I was thinking while shopping for dinner on Sunday, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye that was not there the last time I was there: Panko Bread Crumbs. I was squealing with my inside voice. Making Chicken Katsu would be fun! But there inlies my issues. The meat for the week I picked up was beef. Thick cut steaks, to be more specific. When I arrived home with my panko booty, I checked online for any panko beef recipes.
They did not exist. Oh, sure, people made SOMETHING with it, but as of the day I have been writing this article, I have never seen a public recipe involving it. I devised one of my own.
I used to hate Mondays like the plague. I had anxiety attack-like symptoms that petrify me during Sundays that I don’t even get to enjoy that day. I know several people who dread Mondays and just know it’s going to be another ‘case of the Mondays’. Wow, way too many M-words. I’m happy to say that I’ve freed myself from that crutch.
My strategy the past few years? Schedule fun things that I like for Mondays, so I’ll have good things to look forward to,Like this:
This afternoon I’m going to get a few of these incredibly delicious donuts to bring for Dan. This is my absolute favorite donut in the whole world, and that says a lot because I’ve eaten hundreds of them. [Scary.] If you’re ever in Vancouver — as if I haven’t given you enoughreasons to go — don’t forget to visit Granville Island. I’m also seeing a good friend later to talk about exciting things (haha).
Ever since I’ve finished reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food [I'll talk more about the book later, it's a real gem.], I can’t help but think of ways to eat organic and local. I’ve been doing my best to eat organic food for years now, but didn’t pay much attention to where they came from. By eating locally farmed food, not only do we get really fresh food, but it traveled less so the nutrients are more intact compared to (fresh food) that braved thousands of miles to get to our grocery stores. That’s one of the things I remember reading.
I actually picked up Pollan’s book when I got here in Vancouver. Was it such a coincidence that my frequent weekly stops — my friend’s spa and my chiropractor — are within the same vicinity as the Granville Island public market? It’s meant. :-) Last week, after having a facial that made my skin very happy and getting one of my last few therapies for my back, I headed down to the public market to shop for dinner. I picked some beautiful fresh sea scallops, fresh spinach linguine, rye sourdough bread [not in photos], pancetta [what a deal for $2.29 for 100 grams!], and rosemary.
And voila, dinner:
The scallops were to die for. They were so unbelievably fresh, sweet, and did I mention they were huge? I seared them on the same pan and oil where the pancetta was fried. I cooked the ‘sauce’ on that pan as well, so it had all the nice flavors to go with the tomatoes, onions, and garlic. The scallops cooked darker than usual because of the whole wheat flour it was rolled in, but you can use white flour if you prefer. I placed the crispy pancetta one on top of another, then a little stem of rosemary (you’ll be using just one rosemary sprig divided into three for this recipe), and the hot scallop going on top. The heat brought out the nice aroma of the rosemary.
I’m still trying to learn to sear scallops. It looked so easy during our cooking class but alas, I couldn’t replicate them. Ugh. Here I go again, being the perfectionist. I hope it’s not going to be an obsession like those Cinnamon Rolls.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe [and almost step-by-step photos]:
In celebration of Earth Day, here a few things you can do:
Make Homemade Cleaning Supplies(from the David Suzuki Foundation) – This is definitely something I will try next month. Not only are they eco-friendly, they’re cheap to make, too.
Say No To Junk Mail. Sign up for the Junk Mail registries in your country like Red Dot Campaign (Canada) and Forest Ethics (USA), or put a sign by your mailbox that you don’t accept junk mail.
Re-use packaging. Those boxes and mailers that go with things you ordered? Find ways to reuse them. The paperbags from stores? Re-use them. I use those envelopes and bags for bookkeeping purposes.
Bring your own bag for your groceries. Whole Foods is officially eliminating plastic bags today. Here in Canada, the big supermarket, The Real Canadian Superstore, has been doing this for a long time. They charge you for the plastic bag if you opt to get one from them — it disciplines shoppers to either reuse their plastics or pay up.
Use old magazines to wrap gifts. I’ll start doing this. Now there’s some use for those old New Yorker magazines! Hah.
If you mail a lot of stuff, why don’t you shred your junk mail or the pages from your unwanted phone books and use that as padding instead of plastic bubble wrap? [Well, as long as it doesn't have your info.]
I’m sure you can think of other things to do. Please share them in the comments section!
Did you know that we, our food sources, and our Mother Earth, are all related and we’re all affected by what happens to each other? We literally swallow the bad things we do the Earth. The environment provides food for our food, and we eat that food, and well — we do things to the environment — a lot of harmful things, unfortunately. It’s this inescapable cycle. If you care about your food (and I know you do!), you should care about the environment.
