See Gin Craft

Belgian/Brussels Waffle Breakfast

2011-02-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

It's been SOOOO long since I've posted on my blog.
What better way to get back into the swing of things than with a super yum breakfast!

This morning I decided to make a belgian waffle breakfast for me and my hubby.
Thing is, this was not an ordinary waffle breakfast, you see, it was a
breakfast to redeem myself from my last disastrous attempt at making
waffles from scratch.
Everything about the last batch of waffles was sad, and so
unappealing. I mean, it looked like a waffle but boy, it tasted
NOTHING like what a waffle should be. The light, crispy, crunchy
outside was in fact a dense, chewy, tasteless mess. I was really
disappointed and decided to look up recipes on how to make a really
good waffle.
I came upon the yeast waffle, also known as the Belgian or Brussels
waffle. This variety of waffle, because of the use of yeast, is known
to be light, crispy, and airy so this was definitely worth a try. The
potential was there!
My version came out of not having all the ingredients the Belgian
waffle called for but still came out really delicious anyway. I always
think if you're going to cook, you have to be flexible by keeping your
mind open to solutions.
I didn't have milk around so I decided that I would use evaporated
milk which I think has a creamier taste to it. If you don't have
evaporated milk just use 1 /12 cups of regular milk instead.
Try it out!

2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 can of Evaporated Milk
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tbs Agave Syrup
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put all the ingredients into a bowl, stir to combine, and let the
batter sit for an hour on the counter until it starts bubbling.

I used a waffle iron to cook these babies up. Just don't fill to the
edge so you get that nice irregular edge. Top with fruit, icing sugar,
and syrup.

Enjoy!

Tomatoes Are My Favorite Fruit

2009-08-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Simple, nothing fancy.
Good tomatoes, they are in season now.
Olive oil
Basil
Salt and pepper to taste

The Chop I Came to Love

2009-08-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

I usually don't like pork chops. I feel like they often turn out dry and chewy. Charlie's Aunt Liz made a scrumptious one when she was over. I recently tried another way to make them that actually turned out pretty tasty too. I marinated them in red curry, and lime juice for an hour. Then I dredge them in seasoned flour and do a shallow fry. Garnish with cilantro. Now I really, really, love the other white meat.

Something for the Fourth

2009-07-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Ina's Pound Cake with my addition of berries and cream.
This was made for my friend Heather's Fourth of July bbq party.
What is it about whipped cream and berries?
I'm gonna keep eating this until the weekend is over. Yes, I'm still celebrating!

BLT with Poached Eggs

2009-07-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

This one is so basic and so freakin' good.
Eggs: As eggs should be, poached in a little vinegar, with salt and pepper.
BLT: Bacon, lettuce, tomato, (salt and pepper). Of Course. But with Charlie's special touch of WASABI MAYO. Crunchy, crispy, salty, and spicy.
SO YUM!

Sustainable Ditmas Park

2009-07-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

These are two tomatoes from my window sill garden that started growing the end of last month. So far it seems, it isn't a large enough sill to sustain but I will probably have a tasty salad at some point at the end of summer.
I obsessively watch them everyday to see how fast they're growing. Unfortunately, these babies are regular sized tomatoes so let's hope they can hang on til they're ripe. Otherwise, the courtyard gets them. :(
These will go so well with the basil I'm growing!

Chinese Almond Cookies

2009-06-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

2-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of lard, crisco
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon almond extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds, ground coarse
1/2 cup roasted almonds

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°. In food processor mix flour, sugar, butter, lard, salt, and baking soda until it forms little balls. Add eggs and extract. Roll dough into balls, flatten into cookie shape. Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place almond in center of each cookie. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Semi Homemade Upgrade

2009-06-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

I was walking around in my neighborhood last weekend and found a store that AMAZINGLY had puff pastry. I was very excited to make something with them. But what...? Hmmmmm.....Well, since I had made this recipe before with some crescent rolls, I thought I'd try it with these fancy puff pastry squares. They turned out so crispy and currilicious! I ate way too many of them.

Lovely Basil Sprouts

2009-06-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

I'm growing my own basils from seed this year. This is genovese basil, in Italy it is considered a sign of love. I'm also growing holy basil, this herb is revered and worshipped in many parts of the world and is considered a sacred herb with healing qualities.
Both herbs, a total pain to grow. It is slow going...

A Solemn Brunch

2009-06-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

My Uncle recently passed away. There was a traditional Chinese funeral/wake for him in Chinatown. He was then taken to be cremated and was to be taken back to Toisan, where he is from. After a funeral, Chinese people have a funeral banquet to celebrate the deceased's return to heaven.
Afterwards, leftovers were taken, this solemn brunch was made.

Snack Attack—Not for Snacking

2009-06-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

This pup is Henry and Gigi's son who was given away to be raised in Baltimore. They had WAY too many children as having litters go. His mommy Rebecca took him to a famous local painter, Robert McClintock, who painted his cute mug. You can buy a print of him on his website.
Snack is blond, and sweet, and one of the cutest doggies I've ever seen. I'm gonna see him this month, I hope!

Green Camera Case

2009-04-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

This was a present for Elana for her birthday. I thought the neon green was so fun for a case and suit her fun personality too.

