Holiday

'Tis the season ...

The holidays are here. Birthday, Christmas, New Year's ... means lots of gatherings with friends and family ... lots of meals ... Holiday Parties too.

So, our company had its own staff luncheon, my staff and I got together on our own and did our own little lunch thing ... aside from all the rest of the dinners with friends and all, this year was a little different. D and I somehow got in the graces with one of the restaurants' owners that we frequent and the both of us got invited to THEIR staff holiday party. We contemplated it for a while, back and forth ... and decided that aside from our being busy, it would be a little weird for customers to join them at the party meant for the staff.

All in all, Christmas was pretty low-key this year. I just ended up relaxing at home and got some much needed rest. Besides finally busting out some of the video games I haven't played in a while.

So ... my latest kitchen-experiment plans have to do with seafood. I wanted to try steaming crab a little differently. Normally, I use water, ginger, scallion and some Chinese rice wine to steam it with. My latest is to use white wine, some chicken stock, lots of garlic, some chopped tomatos, a touch of cream and a bit of butter as the liquid. Sounds really good in theory, but will try and report back later. Maybe I'll try steaming some clams like that and give that a try too.

Dogs

Tis the season to eat a lot and get fat. People bake and bring you cookies to share. Who's going to turn down cookies???

Went to a rib joint for dinner a couple of nights ago. It was moist, tender and very tasty. We couldn't finish the whole thing, so I got the left-overs for lunch the next day.

I've got my goodies bag on top of a cabinet behind my desk at work. Took a walk to the lobby to talk to somebody and their dog trotted right in and got himself stuck between my desk, chair and the cabinet. It was a funny sight, the dog was just standing there staring at my bag of goodies while trying to get out. The owner of the dog was laughing and wondering why he was getting himself into such a fix when I told her about the ribs. Too cute.

Another dog came in to visit about a month ago and found my rather large box of doggie treats. He gingerly poked his head toward the flap and pulled back with a suprise look on his face when the flap bounced a bit and hit him in the snout. It took a few tries, but he got through eventually and started just chowing down on the treats.

The stories that the owners told me about the dogs were precious. One of them ate an entire pizza when it was a puppy. Couldn't eat for about 3 days afterwards. One ate a whole bag of catfood (dry) and it was so full that its stomach expanded to resemble a big round ball and was practically rolling around. It was such a funny sight that the owner, while very concerned, had a hard time keeping himself from laughing while calling the vet. BTW, if your dog ever eat an entire bag of dry cat food (or dog food, I guess), don't feed him any water since all the dry food will expand with moisture. Not a good thing.

Rice Soup

Went out for dinner last night. As it was pretty late (9PM or so), I opted to share a soup, salad and burger with my friend.

The blue cheese salad had a really excellent blue cheese dressing (homemade, no lumpy chunks of cheese). The mouth-feel is great, since it felt rich without being too heavy.

The soup was what prompted me to write this whole thing. It was sort of an Asian inspired one made with non-asian spices. Basically, it was a spicy jook with an egg drop whipped in and presented with a few fried wontons. I think I'm going to try this new fusion jook-soup. Very enjoyable, but of course, at least twice as expensive as the chinese jook-joints.

The burger was great and just the right size for two people to share.

A nice meal was had by us both.

Cotton Candy

I've got cotton candy on my brain tonight. The day went on normally enough, but you can't really stop inspiration from attacking sometimes.

I wonder why nobody ever serve cotton candy as dessert? I'm not talking about the general pink stuff one finds at carnivals or fairs, but fancier versions. Perhaps in different flavors. I'm thinking a nice fluffy nest made out of vanilla sugar spuned cotton candy with an assortment of cookies and pastries resting amongst it?

Chocolate flavored ones?

Now where can I score a home unit to try out my experiements? I'm gonna hit the toy store for it soon.

Speaking of dessert ... it was quite gratifying to find out recently that something I said long ago about it had some sort of effect on others. I told H years ago the correct spelling between dessert and desert (so many people get them wrong!) ... Dessert is the sweet stuff that everybody loves and wouldn't mind having more of (two S's); and Desert is the sandy hot place that not too many people want to hang out in for too long (only 1 S is enough). He told me that to this day, he still remembers what I said whenever he uses either of those two words in writing. Guess I made my contribution to society.

Miscellaneous Offerings

First of all, let me just say that crab season officially starts today. Yay!

Weather's been getting a bit cooler these days and I have been playing in the kitchen once again. Chicken leg quarters are usually pretty easy to deal with, so ... within the last week or so, I've made a batch of Coq Cou Vin (chicken braised in red wine, pearl onions and mushrooms); and a batch of Tuscany braised chicken (with red wine, chopped olives, sun dried tomatos and mushrooms). Both batches turned out really well. Both H and D have been lucky recipients of my bounty (or unfortunate test subjects ... depending on your point of view). So far so good. H even hosted a meal with a friend of his. Whether it's to share his loot or to lessen the impact remains to be seen though.

Another trip to the ramen place. This time with D. He gave it his stamp of approval and has been lamenting his own experience with food in Tokyo.

A friend of mine sent me this link (wish it was the real thing though) and thought it's just too cool not to share: http://www.kookisushi.com/index.htm

ummmm ... weather cool ... me want soup ... ummmm ... crab bisque sounds mighty good ...

Food consumed during vacation doesn't count, right?

Oh, don't I wish! Normally, when I go on vacation ... I like to indulge a bit. Afterall, it's vacation! Besides, I tend to do a lot more walking around when I'm on vacation and not just spend my day sitting behind a desk or lounging around in front of the TV like I normally would be doing. So ... I figure it's all logically justified.

Went to Yosemite this past weekend. It was lovely. Not a whole lot of crowds. Weather was still mild enough for a long sleeve TV to get by during the day. We did a hike up to see the top of a waterfall and did some biking around. Overall, it was a great trip.

The place had bear warnings all over the place, so we opted to not bring any food with us. We ended up eating REALLY well for being in the middle of a forest. Aside from the couple of all you can eat meals where the food really wasn't all too bad (or maybe we were just hungry?) We had one of those dinners where EVERYTHING was juuuust PERFECT. The steak was juicy, tasty and tender, the fish was flavorful and cooked right. Not a bit over or under cooked at all. The duck breasts filets were moist and the skin was slightly crispy. Salad dressing was yummy while the candied walnuts were still crunchy.

Brunch at a four star hotel in the middle of nowhere (well, not quite ... but it's not like it's NYC or anything) was an interesting experience. The place was very nice. There was a pianist playing a very interesting mix of songs. The fixings, while not excellent for a four star joint, was great ... considering a lot of the hot food was being kept warm for half the day. Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal in a very nice space.

