Me So Hungie

We are about to leave on a long weekend to go camping which means it’s time to clean out the fridge!!!

This is what I found:

*1 pkg extra firm tofu
*1 pkg chow mein noodles
*1 zucchini
*1 red onion
*1 bag of string beans

(All of the produce were leftovers of our last week’s CSA box)

From the pantry:

*Straw mushrooms
*Asian condiments: soy sauce, sambal, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and black bean sauce (although some of these live in the fridge, they are referred as pantry items)

From the garden:

*Scallions/green onions

Out of this I created black bean green beans (”Black & Green Beans”?), vegetable chow mein and fried tofu bites (yum!). Although Meatless Mondays are a good idea, I had to do Meatless Wednesday instead!

Tip: Use extra firm tofu and squeeze/press out as much of the whey as you can. Too much water leads to splatter and pain! Cut into small cubes, coat in cornstarch and shake off excess. Fry in hot veg oil (appox. 375 degrees) until GBD. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce. Also note that tofu retains a LOT of heat so let them cool for a bit.

Sorry for the lack of updates - I have become extremely lazy about blogging on a weekly basis. No more! Here on out there will be weekly updates! And if you’re lucky, the featured Daily Dish (that is, if I decide to cook and or take a photo of the dish!). Be on the look out….

Due to the surge of Asian people (and cold weather) in my life, I have been wanting pho everday. Some weeks I eat it three times! What is it about pho that is so addicting?

Let me count the ways:

1) it’s cheap
2) it’s a lot of food
3) it warms you right through on those cold days
4) it’s delicious
5) you can never get bored with it

Lately I have been to Pho Bac on Broadway which is good, but not great. The parking sucks and I will never step into the bathroom. My current fave is the #4 which comes with rare steak, flank, tendon, tripe. Mmmm.

Yes, it sounds gross to some but there is something special about chewy tendon and the right amount of crunch from the tripe that makes every bowl so good.

Then one can customize one’s bowl as one likes. How considerate! I like every condiment that is on the table: hosin, sambal, fish sauce (just a dash!), sriracha, lime, basil, jalapenos, bean sprouts, a little soy and just a pinch of sugar. Whew - a lot of flavors but so good!

It is imperative that the broth be very red to indicate the spice level. Multiple napkins - for your nose and forehead are a must! Sweating is encouraged. How to tell if you are “there” in a relationship - eat spicy pho! It’s not pretty.

Granted, you will leave sweaty and bloated but it is well worth it.

This morning was the CA International Marathon which finished at the Capitol. We had a friend running the marathon so we went to watch him cross the line. He did great, the marathon was cool, etc. However, it was a bitter 43 degrees which is very cold for us Californians. Needless to say, we were hungry and decided to walk aroudn the neighborhood to find a good breakfast location. I wanted pho (since I am on a pho kick but that’s another post) because it was super cold. I have been wanting to try Kim’s Pho on J Street but its closed during the weekends. Bummer.

Onward to Danielle’s Creperie which now had a second location on 8th and K. I had great hopes for this restaurant and hoped that it would help out our lame K Street Mall. From the outside, it looked like a very cozy place to have a great breakfast and eat some crepes. This is what my review said on Yelp:

“”Meh. I’ve experienced better.” is right.

I just got back from this place (which I was very excited about opening) and I have to say that I was very disappointed in the overall experience.

The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and the service was great - unfortunately what makes me give this place two stars is the product. I was easily sold by the thought of the “Spicy Avocado Crepe” which promised a spicy, cumin flavored cornmeal batter. My bf ordered the “Danielle’s Omelette Crepe Special” which came with chorizo. We also had ordered coffee since it was a bitter 43 degrees outside. The coffee arrived in two clear glass mugs with saucers however the color of the coffee looked like tea. In fact, it tasted like a coffee/tea hybrid - it was very weak. Nevertheless, we drank it because it was hot.

As I was waiting for my food to arrive, I checked out the other Yelp reviews of this place via phone and my expectations dropped considerably. When the crepes arrived they looked lonely (as you only get a crepe - no sides) but good. Mine had a nice GBD look while the other crepe looked slightly underdone. Granted the batters were different which may have helped with the coloring.

The flavor of the exterior of my crepe was good with subtle hints of cumin but it was no where near spicy as it promised. The inside however was relatively cold which was probably due to the fact that it was filled with sliced tomatoes and avocado. But don’t put shredded cheese into an crepe and NOT melt it down. It was served with a large dollop of sour cream which was fine, however it would have been more needed if it was spicier. To make my crepe better, it was then doused with green jalapeno hot sauce.

My bf’s crepe was considerably better - the flavors were there and it was hot. The chorizo had a good flavor and the eggs were light.

We sat for a while longer while reading the paper and trying to make our dismal breakfast experience better. Our coffees were always refilled and our server still pleasant.

In the end, it was not really worth the price point and quality of food. I do like the fact that they have some interesting and different crepes on their menu however after my experience, I highly doubt I will go back.”

After our lame experience, we went towards the mall on the way home. And then, I saw it….”TAMALES”. Sweet mother of God, there is a tamale stand outside of the mall by the ice rink. I love California. Since were somewhat “full” from our breakfast, I ordered one pork tamale each (oh why would you eat any other kind is beyond me) and a container of their salsa. These tamales were super hot (I burned my tongue), fresh and AMAZING. Foodgasm.

I asked the girl if they were only there on the weekends and she replied, “We are here every day”. Where the hell have I been? Obviously I have been missing out. I was in a fairly foul mood thanks to a bad breakfast, but tamales make everything better.

Holy - its been quite some time since I have posted in here. Granted, I keep on eating at the same places so I feel that there’s nothing new to update upon.

Favorite haunts lately:

-Azul (oh god, they have great chips….)

-Taki Sushi

-The Bread Store (veggie chili….yum!)

But beyond that, I woke up today at 3ish AM and I was starving. Tossed and turned, trying to go back to sleep because there’s no point in eating in the middle of the night. Who does that?!?! Ultimately, the stomach won.

I wanted Chinese food - very saucy, Chinese food. More specifically, I really wanted Ma Jong’s spicy eggplant (which btw, you have to specify “extra spicy” three times before it gets remotely hot. The girl behind the counter said, “its American hot”. Har har) But instead of trying to make anything remotely close to that, laziness insued and I just ate a frozen meal instead. Sigh.

Still not satisfied.

I notice that I get on kicks - I’m currently on a Chinese food kick. This whole week, all I want to eat is hot sauce and Chinese food. I put on a pound of sambal (which btw, I hate that name) on my shrimp linguini frozen dinner to make it taste more Chinese.

The week before, it was all about Mexican food and salsa.

What will next week be?

Terribly sorry for not updating in a LONG time - I’ve been busy! Busy eating, busy not trying to eat…the endless struggle.

Having a job that puts you in the center of Midtown with all of these restaurants around PLUS going out to lunch happens quite a bit, equals some poundage. Gone are the days of college and college drinking, but hello bigger sizes? Somehow, this does not compute. One would think that not drinking 4 nights out of the week with a pitstop at Woody’s at 2am would make you LOSE weight. In fact, its quite the opposite. Although I have a great gym membership and having been going fairly often, sitting on your butt for about 6 to 8 hours a day really does not help in the “Battle of the Bulge”.

Going out to eat has died down considerably which means that the reviews have gone down quite a bit also. We still have the CSA box although I think its wearing off its novelty considering that week after week after week we get the same things. We have long seasons in California! Its great that we have local and organic produce, but its become routine.

Since this is supposed to be all things food, I felt that bringing up the bulge issue is a must. I’m venting and writing in a non-sensical form right now…

Tuk Tuk has really raised the bar for the suburban sprawl that is Natomas. Never before has any restaurant in the Natomas area been able to bring in an upscale quality. On Friday, I went to Tuk Tuk for the fourth time. What makes Tuk Tuk very distinctive amongst the throng of Thai restaurants is the ambiance. Many others have decorated their restaurants in classic Thai decor; warm woods, Buddha statues, old photographs, etc.

