Growing up in China, I was jealous of the American style supermarket grocery shopping: orderly lined produce, clean and beautiful, straight and clear without haggling... After I came to the US, I became like many Americans- jealous of Italian and French style small market grocery shopping: fresh produce with soil and buds of morning mist, seasonal fruits and veggies, meats and cheeses from your neighbor farmer. What's the difference between Italian or French market vs Chinese market? To me, mostly are the cleaness of the market, the passion of the sellers/farmers, the aroma in the air and the romance in the feel.
I did not expect to see farmers market in NYC. What a delightful surprise! For me, going to the Union Square Farmers Market (also called "Greenmarket") brings faint memories of my grocery shopping experience in China, resembles my visits to markets in Italy and France while vacationing there, loads me up with local flavors in America, from farms in upsate NY and NJ.
Join us for treats from the USQ Farmers Market.
One of my favorite items from the market in early summer is peas. One can even eat it raw, very sweet. A simple salad is the best way to cook and savor it. I flash boil them in salted boiling water for one minute, then shock them in icy cold water. Drain, split the shells open, season with home-made herb olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. The peas were refreshing, tender, crisp, sweet and aromatic (from the herb oil). Oh, life is so good!
Lychee cocktail. I mixed with lychee juice, Japanese yuzu juice, tequila and greentea tapioca. To top it up, I placed a lychee across with a bamboo stick.
(No ingredient was from farmers market in this drink.)
Below: baby squash with prosciutto. There is a vendor in the farmers market that specializes in squash flowers and other edible flowers. Italians like to batter and fry them. We are not into fried food. I just cooked it the same way as the shell-on peas above and wrapped them with prosciutto.
I am always amazed by the creativity in food from people from all over the world. Italian prosciutto is an impressive example. How did they come up with the idea of "cooking" raw pork with salt? How did they figure out the perfect formula of saltiness, temperature, humidity and time? I did not study it and I don't know. But I know the best place to get prosciutto in NYC is Di Paolo, an Italian meat and cheese store downtown. I always request "the sweet end", the part near the ankle. Because it is furtherest away from the cut part on the leg where the salt was, it is the least salty and has natural sweetness. At Di Paolo, they slice it when you order it, so it's always fresh and soft.
The market often is filled with aromas of basil in the summer. Can't resist. I put them together with slow roasted campari tomatoes and mozarella cheese. (For detailed roasted tomato recipe, see my post on Costco-inspired cooking).
Organic strawberries and blue berries, petite, but sweet and flavorful!
USQ Farmers Market/ Greenmarket
Financial Crisis, We are Not Afraid or Scared
Some reader left a note on my Chinese blog saying that not everyday is full of sunshine and asking if I am interested in commenting on the financial crisis in US.
We did not worry. Our investment approach has been long-term, current market downturn does not concern us. As logic evaded, confidence dwindled in the market and surprises burst, we start to care about potential impact on our near future too.
We care, but we are not afraid or scared.
Our self-confidence and affection for each other sits independently from titles/positions and income numbers. We have diversified interests and and some of which are independent from financial situation. Even if our income is impacted, the quality of our lives will not.
I am passionate about life and good at creating fun, I can also detach myself from many worldly stuff, but I have moments of being bothered by things and people. K, never. He is always optimistic, cheerful, happy. Any negative thoughts or emotions is not worthy to him. His attitude has been a positive influence on me.
Our biggest asset lies in our love for each other, not our income or investments. From dating to marriage, in the past six years, our relationship has always been sweet and intimate, relaxing and happy. There was never any argument or distrust or discomfort. Having such a relationship already makes us wealthy and fortunate.
In life or work, the most important element is people. People can improve and create anything, people can damage and destroy anything. If you are surrounded by people who are worthy of your time and thoughts, any difficulty can be overcome.
Because of these, we are not afraid or scared.
(1) Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Served Fast and Whenever
Roasted tomatoes is a perfect example to show how Costco inspired me to cook smartly with its unique packaging and selling style--big volume/quantity.
Costco carries a few varieties of tomatoes. I consider the campari most appropriate for slow roasting for its size, meat and juice balance, sweetness and acidity balance. My dishes below feature campari tomatoes with one exception.
Advantages of slow roasting tomatoes: (See bottom for detailed recipe.)
Easy:
- 5 minutes' preparation, followed by 7-8 hrs' roasting in the oven at very low temp, but NO attention needed during roasting.
- Simple ingredients: kosher salt, pepper, olive oil and rosemary.
- No need to repeat the well-known benefits of tomatoes.
- Put one inside your month, it explodes with freshness, juiciness, and aromas.
Efficient:
- Cook at one batch, store leftover in the fridge for different meals. They stay fresh for days.
Versatile:
- Can be served hot or cold.
- Any occasion- as an hors d'oeuvres in parties, or as salad and garnish ingredient for quick weekday meals, or as ingredient in sandwich for work lunch.
As an hors d'oeuvre, it's always been a crowd pleaser in our parties.
I laid 韭菜花(a kind of Chinese leek) on the black plate to contrast and highlight the bright red of tomatoes, also to add movement and style with the soft and winding flowery tip.
