Baked Sesame Apricot Chicken

I was going to make this sesame orange chicken and used my apricot preserve that I had left over from white chocolate cake with apricot for which the recipe required apricot preserve but I ended not using it.

Problem was that I didn't have soy sauce.

You would say what kind of an Asian I am. Well - these things happen. Occasionally I run out of kitchen essentials and never have a chance to get more. Plus I use fish sauce as my savory source for my food most of the time....

Enough with excuses. Here's what I did with the chicken which came out just ok... A little on the dry side...



Ingredients

• About 3 pounds chicken boneless chicken breast - thinly sliced


• 1/2 cup apricot preserve


• 2 teaspoon salt


• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes


• 1/2 cup roasted sesame seeds


• 1/2 cup matzo meal (or bread crumb)

Directions

1. Coat chicken with apricot preserve, salt and red pepper flakes and let sit in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
2. 
   
3. Heat oven to 425 degrees and spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.


4. Mix sesame seeds and matzo meal on a large plate. Press both sides of chicken on the plate and line on baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes.

The Rose City

Toulouse is like a former child actress. Long ago, it enjoyed fame and notoriety as a major city in France, but then got lazy and fell out of favor. Now, a little tattered and known for its aerospace technology and universities rather than food or culture, it seems to want the attention it once had, but doesn't warrant it. But somehow it dons its rose-colored dress every day and puts on a brave face, not really admitting that the focus of the country has moved elsewhere.

I do enjoy the architecture and wandering the narrow streets, and there are treasures to be discovered there if you look hard enough. There are some sights to see, but unlike in Paris or Brittany, you don't feel an obligation to run around and check things off as you go through your guidebook. I confess that in the 10 years that we have been coming to Toulouse, I have not set foot inside one museum or historical building. The best experience to be had is to visit the market or stumble upon a great local restaurant.

As the main city of the Languedoc and the Occitan culture, you get a mix of Roman-esque buildings and a blend of cultures, including French, Spanish, and much less so, Italian. There is a strong Arabic population, so often you will find fast food restaurants featuring Kababs and bakeries with unusual confections in the window.

The most famous person that hails from Toulouse is Antoine de St.-Exupery, author of Le Petit Prince. This book is a family favorite of ours, and will always be near and dear to me.

On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur.

(We see well only with the heart.)

Antoine de SAINT-EXUPÉRY, Le Petit Prince

Pineapple Coffee Cake

My first fat-free vegan cake.



Got recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen. The cake came out ok although I didn't know what Ener-G Egg Replacer was and just used 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed instead. I also messed up by misreading the 1 cup of crushed pineapple to 1 can of crushed pineapple. Ooops. Oh well - my cake came out a little too moist and too sweet...

I Love You, I Love You Not

I have a love/hate relationship with the French.

Let's start with hate, since that is always how I begin my trips here.


I hate the bureaucracy that is rampant throughout France. I mean really, talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. The French are so obsessive about their schedules and rules, that logic flies right out the window! We almost missed our connecting flight from Paris to Toulouse because the terminal transfer bus would not leave to take us to our terminal. It was sitting in front of the stop, with all of us passengers sitting inside, sweating it out, and it would not budge. "We must respect our schedule", was their only reply to our polite request to leave. Tick tock tick tock. Feet tapping. Brows furrowed. Response to our worry? A shoulder shrug, pursed lips. In other words, "Wow, you are screwed, but there isn't anything I can do about it, and frankly, I really don't care." Finally we left, 15 minutes after the so called appointed time. I know that last 15 minutes was pure spite. If it were not for our Air France flight leaving late, we would have missed it (because when they say "gates closed", there is of course no exception). After coming from Dublin, where everyone could not have been nicer or more helpful, all of this shitty attitude seemed entirely unnecessary!

Perhaps all of this hall-monitor behavior around schedules, is what allows them to cook with such passion and creativity. And this is what I love about the French. Food is like a religion here, and it knows no bounds. Everyone from every age and walk of life has very high standards as far as consumption, and they do it with flourish and pride.

My "fast food" meal at Charles de Gaulle airport was no greasy burger and calorie-laden fries - instead I enjoyed a cured ham sandwich, a sparkling water, and a freshly made rhubarb tart, from a wonderful chain called Paul.




And you know what? After my meal, I immediately felt stronger and ready to face the rest of the journey and any roadblocks anyone was going to throw my way.

It really helps to see the light at the end of the tunnel, when you know that that light comes in the form of a buttery patisserie.

Images of Dublin

A Small City or a Big Town

Dublin is very different than I had imagined. Photos that I had seen led me to believe it was this smallish, quaint town - instead, it is a large, bustling city. We were only able to explore a small part of it, and I definitely want to come back to see the rest.

