Tomato salad

[two or three months ago]

Sprouts is having a sale on cluster tomatoes! My favorite, err second favorite, heirloom tomatoes are still the best. 69 cents per pound! Woohoo!

Ree Drummond of Pioneer Woman started her Food Network tv show this morning. I don't normally read her blog, but I read another blog that linked to another blog (you know how it goes) that mentioned her Food Network show. I looked up a clip online and she made this tomato salad and well it had me at Hello.


recipe
I bought a mason jar just to do the whole frustrated shaking thing. Too bad I'm still frustrated. But the dish turned out pretty good. I added some cherry tomatoes for color.

 

I finally got to the library and picked up some cookbooks. They have the Silver Spoon book I was eying at Borders [hence the fact Borders was still around]. With all my tomatoes I made spaghetti with raw tomato.

Similar ingredients.
Mix 3-4 chopped tomatoes, 4 tbsp olive oil, 10 basil leaves chopped, 2 garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Cover. Set aside for 30 minutes and remove garlic. Cook 12 oz spaghetti in large pan of salted, boiling water till al dente. Drain and serve.

 I like the idea of putting certain things in a dish then removing it. Like the whole point of that ingredient was just to capture the essence. The consumer has a sense of something familiar but can't quite put their finger on it and it's no where to be found. Kitchen trickery. Reminds me of this Fresh Air interview. Is it wasteful to remove ingredients or are we so far the past the point of eating solely for survival that we can be so picky? Did you know Costco sells garlic pills in its nutritional supplement area? What a world we live in.

The best thing ever

I decided to finish off the green tea ice cream to make more room in the freezer (maybe the ice machine will start holding more ice and not just cartons of ice cream...). Woe this life of mine.

I discovered kind of the best thing ever.


If you like gingersnap cookies, you need to try Nyakers. Nyakers is a Swedish company that makes those super thin, crispy gingersnaps that are my favorite. They pretty much go well with anything.

 

I get my tins at World Market but I think Ikea has something similar, probably in their Swedish market area. It looks like this:

Anyways, I'm a big fan of ice cream sandwiches so you can probably figure out what happened to the ice cream...

Gingersnap green tea ice cream sandwich

Nyakers ginger snap cookies

Maeda-en green tea ice cream 

1. Place scoop of ice cream on a cookie.

2. Top with another cookie and gently squeeze together.

3. Release the cookie monster.

 

 

Tomato lover

If I started a grocery store that only sold tomatoes would it do well?
(It would have chalkboards stating farms of origin in a pretty font. There would be a tomato press in the back and a small kitchen/deli area that served lunch. Everyday the sweet, acidic aroma of tomato concoctions dance in the air and waft out the front door to passersby who would be lured in by the raging firing or their olfactory receptors.)

I've been thinking about tomatoes a lot lately.
And raw food diets. And how the majority of my diet consists of processed foods.

Did you listen to the Michael Pollan piece? I find it fascinating that women didn't want to use cake mixes at first until the marketing teams discovered if they removed the dehydrated egg and asked consumers to add their own eggs so they felt like they were still actually baking. Marketing people are so clever. Soon boxed enriched foods and frozen meals were in vogue and out were the days of hours of toiling in the kitchen. I am leaning more towards the pre-brainwashing thinking that just adding water to something should not be considered cooking.

Real Simple is doing a Take Back Dinnertime Challenge. Each day is a new dinnertime challenge.
+ Take Back Dinnertime

Day 1 was to buy five fruits or vegetables and incorporate them during the week. Lucky me, I passed by a Grocery Outlet and picked up some cheap produce, including yellow cherry tomatoes.

I had my first heirloom tomato a few weeks ago and it was amazing. Thus I am now revoking my lifelong disgust of tomatoes.

They are so beautiful (to me).
Such a variety of colors, shapes and tastes.
How do you not appreciate the diversity of nature?

Don't forget the cheese.
Yesterday, I bought a rather sizable wedge of brie from Costco. By sizable I mean Costco-sized. By Costco-size I mean as big as my head. So creamy it tastes like butter. Yum!