Most importantly, the food is fantastic and they have a great selection of custom cocktails. The drink that stands out the most on their menu is their Kiwi Cilantro Mojito. It is very refreshing with its use of bright green cilantro with a nice touch of tartness from the kiwi and lime. Dan hates cilantro, but loves this drink since it does not overpower it. Large, ripe pieces of kiwi are found throughout the drink and is garnished with strawberry. What is also great about this drink is that it does not give you the air of a TGIF/Chili’s/E-Bar/chain restaurant feel. I like that a lot. What is even better about this cocktail is that it helps to cool you down after you take a nice spicy bite.

Most importantly is the food — it has always been on point, great presentation and incredibly flavorful without being heavy. This time, we had ordered the Roasted Duck in Red Curry and Pad Kee Mao (think flat rice noodles). Our server was very sweet and paid just enough attention to us. (Pet peeve: Either way too much attention or not enough…most people probably feel this way) The duck was fantastic although there was just a tad bit too much duck fat (:: gasp ::) attached to the meat. Duck fat is might tasty. The medium spice level was just right, although I added more for myself.

The Pad Kee Mao was beautiful. A downside to cooking with rice noodles is that if they are not done well, you end up with a mass of rice noodles stuck together without any seasoning. The noodle would still be white if this happens versus a nice brown color from the seasoning. The veggies that were stir fried with the noodles were nice and tender with a crisp. I realize that the comment that I am about to make is completely subjective, however, I will still make it: Pad Kee Mao trumps Pad Thai.

Tuk Tuk has amazing curries. In fact, I would suggest to them to do a “stoplight flight” of curries; red, yellow and green. Each curry is distinctive and so flavorful that it would be great to experience them all together. We had the yellow curry one night and it came out with this flakey, amazing “pancake”. When the server brought it over, I thought it was a mistake at first since I have eaten a lot of yellow curry and have never seen said pancake. It was the best pancake of my life. It was very similar to filo dough with tons of flakey, buttery layers. Dipped in the yellow curry, it was heaven. Their green curry is served out of a fresh coconut shell! The curry also flavors the coconut meat which you can pretty easily scrape out and eat. Very tasty.

Last, but not least, is the Thom Kha Gai — my litmus test for any Thai restaurant. This soup is absolute heaven for me. The perfect blend of coconut, lemon grass and the ever so fun, galangal. Their TKG was very good, although my flavorite still lies with Thai Bistro in Davis. I really enjoy the tang that hits your palette. I chose to eat mine with rice because I feel that the rice is a great carrier of flavor for the soup.

This is a restaurant that everyone who loves Thai food should eat at.

Oy! I am so behind on posts! Urban Family Dinner #2 magically turned into a 9 person dinner party. This was our lovely menu:

Spinach Dip w/ Crusty Bread (Nick brought this)
Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad
Lemon-y Green Beans (We love lemon apparently!)
Fall Roasted Veggies
Baked Poletna with Gorgonzola & Cremini Mushrooms
Mixed Green Salad
Chicken Parmsean
Spagetti w/ Garlic & Mushroom Sauce
Apple Pie a la Mode (Claire made this)

The Caprese salad is pretty self explanitory, easy and very delicious. The green beans were dropped in boiling water for a moment, shocked, then sauteed with lots of garlic and lemon juice topped with a bit of parm. The fall roasted veggies consisted of potatoes, carrots, turnips and the squash. They were seasoned with S&P, olive oil and a hint of cinnamon for that nice autumn touch.

My favorite part of the meal was the baked polenta with gorgonzola cheese and cremini mushrooms. Start off with a basic polenta receipe, season to taste and add in the gorgonzola cheese. Meanwhile, slice up creminis and saute in olive oil w/ S&P to taste. Personally, I like a bit of balsamic in my mushrooms, so I added just a touch for some bite. Let that reduce down for a bit. Mix in half of the mushrooms into the polenta, then pour polenta into a baking dish (I put mine in my Citrus Le Creuset “braiser” pan….) top with mushrooms and bake for about 15 minutes or so until the top gets nice and brown.

Mixed green salad was pretty much the same as last week since its an easy crowd pleaser. The chicken parm was baked in the oven since there were so many people coming! But it came out moist and not as fatty as frying which I like. What goes better with chicken parm than spagetti? Nothing!