Please, please, please…find it in your heart to be good to the environment — Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. Make earth-conscious choices and good changes in your life, even little by little. That’s how it starts. :-)
A few readers of this site know about my penchant for snail mail and letter writing. I have penpals, as well as friends who request that we write each other through letters. We enjoy the fading art of handwritten words, crafty things, and art that fit into small package. Instead of dreading to see piles of bills, we look forward to getting each others’ mails. Love it! Even when I travel, the mailing goes on. I make it a point to send post cards — and lots of them!
Yesterday I went to Granville Island (the artsy fartsy district with good food — I’ll talk more about that later) and passed by the Postcard Store there to get a few–what else–post cards! And they’re going out to you!
If you’d like one, let me know in the comments section and I’ll email you back to ask for your address. I’m doing it this way so others will know if they still can join in the fray. :D I’ll send the posties to the first 5 commentors (for now). Update 4/21: The postcards I have for now are all accounted for. More later.
Cheers, and enjoy your Sunday!
P.S. And yes, we did have snow, sleet, and rain in some parts of Greater Vancouver. My good luck goes to the runners of the Vancouver Sun Run. No one was expecting winter-like conditions this weekend. Yikes.
One of the question during this week’s “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader” was: Any number with a power of zero is equals to what?I answered aloud : ONE. I still remember! I’ve retained something after two decades in school. Wow, there’s my shining moment. Haha.
My memory serves me better when it comes to food and my childhood, than math, though. [Fortunate or unfortunate? You decide.] The dishes I grew up with are slowly coming back to me. I have “cooking videos” in my head: of my mom, my grandmothers, and our maids. [I really don't remember the men in our family cooking, although I was told that my great grandfather, or his brother,...or something like that, was a great cook.]
I requested this viand of sauteed bean sprouts [called "togue" (toh-ge') in the Philippines] a lot for dinner when I was young because it cooks quickly, which means I can eat sooner, finish my homework earlier, and have time to do more crafts. Did you notice the order? Eat, ‘work’, play. I knew my priorities alright.
I vividly recall going in and out of the kitchen before meals, monitoring the progress of the dishes to be served on the table. I tend to ‘hound’ things that I want until I get them — a very OCD trait that have been carried on to adulthood, but I’d prefer to call it ‘being focused’. There was a schedule in my head as to what ingredients to put next, what to do, how long, and so on. I didn’t know that this would help me with the recipes decades later.
There’s nothing complicated about this dish, which I love. You’d be surprised with all the good flavors considering that it has very few main ingredients, which are healthy, too — chicken, mushrooms, bean sprouts. I chose thigh meat to ‘flavor’ this dish because it’s tastier than chicken breasts. You can also add soy sauce for the flavor, but I skipped it because the sea salt and pepper were enough for me.
To prove to you just how much of a no-brainer this is to cook, here’s the visual step-by-step cooking guide:
If you’ve never had bean sprouts, you better give this a try! Here’s the recipe:
Last week, my parents had a guest from Chicago who brought with him a care package of Portillo’s food. This has turned into a tradition for the past few years for us in Phoenix. I recently introduced Joy to the pleasure of this food as well and she is hooked now. I have always wanted to return to Chicago to do the simple things and in this post, I hope to hit on the big ones. Being born and raised in Chicago, there are a few things I need to require a vistor to do:
1) Visit a Cubs game (even if you are not a fan)
2) Visit downtown for the museums and Sears Tower
3) Eat a Deep Dish pizza (Either Lou Malnati’s or Pizzeria Uno’s, NOT the chain places outside of Chicago.)
4) Eat an Italian Beef. This one is a little tricky to some because it is essentially served like a French Dip sandwich but do not get it confused. The difference being an Italian beef is rubbed with spices, peppers, and you heat the beef in the au jus that you serve with it.
And last but not least, 5) Eat a Vienna Beef hot dog.
Oh, sure, the last one is probably common in your area by now, but have you noticed that is expensive? You are paying for the shipping from Chicago, really. Another thing to note. Do not read the nutritional label. You are getting this hot dog on a need-to-have basis. Besides, you are not in a diet if you do not allow yourself to cheat. You’re in the Second City, enjoy the flavor!
I have recently learned there are a few rules about eating a Chicago style hot dog:
-When making the dog in “The Works” fashion, the order and selection of your toppings is extremely important.
