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Instant Antidepressant: Baby, it’s cold outside so let’s go out!

November 6, 2017November 6, 2017by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

Watching the snow falling is one of the beautiful things in the world, but it is not really my favorite thing to do. It makes me feel a bit blue and depressed. I think it’s because I know this peaceful quietness would disappear very soon.

Yesterday, Sunday November 5th 2017, it was a bit snowing and intensely cold for November in Seattle. I love Seattle autumn, but I guess I was not ready for this weather. However it turned into one of the most delightful days.

Here is list of how I make those cold and blues go away.

OXTAIL PHO at BA BAR (http://babarseattle.com)

Classic Vietnamese repertoire, beef noodle soup. Noodle have gotten better now at Ba Bar. It won’t get bundle up and like a giant mochi any more. Broth tastes exactly how I wanted it to taste like. Combination of savoriness, tons of umami, a tat sourness and slight sweetness. Make sure to breathe in the complexity of this noodle soup before digging in. Then, you taste the meat falling off from the bones and noodle at the same time. It warms your belly and heart at the same time.

PIPE & ROW (https://pipeandrow.com) and BURNT SUGAR (https://burntsugar.us)

Strolling stores in cute neighborhood like Fremont is essential especially on a chilly day like this. Looking at those pairs of shoes that cost way more than you can afford but it’s so nice to dream. Someday in Paris 🙂 You can do it yourself but it would be much more fun with your trusted and honest friends who are not afraid of saying, “No, you look ridiculous in that dress” or “You look amazing. You must get that sweater.”

YOUR BESTIES
I don’t call people “friends” very easily. Honestly, I only have several friends whom I gave my respect and the highest regards to. I got to go out and eat pho, drink coffee, shop, talk, make fun of each other and laugh. Most importantly, love. Since I have a few friends, I can easily open up my heart and show who I am when being with them. I show how important and precious they are to me. I share my life, small and big with them. They give me so much hope and strength to keep going. It’s pure happiness. There is no better way to fill your soul.

Dark, rainy and cold days are coming in Seattle soon. However, as long as I have these things, I don’t need to go seek for antidepressants. When your heart is open, depressing days can easily turn into happy days just like I experienced yesterday. That’s instant and long-lasting at the same time.

restaurant

April 4th 3.0: mkt.

April 6, 2015April 7, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

Ethan Stowell is beloved, down to earth kind of guy. He owns 9 restaurants and 1 pizzeria all in Seattle. He will be opening 3 more this year. Yes, he is beloved and down to earth kind of guy, but he is also crazy.

He is crazy about food. He is crazy about connection and relationships between food and people who eat his food. Most of his restaurants are intimate settings. Some have community table and some only seat 30 people or so. Kitchens are not hidden, usually open. Today is April 4^th and it is a special day for me. Archie was successful not to disclose where he was taking me this last Saturday night until we were almost there.

Here is mkt.in Meridian neighborhood near Green Lake in Seattle. When I opened the door, first thing you see is an small and open kitchen with 5-seat counter. Very close to people sitting next to you. We were seated right in front of Alvin. Perfect. I was able to see what he was cooking and how he prepares the meal. His expression and his voice. I was feeling his and his crew’s energy flowing through this intimate restaurant. They use Pacific Northwest Ingredients. Alvin puts lots of care and just right amount of Jaconsen Salt and care. American fare without any pretentiousness. Great balance of boldness and sensitivities.

My favorite restaurants always have great balance of 3-pillars, chef, service crew, food. This place has food and chef covered. OK, service crew. Awesome. Seth was our crew who tended to our table and he was so much fun, cracking jokes, laughing with us, fist-bumping us, and cursing appropriately (yes, we curse a lot). He is one of those people you actually want to eat dinner and share a bottle of red wine with.

I am happy to say I found another excellent Seattle eatery that I want to go back many times more. My April 4^th was fulfilled with joy.

food

Good Luck Veggie: Renkon (Lotus Roots)

April 1, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

It is a good luck vegetable so Japanese people eat Lotus Roots as part of special New Year meal. Why is this root vegetable is good luck? As you can see you can see holes of Renkon as photo shown below. It is said that you can see the future. Also, Renkon produces tons of seeds, therefore it means “productivity.” Kind of clever, huh?

