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In All recipes, Meat, Snacks, Vegatables

Chasing Kogi Truck

I could never live in LA… What can I say? I’m a city person. LA is NOT a city. It’s a glorified suburb if anything, run by GYM-hugging, yogurt-dipping and smoothie-drinking fitness-zombies who cares more for over-sized sunglasses than foods. And I’m afraid we can’t be friend if you told me you want to give up culture in exchange for a place with no seasons… Yeah that’s snow. It’s called winter. But let’s just say in an alternate universe where I fell in love with a cellulite-free buttocks over butter, and a car engine over my vintage bikes, and decided that I COULD actually live in LA… what would I be doing there everyday on my carbon-emitting vehicle?

I would be gladly chasing the Kogi truck.

(Jason: “dude… you live in Beijing…”)

11.21.2012

In All recipes, Meat, Vegatables

My-Dog’s-No-Shepherd’s Pie

(简体)（繁體)

It bothers me that my own blog being called “lady and pups” and all – while the presence of an opinionated “lady” is regretfully prominent – very little was mentioned about the “pups” except briefly right here. So when the other day the perfect moment came for me to host my imperfect pups’ belated debut, I took it. Given I had briefly illustrated how the tail of summer can seamlessly disappear around the corner here, I thought I’d mention slightly on how Fall comes to pass as well. There are generally 2 weeks time in between the seasons when the temperature’s just right, thus the generally un-breathable air could seem miraculously tolerable (No AC or heater = No burning coals). The leaves have started to yellow but cling persistently onto their mothership until one day, departed by a ferocious gust of wind that blows them off into the openness, and they’d dance like twirling little pedals on the grass. That was the day. The day when the grass was still green, the sky was blue and the only day out of the entire year that Beijing looked remotely picturesque, before all of which quickly dissipated and the weather slipped into the bone-freezing winter of Northern China .

That day I thought I’d take some pictures.

11.18.2012

In All recipes, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Quick Meals, Seafood

Cured Roe aka Botargo

(简体)（繁體)

My fabulous friend Sharon recently opened a fabulous wine bar in Taipei called Whinos, and I had the pleasure of visiting her awesome little space the last time I was around and needless to say, it was FABULOUS! It is chic but warm, cool but inviting, intimate and private but bubbling with mingling chatters. It was everything I look for in a little-spot-to-call-your-own that’s tucked in a city corner, and I’m totally ~~envious~~ happy for her. You know how sometimes you hold a little dream but not-you, instead a friend who obviously has more guts and awesomeness to pull it off before you did, and you couldn’t help but feeling overwhelmed with ~~envy~~ best wishes for them? That’s how I feel. My utter ~~jealousy~~ happiness for her total fabulous-ness.

11.14.2012

In All recipes, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Vegatables

Fried Rice Go Green

OMG… did anybody see Tony’s Rio episode? WHAT the hell happened to… OK, better and wiser human beings once said that if you got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. So I’m just going to subtly leave with – I’m post-traumatically frozen… ambushed then shocked and awed… still stumbling to pick up my jaw from the floor and maybe a few teeth… then thank Lordy that this episode was strategically aired AAAFTER his roast… and of course now totally understand why he had to leave the show because there’s a bigger crisis to attend to (I get it now, Tony).

Was that too much? That’s all I’m gonna say…

11.09.2012

In All recipes, Bakery/Pastry, Sweets

Not-a-Muffin Amaretto Financier

(简体)（繁體)

“My colleagues loved those mini muffins…”
“There are NOT muffins! They are FINANCIER with a silent R, as in FRRRENCH!!”
“I know financiers. They’re rectangular. That’s not financier.”
“…. don’t comment before you GOOGLE! I’m getting Jiaozi a new daddy.”

OK, that pretty much sums up my recent mental-stability. But in my defense if I may, a word on why I go a bit nuts when my slightly-retarded-in-the-kitchen husband (but otherwise awesome) tries to give “input” to my cooking given that another (and so many others like it) conversation took place just the other day:

“Hey, can you do something with that tomato?”
“What tomato?”
“THAT tomato that’s being sitting on the counter for days!”
“You mean… the pumpkin?”
“…. oh…”

So you see? How can I take cooking advice from a man like that? PS: Jiaozi is my Maltese!

10.30.2012

In All recipes, Condiments

Sichuan Chili Oil

UPDATES AVAILABLE: (sources for ingredients)

I love and use so much chili oil (such as here) that I decided to forge my own. It is the basis of all things sichuan which – IF were also your thing and it better be – is totally worth it to make your own because it tastes so much BETTER than store-bought (which I often find very lacking in flavors). The preparation and cooking itself practically takes no time at all, and it keep FOREVER in your fridge. I promise that it will deliver the kick you’ve been looking for and guarantee to scorch and numb your face right off. You are welcome.