Pick-me-up with mozarrella and basil:
This is not campari, it's the assortment of four kinds from Costco. This time, I roasted some in halves, some in the whole, all with the caps. A simple line-up, stylish with some cuteness.
As part of a salad dish--Together with tuna caparccio, spinach, dried apricot and hazel nut, this makes a delightful, refreshing and delicious salad. (For detailed recipe for this dish, see my post "Visual Seduction- Thoughts from My Gourmet Creations: (1) Introduction"
As a garnish for orzo and mashed pumpkin:
As a garnish in broiled cod and couscous:
It's also a frequent ingredient I'll put into sandwiches for work lunch. Below is a sandwich with basil, mozarrella cheese, chicken and roasted campari.
I suggest try your best to pack simple, delicious and healthy lunch for work, save the money for good restaurants on weekends :-) Good restaurants give us enjoyment of not only tasty food, but creativity in ingredients and cooking methods, presentation art, interior and architectural design, and inspirations in our own creativity and sensibility.
Recipe for roasted tomatoes:
Slow roasted, but served fast and whenever :-)
Recommend campari tomatoes for this recipe.
1. Pre-heat oven at 200F.
2. Halve tomatoes vertically, lightly season tomatoes with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper.
3. Lay tomatoes cut-side up in a baking dish, sprinkle sprigs of fresh(or dried) rosemary on each tomato piece. (Thyme or many other herbs will do, but I like rosemary most for this dish.)
4. Place the tomatoes in pre-heated oven. Roast for 7-8 hours, exact time depending on your personal preference for the juiciness and flavor intensity balance as well as your oven.
Serve warm or cold.
Smart cooking, inspired by Costco
My old perception: Costco is for families with kids.
I had Costco membership for a short while when I was single. I would buy food like cooking oil or nuts there, but seldom fresh or frozen grocery items. How could I finish them by myself before loosing the freshness?! And I don't consider frozen food gourmet. One jar of oil or nuts would last me for a very very long time. Soon it occurred to me that the membership fee was not worthy it with the few purchases I made there. I canceled the membership.
My new discovery: family of one or two can benefit from Costco too
I was dragged into Costco again after I met K. He loves Costco. Gradually my perception of Costco and the grocery items it carries have changed.
Its big volume packaging brings unit cost saving. For some stuff, even if you could not finish and have to waste the leftover, the total price you paid cost you less for the same stuff in smaller qty at some other stores! :-) But it's the quality and convenience that retained my interest.
I am quite picky with food. Although we buy grocery 1 to 3 times a week only, the stores involved are wide in type and distance, ranging from Farmers' market, gourmet grocers, generic chain store, to small ethnic stores, from Manhattan to NJ and upstate NY. In comparison, I felt that even for Farmer's market and gourmet grocers, you don't always find the freshest for things you desire. I don't get myself stuck in any one store, I shop around and buy only the freshest. Costco's produce has limited varieties, and quality can vary too like any other store. But in general, I am happy with its "frequency" of quality.
The convenience of cooking with Costco produce comes in two aspects:
First, because of its big volume/qty, I can cook a big batch, rest, variate that batch into different meals for the following days.
Secondly, freezing technology in the market and freezing tips of "leftovers" I developed contributes. I used to resist frozen food. Isn't fresh better than frozen? Later I learned about freezing and packaging technology development and understood why some frozen food can be enjoyed without discount on taste and why some frozen food even beats the fresh version in freshness. Ever since, some frozen food from Costco found room in our freezer.
Not every food from Costco can be cooked or consumed at one shot and requires freezing. In test and trial, I've found some tips to maximize freshness in freezing.
In this series, I will share how Costco has inspired me to cook and enjoy healthy gourmet at good price. Hope you'll find inspiration through my cooking too.
(Of course, many of the cooking ideas and tips can be used with produce from other stores too.)
Rain Restaurant and others in Toronto
On this vaca in Toronto, we revisited Casa Imperial restaurant (Cantonese) and checked out La Chine Cuisine (Cantonese), Aoyama (Japanese) and Rain (pan-Asian).
Impressed by the "seabass soup" we had there last winter, we went to Casa Imperial and ordered the soup again. Milky in color, light and tender in taste, the soup comes in big port size and big tab (CAN$50) only. It was enough to share for a table of 4-8 people. Other good dishes from our two visits there were "Lychee Beef", "King Oyster Mushroom with Conch".
La Chine Cuisine was decent. But not magnetic enough to revisit in the future. Perhaps we did not order its most outstanding dishes. We ordered lobster, oyster, beef, vegetables, but the most memorable dish was the complimentary "Black Woodear with Wasabi Mayo". We don't like mayo in general, but liked the wasabi kick. A smart fusion of Chinese and Japanese. I certainly will experiment the woodear at home with some other forms of wasabi.
Aoyama's chef used to work at Katsura restaurant in Prince Hotel, which we tried a few years ago. Aoyama is the opposite from the high-end Katsura, located in a strip mall with a basic setting, it offers good quality fish at awesome prices. Chirashi for CAN$14 and it's enough as the whole meal!
Rain was the star from this trip. In fact, it's one of the best among all high-end restaurants we tried anywhere.
