I've been quiet lately.

Spring has been so warm and beautiful, I wouldn't dare sully it with words.

Been busy making, focusing, exploring and laughing my pants off...

Thrifted a pair of amazing woven raffia mules and a soft, striped pashmina.

This Summer's color scheme.

Craving Vietnamese papaya salad sans green papaya. Golden beets, radishes and the crunchiest market carrots made great stand-ins.

New slash old technology as vintage brass bookend. Remember when computers took up entire rooms?

Been trying to work out my drawing muscles again. Facets and gold for a friend.

My sometime office view aka freelancing has its perks.

True story...

Guess who? Best fan art ever... #rupaulsdragrace

I went to Yountville recently, in the company of a lovely friend, and a couple of 4-legged cutie patooties.
It was nice to slow down, take stock, look at trees.... Caked mud on my skin, took a mineral bath, slept like a dream,
drank a selection of bubblies for breakfast, and ate a few towers of amazing seafood.

A welcomed luxury, comma and precursor to my momentary escape from the city. The beauty in yellow.

Pre-trip breakfast of gluten-free lemon ricotta pancakes with raspberry sauce.

More breakfast

I've been having my way with frisee

The farmer's market yielded a beautiful head of frisee. I tired of eating it as a salad, and thought I'd do my standard olive oil & garlic sautee. Fracken delicious!


Frisee sauteed with garlic, sundried tomatoes, olive oil, salt & a squeeze of lemon juice. Enjoyed with some sunny-side-up free-range eggs placed upside-down, with a dash of shoyu, over rice. It should be noted there is a good amount of grass-fed butter melted and co-mingling with the hint of shoyu saltiness in that there bowl. As a friend mentioned ---"mouthgasm."

First cherries

First cherries of the season. Making fabric stick together. Lightening my life load. Reassurance in my own damned self. My people make beautiful art & music. Summer dancing wait for me --I'll make it worth your while.




Nicolas Jaar

We're jammin'

Lately, I've been adding LOTS of ground cinnamon to my coffee for its purported health benefits. I'm not sure if the coffee/caffeine cancels out the cinnamon, but I feel it's, at least, an earnest attempt to upgrade my vice. I often start my day with a glass of Vietnamese iced coffee (aka cà phê sữa đá). Recently I added a sprig of mint and "slap my face!" The resulting flavor is a most winning combination.
 

Also, my days have been feeling like this. Whee!!!

I can't stop

Drinking this


Beet juice: beets, ginger, lemon (pith, rind & all), nectarines and cilantro.

and listening to this



New Look has high blowup-ability. ;)

New taco concept

I bought a bag of corn tortillas, and have been trying out new taco concepts. Unusual, but good: herring-celery salad, toasted nori, beet greens, tomato. You can't see it, but there's a lotta garlic up in there.

Herring Celery Salad
- Mash garlic, scallions, sliced celery, herring (or your seafood of choice, or even tofu) and lemon juice together.
- Add turmeric, a pinch of cumin and salt & pepper to taste. Make it spicy if you like.
- Mix through a bit of olive oil (avocado would be amazing, too).
- Taste test, then let flavors meld for a few minutes. I riffed and added ground flaxseed, and toasted sesame seeds to mine. Flavor as you like.

Enjoy!

Feel better soup

I keep hearing a rumor some nasty cold has been making its rounds. Sure enough, as soon as that rumor hit my ears, I woke up this morning in sneezy/cold mode. Ugh! I've decided to devote my day to copious amounts of green tea, and soup. I had a daikon radish in my fridge, which I usually use for miso soup, but honestly, I'm starting to tire of the taste of miso. I wanted something more "clear" tasting, if you know what I mean. Less salty with more of the essence of the daikon.

One of my favorite YT cooking channels is Maangchi. She's been my go-to for many Korean dishes, and I had a feeling she'd have something posted in the realm of daikon radish and soup. Sure enough, she did. I checked out her video (shown below), as a jump off point in making my own version (pictured above). I often include ground turmeric in my dishes, for their proposed health benefits, and decided to add it to my soup, in the hopes of boosting its healing power.

Note: With the exception of the black salt, all ingredients can be found at your local Asian grocer, or a market with an Asian section. The black salt can be found at grocers carrying Indian ingredients.

Feel Better Daikon Radish Soup
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup green tea
- 1 1/2 cups daikon radish, cut into equivalent of large dice or triangle wedge slices
- 2 thumb-size rectangles of dried kombu kelp, cut into thin strips
- 1/4 wedge of onion, chopped
- 3 Tbs. fish sauce, or to taste
- 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 6 oz. turkey (I used leftover roast turkey, but you can use any kind of protein you like, or shiitake mushrooms.)
- 1 Tbs. ground turmeric
- salt to taste (I used black salt, or kala namak, since it's very "mineraly" in flavor, and not as harsh as regular table salt)
- 2 Tbs. dried wakame seaweed
- 1 1/2 stalks of scallion, chopped
- Squeeze of lemon (optional)

Add the chopped daikon radish and kombu strips to the water & green tea. Bring to a boil, then immediately lower heat to a simmer. When the radish starts to look clear around the edges, but still white in their centers, add the chopped onions. Simmer till radish just becomes translucent.

Add fish sauce, minced garlic, protein (in my case, the turkey), ground turmeric, and salt to taste. Note: you do not want this to be a salty soup, so please go easy on the salt flavor. You should be able to eat this straight, without rice.

When the soup heats up to a gentle simmer again, add the dried wakame seaweed & chopped scallion, and cook for about 2-4 minutes till the seaweed expands. Serve immediately, topped with a squeeze of lemon.

Here's Maangchi's episode on her beef & radish soup. Cucumber kimchee is a bonus!

Thai House Express

I managed to get up early, one Saturday, and grab a bite at one of my favorite Thai restaurants. Although the sun was blazing, a hot bowl of noodle soup fit the bill. This one's a hard (although not 'bad') habit to break.


#56) Tom Yum noodle soup with thin rice noodles, medium spicy. This soup delivers all the elements of Thai food I love, with a punch! Sour, salty, sweet and spicy. Pork, pork and more pork! Topped with peanuts and a generous sprinkling of pork cracklins. Needless to say, my sensitive tummy only allows me to indulge in this soup once in a while.


Possibly the best coconut juice I've ever had, next to the real thing. No sugar, no pulp.

I highly, highly recommend eating at their Larkin St. location. Don't let the neighborhood deter you from the great food. Although avoid ordering Chinese-type dishes --they're bland and unexciting, in my opinion.

Thai House Express
901 Larkin St @ Geary St
San Francisco, CA 94109
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
(415) 441-2248
Yelp reviews


photos: Antoinette Celes

Chickpea Radish Okra Salad

I've been taking a break from my usual carbs of rice and pasta. I recently made chickpeas from scratch, and realized the flavor and texture is far superior to any canned chickpea I've ever tasted! If you can, I highly suggest you make your beans from scratch.

This salad is kind of a deconstructed falafel, but without the sumac or onion --although you can certainly add these ingredients if you like. Mixing in the okra creates a sliminess I enjoy.

Chickpea Radish Okra Salad
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tbs sesame seeds
- handful of chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- a few pinches of salt for the paste
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 1/2 cup raw, thinly sliced okra
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced radish
- additional salt and black pepper to taste

In a mortar & pestle, combine the coriander, cumin, and salt and grind together into a powder. Add garlic clove and sesame seeds, to mortar, and grind to a paste. Then add chopped cilantro and lightly pound into paste to break it down into a rough pesto texture.

Combine the paste with the chickpeas, okra and radish --toss well. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper. Eat right away, or allow to sit for a while for the flavors to meld. Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Fennel in Peanut Sesame Sauce

As mentioned in a previous post, I've been hooked on a peanut sauce consisting of a really good, crunchy, organic peanut butter, paired with soy sauce and a squeeze of lemon. You can actually substitute the lemon juice with a similar citrus (like lime), or a nice, flavorful vinegar --apple cider, champagne, coconut or rice vinegar come to mind.

