Michael's blog

Born in 1920's

2011-02-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

This past Monday was my uncle’s dad’s 90^th birthday. I am pretty sure ninety is a big milestone in any culture, but in Asian more specifically Chinese culture we celebrate through a gathering of people and dinner (maybe a little show on the side). Dinner was set at a private room in a Cantonese restaurant on Gravey and Atlantic. There was a collection of people from family members to close friends. Although I am related via marriage through my aunt, we are very close to my uncle’s side of the family and they got a BIG family. I mean on my mom side there are six aunts and one uncle but my uncle is one of eleven and one of the eleven has seven kids. When we were kids I always felt bad for my cousin, Johanna because she had to memorize hundreds of names and faces at every family event but she likes the attention so it turned out well for her.

Being at the event I got reminded a bit of my childhood and made me realize just how old I have become now. In Asian cultured your always taught to give the up most respect to your elders so we always celebrated Johanna’s grandparents birthday and there’s always get together on the holidays like Christmas and thanksgiving. More importantly as a kid I was living with Johanna’s family and frequented these festivities, but once I went to college and moved back living with my mom I totally forgot about these Wei clan events.

So Monday gave me a jolt back to my childhood and watching the little grandkids now reminds me when I was in their shoes. Time fly’s and part of me wonders when I get older will my life be like this? Will I be too Americanized to have long life peaches? What will my family be like? These can only be answered through time. Everyone seemed so happy, and its rare AND difficult to get everyone together at one place. I don’t know why I am blogging about this, but as much as we fight with our family members at the end of the day, bloods thicker than water and family’s all we got.

Can EX's be friends

2011-02-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has had a girlfriend or a significant other know what it is like sharing their lives together, but what happens when the relationship sours and the two of you are no longer together? Depending on what caused the break up people react different. Usually if someone cheated or the relationship got ugly, people don't want to stay in contact. From personal experience I found that to be the easiest for a clean break up. You go on with your separate lives never having to see each other ever again, but the con of that scenario are all those lost memories of time spent with that person, all the good and bad times but that could be a good thing(depending on how good you were towards the other person).

On the other hand if it was a mutual drama free break up people are more open to staying together as friends. I was never one for staying as friends because those feelings whether your together or not, are still there. You still have reactions left over from the relationship, maybe still a little possessive and just little thing that have to change from BF and GF to friends. Now that being said I tried it and didn't work out too well for various reasons. She wanted to be good friends not just friends but I felt being taken advantage of and she thought I was annoying. Eventually it snowballed into a string a fights and now we are no longer speaking. Doesn't matter friend, ex lovers, what ever label you want to put it there are going to be jealousy problems. I was perhaps a little too into her private life, that what mean that its hard going from BF and GF to friends, because while you were in the relationship you told each other everything and now there are issues that are the elephants in the room you and to talk about them but you know it might be awkward. A bit of topic here but I am a cancer so I am naturally shy at first but once you get to know me and I get comfortable with you I open up alot. People who I am comfortable with I am a very straight with them and I don't beat around the bush, so naturally I asked her some question that I thought was ok.....not smart... but we were good enough friends to talk about, perhaps to draw the line that we are friends and no longer together. The question being has she hooked up with anyone since we broke up? and this was 4-5 months since we broke up. She didn't want to answer and from that it went from a small question into a big problem because I was very open to her and if it was vice versa I would have answered without a second thought. Now I know it might seem like I was not over her but thats not the case. Its difficult seeing the other person happy regardless if your over the relationship or not. People want to WIN the break(reference to How I Met Your Mother)so jealous is going to occur not because of feeling for the person but your own personal insecurities. Now back to the situation, so I felt like as good friends I wouldn't keep anything from you and you shouldn't keep anything from me. I thought that would be fair since I was honest and open with her. She felt it was none of my business which is true but i was treating her like one of my good friends. It wasn't that she possibly hooked up with someone but how she went around and not answering the question, thats what really ticked me off. Every case has it complications, someone always gets hurt one way or another. which is a reason why EX's as friends is not a good idea.

