Kitchen Experiment: Banana "Ice-cream"

Although I love to eat, I don't think I would make a very good food critic.  Even if I have the amazing ability to discern different tastes, I am much to emotion.  I can go from loving to hating in a blink of an eye.  Banana is on the top of the love-hate list.  I love bananas - it makes a quick and easy breakfast when I get up 5 minutes before the bus arrives; it's sweet and you can't go too wrong with anything sweet (and anything fat for that matter). But I also dislike bananas sometimes to a point that it disgusts me just to see their yellow skin.  One of the most hypocritical thing I do is to recommend people adding fruits such as bananas into their cereal or oatmeal in the morning (which I totally won't do at home).  Please forgive me because that was the most standard and easy answers to too many situations.

Anyway, when I came across this idea of blending frozen bananas to make ice-cream, I was very skeptical.  But as a dietitian, I have to say - whoever invented this was a genius!  Because I personally know people who love ice-cream, but they really shouldn't be having ice-cream too often. And there's really no such thing as healthy ice-cream because ice-cream by nature requires fat to give it the gooey texture that a lot of people love.  So here comes this healthier one-ingredient ice-cream (it might not be the exact texture, but it satisfies the craving):

Ingredient (just one): Bananas!
Steps: Peel and cut up bananas (I froze the whole banana the first time. Trust me, it's not a good idea). Freeze the bananas for 1-2 hours. Throw them into a food processor or blender and blend until it's creamy and gooey (almost soft-serve-like texture).  Enjoy!

Broadway Prime - Burlingame, CA

I thought I ought to write about this place if it was the reason (okay, this is an exaggeration) for going back to the bay area last week!  Although The Capital Grille here is awesome, it comes with a huge price tag $$$$$$ if you order traditional (non-Asian sharing) style.  What I love about the Broadway Prime is that you don't have to pick! It specializes in prime rib so you only need to pick the size.  It's 33 dollars to have the smallest version (shown below) and it comes with a salad, creamed corn, creamed spinach and your choice of mashed or garlic mashed or baked potato.  Rumor has it that the owner of this place used to work for the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco.  This place seems to be slightly cheaper but without the old-fashion glamor in SF (unless you are trying to impress you date, who cares?) The good news - it's also easier to get a table here!

Restaurant Detail:
Broadway Prime
1316 Broadway Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 558-8801
http://www.broadwayprime.com/

Kitchen Experiment: My Life in Green Juices

I have been contemplating about doing a little juice experiment for a while.  I had a juicing machine for a while but I was not very happy when I had to throw out a lot of pulp.  Firstly, that was not very cost-efficient (my whole bag of carrots disappeared after 2-3 days of juice-making). Secondly, I wasn't happy with the amount of food waste.  Thirdly, my inner dietitian screamed at me for wasting the most nutritious parts of everything I put into the juicer (there goes all the fiber in your vegetables!!! unacceptable). 

After a long internal debate between the inner dietitian, experimenter and financial chief, the Oster blender proved to be a pretty good investment (depending on how long it lasts). 

Blending fruits and vegetables into juices/smoothies is good because (1) you don't kill the enzymes with all the cooking; (2) the action of the blade when blending may actually release or activate anti-oxidants; (3) combining a variety of fruits/vegetables can be beneficial - say spinach and orange - the Vitamin C in oranges actually aids absorption of the Iron in the spinach; (4) no waste as in you actually consume everything you put into the blender!

I usually just let my creativity decides what to put into the blender that particular day.  But some good things to stock in the fridge are carrots, spinach, cucumber, stalks of celery, apples, oranges and bananas.  For the juice of the day (pictured above), it has spinach (a handful), cucumber slices (another handful), two oranges and one banana (peeled, of course). 

It tastes good and you get your daily dose of fruit/vegetables - that makes a happy me!

Yume Wo Katare - Cambridge, MA

The name Yume Wo Katare (夢を語れ) means talk about a dream.  Such a pretty name for a ramen shop.

It all begins when I heard from a friend who goes to Lesley University next door that there's this new ramen place with lines all the time.  We decided to give it a try last week when my friends and I overestimated ourselves by ordering the option with 5 pieces of pork.  Some of us even ordered "extra everything".  None of us finished everything in the bowl and we could barely walk out of the place (So uncomfortably stuffed that I had to leave a tip on Yelp telling people not to make the same mistake).

So when another friend suggested that we try the place out today.  I learned from my mistakes.  I ordered the 2-pieces of pork option with a little bit of extra vegetables and finally managed to enjoy the noodles. 

