Perusing Princeton / Cafe Vienna

Linzer torte and iced green tea, with a view of the sunny street

It's been a year since the Tall Man and I moved to Princeton, so it's about time I reviewed one of my go-to places in town: Cafe Vienna. I seek it out when I want a quality hot drink and a sunny space to work. They also have brunch on the weekends and breakfast throughout the week, so it's destination for many types of bites.

This is the kind of place that brings a bit of austere European charm and calm to a town satiated with tourists and "too quaint"-ness. It's on a less busy stretch of Nassau Street, between the main downtown and Hoagie Haven. The cafe has a variety of seating inside and out (high tops, regular tables, and an outdoor patio space), with a large glass front that lets in plenty of natural lighting.

Creative Good / Stuffed toys of favorite foods to help rural India, Part 2

via Happy Bellies

Happy Bellies is a Kickstarter project bringing fuzzy version of favorite Indian foods into our arms, while delivering life-saving technologies to rural India.

Here's Part II of my conversation with Diana, one of the creative minds behind the initiative. We get candid about Happy Bellies and get a 'lil bit more personal.

If you missed it, check out Part I here.

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Stop 3

We meandered over to Chinatown, since Diana was craving some quality Chinese food. We were pretty stuffed by that time, but couldn’t resist sitting down at Dim Sum Garden (1020 Race St.) ordering xiao long bao and sheng jian bao (steamed and pan-fried Shanghainese dumplings, respectively).

Me: What was your first exposure to Indian food? Or India?

Diana: I don’t remember … Indian food wasn’t something that my family ate regularly. My first actual exposure to the food was probably when I first studied abroad during college. That’s when I understood that there were different types of Indian foods, not just naan and chicken tikka masala. Every region has its own specialty. In South India where I was, they had the masala dosa, the idlis, the vadas, the filtered coffee -- all these very, very special things.

We then started talking about food poisoning, different regional foods, then diverged on a tangent to the documentary “Searching for General Tso.” Discussing the film lead us to comparisons between Indian and Chinese food and…

Happy Bellies, Chinese style?

If you were to make Happy Bellies out of Chinese food, what would you make?

That’s hard! You need to help me with that. Chinese food, like a distinct kind of shape… Like a char siu bao. People have already seen those on keychains, right. You can do it out of dimsum: har gaw, siu mai, char siu bao, chicken feet…

[I laugh] I don’t know about chicken feet. 

I guess you could make it out of dim sum, but it would be hard to make it out of a stir-fry. I don’t know how you’d make a Happy Belly stir-fry.

Unless you had a mini wok with smiling vegetables in it or something.

Haha yeah … Maybe a fortune cookie?

It’s true that some of it’s been done. For instance, I’ve seen dumpling keychains.

I have too. And I mean, they’re really cute and of course [East] Asians would do it first. They like everything cute. I don’t think Indians care about it as much.

You be the judge: Cute or no? via Happy Bellies

What is considered cute in India?

That’s a good question. I don’t think they have a good sense of that. Or, usually what many people think is cute, I think is tacky. Our soft toy manufacturer thought that nobody would buy our stuff. Hopefully that’s not the case, but we’ll see.

Why did he think that?
Because he thought, why would people buy food? He eats this stuff everyday. And so he said, You need to make it cuter, with big eyes and big features. You could just do that more. And we said no, this is how we wanted to do it. We thought this [way] was cute on a more subtle side.

Ooh yeah, ok. Design in India. Everything’s super flashy and colorful, patterned and not just nice Indian patterns like pretty paisleys and whatnot, but like bling in your face: too much color, too much sparkle. Being subtle is not really a thing.

So if the samosa were covered in sequins, maybe it would appeal more?

Appeal more to the mass Indian market? I don’t think that’s quite the audience.

Then who is the audience?

Maybe non-Indians who like Indian food and appreciate it. Indians abroad who miss this stuff and think it’s funny? People who have been to India and have eaten the foods and are like, that was awesome.

What is the aim besides raising money for Essmart?

Sharing our love for Indian food! And it’s also funny. [The characters] do come with educational cards but honestly, you’re not going to buy something you haven’t already experienced yourself. If you’ve never eaten an idli, you probably don’t want an idli because you would think, “That’s weird. I’ve never heard of it.”

I’m actually curious to eat one! And I’ve never tried an idli.