Olive You So Much

2009-03-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

Anchovy olives are my new obsession. Specifically Fairway's anchovy olives are my favorite—so far. If I could take home their whole bucket of olives, I would. I would sit in front of the t.v. and eat them one after the next, until they were all gone. And the only thing left would be the sadness in knowing there aren't any left...and that I'm such a pig for eating all those olives. Oink!

Eyelet Pattern Camera Case

2009-03-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

Get it? :P
Well, in any case, I thought the eyelet pattern would be really cute for a girly knitted camera case. I figured, this way I can put a lining in it and it would show through. For mine I put a shiny blue fabric and I added a cute green button for the final touch.

Rosemary Garlic Frenchy Fries

2009-03-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

Im sure you can figure this one out. :P

Orgasmic Thai Larb Pork

2009-03-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

I discovered a great, very friendly Thai grocery store called Bangkok Centery Grocery in Chinatown. I was craving Thai food and wanted to try making a meal from scratch at home. My friend Heather always brings in her larb gai from her neighborhood Thai restaurant and am always jealous, so I wanted to try making that at home. I bought some fresh ingredients like Thai basil, keffir lime leaves, and lemongrass, essential in Thai cooking. I also bought some green curry and red curry for later use.
The larb pork turned out really tasty, tangy, and comforting. I could eat this every day! I wish I could have shared it at work with Heather. Unfortunately Heather was on vacation but I'll tell her when she gets back, Im sure she'll be sooooooo jealous.

Super Bowl 43 Buffalo Wings

2009-02-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Buffalo Wings Recipe:
1 package of Chicken wings
3/4 cup Frank's Original RedHot Sauce
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups of buttermilk
3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of white vinegar
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Salt/pepper
Peanut oil

Separate the wing into two pieces, discard the wing tip.
Soak the wing pieces in the buttermilk. Toss in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.

Add peanut oil to a pot, enough oil for the wings to be submerged, and place over high heat until oil registers 375 degrees on a deep-fat thermometer or when you stick a wooden chopstick in the oil it starts to form little bubbles around the chopstick. At this point, turn heat down to medium. Work in batches, place wings in hot oil, do not over crowd the pot. Cook until wings are golden brown, about 5 mins. Remove from oil, place on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Move wings to a mixing bowl.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and mix in Frank's sauce, paprika, cayenne pepper, and vinegar. Pour the sauce over the wings and toss. Serve with celery and blue cheese sauce.

How to Avoid Sharing at Work

2009-01-28T12:03:00.001-08:00

Anti-Theft Lunch Bag designed by Sherwood Forlee.
These are great! Maybe now there will be less passive aggressive notes on fridges at work...but how will we pass the time?!

Tis the Season for Oven Baked Latkas!

2009-01-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

Photos by Sherri Liberman
AND steaks! OK. No, it's not the season anymore. It's past the season! But really, people SHOULD have oven baked latkas ALL season long because latkas are delectable and can be low fat too! I made the latkas this way because I wanted a healthy but still tasty version of the traditional fried latkas.
Here is my recipe for OVEN BAKED LATKAS:
5 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
3 tbs flour
1 splash of beer
1 tbs salt
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil

Grate your potatoes into ice water.
Remove potatoes out of the ice water into a sieve in a seperate bowl, squeezing excess water out of potatoes.
Let the remaining water drain out. Dump water.

Let the potato starch settle at the bottom of the ice water for 10 mins.
Drain water, leaving starch at bottom. Add the starch into the potato bowl.
Slice onion into thin slices.
Add onions to the potatoes.
Add flour, add salt, add pepper, add beer.
Mix.

Preheat oven to 350°
Heat cast iron pan on stove top for 3 mins, medium high heat.
Add butter and olive oil.
Put the mixture in the pan, pat down flat with a spatula.
Let it cook for 3-5 mins.
Put pan in oven for 25 mins.
Take out and flip latka and put back in the oven for another 5 mins.

Slice and serve.
Latka-licious!

Steak recipe to come.

Chocolate Bacon

2008-12-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

Chocolate bacon is as gross as chocolate covered pretzels. It's salty and sweet and somehow really go together.
My friends Shane and Joey hosted a Christmas Eve party and I promised him that I would make this for his party. It turned out to be a huge hit! Did we think otherwise...?
Up next, chocolate bacon ICE CREAM. Actually, I can't make that, I don't have an ice cream maker. But if I did....

For the LOVE of EGGS!

2008-12-28T18:43:00.000-08:00

Here's another installment in my egg paintings. The CENTURY egg, or thousand year old egg. These eggs are made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice straw for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing. The only way I can really describe the flavor of this egg is it is musky and pungent. If you are a fan of blue cheese, then you may be more inclined to like this. The texture is not quite egg like anymore, the exterior (or the white part-now the black part) is more like jello and the inside (the yolk) is more creamy and smooth. I admit it's an acquired taste and I grew up eating this so I like it a lot and if I was on that episode of Fear Factor where I had to eat those eggs, I would have ACED that challenge! :P

Japanese Night/AKA Christmas

2008-12-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

This is what one eats when all the stores are closed on Christmas day. Charlie and I went to Jas Mart and bought some groceries and made panko fried cat fish, Japanese rice with dried seaweed and sardine mix, and crimini and inoki mushrooms baked in foil with butter, garlic, and ponzu sauce. The fish looks like a giant hash brown in the picture...well, it kinda was but instead of potatoes inside, it was fish with that crunchy exterior. Good and artery clogging and so worth it.

