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C is for...cooking
Thursday, 16 June 2005
Foods To Do List
this is another list i wanted to make...

i just read my old list from 6/9/04 & i have done some of those already w/out realizing which is nice (pizza from scratch & spaghetti sauce) but i also don't care to make some of those things anymore...so we'll start over...

1. mole sauce
2. jalapeno poppers
3. pecan/macadamia nut pie
4. chicken satay w/ peanut sauce (made 6/18/05)
5. mexican rice (made 7/05)
6. fresh pasta
7. roasted chicken
8. chicken stock
9. bbq ribs
10. lemon meringue pie
11. baked alaskan
12. macaroons
13. chocolate lava cake
14. fried risotto balls stuffed w/ mozzarella (forget their name)
15. orange chicken (from cook's illustrated)
16. stuffed pork chops (from cook's)
17. oatmeal cookies (made 7/05)
18. green salsa/tomatillo sauce
19. a really GOOD chicken tikka masala...(indian restaurant style)
20. apple crostada
21. eggplant parmesan
22. chili
23. really good cornbread
24. stuffed shells (made 8/05 stuffed w/ spinach & tofu)
25. tiramisu
26. fondue
27. something with fresh artichokes

that's it for now (wow so many of them are mexican related:P)

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 2:41 PM EDT
Updated: Monday, 5 September 2005 11:30 PM EDT
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Wednesday, 15 June 2005
italian night
before i go into dinner last night i have to announce that i'm incredibly sad at this moment in time

i wanted to buy this le creuset set it was hella cheap

i saw it last night & i debated & then i decided to get it but i have work today..i checked on it & it was there but literally just a few minutes ago it was gone...i'm guessing sold out & now i'm super sad

i told diana i haven't wanted something so badly since my knife...:(

now i want to cry


anyways...onto reality

i made chicken parmesan w/ roasted eggplant & spaghetti w/ roasted red & yellow bell pepper marinara & garlic bread

the spaghetti was half of the box leftover from the last time we had pasta & the sauce too...

just coated chicken w/ egg whites & seasoned breadcrumbs..pan-fried & then baked off in the oven w/ mozzarella...normally you spoon on the sauce when you bake it off but ididn't want it to get soggy during the wait soo i spooned it on afterwards

eggplants i just drizzled w/ olive oil & seasonings & baked in a 425 degree oven...

the eggplants were sort of bitter..i know it was cuz of the seeds but i couldn't really do anything about it...felt kinda bad but yea

the chicken was good & the spaghetti too

oh & the garlic bread...softened butter...fresh thyme & garlic & seasonings & parmesan cheese & smeared it on sliced ciabatta baked it off

it was a pretty simple meal...

chicken parmesan is one of the simplest chicken dishes to make believe it or not...

last time my students & i made it in under 30 minutes
(that meal was with roasted asparagus, angel hair w/ marinara & chicken parmesan)

technically you should be adding parmesan cheese into the breadcrumbs to coat the chicken but we didn't do that to cut down the fat..plus the mozzarella is plenty of flavor...but parmesan is a hard cheese so it's not taht much fat for the amount of flavor it gives...so it's up to you...

anyways i'm kinda rambling because i'm sad about my le crueset

how come i always miss out!! :( my kitchen aid mixer too....

ANYWAYS

we finished off the meal with trader joe's charlotte berry torte which pierre had brought over before

good stuff

oh yea & we had the meal w/ ligonberry apple "sparkling juice beverage" aka cider over which pierre & i pondered why it even had the word beverage at the end cuz isn't juice a beverage?

ah well

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 4:05 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 15 June 2005 4:14 PM EDT
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Thursday, 9 June 2005
fourth street
chanda & i went to find stonehouse oil today...after 3 times of the railroad thing coming down for no reason we found out it moved to fourth street:P

sooo we went to fourth street & i bought a persian lime & a blood orange olive oil & white balsamic vinegar...they were all so good...chanda got garlic, blood orange, & 2 white balsamics...

i've never splurged so much on just olive oil! haha

their silver medal blend (aka regular..it's a blend of 5 olives) was really really good...i kinda wanted that but i guess it's not necessary to cook w/ oil THAT nice...

Stonehouse Olive Oil

then we went to explore...first to the pasta shop...it's the coolest store!...i thought it was literally just pasta but there was sooo much stuff...there were pastries, yummy looking sandwiches, prosciutto di parma, marzipan, cheeses, salad bar w/ things from frittata to sushi to pasta salads, valrhona chocolate by the pound, etc...

we didn't buy anything though we were tempted...

we decided to go to cafe rouge for lunch because i had heard it was so good & lunch prices were reasonable...it's a very classy but casual restaurant...we took a while to figure out what to order & everyone around us were eating steak but we didn't feel like it...too early...though it was a reasonable price..it was a huge plate w/ steak & fries for $16...we finally decided on soft shell crab sandwich w/ coleslaw & spicy remoulade..& i forgot if they were known for thei chicken at the last minute so i got the spit roasted chicken w/ thyme & lemon & other herbs & roasted potatoes & artichokes....

both were SOOOO good

i thought it was pretty worth it...i wouldn't go often but it was really yum

then we went to sketch (the gelato place) & it was the cutest store EVER...i haven't seen a place that cute in a while...in the back was a huge wooden paddle (you know the kind those cheap sundaes come with to use as a spoon) w/ the name sketch engraved...there were just a bunch of cute things i can't even explain...they even make their own brioche! it's insane...there aren't many flavors & they have granita too...we got the burnt caramel cuz i've read that was really really good...& it was! but i dunno i think i might still like gelateria naia better...

it was fun today..i ate sooo much good food...unbelievable & i hadn't seen chanda in forever! so it was nice



Posted by blog/c_is_for at 11:06 PM EDT
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Wednesday, 8 June 2005
tex mex-ing it
yesterday i had the day off from work & i decided to do something cooking related...

went to safeway & yasai market...i love yasai market (yasai=vegetable in japanese)..it's a lot cheaper than safeway..i never realized...but every single produce item is cheaper & they have some random organic items & asian products...

anyways...i bought some groceries & headed home...

inspired by food network i decided to go tex mex

pierre loves lime so that too led me there

i made chili rubbed chicken with a lime cilantro honey pan sauce, fresh salsa, baked polenta with jalapenos & monterey jack cheese & fresh corn, corn on the cob, & ended the meal with key lime bars with streusel topping

it was really good

i love that pan sauce just as i suspected
i will definitely be making that again

i was gonna make quesadillas this morning to go with the salsa for lunch but i woke up too late for that

the key lime bars were awesome & they didn't stick to the pan which was nice for cleanup (i always imagined overly gooey lemon bars & the mess they'd make but it was good) & they were the perfect amount of sweetness

i had never made polenta before so it was kinda fun...it was SOO easy...a lot easier than i thought...the cheese was masked by the corn taste though soo yea...i refrigerated the rest in a flat pan so i can cut them out & pan fry them later for that crisp then gooey texture (i remember when chris got those fried polenta things w/ his pork chop at chow..they were so good)i'm guessing using a hard cheese for polenta would be a lot better cuz the taste would come out more..& add saltiness (cuz mine wasn't salty enough)

oh yea note to self...always use a glove or plastic bag or something over your hand before dealing with chile peppers...they ALWAYS get everywhere stinging no matter how careful i am...eg, while deseeding a seed hit my cheek & fell & my cheek burned afterwards it was insane...i can't believe those things are that strong

oh yea & for the salsa i did that thing w/ the garlic where you sprinkle it w/ salt & oil & smash it into a paste like consistency (so the garlic isn't in chunks & overpowering) for the first time..it was food-nerdily fun

i was gonna make some chips in the oven for the salsa but then i got "lazy"

in the end, it was a really nice dinner w/ even nicer company

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 1:21 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 8 June 2005 1:28 PM EDT
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Monday, 6 June 2005
yumminess w/ pierre & a cook's tour
yesterday pierre & i went to the farmer's market that i haven't been to in 2 weeks so i was really excited...

we decided to have lunch there & since we were being rather indecisive we got a bit of everything

we got taquitos & a tamale plate from this vegan mexican stand & the combo plate from the thai stand (satay, veggie curry, chicken curry)

pierre took pictures of the food & we ate everything hahah

the black beans were really good...the tamale & taquitos didn't taste vegan...it was yum...
as for the thai...the curry was good but i think we both decided the satay plate would probably be better....

sunday we got brunch before i went to campus market
since he wanted to help me with my list we went to la note:)
it's so adorable
it's like really simple yummy food kicked up a bit but it's still casual & they probably make so much
because they just had to perfect those few recipes

anyways...it was wonderful

pierre had the two egg breakfast & he smeared his toast w/ raspberry jam that was on the table that i'm guessing was freshly made...
i really wanted the pancakes which is kinda rare for me but they sounded so good! (i'm surprised i didn't get the french toast or an omelette) i got the lemon gingerbread pancakes w/ poached pears & a side of scrambled eggs

the eggs were perfectly scrambled...i don't think i've had eggs that yum before...& the gingerbread was so yum! though there was too much of it..it was like eating a huge cake haha...& it was topped w/ poached pears & a blueberry compote ish stuff...

haha i had to finish the pancakes cuz i always told pierre to not waste his food so i was sooo stuffed but it was really good...i want to try to make pancakes now! we'll see...i want those grill/griddle things first

thank you pierre for sharing in yumminess w/ me:)

at campus market i saw a few things i never even knew existed: reese's cookies, jolly rancher rocks (a container of little jolly ranchers about the size of a smint), green tea soymilk, cooked rice that you can just microwave straight, etc

at work i was reading a cook's tour...
i read half a long time ago & i decided to pick it up again & gawd i remember why it was so entertaining...he's an amazing writer..he describes things so well & he completely speaks his mind...here are a few random quotes i thought were great...(i was reading the tokyo chapter)


"Their streets may be noisy, riotous Mobius strips of flashing lights, screaming jumbotrons, rank after rank of tightly constrained, identically dressed humanity (this year, all young women will dye their hair red!), their TV variety shows insanely hyperactive hosts, cloyingly cute, fluffy, pyschedelic-hued animal characters and doll-eyed cartoon heroines, their porn some of the ugliest, most brutal, and most disturbing on earth, their popular sexual obsessions may even make the German look well adjusted, and they may indeed teach their school children that all that nasty World War II nonsense never really happened, but from a cook's perspective, who cares? I was there to eat."

"They played and sang. One danced. You've seen bits of this kind of traditional Japanese dance - on television or in movies - and you've heard that high-pitched warbling, and you've thought, Jesus! It sounds like someone's torturing a cat! You just hadn't had enough sake to appreciate it. You weren't sitting in that timeless dining room, after a long bath, reflecting on those mountains. You hadn't eaten the mean I'd just enjoyed. The music was lovely, the slow-motion dance mesmerizing to watch. I felt like a feudal lord. I no longer cared about the silly clothes I was wearing. In fact, I felt cool. It was good to be the king. I was ready to order out the cavalry, burn castles, strategize with my warloards in the rock garden, think deep thoughts while I watched the winter cherry blossoms bloom."

plus any guy that talks about blowfish(fugu) in japan & brings up the simpsons' episode regarding blowfish is by default awesome

"As I understood it - from careful study of barroom speculation and an episode of The Simpsons - fugu meal was a game of chicken with all those delicious..."

& when i read this i thought of what you told me once jon thysell haha...so this one is for you

"...I pondered my environment. I stared out the window, all thoughts of the outside world quickly banished. There is nothing in my room, just that single flower, the paper walls, the wide expanse of floor. In no time, I felt my metabolism shift, my whole system undergoing some kind of temporary metamorphosis from neurotic, hyperactive, short attention-spanned New Yorker to a character in a Kurosawa samurai flick. The surroundings were identical. I felt I could sit there forever in my yukata motionless, doing nothing more involved than contemplating an orange."