I could go on for pages on this topic but to close it up, its hard enough for guys and girls to be friends(thats a whole other topic for another time) But as EX's I think its possible to be friends but not good friends. Of course I am generalizing here there're always exceptions, some cases it does work but I think people are better of being just surface level friends, maybe FB friends but thats about it. Even if it works out then when you move on to your next relationship what happens? Your new love is going to have problems that your so close to your EX and then your in a tough position between your new relationship and you old one. After dating a while we know how to push each other buttons and sometimes don't give the other person the respect they deserve because we know we can get away with it. If you insist on becoming friends please respect each other, there are already so many problems in life you don't want to go out creating more. Although its hard throwing away all those memories, the truth is your cling on the past and having a hard time letting go. I would love for comments and your opinions, maybe some stories as well, take care!

New Page

2011-01-31T23:24:00.000-08:00

So this blog was created because of a class I had in college. Actually it was two classes, both by David Silver, awesome teacher btw but most ppl at USF know that already. Time to get to the point of this post, due to recent events thats has occurred in my life, I will be transforming this blog into a personal outlet. I will be talking about sports, college, relationships, whatever that comes to mind. I appreciate any follower that actually care for my opinion, and feel free the comment and share your thoughts as well in the comments.

Food and Culture

2010-05-07T22:48:00.001-07:00

Dumpling / Jiǎozi 餃子

My Background

For those who don’t know my ethic background, I am full Chinese. My mother is from northeastern china and was raised in South Korea. My dad is from Taiwan but his family originated from northern China as well. Both my parents’ families are from Shan Dong, (on a side note) which is where Confucius is from. In Chinese culture food is an essential part of where you’re from. Because geographically, China is so large that different regions are known for their different dishes and cuisine styles. This is kind of like barbequing in America, where Texan specializes in a dry rub with no sauce, North Carolina has vinegar-based sauces, and Memphis generally uses a sweeter sauce base. Chinese food is too broad of a category, so first I am going to separated it into two categories: rice and flour. Then flour, which makes up your noodles, dumplings, and buns, can be further divided into two sections, raised and not raised. Southern China is generally known, as rice eaters while northern china prefer their flour-based foods.

As I was doing my research I have found that every culture has its version of the dumpling. The Polish have their pirogues and the Italians got the raviolis. I am not going to argue who copied the idea or which dish came first but Chinese dumplings go as far back as China’s history. The dumpling or Jiǎozi has an exterior of thinly rolled dough; the inside is filled with ground meat and vegetables. The combinations are endless, it can be filled with fish, eggs, chives, anything to the hearts desire. Dumplings can be enjoyed any time of the year but what separates Chinese dumplings from other cultures are that Chinese dumplings are a necessity during Chinese New Year and has special meaning to the people that eat them.

Chinese New Year

Before this gets into dumplings, I must explain Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar. It usually occurs between late January and mid February. When it comes to Chinese culture, everything symbolizes something, from the food you eat to the clothes you wear. To understand the importance of Chinese New Year, in my opinion the equivalent American holiday would be Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year combined together. It combines the food aspect of Thanksgiving with the mentality of New Year sprinkled with the spirituality of Christmas.

Celebrating Chinese New Year is as old as documentation goes, which is about five thousand years. Going as far back as I can remember we always celebrated Chinese New Year. There are many versions of the origins of Chinese New Year but a book titled Chinese New Year by Alice Flanagan, explains a common version. “…people painted the doors of their houses red. They built fires and set off firecrackers until the beast ran away.” (Flanagan) The beast is called Nian, which in Chinese is translated to year. To sum up the story the beast would terrorize the farmers every year until the farmers found the beast’s weakness. Nian was scared of loud noises and the color red, thus why people set off firecrackers and color/dress everything in red during Chinese New Year. That’s a cute story but you might be wondering how food gets incorporated into this tradition. Well, before communist China, the majority of the populations were farmers. Not only were they farmers but their fathers were farmers, and so were their grandfathers and so on so forth. “Farmers started the holiday in China to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring.” (Flanagan) In essence Chinese New Year was an indication to plant your spring crops. This marked a new year because you survived another winter. This meant a new beginning and hopefully the coming year will be just as good if not better.