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant on the way home. Since we had no idea where we were, we asked the waitress. She just smiled at us with a little bit of that "you poor poor retarded folks" look. We explained a little more about what we were asking and why. She replied, "California". ummm ... ok ... thanks!

Asian Goodies

There seem to be a new rave of people who seek out asian comfort and fun foods lately. Bubble Tea places are everywhere these days. For those who hasn't been to one, they are shops that sell drinks (tea, coffee, juices, etc., often served cold) with big tapioca "bubbles" or "pearls" in them. The tapioca has a chewy texture to them and when sucked through the big fat straws that they give you, provides an interesting texture to go with your drink.

Jook (or rice porriage) has been another new fad. There was an article in the paper about them a couple of weeks ago. The article call these places "asian small plates". A bunch of restaurant would serve them either for lunch, light dinner or midnight snack with a bowl of "jook" and a choice of a few dishes of small snacks which goes with them. They range from roasted peanuts, fried fish, bean curd, and a host of other goodies.

Now that weather is getting a little cooler, I've been making that for light meals sometimes. Ummm ... jook ... the ultimate comfort food.

Candy Freak

That's the title of the current book that I'm reading these days. The author claims to have "eaten at least a piece of candy everyday of his life". I guess that's saying something. Even a sugar junkie like myself can't make that very impressive claim.

He went on to talk about how he went into a trance when he was at a candy factory, just tranfixed and staring at the glorious sight of chocolate flowing and covering slabs of candy bars. I can't wait to go visit one myself!

He writes like a gourmet when he describes different candy bars, their "mouth-feel", texture, aroma, taste, etc.

As Halloween comes near, this is a dangerous time to be reading this book as a lot of the old nostalgic candies that's not usually found are stocked on shelves these days. Last night, I went and stocked up on "MaryJane"s. These are peanut butter chews. It comes in these taffy chews with a soft roasted peanut butter center that oozes out when you bite into it. The whole thing is wrapped in a piece of waxed paper. When I opened the bag this morning (I had to have one, it was breakfast time ... peanut butter's a heathy food, right?), the roasted peanut smell permeated my living room. Ah ... nice!

Anyhow ... I've booked a chocolate factory tour for a couple of weeks later. I can't wait!

Moroccan Food? and a busy weekend to follow

Went to a new restaurant about a week ago. I've been hearing and reading about this place for a while now, and have been wanting to go ... if I can find somebody to go with (most of my friends kind of balk at the "moroccan food" label, thinking they'll have to eat with their fingers, etc. Their menu looks good, and inventive too. So ... I've finally convinced my friend to go with me (even better since he offered to pay ... yay!).

The place was dim, almost bar and kind of loung-y like. Most of the tables are in booths with a smallish table lit by candles in a mosaic glass hurricane lamp. I can't remember what they were playing, but I only remember that their musical selection was kind of unusual. Not moroccan, not the usual jazz or whatnot at most other restaurants.

Their food was elegantly presented. We ordered a bunch of stuff to share. Our salad came with thinly sliced pears underneath a bed of fresh mixed salad greens and walnuts. It came with tiny pearls of goat cheese. That was the nice touch, by the way. Instead of coming with big globs of cheese, they squirt or rolled them up in little balls.

The skewers came with tender chunks of beef and these little torpedo onions (didn't know such variety existed). They were sweet enough that my friend and I thought they were grapes!

We had also ordered what the waiter told us was their signature dish - basteeya. It was a braised chicken baked into a phyllo dough pie and dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. It sounded like a strange combination with chicken (a savory item) combined with cinnamon and powdered sugar??? I was reluctant at first, but since it's their signature dish, I just had to try it. The result was a pleasant surprise. Even though the phyllo dough made it a bit oily (but that's no surprise, of course), I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

Overall, even though I like my restaurants a little bit more lit, both my friend and I had a very enjoyable meal and we'll definately be going back there sometime in the future.

*** cut to less pleasant subject - my busy weekend.
Had a packed weekend. Needed to finish up my taxes (still trying to find more receipts and more stuff to deduct), but gave up and ended up just sending in more money.
Needed to finish up my budget for work (for next year). Worked on this practically all weekend.

Met a couple of old friends for lunch on Saturday.

Need to buy and wrap a baby gift for my friend's red egg and ginger party.

Red Egg and ginger party. Ended up skipping that since I was both not feeling well, and was working all weekend. More on that later.

So, I was so stuffed at lunch that I ended up not eating anything else the rest of the day. Partly because I wasn't feeling well. I had developed severe neck pains and started having pretty bad headache by mid-afternoon. I tried all kinds of stuff (Excedrene, nap, more water, more caffine ...) nothing seem to help and on top of it, I started getting stomach pains. Thought I was getting an ulcer from all that stress. So, what else is a girl to do but climb into bed and sleep it off. I was getting worst and was starting to feel a little nauseous when my stomach started making this grumbling noise. I got up and went to the kitchen for a bite to eat (what? you think I was going to ignor my grumbly stomach???) and felt SOOOO much better. Note to self ... don't forget to eat.

Well, I'm happy to note that aside from skipping from the red egg and ginger party, I ended up finishing up everything else. Even made some jook and soup on top of that to boot! H came by to "inspect" my kitchen after his dinner and had a couple of bowls of the soup. He gave his stamp of approval.

Whew! who would have thought that it'll be a relieve to see Monday and get back to work?

Oh well, gotta go home and clean house so it looks less like a disaster zone! ;-)

Smells and Aromas

Weather's been a bit touchy lately. It was getting a little cooler early this week and I was feeling "Fall". Bought some meat and veggies and made a stew. It was nice and I was feeling all warm and cozy eating it. But before I get a chance to finish the whole pot (I even gave a bunch away to other people), "Indian Summer" finally hits. Temperature reached 80 or so the last couple of days. Good thing I work in an air conditioned building and really don't know what it's like "in the real world".

Anyhow, back to the main subject ... it's amazing what smells triggers. While my stew was cooking, I was hooked. I wait and wait and hope the thing will get done as soon as it can so I can start chowing down. No such luck (I used a crock pot) and it's slowwwww cooking. I woke up to a wonderful smell (food!) and promptly started dishing portions for future consumption. That was a couple of days ago.

Last night, I took one of the portions and heated it up for my dinner. I guess I should have kept my bedroom door closed like I did the night before. The greasy meat smell kept me up all night and I ended up having to get up in the middle of the night, rubbbed some smelly ointment stuff under my nose before I can go back to sleep peacefully.

Same dish, two different results. Go figure!

