Fall vegetables

yellow and green Zucchini, orange bell peppers and pumpkin seeds

Butternut Squash Soup

Gado Gado

Cooked salad with hot peanut sauce (adapted from the cookbook 'Oriental Cookery' by Sallie Morris)

It's already August. We have so many fruits and vegetables to buy from the produce stand and farmer market. I like making this Indonesian dish because it is very easy. Besides, who wants to stay in the kitchen on a hot day? Most of the vegetables (watercress, potatoes, bean sprouts, cabbage) are simply boiled or steamed. Some (tomatoes, cucumber) are just raw. Most are pretty bland so the pungent sauce is great for it. You can also add boiled eggs, string beans, carrots and tofu to the list. Please no broccoli or spinach.

The ingredients for the sauce are shown in the picture on the left. I just sauteed the diced shallots and garlic with some oil and added the rest (a few tablespoons) in a medium saucepan. The book asks for coconut milk but I skipped it. Not a big fan. I'd go easy on the balachaung and 'Super Tauco' (fermented beans). They can be too strong. The bean paste makes the sauce super sticky and gives depth to the taste (you know, Umami). If you can't find 'Super Tauco,' substitute with Japanese natto, just mesh up a little with a fork. Luckily chili sauce (Sambal Ulek) and peanut butter (from Trader Joe) already come in a bottle, no need to make from scratch. Tamarind requires soaking in water for some time to make the juice. The combination of all these just take you instantly to South East Asia. Selamat Maken!

BTW, thanks to the Dutch colonials who brought the potatoes, peanut, corns, eggplants, chili and peppers from the 'New World' to Asia. And the Indonesians for all kind of spices (black pepper, cardamon, cumin, ginger, coriander, galanggal, nutmeg, cloves, turmeric and so on).

Shrimps with Okra in tomatoe sauce

It's okra season! I like making this dish every summer. I think the pictures show how to make it. One correction - the 'Cumin' bottle should be labeled 'Turmeric.'

Purple rice sushi

Sneaker

Pencil drawing

Mini samosas & egg rolls for the Saturday feast

This Friday was our last day of our summer painting class (more on that in the future posting). I decided to make some mini samosas and egg rolls for the pot luck party. I also made another batch for Saturday dinner. I made these many times before but the last time was probably four or five years ago. So I better write how I made them before I forgot. I learned it at my cousin's Burmese restaurant in New York when I just graduated from college, working as a waiter. Gosh, more than 20 years ago! It was my beginning of living in the 'real world'. I learned so many things - shopping, cooking, cleaning - all that stuff you take it for granted living at home.

To make mini samosa (or golden triangles as they sometimes called in the restaurants) all you need are potatoes, egg roll skin, spices, salt and oil. Take 4 or 5 potatoes (2.5 lbs) and gently boil them in pot of water for about half an hour. Take them out and let them cool down and peel the skin. Then I add Gram Masala (Indian spice you can buy at grocery store). I ground and mixed my own which is fresher and tasted different and unique each time. It is good not to mash too hard and over add spices and salt. It should be somewhat fluffy and light.

Then I take unfrozen egg roll skins and cut them into long strips with a scissor- 3 cuts to make quarter of the square. I cut 5-6 sheets at a time and put the remaining back in the plastic bag so they don't dry up. Then I scoop a teaspoon of the filling and start wrapping at an angle to make triangle shape. I use all my fingers to pinch and stuff the filling as I go, making sure the corners are tight sort of like a little pillow. To close it I dip the tip in a lightly beaten egg and press. Then I place it in a plate lined with a towel. Keep making them until you either run out of the filling or the wraps. I don't count but I think you can get about 70-80 each batch. When you are ready to serve, just deep fry them. It is better to eat while they are hot and crunchy. Otherwise they get soggy.
For the hot sauce I use store bought chili sauce and add some lime or lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

For the egg rolls, I chopped half a cabbage, onion and garlic. I stir-fried with a teaspoon of turmeric, paprika and salt. I wrapped the same way was the diagrams on the package. It can be a little messy. I just wipe My fingers with a paper towel as I roll.

