a ramen kind of day

i'm taking another break away from various spreadsheets. i have a feeling that i have another late evening ahead and wanted to take a moment or two for myself and reflect on things that have nothing to do with market analysis. it is good to step away occasionally.

it is rather dreary today. i look out one of my windows and see gray skies and the muted green leaves of the trees swaying against the wind and random gusts of light rain. the pets are cuddled among blankets and one of my rather expensive coats. you know that i love my pets when i don't get enraged at how one of them has discovered that i set down a very chic black coat with white piping and she has decided that it is a perfect bed for her.

go figure.

anyway, because of this dreary cold day, i decided to make some ramen for a late lunch. the broth/soup consisted of typical ingredients of what i had in my fridge and pantry such as soy, nuoc mam, some ca shiitake mushrooms, shallots, leftover braised greens (beet and kale from riverdog farms), garlic confit cloves (from roasting garlic earlier and leaving it in the oil), chili garlic paste, some slices from a habanero chile, and a brick of ramen noodles.

while that was boiling away, i went back into my fridge and took out one of the riverdog farm eggs. then i cracked in one of the eggs. sometimes, i'll swirl it around immediately to make a kind of "egg drop" sort of broth, but i this case, i wanted to sorta poach the egg....so that it was softly cooked.

this meant being very careful when i stirred the soup since i didn't want to break the yolk. once the soup was done, i carefully took out some noodles and spooned out the egg into a bowl.


then added broth on top....

it doesn't look like much right now....but wait until i split open the egg.....

hmmmmm. lovely and yummy. a bright spot amidst a dreary day.

tea and cake

hmmm. i sense an all nighter coming up. an urgent project fell from above and it is going to be quite interesting next 48 hours or so. when i received the email about 6:30am on my crackberry, admittedly, i just sorta sighed. then, i logged on, awaited the skype conversation to follow, and then got more details. yet, i realize that when these sort of projects happen, i really need to take periodic breaks away from them in order to ensure that my mind is still sharp and to ensure that i can "go the distance".

i am just very glad that keeping a stocked kitchen is such a priority for me. it is times like these that i am glad that i'm so anal about having a variety of food at my place....including new treats to try. my new thing for this week is the sconehenge almond cake.


i bought it at a local market and not sconehenge. when i bought it, i thought hey..."this looks interesting and perhaps it would be a good accompaniment with tea". i normally don't buy cakes...but this looked small enough that i could have throughout the week and maybe make something else with it...you know....like a small trifle with sherry or a modified sort of cakey-bread pudding kind of thing. so after working away for a while, i stepped into my kitchen to make a large mug of tea.....


and have a bit of cake.


the cake looks quite lovely outside of the package doesn't it?


so i sliced myself small piece and it looked rather lonesome....


so i decided to add a bit of creme fraiche that i have on hand from the cheeseboard. i love getting creme fraiche from the cheeseboard and admittedly, look for opportunities to add it.

what surprised me when i took a bite of the cake (without any creme fraiche on the fork) was that it wasn't super sweet. this surprised me since sugar is the first ingredient listed. it went nicely with the tea and i think most folks would prefer the cake sans creme fraiche. if i had guests, i doubt that i would serve this on its own. i would probably plate it with some warm caramel sauce, a few berries/slices of fruit...like a pear...and then sift a bit of powdered sugar on top. yet, for a quick tea break for the foodie hunter, it fit the bill nicely.

SF Hearts the Cart: a bit of random commentary

late last week, i decided to attend the commonwealth club event called "The Street Food Movement: SF Hearts the Cart". it was put on by INFORUM which is a commonwealth club program that focuses on folks in their 20s & 30s. i remembering hearing about the INFORUM events as the heart sister used to go to them. yet, this was the first INFORUM event that i attended.

i've been following the sf street food scene for some time. it has been fascinating to watch the burgeoning of this scene in the bay area and how social media fits in. the social media component appeals to the data-oriented analytical side of me while the food....well....i think that is pretty obvious. what drew me to the event was actually the opportunity to see charles phan (of slanted door) speak.