Took my staff out for dinner a few nights ago. Ended up dragging them to "Hot Pot". It was fun. One guy discovered lamb for the first time in his life. Liked it. The other guy told me a little psychological trick that the restaurant may be playing. Apparently, when a person sits there and keeps smelling the aroma of food cooking, the person just naturally feels more satisfyingly full (ummm ... satisfyingly ... is there such a word?) I haven't really tested his theory as I'm basically eating all the time. At least snacking on stuff. Who knows? Maybe he's got a point there. I don't normally feel hungry when I'm cooking. But then ... maybe it has more to do with my "testing" the food while I'm cooking though.

Why not get all your addictions satisfied at once?

Came across this (sent by a friend) earlier today: http://www.bongvodka.com/

Yea ... GREAT idea, guys! <-- with a degree of sacasm, of course. I just find things like this funny, in an absurd kind of way.

Been playing with podcasts lately (Apple's iTunes rocks!) and while browsing through some of the casts out there, came across a bunch of them that's food related. Some were even videos showing what they were doing. One had a couple of guys drinking beer and cooking (who knows what). As they continue cooking, they keep drinking more and more and their speech got to be PRETTY slurred by the end. Another one was actually pretty good where a couple of Aussies were cooking either in their own kitchen, or one of their friend's. I love what they call their podcast - CrashTestKitchen. One episode had them making a sponge cake in commeration of a friend's birthday (they were actually in a different country from where said friend was at the time, they just wanted to bake the thing and eat it in his honor). It was titled "Spong Blob Square Pan". Another episode had a bonue feature toward the end where they rescued an orange.

Great stuff. Quite a lot of entertaining stuff out there.

Didn't think I left out the food part, did you? Found a restaurant the other day where they'll cook and serve you up a whole cooked crab for 6 bucks! Went there with H. tonight and had us a feast. We ended up ordering 2 crabs and a few dishes. Whole tab came up to be less than the four sandwiches we ordered for lunch today.

Oh yes ... the sandwiches. Been craving these Phili. Cheese Steaks for a while now. There's a place not too far away from work who does a really great job with them. Ended up picking up a bunch for ourselves and some co-workers too. If you've never had it, it's well worth the trip. The restaurant itself's not really all that great, looks-wise, but the sandwiches ... Thin sliced beef, sauteed on a griddle with grilled onions, add cheese to it, with optional sweet or hot peppers. The whole thing comes out with toasted rolls and the beef all juicy and covered with gooey cheese. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them.

Shanghai Dumplings

Went to this place for dinner last night. It was featured in one of those "cheap eats" magazine articles. I had me a feast and ordered steamed shanghai dumplings (siu loung bow), green onion pancakes and wontons with red chili oil.

The green onion pancakes were crispy and flavored just right. I originally didn't eat them correctly, apparently I figured out after a half piece later that you're supposed to eat them faced together, not taken apart. No wonder one side was kind of greasy and salty!

The dumplings were good, but it's not as extraordinary as I would have expected, given the press it received.

The wontons with chili oil were great! I've had this dish at a different restaurant before and had wondered what else was in the oil as it was very flavorful and reminds me of something that I've had before, but couldn't quite place. So ... the restaurant last night had the chili oil mixed in with PEANUT BUTTER!!! The combination may be strange, but let me tell you ... it's GREAT!

Wish I had pictures to show, but I ate most of the food before I thought of it. Oh well, maybe next trip there.

Kissing the chicken

I just got home from my friend's wedding banquet. As usual, I was in one of the rowdy tables waaaaay in the back of the restaurant and the bride approaches us with some degree of fear in her eyes.

The groom happens to be one of the "fun" people in wedding banquets past and had other (now married) friends do all kinds of strange things on their wedding day. One friend was made to kiss the duck's head (roast duck was on the menu that night), not to mention all the yelling and demands for the bride and groom to kiss.

So ... tonight was pay-back time for all my married friends. The groom was asked to kiss a chicken's head, a lobster head, a baby's head and his bride on her lips in succession. The only one he declined was the baby head. Go figure. Probably didn't want to make her cry (the baby, not his new wife).

Banquet itself consisted of a very respectable menu. There were a total of 10 courses altogether (always even numbers for weddings and odd numbers for funerals).

Of note were the shark fin soup. Not that it's spactacular-ly good, but there were LOTS of shark fin (in clumps) for everybody; and the abalone. I just haven't been to many banquets where they serve whole ones like we did.

Overall, the whole day turned out very nicely. Weather was great and I get to catch up with a lot of friends whom I haven't seen in a long time.

Rice Cooker Chicken

Note to self ... large whole chicken in small little rice cooker doesn't work too well.

I've got an easy bake chicken recipe from one of my aunts from way back. Just dry rub this ginger spice powder all over a chicken with some salt and pepper (both in and outside of the bird). Sit it in the rice cooker and push the button. Presto! The chicken's done all juicy and tender a couple of button pops later. I don't know what the magical thing is, but it works every time.

So ... I haven't made that in a number of years and was craving it the other night. Stuck the thing in my one and only rice cooker, which happens to be this tiny little thing (4 cups, I think). Well ... it took a few more than just the two button pops to get the thing cooked, which is kind of a pain. Must remember to use parts next time.

Either way, the result was yummy.

Well ... gotta go. I bought some "breakfast steaks" the other day and wanted to play around and see if I can make a masala dish out of it.

Weather's getting a bit cooler and I'm dreaming about all these hearty comfort-food type dishes. Busting out the crockpot sounds mighty good right now.

All you can eat

So this new Chinese Buffet place recently opened in my neighborhood. I went and tried it out with H. last night. Considering the price ($14), the food really wasn't bad at all. Aside from the usual fixings like jello (why do they all have jello?), cookies, cakes (can you tell I go straight to the dessert table first?), fried appetizers (they were actually crunchy and not cold and soggy - nice!), noodles and rice, assorted dishes, sushi, steamed dimsum, they also have crab during dinner times! H. polished a whole shell and said it was pretty good.

For some reason, whenever I go to one of those "all you can eat" places, I ended up stuffing myself so much that I basically waddle out of there. I wonder if it's the cheapskate in me who wants to get enough (or more) to get my money's worth? Maybe it's the adventurous side of me who wants to sample and try everything? More likely that I just have no self control, especially when it comes to food.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about one of my aunts' ginger chicken (dry rubbed with the spices and cooked in the rice cooker)

Lion's Head

That's the name of one of my favorite Chinese dishes. I wonder whether I like it for the cool name, or I actually like the taste. At any rate, the restaurant nearby which searves it is now under new ownership and don't serve it anymore.