That said, I liked it very much. It has a youthfulness and diversity that must come from the university students, but it is still filled with tons of traditional pubs as you would expect, which have people in them at all hours of the day and night.

We only had a few hours, so we explored the Temple Bar area - which was full of people exploring the shops and sitting outside at the coffee houses and pubs.


We had dinner at the Purty Kitchen, a gastropub just outside the mayhem of Temple Bar. I ate a steamed pot of mussels, seasoned with chiles and coriander, which was bigger than my head. Lovely with a slice of their housemade multigrain bread, and of course, a frothy pint of Guinness. Delicious!

Walk on the Wilde Side

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.

There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating: people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.

Work is the curse of the drinking classes.

- Oscar Wilde

No one delivers a 1-liner like Dublin's irreverent son, Oscar Wilde. He was a student at Trinity College in the 1800's. I treated myself to a copy of "The Picture of Dorian Grey" from the bookstore.

The Holy Trinity

Our first stop in Dublin was Trinity College, founded in 1592, which has an absolutely beautiful campus that is open to the public. You can see its influence on American universitites, but it has a complimentary feeling about the architecture and layout which makes it feel very unified and intimate. It's hard to believe that it takes up 40 acres of city space.


We were able to get to the Old Library just in time to take a quick look at the Book of Kells, a Celtic manuscript that dates from the Middle Ages and contains ornate drawings. It was interesting for me to learn what they used to create ink - oak tree bark, lapis lazuli, etc.


I absolutely loved the Long Room, in the Old Library. It looks like something straight out of Harry Potter, with high vaulted ceilings and volume after volume of ancient books. There are ladders leading to high shelves, winding staircases going up to other floors, and marble busts of famous people lining the hallway. It's the kind of place you want to get locked into by mistake, and spend the night pouring through books and wandering around. It feels like you are in a cathedral, where books are worshipped as deities.

Cheers!

Surely this is the food of the gods.

The Luck of the Irish

Landing in Dublin, this morning at around 9am.

Due to the heavy storms in Chicago, we were delayed and sat on the tarmac for over 3 hours. We arrived late, and missed our connection to Toulouse.

By this happy accident, we are "stuck" in Dublin overnight, and Aer Lingus is putting us up in a hotel. What a treat! An unexpected chance to visit a city that has been on my list for a long time, and without any extra expense or much inconvenience. We are going to go explore the city now. :)

On the Road Again...Maybe

I'm sitting here in the International Terminal of O'Hare airport, waiting to board an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin, then on to Toulouse, France.

The skies have just opened up in a mad fury and a huge thunderstorm has descended upon us. Outside is grey/black with almost no visibility - it's 3:30pm and suddenly feels like midnight. It's nuts! Living in San Francisco for so many years, I have forgotten what a summer storm feels like. First, the opressive heat and heavy air. Then, the darkening of the skies. And boom! Angry streams of water pummeling down on everything in their path, accompanied by booming thunder and flashes of lightning. Now there is a weird calm outside. And then, after nature has had its way with us, a bright, clean calm. It's pretty awesome - it feels almost biblical.

We are not going anywhere soon. There are rumors that the airport has been shut down because of tornado warnings. But you know, I am OK with it. It's easy to convince ourselves of our control in this world, including where we go and when - our limits seem boundless. That is when nature likes to step in and say, "Yeah? I don't think so."

Baked Turkey Meatballs

Enough with chicken...



Ingredients

• 3 pounds ground turkey


• 1 bunch fresh cilantro - roughly chopped


• 1/2 onion - chopped


• 1 head garlic - finely chopped


• 2 eggs - lightly beaten


• 1/2 cup soy milk


• 1/2 cup bread crumbs


• 1 tablespoon salt


• 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper


• 2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


2. Mix eggs, soy milk and bread crumbs. Stir. Add salt, cayenne pepper and white pepper. Add to the meat. Add cilantro and onion. Combine all together by hands.


3. Ball a tablespoon of meat and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. Make 50 meatballs.

Note to self: more spice next time! More chilies and peppers!!!

Zucchini Brownies

Trying to redeem myself from last week's very very dry brownies, I spent the whole week looking for brownie recipes. This one from allrecipes.com looks promising. It got very high rating from lots of people. I uses canola oil - not butter - and 2 cups of zucchini! Awesome... Sounds healthy. :P



Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour


• 1 cup whole wheat flour


• 1/2 cup cocoa powder


• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 cup canola oil


• 1 cup sugar


• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract


• 2 cups shredded zucchini


• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts


• 2 oz. semisweet chocolate - chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 baking pan with non-stick baking spray.


2. In a small bowl, whisk all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together.


3. In a medium bowl, whisk oil, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Pour flour mixture into oil mixture and whisk until combined. The "batter" will be very dry and coarse.


4. Fold in zucchini and walnuts.


5. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chopped chocolate on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely before serve.

These brownies came out surprisingly tasty and moist - despite no eggs - no butter - no liquid other than oil resulting in dirt-like batter. Will have to try adding coffee to intensify the chocolate flavor the next time.

Peach and Plum Crisp

I have made this so many times this past two months with whatever stone fruit or berries available for cheap that week. This week it's yellow peaches and red plums.



Ingredients

• 5 peaches - pitted and cut


• 5 plums - pitted and cut


• 1 tablespoon ground psyllium husk (or tapioca flour or corn starch to absorb juice)


• 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal (not instant)


• 1/2 cup almond flour (or all purpose flour)


• 1/4 cup raw sugar


• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts


• 3 tablespoons butter - chilled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. Toss the fruit with ground psyllium in 2.2 Qt. Pyrex baking dish.


3. In a separate bowl, combine oatmeal, almond flour, sugar and walnuts. Cut in butter. Rub until you can't find chunky pieces of butter anymore.


4. Sprinkle the crisp over fruit and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is slightly brown.

Baked Basil Chicken

I wish I have a food processor. I would have called this baked pesto chicken had my basil resembled pesto a little bit more. My chopping skill is far behind food processor.

In Thailand we have this dish called Pad-Krapao-Gai which means chicken stir fried with Thai basil. I'm making a version of the dish but instead of stir frying I baked and instead of Thai basil I used huge American basil.

It came out not bad although I felt like it's missing something -- maybe stir fry grease - maybe more chilies - I don't know. Definitely next time I'll use dark meat instead of breast and add chopped onions. And definitely get a food processor.



Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken breast - cut into portion


• 7 cloves garlic - chopped


• 12 Thai chilies - chopped


• About 2 cups chopped basil leaves


• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


2. Mix chopped garlic, chopped chilies, chopped basil and fish sauce together. Rub chicken with the sauce. Arrange the chicken in baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Flip the chicken and bake for 15 minutes more. Discard the foil and bake 10 minutes more or until chicken is slight browned.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Hello, my name is Neil, and I am a Seduction Addict.

So, last night my friend Mike was telling me about this book he is reading, called "the Game". Mike is happily married to a beautiful, smart woman and has never had a past problem enticing the fairer sex. But sometimes, the fumblings of his single friends baffle him, and he started reading the new book by Neil Strauss, a reporter for Rolling Stone, who was given the assignment to study with the pick-up artist Mystery and discover the secrets to successful seduction.

Apparently, there are very specific steps you must take, and in a well-plotted-out progression. All of these steps are designed to make a woman feel a certain way about you, something about how you need to have a higher perceived value than her so she aspires to attain you. If you appear to be on a level playing field with her, she will lose interest and go after someone else. And, timing is everything, down to moving in 3 seconds after making eye contact. This playbook approach probably appeals to guys because of sports - an organized strategy for winning with a roadmap and pep-talk from a coach. FMAC = Find, Meet, Attract, Close - now get out there and kill 'em, boys!

What happened to Neil is that he went from a AFC (Average Frustrated Chump) to a very skilled PUA (Pick-up Artist), and......didn't find happiness. Big surprise. What he found instead is that he was no longer able to stop himself from seducing women, and that none of this conquesting gave him what he needed to sustain a relationship.

In my experience, women are looking for confident men, who are good listeners. They want to be respected, but also made to feel beautiful and special. They want a man, and not a little boy. As a woman, I would be amused by a poor geek posing as a Casanova, but not interested. Women are smarter than that, and the ones who aren't...well, you can have them. And just as women are criticized for overlooking the bespeckled balding bean-counter guys, these guys should open their horizons to include the shy, awkward beauties who don't need a Game to be persuaded to open their hearts.

H.M.S Pinafore, by Stewie

I am so excited to be attending a performance of the HMS Pinafore at the Yerba Buena Center today. I love operettas, as they give you the beautiful music of an opera, but with a comic & satirical mood, usually with clever wordplay, which I love. Gilbert and Sullivan were a great team, and I actually prefer this genre to the standard Broadway musical, which can be overly dramatic and drawn out (Phantom of the Opera - groan!).

I first saw Pinafore at North Shore Country Day School, where I was a student from K-8th grade. Every year they would perform a different operetta, including this one, Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, the Mikado, etc. Because of the humor and catchy songwriting, everyone from the kindergarteners to the seniors enjoyed the production.

Here is Stewie from the Family Guy, performing a version of one of the numbers. There is also an episode of the Simpsons in which Sideshow Bob sings the entire score.

The Sound of Silence

One of my hardest-working friends recently said to me that she has decided to ease her stress by curbing her ambition, and making a point of being happy in her current position. Since she decided that, and is only doing the job that she already has (rather than trying perform at the next level and hoping to gain a promotion), her workload has decreased. When I asked her how that felt, she said that she was "enjoying the space".

I absolutely love that notion. I think we need to remember what that feels like and make room in our lives for it. What I mean is that we need to make room in our lives for free time, with no plans, and be comfortable with that. No guilt.

Think of how you act around your best friend or partner. For me, I am equally happy talking a mile a minute as I am sitting on the couch reading magazines. It's not awkward to enjoy a long period of not talking, when there isn't anything to say. It has to do with trust, comfort, and a genuine enjoyment of simply being in that person's company.

I think that when we a make a commitment to "enjoy the space", we actually enable ourselves to move forward. When there is endless chatter (whether it is in conversation or activity), there is no room for new ideas - the existing ones are taking up all of the room and drowning out everything else. Space allows new ideas to come to us, and at the same time gives us time to breathe, recharge and collect our energy.

Factoring this in to your life may mean some sacrifice. You may not be able to do everything you want to do. This is especially difficult for people like me, who tend to over-schedule and layer activities, running around like it is their last day on earth, every day, not wanting to miss something. But prioritizing and making choices is part of being a responsible adult. Realizing that doing the necessary things and making time to relax are equally important is key to achieving balance. Doing a few things well and leaving room for space in between is better than doing a million things half-way.

So, on that note, I leave you with this:

[.....................................................]

Black. Snake. Moan.

Rent. This. Now.

"Black Snake Moan" is one of those movies that fell victim to bad marketing. Just look at the poster and tell me, what in the world is this movie about? Who is it for, and what the hell does the title mean? "Everything is hotter down South" - uhhh, is this porn?


While it almost got lost in the shuffle, I loved this little gem of a movie. The story centers around two lost souls - the character of Rae, played by Christina Ricci, and the character of Lazarus, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Both of them have "fallen" in their own way, and somehow land in each other's paths, which leads to the possibility of redemption. There is a third character that is equally important to the movie (totally absent from the poster), and that is the music - the haunting, passionate, heartbreaking blues that guide us through the story and move us as much as the events that unfold. I actually think that this photo is a better depiction of the movie.


The acting is great, and both characters pull you in immediately. Rae's downward spiral and loud cries for help are equally matched by Lazarus's ticking time-bomb outbursts. These characters are surrounded by people, but so alone. Lazarus's outrageous gesture of trying to "fix" Rae and her wickedness, by chaining her to the radiator in his house, eventually gets overshadowed by the humanity that emerges. And as their relationship develops, the blues curl around them like a warm blanket and pulls them back in to the passion and energy that is life.

There are not many surprises in the story - you've heard this one before, it's a Southern fable told again and again, set in a steamy, gritty, country location. Insects buzz, sweat glistens, honey drips, and there is nothing like the taste of sweet summer corn. What makes it good is the players, and they are very good.

Christina Ricci's performance reminded me a lot of Reece Witherspoon in "Freeway", down to her accent. Her character is tougher than nails on the outside, but with a vulnerable interior. Her sexuality has a rawness about it that makes it almost non-sexual - it's hard, aggressive, and sharp-edged - almost a weapon, against others and ultimately against herself.

Samuel L. Jackson plays the tortured Lazarus very well, with perfect timing and a performance as unwavering as his character's willpower. The softer side of his character emerges when he plays his music, and through his cooking.

Craig Brewer, who wrote and directed this movie, does a great job of telling this story without making it too cliche (this is no modern day "Driving Miss Daisy"). He entertains us, with a un-apologetic dose of in-your-face reality, but at the same time with a sympathetic view of the characters, much like in his other movie "Hustle & Flow". John Singleton produced both of these movies as well, so they share a similar style. These characters certainly live in more extreme circumstances that we see in our lives, but their truths are universal and can be found in all of us who are just trying to find our way in this world.

Another Opening, Another Show

So I spent at least a year waiting like a fool for HBO to start or continue their series, being strung along and tortured to the point where I started to resent the shows, the characters, the writers, the network - whoever was in charge for making me play this horrible waiting game for an hour of decent TV one day a week. Damn, I was so loyal. And then I watched the shows die off, only to be replaced by bizarre or boring sucessors (ok, to be fair I do like "Big Love", but someone please explain "John from Cincinnati" to me). Still, I touted the superiority of HBO as the only television worth watching.

Unbeknownst to me, SHOWTIME was starting to come up with some shows of its own. And...hold on to your seat...showing them regularly. They were good shows, at that. Last week I decided that I was going to give "Weeds" a chance, after hearing rave reviews of this sleeper of a series, from people that I trusted.


Oh my fucking God, I love this show!! I watched the entire first and second season in about 2 days, staying up until 3am, thinking about the characters and their problems like they were old friends, trying to remember all of the funny lines I could. The writing is brilliant, and the acting is excellent. It's not entirely funny and it's not entirely serious, it's outrageous and real at the same time, it's made up of beautifully imperfect characters...in short, it's great, and it totally works. Tonight was the premiere of Season 3, and it looks very promising. Mary Louise Parker could not be more adorable, and Elizabeth Perkins and Kevin Nealon have found the best roles of their careers.

There is a new series that premiered right after "Weeds", called "Californication". Our hero is David Ducovny, as a blocked writer and womanizer - really, a pretty self-centered deadbeat of a guy, neither doing the ex-husband or dad thing all that well, and clearly on a downward spiral. He's fully aware of his situation, and is smirking as he takes us down his self-destructive path with him - charming us in the way only David Duchovny can.


Again, the writing is sharp, the characters are well-developed, and it has the right blend of humor and painful truth.

I think that Nancy-Pants and Hank would be friends. I can see them talking and laughing about their fucked-up lives over dirty martinis in Nancy's kitchen. They both have lost loves who they miss (Nancy's dead husband and Hank's ex), and they are both eloquently bumbling their way through parenthood. Alas, our hero and heroine may never meet. But lucky me, I get to spend my Monday nights with them, and I am grateful to have their company.

HBO who?

A Lesson

Me: Why can't I get everything that I want, when I want it? Why must you make me try so hard? *shakes fist at the sky* I need some answers!

Life: You are not the boss of me.

Grilled Chicken

I wanted to make Satay Chicken - but I didn't have fresh spices (galangal and lemongrass) and I was too lazy to make satay chicken's peanut sauce and cucumber salad (Aa-jaad). So I made this grilled chicken - which is basically satay chicken minus all of the above....

It came out nicely spiced - although I would have liked it spicier. Have to put more pepper next time.



Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thigh - cubed


• 4 cloves garlic - chopped


• 4 teaspoon ground coriander seed


• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 
  
• 2 teaspoon turmeric


• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper


• 2 teaspoon salt


• 1 tablespoon brown sugar


• 1 cup coconut milk

Directions

1. Combine all the spices in coconut milk. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes.


2. Line broiler with aluminum foil. Skewer the chicken and grilled under the broiler for about 7 to 10 minutes. Flip the skewers and cook 5 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Very Dry Brownies

Made this on Friday from this recipe. They come out very dry. Maybe because I used 6 oz. of semisweet chocolate instead of 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Maybe I overbaked them....

View from the Top

From Twin Peaks on a windy summer's day.

Dogs are the New Kids

That what was written on the t-shirt of the lovely man who helped me at "Best in Show", the fabulous store for spoiled pets in the Castro.


Lucy was in dire need of a new collar (never mind that the last one cost me $65 at "Babies", the store for spoiled pets in Hayes Valley. I feel bad going there again after Lucy peed all over their floor). Not because her old collar was worn, because it was tired, girl! So we headed over to the mecca for all things bold and beautiful, the Castro. BIS carries my favorite brand of dog collars, Bella Bean Couture, so I wanted to check out the new offerings.

Of course, the first thing we had to have was a Buzy Bee (remember, the name of the store is "Best in Show", and I would never give up an opportunity to channel Parker Posey).


Of course, we found the perfect collar - I loved it so much I had to get the matching lead. It's not Bella Bean, but very similar in style - made by another local company called Unnecessary Essentials. The name of the style is called "The York", a very uptown pink and brown rep stripe grossgrain ribbon, with an easy buckle closure.

I took Lucy up to Twin Peaks afterwards so we could debut her new gear and look down at the world below us. Here is the pretty princess on her walk.


When we got home, she tried to rip off Buzy Bee's head and then went down for a long nap. Life is good for the 4-legged crowd in San Francisco.

Oh, and don't think that we are done. The cupcake collar from Bella Bean is on my, I mean Lucy's, wish list for fall.

The Return of the Prodigal Mug

Michael recovered my long-ago misplaced Jonathan Adler mug, and compared me to Nigella Lawson. Now, that's what I call a good morning.