This morning I came up with a yummylicious combination. I assembled a bowl of tomatoes for breakfast. I was eating my cherry tomatoes with brie but something was definitely amiss. I looked out to the compost bin and spotted my housemates basil plant. Plucked a few leaves and voila. Magic.

Perfect for those that wish to phase out all the processed food in your diet but not quite ready to commit to really "cooking". Here is a recipe to "assemble". I think this would be a nice starter to a meal.

Cherry Tomato, Brie and Basil

Ingredients:
handful of washed cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp creamy brie
washed basil leaves

Assembly: Place tomato and glob of brie on leaf of basil.

Similar to the caprese salad but a burst of a flavor every bite and I think it's better without olive oil. I topped the brie with a little bit of dried basil. I'm not sure if this really made a difference.

FYI: The red tomato did not compare to the yellow cherry tomato. Stick with the cherry tomatoes.

Alice Waters

Terry Gross from Fresh Air interviewed Alice Waters of Chez Panisse today!
+the interview

Things I did know:
* Chez Panisse is a well-known restaurant in Berkeley.
* They choose to use fresh organic, local foods that are in season (I once ran into someone picking up the restaurant's oyster order from the farmers market in Embarcadero.)
* There is the expensive cafe section (which is too expensive for me) and the restaurant portion (which is far too expensive for me).
* Mary Canales, founder of Ici (my favorite ice cream store in Berkeley), was a dessert chef at Chez Panisse, thus making it one of my favorite restaurants even though I have never been to it.

+chez panisse restaurant website
+ici ice cream shop website

Things I did not know:
* Alice Waters attended UC Berkeley during the free speech movement and heard Mario Savio speak.
* She wanted nothing more than lemon meringue for her birthday.
* They are releasing a book 40 Years of Chez Panisse with contributions from chefs passing through the restaurant and famous figures like Michael Pollan (who was on Fresh Air earlier in the month).


+michael pollan interview
We are spending more time watching cooking shows,
yet spending less time cooking ourselves.

One thing I miss about going to school at UC Berkeley was the expansive cookbook section of the natural science library in the VLSB that no one seemed to know about. Anytime access to all books from Alice Waters. One day I will have to get her books on ebay.

I found this interview particularly fitting since I've made her apple tart three times in the last week.
With only four ingredients and a bit of water (no eggs!), it couldn't be simpler.
Also, it was my first time successfully rolling out dough.
(Thanks Grandma!)

+apple tart recipe

Japanese tea house

These are pictures from dinner when we stayed at a Japanese bathhouse.
Dinner was in a tea house area.

I love how Japanese food is small portions, varied, delicate, and beautiful.
Though it doesn't seem like much, yet somehow it makes you full.

I do feel a bit sorry for the dishwasher.

Korean Sunday night

Secret Kim Family Recipe turned Costco spareribs into the best Korean BBQ I've ever tasted.

Lettuce Wrap

*lettuce *bbq sparerib *minced garlic * kimchi *soybean paste *veggies

Kimchi Fried Rice
by: Yvonne
*spam *day-old rice *kimchi *sunnyside eggs

Along with typical Korean side dishes, watermelon and banana pie, Sunday dinner needs to become a tradition.

Mexican Night

Housemates threw a Mexican-themed dinner. 

Salsa, guacamole, chips, tacos, rice. 

Flash pop-up dinner party in SF

I might not have posted in awhile, but I have added a google calendar with upcoming food events. Unfortunately, there's still a few kinks to work out... (like getting it to show up when you aren't logged into google). I think this is becoming a hybrid mix of my lonely event blog. Let me know if you are interested in hitting up any of the events. I'm seriously considering volunteering at one or two.

Note: I apologize to those outside of the bay area, my events are only local. You will just have to come over to beautiful NorCal for a fooding trip!

Here's one to get you excited.
(Just when you thought your flash mobbing days were over...)

RSVP required.

website: http://www.ledinerasanfrancisco.info/
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ledinerasanfrancisco

Il cane rosso

Ferry Building Marketplace

Brother took family around the Ferry Building in San Francisco last weekend. Cute stores including Blue Bottle Coffee, a mushroom store, a pork store, Cowgirl creamery, Scharffenberger, and more specialties.

