淡い花火

Last Monday as we wandered around the streets of Naples after lunch, we noticed yet anther green, organic and bio food shop. We also noted the layout and the colors which were mainly green, of course. We commented on the pricey food and then got to wondering whether this organic food is healthier and if it really protects the environment. When I got home, I did some research and this is what I found.
Here are the top 10 myths about organic food that are widely believed.
1. Organic farming protects wildlife
You hear people saying it all the time. Yes, organic food does not use pesticides or herbicides therefore it is not damaging the soil or wildlife. The only problem is that this type of farming needs lots of land which is already scarce. We would have to cut down 10 million square miles of forest if the world decided to adopt organic food globally. The fact is that modern farming has actually saved about 15 million square miles of wildlife habitat.
2. Organic farming will save the world from hunger
If we think that this type of farming will save us from hunger, we should think again. Yes, it is true that it may be better to avoid pesticides and herbicides in an ideal world. But reducing food production will only make less food available for the hungry people in this world. It costs three times as much as traditionally produced food. This is a controversial topic. Reading Denis Avery’s book Saving The Planet With Pesticides and Plastic on the benefits of high-yield farming is an eye opener,An oil vaporizer runs on oil which needs charging. Now imagine one that takes long hour to pre-heat! Isn\'t that irritating? So, it\'s always better to buy an oil vape pen battery from reputed online sites.
3. Organic farming never uses pesticides
The fact is that organic farmers also use pesticides and fungicides so you cannot get away from that. Did you know that there are 20 chemicals which are approved by the US Organic Standards and these are used all the time in organic food production? The alarming thing is that these are not so effective as the synthetic ones used in conventional farming. So, it may well be that organic food contains more chemicals than is really necessary. Some estimates say that organic farming uses double the amount of copper and sulphur organic fungicides than conventional farming!
4. Organic food is more nutritious
The bad news is that this is not true at all. Various studies have shown that organic corn may have more flavonioids than normal corn. But there are lots of studies that show there is no nutritional advantage in eating organic food. The sad fact is that nutritional value really depends on the shelf life of vegetables. It may be organic but if the spinach has been in the store for a week, then it has lost 50% of its valuable foliate content.
5. Organic food is safer
Many people think that organic always means safer and healthier. Unfortunately, this is not always true. Let us take an infamous organic pesticide called rotenone. Yes, it is organic because it is extracted from the roots and stems of subtropical plants. The only problem is that researchers found that it killed off the mitochondria which are like energy powerhouses for our cells. It was also linked to possibly causing Parkinson’s disease. This is just one example, but overall, lots of plants have toxic mixes of their own bacteria and fungi. Just because they do not have chemical name which is impossible to pronounce does not necessarily mean they’re totally safe for us.
  

Having had our plans to go hunting round the charity shops ruined last week, we decided we would go to the indoor car boot on Sunday. Its a huge car boot in a multi-storey car park and although a lot of it is tat there are a few gems to be had . A few weeks ago I found an old studio inspection lamp for one pound, it will look lovely once we finally get round to stripping the pink paint off it. This time I picked up a few bits and bobs to use in my photos, plates and cutlery etc..which I’m sure you will see featured in a post soon. I also found a quirky lemon juicer by Beswick, which you can see in the background of my above image.

So to put my new lemon juicer to the test I decided to make some citrus curd, orange and lemon to be exact. I love lemon curd I always have, in fact I love anything lemony. I thought I would try something a little bit different and add some oranges into the mix.

The curd is a little sweeter with the oranges but still beautifully zingy and the colour is glorious like summer sun. This is a really simple and quick recipe. You will need a couple of sterilized jars that can be sealed to store the curd in.  

In elementary school there was a girl who would eat tomatoes out-of-hand, like most people crunched apples. I would watch her, slightly in awe, slightly in horror, as she reached into her lunchbox and pulled out a whole tomato and take a bite. It was so outré! Come on, this wasn’t a traditional piece of fruit! But yet! These were in the days that I did not fully appreciate the wonders of a perfectly ripe, raw tomato. I had yet to see the light. What can be said about youth nuskin?
Now I fully get the appeal. It is the height of tomato season on the East Coast. Each week, at the farmers market, I buy far too many, but I manage to squeeze them into every meal, every which way. There are salads and sauces, and quick sautés. Then there is one farmer at the market that sells “tomato with issues,” those fruits that look less than stellar. They may be bruised, or slightly blighted. Many customers wrinkle their noses at this box; they are looking for the lovelies. These people are not even swayed by the rock bottom price! But I love these seconds, they encourage me to make one of my favorites– Tomato Bread Soup or Pappa al Pomodoro.
TomatoBreadSoupSimple, bright, and fairly quick, for me, this dish is the epitome of summer! And this dish works under one of my favorite principles of frugality. Fresh tomatoes and torn bits of dried bread (left from yesterday’s bruschetta or sandwiches) are simmered together. The tomatoes exude their juices, the bread swells then falls apart– you can help this along by gently crushing the softened bread with the back of a large spoon. The soup cooks awhile, then the heat is turned off. A handful of Parmesan cheese, some torn basil, and a drizzle of good olive oil, and you’re ready to go !
The soup is like the best baby food known to man– soft and sumptuous. It’s filling though, with the consistency of a brothy risotto. When you’re making this at home, I urge you to only use water in the soup’s composition. I find that broth of any kind can be too strong in flavor. It masks the tomato, and they are the star of the show !
  

