteed with vegetables. Unfortunately they did not have Chinese squash and we switched to deep fried eggplant instead. The eggplant turned out to be surprisingly good, crunchy and flavorful thanks to a spicy chili sauce. I had never had tofu noodles before and came away amazed by this versatile food item.
Tofu noodles is, obviously, made from tofu, and is therefore low carb. It is a little chewier than the rice noodle, and tastes light like a rice noodle. Being a tofu product, it picks up the flavors from the sauce or soup it is cooked in. Our tofu noodle dish was lightly flavored and full of fresh vegetables.
I looked up the product afterwards and found that it comes in all kinds of shapes, and while low carb and low calorie, has a nice 10% calcium content. I love expanding my repertoire of food all the time, and am glad to have found this little treasure.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Every day cod and green beans
In Chinese cooking, we refer to homemade meals as "simple every day meals" (家常便飯). At my house, our every day dishes (家常菜) consists mostly of stir fry dishes. Thanks to our trusted Zojirushi rice cooker, I usually put the rice on timer, and then make the stir fry as soon as I get home. Sometimes to save time, I would chop the vegetables and slice the meat in the morning. And occasionally when I am very short on time or if I am out for the evening for work or community events, I would make the stir fry ahead of time and have one of the children re-heat the food at dinner time. My youngest child is my usual side-kick for re-heating these days.
In addition to a rice cooker with timer, my other organizational aid is simply a list on the fridge which has the menu for the week all planned out (based on whatever groceries I bought on sale from Peapod that week). Here is a picture of this week's menu. Note that on Sunday I hadn't thought through to Saturday yet. :)
And a closer look:
These days I have a non-vegetarian and a vegetarian choice for each day because my oldest child is completely vegetarian and I am semi-vegetarian.
So yesterday was one of these "every day meal days", which was great, because Monday's roast pork turned out to be a bigger production that a week day meal should be. (More about that on another post.) Here is the recipe, quick and simple. Make sure there is plenty of hot white rice to go with it. Jasmine rice from Thailand works best.
Every Day Cod and Green Beans
1 pound cod fillets, cut into bit sized pieces, about 1 inch by 0.5 inch each
1 pound green beans, trim the top and bottom of each stalk and cut into pieces 1.5-2 inches long
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 tablespoon cold water
Put cut green beans in a skillet. Cover with cold water. Then cover the skillet and heat the water to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or under the green beans are just tender. Do not overcook. Drain the green beans in a colander and set aside.
Heat up the oil and quickly stir fry the chopped garlic until just brown. Add the cod fillets, stir fry until the cod just turns from translucent to opaque (again try not to overcook.) In the mean time, make the gravy by mixing the soy sauce, sugar, starch, and cold water. It should be just a very light brown roux.*
Add the green beans to the cooked cod. Add the roux and mix together quickly. The sauce should just thicken a little with the heat to a glistening golden color.
Plate and enjoy with the cooked rice.
*This light brown sauce, my friends, is the essence of Cantonese cooking. Play around with the proportions until you find a mix that suits your taste. After almost 35 years of making this roux (獻汁)，I go by look and smell, so the proportions listed above are approximate.
In addition to a rice cooker with timer, my other organizational aid is simply a list on the fridge which has the menu for the week all planned out (based on whatever groceries I bought on sale from Peapod that week). Here is a picture of this week's menu. Note that on Sunday I hadn't thought through to Saturday yet. :)
And a closer look:
These days I have a non-vegetarian and a vegetarian choice for each day because my oldest child is completely vegetarian and I am semi-vegetarian.
So yesterday was one of these "every day meal days", which was great, because Monday's roast pork turned out to be a bigger production that a week day meal should be. (More about that on another post.) Here is the recipe, quick and simple. Make sure there is plenty of hot white rice to go with it. Jasmine rice from Thailand works best.
Every Day Cod and Green Beans
1 pound cod fillets, cut into bit sized pieces, about 1 inch by 0.5 inch each
1 pound green beans, trim the top and bottom of each stalk and cut into pieces 1.5-2 inches long
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 tablespoon cold water
Put cut green beans in a skillet. Cover with cold water. Then cover the skillet and heat the water to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or under the green beans are just tender. Do not overcook. Drain the green beans in a colander and set aside.
Heat up the oil and quickly stir fry the chopped garlic until just brown. Add the cod fillets, stir fry until the cod just turns from translucent to opaque (again try not to overcook.) In the mean time, make the gravy by mixing the soy sauce, sugar, starch, and cold water. It should be just a very light brown roux.*
Add the green beans to the cooked cod. Add the roux and mix together quickly. The sauce should just thicken a little with the heat to a glistening golden color.
Plate and enjoy with the cooked rice.
*This light brown sauce, my friends, is the essence of Cantonese cooking. Play around with the proportions until you find a mix that suits your taste. After almost 35 years of making this roux (獻汁)，I go by look and smell, so the proportions listed above are approximate.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Red kidney bean curry
My oldest daughter is a vegetarian and very health-conscious. She's one of these folks who diligently reads ingredient labels and avoid all bad stuff such as high fructose corn syrup. That's great for a college-bound kid, except that she doesn't cook.
So I am always trying to come up with new ideas for vegetarian meals so that she doesn't eat yogurt or bread with cheese all the time. This morning I made a red kidney bean curry, inspired by last Sunday's church dinner, at which my wonderful friend Jill made chicken curry, yellow dal, and brown basmati rice for 125 people. Rajma is a north Indian comfort food. I tried to replicate the traditional taste using what I had on hand. Alas I did not have fresh ginger and had to use ground ginger, but it still came out pretty well. Here is the recipe:
Red Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma)
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or chopped fresh ginger, about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-15.5 oz can of red kidney beans (light or dark)
1-6 oz can of tomato paste
2 cups water
Using a medium-sized saucepan, saute the chopped onion and garlic (and fresh ginger if using fresh ginger) in the olive oil. Add ground spices, then the canned beans, then the tomato paste and water. Bring to a boil and turn to low heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Watch the heat because the bottom of the pan would burn with the tomato paste if the liquid is allow to burn up too quickly.
So I am always trying to come up with new ideas for vegetarian meals so that she doesn't eat yogurt or bread with cheese all the time. This morning I made a red kidney bean curry, inspired by last Sunday's church dinner, at which my wonderful friend Jill made chicken curry, yellow dal, and brown basmati rice for 125 people. Rajma is a north Indian comfort food. I tried to replicate the traditional taste using what I had on hand. Alas I did not have fresh ginger and had to use ground ginger, but it still came out pretty well. Here is the recipe:
Red Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma)
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or chopped fresh ginger, about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-15.5 oz can of red kidney beans (light or dark)
1-6 oz can of tomato paste
2 cups water
Using a medium-sized saucepan, saute the chopped onion and garlic (and fresh ginger if using fresh ginger) in the olive oil. Add ground spices, then the canned beans, then the tomato paste and water. Bring to a boil and turn to low heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Watch the heat because the bottom of the pan would burn with the tomato paste if the liquid is allow to burn up too quickly.