I've been having some fatigue with high-end restaurants-- not only one can guess out most of the dishes on the menu without reading them, but the ways the food are cooked are similar. (Also I can make many of the dishes at home just as delicious :-) From one high-end to another, often some variations in the sauces or side dishess or garnishes are the distinctions among them, but not significant.
Rain is different. It's uniquely exciting and dazzeling. It explores many Asian cuisines, although chef Guy Rubino emphasizes that he does not fuse between cuisines. Well, pan-Asian alone does not make it that special. It's Guy's creativity that makes it special. It's Guy's Asian, he plays with classical ingredients and concepts. Also, in many dishes, the leading ingredient is often cooked in 3 to 4 ways. The creativity in cooking and beautiful presentation reminds us of Susur Lee's Suzur. (I did not bring my big camera and used my small camera, so the pictures don't show the plating art fairly.) But we think in food's taste, Rain is more delicious than Susur. (We went to Susur a few years ago and felt the taste was inferior to the creativity in use of ingredients and presentation. However, Susur Lee remains one of the chefs I respect highly, and we probably will revisit his restaurant in the future. His cookbook is another example of his creativity, very unique in binding and presentation. I have to say though, the recipes are more for restaurant chefs.)
Rain's open and airy space. Through the half-moon, the guests can see the chefs working in the kitchen.
Main:
Left white porcelain plate: Hamachi & Pineapple
Sake lees filet, egg-less custard & shirota roll
Right glass plate: Alaskan Black Cod
Cedar Bamboo roast, noodles (made with cod) in mentaiko
Main: pairing of Beef, Miso & Berries
hatcho miso striploin with lingoberry, mugi miso short rib with black currant and black den "hot rock" sashimi with huckleberry
Main: Pairing of Beets, Plaums & Arctic Char
Seared filet, tartare & squid flower
Side: Four Mushroon Tasting
Chinese turnip cakes, Chinese fermented black bean reduction with Mao Tai liquor
Side: Steamed Dungeness Crab Dumpling
Sakura mayonnaise, green apple relish & crab snow
Side: Kimchee Tasting
Oyster & seasonal pickle, spicy carrot froth
Desserts:
Trio of Apricots: vermicelli pudding &cardamon wafers, crunchy masala custard & apricot sorbet, composed salad & yogurt honey
Cholate with cherry
Mango: lassi & pistachio dumplings, cardamon kulfi, darjeeling sorbet & candied chili
Although Manhattan is a heaven for gourmet lovers, Guy Rubino and Susur Lee make us jealous of the Torontonites.
Mixed Feelings towards Golf
Our summer vacations in Toronto, Canada always seem like summer camps for tennis and golf. Golf ranks the last in interest level in all sports we play. We practice at the driving range on weekends and seldom play on the course. But when we are in Toronto, we hit the course a few times.
I always had a bit attitude towards golf. A 9-hole game takes about two hours and 18-hole takes half a day. In terms of exercise, golf loses to an hour’s aerobics or swimming. In terms of fun, golf loses to skiing. In terms of relaxing in nature, golf loses to hiking and skiing, which really put you in pure untouched nature. I still view golf in these frames.
In the past, when K practiced at the driving range, I would bring a book to read. When he finished, we would go to the Japanese supermarket next door to get some grocery together. I tried a few swings with his clubs. It was not as easy as it looked. The balls were flying left and right without distance. Not being able to hit the balls far and straight feels like being defeated by the little ball. But I still think it as a quite boring sport.
Then one day I was thinking about what sports I could do when I want to get pregnant some time in the future. I had to give up all my sports because they all involve too much workout. But I’d like to always remain active. Maybe golf and swimming will be appropriate sports for pregnant woman and new Mom? I consulted with professional opinions. My guess was right. So I decided to learn them in advance ☺ (For swimming, I had more motivations though.)
I took a group lesson, and bought a set of clubs. After learning the basic form, I could see improvement in my swings. When I had a good one, I felt a sense of power. Such moments built up interest, and I’d practice together with K at the range on weekends.
Playing on the course and practicing at the range are very different. At the range, it was almost purely physical training on the form. On the course, it was more than the physical swings, I could understand and agree with the talks I heard before about the connection between golf and management and life. Golf may not be an very efficient sports, but it is a good game for the brain and mind.
I still don’t have a strong desire to play on the course and improve. And for things I am not super interested, I am usually not good at them. My swings lack consistency in straightness and power. At this stage, I'd better achieve consistency at the range before spending more time on the course.
I’ve met many 80-year-old hiking and skiing lovers, and hope I can do the same when I reach that age. So I certainly don’t think older people should limit themselves to “softer” sports. But I always say to K, “For golf, let’s get more serious about it when we are older. Now, while young, let’s focus on more physically demanding, more fun and exciting sports.”
Golf is not as exhilarating and thrilling, but it excels in feasibility: No season limit -- you can play it almost all year round. Even on rainy and snowy days, you can practice at the range; No location limit-- almost every city has a few golf courses and ranges; Safe-- low risks of injury. And small injuries if at all. If one values these characteristics and its good exercise on the brain and mind, go golfing!