For those who are curious enough, lion's head is a dish made with pork meatballs braised with vegetables and some other stuff.

Mom's old cookbooks to the rescue. I took my day off to attempt it today. The recipe is for the vegetarian version, with crumbled tofu, mushrooms, tofu puffs, fried (savory) donuts, etc.

I have to say that it took quite some time to make, not to mention the pile of dishes I had to do. Still debating whether the result is worth all that work.

Food adventures

So ... feeling adventurous last night, I decided to conduct some kitchen experiments to see how things turn out. I ended up with cold noodles salad and chicken, which, I must say, didn't turn out too bad at all.

The cold noodles salad was made with plain noodles and mixed with a sauce out of some peanut butter, sesame oil, cider vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper. I wanted to add a little something to it to give it a little more texture and taste. I looked around for a cucumber, but couldn't find any. Since I was too lazy to get out to buy one, I rummaged around to find some kind of substitute. Ended up with Japanese take-out packets of pickled ginger. Chopped up a few packets' worth, added some eggs (scrambled and cut up) ... ummm ... no ham at home ... substituted with sliced sandwich turkey meat. It was actually pretty good.

The chicken was interesting. I ended up pan frying the pieces in a pan with a sauce I made with peanut-butter, mustard, tumeric, fennel and salt & pepper with a dash of masala wine. Surprised myself that this odd combination turned out good.

A friend of mine sent me this website about how this guy ate and reviewed a bunch of weird food that most people wouldn't go looking to eat. It was hysterical. Enjoy!

http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/cat_steve_dont_eat_it.php

Nostalgia

Been feeling a big nostalgic lately. My parents just moved this past weekend and I went to help with the move, sorting things and other stuff and ended up with a great big box(es) of my old things.

Some of them was old cookbooks of my mom's. Leafing through them, it's acutally kind of weird, in an interesting way. One book keeps listing "pork fat" as ingredient. It comes with a bunch of stories and histories behind some of the dishes, which is really neat. Too bad it doesn't have any pictures. ;-) Another one has a LOT of pictures and it has one of my childhood favorites on it! Sauteed milk!!! I had totally forgotten about that dish until I came across the book.

Sauteed milk is not just a watery puddle, but these light fluffy white stuff, usually served over crispy fried rice noodles. I remember that not many restaurants made them growing up, so it's always a treat whenever I get to have it.

So, it secret turned out to be whipped egg white! I can't wait to try my hand at it.

Other things I really crave include turnip cakes. I've tried making these in the past based on what I can remember mom or grandma doing in the past ... with some degree of success too, I may add (just not all the time.)

Currently wants to make:
fish filet with some kind of summery fruit-based salsa.
braised short ribs with red wine.
sauteed black bean chicken.
pork chop masala.
tea eggs.
veal piccata.

Alternative Cooking Methods

A friend of mine sent me the following article from the New York Times about solar cooking (I'll attach it at the end of this entry for reference).

I've always been fascinated by the whole idea of having food available without actually standing in front of the stove, fussing about. I fancy braising meat in my dutch oven, still experimenting with the crockpot to find the balance between disingrating food in there, or having tough pieces of meat.

I saw a program on TV some time ago where they were introducing different methods of cooking that people have tried. Hot stones (wrapped in foil ... you know ... for cleaniness) stuck inside a pre-seasoned chicken with another couple ones under its wings (or was it the legs?), wrap the whole thing, stones and all, in foil, then multiple layers of newspaper as insulation and then stuck in a backpack. So, by the time you're finished hiking, you get cooked baked chicken! ... Lasagna (in foil pans) over the car's exhaust manifold. Unfortunately, I saw this many years ago and these were the only two that I can remember.

I have yet to try any of these methods personally, but anything different AND food related just gets my curiousity going. Hopefully, somebody will try these and let me know about their whole experience.

As promised ... the article:
August 21, 2005

Kitchen Voyeur: Sunny Side Up
By JONATHAN REYNOLDS

It's getting harder and harder to save the world, particularly in the meteorogicially challenged Northeast. Intrigued by my friend the writer Patricia Bosworth's fervor for solar cooking -- using the sun alone for fuel -- I contacted one of its best-known and most passionate proponents, the figurative painter and sculptor Mary Frank. She enthusiastically invited me to lunch.

But what sort of daffy cuisine would this be? And why would anyone want to cook this way anyhow, unless they were climbing Everest or paddling the Amazon? Don't most meals cook with an environmentally acceptable amount of fuel that's readily available?

Maybe in North America and Europe. But in the third, or emerging, or developing (choose your p.c.) world, solar cooking could be a bona fide revolution. In sub-Saharan Africa and large parts of India and China, one chief source of cooking fuel is wood, and women traditionally spend much of their day collecting or buying it. Forests are stripped, erosion destroys the arable land and the air fills up with ozone-damaging vapors. Diseases caused by fumes from burning wood range from cancer to respiratory problems to blindness.

The good news is, there's good news.

At the first sign of sun, I dashed up to Woodstock, N.Y., to the 11 lovely acres Mary shares with her husband of 10 years, the musicologist Leo Treitler. They had set up two kinds of solar cookers on the back patio of their one-story house-cum-studio: the first, called a CooKit, was a lightweight, folding reflector made of cardboard to which laminated aluminum foil has been attached, looking much like one of those reflectors from the good old days when we thought too much sun at Jones Beach wasn't nearly enough. The second was more elaborate, a 26-by-21-by-9-inch box whose bottom was painted black to absorb the heat, and which was connected to a shiny reflector panel perched at a 45-degree angle above. Sunlight of relatively short wavelengths bounces off the reflectors into the black interior, where it is trapped and turned into heat. ''Cooking With Sunshine,'' by Lorraine Anderson and Rick Palkovic, points out that it's not unlike the heat in a car with its windows closed on a hot summer day. The cookers can be used anywhere between the 60-degree parallels -- say, most of Canada down to Tierra del Fuego -- and the closer to the equator, the longer cooking time you have. Since food safety is a factor of time and temperature, the hours it takes to solar cook renders the food risk-free.

Mary, a soft-spoken and very political 72, was mixing a pound of shrimp with some vegetables and coconut milk in one pot and a chicken with some spices in another. She prepared this in front of her fire-engine red vintage-40's Chambers range, which is right next to her G.E. fridge, on whose aluminum door she has painted orange-and-green nasturtiums because ''I don't see why people want things that look like airplanes in their kitchen,'' she said, placing the ingredients in a black pot and covering it.

''You don't need to add water to anything except grains because the food makes its own liquid. It tastes so good because nothing dries it out.'' The temperature of these cookers hovers between 200 and 275 degrees Fahrenheit, resulting in a slow process not unlike that of a crockpot, so that all the juices and flavors are nudged together.