I recently picked up a beautiful fennel bulb (with fronds) at the farmer's market, and thought I might try pairing it with pasta and the addictive peanut sauce. Only this time I added lightly ground, roasted sesame seeds to the mix, and used apple cider vinegar for the peanut sauce, instead of my usual lemon juice. Oh my.... superb!


Spaghetti with Fennel in Peanut Sesame Sauce
(makes 1 generous serve)
- 1 serving spaghetti (if dried, cook till they give a nice toothiness, but not too al dente)
- 3/4 cup fennel bulb, shaved or sliced thin (I used a mandoline)
- 1/2 handful fennel, fronds chopped
- sliced scallions
- 1 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted then lightly ground in a mortar & pestle
- peanut sauce, to your taste (recipe here)
- salt for boiling water
- a dash of oil to toss with cooked pasta
- ground black or white pepper to taste

Cook your dried spaghetti according to box directions. Note: you are looking for a toothy texture to the noodles, but not too al dente since you are not further cooking the pasta with the sauce.

Prepare the veggies and crushed sesame seeds and set aside. When pasta is done, reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water. Drain spaghetti, toss with all the ingredients, and add a spoon, or two, of the cooking water to help amalgamate the ingredients. You can eat this straight away, but I'd recommend waiting till it cools to warm, or room temperature --the flavors become more pronounced. Enjoy!

p.s. Excuse my messy chopstick styling. I was trying to shoot with my left hand, with a chopstick-full of pasta on the right. Hello, a tripod is def in order.

Peanut power

I've had to give up spicy foods for a while, and it's seriously been cramping my style. I'm one of those add-spicy-chili-peppers-to-everything sort of people, and the fact my special Tinian-grown dried ground chili pepper spice is gathering dust on my shelf, is a sign of some sort of relapse in my character, or maybe I'm just listening to my body these days.

In an effort to find new taste sensations, I've discovered the amazing power of a good peanut sauce. Not the supermarket peanut butter stuff we grew up with... No, like really good organic, roasted, no-salt peanut butter you can find at your local snobby grocer, or hippy market. The combination of said peanut butter mixed with soy sauce, a few grinds of pepper (I'm using white here), and a light squeeze of lemon juice is just sublime. I've been eating this sauce with cold noodles almost daily. Totally addicting, and a good dish for these hot Summer days!


Cold Noodle Salad with Sauteed Lentils and Peanut Sauce
(makes 1 generous serve)
- 1 pack of dried bean thread noodles (but you can use buckwheat, rice or wheat noodles if you like)
- palm full of dried wakame seaweed
- julienned carrots
- sliced purple cabbage (any cabbage will do really)
- chopped cilantro
- sliced scallions
- 1/2 cup of sauteed lentils (recipe below)
- 2 to 3 Tbs peanut sauce (or more if you like! recipe below)
- salt for boiling water
- a dash of oil to toss with cooked noodles
- ground black or white pepper to taste

Soak dried wakame in a small saucepan of cool water and set aside. Make the peanut sauce, then make sauteed lentils thereafter (recipes below). Prepare all the fresh veggies.

Remove the rehydrated wakame from the pot, but do not throw out the liquid. Leave the wakame in a sieve to drain off water. Now add a dash of salt to wakame-infused liquid to season noodle cooking water. Bring to a boil.

Add dried noodles to boiling water, and cook following instructions, or till desired chewiness. Drain and cool down immediately in cold, iced water to stop cooking process. Remove cooled noodles from cold water, and drain well.

Assemble your bowl with cold noodles at the base tossed with a little oil (I'd recommend roasted sesame, grapeseed or olive oil). Top with prepared fresh vegetables, rehydrated wakame seaweed, sauteed lentils and a generous helping of peanut sauce. Feast with your eyes, mix everything together and enjoy!


Sauteed lentils
- 1/2 cup cooked lentils
- 1 clove garlic, sliced thin
- 1 Tbs raw peanuts with skins intact (find these in an Asian market)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 Tbs oil for sauteeing
- salt to taste

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add peanuts when oil starts to heat, and saute carefully, stirring constantly, as peanuts start to brown. When they start showing a hint of color, add garlic.