Every New Year begins with cleaning. There is a saying in Chinese that falls somewhere along the lines of “if you don’t get rid of the old, the new will never come.” So you clean everything and literally sweep the dust out your front door. You dress in new clothes, which represents a new start. You want to bring good fortune to your family and have the sprits in your favor so that in the future when the new clothes get old, you will able to get newer ones. Now, before you eat a single bite of your food, you are to pay homage to all your ancestors. Culturally, Chinese people are very family oriented and the family name is very important, almost more important than anything else. Explained to me by my mother and participating in the ritual my whole life, you first set out empty seats with food, fruits and alcohol. These foods are top quality, because you don’t want to offend the dead by serving them anything that you wouldn’t want to eat yourself. You don’t want to offend the spirits or they will haunt you. The table setting is usually by a window or some type of opening for the sprits to gain access. Empty bowls of uncooked rice are set at each spot and the family members are to light incense and say a prayer that invite the spirits to enjoy the food and watch over the family. Then, incense is stabbed into the bowl of rice. This is also why it’s very rude to stab your chopsticks vertically into your rice bowl. Now the living members of the family may eat. This process is a way of bringing the past to the present. So it’s not just eating with your uncle Steve, but also with the members of your family that have passed to the other side, like your grandma or your great-great grandfather. Everyone that is in your family tree comes together to enjoy a meal together. Dinner is always enjoyed at (or just before) midnight on New Years Eve and it’s a northern Chinese tradition to eat dumplings.

Red envelopes, which are stuffed with money, are distributed upon greeting but sometimes it’s done after dinner. Elders and people who are married are to prepare red envelopes for single members of the family and people who are younger. The amount varies but people like to give amounts involving the number “eight” because in Chinese, it rhymes with the word for “striking it rich”.

Food

Before I get into the symbols and meanings behind dumplings, I want to explain that all foods have meaning in Chinese culture. When they are eaten on Chinese New Year, you bet there’s a story behind it or at least a supposed perk. Two examples of these symbol-ridden foods I can give are noodles and fish. For the northern Chinese people it is customary to eat noodles on your birthday. Noodles (Chang Shou Mien, or Long Life Noodle) can be consumed during Chinese New Years as well but it is not a crucial dish. “Long noodle is the symbol of longevity in China, so that youngsters or seniors all will have a bowl of Long Life Noodle to expect a healthy life.” (Chinese food and culture) Fish, on the other hand, is a must have on the dinner table. “Fish is always served to symbolize prosperity and wealth accumulation in the New Year's Eve.” (Chinese food and culture) In Chinese, fish and “having extra” (as in prosperity) are homophones. There’s a Chinese proverb, “prosper every year” (nian nian you yu) that sounds like (and thus interpreted as) “fish every year” (also nian nian you yu). Therefore, when you are eating the fish, you are eating your prosperity for the coming year. If you don’t eat it, then you might have a difficult time ahead of you or other people might steal your luck.

Dumplings

Finally we are going to dive into the topic of dumplings. As stated earlier, dumplings are versatile; they can be filled with anything imaginable. However, when it comes to Chinese New Year, dumplings are traditionally served with pork. There are a couple of methods to cook dumplings. You can boil, steam or pan-fry them (although pan frying is commonly used for heating up left over dumplings). In the north, the dumplings are boiled and the water used to boil the dumplings makes a dumpling soup to be enjoyed after the main meal. The dumpling soup doesn’t have much taste; it’s primarily just flour water. It is not quite a dessert (that is served also) but more for cleansing the digestive tract, like how tea is served after meals sometimes.

My mother explained to me that dumplings represent yuanbao, which were gold or silver nuggets that are a half moon shape or boat shaped. “A yuanbao is a small metal ingot that was used in ancient China as money. Being made out of silver or gold, the value was determined by weight in taels, which is a weight measurement, part of the Chinese system of weights and currency.“ (Chinese Customs) Therefore, part of the cultural belief in eating dumpling is to bring good luck and fortune to you for the coming year, just like eating fish. This, of course, is one of many myths regarding the origins of dumplings. Another common myth relates dumplings to a medical story in ancient China. Once upon a time, during a particularly difficult and cold winter, there was widespread poverty and disease. Many villagers were severely frostbitten due to lack of warm clothing or adequate shelter. Their ears were exposed and were rotting and falling off. A healer/doctor created a remedy under the commission of the local officials and distributed Chinese herbal medicines wrapped with meat and cooked in soup.

Recipe

Here is a recipe if you want to make them yourself. This version is a bit different in that they steam instead of boil the dumplings and substitute the Chinese cabbage for chives: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pork-dumplings/detail.aspx.

