Urban Farming, Soba Noodles, Butternut Squash and Kale

 The Thanksgiving holiday is coming to a close and whether it's a meteorological phenomenon or purely a psychological one, the air already feels chillier. After several days of cold rainy weather, here in DC, the long Thanksgiving weekend burst forth in sunshine and miraculously warm days. After stuffing myself silly on turkey and all the trimmings on Thursday and then repeating with turkey leftovers on Friday and Saturday, I decided on Sunday that I should actually cook something. But first, I needed to get outdoors and enjoy the last of the beautiful weather.

Things in My Fridge I Can't Live Without

I wish my fridge was this cool...

Moving to a new place forces you to evaluate some key realities of your life such as your daily habits, your social skills, your directional skills, your financial stability, your stress level, and and particularly for me, your essential kitchen items. I have moved a good handful of times in my life and each time the task of restocking a kitchen takes considerable time, money and patience. After living in Hong Kong for about three months, and then suddenly returning to DC, I have finally gotten my food stocks to a level that I can enjoy. Given the amount of energy I have expended over the past few weeks getting the kitchen adequately stocked, felt it was only appropriate to share those things which deserved such attention. Thus, I have decided to write a few posts dedicated to the foods I can't live with out. This week, the inaugural week, I honor my fridge.

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Hot Pot

So this week I had one of my very first food adventures in Hong Kong; I tried hot pot. To give you a basic image of what hot pot is, refer to one of its informal names: Chinese fondue. What hot pot consists of is a large metal bowl at the center of your table, which is sitting on a small burner and filled with boiling broth. You are given plates of raw food and you cook the food in the boiling broth, dip it in soy sauce and eat it all using your finely honed chopstick skills.

Holy Guacamole!

Steph's addictive and pretty darn authentic guacamole

I promised in my previous post that I would post this recipe, so here it is!

Unda Quesadillas and Big Buddhas

I love those rare Sundays when the sun is shining and you realize as you slowly roll out of bed, that there is nothing you have to do; no bills or work projects, or errands that just have to be taken care of. Today was one of those glorious days, so I decided to take full advantage of it. This meant making myself a delicious unda-style quesadilla and exploring the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas.