The Abundance of Mushrooms

The Mushrooms, Shangri-la, Yunnan, China.

All of my editing has reminded me to share more photos from China here. Despite the fact that I am Chinese, I had a hard time eating and getting a balanced diet in China. Most days I skipped meat and countless numbers of restaurants because they did not look sanitary in the way that I was used to. In Taiwan, where I grew up, I eat lots of street food and night markets are my favorite places to sample small eats. China is different, especially rural China. Running water is not a given. Neither is electricity. Or a restroom within the restaurant. Then there's the problem of soap. In China, I travel with plenty of tissue (not provided 99% of the time), soap, and water. Even after taking those precautions, I remained careful about choosing a restaurant that looked clean.

The only place where food was not a worry was in Dali, Yunnan (western China). Dali has a temperate climate and is warmer than locales north such a Lijiang and Shangri-la. There was a wonderful pay-as-you-wish veggie place that volunteer Buddhists ran that I frequented. And the best part was that mushroom season is during summertime in Yunnan. There was a gorgeous abundance of it everywhere as I sampled many wild varieties cooked up in all sorts of delicious ways. It was heaven eating mushrooms daily and having lots of vegetables. This batch of mushrooms drying was taken on the streets of Shangri-la.

Red and Green Mexican Mix

Our favorite totopos are now available in festive holiday colors. Have you tried them? They are the best best corn chips I've had north of the border. Though if you are ever in the Pittsburgh area- the ones at the Franklin Inn are equally addictive. Franklin Inn is an oddball name for a Mexican joint but they've been making great Mexican in the hood for 33 years. Ross grew up eating there and I always spoil my appetite on the chips and salsa there. Can't get enough of them!

Stohr Haus Bakery

Stohr Haus is a gorgeous bakery in Harmony with old world charm and great baked treats. There were so many great vignettes that I couldn't help but ask to take photos to share. The cheese danishes are wonderful and we're looking forward to dropping in on a regular basis to try some of their other goodies.

Harmony Inn

The hanging buffalo and German burger are from the Harmony Inn (supposedly haunted), pictured right above the buffalo. The dining room has great wood paneling and the buffalo but the real treat is the original detailing in the bar.

A Visit to New Brighton

Driving around New Brighton (the cute little town next to us), we discovered Big Rock Park. Clyde loved every minute of walking up and down the gentle slopes and getting close to the water. We walked out of the park and a bit further down past the dam into another little park area with great views of the dam. There's an area for fishing and what looked like a potential area for swimming. I'm very eager for any and all swimming opportunities so this easily made my day. We capped off our mini adventure with lunch at Waffles Incaffeinated, a cute sit down place we have been meaning to try. Ross had the Bananas Foster Waffle (yum sourdough recipe) and I stuck to a good savory panini on ciabatta. All three of us want to take lunch time walks in New Brighton more often.

Holiday Sandwich

I've been getting into the spirit of holiday food.

Comfort food sandwich:
generous layer of mashed potatoes (I used this MS basic recipe and added some bacon) 
slice of turkey
sliced beets (our supermarket has cooked beets for the lazy- a.k.a. me) Also beets are sweet and is a good substitute for cranberry sauce if you don't have that on hand.
TJ's sprouted bread
Served with a side of pan fried brussel sprouts.

Do you  have any holiday food favs?

De Luca's

I finally made it into De Luca's in The Strip last week. It's a bit of a greasy spoon diner that's an institution. Our uncle told me about the good old days when he and his buddies would roll in there and grab a bite to eat. I ended up sitting in Tom Cruise's seat where he sat for the upcoming movie Jack Reacher. I haven't heard anything about it but then again, I live under a rock and don't watch TV.

Weekend Indulgence

For breakfast, I usually eat oatmeal during the week, occasionally yogurt or drinkable yogurt if I am in a rush. Lately, I've been indulging on the weekends and buying the special focaccia from the Women's Bread Collective (don't know their official name) at the farmer's market. This past week, they had a gorgonzola, pear, and onion one. I topped it off with an over easy egg from Tello's farm. Pure indulgence!

M. Wells

For those of you coming out to see my upcoming show at The Homefront, you might want to consider combining it with a great brunch experience at the ultra hip M. Wells Diner. I went a couple of weekends ago with Hidemi, her husband William and their daughter Luné. Looking over at other tables everything made my mouth water and the meals were definitely decadent and satisfying. Here's a NYTimes review of the joint.






Tuna tartare


Lox and potato (there was a more elegant description but I can't remember it now)

Avocado Milk Shake

This one is dedicated to my good friend Mimi who also happens to enjoy a good avocado shake.



I discovered avocado milk shakes at some point in H.S. My sister dated a Vietnamese guy named Do for many years. Do was the sweetest, treated me like his sister, and he made avocado shakes for me, in addition to sushi (he was a sushi chef), and amazing Vietnamese dishes. It's a fairly straightforward and simple recipe, one that I've altered from Do's original (he used sweetened condensed milk, which is just too sweet for me.)

Blend one ripe avocado with milk, ice, and honey. I don't measure anything, I kind of just eyeball it for a thick consistency that is drinkable and aim for a sweetness that I favor. It's the perfect dessert, breakfast, skip a meal kind of drink- very filling, creamy, smooth, and perfectly yummy.