HUGE Turkey Day Pot Luck 2008

2008-12-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot about this! Annie and Kenneth hosted a Turkey Day party/pot luck dinner. Annie even made a cute menu she posted on the wall. Everyone made such yummy and fun dishes! Cecelia made jalapeno corn bread and a suped up Korean kim chee stuffing, very original. Phil made a fabulous sweet and tart apple pie from SCRATCH (sorry it's not in the pictures), Kenneth made a juicy brisket and gravy, and the most incredibly savory nut loaf I have ever had in my life. Annie made lobster mac 'n cheese that was to die for. Chunks of lobster and pasta in a creamy/cheesy sauce, it was decadent. (Also, not in the pictures--What happened to that?!) Also on the menu was green beans, mash potatoes, and cranberry sauce. I made turkey monterey jack stuffed meatballs with cilantro and a white gravy.
Good times was had by all!

I Like Children Better as Animals

2008-11-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

I found some nice yarn my friend Sherri game me once that I never got a chance to use. I wanted to knit something small and cute, quickly. Like a kid's hat. Plus, I like kids better when they dress up as animals. Now I have to figure out who to give this to.

I LOVE Barefoot Contessa...

2008-11-16T14:09:00.001-08:00

...and her blueberry crumb cake recipe.

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.
For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.
For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers,
crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Fattening up for the Winter with Pumpkin Muffins

2008-11-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

I really love pumpkin and I really love cream cheese so I slapped those two things together and got this!
It was tasty, soft, moist, and creamy. Wish I could send you some.

Food In Art

2008-10-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

My friend Elana reminded me about this piece that I did a year ago. I noticed it was on her phone as her main picture. I was so honored she had it on there.
It reminds me of how it seems like most of the time when the Griffins (Family Guy) are eating in the kitchen, it's usually eggs (or is that just me), or on Rosanne someone or another would be walking around in that t-shirt with the chicken and eggs on it.
I like eggs. I like eggs in ramen. I like 'em scrabbled, poached and soft boiled. Eeeeeeeegs.

Chicken Fried Steak

2008-10-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

I made this tonight. Yum. That's all I gotta say.

Slow Food Is Coming To Town

2008-10-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

I just saw the latest episode of Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods. He went to Paris where they are popularizing SNAIL CAVIAR. Looks just like regular caviar but white. And now, they're bringing it to NYC. I guess if you're ready to try some expensive snail roe then you can get them at The Modern on 9 W. 53rd St (between 5th and 6th). I'm like Andrew, I'd try it once or twice!

Storm King Leads to The Commons

2008-10-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

The ladies and I went up to Mountainville, NY last weekend to check out some outdoor artwork at Storm King while the weather was still decent. We took the tram around the 500 acres. It was pretty serene. But that was just a short quiet part of our day because we didn't start having the real fun until we hit Woodbury Common Premium Outlets! A shop-a-holic's dream come true. With 220 OUTLET STORES, how can you go wrong? Like Burberry, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jimmy Choo, Lucky Brand Jeans, Betsey Johnson and lots, lots, more! Those be the best times of them all.

Not the White Rabbit Candies!

2008-09-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

I used to eat White Rabbit Candies as a kid because they were so creamy and fun to eat. I kinda liked that funny thin tissue paper like substance on the outside. It surprisingly melted in your mouth. O, rabbit candies, how you made my sundays going to chinese school all the more bearable.
So now the recent news is, they're tainted with Melamine, a chemical which causes kidney stones and can lead to kidney failure. What horrible news! Anything but the white rabbit candies! Must everything good and innocent be ruined? Should I still just go out there and eat those tasty rabbit-y treats anyway? Eh! What's a couple kidney stones, right? I mean, I hear they can probably remove them through your mouth nowadays instead of real surgery! I can have my rabbit candies and eat them too.

Charlie's Dinners

2008-09-06T17:14:00.001-07:00

Charlie has been cooking a lot lately! He's make some really yummy meals without any help from me and they were very delicious.
Salmon with couscous and a watercress salad and an herby dill roasted chicken with couscous and a mango corn salsa.
:) I'm so proud of him!

Bibs for a Shower

2008-09-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

Charlie's friend's baby shower is coming up so I thought it was be fun to make some bibs for them. The fabric might look familiar to some people and that's because I used these fabrics on 2 previous projects. :P
Since I had leftover fabric, I decided to use it to make a couple of fancy bibs with pockets. I think they turned out pretty good for a first try. You might have noticed that they're going the opposite ways. I didn't do it on purpose, it was an accident but I found out that it doesn't really seem to matter which way the strap goes. The two bibs on the right has the velcro and button in place.
I found an easy pattern online for this bib.

I'd Rather Be...

