Thug Kitchen

Oh my gosh, you guys. I've been following Thug Kitchen for a few months now and I DIE every time I read it. Seriously.

There will even be a book! "Expect that shit"

Mid-Board Exam Studying Break

It's been a while. And I shouldn't even be doing this. But because of my 1 faithful reader (and how much I love her) I will post in the midst of STEP 1 studying. Today marks my halfway point with my exam on the 17th. EEK!

But of course, I'm already planning for the fun that's coming after it. I think with all this oppressed living my classmates and I are going through (ie. sitting at a desk for 12-13 hours all day everyday... I didn't even realize it was Memorial Day this past weekend), all I want to do is let loose and go wild. Ok, so by "go wild," I really just mean decadent foods and endless shopping... Come on, what else?

I have plans to go to NYC for the 10 or so days I have left before I begin my orientations for 3rd year. Obviously, we go a lot, but this time, I want to be an ambitious tourist! These are the tentative plans I have. I probably won't get to them all, but I really plan on living it up while I'm there! Daybee, you're joining me!

1. My old Verameat ring that I loved so much broke a few months ago! So I'm looking to replace it. This Steven Alan one is the top contender and I want to go look at it in person. I would also be unopposed to going to Catbird in Brooklyn too.
   
2. Also in Brooklyn, I want to stop by Four and Twenty Blackbirds for a slice of their famous key lime pie, Dough for a crazy(awesome)-sounding donuts, fancy cocktails at the Ides, and a walk along the Brooklyn Heights promenade. I used to take lessons just a couple blocks away from a violinist who, decades ago, sold a violin that made enough money for his brownstone.
3. Obviously the Rain Room at the MoMa that everyone keeps raving about. Or the Cloisters, the Met Rooftop... frankly, any museum would do too.
4. Cookies from Levain and Momofuku's Milk Bar.
5. This may be a stretch, but go see Wicked. I think I'm the only person left on earth who hasn't seen this yet. My sister better come if I go...
6. If not Broadway, I'd be totally down for Swan Lake at Lincoln Center!
7. Over the weekend, check out the Chelsea Flea Market or the Brooklyn Flea Markets.
8. Restaurants, restaurants, more restaurants. And don't even get me started on the Asian foods (and the bubble teas and ice cream that we've been enjoying since childhood).
9. I won't have a bicycle, but doesn't this Cup of Jo Bikeride Guide sound so awesome? Maybe I could walk bits of it...
10. Just walking through Central Park, Battery Park (my cousins live right by it!), so many pretty neighborhoods...

Yowza, this is ambitious. I definitely won't be getting to all of these, but even if I just get half, I'd be thrilled. I better pack my comfiest walking shoes! Daydreaming of post-board exam life... But now, back to work.

Everyday Food

The old news is that life has been pretty busy lately (blah blah blah). Not much time for anything recreational, but in between classes, studying, and video-lecturing streaming, I reward myself with a foodie fix. I signed up for these Everyday Food cooking segments a while ago and almost every day, a new recipe is emailed to me. The host Sarah Carey is quirky (in a curly-haired woman kind of way) and happy. The videos are only 5 or so minutes, so definitely a break I can afford to take.

Here are 2 recipes I really want to try... when I have a little more time again.

Meatless Curry


Bacon French Onion Soup


Here is where you can sign up to get these emails too: http://www.marthastewart.com/edf

Sisters and Cookies

Just because I asked her to, my sister made these Nutella-stuffed Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies for me this weekend. I've previously alluded to how awesome my sister has been with me during these tough past few weeks. This is just further proof of how having a sister (who makes an amazing chocolate chip cookie) is probably the best thing ever.

But seriously, about the cookies, RUN DO NOT WALK to make them. Upon tasting one, my mom "pre-ordered" them for the upcoming Autumn Festival in lieu of store-bought mooncakes. They are that good.

Sunday Seven

I'm always a day late, but I've been making the most of my weekends. This is my last week of work before I take 1 week off in my last summer vacation forever. This past week was very full, in the lazy and decadent way that is so indicative of summer.

In My Father's Garden

I've gone to my Dad's garden only a few times this summer. I usually whine and complain when I go because of the uncomfortable squatting, dirty hands, and damp shoes involved. But I selfishly reap all the benefits of my father's near-daily dedication and care; we've been eating his vegetables since early June. We've had broccoli, sweet potato greens, spinach, cucumbers, dill, sweet peas, zucchinis, yellow squash, chrysanthemum greens, and a whole slew of other Chinese vegetables. There are more pumpkins, winter melons, and cauliflowers (and even one broc-cauliflower!) growing. Right now the tomatoes are just starting to turn red and soon we'll be harvesting bags and bags of them.