Monday, June 04, 2012
Sour dough bread
So I am restart this blog and my other blog too Grace Notes in Chicago and am trying to post daily as much as I can.
Here is an easy sour dough bread recipe from King Arthur Floor, as a kick-start to this blog. Thanks to my friend Theresa, I have been the proud owner of a sour dough starter for a few months and have been diligently feeding and maintaining the starter, as well as enjoying the taste of fresh baked sour dough bread every couple of weeks. This is an easy recipe because it "cheats" by using yeast, which yields a softer dough and a quicker rise. Enjoy!
You can view the recipe from King Arthur's site, or read on:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 5 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Directions:
| 1) Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough. |
| 2) Allow the dough to rise, in a covered bowl, until it's doubled in size, about 90 minutes. |
| 3) Gently divide the dough in half; it'll deflate somewhat. |
| 4) Gently shape the dough into two oval loaves; or, for longer loaves, two 10" to 11" logs. Place the loaves on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F. |
| 5) Spray the loaves with lukewarm water. |
| 6) Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in each; a serrated bread knife, wielded firmly, works well here. |
| 7) Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool on a rack. |
Sunday, February 06, 2011
A tale of two red beans
Today is Super Bowl Sunday and one of the traditions is to have chili on Super Bowl Sunday. Because our oldest child is mostly a vegetarian, I decided to make both beef chili and vegetarian chili. The beef chili was a traditional Chili Con Carne. About 24 years ago I won the chili contest at our neighborhood grocery store using the following, and every time I make chili I vary ever so slightly from it. The secret ingredient is definitely the teaspoon of cinnamon:
Chili Con Carne
1 pound lean ground beef
2 15-oz cans red kidney beans
1 medium onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
2 teapoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce or cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste (I usually don't need this)
Using a little cooking oil or olive oil, saute ground beef, onion, and garlic until cooked. Add kidney beans and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chili powder, cinnamon, and hot sauce or cayenne pepper. Simmer for another 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Add salt and pepper if needed.
Top with parmesan cheese, shredded cheddar, and/or sour cream if desired.
The vegetarian version substitutes the ground beef with mushrooms, green peppers, and diced tomatoes. This time I used sliced white button mushrooms and canned diced tomatoes.
The other red bean dish I made today was a traditional Cantonese red bean dessert soup. A friend who recently spent several months working in Beijing was over for dinner this past week. He mentioned that every morning, he buys red bean porridge from a street vendor for breakfast. That inspired me to make the red bean dessert soup. I didn't have lotus seeds but had dried orange peel. Here's the recipe. It was an interesting harmony and an interesting contrast to have a Chinese dessert made with small red beans and a Tex-Mex American dessert made with the largest of the red beans on the same day.
Here is the red bean soup recipe:
Red Bean Dessert Soup
1 cup small red beans (Azuki beans), soaked overnight and then drained
1/4 cup lotus seeds (optional)
1 dried orange or tangerine peel (optional)
6 cups water
6 tablespoons brown sugar
Boil the water. Add the red beans, lotus seeds, and orange peel. Bring to a boil again and simmer for 1.5 hours. Add brown sugar (may need more or less brown sugar depending on how much water has boiled off.) The beans should be very tender and the consistency of the soup should be thick.
Chili Con Carne
1 pound lean ground beef
2 15-oz cans red kidney beans
1 medium onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
2 teapoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce or cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste (I usually don't need this)
Using a little cooking oil or olive oil, saute ground beef, onion, and garlic until cooked. Add kidney beans and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chili powder, cinnamon, and hot sauce or cayenne pepper. Simmer for another 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Add salt and pepper if needed.
Top with parmesan cheese, shredded cheddar, and/or sour cream if desired.
The vegetarian version substitutes the ground beef with mushrooms, green peppers, and diced tomatoes. This time I used sliced white button mushrooms and canned diced tomatoes.
The other red bean dish I made today was a traditional Cantonese red bean dessert soup. A friend who recently spent several months working in Beijing was over for dinner this past week. He mentioned that every morning, he buys red bean porridge from a street vendor for breakfast. That inspired me to make the red bean dessert soup. I didn't have lotus seeds but had dried orange peel. Here's the recipe. It was an interesting harmony and an interesting contrast to have a Chinese dessert made with small red beans and a Tex-Mex American dessert made with the largest of the red beans on the same day.
Here is the red bean soup recipe:
Red Bean Dessert Soup
1 cup small red beans (Azuki beans), soaked overnight and then drained
1/4 cup lotus seeds (optional)
1 dried orange or tangerine peel (optional)
6 cups water
6 tablespoons brown sugar
Boil the water. Add the red beans, lotus seeds, and orange peel. Bring to a boil again and simmer for 1.5 hours. Add brown sugar (may need more or less brown sugar depending on how much water has boiled off.) The beans should be very tender and the consistency of the soup should be thick.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
VV Birthday Weekend--Dim Sum, Pizza, Cupcakes, Pancakes, and Chinese Bakery
Our third child turned twelve over the past weekend. For this momentous occasion, we had a grand weekend planned. VV's a precocious child who did most of the planning, including deciding on who to invite, choosing which goodie bag items and which pinata to order from Birthday Express, and deciding on a schedule for the sleepover party. I only supplemented with the before-party and after-party entertainment. So here is rundown of how everything went.
Early in January, VV picked out a SpongeBob pinata, a Mario Kart goodie box, and the items to go in the goodie box from the Birthday Express catalog, www.birthdayexpress.com. She also decided on which four girls from her class to invite. That small number means that everyone can stay in her room, or spill over to her younger brother's room (which is connected to hers.) She also decided on the pick up and drop off times (drop off early evening Saturday and pick up before noon Sunday.) I sent out Evites to the moms and also ordered the Birthday Express items.
On Friday, the day before the party, VV emailed me her proposed detail schedule for the party and also a list of additional supplies for the cupcake decoration. Here's the schedule:
5 pm Drop off
5-6 pm Rock band game
6 pm Ice-skating (there's a rink nearby with $6 skate rentals)
7 pm Pizza and cupcake decorations
Sunday morning
8 am Pinata
9 am Breakfast at a local pancake house
10 am Birthday cake (from a Chinatown bakery)
11 am Pick up
We stuck pretty close to this ambitious schedule schedule. On Saturday morning I took VV to dim sum in Chinatown and then picked up the cake, which I ordered the day before. Our children like cakes from Chinese bakeries because they use whipped cream rather than icing to frost the cake, use canned or fresh fruit for toppings and fillings, and the cake itself is a lot less sweet than American bakery cakes. After picking up the cake, we went to Target to get the ingredients and supplies for making the cupcakes and decorating them, as well as snacks and drinks for use during the sleepover, and ingredients for making the pizza dinner (Boboli crust, pizza sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, and pineapple for the exotic taste of our oldest daughter.)
In the afternoon, before the guests arrived, VV and I baked 25 vanilla and 25 chocolate cupcakes. Then everything went according to plan. Guests arrived and played a video game (Rock Band) for a while and then we went ice-skating. Most of the girls were not very experienced with skating but they had fun anyway. There was a little scare with a college student falling on the ice because of a seizure. Fortunately the ambulance came quickly. Hopefully he will recover quickly.
