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Coffee Fixes Everything?: Starbucks Reserve® Sumatra Peaberry Lake Toba does

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

My morning was interesting. Well, it was not interesting, it was actually bitter start.

Coffee. Yes, coffee is needed for this kind or morning or any kind of morning. Our office building has a few Clover® machines. The very first thing I do every morning is to go to 9^th floor and make myself a delightful cup of coffee. No sugar or milk is added in order to taste pure whole beans. One of perks of working on a coffee team for a coffee company is the opportunity to taste millions of different coffees. My favorite is Starbucks Reserve® Ethiopia Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe™ because this coffee gives you BAM!! blueberry smell when you open the bag and nice semi-sweet chocolate flavor. What a romantic combination.

Anyway, Starbucks Reserve® Sumatra Peaberry Lake Toba, I detected light acidity in the back of my tongue and very mild and smooth bitterness spread in my mouth slowly. This coffee also has a bright fruity note and some sort of herbal note. I was trying to think of a good description and finally figured it out. It is green apple (!) for fruity flavor and cedar wood for herbal note. This is such a charming combination of note and flavor. Sumatra Peaberry Lake Toba has juicy entry and silky/smooth finish even though beans from Sumatra are very bold, almost chewy. Because of the chewiness and density, I usually do not like Asian coffee, however, Sumatra Peaberry Lake Toba is the very first Asian coffee that I ever liked. When enjoying this coffee, I was picturing myself sitting on swing in lightly humid but comfortable morning in early summer and enjoying sunrise. I almost could see the moon fading and the sky turning from purple to deep pink to orange.

How can I carry on with the bitter morning start all day after this lovely cup of coffee. You simply don’t.

I am a firm believer of this. Coffee fixes everything.

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Food for My Soul

January 21, 2015January 21, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

“If you strip everything away that person has, including clothes, shoes, hat, job he/she has, what kind of car, titles so forth. Family, friends, obligations, tasks, home, money, experience, past, future, I mean everything. Now take a look at person again. If you are still in love with that person, that’s the one” – unknown

I am leading a fortunate life because I do have that person.

cooking

Transformation of Two Beloved Birds: Road to Pho Ga from Free-Range Farm

January 20, 2015January 20, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

So, there were two chickens, running around a field. Being outside, eating healthy food and getting exercise builds nice muscles, especially on their thighs. Also, with them running around freely, it makes them stress-free. Well, maybe not completely “free” from stress but they have way less stress than caged ones.

Those 2 birds ended up at my house and my dear friends and I enjoyed tasting them so much. I oven-roasted them with winter vegetables (blogged on 1/17) and also consumed 4.5 bottles of red wine as well. Next morning, as you can guess, we were not as happy as the night before due to dehydration and headache. What does Asian mother say when you have hangover? “Eat your noodle soup!” or “Eat your miso soup!” or “What an idiot!” I decided to follow my mom’s voice. Noodle soup!

Let’s use those birds then. Carcasses into pot and shimmer for an hour, then add Royal Boat brand fish sauce and fresh squeezed lime juice. There soup is ready. Then cook rice noodle and add to the soup. Garnish with cilantro and grated yuzu (glorious Japanese citrus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuzu) on top. After this, my hangover is magically gone because of togetherness of umami from chicken, tanginess of lime, saltiness of fish sauce, freshness of cilantro, then with delightful, sweet and tender aroma of yuzu. Flat rice noodle is well coated with this simple yet magnificent soup. Nothing was left in my bowl, not even a drop of the soup.

Thank you, healthy chickens. Because of you, I am getting right amount of protein, ready to build nice muscles and I feel “cage-free” from the crappy headache.

personal view

2014 – 1955 = 59

January 19, 2015January 19, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

39 years. I have been carrying something I should have dealt with and worked through about 20 years ago. Though I still carry it around and it is quite heavy.

“Have you ever been hurt and the place tries to heal a bit , and you just pull the scar off of it over and over again” Rosa Parks said, and yes, I have. The place tries to heal a bit, is still raw but I am used the pain so I don’t feel it any more. Once in a while, the place reminds me that it is still there and I remember how the pain feels like. I don’t have any intention to associate my own personal experience which I haven’t done shit about to make it better to Rosa’s courageous action. However, it is comforting to know Rosa felt the same way that I do.

Rosa Parks did not give in. She said, “No, the only tired I was, I was tired of giving in.” I did. I gave in. I let them do whatever they want because it was easier for me. It must have been easier for Rosa to move to the back of the bus, but she didn’t because she was not giving in.

In 1955, Rosa Parks didn’t give up her seat on the bus. She may not have meant to do something extraordinary by that action but it brought significant impact to the United State and other countries 59 years ago. It has been 59 years. What’s astounding is that we still are not able to leave behind what Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Malcolm X and most importantly, those who never gave in did back then. Heartbroken and angering incidents happen almost every single day.

In 1975, it started and lasted for 12 years. I was sitting the back of the bus. I gave in, have been scared and been running away from it. I have been letting it haunt me whenever it wants to. About 3 weeks ago, my mother called and let me know one of main people I have been running away from called her. I am 4,800 miles away from those people and I should be safe. But how did I react? I froze. Immediately I put my invisible shield on and tried to hide from it. What baffles me is that I am still doing the same shit since 1975.

I don’t think I can do this without my best friend. He never leaves my side and does nothing but comfort me and let me know it is going to be OK. With him and Rosa Parks, I will need to face it and forgive. It sure is scary but one day I must, as Rosa did not give up her right to sit wherever she wants to on the bus. I have the right to live sorrow-free life.

“Each person must live their life as a model for others” – Rosa Parks

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food

… (no words needed)

January 18, 2015January 18, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

I love taking a nap. Naps are magical. After taking a nap, all of my body parts and soul were revitalized. It is 3 pm and OK, I have 2 and half hours until two friends are coming to our place for dinner.

These pretty birds, 2 of them, have been taking a nap for quite a while. Not a typical nap, they have been bathing as well …with salt and lemon. It is time to wake them up. They are rested well and their body should be rejuvenated, and their soul, should be, uh well, good(?). Salt and lemon make their skin look gorgeous. Now, I even make them look prettier with quartered lemons, garlic and fresh thyme inside of their bellies. Then I coat their bodies with melted butter. Lots of butter.

Following this, they go to an even warmer place, the oven, with winter vegetables such as fingering potatoes, rutabaga, renkon (lotus root), parsnips, carrots, brussel sprouts, leeks and onions that Washington state small farmers grew with TLC. They get to enjoy the heat for about an hour and half.

Naps are magical, I said. Naps make (almost) everything better. I have proof here because these chickens tasted just delightful as the 4 of us got quiet for a while when we started eating them. Sometimes no words are needed to express how delicious the food is.

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coffee

Seattle Winter Blues: Convoy Coffee has a solution for you

January 17, 2015January 18, 2015by have you eaten?6 Comments

I do not want to see anyone, do not talk to anyone, do not want to do anything for anyone. I just want to eat, read, hang out with my dog and drink coffee. That’s it. That’s all I want to do, kind of like hibernating. Wait…coffee?

We are lucky, we really are. We have quite a few neighborhood farmers markets all through the year just within city of Seattle. I go to U-District Farmers Market near University of Washington every Saturday Morning. http://seattlefarmersmarkets.org/markets/u-district This farmers market has this Japanese farmer who grows and sells Japanese vegetables that you cannot buy at any other farmers markets or regular grocery stores. Also U-Dist farmers markets seems to have more vendors and variety. I love small vegetable farmers, butchers, fishermen, mushroomerries, bakers, beer brewers, tea makers, ginger-ale brewers, honey farmers, fermented food producers, poets with 1948 Royale typewriters are all together and showcasing their at-most quality produce (and poem) from all over Washington state. Most importantly they are sharing their passion.

About a month ago, my nose was detecting something splendid, it’s called coffee at the market. I approached them and started to talk about this coffee they were serving that day, “Ethiopian Wanago.”

It smelled just like strawberries! That means these beans make a cup of coffee that I would love. Lots of people tend not to like citrusy and fruity coffee but I do. I am in love with it. Their shop is called “Convoy Coffee,” they only offer pour over and aeropress. No lattes, no caramel macchiato, no damn pumpkin spice latte. Perfect.

