Archive for August, 2009
One of my roommates is in dental school and for the past couple months she’s been busy preparing for the board exams. We’ve been living together for two years now and have shared quite a few food memories. We occasionally make dinners, go out for Restaurant Week, and even took a couple of cooking classes together!
When she asked me if I could pack her lunch on the day of her board exams I was happy to do it. I kind of felt like a mom sending her kid off to take the SATs. I couldn’t sleep the night before because I planned to cook in the morning so the food would be nice and fresh. I was afraid I might not wake up in time, which is silly because I’m one of those people who don’t need an alarm to get up. I kept on looking at my clock throughout the night and finally at 6 am (1 hour before I planned to wake up) I got out of bed and started cooking.
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August 31 2009 | Asian and Beef and Korean and Recipe and Side Dish and Thoughts | 5 Comments »
I walked out of the subway on the Upper West Side and knew instantly that I was in the right place. The smell of baked chocolate and browned butter greeted me as I stepped out into the sunlight. It may have been my imagination and the anticipation of eating Levain Bakery’s famous chocolate chip cookies, but I lie not when I say I followed my nose to the small, almost hidden gem of a bakery. Actually, it wasn’t quite a direct journey. My sense of smell may be good, but my eyes sometimes fail me. I walked deliriously up and down Amsterdam Avenue trying to locate the semi-sub level bakery. I finally caved, and asked the fruit cart man who told me it was around the corner below the waxing salon. Hey! It wasn’t just me though, even my friend confidently strode past it and continued almost half a block before I finally caught up with her as I hopelessly (and obnoxiously) yelled, “Angela! Angela!” to a girl who had her headphones on. Levain is a very humble place. It’s not fancy, cutesy, or filled with shades of pastel. Here, it’s all about the tastes and smells.
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August 30 2009 | Bakeries and Restaurants and Dining out and New York and Thoughts | 5 Comments »
I’ve kind of been obsessed with cantaloupe lately. I eat it during breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday and still don’t get tired of it! I think it’s the most perfect out of all the melons. It’s sweet, but not as piercingly sweet as honeydew. It’s refreshing and juicy in a more substantial way than watermelon. And it’s just has a very calming quality to it. It’s pleasant and soothing like dawn during summertime.
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August 26 2009 | Dessert and Dips and Recipe and Thoughts | 11 Comments »
No knead bread is really fantastic because it’s easy. There aren’t very many special skills involved. As long as you know how to measure ingredients and mix them together you’re set to go. If there is one secret ingredient here it would be patience. According to the famous bible of no knead baking, you only need five minutes a day to make great bread. It’s true but also a little misguided at the same time. It’s true because it really does only takes a few minutes to work the ingredients but what about all that waiting time? First, there’s the two hour wait for the initial rise, then 40 minutes for the second rise, and then 35 minutes in the oven. Even if you make the dough ahead of time, you have to wait a few hours before breaking of a nice, warm piece of rustic bread. I mean, when you wake up in the morning or come home from a long day do you really want to wait two hours for something to eat?! Well, it was actually worth it. After all, the whole loaf was gone by the end of the day. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m not great with the patience skill.
The olive bread was perfect. It had a firm, crunchy crust and a soft, moist interior. The saltiness and texture of the olives really provided another depth to the bread. I’ve made other variations with cheese and honey, but I have to say, so far, this one with olives has been the best.
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August 24 2009 | Bread and Recipe and Thoughts | 9 Comments »
Korean summers are excruciatingly humid and hot. Temperatures will rise above the 90s and for a few weeks monsoon season hits so it rains cats and dogs. Fortunately, throughout my life I have only spent a handful of summers there. I love being there and it’s where I call home, but summer is just not its best season.
One great thing about summer in Korea though is the cold noodle soups. They’re cool, refreshing, and very flavorful. The most common and popular cold noodle soup is probably, naengmyun, 냉면. It is made with buckwheat noodles and a cold broth garnished with julienned cucumbers, asian pear slices, half a hard boiled egg, and pieces of steamed pork belly. It’s a bit complicated to make naengmyun from scratch, which is why they sell packages of naengmyun “kits” in Korean/Asian supermarkets. Everything is included, so all you have to do is boil the noodles and pick your garnishes.
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August 23 2009 | Asian and Beans and Legumes and Budget and Korean and Noodles and Recipe and Soup and Thoughts | 4 Comments »
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