After we came home, we made three pizzas-- two with pepperoni and cheese, and the last one with pineapple tidbits on one half and black olives and mushrooms on the other half for the few non-pepperoni eaters. Then after pizza, we decorated cupcakes according to instructions on Pup Cakes from Hello, Cupcake (http://www.amazon.com/Hello-Cupcake-Irresistibly-Playful-Creations/dp/0618829253).
Of course even though the official bedtime was announced at around 9:30 pm, the girls stayed up giggling and talking in their rooms for hours. At 8:00 am, I carefully duck-taped the SpongBob pinata to the side of the stairs with the help of our youngest child. Then the girls had fun tugging at the pinata strings (it's a pull string pinata), and even more fun gathering the candy that came pouring down.
The pancake restaurant close to our house is popular on the weekends, and we were lucky to have gotten there right around 9 am. Shortly after our party of 8 were seated, the line begins to form. We enjoyed our breakfasts and were reasonably stuffed when we got home. So imagine my surprise that after about an hour of playing on the Kinnect, the girls were ready for the birthday cake! I guess it's great when you have the metabolism of a preteen instead of the metabolism of a 40-something.
So we did it! Everything on VV's proposed schedule were accomplished by the time the parents came to pick the girls up between 11 and 11:30 am. Then we had our own after-party, just the four children and me, at the local bowling place. There is a Cantonese saying my dad is fond of, which translates into "even using up all the sauce on the rice", or roughly "down to the last drop". And that seems to sum up the weekend exactly.
Early in January, VV picked out a SpongeBob pinata, a Mario Kart goodie box, and the items to go in the goodie box from the Birthday Express catalog, www.birthdayexpress.com. She also decided on which four girls from her class to invite. That small number means that everyone can stay in her room, or spill over to her younger brother's room (which is connected to hers.) She also decided on the pick up and drop off times (drop off early evening Saturday and pick up before noon Sunday.) I sent out Evites to the moms and also ordered the Birthday Express items.
On Friday, the day before the party, VV emailed me her proposed detail schedule for the party and also a list of additional supplies for the cupcake decoration. Here's the schedule:
5 pm Drop off
5-6 pm Rock band game
6 pm Ice-skating (there's a rink nearby with $6 skate rentals)
7 pm Pizza and cupcake decorations
Sunday morning
8 am Pinata
9 am Breakfast at a local pancake house
10 am Birthday cake (from a Chinatown bakery)
11 am Pick up
We stuck pretty close to this ambitious schedule schedule. On Saturday morning I took VV to dim sum in Chinatown and then picked up the cake, which I ordered the day before. Our children like cakes from Chinese bakeries because they use whipped cream rather than icing to frost the cake, use canned or fresh fruit for toppings and fillings, and the cake itself is a lot less sweet than American bakery cakes. After picking up the cake, we went to Target to get the ingredients and supplies for making the cupcakes and decorating them, as well as snacks and drinks for use during the sleepover, and ingredients for making the pizza dinner (Boboli crust, pizza sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, and pineapple for the exotic taste of our oldest daughter.)
In the afternoon, before the guests arrived, VV and I baked 25 vanilla and 25 chocolate cupcakes. Then everything went according to plan. Guests arrived and played a video game (Rock Band) for a while and then we went ice-skating. Most of the girls were not very experienced with skating but they had fun anyway. There was a little scare with a college student falling on the ice because of a seizure. Fortunately the ambulance came quickly. Hopefully he will recover quickly.
After we came home, we made three pizzas-- two with pepperoni and cheese, and the last one with pineapple tidbits on one half and black olives and mushrooms on the other half for the few non-pepperoni eaters. Then after pizza, we decorated cupcakes according to instructions on Pup Cakes from Hello, Cupcake (http://www.amazon.com/Hello-Cupcake-Irresistibly-Playful-Creations/dp/0618829253).
Of course even though the official bedtime was announced at around 9:30 pm, the girls stayed up giggling and talking in their rooms for hours. At 8:00 am, I carefully duck-taped the SpongBob pinata to the side of the stairs with the help of our youngest child. Then the girls had fun tugging at the pinata strings (it's a pull string pinata), and even more fun gathering the candy that came pouring down.
The pancake restaurant close to our house is popular on the weekends, and we were lucky to have gotten there right around 9 am. Shortly after our party of 8 were seated, the line begins to form. We enjoyed our breakfasts and were reasonably stuffed when we got home. So imagine my surprise that after about an hour of playing on the Kinnect, the girls were ready for the birthday cake! I guess it's great when you have the metabolism of a preteen instead of the metabolism of a 40-something.
So we did it! Everything on VV's proposed schedule were accomplished by the time the parents came to pick the girls up between 11 and 11:30 am. Then we had our own after-party, just the four children and me, at the local bowling place. There is a Cantonese saying my dad is fond of, which translates into "even using up all the sauce on the rice", or roughly "down to the last drop". And that seems to sum up the weekend exactly.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Restaurant Review: Vermillion
Vermillion (10 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-527-4060) is Chef Maneet Chauhan's restaurant. The Chicago restaurant is the flagship; there is another Vermillion in Manhattan, NYC, NY. Chef Chauhan competed in the Next Iron Chef Season 3 and lost in the middle of the season. With the many accolades both the Manhattan and Chicago restaurants have received and Chef Chuhan's Iron Chef fame, accented by the bright red background of the restaurant's website, I was expecting to be bowled over by its vivaciousness.
We made an early evening reservation and arrived to find a quiet restaurant (probably because it was early in the evening). Everthing was impeccably decorated, but quiet and subdued, quite different from what I had imagined. The website boasts of a bold red antique bar that dominates the lounge but I hardly noticed the bar coming in. The rest of the restaurant was as advertised, airy with translucent silver and raw silk drapes. Rather than bold and vivacious, the atmosphere is actually calm and soft atmosphere with light touches of rich accent.
The menu was on the small side, about 12 appetizer items, a separate 10-course degustation menu, about 4 or 5 Latin-Indian fusion courses, 3 "Heat" items (traditional Indian), and another 4 or 5 "Truckstop" items (again traditionally Indian, but more casual fare). My husband picked the Tandoori Skirt Steak and I picked the Shrimp Paella, which actually comes with both shrimp and mussels. Exquisitely plated, the portions were smaller than expected. Neither entree, however, managed to bowl us over. The skirt steak comes with a delightful little jicama citrus salad and a mint-cucumber dressing, which were the highlights. The two fried plantain chips were nice touches as well. The steak itself was unremarkably seasoned, neither Latin-tasting, nor Indian-tasting, and frankly didn't seem to have much salt or spice at all. The paella, though attractive in presentatio,n was strangely imbalanced in taste. The Indian rice poha was attractively yellowed by Turmeric, and nicely moistened by the pearl onions cooked with the rice. But the ancho tequilla marinade did not work for me at all. The ancho chiles were overpowering in heat, and then a strange sour taste that I could not quite place followed. It wasn't until I read the menu again that I discovered that the rice was marinated in ancho tequillia, and it dawned on me that the sour taste was lime from the tequilla!