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 12:59 AM EDT
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Tuesday, 24 May 2005
burgers & fries
so today i decided to go all out with my meal...

i had wanted to make those oven fries i made last time for a while now so....what better w/ fries than burgers...

now how to unnecessarily kick it up a notch?

2 words: brie & mushrooms

so i've been obsessed w/ brie since our decal party & i made those pear brie things

& di knows how much i've been eating just plain w/ bread

so i seasoned my ground turkey with soy sauce, onions, garlic, some cornstarch....

& i sauteed cremini mushrooms with salt & pepper

& formed the burgers & stuffed them with brie & mushrooms...

put the burger on a toasted ciabatta w/ mustard, ketchup, relish, & spinach

it was goooood stuff

& surprisingly you could taste the brie

the oven fries were delish as usual

then i had froyo

it was an overally wonderful meal & worth the time



Posted by blog/c_is_for at 10:04 PM EDT
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appreciation
so i recently decided that i don't want to make food for anyone anymore...at least not just as random acts of kindness

besides anthony, pierre, & gareth everyone else is either unappreciative or indifferent

a few examples...

i knew it was bad when a friend (more than one time) the first thing he/she would ask if i asked him/her if he/she wanted something...he/she would say "is it any good?"

no...i'm giving you food cuz it's shitty...it tastes shitty & it looks like crap...that's why i'm trying to give it away...fuck you


on similar lines is the question: "ummm what kind?"

as if this were the deciding factor...& you'd only want it if it was a particular kind you wanted




last week...
a friend said he/she was eating my cookies merely because they were lazy & it was the only thing accessible as if they weren't actually good tasting but just cuz they were fucking convenient


last week as well...
i asked a friend if he/she wanted a certain food & then i found out he/she left it in the fridge of a mutual friend because he/she didn't want it...& of course i fucking found out....don't take if from me if you wanted want it....you don't realize how long it took me to make that egg custard tart so FUCK you...& just to let you know you completely missed out because it was so freaking good..oh yea & that mutual friend when i told him/her how rude it was said to me "get over it" FUCK YOU BOTH



& last last week...
a friend said to a mutual friend "omg you're such a good friend" because he gave this friend half of a cream cheese-d bagel...& i asked "how come i never get that when i give you food?" & he/she kinda just brushed it off & i said "fine then i won't give you any food anymore" & he/she said "that's not true...i know you..you like cooking too much" in my head i wanted to scream...."FUCK YOU"
the food i give you is made is love & really good ingredients...i take the time to make it good enough...& that's the thanks i get? a oh-i-know-i-will-get-some-no-matter-how-i-treat-you.... i don't need to make myself taken for granted....
i DON'T need that fucking shit
you guys deserve nothing from me if you are going to treat me that way


you guys have no idea how much money i spend on you guys to make you "feel special" with my food...

on christmas treats alone it was probably a couple hundred

i'm not going to knowingly give you crap food



& SO THIS ENDS HERE....
NOT A SINGLE PERSON WILL GET A SINGLE BITE OF FOOD OUT OF ME ANYMORE...(cept maybe christmas cuz i want to experiment)
& the irony of this all?
i do all this as extra...i do it to be nice...i do it so i can share with you all the wonders of food...& YOU GUYS/GALS are the reason WHY i am completely turned off from this....

so FUCK YOU ALL THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO MY BITTERNESS & making it hard for me to be myself

because in the end....i am left to fend for myself in this cruel world







so i have made a few random things since the last update

key lime pie

it was rather creamy but it was also really addicting

overall, the ingredients added up to be pricey so i probably won't make again





spinach linguine with white clam sauce

i used champagne instead of white wine & it was very delish...

