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Going to the Chinese supermarket is like invading an assorted box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get. When I go to the regular grocery store, I know what to expect. That’s not the case when I go to T & T. My trip there is almost like a trip to a mall, I not only go there to get what I need but also to find something new — whether it be a snack in those attractive packages, a cute cake, a home gadget that I never thought of before, or a new vegetable (to me). Years ago I had kept asking my friend, who cooks a lot of veggies, the name of the dark green vegetable with garlic and oyster sauce and she kept saying the Chinese name because she doesn’t know the English name. I finally found it at the store — it’s called gai lan. Whew. Things like this hurt my head sometimes. Haha.

I like bean sprouts because they are a part of the Filipino cuisine. What I haven’t tried before were soy bean sprouts.  I know it sounds surprising given that I have gone all the way to a North American country to discover a really Asian ingredient.

At T & T, they put mung bean sprouts and soy bean sprouts side by side in the vegetable section that it confused me at first. After a quick look the former is twice the size as the latter but half the price and with a more attractive color — yellow and bright yellow green. I’m easily distracted and persuaded like that. I bought an equivalent of 4 generous handfuls of them and cooked it the other day with fresh shiitake mushrooms.

I like shiitake mushrooms but I detest the rubbery texture and extra pungent smell and taste of it when it’s cooked from the dried variety. However, I found fresh ones from the Chinese place and tried it. Oh, it was so good! Soft and meaty, but not too overpowering for the soy bean sprouts. It’s quite perfect with subtle bean flavor. I love the extra crunchiness of the sprouts with the bigger beans compared to the mung bean sprouts. Very good buys. Did I mention that this is such a cheap dish to make and very healthy, too?** I never considered buying groceries on a regular basis from the Chinese supermarket before, but I just might. I only spent around $50 for a week’s grocery including meats and fish. In this economy (and I really notice it with the empty malls!), it doesn’t hurt to save where you can. I love that they have a huge variety of seafood and meats, too, including all the ones that I miss about Filipino dishes.

I’ll be going back there to see what’s in store for the Chinese New Year that’s coming up in a week. We’re kind of like that here — those that are not really Chinese start to celebrate it as if it’s our own. Don’t laugh now. :p

[** I've read somewhere that shiitake mushrooms are expensive. I really didn't notice or it would have jumped out at me at the checkout counter. I think the big bag that I had was less than $3.]

Alright, if you made it till here, here’s the recipe:

Soy Bean Sprouts with Shiitake Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• soy bean sprouts (or mung bean sprouts if you can’t find them); I’d say do a 4:1 ratio of sprouts and mushrooms
• 6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced about 1/4″ in thickness (about 1.5 packed cups when sliced)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup yellow onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• salt to taste
• olive oil

Preparation:

1. Saute onion with ground pepper and a pinch of salt in a medium pot (big enough for the sprouts) with oil heated in medium-low heat. Do that for about 2 minutes. Then add the garlic and saute for another minute.
2. Add oyster sauce and sliced mushrooms, saute for a minute then add water. Turn heat up to medium and wait to boil, and allow it to do so for 2 minutes to let the mushrooms cook.
3. Once it boils, pour in the washed soy bean sprouts. Mix it with the rest of the boiling ingredients. Toss it regularly and cook until the stems start to become translucent. You can grab a sprout and taste it for your desired crunchiness. Add salt to taste.
4. Serve on its on or with rice.

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 enough reasons to go — don’t forget to visit Granville Island. I’m also seeing a good friend later to talk about exciting things (haha).

How do you beat your Case of the Mondays?

Things have been slow here because of bodily aches and pains (the perks of working in front of the computer for too long). I haven’t cooked anything this week because of ‘em. Dan has been such a good sport — cooking the other night and cleaning up after. Ahhh…what good life! Haha.

Having been deprived of cooking and currently stuck with the inability to knead dough for my next projects — soft pretzels and bagels — I have to satisfy my food and kitchen quota somehow.

Yesterday afternoon, after a full day of running around to figure out all these aches that I shouldn’t be feeling till I’m twice as old, I succumbed to the devil’s hiss of window shopping. While waiting for Dan to get out of work, I found myself at our usual stop: Williams-Sonoma. I drooled over the KitchenAid stand mixer that I really shouldn’t get right now, and ended up buying cute (and huge!) kitchen towels.

Don’t the citrus colors make you smile? [Just roll with the sick one 'ere. Haha] I just couldn’t leave the store without them! :-)

Now it’s your turn to spill — What have you purchased for your kitchen lately? What indulgence did you allow yourself?

Speaking of, I want some chocolate pudding pie now.

Right, right…I gotta go. I was advised less computer time. Ciao!

** Note:  This is not a sponsored post. I wish.  Do you hear me, Williams-Sonoma?!? :-)

There’s something about Super Bowl and the hoopla and the parties. I’ve never really been into it and my most in-depth participation in this old American tradition — and you can take my “in-depth participation” in football as lightly as you want — was yesterday. I probably shouldn’t tell you that aside from knowing that the game was going to be in our own backyard of Glendale, AZ, I knew nothing more of it until the day before. And when we went home, I found out that the players were staying at the hotel right across where we live. Obviously non-plussed. All I can say about the game is that it’s good to see the underdog win, and the two Mannings brothers have each won. See? I know a few things.