Really?

Yeah! Now I look at the toys and wonder what an idli tastes like.

I should get you an idli. We should go back to that chutney place [we passed earlier] and get one.

[We laugh.]

But yeah, there could be potential in Indian restaurants. The big chains might want to buy some and sell them as souvenirs. We could see them in the tourist market in India. But I’m not quite sure who the customer might be.

I guess that’s what Kickstarter is. An experiment. Have you ever done one?

Never done one before. We’ve done an Indiegogo [campaign], but Kickstarter is, like, you need to hit a goal in order to actually get all the money and be funded. So, it’s interesting because now we’re trying really hard to push.

So how have you been getting the word out?

Fortunately, we have a network. One of the girls who is on the team – Avantika, the Stanford product designer -- has West Coast networks, which is great. Jackie and I have East Coast networks. But, we want to go viral and we’re not quite sure how to get to that. Also, we’re not sure if it’s a product that can go viral so, who knows! 

So we’ve been tweeting, Facebook-ing, Instagram-ing, blogging, food touring, and going to Indian restaurants and food trucks to put up posters and talk to owners and have them promote our stuff as well. And then, I’ve been emailing a lot of food blogs, start-up blogs, and I even started looking at Asian American blogs because I’m Asian American.

Maybe you could find one of those YouTube stars. [See Part I for vague reference.]

[Gasp] Do you know any Indian American YouTube stars?

No, I know very few YouTube stars, if any at all. But that could be interesting.

Stop 4 

A craving for something refreshingly sweet to offset the savory spurred us to search for bubble tea. As we perched in the open storefront window of Tea Do (132 N. 10 St.), I asked a few final questions – really, the last ones this time.

Thanks, Josh!

So tell me more about learning to cook Indian food, after 3 years* of living there.

Right! I only have recipes because I don’t know how else to do it. I have Indian friends who put spices together and do something with it, but for me … I have no idea what turmeric by itself tastes like or what coriander powder by itself tastes like or what a garam masala is. How do you adjust the spices and in what proportions and how much do you put and how powerful is a teaspoon of all of these things? I just don’t know. So far, I’ve been following recipes and measuring out spices.

Where have you mostly been getting your recipes from?

There’s a cookbook that Hannah, my husband Josh’s sister, bought for him -- and I just took it. He wasn’t going to use it anyways. It’s very UK based.

The other cookbook I brought back from the US was pretty appropriate for the cooking implements that I have in India. Like, I bought a mixie recently. A mixie is like a grinder or a blender. It has different attachments that do different things, and every household has one. So, I have one now!

I do a lot of curries in general because I like curries. Chicken curries, usually.

You’re being saucy.

I like being saucy. I like sauces. I like rice. I still haven’t made a chapatti on my own yet, though. I’ve made chapattis at other people’s houses. They are little circle bread things made out of wheat flour, basically flour and water. You roll them out and put them on the [flat pan].

It sounds like lots of fun.

Yeah. You have to understand … Like as I was saying before, I didn’t grow up with Indian food. So I don’t know what flavor I’m actually aiming at, and I don’t know how to adjust the flavors, either. The dish I end up with isn’t authentic since I change parts of the recipes to make them better for my taste. Fortunately Josh, who is Indian, is not “pure.” He doesn’t really care as long as he can eat it. So I make my own type of food.

Tell me a little more about the spice box.

Oh, my spice box! I bought it at Metro, which is like the Costco of India. It’s like a Tupperware container but made of stainless steel, and inside there are seven bowls for spices and a little spoon. So far I put in turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala … I think I put in some fennel seeds. And cinnamon!

What I didn’t realize about spice boxes is the ease of cross contamination of my spices. I was telling you this earlier, but I make French toast pretty often and one day, I tried to use the cinnamon from my spice box. It ended up tasting like turmeric and other spices, like a masala French toast. French toast masala.

But that could be tasty!

Yeah… but not when you’re expecting something else. [laugh] So I realized if I wanted pure spice, I would have to take them directly from the packages they come in.

So, my spices! It’s really fun. And I think in Indian food you just mix spices anyways, so they only give you one spoon for everything.

Maybe it’s all about the mixing.

Yeah it’s all about the mix. The masala mix.

Is that what masala means?

Spices. Usually a mix of spices.

