Food Worth Waking Up For

How could I have not blogged about the most significant part of my diet? Farmer's Market! the source of my delicious vegetables, weekly indian food, and fresh kettle corn. I love everything about this place. The gorgeous colors that surround me as I stroll by each stand, the random aspiring musician trying to please the crowd, what's not to love? Now each farmer's market is different, as I have been to many. There is food vendors at some, entertainment at others, but most importantly- the fresh produce at each.

At the West Valley Farmer's Market every Saturday, let me open your eyes to the great wonders of this weekly ritual of mine. The hustle and bustle as you enter the market, located in the middle of the college's parking lot. Fresh cut daffodils greet you in overflowing numbers at the first stand while the nearby honey stand offers samples out to the little kids shopping with their mother. Try the tomato stand's salsa or purchase some sweets at the bakery. This morning adventure becomes its own little social event as I often crash into neighboring friends shopping for their groceries as well. Despite its many benefits, my favorite part of the grocery market is their Indian food.

the different curries and sauces they offer-along with the dough for the naan in the background!

dough in the super cool looking oven

delicious finished product; tadaa!

While they offer many other dishes, their naan is delicious, freshly made, and goes well with their chicken curry. They make their dough before the market but keep it moist and fresh until Saturday. Then, they make it made to order putting it in this very interesting oven. I have yet to really figure out how it's done. My mom always does the waiting while I carry her pounds of vegetables to the car. But, lunch is always delicious when I get to eat burning hot naan with curry, a side of fresh salad, and sweet strawberries for dessert! Who could ask for anything more? It's well worth the labor.

And the secret ingredient is...

(photocredit: shacknews & foodnetwork)

IRON CHEF AMERICA! the ultimate best cooking show. 60 minutes to create a five-course meal with a secret ingredient that must be included in each dish, racing against the clock and your competitor; what an adrenaline rush. It even makes my heart beat a little faster, especially in those last five minutes when the chefs are seen running around the kitchen in chaos to complete their dishes.

My favorite part is watching the dishes come together as they're plating in the end. They always look so neat and professional, as if it took them so much time to plate it. Yet, I see the chefs throw the dish together in a mere 30seconds. It's mind-boggling. They place those chives in the perfect spot or spoon their sauce elegantly around their entree effortlessly. Food really is an art in these circumstances.

Typically, I find the cooking section of the show more entertaining than the judges, but recently I was watching an episode, flay vs, Chef Kinch (a chef from a Los Gatos restaurant!), when I saw among the panel of judges, was a FARMER! It was rather exciting, a very unique and different choice for a judge on the show. So, this time when the 60 minutes had elapsed and it came time for the judges' tasting, I paid greater attention. The farmer, oddly, held very insightful commentary. I guess his knowledge about growing fruits and vegetables helped him better appreciate the food he was eating. Oh the many funny surprises on the food channel

Asian Flavors

I think my asian blood overwhelmed me a bit yesterday when I had a larger appetite for food.

Food intakes of the day:
- jok
(cantonese word for what's called rice soup in English..I think) Well, I just call it jok. I haven't had any in such a long time. It's kind of like the Asian version of oatmeal, except salty and you add in different types of meat and things. Despite their similar textures, I enjoyed both dishes the past few days. My favorite "jok" is when my mom or aunt makes it, when it's made with fresh ingredients and I get to eat it hot, spooned out right from the pot. I'm sure many of you Harker students have had this delicacy before. Wouldn't you agree it is delicious especially with a sore throat?

- wintermelon soup
Though I love the creamy and rich soups I often have in other cuisines like clam chowder or tomato basil soup, my parents love the very clear and refreshing taste of Chinese soup. Almost every Chinese soup I've had, it always begins with a clear broth and then some vegetables, nuts, or meat lying on the bottom to create its unique flavor. I feel that every night I have a different type of soup at my house. I wonder how my mom makes her soups, how she knows which ingredients are compatible with others. Most of the time, the soup doesn't taste too bad, so maybe her secrecy is the secret to her success.

-wonton soup with noodles
Maybe my mother felt sorry for me because my food choices were so limited but for some reason last night, my mother made home-made won tons for dinner. I sat on the couch watching as she made the stuffing with ground pork, water chestnut, and bokchoy, and a variety of sauces. They were delicious though :). It was funny watching my father attempt to wrap them..my mom had to step in and take over the task.


photocredit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_rice_porridge_with_toppings_by_iandeth.jpg


This was right before my mom put the won tons in the water.


It looks a tad odd but it's because the soup was boiling while I was taking the picture.

Quakers Deliciousness

hey fellow bloggers,

Unfortunately I've been sick with all these nasty symptoms for the past few days and haven't been able to blog. but have no fear! I shall make it up. Anywho, I've found during my weak and sick hours, I found certain foods comforting that I'd like to share about.