The highlight of the evening was dessert. We chose to share the three-piece immoderation plate, which came with a nice smooth mango cardamon flan interestingly flavored with pink peppercorn accompanied by an exquisite coconut foam. Here the Indian flavor of cardamon worked very nicely with the Latin flavor of coconut and of course mango is a key ingredient in both cuisines. The middle of the plate was a rice dark chocolate molten cake, with an orange-blueberry sorbet lightly flavored by masala and chili. Another surprisingly nice combination. The chili highlighted rather than overpowered the rich but bittersweet taste, yielding a sophisticatedly textured dessert. Having two nice desserts under our belts (literally), we were surprised to find the third dessert to be even more excellent. The warm plantain cake was very nicely flavored with anise, moalsses, brown sugar, and turmeric. And what we thought was a pudding was actually banana ice cream and traditional Indian shirkhand (strained yogurt). All these different warm flavors were nicely balanced, yielding a warm and comfortable taste but very complex at the same time.
Overall, I rate the restaurant good but not excellent. The atmosphere was calm and sophisticated. The dinner dishes did not win us over, but maybe we'll try some other dishes another time. The desserts, though, were success stories of Latin-Indian fusion, blending rarely seen spices and ingredients in the most harmonious ways.
Beyond the food, as I was reviewing the restaurant's website, I discovered the underlying story of a remarkable woman entrepreneur. Owner Rohini Dey is a PhD economist, who has worked at both the World Bank and McKinsey, and is young and beautiful as well. Read her profile at Financial Times:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/75ff3456-6ce0-11de-af56-00144feabdc0.htmlGourmet#axzz1Bs5vHuSe
With such a talented and driver leader at the helm, I would watch for more success stories from Vermillion in the future.
We made an early evening reservation and arrived to find a quiet restaurant (probably because it was early in the evening). Everthing was impeccably decorated, but quiet and subdued, quite different from what I had imagined. The website boasts of a bold red antique bar that dominates the lounge but I hardly noticed the bar coming in. The rest of the restaurant was as advertised, airy with translucent silver and raw silk drapes. Rather than bold and vivacious, the atmosphere is actually calm and soft atmosphere with light touches of rich accent.
The menu was on the small side, about 12 appetizer items, a separate 10-course degustation menu, about 4 or 5 Latin-Indian fusion courses, 3 "Heat" items (traditional Indian), and another 4 or 5 "Truckstop" items (again traditionally Indian, but more casual fare). My husband picked the Tandoori Skirt Steak and I picked the Shrimp Paella, which actually comes with both shrimp and mussels. Exquisitely plated, the portions were smaller than expected. Neither entree, however, managed to bowl us over. The skirt steak comes with a delightful little jicama citrus salad and a mint-cucumber dressing, which were the highlights. The two fried plantain chips were nice touches as well. The steak itself was unremarkably seasoned, neither Latin-tasting, nor Indian-tasting, and frankly didn't seem to have much salt or spice at all. The paella, though attractive in presentatio,n was strangely imbalanced in taste. The Indian rice poha was attractively yellowed by Turmeric, and nicely moistened by the pearl onions cooked with the rice. But the ancho tequilla marinade did not work for me at all. The ancho chiles were overpowering in heat, and then a strange sour taste that I could not quite place followed. It wasn't until I read the menu again that I discovered that the rice was marinated in ancho tequillia, and it dawned on me that the sour taste was lime from the tequilla!
The highlight of the evening was dessert. We chose to share the three-piece immoderation plate, which came with a nice smooth mango cardamon flan interestingly flavored with pink peppercorn accompanied by an exquisite coconut foam. Here the Indian flavor of cardamon worked very nicely with the Latin flavor of coconut and of course mango is a key ingredient in both cuisines. The middle of the plate was a rice dark chocolate molten cake, with an orange-blueberry sorbet lightly flavored by masala and chili. Another surprisingly nice combination. The chili highlighted rather than overpowered the rich but bittersweet taste, yielding a sophisticatedly textured dessert. Having two nice desserts under our belts (literally), we were surprised to find the third dessert to be even more excellent. The warm plantain cake was very nicely flavored with anise, moalsses, brown sugar, and turmeric. And what we thought was a pudding was actually banana ice cream and traditional Indian shirkhand (strained yogurt). All these different warm flavors were nicely balanced, yielding a warm and comfortable taste but very complex at the same time.
Overall, I rate the restaurant good but not excellent. The atmosphere was calm and sophisticated. The dinner dishes did not win us over, but maybe we'll try some other dishes another time. The desserts, though, were success stories of Latin-Indian fusion, blending rarely seen spices and ingredients in the most harmonious ways.
Beyond the food, as I was reviewing the restaurant's website, I discovered the underlying story of a remarkable woman entrepreneur. Owner Rohini Dey is a PhD economist, who has worked at both the World Bank and McKinsey, and is young and beautiful as well. Read her profile at Financial Times:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/75ff3456-6ce0-11de-af56-00144feabdc0.htmlGourmet#axzz1Bs5vHuSe
With such a talented and driver leader at the helm, I would watch for more success stories from Vermillion in the future.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Cooking for a crowd
When Tom and I were resident heads almost 20 years ago, we used to cook for large groups all the time. The University of Chicago organizes residential units into "houses". Smaller buildings are sometimes just one house, but larger building were divided into houses that run from 30 to a little over 100 students each, with most houses running around 60 students. These days houses are larger, average about 80-100 students. Each house has a single resident head or a resident head couple, and at least one RA (formally titled Assistant Resident Head, rather than Resident Assistant). We had 60 students in our house, so cooking for 30-60 students was a regular occurrence.
Since we moved out of the dorms in the late 90's, we haven't hosted many large parties at home. There were some church dinners, but then the church we attended at the time was smaller, so church dinners were only 30 people occasions, at the most. The church we are attending now has at least 150 people attending its Sunday worship service. Last month, after one such Sunday, I had the job of providing the "family dinner".
I took a Mostaccioli Casserole recipe from Cooks.com and multiplied everything by 6. So here's how I made enough baked mostaccoli to feed 100 people. I asked the congregation to bring the sides (those with last names A-L bring a salad or vegetable side dish, and those with last names M-Z bring a bread or dessert). I also made one special mostaccioli with mushrooms instead of sausage; one with sausage and no cheese; and one with mushrooms as well as no cheese.
Baked Mostaccioli for 100
modified from Cooks.com
15 lbs. Italian sausage
60 cups of Spaghetti sauce (a 24 oz bottle of Spaghetti sauce is about 2.5 cups)
7.5 cups water
7.5 cups of Parmesan cheese
15 lb Mozarella cheese
15 lb Mostaccioli (or any small dry pasta like penne, rotini, etc)
This works best if you cook about 3 lbs of pasta at a time in a stock pot. While the pasta is cooking, cut up the Italian sausage and brown in a very large pan. Put cooked sausage, the spaghetti sauce and the water in a big pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce.
The assembly is fun, very similar to assembling lasagnas. In a 13" by 9" foil pan layer one cup sauce, then one layer of pasta, then two cups of sauce, and two cups of mozarella on top of the sauce. Repeat with a layer of pasta, a layer of sauce, and a layer of mozarella. Bake each pan for 30-40 minutes until heated through and enjoy.
