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Alphabet Questions: T-Z (Y: crying is good for you)

March 17, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

T – Time you woke up?: 2:30

U – Umbrella color?: blue

V – Very best friend?: Archie who is currently suffering from allergy

W – Which celebrity I’d marry?: Jimmy Fallon

X – X rays I’ve had?: chest

Y – Your last time you cried?: Today. I was reading this Japanese book and this one character who is 70 year old cancer patient and has a daughter who is about to be married. He didn’t want to tell her about his illness before her wedding so he was trying to hide it from her. But she knew and he also knew that she knew. That scene.

Z – Zodiac sign?: Libra

restaurant

Not Too Odd (actually quite nice): Oddfellows Cafe + Bar

March 16, 2015by have you eaten?6 Comments

Rustic, funky, vintagey, hip and eclectic. All of it.

This place is one of a few cafes where you want to spend for hours. One of those places you get immediately comfortable and hanging out with hip crowd. Oddfellows Café is located inside of Oddfellows building, built in 1908 (my house is built in the same year!). This café still has original old wooden floors, bricks and windows and offers rustic and environmentally sustainable fare.

Please sit for hours when you visit here. You will enjoy music, handcrafted espresso drinks, dishes made with locally sourced ingredients and lots of charm. This is one of places I proudly can say “very Seattle” – rustic, funky, vintagey, hip and eclectic

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Lazy Blue Sunday: Raining Too

March 15, 2015March 15, 2015by have you eaten?3 Comments

It is raining in Seattle. I actually get so relieved when I hear sound of the rain. This one tiny little thing has been bothering me for a while so I decided to have a very lazy Sunday. Pajama all day Sunday. My quality life however can’t be affected so I had:

Starbucks Kenya

Almond Cherry Pie from Seattle’s finest, High 5 Pie

And Ginger, my overweight Chihuahua

So I have to say, I still had a lovely Sunday. I stayed inside all day but I am not regretting a bit. It is raining in Seattle. I kind of like it too.

restaurant

Dum Sum in the Evening: 飲茶 Yum Cha

March 13, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

Silk Road travelers. They must have traveled under severe and harsh conditions but I can’t stop fantasize about the time period. Transporting silks, gold, precious stones, fabrics, animal skins, exotic fruit on the back of camels…

飲茶: 飲＝drink 茶= tea

Dim sum is linked with the old tradition from yum cha (tea tasting). Silk Road travelers needed a place to rest and teahouses were established along the roadside. Those teahouses offered food and tea…that’s a short history of yum cha.

Dum sum is traditionally eaten during morning and late afternoon. In Seattle Chinatown however, Chinese restaurants offer limited dim sum items for dinner as well (thank goodness). I wanted to eat out but wanted it to be quick and easy. Dim sum can be the perfect supper.

Dim sum in the evening in Chinatown. It could be a good place to take your date as well J

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Who is Your Most Wonderful Friend?: Books

March 12, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

“Books are the most wonderful friends in the world. When you meet them and pick them up, they are always ready to give you a few ideas. When you put them down, they never get mad; when you take them up again, they seem to enrich you all the more.”-Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

They are also emotional. They can be mad, sad, lonely, happy, glad, scary, apprehensive, shy, wonderful, helpful, merry, confused, relieved, amused, crushed, curious, nervous, fearful, annoyed, hopeful, funny, brave, numb, safe, loving, confident, quiet, blue, angry, stressed, tender and loving.

Sometimes you can’t even handle how emotional they are. However you can never stop being friends with them because you feel alive when you are with them.

Spending hours on reading books at my favorite café with some kind of espresso drink on sunny day or rainy day means contentment to me. When taking a short break from reading and happen to look out to the window of the café, you realize you are the happiest person on the earth. Books are the most wonderful friends because they teach you that life is beautiful like that.

cooking

Mother and Child over Rice: Oyako-don

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015by have you eaten?3 Comments

Not human mother and child. This is not going to be weird, spooky story at all.

It’s one of many Japanese soul food dishes. Oyako means “parent and child(ren).” This dish is made with chicken and egg and that’s why it’s called “Oyako”-don. Some Oyako-don restaurants are very serious about what they serve, like this very famous and beloved Oyako-don restaurant called Tamahide in Tokyo, established in 1760. This is something my mom barely made when I was growing up. I felt I was struck by thunder when my kindergarten class mate’s mom (our neighbor. My mom and she were so close) made it for me one day. Nostalgia…

Oyako-don for 2: Chicken (I used breast, cut in bite size), 1/2 x onion, 2 x eggs, sugar, sake, mirin (sweet wine), soy sauce, dashi (bonito stock). Mix all the liquids, then cook onions for a few minutes and then add chicken. Cook until chicken is tender. Turn the heat off. Then add beaten eggs and cook about 3 minutes with low heat or until eggs are done per your preference. Add that over rice.

I tried to eat this at a couple of different restaurants but I always prefer to eat at home. I think that is because I want to cook my eggs MY way and also my memory of that evening when our neighbor made it for me while my mom was out. I was missing my mother but I couldn’t hide my excitement to eat this dish I hadn’t seen before. It smelled sweet and looked so colorful and fun. I remember it tasted so joyous!

