May 2013
1 post
Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwiches
Christ, its been a while. Sorry for not posting for a while, but school got crazy, because enrolling for two upper level English classes and a 200-level History was the greatest idea ever. But I’m not here to gripe about how stupid my life decisions are.
Instead, you all get to hear about the latest food trend. Actually, its not really that recent, it’s been around for years, but...
March 2013
4 posts
14 tags
Coup de Tart
I have some big news. My short story is getting published in my college’s literary review. It’s not the the biggest thing ever, but its pretty cool. Over the past six months, I’ve been writing and editing a story called “Coup de Tart” which is a kitchen noir story. It has no literary value, no symbolism, no deeper meaning, and absolutely no purpose. It’s...
“But criticism, real criticism, is essentially the exercise of [curiosity]. It...”
– Matthew Arnold, The Function of Criticism at the Present Time 1864
6 tags
20 tags
Going Green
I’ve often wondered whether organic foods really make a difference. My hipster friends love to tell me that it makes a dramatic difference, and that organic is the only way to go. Some of my more cynical friends would have me believe that labeling something “organic” is mostly a conspiracy thought up by the evil grocery stores to get me to pay double for a product that...
February 2013
0 posts
12 tags
Ratatouille
God, I’m really terrible at getting posts out on time lately. My work load is rather large this semester, and I don’t expect it to let up. I will try to be more punctual about my posts, but when it comes right down to it, my grades take precedence. But I digress.
I’ve been in a particularly veggie mood lately, and decided to play around with making some Ratatouille....
January 2013
4 posts
17 tags
Table Scraps
I’m sorry I didn’t get a post up last week. I’ve been busy and had some issues I’ve had to deal with, especially with my internet connection back at college. However, that hasn’t stopped me from cooking and eating. Although nothing I’ve done is particularly noteworthy, I figure I can piecemeal together a few things I’ve been doing into a somewhat...
14 tags
Oysters
Dating Series part 1
There’s a short story they made us read in high school about this kid eating oysters with his father. I don’t remember much about the story other than the somewhat average description of the oysters. I do remember having to analyze the hell out of it, and I very distinctly remember how much I thought analyzing a fairly innocuous story like that was bullshit....
9 tags
Vegetarianism
Recently, I have had a lot of questions about vegetarianism. For me, a lifelong meat eater, the concept doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But what seems like such a simple question (Why do you not eat meat?) can be quite complex. I decided that I would try and figure out how vegetarians think. I wanted to get inside their minds, see how they really work. To be able to truly understand...
December 2012
4 posts
16 tags
Paisha's French Sampler
My best friend, Paisha, just got back from France, and brought quite a haul with her. As usual, our Christmas gift exchange comprised of a lot of little food items. This year was a particularly wonderful sampling of pate, chocolate, salt, and some very strange pig gummies.
The pate was excellent. Subtle hints of the port and other flavorings only added to the enjoyment. It was perfectly...
11 tags
Finals and Experiencing Food
Yes, you guessed it. It’s that time of the year for me: the time of year when I subsist on Cheetos, top ramen, coffee, and stress. Finals are eating away at my brain, and there’s not much I can do in the way of food writing this week. So instead, I will apologize for the lack of article and will make up with extra articles over the break. Although I do have one interesting tidbit...
14 tags
Fresh Boiled Eggs
A few months ago, one of my friends built a chicken coop in his yard. ”Hey Kevin, do you want to buy a chicken?” he said one day as we passed on our way to class. At first, I had no idea what he meant. It took me a second to process that I was actually going to be putting money down for a live chicken whose primary role would be providing eggs. Needless to say, I was excited.
...
9 tags
Is tumblr a good place for food blogs?
I want to hear what you guys have to say. More than a year ago, I moved my blog from a blogspot over to tumblr. This was when I was still doing a tandem blog with a friend in NYC. Since then, she has stopped contributing to the blog and I have taken it over. But I just continued on tumblr, partially out of laziness, and also because I really like the tumblr format. I do see there are some...