When garlic becomes fragrant and starts to lightly yellow. Add cooked lentils and turmeric powder. Add salt to taste, and saute till lentils are warmed through and peanuts and garlic take a lightly browned color (you'll need to keep your eye on them). Set aside to cool to room temp.


Peanut Sauce
- 3 Tbs organic, roasted, no-salt peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- the juice of a 1/4 of a lemon
- water to thin sauce (as little or as much as you need, adjust salt accordingly)
- ground white or black pepper to taste
- salt to taste, if needed

Mix ingredients together, and set aside for at least 15 minutes for flavors to meld. Enjoy over cold noodles, or as a dip for fresh veggies.

Thai iced tea attempt

I've taken a break from making coffee at home, to force myself to get outside and mingle amongst the living at my local cafe--which happens to be Four Barrel Coffee--how lucky am I? But really, if you work from home, as I do, you totally understand the need to be around people to prevent cabin fever. Despite my attempts at said co-mingling, I was dying for a coffee/tea fix, and rediscovered a bag of loose Thai tea leaves my friend, Halima, gave me a while back. Here's the result of my first home brew.

I decided to brew in a tea pot with strainer, just to keep from screwing up major the first time around. I'd venture to guess this is a 5-cup pot, with 6 hefty teaspoons of loose tea. I brewed it for 5mins, before plunging. This is my second glass!

On the far left is coconut palm sugar, I broke into smaller pieces. It keeps well in a glass jar in my cupboard. The palm sugar sweetness is soft and slightly caramel in flavor --perfect for Thai iced tea. It's been noted that palm sugar is also low on the glycemic index, is sustainably grown, and minimally processed. I use organic half and half for milk, but you can use whatever you fancy.



My proportions:
- 1 pint glass filled with iced.
- melt 1 1/2 tsp palm sugar in brewed tea.
- pour over iced, then top off with cooled tea about a little more than 3/4 of the way up.
- add half and half to desired creaminess.


Here's an easy recipe I found, and some Thai iced tea porn below. Ha!

Hai Ky my love

All this cold, cloudy, rainy weather makes one pine for the nearest bowl of soupy comfort. Mine comes in various guises, but I'll often crave a bowl of noodles from one of my favorite Chinese-Vietnamese noodle joints, Hai Ky Mi Gia. Hai Ky is located in Little Saigon, a Vietnamese-American neighborhood in SF's Tenderloin district. It's a gritty side of town, but you'll find some amazing food joints here if you're open to trying something new.

Hai Ky was the restaurant my friends brought me to on my first official day of moving to San Francisco. Noodles for breakfast on a cold day. Not a bad idea....


Number 9 - small ho fun noodle dry (soup served on the side) + pork & shrimp wontons. I can't stop ordering this bowl. It's my goto magic-maker.



If I'm very hungry, I'll order a side of fried fish cakes. These are two fish cakes cut in half, served with a side of lightly pickled veg (cucumber, carrot & daikon). This serving was more than I imagined, so if you're ordering for one, just get one fish cake. They serve this piping hot, while the salad cools your mouth down.

My dipping sauce of sriracha sauce, soy sauce and picked jalapenos is in the foreground. I use this sauce for the fish cake, and the meat and wontons served with my noodles.



Vietnamese iced coffee (ca phe sua da): very strong coffee brewed in an old-school drip filter, mixed with sweetened condensed milk. Sometimes I'll dilute it with a bit of tea. My favorite style of iced coffee hands down.


Hai Ky Mi Gia
707 Ellis St (between Larkin St & Polk St)
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 771-2577

Open: Mon-Tue., Thu-Sun. 8:00am - 6:00pm
Closed on Wednesdays
Cash only

Walnut Lentil Bread Salad

I've been making my way through a pot of lentils, and finished off the last serving in a salad. This was made with veggies on hand, but you could really use anything you like. As long as you have the base of garlic & onions, earthy spices, oil and a hint of acid... you're all set. The veggies are from Diamond Organics, a lovely gift sent to me by Chotda, good friend and food magic-maker extraordinaire. I made the croutons from a loaf of homemade bread made by my friend Kele. It's pretty divine... If you make this, I urge you to use a hearty wholegrain bread.

