Charred

It's been nearly one month since my last post, but this post is unfortunately not about food. I was starting to get cabin fever and the smoke was starting to get to me, so I left San Diego with a friend from Diamond Bar. We actually tried to leave the night before... but all northbound traffic on the 5 was shut off past Pendleton at night. La Jolla isn't too close to the fires, but I wanted to be closer to family...

These are some pictures I snapped from the car as we went north on Wednesday. It was mid afternoon. These are what I think parts of the Horno fire along Camp Pendleton and Oceanside. There were even flames right across the freeway from the San Onofre nuclear power plant (it probably wouldn't be good to have that catch on fire or burn power line poles.. so there was a lonely firetruck guarding the area) and right behind the inland border checkpoint. There was scorched land all the way up to the asphalt in many places. But those weren't places next to homes. It looked like Mars or an apocalypse outside.

I hope this will turn out ok. Thank you to everyone who's helping out.

http://www.fire.ca.gov/ http://www.kpbs.org/news/fires











this is near the same area past San Onofre on a drive up mid-august.

boiled potatoes

always looking for cheap food options, i've taken a page from America's pioneering ancestors who had to make do with what little they had. here i've concocted a potato stew flavored with salt pork. (maybe i'm just watching too much of Frontier House)

2 slices of bacon (er, salt pork is a little bit tooo unhealthy.. it's more fat than pork!) chopped up into a cold pot. heated on medium until the the fat started to melt all liquidly from the bacon. took 5 smallish-medium potatoes, sliced them up into fries as thick as my thumb, and threw those in the pot along with whatever veggie i had at hand. this time, it was cubes of a zucchini. stirred it around a bit, then added some packaged veggie stock (stockpiled from the Days of Lost Wisdom) and water in a 3:1 ratio, enough to cover an inch in the bottom of the pot, at least. put a tiny sprinkle of chili and ~1 tbsp of vinegar for flavoring. After boiling, cover pot and simmer on low for 20-30 mins (or until the taters get cooked). usually tastes better if allowed to sit a while before eating or reheated.

note to the brain - yes, sausages too

icy refreshing chicken broth

here's a couple things i made a while back. don't let the first picture deceive you, it's not as untasty as it looks. i split one of those little mini eggplants down the middle, filled it with garlic, dribbled salt and olive oil over it, and then pan grilled it slowly that the juicy insides would slowly cook itself.



these were the toughest, waxiest, limpest green beans i could find. they were also on sale for a ridiculously low price. after letting it age for almost another week (i kind of forgot about them...) i decided it was time to work my magic on 'em. i tossed them in a pot with some water, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and fried garlic and set it to simmer for a looong time. so soft and tender afterwards.. almost.. mushy. but not suite. they were too tough to start out with to get mushy. my roomates all made faces and closed their doors. i am evil.



last of all, this is what i ate for dinner last night? the night before? it's all a blur with the lovely moloko vellocet they gave me. and the wooden choppers aren't quite ready to handle solid food yet plus they need to be aged and treated. ah.. cold jook with dried green shiso leaf on top. and nothing beats an icy refreshing chicken broth with an ice cube floating around in it...

Ouchies Food

i'm missing some teeth. actually, i've exiled them from my mouth and have replaced them with wooden dentures, just like george w. the first. had to fast for the anesthesia, and boy, was that some good stuff. i had to try really hard to keep from cracking up at the dr.'s instructions. afterwards i was really numb. and yes folks, i have a drinking problem. i keep missing my mouth!

so what's am i eating today? lots and lots of cold chicken broth. and very recently, a very small trader joe's blueberry and cream yogurt. i don't usually like yogurt unless used in savory dishes, so either i'm really hungry, or this stuff really is good. i'm trying to avoid reading food blogs. everything sounds tasty right now. even those weird american sushi rolls with cream cheese in it. hmm, kind of reminds me of a snack i used to eat as a kid. i'd spread a slice of ham with cream cheese, roll it up, and viola, deliciousness.

scrambled eggs

the brown bits in the egg are that "tianjian preserved vegetable" in the background. it's been a while since i've eaten any sort of 冬菜 or 菜脯 with scrambled eggs as a meal at home or in a restaurant. chinese comfort food? i'm a sucker for anything preserved, salty, and spicy. one of my favorite dishes in the whole wide world is 梅菜扣肉。i wonder where i can find Hakka and ChiuChow style food down here in SD? i always have a craving for preserved lemon duck soup. it's a rarity nowadays of sorts. not many restaurants seem to want to go through the trouble of making it, and places that do make it only make a limited amount of it per day and you have to order it in advance.

you can't find good preserved lemons in the supermarket. that is the kind of thing little old ladies who smell like mothballs (ah, memories) make at home. hmm.. who can guess what my next project is going to be?

fried tofu s&p

so.. i finally did it.. i took the plunge... and decided to fry something. using more than a few tablespoons of oil.



i've been wanting to fry this for a while, but have always had some other form of protein around until i've cleaned out everything except for the costco-sized bag of chemically chicken breasts that were most likely grown not on a chicken, but in a tank with all the other clones. used firm tofu that i drained and squashed the water out of with a use of two plates and a heavy bottle of soy sauce. the heat was somewhere on med-high with canola oil. i got the crispiness right. it took ~5-10 mins per batch. i have no idea how restaurants make it so tasty. they must put in an entire handful of meijing and spices. before the cornstarch coating, sprinkled ~3 tablespoons of a mixture of salt, white pepper, 5 spice for a block of tofu, and still not enough flavor. maybe it was b/c i didn't add msg? need to flavor more aggressively. and the green onion and chilies topping... i don't know how they do it. mines didn't come out dry and almost with crispy bits like theirs.

in the background you can see the lovely brown veggie curry. japanese style curry with carrots, zucchini, onions, potatoes.

btw, the muffins at Henry's are delicious. i'm not just saying it b/c i like the market. trader joe's breads and things always have a weird dough-y taste...

x marks the spot

so i was at the store and i saw a pyramid of angel food cake. so i decided to splurge a little. now that i had that.. well.. certainly i can't eat it alone. it would be like eating my way through a vast empty dessert without an oasis in sight. so i bought some berries to go with it. but just berries and cake can be like a fair maid in a saharan sand storm, so i had to buy cream to smooth things out.

i added a tsp or two of sugar and some cocoa powder to the heavy whipping cream to make chocolatey whipped cream. oh, be sure to use a real whip. the cream actually gets fluffier when it cringes away from the whips.



this lovely presentation was designed by one of my lovely apartment mates. note the pirate themed "x marks the spot" strawberry. thar be treasure here, folks.



this was my roomate's cake. i didn't want her to murder me in the middle of the night, so i tried to make it pretty. however, lighting at my desk isn't exactly the greatest.

i dumped my cake and berries into the bowl i whipped the cream in. extreme laziness.. AND i get the most cream. hehe.

"The Whole Food Meal"

i don't like energy bars. they usually have this weird gritty protein stuff in it, taste like codfish oil, and leave a chalky feeling in your mouth. the closest i'll come to something like that is probably a granola bar, but then those are waaay too sweet. i need to start making my own. anyways, one day, long long ago at school, i was hungry. having spent most of the night awake, i didn't really feel like eating any junk food. didn't want a killer tummy ache. shunning junk food, i skipped the food court and decided to try my luck rummaging around in the student store for something semi-healthy and still tasty. somewhere in between the little debbie ho-hos and the chalky gross cliff bars i found this:



the pro bar. no pictures of the thing. it was brown. i ate it. only saved the wrapper. i'm not really one of those super organic wheat-grass infused Juice Tiger types, but i figure that the people who do buy this stuff tend to be rather particular. the blurb on the back is about how everything in the bar is raw, contain raw dried fruit, raw seeds, raw unprocessed natural cane juice, raw etc etc. i think they had to put in lots of oil to hold the thing together, or it'd be too dry. that kind of showed when i took it outside to eat with my carton of OJ. it started exuding oils from all the nuts and stuff. however, it was tasty. did not taste like cardboard or overly sweet, nor was it heavy and preservative-y tasting. has a nice identifiable mix of protein (nuts) and carbs (rice, oats). i deem this bar safe for consumption.

liver and lotus root. not together unfortunately.

the market had some nice looking liver... i rinsed off the liver slices, dried them, then dredged them in some masa corn flour (the stuff to make tortillas from) that was mixed with some salt and pepper. then pan fried them.



a hunk of re-toasted french bread (not from that stale loaf) and slices of lotus root stir fried with a little salt.



some slightly freezer burnt slices of beef cooked up in garlic and worcestershire sauce, and chunks of zuchini and tomato cooked with some garlic salt, garlicky mashed potatoes.

some canned dolmas and marshmallows over a firepit, a lightnin' jack's bbq sandwich. i need to eat more... time for the market.

nothing to declare

stir-fried up some lotus root with soy sauce as a snack. then i cheated.

a friend came down to visit and found a reason to go to izakaya sakura. i'd always wondered what was there when i first saw it while visiting the pancake house. my friends had suspected a shady storefront for the mafia. i guess we were wrong.

despite comments from a college student (not me) "dude, these waitresses are pretty cute", the place was not engaged in any other sort of shady business. just good good food.

i feel like the "hillbilly housewife"

i eat the same stuff a lot. preparation is noteworthy though.

1 fist sized hunk of frozen ground beef
1/2 half a frozen jam jar of tomato sauce
half an onion, diced
cooked pasta
garlic salt

threw everything into a pot without thawing and simmered for half an hour before dumping on top of pasta. if you call melting a jar-shaped chunk of frozen tomato sauce "simmering".

point of this: illustrate how i use old jars to hold food and keep food in 1-3 meal sizes in sandwich bags separately for easy preparation. space is tough to find in a fridge when sharing it with 3 other people. pitchers and tall kimchee jars make great containers for soup. small used up caper jars and such are really good for holding freshly made salad dressing, sauces, etc. also good for storing leftover coffee for the next day's reincarnation as iced coffee. it's also fun to drink out of jars...

hummus. kind of. not really.

since i like hummus and it's a great source of fiber and protein, i decided to try making some myself. the market stuff is usually too chemically for me.

didn't quite follow a specific recipe, but combined a couple. i took a double handful of dried chickpeas and soaked them for a day in a jar of water. rinsed them out, then simmered for an hour with some salt. skimmed off the flotsam and jetsam at the top. drained peas, then used a potato masher on them. this.. was a bad idea. it was really hard to mash.. and all the recipes ask for using a blender or food processor. which i don't have. i added the juice of 1 lemon, half a cup of olive oil, 3 medium sized closed of pressed raw garlic, salt and pepper. i didn't have any tahini so i used toasted sesame seeds (i also need a mortar and pestle) and a few drops of sesame oil instead.

the taste.. seemed ok. it's not as zesty or sesame seedy as restaurant hummus.. and it was definately chunky and grainy, even after 10 mins of mashing. so it's not really hummus except for the fact that i started out intending it to be. but it was edible. i think next time i'll just skip the paste texture and just put my garbanzo beans to better use in a salad or soup.

french bread dinner

ahh, another uncolorful brown food dish. but brown is tasty. so i have my camera back, and i guess that leaves me no reason to not post again. my schedule's also slacked a LOT so i'm happy and having a real summer break!

as i haven't shopped for food in over a week, i didn't really have much left in the fridge for dinner tonight. i did have half a loaf of really dry, stale french bread (almost week old), half an onion, and some leftover meat from a potluck at home. being ghettofabulous and not wanting to waste semi-edible food, i sliced up the bread, dipped it into a mixture of borrowed egg, milk, water, salt and pepper, and cooked it int he frying pan. just like savory french toast. made the bread crunchy on the outside, moist and dense and soft on the inside. better than i'd expected on a whim.

next was the half an onion. sliced it, and sauteed it with a mixture of salt, chinese white pepper, and 5-spice powder. if that sounds like asian S&P, you're right. onions tend to get soggy 'cause i don't like the bite of them. i can't wait to try frying something S&P. usually more than a couple tbsp of oil intimidates me.

partways through looking at slices of brain in class, i got a really big hankering for pork rinds. guess what i got at breaktime. i don't usually eat stuff like that, but i think once in a while (say a year or so) is fine. what's really really really tasty that i'll definately eat more than once a year is fresh chicharonnes from the mexican meat market somewhere in pomona. the crispy skin layer.. the fat layer (not to be eaten), and the suuuper delicious meat make it... *starts dreaming* yumm...

shirataki noodles

shirataki noodles 1 pkg
couple slices of presliced sirloin that was on sale at zion korean market
half an onion, thin wedges
mirin
soy sauce

heated a pan with a little bit of vegetable oil in it. tossed in the beef when it was good and hot and cooked for a min or so. tossed in the onions and let those cook underneath the beef for a couple of mins, adjusted heat to simmer. splash of mirin (2-3 tbsp?). larger splash of soy sauce (3-4 tbsp?). i think all recipes i found said to add dashi, but i didn't feel like making any so used water (~1 cup). simmered for almost 20 mins. now you have crazy chewy noodles. i like the beefy taste, but the beef comes out a bit tough at the end of that simmering. the piece i fished out and munched on early on was perfect. now.. how do i get the beefy flavor in without turning my meat tough?

whilst that was cooking, ate some bread (b/c shirataki noodles have no calories, i would starve if that's all i ate) and prepared this cucumber salad.

3 persian cucumbers sliced bite sized
grated daikon (from the rest of the hunk i didn't use in soup)
1 green onion sliced
some cilantro
1 korean pepper sliced
little splash of soy sauce
big splash of rice vinegar
some fish sauce
some ginger, grated
sprinkle of sugar
little bit of sesame oil
a few tbsp of water

poured straight from bottles, etc into a tupperware with the cucumbers. close lid. shake.

simple soup

1 lb pork meaty bones (i used spareribs)

1 foot long length of a big daikon

salt to taste

rinse meat. boil a large pot of water, drop the bones in and boil for a few mins, then turn down the heat to very low and simmer. skim off the froth and other undesirable junk from the top. i hour before done, drop in cut up pieces of daikon. i think i've seen any size from .5 inch cubes to fist sized chunks. today, i favored inch thick pie wedges 'cause i like bite sized nuggets of daikon joy. it doesn't really matter how you cut up the stuff in the pot as long as it fits, i think. total simmering time was 2 hours. really should get a crock pot. i guess other people would call it broth. but i always grew up calling it soup.

i found the recipe below online. it sounds so gross that i'm willing to try it. the ground beef and onions sound good.. by themselves. the next question is, where do i get the canned chinese vegetables and canned bean sprouts? fresh is easy.. but canned?

CHINESE SOUP
1 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey, optional 1 can V-8 juice or tomato juice 1 can water chestnuts, drained 1 can bean sprouts, drained 1 can Chinese vegetables, drained 2 stalks celery, diced 1 med. onion, diced 1/4 c. soy sauce 1 can French style green beans, drained Cook ground beef and onions. Drain off grease. Add all other ingredients and simmer 45 minutes. Keeps well in refrigerator.

a pressing matter (aka, mashed potato sandwich)

as i mentioned, i've been trying to save money and time lately, so i bought food in bulk. that costco -sized bag o spinach is still around and today, it's being reincarnated as a topping on my pizza. a friend took me out to dinner at Leucadia last night and lucky for me he doesn't like leftovers, esp soggy pizza. doggy bag, please! woof!



also on the pizza is some fresh smushed garlic in olive oil. buying a garlic press has been one of my better investments. comes with a thimble-like insert for easy cleanup. another one of my recent investments is a potato masher. it's so much easier to use than a fork. i'm probably 10x more likely to make something mushy now. behold, my magical mashing stick! and the smushinator x2000!





remember those potatoes from last sat? here they are in a delicious portable sandwich format. all your fiber, vits, butter, carbs, more carbs, and more carbs in one on-the-go package. i ate the same thing for lunch the day before, except with a fried egg in it too, when i still had eggs left.

fancy yogurt and and semi-homemade eats

i really don't know how those frozen yogurt places manage to stay in business. you know, the fancy ones with the fruit they scoop over the top. first off, it's pricey, second.. it's just frozen yogurt with fruit, cereal, and sprinkles on top! do they really get enough money from the occasional desserter to pay the rent and make a profit?? ok, nevermind, i probably just offended thousands of devotees to pinkberry. i guess i am just too cheap. there's a place in PB that offered free samples.. dolci mangoli or something like that along the the main drag of garnet. i can say i've tried it.. and it was good, i guess. but still!



anyways, here's what i had for dinner tonight. mashed potatoes with dill (dried, b/c the fresh stuff is hard to keep.. and cheaper), garlic, and almost half a stick of butter (to make up for not having any milk/cream around). spinach salad with plums in some sort of "oriental" dressing filched from a roomie (thanks!). some overly salty chicken breast that came pre-marinated in tequila lime stuff. it tastes like chemicals and is unnaturally tender. i blame the need for convenience. i am now in school Mon-Sat. joy.

Colorful food contest entry

take this, sir orang3!



my entry is "white light", containing all the wavelengths in the visible spectrum. it's waaaay more colorful than yours. maybe. ok, nevermind, you win. i can't remember if i presented this beautiful bowl or boringness yet. it's bamboo fungus and tofu. that i made quite a long time ago.

1 pkg bamboo fungus
1 block tofu
1 can no sodium chicken stock
~.5-1.0 tbsp cornstarch
soy sauce to taste.. and for lack of color.

soaked the bamboo fungus in warm water for... as long as the package says. something like 20 mins, drained. washed a couple more times b/c they're usually full of dirt and grit. last time i made it, i didn't wash enough, and i had crunchy bamboo fungus... it was not appetizing. however, i was hungry and a little dirt doesn't hurt. boiled for whatever the package said.. 2 mins? drained again, and put it into a new pan (sand and grit was at the bottom of the other one), dumped in some tofu and the chicken stock, simmered for a few mins, added the cornstarch mixed in with soy sauce to thicken the sauce. scoop on rice, consume.

apple licorice

snacks. i'm digging through some old pictures (b/c i've left my camera back at a friend's place up in LA) and i found this er, vibrant photo of one very addicting snack. can't remember if i posted it before. but it's apple flavored licorice. the market sells all sorts of flavors, which they order from some other company.. i've seen the exact same types of licorice sold at The Fruit Stand near Price Club--Costco. but.. they are much more expensive there. i think i will stick to the traditional fruits and veggies there. anyways, they usually sell out of this flavor first at the market, leaving an empty spot next to the nasty pina colada and strange grape medicine flavored licorice for weeks before they get more in stock. so i stocked up. they don't really taste like real apples and don't contain any licorice root flavoring, but they're still neon-green delicious. here are some comments from ppl who have tried it:

"that's special."

"the taste reminds me a bit of soap but somehow i can't stop eating it"