Monday Food Item:

-oatmeal

My favorite is the cinnamon and apples mix from Trader Joe's. Now typically, I would rather make it the old fashioned way with real oats, adding in my own spices and fruit. However, due to the fact that I was half conscious with my raging fever, I had no other choice but to settle for pre-made. I found eating hot oatmeal in the morning helped warm my tummy and soothe my scratchy throat. I know when people normally get sick, everyone always gives the advice to drink lots of liqud, have soup, and make oatmeal, but I never realized how true it was until this week. Oatmeal really is a great comfort when you're sick. yum

Angry? Keep the Distance

(photo credit: profalbrecht.wordpress.com)

Angry: Don't you always just want to kick or punch at something when you're mad? I know I do. But what happens when you get hungry and you're still frustrated. I can't settle for a simple sandwich or salad; my aggressive eating may lead to me accidentally biting myself instead of my sandwich or breaking my fork while stabbing at my salad in anger. So in this case, maybe foods involving a fork and knife are more appropriate for you. Something you can really saw at without the negative consequences. Steak! The perfect dish, it's hard to cut so you can put your effort and thoughts into the work during your meal. But, in my case, make sure to cut off all that excess fat!

Thoughtful...?

(photo credit: sodahead.com)

I often find myself afterschool wandering campus with only my ipod and phone. Lying under the sun with a light breeze blowing, I often space out just thinking about school, friends, and life in general. But then my tummy begins to grumble and I ponder what food would best satisfy my mood. Because of the beautiful yet semi-warm weather today, I chose a popsicle for my afterschool snack. So, for my "thoughtful" blog today, I've discovered that food,s which take longer to consume go hand in hand with this mood. This way, you can think long and hard but still fill your hunger without worrying about too much about the eating motion. I thought about this a tad longer and came up with a list that also fit this category:

-popsicles
-hard candies (lollipops, jolly ranchers
-interesting drinks (smoothies, starbucks, ice tea)
-berries (with big bowls, you can just keep eating and eating)

Happy? Try It Out

(photo credit:washingtonwatch.com)

I always feel more adventurous when I'm more optimistic. I'm excited and ready to try new foods/cuisines; my creatives juices are really flowing at this point. There are so many different cuisines out there: Japanese, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, American, Meditteranean, and the list goes on. The best restaurants to try out for fun are normally the fusions because that means even more variety to choose from. The most recent fusion restaurant I've been to lately is Arya, an Italian and PERSIAN mix.

It's not in an ideal location (by a gas station) but it is along Stevens Creek. My dad and I decided to try it out one day in the summer I think. We had driven past multiple times but never got the chance to eat there. It looked appealing to me but my father thought it looked a bit "sketchy". Anywho, I convinced him to eat there and we began to drive in. Parking wasn't too difficult, directing us to the back of the restaurant off the busy road. We walked inside and the large dining room was dimly lit with curtains draping the windows and around pillars. The lights and decorations made for a romantic ambiance but I was just excited to try this place out! Our waiter seated us, and even introduced us to the popular dishes on the menu.

Because it was our first time eating Persian food, my dad and I spent about 10minutes reading the menu but finally settled on kabobs and another meat dish. My dinner turned out okay, I can't say it was exceptional. However, the fact I was so excited already about going to a new restaurant and trying a different cuisine made my dinner that much more entertaining. So, whenever your day has alright but you're feeling great, make it last longer and go eat at a brand new restaurant to add that extra umph!

Bored? Play with your Food

When I'm bored, I find I eat items involving more ingredients and dine at restaurants that allow me more freedom in my meal choices. Or, I take an extra long time reading the menu at restaurants, studying each dish, from appetizers to main dishes to desserts.

The best restaurants to eat at on these days are ones that allow you to customize! like Plutos', The Counter, COLDSTONE, or even a regular sandwich shop. Then, I can spend so much time picking and choosing my ingredients. The best thing about it is that by the end, I've wasted time entertaining myself to choose something that's perfect and delicious for my tastebuds! Normally, I do have a standard order that I get each time at the various restaurants but on those especially lame days, I find food entertains me and gives me this independence to choose what I want. Hmm..I'm bored.
(photo credit: jessicakok.blogspot.com)

Sad? Have a hug

(photo credit: moodle.com)

When you're depressed, you are easiest tempted by your cravings, most of which are not on the "healthier" realm among foods. For me, my comfort food in these times of sadness have been popcorn and my favorite bag of trail mix, from Trader Joe's of course. This food arrangement also always is accompanied by a romantic comedy of sorts, most likely Hitch.

I find that these two items satisfy all taste buds of sweet and salty as well as various textures of rough and smooth.

