rachaelraydeng

HFCS, Part 2.

2009-03-22T02:13:00.000-07:00

First off, my apologies. I've been neglecting this blog horribly.

There are a few reasons for that, but it's primarily because blogging takes so much out of me. Whine, whine, whine.

Anyways, a NYTimes article just addressed the fact that sugar is making a comeback.

From the Times article:

"But the most common argument has to do with the rapid rise of obesity in the United States, which began in the 1980s, not long after industrial-grade high-fructose corn syrup was invented. As the amount of the sweetener in the American diet has expanded, so have Americans."

Horay!

Restaurant Reviews: Beans and Cornbread (Detroit, MI)

2008-12-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

Beans and Cornbread was my best restaurant experience during the summer before I left for China, bar none.

All in all, a fantastic balance. The inside was intimate, but not fancy. It felt a bit like Detroit legacy meets local diner.

Our waitress (Barbara?) was efficient (but not rude), witty (but not overextending), and all around capable. I'm usually not a sucker for service, but she was impeccable.

The menu is short and simple, with this amazing caveat: all plates come with the culinary miracle that is sweet potato muffins. No joke.

OH, and cornbread. The namesake.

The food? Amazing.

I went with the BBQ chicken, with beans and rice, corn, and collard greens and bacon (not shown). The only problem, if it could be called one, was that I found myself a bit overwhelmed by the dilemma of eating too much cornbread/muffins before my meal even came.

This is a good thing.

If you ever get a chance and you're in the mood for some fantastic soul food, then try them out.

China Donut

2008-12-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

I've found the equivalent of our fried friend, the donut.

Except it's twisted, doesn't have any sugar, and is made in a giant wok.

Grandma's

2008-12-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

I always tell her: more than any restaurant, I like the food at her house the best.

And I'm not just trying to be flattering.

I'm not quite sure what it is, but I certainly don't need any help when she constantly yells "eat more!"

She enjoys this immensely.

And so do I.

Field Work in Chongqing

2008-11-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

I'm finally here: the "boonies" I've been talking about for the last few months.

Update: I'm in a rural satellite village 2 hours outside of the city of Chongqing. We're (my team is composed of two translators, me, and a Ph.D student from Berkeley) weighing fuel and resource use (coal, firewood, straw, leaves, mulberry, corn cobs, etc.) and taking surveys. The ultimate goal is to see how resource use will effect health (indoor air pollution) and how a specific stove will change resource use (a->b->c). I've spent the last three days here and am taking a break for the next two days. Then, Thursday and Friday, it's back to the grind.

After the last few days, there's just so much to post and talk about. But, I'm about to go to bed, so I'll just write about a few things that may or maynot have to do with food, list-style.

What I dislike here:

1. Hot-pot.

Yes, yes, it's so Chinese, celebratory and delicious. But seriously - too much hotpot. Hotpot on every street corner. People telling me that hotpot is a Chinese culinary delicacy and that Sichuan hotpot is the best hotpot in China everywhere. Hotpot ads on flowing banners lining the roads. Hotpot smell on my clothes. Hotpot smell in my bathroom.

2. Closely tied to hotpot: prickly ash.

They are essentially strong scented, hard red berries. I thought this was called "peppercorn" but was wrong. It is not. It's way more pungent. It has an alkaline pH (think Drano) and therefore numbs your tongue. A Sichuan delicacy, indeed.

3. Also closely tied to hotpot and in ALL food here: (lots of) oil.

Oil could be (read: is) a synonym for "flavor" here. How to eat your food? FLAVORFUL. The most FLAVOR you can take. FLAVOR on every dish. FLAVOR drenching every centimeter of your tongue and soul.

How to get a really fiery hotpot? Lots of oil, a bit of water, lots of hot peppers and lots of prickly ash - then boil.

What I like here:

1. Using every part of the animal. Case in point: I have been here for 3-4 days and have eaten every imaginable part of the duck.

2. How welcoming the villagers are.

It's the Chinese version of "southern hospitality." Every home (we visited an exhausting number of 80) visit was accompanied by them bringing out (1) very short stools for us to sit on, (2) oranges and (3) cigarettes. I've inhaled more second-hand smoke and oranges the last two days than all my life combined. Two specific examples of generosity come to mind: (1) a woman of 93 who took 5 minutes to wobble in and out of her home and move 3 chairs for us to sit on and (2) another woman who grew oranges wouldn't stop stuffing them in our bags as we left. It's great.

3. Elderly life in the surrounding townships around Chongqing.

Being retired here must be amazing. Every day and night, we pass by this park and there are always at least 300 or so 60+ year-old, retired people in the park, blasting music. It doesn't matter if it's 7am or 10pm. They're singing public karoake, participating in mass line-dancing, or throwing plays that they themselves act in. It's really a blast. It's just a fantastic example of fitness, community and fun in a retired context.

Randomness and lessons:

1. With this type of work, access is everything.

Luckily, the guys I've hooked up with at Berkeley have made amazing relationships with the village leaders. We got guys who picked us up from the airport, got us into the village and then got us motorcycle drivers on the dirt roads. 4 to a motorcycle, and winding through a precarious mountain trail at 45mph? They don't seem to mind it at all. In addition, the 5 village leaders also accompanied us to each house, giving us a rapport that we never dreamed would be possible. I remember asking aloud "how many houses have we been to?" and one of the village leaders counting by name each of the houses we already visited.

Unfortunately, one problem that has arisen is that our team (who makes no money from this) is sandwiched into a weird, middle-man place. On the one hand, we're getting financial pressure from our mother NGO (who is trying to distribute the stoves) to be economical with our money. On the other hand, there have been strong hints coming from the village leaders that they also want to benefit financially from the Chinese government subsidies for the stoves that we hope to gain. We keep saying this: we don't make the stoves. We don't profit from the stoves.

2. Silence exists in China.

Walking along the small terraces along the foggy valleys of this particular village was absolutely stunning (I'll post pictures later), not only because of said reasons, but also because it made me realize how much ambient noise city-life has to offer. You simply can't get away from it. But here, you can hear birds. You can hear other people's voices from 10 or 20 meters away. Small noises cut across the silence and it just feels wonderful.

3. If you're working with Chinese people, get ready to eat (and drink).

I wish someone wrote me this note for general, working-with-bureacracy-and-food advice before coming to China:

"Dear Ray,

Get ready for banquets. Actually, get ready for a marathon of banquets.

Eat between banquets, not letting your stomach contract. Eat fiber-full snacks and drink lots of water between meals.

Seating arrangement is key. Be aware that seating arrangement not only dictates conversation, but also may hint at hierarchical social status and also the frequency of toasts/drinking. Seat yourself next to those who will drink as much as you would like to, as smaller and more-frequent toasts usually come from contiguous seats.

There are two general types of toasts: one where everyone stands, cheers and drinks and one where a specific toast is offered by any combination of person(s) to anyone else. The first toast of the night usually belongs to the former and usually demands that you empty cup. The latter group of toasts will continue the entire night and will usually involve every single permutation of person(s) and parties possible.

Hone the precise art of first deferring a toast, and then slowly accepting it, letting only an obscene amount of standing, glass-waving and all-around cajoling break through that humble demeanor which is your perceived personality. "Really?...Me?...Really?...No, way! Couldn't be!...I don't deserve it!...Never!...Well...okay...if you insist..." The transition from stark refusal to modest acceptance should be slow, the toast coming to you as if a Grammy unexpectedly floated onto your lap.

If you're hanging out with bureaucrats, let their potential arrogance pass as a strong wind, and let them give you the grind (background, what your parents do, who you're working for and with, etc.) at times. It'll assert their superiority and their usefulness. And always note the combination of the two seemingly-benign questions "how are you funded?" and "I wonder if I could help pull some strings?" in close proximity is usually an insinuation for bribery. Insist that you don't make much money but you are thankful for them.

Buy many a Harvard paraphernalia to give as gifts.

Lastly, watch out for 白酒, the Chinese version of vodka. It can be up to 50% alcohol and it can taste like gasoline."

4. I really miss my oven and am embarrassed that I do.

It hints at how Western I am, this attachment. But seriously, they don't exist over here. The closest thing you can find is a small toaster oven.

5. I'll be spending Thanksgiving over here.

We'll try to get a chicken or a duck or some type of surrogate bird. Miss you guys back home!

Not-so-Vegan Chocolate Gateau

2008-11-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

"Soy-margine?"
"Well...I have regular butter...I guess I could just use that."
"Sun flower oil?
"Hm..I think regular canola oil should be fine."
"Soy milk? Yeah, I should use up the last of my milk in my fridge"

The "let's just use what we got" tactic is a slippery slope to not following your already-flimsy eating guidelines. I thought I could make a vegan cake. One vegan cake. Just one.

But no, my Foodzilla instinct constantly wins. It was a good try though.

This was over a month ago, so I forget the recipe. But I'll try to reiterate the recipe by ear.

Also, if you're into everything chocolate vegan, go there. They have a decently thorough definition of what it means to be vegan and some articles on vegan recipes, the vegan industry, etc.

Cast of characters: cocoa powder, vanilla extract, whole wheat flower, butter (not vegan, but you can use soy butter), granulated sugar, confectioners sugar, baking powder, milk (milk, not vegan but you can use soy milk), eggs (not shown and also not vegan. It wasn't even in the recipe, but I thought I would just add some because I had already fallen off of my not-at-all-vegan cliff.)

Shuning pouring the wheat flower. I think we used approximately 3 cups. Preheat oven to 350F.

Next is the cocoa powder (a good cup would do) and vanilla extract (1 tbs). Anyone see the heart? Awwww, right before we devour this sucka. Chopsticks work well. I think I was trying to save the silicon spatula for the frosting part.

In a separate bowl: granulated (generous 1/2-full cup), butter (stick), milk (cup), baking powder (1tsp-ish), eggs (2). I'm not sure the recipe called for this combination as it's usually all 'wet' ingredients in one bowl and all 'dry' ingredients in the other and then mix.
Dump bowl A into bowl B and mix.

Smooth it out. Pour into two greased 10-ish inch pans (equally) and bake at 350 for around 25 min, checking every 5 minutes until a fork doesn't come out clean. When it does, take them out.

In the meantime make the frosting: in a large bowl, cream together butter (half-full cup), cup of cocoa powder, and 2 cups of confectioners sugar. Mmmm, you can't go wrong with these ingredients: butter, cocoa powder, and sugar. Play around with the ratio and thickness. Taste? It won't be bad.

Cakes are done, as evidenced by a mighty gash (I was hungry) in the lower left by a fork.

Plop one over a large dish. Waft in all that airy, warm chocolate goodness.

Start frosting. I like to blob a giant blob right in the center and work around, which guarantees I use at least 1/4 of my frosting in the middle (between the two cakes).

Don't worry about the frosting that leaks out of the sides. It'll manage it's way onto your fork and if you're anything like me, onto your face. The spatula makes its appearance.

Plop 2nd cake over the first. Granted, there's a bit of nerve racking precision necessary in this act, but the beauty about frosting (besides the fact that it's, simply, sweet and delicious) is the fact that it'll act as a natural lubricant for your 2nd cake to be adjusted, if just so happens you suck at aiming.