''Europeans always ask, 'How does it taste?' and Americans ask, 'How long does it take?''' She placed the pot inside a plastic bag, twist-tied it and put the pot in the CooKit. That was it.

''I cooked for 14 Afghan women when they came to visit for a conference -- lamb, tomatoes, onions, pepper, dal, rice. The sun went in and out, like today, but was out enough for everything to cook, and they couldn't believe how good it was!''

We waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Clouds covered the sun, then floated away, then climbed back. The sun came out, went back in. Out! In. Out! In. And so it went for three and a half hours, which is a long time to wait for lunch. The cookers never did manage to get a sufficiently hot temperature for anything that day but the shrimp. And the shrimp was gorgeous.

Undaunted, I drove back up a month later, lured by uncharacteristic altruism and the memory of the intensely flavorful shrimp. I was greeted by Leo and his son, Max, who's a cellist, and wonderful CD's of old French music-hall artists -- Chevalier, Piaf, Mistinguet, Jean Gabin -- playing in the living room. The sun was raging, and a newly confident Mary and Max threw together a pot of mushrooms and potatoes with sherry splashes, a Persian fesenjan (chicken with pomegranate syrup and crushed walnuts), scallops with peppers and peas and a classic peach cake.

As the dishes baked in the sun, Leo sat at the piano, and Max joined him on cello. Light streamed through the windows, and a fan cooled the room, as they duetted on Faure's ''Romance,'' then Ravel's ''Piece in the Form of a Habanera.'' Was there ever a summer afternoon like this?

Mary retrieved the mushrooms after 90 minutes. Beautiful, juice-packed portobellos, made slightly mellow by the sherry. Then the scallops were done, soon followed by the chicken. ''That looks like something out of Bosch,'' Mary said of the scallops, which were swollen and silky. The chicken was piercing and hearty, the peach cake just what you'd want on a summer afternoon.

You can cook almost anything in these things -- breads and cakes, eggs, soup, souffles, fish, stews, almost every vegetable. I've never seen a simpler method of food prep. Not much clean-up either. And you'll infuriate Con Ed, which is always worth doing. There are so many uses for solar cooking -- at picnics or on a rooftop or, on a more profound level, in needy villages all over the world. Mary said, quoting Peter Matthiessen, ''Anyone who pushes a button to turn on the gas or turns a spigot for water doesn't know how most of the world lives.''

There is an enormous range of solar cookers, from the cheapest single-pot reflector, called a CooKit, $25, to one on which 600 meals can be prepared twice a day. To test these recipes, we used the SOS Sport Solar Oven, about $150, at www.solarovens.org.


Mary Frank's Solar-Cooked Shrimp

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small tomato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
Juice of 1 lemon
10 basil leaves
6 star anise pods
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a large, dark pot with a tightly fitting dark lid, combine all ingredients. Bake in solar oven just until shrimp are cooked through, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, checking after 45 minutes and then every 15 minutes or so. Spoon on top of rice. Serves 4.

NOTE: To make this in a conventional oven, bake at 250 degrees.


Max Treitler's Fesenjan (Chicken With Pomegranate and Walnut Sauce)

14-pound organic chicken (or duck), boned and skinned by your butcher and cut into 10 pieces, or 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup pomegranate syrup
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom.

If using a whole bird, set wings aside for another use. Trim all excess fat from remaining chicken pieces. Toss poultry with salt. In a large, dark pot with a tightly fitting dark lid, combine poultry with remaining ingredients and bake in solar oven until poultry is cooked through, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, checking after 1 hour and then every 20 minutes or so. Serves 4.

NOTE: To make this in a conventional oven, bake at 250 degrees.


Peach Cake

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 cups peeled, chopped peaches (about 3 medium).

1. Melt the butter in a dark, 9-inch round cake pan in a solar oven.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in buttermilk, stirring until smooth. Scrape into the pan over the butter (do not stir). Sprinkle peaches over top, cover with a tightly fitting dark lid and bake in solar oven until puffed and just bubbling around the edges, about 2 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream. Serves 6.

Adapted from ''Cooking With Sunshine,'' by Lorraine Anderson and Rick Palkovic.

NOTE: To make in a conventional oven, bake at 250 degrees.

To Eat ... To Live ...

"Do you live to eat? Or do you eat to live?"

Eventually, most people I know will encounter this question by me.

Knowing me as I am ... most of my friends' reply were "live to eat". One guy, without hesitation, told me that and then inform me that only animals eat to live, and HE has evolve way beyond that.

To those who eat to live ... I am so sorry!

Eating ... it's no longer just to survive. I mean, there is a reason why there's an "obesity epidemic" around!

It's much more than that. It's a whole sensory experience:

The aroma ... it's not as simple as good, or bad, or sweet, or savory. Sometimes, it brings you back memories. The subtities of spices and herbs.

Then there's the texture. Some are luscious, silky, smooth, grainy, chewy, even bouncy, crunchy ...

The presentation ... ah! Some of these plates are so great looking that I hesitate to break up the harmony of the whole "look". I think my cousin has the right idea in taking a photo first, before chowing down on it.

Ocassionally, there are actually food that will make noise. I'm not even talking about pre-cooked animals here. Who can resist that hot sizzling plate of seared meat? There is a reason why sizzling rice soup has a following. I mean, it's not like the stuff is all that great. Oh, but the brief sound it makes ... it's just so ... fresh and tempting!

Of course, can't enjoy food without taste now, can we? I'm not talking about those who over season their food so that when you finally do get a chance to eat, your lips just feel all "pickled" after a while. The excessive salt content changes your taste buds enough that it seem as if the dish is bitter. I'm talking about "just right" seasoning. The simplest things like salt and pepper can make a really good piece of meat stand out on its own based on its flavor and texture alone. Sometimes, one wanders into a culinary adventure with the subtlest of herbs or spices. The right combination can give you that little surprise element. A little something unexpected. The constant evolving use of them is part of the joy of eating.

Take a cup of hot cocoa. What can be simpler? Just some cocoa powder and hot milk? Recently, I went to a chocolate shop where they boast to make the "world's best cup of hot chocolate". With that claim, who am I to turn away? The shop, aside from selling all kinds of chocolates with different fillings, also truffles (chocolate ones, of course), also sells chocolate related accessories (like fondu pots, cook books, etc.). They have a hot chocolate bar in the corner serving about at least 4-5 different kinds. I asked them for a "hot and spicy". They didn't really explain to me what was in it, but from what I CAN see ... they must have put about half a cup of chopped chocolates in the 6 once cup (either milk or dark ... it's all up to you), then there are pinches of this and that. I think it involves cinnimon, chilli pepper (probably caynne), nutmeg and who knows what else that I can't see. All this was followed by some honey and steamed milk. Then all that hot liquid gets transferred to a metal cup and stuck into a milk shake maker to give it a whirl. They're probably right. It was damn good! Though whether it's the "world's best" or not remains to be tested. Though I know I can't possibly try them all, I intend to try a whole lot of them.

