food is suffereing and we did it.

my summer reading so far has consisted of only art history books and food books. As well as all the current issues on food around the world. Keeping up to date with the many new food trends is really hard but what is even harder to deal with is the war on food that is occurring right now in our world. prices of food has sky rocketed in the last year and the food isn't even real!!

organic foods. i encourage all people to buy when they can the best quality of food. you don't want to be putting junk into your body. it is so easy to drive up to some place order something that taste okay for the moment and then the long haul comes and you're sick. it happens to me every time i go to the golden arches. i actually get a bit sick. cramping in the tummy. i guess it could be mental. but i like to think i eat pretty good. i like to make most of my food and of course dine out as often as my purse allows but i take my food seriously. i see how people shop at the store. i see the prices take over their ability to let their own common sense decide whether the food they are about to buy good for their bodies... but i guess the pocket book does have a large affect on how people consume. is it just that though? or can it be lack of knowledge/time/skill? I really don't know, but I'm going to find a way to help.

my sister told me the other day that out mother had instructed her to go out and store up on rice. and then i spoke to my mother asking her about it and she told me that people were trying to Asians how to use more potatoes in their diet instead of rice... and after hearing that i was a bit upset. the rice shortage is because of horrible weather in the growing regions that are probably a result of the global warming and weird weather.


so we're to blame for everything. We drive the cars/planes/ships for our own materialistic morals, we mess up the ozone/environment/air/pollute/seas and then that carries onto the food/farms/animals and when we consume we get cancer/allergies.... karma is a bitch! wow. if we had stuck to the old traditions of taking only what was needed and giving back to earth what we have taken we all would be eating great food and enjoying life. lack of morals/tradition/education/love the people of our time are going to pay for it. mother earth is pissing and we're to blame. i hope people are able to see this cycle soon and try to change/respect/act. Cause if not we're all going to hell all them levels in the inferno... seriouso.
we should 'check ourselves before we wreck ourselves'. so let go plant some more food and take care of them instead of letting chemicals do it, the care we give in nurturing the earth will return to our bodies keeping them strong.

eat extraordinary everyday!

BLT.

I love to watch television like every other person these days. I was watching Sex in the City and in the show they always are eating something while discussion their conquest/issues with sex in the city. So therefore one day I forget which episode I noticed the sandwich that Carrie was eating, club sandwich. Then I was thinking about sandwiches that I've loved or haven't had in a long time. And there it came into my head that all this time I've been eating all these complex sandwiches that I had forgotten the wondrous simple flavors of the BLT.

BLT. Bacon/Lettuce/Tomato on slightly toasted country white bread with a touch of mayo. the simplicity of such flavors always gets to me and I was pleasantly surprised to find it on a menu the other day as I was taking a lunch break from the museum where I intern. It was nice to see the BLT on the menu because I haven't seen it in such a long time. I don't think its even on menus of chain sandwich places. which is why I have forgotten it. But it is so nice to have had it the other day for lunch. It was a pleasant surprise. I enjoy the salty and crispy taste of real good bacon is just enough seasoning for the sandwich. The clean, crisp taste of the lettuce build the sandwich higher as well as give it a great clean bite. The sweetness of the tomatoes help bring the sandwich to a close. Although I know most people do not like mayo just a light spread over the toasted bread help keep the sandwich together.

I find that the perfect BLT is hard to come by. Its funny that the simplest things are always really hard to come by these days because we have come to place where food isn't prepared the way they used to. People are afraid of bacon, but bacon is one of the oldest foodstuffs that has been eaten by people. So bacon is good when its natural and not fake. Good old fashion REAL bacon gives flavors that cannot be found elsewhere. Tomatoes fresh organic room temperature tomatoes are my favorite. The type of lettuce that I think most people use is romaine which is okay but I really like butter leaf lettuce. It has enough richness and bite to it that makes the sandwich really great. Although I know most people do not even know what is in mayo, homemade mayo is so awesome. When I was smaller my father's friend who owned a Vietnamese sandwich shop, would make their own mayo. It was fascinating.. another thing that I also think is lost is homemade butter... but that's another blog.

anyhow I encourage everyone to go out and try to find a place with the BLT or better yet make your own BLT. Making the perfect sandwich is an activity that I find is most enjoyable and fulfilling, cut it at an angle and enjoy and maybe share with a friend. maybe some tomato bisque soup with a little garlic creme fraiche over it. how delightful does that sound? reminds me of a nice day with the daily paper and eating a perfect sandwich. enjoying life one bite at a time.

eat extraordinary everyday!