To summarize my visits: 

Tip 1: Order the 2 pieces of pork option on your first visit UNLESS you are known for eating a lot. 

Tip 2: Order extra vegetables (that will absorb some of the fattttt).

Tip 3: If you love garlic, definitely ask for extra garlic. The chef would even serve it on the side (It's free! and the garlic complements the soup perfectly!)

Tip 4: Also, we noticed the chef portioned the noodles based on gender/looks. If you are know your appetite is not as big as it seems, you might as well ask for less/more (see the pictures below!)

Tip 5: There's no vegetarian options.  If you are super health conscious, don't bother going, it's just not for you. 

 My 5-pieces pork noodles

My guy friend's 5-pieces pork noodles with extra vegetables (note the portion difference)

Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs

I am addicted to eggs - my favorite food in the world since I could talk.  When Kenny showed me this Gordon Ramsay video on how to make scrambled eggs, I couldn't wait to try it!  So here it is.  The day after Sandy and her remains, we finally set out to buy some heavy cream and smoked salmon to make our own version.  It makes me happy!

My snack of the day - Dragon Fruit!

Dragon fruits usually look pretty crappy even when they are available in the states.  But I couldn’t resist buying one when I saw them at a Chinese supermarket last week.  So the dragon fruit became my between-class snack today!

Since dragon fruits are not well known to most of my friends here, I did a little research on its nutrient content (after all, I go to a nutrition school).  To my surprise, dragon fruit is getting some interest from people because of the whole “super food” craze.  From the cactus family, it’s also called pitaya.  The fruit is “football-shaped” as described by a website I came across; and have a leafy skin that is mostly red (with a yellow version).  The flesh can be white or bright red (may stain your clothes) with lots of tiny black seeds.

As a fruit, dragon fruits are rich in a lot of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin C (which I learned is really good for your skin today).  And of course all the other benefits of a fruit: NO cholesterol, NO unhealthy fats, NO trans fat, LOW calories, HIGH dietary fiber, and a lot of anti-oxidants.  

What I haven’t thought of are the essential fatty acids in the seeds of dragon fruits (surprise fact #1).  Since they are tiny and basically all over the “flesh” of the fruit, you really cannot pick out the seeds when you eat it.  The good news is, eating the seeds give you a lot of healthy fat that your body needs. Surprise fact #2: the oligosaccharides (a type of sugar) have been shown to survive the very acidic gastric juice into the intestines; which then stimulate the growth of good bacteria!

Makes me happy to know I am snacking well : )

Off to Portsmouth, NH!

 

In my mind, this is not really a road trip since it's only two hours away.  Nevertheless, I heard it is a cute little town to visit besides seeing the nature in New Hampshire. Love how the city center is built for tourists with a lot of pretty little stores.  Though overpriced (you can buy a bottle of wine here for $40 and the same bottle at a freeway-side liquor store for $10), the boutiques and shops are pleasant to look at.

We stopped by Portsmouth Brewery for dinner because it has a high rating on Yelp! Too bad it was a total disappointment or else the trip would have ended on a good note (that's why I don't want to give Portsmouth Brewery a restaurant post). Their beer is so-so (Sorry but Sam Adams is way better) and the food we ordered was so terrible that I couldn't remember what we had when I typed this post (some mussels, deviled eggs, fish?). Anyhow, their taco salad looks pretty good but I don't feel like I should promote that as a dietitian (plus I did not get to taste it).

Kitchen Experiment - Bread Pudding

For my internship this summer, I have been teaching a nutrition class at two residences for developmentally delayed individuals.  To get their attention each class, I would make sure I bring along something to eat or something for them to do.  So after the first few classes, they remember me as the food lady (asking "what are we eating today?" every time) and I ended up with lots of leftover foods.

I did some online research and ended up with Paula Deen's Bread Pudding Recipe.  After a test batch that failed miserably (and of course being tortured by the guilt of adding too much sugar into a recipe), I decided to just go with my gut.  I added around 5 slices of stale white bread, 1/2 cup of sugar, ~1 cup of milk and some vanilla extract.  Soak the bread well in the mixture and baked for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

The group of taste-tester friends who are always my recipe-testing lab rats all had varied opinion, some say it's still too sweet, some say it's okay.  So I guess that means room for improvement, but hey, I used up my bread and produced something that goes well with ice-cream!

Getting my Green Thumb?

Growing up in a city (and a very beautiful city indeed), I have never really had the chance to grow anything big (except for peas as a science project) because everyone in the city is cramped in tiny apartments without enough room for human living, let alone plants.  And frequently moving around during my college years don't help either.