Walnut Lentil Bread Salad
(makes 1 serve)
- 1 clove of garlic
- handful of raw walnuts
- 1 1/2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 Tbs. roasted onion, diced
- 1 tsp. scallion, diced
- handful of red swiss chard, chopped
- handful of kale, chopped
- handful of fresh green beans, chopped
- 1 slice of whole grain bread, toasted & cut into croutons
- 1 c. cooked lentils (preferably cooked on the "toothy" side)
- salt & pepper
- apple cider vinegar, a few dashes

Mince, mash or pound the raw garlic with a bit of salt, till you achieve a nice paste. Add the walnuts and pound till the pieces become smaller, but not pasty. This is best done in a mortar & pestle, if possible. Set aside.

Heat a skillet to medium, then dry toast the ground cumin till it becomes fragrant. Add 1 Tbs. of the olive oil, heat till the oil shimmers. Add the onion, scallion, chard, kale and green beans. Saute for under a minute, or till partially cooked. Add the walnut/garlic mixture and cook for about a minute more.

In a bowl add your lentils, the saute veggie/walnut mixture, the remaining olive oil, croutons, apple cider vinegar and salt & pepper to taste. I suggest letting this sit for a few minutes for the flavors to meld. Be patient, I promise it's worth the wait. Enjoy!

Post-Christmas street sightings

I'm trying to lug my camera around, more often, so as not to miss out on some of the gems I find on my walkabouts. In a morning food haze, post-Christmas, out looking for breakfast and thrifted boots.


New street art nearby. Been meaning to snap this before they completely deface it.


The cutest liquor store ever! I love onigiri-bear-head, and check out that little peep in the corner. Mural by Bue the Warrior.


Seriously... bread bowl of pasta? WTF?!

Delicious simplicity

I've been seriously hooked on this radish beet salad. It's so yummy, crunchy, toothsome, tart and satisfying. So simple and easy, you can put this together in minutes.

Radish & Beet Salad
- raw beets (I used golden here) sliced thin, thin, thin
- radishes sliced thin
- radish greens (the tops)
- roasted plain almonds, lightly crushed to manageable pieces
- fresh cilantro minced, to taste
- salt & pepper, to taste
- apple cider vinegar, a good sprinkle
- extra virgin olive oil, just a drizzle

The secret to this salad's success is massaging the salt, pepper and vinegar into the vegetables with your hands -- just under a minute will do. This helps soften up the beets, and allows some of the vegetable juices to co-mingle with the vinegar. Add the almonds, with a drizzle of the olive oil, and you're ready to enjoy! Btw, I used a mandoline to get the beet slices paper thin, but you can use a vegetable peeler as a good substitute.

A few variations you might add: romaine lettuce, raw kale leaves, mint, thinly sliced apple or pear, cabbage.

Open the door dear...

Some recent, tasty discoveries...


Gravel & Gold, a new shop in my neighborhood that speaks to my inner soul. I could caress that wood table all day. [pic via Gravel & Gold]


Delicious chilled tea from Samovar Tea Lounge. Jasmine lemonade is a winner! [pic via nic221]


Pepe Joe's little banana thunder thigh peeking during nap time.


Betty Carter's Open the Door, which somehow slipped my musical grasp. I love this!!

Beet It!

By pure coincidence I've been eating a lot of red foods lately. Beets, chiles, red radishes, and hibiscus tea. I came across a beautiful bunch of beets on my recent farmers market visit. I also picked up some peculiar long green peppers, that are similar to sweet bell peppers, but milder in taste, with a crisp bite.

I've been "beeting" the Summer heat with these simple cold noodle salads that consist of fresh, raw vegetables, springy noodles (in my case mung bean/bean thread noodles), tossed with a flavorful soy based sauce. I've added a bit of Chamorro finadene dinanchi paste, which is basically a HOT pepper paste of ground tiny red bird chiles, fresh garlic, salt and vinegar. Finadene dinanchi comes in a myriad of forms, but this paste is at its most basic. The chile paste shown is made on the island of Tinian, one of the Northern Mariana Islands well known for it's super hot peppers. I have to give a huge thanks to my mother, who recently brought this paste stateside. I usually stretch this paste as far as I can, till I'm able to scrounge up another chile pepper care package. Thanks Mama!


Beet & Pepper Noodle Salad
- raw julienned beets (skins and all, scrub & rinse well please)
- slivered sweet green pepper
- sliced scallions
- mung bean noodles drained & rinsed (tossed with a bit of roasted sesame oil)
- chili pepper paste (made of spicy bird chiles, garlic, salt & vinegar)

Boil mung bean noodles in salted water for a few minutes, or till springy (taste for texture). Rinse noodles with cool water, drain well. Toss drained noodles with about a tbs. of roasted sesame oil. Arrange vegetables on top, with a bit of chili pepper paste (to taste).

Before eating, mix vegetables, noodles and pepper paste well. Spoon over as much Sesame Ginger Soy Sauce as you like.

Sesame Ginger Soy Sauce
- 1 garlic clove
- pinky size knob of fresh ginger
- 1 tsp sesame seeds lightly crushed
- 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp coconut vinegar
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- salt & pepper to taste
- a bit of sugar for balance

Mash garlic clove, ginger, sesame seeds, and salt together. Let sit for a few minutes to allow garlic to break down -- supposedly allowing prepared raw garlic to sit increases the effectiveness of garlic's positive properties (but don't quote me on that). Add the remaining ingredients, mix well.


Beet & pepper cold noodle salad with sesame ginger soy sauce (the red color is from vinegar I used from my leftover red radish pickle juice)


Mild long green pepper & Chamorro finadene dinanchi (chili paste)


Lovely, unadulterated fresh brewed hibiscus tea (found in Latin markets as Jamaica)

A side note about my kitchen ware: Blue & white bowl purchased in an Asian housewares shop on Clement St (can't remember where); Japanese grinding bowl picked up in Japantown; Bentwood tray, pint glass, and cork trivet found thrifting. All locations are in San Francisco.

Nat-toast

I'm back on the natto-wagon again, after a trip to Japantown's Nijiya market. After much-too-much consumption of brown rice, I had to take a break and figure out how to incorporate my beloved natto with other carbs. Riding the success of the natto/salt/oil mix on penne, I figured a go on toast would be the ticket. I fished out the last remaining Easter egg (thanks Rachel), rye bread, and some alfalfa sprouts I recently sprouted. My lordy yummy has come to town!

Ingredients:
1 packet natto (plain preferred, or with the mustard packet only)
1 chopped hard boiled egg
1 tbs grapeseed or olive oil (I used grapeseed)
snipped scallion or chives (as much as you like)
salt & pepper to taste
1 handful alfalfa sprouts
2 pieces of whole grain toast (I used rye)

- Mix the packet of natto in a bowl, without the sauces, till stringy
- Add the natto mustard packet, chopped egg, oil, scallions and salt & pepper. Mix well. It will become more stringy, but DON'T be discouraged.
- Divide the natto mixture between the 2 slices of toast. This would be equally delicious on whole grain wasa-type crackers, or pita bread.
- Top with alfalfa sprouts and enjoy!!!
- p.s. My finger really is blue (the darned Easter egg).


On a side note, I wanted to share I've been sprouting my own seeds in an effort 1) to budget, 2) incorporate some creativity while I am unemployed, 3) healthy & delicious, and 4) cuts down on packaging.

I know many of you may not have the time to do this, but I assure you after 2x, it will be like riding a bike. YouTube is a rife with tutorials. Btw, I just use a doubled-up piece of tulle from my fabric stash, with a rubberband around the jar rim to keep it in place. You can buy those jar sprouting screens, but it isn't necessary.