Interesting. So a tikka masala is…?

What’s tikka? I dunno. That’s evidently a British dish.

That’s what I’ve heard, too.

But it’s in India now. [in a singsong voice] Chicken tikka masala! Also in Minions.

Minions?

They say “tikka masala.”

///

* Note: Diana has actually been living in India for precisely 39 months.

To learn more or simply get your dose of cuteness and humor, head to the Happy Bellies Kickstarter page or their website.

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“Creative Good” is a new series on creative ways to bring good to communities around the world. I love hearing about new initiatives, so if you have suggestions for a company, project, or person (or something else!) to profile, get in touch!

Creative Good / Stuffed toys of favorite foods to help rural India, Part I

Imagine your favorite Indian restaurant: the spices in the air, the richness of curry, the crunch of samosas, the buttery-ness of fresh naan – all ending in a cozy food coma.

Ever wish you could extend that delicious comfort? Well, you can: in the form of cute and cuddly stuffed toys called Happy Bellies.

courtesy of Happy Bellies

Happy Bellies is a staff-picked Kickstarter project launched by three food lovers living in Bangalore – Diana, Jackie, and Avantika – who want you to be able to hug your favorite Indian foods, no matter where you live. The proceeds will go towards bringing life-changing technologies to villages in India, through Diana and Jackie’s non-profit Essmart Global.

** The campaign ends on November 3rd, so don’t wait to check it out! **

Diana is a close friend of mine from grad school and happened to be in Philly earlier this month. While we embarked on our own mini food crawl through Center City, we chatted about Happy Bellies, the different characters and crews, product design, and Diana’s efforts to learn Indian cookery – with plenty of tangents in between.

This is Part I of our meanderings, with Part II to follow.

///

Stop 1

We started at Metropolitan Bakery (262 S. 19th St.), a Philly mainstay. I wanted to try the millet muffin, which I had heard about on the podcast the Local Mouthful. While our conversation there wasn’t really quote-worthy for this post, we did have some laughs about AirBnB’s Obama O’s, YouTube stars, and savvy swag by presidential candidates.

Stop 2

Fried chicken and donuts? Yes please! The conversation got back on track at the Center City location of Federal Donuts (1632 Sansom St.), over za’atar-spiced fried chicken accompanied by a particularly delicious honey donut.

Me: How did you come up with the idea for Happy Bellies?

Diana: Actually, nobody on the team did. Esther, my college roommate, had come to India to visit me last year in August. We did this crazy all India tour, and we were eating a lot of food. I think we were in Shimla in north India, but were eating a south Indian food, idlis. She’s very visual -- and is also Asian and in architecture – so Esther was like, “Oh these look like little pillows! So cute!” And then, “What if we made them into little pillows?” That was the question.

What are idlis?

They are made out of fermented lentil and rice. So they’re like steamed rice cakes in a way, but a little sour. Idlis are a very popular south Indian breakfast food. But they’re kind of tasteless until they take on the flavor of the sauces. It kind of relates to the character ‘Lil Idlis. We made them little children because they have no taste of their own. They’re very impressionable.

So then how did you go from, “Maybe we should make them into pillows?” to starting an Essmart spinoff -- for lack of a better word?

I don’t think we took it seriously until June of this year. We were in a fundraising mode, trying to be creative and seeing if we can supplement our operations with something completely different. I don’t know if there’s quite a market for it, but it’s fun and ridiculous – kind of like us.

Where did the name Happy Bellies come from?

I think we ripped it off of somebody.

[We laugh]

There’s this bakery near our office that’s called Happy Belly Bakes. It’s one of my favorite bakeries because they have amazing cupcakes, my favorite being the banana walnut cupcake.

There’s also a thing called “Delhi belly,”when you go to India and you eat the food and get diarrhea. It’s really bad. So, we’re still dealing with Indian foods but we are in contrast to Delhi belly. We are Happy Bellies! Yay!

So how did you pick out which foods to highlight and make into characters?

We chose the foods mostly based on their shape – and, I guess, how well known they are. I mean, personally my favorite food is not on the list. It would be a chicken kotu parotta.

What is that?

A parotta is south Indian, sometimes called a Kerala parotta. It’s a flatbread that’s layered and really rich. Like a flat croissant. I don't know how to explain it… It’s awesome. It’s like really oily, full of ghee and made up of a lot of layers.