Since we moved out of the dorms in the late 90's, we haven't hosted many large parties at home. There were some church dinners, but then the church we attended at the time was smaller, so church dinners were only 30 people occasions, at the most. The church we are attending now has at least 150 people attending its Sunday worship service. Last month, after one such Sunday, I had the job of providing the "family dinner".
I took a Mostaccioli Casserole recipe from Cooks.com and multiplied everything by 6. So here's how I made enough baked mostaccoli to feed 100 people. I asked the congregation to bring the sides (those with last names A-L bring a salad or vegetable side dish, and those with last names M-Z bring a bread or dessert). I also made one special mostaccioli with mushrooms instead of sausage; one with sausage and no cheese; and one with mushrooms as well as no cheese.
Baked Mostaccioli for 100
modified from Cooks.com
15 lbs. Italian sausage
60 cups of Spaghetti sauce (a 24 oz bottle of Spaghetti sauce is about 2.5 cups)
7.5 cups water
7.5 cups of Parmesan cheese
15 lb Mozarella cheese
15 lb Mostaccioli (or any small dry pasta like penne, rotini, etc)
This works best if you cook about 3 lbs of pasta at a time in a stock pot. While the pasta is cooking, cut up the Italian sausage and brown in a very large pan. Put cooked sausage, the spaghetti sauce and the water in a big pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce.
The assembly is fun, very similar to assembling lasagnas. In a 13" by 9" foil pan layer one cup sauce, then one layer of pasta, then two cups of sauce, and two cups of mozarella on top of the sauce. Repeat with a layer of pasta, a layer of sauce, and a layer of mozarella. Bake each pan for 30-40 minutes until heated through and enjoy.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
New Year Pork Roast
Yesterday was a quiet a home New Year's day with white chili at home because New Year's Eve was a big food fest at a friend's home, with wonderful Argentinian food. Today we had friends over after church so we can have a proper New Year's Day celebration (albeit one day late). In order to speed up the cooking, I started the rice and beans in the Chinese rice cooker with chicken broth and also put the pork roast in the slow cooker with just a little water and a little soy sauce. We left home for about 1.5 hours for church and then I rubbed the pork with the spice mixture and put some of the liquid from the crockpot in the roast pan and finished the pork by roasting in the oven for another hour. In the mean time, I finished the Hopping John and quickly sauteed the broccoli and wild mushrooms. Here are the recipes:
Pork Roast
1st step in crockpot:
3.5 lb pork loin roast
2 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 cup water
Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of a 6 qt crockpot (I used an oval-shaped crockpot so I didn't have to cut the roast). Carefully place pork roast inside the crockpot. Spoon soy sauce over the roast, trying to cover as evenly as possible. Turn crockpot on high.
2nd step in oven (after 1.5 hours in crockpot):
1 teaspoon each dried thyme, rosemary, basil, coriander, fennel
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
Put partially cooked pork roast in roast pan . Mix dried herbs and pepper. Use a food processor if desired for a smoother consistency. Rub herb mixture onto pork roast. Mix olive oil and soy sauce. Pour over the pork roast. Add as much of the liquid from the crock post to cover the bottom of the roast pan as possible. Roast in 375 degree oven for about an hour (until center temperature registers 155 degrees).
Hopping John
1st step in rice cooker:
3 cups long grain rice
1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas
2 chicken bullion cubes
6 cups water
Put all the ingredients in rice cooker and cook according to instructions. Rice will be pretty sticky. Can reduce amount of water for a grainier, less sticky consistency.
2nd step on stove top:
3 cups chopped celery
1 small onion
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Cooked rice and beans mixture from step 1
Heat oil in 4 quart saucepan or dutch oven. Saute celery and onion until soft. Add cooked rice and bean mixture. Stir to mix well.
Broccoli and wild mushrooms
2 broccoli crowns, cut in stir-fry size pieces
8 oz. mixed wild mushrooms
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Put water in frying pan. Cook broccoli in the water. Cover frying pan and cook broccoli until soft. Remove lid. Add mushrooms. Cook until everything is tender. Season with the soy sauce.
Pork Roast
1st step in crockpot:
3.5 lb pork loin roast
2 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 cup water
Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of a 6 qt crockpot (I used an oval-shaped crockpot so I didn't have to cut the roast). Carefully place pork roast inside the crockpot. Spoon soy sauce over the roast, trying to cover as evenly as possible. Turn crockpot on high.
2nd step in oven (after 1.5 hours in crockpot):
1 teaspoon each dried thyme, rosemary, basil, coriander, fennel
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
Put partially cooked pork roast in roast pan . Mix dried herbs and pepper. Use a food processor if desired for a smoother consistency. Rub herb mixture onto pork roast. Mix olive oil and soy sauce. Pour over the pork roast. Add as much of the liquid from the crock post to cover the bottom of the roast pan as possible. Roast in 375 degree oven for about an hour (until center temperature registers 155 degrees).
Hopping John
1st step in rice cooker:
3 cups long grain rice
1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas
2 chicken bullion cubes
6 cups water
Put all the ingredients in rice cooker and cook according to instructions. Rice will be pretty sticky. Can reduce amount of water for a grainier, less sticky consistency.
2nd step on stove top:
3 cups chopped celery
1 small onion
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Cooked rice and beans mixture from step 1
Heat oil in 4 quart saucepan or dutch oven. Saute celery and onion until soft. Add cooked rice and bean mixture. Stir to mix well.
Broccoli and wild mushrooms
2 broccoli crowns, cut in stir-fry size pieces
8 oz. mixed wild mushrooms
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Put water in frying pan. Cook broccoli in the water. Cover frying pan and cook broccoli until soft. Remove lid. Add mushrooms. Cook until everything is tender. Season with the soy sauce.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Shut down, level up, restart!
It's another new year, full of resolutions, hopes, and dreams. I decided to dust off this old blog, dormant since early 2007, and restart with a fresh new look.
This blog will mostly be devoted to food and cooking, and restaurant reviews as well. And there will be a separate blog for my other interests.
Here is a recipe I just shared on Facebook for white chili. Basically any white bean can be used with this chili. Using canned beans and ground meat saves time, but shredded or chopped turkey and chicken would work too. For a spicier version, consider adding green chiles or more cayenne pepper.
Easy White Chili
1 medium onions chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey (can also use ground chicken or turkey and chicken chopped into small pieces)
2 cans (15 oz each) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (can also use white navy beans or other white beans)
2 cups chicken broth or turkey broth
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
cayenne pepper, to taste
sour cream and/or shredded Monterey Jack cheese to thicken
chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
In a medium saucepan, saute onion and turkey until turkey is cooked. Add beans and broth, bring to boil. Add cumin, oregano, rosemary, pepper, lower heat and let simmer for at least 20 minutes or until flavors are well blended. Add sour cream and/or Monterey Jack cheese to thicken chili a little (I only had mozzarella at home and used that instead). If desired, add more shredded cheese on top and chopped parsley to garnish. Serve warm with tortillas or bread.