The skin is sold at any regular Chinese supermarket, but if you want to make your own, it’s simply a mixture of water and flour. Here is a video of an Asian mother working the dough and making the skins. For vegetarian dumplings, a common recipe for the filling uses chives and fried eggs (sometimes also chopped up vermicelli or mushrooms). Today, there are restaurants in northern China that specializes in dumplings (with names such as “Jiao Zi Wang, or Dumpling King) with a full menu of different types of fillings to cater to modern tastes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOXWSMlSq98

Relating it back to me:

The foods that we eat are a good indication of the culture and geographical region that you and your family came from. The Chinese culture instills values that are passed from parent to child. Every dish has a myth or story behind it. Although I have lived in America for most of my life, I have spent some time in Asia. Going to school in Taiwan from second to fourth grade showed the practices of the culture first hand. Instead of watching just my family participating in Chinese traditions, I see whole cities celebrating the occasion. Dumplings are a delicious food item but it has tons and meaning and a rich history. I don’t want to become someone who doesn’t know his or her own culture. These stories and traditions will be passed onto my kids, and their kids for generations to come. Through the ages some of the meaning is lost and not everything will be passed on, but as long as the core and spirit is there, that is what’s important. In America there seems to be a need to identify yourself, even at a young age: the class clown, the popular kid or the weirdo. Because America is a melting pot of cultures, people hold on to their roots to give a sense of identity and past. For example, in The Meaning of Food by Patricia Harris, David Lyon and Sue Mclaughlin, the Makah people were a community centered on whale hunting. After hunting whales to near extinction, the Makah decided to give up whale hunting. When the grey whale rebounded back to healthy numbers in the 1990’s, generations of Makah people have lived without ever hunting a whale. While the traditions were kept in song and dance, there was no one with first hand experience of hunting whales. However, the Makah still set out to hunt their first whale in seventy years. “Whale meat connects us with our grandparents and our great-grandparents” says Bowechop. “It’s not just about food and it’s not just about spiritual strength and it’s not just about culture. It’s really about the connection of all of those.” (Harris) I agree with Bowechop. Participating in these traditions is something bigger than you and I. To eat dumplings that your grandfather and ancestors had is neat. Knowing that at the some point in their lives, though the setting might be different, you all enjoyed the same dumpling over time is a remarkable concept.

Work Cited

3, Feb. "History of Chinese Dumplings - Search." Google. Web. 01 May 2010. .

"Chinese Culture." Telephone interview. 21 Apr. 2010.

"Chinese Food Culture: Chopsticks, Table Manners, Food Symbolism." China Tours,China Tour Package,China Tour Company, Small Group, Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin. Web. 07 May 2010. .

Harris, Patricia, David Lyon, and Sue McLaughlin. "The Meaning of Food." PBS: 61-105. Print.

"History of Chinese New Year." TheHolidaySpot: Holidays and Festivals Celebrations, Greeting Cards, Activities, Crafts, Recipes Wallpapers, and More. Web. 03 May 2010. .

"YouTube - How to Make Dumplings!" How to Make Dumplings. Web. 01 May 2010. .

"Yuanbao, Ingot, Good Luck Coins - Chinese Customs." Nations Online Project :: A Destination Guide to Countries and Nations of the World. Web. 01 May 2010. .

Lunch from the garden

2010-04-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

Marco and I decided to make Portobello mushroom sandwiches for our lunch project.

First we started out with homemade rosemary bread. I followed the same steps as the previous blog post but added in rosemary while keening the dough.

Marco went to the farmers market on Wednesday and picked up some Portobello mushrooms. They were marinated over night and roasted Friday morning.

We collected a wide selection of lettuces from the garden as well as some arugula from our plot and green onions Thursday afternoon.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

- Large Portobello mushrooms

- Olive Oil

- Balsamic Vinegar

- Mixed lettuces, arugula and green onion

Directions:

Wash the mushrooms and cut off the stem. Cut the cap of the mushroom into 5 to 6 long slices. Coat in olive oil and balsamic vinegar ( 2 parts olive oil, 1 part vinegar). Toss mushrooms around in the oil and vinegar to coat evenly. Let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Roast the mushrooms in oven at 350 F for 6 to 7 minutes. You want the mushrooms to have a soft tender consistency. This can be checked by poking a fork through the mushroom, if the fork can penetrate the mushroom easily, then it's ready.