sushi part. 1

i was in sixth grade. thats when the love affair started. my sister in law has been a big influence on introducing me to a variety of new foods and Japanese was one she knew i was going to really like. we went to a place in monterey park, a small joint that was ran by some Chinese *mandarin speaking family. but they had a few authentic sushi chefs (aka Japanese).. well we had the usual. cali rolls, eel, salmon, tuna, shrimp, miso soup. i tried it all and i loved it all. it was fun. the whole putting wasabi and soy sauce together and finding that special balance was harder than i thought. i was told to be careful but with my young chopstick skills i put a bit more green than i had anticipated so i had that wonderful thrilling and painful sinus cleanse. now when i do put a little too much wasabi it reminds me of when i was young and new to sushi. now i feel a bit of a pro. ..

back in cali, i have a few spots that i absolutely adore. one place i have only taken a few people to. i've been going there for over ten years now and i think its only about within the last two years that i actually started to take people who were not blood relatives there. its in little Tokyo and thats all i'm going to say about it. the food is a bit insane. so good and so simple that you might have a food induced high afterward that cannot be explained. i dont even try anymore. my friend once told me that the way you feel after biting into a spicy tuna hand roll is like being on some special shrooms from Amsterdam. and he would know. so i think the sushi is a bit insane. great. but now adays there are so many people going there the wait is about 2 hours. and it makes me sad. but no matter what the wait is... you wait and you enjoy even more. another solution to the 2 hour wait is to go to another sushi spot and have some appetizers, sushi hopping as my friends and i like to call it. two to three sushi spots in one night a foodie's adventure. a bit surreal when you actually sit and realize what you're doing but its amazing none the less.

my second spot is in the west side. sushi central. OMG. phil is the chef and the man knows what he's doing. i started going there when they first opening walking in and ordering to go to check out the flavors... they had amazing chicken terriyaki, to be honest i only ate the cooked food. because i was doubtful at first to any hole in the wall new places. and so one day i was in for lunch and phil and tally being the nice peoples they were made me feel like i was at home. and i was family and so we talked about food. and phil made me some amazing sushi. and from then i was sold. the food made me feel much better about life after i left the place. so it became my place to run to when i was sad and need some pick me up foods.

Now i live in Pittsburgh and it is much harder to find a open hearted eater to join me for dinner at the few places i might have found to be good sushi. but i have yet to enter them. I miss having sushi places and places where the food will make me happy again. Last week I went to a random sushi place in the waterfront and ordered over fifty dollars worth of sushi for myself, hoping just the act of mixing wasabi and soy together would bring back soothing times. it didn't really work long after i left the sushi spot. i love leaving being stuff and smelling like miso but i didn't here so i hope that sooner I'll be with my beloved favorite meal once again in Los Angeles. but i do encourage people out there to get past the preconceived fears of the food and try it out and you might be surprised at what you find. and if it isn't a great experience go find someone that is in love with sushi and they will explain to you why its great and go back... try and try again.

eat extraordinary everyday!

some good times

for the record... i am a history major... and i actually wrote a paper on spices and recipes of the medieval ages for my medieval Europe class and got an A- on it. hahah.. true passion for food comes through in all ways..


and this is not my spice collection.. just to note it. my dearest friend in Pittsburgh has decided that the spice trade would have to put her kitchen on their route. and she has become a crazy monster... lol. but i do enjoy cooking with all the spices.. although we are running out of space for them. remember to keep small quantities of spices to keep them fresh, by as you need. i feel that spices are something that shouldn't be bought in bulk. but that's just me.

when i grow older I'll have some good times to think about. and most of them will be about food and when my friends and i gathered around a table of food and drinks having a grand time.

raspberry mojitos. and it was as good as it looks perhaps a bit better... but that's just drinks... we had a pizza party. its one of the best ways to have everyone included in the action of the kitchen. i used to make home made pizza for the family i cooked for. i had everything prepped for them, stone hot in oven and toppings ready to go. and it is just so fun for everyone. and so we did a mini pita pizza party..

so you'll need some good sauce, cheeses, toppings and imagination!
pop them in the oven (before)

and before you know it, dinner!
and so you have good times. play some good music in the background and have some fun.

Pizza: i love it. i love it in all forms. i love the whole concept of it. i guess i like my pizza either very simple or sometimes i like a little crazy.. but my favorite toppings are fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. i know boring but i love those flavors. but veggie pizzas are great with a little siracha on them. I'm very fond of that hot sauce on my pizza... but any hot sauce will do. just to spice it up a bit..i like thin crust as well... a slightly sweet dough is what i like. none of that bulky or filled cheese kinda crust. traditional will do just for me. but i guess deep dish is okay when and in Chicago.. and Brooklyn pizza is pretty damn good from what i remember... its been a minute since i last had some.. time to go back for it..

eat extraordinary everyday!

college cooking show

I've had this idea for doing a college cooking show for a while now. starting from my old university in la, i was going to try to pitch it to them to let me do a show. and now at my new university i have kinda given that idea out to someone.


my aims for this college TV cooking show is to teach college students the basics to eating and cooking well for themselves, building a good foundations for culinary experience and adventure. i want to introduce to college students living in pa, that food isn't just fattening or gross, that it is actually the key to really discovering the world and cultures. everyone has to eat and why not a better way of learning about other people's worlds than through their foods? if the school will let me, i think I'll come up with simple and fun recipes and some great tricks to help students in a college setting cook for themselves and feel a little more independent then the good old cafeteria. i hope that students will find themselves adventuring into new ethnic and traditional foods and that will help people get more open towards the global world we live into today.
i guess I'll have to wait and see if this show does come up and if i will be given the chance to show people in Pittsburgh how to make some amazing simple and healthy foods. as well as give them the tools to go out and venture into other cultural foods.