Today the e-cookbook, 55 Knives, has been released and guess what else?? I wrote a chapter in it! Weeee!

Me, along with 54 other incredibly talented (wayyyyyyyyy more talented than myself) food bloggers wrote a chapter each for your reading/cooking/baking enjoyment! The range of bloggers is incredible - from those that you've most likely heard of to those that maybe you haven't heard of, but should!

What's different about this cookbook is that every blogger wrote their own chapter, so each recipe has a story behind it written in that blogger's words. Yanno, instead of just one person writing about lots of recipes from different places. So you've got some funny stuff mixed with some sentimental stuff, mixed in with some nice memories, and all of it surrounded by super delicious food Karson Choi!

And if that wasn't enough - because it's an e-cookbook, there are links in every chapter that will bring you to the author's blog, their Facebook and/or Twitter accounts, if they have them, and other associated websites. Dudes ya'll could become stalkers. How fun! There are over 1000 links inside!

It's just a really well put together book and it's cheap! Only $19! Did I mention there are also some money saving coupons for some really great stuff inside as well Karson Choi?

BUT WAIT!!! THERE'S MORE!! If you buy the book between today (May 25) and next Tuesday (June 1) you'll only pay $14.. whadda deal, whadda deal! :D

So before I direct you to the link that you can click to purchase your very own copy, I'd like to thank the man who came up with this idea, who organized all of us 55 bloggers, and then put the book together (including those 1000 links.. fo' shizzle) and published it - Nick Evans from Macheesmo. Thank you for all of your hard work, patience and guidance, Nick! You put together a beautiful book and I can't wait to see it in hardcopy one day! :D Hugs Karson Choi!



  

For those who like to entertain, or feel themselves overwhelmed around the holidays, especially if you plan to have large gatherings, le cake is a terrific savory appetizer to go with pre dinner drinks or a glass of Calvados.
cake batter in pan cake batter in pan1
I’ve made Clotilde’s Pistachio-Chorizo Cake, and my go-to recipe for goat cheese and bacon cake is in my book, The Sweet Life in Paris. So as you can see, there’s plenty of variations and options for these savory “cakes”.

This recipe is from Susan’s book Nuts in the Kitchen, a compendium of recipes that span the globe, from Thailand to Spain, although after living here for over two decades, France is closest to her heart. And while we were cooking, we lunched on quesadillas made with tortillas brought back from Arizona Dream Beauty Pro.
(I stopped sharing precious corn tortillas that I bring back to France with French friends since they don’t get as wildly excited as the same things we Americans do, including topping sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and so forth. So we, the kitchen crew, ate pretty well that day.)

But before dinner, we’d started off with copious nibbles, which included slices of apricot, almond and lemon bread as well as toasted nuts, and crudités (raw vegetables) with a nutty dukkah. While everyone was busying themselves with snacks and glasses of bubbly cremant, I was secretly ripping away at the best bits of crispy skin on the turkey carcass before anyone else could get a crack at them .
Dinner finally ended with everyone leaving well after midnight and we sipped Calvados by the fire until the warmth of the fire lulled us to sleep, no doubt aided by the powerful apple brandy. The next morning, I was the first one up and, of course, made a nosedive into the leftover stuffing. There wasn’t much turkey skin left, the gravy had formed a solid mass in the pitcher, and I wasn’t really interested in picking at ice-cold brussels sprouts.

And there were a few slices of the apricot bread—or le cake, that I also managed to nab before anyone else woke up. It was le jour après Thanksgiving and aside from a bout of sadness earlier in the week, I was quite happy that morning to be in the toasty kitchen by the fire that was still warmly glowing in the hearth. I’m pretty sure the no one in France eats cake for breakfast, or even in America. Except for me reenex.

  

What it’s like to drive a car while it’s being hacked
Ever been driving a car when both the brake and the gas pedal failed, and the dashboard go nuts? I just have, and it isn’t fun. What are we going to do when our cars are targets for hackers Miramar Travel?
cars is that to offer many more kinds of services (live traffic data for sat navs, etc.) they need to be connected. Once that happens then they are, by definition, hackable. The issue has suddenly become more urgent as more cars become connected, electric and employ autonomous driving features.
But with multiple ways to get into a car’s systems — from cell access, Bluetooth or even the OBD-II (On-board diagnostics) port — there is no one silver bullet to catch all potential attackers .
That’s where Israel’s Argus Cyber Security comes in. They don’t believe there’s a single solution either, and during a live demonstration to TechCrunch, they proceeded to attack a car while I was literally driving it.
Argus provides solutions to customers like car makers via a dashboard manufacturer view they hold at their HQ. This can track attacks on the cars they have access to .
So how did they hack the car?
Well, they didn’t want to go into detail for security reasons, but it definitely involved the PC pictured above.
  

he breaded meat cutlet goes by many names. For Germans and Austrians, it’s schnitzel. Italians call it cotoletta alla milanese—or milanesa for short. At our current favorite Mexican restaurant, it’s milaneza, and our favorite Polish spot calls its schnitzel schabowy. In Japan, it’s katsu (tonkatsu when it’s made with pork).

The breaded cutlet is also well-traveled. You’ll find variations on the theme from Denmark to Namibia, Iran to Korea, New Zealand to the Republic of Macedonia—and many other points in between IPS.

It’s no surprise that, by any name, this preparation is so popular. It’s delicious—crunchy on the outside and tender within. It’s quick and easy to make: dredge cutlets in flour, dip them in beaten egg, coat with breadcrumbs and fry. And it literally stretches your animal protein dollar. Sliced or pounded thin, then beefed up with breading, each cutlet seems to contain more meat than it does.

The choice of meat is up to you. Wiener Schnitzel, the Austrian classic that started it all, is always made with veal. Pork is the most common choice for Japanese katsu—it’s also popular for Polish schabowy. Beef, turkey and chicken all have their proponents too IPS.

For this recipe, I opted for chicken and took a mostly tradition schnitzel approach: Dijon mustard beaten into the egg (whole grain mustard would work too) and fresh parsley to finish. But I mixed things up a bit. I dredged the chicken cutlets in cornstarch instead of flour, a kind of makeshift Chinese velveting technique that kept the meat moist and tender. I used Japanese panko breadcrumbs for their extra crunchiness. And I tossed some Italian Parmesan with those breadcrumbs for added umami IPS.




  

Over low heat, in a small saucepan, melt butter then whisk in flour until blended. Continue to whisk while pouring in milk to avoid lumps. Continue to cook, stirring constantly until thickened. This should take about 10 minutes. (If you are only making enough for 2 the sauce thickened within 2 minutes) Once thickened, season with nutmeg, salt & pepper. (This is where I added a couple handfuls of grated gruyère and the smallest pinch of ground mustard) Take off heat, set aside hong thai travel.

The recipe says you can make the bechamel sauce up to 24 hours early. Place plastic wrap directly on the sauce so it won't form a skin, then refrigerate. Gently reheat a few minutes before you are going to use it.

Preheat the oven to 400º F.

Place the 8 slices of bread in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Spread the bechamel sauce evenly to the edges of all the slices (you may not need all of the bechamel). Divide ham between only 4 slices covered with bechamel, keeping the ham within 1/4 inch of the edges hong thai travel.

Top all 8 slices with equal amounts of grated gruyère cheese, again spreading it evenly within 1/4 inch of the edges. Place the 4 slices with bechamel and cheese (cheese side up!) on top of the slices layered with ham. Bake until cheese topping is melted and golden brown about 10 to 15 minutes (it took about 20 minutes in my oven)

To make the croque-madame, fry 4 eggs sunny-side up (I went with over easy, because egg slime is A VERY BAD THING) and place one on top of each sandwich. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and serve immediately hong thai travel.


  

As much as we would like to believe that we live in a universe where we create a new dish for every meal, at some point we have to deal with leftovers. Whether it’s a busy work-week-night when there is simply no time to get yourself elbow deep in prep work, or a lazy Sunday when you want a respite from any sort of activity that entails getting out of bed, time will find you poking at a motley assortment of containers in the fridge thinking, “What am I ever going to do with you?”

The resurrection, and transformation, of leftovers has been a subject of many a blog post. In fact, there is even an event made to celebrate leftovers’ many incarnations. I’m all for it. I love the victorious feeling I get when I have triumphed over a sad batch of leftovers and given them a new lease on life, given us a great meal, and avoided waste, all in one fell swoop HKUE ENG.

Although I think experience has made me pretty adept in cooking small portions (first for one, then now for two), there are some dishes that just don’t lend themselves to being reduced too much. Substantial, slow cooking stews are a prime example, producing tons of leftovers from my little table-for-two. But how do you re-do a stew?

