Butternut squash soup in an organic chic bowl

 I did another shot of the the butternut squash soup with coconut cream swirl on top. The point of this shot is the organic shaped dishware which I also used in the Korean BBQ pork post. I am sure you can't find these chinaware anywhere else because they are one of a kind art work from a ceramic artist. He teaches ceramics where I take drawing class, and I happened to mention I took food photographs and had a hard time finding unique and stylish dishware. He very generously offered me to take a tour of his studio and borrow anything I want. So I borrowed these three pieces that are the good size and shape as dishware. For recipe, please check out my earlier post: Butternut squash soup

Bon appetit!
Have a good weekend.

Korean BBQ pork(Daeji Bulgogi) for Thanksgiving dinner

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I was invited to a friend's home for Thanksgiving dinner and thinking hard what food to bring. since I didn't grow up eating turkey or pumpkin pie, I don't really know how to cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I finally decided to bring something exotic-Korean bbq pork. The first time I had it was in a Korean restaurant in the Canadian border city Niagara Fall. It was served in a sizzling cast iron plate like the kind for fajita. Once I tried it, I decided to learn how to make it by myself!

We had five ladies,one man, and 2-year-old baby all together. All ladies are army wives, but their husbands are all being deployed in Agfganistan except mine who is going to next year. Since I became friends with them, I've appreciated these girls who gave up exciting urban life to live in this rural town. Since there aren't many job oppertunities here, even those with college degree have a hard time getting a job, but they still keep themselves optimistic, happy, and active. When the husbands are gone, wives keep each other company to share their happiness and sadness, they work out regularly to maintain a healthy life, hoping to drop a size or two before the hubbies are back. Good thing is there's only three weeks left for the one year deployment! 

Daeji Bulgogi is another popular Korean meat dish similar to bulgogi. However, instead of using beef, thin sliced pork loin is marinated in a specially blended red chili pepper paste with various assortments of vegetables.Spicy and sweet, belive me, it tastes better than it looks! It was also one of the favorite dishes at our Thanksgiving dinner.

Korean BBQ pork/Daeji Bulgogi Recipe

Ingredients 

1 lb thinly sliced pork (lean & boneless preferred)

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp crushed garlic

½ tbsp crushed ginger root

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp kochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste, available in Asian store)

2 tbsp rice wine (sake)

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 onion, sliced

2tbsp cooking oil

Steps:

1. Combine all the ingredients except pork and cooking oil to make its base marinating sauce.
2. Stir in a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the pork and marinate for 30-60 minutes.
4. Turn the stove to high and add cooking oil in a deep pan or wok.
5. When it's smoky, add marinated pork to stir-fry until onion turns translucent and soft enough.
6. Sprinkle toasted seasame seeds and green onion for garnish. Serve with steamed rice.

Cauliflower soup with dancing fish flakes and oven-baked cheese crisps-the final instalment of the soup trilogy

 

Japanese dancing fish flakes? such a beautiful name, but what the heck is that? Well, other names of it include "Dried Bonito", "Dried Bonito Flakes", "Katsuoboshi", "Katsuobushi", "Katsuo-Bushi". Still don't recognize any?  It is actually dried and smoked bonito (skipjack tuna) that is then shaved into thin flakes. It is a key ingredient in Japanese cooking, specifically its use in making dashi, a fish stock commonly used as a base in many recipes. As for why it's called dancing fish flakes, it is because when you sprinkle some on top of something hot, the heat makes them crimple and toss as if dancing. Topping this cauliflower soup with Bonito flakes is kind of my imporvisation, and it turns out surprisingly good! The smoky falvor does a good job boosting the mild taste of the soup. I claim it a success! :)


The cheese crisps are another improvisation. Although the soup by itself is good, warm and healthy by itself, it's always better to pair with something solid, preferally crunchy to munch on. I was unfortunately out of bread, but found leftover parmesean cheese. So here are the cheese crisps!

Oven-baked cheese crisps

Ingredients: 

1 cup grated hard cheese (such as Parmesean) - NOT the dried powdery stuff

Preparation:

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Toss cheese with any seasonings you'd like -- garlic powder (about half a teaspoon for a cup of cheese), hot pepper powder, even cinnamon. Or leave plain.

