Rice Balls

the finished product

grilling the miso glazed rice triangles

decorating/seasoning 

forms

making shapes

seasoning the rice

filling/decorating set up

Saeyoung and I both love these.  They are work intensive, really work intensive and further, they go bad in less than a day.  These rice balls are called jumok bab in Korean, translating to fist rice, I assume because the resemble the size of fists.  They basically consist of rice seasoned with vinegar, sugar, and salt and then stuffed with whatever you want (in my case, kimchi and picked radish) and then the ball is rolled into a variety of seasonings.  I also stuffed some rice into some inari shells.  Some of them I made into triangles (the surfaces need to be flat so they can be grilled) and then glazed it with a miso, molasses, and soy sauce mixture.  The result is very pretty-colorful and satisfying.  They're the perfect picnic food.  I think this is my favorite comfort food.  Does this qualify as comfort food?

Carrot, Raisin, Bran Muffins

For what ever reason I had the worst craving for a bran muffin at about 2 in the morning yesterday.  Pleased with my low-calorie, non-fat results from using applesauce in place of oil/butter/eggs, I thought I'd make up my own bran muffin recipe, making each bran muffin about 80 calories.  Not bad, I say, not bad.  

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cup of wheat bran

1 cup milk

1 cup applesauce

1 cup flour (oat flour if you want to make this recipe gluten free)

3/4 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon  ( i totally forgot to add the cinnamon, but i think it will greatly improve the recipe)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 cup splenda

Instructions:

1. preheat oven to 350

2. mix bran and milk in a bowl and let sit

3. mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside

4. mix applesauce, splenda, and vanilla and set aside

5. mix grated carrots and raisins in a bowl and set aside

6. mix bran mixture into applesauce mixture

7. add half the flour mixture in small batches

8. add carrot and raisin mixture to remaining flour mixture and coat well

9. add carrot mixture to the batter

10. put into cupcake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes

Cheese Log

some recent purchases:

The other day I went into Jordan Market with Grace and bought some fig paste, thinking it would something like fig jam.  When I opened it I figured out that it was mixed with sesame seeds and was very mildly sweet--not very jammish.  But, perfect for a great cheese.  So today I went to the Cheesestore of Silverlake and bought an aged firm goat cheese called Midnight Moon that was very mild and slightly nutty.  Really delicious.  The lady working at the counter let me sample some and that was that.  I also bought some Branches sage honey.  I cannot emphasize how much I love honey.  Honey with cheese. Honey with Greek yogurt.  Honey on toast.  Honey with peanut butter.  Honey with apples.  Honey with goat cheese on baguette.  Really, honey, on anything.  And as it turns out, good honey makes a big difference.  Because I am clearly much too preoccupied with food, I once did a taste test of generic bear shaped bottle honey and a raw honey of better quality, and hands down the generic one was more bland.  The Branches sage honey was good, but I can't say that I really tasted the sage.  They also had a half off cinnamon raisin spread at the Cheesestore, so I went ahead and bought it.  I've yet to try it.  

The Cheesestore of Silverlake 

3926 W Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles

CA 90029

Things a college student considers at the grocery store...

1. Does it require utensils?

2. Will it keep for long periods of time?

3. Can I microwave it? 

4. Can I run out the door with it? 

5. Is it under $5 dollars?

And with these general guidelines in mind, a sad trip to the grocery stor

e left me with Uncle Ben's rice in a pouch, tortillas, some cheese, (quesadillas a la microwave are great), tobasco sauce (to mask the taste of Uncle Ben), a bag of carrots, mint muskateers, tortilla chips, and salsa. 

 

A typically dinner consists of ABC.go.com for endless entertain

ment while I mindlessly eat tortillas from off my desk. 

God I hate living in a dormitory. 

I drooled in the grocery market line while looking through a Martha Stewart Living magazine. A delicious matzo covered chicken breast recipe was calling my Jewish roots. 