The popcorn creates the cliche moment of stuffing your face when you feel sad and want to eat your feelings out. Plus, I LOVE eating perfectly popped popcorn, the balance between the soft and lightness that it almost melts in your mouth but also crunchy enough to munch on.

My trail mix is not a typical "nuts and dried fruit" combo. While it does hold those two ingredients, it also has peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips! MY FAVORITE. That way, this satisfies my sweet tooth without overdoing it. On especially sad days however, twix and/or hershey's hugs may be added to the bundle of goodies.

PS. I wanted to provide some pictures of my own of these delicious treats but discovered I would be too tempted to eat them afterwards :/

How about you?

Food for the Mood

I strongly believe that emotions often influence the food you want to eat. So this week I will be featuring a different mood each day, sharing about the foods I think appropriately fit in that category. Tell me if you agree/disagree or have your own favorite edibles!

(photo cred: cheriebeck.wordpress.com)

Smoothies

(photo cred: myevilplans.com)

Jamba Juice is not actually that healthy for you..?

Have you ever glanced at their brochures sitting in the store while you were waiting for your smoothie? Next time flip through the nutrition facts for your favorite drink, and you'll find it may not be as healthy as you thought. True, they may filled with fruit but what you may not realize is the extra ingredients corrupt this

I examined the nutrition facts for a sixteen size of Strawberries Wild and read that there were 58grams of sugar per cup. FIFTY EIGHT GRAMS of sugar coming from an apple strawberry juice blend, nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt, frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, and ice all blended together. I then found that for every cup of strawberries, there's only about eight grams of sugar so where were the other fifty grams coming from?

My answer: The juice and frozen yogurt. Though true that the frozen yogurt is nonfat, it is nevertheless flavored with vanilla, accounting for extra sugars. Then, the juice has added sugar, which sweetens the flavor of the pure juice from the fruits. So, is it possible to enjoy a smoothie that tastes good and is actually healthy? I think so.

My recipe for a strawberry smoothie that is simple yet still sweet:
-1 cup of frozen strawberries
-1 cup of milk
-Pinch of sugar

Three ingredients. It may sound almost too easy. However, I've found that my smoothies still taste great, almost up to par with Jamba Juice. I purchase my bags of frozen strawberries from Trader Joe's. They almost always have sweet strawberries or sometimes I even buy a box of fresh strawberries and mix them together into my smoothie. The frozen strawberries not only help keep the texture frothy but also provide natural sugars. The milk also helps balance the texture and adds some sweetness to the drink. I choose to use more strawberries and milk instead of ice because that just means more flavor! The small pinch of sugar is my safety net in case the strawberries aren't sweet enough so I normally do that to taste. I also often check in my freezer for other frozen fruits to twist the flavor like mangoes or other berries as last minute add-ins.

Especially as the weather is getting warmer and smoothies sound more appealing, think about this the next time you want a cold refreshing drink.

Healthy sushi..

(photo cred: hoboken411)

YUM. my dinner tonight: delicious and semi-more nutritious. A simple change in the ingredients and you still get an equally great dish and with an extra health benefit!

Due to my enormously large appetite, I felt it appropriate to have two different rolls of sushi tonight, the rock 'n' roll sushi (unagi&avocado), and the salmon roll (sashimi with avocado too). Purchasing my dinner at Whole Foods, I found the wonderful store provided me with options of my sushi with white rice or brown rice. While I did buy the white rice sushi then, I regret having not made the smarter choice now.

White rice vs. Brown rice
Brown rice holds more nutrients than white rice because the grains are not processed, which create what we now call white rice. When these grains are processed, nutrients for example dietary fiber, potassium, iron, and multiple vitamins are lost.

From my experience, I find that there is some decent tasting brown rice. When I first tried brown rice, I disliked the hard and crunchy texture it held in comparison to the white rice I was so often used to eating. However, I persisted in trying to eat healthy and found a type of Japanese brown rice which when cooked properly, tasted EXACTLY like white rice! I immediately switched this eating essential to the healthier choice. Though I began eating brown rice years ago, restaurants and food markets (such as whole foods) have begun to follow suit, serving brown rice as an option as well.

And, as greenlivingtips.com says, choosing brown rice also helps the environment as it cuts down the amount of energy used when processing and making less white rice. So, start to be eco-friendly today and try this new healthier carb!

Cereal

New lesson today-cereal all have about similar ranges of calories per serving, it's just their sugars that are vastly different. I guess in that sense then, the sugars are a big deal.

In advisory today when we were eating our cereal with milk, of course my advisor comes in with boxes of cereal like fruity pebbles, cap'n crunch, and raisinbran, intending the raisin bran for me of course. Why he decided to choose the least delicious cereal for me I am unsure. Yet he pointed out to me that they held similar calorie count which was very interesting to me at the time.