Wrapped around the corner, on Saturdays (and apparently some other days), there is a wonderful farmers market full of beautiful, delicious things right next to the water. Celebrate summer with fresh produce and the chill breeze of the city.

farmers market website

We had lunch at a small restaurant (counter with a few tables scattered around) in the Ferry Building.

Il Cane Rosso

website

A different menu everyday. Everything good.

OLIVE OIL FRIED EGG SANDWICH 
Boccalone pancetta, aged provolone, sweet onion butter

MARIN SUN FARMS BEEF BRISKET
cherry tomato conserva, tarragon aioli & arugula

MARY’S ORGANIC 1/4 HERB RUBBED CHICKEN (INCLUDES ONE SIDE)

Lee Kum Kee

[These posts are getting difficult to do because I have over 1,000 pictures on my dslr and no room on my computer to upload them. So many things to share but must figure a way to upload to the external.]

There are some great sauce masters in this world. I am not one. (At least yet.) Corn starch confuses me.

I also have a problem with eating vegetables consistently because I can't stir fry or grill lunch at work and how do you make vegetables that aren't soggy the next day?

Thank you Lee Kum Kee (LKK) ready made sauces.

I first started with the lettuce wrap sauce (which I can only seem to find at World Market) and am now hooked. Most of the time I try to find ways to cheat recipes and simplify things because the less time I am handling food the less chance there is of my messing it up (it's the truth). So this is perfect. And for most of America, the Panda brand stuff somehow passes as authentic and possibly as good as PF Changs?

One day I hope to turn into my grandmothers and learn to make these dishes completely from scratch, from memory, and only using a blue porcelain bowl as a measuring cup, but that day is not today.

Panda Brand Lettuce Wraps

product page.

Tip: Stick carrots, water chestnuts, and other vegetables in the chopper/food processor. Then all you have to do is cook the pork, tear the lettuce, mix and you're done!

Panda Brand Chinese Chicken Salad

product page.

Tip: I used Garden Salad from Costco (which includes julienne carrots so I didn't really have to buy carrots) and frozen grilled chicken strips from Costco. All I had to do was cut green onion in strips, microwave and tear the chicken and mix. Can someone teach me an easy way to cut green onion strips? My pretty nails were not so pretty afterward.

LKK Black Bean Sauce

product page.

If you are feeling a bit more ambitious than microwaving and mixing things, this is one of my favorite recipes. Stir-fried black bean fish. 

Tip: Do not attempt to cheat by using garlic/chili black bean sauce. It is not the same. At all.

**Note: This post was not sponsored in any way by Lee Kum Kee. I just like their sauces. Hope you do too!

Frozen Yogurt Shaved Ice

Le sigh. You think with two cameras and a smartphone I would have somehow been able to capture the awesome Filipino pork skewers and chicken bbq we made yesterday. Or the giant ten-course (?) Chinese family dinner we had after my grandmother's memorial service. Or my sandwich from Specialty's. Or the delicious eggplant dish Jeff created. Nope. I was out of battery every time.

Luckily, during my six hour cleaning spree yesterday I found all my charger cords in the backpack I brought to Hawaii. Which reminds me of a great treat perfect for the hot weather we have been experiencing lately.

There is a place in Kona that takes shaved ice to the next level.
We found this place through Yelp and they give discounts during check-in too!

Frozen Yogurt Shaved Ice

Tropical Frozen Yogurts
Kailua-Kona, HI

Step 1: Fill Cup halfway with shaved ice.

Step 2: Add frozen yogurt swirl on top.

Step 3: Cover with tall peak of shaved ice. Pack in tightly.

Step 4: Add flavored syrups.

Does your shaved ice look like this right now?

If yes, you are on the right track.

Step 5: Swirl on condensed milk OR sprinkle local favorite Li-Hing-Mui as topping.

Step 6: Eat first. Thank my later.

Enjoy!

Fraiche

Where have you been all my life?

Fraiche
http://www.fraicheyogurt.com/

Pictured: frozen yogurt with apple crisp.
I highly recommend the mochi topping.

Locations:
1910 fillmore,
san francisco, ca

644 emerson,
palo alto, ca

 459 lagunita dr.,
stanford campus, ca

Morning Mimosa

Good things happen when you start your day with a mimosa.
My current theory says the better the mimosa, the better your day will go.