June

August

PW's Iced Coffee

There have been many times when I wish I could handle drinking coffee (and perhaps many more coming soon). Unfortunately, the caffeine is too fast, too furious for me, and the crash that always comes a few hours later is terrible. The only times I will risk a cup is when it's creamy and white, laden with creams and sugars, tasting like coffee ice cream.

This iced coffee looks like it might make a believer out of me. And Pioneer Woman hardly ever gets it wrong.

(Photos from the Pioneer Woman)

The Land of Greek Yogurt and Honey

My favorite snack these days is a small bowl of plain Greek yogurt with a spoonful of honey, bananas and blueberries, and a handful of dried fruit and nut-filled granola. It is so simple and seriously, seriously delicious. I'll have this for a lazy weekend breakfast, or a post-work-out boost (I KNOW. Unbelievable.  Me? Working out?), a snack to tide me over to my next meal, or a late-night dessert....

Ok, wow. Now that I actually see that pretty much everything results in another serving, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I've gone through 3 pints of this stuff in the past 2 weeks. Foodzilla strikes again.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Drop Cookies

These Chocolate Drop Cookies look so cute and low maintenance so I thought they'd contrast nicely with the rather refined Jam Thumbprint cookies. Though perfectly adequate as they were, I thought they'd be more celebratory of the season with the addition of peppermint to make them like a peppermint hot chocolate. While I myself do not enjoy peppermint and am still haunted by vivid memories of gagging my way through every toothbrushing, this was the perfect opportunity to make them because I gave them all away.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Drop Cookies (adapted from Ashleigh)

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp peppermint extract
6 oz melted bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (of course the only things I had on hand was 4 oz milk chocolate and 2 oz dark chocolate)
1/3 cup milk

one. Sift and whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

two. Cream together butter, sugar, egg, peppermint extract. Fold in melted chocolate.

three. Alternately mix the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients, ending with milk. Dough will look like a delicious chocolate mousse, if you're into that kind of thing.

four. Drop 1 tsp of dough and bake at a preheated 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Centers should still look soft and edges are just set.



(Photo by Ashleigh, via Mara - again, mine weren't so pretty)

Ina's Jam Thumbprint Cookies

First up on my list are these cookies. I'm a fan of the substitution of fruit for the typical chocolate (I'm not a big chocolate lover), although I will admit these are also really delicious with Nutella instead of jam. Plus, these look so beautiful with their jeweled jam centers. Ina Garten is fabulous, as always, but I added in almond extract to the dough because I love all things almond-flavored (for those who haven't yet, you MUST try almond bubble milk tea!).

Jam Thumbprint Cookies (adapted from Ina)

3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 tbsp water, if dough is too crumbly
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
a few favorite fruit jams and/or Nutella (I used plum and peach preserves)

one. Sift and mix together flour and salt.
two. Cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extract until just combined.
three. Add flour and salt to wet ingredients until the dough is just starting to come together. Add in water if the dough is still too crumbly.
four. On a floured surface, shape the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
five. Roll the dough into little balls (around an inch in diameter) and with your thumb, form an indentation. You can make the indentation bigger so that it will hold more jam. The dough will also flatten so that it looks like a red blood cell.
six. Dip into the egg wash and roll in coconut. Drop about 1/2 tsp of jam or any amount that won't overflow from the center. Jam will melt and run slightly during baking so don't over-do it. Yes, I speak from experience.
seven. Bake for 20-25 minutes at preheated 350 degrees, until the coconut is golden.

Also for my third item, I decided on Pumpkin Spice Cake.

(photo by the Tea Kettle Corner - mine were tasty, but no where near as pretty)

Holiday Baking Frenzy

The Holiday Goodie-bag of 2010 Menu List:

• Jam thumbprint cookies
• Peppermint hot chocolate drop cookies
• A yet undecided cake or bread, or brownies - any suggestions?

This treat bag will be my Christmas gift to my coworkers. I've made and frozen the dough for the two cookies which I'll bake later this week along with the cake, bread, or brownies, when I finally decide. I'll also share the recipes when I get around to the actual baking part. I did actually bake this banana bread for my parents' dinner party tonight. It was served warm with vanilla ice cream and boy, this recipe is a keeper! Maybe it will be banana bread for my coworkers...

(photo via mary ruffle)

Pre-Boston Preparations

This past week, I've been on a mission to eat healthy for my upcoming weekend in Boston (I leave tomorrow morning at 6am! Or, in about 6.5 hours); however, I think the universe wants me on the plumpier side. Let me demonstrate:

Monday
Packed: Greek-style quinoa salad.
Actually ate: Angelo's pumpkin pancakes. I forgot about lunch plans I had made with a friend.
Thoughts: Lovely lunch (obviously because of the company), but food guilt for rest of day. Also, the pancakes were overwhelmingly nutmeg-y.