i have read interviews, saw him cooking at the sf street food festival from afar, but had never heard him speak in-person. i also was very interested in seeing what anthony myint of mission street food would have to say as well. i think it would be difficult to not respect what anthony myint has done regarding making connections between food, creativity, and implementing businesses that benefit various charities.

the event consisted of a panel discussion and an after party. the panel discussion was interesting as panelists provided some insight into how they started with their businesses and their approach. what i found the most fascinating was that none of the folks on the panel had any original intention to be where they are now. it was a combination of falling into things, doing things...almost on a lark, perseverance, and being flexible. there were some inspirational-oriented tidbits such as do what you are good at, do your research, just get out there and do it, don't be afraid to mess up and learn from those mess ups, leverage the very welcoming food-oriented culture of san francisco, and don't be afraid to step into the social media/twitter-oriented community. many of the panelists talked about being inspired by the street food in asia....which was not a surprise. i know that the street food of hong kong is still pretty vivid in my memory. i loved how some of the relatively new folks just starting out provided a lot "head scratching" when looking back at how they got where they are now as well as enthusiasm.

in particular, i thought stephen gdula of gobba gobba hey was extremely personable, positive, and very much about community support. he started out hawking his gobs (imagine a sandwich cookie....but instead of cookies...it is made with small rounded cakes....almost like madelines) out of a cooler while walking around the mission. now, he's producing his gobs out of a commercial kitchen and has made alliances with folks such as foodzie and ryan farr from 4505 meats....gdula's gobs are sold along side farr's street food sausages and burgers at the ferry building on thursdays. as i have mentioned on my flickr pics, given gdula's personality, i probably would have bought gobs from him....which you all know dear hearts....is really saying something. his skills are obviously very well-rounded.....from communication, business, food, personality, to understanding his audience....i have a feeling that he's going to do just fine.

last, but definitely not the least, i really enjoyed hearing charles phan speak. he speaks with a quiet secure confidence and dispensed very practical advice. despite all of his success, this man wasn't arrogant...and he has every right to be. i think about some of the "food stars" out there and how a few of them prefer to trash talk for effect and phan...he doesn't do the "trash talk" thing....because....well, come on now....what does he have to prove? he doesn't have to prove anything. his vision and implementation of his restaurants has changed the way people view vietnamese food and cooking. i love that he doesn't "dumb down" certain dishes for white people. it makes me teary sometimes to see certain things on his menus that i had growing up. as a result, i loved figuring out the menu for my party at slanted door. his emphasis on fresh ingredients has influenced folks outside of vietnamese cooking. i admire him for this and was thrilled to know that if i met him at a random party (and didn't know who he was) i would still think he would be cool to talk to.

after the talk was over, folks headed over to the street food party.



now this is where the curmudgeon foodie hunter comes out. historically, when there is any street food event in the bay area, i come early so that i can avoid crowds. i'm not big on crowds. so i darted around, focusing more on taking shots than on grabbing food. interestingly enough, this was my first time experiencing some odd behavior from a photographer. i didn't really think about this the first time she did this, but i sure as hell noticed the second and third time. there was this wacky woman who would literally see watch me as i was taking a shot and then deliberately step in front of me to take the exact same shot....so that it would mar my shot and then turn around and smile at me.

she was just really weird.

thankfully, i am a lot more agile than she is and was able to do a lot more darting around to avoid this weird woman once i realized what was going on. once i lost that woman, i was able to get into my zone....





i've come to accept that i get into a zone when i am taking shots....



the heart sister took a picture of me taking pictures once and that was the first time i realized how serious i look when i am taking food-oriented pictures. i mean, i look really freakin serious....no wonder people look at me wondering what i am up to. these days, i just kind of accept it the scrutiny and am not bothered by it.

overall, i had a lovely time at the event. lovely enough that i'm actually going to and looking forward to a couple of non-foodie INFORUM events.

well, that's all from me for now....

many hugs-

me

bullseye

i am, above all things, a very analytical person.

i just did something that defies every logical instinct i have inside of me.

naturally, even when i knew i was going to do this very illogical thing, i still had to plan out how i was going to go about it and that planning took place during my break today, over (what else?) a bowl of hot chocolate at my local cafe. as i held the bowl between my hands,


i kept thinking....

"is this really such a good idea? i don't know about this....."

all the way through to the last sip.

i was rather amazed that when i returned to my office that i was able to concentrate and sift through various amounts of research until after 5:30pm when i felt like an internal alarm went off and my internal conversation went something along the lines of this.....it was a brain versus heart conversation:

"it is time."

"whaaaat? really? how about if we don't do this. we'd much rather read about emerging markets. we have no emotional investment in emerging markets."

"if you are going do to this, you should really just get it done."

"this could be extraordinarily painful."

"yes, it could be."

so i typed out this message (which i wrote out in my journal earlier) and while it was up on the screen, i had a difficult time sending it.

i decided to draw something instead.

because this is what it feels like.

it feels like i've drawn a bullseye on my heart and said "here. i'll make this really easy for you. why don't you hurt me today?" jez. maybe i should have a t-shirt made as a reminder of this whole experience. you know, it could be, cathartic or something.

vulnerability is not one of my strong suits.

yet, i did it anyway.

as i watched the "sending" message come up on my screen, i felt my heart twist and drop to my stomach. why did i do this to myself? not because i think this is fun. there are people out there who think this sort of shit is fun. i am not one of them. i have gone out of my way to avoid this sort of shit my entire life. yet, i did it because i wanted to make certain that i did everything i could, even at the risk of being completely annihilated and feeling like a fool.

well, i guess i'll find out.

SF Hearts the Cart Pics on Flickr...

just a quick posting to let you all know that i've posted my pics from the SF Hearts the Cart event put on by the commonwealth club. it was a panel discussion event (that included charles phan of the slanted door) followed by a party. if you are interested in seeing the pics, please feel free to visit here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foodiehunter/4056963979/

i'll probably blog about it later...... but i know that most of you just want to see the pics.

until later dear hearts,

me

chao babe...

nope. that isn't a typo in the heading...i'm not referring to the italian greeting (ciao)....i'm referring to the vietnamese rice porridge, chao. folks may also know this as congee or jook. there are many names for this rice porridge, yet i'm going to refer to it as chao. just as there are many names....there are many ways to make chao. yet, i'll share with you the most common way i had it when i was a neophyte foodie hunter.

this morning, i started out with some rice and a large clove of garlic.


when i was a neophyte, sometimes the chao would be made with a slice of ginger, some chopped yellow onion, sometimes with chicken broth, or sometimes it would just be rice and water. yet, making chao with the clove of garlic was the most common i had growing up and it is the one i turn to when i am looking for some serious comfort.

i put the rice and garlic in a pot with a whole lot of water (i filled it up about half way). yes, i realize that this isn't a recipe. yes, i know this is one of the more annoying things about my blog, but i'm providing you with a very realistic peek into how i cook. so i turned up the heat on high and let that sit at a rolling boil for a while....



then turned it down once i started to see the starch/rice really begin to break down....


and then had periodic taste tests to see if the texture of the chao was where i wanted it to be...






i like the texture to be really thick so that it thoroughly coats the tongue....and i also like that it when there is no toothiness to the rice at all.

then i turned my attention to the accompaniments.

these too, may vary depending on what i have in my fridge and pantry. so today, my accompaniments were chopped green onion, dried shrimp,

and a preserved cucumber pickle with a dollop of chili garlic paste.

the accompaniments are served on the side as one decides how much to add as you eat....


you know, you toss in a single or combination of your accompaniments ....



eat it.....then toss in some more.....

until you are done and then you decide if you want to go back for seconds.

i love eating like this....starting with a simple base and then adding the different textures and flavors. i also adore soup. soup makes me feel taken care of. comforted. a warm blanket for the soul.

just me and my little bowl of goodiness.

to mix things up a bit, i decided to have different accompaniments for my second bowl of chao. i decided to add a dash or two of nuoc mam, a half of a boiled egg....since i'm really loving this batch of pasture raised eggs from riverdog farm...and then topped it with some chili garlic paste.


this too was very lovely as well. hmmmm, this is just what i needed for brunch today.

an egg, greens, and purple basil....

nothing too deep, i promise....i think we all need a balance of light n' fluffy and brutal honesty. for now.....just wanted to share a few thoughts and details about my experimentation with purple basil this past weekend. one of the dishes i made consisted of a fried egg over greens with a sprinkling of purple basil here and there. this was not premeditated, i was experimenting with what i had in my fridge and often times, i'll cook a batch of greens to eat over a few days....adding them to stir fries, reheating to eat them "as is" or using them with a fried egg for what i think of as "breakfast greens".

so i grabbed some of the leftover braised greens that i had in the fridge and sprinkled some of the purple basil chiffionade that i just chopped up....


nuked it in the microwave while i was frying up an egg from riverdog farms (yes, where you get your eggs make a big difference...check out the lovely orange color of the egg from riverdog farm....they sell eggs from pasture raised chickens) in a whole lot of butter (yum....butter)...





then slid the egg on top of the reheated greens.....


and added yet another sprinkle of the purple basil chiffonade.


it was pretty good. it also made for some great foodie porn shots as well...

i'm not certain what it is about eggs....but they do make for some great foodie porn subjects.

btw....this is not the last of my purple basil postings....stay tuned for more.....i was pretty productive with my purple basil experimentation this past weekend.

friends, lovers, or nothin'

someone recently said to me, "i get worried when you get silent."

i cringed a bit internally when they said this to me. it is true. when i get silent, it usually isn't a good sign. it usually means 1) i am following my philosophy of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" or 2) i'm processing. most of the time, folks get worried a lot more about #2 than #1 actually.

i've been very silent on the subject of TUO (aka the unrequited one) recently.

this doesn't mean that things have changed, gone away, or anything like that. it just means that i've been processing outside of the blog. i recalled some of the recent processing about TUO that i've done while i was slicing up some potatoes for roasting.....

the careful slicing of the nubs seemed, somehow appropriate..... as the potatoes could be a stand in for portions of me. you know, here is a slice of feeling. here is a careful slice of practical analysis. here is a slice of my heart....careful slice after careful slice. yet, wanting to be careful of my fingers...because i don't want to bleed all over the place while thinking about a recent conversation with a loved one about TUO. a loved one recently asked me, "what is the deal with you and [name deleted aka TUO]?"

my response? "nothing".

"what do you mean nothing?"

"nothing. we aren't talking."

"this is someone who was one of your best friends....known for years....and nothing?"

"yup, nothing."

"you are ok with that?"

"no, but sometimes, this is the way things work out." i said very calmly at the time.

yet, later, i was feeling quite restless about it all....unable to really verbalize how i was feeling about it...and it is interesting how sometimes we unconsciously find things that help us...if we are open to it.

when the potatoes finished roasting, and i was taking pics [see top image] i was wondering if i would tell you dear hearts, the avenue/outlet that i have found myself for dealing with this ongoing restlessness i have about TUO. because, you see.....after that conversation with the loved one, i came across a song by john mayer called "friends, lovers, or nothing". the song hasn't come out yet. i came across it because i was trying to listen to the new "heartbreak warfare" song on youtube for the first time. when i saw a reference to a live video of mayer singing an unfinal version of "friends, lovers, or nothing"..... i was more intrigued by those words than what i was hearing on "heartbreak warfare" so i clicked on that link. i had never heard of the "friends, lovers, or nothing" song before and well....



talk about appropriate.

so what did i do that evening after i came across that song? i listened to the song over and over again while doing a sketch....

because you see dear hearts, i've turned to sketching to process about the loss of TUO in my life....because i'm finding that words are no longer enough....because i don't have the words ....and am at a loss to find the words....because it really is difficult to know that i what i wanted never to happen did happen. i have never missed any lover as much as i miss my friend. yet, with TUO and i, it isn't friends or lovers....it is nothing.

and that is just the way it is.

chocolate nibbles of heaven from the cheeseboard

for my break today, i decided to take a jaunt over to the cheeseboard to pick up a couple of things. although the bakery portion of the cheeseboard is a semi-regular haunt for the foodie hunter, i actually decided to deviate from just getting my typical brioche and/or cherry cornmeal scone. i decided to buy one of their chocolate cookies ($2). i'm not certain why i decided this. it was completely impulsive. there was something innocently innocuous about the spherical pillows of chocolate puffiness that said softly "buy me".....and my response was "hmmm, ok".

oh my goodness, i'm not certain why i waited such a long time (i.e., years) to try these chocolate cookies studded with chocolate chips. these are excellent. i took a bite and loved the immediate slight crispiness....


followed by soft rich chocolaty goody-goody-ness ...is that a word? i don't care, i'm nibbling on my cookie....my eyes darting around ensuring that no one is going to want to share it with me. this cookie makes me feel like a greedy glutton.

ummmmm. yum yum.... a happy greedy glutton that is.

cheeseboard collective, 1504 shattuck avenue, berkeley, ca., phone +1 510-549-3183, http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/index.html

purple basil vinegar

as i looked through my pictures i realize that i have quite a few posts worth about purple basil and thought, perhaps i would provide another quick post about the purple basil vinegar that i finished up this morning. you see, it all started last night when i grabbed a lot of leaves and muddled (see my purple lemonade post for my "muddling" inspiration) them with the liquid from a bottle of white wine vinegar. then i let it all sit overnight.

when i woke up this morning, this is what it looked like.



then all i did was strain out the leaves....


and then put it pour it back in the bottle.

voila! how easy was that!! now i have a lovely vinegar for potential salads, saute, or soups that may need a bit of brightening. i love things that are so easy and have potential for so many uses. this appeals to my foodie side as well as my ever present practical side.

purple basil lemonade for one

ummm. i think i went kind of crazy with the purple basil over the last couple of days. just wanted to warn you dear hearts, that you are probably going to see quite few postings over the next few days or so. i'll try to space them out a bit so you won't get super tired of my playing with purple basil in my kitchen.

yesterday, i was pretty excited about how easy, tasty, and beautiful purple basil lemonade turned out. i imagine that one could also add a bit of vodka (perhaps a citrus infused vodka) for a lovely cocktail as well. i had never a herb infused lemonade before (i'm rather surprised i haven't done this sooner) so i decided to start out small.....just in case it didn't turn out so well. i grabbed a few leaves from my bunch and put it into a mortar and pestle with some chilled water....about 8 oz.

i decided that i was going to "muddle" the leaves with the water. my inspiration for this are bartenders actually....and watching bartenders muddle mint leaves with liquids for various drinks including mojitos.


so i did a few turns and stomps my mortar and pestle, i didn't do this more than say, 5-8 times. as this was the first time, i was uncertain how strong i really wanted the purple basil to be. i drained the leaves through my lemon press (since i don't have small strainer on hand...hey, the foodie hunter uses what she has on hand)....


and then squeezed in some lemon and added a bit of agave.


then i added in a few small leaves for color....and put it into a stemless riedel glass.....

i think it turned out quite beautiful, refreshing and tasty. the basil flavor was there but it wasn't over powering....and basil and lemon seem to complement each other quite well. i think this would be an excellent addition to a brunch.... or anytime where you'd like to add a bit of refreshing color to the table. at the very least, this would be a conversation piece.

just made purple basil lemonade

okay, i'll blog more about how i made this (with more pics) later, but i'm so excited that i just had to post the above pic!!! my first attempt at making purple basil lemonade turned out really well! it is yummy!!

playing with purple basil: the beginning

it has been a nice productive morning thus far. i've been able to some needed cleaning, laundry, clearing a few things out of my closet, and managed to squeeze in some initial experimentation with purple basil. if you are wondering how the basil lasted this long (since i bought it at thursday berkeley farmers market)....well, i soaked the bunch in some cold water for a few hours last night which perked it right up. it is funny to see how that really does make a difference...perhaps some day i'll provide a photo shoot with the progression of submerging limp basil in cold water. anyway, my initial experimentation with the purple basil went well.

i actually started out this morning by putting some garlic cloves in olive oil in the oven. i figured that this would come in handy for some pastas or as a complement to some of my dishes over the next couple of days. i love things like this as it allows me to use the oil and the garlic for so many things! it is nice to have staples such as these on hand when throwing stuff together.

while that was cooking in the oven, i grabbed a few leaves from my bunch of purple basil...


then cut them in a chiffonade and set aside. then i grabbed a chunk of a baguette....


split it and then put the pieces into the oven to toast/warm the bread. while that was going on, i dug around in my fridge trying to figure out what would go....i have some heirloom tomatoes that i picked up from riverdog farm...which would likely go well with the basil...but decided to pass on them for the bread-oriented snack as i may be using the tomatoes with purple basil and eggs later today. no need to overdose on tomatoes today. so instead, i reached for the triple creme goat brie....



i had a feeling that his would go well with a drizzle of garlic oil and the basil.. by this point, i could smell the garlic in the oven, so i took it out...

see it still sizzling? hmmmm. it smelled so good. (btw, i took it out earlier than usual since i knew i was just going to let it sit in the sizzling oil for a while....which did turn it into a caramel color later. just wanted to let you know...). after i took the garlic out of the oven, i also took the warmed bread out of the oven as well...and proceeded to spoon some of the garlic oil on the toasty sections of bread....

then put some of the brie on each slice and sprinkled the chiffonade of purple basil on top.


all rather simple.

yet, pretty tasty. i think this is a good start with the purple basil.....don't you?

quick trip to the old oakland farmers' market

i took a quick trip out to the old oakland farmers' market today.


i really do love this market.


it gives me a chance to stock up on some herbs from this booth ...


that has no name listed like many of the purveyors at this market......


but she has fresh herbs used in vietnamese cuisine as well as other stuff....


i also stopped by to get chilies from xiong farms booth (which also doesn't have a sign and is right next to twin girl farms)....




i usually buy from xiong farms when i visit this market.



i noticed that jujubes were kinda scarce at the market today. i know that the season for getting them in the US is pretty short, but then again, i also wondered if more folks bought them up because of a recent article about them in the sf chronicle. i ended up grabbing some from twin girl farms.


last, but not the least, i also did my typical stop at scream sorbet. this time, i had the persimmon which was nice. the guy at the stand said that it will probably be more flavorful next time since persimmons are just starting to hit. sometimes, you gotta love the honesty of people about their products....


naturally, i still enjoyed it.


i also enjoyed just breathing in all of the herbs and produce i bought at the market....as the fragrances were wafting out of the bag while i was on my way home. ahhhh, it are moments like these that make me happy.

simple dinner break

i currently have my head into a research project (big shock) and sometimes, i just need to step away from the screen and from processing/analyzing the seemingly endless streams of data. sometimes i wonder if someone were to look at me while i am doing this, if they could hear the "hum" of my brain processor churning as i take in large amounts of data....identifying patterns, trends, and eventually, building a story for what is happening in the particular market. while i have had a bit of formal training in research from my days at university, there is something about research that "clicks" with me. many of you dear hearts, who knew me in those days (and borrowed my research) can attest to how my brain catgorizes information.

perhaps, this is why i am also drawn to aspects of life that are very distant from analyzing markets and feel a need to step away from it from time to time. i have a feeling that this is where the photography has come in as well as sketching. with both activities, i am in the moment and just living that one moment....right now...and am not figuring out how this is going to fit together later. for my break today, i decided to head down to the farmers market a bit early, about 15 min before "official opening time" and sit on the tiny grassy area and just watch folks for a while.


it was interesting to see the vendors hustle to set up and see the market begin to bustle. i also paid a visit to some of my usual stalls such as catalan family farm, happy boy farm, and of course, riverdog farms. i came away with a random bounty....




not having any plans for any of it. it was more about what appealed to me at that moment. i have a feeling you'll be seeing what i bought from the market for the next few days. as i carried my market bounty home, i decided to make myself a quick and early dinner before diving back into my most recent project. for my dinner, i decided grab some wild rice


(i usually cook a pot of grains such as wild rice, quinoa, or brown rice to last for a few days in the fridge...and in this case...it was wild rice), cook the lovely greens i bought from riverdog farm....




as well as scramble a couple of eggs from riverdog farm with chili flakes and nuoc mam.....




tres simple, non? yet, still lovely with all of the colors and textures.


it is also a way to ensure that i take care of myself despite odd hours and crazy projects. well, i speaking of odd hours and crazy projects...i suppose it is back to the research.

until later dear hearts.....