When I woke up, I was feeling like I was a bear. I just wanted to hibernate but I forced myself to get out of the bed and I headed down to the market even thought it was (of course) raining and chilly. And these smiley people were making coffee by spreading their love and passion for coffee. He knows what kind of coffee that I like so he recommended “Guatemala Hanapu” roasted by Kuma (means bear in Japanese. Ha) Coffee in Seattle, WA. I ordered a cup of aeropress. The impressive acidity sits in the middle of tongue and spreads slowly. It was a quintessential combination of acidity, mild bitterness, kindness, tenderness and joy.

Thank you Convoy Coffee, you took my hibernation desire away. I will see you next Saturday.

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books

William Saroyan and Macaroon: and Chihuahua

January 15, 2015January 15, 2015by have you eaten?6 Comments

“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.”

Today is one of those days and I needed that. My head is not clear as it feels like I am underwater, not seeing or hearing anything. My body feels heavy and all I want to do is to go back to my warm, comfortable bed with my overweight 9-lb. chihuahua. It is January in Seattle (=gloomy) so maybe I am affected by weather. Who knows.

It sounds like this quote is written by someone who studies Buddhism but this is actually a quote by William Saroyan. I read “Papa You are Crazy” when I was in junior high and since then I always loved his stories. I found this wonderfully honest quote in my journal earlier today. This is exactly what I want to feel. With that, I am going to get some macaroon (for some reason I am craving for it) after work for dinner, hop on my bed and snuggle with my chihuahua. I will read William Saroyan, might as well.

I am sure I feel I am alive after macaroon, dog and Saroyan tonight. After that, I will really try to sleep when I sleep.

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Library was my safe haven: Infinite Jest

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

“That sometimes human beings have to just sit in one place and, like, hurt. That you will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do. That there is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness. That it is possible to fall asleep during an anxiety attack. That concentrating on anything is very hard work.”
― David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

From age 7 to 17, School and home were not safe place to be. Library was my only safe haven and place to, like, hurt. This quote from Infinite Jest is totally needed for my soul today. Digging deep.

food

Flan and Simple Minds: perfect rainy day in Seattle

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

I remember the smell of burnt sugar spreading throughout the whole house. For some reason, that always happened on rainy days in Tokyo. My mom made this simple, classic and non-flashy kind of flan when I was a little kid. It was not always consistent. Sometimes it was dense and sometimes it was kind of runny. It was not perfect, that is why I adore her flan even today.

It is raining in Seattle today (or 182 days of the year) and it is Saturday. Pandora is playing Simple Minds and rain keeps falling down, down and down so it is perfect day for making some imperfect flans.

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coffee

1970 Hacienda Alsacia : First Crop

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

Floral, fruit, chocolate, sweet & sugary, nut, grain, roast, spice, savory, herb, earthy, vegetal.

What do you think I am talking about? These words are commonly used to describe flavor of coffee. You can dig deeper if you want to. For instance, let’s talk about coffee tastes like “chocolaty.” Chocolaty could be categorized “cacao nibs,” “dark,” “bakers chocolate,” “bittersweet,” “cocoa powder,” milk chocolate” and so on. To be a coffee nerd, it is so fun to try to get those flavors by sipping a cup of well made coffee.

So now, this coffee. This whole bean coffee is from Costa Rica and is grown by farmers in Costa Rica on the first coffee farm Starbucks has ever owned, Hacienda Alsacia. As a photo of this coffee bag indicates, this is the first crop and they were only distributed to Starbucks employees this year because they did not produce enough beans to introduce to global market.

I am lucky enough to get to taste this delicious coffee. I will try to describe Hacienda Alsacia as a certified coffee master (completely subjective however)

Balanced and medium soft body coffee with subtle notes of clementine. Juicy, smooth, vibrant and clean and it taste a slight cocoa. This would accompany well with citrus fruits such as clementine or orange, semi-sweet or dark chocolate and roasted walnuts.

Scratch that. It does not matter, just enjoy (perhaps next year’s crop).