This blog will mostly be devoted to food and cooking, and restaurant reviews as well. And there will be a separate blog for my other interests.
Here is a recipe I just shared on Facebook for white chili. Basically any white bean can be used with this chili. Using canned beans and ground meat saves time, but shredded or chopped turkey and chicken would work too. For a spicier version, consider adding green chiles or more cayenne pepper.
Easy White Chili
1 medium onions chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey (can also use ground chicken or turkey and chicken chopped into small pieces)
2 cans (15 oz each) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (can also use white navy beans or other white beans)
2 cups chicken broth or turkey broth
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
cayenne pepper, to taste
sour cream and/or shredded Monterey Jack cheese to thicken
chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
In a medium saucepan, saute onion and turkey until turkey is cooked. Add beans and broth, bring to boil. Add cumin, oregano, rosemary, pepper, lower heat and let simmer for at least 20 minutes or until flavors are well blended. Add sour cream and/or Monterey Jack cheese to thicken chili a little (I only had mozzarella at home and used that instead). If desired, add more shredded cheese on top and chopped parsley to garnish. Serve warm with tortillas or bread.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Celebrate success
I heard some good news on Friday. So I decided to have a celebration dinner last night. It was a scrumptious meal:
Spiced Squash Soup
Lettuce Salad
Crab Cakes
Broiled Salmon with a medley of green, red, and orange peppers
Mint Chocolate Ice Cream (no I didn't make this myself, but Edy's is pretty good)
It's fun to marry the hearty fall flavor of squash soup with seafood. I was originally going to bake pork chop but I think I ended up with a better combination. Here's the recipe for the crab cakes, real simple, but yummy:
24 oz crab meat
2 tb mayonnaise
1/2 tsp each cayenne and salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
2/3 cups breadcrumbs
Mix crab meat, mayonnaise, cayenne, and salt. Add onions. Mix until well blended. Add the 2 eggs and breadcrumbs until the mixture just binds. Form into patties 1.5 inches in diameter. Don't handle too much or mixture will become too dry and tough. Heat skillet over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil until just sizzling. Fry until golden brown on one side. Turn and fry until the other side is golden brown too.
Bon appetit!
Spiced Squash Soup
Lettuce Salad
Crab Cakes
Broiled Salmon with a medley of green, red, and orange peppers
Mint Chocolate Ice Cream (no I didn't make this myself, but Edy's is pretty good)
It's fun to marry the hearty fall flavor of squash soup with seafood. I was originally going to bake pork chop but I think I ended up with a better combination. Here's the recipe for the crab cakes, real simple, but yummy:
24 oz crab meat
2 tb mayonnaise
1/2 tsp each cayenne and salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
2/3 cups breadcrumbs
Mix crab meat, mayonnaise, cayenne, and salt. Add onions. Mix until well blended. Add the 2 eggs and breadcrumbs until the mixture just binds. Form into patties 1.5 inches in diameter. Don't handle too much or mixture will become too dry and tough. Heat skillet over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil until just sizzling. Fry until golden brown on one side. Turn and fry until the other side is golden brown too.
Bon appetit!
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Simple Fall Salad
My out-of-blog life has been kind of chaotic for the past two months, but here I am again.
Today I created a nice salad for lunch. We needed a quick and nutritious meal between eye appointments and fabric shopping. So I cut up some roast turkey breast to make a salad. Thinking that a turkey and lettuce salad seems bland, I added raisins for a nice punch of flavor. But the contrast of taste between turkey and raisin seems a little sharp, so as a binder of the two flavors, I added some cubes of fresh pear. No salad dressing needed. The salad is fine eaten by itself. Here is the recipe:
3 cups of lettuce leaves ( I used a combination of red and green leaf)
about 0.5 lb turkey, cubed( I used a roast turkey breast)
2 small pears, cubed
half a cup raisins
That's it!
Today I created a nice salad for lunch. We needed a quick and nutritious meal between eye appointments and fabric shopping. So I cut up some roast turkey breast to make a salad. Thinking that a turkey and lettuce salad seems bland, I added raisins for a nice punch of flavor. But the contrast of taste between turkey and raisin seems a little sharp, so as a binder of the two flavors, I added some cubes of fresh pear. No salad dressing needed. The salad is fine eaten by itself. Here is the recipe:
3 cups of lettuce leaves ( I used a combination of red and green leaf)
about 0.5 lb turkey, cubed( I used a roast turkey breast)
2 small pears, cubed
half a cup raisins
That's it!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Recipes from the heart
This weekend some of my husband's relatives are in town for a family reuion. Although we had decided not to join the reunion activities, we did have a chance to get together with a handful of relatives yesterday afternoon. One of the many topics we covered was food. It was delightful hearing this group of older African American women recount memorable dishes by their mothers and aunts.
There was the story of how one woman who grew up in a rural Missippi town was happy that her older sister who had moved to town to work had come back one weekend. Their father had just bought some beef stew meat. The older sister woke up early in the morning and cooked the stew down, really down low, getting the meat all tender and flavorful. It was so good that the other sister still remembers the dish and the love the sister poured out on it more than six decades later.
There was another story about how one woman can bake anything. Moist cakes, crisp biscuits, and ooh she would make biscuits and then use the biscuits to make pie crust for the yummiest peach pie. Sounds great, especially if the peaches were picked from the backyard too.
The lady who hosted this gathering was of course herself a good cook. Even though she had just "gotten something together quickly", the food she served at this gathering was again honest down home cooking with no cheating--baked sausage, jerk chicken, creamed corn, spaghetti salad with tomatoes and imitation crab meat. And she served her famous pound cake for dessert--buttery, moist, sweet but balanced with a slight lemon flavor. A little piece hits just the right spot after dinner.
It gets me to thinking that these Black grandmother on my husband's side of the family are cut from the same piece of silk as the Chinese grandmothers on my side of the family. OK neither of my grandmothers were good cooks because of their particular circumstances. But my great-grandmother was a passionate cook just like these other ladies we talked about yesterday. She made the dessert soups ever--red bean soup, sweet potato soup, etc. She made them whenever she felt like it, whenever I felt bad, and just because.
After hearing about all these recipes that warms the stomach as well as the heart, I decided to make some county food myself. No, not African American county food the ladies were dwelling on yesterday, although I make some finger licking corn bread myself too. But I thought about the movie The Road Home (2001, starring Zhang Ziyi) in which the young girl kept making Green Onion Pancake to send to the school, hoping to get the young teacher's attention. In the end, it did, and they were married for many, many years, running the little village school together.
So I made Green Onion Pancakes (it's actually not a pancake but a savory flatbread). Here's the very simple recipe:
2 cups flour
1 tsp sale
1 cup water
Mix together to form smooth dough. Knead on floured surface for a few minutes. Divide into 12 balls. Flatten each ball into a thin circle using a rolling pin. Heat over oil in skillet for 3-5 minutes each side. Serve warm. Goes very well with soy milk.
Feels good to close the loop on yesterday's conversation with a good country biscuit from my own tradition.