Place the roasted mushroom on toasted bread. Top with lettuce and arugula mix. Drizzle with olive oil. Can be served hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Stir fry from the garden

2010-02-28T01:55:00.000-08:00

I made a stir fry with the chard I got from the garden. It was the first time I had chard and I must say it tasted better than I thought it would be. There was onions, chicken and red bell pepper.

Not much was added except olive oil, garlic and soy sauce.

I ate it with steamed rice and some garlic bread.

Bread Noobie

2010-02-28T01:35:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I made bread from scratch. It was my first and second time making bread, I made two loafs. To state you need the basic ingredients:

Flour

Dry Yeast

Salt

Honey, can use sugar instead

Some eggs.

For fancier breads you can add herbs or other ingredients.

For normal white bread you must activate the yeast in ¼ cup of warm water and a teaspoon of honey or sugar. My first attempt of making bread I did wait, and the recipe I followed stated I needed more flour. I panicked so I added more water. DON’T PANIC because I added extra water the bread in the end tasted dry and very much like there was too much flour, so for the first timers out there just be calm and follow the recipe through.

Once the yeast is activated add a teaspoon of salt and slowly add ¼ cup of flour at a time. Mix well until the mixture is not sticky but not dry. There should still be some dampness to the dough. During this step you may add an egg if you like.

Now move the dough to the smooth counter top. Spread some flour on the counter so the bread doesn’t stick. Knead the dough for a good 10-15 minutes. Kneading for those that don’t know is simply flatting the dough to an oval shape, fold it towards you and then using the palm of you hand push the dough away from you. Once you have done that rotate it and repeat. The next step is to simply let is sit in a bowl for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Now that you have finished waiting you should preheat the oven. I did mine at 350 but you should double check for yours. The first attempt I did 375 for about 45 minutes, the bread was a bit burned on the bottom and a bit undone in the center so I adjusted it to 350 for about an hour the second time.

Deflate the dough, and while the oven is preheating knead the dough until the oven is ready. Place the dough in the oven. You can check if it is done by knocking on the bread, it should make a hallow sound.

Hold on before enjoying the fruits of your labor, set the bread on a cooling rack until it is cool on the outside, a cool is rack would be nice but if that’s not available try putting it an upside down plate or bowl so there’s the least amount of surface touching the bread.

The last step…you eat it .

Project Management

2010-02-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

The first and second week of my internship I worked on evacuation maps and object specifications. So far it seems similar to studio, since both the maps and specifications start out with documentation. I had to make evacuation maps for Fromm hall. The object specifications were to create a folder that contained all dimensions of exterior objects on campus such as benches, poles and bike racks. So far it’s not too slow not too fast. There’s always something to do, scanning documents, looking up drawings, inspecting on of works in progress.

Corn Beef Hash

2010-02-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

Corn beef hash is a simple recipe that requires

· 2 lbs of corn beef
· 1 large onion of your choice
· 7-9 medium potatoes

You can add more ingredients to your liking such as bell peppers, spinach eggs and etc.

There’s a variety of ways, which you can make the corn beef. You buy it in a can from the market or make it yourself.

To make it yourself you need a pot that big enough for the corn beef and be able to fill it with water. Corn beef is brisket so naturally its very fatty so you want to render down some of the fat. Once it’s in the pot and you have added the pickling spice which consistes of

2 cinnamon sticks, broken  
1 tablespoon mustard seeds  
2 teaspoons black peppercorns  
1 teaspoon whole cloves  
1 teaspoon whole allspice  
1 teaspoon juniper berries  
1 teaspoon crumbled whole mace  
1 teaspoon dill seeds  
4 dried bay leaves  
1 small piece dried ginger

Bring the water to a boil then bring the heat down a low simmer, there should be bubbling but very small ones. Let it simmer for about 2 hours and a half. The longer it cooks the more tender it will become, but the meat must always be covered with water.

Corn beef hash is good for left over corn beef from the night before since it takes so long to cook. Once the meat is done boil another pot of water. Quarter the potatoes and boil them for a good 15mins. They should not be completely cooked since we will finish them on a skillet.