And what do you eat that with?

Usually it comes with some kind of korma, like a veggie curry. But the way I eat it is kothu parotta. “Kothu” means “cut.” So, on a flat area, [chefs] take this stainless steel cup and they go boomboom-boomboom-boomboom-boomboom-boom and they chop up the parotta. Then they mix in egg and chicken and masala spices and cilantro. It’s so good. The first time I ate it, it reminded me of [Chinese] chow fun.

Ooh, interesting!

I was like, “Oh my gosh!” And the best one I’ve ever had was in Polachi, Tamil-Nadu, down south close to the Kerala border. The parottas are crispier there. It’s ridiculous. So good. But … chopped up dough and chicken don’t make a good stuffed animal.

It doesn’t look like anything.

Likewise, you can’t do a gravy, like a butter chicken or --

Or a tandoori chicken.

Yeah, that doesn’t look like a good stuffed toy.

[We both laugh.]

via Happy Bellies Kickstarter

But what do look good are south Indian breakfast foods, which is a cuisine all in itself so you need to honor it. [Our characters] are the trinity, the triumvirate of the south Indian breakfast foods. Like the masala dosa, which is similar to an idli but the batter isn’t as fermented. It’s like a crepe with potatoes inside. We named it Dozing Dosa because it makes you really sleepy after you eat it.

I like that name.

Yes, it’s very cute. And then we have idli because it’s also classic, and they’re really cute.

Then vada. They’re kind of like savory donuts. We made them Auntie and Uncle Vada because vada are something that oftentimes people make at home and serve around teatime. They could also be a morning thing, but we needed something to represent south Indian hospitality.

Everyone also seems to be an auntie and uncle.

Yup! That’s true. If you don’t know the name of your elder, just call them auntie and uncle and that’s perfectly fine.

So we chose those [three]. For our other crews - our other groups - we had wanted to do, for example, something based on foods in Kerala because they’re really funny-looking. But we decided not to do that because nobody knows what they are outside of India -- like an appam, or an idiyappam. We ended up going with the street foods because they’re a bit more famous.

via Happy Bellies Kickstarter

We had to do a samosa. Even though I don’t really eat that many samosas when I’m in India, everyone knows what a samosa is. So we made it Superstar Samosa for that reason ‘cause it’s so famous. And then jalebi wasn’t on our list initially –

Is that the one that looks like – no offense --

It looks like poop!

I was gonna say worms!

It’s basically deep-fried dough coated in a sugary syrup. Our first iteration of the jalebi was much thinner, much more like jalebi. But we wanted it to be cuddlier, so we asked the manufacturer to stuff it more. Then it started to look like a pile of poop, and now… We’re going to change the dimensions. It needs to be cuddly but can’t look disgusting.

[We both laugh]

Then we chose pani puri, which are little fried crispy balls that are filled with flavored water.

via Happy Bellies

Now, do you have a favorite character?

It’s hard to say. [pause] On the website, I wrote that it was the idli because Avantika already took the dosa. I would get the dosa, though. It’s the cutest and most accurate. The idlis are also very cute, but our first prototypes were closer to life size, which I thought were adorable. But we made them larger so that all together they’re like a cushion. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it.

So when we sent our stuff to the designer, our manufacturer –

What kind of manufacturer are you working with?

He’s a soft toy manufacturer. We just Googled a lot and found a guy in Bangalore who was actually decently responsive.

Are they all handmade?

[The fabric] is cut with machines but the embroidery is hand done.

How are you hoping that the Kickstarter will relate to Essmart, either in the short-term or the long-term?

In the short-term, fundraising. We’re funding it out of Essmart money and we’ll take all the proceeds back to Essmart as a revenue stream. Will it be a long-term thing? I have no idea. If it’s successful and people want to buy them, who knows, maybe we’ll set up another company and sell it. But right now we’re just seeing where the Kickstarter goes, and if there’s interest.

///

Check out Part II for more on Happy Bellies, glitter and sparkles, 

the struggles of cooking Indian food, and more.

To learn more or simply get your dose of cuteness and humor, head to the Happy Bellies Kickstarter page or their website.

///

“Creative Good” is a new series on creative ways to bring good to communities around the world. I love hearing about new initiatives, so if you have suggestions for a company, project, or person (or something else!) to profile, get in touch!

Rounding up with a slice of pi(e)

Apple pie from Petsi Pies, true to the spirit of the day.

For some people, yesterday was simply Saturday, March 14th, the year 2015.

Here at MIT, where mathematical constants play a part in most people's everyday business, it was

Super Pi (π) Day

Day: 3.14.15

Time: 9:26:53

the first day in my generation's lifetime when we would celebrate ten digits of Pi, twice in a single day (if you count AM and PM).

The next one won't be for another 100 years, so I was among the many on campus and in the Boston area who made sure to celebrate well and indulge in pie in all forms -- from traditional fruit-filled pies to custardy cream ones to pizza pies and even shepherd's pie served in the dining hall (arguably not qualified for Pi Day given its non-round shape, but we're not picky around here).

Unexpected London fog

A "London Fog" brightens up a day in Boston

I find God in the unexpected,
those situations that seemed trivial:
a passing comment,
a line from a movie,
an image on a screen.
Serendipity turns spiritual in unguarded moments
because God chooses to speak to me
through the unexpected.

 

_ Kwasi Kena, in The Africana Worship Book, Year C

A friend of mine often reminds me to look for and savor the little joys of life.  Lately, though, I've found this harder to do.

After two weeks of being relatively home-bound due to recent health complications, I've gotten fed up with blobbing on the couch while the world seems to speed on by.  Don't get me wrong -- I do still love my Food Network and podcasts, which have been constant sources of entertainment while I haven't been able to do much else.  But this life standstill has also felt like another endless roundabout in an even longer journey to my goals.

Today, though, I was able to do a bit more than in recent days.  The Tall Man and I took advantage of this crisp autumn day -- a relief from recent rains -- and sojourned across the bridge into Boston.  Our destination was one of my favorite cafes, Pavement Coffeehouse.

Although I was exhausted by the time we got there, the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee cleared some of that brain fog.  I knew I wanted tea -- after all, it was technically tea time -- but instead of my usual herbal option, I took a detour when the barista mentioned a drink called the "London Fog."  It's really just a dressed up Earl Grey tea latte (with milk, vanilla, and perhaps a sweetener), but the name and the add-ins made it the perfect treat to crown this excursion.

I had mine made with soy milk, so some might say this rendition was a cross between a Manchester Fog and Winter Fog (according to this list-happy Wiki).  And the drink actually originated in Vancouver, Canada, despite its British-leaning moniker.  Whatever.  I didn't discover these facts until I returned home.  In the moment, I just savored the sweet smells of vanilla and honey, intermixed with the citrus-y freshness of bergamot.

Deep breath.  Ahh ...  (smile)

It was in that moment that my friend's words came to mind.  This little glimmer -- a London Fog moment right here and now -- was there to put some joy in my heart.  I needed it.  Or I needed to be able to see it.

This honest poem by Kwasi Kena, professor at Wesley Seminary (and jazz pianist!), well captures that delight of small discovery, of finding the divine in the mundane.

Head to the Upper Room to read the full poem, included in one of their daily devotionals.  It's worth it!

Cala-what?

Calaloo-eeeee ! *

The Tall Man and I have been getting a box of produce delivered by Boston Organics for the last few months, in the hopes of boosting our veggie intake without the cost of extra Zipcar trips (thanks to car-less urban living).

So far, it's been great -- not just for convenience, but also for the quirky things that pop up in the box simply because they're in season.  Rutabega?  Kohlrabi?  I recognized them from the Food Network, but finally have the chance to tackle them in my own kitchen.  It's like getting a mystery box with a mix of familiar and unfamiliar edible goodness :)

When we opened last week's box, it was filled with a ... bush.  "What is this?!" the Tall Man asked, brandishing bundles of fronds in both hands, each bigger than his head.  The label said calaloo.  Cala-what?  Just the name made me want to try it out!  But first, I had him pose with one of our green treasures.  (Imagine him holding cheese and crackers, and you'll get it.)

When in doubt about a new ingredient, Google it.  Or look it up in a cookbook for odd vegetables.  We discovered that calaloo is a plant related to amaranth (whose seeds are used a wheat alternative) and is common in Caribbean and West African cooking.  Confusingly enough, it's also the name of a dish that uses this or other similar plants.  And really intriguingly, collard greens is the American adaptation of this African dish.  (This last fact really blew my mind.  ! )

While many traditional dishes feature calaloo sauteed or stewed with scotch bonnet peppers, we decided to cook a less spicy dish and adapted this recipe for calaloo pineapple couscous, making it gluten free with quinoa and more savory with the addition of chicken.  

It was so good that I forgot to take a photo.  And how was the calaloo?  It tastes like a loose cross between spinach and watercress, and it has the same funny mouthfeel as spinach due to the oxalate in its leaves (fun fact provided by the husband chemist).

Neither of us measured while making the dish, so the recipe below is quite rough.  Use your own discretion, and let me know if you try it out.  To make it paleo, just remove the quinoa for an equally tasty soup.

* Thanks to the Tall Man for allowing me to post this photo.

- - -

Chicken calaloo and quinoa stew

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts, cubed
Dash of coriander seeds (or ground coriander if you prefer)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 bunches calaloo (chopped without tough stems)
Water (or chicken broth if you have it)
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed (any color)

1. Heat olive oil in a stock pot on medium heat.  Once hot, saute onions and garlic until translucent (without caramelizing).
2. Add chicken, coriander, and seasoning.  Continue to saute to brown chicken.
3. Add the calaloo, sautéing for two more minutes until wilted.
4. Deglaze with water or chicken broth, adding enough to cover ingredients.
5. Gently stir and simmer on low heat for a couple minutes to cook chicken further.
6. Add quinoa.  Cover with lid and let simmer for about 15 minutes, adding additional water if more liquid is needed.

Special delivery tea

Little delights: an herbal tea sampler in the mailbox from one of my fellow Graduate Resident Tutors (GRTs).  Thanks Jen! 

In the year since (largely) eliminating caffeine from my daily life, South African rooibos has been my herbal tea of choice -- but here's a chance to expand my horizons beyond the typical peppermint, chamomile, and ginger lemon.

Sometimes we just need these little pick-me-ups.

Rainbows on our plates

Rainbow carrots were a mystery basket ingredient in a recent episode of the Food Network's Chopped.  Shortly afterward, on our weekly grocery hunt-down at Whole Foods, we discovered these colorful beauties in the produce section.  How could we resist?  (But true, when peeled they look both more jewel-like and somewhat worm-like.  But their taste was more of the former.)

They went into a delicious beef stew, but next time we might just braise or roast them so that we can appreciate their color longer.

But my current favorite ingredient is quinoa, the wonder seed!

Any recent grocery store discoveries for you?

A pint of summer

Hello August --

Today I discovered this pint of ruby and garnet beauties when I wandered through the Kendall Square Farmer's Market.  The market is held every Thursday during the summer and early fall, but I have just never bothered being in the area around that time -- until today, that is.

The number of vendors here is small, but I was mostly excited to see the two with produce, especially since the Tall Man and I have been thoroughly investigating organic and locally-grown foods in recent months.  (I know this last phrase makes us sound like crunchy yuppies on the organic bandwagon, but I'll explain more about our food exploration later.)

These strawberries came from Lanni Orchards up in Lunenberg, MA and had the shiniest skin I've seen on berries.  And when briefly checking their website, I discovered they have strawberry picking.  Might have to make a trip out there before the month end!

Oh and yes, hello again to this sorely neglected blog and anyone who happens to still read it.  I'm hoping to be slightly more regular now, but no promises yet.  This is, at least, a start, and you might also see some design changes here and there as I make updates.  If you have suggestions, let me know!

Kendall Square Farmer's Market
Thursdays, June to October
11am to 2pm
On Kendall Street off of Third Street

//
eLG

Food for thought

While writing a Katerva blog post about the Oxfam GROW campaign, I came across this fun video that is basically a brainstorm of favorite foods from people interviewed all over the world.

What are yours?

I would agree with the noodles person, particularly if they were 'soup' noodles.  Cheese would also be another, yum!

