Our eating motto

A friend summed it up best when she said - "we don't care what we eat, we just care how much.."  I couldn't agree more.  Yes, we have standards for how our food should be, but eating is really to get full, isn't it?  Here's my working girls lunch crew - it's been a tradition that has been going on for years - it was hard to fit in the schedule at times, but looking back, it was all worth it.  Our eating bond was developed instantly and friendship followed soon after.  I love that the group keeps growing as we keep eating.

Staying local

 

I've been taking more walks around the neighborhood recently and at first, had pretty low expectations of the scenery - I'm in the 'burbs after all.  These pictures were all taken at or near the house and I've realized that I'm surrounded by beauty, I just have to take the time to see it. 

I love watching the sunset from our guest room, which faces the backyard.  I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes - "Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them."  The picture below is from an early evening walk, on a night when the moon shone brightly.

Ka Won

short rib

Disclaimer (and this is true for most authentic ethnic restaurants):  you are here only for the food.  Not for the service, not for the waitresses to understand you, and definitely not here for the drinks (cuz you ordered it about an hour ago and you are never going to see it.)  You are here for the food, and there is plenty of it.  Many thanks to the friends who introduced us to this restaurant, which is conveniently super close to our house.

Fish egg (fish roe) chige

seafood pancake

Nothing impresses me more when someone is willing to drive 30 minutes+ for their food.  And my friend's husband was in town from Asia so technically, he flew quite a long way for this meal!  Hopefully it was worth the trip - it was delicious food and we had a great time.

Cook, clean, repeat

It has taken me years and years to get the culinary concept of "Mise en place" - everything in it's place.  The only reason that I have taken to enjoy cooking recently is because I have started giving myself plenty of time to prepare/find the ingredients.  My past cooking was in the style of "shoot, it's time to add the soy sauce and I don't have any," so dishes rarely turned out the way they were supposed to. 

And as much as I would like to cook an endless array of dishes in my kitchen without stopping, I know that it can't be a smooth process if I don't do a set of a dishes after a bit of cooking.  I would soon run out of utensils, bowls, and plates.  It would be like a surgeon not having their tools in front of them during surgery.

While doing the dishes is my least favorite part of the process, it gives me a chance to think about how the recipe turned out and to think of ideas for my next dish.  Just like in life, there should always be down time, for one's mind to relax and to rejuvenate.  Such is the cycle of life.  You have to take the time to savor and catalog experiences, and to clean the utensils and to place it back in the right container.  I guess you really can't have too much of a good thing and I'm finally in a place where I'm okay with that.

Cocktail buns

My love of cocktail buns started when I was in elementary school.  Every time I take a bite, it takes me back to when I was in the 3rd grade.  My brother and I are at my grandfather's apartment in chinatown, having just come from school.  We are watching cartoons - Woodywood Pecker is on and usually by the time my mom comes home, the Chilly Willy segment starts.  We greet my mom happily and take from her hand, a bag of buns from the bakery - cocktail bun for me and pineapple bun for my brother.  As we finish our snack, my brother and I walk a block to Chong Wah, for 2 hours of chinese school.  To keep up with my brother's long strides, I do a small jog as I finish the last quarter of the cocktail bun.

The owners of Mon Hei have changed over the years and have faced competition from a handful of bakeries that have popped in Chinatown - newer stores, more modern selections.  Still, no one can make the cocktail buns the way I like them.  Mon Hei Bakery's cocktail buns have the best coconut to bread ratio and when you are lucky enough to encounter a fresh and warm batch - nothing can beat it!

The Counter

The Counter in Ballard, the place where you can get the hamburger that you've always wanted - add an egg, blue cheese, brie, brussel sprouts, pineapple, avocado, etc, whatever your heart desires.  I'm all for choice, but I gotta say, nothing beats a plain old hamburger with cheese and the regular fixings.  I got brie and other fancy things on my burger and the combination just didn't work.

This place does a great job in cooking the burger exactly how you want it.  You just have to be careful what you end up ordering.  With freedom/choice comes responsibility - think about how the combo might taste!  They also have the best matchstick fries - regular or sweet potato, which was a major highlight to the meal.

Mikes Noodles vs Wonton Noodle House

It's nice to have more and more options available in the north-end these days for good chinese eats.  Dim sum, won ton noodles, and bubble tea are all available in a very lovely corner in Edmonds - Ranch 99 and a strip mall a block north of the complex.  Wonton Noodles is quite good, given my expectations of the location (not in chinatown!).  Definitely worth the trip if you are stuck up north and want congee or noodles.

Mike's Noodles in Seattle's Chinatown is still the gold standard though, even compared to some of noodle houses in the Chinatowns at NYC and SF.  Everything involved in making an amazing bowl of noodles - the broth, the noodles, the wontons, the brisket - is done well and the broth is hard to beat.  Mike's Noodles can be inconsistent at times, but they are still the best noodles around, even when they are a little off their game.  Their long lines during rush hour prove it.

Little Hot Pot

You walk into the restaurant and the smell of a wonderful herbal broth fills your nose.  Your expectations rise and the selections on the menu don't disappoint - a wide assortment of veggies, meat, seafood, tofu, and even dumplings and such.

The only downer to the meal was the lack of choices in dipping sauces - it's like being all dressed up for the prom with no shoes!  Overall, I was happy with the quality of food that was provided, so maybe I'll just have to bring my own dipping sauce if I go again.

Success or flop?

As a good hubby who is encouraging his wife to cook more, Joe has been very generous with his praise.  So sometimes it's hard to figure out if the dish is really good.  The true test for me is how long the dish lasts in the fridge - if it is gone within a day or two, I know it was a hit!

The only thing that Joe has requested so far is lettuce wraps.  He is really open to what I cook, but sometimes I run into something he can't stand, like eggplant (which I love!)

So I like to think of cooking for Joe as similar to feeding a stray cat - he likes to eat randomly throughout the day and I like having different containers of food available for when he gets hungry and meanders into the kitchen for some food.

It runs in the family..

 Robert:  "My prime rib came out great, let's cut it so the family can dig in."

 Lissa:  "Can I sample I mean, help you with anything?"

Lissa: "Yummy.. this is so good, let me get another piece"
Robert:  "Glad I got the bigger one.."

Lissa:  "Glad I got to this prime rib before anyone else..will camp out here until I'm noticed!"

Moral of the story is and many of you can attest to this - if you see me or any of my cousins approaching you in the kitchen, don't expect help.  We are really there to sample.  :)

Hot and Sour Soup

I love hot and sour soup and after I made this at home, I like it even more.  I didn't always have the right recipe though, because some have led me to make a soup that is neither hot or sour!

This is a fairly simple recipe, and as I was devouring bowl after bowl, I knew had enough ingredients to make a second batch.  Here are the two secret ingredients and my friend made sure I had the right stuff, by escorting me to Ranch 99 so I would know which isle to find it.  I love my friends.  :)  Use this brand of vinegar for the recipe that calls for "mature vinegar."  I added a few sliced shiitake mushrooms and sliced bamboo shoots to this soup.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/577584


1/4 cup dried wun yee (Cloud ear mushrooms) *
1/4 cup lily buds *
1 quart Chicken Stock (Home Made taste better, but any avaliable is fine)
1 ounce pork butt, slivered
1 square extra firm tofu, rinsed and diced into 1/2 inch squares.
2 tbsp cornstarch (necessary evil)
2 tbsp Chinese Mature Vinegar * (For the Sour)
1/3 cup finely minced scallions
1 tsp ground white pepper (For the Hot)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp sugar

1) Soak cloud ear and and lily buds in separate bowls for 30 minutes to soften in cold water.
Drain, remove hard spots from cloud ears and cut in half. Remove hard ends from lily buds and tie into knots.
2) Bring Chicken stock to boil over high heat. Add cloud ear, lily buds, tofu and pork and return to boil.
3) In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and vinegar. When the soup returns to rolling boil, stir cornstarch/vinegar slurry into the soup. Stir until soup is thickened.
4) Remove soup from heat, stir in scallions, white pepper, beaten egg and sugar. Serve piping hot

Mushroom Risotto

I love cooking risotto - stirring the rice round and round is so relaxing and calming.  The combination of mushroom, parsley (I used cilantro), white wine, and parmesan cheese in this recipe is so good.  The mushrooms had to be sauteed separately and they were able to brown b/c they were not crowded in this pan (it totally makes a difference!)

This is what the risotto looks about half way, as I stir patiently, waiting for the rice to soak more and more stock.  The below is close to done, and ready for the parmesan cheese and butter to be stirred in, and then it turns into a velvety and soft risotto!

risotto with mushrooms

serves 3-4

⅓ cup dried wild mushrooms, preferably porcini (I used shiitake)
6 oz fresh mushrooms or 12 oz if doubling recipe
juice of ½ lemon
6 T butter
2 T finely chopped parsley
3 ¾ cups vegetable stock
2 T oilve oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1.5 cups risotto rice
½ cup try white wine
3 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper


1. place dried mushrooms in 1.5 cups warm water.  soak for a least 40 min.                                          filter water through sieve and reserve.
2.  wipe and slice mushrooms.
3. in heavy frying pan, melt a third of the butter.  stir in fresh sliced mushrooms and cook over moderate heat until they release their juices and begin to brown.  Stir in parsley, cook for 30 seconds more and remove to a side dish.
4. place stock in a saucepan, and add mushroom water.  heat broth to a simmer.
5.  heat another third of the butter with olive oil in the same pan the mushrooms were cooked in.  stir in the onion and cook until it is soft and golden.  add the rice, stirring for 1-2 minutes to coat it with the oils in the pan.  Add the soaked and sauteed mushrooms and mix well.
6.  pour in the wine, raise the heat slightly, and cook over moderate heat until it evaporates.
7.  add one small ladleful of the hot broth.
8.  over moderate heat, cook until broth is absorbed.
9.  add a little more broth and stir until rice dries out again.
10.  continue until 20 minutes, taste the rice.  add salt and pepper
11.  continue cooking until rice is tender, but firm to the bite.
12.  total cooking time maybe 20-35 minutes, if you run out of broth, use hot water.
13.  remove risotto pan from heat.  stir in remaining butter and parmesan.  let rest for 3-4 min before serving.

(from Best-Ever Vegetarian, Linda Fraser)

Bobby's Hawaiian Restaurant

I feel like the Food Network's Dives, Diners, etc show sold me up the river, after I tasted the food here.  It was featured on the show and since then, I had been wanting to try them out.  Happily, in serving my civic duty, I was close enough that I could drop by to this Everett restaurant for lunch.  While the service was great, the food was another story.

The ahi poke was hard to finish - it seemed like they decided to use the cheapest cut of ahi available.  The kalua pork was decent, although it definitely isn't like the kind you can get from Hawaii.  The macaroni salad was actually the best tasting out of the three.  The morale of the story - don't go to a Hawaiian restaurant expecting the real deal.  I know I am the last to get the memo on this, but just sayin', so that other people don't experience the same disappointment!

I feel bad for my harsh critique, although perhaps, certain friends in my life have elevated the bar of quality and I can never go back - homemade kalua pork, kalbi ribs, ahi poke..

Porkie Pig

I try not to think of him when I inhale the following.  I usually don't have a preference to meats, but lately it's been about the pig.  My friends got me hooked on this bacon and once you've tried this, you refused to settle for anything else they call "bacon."  Have you seen such photogenic bacon?  The pieces are thick and the flavor is intense and smoky.   I totally get why Virginia is known for their bacon!    http://virginiatraditions.com/store/main.aspx?DepartmentId=38  

The perfect plate - red velvet cake, drumstick ice cream and bacon.