There was the story of how one woman who grew up in a rural Missippi town was happy that her older sister who had moved to town to work had come back one weekend. Their father had just bought some beef stew meat. The older sister woke up early in the morning and cooked the stew down, really down low, getting the meat all tender and flavorful. It was so good that the other sister still remembers the dish and the love the sister poured out on it more than six decades later.
There was another story about how one woman can bake anything. Moist cakes, crisp biscuits, and ooh she would make biscuits and then use the biscuits to make pie crust for the yummiest peach pie. Sounds great, especially if the peaches were picked from the backyard too.
The lady who hosted this gathering was of course herself a good cook. Even though she had just "gotten something together quickly", the food she served at this gathering was again honest down home cooking with no cheating--baked sausage, jerk chicken, creamed corn, spaghetti salad with tomatoes and imitation crab meat. And she served her famous pound cake for dessert--buttery, moist, sweet but balanced with a slight lemon flavor. A little piece hits just the right spot after dinner.
It gets me to thinking that these Black grandmother on my husband's side of the family are cut from the same piece of silk as the Chinese grandmothers on my side of the family. OK neither of my grandmothers were good cooks because of their particular circumstances. But my great-grandmother was a passionate cook just like these other ladies we talked about yesterday. She made the dessert soups ever--red bean soup, sweet potato soup, etc. She made them whenever she felt like it, whenever I felt bad, and just because.
After hearing about all these recipes that warms the stomach as well as the heart, I decided to make some county food myself. No, not African American county food the ladies were dwelling on yesterday, although I make some finger licking corn bread myself too. But I thought about the movie The Road Home (2001, starring Zhang Ziyi) in which the young girl kept making Green Onion Pancake to send to the school, hoping to get the young teacher's attention. In the end, it did, and they were married for many, many years, running the little village school together.
So I made Green Onion Pancakes (it's actually not a pancake but a savory flatbread). Here's the very simple recipe:
2 cups flour
1 tsp sale
1 cup water
Mix together to form smooth dough. Knead on floured surface for a few minutes. Divide into 12 balls. Flatten each ball into a thin circle using a rolling pin. Heat over oil in skillet for 3-5 minutes each side. Serve warm. Goes very well with soy milk.
Feels good to close the loop on yesterday's conversation with a good country biscuit from my own tradition.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Back to food, and more
Back to food, one of my favorite topics.
Yesterday I made pasta with bay scallops (the tiny kind, 60-80 count), brocolli, and a yummy pesto I made on Sunday with parsley and basil. I like making pesto with a 50-50 mix of parsley and basil because the parsley stays green with refrigeration whereas the basil turns black after a while. It doesn't affect the taste, just the asethetics, but I must remember to balance all three senses--color, fragrance, and taste--in my cooking so as not to offend my Chinese ancestors. Anyway, the pesto was great with the pasta. I still have a jar enough for at least 2 more similar sized meals, or maybe one good dinner with friends. Guess I should pull up that address list on my Yahoo mail before the summer is over.
Tonight's dinner was broiled chicken breast with a balsamic glaze. OK, I confess, the glaze was from a bottle, and a free sample from Peapod no less, but it was good stuff. Talking about friends, the last time I used it was almost a whole year ago when an old friend visited from LA with her fiance. She's a teacher and he's an artist. We had great fun and got several very creative original prints a few months later as thank you gifts.
After dinner, I played the piano for a while. Yes, after one's filled with good food, one needs food for the soul as well. I picked up this volume of 68 piano classics from Borders the other day for under $8. It contains a wide range of pieces from Bach to Shostakovitch. But unlike the other 3 or 4 compilations I own, I haven't played at least half of these songs before. It promises to be a fun summer of piano adventures.
Here's what I played tonight: Beethoven's Ecossaises (sounds vaguely Asian, very delightful tune); Beethoven's Minuet in G (heard this before, didn't know it was Beethoven); the intro and Var. 1 of Beethoven's Six Variations from the opera La Molinara (never played this before, will try the other variations later in the week); Brahms' Hungarian Dance (a bit heavy fingered, hey I was sight-reading after all); Chopin's Prelude Op. 28. No. 7 (a short three liner); Caesar Franck's The Doll's Complaint (or Le Plaintes d'une Poupee); and finally Mendelssohn's Venetian Boat Song Op. 19. No. 6 (which I practiced for months years and years ago for music festival competition). It felt good to pour my feelings on the keyboard for a while at the end of a work day.
Yesterday I made pasta with bay scallops (the tiny kind, 60-80 count), brocolli, and a yummy pesto I made on Sunday with parsley and basil. I like making pesto with a 50-50 mix of parsley and basil because the parsley stays green with refrigeration whereas the basil turns black after a while. It doesn't affect the taste, just the asethetics, but I must remember to balance all three senses--color, fragrance, and taste--in my cooking so as not to offend my Chinese ancestors. Anyway, the pesto was great with the pasta. I still have a jar enough for at least 2 more similar sized meals, or maybe one good dinner with friends. Guess I should pull up that address list on my Yahoo mail before the summer is over.
Tonight's dinner was broiled chicken breast with a balsamic glaze. OK, I confess, the glaze was from a bottle, and a free sample from Peapod no less, but it was good stuff. Talking about friends, the last time I used it was almost a whole year ago when an old friend visited from LA with her fiance. She's a teacher and he's an artist. We had great fun and got several very creative original prints a few months later as thank you gifts.
After dinner, I played the piano for a while. Yes, after one's filled with good food, one needs food for the soul as well. I picked up this volume of 68 piano classics from Borders the other day for under $8. It contains a wide range of pieces from Bach to Shostakovitch. But unlike the other 3 or 4 compilations I own, I haven't played at least half of these songs before. It promises to be a fun summer of piano adventures.
Here's what I played tonight: Beethoven's Ecossaises (sounds vaguely Asian, very delightful tune); Beethoven's Minuet in G (heard this before, didn't know it was Beethoven); the intro and Var. 1 of Beethoven's Six Variations from the opera La Molinara (never played this before, will try the other variations later in the week); Brahms' Hungarian Dance (a bit heavy fingered, hey I was sight-reading after all); Chopin's Prelude Op. 28. No. 7 (a short three liner); Caesar Franck's The Doll's Complaint (or Le Plaintes d'une Poupee); and finally Mendelssohn's Venetian Boat Song Op. 19. No. 6 (which I practiced for months years and years ago for music festival competition). It felt good to pour my feelings on the keyboard for a while at the end of a work day.
Language Research
I'm participating in a language research project by U Penn, http://mixer.ldc.upen.edu. Basically folks are recruited to call into the line and have a 10 minute conversation with another caller in theri native language. Usually you just dial in and see who is around who may speak your language. If not, you continue the conversation in English. Earlier today (I know it's past midnight, but I haven't gone to bed for the night yet...) I talked to two different Cantonese-speaking women. Very fun. And of course I fell asleep with the full intention of dialing back in at 9 pm EST for another round of conversations. The purpose of the research is to gather a large speech corpora recorded over the phone to help telephone sound technology deliver high quality speech sounds for a large number of languages. Hey only an ex-linguist would understand the significance. My conversation partners this afternoon were totally in the dark with respect to why anyone would want to record Cantonese phone conversation.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
A new look and feel
I decided to retitle this blog to "Not By Bread Alone". This is a reference to Matthew 4:4, where Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God". I thought, how appropriate to frame my interests in exactly these two categories--food and words. Food of course refers not only to food that we eat, but also food for thought (i.e. ideas, learning) and food for the soul (i.e. music, art, etc). And word of course is expression of thought (again not just in written and oral expression, but also as expressed in culture, in emotions, and in spirituality.) In other words, food can also sometimes be word and vice versa.