You think I'm joking?

Last weekend I had by far the best mimosa I've ever tasted and in one day we...

...saw a friend we hadn't seen in years, 

...had an unexpected break to squeeze in a gelato trip, 

...did not have to pay anything for bicycle repairs, 

...got a free couch set,

...spent the rest of the day drinking delicious mimosas and playing video games.

Can you guess who did what?

(Note: I should probably mention increasing the amount you consume does not have the same correlation.)

I send my lucky vibes over to you with this recipe.



Morning Mimosa

Props: Franz, Jeff

Mix:

1/2 Tropicana No Pulp Orange Juice

1/2 Martini & Rossi Asti Sparking Wine (more recipes)

Stir gently. Serve chilled in champagne flute.
Enjoy your day.

 

Dining: Supper Club

Dine About Town

I hadn't done Dine About Town for a few years but my buddy Bianca was in town and the timing was perfect. Dine About Town is an annual event where several (pricier) restaurants around town have a prix fixe menu at more affordable prices - $17.95/lunch or $34.95/dinner.

Most of the items on the fixed menu tend to be different than their regular menu but you still get to experience the ambiance, cuisine style, and chef's abilities at the fixed price. Be aware that some participants price points aren't that far off from the fixed menu cost. For this reason, I opted for a restaurant that was less known for amazing food and more known for its memorable experience.

i am very impressed with my friend's camera's abilities in dark rooms.

Supper Club

website

Slightly, I mean VERY, different than your typical fine dining experience. With locations in Amsterdam, Istanbul, Ibiza, SF and LA, the international chain entertains each night with one seating of a fixed menu (typical $45-80) and dinner is accompanied with a show.

My old roommate went in college and reported her experiences to me. I remember her mentioning eating on beds, strangely dressed dancers and a woman that descended from the ceiling then pulled a tape measure out of her nose. Disturbing, but memorable was my impression.

Despite having one seating, Opentable had RSVP various time slots. We thought we were late to our 7pm reservation and speedwalked/jogged a couple of blocks. Arrived sweaty, hungry, and frazzled. To our surprise we were greeted by an angry (not-so)gentle-man sitting behind a table demanding what we had to show for ourselves (yikes! they take being late to your reservation seriously here!) and scooted us off to Detention.

detention

Apparently the theme of the night was academics. I felt a bit bad for my friend because she just wrapped up her school year and the last thing she probably wants to think about is school. I won't give it all away but there were old-school desks with the tops that open, an equally-upset teacher, grilled cheese sandwiches, brain juice, and of course, the bed tables.

bed tables. remember to wear nice socks.

The performances are more sparse on weekdays and luckily no one pulled a tape measure out of her nose. But there was a woman with incredible abs more defined than SJP in Sex in the City circa Season 4 (the episode Margaret Cho convinces Carrie to be in a fashion show, she becomes fashion roadkill on the catwalk, and ends the episode strutting in her briefs showing the world her washboard abs). Well, Incredible abs woman performed with aerial silk and another woman sang one of my favorite songs "Summertime". The DJ was great, the chef danced to footloose, but we left before the restaurant opened up as a club.

i assume this area is for when the place turns into a club at night.

Entertainment was great, unfortunately the food was another story. My original hope was to eat something light for dinner. I glanced at the menu and saw that token word "salad" and thought I was safe. Unfortunately, to my dismay the salad was topped with a giant piece of fried chicken. One delicious hunk of fried chicken. The following courses were delicious, but also heavy, leaving me with an unsettled stomach before a night of dancing. Never a good combination.

I spent the rest of the night drinking soda trying to burp myself.

1st course

Crispy lime chicken salad
Wild mizuna, Carmelized pineapple
Chayote, Spring pea puree, Tomato anchovy salsa
(aka the salad with a giant fried chicken)

We were so hungry this one didn't get a chance to be photographed.

2nd course

Black angus NY strip
yukon potato and basil mash, wax beans, pickled shallots, pink peppercorn sauce

3rd course

Butterscotch pudding

Caramel popcorn, Cashew praline
Local blueberries, micro mint

frosty is that you?

it has green. therefore, you would think it was healthy.

[last thing: pad kee mao]