389 Church

Under construction.
Please excuse the dust.

Gone Fishin'

Here's some pictures from a fishing trip to Pacifica/Half Moon Bay that I went on with Kent and Mike this past Sunday.

Fishing

Tasty F*kin Ribs!

It's just too bad that you can't have ribs that have been painstakingly smoked for hours at your every whim. The closest that I come to getting this requires a visit to Joe Ching's Fremont rib shack.









As if that wasn't enough.. this past session, Joe debuted some scrimps that were too bomb to describe. It's a shame I already forgot what the heck it was, but that green marinade was off the hook. If you're reading this Josy.. post the recipe for that in a comment please.



Oh, did I mention that they were also slathered in garlic butter? HAhahaha!

Well, I know someone who wholeheartedly approves..

















No.. not just Bos. Me!!


Love you guys!

Es Mucho Muchacho

It's Macho!

King of the Castle

Killing Bunny...

Now that Macho is on performance enhancing drugs (for his thyroid) he's like a new dog.

Mom and Dad are witnessing new behaviors they've never seen from him.









He trots around the house now, like he owns the place.












He runs all over the place on his walks, and he's even become more vocal.

Dipping into the forbidden trough.

Open for business:




















RUB MY BELLY!!!

Canh Chua Ca

Hot and Sour Tamarind Fish Soup

The following soup was introduced to me by my Aunty Ming in Indianapolis. She is such a great cook and teacher. This soup tastes so incredible, I could eat it EVERY day. And now to share it with you!

Ingredients:

- To start , you'll need chicken broth seasoned with tamarind. Use about four or five cans for a good soup base. The tamarind can be added in concentrate form bought at the store (about a tablespoon for every cup/can of stock).

- You'll need a good amount of fish as well. Aunty cleaned and skinned Tilapia for this recipe. Catfish, sea bass, and red snapper work well too. While skinning the fish may not be easy, she told me it makes a better presentation in the soup. You'll need to then chop the fish into pieces about an inch wide.

- Chop up one whole pineapple, 2-3 tomatoes, ~3 stalks of celery. Get a few cups of bean sprouts, and a couple cups of cilantro and some fresh cumin. You can also add okra, lemon grass, ginger, or even bamboo shoots to make things more interesting. Some even suggest fresh coriander. Also, fry and dry about five cloves of finely chopped garlic to season at the end. Make as much as a whole bulb, it'll keep for later use!






This is what it looked
like before
we fired up the stove. -->







Now to start putting it all together:

Bring the stock to a boil and add the fish!





Once it comes to a boil again add the celery and pineapple. When it comes back to a boil again.. let it go for a couple minutes and taste. At this point you can adjust the flavor by adding a little sugar to sweeten, some lemon or tamarind for more sour.





At this point, you're in the home stretch. I had to contain myself from eating it all up it was smelling so good. The tomatoes take no time at all to cook, so as soon as you're happy with the taste of the soup, dump them in.





The soup is almost ready to be served. Add the fried garlic bits on top and break out the bowls! When you serve, put some of the sprouts, cilantro, and cumin in the individual serving bowls and spoon the soup on top.

Traditionally, this dish is served with rice.


Enjoy!

Raccoon invasion!

It turns out that our friendly neighbors, a raccoon family, is responsible for cleverly disconnecting gas lines and sparkplug wires underneath Mom and Dad's van. This is not the first time that they have caused a bit of mischief around this house and I believe Mom is preparing for battle. The first round of combat might begin with chemical warfare. Red fox urine has just been acquired and is about to be implemented in the vicinity of the raccoon den. A guy from the store suggested getting smoke bombs that kill moles to drop in the den followed by covering the entrance to their home with dirt. If the raccoons must go, but need to get evicted humanely, what is to be done?

First, you must understand the raccoon... you must get into it's skull and figure out what would make a raccoon want to become a mechanic and try and work on the red van while everyone is asleep. Perhaps it's the encouragement of Grandma feeding them morsels of home cooked Chinese refuse. Is it the two week old soy sauce marinated chicken? Maybe it's the tasty tripe left over from the restaurant.

Tune it next time for the next episode in the saga of man v. animal. See the wonders of wild animals dancing in exaltation of free food and performances of elderly human worship followed by complex nocturnal manipulation of machinery.

Blog-lag: posting the past as the present...?

I meant to post an entry about last weekend when I went out for a bite and caught some "new" music. I've decided not to turn this blog into one of those places to criticize restaurants, etc.. because lord knows how much I despise yelp and it's ilk. Anyway.. I HAVE decided to use it for, at the very least, my own entertainment and yours.. GOOD, now that matter is cleared up and to just blurb about what's going on in my 'hood (a week ago).

This (last) Sunday, Polarchip (my Sister's name will remain anon at her request) invited me to check out some "new" music at SF Sound. What is "new" music? Let's just call it "experimental" for the sake of keeping it simple. Before I get ahead of myself, I'll tell you about the restaurant where we ate before the show. We walked into this place called Maverick, a block away from SF Sound's Theater, because it looked cute, small, and near enough to run to the concert if it got too late. I had a little wine, and ordered a few of their "first dishes". Pretty much, I just got a whole bunch of their appetizers and skipped getting an entree. Ribs, asparagus spears, and some spinach graten. The ribs were ok. Not as tasty as the Malaysian place that Sis and I found. Asparagus is asparagus is asparagus. The spinach and white bean graten was pretty damn delicious though. It all added up to a big meal in the end. I think Sis would agree when I say probably the best part were the little salads or greens that accompany the dishes. Tasty tasty! El.. I mean.. Polarchip shared her "ceviche styled" scallops and potato leek soup. David had what I thought was an interesting take on vegetable lasagna. They make their own pasta to order, and it was as much fun to look at as it was to taste. It was interesting.. next time, photos?

I'm not trying to plug Maverick, but I AM recommending getting a little wine and food before exposing yourself to experimental music for the first time. I guess... it takes the edge off? It's nice to not be hungry when you're trying to open your mind to something new, y'know? Anyway.. I took a few mental notes... some associations I made with the sounds that I heard. Here's the short list:

An 8 yr. old having a tantrum at a piano keyboard.
Psychadelic hearing test. (I felt like involuntarily raising my right hand several times)
Instrument dissassembly plant where the musicians are still connected.
The future sound of car doors left open or keys left in ignition.

Visit http://www.sfsound.org for a taste.

My favorite (and not just because he's a friend of David and "Polarchip") was "the eye (unblinking)" by David Bithell. It was entertaining just as much as it was educational. Maybe because I'm a sucker for a light show? It could have been that it was very playful and light compared to the serious air surrounding some of the other pieces. I had a fun time and got a great introduction to the genre. I also really enjoyed the improv session that a few of the musicians played in the first half of the concert. I'd do it again. I think. A special mention too, before I forget, was that it was really nice to meet Chippy's friend Ellie. I know how fond of her she is, and it's always nice to meet the people in her life that make her feel all goopy and sweet inside.

Thursday-Gra : Big Night Out

Went to Nola's in Palo Alto last night. It was a birthday party for a friend of mine, and we had the big private room upstairs. It's a cool little spot.. we fit 15-16 people in there. On to the food: The crab cakes were pretty awesome, and the appi platter was pretty grub too. Unfortunately, I wasn't too excited about the blackened catfish I ordered for my entree. It looked like people were enjoying the flank steak and the etouffe. That was probably a better bet. We ordered up about five huge pitchers of sangria too.. so all in all it was great fun.

As if that wasn't enough partying for the night.. I had another friend who was celebrating his b-day the same night. I caught a ride back up to the city and met up with him at Hemlock. This bar over on Post and Sutter is pretty cool. It's dark, they have pool, and they serve PBR in bottles. 'Nuff said. I think the star of the night had to go to Mr. Pickles. Mr. Pickles is (now a very fat) female chihuahua. The awesome part is that she's registered as a service animal so Mr. Pickles can go to Giants games, out to bars, restaurants, etc. Sis.. you should probably look into this.

After Hemlock we checked out R-Bar and Blur. We stopped by Vertigo but it was dead. R-Bar was alright but the people were a little on the obnoxious side.. a bunch of loud English dudes dressed like frat boys. My praise for R-Bar is that they serve Olympia in cans there. Blur was cool. Definitely more chill than R-Bar. They have free lollipops and Shannon the bartender is pretty cool. Big night out.

Congratulations! It a new baby blog!

Thanks to your inspiration, my darling Sis, you are the proud Aunty of spankin' new blog. All because of a little vinegarette recipe that you love. And without further ado.. here it is:

1 clove garlic (more for better breath, less if you don't have it around)
1 to 2 tsp. Dijon style mustard
Pinch of basil and/or oregano (totally optional, but tasty)
Couple dashes of pepper (white, black, cayenne, just to give it a little kick)
A squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. good olive oil

I made you a bottle of your very own so you can leave it at work! :)