For the Love of Cookbooks!

I love cookbooks.  I have at least 40, not to mention the millions of cooking magazines I have lying around the house.  I don't subscribe to any cooking magazines because...well...I can't decide on one!  I also spend a lot of time searching for recipes on the internet.  From Polish Kolacz Weselny to Authentic Miso Soup, it's all there.  But, for some odd reason, I still can't stop buying cookbooks.  Maybe it's the pictures?  I love to have an idea of what my final product is actually supposed to look like.  Maybe it's how they're compiled by category (Baking, Chocolate, Italian)?  Or maybe it's how the chef intertwines their life story into the recipes they're sharing with me.  Food has a lot to do with memories, so when you use a recipe that has a history, it somehow tends to feel very special.  Whatever the reason, though, I love cookbooks.  So I just wanted to share a few of my personal favorites.

 A Homemade Life - by Molly Wizenberg
I received this book as a gift from a dear friend and fellow kitchen-dweller (SHOUT OUT: Jen!).  We love to cook together.  The day Julie & Julia came out on DVD, we started the oven and cooked up Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon and "Julie's" Tomato Bruschetta (this is the actual recipe from the movie), and then sat down to watch the movie together.
Anyway, back to A Homemade Life.  This reviewer summed it up best I think:

"In A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg recounts a life with the kitchen at its center. From her mother's pound cake, a staple of summer picnics during her childhood in Oklahoma, to the eggs she cooked for her father during the weeks before his death, food and memories are intimately entwined. You won't be able to decide whether to curl up and sink into the story or to head straight to the market to fill your basket with ingredients for Cider-Glazed Salmon and Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots."


This was the first cookbook to ever make me laugh and cry when I read it.  Highly recommended.  By the way, before she had a book she had a blog.  Find it here.




My French Kitchen - by Joanne Harris & Fran Warde  
Author of Chocolat.  Enough said?
Not only is it filled with delicious and authentic French recipes, the pictures are fabulous.  Think little-blond-boy-on-a-bicycle-carrying-French-bread and beautiful cottage gardens.  This was also a gift, from that same fabulous friend.  The day I got it, I couldn't put it down.  It has the best French Onion Soup recipe I've ever tried.  It also has an amazing Winter Sausage and Bean Soup recipe.


Lastly (for now), my new favorite:
Falling Cloudberries - by Tessa Kiros
I love the family tree at the beginning of the book.  It explains where her influences come from (her parents are from Cyprus and Finland). She also lived in South Africa as a child, and later married an Italian.  So you can just imagine the stories and the recipes.  Authentic and Amaaazing.  Before I decided to go on strike with meat, my favorite recipe was Leg of Lamb with Oregano and Lemon.  Yummmmmm... Great for entertaining.

Please share your favorite cookbook with me!

Unique Gift Idea

Recently, some friends of ours moved to China. Before they left I really wanted to give them a unique gift. Something personal. Something that would remind them of home. It needed to be small, of course, since they were packing their whole lives into 2 suitcases. This is what I came up with:

I bought mini ziplock bags (you can find them at Michael's in the jewelry/bead department) and filled them with different herbs and spices - Italian Seasoning, Herbs de Provence, Garam Masala, etc. Then I included a recipe in each bag to give them an idea of what to do with them. You can usually buy herbs and spices in bulk at places like Henry's for a much cheaper price. The organza bags and tags are also from Michael's.  My favorite turned out to be a bag of loose chai tea with a few cinnamon sticks in it.  Come to think of it, it would be fun to make a whole theme of gift bags with just loose teas!  You could use green tea, jasmine tea, chrysanthemum tea, black tea, passion fruit tea -- the options are endless!

I originally got the idea from this blog (I love this blog). I think the jars are so cute! You can find small jars and labels in the wedding section of Michael's too. Michael's is great.

Anyway, this turned out to be a pretty inexpensive, yet personal (and packable!), gift idea.

My version of Fried Rice

I wanted to use up the contents of my fridge today...

...wait, I'll go back a little further. In August of this year, 2010, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Since then, my in-laws have started on the Macrobiotic diet. To show my support, I became a vegetarian. Now, I know this is still miles from the macrobiotic diet, but I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a shot, and then maybe work my way into macrobiotics later. Anyway, I've been a vegetarian for about 2 months now (nothing to write home about, I know) and, surprisingly, I love it! I've tried it in the past, but I always caved because I craved meat. This time, not only do I not crave it, I feel incredible! My mind is clear, I have way more energy (something I shouldn't even have a problem with at 31), and I just feel happier in general.

So back to the fridge contents. Since becoming vegetarian, it's been so much easier to cook dinner. I just stuff my fridge with veggies and my pantry with beans, tomatoes, etc. and throw things together as I go. I've made soups, stews, stir-fries, and sautes, and I've enjoyed all of it. I'm not into fake meat products so none of my recipes will include the stuff, but feel free to add it as you see fit. My philosophy is: I will eat it as it was made to be eaten. If it's milk from a cow, drink milk from a cow. If you can't or don't want to, don't drink milk. If it's soy beans, then eat soybeans. Don't drink soy beans. Anyway, that's just me. I hate fake milk, although I'm trying to get used to almond milk in an attempt to fully convert to macrobiotics in the future (blah, it's just wrong!).

So back to my fridge contents. I pulled out zucchini, chinese eggplant, green onions, carrots, potatoes and leftover brown rice (all organic). I decided to ditch the potatoes and make:

Non-Traditional Veggie Fried Rice

4 Tbs vegetable oil, divided

1 egg, beaten

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 garden carrots (or 2 to 3 regular sized), sliced diagonally into 1/4" thick strips

2 zucchini, diced

2 chinese eggplant, diced

4 to 5 Cups cooked, refrigerated brown rice

4 Tbs soy sauce, divided

2 green onions, sliced thinly

fresh ground pepper, to taste

In a large saute pan over medium heat, add 1 Tbs. vegetable oil. Cook egg in oil until scrambled. Transfer egg to a plate. Turn heat to medium-high and add 1 Tbs. vegetable oil to pan, then add garlic and carrots and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add zucchini and eggplant and continue to saute for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until eggplant seems tender and zucchini is al dente. Transfer veggies to plate. Add remaining 2 Tbs vegetable oil, then add rice. Saute for 5 minutes. Then add 2 Tbs soy sauce and continue to stir gently, so as not to make the rice mushy. Return veggies and scrambled egg to rice pan, and stir to combine. Add remaining soy sauce, green onions, and a generous amount of pepper, and stir gently. This is more of a chunky fried rice, but I like it that way. It makes a good main dish.

Makes 4 to 5 main dish servings.

P.S. My future recipe posts will be much shorter...I think.

Introduction to a Half Breed

Which template to use...? Aw, forget it. Write now, design later!

So what am I writing about? To be honest, I have no idea....YET. But there are so many things I love (cooking, EATING, photography, my kitties, traveling), and there are so many things I'm working at (currently: home roasting coffee)

'Green beans'

'Roasted beans'

so I hope to use this blog as a sounding board - both to help me share what I love with you, and to get your feedback and hear your advice.

I grew up in a Japanese(mom)/American(dad) household, and I'm trying to learn Chinese, so this blog will most definitely include fun asian things like recipes, language blunders, cultural surprises, and links to where to buy asian goodies, locally and online. I'll try not to be too all-over-the-place, but I make no promises. That's how the mind of a half-breed works!

So. Let's begin!

p.s. Nice to meet you.