Tuesday
Packed: same quinoa salad.
Actually ate: quinoa salad... plus a slice of a pumpkin-roll cake a co-worker brought in.
Thoughts: Lunch success, free snack fail. Cake was so good, though, that it was probably worth it.

Wednesday
Packed: Oatmeal with 1 tablespoon of crunchy organic peanut butter and an apple.
Actually ate: Angelo's Farmer's Omelet with half of a slice of wheat toast with my boss who made it too awkward for me to decline going to lunch with him... And a coconut-glazed bakery donut (cakey and non-yeasted) that another co-worker brought in.
Thoughts: Lunch fail and snack super-fail. Disgrace and awkwardness to be back in only 2 days to the same establishment. Prefer the omelet to the pancakes. Budding conspiracy theories about my co-workers working together to fatten up the newest hire to eat for Thanksgiving.

Thursday
Packed: Same oatmeal and apple from Wednesday.
Actually ate [Round 1]: 2 full plates of Indian buffet foods and 1 dessert plate because of the surprise realization that it was yet another co-worker's birthday today so we treated her to lunch.
Actually ate [Round 2]: Went out to dinner with Tiffany at our favorite Ann Arbor sushi place where we proceeded to order 3 rolls of sushi (we're both on "diets" - usually it's 4) and a spicy fish bowl and then subsequently finish nearly all of it.
Thoughts: Delicious lunch - I need to recommend this new place to my friends who love Indian, but also, MY COWORKERS ARE TRYING TO KILL ME. Of course, dinner was food-coma-inducing perfection, as usual.

Oh well. Better luck next time. I  have no false pretenses about keeping myself in line while in Boston. I'm a firm believer in vacations being food free-for-alls. Perhaps that's why I'm even in this predicament to begin with....

(Second photo from Flickr)

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I made these blueberry crumb bars yesterday. From the always and ever extraordinary Smitten Kitchen. I did halve the recipe because 36 bars is a lot. Ok, no. It's because I only had 1 pint of blueberries. Who are we kidding; when have I ever approached food with any moderation?

Blueberry Crumb Bars (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups flour

zest of 1 lemon

1 egg

8 oz (or 1 stick) of cold salted butter, cubed

2 and a little extra cups (or 1 pint) blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

juice of half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

2 teaspoons corn starch

one. Mix sugar, baking powder, flour and lemon zest in a bowl. Cut and blend in cold butter cubes and egg with a fork. It'll be crumbly.

two. In a separate bowl, toss blueberries with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.

three. Layer half of the flour mixture into a greased 10 x 6 pan. Repeat with all of the blueberries; careful you don't dump the excess liquid too. Layer the remaining flour mixture on top.

four. Bake for 50 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Cool completely before you cut if you want bars. I'd imagine that this would also make a fantastic hot blueberry cobbler of course requiring a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Quotability

"Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world, you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks - on your body or on your heart - are beautiful."

Anthony Bourdain

Japan and Taiwan have been amazing. Reflecting in the Taipei airport, feeling bittersweet leaving my awesome family. So far things have been really tiring, but so worth it. Korea should follow suite. Home on the 19th.

(photo by jaako)

Happy Tiger Lunar New Year!

Ok this is inexcusably belated but I just wanted to share how good of a Chinese girl I was this year: 2 weekends ago, I celebrated with Alice and her friends and family with cucumber salad, seaweed salad, Taiwanese savory sticky-rice cups, Korean noodle salad, miso salmon (fish is a homophone for abundance, although it's usually served with the head and tail symbolizing abundance from the beginning to end of the year. Hm, we just had the filet...), dumplings (for wealth because of their resemblance to the old gold currency), TWO impressive hot pots, sticky-rice balls with peanut sugar, coffee brownies with cream cheese frosting, Chinese egg tarts, and green tea bubble tea.


This past week with my own family, I had Mom-made glutinous rice cake (nian gao is a literal homophone for "high year" or to grow higher each year) dipped in egg, a stir fry of 10 vegetables, oranges (homophone for gold and wealth), and first thing the morning of the new year, a chocolate covered oreo so that all things leaving my mouth this year will be sweet. However, I'm still waiting on my Hong Bao...


Happy Year of the Tiger!

PS. Also belated, hope everyone in relationships, out of relationships, or anything in between had a Happy Valentines Day. There's so much love to celebrate.