November 2012
5 posts
17 tags
Ka Won
Over the years, I’ve eaten at my fair share of Korean BBQ restaurants. My neighborhood is filled with lots of Koreans, and if you know where to look, you can find a bunch of restaurants that serve only Korean food to Koreans. But there is one Korean BBQ place that I’ve come to really love: Ka Won. It comes highly recommended from Koreans all over the Seattle area, which is high...
8 tags
17 tags
Hostess on the run
I was originally going to post about yeast today, but when I heard that Hostess went out of business a few days ago, I couldn’t resist. I have a weakness for packaged confectionery products, and Hostess has a special place in my heart. The times I’ve shared with a few friends, a bong, and a package of donettes…they will forever stay in my heart.
“So what?” some...
18 tags
Cacio e Pepe
This is a recipe I’ve been meaning to try for ages. Cacio e Pepe translates to “Cheese and Pepper”, which is prettymuch all this pasta is. It’s a beautifully simple dish that requires very little in the way of ingredients, time, or skill. For me, it’s a great lazy feel-good meal.
Originating in Rome, this pasta has become a staple of Italians everywhere. And...
8 tags
Ginger Beer
I’ve always loved ginger, in almost everything. Now that it’s getting into fall, I figured it would be the perfect time to experiment with more ginger concoctions. I have a recipe for ginger ale that works fairly well, but I’ve always wanted to embellish it and try making ginger beer. Ginger beer is the badass older brother of Ginger ale: drier, darker, spicier, more...
October 2012
6 posts
11 tags
Warm Squash Salad
I really don’t know what to call this dish. It’s a modification of a dish my mother makes from time to time. I love how simple it is: honestly, it’s just the ingredients in the picture above (the lime is hiding behind the squash). This is a perfect side dish for the fall, especially if you are tired of squash. ”Tired of squash?” you might say, “I fucking...
11 tags
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
I’ve been told by sushi aficionados to watch this movie. I’ve been told by film buffs to watch this movie. I’ve been told by Japanese people to watch this movie. So there wasn’t much of a question that I would eventually be watching this movie.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a documentary that follows Jiro and his restaurant as the viewer is taken on many journeys through the...
“But knowledge is as food, and needs no less
Her Temperance over Appetite, to...”
– John Milton
12 tags
Tarte Tatin
It finally feels like fall. The rain is falling as plentifully as the leaves, and people are starting to get slightly grumpier. I’m able to wear sweaters all the time now, and I’m also able to eat apples almost all the time. Apples really are one of my favorite fruits (I guess it comes with the territory, growing up in Washington). There is no better way to celebrate the coming...
23 tags
Chinese Tea
A few months ago, I got the opportunity to taste a range of teas from a Chinese company called TeaVivre. I got a package of tea in the mail a few weeks ago and have been slowly working my way through all the teas they’ve sent me. Here is my short analysis.
All of the teas were excellent in quality. There was not a bad one in the bunch. They were rich, smooth teas that both tasted and...
12 tags
Nong's Khao Man Gai
This food cart has been getting a lot of press lately and is now one of the most popular food carts in Portland. They’ve been written up in Bon Appetit, Saveur, and many others, all of them praising Nong’s Khao Man Gai for serving exceptional chicken rice. I took it upon myself to try Nong’s Khao Man Gai to see for myself how good it really is. But before I jump into my...
September 2012
4 posts
24 tags
Spaghetti Pomodoro (Scarpetta)
I am shamelessly jacking this recipe from Scott Conant at Scarpetta because it is seriously that good. Spaghetti Pomodoro (Pasta with tomato sauce) is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and it can be a near-godly experience if done correctly. That’s why it pains me physically and mentally to walk by the “pasta” aisle in the grocery store and see Prego, Ragu,...
22 tags
Aviary
I went out with a few friends for dinner the other night to a place called Aviary in NE Portland. I can best describe it as a nouvelle small plates sort of place. The decor is minimalist and semi-industrial, but its still got all the hints of hipster culture that are so quintessentially Portland. It’s a sleek, classy place that seems a bit out of the ordinary for NE.
The chefs...
29 tags
Demystifying Risotto
There’s a lot of pretension surrounding a dish of risotto. Most people are afraid to make it because they see it at fancy restaurants, or because they’ve never tried making it, or even because they don’t know what it is. There tend to be hushed whispers of “oh, that place does a very good risotto”, or “this risotto is divine”. Risotto has become a...
23 tags
Donuts
A box of donuts is possibly one of the simplest pleasures in the world of food. I’ve enjoyed them my whole life, ever since they were introduced to me in miniature form at the Pike Place market, piping hot and coated with cinnamon sugar. There’s just something about donuts that are genuinely, heart-warmingly pleasing, and especially when you’re eating a quality donut.
...
August 2012
7 posts
25 tags
Pain without Wisdom
A JOURNAL OF GASTRONOMIC WITHDRAWL
Day 1: I’ve just had my wisdom teeth pulled. Yes, all four of them, and yes, all impacted. Surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt that much. They knocked me out, thankfully, although I could’ve sworn that I heard snippets of the surgeon’s conversation with his assistant, or that I even felt slightly where they were operating on me. Oh well, it...
9 tags
Taking Stock
I can’t help but shake the odd feeling that my food silently judges me whenever I use inferior ingredients. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a complete snob about quality, but I know what’s good and what’s not. Those cans of Swanson’s Chicken Broth, for example, are passable, but nowhere near what they could be as far as chicken stock goes. And every time I have...
20 tags
Sometimes I'm Crazy
This isn’t much of a post, but I still wanted to share this. At night, I usually think of recipes for at least 30 minutes. Most of it is spent fruitlessly researching and coming up empty handed, but last night I had more ideas than usual. My recipes usually take something I already know how to make and just elevate it a little, or tweak and improve it. But sometimes, the ideas come out...
18 tags
Grilled Provencal Fish
Most people shy away from cooking fish because “it’s too hard” or “it will make my house smell like fish” or “I don’t like fish”. Bullshit. It’s not that hard, your house won’t smell like fish, and if you say you don’t like fish, you’ve probably just never had a good one. How is it possible to dislike fish? It’s...
20 tags
Why I love Gordon Ramsay
You know, I don’t like to talk much about celebrity chefs, and I sure as hell hate doing plugs on my blog. Seriously, it wastes my time and yours. With that in mind, you understand how much I must love a chef to use a post on my blog to plug him.
Gordon Ramsay is arguably the most well known celebrity chef. Everyone, even people who’ve never touched a knife, would be able to tell...
14 tags
Fried Eggs and Toast
A fried egg and toast is one of the simplest pleasures in the morning. Of course, there are only so many times you can have the same breakfast before getting bored. But it would be a shame to not have a nice fried egg for breakfast, which is why I have devised a few different ways of making fried eggs and toast that are still pleasing, but offer a nice change.
But first, we should talk about...
24 tags
Tapping Some Big Melons
I’ve had this trick up my sleeve for a long time. Many people get inconsistent watermelons when they shop because they don’t know what to look for, or rather, what to listen for. But I learned this old Native American trick from a book I read years ago called “The Education of Little Tree”. I don’t remember exactly how it was explained, but I remember the...
July 2012
8 posts
25 tags
Tea and Ignorance
One of my close friends from college is a tea aficionado. She knows more than I thought possible about tea, from types of tea to ways of serving it. When I entered college, I was drinking lipton black tea, which I thought was a perfectly acceptable tea. For months, I drank my lipton in blissful ignorance. Then, Natalie came into my dorm room as I was pouring myself a cup and practically...
14 tags
Fresh pasta
Fresh pasta has always been high on my list of things to make. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of hype surrounding it, making it a very intimidating process. I tried to put off learning how to make pasta for as long as I could. But I knew that some day, I would inevitably need to know how to make fresh pasta myself.
That day came in the form of two days this past week. My employer has...
