Cold Sesame Noodle

This is one of those recipe that I make a lot, but really never the same every time. But here's a rough guideline for the sauce:
1 part vinegar (basalmic, chinese black vinegar, or rice vinegar all works well)
1 part dried chili with oil (or whatever chili sauce you want, if there's no chili oil with the chili, add a little more oil to the sauce)
1 part toasted sesame paste (stronger aroma than tahini, any type of nut butter would works too)
1 part warm water
1 part sesame oil
2 parts soy sauce
raw garlic to taste
brown sugar to taste
Blend everything together in blender/food processor until well mixed.
The dish shown used dried soba noodles, cooked to package directions. I added chopped bok choy and shredded carrots while the noodle was boiling at the last minute. Mix the noodle with sauce and shredded chicken. Finally, top with white and black sesame seeds, fried shallots, and fried garlic.

Music in My Kitchen

I got tagged by Derrick at An Obsession With Food to participate in this little meme. While I'm still confuse about the actual definition of a meme, I'm happy to join in the fun. So here goes...

What is the total number of music files on your computer?

None at all on my ibook. I stream everything from the desktop or use my iPod. The whole library on the desktop has 7834 songs, 28.48GB. I don't know if the ratio between the CDs Chris and I own are 1:1, never paid any attentions to that part before. I do know that I have enough to warrant the check with my library list before buying anything from iTune.

What is the last CD you bought?

Brian McKnight's Gemini. One of the few artist that I will just buy the album before listening to any songs on it.

What is the last song you listened to before reading this message?

Well, I was listening to my iPod when I read the email at work. I made note of it and it was Toshi Kobuta's Nothing but Your Love.

Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.

1. "Illusion 幻影" by Alan Tam 譚詠麟 from his "Fog of Love 霧之戀" album. It was the first album I've ever own. I got the tape (yes TAPE!) before I moved from Hong Kong to US way back in 1984. I might still have it at my parents' house. I even have a music box that plays the song.

2. "A Game, A Dream 一場遊戲一場夢" by Dave Wong 王傑. I have no idea how to translate the title of this song to make it sound decent. So you will just have to take my words for the fact that it sounds better in Chinese. The first (and only) guy I had a crush on shared my interest in this singer. I can't remember what that guy looked like anymore (it was back in high school), but I remember the songs...

3. "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" by D'Angelo from the Voodoo album. In my opinion one of the sexiest song recorded. Ok, I admit that the first time I heard the song was when I saw the video. So I don't know how much does his naked body have on my opinion.

4. "You Got Me" by the Roots from the Things Fall Apart album. I never considered myself an a hip hop fan. There would be some stuff I like, but not until this song that I would actually listen to a hip hop album by myself.

5. I'm going to cheat here and say anything from Boyz II Men or Babyface. The first offical date Chris and I had was at their concert. Ten years later on that anniversary, we got married. =)

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

I'm going to cheat and pass this on to my brother Alan who somtimes blogs here so I don't know if he'll post here or his own blog. And I'm also going to tag sisisa cause maybe she might finally post something here! Finally, I'm tagging PekingDuck cause even though he don't have a food blog, at least his name qualifies.

SHF #5 - Puff Pastry 3 ways...

I wasn't sure that I could participate in this edition of SHF (hosted by Clement this time at a la cusine) since I've been sick all week. But since I got some frozen puff pastry last week, I figure I'll have to at least try to make a few simple things with them. (And no, the thought of making my own puff pastry never even cross my mind!) I've never played with puff pastry before but my mind was filled with all sorts of ideas about what to fill them up with. The picture aboved shows one filled with mango and whipped cream on the left and one filled with chocolate and hazelnut on the right. The mango was 'marinated' overnight with a little sugar and orange flower water since the mango wasn't ripe enough. It was ok. I think it would be have been better if the mango is more flavorful. The chocolate one is exactly what you would expect, not a bad thing. It definitely did not go very well with the blueberry sauce (blueberries blended with a little apple cider) on the bottom on the plate. My favorite is the third one.

As you can sort of see in this photo, I cut the puff pastry round this time so it resembles more like a small cup. I then split it and filled with homemade lemon sorbet. The recipe of the lemon sorbet came from Janie Hibler's The Berry Bible. I think it's one of the simplest recipe you'll come across. I even get a chance to use my ice cream maker in Feb. In the end, I can't wait until I feel better and experiment some more. Afterall, I still have more than half of a package sitting in my freezer...

Ginger Scones with Lemon-Blueberry Filling

I checked out a copy of Janie Hibler's The Berry Bible from the library a couple of weeks ago. It's sad that I got this book in the winter before berry season starts. I keep reading all these yummy recipes and could only copy them to try later on in the year. I did manage to find a few things that I could make now. The scones are one of them. As soon as I read the part where candied ginger are used in the dough, I knew this will be the first recipe to try. I love crystallized ginger, but I've only been eating them plain as candy. Using it in the scones was a great addition to the overall flavor. The lemon curd and berry jam (I don't have fresh, ripe blueberries afterall) in the center just put them over the top. I will definitely make these again. Even my dad, who don't normally go for sweets, made sure that my mom save the last one for him.

Make Ahead Meal

There are weekends when I actually have time to cook a couple things to keep for the work week ahead. Those weekends are getting to be quite rare lately. I did manage to make a black bean and corn salad for this week. I guess it's not really cooking, more like throwing stuff together. But since I seem to have caught the latest round of flu that's going around the office, I am definitely glad there's something healthy in the fridge I could just grab and take for lunch.

Black Bean and Corn Salad
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 small bag of frozen sweet corn, thawed
1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/4 small jacama, diced
3 tbs chopped cilantro
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbs dried ranch seasoning

Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least an hour or overnight. It will last in the refrigerator for a few days.