10.25.2012

In All recipes, Meat, Vegatables

Do Right By Stuffed Peppers

If you’ve had Spanish stuffed pepper or Mediterranean stuffed pepper or God-forbid-American stuffed pepper or whatever-other-western-culture-style who together shares the innate calling to fill a vegetable with a hollow center, and you think – stuffed pepper is the champion (wait for it…) of the good-in-theory-but-COMPLETELY-FORGETTABLE-in-reality category – I’m totally with you. In all the culinary-ideas out there that the world all seems to agree on and share, the west unmistakably dominates on a few things…I’ll give’em that. They do better with a-lot-of-things-fermented like cheese, bread, cured meats and basically all-things-alcoholic. Great. I won’t argue with that.

But leave stuffed peppers alone.

10.20.2012

In All recipes, Got Nothing But Time, Meat, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Soup

Bok Choy and Pork Ravioli

(简体)（繁體)

Is it getting cold over there? Wherever you are.

I woke up ~~this morning~~ today, and even in my post-dormancy haze I could sense the greyish tone seeping in from behind the curtains. I stumbled into my bathroom to finish ~~morning~~ my wake-up routine, went on to open my bedroom door and was embraced by a slight breeze of cold air. I let out a few sneezes, put on a pair of cozy pajama pants (and a sweater on my 12-year-old Maltese whose name is… no kidding, Dumpling) and thought, “I really want a Starbucks toffee nut latte now…”. And just like that, summer is officially over.

10.17.2012

In All recipes, Bakery/Pastry, Sweets

Apple++ Muffins

(简体)（繁體)

Have I become unintentionally popular among neighbors? It can’t possibly… I never join the gathering-in-the-lobby-making-small-talks group. I give dirty looks to kids on their bikes who, I believe, aim to kill me or at least rid me of one leg. My french bulldog is notorious for bolting out of nowhere and mugging children’s soccer balls (ANY balls, really…), scares them off like scattering pigeons, and afterwards I return the balls with a thick coat of her extra-slimy saliva. My maltese attacks people, period. My youngest, adopted mutt likes to jump on people after snacking on… sh… poo. So like I said. It can’t possibly.

10.13.2012

In All recipes, Meat, Vegatables

Belly Full Pumpkin

(Chinese versions coming soon)

I’m staring and thinking about what I’m gonna say and… drawing blank. I wish I have personal, wild stories to share about my Halloweens but the truth is, it is scarce. Has my life been this pathetic (don’t answer that)? So I did a psycho-analysis on my entire ~~pathetic~~ peculiar life so far on how I could possibly missed Halloween and drew this conclusion. First of all, Halloween is… not very happening in Taiwan, which was unfortunately where I wasted my prime-time-Halloween-peak-ages from 2 to 10 years old. Then I moved to Vancouver when I was 12, an awkward age where I JUST missed the boat on getting away with dressing-up-and-asking-for-candy-is-cute. And then came the teenage years which I consider to be the dark ages of Halloween because a dinosaur costume would be ~~adorable~~ retarded, but a slutty-anything costume would just be… ~~sexy~~ let’s just say raising concerns.

10.10.2012

In All recipes, Sweets

Great Pineapple Jam

(简体)（繁體)

Has anyone ever wondered why pineapples are so left out in the community of preservatives? Neither have I. I mean I love pineapples. LOVE pineapples. But it never occurred to me that it should be offered immortality in a glass jar among berries and other things. Until a couple of years ago on a trip back to Taipei, I spotted a relatively new artisanal jam company in the most unlikely places – a bookstore.

10.08.2012

In All recipes, Bakery/Pastry, Dairy, Got Nothing But Time

The Dreamiest of Dreamy Milk Toast

(简体)（繁體) UPDATES AVAILABLE

OH boy, do I have a sob story for this one. Well, not of me growing up with Hokkaido milk toast of course (If you love bread but don’t know what it is, I feel truly sorry. It’s the dreamiest loaf of toast you could dream up.). Those were only fond memories, VERY fond memories like – me standing in the bakery, staring and chuckling like an idiot at the milk toasts on the racks why because they were also smiling back at me, and couldn’t stop myself from poking them with my fingers – kind of memories. The sobbing part is how I got to successfully making them in my kitchen, which was a road paved with disappointments, heartbreaks and betrayals (supposedly-trusted recipes out there…how could you?). Let me just start by saying that on Sep 19th at 10:45 pm, a loaf of bread died of a gruesome death on my kitchen counter. And at 4:30 am the next day, another one followed.

This is how I killed them and atoned for it.

10.04.2012