20 tags
Summer Cocktails
I’ve been getting more into mixology lately, and I’ve found a few lesser known cocktails that are perfect for summer drinking. Here are three of my summer favorites. All you will need to make these is a glass, a muddler, and a spoon. That’s right, no shaker required, all of these can be made simply by stirring things together. I’m a lazy ass and usually can’t be...
13 tags
Beet and Feta Salad
This salad was inspired by a trip to the farmer’s market yesterday where I found some beautiful beets and cucumbers. The idea for this salad hatched immediately, because I was reminded of the flavors of a similar Iraqi beet salad I’d had a while back, and I was so excited to try it. It really is a perfect salad for a summer evening out on the deck. I paired it with some fresh...
11 tags
New Layout
After someone lit the fire under my ass, I’ve finally gone and updated my layout. I think it looks much better than before, and it should allow me more capability to do more things. Problem is, I don’t know how to do half the stuff I want. I notice many other blogs have an “about the author” link on the side, as well as little stuff like “guest submissions”....
Anonymous asked: Please please please for the love of god make a more interesting/visually appealing background or layout or something for your blog. I feel like it could be good but this is a major hinderance. If you look at other food blogs, the layout, colors used, photography, etc are stunning and add to the content. Your background is the color that people's lips and cheeks turn when they're either...
16 tags
Chinese Cleaver
“Kevin, why is your knife blue?” ”Because it was the cheapest knife at Target.” This response should automatically disqualify me from identifying as a gastronome. My chef’s knife for the past year has been an ugly blue knife that comes with its own plastic sheath that I picked up for $10 at Target. The blade is very light and thin, and although I keep it very...
14 tags
Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Pasta
Instead of the long intros I usually do, I’ll just preface this recipe by saying it’s really delicious, and half stolen from an idea my aunt gave me. Why no long intro? If I wanted to bullshit you, I would say something like “the food speaks for itself”. We both know that however true this may be, I do plenty of speaking on behalf of the food anyway. So instead...
June 2012
8 posts
17 tags
Paisha's French Miniatures Sampler
After a few months away from my best friend, Paisha, I finally had the chance to see her again. As we were at lunch (review of Monsoon coming soon), she pulled out of her bag a few treats from France. Knowing me, she knew my love of all things French, especially French food, and smuggled in a tin of pate de canard (duck liver mousse), a box of cheddar crepes, and a mini bottle of limoncello.
...
10 tags
Baba Ghanouj
After being thoroughly inundated with Middle Eastern food, it’s hard not to eat a lot of Baba Ghanouj. It’s something of a way of life to many: almost everyone in Turkey had their own recipe for Baba Ghanouj. Some would add small hints of cayenne, others would swear by charcoal grilling, the list goes on and on. I even had a cook come out of the kitchen as I was eating my Baba...
Anonymous asked: How do you think your blog stacks up against other food blogs?
16 tags
Kibbeh
(Please forgive the stock photo; as un-photogenic as my Kibbeh was, I did the true food blogger thing and garnished the hell out of it, snapping a few dozen pictures from every angle, only to find that my memory card is too full of photos to accommodate any more, so I have no pictures of my Kibbeh. I promise I’ll make it again soon and take an actual picture to add to this post later. For...
13 tags
Soda Gourmet
This post has been a long time coming. Most gastronomes have their strong points: for some it is cheese, for others cuts of meat, but for me it’s soda. Yes, gourmet sodas were some of the earliest interesting food products I can remember really taking an interest in. My aunt is responsible for getting me into gourmet soda (she’s also responsible for my love of pot-stickers at age...
13 tags
Oregon Culinary Institute
My grandmother came to town and took me out to dinner with a few of her friends. I would normally be skeptical of going to a restaurant that a bunch of old ladies would want to go to, but since it was the Oregon Culinary Institute, I felt a bit safer about the venture.
Before I launch into this review, I must acknowledge the lack of pictures. I lost the USB cable that connects my camera to my...
Anonymous asked: So you are now able to view Applebee's in context? ;)