But now onto some real words about some real food...
Here's the list of entrees I made last week: Broiled Salmon with Lemon and Soy; Lemon-Oregano Chicken (a fantastic organic chicken from Peapod, with fresh lemon and fresh oregano from my Angelic Organics boxes); Beef Stir-Fry with Broccoli and Cauliflower (the garlic tops from my Angelic Organics box give a mild and fresh garlic flavor) ; and Portabello and Tomato Pasta (at which my husband gently suggested, "This would taste good with Italian sausage in it") Humph, carnivores!
Unfortunately because I had to work late on Friday, hubby ordered Edwardo's. Good hearty all-meat pizza for the rest of the family and a wimpy chicken caesar salad for mommy. Saturday again was another order out day, because I came home after a long day of shopping with my oldest daughter. Knowing that I wanted more flavor for dinner, I ordered from Noodles, etc (www. noodlesetc.com), a very cute, woman-owned Pan-Asian noodle shop in the neighborhood. I think everyone else enjoyed their selections, but I especially enjoyed the Pancit, a nice mild blend of flavors very reminiscent of the luscious terrain of the Phillipines.
After having to taste other people's cooking two nights in a row, tonight I made a pork tenderloin with Charlie Trotter's Thai BBQ sauce. The guy may be a primadona, but he sure makes good food. The pork was accompanied by roasted yellow squash, very tender and yummy. I also roasted some beets too, but haven't yet figured out what to do with the roast beets. They'll probably make an appearance in a salad within the next couple of days. Right now, bread is being baked in the bread maker for the kids to make sandwiches to take to day camp tomorrow. Hey my mother never did this for me. :)
That's enough talk about food (even bread). Tomorrow I shall turn to other kinds of things that feed my soul.
But now onto some real words about some real food...
Here's the list of entrees I made last week: Broiled Salmon with Lemon and Soy; Lemon-Oregano Chicken (a fantastic organic chicken from Peapod, with fresh lemon and fresh oregano from my Angelic Organics boxes); Beef Stir-Fry with Broccoli and Cauliflower (the garlic tops from my Angelic Organics box give a mild and fresh garlic flavor) ; and Portabello and Tomato Pasta (at which my husband gently suggested, "This would taste good with Italian sausage in it") Humph, carnivores!
Unfortunately because I had to work late on Friday, hubby ordered Edwardo's. Good hearty all-meat pizza for the rest of the family and a wimpy chicken caesar salad for mommy. Saturday again was another order out day, because I came home after a long day of shopping with my oldest daughter. Knowing that I wanted more flavor for dinner, I ordered from Noodles, etc (www. noodlesetc.com), a very cute, woman-owned Pan-Asian noodle shop in the neighborhood. I think everyone else enjoyed their selections, but I especially enjoyed the Pancit, a nice mild blend of flavors very reminiscent of the luscious terrain of the Phillipines.
After having to taste other people's cooking two nights in a row, tonight I made a pork tenderloin with Charlie Trotter's Thai BBQ sauce. The guy may be a primadona, but he sure makes good food. The pork was accompanied by roasted yellow squash, very tender and yummy. I also roasted some beets too, but haven't yet figured out what to do with the roast beets. They'll probably make an appearance in a salad within the next couple of days. Right now, bread is being baked in the bread maker for the kids to make sandwiches to take to day camp tomorrow. Hey my mother never did this for me. :)
That's enough talk about food (even bread). Tomorrow I shall turn to other kinds of things that feed my soul.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Creative outlets
Catching up on my daily blog here with a little pre-dawn action. My current job (or role as they call it in my company) has proven to be rather restrictive in terms of scope, influence, and creativity. So to balance the style I'm boxed in for about 10 hours each day, I've been trying to feed the creative side of me with music making and food making. Soon I should get into some craft projects and perhaps learn a new language. The possibilities are endless when you're interested in so many things.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Passion for good taste
Among my many passions is the desire to create good food. I naturally like Asian or Asian inspired tastes, but sometimes also like good old American, but always with a bit of a twist. For Memorial Day, I wanted to create a Surf and Turf meal, but with a bit of an Asian and Middle Eastern mixed in for a modern American taste. Here are my recipes for Broiled Steak and Fish and Tomato Chickpea Salad. If you work quickly, the salad can easily be completed while the steak and fish are under the broiler. Enjoy!
Memorial Day Surf and Turf
2 10 oz NY Strip Steak
4 TB olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 TB soy sauce
Memorial Day Surf and Turf
2 10 oz NY Strip Steak
4 TB olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 TB soy sauce
2 8 oz. Mahi Mahi filets
4 TB olive oil
2 TB lemon juice
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 TB soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Brush each steak with 1 TB olive oil, then put ¼ tsp each salt and pepper on steak. Spread with brush or back of spoon to evenly coat. Then repeat seasoning in the same proportions on the other side. Place steaks on broiler pan.
Brush each filet with 1 TB olive oil followed by ½ TB lemon juice, then put ¼ tsp pepper on each filet, again be sure to coat evenly. Again repeat on the other side. Place filets on the same broiler pan with the steaks. Be sure to set the filets with skin side up.
Tomato Chickpea Salad
1 15-oz can of chickpeas
1 small onion, chopped
2 green scallions, chopped
3 plum tomatoes , cut in large pieces
1 teaspoon cumin
3 TB balsamic vinegar
Put the cumin and chickpeas in saucepan. Simmer in just enough water to cover the chickpeas for approximately 3 minutes. Take out the chickpeas, draining the water and set aside. Cook chopped onion and scallions in 2 tsp oil for 30-45 seconds until just tender. Take out and add to chickpeas in bowl. Cool completely (I put the bowl in the fridge at this point while I cut the tomatoes up). When cool (about 3-5 minutes in fridge), toss tomato pieces, chickpeas, onions, and scallions in 3 TB balsamic vinegar and serve.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
I have a dream
My youngest child learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr at school this week. In his words, "The teachers asked me if I knew about him and I said no, so they read a book, and then everyone had to talk about it." The teacher then posted what the children said on the bulletin board entitled "I have a dream" and my son's entry was "that the black ones and the white ones can drink water together." Very nicely accomplished for a 4-year-old.
Then I asked him if he is a white person or a black person, to which he answered, "I have a white shirt so I'm a white person; and Daddy has a black shirt on so he's a black person." It's refreshing to know that 4-year-olds don't distinguish between people based on skin color yet. :)
Then I asked him if he is a white person or a black person, to which he answered, "I have a white shirt so I'm a white person; and Daddy has a black shirt on so he's a black person." It's refreshing to know that 4-year-olds don't distinguish between people based on skin color yet. :)
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