3. Pile 1 to 4 Tablespoons of cheese (depending on the size you want) on a baking sheet covered with a alluminum foil or parchment paper oiled on both sides. Flatten the tops so they are in more or less an even pile. There should be at least two inches between smaller mounds, 4 inches between larger ones.

4. Bake 5 to 6 minutes until they are a light golden brown (they will be a little darker at the edges). It happens fast, so watch carefully.

Cauliflower soup

Ingredients:

1  tablespoon  vegetable oil

2  medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

About 1/2 tsp. salt

3  garlic cloves, minced

1/2  cup  dry white wine

1  large head cauliflower (2 lbs.), chopped

4  cups  chicken or vegetable broth

Freshly ground pepper

Steps：

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and salt, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and wine. Cook, stirring, until liquid is almost completely evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Stir in cauliflower and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until cauliflower is very soft, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. In 3 batches, whirl soup in a blender until very smooth, at least 3 minutes per batch (or, if you'd like a few florets in your soup, blend 2 batches and leave the last chunky). Stir together and season to taste with pepper and salt.

Roasted beetroot soup-adapted from Russian Borscht soup

It's been a while since I updated my blog last time. I've been busy preparing my portfolio for design graduate school these days. I did quite a few drawings, some fine art photography projects, and am still waiting for my rice paper and ink to arrive so I can write some Chinese calligraphy. Drawing is something that made me feel grudged to pick up a pencil at first, but once absorbed, I just can't put it down until I finish. Totally love it!

This is what Northern New York state was like a couple of weeks ago.The biker definitely knows how to enjoy the fleeting fall, but now, trees are bald, colorful leaves are gone, and the outdoor colors are just boring. Well, that's why I made this soup to cheer me up! 

Since last time I tried butternut squash soup, I have fell in love with the concept of a bowl of warm soup in a cold day's night, especially it has snowed twice here in the past week!! Jeez!I love colors, intense colors, colors with big contrast. This roasted beetroot soup adapted from the Russian Borscht soup satisfies both my tummy and eyes.I hope it warms you up too!

Here is the recipe to make this Roast Beetroot Soup. I added toasted pine nuts to top to give it a nutty and aromatic kick and light coconut milk to make it taste smooth and rich.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½  onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 medium beets, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 cups chicken/vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• A handful of pine nuts. 

Directions

1. Toast pine nuts in the oven for 5 minutes or until gold, set aside.
2. Set oven at 375F. Roast chopped beets for 40 minutes.
3. Warm olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onions and garlic; cook until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrot and beets to cook for 1 minute.
4. Stir in stock, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cover, and simmer until the carrots and beets are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly.
5. In batches, add soup to a food processor, and pulse until liquefied. Return soup to saucepan, and gently heat through. Add coconut milk. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with a swirl of coconut milk, pine nuts and fresh thyme.

Butternut squash soup

I have totally fell in love with food styling. Some food stands out naturally, like desserts. Maybe that's why they are tons of food bloggers favorite subject. Cakes, say, look good without any props, although with appropriate matching of napkins, plates, silverware and background, they can only be better; while some food are just not categorized as pretty creatures. Soup is one! For them, food styling and prop styling are especially important to create the right atmosphere.

The whole point of writing in my blog what I know about food styling is to share what I have learned with everyone who reads my blog. I am still learning this complicated technique, but I totally enjoys it. If my writing can be of any help to you, I would be more than happy.

When I first started learning food photography, I completely dig myself into the study of shooting techniques and the use of lighting. But compared to the professionals' , my photos indescribably lacked something. I was trying so hard to find that something until recently I realized it's how the food is presented that makes a huge difference!

I started checking out fabrics stores constantly to buy fabrics of all kinds of patterns and textures. I use them as napkins or tablecloth. Real napkins can be much more costly and less diverse, but a yard fabrics can be less than $5. Also shooting next to the window on sunny days can have too much light and also you don't want to see the harsh shadow on the other side of the sun. Having no extra white sheet, I solved the problem by getting a yard white fabrics and hanging it against the window. The light is softly diffused. Also an antique looking table top is an ideal background for food photography. To seek for one, I even got into the habit of paying close attention to people's garbage. Sometimes, people threw away old furniture in front of their houses, and I just helped myself to the distressed looking flat surface pieces.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Fall is the soup season. I finally made this butternut squash soup to celebrate the season of harvest, or try to slow it down, since the miserable winner is almost here!

In the background，putting some stuff related to the food, especially of the same and similar colors creates a consistent and supportive mood. In this shot, the small decorative squashes play the role and along with the gold soup makes a warm and homey feeling.

The background wood is the top part of a chest of drawers which was abandoned by its owner and lying on the front door grass. I torn the chest apart and happily carried away the one I needed! :>

Look at that curly green onion, isn't it pretty? The trick to make the curly green onion strips is after slicing the green onion to about 3 inches long thin trips, put in a bowl with cold water and ice cubes to refrigerate one hour, and then they would be happily twisted.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
3 cups veggie or chicken stock
1 small shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika chili powder
kosher salt

1 slice ham

green onion for garnish

 

Steps:

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pan, over medium heat.  
2. Add the shallots, turn heat to low, cook for about 5 minutes;  stirring occasionally.  
3. Add the butternut squash and chili powder, stir and let cook for another 5 minutes.  
4. Add the garlic and the stock.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a low simmer, cover and let cook until very tender, about 25 minutes.  It will depend on how large your chucks of squash are.  Season to taste with kosher salt.  Remove from heat and let sit about 10 minutes.  
5. Using a food processor or blender, puree in small batches, then combine back in the same soup pot.  Gently reheat over low heat.  
6. Spray some pam oil into a shallow pan and add ham. Cook until both sides are lightly brown. Cut into pieces. 
7. Pour the soup into serving bowls and garnish with ham and green onion. Serve hot.

Toronto trip and coke chicken drumsticks

Last weekend, we headed for Toronto for a couple of days' trip. It's quite a clean and eventful town with all kinds of restaurants and boutique shops. Lots of Asians too, i mean lots! When we were shopping in the mall of downtown area, my husband felt he, as a white guy, was minority. Within 24 hours of being there, we did 11 hours of walking!! My feet hurt badly after the trip. Staying in an old and classy-looking downtown bed & breakfast, we found interesting things to see immediately out of the house. So we kept walking and seeing until we finished a full circle of the downtown area. Of course, Chinatown was a must-stop for a Chinese who hadn't eaten in real Chinese restaurants for months! We gobbled down yummy dim-sum and Hong Kong style roast duck before hitting back the streets to finish the night walking tour.  Well, I think my husband's writing is a better illustration of a Canadian city in an American's eyes, and I'll just contribute some photos:). So now I am turning it over to you, Ryan!

Technically Foreign: When You Have To Remind Yourself Canada Is Another Country

In my experiences in foreign travel, the act of crossing the border can be immediately and significantly felt beyond the obvious "WELCOME TO FOREIGNLANDIA" signs.  Everyone speaks differently, architecture and culture change and food becomes an adventure.  You are a stranger in a strange land, and it's usually not long before you're exposed as such in spite of that fake British accent you were sure sounded authentic.

For an American in Canada, however, it's "World Travel - Easy Mode".

(For the record: Yes, I am aware that technically both Americans and Canadians are American by continent, but since "United Statian" is just so awkward to say, I'll be sticking to the old familiar monikers)

If you happen to be driving, your Canadian Adventure starts at the border crossing.  With an up-to-date passport in hand and minus any unusual circumstances, this is only slightly more involved than passing through a toll booth.  A stock set of questions are asked, and if no eyebrow-raising answers are given, you're on your way, boldly plunging headlong into a strange and foreign country.

I guess.

Probably the only major thing that will hit you is the metric unit conversion.  That's the big thing you have to compensate for.  Seeing a big "100" on a speed limit sign will give you a tiny thrill at first until you squint at the fine print on your speedometer and realize that's, like, 65mph.  Aw.  But if, like me, you're using a GPS and you switch the bulky old thing over to kilometers, you might be surprised how easily you can start to think in metric.  Well, except maybe buying gas measured in cents per liter, I'm still working on that one.  Still, even a 3-day trip should be enough, provided you're not one of those types who holds a strange sort of loyalty to a system of measure.

Oh, and almost everything is in English and French.  But I'm from Texas, where everything is in English and Spanish, so it wasn't a hard pill to swallow.  Your mileage may vary.

The other big area where you might fear change is money, and I'm sure in the before times this would have been a major point of contention requiring significant planning-ahead.  But this is the after times, the 21st Century, a glorious age of borderless networks where computers provide a common language!  You want a snack?  Roll up to your nearest Tim Horton's (there should be one no more than 100 feet away from you at all times while in Canada), whip out that VISA/Mastercard and you'll be stuffing donuts in your face without missing a beat.  Oh crap, the card machine is down and they're only taking cash!  What can you do?!  Well, find an ATM!  Just make sure it one of its logos matches the one on your debit card! Stick it in, do business as usual, and you'll walk away with a colorful stack of Canadian cash (seriously, I love Canadian dollars, it's like future money)

**This actually happened to me in downtown Kingston.  A hole-in-the-wall restaurant didn't take cards, so I had to leave Yue behind as collateral while I hunted down an ATM, hoping against hope that my guess was right and I wouldn't have to start hitting up locals on the street.  I ducked into a bank, saw the machine had a VISA sticker to match the one on my debit card, stuck it in, entered the PIN and crossed my fingers.  Sure enough, out pops funny money.  The day is saved and a new dimension of Canadian convenience has been opened.**

As for everything else, it's just like driving into another state with its minor variations in license plates, local culture and self-reference.  Maybe someone's accent is a little different than you're used to, but no more than you would already find traveling across the U.S.  Honestly, I rarely heard the stereotypical "Canada, eh" accent, which is itself already similar to the Minnesota "don'cha know" accent.  The radio stations play the same music, using the same format.  Scattered advertisements by and large peddle the same familiar brands and products.  Everyone dresses like you, unless you're a weirdo.  Wherever you go, you can find the same stores and restaurants you know.  Ultimately, the same way Canadians get mistaken for Americans abroad, it's simple for an American to blend into Canada...provided your accent doesn't come with a drawl.

CAVEATS:
Of course, Quebec is the giant asterisk "See Below" for this whole spiel, what with it's excessive French-ness and all, but even non-Quebecois Canadians think Quebec is like a foreign country, so MMMNNNYYAHH!!

Cell phones.  This I can only speak for myself on: my Blackberry works the same in Canada as in the U.S.  I've used it in Canada several times over the past year, both voice and data, and my Sprint bill has never changed.  I cannot promise the same for others, but it only helps my immersion.  However, I saw an ad for AT&T that said Canada calls were now considered local, so this may be a rapidly closing gap.

Finally, and this is more an interesting observation than a caveat, but across Canada, you can still see the cultural influences of the British Commonwealth.  The best way I can explain it is this:  Canada is just like the U.S., but in some mirror universe where the colonies never fought the Revolutionary War and developed normally as part of the British Empire.  There are still scattered references to British Royalty (most noticeably with Queen Elizabeth plastered on all the money), they do the Prime Minister/Parliament thing instead of the President/Congress thing, a few key words are spelled in British fashion ("centre", "colour", etc.), and the "Loyalist" rather than "Patriot" is historically lauded in the Canadian public institution.  Really though, this is all just for flavor, as Canadians don't consider themselves British any more than Australians do or Indians/Hong Kong Chinese did.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last I am gonna contribute a dish I cooked, styled and shot tonight. Very simple 3-ingredient coke chicken drumsticks. For recipe, see coca-cola chicken. I used Chinese bok choy cabbage and cilantro for garnish.

Sesame cold soba noodle and miso soup

Sesame cold noodle is a classic summer dish in the north China to chill off the summer heat. When I moved to Beijing for college and tried this dish for the first time, I was like "What is this? how can cold noodle not be spicy? Well, if it's not spicy,it's flavorless" So I hated it in the beginning, because it overthrew my concept of cold noodle which in my hometown was always dressed in chili oil sauce. However, after having lived in Beijing for 3 years, I fell in love with this food. The sesame sauce rich and creamy, the noodle al dente, with crisp cucumber slices, it's an ideal light and yummy summer food!It takes only 15 minutes to make!

After raining for 3 days, the sky finally cleared out. I found some soba noodle in the closet and made this dish to savor the last bit of summer.

Bon appetit! Have a good weekend!