Sea Harbor Seafood Dim Sum

whun's tummy saver method--leave out all the carbs

it's a min hee!

whun, mid bite

mama

broth filled dumplings

bbq pork buns

deep fried sweet rice with pork

tofu in abalone sauce

number 90

When my mom gets an idea in her head, there's no stopping her, no matter how inconvenient. Sea Harbor Seafood was recommended to us by a family friend and despite being in Rosemead and a 45 minute drive from her house in Orange County, we had to go.  I'm not complaining.  I love dim sum.  We also went with my cousins Min Hee and Whun. Min Hee is visiting from Korea and her and her brother lived most of their lives in Singapore, where dim sum and Chinese food is pretty extraordinary.  Really.  I still salivate thinking about Singaporean chili crab.  Hopefully Sea Harbor met their high standards for Chinese food.  I thought the food was delicious but the service was just ridiculous.  They don't cater well to non-Chinese patrons.  Their menus are in Chinese and no one seemed willing to speak English to us.  Every time we asked for something they practically rolled their eyes.  And also, because it was a little later in the afternoon, they had run out of a lot of the dishes we wanted.  

Here are the positives:

1. bbq pork buns were fluffy and not too sweet

2. the deep fried sweet rice pork buns were amazing.  min hee commented that they could also work as a dessert

3.  service is fairly fast

4. their baked bbq buns are supposed to be their most popular but they had run out.  well, they sounded good, at least.

...Speaking of Better Brunches!? AQUITAINE

What a treasure!! After a night of moderately heavy drinking, I went out to brunch in the South End of Boston. It's a fantastic red-bricked area that has a cozy ambiance with its cobbled streets, many restaurants, and classic Boston residential architecture. One of the best features of the South End is that it's tucked away behind the touristy Back Bay area. It's not as accessible by Boston public transport, affectionately referred to as the T. You would have to get off at Copley, the center of the popular Newbury & Boylston street, then walk about or 4 blocks to get to the South End. 

Okay that was a serious tangent. 

Aquitaine is a French inspired restaurant/bar that features a reasonably-priced weekend brunch. I'd heard about it before and have been dying to try it. Three friends and I made it down there today despite the thunderous rain and wind. (yes...this is just one day after the beautiful day I raved about in the previous post) I ordered a brioche french toast with fruit and whipped cream. It also was topped with some delicious bacon. My friends ordered a eggs benedict provencal, fruit, cinnamon rolls, and an omelette de maison that was stu

ffed with goodies. 

I would highly suggest the $9.95 Pre fixe brunch menu that comes with orange juice or coffee, a cinnamon roll, and a

choice between three different types of omelets. The eggs benedict were especially good! The hollandaise sauce didn't have that heavy taste and the eggs were poached to perfection. The eggs benedict 

provencal came with tomatoes, avocados, breakfast potatoes, and 

some onions. Oh man, I could've eaten a million of those breakfast potatoes! They were perfectly seasoned. 

Another big feature of the breakfast is all the fun breakfast cocktails. I'm under 21, but it looked like almost every table had a different breakfast booze. Not to mention, I

 had a GREAT cup of coffee. I'm not sure if it reall

y was that delicious, or if I was just that happy to be having a cup of coffee after drinking. 

It's got an adorable atmosphere with diner booth semi-circle seats, dark woods, and mirrors all over like a french cafe. All in all, I can't believe it

 was so cheap. For four, the bills came out to about $40. It gets crowded, so definitely make reservations. 

A Beautiful Day in Boston calls for The Otherside Cafe

On the rare occasion of a beautiful day in Boston, a good friend and I played hooky to explore the city instead of feverishly taking notes on aggregate supply and demand. The weather had reached an unprecedented 60 some degrees & the sun was shining, so we decided to get brunch at The Otherside Cafe. 

It's a popular joint for the Boston vegetarians and vegans for breakfast or lunch. Tattoo sleeves are part of the employee dress code. 

While sitting out on the patio, I enjoyed a brie cheese, apple, pear, honey mustard sandwich. It was delicious, but I would've appreciated a better slice of french bread. It tasted a bit store bought generic. My friend ordered an omelette with tomatoes, bacon, feta, onions, etc. Her banana orange pineapple smoothie was pretty mediocre. 

I've tasted better brunch, but it's definitely worth going back for a laid back light meal on a sunny day. Plus -- it's dangerously close to the Ralph Lauren Rugby store where I subsequently did much damage.