I’ve twice declared yesterday in mid-inebriation that Super Bowl is my new favorite holiday next to Christmas and Thanksgiving. Anything that involves a fiesta of good food and great company is right up my alley. What’s not to like? It makes me sound like complete glutton, but the easiest way to get me into anything is through food. At heart, I’m a man with a big stomach and and even bigger eye for food. Wait, that didn’t sound right… nevermind.

Yesterday for the party at Dan’s parents’ house, Dan and I brought spinach and artichoke dip, which garnered a handful of “Can you give me the recipe?”s, and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Dan will tell you all about his amazing dip later — you better try it!

I’ll provide you with some artery-clogging-free pictures of cupcakes for now.

These cupcakes were “semi-homemade”, thanks to the Sprinkle’s Cupcake Mix from Williams-Sonoma. I must admit, it was alright for what it was worth. I totally agree with Dan’s dad that he was expecting a little bit more moisture as you bite into the cupcake. It wasn’t awesome and I’ve had better red velvets, but this was nice to try, especially for the eye candy factor.

I just adore the red batter and the resulting cake color.

The cupcake mix kit comes with the cupcake mix and the candy topping of brown and red circle, which was a cute touch. It doesn’t include the confectioner’s sugar for the icing, but it was so good that I will post it up here for you and you can make it for your cupcakes. Dan, who is averse to cream cheese, liked it a lot.

Please register and Vote for Gourmeted between February 4 and 8. Won’t you please, please — vote on the newbie on the block?
We’ll all have a chance to win a trip to Napa Valley for the annual Death by Chocolate Festival. We’ll take you there with pictures and send you postcards from beautiful Napa, if you want. ;-)
It’s a win-win situation! What are you waiting for? Go vote!

Here’s the frosting recipe: Continue Reading

It is not every day you see things go on sale at Williams-Sonoma, but at this moment there are four products that are a divine addition to your cupboard. Peppermint flavored hot Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Chocolate marshmallows, and vanilla marshmallows.

I am not sure why they are only available around the holidays because fine chocolate is something that can be savored year-round. When Joy got a package of this rich goodness for Christmas a few years ago, we tried to stretch the marshmallows further than the hot chocolate. It was a feeble attempt. When we ran out in late February, which was still cold in Phoenix and Vancouver, we were crushed when we found out that they were no longer selling the divinity.

Our eyes glazed over this past Thanksgiving when we saw the many stacks of marshmallows (The Cocoa was nowhere to be found, though.) The holidays passed in a blink of an eye and we found ourselves shopping for us again. When we entered W-S, I saw someone holding the brown tin of hot chocolate. I was on the prowl. I finally found what I was looking for, with this news on a laminated card nearby:

Holiday Sale: 50-75% off!

I looked at the marshmallows: 3.99 a box. Originally 19.00.

I looked at the hot chocolate: 14.99 a tin. Originally 19.50.

$40 of sugar later, I have restocked the cupboard with the best tasting hot chocolate and marshmallows available. If you have a Williams-Sonoma near you, go and get yourself a box and a tin. You will be glad you did.

Do you eat/like cheese?

• Yes! I love cheese.
• I will only eat them when served in another dish.
• No, I stay away from cheese.
• Heck no, I'm allergic.

View Results

One thing I surely miss about Vancouver is the food, especially the variety and availability of all sorts of food from cuisines all over the world. Amen. Yumm. If you want to eat at a different restaurant each meal/day and be satisfied with the quality, I don’t think there would be a shortage of choices in that city. I love that I get a lot more “hits” that “misses” when it comes to trying new restaurants. [**If you're in Vancouver, go check out Dine Out Vancouver for affordable dining at Vancouver's top restaurants this week.**]

My best friend and I used to ‘trek’ a lot (by trek, I mean they’re not in our usual routes) to eat at different restaurants and food places. One of my favorite destinations is the cheese shop at West 2nd: les amis du FROMAGE. It’s near my other favorite stop, Patisserie Lebeau, whose Belgian waffles are to die for.

Before I left Vancouver, I dragged my other girl friend there so I could get cheese. Here’s my loot:

• aged cheddar (3 years)
• triple cream brie
• goat cheese
• cheese curds

I was a very happy girl that afternoon:

The cheese curds were fresh and “squeaky” as they should be. I’ve never eaten cheese curds before and I must say they are my new favorite snack. I finished half the bag in one sitting. Oops. According to the seller at the cheese shop, you can combine/squeeze together the cheese curds to form one cheese. Well, it didn’t last long enough for me to do that. HA! I found out it’s also the cheese used for poutine. [I don't eat poutine.] All I know is that it tastes great and it’s “fun” to eat because it squeaks when you bite into it. Could be cool for kids.

The triple cream brie cheese was SO good. It melts in your mouth. I haven’t tasted brie with such smoothness and intense creaminess before. Even my parents were pleased with it.

The other two cheeses have yet to be tried. I’m so deprived of a cheese shop here in Scottsdale that I actually brought cheeses all the way from Vancouver — heavy hand-carry and all. Now that that the weekend’s here, it’s wine shopping time at BevMo!)