I realize though that the reason is probably because all cereals are made up of similar base ingredients, they all start with that neutral taste. Then, from there, while cheerios (my favorite of course) keeps its delicious original flavor, other cereals such as trix, cocoa pebbles, and cinnamon toast crunch start adding the artificial coloring, extra sugar and flavoring to make it more unique. For example, in one bowl of cheerios there are 110 calories and only 1gram of sugar in comparison to a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch which has 134 calories per bowl (a few more) and 10grams of sugar. While I do appreciate those cereals at times, cheerios is my comfort food. my go-back-to cereal. I think simplicity is sometimes the best thing you can have in life. And for me, it comes in the form of cereal.

ps. the video isn't entirely educational at all but it brought a smile to my face :)

Colored Weirdness

If you're lacking in antioxidants and other good nutrients, maybe this plant is for you but for me..

One of the few things I find I dislike. There are only three things in this world that I have tried and cannot stand, two of which are just bizarre Chinese foods (bitter melon and stinky tofu). The third item however, I just added to my small list tonight.

While I normally enjoy the salads I often eat, I was heartbroken as I placed this vegetable into my mouth, along with the forkful of greens and other toppings. It was neither crunchy nor soft, but an odd in between texture that I did not find too comforting. It tasted bitter but contained other flavors I had also never tasted before. I think it's difficulty to describe says enough. I am not a big fan of BEETS.
The coloring left on my fork afterwards also did not keep me too appetized for my next bite. I am so horrified, I don't believe I will even provide a visual.

At first a snack

(photo cred: superstock)

who knew there were so many types of bread? white, whole wheat, multi-grain, rye, dutch crunch, sourdough, flax seed, potato, and the possibilities continue to go on and on. However, though many are delicious, purchasing from leboulanger, bakeries, etc, the best kind I've discovered is HOMEMADE BREAD.

So my mom picked me up from school today, bringing with her a plate of freshly baked bread of course. Having grown up eating this bread all the time, I didn't think much of it until I offered a few to my friends, who then sat there devouring it. Then, I realized, was the bread really THAT good? I sat there pondering the wonders of my mom's bread. What was so good about it?
They were basically just dinner rolls, except she added some dried pork, green onion and cheese. I suppose that gave it that asian twist.

Not only that, my curiosity made me go ask my mother about her recipe. Was this bread healthier than simple white bread? From her response, I realize cooking from home holds more advantages. You decide what you want and can change the ingredients without out ruining the taste. For example, my mom uses milk instead of water to increase the calcium density in her bread and sometimes even puts in flax. Though flax may sound a tad too healthy, I don't even taste it in her bread, when she uses it at least. Anyways, who knew a simple afternoon snack could lead to an entire blogpost, odd.

Tartini Frozenyogurtbar

Frozen yogurt: I had discovered this glorious dessert a few years ago in Palo Alto but became entirely obsessed with it over the summer. At first, I fell in love with Yogurtland, a frozen yogurtbar just down the street from Tartini. However, after trying Tartini, it is now my favorite of all the frozenyogurt places I know of-Frutti's, Yogurtland, Red Mango, Fraiche, Pinkberry, I love Yogurt, and other random places. And sadly, I have tried every single one of them. My personal experience in the frozenyogurt world however continues to support my statement of Tartini's greatness.

While many had its pros and cons, Tartini holds the best texture (creamy and tart), appropriate toppings and flavors. Their cost of 38cents an ounce may be slightly pricier than other shops, but their great service, free samples, and other menu choices have helped convince their customers that it's worth it. The tartini twister, a recent addition to the menu, has become recently popular as well. As written on yelp, this yogurt bar is rated between four and five stars.

I've heard many argue that frozen yogurt is like "fake ice cream". While I admit that sometimes I do crave for that rich and creamy texture ice cream has, frozen yogurt leaves me both satisfied and conscience-free. Tartini has a great balanced texture so that it's creamy and icy. The self-serve lets you decide how much yogurt and toppings you want, mixing and matching however you'd like. But, you can still get heaps of this delicious yogurt without feeling guilty as many flavors are also now fat-free and sugar-free. And it still tastes great!

So try it out if you haven't already, you won't be disappointed. See you there!
(photo credit: flickr)

Food First

How difficult is it these days to always eat healthy but delicious food? Is it just easier to eat junkfood in the end? But then again, is it worth it to always only settle for all those oils? Rather, I've come to realize there is other food out there that is just as satisfying for the stomach and more so for the body. My standards for food have always been extraordinarily high. So, in this blog, I will be sharing and discovering the brilliant, healthier edibles offered to us in this world. Restaurants, foods, dishes, or just plain ingredients, anything worth talking about. After all, food is life.