Quick Chicken

A little quick homemade shake and bake action is just what a exhausting summer day calls for. I salted and peppered the chicken a little a head of time and then shaked it in flour seasoned with salt, pepper, chili pepper, cayanne, sugar, cumin, thyme, paprika.... A little oil is sprayed on before going into a 400℉ oven. The only problem is the package of the chicken recommended 30 minutes. While this is a bit longer than I usually cook it, I figured I would try it. Well, the chicken is over cooked. Still tasted good but it was a little, let's say, firm.

Mushroom Risotto

I have a bunch of wild and farmed mushroom in the fridge need to be eaten...











What is a better way to use them up than making a risotto? With good Parmiggiano Reggiano and finished with a little butter, it is all creamy and forest-y. Nice.

Curry Goat

I said there was no better summer dish to go with rice than black bean ribs and bitter melon yesterdays, well, I made one at least equally as god--Caribbean style curry lamb. I marinated the goat with onion, garlic, black pepper, salt, curry powder and hot chili pepper for an hour or so before browning it slightly and then adding water to slowly cook it for an hour and a half. More curry powder was added and then some fresh sweet sweet new Yukon Gold potatoes to cook for 15 minutes. Goat got to be the best meat for curry, and for stew, of them all. Sweet sweet meat in spicy sauce, so good

ReUse

This is perhaps the best way to use left over black bean ribs--cook it with bitter melon. It is very simple, sautéed the bitter melon for a short minute and then add the ribs and the sauce, add some water if needed, let it cook for until the bitter melon is done and you can't find a better summer dish to go with rice.

Wild Mushroom Linguine

I got some wild mushroom fresh from the market so I thought a simple pasta dish may be a good way to enjoy some of it. Here is sautéed it in some olive oil and onion. I then added some beef stock and cook till it is almost dry. Fresh organic parsley and thyme is added before a little butter and the linguine with a little of the pasta water. It is finished with Parmigiano Reggiano. It is very tasty indeed, feels just like walking in the woods.

Blueberry and walnut muffins

This is my second attempt at muffin making. Maybe my flour is too hard or I mixed it to much, it came out between a typical muffin and bread, on this side of muffin. It is still pretty good eating. I may even like it better this way... strange...

Ribs and Amaranth

This is a pretty standard meal for a Cantonese, steamed pork ribs and Amaranth soup. The ribs are marinated in salt, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, washed preserved black beans, corn starch and Shaoxing liquor.
It is steamed for about 20 minutes. The soup is the easiest just some garlic sautéed in a little oil, into which the veg is added and then some chicken stock or water, a little salt and boil for a few minute, and that is that. Comfort food.

Buns

I have a cut on my hand so I used the food processor to make the dough. It worked pretty well but not as good as doing it by hand though. Looks kind of cute like this.

Market Day Meal

Went to the Farmer's Market today for the first time this year. The wet and cool weather so far this year seems to be holding some produce back. Still, there are good things and this salad is the proof, the purple radishes are as sweet as can be and the three beautiful cheeses are: Mountain Meadow's sheep's brie and Goat's Pride Dairy's ash caprabella and Tomme de chevre. The cheeses are unique but uniformly excellent.








And to go with that wonderful salad, what is better then a morel omelet made with some top quality giant fresh morel from my friend Lewis.

Ribs

These short ribs are a little fat so I cut some of it off. The result is some thin strips of meat. Because of marbling the meat is still creamy without the extra fat. The marinate is garlic, ginger, Korean chili peppers, mirin, sugar, salt, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Poor meal

Here I have a giant mustard green in a rich chicken stock and a mix fry of dry tofu, sweet corn, "snow vegetable" and pork. Quite frugal but goes well with rice.

Melting Eggplant

I cooked this chicken using garlic, the winter preserved vegetable and rose liquor much like last time but decided to cook the eggplants in it to save time. I cut the eggplant into small pieces first but they melted away in no time. I then cut up another into bigger pieces and it works out fine. The result is I have a very rich thick sauce with the chicken.

It's so wrong

Thomas Haas makes some of the finest chocolates in the world but this hot chocolate mix is so wrong. It is exceedingly rich; it is lumpy rather than powdery when dry; it is quite hot from the chili; it tells you to make only a demitasse; and it becomes smooth with a few stirs. It is just not what you expect when making hot chocolate. But how divinely tasty it is.

Slow Lamb

I suppose this is more like a pot roast and it tastes good. I stuffed this lamb shoulder with garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper before browning it in a pan. I then put it into this clay pot on top of onion, cloves, dry cranberries, pine nuts, cinnamon and the pan juice. It stayed in a 300℉ oven for 3 hours.









The result is pull-apart tender, and very tasty.













I ate it over couscous. I could have reduce the sauce a bit but it has a nice mildness as is.

Symbols of Winter for the Begining of Summer

I had this little package of the "Big Foot Winter Preserved Vegetable 大足冬菜尖" opened so I thought I would cook some chicken with it. I brown the chicken well in the pot with a little salt first, then added garlic, ginger, chili pepper, the vegetable for a few second before adding rose liquor and covered over high heat for a few minute. I removed the pot from heat just before it burn. I couldn't believe how tasty it is. This got to be one of the best 冬菜 I have ever had!





To go with it I have some winter melon cooked in rich chicken stock and Jinhua ham.

Cherry Hill Vineyard Bistro

A few friends visit from out of town and we went on a road trip to Vancouver Island. Along the way we stopped at the Cherry Hill Vineyard to try their wines. The vineyard is young, the management is new and the wines are nice but not distinguished yet. The lunch there though was a surprise. The food is quite excellent, very fresh ingredients and very simply and expertly done. I hope their wine catch up with their chef very soon.










The desserts are even better than the mains, this chocolate mousse is as creamy as any.












And the ice cream is good and the presentation is pretty as can be. Goes very well with the mousse too.

Pizza?

I haven't made pizza for a while now and I thought why not try to make one with my bread dough? My bread dough is very well kneaded and with about a third whole wheat flour. The toppings are tomato, oregano, garlic, hot chili, olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Mozzarella and pepperoni. The result is a very nice crispy baked bread with tasty toppings. Does not really feel like a pizza though, even as tasty as it is.

Chocolate Soufflé

I used an egg yolk to thicken a bisque so I have one egg white with no where to go. What is a man to do with an egg white? Make a soufflé, of course. Melt some dark chocolate, separate anther egg, whip the yolks with sugar, add the chocolate, a shot of blackberry liquor, a few drops of vanilla to make the base. The white is whipped with a touch a salt and then sugar. Fold them together and bake in 400℉ for 12 minute. Very tasty, very gourmet.

Chops of Two or Three Minds

I put salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin onto these chop and then sautéed them in a hot pan. I then saw the bottle of rose liquor on the counter and thought "maybe that will add something" and sprinkle a little onto the pan and covered it. Another thought occurred that said a little sweet would be nice. I took the mirin out of the cupboard and added a few drops. Just before the sugar in the mirin burns, the chops were cooked. The result is pretty good.

Chili and Salt Shrimp

These shrimps are lethargic in Chinatown so the price was cut. Instead of steaming, I decided to cook them a little spicy. They are cleaned, legs and head snipped, and then dried. They are then fried very quickly in very hot oil. Garlic and ginger are then sautéed quickly before salt and hot chili were added. The shrimps return quickly and when they are fully cooked, scallion and cilantro and black pepper are added. The meat is sweet and the plays with the hot and salty shells, a lot of fun to eat. Particularly with a bottle of Granville Island Brewery's Scottish Ale.