Maybe I'll make some more in the future.

Roasted Eggplant Dish

(recipe loosely adapted from the book Arabesques - a taste of Morocco, Turkey & Lebanon by Claudia Roden)

It's summer and the big plump eggplants are on sale for $1.15 each. So I bought three. I have made this eggplant dish before and couldn't believe how easy to make. And it is delicious with pita bread. You can eat it any time of the day as a snack or an appetizer with dinner.

All I did was prick the eggplants with a paring knife so they don't explode in the oven. Put them in the pre-heated oven (475 degree) for about an hour. Turn over once or twice in between so they cook evenly. To cool down, put them in a big cooking pot with lid covered for about half hour or so.

The cookbook said to peel and drop them in a bowl of water with a little lemon juice to keep the flesh pale. And drain them in a strainer and press out the juice. I skipped all that. I just cut them in half and scooped out the flesh. I did have to take out the seeds carefully. They are like big fish eggs only not in a sag. I don't like any seeds in my food - not even in tomatoes and chili pepper. The liquid just came out by itself and I just discarded them. It's a little tangy sweet and a little bitter. I don't want to save it for anything else.

I sauteed the chopped shallots and garlics with oil in a pan. I added half a teaspoon of salt, paprika and cumin. Then I just added back the eggplant and mixed them up together. I didn't have to mash them as the book said. They are so soft already - guaranteed to melt in your mouth. You can garnish it with olives and parsley. You can do the same with tomatoes and peppers. Mix all together. Enjoy!

More B&W Photos

from the Golden Gate Park arboretum

B&W Photo

A Dandelion

Balachaung

Just a spoonful of balachaung can be mixed into a bowl of plain rice for a quick delicious lunch. It is a dried shrimp relish/condiment to many Burmese families' meals. Growing up eating there I love spicy, salty, deep fried food. But I don't eat curry and other Burmese dishes that much and often anymore - either lack of time to prepare them or afraid it is 'too much salt or too greasy.' I do crave them sometimes. This is one of those things that a little bit goes a long way. Since it is salty, I like to eat with sliced cucumbers.



It is relatively easy make if you have all the ingredients. I prefer shallots more than onions. I peeled a bunch of garlic and shallots and used a food processor to mince them. The main ingredients are dried shrimps and shrimp paste (ngapi in Burmese, balachan in Malay). I used my spice grinder to pulverize the dried shrimps. I toasted the shrimp paste in a small pan on a medium heat. (the kitchen will be very smelly, some people can't stand it). I then heated some oil in a medium size pan and sauteed the shallots and garlic. After a few minutes, I added a teaspoon of cumin and paprika powder. Then I added the shrimp paste and dried shrimps and cooked for a few minutes. I let it cool and stored in a jar.

B&W Photography

light & shadow around the apartment (in the morning and afternoon)

House Plant - drawing

House Plant in B&W

My favorite tea

I make my tea almost every other day. To me it is almost like a ritual, maybe because I do it so much.

I get up in the morning, put a pot of water on the stove and wait for the water to boil. I have this 'Whistler' glass pot and can see the little bubbles forming inside - first slowly and then get bigger as if they're all trying get out. I read somewhere long ago a Chinese description of boiling water - something like 'heat the water until you see little bubbles forming about the size of little fish eggs.' I thought that was very visual. They didn't use the word 'boil'. So every time I see it reminds me of that. I think it is better not to let the water over-boiled. I put a few pinch of loose dry tea in the pot and pour the water to the top and let it steep a few minutes before I drink.