BOUCHON

Chef Thomas Keller's Bouchon

that was the destination for the vegas trip. my best friend/dearest foodie partner in crime have promised each other that in about 3 to 4 years we will be making that famed pilgrimage to the famed French Laundry. I probably have a few other on my personal list. but French Laundry is the holy grail for me. the story begins with a book by anthony bourdain. a man i hope to meet one day... but if i don't its okay, because he was the one that introduced me to the great thomas keller. bourdain a chef/author that i have come to respect idolizes keller. so i went on the journey to find everything about thomas keller. and that led to a signing at the william sonoma in pittsburgh, where at 7 am i got ready for the 1.4 hour drive into the city. i bought the special edition of the cook books for both the french laundry and bouchon.... and he signed them both. and on that day.. i was actually speechless...

so my best friend and i are in vegas.. its been like 5 years since we were there together,, this time around we no longer care about nsync but rather we're able to drink and go anywhere we please and perhaps play some cards... endless possiblities... so we make it to bouchon in the venetian. very excited.. we even put make up and heels on... yes.. that excited. **note to the wise.. dont go to a spa prior to going to an expensive dinner if you plan on eating everything....

so.. we both get cocktails...

then the bread and butter...

appetizers of course.. .

entree
braised short ribs over braised red cabbage along side with polenta...
i forgot to mention we ordered pomme frites as well... soo over did it..


mine... was
brisket cooked for 3 days over napa cabbage and trumpet mushrooms and fingerling potatoes.

i thought we were full then.. he came back with this...
this is what they call the dessert menu...
so we ordered this...
then my esspresso came with cookies... too...

and this is what happend to my coffee..


i finished it.. and thats pretty much what happened with the trip to bouchon.. a job well done.. next stop.. french laundry.. shout out to waiter with that crumber thingy

home.

there will be two blogs from my trip back to los angeles. the reason i went home was for chinese new year. i love the tradition that comes from this holiday or the festivies that come with it. family and food. now that's what i call life. going home and eating the traditional chinese new year eve, dinner with everyone in my family (all 30 of us) it was great. then in the morning snacking on chinese snacks while waiting for all the relatives to come to my house to send well wishes for the new year to my grandma and my parents was fun. talking and taking lots of pictures was all that was done for a whole day.

i should discuss more of the traditions of chinese new year but i'll do that later.. i am still a bit tired from the trip...

along with the trip i was able to go to a few of my favorite places to dine in los angeles. cafe laurent in culver city is one of my favorite places to have lunch. it is just a little cute place with a nice outdoor dining area. the french manager is adorable. and the cappuccino there is to die for.. actually i dream about the capps when i'm in pa. second spot in which i have to hit up is houstons. get my ribs and grilled artichokes. sometimes i look back fondly on the times i worked there other times i am amazed i worked there for so long.. 9 months.. .but mostly i remember the food... always consistent.
next topic is my sushi spot. i have two of them. and of course they are secretive. i might tell you one day where and what they are called but until i am ready to let the world know. and i'm sure when and if my sushi chef reads this blog he will laugh.. or be annoyed i'm not plugging his place. but the thing is.. both places are kinda unexpected places, holes in walls as some may put it. but they both have the most amazing sushi in all of los angeles. and i say this with the most confidence. i've only taken a handful of people to these places. one is in little tokyo. and the other. somewhere in the westside. i'm very serious about the secrecy placed on these spots... its bad enough that the little tokyo has a 2 hour wait now...and i've been going to this place for about 11 years now.. my westside spot is fairly new.. but by god is it special.

phil is his name the sushi chef. and you walk in welcomed like it is his home. but with the time he spends there and the family hanging out and his daughters munching on sushi during lunch time... you are coming into his home. this is a place where you just smile and say.. give me what what you want. i let phil take the reigns of what to order... and sit back and enjoy. this time going back home i took three of my friends. janell, jeff and luke. janell is turning vegan sooo i wont discuss her much yet. jeff is the only person in the group to have gone to my other spot and now that he's gone to this one he loves this one just as well. luke is a friend who has happened to have spend some time in japan, and he liked the sushi here too.. so i'm pretty confident that i pick the best sushi places as my favs... anyhow having dinner at the westside secret sushi spot made my trip back to los angeles finalized as a good trip as far as foodie life goes.

so with that everyone. read the next blog regarding.. bouchon....

eat extrordinary everyday!