Archive for September, 2009
When my family gets together in San Diego we always have sushi night. We throw a big icebox into the trunk and drive to the Japanese supermarket where we buy tons of fresh sashimi, fish roe, pickled diakon, and pink ginger. It may seem strange that my family puts together a sushi dinner at home. For many, sushi is a take out or dining out kind of cuisine. However, making sushi or putting together a sashimi plate is not all that complicated. Sure, it won’t be like having a meal at Nobu or Morimoto, but it definitely will be much cheaper. It might even be cheaper than ordering from the Japanese place around the corner!
While I was browsing the aisles of M2M, an Asian supermarket in the East Village, I saw that they sold some sashimi and fish roe. They didn’t have a large selection, so I couldn’t serve a platter of sashimi like the picture from my family’s dinner, but they did have everything needed for spicy tuna makis. I guess I could’ve gone to the cute Japanese supermarket called Sunrise Mart, which has a greater variety of sashimi, but I already had a bag full of groceries from Trader Joe’s so I decided to settle with M2M’s selection (yea, I was also being lazy).
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September 08 2009 | asian and recipe and thoughts | 5 Comments »
As I looked at the tantalizing desserts and stood amidst the urban wild, cabin decor of Baked bakery, I began to think that the long trip to Red Hook, Brooklyn would become the first of many. It was extremely difficult to narrow down the menu, especially after reading reviews here and flipping through their delicious cookbook. Finally my friend and I decided to order two cupcakes, a whoopie pie, two brownies, and apricot rosemary bar to go. Yes, it was kind of a beastly thing for two girls to do, but in our defense, we did not finish everything, it took us an hour and three transfers to get there, and we spent a fair amount of time working our way through. Excuses, excuses, I know.
We started off with the sweet and salty cupcake. It was definitely a winner for me. The chocolate cake had a upper crust like a brownie and the inner workings of a molten chocolate cake. Inside was a soft, almost melted chocolate filling that worked well with the mouse-like, airy frosting. Despite the layers of chocolate, it was a very delicate cupcake that gave a hint of salty caramel. In contrast to my opinion, my friend found the cupcake boring and cliche. I agree with the cliche, but the speckles of salt really saved it from being boring for me.
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September 07 2009 | new york and thoughts | 6 Comments »
Eggplant, for me, is one of those foods that I can’t exactly pinpoint in my memory. I know I had it growing up because I knew what an eggplant tasted like and the texture in my mouth, however I can’t remember exact dishes, or a specific time when I had it. I think it might have been because the dish I had wasn’t spectacular but I was impressed by the natural characteristics of the vegetable. Or it may be that I was freakishly born with eggplant knowledge engrained in my head,I don’t know. But in any case I love eggplant.
Eggplant was one of the first ingredients I cooked with. For me it’s a very forgiving ingredient because I love it when it’s still firm with a nice spongy bite and also when it’s soft enough to melt in your mouth. My timing can be a little off, and I’ll still come up with something I like. When I first started to cook it was really great because I only cooked with vegetables. I’m not a vegetarian but I had this fear of cooking with meat. I was really intimidated because I didn’t think that I could even execute a mediocre dish. With meat timing is key. I wasn’t very fast in the kitchen, so I knew everything I made would be too tough and dry. Eggplant is really great because it has a sort of “meaty” substantial quality to it. It’s sturdy and chewy and a little bit stringy at the same time. It’s no real substitute for a nice piece of steak, but I think in comparison to other vegetables it does a pretty good job.
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September 04 2009 | asian and korean and recipe and thoughts and vegetarian | 5 Comments »
I don’t follow many (actually any) sports with the exception of one, tennis. My sister introduced me to to the sport a couple of years ago and have been hooked ever since. If you live in New York or are a tennis fan you probably know that the US Open is held here in the city (yes, Queens is part of New York City) at this time every year. It started this past Monday and will continue on for two weeks.
So how is food related to the US Open? Well, like at any event or amusement park, food is overpriced and very expensive at the Open. When you’re hot and thirsty, $5 for a cold bottle of water is necessary but can also feel like money down the drain. I’ve made it a habit of spending no more than $10 to $15 at the Open and I thought I’d share with you what I do.
First of all, I always bring a couple bottles of water and drinks in my bag. I freeze them the night before so that they stay cold throughout the day. This year I decided to make my own beverages instead of buying power drinks. I made a thin smoothie by blending frozen berries with some water. I also made a minty, amateur lemonade by squeezing a couple of lemons, adding sugar and lots of mint. The berry juice was delicious but the lemonade wasn’t spectacular, however both were refreshing.
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September 03 2009 | new york and thoughts | 5 Comments »
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