Summer Salad w/ Orzo & other fun stuff...

The Boston heat wave has been brutal and required my apartment's thermostat to stay on 79 at the highest - it was sitting between 72-75. This definitely makes me wonder how I managed the Saigon heat last May. And plus this serves  to remind me that the summer is almost over and my birthday is almost here. How scary! On top of that, I'm still waiting for the confirmation on this moving business... so crazy... I'm only moving about a mile away to a new apartment if everything goes as planned. And back to the same building I've lived at twice before at two different times in my life. Maybe the 3rd time's a charm like however the saying goes.

My dear friend Sue is putting together my birthday dinner and Lola is already planning on baking my birthday cake with all the fixin's I like. As always, I also like to keep my birthday low key and intimate. I really just want to celebrate it with close friends who know how my past year went down (or up) and are there to reflect on the positives with me. I know, I'm quite cheesy. In any case, we are going to one of my favorite places in Harvard Square, Russell House Tavern, so I can't wait.

I got a bit off topic but the weather completely cooled down today, which reminds me to eat my greens. Nothing quite nicer than a summer salad for dinner on a Sunday night to make Monday mornings feel more welcoming. Seriously.

The orzo should really be the main character... I had to order this brand online. I probably didn't need to but it was hard trying to find a Greek market in town and accessible via the T.  They do come in different grain size as you can see these are the "large" - I've definitely used mediums before. 

The AUDITION. Why? I didn't end up using everything you see in this photo. Originally, I wanted to call this post, the summer salad with everything but the kitchen sink. 

Fresh crisp greens always make my day brighter and healthier. :)

Gotta' rinse that celery heart... rinse it well, girl (boy). 

Slice 'em up beautifully... or not... or however you like to slice 'em. 

We all need a lil' heat in our life. What's romance without the heat? I don't understand the connection with romance and salads but I'm sure you get the gist of it.  Don't worry, these peppa's* aren't hot - nothing like the tacos from hell at Tremont 647 on taco tuesday. I sat there crying for a good 30 minutes.

*seriously, you non-Boston folks, please do not say to another Bostonian, "whoa, you don't have the Boston accent" - not everyone from Boston has an accent. what the heck... 

That taco from hell make these guys seem like the wimps of the peppa'** family. 

**seriously, I do not say the word like that in real life. 

Slice up some beautiful tomatoes. Yes, I'm extremely cheesy today - I think everything is beautiful!

Lookin'*** good. 

***seriously, I do drop my "g's" sometimes. i often say "keepin' it real, son"- yup, with the comma and all. 

The only thing summer about the salad is the peach. Man, I hate to cut peaches.

I try to do this first (slice it?) then break it apart with my bare hands. It ain't no easy task. 

This was the best I could do under the circumstances. 

But my slicin' skills came in handy and it don't look so bad after all. 

Pickles are the true secret to a delicious salad. I can't imagine eating salads w/o pickles anymore. It adds such a nice punch and kick. I know, I am using ninja terms to describe food because that's how versatile I am. 

With the amount of TJ products in this one post, you'd think TJ paid me to do this. But no... I'm just a huge fan and they're about 5 blocks away from me. 

I don't care how big you are or how often you take lipitor - but when it comes to cheeses. Full fat only. Anything else is just a lie. Who wants to live a lie? I know I don't - neither should you. 

This salad is just getting prettier and prettier.

Now, the orzo, slivered almonds, and dried sweetened cranberries. 

I added some fresh ground pepper and sea salt then toss it all together. Toss toss!

Go feed your soul. 

In the mean time, it is summer and rosé is my drink of choice. This bottle was a recommendation from Central Bottle which is a super cute liquor store near MIT and Central Square. They carry different types of cured meats, cheeses, and breads as well. Do check it out. 

As you can see from the cork, the bottle was stored properly. Thank you.

Pouring myself a modest glass and you can see my reflection! 

Anyway, that's all folks. ENJOY!

Pork, Shrimp, and Fish Dumplings w/ Shiitake Mushrooms

I have made dumplings more time on this blog than anything else.  I should start a dumpling wholesale business.  Seriously, I mean it.  You can start placing orders.  I can't help it - they're just so fun to make and makes my heart flutter with joy.  If my heart can flutter... or makes my heart beat with joy?  Whatever, you get the point. These are a lot more dim-sum like than any other ones... I think because of the protein density.