I am fortunate enough to be able to buy Renkon at Asian market in International District so I keep it in my fridge often. I usually simply sautée it with different kinds of seasonings each time. Last night, I sliced it in ½-inch thick, sautéed with sesame oil (I love sesame oil by the way, so fragrant), sprinkle of salt, splash of fish sauce and dash of black vinegar. I am very enthusiastic about black vinegar. This is one of several fermented seasonings that I am in love with. Black vinegar is very smooth, malty and mellow, not stingy. When you cook vegetables, any meat or fish, your dish ALWAYS come out complex, yet mild, rich and delicious. If you use black vinegar when making hot and sour soup, your soup would taste divine!

Anyway, here is last night’s magic. Black vinegar and home-shaved bonito on top of sautéed renkon. It only takes about 10 minutes to cook. All you need besides the renkon dish is white rice. Savory and comforting dinner is ready.

food

Chickpea Journey: to Japanese Homemade Miso

March 28, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

She is very intelligent, creative, sweet, classy and smart. She grew up in Hiroshima in Japan and teaches Japanese at private elementary school in Seattle. I met her for the first time through our mutual friend about month ago. We hit it off right away and her stories sounded so interesting to me. She mentioned making miso at her home when we first met and I thought she was my kind of people 🙂

Today she and I got together for brunch at Terra Plata in Capitol Hill. She brought me a jar of her miso, made with chickpea! When I opened the lid of the container, it smelled so vibrant. That was the first time for me to try homemade miso ever. I decided right there to prepare cabbage miso soup tonight.

This is tonight’s miso soup, made with miso that she poured her passion and love into. It came out SO delicious. It reminded of her. Sweet, wholesome and healthy.

cooking

Guilt Free, Calorie Free (not quite but still): Quinoa Salad

March 27, 2015March 27, 2015by have you eaten?1 Comment

After eating “dirty chips” (it’s basically nachos. Potato chips are used instead of corn chips with pull pork, gorgonzola cheese and BBQ sauce) at Maison Tavern (nothing to mention here…I am not a big fan of this place) last night, my stomach has not been happy. It was too late to regret it when I left the place.

So here is my “feeling guilty” lunch. I ate oranges and apple for breakfast and quinoa & arugula salad dressed with nutritious yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, champagne vinegar, white wine and salt for lunch. This should even out 5,000 calories that I had last night, right (I am trying SO hard to feel better about myself)? You all agree that I can consume more calories at tonight’s dinner since I was being good all day, don’t you?

Happy Friday 🙂

restaurant

60-degree weather: Il Corvo, Pioneer Square, Seattle

March 26, 2015March 26, 2015by have you eaten?1 Comment

This place seats 38 people. You share your table with strangers. It only opens 4 hours a day from 11am. It’s jam packed and you feel like canned anchovy. They only serve 3 kinds of pasta with a few kinds of appetizers. No desserts, no after lunch coffee. The line gets long at 11:10am. They have rules how you eat there. Be in line for a while, order at this tiny counter, find your table, bus your table, exit. You get tempted to find your table first then be in line. No, you don’t do that here.

It’s mid 60’s today and sunny in Seattle. It was just perfect to get out. My co-worker and I hopped on to the “lunch shuttle” from our office building to Pioneer Square and headed to Il Corvo. We got there 11:10am and there already was a line. We waited in about 15 minutes or so and we were out of there by 11:55am. Inside of the restaurant is rustic and welcoming. Reclaimed wood tables and old wooden floor and vintage pasta machines as interior décor. Totally my kind of place. I had torchiette (short pasta) with house made pancetta, sugar snap peas, and parmesan cheese. Savory, sweet, slightly tangy, delicious. Perfect amount as well.

Thanks to the gorgeous weather and my co-worker Yumi to make me get out. I feel like I had a real quick trip to Italy during my lunch hour.

food

Rika’s Asparagus vs. Dad’s Asparagus: It’s Spring!

March 25, 2015by have you eaten?4 Comments

My mom sucked at cooking asparagus. It’s more like my dad actually. He liked vegetables well done (ugh) and she cooked them the way he liked. I didn’t questioned why my dad liked vegetables cooked that way but I never liked it. He almost eats anything raw. Fish, beef, chicken, beans and so forth. I always thought asparagus tasted like wilted old grass when I was a kid because of this. I was never a fan until I was in my early 20’s.

My friend Rika and I went out to eat and drink a lot. We explored the culinary wonderland of Tokyo. We ate French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Ramen, Cuban, German, Hawaiian, Greek, Jamaican, Burger, Pizza, Cajun…you name it. One day I saw her eating asparagus raw. I had never met anyone who eats asparagus raw until then. Light bulb moment. Ah! Why the hell didn’t I think of that?? I don’t even have to cook it! Since that moment on, I haven’t cooked my asparagus until they get wilted. Never.

It is spring. My favorite farmers market vendors sell precious green asparagus. They are beautiful. Now this is my favorite way of cooking asparagus – lightly sautée in a bit of olive oil, chopped garlic, salt and a good squeeze of lemon juice. These green stalks have such an ear pleasing snap sound as you bite into them.

Two interesting lessons from my dad and my friend. Dad, I am sorry but this is how I cook asparagus and I hope you would like it someday.

food

Happy Tummy: Happy Clams

March 24, 2015by have you eaten?6 Comments

I found my favorite way to eat clams.

Clams are bathing.

Miso soup made with Haccho miso. I love clams so much and I usually steam with white wine but last night I decided to make miso soup with red Haccho miso. It was just wonderfully delicious especially with freshly made sticky rice.

Happy tummy.

Personal

Story of Shotgun Trip to Seoul & Tokyo: over Via Tribunali in Georgetown

March 23, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

March 12 Thursday left Seattle

March 13 Friday arrived Gimpo Airport, Seoul, South Korea

March 14 Saturday flew from Seoul to Haneda,Tokyo

attended concert of this Jin YiHan dude in the afternoon in Shibuya, Tokyo

flew back to Seoul from Tokyo in the evening

March 15 Sunday Facial, city tour, massage, body scrub, shopping in Seoul

March 16 Monday flew back to Seattle from Seoul

Who does this?

She and I have been friends since May 2000. She is unique and I am quirky so we make sense together. She is the one person whom I don’t feel uncomfortable seeing after not seeing each other for a long time and we can go back to where we left off. We got together last Friday and we did not have any awkward moments whatsoever and we started our non-stop 3-hour conversation as soon as we met in Georgetown.

We went to Pizzeria in Georgetown in Seattle called Via Tribunali. They have 20 descent kinds of pizza and some pasta dishes. We ordered one pizza with prosciutto and mushroom and linguine vongole. To be honest with you, I don’t even remember how they tasted. It must not have been bad because I didn’t notice. I was too busy catching up with her whirl wind, insane travel story and it was way more interesting than the food we ordered. She told me that this trip was her 10- year wedding anniversary gift from her husband, while he stayed behind to take care of his business and their 5-year old daughter. I have no intention to be criticizing their decision. I’d rather embrace how understanding her husband is and how hard Amy works every day by working full-time, being a mom and being a wife at the same time. I guess her mom was so upset hearing Amy was traveling alone and leaving her daughter behind. I understand where her mom is coming from but she should know already by now that Amy is spontaneous, curious and a determined person, which makes Amy so unique and interesting.

So, I have photos of what we ate that night but I don’t have any comments on them. They were good.

Really, who would do this kind of trip? My crazy friend Amy does. I am so glad that I have such an insane friend who makes my life way more entertaining and fun.

Embrace your craziness, Amy. This is a huge compliment.

food

Maria Kotchetkova: Celebrate with Soy & Honey Grazed Chicken

March 22, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

This is only my opinion but Maria Kotchetkova is one of the most beautiful human beings alive in today’s world. She’s a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet Company. As I am writing right now, I can barely contain myself because of my over excitement of joy

I set my alarm to wake up today (Sunday!) at 5:30am. What for? Well, because American Ballet Theater’s Swan Lake was going to be on sale at 9am EST today. 9am EST means 6am PST! There are millions of gorgeous ballerinas in the world but this petit Russian, somewhat quirky dancer, is my favorite. Last time I was in San Francisco to watch Giselle, I was hoping to see her dance but the principal that night was not Maria. It was a beautiful stage production regardless of course (it’s SFB after all), but I still want to see Maria dance.

I follow Maria Kotchetkova’s FB page and Instagram. One post said “Swan Lake June 26^th, American Ballet Theater” I freaked out because that means she will be a guest principal dancer of American Ballet Theater production of Swan Lake. What an unreal combination! I really can’t even handle this. When I saw the post, I called Archie right away and asked him if he wanted to go to New York City with me (again). I wonder how many men are willing to travel to NYC from Seattle just to watch one production of ballet, completely based on my taste. He didn’t even hesitate to say yes. He even asked me, “do you want to go back to Joseph Leonard for dinner?” He knows me so well and he is the best man alive.

To show my gratitude to Archie, I decided to marinade chicken (one of his favorite food) with my soy & honey sauce with ginger and sake for a few hours and grill them. I hope he will enjoy this with his Fremont Interurban IPA.

The most gorgeous ballerina, the best friend I could ever ask for and soy & honey grazed chicken. What a satisfying Sunday.