Gimme that!

Ummm ... the piece of chocolate that one's supposed to find on their pillow. The definition of decadent and luxury.

Has anybody ever get that from hotels? I've stayed at a bunch of different hotels, some of them rather nice ones, I have NEVER found a single piece of chocolate on MY pillow! Nope, not even a stinking piece of Hershey's Kiss.

So, if ever I do find that elusive piece one of these days, what does one do with it? I mean, by the time I get to bed, I would have already washed up and brushed my teeth. Not that I'm really going to let a thing like tooth decay stand between me and my rightful piece of CHOCOLATE! ... but do people usually go check before starting to cleanup ... you know ... just in case? If you find it too late, do you eat now, THEN brush again, or save it until the next morning? Which creates a different problem since chocolate and morning breath, I would imagine, don't go well together.

Well ... I'm willing to HAVE to live through that kind of a dilemma.

snacks at work?

Does anyone else have a snack drawer at work? One of the first things I'd done at my current job (and the last few, come to think of it) was to clean out a desk drawer so that I can throw my assorted sundries into it. My assorted sundries just happen to contain mainly of food. As it turns out, a few of my co-workers have similar habits. I brought food in to work (pasta) and decided to feed my co-workers. We ended up with a pretty nice impromptu potluck. One guy produced a can of smoked oysters from his desk. Another guy had soda. One lady picked up some garlic bread from the cafeteria ... It was ... nice ...

Currently, I have one file-sized drawer filled with emergency rations (I'm calling it that and I'm sticking to that story!). There are cookies, crackers, mango pudding cups, potato chips, vegetable juice, microwave popcorn and a couple of boxes (not cases, even *I* know that would be going too far) of instant noodles.

... Then I ran out of room. So ... of course I have to set aside ANOTHER (smaller) drawer for my candies. To be honest, this one is only half full of ... currently holding: bite size "3 Musketeers", bite size Snickers, White Rabbit candies, Jolly Rancher lollipop, Tootsie Roll pops, Starburst Fruit Chews, Laffy Taffy which I stole from my assistant, 1 Pixy Stix (need a refill very soon), Horhound hard candies (supposed to be good for sore throats, at least I'm claiming it as such), and to round things out with a touch of "health", one bar of Nutri-Grain Yogurt Bar.

What do other people do if they don't have a desk drawer to use?

Frankenfood

We are eating so much processed food these days. Preservatives, added "stabilizers", genetically engineered food substitutes.

I go to the local market and I can find all kinds of stuff that people eat on a regular basis. I have to admit that I occasionally partake in some of these things, just because they're so readily available and convenient. But I'm trying to eat a little better, a little less preservatives, etc.

We have not just one, or two ... but 3 different major brands of sugar substitutes! All of which has a strange aftertaste. I don't care what they say or rave about ... that stuff is still weird.

There are garden burgers (non-meat hamburger patties). These are actually not too bad, taste-wise. I think it has some nuts, soy and other stuff in it to keep the whole thing together. There are soy dogs (soy-based hotdogs wieners). I would not recommend these as they have been quite nasty in the past. I don't think I want to try them again anytime soon ... stay away from these unless you like chewing on plastic, which is roughly what they taste like. Yes ... a salty rubber glove!

Reading the ingredient lists, I have a hard time trying to find savory snacks without MSG in them. I'd always thought that being Asian gives me immunity to MSG sensitivity, but I changed my mind after getting violently ill after ingesting 2 bags of shrimp chips once upon a time.

There is pesticide on my fruits and vegetables. At least I assume there is. They sell detergent for fruits and vegetables now. They supposedly rinses away pesticides and wax (they put a coat on hard fruits and vegetables like apples, bell peppers, etc. to give them a pretty glossy shine).

There are reports of newly "developed" fruits or vegetables every now and then. The market sells the "regular" tomatoes for less than a dollar a pound (they're just kind of there. Looks like tomatoes, have the texture of tomatoes, but taste-wise ... they could be anything). Heirloom tomatoes (they're kind of weird looking with lumps everywhere and sometimes multicolored too) - what tomatoes USED to be like, are selling for at least $3 a pound. Most of the time, more. They smell like tomatoes, tastes like tomatoes ... why are we subjecting ourselves to eating the mutant tomatoes? Is it the price (less likely that they will get infected by disease, insects, etc. grows larger, faster, etc.)? The public is never really officially informed that these are not "regular" fruits or vegetables ... just that there are more expensive varieties that you can buy from the "organic section".

I've read somewhere that Japan is developing slightly soft shelled eggs that are square, so that they can stack them easier. What are they going to "develop" next? Skinless chicken???

I think people are getting a little more conscious about these things, especially those who are in higher income brackets who can actually afford to eat organically. Who knows what the longterm affect will be? Will we grow a third eye or develop super powers from eating these things? I think I would like to be able to fly. Beats being stuck in traffic all the time.

Ice Cream

A friend of mine called me at the last minute and asked if I wanted to join her in an ice cream making class since one of her friends can't make it for personal reasons. My initial response to her was "You've hit me right at my Achillias heel, of course I'll HAVE to go now that I know it's ice cream. Damn you!" ... all in good fun of course.

The class was fun. Well ... anything would have been fun if it involves ice cream! The presenter was a lot of fun and totally in tune with the way I feel about the subject. She was talking about having granitas for breakfast and how her husband doesn't understand. It was like ... yeah! what's wrong with him???

Anyhow, she ended up making about 4 different kinds of frozen desserts. A basic vanilla ice cream using heavy cream and whole milk; a chocolate custard cream with bananas, peanut-butter, using egg yolks; a champagne sorbet; and an espresso granita with whipped cream topping.

All in all, very enjoyable. I picked up some rock salt for some impromptu ice cream making when I get home. Of course, that didn't happen since I forgot to pick up a large bag of ice as well. D'oh!

Food Quality

Is it my imagination, or is the general quality of food better these days. I'm not counting general fast food restaurants (are they considered restaurants?) or stuff you get as part of a package (like airplane food).

