Oakland Dim Sum

A couple months ago I mentioned to my brother's girlfriend, Cindy, that I had not had dim sum in what felt like forever. Therefore, because she's Chinese and speaks Mandarin and Shanghainese it only made sense for her to take me. Although we have been talking about going for two months, there never seemed to be a good time. I was either in Santa Barbara finishing spring quarter or my brother was abroad backpacking his way through Europe. Finally we found a day that worked for everyone: last Sunday.
Maybe it was the anticipated wait that made it so delicious... or maybe it was the fact that I tried things I would never have dreamed of eating when I was younger. Either way, Sunday turned out to be a wonderful meal.
There were five of us that made the trek to Oakland China Town. We went to Joy Luck Restaurant which is known for cheap, good food. It must be noted that people in Oakland China Town speak Cantonese which made ordering a bit more difficult. Luckily, both Cindy and our other friend were experienced enough in the art of dim sum that they were able to order everything for us.
We began the meal with a few recognizable treats including the infamous pork buns (my brother's favorite) and became more adventurous as the carts came by. Cindy ordered tripe and chicken's feet, both of which I had never had before. The funny thing is that three or four years ago the aforementioned items would have disgusted me. However, now I was just extremely curious. I took a chicken's foot, intrigued by the fact that it looked exactly like a live chicken's foot. And after a bit of difficulty with the chopsticks (I refused to use a fork) took a bit--- imagine that... it tasted just like chicken! And it was kind of fun to eat because you have to pick out all the little foot bones. I tried to get my brother to try but he refused; he said he was quite content with his pork buns.
After the chicken's foot, I decided it was time to try the tripe. Or maybe I did not know it was tripe and just wanted to try everything. It was off-white and cut into long strips with little bumps on them. The texture was sensational- crunchy but chewy and a bit rough. But it was delicious! It was cooked in ginger and tasted just like ginger.
Basically we stuffed ourselves on everything we could get our hands on. The only disappointing part of the entire day was that they ran out of egg custards and sesame buns by the time we finished the savory dishes.
O and the best thing about Joy Luck, is the 5 of us ordered over a dozen dishes, all left completely satisfied and only paid 6 dollars each! Perfect for broke college students!

My Little Garden

When I was little, my mom used to grow lots of vegetables in our yard. I remember going out back and picking corn, carrots, tomatoes, watermelon, squash, strawberries... I think you get the picture. The lush garden lasted for the early years of my childhood. But then, the trees grew and covered the area in shade, and the deer moved in. Between the lack of sunlight and the constant grazing of deer families, growing vegetables in the ground became a thing of the past.



When I returned home from college in late June, I decided I wanted to have my own garden. My mom and I thought it out and determined that we could buy planters and grow a couple small things on the brick patio. Our backyard is terraced and the deer stay up top or near the deck; they have yet to find the patio! Because I was getting a late start, a bought seedlings of zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, parsley, basil, and seeds of carrots and beets. Well the zucchini has taken off like wildfire (although it's not ready to pick yet), and the carrots and beets have sprouted beautifully. But the best part thus far is the fact that I was able to make a salad last night with my spinach and my first tomato!



Though it was just a simple salad, the fact that the produce came from my garden made it that much better!
And the culprit escapes!

Fresh from British Columbia

I am sitting here waiting to go to a Giant's game (though I am an A's fan) and realized this is a perfect time to write a post. Plus it's been a little while since the last one and I am way overdue. But who can blame me? The California summer is so nice, it's hard for me to sit down at a computer and write when I should be outside hiking, running, swimming, or causing whatever mayhem is appropriate for the moment. I have been cooking a lot and baking a ton. Moving back into my parent's house for the summer means I become the "second mom" (that's how my mom puts it anyway). My mom works long hours so I become responsible for most dinners; not that I mind. The only problem is my family is full of fussy eaters. If you have ever seen the sketch by George Carlin about 'fussy eaters' apply that to my family x five and welcome to my household.

We usually don't eat fish in my house unless my mom and I decide we want to cook for ourselves but last night was a rare treat. My mom is away in Atlanta on business so dinner was just my dad, my sister, and me. I figured it was going to be another hamburger night until.... my dad brought home fresh fish! What is this madness? Sorry, I guess that only makes sense if you know my dad, but he's usually not a fan of fish. However, one of my dad's students (my dad's a flight instructor) went up to British Columbia on a fishing trip and caught some halibut (just for the 'hal-ib-ut') and salmon and decided to give some to my dad. We no complaints there. I greatly appreciated the fish, at least the halibut which we ate last night. I'll post something for the salmon in a few days if I remember because it will be tomorrow night's dinner.

But the halibut was so good. Not fishy just mild and subtle flavor and flaky and moist and scrumptious! And my dad and my sister both really enjoyed it! That's when you know it's a good fish.

Grilled Halibut with Salsa Verde and Nu Potatoes

Halibut
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon rosemary
16oz fresh wild halibut
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Combine the first 4 ingrediants and mix. Add halibut and let it marinate for an hour, turning it over once. Just before grilling add sea salt and pepper to taste. Grill 4-5 minutes per side until flesh in opaque and flakey.

Salsa Verde
1/2 bunch Italian parsley finely chopped
1 tablespoon red onion finely chopped
handful fresh basil finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregeno finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingrediants in a bowl. Simple as that. And spoon over prepared fish.

Nu potatoes

5 potatoes
tablespoon olive oil
tablespoon rosemary finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon white wine
sea salt and pepper to taste

Par boil potatoes until just about done. Let cool and then quarter. Mix olive oil, wine, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes and let marinade for 30 minutes. Finish on grill until there is a little char and the potato flesh is golden.