Local food

2009-05-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

This week for ESF we had to document cooking a meal using local foods. I wanted to do something simple because I get out of work at 5pm. After a little research I found this page http://www.localfoodswheel.com/local_foods.html it lists all the local foods and what is seasonal. I some how decided on salmon, penne with arugula, chives and pine nuts. It tasted nothing like I thought I would, not in a good way. Maybe it was the busy week but some how I forgot to double check where my ingredients are from, I naturally assumed Trader Joe’s is local, but I realized it wasn’t when Chris pointed it out. Growing up in the city of Arcadia, which is right next to Monrovia, I have always considered food from Trader Joe’s to be local. So essential I cooked a seasonal dish that’s California grown.

1 pound skinless salmon fillet

8 ounces penne

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

kosher salt

3 cups arugula

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1 Baked the salmon on 375 for about 25 mins

2. While cooking the pasta, in a large skillet, toast the pine nuts over low heat until golden, 3 minutes; transfer to a bowl.

3. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the penne, salmon, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and cook until heated through, 2 minutes. Stir in the arugula and chives.

Everyone’s dishes looked amazing. It was great getting to know all of you. Have a great summer.

2009-05-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

May 6^th marked ESF’s last field trip. Time went by so fast. We enjoyed our last meal together at Zazie’s, a nice little French bistro in Cole valley. It was my first time in Cole valley. The walk there was interesting, having been in the city for three years yet there are still place unexplored. After a nice pre game and discussion with Jessica, Jessie and Silver we were late for dinner. After hearing so much about Zazie’s during the school year I finally get to see what all the hype is about. Our group of 17 sat at a long table right underneath the light well. It is a small space but it has excellent lighting. I am surprised how little the space the chiefs have to work with. Looking at the menu, I wanted the fish soup provencale. It contained snapper, mussels, salmon, swiss & rouille, what’s not to like? Ok so maybe I don’t know what rouille is but I ate all of it. So according to wikipeida rouille is a sauce that consists of olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron and chili peppers. It is often garnished with fish or soup and it was spread on my croutons. Most often rouille is used in cuisine in the Provence which is south east tip of France. I enjoyed the soup a lot; it was some kind of squash base. The seafood was very fresh you can taste the quality and went nicely with the swiss and croutons.

Then we headed to the golden arches, I was torn between fries and ice cream but I ultimately decided on a caramel sundae. Ok so we all know MacDonald’s ice cream doesn’t have the texture of ice cream, is it because it’s made out of powder or is it even made out of dairy? So out of curiosity and lack of desire to start on my final paper I looked up the ingredients that went into making a sundae.:

Sundae, Caramel SUNDAE MIX: Milk, Concentrated Skim Milk, Sugar, Cream, Glucose (from wheat, contains preservative sulphur dioxide), Emulsifiers (433, 471 -contains soy oil), Vegetable Gums (407, 407a, 412, 466), Colou (160b), Flavour.

HOT CARAMEL TOPPING: Glucose Syrup (contains Sulphite), Sugar, Water, Skim Milk Powder, Butter,

Whole Milk Powder, Flavour, Acidity Regulators (339,270), Salt, Stabiliser (440).

Contains milk and soy; traces of gluten and sulphites.

Can barely reconcize half the ingredients but it seem like there no corn, well at least no obvious form which is surprising.

The morning before the field trip I had class in the Koret. There was a banquet being set up in the meeting room as I walked through I was tempted to get a cup of coffee but it didn’t feel right so I got a cup of water. As I was drinking this cup of water I noticed a green stripe at the base of the cup and to my delight it read MADE FROM CORN. Which means the cup that holds my sundae was probably made from corn. Who thought food could be so versatile, you can eat it, your food can eat it and it can hold your food too at the same time, amazing. After reading Michael Pollens book Omnivores Dilemma, I have whole different out look on food and think more about where did it come from as appose to what I am going to do with it.

Chinatown

2009-04-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

In the small city of San Francisco, Chinatown holds a valuable locations. Its next to downtown, North Beach, The Pier and its a skip and a hop away from the Mission and Castro.

There are actually two chinatowns in San Francisco, the one downtown is considered "Old Chinatown" and Clement St. is considered "New Chinatown" Generally "Old Chinatown" is an older generation, the first wave of chinese immigrants settling there. New Chinatown is a melting pot of Asian culture, not just Chinese but there's , Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Burmese. Settler were a later generation compared to the settler of Old Chinatown. They were attracted to the low rent in the Richmond district.