I went to the museum yesterday and their cafe's menu actually sounds really good. They have baby greens with apples and blue cheese, sandwichs with fillings like stone-grounded mustard with black forest ham, grilled vegetables, etc. The Asian Art Museum has stuff like lemongrass coconut soup with asian vegetables and chicken ... I remember not too many years ago when all you can get at museums are cold "wonder bread" sandwiches and watery coffee. All cafeteria food stuff. They were pretty expensive too! The selections from De Young actually was quite reasonable for what you can get. I haven't tried them out yet, but will definitely have to try it out.

I guess people's taste bud's finally evolving for the better. If only they do as well with school lunches ...

Chicks and Pubs

Went to a pub for dinner tonight. Their fish & chips were good. The best is still the place in Pacific, but it's not too shabby being second best.

Thought I like the family-like setting there, seeing actual kids there was really odd. A family of 5 strolled in. They look like they know everybody there and stopped to talk with a number of other people who all look to be regulars. The two kids who can walk around were running around and playing with the video game machine (I think it was a pac-man or something. Mom and dad already has a pint in hand. The baby's stuck in his/her stroller.

I'm still having a hard time imaging when those kids grow up and already being such regulars at a pub. Strange.

About a year ago or so, I was talking to a co-worker about the merits of the costco chicken. Now, a costco chicken is a fully cooked rotisseri chicken. Fully flavored and oh, so juicy. All for a mere $4.99! So, there I was, telling her about all the stuff that I normally do with a typical chicken I buy from them. First night, eat a leg and thigh. Second day and on-ward, chicken sandwichs, chicken with salad, pasta with chicken, chicken salad sandwich, etc. Then it's on to chicken soup and then finally chicken porridge. I was mighty impressed with myself and how "enterprising" I can get with a simple cooked chicken. To my surprise ... my co-worker response was one of pity and concern. She then asked if I was POOR! Then she helpfully informed me that chicken is much cheaper if I buy it raw and whole, instead of parts.

I was like ... no, I'm not entirely poor. I'm just CHEAP!!!

Gosh! Some people just can't appreciate the finer points!

Salt

Continuing my search for more good-eats around the neighborhood. I went to a Janpanese restaurant tonight. As it turns out, they're open late (until midnight). So, it works out pretty well for me if I miss on going to all the rest of the places around the area. Let's see ... for late night snack attacks ... I've got the Taqaria a block away, or the Japanese place about two blocks away. Then there's the pub for whatever it is that they offer ... knowledge such as these keeps my tummy full at all hours. :-)

I was really craving some noodle soup. I can go for pho, but didn't really feel like it. I ended up with a bowl of ramen. I think they call it chanwa or something. Anything with my name in it can't be all that bad, can it? For something extra to chew on, I asked them for a side order of California rolls.

The California Rolls turns out pretty good. They use real crab meat! Always a bonus point for doing that in my books.

The ramen was good. Chewy and with a slight bouncy texture. Very nicely done. The soup base was pork. It was creamy and has a rich pork flavor. Unfortunately, they put way too much salt in it for me to really enjoy it. The few pieces of pork floating around in the broth was tasty, but I would much rather that they trim off the chunks of fat that's still attached to the meat. The various pieces of fish cake has probably been in the broth way too long. I can't really taste their flavor. Maybe that's why the soup was so salty?

There was a guy who sat down next to me at the bar. He must be a regular there. The chef and other people who work there stops to talk with him for a while. He looked at what I ordered and asked him how it was. I told him that though it's tasty, it's too salty. His reply was a little puzzling. I'm still trying to figure out what it means. He said "salty good eh? gives you more POWER tomorrow! ... HAHAHAH! eh?" Strange guy. I just smiled, nodded and went back to my book.

I was talking about food that's salty with another friend earlier. He told the cook about his meal and the chef told him that it's to give the food a little more "zing".

How can one really enjoy the meal when it's so salty that it's almost bitter? Unless the cooks are all kind of too de-sensatized to really know what their food tastes like.

I am still searching for that elusive restaurant where I can honestly say that I've never had a bad meal at.

Eating vegetarian

No, not me! But sometimes I do try to eat a little lighter and go with more vegetables in my diet.

So, I had a brainstorm a couple of weeks ago. I decided to make a vegetarian lasagne without noodles. Kind of a super atkin's dish, I guess. So, I went out and got some vegetables and proceeded to slice them into thin slices. The zucchini was shaved into these thin ribbons as psudo "noodles" for the dish.

I assembled the vegetables together. The "meat filling/sauce" was made out of sauteed mushrooms and tofu. Then a shaved a bunch of cheese over the whole thing and stuck it in the oven.

It smelled very good. But ... I forgot about how vegetables shed a lot of water when heated. So, the whole dish turned out really watered down. Otherwise, I think it has a lot of potentials to actually be quite good.

Need to remember to dry them out a bit before the entire baking process.

After all this, I'm a little tapped out on the whole vegetarian thing. Did I mention the veal I had last night was really good?

People just eat all kinds of strange stuff, don't they? Sweatbread -- let me tell you, it has nothing to do with bread OR sugar. Mountain oysters? -- do you really want to know? My cousin was in town last week from Australia. Before coming by, she asked if there's anything I want from there. I, along with another friend was joking around and started talking about kangaroo steaks and crocodiles. Well ... she brough us some of both (in jerky form). Haven't tried them yet though, but ... like what they say about most exotic meats ... probably tastes like chicken.

Speaking of exotic meats? I wonder if people eat dogs anymore. My friend D was joking with the chef guy a while back about wanting him to fix him something out of the neighborhood pet population. The guy told him to not joke about stuff like that as his (the chef)'s wife was from the orients. What is this perception that we eat everything anyway? I mean ... ok, so Asians probably eat more strange stuff than most other cultures, but I kind of doubt if it's still the case anymore, right?

Food adventures

I was talking with a friend of mine recently. I have to say that I was kind of shocked that he was complaining that he never gets to try out new restaurants. For a guy his age, he sure doesn't get out much.

One of those people who doesn't like to eat by himself or do anything on his own.

Funny that's the exact opposite of me. I tend to eat out way too often and spend too much money doing things on my own. I really don't understand people who aren't comfortable enough to hang out with themselves.

I once read an article about self discovery. The author basically mentioned that in order for them to be more comfortable with themselves, they take themselves out on dates on a regular basis. Meaning that they go out and just hang out ... do stuff by themselves. Interesting concept. I often wonder why more people don't do that.

Movies are fun with other people, but it's good by myself too since there won't be another person to keep asking me what they have missed in the plot and while trying to explain or repeat it, *I* end up missing the next part of the plot! Or the talking and mutterings ... Talking with friends while at a restaurant's fun, but equally fun is bringing a book along and read ... people watch too, and enjoying some good food. I have found that I often get slightly better service when I eat out alone. The waitstaff tend to be a little more attentive and more willing to talk to me. Probably not having to worry that they are disturbing my "date" or something.

