Friday, January 29, 2010

Dreams of owning?

There's a competition to win your own dream restaurant.

Check it out! It's limited to an open call in Boston, so swing by if you think you've got the charisma/stamina to win!

I'm busy

Eating my way through all the delicious things you can get here in America.

Highlights so far:

Oxtail pho
BBQ Pork Vietnamese Sandwiches
Wahoo's fish tacos
In-n-out Cheeseburger animal style
Roast beef in an onion pancake sandwich
Tofu three ways
Mom's scallops in a butter, coriander, and caper sauce
An Everything Bagel with lox schmear
Smores cupcakes from Chikabar
Spicy tuna onigiri (rice ball)
Itoen's Blueberry Green Tea

Planning to eat:

Oh, endless

I tried to get some chocolate bread pudding from The Dessert Truck, but I didn't realize it has now a storefront instead of a truck front.

Signing off, Joy dreams of chocolate bread pudding ...

Monday, January 18, 2010

I love ...

me some savory pancakes! Though I will not be saying no to the delicious spring onion pancake at my favorite OC restaurant (Little Peking in Westminster) stuffed with roast beef, I am also a huge fan of savory Korean pancakes.

Check out this recipe at the NYTimes.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

My Review of Afternoon Tea at the Grand Hotel

Published in the Swedish Bulletin winter edition 2009/2010.


photo by Helen Pe

I'm even in one of the photos. It was scrumptious.

World's healthiest soup

The debut of my new system camera! The fortuitous discovery of the world's healthiest soup! Ok, I'm not entirely certain if this is actually, scientifically, the healthiest soup in the world, but I'm betting if you eat this soup you will boost your immune system since everything in it good for you: the combo of vedge and chicken (super healthy), ginger (also very good for your immune system), beets (apparently amazing), and carrots (everyone knows they're good for you!), almonds and yoghurt.




It's actually a revisit of one of my old favorites: carrot ginger soup. But lo and behold, I had some yellow beets in my fridge just waiting for me to whip them into something interesting.

I had guests coming, and for an informal and inexpensive dinner, nothing could be homier or cozier than homemade soup. You're going to need an immersion blender though.

World's Healthiest Soup: Carrot, Yellow Beet, & Ginger Soup

2 T of olive oil or butter (preferably European/Swedish)
1 lb carrots peeled and chopped
2 very large shallots (equiv one large onion), chopped
4 yellow beets peeled, chopped/diced
1 inch (2.2 cm) of ginger cut in two lumps
6 cups (10 dl?) of chicken stock (I used two bouillon cubes of Knorr and covered the vegetables with boiling water)

For feta creme with almonds

100 grams (3.5 oz) feta
3 T of kefir/fil or any plain yogurt
3 T of almonds
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Optional

handful of chopped chives



In a large thick bottomed pot saute the shallots in butter or olive oil until they are translucent over medium high heat, about 5-10 minutes. Next add chopped carrots and beets and saute for ten more minutes stirring the vegetables often. Add stock and two ginger lumps. Bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Simmer for around an hour.

While the soup is simmering combine feta and yoghurt and almonds by using an immersion blender to form a feta creme. Add the yoghurt/kefir/fil bit by bit. If it is too thick, use more yoghurt. Season with salt and pepper.

When the soup is finished, fish around for one of the ginger lumps and discard it. Blend the soup. Taste for level of salt and see if you need to add more broth or salt depending on consistency.

Serve with feta almond creme, crusty bread and a salad. For a nice touch, pop the crusty bread in an oven for five minutes before serving it.

As my mom unduly pointed out before, the soup alone can taste a bit like baby food, but the feta creme gives it the sophisticated twist to take it out of the infant isle. In my opinion!


Bookmark and Share

Friday, January 08, 2010

West Coast is the Best Coast

Being from California, there is no doubt in my mind the riches to be mined from the multicultural population are a bounty. A feast for the senses.

And now everyone is pulling up decade lists, but the Los Angeles Times has done us one better == a top 25 year list!

I do fear trying all the ones I want to try without having a gym membership.