The apple pie that Claire had made was really great because the apples came from Apple Hill. The crust wasn’t too flaky, not too thick — it was just righ. What is apple pie without ice cream? We topped the warm pie with a nice, vanilla ice cream from Dryers. (Personally, I dig Breyers, but that’s another story).

Between nine people, we pretty much ate everything and drank about 5 bottles of wine. Not too shabby.

Since we have so much produce, we decided to share this amongst our good friends who also live in the Sacramento area. Please welcome Shawn & Claire into the picture. Shawn is a good buddy of Dan’s from AEPi, lives in Downtown, and is a tree hugging, green friendly dude. Claire is another friend of Dan’s who is Ms. Politico Activist and a not so dirty hippie girl. These are the members of our new urban family.

Our first box of yummy, fresh organic produce was ready to be made into a delicious dinner on Friday evening. (See previous entry for contents). However, due to being busy people, we could not make dinner until Monday night for everyone. Some how, someway, this dinner turned into six people. Let’s introduce Nick & Tiffany — Nick is an AEPi (of course) whom I met on Houseboats 2007 and Tiffany is his awesome girlfriend. They have both moved to Natomas and have become more Davis Ex-Pats; Dan and I both forgot they lived in Sac b/c we always saw them in Davis.

Enough of that….on to the food!

Due to the random mix of foodstuff, how could I put it together? Since we had so many root veggies, I figured a roast was the best way to go. We made two roast chickens, stuffed with rosemary, thyme and lemons. I had seasoned the cavities with olive oil, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. On the outside of the bird, it was very simple — olive oil, kosher salt (okay, all of my salt is kosher) and pepper. I had made a mix of flat leaf parsley, basil, thyme and rosemary to put in between the skin and the breast meat (after seasoning of course). On a tip from Jamie Oliver who likes overcooked thigh meat, I slashed the thighs, rubbed in the seasoning and extra herbs. We preheated the oven and the roasting pan so that we could place the chicken breast side down to give it ahead start on cooking. After about 10 minutes, we switched the chickens to the other side and repeated.

Meanwhile, I cubed up all of the potatoes, carrots, onions and turnips (we bought turnips…one of the few ingredients not in the box) to go with the chicken. Seasoned liberally with olive oil, S&P, plus the same herbs to maintain flavors. After the chickens got their headstart, we lifted them out of the roasting pan, dumped the root veggies in to create a rack for the chickens to rest on top of. In the oven they went to finish.

As the chickens were in the oven, we started to make the babaganoush (this was Dan’s project of the night). Dan roasted the eggplants in the oven because that is what you do. We blended the roasted eggplant with garlic, tahini, flat leaf parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika and lemon. The flatbread was placed in the toaster oven to warm through. As a first course, it was quite a hit since everyone asked for more flatbread to finish up the ‘ganoush with.

We also had these lovely, heirloom tomatoes that we ate with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Claire ate most of these tomatoes and Shawn was left without. Tragic.

First Urban Dinner Menu

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Mixed Greens w/ walnuts, cranberries, apple w/ a balsamic vinegrette

Herb-Lemony Roasted Chicken w/ roasted root veggies

WINE

…lots of wine! In the end, it was a fantastic evening with friends which then turned into….the monster. More to come.

In the spirit of good food and cooking, we have decided to subscribe to a CSA farm which in turn, gives a box of local, organic produce every week. What do we get? It depends on what is in season which is great and it means not cooking the same old boring thing. Our box comes from Terra Firma Farms out in Winters, CA (http://www.terrafirmafarm.com/index.html) and its delivered to 555 Capitol Mall, which is right across the street from us! We get a medium sized box which is supposed to be for 3-4 people. We are only two.

How are we going to use up all of the produce?

Urban Family Dinner — of course! (See next posts to find out how they went)

We’ve had some beautiful tomatoes, squash, red bell peppers, green beans, persimmons, grapes, new potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, mesclun greens and last, but not least, spinach.

Having great, local, organic produce practically delievered to your door is fantastic. It cuts down on grocery shopping as well as supporting the community.

This is very green of us.