2008-09-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Shopping. This summer's electricity bills have been outrageously high! Has anyone else been getting incredibly high bills this summer?
I've called ConEdison and they say that billing depends on market rates and consumption. I just love how their answer is pretty much like, Eh, prices just depeeeends! There's no breakdown of what these market rates are, how they use it to determine charges (rip people off), or how it relates to the actual electrical use of your household (because evidently using less electricity this month causes an increase in price from the previous month) ANYWHERE online. They also said, IF they can FIND this information they will send it to me. WTF!? Aren't they using this information to determine charges? Why can't they FIND it?
If I was gonna get ripped off, I'd rather it be by Anthropologie and their outlandish prices. At least, I'd get some cute clothes I can flounce around in instead of throwing it away to some imaginary market rate that I think ConEdison is just making up since they can't seem to FIND it to send to me!

Farmer's Market In New Hampshire

2008-08-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

I found some purple peppers in New Hampshire and I was so happy!
Photo by Sherri Liberman

A Shirt Made Out of Jersey Fabric and Boredom

2008-08-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

I was antsy and bored on sunday so I decided to make a one shoulder shirt so I could feel less bored and also subdue the guilt that I'm not constantly in motion. I also wanted to make something with my bit of white fabric and wear it before labor day. (But who the hell follows these rules anyway?) I now love cotton jersey fabric and had never known before how easy this material is to work with. I'd definitely use it again! But obviously the next item won't be in white. :P

New Hampshire, the Funspot

2008-08-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Vacationing in New Hampshire is fun as usual. It's even more fun going with Annie, Sherri and Kenneth there. Just relaxing, enjoying nature and partaking in the activities at FUNSPOT. Check out The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters for the rivalry for the highest score for Donkey Kong duked out at Funspot.
Charlie's dad made excellent breakfasts, lunches and dinners for us and was a great host. We went out on his boat. We watched the olympics, saw a movie at the drive-in and we let the dogs run around like crazy in the woods and we all had such a great time. Food Hightlights: Panini breakfast sandwich, dilly beans, and spaghetti and meatballs.

American Staple

2008-08-02T12:39:00.001-07:00

I make this all the time. Its a staple for me. You might be thinking, 'Hey, what about ramen noodles with egg?' and I'd say, ' You're freakin' racist. Just because I'm Chinese you think my food staple should be ramen noodles with egg?!'. I would then say, 'Ok. You're right, I DO have ramen noodles with egg too. I like to have both. I'm greedy.' So, anyway, I normally put basil and mint in my meatballs but this time I had an excess of herbs so I put a slew of it in my meatballs and it came out so good. I forgot the parmesean but next time it'll be beyond awesome with the parmesean in the meatballs!

Half Marathon 2008

2008-07-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

My sister Annie and my cousin Martin ran the Half Marathon today. They did really well. I know I wouldn't be able to do it. Cheers to them and all the people who ran!

Blackberry Cheesecake from Gourmet Magazine

2008-07-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

I saw this on the cover of the august issue of Gourmet Magazine and had to make it.

Sold at the Art Show

2008-07-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

I like how the sold sign is right above my head! I'm sold!
But really, Charlie sold 2 of his art pieces last night at SIP. Granted, one was to my parents but the other one was to the prince and princess of Saudi Arabia. I'm totally serious.

Birthday Beach Lobster Salad

2008-07-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Lobster tail
Celery
Parsley
Lime juice
Mayo
Avocado
Salt/Pepper

Crackers to scoop it up

Beach/Sun/Food/Fun

Birthday Shenanigans!

2008-07-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

My birthday was about 2 days worth of shenanigans. Charlie bought me a 3 1/2 pound lobster, clams and cake the day of my birthday. He cooked the clams in a white wine sauce and the lobster was boiled and was eaten with a lemon garlic butter. It was really yummy and a grand birthday! I ate some of the tomalley in the lobster but it tasted funny. I usually like the taste of the tomalley. Charlie and I got into a discussion on what the green goo really was. He thought it was eggs. So we checked online to see if it was really lobster intestines or if it was eggs–– they're really intestine bits. I kinda like the way it tastes so it sucks that they're intestine, so I'll just call it guts!
The next day's birthday shenanigans consisted of going to Kampuchea, an (overpriced) Cambodian place, with some close friends for some drinks and food. The wait staff was not so great and the food was meager but tasty BUT of course the company is always great!

On Food and Culture: A Moving Travelogue by Leonard Shek

2008-07-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

Have Food Will Travel: Pearl River Delta from Leonard on Vimeo.

I love this! I want to see the whole travelogue when it comes out.

Wow! Free Range Chicken Poop Lip Balm!

2008-06-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Look at what I found at RiteAid! It doesn't really have poop in it. Dang! But it probably should. Chicken poop on my lips. Ew, gross.

Olive Biscuit

2008-06-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

I saw this cookie recipe here once and always wanted to try it out. It has the perfect combo of salty and sweet. Its a seemingly odd combo at first but it is really such a perfect combination of flavors. In the realm of chocolate covered pretzels. If you like that, then I think you'll like this.
And of course, I can't ever help changing the recipe because I have a disorder.
So I crushed up some rosemary in some sea salt and sprinkled the infused rosemary salt on top. I also added a sprinkle of rosemary in the batter as well.

Never Gonna Buy Pizza Again!

2008-06-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

Ok. So it looks like there is a huge salad on TOP of my pizza but I'm telling you, that's what makes it! Jaime Oliver style mixed green salad (with basil) dressed in lemon juice and olive oil atop a pizza is truly 'GENIUS'!