However, the time has finally come! As part of my internship this summer, I helped out regularly at a "backyard hospital garden" with 13 beds. The garden grows a variety of foods, including tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, bunching onions, garlic, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and squash; all of which would eventually become donations to the food pantry at the hospital, or be delivered to shelters and residences in the community.  The garden even got featured on a local blog!

Bed filled with lettuce and braising greens (photo taken in June!)

 Colorful produce makes me smile

So I decided to make good use of my tiny balcony (after all I still live in a city) and planted tomatoes, chilli peppers, lettuce, sweet bell peppers and various herbs in pots! How exciting to see things grow! And through no particularly effort of my own (I swear I  don't have much knowledge in gardening), I actually got to eat chilli peppers, lettuce and tomatoes from my balcony!

 Long and lean chilli peppers

 A tiny pepper flower!

Green tomatoes (I ate all the red ones before taking the pictures)

Given my "success" (some herb died miserably, looking all burnt), my future plan is to grow bunching onions (scallions).  Reason? Because it's tough so it will grow in any condition, perfect for a lazy person like me. So for now, let's end with a happy sun flower from the garden!

Not-so-simple Meal - Dumplings!

Ironically, I have been super "busy" with all the going to work routine ever since summer began.  And then in the blink of an eye came August.  I cannot believe that I am a little excited to get back to my work-school routine, so much more relaxing and flexible.

Anyway, I have wanted to try to make dumplings after my mother's visit earlier this year but have always put them off because I don't have time. I have always considered myself a very "practical" chef, simple yet delicious is my philosophy.  The rest? Leave it to my quite frequent restaurant visits.  It turned out that I was so pleased with my first batch that I started making my second and third within one week. So here I am, making dumplings in the middle of my busy work-sleep-work routine this summer. 

Ingredients: minced pork (or beef or lamb for that matter), bok choy (or leek or scallion or your favorite green veggie), and dumpling wraps from a Chinese supermarket (someday I will make my own), one egg (or water)

1. It is best to marinate your minced pork overnight with a bit of soy sauce, dark soy sauce and cooking wine
2. Chop up veggies

3. Mix veggies with minced pork

4. Beat an egg as the "glue" for dumpling wrapping (or you can just use water)

5. And then I got stuck, I guess I assumed just by watching my mother made me good at wrapping dumplings. So I went on youtube for expert instruction (click here). And made my own instructioin sheet:

And tah-dahhh!! Feeling very accomplished!

 6. Bring water or broth to a boil, drop them in and serve after 5 minutes!

 7. Enjoy! Not only the eating, the wrapping is a good afternoon/evening activity too.  It gave me such a great sense of accomplishment that I almost called my mother and bragged about it!

Simple Meals - Coca Cola Chicken Wings

When it comes to cravings, I reserve a special place for chicken wings.  Since I have some leftover Coca Cola from a previous dinner gathering at my place, I decided to not be wasteful and make something with the flat soda.

For this batch of wings (~14-15 wings), I used ~700ml of leftover coke, ~1/2 cup of soy sauce (or slightly more depending on taste) and a pinch of salt.  Make sure all the chicken wings are covered by the fluid and cooked on slow heat for 30 minutes (~20 minutes if you like firmer meat). I like how the chicken wings turned out to be very "meaty" and yet slightly sweet without the thickness from honey wings.  Definitely a favorite from the time that I was a kid.

Gordon Ramsay - London, UK

Gordon Ramsay! During my recent spring break trip to the United Kingdom, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay was the only "must-go" request I had and it was definitely the highlight of my trip.  After all, how many chefs got OBE from the Queen? Located in a rather chic neighborhood, one would not notice the restaurant if you weren't looking.

The dining room was clean and bright, perfect for lunch with a couple of friends.  We were seated near the windows as the manager joking said "overlooking our tiny garden".  Since we were there all the way from another continent, we went with the tasting menu to try all the chef's famous creations.  The seven-course meal included foie gras, veal sweetbread with almond veloute (my three favorite ingredients), a lobster ravioli, halibut with the most fragrant broth, lamb with confit breast and braised shank, a mango, jasmine, passion fruit soup (more like a smoothie), prune creme brulee with granny smith apple juice and lemonade parfait with sheep's milk yoghurt sorbet (see menu below for details).  It ended with the signature Gordon Ramsay petit four. Paired with some wine, it was the most delightful lunch thus far.

Restaurant Information:
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
68 Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HP, United Kingdom
www.gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad