Boston Weirdness, Part III

The "face" of a tree trunk in Boston Common.

You know how people can use their imagination to see shapes or other things in clouds? I don't know about you, but I can't make anything out from this tree trunk.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is an American traditional that we've never adopted. I did, however, make Thanksgiving feasts on two ocassions. One was because my dad got a free turkey from the supermarket. Another was because my fiance's family was out of town, and he had to have turkey of course - so I had to carry on the tradition for him.

I think there is one primary reason why we're not into Thanksgiving meals: the bird. No one is particularly fond of turkey in our family, especially when dryness of the meat is difficult to avoid when a sizable bird is roasted in the oven. Imagine the horror on my face when my dad asked me to cook a ginormous 15 pound turkey!

The one thing I enjoy on Thanksgiving is pumpkin pie. I just like pumpkin...whether it be in ice cream from J.P. Licks or pancake. I find one thing very troublesome about pumpkin pie - you can actually buy one from the supermarket for lesss than what it costs to make at home. What is even more troublesome is that my fiance can't tell the difference between a homemade pumpkin pie versus a Sara Lee pumpkin pie from the freezer aisle. So unless if I'm making a non-traditional pie, I don't think I'll even bother making one.

Anyways, back to the bird...I hope yours is nice and moist this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Boston Weirdness, Part II

I saw this while passing by the MFA. I took two quick takes before I figured out that wasn't a real person.

Boston Weirdness, Part I

I've collected a small inventory of weird things I saw in Boston. This is the first of it.

I saw this while walking around South End. Nice use of the grill, don't you think? It could look charming in a backyard I think.

I've Been Dreaming of...

...the freshest seafood you'll ever have. Ever.

I'm probably enjoying it right now! If you're not jealous by now, you should be. :-)

There's this one section of Hong Kong where restaurants are all lined up next to endless seafood shops with tanks and tanks of swimming fish and shellfish in them. You pick the seafood, and they'll cook it for you.

Above, giant lobster and prawns from my last trip to Hong Kong 5 years ago

Happy Birthday My Love!

Sorry I'm not here to celebrate with you. :-( I hope you like my gift!

What I'm Probably Eating Right Now

Nope, not duck, but roast pork (to your left below).

Above, roast duck and pork from my Hong Kong trip 5 years ago

That's right, I'm breaking the "I don't eat anything with four legs rule." This is only because I grew up with roast pork from Hong Kong, and you really don't know what you're missing until it's gone. I am serious when I tell you that roast pork from Hong Kong is 110% better than that from the States. The aroma...the taste...everything!

If you can't get to HK, you can make your own roast pork at home, which I prefer than buying them from restaurants in the States.

Guess Where I Am?

I am home "home"!!! I'll be gone for a while, but I made sure to leave you some posts (not daily like usual of course) when I'm gone just in case if you miss me. I'll be back soon with lots of food filled posts!

Above, my photo of Hong Kong from 5 years ago

How to Keep Your Greens Fresh

No, I'm not talking about Food Saver. It's a more economical way. My mom uses this to keep her greens green. I've tried this method and it actually keeps your greens good for weeks. So what I do is that when I come home with veggies from the supermarket, I wrap them tightly in paper towels, then seal them up in ziploc bags and toss them into the fridge. Moisture is veggies' worst enemy, so the paper towel helps to soak them up from the veggies.

I found that this works very well for salad, lettuce, and parsley. The best result I've seen was parsley - I used this method on a bunch of parsley about two and a half weeks ago at my fiance's - they're still good!

Healthy Fries

I love fries, be it McDonald's, Belgian from Pommes Frites, potato wedges from KFC...

I know they're not the healthiest things on earth, so I don't indulge in fries often. When I need to satisfy my craving for fries at home, I make oven fries. They come out somewhat similar to real fries - crispy on the outside and soft inside. They're great because not only do you feel better eating those, but also you can add whatever seasonings you want. Sometimes I add rosemary; other times I add paprika or parsley. I have been eating my fries with turkey burgers.


Oven Fries with Paprika
serves 2

3 Russett potatoes
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut the potatoes into thick wedges - the best way to do this is to half the potato length-wise, then cut again into half or thirds, depending on the size of the potato.

Toss the potato wedges with the rest of the ingredients on a baking sheet. Bake for roughly 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes half way through. Sprinkle with a bit more salt after they're out of the oven.

An Alternative to Maple Syrup

I like maple syrup, but I also like honey. When I don't have maple syrup on hand for pancakes or when I don't feel like having the same ol'maple syrup, I use honey. No, I don't just pour honey all over my pancakes. I usually add some orange juice to thin it out. It adds freshness, a nice different kind of sweetness and tang.

Trust me, it's good!

Pancakes for Special Occasions

Yesterday, we celebrated my fiance's birthday early because I won't be around on the actual day. To start his birthday right, I made him Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast. I usually make my pancakes from scratch, but I had a box of Aunt Jamima that I wanted to use up, so I jazzed it up a bit. It turned out great!



For pancakes enough for two people, follow directions from the box and add the following:

1/4C pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
zest from 1/2 an orange
zest from 1/2 a lemon

Also, add a bit more milk to loosen up the batter because addition of the pumpkin puree results in a batter that's a bit more dense. If you think adding the pumpkin may weigh down the pancakes, don't worry - they still come out fluffy. For an extra special touch, add some dried cranberries into the batter. Unfortunately, I didn't have any on hand, so I made the pancakes without them.

Martha On Demand

My fiance just switched his cable provider, and in a very happy surprise, he got Martha Stewart On Demand! Some of the episodes are pretty old, but I'm sure they were selected based on their content and relevance. They're neatly separated into Wedding, Crafts, Food, etc. Now I can watch Martha any time!

Prune

In the past two years, I started a habit of writing down exactly what I eat at restaurants and what my thoughts were of my meals. It's working pretty well so far, given that I am extremely forgetful. If I were ever to return to any restaurants I've been to, I will be very well prepared on what to order and what to avoid.

Anyways, I went to Prune earlier this year for my belated birthday dinner. Usually, my fiance and I would pick very nice restaurants to go to for our birthdays, but given our current lack of income, we have gone a notch down to lessen the blow to our wallets. However, Prune wasn't as wallet friendly as I had expected, but it was very good (and satisfying too - portions were generous). What's more is that I'll always remember this restaurant as the place I fell in love with monkfish liver.

Prune is known for their brunch. We tried to get in for brunch once, but it was just impossible. So I was happy to get in for dinner. The restaurant had a French feel...casual and minimal decor with a mirror running through the room. The tables were elbow to elbow in Prune, but I didn't mind much because the food was good.

We had some complimentary fried chickpeas to start. I've never had that before, so it was very interesting. I got a glass of Riesling and it went perfectly with everything I had - monkfish liver, fried oysters and mussels. Below is a breakdown of what I had and my thoughts in detail:

• Monkfish Liver - I saw a review of this dish on Colameco's Food Show's (originally called The Food Dude) and just had to try it. Monkfish liver is also sometimes called "foie gras of the sea." I asked our server what it tastes like, and she said "fresh like the sea." It was served with toast on the side. While I liked the liver, which was sweet, creamy and fresh, the toast was a bit too oily and buttered for my taste.

• Fried Oysters - Flavorful and best I've had so far.
  

• Mussels in Almond Sauce - The meat was plump, and the sauce was rich. It was served with a slice of toasted bread, which was covered with a thick tasty layer of almond butter (but was too much butter for my taste).
  

Overall, Prune has a very inventive approach that obviously works. Although I was worried at first of their menu that was dominated by meat (I don't eat anything with four legs), the seafood I had from the restaurant well exceeded my expectations.

For Bacon Lovers

I know I have said many times that I don't eat anything with four legs, but I've been known to make exceptions sometimes with specific types of bacon. I swear though that I'm not a bacon lover! But for those of you who are bacon lovers, the following products are must haves in your medicine cabinet:

Bacon flavored dental floss - going to bed with the refreshing minty taste is so yesterday...why not go to bed with the savory smoky bacon flavor in your mouth?

Above image from Urban Outfitters

Bacon bandage - have you ever thought of wrapping yourself in bacon? Now you can!

Above image from Fred Flare

Technical Difficulty

In case if you haven't noticed, I haven't been blogging lately. I'm happy to announce that the technical difficulty I've been having has been fixed! I'll start blogging again tomorrow.