it was probably bad for me but the clams were yum

i sprinkled parmesan over the top & ate it all

oh yea it was kinda salty but i'm guess it's cuz i used more clam juice than it called for...whatever i could've always thinned it out w/ water



oh yea i guess i never talked about the lowfat choc chip cookies & chinese egg custard tarts i made...

the tarts were really good though i had tons of filling left over & it was overall, very time consuming




the cookies were incredibly addicting
& cakey...i love them...they will def take the place of normal ones for cravings they stay soft too!



i missed farmer's market this week cuz of commencement reception & i feel really really deprived..it's kinda strange

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 12:30 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, 24 May 2005 9:44 PM EDT
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Friday, 20 May 2005
Lists
if you saw in my other blog i had a few lists i needed to make related to food...

List of place to eat before I leave Berkeley

- Zatar

- Locanda Olmo that Sicilian place on College that sup'dly has amazing pizza

- Skates on the Bay

- Poulet

- Kirala i can just wait til the food court one opens too...

- rick & ann's for brunch

- Gregoire's

- angeline's (when it opens...i think it's gonna be a louisiana style restaurant on shattuck where long life noodle used to be)





not crucial but would be nice:

- Le Theatre

- Grasshopper

- A Cote

- Bay Wolf

- Liaison

- Citron

- Garibaldi's




i'm sure i will think of more later...looking for all those links took longer than i wanted:P but i guess now i only have to come here to daydream & click away instead of searching the same thing over & over again:P

i have another list to write but i'll do it later...

nite for now




updating....eaten:

- La Note (eaten: June 5, 2005 w/ Pierre)

- anything on 4th Street...Cafe Rouge, Eccolo, Sketch...(Cafe Rouge AND Sketch w/ Chanda 6/9/04)

- Cactus Taqueria (Pierre brought over & we ate 6/20/05)

- Phoenix Next Door (eaten w/ ellen & chanda 6/23/05)

- Grub n Go (lunch on 7/8/05)

- Truly Mediterranean (lunch on 7/15/05)

- The Patio on dwight & telegraph...it's sup'd to have good jambalaya (eaten 7/16/05 w/ pierre)

- pie in the sky on center (eaten w/ gals 7/21/05)

- ryowa ramen (eaten dinner 8/8/05 w/ pierre)

- cafe baguette on channing
(eaten 8/10/05 w/ audrey)

- Tropical Paradise (Ghanian food) (eaten lunch 8/11/05)

- caribbean cove on telegraph (eaten w/ chanda & pierre 8/20/05)

- indus village (just opened & it smells soo good)(eatn w/ pierre 8/29/05 about)

- Oliveto (eaten with pierre 9/3/05)

- wikiwiki hawaiian bbq (replaced the berkeley rotesserie space...sounds delish & pretty cheap)(eaten w/ pierre 9/9/05)

- bread workshop sandwiches (only 11-3)
(eaten w/ pierre 9/11/05)

- kolo kitchen (9/05)

- Bittersweet Chocolate Cafe...another article (w/ pierre 11/05)

- Ajanta (w/ pierre 12/4/05)

- La Med (w/ pierre 12/9/05)

- The Cheesesteak Shop (w/ p 12/05?)

- bakesale betty's (opened by an ex-chez panisse chef)(w/ chris 1/06)

- pizzaiolo (opened by an ex-chez panisse chef) (w/ chris 1/06)

- Thai Temple brunch (w/ erick 2/19/06)

- great china (w/ parents 2/20/06)

- Cafe de la Paz (eaten for bday w/ chris, chanda, aiball, jon g 2/23/06)

- Zax Tavern (eaten w/ chris & chanda late 2/06)

- Venus (eaten w/ chanda & aaron 3/18/06)

- epicurious garden the gourmet ghetto "food court" (when it opens...there will be a stall for: kirala, ciao bella, soop, socca oven(gregoire's owners), imperial tea, taste (food & wine tasting bar), allegio chocolates, caviar place) (eaten w/ erick 3/23/06)