Bacon Cheddar Scallion Whole Wheat Buttermilk Muffins

OK, I admit, there's been a slight obsession with breakfast lately but it's the meal I enjoy the most, and when I'm hungriest. With some time off, I've had the chance to delve into more elaborate experiments. This one is hearty and savory. For vegetarians, just nix the turkey bacon and try combining ingredients like mushrooms, green peppers, corn, gruyère, onions, and shallots. I was thinking of making a ham, corn, and scallion version for my niece that is similar to a bread that I grew up on from Chinese bakeries. She tends to like doughy stuff combined with ground meat- hence her love for dim sum and dumplings.





Bacon Cheddar Scallion Whole Wheat Buttermilk Muffins
1 pack of TJ's turkey bacon, cooked, and diced
3 cups of shredded sharp cheddar (we can't get enough cheese and may add 4 next time)
1 bunch of scallions, chopped into small bits
1 jalapeño seeded and diced (more if you like the heat)
2 eggs beaten
1.5 cup of buttermilk
2 Tbsp. of melted butter
3 Tbsp. of EV Olive Oil
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup of white flour
1.5 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/4 tsp. of salt

makes 1 dozen

Mix dry ingredients in bowl (not including cheese). Mix eggs, buttermilk, olive oil and butter in another bowl. Mix in bacon, cheese, scallions, and jalapeños to wet ingredients. Make a well in flour mixture and mix in wet ingredients. This will be fairly lumpy looking, just try to get every bit moistened. Scoop everything into muffin pan, to top of each container. We use silicon ones and don't need to oil them, but do if you have a regular muffin pan.

Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 min. Enjoy with butter if you want to indulge even more!

Broiled Pink Grapefruit

Growing up in New York City, I always lamented the lack of variety in fruit during the winter. Coming from a tropical country, I considered apples and oranges to be pretty boring. Yes, things have changed since the world became more global but the fruit here still pales in comparison. I'm learning to embrace winter fruit- from trying all the varieties of apples our farmers have to share to all kinds of citrus- particularly grapefruit, which I've never been a huge fan of. It's ok but I don't love it. But this recipe adapted from the kitchn @ Apartment Therapy below makes it amazing. It is actually something that I've been thinking about for years. As kids, my mom used to broil oranges over the stove when we had colds. So that burnt, citrus smell connotes comforting feelings for me. In Scotland, I once had broiled grapefruits with some kind of alcohol and brown sugar served at a lovely B&B. I'd been wondering what kind of alcohol that was ever since. (If you have a clue, please let me in on it.)



Broiled Pink Grapefruit

Cut a grapefruit in half. Use a spoon or knife to loosen fruit from skin. Cut segments along the membranes- this allows for easier scooping. Sprinkle each side with about a tbsp. of brown sugar. Set on heat proof tray, broil open side up for 15 minutes in oven or until golden.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Flapjacks

Geoff was kind enough to give us all of his flour, including 4 bags of whole wheat flour when he stopped eating wheat a couple of weeks ago. We've been experimenting with all the different flours and here's a winning combination.



Whole wheat buttermilk flapjacks

2 cups of whole wheat flour
2 eggs
2 tbsp. of melted butter
About 3 cups of buttermilk or about 2 cups milk (enough to make it thick but pourable)
4 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. of salt
1 tbsp. of agave

Beat eggs, combine all ingredients, make and serve as usual. We've chowed some down with bananas & some malted chocolate spread (leftover from cookies we made), plain old maple syrup & butter, and Sarah Beth's blood orange marmalade (not all in one sitting). Makes about 15 and 3 is plenty for one hungry person.

Gone Bananas!

We've been experimenting with our breakfasts a bit, switching things up. Here's a new addition.



Banana Cashew Smoothie (vegan)

makes 2 servings

Soak 1/2 cup of raw cashews in 1 cup of water. Cover and refrigerate in a blender for 6 hours or overnight. Blend with 2 bananas, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, and one cup of ice until smooth.

Adapted from Real Simple.

Trick or Eat

I spent the first part of Halloween at the Jackson Heights Halloween Parade watching all the kids walk down 37th Ave. in the cutest costumes. Some of their parents were quite creative as well. The second part of the day was spent in Elmhurst going from restaurant to restaurant for Trick or Eat. It was a brilliant event organized by Jeffrey Tastes. It was a fun event and I got to try some places that I have not been to and would definitely go back to again for a full meal. Elmhurst is a gem in the rough for great food in New York City.

Ayada

This NYTimes review on Ayada made me reconsider the restaurant and go back. Service and food have improved since the first two tries a year or so ago. The place was packed, and had an interesting international crowd. I was wondering how Elmhurst had suddenly became so chic. I had drunken noodles with beef and it was fiery. Go for mild if you cannot take the heat! Geoff ordered a pork dish that had fresh tumeric in it, which was a first for both of us. That was a great touch though both dishes could have gone a tad easier on the salt. It is a different taste from Chao Thai so we've decided that we will now switch on and off between the two places.

Thanks for the link Crystal!

The Unsung Borough

I've been pretty busy with work and have had a steady stream of couch surfers. These photos are from late August when our couch surfer Vince came to visit from Vancouver. We (Crystal, Ross, and me) took him to Staten Island on his first full day to see Housed at the Alice Austen House Museum, which was curated by my buddy Joseph Maida. The Austen House is on a great site, facing the water. We all enjoyed the change of pace and the water's breeze.

We also took the fine opportunity out on the island to eat at Salvatore's, which was voted as best pizza in NYC on the 5 boro pizza tour. I'm not completely convinced that it's the best pizza because we did not have the margherita, which is the best way (we believe) to judge pizzas. We had the clam pie which is a whole other animal (fantastic) and a pepperoni pie which was too greasy but overall the taste was good and the dough was phenomenal. I am convinced though that another day trip out to Staten Island would be well worth it.