Taken from Chicago HotDog.com:
-Yellow Mustard
-Bright Green Relish
-Fresh Chopped Onions
-Two Tomato Wedges
-A Pickle Spear or Slice
-Two Sport Peppers
-A Dash of Celery Salt
Your bun will have poppy seeds and is steamed. Not fried, grilled, or cold. Steamed. So it is soft. If you can get it, I recommend S. Rosen’s for your hot dog holder. A quick Google search will have several outfits selling the packages online.
Any stand will do. Do not be afraid if the place you pick is a little ratty. It is supposed to be that way. I would at least recommend getting your dog at a restaurant and not a street vendor so you can pick up some fries and a drink as a combo.
While the above website says microwaving your hot dog is okay, I will add this to the rules of NOT doing. The optimal way would be a steam bath (Not boiling water!), followed by a good grilling. Leave the microwave for those Oscar Myer hot dogs.
This one is i m p o r t a n t! Did I stress that enough? good.
In this image, I have performed a cardinal sin of the Chicago dog:Yes. There is not supposed to be ketchup (catsup, tomato paste, etc.) on your Chicago dog.
If you follow these simple rules, you will have enjoyed the finest hot dog in the US. The Chicago dog is often imitated but never replicated. I hope that this has enticed you to travel abroad and experience the joy that is the Vienna Beef Hot Dog.
Here’s a little diversion from food: views of my city! I’m still here, and as Dan has mentioned, until the end of the month. Here’s why — I’ve earned myself a painful award for over-working in front of the computer: radiculitis. I’ve been getting regular treatments, and have been strongly advised to avoid the computer as much as possible, thus the lack of blogging. It’s not fun waiting and watching the slow progress, which I thought wouldn’t come after three weeks. Anyway, I won’t delve on that…just wanted to let you know what’s going on, and warn you not to be like me!
Let’s talk about Vancouver and one of my favorite places to go to on the weekends — Stanley Park. It’s a thousand acre park that’s almost like an island, but not really. It’s this huge mass of land protruding into the sea, so you can see water all around it. Although you can get your nature fix pretty much anywhere here, this is my favorite go-to place.
Last Saturday I rented a bike and went around the park. It was a beautiful spring day so everyone was out enjoying the sunshine. It’s an afternoon that Vancouverites wouldn’t miss sitting in couches at home. At least, one would think with the amount of people roaming that day.
I love the seawall goes around the park, which gives me a different view at every turn. Sometimes, it just takes my breath away.
I’m here in Phoenix all by myself until the end of the month, so that means I need to feed myself. The first thing I was thinking of was a spicy chicken dish and noodles. Instead of trying to find a real receipe, I thought I’d try making something of my own. You may try this recipe if you want, but I assure you, I have some warnings.
One of the many things I love about Vancouver is the fresh seafood — especially salmon. Salmmmmmon. Give it to me raw, fried, baked, seared, rolled in sushi rice, smoked…I’ll take it!
Aside from baking salmon ‘sandwiches’, I like making salmon in pockets. Why? It’s the simplest thing to prepare and you get a great tasting salmon that’s cooked to perfection. You can eat with grains, veggies, or if you’re like me who likes quick cooking, enjoy it with whole grain spaghetti.
I love that you just put everything in each ‘pocket’, leave it to bake and it’s done. See?
Have a go at it sometime and you’ll love that you don’t have to put too much effort to be rewarded with a great little dish that could (win your heart).
BAKED SALMON POCKET
Ingredients (Serves 1)
1 salmon fillet, about an inch thick
1 roma tomato, cut in chunks
1/4 cup white onion, sliced
lemon juice (quarter a lemon and have one for each fillet)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
You’ll need parchment paper or aluminum foil to make your ‘pocket’.
Preparation
Preheat over to 375ºF with the rack in the middle.
Cut a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil big enough to fold over and tent (i.e. enough space at the top) an individual fillet. Place it on a baking dish or baking sheet.
At the center, put half of the onion, creating a ‘bed’ for the salmon.
Put the salmon on top of it and sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Place the rest of the onion and the tomato chunks on top of the salmon, and lightly drizzle with olive oil.
Fold the lengthwise ends together, and fold and tuck in at the sides. Make sure to leave a tent/balloon at the top.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, then keep the salmon in the oven for an extra 10 minutes.
Take out of the oven and serve immediately. You can use a spatula to take it out of the wrapping or place the pocket on individual plates to serve.
Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the salmon before devouring. Delish!
Yes. There is not supposed to be ketchup (catsup, tomato paste, etc.) on your Chicago dog.