Dim sum is from the southern part of China, mainly the province of Canton and its neighbors. Old Chinatown is comprised of mostly Cantonese chinese which is why Dim Sum is so popular. Dim Sum means snack in chinese. According to Wikipedia it mean touch heart but that is a direct translation. Thats why the dishes are small and divided up into many pieces. Dim sum is traditionally a social event. Aunts, uncles and grandparents will all out out to eat with the whole family, have tea and talk about anything, thats why dim sum restaurants are always so loud. Tea is the main part of dim sum, the whole point is to drink tea while you ingest food. Tea help digestion and wash down the greasy food.

The way the food is priced is that all the dishes are separated into 3 categories, small, medium and large. So if you order pork dumplings thats a medium order, the woman pushing the cart will stamp your ticket with a medium stamp. When its time to pay they calculate all the stamps.

Now I know many people at my table tried new things on Saturday. I will try to explain some of the dishes.

First off the Chicken feet.

The dish is called Phoenix claw

Phoenix claw is cooked for a very long time, this is how the meat turns from skin tight to fall off the bone.

I here are the ingredients and how to make it.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken feet

• 2 quarts oil

• 2 quarts water

• 1 ounce fresh ginger

• 3 pieces star anise

• 2 ounces chinese parsley roots

• 2 ounces maltose sugar

MARINADE

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon sake

• 1 ounce chopped chili pepper

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

• 1 tablespoon black bean sauce

• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Directions

1.
Wash feet, chop off toenails and cut into quarters.

2.
Heat oil to 350 degrees. Mix chicken feet with maltose and fry until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Remove and drain.

3.
Boil water and add ginger, star anise and parsley roots. Add feet. Bring to boil again, then reduce heat and simmer 90 minutes. Drain.

4.
Combine marinade ingredients. Marinate feet 24 hours. Before serving, steam feet, marinade 15 minutes. Serves 3.

Thanks to www.recipezaar.com

The cow stomach is translated as cow scraps in Chinese.

the dish consists of cow stomach, white turnip, and lung, not liver. Eating animal innards is not uncommon for Chinese cuisine.

The dish is starts with a pot of boiling water, then the stomach and the spices are added. I don't know the specific spices but i know MSG is one. Anyways It is usually served with pigs blood and a side of spicy oil.

The cow stomach is not most peoples cup of tea.

FYI there were pigs ears and jelly fish if you guys are interested in going back and trying something new

Dim sum dishes have been passed down for centuries making part that are cheap and usually throw out into tasty dishes.

I was definetly an experience going with a group that was not familiar with dim sum.

Cooking a delicious meal

2009-04-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Cooking a delicious meal

Last weekend I documented a dinner I cooked for my Eating San Francisco class.

I made a Shrimp scampi type of pasta with steak and for dessert there were chocolate covered strawberries.

The pasta consisted of garlic, butter, shrimp, and cilantro.

I cooked the steak first because my girlfriend was craving it. It was seasoned with salt and pepper, and cooked to medium rare.

For the pasta I first melted the butter and then put some garlic into the pan. After the flavor of the garlic comes out I add in the shrimp. Shrimp cooks really fast and very easy to tell when it is done. Once the shrimp is cooked I add the pasta. On top of the pasta I drizzle some olive oil. Before it is done, I add in the cilantro, I really like the smell/flavor of cilantro.

The chocolate covered strawberries were made the night before, and chilled in the fridge till dinnertime.

She didn't want to be in this photo because she is a girl... and other stuff.

Just look at the plate in front of her, most of the steak is already gone.

Enjoying chocolate strawberries and watching Friends after dinner.

What I eat and drink is a day

2009-03-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

March 17

What I eat and drink in a day project

So here’s the order of the food I consumed on Tuesday.

Cereal with soy milk 260 +110

Chicken breast with skin and bone in 365

Peas and onions 250

A fuji apple 110

A 32oz PowerAde 240

Salmon with garlic half a lemon, salt and some dill 362

more peas and onions

Tuesday I usually eat better because I have time to cook. For example on Monday I ate a cream cheese muffin from Seven Eleven that made me sick, and for dinner I had a frozen pizza. The numbers next to the items are calories, I always wanted to figure it out but i always forget. I usually snack on more things during the day though. Oh i used the nutrional facts on the packing or I looked it up on this website, it was very helpful and fast.