Perfect food?

Is there such a thing? I have to say ... this weekend, I came pretty close to it. Went to a neighborhood ramen joint for lunch on Saturday. Yes, it's a little hole in the wall type place. Boy! Was it good. The soup base was almost creamy. Great flavor, fragrant and rich with the meaty taste (Mine was the pork soup base). The noodles ... oh my! They were just perfectly done. A little chewy and just the way I like it. Overall, I would definitely have to go back. But I think I'll try something else beside the curry flavor next time. It was a little too strong and too spicy for me.

I finally did the burger thing! I cut up a piece of chuck roast and stuck the pieces in the food processor, along with some seasoning, crumbled blue cheese and sauce and made my own ground beef. Also sauteed some mushrooms and onions as a topping. I was too lazy to go and grill the burger so I just pan fried them. Since I can cook them however I liked, I went with medium rare. Oh wow! It was probably one of the best burgers I have ever had. I even made an extra one so I can have it for lunch on Monday. Unfortunately, H. came by my house and wolfed it down after dinner. Must make some more soon ...

You know you eat out too much when ...

Everybody at the restaurant knows you. The chef comes out to greet you by name and tell you you're his best customer.

This happened last night. A new (pretty nice) restaurant just opened up last Friday, and last night (Wednesday) was the 3rd time I've been there.

It was nice, really ... we were sent a couple of things at the beginning and the chef came out to chat for a while. Turns out he lives a block away from me!

I ordered a soup and a very excellent tofu cake salad. The tofu cake was somewhat smashed silkened tofu sauteed with different kinds of mushrooms over a bed of spring greens and citric vinegritte. Very refreshing summer fare.

Won't be going back there until Friday night, with my aunt.

For the time being ... here's something I want to try making:
Lemon-y risotto
Grilled prawns (about 3-5 of them)
Crab dumplings (about 2-3) ... haven't decided whether they should be wonton skin wrapped crab meat with ricotta cheese and a bit of chives and fastened with a piece of chive - fried or steamed?

Oh my god! I look like Lisa Simpson!

I caught a reflection of myself in the mirror every now and then. Sometimes, I would surprise myself by the revelation.

I few weeks ago, I saw the way I walked. I looked like a football linebacker ready to shove somebody aside. I had never known that and promptly walked back to the office to share that with R. He smiled and told me that I haven't exactly been the delicate type. I thought it was actually kind of funny and we've been joking about that for a while now.

Last night, I tried some exercise-wear and looked at my side view. I'm shaped like Lisa Simpson ... just not her hair. A bit squat, belly hanging out ... Yikes!

I know how I got to be the way I am. I just need to exercise more to get in better shape. Why don't I? Is it laziness? I already know that I haven't been motivated to. And I know that I actually feel pretty good every time after I work out. Strange, isn't it?

I was all ready to go ... several times this happened, in fact. I go home, change into my exercise clothes. Instead of heading out the door, I turn on the TV, or grab a bit to eat and find myself settling in for the night and watching infomercial on exercise equipment, at best.

Sad, isn't it?

I ... must ... do ... better

Where'd all my money go?

I just looked at some past financial records that I've been blowing most of my income on FOOD! More specifically, by eating out.

I have an interesting relationship with food. I know half of what I eat are just plain junk. But they're so ... yummy ... convenient ... fast ... easy ... I just crave them sometimes. So, I indulge myself with whatever it is that I crave.

I make endless resolutions to myself. Eat better (healthier) foods, exercise more, drink more water, eat more vegetables, more fruits ...

I mean well. I even make it easier for myself by stocking all those items at home. Atlas, they tend to go bad before I finish even half of them.

What happens is that I usually end up getting home late, or staying out late. The easiest (and fun) thing to do would be to eat out, or grab something that I don't need to cook and start chowing down on it.

Out of convenience (and budget), I've been known to have any of the following for a meal: grapes, handfuls of cereal, plain hotdogs, poptart, crackers, cup-o-noodle ... not exactly a well balanced diet.

With the new realization of my financial situation, I am making a new promise to myself to at least NOT eat out during the week for lunch. It's been going pretty well so far. It has been a week and I've been eating salads almost every day. Sometimes a sandwich, sometimes a soup. Fruits (they have these big boxes of fresh mango slices at Costco ... ummm ... mangos ... yummmm ...), and even have these cups of jello as a special treat. I'm telling ya! I haven't eaten so well in a while ... though I still crave the occasional fried squid or egg rolls.

I went out for dinner a couple of nights ago at this family style steak place and ended up with a dinner tab that's roughly the same as I would have spent at a nicer French place. Time to re-think my whole choice of places to go to.

I'm now craving a nice juicy burger, perhaps with some blue cheese and maybe even some mushrooms inside it ... wonder who's got ground beef on sale. Ummm ... maybe I'll get a slab of beef and ground my own. Afterall, I've got a food processor to play with now. Gotta make it do something to earn its keep.

Random thoughts on Tradition

It gets harder and harder these days to describe a restaurant whenever somebody ask me what kind of food they serve. Ok, so there's the typical ethnic varieties, which are simple - Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mexican ... Then there are the specialties like Seafood or Vegetarian ... Not counting fastfood, what about the rest of them? With the better chefs experimenting with using ingredients from other cultures, it has became really hard to pinpoint the type.

There are descriptions like Continental, California Cusine ... What is "Continental" anyway? What about "Pan-Asian"?

French restaurants are serving pasta. I had a really excellent risotto dish from a French Restaurant recently, with meyer lemons!

Fusion is equally confusing as it really doesn't tell me much.

These days, when people ask, I usually just tell them whether the place is fancy, casual, nice ... whatever; and that the place is kind of like whatever other restaurant that we both know about.

There was an article on the paper a little while ago talking about how the newer, better chefs are using unexpected ingredients to "kick it up a notch", as Emeril would say. In this case, it was Fish Sauce!

Why not? Afterall, the Hispanics have been using chocolate in their mole sauce for a long time now, and it's damn good.

I was talking about "traditional food" last night with a couple of friends. For some of the newer countries, there is really nothing food-wise to identify with. What exactly is the traditional Amercian food? What about Australian? I mean, I think we eat pretty well. But when you ask any average person what American food is, I think most would think Hamburger or Hotdogs. But how many of us eat that stuff on a daily basis? God, I hope not!

After all that, I guess the lesson, if any, is that we should not try so hard to put things in such strict order and just enjoy them as they are.