On another note, I'm going to Stockholm in September! To visit my old roommate from Israel.  I have not seen him in over 5 years so I totally can't wait.  He's now a make-up artist at Christian Dior.  I totally can't wait.  Let me pull up some throwback photos.

This was us at some ultra cool hookah lounge somewhere in the old city of Jaffa

Us in Jerusalem (there are very few photos of me wearing sunglasses)

Us in Taba, Egypt

Oh! Just looking at these photos make me so excited and can't, can't wait to see him in Stockholm and see his new life there! 

It must also be something about Israel that I decided to make both pork and shrimp - damn, I'm just missing a dairy product in this thing. 

In the mix:

1.5lbs of ground pork

2 cups of minced tilapia

1.5 cups of minced shrimp

1 cup of minced shiitake mushrooms

1 egg

3 Ts of fish sauce (oyster brand)

2 Ts of sugar

1/2 T of chopped chili peppers

Pile of cleaned and gutted shrimp - gosh, these things are so high maintenance. I would definitely hire someone to clean shrimp for me. 

Mincing it until it turns paste-like. 

Just like this. 

Rinsing these suckers and squeezing them well. 

Minced shiitake mushrooms. 

Nice and firm tilapia filets. I really don't like tilapia on its own so I think it was perfect to add them into the dumpling mix. 

All minced up.

These guys are very spicy so use with caution. 

Adding the fish sauce.

I used this brand but you can use whatever else you have on hand like the two crabs or three crabs or four... whatever.

Add a few drops of vinegar. Do it. I promise it will help your dumplings taste better and super terrific. 

Combine super well.  At this point, I just put my hands in there and made sure that it was all well mixed together. 

My set up. I was making a ton so I really needed to take a seat. For wrapping instructions, do visit any other links to my previous dumplings making adventures. 

I made about five plates like this and plan on freezing most of it. 

This was the best photo I could take with very dirty hands as you can see... they were definitely yummy and reminded me of the ones I get at dim sum. 

ENJOY!

Dandelions Greens Summer Salad

It is definitely important to have great friends in life. I know I'm stating the obvious but it is truly comforting, and more, to know that there are always great people in my life with whom I can celebrate the good times, the bad times, and all the other times. Like I've shared, I haven't been feeling well and still waiting to find out what exactly is the issue... in the mean time, my friends have come over, brought food, sent cute messages, and their outpour of support makes this not-so-fun time feel pretty fun.


Hey guys, I also enjoy homemade ice cream and cake. Wanna' come over tomorrow?


I am also look forward to receiving my Spanish language learning CDs? I guess it's like Rossetta Stone... my friend knows that I am considering Bogota this fall and heard that one shouldn't go without learning some Spanish so she hooked it up.  So, don't be surprised when the next post is in Spanish. Yeah, no braggin', but I'm a fast learner. 


Anyway, anyways, I joke. I found dandelion greens at the farmer's market the other day and was excited to try it out. I made a salad with it and everything else I have in my fridge such as orange, pomegranate, ginger, yellow chives, tomatoes, slivered almond, and homemade shallot confit. I have a jar of fried shallot, garlic, and green onion and love it as a topping in salads and noodle soups. 


My camera ran out of batteries so had to take photos with my iPhone. Go iPhone!

It does look like wild greens you have seen growing like weeds everywhere. 

Quarter an orange. 

Then flesh the orange. Save the peel. Will show you why. 

I write in short sentences just like the great late Hemingway.

Yellow chives. Not to be mistaken with red chives. 

(Yellow chives are Chinese chives that have been grown with little light. Yellow chives are tender and mild tasting.)

Stack your ginger in preparation for julienning.

This is terribly thick... please, don't judge. I just didn't have the energy to julienne them much thinner. 

Throwing it together...

Adding more...

Squeezing what's left of the orange in the peel - this creates a nice and healthy dressing. All you need to add after this is some salt and pepper to taste. Ingenious!

Action photos are awesome.