ESF mission trip

2009-03-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

The mission district is known for its Latino culture, but before the 1940’s it was a predominantly Irish community, which was interesting because of such a drastic change. As more and more Hispanics moved in more and more whites moved out. During the 80’s and 90’s many Central and South American immigrants moved to the mission due to civil wars and domestic conflict in their home country. When the different Hispanic cultures immigrated here they brought with them their unique recipe’s that have been developed through generations. These recipes would change, some would get Americanized, its all about what is available. The Latino community are also known for their murals that depict their social struggles, the most famous of the artists being Diego Rivera, speaking of which I went to the MOMA this weekend and saw a couple of his paintings but no picture because the thought of bring a camera didn’t hit me until I entered the building. Anyways the murals often contain both aspects of struggle and food.

When we first stepped into the Taqueria I wanted some tacos the guy was selling in the corner of the restaurant, but I wanted to try something I normally wouldn’t get so that meant no to the chimichanga too but I do remember the story of the chimichanga. I was watching the food network and it was a special on Mexican food. The story goes Monica Flin accidently knocked over a burrito and it fell into the fryer, she was going to curse something in Spanish, and as she uttered the work chi…she saw a young girl and quickly changed it to chimichanga. It just goes to show everything is better fried. Ok, back to my dinner, I pondered for a while and saw flautas de pollo and with English underneath three chicken flute with salad and sour cream. It sounded interesting and that’s what I ordered. Upon waiting for the meal there was chips and 3 salsas to choose from, I got all three. First one was a regular generic tomato slasa, second was a green chili and third was a avocado based salsa, which was the first time seeing something like that.

I was so hungry by the time my food came, my first thought was oh these are just taquitos, but when I research it, I learned they are very similar and different at the same time. Though some people specify one uses corn and one uses flour there are equal amount of people that say the reverse. Ultimately its just the name, Flautas are the authentic name while taquito is a American created name. Flautas are traditionally severed as entrée thus they are bigger and taquitos are sides and therefore smaller. Flautas mean flute is Spanish, they are made traditionally with shredded meat rolled in flour tortia and fried until crispy. Flautas are made differently from each cook, it depends on the region they are from, some are like burritos and some are coned but I found two examples that match the one I ate that night. Below there a link on how to roll the flautas and a blog that made the whole entrée from scratch, if anyone is interesting in trying these instruments of deliciousness.

How to make flautas de pollo
How to roll the tortillas

North Beach Experience

2009-02-24T16:18:00.001-08:00

I went to North Beach for the second time ever with my ESF(Eating San Francisco) class. Marco and I drove there thinking parking would be easy on a Wednesday night, we were WRONG. After about 20 minutes we ended up at a parking garage on the border of Chinatown and North Beach. We met up at the City Lights Bookstore which read so much about in class, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlighetti, William Burroughs to name a few.

Once everyone arrived we proceeded to the restaurant, Bocce Cafe. There was lots of space considering our 17 people party was more than 75% of the people there. There was karaoke btw. Upon looking on the menu I knew I want to try the gnocchi because I had never had it before, but Marco and I decided to order two things and split them so we can try more dishes. We got the gnocchi and house pizza which was weird because it had NO CHEEE. I thought that was something The Beats would do in a food sense. To go against mainstream America with a cheese-less pizza. The gnocchi was so good I can see why a lot of people talk about it. It melts in your mouth and the soft texture, I don't think I have had anything like it before. House Pizza was interesting, garlic, spinach, and marinara. The best part of the pizza was the crust, it had a crunch to it but it wasn't rock hard.

After dinner we got to go behind the scenes of a European bakery called the Italian French Bakery. The bakery had two unreinforced brick oven, which means there's no rebar or anything other than the cement holding the bricks together. You know they're old because everything today need to be reinforced in due to earthquakes. It was like looking into history seeing the two ovens, how the heated bricks makes the bread. Possibly of on the beat writers went to the same bakery got a cup of coffee and brainstormed for their books. oh everyone got free baguettes, it was a perfect way to end a wonderful night with wonderful people.