Then, a more generous serving of frosting goes on top.

We chose a fluted cake pan and I'm glad we did. This allowed for natural grooves (aquaducts) for the extra chocolate to run down, which is fine by me.

Yum

For frosting, a simple rule of thumb: the more sugar you add, the more reflective and smooth the frosting (See the upper left-hand reflection and specular highlight? It's very sweet.) will be. I'm glad we didn't put that much sugar in the cake, so it balanced out well.

So there we go: my not-so-successful attempt at a vegan cake, but a delicious and simple chocolate cake nonetheless. Enjoy.

Water Bottles

2008-11-15T23:47:00.001-08:00

As status symbols.

Gadget Series: Potato Masher

2008-11-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

As Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, my mind keeps trying to plan some mock Thanksgiving dinner in my day dreams even though it's quite apparent that I'M IN CHINA.

So, I guess this post is about a wonderful, wonderful tool that I won't be using.

Anyways, it's amazing that potatoes - of the mashed form - is such a pillar of the American diet that they've come out with a tool (ingeniously crafted, I might add) to perform precisely what you thought any blunt object could do: mash.

And that's the catch: does it quite well. The grooves allow the potatoes to slide through and the 90 degree turn allows you to apply vertical force along those grooves.

A Chinese friend asked me tonight "what's your favorite American dish?" I paused for around 15 seconds, thinking of all the possibilities and combinations, and I just couldn't think of anything. Afterwards, I realized that I couldn't think of a particular food because there's always a good and bad version of all American cuisine. It's certainly the cash for potatoes: there's what your 6th grade cafeteria served and then there's that ineffable, once-a-year, loosen-the-belt-worthy, "F-it! It's the Holidays!" mashed potatoes.

Deep-fried Sage Leaves

2008-11-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

Ben: "eating this is so SAGACIOUS....get it?..get it?!
me: "yes..but.."
Ben: "BECAUSE IT'S SAGEEEEEE!"

This is another one of many food explorations I've had the privilege of undertaking with Ben back in Michigan a month or so ago. Ben said a woman at his church did this "really cool thing with sage leaves and supposedly it makes it taste AWESOME." And since I had some extra, we had to try.

Sizzling away. Mmmm...smells like homemade potato chips.

End product

How is it, you ask?

Good, but not great. Good enough to make a few more, and eat some cheese instead. The frying does make it taste "sagier," if that's possible. I'm not a huge fan of sage, by itself though. It also added a very peculiar "fried" taste, as if we sandwiched the sage inside two potato chips. Meh, indeed.

Although, if the laws of frying hold true, most things (potatoes, chicken, garlic, old shoes, etc.) should taste better after frying, if done well. So nothing special here, at least in my book.

China Diet, Part 2

2008-11-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

So originally, I was going to post what exactly those "dramatic chances" in diet were now that I'm here in China.

Here's what's roughly the same:

nuts (almonds, peanut butter)
eggs (lots of them)
soy products (milk, tofu)
wheat bread
cucumber
spinach

What's missing:

good jam
cheese (this, singlehandedly, has been a whole in my soul)
high quality cereal
cheap, lean fish
Certain lean meats (like chicken and turkey)
Skim milk
Cheap Coffee (any cup coffee here is roughly 20 rmb (3 dollars). that's ridiculous)
HFCS
Organic labels (some things in China just don't have organic options; some are always organic and don't label themselves as such)

What's added:

Lots of simple carbs like white rice and noodles
A huge variety of soy products
Sesame (in paste, in baked blocks, etc.)
A butt load of cilantro
Pre-seasoned meats that are really easy to cook
Taro
A few exotic fruits
Lots of green vegetables that I don't know the translations for

Granted, there is still SO much I haven't tried yet. To be honest, much of the "What's added" section are just cheap imitations of my diet back in the States. I think I have to do a lot more experimenting.

Still, I have my staples. I thought I had to give up eggs for a while after a huge melanine scare, but they say it should be okay. So, back to my usual breakfast: 2 cups of piping hot green tea, 3 sunny side up eggs, and a piece of wholewheat toast with a generous amount of peanut butter and honey.

China Diet

2008-11-03T05:28:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm in China, my diet has shifted dramatically. Luckily, I haven't had the requisite 'party-week' of diarrhea.

What have I been eating?
Well, not as much as I'd like, for one. Quite simply, it's hard to eat well here, "well" being defined primarily by a balancing game of three variables: (1) time, (2) money and (3) nutrition. What about taste? Well, most things taste pretty good. And creativity? I'm in China! I have thousands of years of history to eat. (Yes, I think like that.)

Anyways, it's a hard game to play, this eating thing. On the one hand, I want to cook more, because I want to learn and it's healthier. However, it's not quite less expensive. I've found that there are sort of three rungs of "eating out" here: (1) street food and small-shack restaurants (5-15rmb; $ 0.75-1.5 per meal); (2) cheap, but established restaurants and fast food (~30 rmb; $4 per meal) and (3) decent to fancy restaurants (50-70 rmb; $7-10 per meal). Anything above 70 rmb, in my opinion, is a bit gratuitous and is left for some special occasion with the family/grandparents, where everything is symbolic, and all the old cadres are making ten toasts a piece. That kind of restaurant.

I've found that I don't save as much money as I do cooking (as opposed to going out to eat) as I do in the States. Now, of course, everything costs more, so even if the cost ratio (cooking : eating out) were the same, you'd still save more. Another reason is that #1 (street vendors/small shack restaurants) don't quite exist in America. This has less to do with the quality of food (eg. the USDA has higher food regulations and thus, small street vendors can't exist economically), but with the cost of labor. Zing. Paying for street food/shack food and even some middle-rung restaurants is almost paying for ingredients at cost, because the labor part is so insignificant. So I find myself is it's even worth it to make my own food sometimes.

Figure 1:

Your classic 锅贴，which literal translation means "stick-to-pan" - delicious fried, doughey meat/chive dumplings. 1 RMB (15 cents) a piece. How much to fill me up? Probably around 4-6. Even if I too bought in bulk, there's no way I could make it this cheap.

Figure 2;

Here's a shrimp, bittermelon and chickpea dish from a pretty good middle rung restaurant. It cost 28 RMB ($4) and we got approximately 4 of these size dishes for 3 people, which is about 40 rmb ($6) per person. Here, I'm paying for a much better environment (you don't even get to sit down for most street food), a real menu, a waiter, and even some decorations on the plate. Here, I'm not even sure if I could make the dish with 28 RMB of raw ingredients, let alone stomach the at-least-an-hour time of peeling the shrimp and cooking.

Figure 3:

A nice fried shrimp in fruit glaze dish at a pretty decent, modern, Taiwanese-owned fusion restaurant. Cost around 45 RMB. Here, you get all the above and even more: hip music, great servers, the works. And not to mention the exoticism of "fusion": East meets West.

Here, it becomes a little grey. I'm not quite sure I'd pay 45 RMB worth of ingredients to make this, even if the time factor doesn't play into it.

When it comes down to it, the main reasons I will be cooking this year in China is because of (1) health and (2) learning. Price is simply not really a factor because the margins are really, really slim, excluding fancy restaurants. In terms of the 3rd and most expensive rung of restaurants, there's also the social element: an event, an outing, the people, etc. I certainly wouldn't order it alone.

Comfort Foods: Pear and Apple Crumble Pie

2008-10-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

I miss this SO much now that I'm in China. This is a draft entry that I wrote about a month ago while still back in the states.

I started thinking: eh....it's healthy, right? Right? Pear? Apple? Anyone?

And then I saw that fourth picture and I just sighed. Fine. It's a comfort food.

And I'm lazy. I skipped the crust part and used off two of my last ready-bake crusts. I know, I know, I know. Let's just keep that between you and me.

Cast of Characters: 2 granny smith apples, 4 small pears, stick o' butta, whole wheat flour (2 cups), lemon juice (1 tbs), cinnamon (2 tbs) , and lots of sugar (both granulated and confectioners; 2 cups), almonds.

First, slice the apples/pears into thin, 1/4'' slices. Looks pretty healthy thus far...

More healthiness...

BAM! Clogged arteries with a bit of cinnamon. Mix the cinnamon, wheat flour, 1/2 cup convectioners sugar, and butter. The consistency should resemble puddy when you're done. This will be the crumble on top. Oh, and I hear it's good if you substitute the flour with vanilla wafers. Mmmmm. If I had some, I would.

The rest of the sugar goes here.

Almost there. But clumpy is okay.

Ooo man.

Add the lemon and almonds to the pear/apple mix.

The rest of the granulated sugar.

There. Done. Clumpy but not too clumpy. It shouldn't feel too dry, as there's a whole stick of butter in there.

Fill the pie with apples/pear/almond mixture and then layer with the crumble mixture. Bake at 375F for 35min with aluminum foil covered and then another 25min.

Baked fruits are ridiculous. RIDICULOUS. Something happens in that oven - the skin softens, the insides get warm and slightly congealed (that's probably not the right word). I'm not sure what it is.

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You should try it.

Ben's Homemade Cheese

2008-10-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

I love making things that people normally think are "raw ingredients." Or rather, I love watching other people make things that people normally think are "raw ingredients."

It's a sort of whole indictment upon the whole "process" of food, in which processed foods are becoming more and more processed, and more and more a part of the eating vocabulary of the American kitchen. Steps are being cut out of the kitchens and imported - for our convenience, of course - into the factories. A simple and perhaps annoying example is how more and more peanut butter companies are adding "jelly strips" to their peanut butter, so that you don't have to go through the horror of buying two jars, or the utter agony of layering obscenely thick layers of PB and J yourself. Another example, is the way we in the West package and distribute meat. The pristine appearance of boneless, skinless, headless "nothing-but-meat" meat gives few clues (and I dare say conceals) the reality of a long, mechanized string of processes (from mass birthing, to mass feeding, to mass confinement, to mass butchering), let alone the once-reality of a conscious, sentient creature.

That's another "down with the (food) man" rant for another entry.

And of course, there's the opposite - which is easy, convenient purchases. If I had to make my cheese every time I made it, I just wouldn't eat cheese. Err...I wouldn't eat my own cheese at least.

Anyways, all this thought from making a blob of cheese. Or better yet, watching someone else make a blob of cheese. Or better yet, not even being there for most of the process and merely eating some.

Ben, I hope you're watching.

"Apprenticeship" at the Cart, Part 1

2008-10-12T08:51:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to get an "apprenticeship" at a cart-run eatery run by a husband and wife down my street. They cook and serve fried rice, assorted noodles, dumplings and soup from a cart. It's quite amazing. How do they do it? They use two cylindrical "ovens," which are basically concrete cylinders facing up that have smaller cylindrical coal pieces stuffed in them. The coal pieces have small tunnels drilled through them, so you can take them out while they're hot with prongs. They put one giant pot (for boiling pork broth and cooking soup/dumplings) on one of the ovens and a wok (for making everything else) on the other. If that didn't sound all that technological (after all, it's coal), then wait till I found out how they varied the temperature: they dig out a small portion on the bottom of each cylinder and stick a battery-operated fan into the cavity, blowing in air to fan the flames when they need heat. It's a rather smart setup.