Mermaid Parade/Geisha Parade

2008-06-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

The Geisha Parade was yesterday at Coney Island....oops! I meant, the Mermaid Parade. This is the first time I've been to one of these at Coney Island. It was fun but why does someone always have to come up with the bright idea to use part of someone's culture to 'dress up' for a celebration. Like, 'Hey, honey, let's be indian for our wedding' when they're not. Or let's be geisha mermaids. Greeeeaaaat Idea! In any case, there were some fun ones, like Cracked Out Super Heros was cool. And so were all the umbrella jelly fish. I probably should have taken more pictures of those things. Dang!
So Sherri was cooling off by the palm tree kiddy area listening to a message my phone accidently left for her. I think she heard bag noises and didn't know who called so she called back and left a message, it was to my phone. Stop calling Sherri's phone, Ginny's phone. It's really not cool!

Martha Inspired

2008-06-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

A dish inspired by one of Martha Stewart's recipes from her Everyday Food book. The chicken I made up is roasted with balsamic, garlic, and onions.

Mabo Tofu From Scratch

2008-06-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

When a Jack Russell and Mini Schnauzer Mate

2008-06-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

You get Snack. Henry and Gigi's blond haired son. Charlie and I went to Baltimore to visit his brother last month and we finally got to see Henry and Gigi's boy for the first time in over a year! He was so slobbery and cute.

Head On Shrimp-Apply Directly to Your Mouth

2008-06-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Shrimp with anchovy butter on herbed toast.
Recipe:
Dozen shrimp with head on
1 stick of butter
1 tsp olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
2-3 fillets of anchovy
Bread, sliced, and toasted with whatever herbs you like
1/2 scallion for garnish

Deshell and devein shrimp. Keep the heads on or if they fall off while cleaning, it's ok. Toast your slices of bread.
Melt butter with olive oil in saucepan, add minced up anchovies. Once incorporated, add shrimp and sautee for about 5 mins or until cooked. At this point, you can remove and discard the heads and arrange your shrimp on your bread, drizzle the remainder of the sauce over the bread. OR you can keep the heads on and consume their delicious little shrimp souls through their heads.Yum!

Hardcore Beggin'

2008-06-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Henry was begging so hard for some ginger to fall off the cutting board while I was chopping that he didn't realize when a piece of ginger actually did. Hm, I guess he'll just have to keep on beggin'.

A Refreshing Salad For These Dog Days

2008-06-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

A cool meal of quinoa for this humid weather. Quinoa is also cool because it might be one of the first crops NASA will use for their Controlled Ecological Life Support System someday. Why? Because it's considered a complete food. It's a seed that's related to leafy greens, like swiss chard containing a balanced set of essential amino acids, is a good source of dietary fiber, and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. But I like it mostly because it's dang tasty.

Recipe:
1 1/3 cups quinoa*

Vinegrette:
Zest from 1 lemon, plus the juice
1 tbs red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup green grapes, halved
1/3 cup of dried cranberries
2 cups cucumbers
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup chopped mint
2 scallions

* Rinse quinoa under cold running water and drain. Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Stir quinoa and a pinch of salt into water. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until quinoa is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Uncover and let cool.

For the vinaigrette, whisk vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking well. Add the quinoa and toss with two forks to combine.

Add chicken (skip the chicken if you're vegetarian), grapes, cranberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, mint and scallions. Toss well, taste and adjust seasoning, adding more lemon juice if desired. Serve cold.

Shopping at Brighton Beach

2008-06-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

I went to brighton beach on saturday to take in some sun and afterwards stopped off to do some shopping along brighton beach avenue. There are tons of Russian fruit shops, dried fruit stores, and pastry places. Their famous and huge M & I International market is always a place I like to hit before heading home. They have so many different kinds of sausage, meats, seafood, desserts, pickles, cheeses, breads, a large buffet area in the back and a dessert cafe upstairs.
I ended up getting some sausage there but I got this bunch of fresh garlic at a fruit market where I was convinced they massaged each individual fruit and sang it lullabies before closing time. Everything was pristine, fresh, and perfectly placed...which is why everything was about 75¢ more at this place than the other fruit markets I passed on the way back to the train. Doh! Live and learn.

I Discovered Pastry Flour!

2008-06-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

I made a strawberry rhubarb cobbler yesterday with pastry flour and it was the best cobbler I ever made. And I realized that rhubarb isn't as sour as I anticipated. AND it's expensive to buy yourself some tart celery. I made it even tastier by adding some cinnamon dulce de leche ice cream.
Pastry flour is a low protein/low gluten flour which is good for making pie crusts, muffins, cookies and biscuits.
I'll post my recipe soon.

Rockin' Out at Arlene's Grocery

2008-06-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

I played You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse on drums at Arlene's Grocery. The video looks choppy on my end, not sure why or how to fix. Anyway, you can still sorta see me doing my thing. O yeah, I'm over on the right side of the screen.

New Toy!

2008-06-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

This is what my new toy created. This sweet machine is called the Atlas Pasta Machine 180. I got the hang of it after a couple tries but I'm still trying to perfect the pasta recipe part. Why don't they have semolina flour at regular supermarkets?! I used a recipe that called for unbleached flour and eggs (see previous post below) and the pasta tastes more like egg noodles than pasta... which is fine for me. I'll just make some lo mein or something. In any case, I think it still makes a good pasta once you add the sauce, and herbs, etc. When I perfect this recipe, I'll post it. In the meantime, go get yourself a pasta machine!