I don’t make my Oyako-don with that much of excitement anymore, but I still enjoy it when I do. The combination of smells between the sugar, dashi, soy sauce, chicken and onions! You don’t have to do much, all you have to do is to wait until it creates its magic. That few minutes of patience, that alone is worth cooking this dish.

It was delicious.

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Alphabet Questions: M-S (especially R)

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

M – Most favorite book?: Tokyo Bandwagon

N – Nicknames?: Mimi Gomez

O – One wish?: All animals get saved

P – Person who texted me last?: Vivienne

Q – Question you’re always asked?: Where did I put that?

R – Reason to smile?: Chocolate, my overweight chihuahua, many, many, many good books, Billie Holiday records, my mom’s cooking, quote like ““Maybe we should all just listen to records and quit our jobs.” by Jack White, smell of freshly opened bag of Sun-dried Ethiopia Yirgacheff coffee beans, oranges, dog paws, depressing music grabs my heart, English accent, movie like Liberal Arts, independent bookstores like Shakespeare & Co., tasty pastries at Crumble and Flake, Joseph Leonard, New York City especially East/West Village, Rent, Stomp, handwritten letters, text message saying “i love u,” holding hands, Paris, Paris, Paris, Staub pots, vintage housewares, Bangkok, warm and cozy bed, sound of rain drops, sound of cello makes, Picasso painting, Maria Kochetkova, point shoes, stylish looking glasses, snow, flower bouquet made by Ayako, Emily Dann, the Corson Building, Autumn, claw-foot tubs, old wood chairs/tables, well-polished shoes, home cooking, chopping vegetables with my Aritsugu knife, beach, ocean, sunset, I can go on for about 2 days to list what makes me happy so I will stop right here. And, Archie.

S – Song I sang last?: Cups (“When I’m Gone”)

Personal

My Favorite Travel Memory: Bali Airport

March 9, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

France, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Italy, Indonesia, Germany, Japan, United States…travel is one of my passions. If someone paid me to travel and eat, I would do it in a heartbeat. There are so many happy moments, sad and difficult times and challenging moments throughout my trips. I love every county I’ve ever been to and I have great memories on those trips. Thinking about that just makes me happy.

If someone asked me what was my happiest moment, I would answer “Ngurah Rai International Airport.” It is an airport in Bali, Indonesia. “Just an airport?” you might ask. Yes, that was my happiest moment in my travel history. Entire travel time was 22 hours or so including 2-lay overs at Taipei and San Francisco. I was tired but excited for my first visit to Bali.

When I landed, I had to buy a tourist visa at the immigration counter. I was in line about 30 min. Then I had to be in another 20 min line to go through immigration for an entry stamp. As any other airport, there were so many exhausted people and crying kids. Quite loud.

Finally after I came out from the immigration gate to exit the airport, all sounds got muted and all I heard was my name. This person waving both arms so big but he didn’t even have to do that because all I could see was him. I kid you not, that was what I experienced. For a second, I didn’t hear anything and see anything but him. Then suddenly my world turned to color. What I mean is that I was not seeing or hearing as I should have been before that happened. I was not paying attention to what my eyes see and my ears hear. I had been in a deep and dark hole for the longest time so I probably had forgotten how the world actually looks like until that moment.

From that moment on, I finally have been able to “live” my life. I feel everything, not only the pain. I feel happiness, satisfaction, fun, pleasure, enjoyment, well-being, joy, contentment and love. I am not saying they are the only things that I feel but those feelings are not what I was able to experience completely before that moment at Bali Airport. That was June 2011. Sun near equator was shining and burning my skin. Humid and breezy. I am forever thankful for that moment at the airport.

food

Confidence in Happy Cows: Skagit River Ranch

March 8, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

Betty said with her doubtful voice, “How can you eat meat you bought at the farmers market? Is it even safe?” I don’t know Betty well. We just dance at the same dance studio and exchange not-so-deep conversations. We were talking about my favorite farmers market and told her that I don’t shop at giant chain supermarkets anymore because I could find almost everything I need at the farmers market.

There are at least three wonderful butchers at University Farmers Market. Once I bought a huge beef lamp at Sea Breeze Farm, I asked George, owner of this farm, how I should store the meat and he said “keep in a fridge uncovered and it will last about a month.” He also advised me “when you start seeing mold on surface, all you have to do is to wipe the mold with vinegar. You can also enjoy raw.” He was so right. I enjoyed his beef in every way for about 3-1/2 weeks.

Yesterday morning, I bought some beef from Skagit River Ranch for the first time. I asked this super friendly lady Eiko what’s the best way to cook this. She said, “you just marinade for about a couple of hours then cook 7 minutes one side and 5 on the other. I like medium.” I also asked if I can cook with less time because I like medium rare. She said, “honey, you can eat that sucker raw.” Now you understand why I love this farmers market.

Eiko also gave me her “Simple Everything Marinade” recipe. You mix olive oil, soy sauce, honey or brown sugar, garlic and lemon juice. I marinated for about 4 hours. I think that was the best steak I have ever cooked at home. Beautiful pink/red inside and came out so tender. I simmered left-over marinade for a minute and used for dressing over a braised broccoli salad.

It is way “safer” than any meat you can find at Safeway. These farmers are not only confident what they provide for customers but also offer with pride. You can actually taste it. Their care, passion and love for what they do.

Betty, I hope you try the meat at a local farmers market one day. I promise you, you will enjoy it so much because, “you can eat that sucker raw.”