I have this tall tea pot (actually David's). I like the size, the shape and the color of it. It is missing a lid which must have broken a long time ago. So I just put a plastic lid (not in the picuture) so the tea can steep and keep dirts from getting in. I can fill all the way to the top and it is not too heavy to lift. It has a dark matte chestnut brown color striations on the body, which remind me of Mark Rothko painting. The shape is very masculine - tall, straight. I have other tea pots but they are just not the right size. I remember in the old country, we had a small table in the living room that we kept a pot of boiled water, a pot of tea and serveral glasses. Through out the day, anybody can help themself. Usually my older sister would make sure it is filled. Some days when there was a volleyball pratice across the street, my brothers and sisters friends would come in the house and help themselves. Anyway now I have this pot in my kitchen and I drink through out the day. I keep a fine mesh strainer next to it. So when I pour it catches small bits of tea leaves and some sediments.

I drink several different kind of tea. I have this Yunan green tea I brought back from a trip to China, in Lijiang market (to be exact). It wasn't in a specialized tea shop where they sell mostly Pu-her (which I also bought some but never get used to drinking). It was in a local maket from this tea merchant. His shop was out in open with burlap bags full of tea. I can see he and his wife were busy bagging little plastic bags. I asked (more like gesturing since I don't speak Chinese) for some tea. He just took out this bag from behind him and handed to me. He said something in Chinese I can only assumed that this is the best (which turned out to be). He reminds me of this Yunan family who lived next door to us in the old country. They (a father, a mother and two sons) were renting from us (a few years before we moved to the States). They were distinted that I know they were a little short and spoke different Chinese dialet. They had two horses (or donkeys) that they used them to carry tea bags from far away (near the borders?). They kept the horses near my bedroom window that I could smell the manure. It was smelly but I don't think it bothered me that much. I also remember we had a big bush of gardenia nearby that was so fragrant. I also drink black tea from Burma, given to me by my friend, Pochaw. Each tea has it own distinctive taste I don't know how to describe. I know that when I drink, they bring back many fond memories - the trip, the childhood, etc.

I won't try to describe the flavor of the tea or the effect on me because I'm not good at it. There are many blogs that explain how to make a proper tea and the right way and the wrong way of making it. Some explain the scientific benefits in length. I know it tastes a little bitter at first then kind of sweet afterward in my mouth. The warm liquid opens you up in a cold day. The tea can calm you down instead of jittery from coffee. When I'm tired at the end of the day, a cup of tea can relax me. So knowing that I have a pot of tea waiting for me is very comforting.

Painting III

Indigenous woman & fruits still life painting

Regina's gefilte fish in chicken broth

Simply delicious

Ingredients for my noodles

(from left to right clockwise) ginger, scallions, water, fermented beans paste, chili hot sauce, chicken stock, beef stock, rice noodles, ramen noodles, Chinese pickles, pork pattie, tofu
(not in the picture) beef balls, spinach, tomatoes, coriander, dried shrimps, etc.

Noodles for lunch II

Rice noodle with pork patties


Noodle with beef balls, spinach and tofu

Appetizer

Soft tofu with soy sause and scallion

Noodles for lunch

Rice noodle in beef broth with beef balls and fried tofu


Ramen noodle in chicken broth with sliced beef, Chinese pickle and hot sauce


Udon noodle in soy broth with seaweed and pickle plum


Buckwheat noodle with vegetable tempura

Saturday afternoon

Hot chocolate and fudge cookies (Jane Austen book is just a prop)

My favorite salad

Crunchy endive with anchovy vinaigrette - bitter and salty - a perfect combination

Lentil soup

Lentil soup

Recipe adapted loosely from Claudia Roden's Arabesque

1 large onion, diced
1 cup red lentil
3 cups chicken stock
2 tspns ground coriander
2 tspns oil
salt
water

Sauteed the onions until they are soft for about 2 minutes in medium heat. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add lentil, ground coriander and simmer for about 45 minutes. Add salt to taste. Add water to the thickness you like. Top with chopped parsley leaf or yogurt.

Kitchen still life (before & after)