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 5:41 AM EDT
Updated: Friday, 24 March 2006 1:22 AM EST
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Sunday, 8 May 2005
a week of delish food
& as i sit here listening to brighter than sunshine i recount my week in food adventures with myself haha & some w/ others:)

i realized i had an amazing week of food

nothing like chez panisse or rivoli but i really enjoyed it all

monday i had leftover pizza from the weekend & although i said it wasn't amazing i decided it was pretty damn good especially for my first time..imagine if i made it all the time! well that wouldn't be too healthy so i'm not about to embark on that but anyways

tuesday i packed food for work...i had broiled salmon w/ steamed bok choy w/ that ginger sesame teriyaki sauce chanda's mom gave me...with rice of course

wednesday i balanced the fatty but delicious duck crepinette with a nice refreshing spinach salad....i think i just tossed it w/ balsamic vinegar...it was delish....i decided i'm a lot more obsessed w/ balsamic vinegar than i remember....i used to like it a lot in the dorms & then i calmed down a bit since living by myself...i should splurge on one of those farmer market ones i bought for chris for myself..those are so freaking good..just imagine a blond balsamic or fig infused one or blood orange oh gawd

thursday i was going to make sushi but then i realized i had no seaweed anyway so i went out w/ chanda to le cheval (we thought it closed) but it was alive & well & i decided i love that place they're sooooo nice & it's so cheap & yummy! & spacious too...she got a vietnamese sandwich & it came w/ a light salad that was so good! i predict the dressing to be of fish sauce & lemon juce....but there was mint in the leaves too....very nice....& i got stuff form the steam table...i really like those garlic green beans:)

friday i had an amazing meal at maggiano's along w/ cheeseboard stuff midday goodness that chocolate loaf is to die for! the chips are melted just the way i like them!...sometimes i can be picky about how my chocolate is in my cake...i'm barely picky about what i eat so i say it's ok....i told chris i just don't like those unmelted ones it's like (in contrast to my description of chocolate covered marshmallows which are "crunch soft") "wax chocolate".....along those lines i hate chocolate chips in my ice cream! it's just hard! & you can't even taste it melt in your mouth...anyways...my point is these are half melted so it's like soft & then melt.....ok most people did not understand that conversation i just had with myself soooo moving on....(oh yea read about maggiano's on my other blog)

yesterday i had cheeseboard bread in the morning & i went with chanda & aaron to the farmer's market & au coqulet (sp) & then chaat cafe & cheeseboard...

farmer's market i bought some spinach & a little bottle of fresh apple cider it was sooo good & then at chaat cafe i got the chicken wrap w/ spicy potato salad good stuff as usual...then i had a slice of pizza at cheeseboard...it had goat cheese on it..my first time having it on pizza! so that was exciting & delish...

today i had the other duck crepinette w/ a more fancy spinach salad...but yea it caused such havoc...i blame the crepinette...it filled my apt w/ smoke cuz of the bad circulation & then i spilled the salad all over myself & the floor when i was eating it....

i really shouldn't cook anymore today

cuz i used a diced tomato can w/ jalepenos in it kinda by mistake in my pasta sauce so now i have mexican tasting pasta sauce...it's kinda weird...

oy....go me

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 7:17 PM EDT
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Monday, 2 May 2005
orchard bread in pics
kneaded dough




after rising for an hour




kneaded & divided into 3 equal parts




after left to rise for 1.5 hours




after done baking




& all sliced up!




now i just have to figure out how to eat all of this bread! i never realized i don't eat a lot of sweet bread unless it's from those asian bakeries...this one is also not that sweet so i'm confused haha....it's really good eaten alone but that's a lot of bread....

i'm thinking a really kicked up french toast...gawd how good would that be....

i haven't had french toast in forever too

& it has to be one of my favorite breakfast foods

i like getting people hooked to it:)

i'll see....but thus far that sounds the tastiest...
cuz bread pudding takes away too much from the really yummy dense texture of the bread....

Posted by blog/c_is_for at 10:46 PM EDT
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