A Yoga Bag for Sherri

2008-06-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

It was Sherri's birthday last month and I had to make a yoga bag for her because I thought she did yoga regularly too, like Elana does. After I handed it to her, she told me she didn't really go to yoga that often. Yikes! My bad. But she said, the cute bag would help motivate her to go more often. Otherwise, I guess she could always use it for laundry or something.

Welcome to Pink Town!

2008-05-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

This piece seems like it's buzzing with radioactive energy. An awesome urban watercolor by Charlie.

The Real McCoy with Olives and Rosemary

2008-05-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Charlie bought me a pasta maker this week so we decided to break this baby in! We made olive and rosemary pasta. We made a fresh marinara sauce with pork sausage, and tomatoes. It was dang good!

Recipe for the pasta
1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
2 large eggs
2 tbs olive and rosemary, chopped fine

Recipe for sauce
2 links of pork sausage
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 large piece of garlic
2 tsp capers
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish
Top with parmesan cheese

Pop My Cherry Tomatoes

2008-05-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

I pickled some red cherry tomatoes this week. I can eat them today! Yay!

Comfort Food--Chinese Style

2008-05-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Jook is such comfort food for me. It's versitile and tasty. You can put anything into it. Like roasted chicken like I have in the picture topped with thin juliennes of ginger, sliced scallions and cilantro. You can put any toppings like soy sauce chicken, roast pork, fish, dried scallops, any veggies. But my favorite thing to mix into my jook is thousand year old egg, which I unfortunately didn't have in my cupboard. Dang!
I like watching people on youtube gag on thousand year old eggs and freak out because it's too 'exotic' for them. I think it tastes so good. It's the same to me as eating gorgonzola cheese.
In any case, jook is hearty, warming, soupy and reminds me of childhood.

Here's my recipe:
Ingredients
4 cups water
6 cups of chicken or veggie stock
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 fresh or smoked turkey wing
1 (1/2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger
Chopped green onions (optional)
Fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
Julienne-cut peeled fresh ginger (optional)
Low-sodium soy sauce (optional)

Preparation
Combine rice, salt, oil, ginger, and turkey wing in a large Dutch oven, and toast slightly. Then add the liquids and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 2-2 1/2 hours or until soup has a creamy consistency, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; keep warm.
Discard ginger piece. Remove turkey from soup; place on a cutting board or work surface. Cool 10 minutes. Remove skin from turkey; discard. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Chop meat into bite-sized pieces, and stir meat into soup. Garnish with green onions, cilantro, julienne-cut ginger, and soy sauce, if desired.
Add any other additional toppings that you like, like chopped thousand year old eggs. Enjoy!

Eli's Collection

2008-05-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Charlie's brother is a huge fan and collector of Charlie's work. This is one of the pieces Charlie did about 5 years ago that has been part of Eli's collection. I had no idea what this piece looked like until I went to visit Eli in Baltimore and saw it, it's now my favorite of his 'Urban Red' series.

My 15 mins at Arlene's Grocery

2008-05-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

I was a part of a student showcase at Arlene's Grocery last night. It was the most fun I've had in a very long time being on stage. I was energized but mostly freaked out and nervous. But I did it! Surprisingly, chewing gum helped quell the nerves. I got up there and played Amy Winehouse's, I'm No Good, on the drums and it was so fun. Especially with all my friends and family rooting me on and screaming my name at the top of their lungs! I felt like a rock star for a few minutes. I want to say thanks to Stephen for being one of the most motivating teachers I've ever had and the band for always giving their all for all the students. And of course my fans--family and friends--for coming out. You rock!

Charlie's 30th birthday Mexican Adventure 2007

2008-05-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from my stick figure journal from about a little over a year ago when Charlie and I and friends visited Mexico for his 30th birthday.
You can see our amazement as we finally reached our destination at Hotel Posada Eden Costa at the bottom of the page. And from the winding road on the left side that it was quite a journey to get there!

If Squid Were Flowers

2008-05-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

I used watercolor pencils to draw my squid flowers. I gave this piece to my brother in law.

So Much Chicken, So Little Time

2008-05-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

I threw this concoction together with some leftover roasted chicken from the other night, crescent rolls, frozen peas, cream cheese, yogurt, curry powder and cumin. I filled some crescent squares and folded over the edges and baked for 15 mins. The salad is a tomato, bean sprout, and red onion salad with a sesame, ginger soy dressing. I didn't feel like slaving over the stove tonight and I wanted to make something quick, easy, tasty, and filling!

Eastover Lamb Stew

2008-04-28T11:23:00.001-07:00

My friend Sherri and I hosted a Passover and Greek Easter Party on sunday. We called it Eastover and we had a lot of yummy Eastover foods to eat. Tabouli salad, hummus, falafel, olives, and lamb stew. (I kinda feel bad about eating lamb. I probably wouldn't eat it if I had to kill it myself. Perhaps I'll only eat lamb at Eastover from now on)
But for now, here is my recipe for lamb stew:

3lbs lamb for stew (for 4-5 people)
1 can veggie broth
1 large can of whole tomatoes
1/2 cup of red wine
1 cup of water (or enough to cover the meat)
1 tb of red wine vinegar
2 carrots
3 celery stalks
1/2 red onion
1 leek
2 cloves of garlic
2 big sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme
Zest from 1 lemon and juice
1/2 cup of flour
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350° F. Flour and season the lamb with salt and pepper. Place 1 tbs olive oil in cast iron pot. Brown the lamb on both sides on medium heat. Take the lamb out and place the other tbs of olive oil in pot. Add veggies and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the wine, veggie broth and 1 can of tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then add the red wine vinegar, rosemary, thyme, and lemon. Add a little more salt and pepper and place the lamb back in the pot. Put 1 cup of water in the pot or enough to cover the meat. Put the lid on and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hrs. until tender.

Koi Chair

2008-04-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

It's almost there. Charlie and I have to paint it first, then it's done! But at least the reupholstering part is done. It was surprisingly easy. It was way harder to remove all the old layers of fabric and plastic from the wood. We're not sure what color to go for yet. Any suggestions are welcome! :D The colors on the fabric are teal, red, yellow and black.

Peeling Back Some History

2008-04-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

And ass dust! How many dusty layer's ARE there? Sheeh! I can't breath right now. Once I got to the yellow plastic layer, what looks like circa 1970s, I HAD to take a picture. Plastic, hilarious and gross! At least I'm done and I'm left with the bare piece of wood. Now I'll cut out the foam and staple my new fabric on. Stay tuned!

Ka-POW Brownies

2008-04-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

I originally made these suckers with only 1 tablespoon of the Korean red pepper powder and it came out only mildly spicy and didn't do much for the heat factor. I think 2 tbs might do it. I would recommend mixing another kind of pepper that has more of a kick to it to jack it up more. I mean, you know, if you swing that way.
I think I'm gonna keep this recipe as one of my favorites! And I'll definitely still call them Ka-Pow Brownies.
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs Korean red pepper powder
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F°. Grease and flour an 8" square pan.
In a saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter. Remove from heat, and stir in 1 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Don't over mix. Put batter in pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

The 'Green' Pickle Spices Recipe

2008-04-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

If anyone decided to try out the pickle recipe I used and have already eaten up every last one of their pickles in like a day. Then you noticed that all you have left is that pickled garlic and pickling season at the bottom of the jar and think you should just throw it away. Well, just wait, because I've got a recipe for you. Before you throw out that pickling stuff just drain out the liquid, take the reserved seasoning and use it for this recipe.

2 filets of talapia
pickled garlic and seasoning from your pickles jar
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 pinches of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp of grated lemon zest
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper to taste

Bake covered with tin foil for 15-20 mins until done.

It's Not Your Italian Grandmother's Sauce

2008-04-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

That's right. It's not even sauce, it's kimchi. That pungent, potent, sweet, salty, spicy, briny, of the sea, of the earth, Korean banchan.
I made one with garlic, scallions, ginger, Korean red pepper powder, goji berries and a dash of vinegar and a second one I made with garlic, scallions, ginger, Korean red pepper powder, little brined shrimp, fish sauce, and oyster sauce. The second one I stuffed into this here Prego jar. I'll make sure I put it over rice and not pasta.

Reupholstering Project To Come

2008-04-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

This is the Koi Scales fabric I bought off of ReproDepot.
They have amazingly fun fabrics on there. I'm excited. I'll keep you posted.
;)

Crazy Garlicky Half Sours

2008-04-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here is my pickle creation. It is soooooo goooood! I basically used this recipe from Tommy J's Kitchen blog I found online at Tommy J's Kitchen. I am a garlic lover and went crazy with the garlic. The next time I do this I would probably do one garlic per cucumber but maybe those non garlic lovers can do with just 2 for about 5 cucumbers.
UPDATE: So I ate some pickles at my friend Eugene's house and as I was tasting it I noticed a familiar taste but couldn't quite place it. He had added cinnamon to his pickle recipe! It was quite good.
This is the new pickle recipe:
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
1 tsp. brown mustard seeds
2-3 whole allspice
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. black pepper corns
1/2 tsp. dill seeds
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 – 2 Tbsp. dill weed
2 or 3 pieces broken dried bay leaf
4 – 6 cloves garlic, OR basically 1 small garlic per cucumber
¼ cup pickling salt
4 cups water
8 or 9 pickling cucumbers of any variety
(My favorite is the mediterranean cucumbers)

The Pickle Fever

2008-04-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

It's true everyone, I've come down with it; The Pickle Fever. It came on slowly, a twitch, an urge; buying a few mason jars one day. Then it progressed to some hot flashes and palpitations; looking up some recipes. Then inevitably escalating into all out PICKLE FEVER; not only making cold fresh packed half sour pickles but ALSO vinegar brined garlic, carrots, and jalapeño pepper pickles!! Wow-zers! I can't wait to try them!

Yoga Bag

2008-03-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

It was my friend, Elana's birthday a couple weeks ago and I finally gave her her present. She had been lugging around her mat to yoga class FOR YEARS, without a cozy or cute bag. :-O So I decided to make her one. Happy Birthday, Elana!

Tastes Collide

2008-03-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

On Monday night, I made a calamari salad with carrots, bean sprouts, jalapeno peppers, and cabbage with an asian soy vinegar dressing. Charlie made mac 'n cheese with gruyere, sharp cheddar, tomatoes and bacon. Seems a bit clashy together on one plate but it was a good tangy and hearty combo.

Mabo Tofu! Like a Chinese Sloppy Joe--sorta

2008-03-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

I kinda altered AND cheated with this one! I used pork sausage instead of ground pork and I used a Mabo Tofu sauce packet too! Give me a break, I wouldn't expect people to make sloppy joes from scratch when they've got those handy packets. :-P Just kidding. In general, meals are tastier when it's made from scatch anyway. Here is a recipe that I'll try next time when I make it from scratch. I think I'll use the Food Network's, Sara Moulton's recipe.

Easter Caramel Cupcakes

2008-03-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

I did a variation of the lemon raspberry cupcakes from Bon Appetite magazine for Easter.

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, divided (1 1/2 goes in the frosting)
4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided (1 1/2 goes into the frosting)
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided (2 tbs goes into the frosting)
12 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam (1 tbs goes into the frosting)
Fresh raspberries (for garnish)

But I replaced the the raspberry with a caramel filling, made some slight changes in amounts, and made a buttercream for the frosting. It came out really yummy!
Easter Caramel Cupcakes
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
3 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
12 teaspoons caramel sauce
Jelly beans (for garnish)

Happy Easter!

I Almost Popped an Artery Fish Tacos

2008-03-19T20:42:00.001-07:00

Charlie and I made fish tacos last night. Seriously, I don't think any of the ingredients on this plate DIDN'T have fat in it except the bean salad. Charlie said, "These are the best fish tacos I've ever had!" and I was like, "These are the only fish tacos I've ever had" and he was like, "Me too!" Can we really rate these since we don't have anything to compare them to? I give them a 10 out of 10 anyway. Can you go wrong with all that tasty fat in there? I feel depressed now. I have to go eat some more fat to feel better.

Ginny Homemaker

2008-03-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Anthropologie is one of my favorite stores. They have lots of wacky patterns and vintagy looking designs. They sell aprons there that are super suzy homemaker. I like them but I don't like their prices. So, I decided I would get my own wacky fabric and make my own apron. I put a typical frilly white trim around it and and another smaller loop trim at the waist. The orange at the waist is actually a part of the lining on the other side that I folded over to make the part where the tie goes through. It took longer than I thought it would to make it. I think it took almost as long to make as the skirt! O, yeah, sorry about the clashing shirt in the photo. (I actually did change into a solid shirt but this photo came out better than the others.)

First Skirt

2008-03-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Sherri and I made our first skirt together, in ONE night. We even managed to make a nice pasta and sausage dinner (sorry, no photo--we ate it up) before making this. Ok. So it took us like 3 hours BUT I think it turned out pretty nice for 2 inexperienced skirt makers. My mother used to be a seamstress and she told me that she used to make like 40 pieces in a day, or maybe it was 80...anyway, it was way more than one. Basically, I'm at a stage where I have no idea what is ideal time for making one skirt. We're definitely going to try our hand at making more so keep coming back and I'll be posting more items! Stay tuned.

More Seafood

2008-03-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Charlie made a really delicious dill and mustard marinaded salmon on the grill for dinner tonight. I had to take a picture. As you can see there's a theme here. We like seafood and we like our stovetop grill. I made the salad. That yellow stuff is a mozzarella cheese polenta. It was all very filling and gooood.

Ginpoo Apparel

2008-03-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

Looks a little American Apparel-ish.
So I decided to make a dress on sunday. It took me all day! This is my first try at making a dress. I used a pattern that was slightly bigger than my size but I was just hoping it would fit anyway. But it turned out that the size is a bit bigger than I was hoping. Anyone interested in buying a size 7/8 dress?

Crustaceans: It's What's for Dinner

2008-03-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

Charlie and I made this asian style grilled shrimp, green curry roasted crab with yellow rice for dinner last night. Yum!

I <3 Squid

2008-03-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

I really dig squid so I thought I'd start this new blog thing out by posting paintings of my favorite creatures of all time.
The giant squid!

This is a water color painting I did a few months ago. It's kind of ironic that I would paint a sperm whale eating one of these things since I love them so much, but it's a classic image.

Banner contest

2008-03-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

There's this really cool blog called metrodad.com that I stumbled upon one day. You might be wondering why the heck I'm reading a blog called MetroDad since I don't have any kids (and I'm not a guy). Upon first glance you would think this site is geared toward a parent raising his kid. It pretty much is. Specifically a father raising a cute rambunctious daughter. Nevertheless, in general, it's a site that's entertaining and geared towards anyone who has a sense of humour, sans kids.

So, last week he had a contest for his readers to send him an updated banner for his blog. Winner would receive: (1) a brand-new Apple Shuffle, (2) a full ensemble of work-out/casual athletic clothing, and (3) a $50 American Express gift certificate.

I built this up just to say I was NOT one of the finalists BUT I still wanted to show off my banner, so here it is.

I definitely like the 5 that he chose for the finalists. You can find those on his site. It's kind of hard to choose the one I like best. I think I like 1, 2, and 4 the best. If I were forced to choose right now, I guess I'd go with 4.