[foodage] Grilling and toasting

Somehow, this picture's colors remind me of the '50s

Food verbs are so fun, especially when they are tasty.  The other night, M and I tried out two of them: grilling and toasting (and some saute-ing).  Instead of going out as per our summer Thursdays ritual, we decided to cook to save a bit of cash.  However, we quickly discovered that going to Whole Foods and letting the die-hard meat lover pick out the main dish are not good strategies for being frugal... but it ended up being quite the delicious home-cooked meal with:

• grilled marbled ribeye steak generously flavored with The Spice House's Bronzeville Rib Rub (thanks Jenny!) and kosher salt
• grilled onions with the same spice
• sauteed broccoli with lemon

We didn't buy anything for dessert, so I searched online for some quick and easy ones and found this great recipe for toasted oats with fruit.  It had just the right combination of sweetness and crunchiness, with the nutty flavors of walnuts and coconut to accompany the fruit.  Instead of yogurt or raspberries, I sprinkled the oats on top of a few slices of canned peaches for a simple version of peach crisp without the hour-long wait time - and I already had all the ingredients, so it was affordable, too!

via Everybody Likes Sandwiches

Next time we'll try some other combination of food verbs, yum.

Food's flight patterns

via irresistable

A recent grad in graphic design, James Reynolds devised an alternative to traditional produce labels that inform consumers about just how far those Argentinian tomatoes really traveled to get to your store - and plate.  Would the "Far Food" project change people's buying habits?

Spontaneous occupation?

Well, this is one way to occupy a slice of the city in more ways than one...

(found via C&Z's newsletter)

The train must add a tasty...flavoring to the veggies.  Where is this, though?

[foodage] Salmon + ratatouille

via Chocolate & Zucchini

Tonight M and I had a very baked (and nearly smoke alarm-inducing) dinner to fuel visionary conversation.  It consisted of modified recipes for:

ratatouille confite au four
one of my French favorites
+
lime and honey-glazed salmon
the smokey culprit that thankfully was completely intact

plus a "healthy" serving of pastries from Area Four, who decided to give us freebies because we happened to stop by right before closing today.  (Delicious!)

I have no photographic evidence since it all ended up in our stomachs.  For the future, however, I would
a) add more salt and maybe a bit less rosemary for the ratatouille ... and make it ahead of time so that the flavors get to settle
b) add more lime and honey to the salmon to strengthen the subtle flavors


Note: M was the actually chef for the night.  I only helped to buy the ingredients, pick the recipes, and do some backseat cooking over my laptop.

[foodage] The most stereotyped vegetable

Poor brussel sprouts.

Did you know they grew like this?
Neither did I - but thanks to Eat and Live Green, we know.

Kids love to hate them.  People in general seem to love to hate them, even.  I think even as a child, the phrase "... not as bad as brussel sprouts!" must have passed through my lips at some point.  If you look at them closely, though, they're actually sort of cute, like the cabbage's impish nephews and nieces.  Although they can be quite bitter if not cooked properly, there are ways to enjoy them - which I only recently discovered.

My friend Betsy introduced me to buttered sprouts in college, and later Robin showed off his culinary skills by sauteing them with olive oil and cumin.  After buying some of these on a whim at Shaw's the other day, I decided to pair them with beets from the on-campus farmer's market and the flavors of cumin, salt, and pepper.

Usually in my cooking endeavors, I don't really follow recipes faithfully.  Actually, I typically stray, dip, mix, match, and come out with something that could either be great or a little dodgy (but I would eat it anyways).  I guess that's the nature of creative cooking experimentation.  I found 2 recipes that each used part of what I was interested in, but then fused them together for what I hoped would be a tasty result.  Since I only purchased a small amount of both vegetables and estimated all amounts, I won't include a strict recipe but only a guideline of what I did... improvements welcome!

The lighting makes the beets look scarily like red meat.
Thankfully, it did not taste as such.

In the end, the vegetables were a bit caramelized but could have benefited for a longer saute to make the sprouts more tender and a bit less bitter.  Adding more cumin and maybe even a sauteed onion as suggested by the NYTimes recipe might have also sweetened them a bit, but the beets at least were quite delicious and made up for their slightly bitter companions.


Ingredients //

• red beets (I used 3)
• a generous handful of brussel sprouts
• cumin, salt, pepper
• olive oil

Process //

1. Boil the beets in a sauce pan for ~40 minutes while preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.  When the beets have started to soften (can be slightly marked with a wooden spoon), fish them out and place them on a foil lined baking sheet.  Roast for ~20-25 minutes (faster if you have a better oven than I do).  Cool for 5-10 minutes, then peel and cube.
   Note: Sadly, beets take a long time to cook, but maybe someone has a better - meaning faster - method.  I boiled first to speed up the process, but then finished off with roasting because roasted vegetables really just taste so much better with the flavor captured in the flesh rather than escaping into the water.
   
2. Trim the stems off the brussel sprouts and boil for 7-10 minutes or until softened.  Add a dash of salt to the water to flavor them a bit.  Once done, slice them in half.
   
   
3. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add beets, sprouts, and spices.  Be generous with the cumin!  Cover it up and stir on occasion to avoid excessive burning, until sprouts fully tender and vegetables have begun caramelizing.
   Note: I did this for 5 minutes re: the recipe, but as I said above, I would have done it longer.
   
   
4. Serve!  I actually ate them alone since I had already eaten leftover pasta while I was awaiting the long process of beet cooking, but I could imagine combining this dish with couscous.

[HK 40] : Shake shake shake...

This retroactive post is in honor of a certain Miss L, who has a certain penchant for Mr. McD that we make fun of.  She would very much enjoy this HK-based snack (photos of which I found while rummaging through my summer archive), which even made me crave fast food - mmm crispy deliciousness.

1. Look at the bag and savor the flavor party in store.  (Sadly enough, shake shake fries aren't to be found in the States.)

2. Read the instructions.  It's a complicated process.

3. Defy the instructions.  Based on insider information (aka Liana), it's best to add the seasoning first.  Seaweed was definitely my favorite.

4. After pouring in the seasoning, dump freshly made fries into bag.


5. (not pictured for obvious reasons) Shake...shake...shake!

6. Take a look to make sure the seasoning has been distributed evenly across all well-greased surfaces.

7. Enjoy.

- - -

I had wanted to use similar graphics like in step #2 for the shaved ice socials, but didn't have enough time to do so.  Perhaps by Thursday...

For the love of breakfast

New York graphic designer Erin Jang's post on this series of breakfast spreads for Esquire magazine looked so delicious, I instantly wanted to make breakfast.

...Which I will do after concluding this post.

...Which brings me to my reoccurring hobby and constant delight in making breakfast, eating breakfast, and thinking about whatever else having to do with breakfast (including the entire Joie de Vivre line of egg products, of which Jen and Eric probably own at least half !!). I'm not sure when I first discovered this love, but it is my favorite meal of the day and one of my beloved ways to celebrate the weekend, the end of the term, or just being with friends.

Eggs are an essential part of the whole ensemble and a part I think I need to work a bit on in terms of culinary versatility. But why eggs? Although they're said to be a mere baby step in the world of cooking (i.e. "at least he can fry an egg"), take Julia Child for example: her instructor at the Cordon Bleu in Paris made her go through 15+ iterations before declaring she could make a single egg correctly and could move on to omelets (omelettes?).

Practice with the simple makes the complex perfect, I suppose.

[HK 38] : Con te partiro

Signs of leaving:

1) Team "yum cha" aka dimsum

... entails ordering massive amounts of food to feed our mainly-male team of hungering colleagues.  (Or, ordering foods that Karly likes to eat!)


2) Sweets galore

... in the form of cakes, courtesy of nearby Prince Bakery.  I suppose it's a bit of a tradition for people who are leaving to treat the rest of the team to sweets, which I thought was a fun idea so I brought in a box of chocolates, too.


3) Sing K, aka karaoke

("Sing K" is a direct translation from Chinese and can be used in non grammatically correct situations, with the excuse that you're speaking Hong Kong English.)  A few brave souls spent 4 hours singing and playing Wii.  I only got there for the last 2.5 hours, but managed to squeeze in my English songs plus token Chinese song amidst the Cantopop ballads.  Note to self: avoid "Single Ladies" (because I can't be Jordan) and go for the more soulful tunes like "Bleeding Love" as crowd pleasers.  (Thank goodness I also managed to avoid singing Lady Gaga...  would not have been a pretty sight nor sound.)


4) Lounging and having extended "last" conversations

...which do not signal the last coffees, nor the last time to see each other!  This was my first and only time at Pacific Coffee, a HK shop akin to Starbucks but with more flavored coffees.  (I tried the hazelnut cappuccino - a bit too sweet, but not bad.)  Cup sleeves have proved to be great canvases, and good objects of conversation with good friends made.


5) Late nights spent packing...

... as proved by the timestamp of this post.  Good bye and hello!