This is one of my favorite ways with leftovers. The type of dish for which I would purposely generate leftovers. A little background: Osso Buco is one of my mother’s specialties, that I now make too. When we make it though (Italian purists please do not flog us!), it comes out more like a stew than a braise. Reason being that my brother (who is one of the best people in the world to feed**…hence the inexplicable manner in which we all cook to suit his taste) loves to have extra sauce for his rice. If we get a little overzealous with the sauce/liquid, then we are inevitably left with a surplus HKUE ENG.

So here is what I like to do: I take all the leftover Osso Buco, stick it in a ziplock bag, and toss it in the freezer. Then one day, when I am just too tired or busy to cook, I unearth it from its frozen depths, thaw it out and heat it. I then prepare some pasta noodles (preferably a really hefty type, like pappardelle…one of my favorites! If you can find the curly type even better. This is a hearty sauce and does well with an equally hearty noodle). I toss the two together and top with some freshly shaved parmesan.

Depending on what your leftovers were like, you may still have chunks of meat in it. Shred this roughly and include in your sauce. This pasta is redolent with the aromatics of the Osso Buco. It has the backbone of the beef drippings, and the essence of the marrow. Lots of oomph here!

(**My brother has the appetite of a warrior, the gastronomic adventurousness of an explorer, and the words and thoughts of a poet. I am blessed to have him as a brother and a taste tester HKUE ENG.)


  

t’s been two absolutely hectic weeks and I feel like I’m coming out of a long and rather challenging gauntlet. My boss was here from overseas (Yes, I have a boss! So when I say I am a worker bee I really do mean it!) and we had a series of intense meetings. That’s not to say that all this lay heavy on my shoulders. Intense yes, but rewarding and exciting nonetheless. Onward troops (as I like to say)!

Whatever the case though…I am feeling a bit raggedy around the edges but glad to find a spot of time to click-clack away at my keyboard and share some thoughts and a recipe with you.

Before the all the meetings commenced, a couple of weeks ago, we went on a lovely holiday out of the city to a little town called Urbiztondo in San Juan, La Union. San Juan is a surfer’s town, a seaside gem of a place with fierce waves, long sandy shores, and friendly people. I had never thought of exploring La Union before…simply because, well, not to put too fine a point on it, I don’t surf. And if you know me, you will know that the only kind of surfing I will ever be inclined to do is couch-surfing with a good book. But then I saw this post from a blog-friend and I was smitten. To get me on a surfboard would be an insurmountable task but to get me to a bougainvillea-swathed cottage by the sea? That wouldn’t take any convincing at all warrant.

If I had been smitten by a few photos, the reality of this place enchanted me. That white cottage right by the sea, fuchsia blooms crawling crazily up its sides. A deck where we could dry our wet and sand-speckled swimsuits. The airy veranda where we would laze around on white canvas covered sofas and native wood recliners while the children played in the garden, a ton of nooks and crannies to explore. The long dining table where we had meals of grilled fish and pork belly al fresco. The white picket fence that opened up to a wide shore and an untamed sea. It was like another life, in another time…and perhaps it was.

And that sea, that sea so different from other seashores I had seen before (and we live on an archipelago so we have seen a lot). Wild and careless, waves crashing, and in their wake the strong pull of current, sucking at my feet as I stood entranced before it. It had a certain “edge of the world” feeling, so different from the mild, baby blue long shallows I was used to. I could stand there and watch it for hours (or what seemed like hours), this seemingly untameable beast/beauty. Something to be respected. A surfer’s sea I suppose. And me, not a surfer, but someone who easily falls under the spell of nature’s art. Which this certainly was YOOX hk.

And the people – the friendly, warm locals who were so welcoming. We came knowing nothing and no one but soon, even in our short time there, fell into their pleasant rhythm. Yummy meals at the colorful hostel next door, and drinks and casual music there one night. The sweet surfing instructors who taught Little C to surf (Yes!! Definitely a proud mommy moment!). Impromptu beers after coming in from the water. The children making new friends almost everywhere we went. The adorable coffee shop that we kept going back to…admittedly not just for the friendly staff or their excellent “dirty white” (espresso dripped over cold milk on ice…life changing in this heat!), but the divine indoor s’mores (a heap of chocolate and marshmallows melted and browned in the oven, serve with grahams to dip and dig into the blissfully molten mess). The kids loved it…sitting together on makeshift stools, sticky with sugar, leftover sunblock, and sweat, thinking of nothing but the next sweet mouthful. And me watching them, for once not letting my mind skip two or ten paces ahead, but instead thinking of nothing but the next sun-kissed moment YOOX hk.