They set up every night at 7pm and serve food until around 3am. They bring their own foldable tables and creaky, wooden stools. Their clientele are mostly locals who have night shifts and teenagers looking for a late-night meal. Although selling things without a license is illegal, they have a deal with the local police (I think) that allows them to sell only at night.

So far, all they've done is make fun of me and make snide comments about me being (1) rich (or at least richer than they are), (2) not Chinese and (3) Western. I keep asking if they "need help" everyday and the guy just makes a few snide comments and says no. I reply that "I'm sending business his way" by being the token Westerner who "attests to the quality of his cart," attracting customers for him.

I think I could learn a lot from them - even outside of cooking. We'll see how this goes.

Sundried Tomato Chicken and Mushroom

2008-10-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

Before I start, I just want to say that I love reduction sauces. Really, love them. Just making them is enjoyable. What with their bubbling fantastic smells into the air and thickening into gooeyness.

This, my friends, will have a great reduction sauce.

Cast of Characters: the "pungent 4" (garlic, green onion, sun dried tomato, basil), chicken, mushrooms, dry red wine, chicken broth, milk, cornstarch.

This one's from my oldschool Campbell's cookbook, so I'm not sure if it's legit to post the exact recipe.

Cut the sun-dried tomato (SDT, not to be confused with a less-tasty acronym) into small slivers.

Soak the SDT in the warm chicken broth and move on to the stove.

Cut these guys.

Olive oil + recently-chopped-ingredients+medium heat for 5 min.

Then, add the red wine. What's that smell?! Ah! It's wonderful! Don't panic. Just wait for a few minutes for it to boil off. Then take everything off the pan and set aside.

Brown chicken.

Add the soaked SDT and broth in the pan.

Let it cook away for 5 minutes.

Add a bit (I think I did 1/2 cup) of whole milk (it's not the devil; fat content is crucial here) cornstarch and basil. Let it reduce for another 5 min. or so.

Add the ingredients that were waiting patiently off to the side.

Serve it hot on a bed of brown rice. Yeahhhhh, boieeeeee.

Vegetarian Day: Mushrooms with Herb Nut Butter

2008-10-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation, I've decided to try to go vegetarian once per week.

Yes, that's correct. No meat for twenty-four whole hours.

A part of this is because of the sheer adventure of it (can it be done? will I be protein-deficient? how it will it "change my life"?) and another has to do with an ethical tug that's been pulling at me for a while.

Dun...dun...dun....I feel as if I have just crossed into some dangerous territory where only angry PETA officers tread.

No, I haven't become a vegetarian. But I'm strongly considering the possibility of at least eating less meat (particularly if you've seen the Bittman TED talk).

Another reason for this non-meat foray is that I recently read a fantastic (and hilarious) article by the late (ugh, sad) David Foster Wallace called "Consider the Lobster" and it really got me thinking. Here are two quotes that are particularly relevant:

"Is it not possible that future generations will regard our own present agribusiness and eating practices in much the same way we now view Nero’s entertainments or Aztec sacrifices? My own immediate reaction is that such a comparison is hysterical, extreme—and yet the reason it seems extreme to me appears to be that I believe animals are less morally important than human beings; and when it comes to defending such a belief, even to myself, I have to acknowledge that (a) I have an obvious selfish interest in this belief, since I like to eat certain kinds of animals and want to be able to keep doing it, and (b) I have not succeeded in working out any sort of personal ethical system in which the belief is truly defensible instead of just selfishly convenient."

"I’m curious about whether the reader can identify with any of these reactions and acknowledgments and discomforts. I am also concerned not to come off as shrill or preachy when what I really am is confused. Given the (possible) moral status and (very possible) physical suffering of the animals involved, what ethical convictions do gourmets evolve that allow them not just to eat but to savor and enjoy flesh-based viands (since of course refined enjoyment, rather than just ingestion, is the whole point of gastronomy)? And for those gourmets who’ll have no truck with convictions or rationales and who regard stuff like the previous paragraph as just so much pointless navel-gazing, what makes it feel okay, inside, to dismiss the whole issue out of hand? That is, is their refusal to think about any of this the product of actual thought, or is it just that they don’t want to think about it? Do they ever think about their reluctance to think about it? After all, isn’t being extra aware and attentive and thoughtful about one’s food and its overall context part of what distinguishes a real gourmet? Or is all the gourmet’s extra attention and sensibility just supposed to be aesthetic, gustatory?"

Anyways, I feel as if I've said too much. The bottom line is this: I'm confused. If any of you guys have figured this whole eating thing out, let me know what's the deal. In the meantime, let's try this Vegetarian Day idea out.

Cast of Characters: (I'll be posting more 'exact' recipes)

12 large mushrooms
2 tbs olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup almonds
1 tbs lemon juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
3 parsley sprigs
3 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbs fresh chives
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2.5 oz butter, chopped

We start by chopping the mushroom ends off and mincing them. They are the first in a very, very long road of mincing (this recipe can be also done with a food processor, but I thought I'd feel more accomplished this way.) They'll go back in the caps later.

And now the almonds. More mincing.

Now we cook the onion (also minced) and stalks in a pan. Mmmm. Resist eating. It'll be better in the end.

Now, I skipped a few pictures here. What I didn't show: lots and lots of mincing. Minced garlic, minced parsley, minced basil, minced chives, minced thyme, and minced sundried tomato (I added that last one to the recipe.)

Also, what I didn't show: me taking a break in the middle of mincing because I'm a wuss. For God's sakes, it was a mincing marathon. Shuning took over after the sundried tomato, which basically means she did all the work.

Fillin' them caps good (just with the onions/stalks first). The green pepper? Also a great container for delicious, minced paste. (eg. we didn't have enough mushroom caps).

Getting ready for the oven.

Done. Salt to taste. The mushroom is just a fantastic texture of dry outside/juicy inside.

Vegetarian? One day per week?

I think I can do this.

Mushrooms with Herb Nut Butter

Serves: 4-6

12 large mushrooms
2 tbs olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup almonds
1 tbs lemon juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
3 parsley sprigs
3 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbs fresh chives
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2.5 oz butter, chopped

1. Preheat oven 350F. Brush large baking dish with oil or butter. Remove stalks from mushrooms and chop them finely.
2. Heat oil in small pan, add onion. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 min or until soft. Add stalks. Cook 2 more min and remove from heat.
3. Place almonds, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, basil, chives, salt, pepper and butter in food processor. Process for 20-30 seconds or until smooth. (Alternatively, you can mince all the above and mix in a small bowl.)
4. Place mushroom caps in baking dish. Spoon onion/mushroom mix into each cap, dividing evenly. Then top each mushroom with almonds/herb mixture. Bake 10-15 min or until mushrooms cooked through.

Tip: best cooked just before serving. You can assemble the caps, store them in a container in the fridge, and then cook right before serving.

"Gourmet" Chicken Mushroom Risotto

2008-10-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I splurge on some fantastic Whole Foods. I know, I know, I know. It's so expensive. But it's just so good sometimes.

Cast of Characters: white arborio rice, 1 stick of butter, chives, olive oil, organic chicken broth, 1 lbs. chicken, 3 portobello caps, 4 chopped portobello mushrooms, white wine, onion, lots of parmesan.

Cuttin' the onion. I feel like this should be a euphemism, like 'cutting the cheese.'

Cutting the chives. This should never be a euphemism. For anything.

I like how you can see the '60 cents' on the grater. Thank you, Salvation Army.

Butter AND oil. Dare I? Dare I?

Mmmm. Macro pictures of chicken. Macro pictures of chicken kind of scare me. Why? Because in the 10th grade, my brother's friend, who was fantastic at martial arts, accidentally threw the telescoping handle of a broom so hard at me that it punctured a hole the size of a quarter in my forearm. The ambulance, lights, police (the whole shpeel) came and I got some morphine and extra-large stitches. I came home and my bro was like "dawg, there's a piece of your arm on the driveway." What'd it look like?

It looked like a macro picture of raw chicken.

Yeahhhh, so back to food.

Meanwhile, the portos cook their pretty selves in the pot next door.

Just about soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken's a ready. A little undercooked is fine.
Now some wine, butter, onions.
Some say heating the arborio for a while without any water will "toast" the rice, giving it a more "ricey" taste. I've never heard that adjective outside of sports cars with gigantic mufflers, but OK, let's give it a try.

And now the magical step: add the broth and wait, stirring constantly on low heat.

Ok, that "magical step" was a lot less dramatic than it really is. Between the last picture and this picture was 45 min. of stirring, reading about Michael Phelp's diet, adding more broth, stirring, wanting to be an Olympic swimmer, and more stirring. THAT - that is, time and patience - is the key to good risotto, I'm told. That, and lotsa butter.

Now we add those wonderful mushrooms.

Now we add chives, pepper, salt, and a bit too much parmesan.

Lastly, the chicken.

You're in for a treat. A can't-feel-nor-see-my-feet treat.

Recipe is from allrecipes.

Happy Belated Mid-Autumn Festival (Mooncake Day)!

2008-09-30T23:44:00.001-07:00

Most common fillings for mooncake (according to Wikipedia):

Lotus seed paste (蓮蓉, lían róng): Considered by some to be the original and most luxurious mooncake filling, lotus paste filling is found in all types of mooncakes. Due to the high price of lotus paste, white kidney bean paste is sometimes used as a filler.
Sweet bean paste (豆沙, dòu shā): A number of pastes are common fillings found in Chinese desserts. Although red bean paste, made from azuki beans, is the most common worldwide, there are regional and original preferences for bean paste made from Mung bean as well as black bean known throughout history.
Jujube paste (棗泥, zǎo ní): A sweet paste made from the ripe fruits of the jujube (date) plant. The paste is dark red in colour, a little fruity/smoky in flavour and slightly sour in taste. Depending on the quality of the paste, jujube paste may be confused with red bean paste, which is sometimes used as a filler.
Five kernel (五仁, wǔ rén): A filling consisting of 5 types of nuts and seeds, coarsely chopped and held together with maltose syrup. Commonly used nuts and seeds include: walnuts, pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, peanuts, sesame, or almonds. In addition, the mixture will usually contain candied winter melon, jinhua ham, or pieces of rock sugar as additional flavouring.
Taro Paste (芋泥, yù ní): A sweet paste made from taro, a tuber grown in many part of tropical Asia. The colour of the paste in the mooncake is purple and is most commonly used in Teochew crusty mooncakes.

I love mooncake.

Restaurant Reviews: Pizzeria Showdown: Lou Malnati's (Chicago) vs. Grimaldi's (NYC)

2008-09-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

What this is: a friendly and biased introspection over two very prominent restaurants in two very prominent cities.

What this isn't: a competition over the over-argued "thin vs thick crust" nor the larger, umbrella debate of "NYC food vs. Chicago food."

Grimaldi's Pizzeria

Upon arriving at the door utterly hungry, we were amazed to find a large line stretching out the door and around the alley. We were informed that this was actually "good for the weekend" and that a line is normal-fair for Grimaldi's pizza. This did two things: (1) it made our stomaches grumble even more and (2) made us prop our expectations up a notch. If this many people wait, it has to be good, right?

The management at Grimaldi's, in a word (or two), were assholes. Of course, I'm not quite sure if they were really, or if they had all the managerial qualities of just any other small, "legendary" New York eating establishment: (1) they sat our party of 8 at a table no bigger than 2'x5', with the music blaring in the background; (2) they took our orders 30 min after we sat down (3) the waiters were slightly annoyed at us taking our time to order and visibly irked when we couldn't hear them through the music; (4) they told me to "go away" when I poked around the cooking areas, as the recipe is apparently top-secret. Perhaps my standards are too Northwestern, or perhaps they were assholes.

Grimaldi's is one of the few remaining places (apparently it's illegal now, but because they're so old, New York still allows them) to cook their pizzas in a coal-burning oven. I couldn't taste the difference, but it's a novelty nonetheless.

The decently high prices, the horrible management, the irritatingly small and noisy atmosphere and the miserly ingredients (adding tomato to the pizza included a quarter slice of tomato on each slice). The redeeming factor of Grimaldi's was the mozzarella: perhaps the freshest I've ever eaten on any pizza. And just the right amount. This was no joke.

Verdict: 2.5/5 stars

Lou Malnati's was a different story all together. The only thing it had in common with Grimaldi's was the requisite 45min wait time, which allowed us to walk around the financial district. Everything else (the management, who were friendly; the space, which was uncrowded; the pizza, which was busy with ingredients and super thick) was different.

Aside from everything being great around the actual food (dining experience, "ambience," service, etc.), the pizza at Lou Malnati's was kind of disappointing. Perhaps my thin-crust bias had something to do with it, but I found the pizzas so stooped in butter (and dough) that I could barely taste the other ingredients. Not to mention the oceans of cheese (and not the fresh kind like Grimaldi's) they put on it. The dough-to-sauce ratio was off too, at least for me - drying out my mouth after half a slice.

Verdict: 2/5 stars

In the end, the actual food wins the showdown. I know, I know - I made Grimaldi's seem so horrible, but that mozzarella was just rapturous. And though I'm no fan of a bad eating environment, the horrible management was almost like an adventure because I was with friends. If I were alone, it'd probably be a bit different.

No-Knead, No-Breadmachine Bread

2008-09-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Get the recipe and watch the video.

I saw this recipe over a year and a half ago and ever since then, I've wanted to buy a dutch oven.

Then, last week, I went over to Oliver's and he was like "hey, come over, I have something in the oven." Lo and behold, it was a dutch oven full of bread cooking in the oven. AND, what was blows my mind is this: it was the exact Mark Bittman recipe that I've been wanting to do.

Seriously, it's one of the best breads I've ever eaten. It has all the marks of greatness:

1. It's simple: uses simple ingredients and requires barely anytime or bake-know-how.
2. All the work and chemistry is done by either the incubation time (12-20 hrs) or the dutch oven.
3. It comes out warm, fresh and it goes great with butter (ok, ok, everything goes great with butter).

The special part about the bread isn't necessarily the fact that you don't have to knead it, but the fact that it's extraordinarily flavorful. "Because the yeast gets to sit in there for so long, you're tasting not only the flour, but the actual yeast," says Oliver. And the dutch oven does wonders for the texture of the bread itself, lending the crust a fantastic crunch (the dutch oven absolutely has to be pre-heated) and soft, steamy and flavorful inside.

We both agreed: the bread is great for anything. Potlucks, dinner parties or even the uncalled-for gift. "Here! Bread!"

On the Fly: Tomato Feta Bruschetta

2008-09-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

On the Fly = no recipe; no cookbook; just random ingredients around the house. I'm excited about doing this because it allows me to (1) experiment, (2) keep a well stocked kitchen and (3) be flexible with new combinations and methods.

Tomato Feta Bruschetta

What to do when you regret your inner Foodzilla's compulsive buy (at Costco, of course) of 1.3 lbs. of feta?

You use it. Or atleast you try.

In all of my last 4 meals, I've consistently eaten this tangey, milky cheese. So naturally, I've been trying to think of good ways to use it.

This one's simple:
half loaf of french bread, chopped into 1 cm (I use metric, bitches) pieces
shopped fresh/dry parsley and basil
salt and pepper to taste
half tomato, sliced
feta chunks
olive oil

I brush olive oil on the french bread, lay the tomato and toast them badboys for 400F for 3 min. Then I lay the feta, sprinkle some basil/parsley, salt and pepper. Then I add some more olive oil.

This one's pretty easy.

So now you know how to eat 1.3 lbs. of feta. Go feta-crazy.

Almost a Garden.

2008-09-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

Every Fall, I realize that another year has passed and I still don't have a garden.

Nope. Not yet. Too busy. Or too at school. Sigh.

It's hard because I'll still fumble around in my almost-garden, which basically is a 5'-10' overgrown area of weeds and the occasional under-ripe tomato. What about the mint? Nope. The basil (which would save me a ton of money)? Nada. Fat red onions? Not really...ok, not at all. Sage? Pears? Cucumber? Nothing.

It's okay. I still spend some time in my backyard, rummaging around the deck and almost-garden. A fruitful apple tree sits right above my deck, and every minute or so I can hear a loud DUMD! even while indoors. A few of you have asked "how is Michigan?" and the answer is slow, for both good and bad. It's a change of pace from the usual, certainly, and I was actually amazed that life was quiet and slow enough that I could actually hear pieces of fruit fall on my deck (presumably this has been happening ever since I lived here). Go figure.

So what is this post about, besides me bemoaning the lackthereof of anything resembling a garden?

Well, if I did have a garden, I'd have all the above. And if you have more ambition than my one night where I researched every possible gardening technique, seed and tool (and yet did nothing afterwards), then go out and try some of these:

Japanese tomato ring: technique that can increase tomato production by 10 fold. Yahtzee.

How to prevent mint from eating up your entire garden.

Best way to grow our friend, cucumis sativis.

A rather holistic guide (pdf) on how to grow cooking herbs, in general.

A step by step tutorial on how to grow weeds indoors (for you afraid of scary things like grass and fresh air).

There you go. Now you can be a better (wo)man than me.

Restaurant Reviews: Tyson Chinese Buffet (Washington D.C.)

2008-09-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Now those of you who know me know that I don't like buffets. Firstly, some rule of law deep down inside me says that I can't leave until I feel absolutely horrible. Secondly, your clothes almost always smell like food afterwards and I can't exactly eat in the nude (though never say never). And thirdly, there's something always so kitschy about buffets, particularly Americanized Chinese ones: the dragon and lion statues, the red lamps everywhere, the harp soundtrack playing on repeat in the background, etc.

But upon recommendation of my friend Jonathan Chiang, I was absolutely stoked about going to Tyson Chinese Buffet. Jon knows his restaurants around the DC area and I was starving.

A word about "Tyson": is it Chinese? Tai Shan? Yeah? American owned?

Round 1: Misc
The miscellaneous round is great to just get whatever. But I always have to hold back lest I spoil the other rounds.
-beef noodle
-Miscellaneous sushi
-chive cake
-mushroom and oyster sauce
-garlic steamed asparagus
-(obligatory) chicken and broccoli
-hot tea

Round 2: Noodle Station
The noodle station is basically a guy standing in a cart with fresh ingredients and you just point at what you want. He'll cook it in a boiling bath in front of you (your ingredients are 'caught' in a net and he'll dish it out into a bowl). Fresh as can be.

What was in my noodles?
-basil, sprouts, chives, cilantro, rice noodles, wontons, beef, onion, spicy green peppers, and plum sauce

Delicious, I say! Nothing like a good noodle station, in my many encounters with them. So simple too: raw ingredients, scruffy guy (I swear he looked like he could have done jail time) manning cart, and hot boiling water.

Round 3: Dim Sum
-dan ta (egg tart)
-tofu wrapped vegetable tart
-xia chang fen (shrimp wrapper)
-tsa sao bao (steamed pork bun)
-shrimp dumplings
-shao mai (chicken and vegetable wrap)

Round 4: A Short Respite for Soy Milk

Whew! A breather? Yes, a much necessary one. The soy milk is always a decent indication of the quality of a Chinese restaurant/buffet. In this case, Tyson's was great: fresh, non-grainy and unsweetened. If you're lazy and don't use a cheesecloth, your soy milk usually comes grainy and thick. But this was really good and smooth.

Round 5: Dessert
-yellow bean cake
-red bean jelly
-yellow cake with frosting (guilty pleasure)
-another dan ta

There we go. I can't eat for a few days.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

On the Fly: Salmon Salad

2008-09-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

On the Fly = no recipe; no cookbook; just random ingredients around the house. I'm excited about doing this because it allows me to (1) experiment, (2) keep a well stocked kitchen and (3) be flexible with new combinations and methods.

Salmon Salad

Ok, ok, ok - this wasn't completely "on the fly." I admit it, ok? I admit it! I planned it the day before and bought a cucumber. Ahhhhhhh. My blog's built on a throne of lies!

Ok, back to salad. And salmon. And truthfulness.

Cast of characters: 10 oz salmon, broccoli head, tomato, cucumber, peas (were frozen), de-corned corn, garlic, assorted greens (lettuce, romaine, carrot), lemon juice (bah! didn't have lemons), balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Salt and pepperin' the salmon.
Garlic, in all its simple glory. Can I get enough of it? No. Can I talk to anyone for 5 hours after I eat it? No. Is it worth it? Yes.
First, pan fry the salmon and broccoli with salt, pepper and olive oil. Get it goin' on medium heat and return to it a few minutes later when one of the salmon sides is slightly crispy and brown.
Cut some of these bad boys in the meantime. I was going to cut the tomato into smaller chunks, but my kitchen is only stocked with very, very blunt knives. Freakin' impossible! So blunt! It's like cutting veggies with a baseball bat. In dire need of a good knife sharpener.
Ah, crispy. I want to eat you. Too bad you're still 1/4 raw.
Now, onto the sauce (as the other side of the salmon cooks): 2 parts olive oil (2 tbs), 1 part lemon juice (1 tbs), 1 part balsamic vinegar (1 tbs), salt, pepper, and two cloves of garlic.
All mixed up and ready to pour.
Break into chunks, and mix into salad while still warm.
A word about salmon: perhaps the greatest crime ever done to salmon (besides the catching, killing and eating) is the overcooking. The meat should still be juicy (and if you like it rarer, then a bit redder) and not springy.

There you go. A great summer lunch. I put it in a big mixing bowl because that's how much I need to be just a little too full. Nah'm sayin,' nah'm sayin.'

ray

High Fructose Corn Syrup Pt. 1: Origins and Popularity

2008-09-06T23:06:00.001-07:00

Why is it that HFCS is in everything? Not just soda pop, but ice cream, potato chips, graham crackers. Even some canned soups and seemingly innocuous condiments like mustard have them. Even meat products, like hotdogs and bacon? And why do we use it more than any other types of pure sucrose, like beet sugar or cane sugar? The answer: American Farm Lobby.

From Wikipedia: "The preference for high-fructose corn syrup over cane sugar among the vast majority of American food and beverage manufacturers is largely due to U.S. import quotas and tariffs on sugar. These tariffs significantly increase the domestic U.S. price for sugar, forcing Americans to pay more than twice the world price for sugar, thus making high-fructose corn syrup an attractive substitute in U.S. markets. For instance, soft drink makers like Coca-Cola use sugar in other nations, but use high-fructose corn syrup in their U.S. products.

Large corporations, such as Archer Daniels Midland, lobby for the continuation of these subsidies. Since local and federal laws often put a limit on how much money one particular lobbyist can contribute, ADM's contributions are often given by numerous smaller entities under the authority of ADM. This is commonly called bundling political contributions.

The U.S. farm lobby/sugar industry is also suspected of having pushed the FDA to unjustifiably restrict the importation of stevia (a natural sugar substitute used in Japan and elsewhere for over 30 years) despite Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee supporting its safety."

Hm, perhaps this is why HFCS so popular in America and Canada and not so popular elsewhere. Also this:

"In the European Union (EU), HFCS, known as isoglucose, has been subject to production quotas under the sugar regime since 1977. Production of isoglucose in the EU has been limited to 507,000 metric tons, equivalent to about 2%-3% of sugar production. Therefore, wide scale replacement of sugar has not occurred in the EU."

Perhaps we have a few things to learn from those Europeans.

Restaurant Reviews: No Thai! (Ann Arbor, MI) vs. Mai Thai (Washington D.C.)

2008-09-01T00:38:00.000-07:00

"Drunken Noodles" at Mai Thai

"Drunken Noodles" at No Thai!

After frequenting 3 Thai restaurants in St. Louis, a few around Michigan, a bunch in New York and a few in DC, I pose the following question: why does every Thai restaurant have 'Thai' in there name? I'm talking every Thai restaurant. And moreover, why is it kitschy to have 'Chinese' or 'Japanese' in the name of their respective restaurants, but not 'Thai'?

Anyways, I thought this would be an interesting review. We have the classic comparison of the high class (higher; sit down, more vegetables, plated) and low class (lower; take out box, more meat and noodles). Same entree.

Well, most ostensibly, the "Drunken Noodles" at Mai Thai had much more vegetables, not to mention the introduction of tomato and mushroom. And No Thai? Much more chicken, and it was significantly less expensive ($7 vs. Mai Thai's $10). That's a tough one.

When it came down to it though, Mai Thai's "Drunken Noodles" being drenched in sauce tipped it over for No Thai!. After the majority of the chicken (which was minimal) and vegetables, I couldn't even eat the rest of the noodles, as they were swimming in a pool of sauce. On the other hand, eating "Drunken Noodles" at No Thai! was a classic game of diminishing marginal returns so common with sweet (particularly Thai) dishes. It was really sweet. And while that was great for a whole 3 bites, the final bite felt like stuffing cotton candy down my face. Still though, plenty of meat and not too much sauce is kudos in my book.

I Love Korean Bakeries But...

2008-08-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

What the heck is "Full Strength?"

Tomato Basil Tart and Mozarella Sage Pork

2008-08-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

In the days of yore, a young, ambitious, large-craniumed kid bought a gigantic Hermes House "1000 CLASSIC RECIPES" book, thinking he could finish every single recipe in the book in one year. After all, they were classics.

Yes, one year. That's almost every single meal, 3 meals a day, for a year. Every meal would be some more-often-than-not elaborate dish. Furthermore, that young, ambitious, large craniumed kid would be forced to eat weird, random genre recipes (Fairy Castle Cake? Superman Cake? Fire Engine Cake?) exclusively for meals. For an entire year.

Well, how many recipes did he finish?

Nine.

Every once in a while, I get some unknown flare of old ambition and bust out this same tome of a book, and I'll look for something interesting that I didn't end up cooking (which is to say, I get to look through the entire book.)

I found two. And they both use mozzarella. (Let's talk about mozzarella for a moment: I used to think mozzarella was disgusting; I used to think it had the texture of a No.2 pencil's eraser; I used to think it tasted like nothing; now, I love it; now, I think it tastes delicious, with its exquisite smoothness and mildness; but now, I'm lactose intolerant.)

It's a wicked game of cost-benefit with lactose intolerance. But mozzarella (benefit) always wins.

Ben, pounding the pork. I feel as if that should mean something else. But it doesn't: it means pounding the pork.

This looks promising.

And potatoes! Who can forget potatoes. We baked them with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Ah, sage, that small evergreen subshrub that smells so savory. It supposedly also has many medicinal uses. This is before it hits the pan, dressed with mozzarella, prosciutto, pepper, sea salt, and sage.

Tomato basil tart, pre-oven. I'm sorry to say that I didn't get any pictures of me making the dough. All I have to say is this: flour can hold a lot of butter. A lot.

One layer of tomato. One layer of basil leaves. One layer of parmesan reggiano. Final top decorative basil leaves.

Finished pork.

Finished tart.

(Potatoes not shown)

Not bad. 987 recipes to go!

How to: Cut a Mango (and How to Eat It like a Lady)

2008-08-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

It was a special privilege to have my first guest contributer this week, Ms. Shuning Zhao, to contribute to my blog. And this week, she will help me tackle the tough endeavor of cutting the mango - a fruit with both skin and pit.

Upon asking her what her expertise was, the only answer I could coax out of her was "I like cutting things." Hm. Strangely terse...and more than a bit unconventional, but let's see how she does.
She claims she is a professional.
First, she cuts down the side of the flat edge of the pit, then the other side.
Now, with the fleshy side of the mango up, she cuts perpendicular slits only far enough to touch the skin, without puncturing the skin. The intact skin is crucial in the next step.
Squares. Brilliant.
Ah, the vaunted 'flip'! With the cubic slits down the flesh of the mango, the piece can now be flipped from the skin side up.
As for the mango left on the pit? None is wasted.
That is cut off, and promptly eaten.

And what of "How to Eat It like a Lady" you ask?

Hm. Well, no pictures were allowed to be taken from that point on. But apparently, ladies eat mango by stuffing their faces. In elegance and grace, of course.

Perhaps I Need to Go Back to School

2008-08-19T22:58:00.001-07:00

I drafted up a pretty fancy dish recipe, consisting of shrimp and mint, all because the two words rhymed.

On a closer inspection, I've found that they don't rhyme.

How to: Steam Broccoli without Steaming

2008-08-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have always disliked the way American schools (K-12 and college) have cooked broccoli. It has always been one of two extremes: horribly soggy or rigidly and completely uncooked.

Yes, I know there are kind of a lot of cultural assumptions (I'd say more than a bit of Chinese broccoli-pretentiousness has been passed down from my parents) involved in that last statement, but what can I say? I like my broccoli in that very rare gastronomic state that incorporates both the crunchiness of still-raw broccoli and the freshness of a water bath.

The obvious answer here is steaming. But what you do if you don't have a steamer (or rice cooker)?

You quick-boil.

OK, Ok, Ok. I just mashed two words together with the help of a hyphen. But still, if there was such a thing called 'quick-boiling,' it'd be exactly that: a quick boil for under a minute, strain, and then a quick 'shock' with cold water. This tenderizes the heads of the broccoli a bit, still keeping most of the structural rigidity (crunch).

Shown here with plum sauce. Yum-diddly-um.

Dinner for 5

2008-08-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ah, such a pleasure to eat with friends.

A week ago, I had the pleasure to crash at my friend Jim's place in Chicago. A few friends met up there and I'm so glad that we opted out of eating out and made food at home. Cheaper, arguably better tasting, and it involves you in the process. Quite nice.

Some delicious highlights:

Ah, french bread. Why are you so amazing? You're long, you cut into slices perfect for stacking and you're under $2.

I have been known to cut one fine onion.
Sausage and chicken? Both? Really? Yes, yes really. Some fundamental law has been broken, I know. But that's how we do.

Look at that action shot. The cucumber is flying. Risa can cut.

Now with some tomato.
Getting ready for the oven.

Jim's famed Schlafly cup.
Lest we forget some greens. This might have been the best impromptu salad ever: mixed nuts, cranberries (amazing sweet dressing substitute), blueberries and cucumber.

Sorry, this does not do the picture justice. I was in a hurry to get it in my tummy.

Who cut this? Whose hand is this? Neil?

Bryers and strawberries can do no wrong.

Note: do not eat all this food and watch the Olympics on the same night. You will be a sad, too-full mess who wants to be an Olympian. Now, this is all hypothetical. Of course.

Traveling: The Perfect Snack

2008-08-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay. I have had far too many peanut butter entries, but I just got back from NYC/DC and Chicago and I return with a heavenly revelation: the banana/honey/PB sandwich may be the best travel snack, if done right. And done right, it will be...done...right. Well, whatever. I'm doing it!

3 cities, many restaurants. One thing all in common (for the most part): the food is expensive (except if you eat from the local street vendors called Hallal carts, which might buy you the most enjoyment for $5 you've ever bought, aside from new socks). And since I've been on the go, visiting friends and taking pictures, I'd like to have a travel-friendly, cheap, easily accessible (found at any local store) and nutritious snack.

Here comes the banana/honey/PB sandwich.

Cast of characters: 4 bananas, one loaf of sprouted wheat bread, 2 oz bottle of honey, one 16 oz. jar of natural crunchy peanut butter.

How much did I spend? $7.16. How many sandwiches did I make? Nine. You do the math, friend.

Let's have a moment for sprouted wheat bread. It is, in a word, my favorite wheat bread. It beats even 100% wheat in protein and fiber and 9/12/15 grain bread in taste. The only downside? It's usually found in uber-organic stores and they can charge a premium. But, if it's under $3 (which it is at Trader Joe's), I believe it's quite worth it.

Steps, in Picture Form (follow and be grandly rewarded):

Voila!

A few tips/caveats:

1. Banana is one fruit that will quickly oxygenate (read: BLACKEN). Unless you like your banana and PB a black, goopy mess, eat within 2 days of making it. I made so many because...well...I'm a
bit ridiculous (read: ravenous) when it comes to this combination.

2. Invest in zip locks, NOT sandwich bags. If you travel light and put everything in one bag, it could be one giant mess. Watch the underwear.

3. It is often smart to only put PB in the middle of the bread and then smoosh the perimeter of the bread down to seal off the PB in the square pocket you've just created. Again, the merits of sprouted wheat have to be extolled: it's simply a food architectural dream. It's both flexible and durable.

"The Hardass"

2008-08-08T00:13:00.000-07:00

I feel as if the very idea of pizza has been inspirational in my food-creativity. I've been making up recipes like whoa. I think that pizza is really just a very simple platform to experiment with things: flat, carb foundation + delicious flavors + quick heat.

Here is a look into some top-secret recipe-making I've been doing:

(On a towel because I'm uber-professional.) Click to enlarge.

Notes:
1. "!" is shorthand for "flavor~!"

2. The question marks are for things that I haven't worked out yet.

3. "LOTS!" means at least 4 cloves. I will repare the troops.

4. I think the name "Hardass" came from me thinking hypothetically about "who would win in a fight?": sundried tomatoes/tomatoes/basil/onion/mozzarella OR garlic/green onion/thyme/roasted red pepper/asiago.

5. Haha, reggiano. Even in my blueprints, I'm sort of a snob.

6. Basil is either (1) that guy that every gang likes or (2) a complete traitor - because he seems to be on this pizza too.

7. Shrikacha will hide out in the tomato paste and flaxseed will hide in the crust. Woooo, I feel sneaky.

This - recipes scrawled on pieces of paper towel in the middle of the night - is excitement at its best. More to come!

Restaurant Reviews: Fire and Ice (Washington D.C.)

2008-07-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

Melodee was nice enough to go with me to this place. Having walked around Boston all day, I was famished. And what better than a Mongolian BBQ-like restaurant native to Boston?

The layout of the restaurant is a bit like a horseshoe, with the cooking/raw ingredient area in the middle and the seating areas off to the sides. I have to admit, the place was quite dark (read: clubbish) and the music loud.

Here's where the magic happens: a gigantic, donut-shaped heating surface. Occasionally, I am truly graced with an extraordinary feat of engineering. Oh man. oh man.

There are 3 kiosks for: (1) vegetables and grains (rice/noodles), (2) meats and (3) sauces. You gather it all and they cook it for you on a small slice of the donut.

Verdict: (3.5/5 stars) I would do my usual rating system, but it's so much easier to just give one central number.

Not bad. At $20, the meal isn't cheap, but it's not bad considering the selection: 10 meats, including 2 cuts of premium beef, mollusks and salmon. If you ever go: stay away from the sweet sauces (they're very sweet) and tell them to undercook your meats a bit.

What Time, Skill and Effort Can Do

2008-07-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

The High-Low $20 Showdown

This just shows the difference isn't necessarily in the money or the fancy ingredients, but how it's prepared. I liked the article a lot and I'm quite inspired.

On the Fly: 8 Minute Dinner (for two)

2008-07-21T13:32:00.001-07:00

On the Fly = no recipe; no cookbook; just random ingredients around the house. I'm excited about doing this because it allows me to (1) experiment, (2) keep a well stocked kitchen and (3) be flexible with new combinations and methods.

5 Minute Dinner: Fried Salmon, Garlic Asparagus, and Brown Rice

Haha. Look at the wine. Who am I kidding? Wine makes me feel bloated, red, nauseous and it makes my heart beat like a small rat's. But it goes great when poured into the pan on the last minute of cooking.

Simple ingredients and great taste in 8 minutes - from the refrigerator to the dinner table. Eat your heart out, Rachael Ray.

Gadget Series: Ice Cream Scooper (and Ray's Ice Cream Review)

2008-07-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Gadget Series is devoted to those small luxuries (ahem, necessities) of the kitchen that are just flippin' genius.

Part 2 : Ice Cream Scooper

Me: "Dad, would you turn up the temperature a little in our freezer?...Our ice cream is like a rock!"
Dad: "It needs to be that high."
Me: "Why?"
Dad: "...."
Me: "Stop trying to freeze 30 lbs. of chicken in there!"

Yes, friends. Every once in a while, the Deng family shows how much of a true Foodzilla family we are.

It's okay though. Every once in a while, the culinary gods seem to look down upon us Foodzillas in mercy and give us one of these little bad-boys: an ice cream scooper.

I hear you guys saying but Ray, what's so special about an ice cream scooper? already. Well, you frequent ice-cream-eaters may know (yes, stop looking so innocent), ice cream can be very hard to scoop if you just recently took it out of the freezer. Often, you have to resort to techniques like dipping the scooper in hot water or even microwaving it (sigh). Yes, yes, sad indeed.

But do not despair! The design of this little gadget is absolutely incredible. Within the stainless steel capsule lies its secret: a hollowed tube full of anti-freeze. Anti-freeze? Ew, don't they put those in cars? Yes. But that's the genius behind it: the tube runs from the ergonomic handle down to the half-spherical scooper, transferring the heat of your hand to the anti-freeze (which has high specific heat) and then to the scooper! The ice cream melts and all you have left is smooth, buttery scooping.

Three cheers for no more bent spoons or tendonitis!

You can actually feel the handle getting colder. And if the Law of Conservation of Energy holds true, then the heat has to be going somewhere. Where's it going? Where could it go? you ask. Don't freak out. Just take a wide look at the ice cream melting and all will be well.

Ray's ice cream orange pineapple was fantastic by the way. I usually shy away from very fruity ice creams (unless it's strawberry; strawberry can never do wrong), but this one was just right. Just the proper balance of fruit:creaminess ratio.

So, with all that talk, does it even work? Take a look.

Key the music, call the chorus girls, we're having us some ice cream!

McDonalds: "Green" or Just Keeping Up with Marketing?

2008-07-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Verdict: T=3, S=2, P=5, C=2, R=3

I give them an overall 3 in the "Responsibility" criteria, mostly because I believe that, while the reforms that they've implemented aren't that groundbreaking on an absolute scale, they always lead in terms of responsibility within this industry. They've gone a long way. For instance, they were one of the first to take out trans-fat and after that controversial Onion article entitled "US Children Getting Majority of Antibiotics from McDonalds Meat," McDonalds phased out antibiotics from their global supply chain, affecting more than 2.5 or so billion pounds of meat. Most recently, they've been trying to lighten their load on packaging, reduce landfill waste and they've also just recently switched to Rainforest Alliance certified (my favorite coffee certification) coffee in many of their locations. They've also begun showing their nutrition facts right on the containers, instead of merely posting them in some inconvenient online location.

The true question is this: is this enough? While they're quite a bit ahead of competitors such as Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. within the industry, this certainly does not mean their practices are completely socially responsible. "Green," "social responsibility" and the all-too-general "making the world a better place" have become buzz-word terms in mainstream business. In short, although they're legitimate in many places, they're often less than marketing ploys - the "green wash." But of course, I ask myself: "does that matter?" (As in, "does it matter that corporations are going after market share more than a clean environment.") I'm reminded of something Thomas Friedman said when he was talking about how "the fiery, picketing activist is no longer effective in today's marketplace" and that instead, "making the 'big guys' (meaning corporations) do things for the wrong reasons" is the more effective and relevant technique.

I'm getting ahead of myself. So why give them a 3, which is considerably alright? Am I giving into a marketing illusion? All in all, I think that they're in a particularly tough industry to employ any socially responsible changes, let alone be a leader within this criteria.

Another interesting thing about McDonalds: they're trying to reach a bigger market by catering to the upper class. Have you noticed that they've lately installed some pretty nice eating venues, including many with WiFi? And what about the region-specific menus? You could simply write a whole book about the in and outs of McDonald's.

In other news, I quite like how they've stuck to the old "Dollar menu" instead of switching to the much more inflation-friendly "Super Value menu," which charges weird, more-expensive prices like $1.39. For instance, I got the above burger for a dollar! Holler.

On the Fly: Lumberjack's Breakfast

2008-07-15T02:08:00.000-07:00

On the Fly = no recipe; no cookbook; just random ingredients around the house. I'm excited about doing this because it allows me to (1) experiment, (2) keep a well stocked kitchen and (3) be flexible with new combinations and methods.

Almond Rye-wheat Pancakes with 3 Berry Jelly

1. Taste (3)
2. Style (3)
3. Price (5)
4. Efficiency (5)
5. Creativity (3)
6. Responsibility (4)

Bored of wheat flour and white flour? (or just out of both like I was?) Try rye. I'm astounded by how many things are just made out of the various ratios and permutations of 3 ingredients: milk, flour and egg.

Lesson learned: unless you like your pancakes really dry, don't forget the God-given magical ingredient: butter. And be generous here. I made the first batch without butter and I had to use like 10 more spoonfuls of jelly than I anticipated.

and

Sundried Tomato and Green Onion Frittatas

1. Taste (4)
2. Style (4)
3. Price (4)
4. Efficiency (4)
5. Creativity (3)
6. Responsibility (4)

I wanted to make something omelette-y but flatter and then Ben was like "why not frittata?" And despite spell-check's skepticism (as well as my initial skepticism), the thing seems to actually exist. So. Why not? For some color and vegetablage, I added some green onion, and then for some more color (and tang), some of my left-over sundried tomato. And then Parmesan inside and on top, for good measure.

Lesson learned: again, the dryness! Away with me, dryness! I guess the parmesan is a relatively 'dry' cheese, meaning that it melts at much higher temperatures than, say, swiss or cheddar - stealing that magical 'gooeyness' that omelette's and frittatas usually have. So yes: wet cheeses. The glue that holds the world together, indeed.

Happy 4th!

2008-07-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've started at least a dozen posts (drafts) off with "now, I'm not a big fan of gluttony, but...." and continuing on with the pictures/commentary that would suggest otherwise, but this 4th of July, I'm coming to terms with myself. Yes. Let's just say that this year, I got a bit of honesty. And by a bit, I mean 5.5 lbs worth (or so says my scale).

I kid, I kid. But seriously, what 4th of July is without a good (read: indecent) amount of food? C'monnnn. Here goes.

Ol' School Guac (garlic, lemon, salt)

Raw ribs (and the start of some greatness)

Haha. (more greatness; Paula Deen, eat your heart out.)

Japanese Teriyaki Chicken (post-butter, pre-oven)

Before the oven (yes, with the obligatory Chinese spoon)

Asparagus! (can't get enough, even though it makes my pee smell like sulfur)

Seeweed (My mom absolutely insisted. There is no independence without seeweed.)

Hummus!

Curry Grilled Chicken (pre-grill; my mom bought 10 lbs. of drumsticks, so I took a batch and my brother took another batch)

Rib Rub! (Probably the best I've made. I was a bit nervous about putting a bit of cinnamon and clove in it, but it ended up being a great idea. What can I say? I live on the wild side.)

Gettin dem hands durttta, take 4.

This is for our friend, Bobby Flay. My brother, John, has always had a special place in his heart for him.

Painting with the BBQ
After boiling (either in salty water or wine or beer (John chose salty water)), grill on high heat. 3 or 4 minutes per side. In the last minute, apply BBQ, and enjoy.
Asparagus (finished)

Japanese Teriyaki Chicken (finished; I wonder how this recipe can have both the adjectives "Japanese" and "Teriyaki" in it. Maybe just semantics, but nonetheless, not bad.)

Peanut Chive Cold Noodles (courtesy of the Mama)

Curry Grilled Chicken (finished)

Corn and Pine-nut Melody

End it with some fruit (I think my fam consumes, on average, around 4 full sized watermelons a week)
Pots de Kreme (recipe courtesy of Pioneer Woman)

Post-firework Dumplings! (word)

So yes, loosen those belt buckles a notch or two, folks. Happy fourth!

cheers,

ray

Gadget Series: Garlic Chopper

2008-07-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Gadget Series is devoted to those small luxuries (ahem, necessities) of the kitchen that are just flippin' genius.

Part 1 : Garlic Chopper

Mom: "I bought something I think I might really enjoy at Costco today."
Me: "Yeah? What is it?"
Mom: "It's called hoo....hoo...hoo-mus."
Me: "Hummus?
Mom: "Yeah, it's like dip (makes dipping gesture)"
Me: "Uhh...I made that from scratch last year and you said you didn't even want to try it!!"
Mom: "Yeah, but it probably wasn't as good."
Me: "...."
Mom: "Well, let's see if you can make it as good."

Aight, Mom. I'm game.

The garlic chopper, friends, is for times like these where you want to chop/mince ridiculous (think obscene) amounts of garlic. I'm talking about smell-it-through-your-skin-after-you-eat-it amounts.

How it works: the garlic chopper has a relatively simple design, the center of which is based on cylindrical container that opens in half sideways (think Packman) to engulf the garlic. Inside, there is a perpendicular axis of which 3 or 4 small blades rotate off of, in the middle of the cylinder. And here's where it gets real genius/nerdy: the axis is then geared to a set of external, rubberized wheels. To rotate the inside blades (and hence chop/mince the garlic), all you do is roll the apparatus on its external rubberized wheels, veritably handpowering the inside blades to chop.

GENIUS, I tell you!

Alright, MOM, we'll see how my hummus tastes with my new friend.

Little Things Series, Part 1: Toasting Bread with Peanut Already On It

2008-06-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

The "Little Things" series is devoted to the small quirks of the kitchen that enrich your eating experience. The effort is minimal. The beneficial change that it will bring upon your life? Astronomical.

The ideal response I'd like to elicit is "OMG ME TOO!" or "wow, ray, I think I'll try that next time." Yeah? Yeah? C'monnnn.

So here goes.

Toasting your bread with the peanut butter already on it is strictly for those who already eat PB and toast regularly. If you don't like PB and toast in the first place, the added gooeyness (and peanutty-ness) of the toasting will just remind you of why you didn't like it in the first place.

This process will require you to have a toaster oven and not just an upright toaster. Picky, I know, but if you try this with just an upright toaster, I'm afraid you'll have a big congealed mess of peanut butter inside the toaster (think gravity after it melts) and the coils will go crazy with burning. Yes, crazy with burning. I've actually tried to flip the upright toaster 90 degrees so that it's perpendicular to the floor (thinking it could prevent this), but it doesn't: the coils are simply too close to the PB, resulting in much burning (and if you have an Asian mother and live at home, lots and lots of yelling).

It really isn't that hard, but I'm going to explain every detailed step of the process to you anyways, so I'll feel important.

Step 1. Spread a generous amount of PB on bread. I used wheat and creamy here, but crunchy is actually better if you like to really load your bread with PB. If you're going to load up your bread with an obscene amount of PB, then make sure you do so in a way that sticks close to the middle of the bread and gives the rim a bit of room. This way, the PB can melt to the sides and not fall of the bread and into the coils (resulting in burning).

Step 2. Place peanut-buttered bread into toaster oven (do not ever toast with jam on it; you can spread it after it's toasted), setting the oven setting to "toast" or the hottest setting.

Step 3. Here's the hard part: the waiting. I don't really like to rely on the self-timer, because the timing settings on different toasters ("light," "medium," and "dark") mean different things sometimes. I prefer to just watch it, occasionally opening it up and feeling the side of the toast, until it's toasted to the way I like it (for toast and PB, I'm certainly a Food-Maestro, because not even the machines can do it right). For me, that's when the toast feels slightly hard, but not stiff like a crouton.

Step 4. When it's almost the way you like it, turn the toaster off and leave the bread in there until the coils cool. I think this process is important, as it will allow the bread to toast a bit more, and more importantly, the PB will melt through. And it'll allow it to cool, so you won't burn your lip, fatty.

There you have it!

Beware that the PB will be very gooey, so it might get all over your hands and plate (and if you're an overzealous eater like me, your face).

This, should never be wasted.

There. (Don't judge.)

Note: If you can't eat PB and toast without jelly, then I'd recommend using extra crunchy peanut butter (which I actually like better anyways). If you use creamy, you'll have a pool of very, very liquidy peanut butter which is almost impossible to spread jelly or jam on without making you look like a 4 year old. The crunchy bits of peanut in crunchy PB will act as natural stilts for the jelly to sit on, and will save you from much embarrassment. If you must eat creamy peanut butter AND jelly, well then eat it alone, you loser.

Restaurant Reviews: Sameem (Afghani Food; St. Louis)

2008-06-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

Afghani Food? In St. Louis? Yes, ma'am.

Located on South Grand, this small restaurant was a joy to discover as there are very few Afghani restaurants in the area. "What is Afghani food composed of?", you, reader, may ask. Well, we weren't quite sure, either. One of our friend's mothers said it was "like Indian food, except not as intensely spiced." Another friend made a un-PC joke, which will be omitted here.

We were excited.

When we walked in, we were pleasantly surprised to find a warm (albeit awkward welcome), with the hostess walking up to us and telling us about their special: "Frontier Chicken." Two minutes later, the manager says hello to us and then begins telling us (in very minute detail) about their special: "Fronter Chicken." Apparently, it's that good.

After ordering, we took a look around. Frankly, it reminded us of a Middle-Eastern cowboy bar, with obscure weapons hanging on the walls and small, scenic pictures that could have captions that read "home on the range." They even had a guy singing Western classics:

What? An Afghani restaurant? Yeah, a bit weird. But, hey, what about the food?

Frontier Chicken, with some sweet cucumber melody (that the waiter told me would "blow my mind away." Big words, miss.)

Chicken Something (forget the name; sorry)

Verdict?

1. Taste (3)
2. Style (2)
3. Price (2)
4. Efficiency (-)
5. Creativity (2)
6. Responsibility (not sure)

All in all, we found ourselves a bit disappointed, not only because they gave too little meat/vegetables and way too much pita (which was surprisingly dry/hard) and rice, but it was decently expensive at $17/person, including tip. I'm not sure why some ethnic restaurants think they can charge a premium for very cheap ingredients, merely because they're somewhat uncommon in our St. Louis.

Why Food Matters

2008-06-19T23:58:00.000-07:00

I cannot say it any better than Mark Bittman.

(Link stolen from Jspecs blog)

Please, please please take the time to listen to him if you care about the environment, social justice, personal health and food economics (I'm not trying to guilt trip you; just freaking watch it).

I've been watching him for a while just for recipes, but I didn't know he was so knowledgeable in all the above.

Three Tomato Basil Chicken Pizza

2008-06-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

Preface: part of the inspiration for this pizza was my personal experiment to see if I could take some of my favorite (albeit strong) ingredients and mix it into something that would be pallatable. So I'm going to warn you now (when you can still turn back), this one's a Doosie. (Wikipedia: from the old, expensive but nonextant car company "Doosenberg," which eventually derived a meaning of 'powerful,' 'cool' or 'eccentric.')

This is not for the weak-hearted.

This recipe's pretty easy, but since I want to feel important, I'll go through every detailed step, like I'm your special-ed teacher.

You can certainly make your own crust (actually, I recommend it), but if you're classy (and in a hurry) like me, you can use a premade, thin wheat crust.

Cast of Characters:

Thin, Wheat Crust
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Tomato (roma)
Sundried Tomato
Tomato Paste
Basil
Spinach
Feta
Onion (white)
Parmesan (Reggiano)
Chicken

These, my friends, are my go-to guys. Flavor for any meal? Yep.

Step 1: Start grilling chicken until cooked at least rare. A little pink is fine by me. You can also preheat the oven to 400F now.

Step 2: Graciously apply tomato paste. Be a bit generous even.

Step 3: Chop

Voila!

Step 4: Apply ingredients, in no particular order (except cheese; it goes on top). Again, generosity is key here. Especially with the Parmesan, as it'll act as the sort of roof that'll hold everything together.

Getting excited? You should be.

Generosity? My middle name.
A bit of my friend, olive oil, for good measure.

Step 5: Bake 400 degrees for around 10-12 min or 14 min if you're generous with the ingredients. Watch that the crust has not blackened.

Step 6: Cool and eat!

Tips:

1. You can rub a bit of melted butter or olive oil on the rim of the crust to get that golden brown look after it's baked. Fancy, I know.

2. If you're feeling really saucy, you can spice up the tomato paste by spiking it with a bit of very finely minced, roasted garlic or (if you really have balls), some Shrikacha sauce. Beware though, the ratio of Shrikacha to tomato paste should be at least 8:1, if you'd like to have children.

3. I chose a thin crust for this particular pizza because there was a butt-load of ingredients. It's quite thick, as is. You can choose a thicker crust if you'd like, but be prepared to do a bit of bitting (or cutting, if you're a wuss).

4. If you don't have a sharp pizza cutter, it's advisable to use a large-belly knife (think chopblock) so that you can roll around for a clean cut.
Verdict: (T=4, S=3, P=4, E=4, C=3, R=4)

There it is! Try it for yourself.

ray

What Type of Foodie Are You?

2008-06-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

Preface: The following is a not-so-comprehensive list of what I believe to be the most popular "Foodie" styles of our modern day. See which one you are! Here we go:

The Foodzilla (aka Garbage Can)
Most people (particularly Americans) fall into the Foodzilla category. The Foodzilla loves food, but loves it indiscriminately. The focus here is quantity over quality, as the Foodzilla will commonly say "oh, I absolutely LOVE food" without further explanation on food at all. You will spot the Foodzilla at places like Aldi's, Shop and Save and certainly bulk food stores such as Costco and Sam's Club, which is the chief reason why both the Foodster and the Food-snob will scoff at the Foodzilla. But the Foodzilla does not care; he/she shops not by name, but by price (and if you're a particularly smart Foodzilla, price per ounce). Bulk is the name of the game and Foodzillas can be found hording month supplies of food even if they live alone. This is problematic for foods that spoil, so you may commonly see the Foodzilla undertake specialty diets like the "all egg diet" for a few days before expiration dates. The Foodzilla never buys the half-gallon option of milk, for that is for rich people.

Skinny Foodzilla's will commonly fish for compliments such as "how do you eat so much and not gain a pound?" and "where does all that food go?" The Foodzilla will smile and conversation will immediately stop after he/she obtains this compliment.

If you're a foreign immigrant who has come to America within 15 years, you're automatically a Foodzilla except in regards to your own particular ethnicity's food, of which you're almost always a Food-maestro (read on).

The Foodster
The culinary cousin of the much older hipster, the Foodster likes every ethnicity of food besides his or her own. The Foodster is the master expositor of the "have you ever tried ____ (rare, ethnic food)?" game. He or she will have an answer at all times. The difference between Food-snob and the Foodster is that, while the Food-snob likes all food that is high-class, the Foodster's principle criteria for fooding is the cultural context of the food itself. If you are accompanying a Foodster to an ethnic restaurant, beware that he or she will attempt to speak to the waiter or waitress in their native tongue. The Foodster delights in having Indian friends over at their homes because he/she always has a full rack of spices that the Foodster never uses (besides bay leaf; the Foodster never ever has bay leaf) for all to see. The Foodster will visit international grocery stores and pretend like everything smells fine.

The majority of vegans or vegetarians will fall into this category, but only the ones who do it by choice. Let them explain their gastronomic biographies, as they have prepared for this moment for a long time. Say 'wow' and nod, say 'wow' and nod.

For the Foodster, buying local produce is a must and he or she will tell you immediately why it's completely necessary for you to do the same too.

The Food-Snob
The majority of Food-snobs originate as graduated Foodsters who have been blessed financially by the professional and corporate world. The Food-snob spends a good portion of his/her income on food and tips very well, if he/she is in good company. You will primarily find this type of foodie in big cities because only there will you find the calibre (spelled with the 'r' behind the 'e') of restaurants that are "compatible with their lifestyle[s]." If you are accompanying a Food-snob to dinner, never eat too fast (and come off as boorish) or slower than them (which will challenge them).

Few Food-snobs cook, but they almost always have all stainless steel kitchenware.

For the Food-snob, valet parking is a huge indication of fantastic food and great taste.

Particularly handy Food-snobs will shop at high class, local supermarkets and even Whole Foods (at the bare minimum) if they are in a rush. Here, they will buy bottled water in oblong, unorthodox shapes and organic food, not because it's better for you, but because the animals (and plants) are ostensibly treated better (The Foodster will agree). You will commonly find Food-snobs saying adages such as "life is meant to be enjoyed" or "to eat is to live" and they will rightly come off as very, very diligent hedonists.

The Food-Nazi
The Food-nazi is generally a Foodzilla-converted-health-buff, but is occasionally a confused Foodster who goes to the gym. Some Food-nazis will not even eat packaged food, but the ones that do will instinctively look to the back of packaged food, for here is their lifeblood: nutrition facts. Carbohydrates (particularly white floured) equals the devil and they will commonly scream profanities over the fact that the USDA does not require companies to reveal crucial facts on food labels such as Glycemic Index (GI). Of all the type of foodies, the Food-nazi might be the most stubborn and certainly the most picky when it comes to food. To him or her, food primarily is sustenance; hence, you will find the Food-nazi doing things while eating, as many believe that food is an auxiliary tool for other things: running on the treadmill, going to work or looking very, very beautiful. Therefore, Food-nazis almost always have food with them.

The Food-nazi will eat the most colorful foods (sometimes even more than the Food-Artiste), but not because they're pretty, but because they're high in antioxidants.

The Food-nazi will not under any circumstance tolerate microwaved foods or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which might be a window into his/her dark past.

The Food-Artiste (pronounced: AR-TEEste)
The Food-Artiste's primary concern is the aesthetic quality of food. It's difficult to eat with this type of foodie as they are always arranging and re-arranging their food (before you eat) so they can take a picture of it for their food blogs (damnit). Presentation is everything and Food-artiste's are the best at throwing dinner parties, but they won't let you eat your food until they make sure you've seen it. Like the Food-snob, the Food-artiste loves weighted-stem flatware and asian-styled ceramic dish ware.

You can commonly spot the Food-artiste at the local grocery store buying useless, decorative ingredients like parsley.

The Food-Maestro
The Food-maestro is the rarest foodie on this list, partially because it's quite hard to be one and partially because he/she is the last on this list (and I don't like overlapping stereotypes). To become a Food-maestro requires a very focused specialty. Most Food-maestro's are merely immigrants or foreigners who commonly refer to "the motherland" or "the old way," but some are merely weird specialists who bring the same type of food (ie. flan) to every potluck.

The Food-maestro takes pride in his/her particular preference of food, but you will never know it until you go to a bad restaurant, which supposedly specializes in his or her type of food. Beware: this inevitably will be every restaurant. The Food-maestro usually cooks their own food, but not because of the economic reasons that Foodzillas cook their own food, but because no one else can do it right.

Inherently conservative, the Food-maestro will never, without an exception, eat fusion food.

There you have it! So? Which one are you?

ray

Tips for Shnazzy Food Photography, Part 1: Composition

2008-06-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Use vertical space. If you're into being fancy (who isn't?), stacking your foods can give your
pictures that magical "I paid more money at a restaurant than I should have" look. That old meat/mashed potatoe/vegetable trifecta? Stack them, with mushier foods on the bottom. Cookies? Stack them, making sure you arrange them askew like you just don't care ('cay-errr,' if you're Outkast), even though you do (perhaps a bit too much).

Three is a magical number. This isn't set in stone, but it's certainly cute. Three scones, three pieces of fruit, three cups of coffee arranged linearly. C'mon, man. It's biblical.

Draw your viewers eye. This holds true for all photography, but I think it's particularly important for food photography as compositions should be uncluttered and the overall message deliciously simple. What are you trying to focus on? And is there anything in the background or foreground that is taking away form this? The nasty, last-meal crumbs on the table? The overly-flowered pattern on the rim of the dish? The friend always making the peace sign in the background?

Realize that your viewfinder will act as a natural frame, so frame well. Just as you lead your viewers eye into the frame, be aware of how you lead out of your frame. If you're going for numbers (say, many truffles on a table or a row of martini glasses angled outwards), then you'll want to emphasize the element of both multiplicity and repetition in your composition. To do this, it's often nice to not show where the truffles or martini glasses end to make an illusion of quantity. The natural reaction to lots of food is to try to get it all in, and you will find your legs moving backgrounds. But in most cases, the better thing to do is often to choose a optimum representative portion of the food and take a closer, more detailed picture. Don't be afraid if the food isn't entirely in the frame, as this gives more opportunities for interesting composition and it again also implies food outside of the frame. Be aware of both what you're showing and what you're not showing. Less is more, in most cases.

Coming up (!): Part 2: Focus

The Glory of Eggs

2008-06-02T02:14:00.000-07:00

Originally, I was going to write a "Dan Ta" (Chinese egg tart) entry, but have decided to move onto bigger and better things: eggs, in general. There's no way I can cover the entirety of how amazing eggs are, but I can tell you how I've enjoyed them the last few weeks. I went on an egg fast a month ago because I calculated that I was averaging 3 eggs a day (which clearly breaks the 1 egg/day rule), but I just calculated my blood pressure (which I hear is vaguely related to cholesterol...right...) and I'm golden - 86/54!

Let the eggs continue!

Sunny-side-up egg on top of burger with goat cheese.
T=5, S=2, P=4, E=3, C=3, R=1
Note: it's advisable to go with a leaner type of meat (leaner than 85% beef or ground turkey), as I found the combination of gooey egg yolk and tomato to be a bit overboard in terms of wetness. A leaner meat will give the burger a bit more dryness, at the cost of flavor, of course.

Egg, with "Meat Combination Plate" at Mai-Lee's. (St. Louis)

T=5, S=2, P=5, C=2, R=?

First-Day-Home Breakfast: Sunny-side-up eggs with vegetables and wheat toast. (with pineapple jam)

T=3, S=2, P=5, E=5, C=2, R=4 (cage-free eggs, man)

Sunny-side-egg eggs on Bibimbap at U-City Grill. (St. Louis)
T=4, S=3, P=4, C=3, R=?
Note: never ask for the extra hot sauce if you buy the kimchi too. Your bowels will be hurting for days.

Scrambled egg sandwich with ham and cheddar.
T=3, S=2, P=3, E=4, C=3, R=4

All in all, the versatility of the egg is absolutely irreplaceable. The flavor-neutral (although it does have inherent flavor) aspect of eggs make it an amazing complement to both savory and sweet combinations. The fact that it congeals with heat makes it available to be both a solid and a liquid and sometimes both (Egg Tarts?) . And more and more, I find myself attracted to the liquidy aspect of eggs (read: sunny-side up). The best part about it is when the gooey insides break and spill onto the burger, bun or rice. Delicious!

ray

Rules of the Game

2008-05-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to establish a simple rating system for the food that will travel through here. Most of my entries will have a star system, 5 being the best, 1 being the worst. The categories are as follows:

1. Taste
2. Style (Presentation)
3. Price
4. Efficiency (ease in the kitchen; only applies if I made it)
5. Creativity
6. Responsibility (?)

1. Simple. This will be the most biased criteria. After all, it's my palette.

2. This one requires pictures. And this might be the weirdest part of judging food (yes, food - the things that we chew up into little, mushy pieces and send down our internal assemble lines that make them into smaller, less-appealing products). So much of food these days is more about presentation than anything. It's fun and I'm certainly into the photographic side of it, but it can be distracting. Square flat flatware? Studio lighting? Small, stacked portions on huge plates? Some say it's completely superfluous, but I think it's certainly valid, if it isn't overdone.

3. This applies to both my owned cooked food and restaurant-bought. Let's be real here: I like food, but I also like being economical.

4. Quick and dirty? Or a 4 hour stint with many rounds of cooking and cooling? This is important.

5. If I see another small piece of cheesecake on a gigantic, square plate, with topping haphazardly drizzled sideways over the width of it, taken with a large aperture lens with lots of soft windowlight, I'm going to shoot myself. It's been done! (Actually, that was going to be one of my own entries too. boo.) Unfortunately, I feel like the same rules that apply to creative food are the same rules that apply to the electric slide or pop/locking: it can be very bad unless it's done right. Unfortunately, the great examples of food history are working against us here; because we have the many examples of how it's done right (think www.thepioneerwoman.com), we have very little room to do it wrong. I know that this could spark lots of philosophical controversy about food, and the logistics of what is a 'classic' or what is 'public [food property],' etc. On the one hand, everything has been done. On the other hand, that's simply the creative rules we live by. So, this one might be a tough criteria to judge by.

6. This one is pretty exciting, but the least thought out. I think lots of my talks with Jspec (http://stleatniks.blogspot.com/), who has her own blog, has given me lots of thought about the social, economic and environmental effects of food. Where do we get it? What do we put into it? Who profits? I don't know, but I'd like to. I'll hash more out later.

So, that's it. If I'm rating food, I'll have a simple rating system next to the picture.

Example: 'Dan Ta' or Homemade Chinese Egg Tarts
T = 2, S = 3, P = 5, E = 4, C = 4, R = ?
Dangit, I was going to use a catchy acronym like "RESPECT," and maybe have Ms. Franklin's song play in the background, but alas, I missed an E.

Verdict: without the not-so-secret ingredient of lard, chinese egg tart's crust lack the signature flakiness that they're known for. Boo. Hiss. The crust should flake like baklava, not fold like pie crust.

Oh, Lord. Oh, Lard.

C'monnnnnn.

cheers and happy fooding,

ray

Welcome!

2008-05-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my food blog. Firstly, 3 confessions/explanations:

1. This could be one of many horrible, horrible food blogs and one of many, many more genre blogs. But hey, it's a good way to share something I (and presumably you too) love. I'll be sharing some of my own cooking, food photography tips, food pictures, completely hoity-toity commentary about the implications of food (how we find/buy it, make it, eat it) and maybe even restaurant and recipe reviews. If we all relax here, it could work out.

2. The idea for a food blog first came from four fellow foodies that lived down the hall from me in Mudd 35. Yes, it's true! This blog is the byproduct from the loads and loads of divine guidance I've garnered from their very own blog. I've been so inspired by their frequency of posting, ingenuity ("look at what other people have cooked!"), and authenticity (read: matcha green tea entry). So, this is a tribute to 4 special ladies.

3. Why Rachael Ray? Let me elaborate:
a. In short, because she's absolutely horrible. Her 15-30min recipes are mediocre and sometimes ridiculous (I once saw a 30 min. "raspberry cheesecake" recipe she made, made possible only by the fact that one of the raw ingredients was "Cheesecake.") and her knives blow.
b. The idea was from the fantastic Neil Wingkun, who gave me the low-down about the name. It's catchy, in a horrible way. Plus, I'm getting older. It's a subtle reminder that I need to start getting accustomed to lame things like puns. (Much thanks to Joyce, for her fabulous idea of "raydethefridge" and Jordan for "thefoodRAYdar). Horay puns!