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Tomo arigato, Ramen Roboto! You are painfully inebriated. The hangover beast has you in a lock even before the sun has risen. There’s a curious contraption at the back of the café that offers...

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Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen who is doing a series of Chinese American food recipes for us here on Simply Recipes. ~Elise

The first time I attempted to cook fried rice on my own, I was 15 and my parents and little brother were in Europe on vacation. I stayed home to attend summer school and to enjoy a little freedom living on my own for a couple of weeks.

Since my Mom was the queen in the kitchen, I didn’t really cook too much back then. My job was just to eat and enjoy her wonderful home cooked meals. But that week, after 3 days of instant ramen, I was longing for something a little more substantial. Too lazy to bike to the market, I decided on fried rice. I steamed a batch of rice and found enough bits of vegetables to make the dish.

It was a total disaster. Mushy, soggy and goopy. Back to Top Ramen for another 10 days.

When the family returned, I told Mom about my fried rice misfortune and she laughed, “You better start learning from me before you go off to college or you’ll starve!” And a crash course in fried rice followed the next day.

So here I am to teach you what I learned from my Mom. These are her secrets to light, fluffy and flavorful fried rice, no matter what ingredients you use.

Continue reading "Shrimp Fried Rice" »

Restaurant openings, closings and chefs on the move.

Photo credit Scott Chernis

Slow Food is a movement that started in Italy and promotes a return to the way people used to eat. While it's a sentiment most of us can get behind, life is very different in Italy. Perhaps that is part of the reason why Slow Food USA has had a difficult time building massive grassroots support.

Certainly there have been public statements by the founder of Slow Food that have turned off potential local supporters. Many Slow Food programs have also left believers in the cause feeling, as the New York Times put it recently, as if Slow Food was "just one big wine tasting with really hard to find cheeses that you weren’t invited to."

But the Slow Food Nation events in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend are intended to be accessible to everyone. While some of the events are still pricey to attend, the good news is, there are plenty of events that are free. Here's a round up of just a handful of some of the major free events and programs. Head to the Slow Food Nation site for the complete Slow Food Nation schedule.

Slow Arts
Poetry by peach farmer David "Mas" Masumoto, a photography exhibit on the theme of Life in a Tuscan Town and a Bulgarian Honeybee and Harvest dance are just some of the many arts programs that are part of Slow Food Nation. All but the photo exhibit take place at the Victory Garden.

Youth Food Movement programs
Retreats, films and workshops and a culminating "Eat-In" are planned for those in the 16-34 age range.

Marketplace
The Marketplace will take place in the Civic Center Plaza. There will be produce for sale, street food, "soap box" story telling and water stations for everyone.

Food for Thought films
You'll need to RSVP and tickets are limited, but there will be showings of films such as The Future of Food and Our Daily Bread. Films take place at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason.

Whichever events you end up taking part in, here's hoping you have a very slow Labor Day weekend.

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FEATURED EVENT

Cooking with Liquid Nitrogen
Astor Center (399 Lafayette Avenue) presents, "Chilling Out with Liquid Nitrogen," hosted by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot of the culinary blog Ideas in Food. Liquid nitrogen has gained much popularity for its innovative use in making instant ice creams, creating innovative twists on cocktails, and cryo-blanching. Discover these techniques and more while tasting some samples of chem-lab cuisine. The class will take place on Tuesday, August 26th, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $125/person.

EVENTS THIS WEEK (August 20 through 26)

A Chocolatey Happy Hour
Now through September 15th, enjoy a unique happy hour event (i.e., skip the booze this time around) at Chocolate Bar East Village (127 East 7th Street). Every day from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. enjoy $5 mini brownies, classic egg creams, mini iced chocolates, and a truffle of your choice. (212.366.1541)   

Queso y Vino
Pamplona (37 East 28th Street) and Despana Foods is hosting an evening of Spanish cheese and wine. The guided five course menu will featured dishes with cheeses from La Mancha, Basque Country, and Asturias paired with regional wines. Queso y Vino will take place on Wednesday, August 20th, at 8:00 p.m. Reservations: 212.213.2328.  $65/dinner, $95/dinner with wine pairings.

Coffee and Cake Tasting
Amai Tea & Bake House (171 3rd Avenue) will be hosting a coffee and cake tasting. Featured is Hacienda Esmeralda Special Microlot, a rare, celebrated Geisha coffee varietal from Ethiopia that has been freshly roasted by Counter Culture Coffee. To complement the coffee, Amai will be serving samples of our new their sesame coffee cake, a moist cake made with black sesame and topped with a toasted white sesame crumble. The free event will take place on Thursday, August 21st from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. RSVP: 212.863.9630.

Highbrow BBQ
New York magazine is presenting its first ever Backyard BBQ. Enjoy tasty eats from former "Top Chef" contestant Chris "CJ" Jacobson, live music, fireside comedy, and FREE beer (with the purchase of a ticket). You can also register to be part of a cook-off challenge and have your best BBQ dish be judged by CJ and celebrity guest judges. The event will take place on Saturday, August 23rd at Solar One (2420 FDR Drive, Service Road East) from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets: $25/person.

Harvest Kick-off Party
Make Wine With Us (930 Newark Avenue, Newark, New Jersey) will be hosting a kick-off wine party. The main event will include the first tasting of wines bottled by their wine makers over the summer, accompanied by a buffet dinner and door prizes. Attendees will also have the opportunity to place an order for the 2008 wine season beginning in September. The event will take place on Saturday, August 23rd from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. RSVP: 201.876.9463. Tickets: $15/at the door.

Image: flickr user Viola Zuppa.

Served plain, on bread, this tomato jam is sensational; with tuna, meat or white fish, it is even more compelling.

The first time I stumbled upon Jaden Hair's Steamy Kitchen food blog I had major blog envy. Who was this hilarious and irreverent woman? And how was it that she could make food look that good? I was hooked, an early convert to Jaden's humor, playfulness, and drop-dead delicious Asian food. (Actually, not only Asian food, take a look at this post on cooking steak, and her fresh ginger tips.)

Well, with the eyes of the world on Beijing this week, I'm delighted to let you know that Jaden will be guest authoring a series on Simply Recipes, focusing on classic Chinese American food recipes. In her first post Jaden shares her mom's secrets to perfect fried rice. Welcome to Simply Recipes, Jaden!

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On one flawless Southern California morning, I dolled up and walked my self over to photographers heaven, Samy’s Camera.

Armed with the make and model of the camera I had meticulously researched scrawled on a slip of notebook paper, I was finally ready to commit.

Arriving on the 4th floor, my info was conveyed to the adorable sales clerk. The camera was procured. Price was confirmed and a credit card about to change hands.

It all seemed so easy. (Sigh)

But then, alas, a few questions were posed. A revelation was made. (That I take pictures of food.) A different camera was offered up. (Waterproof! Smaller! Not available in fashion-colors!) The transaction completed and I traipsed off with what turns out to be the most annoyingly lame and un-useable camera known to human kind.

Seriously kids, do you see those pictures? That is a sampling of a month’s worth of trying every silly setting on the thing. Here there and everywhere the camera has come out and failed me spectacularly.

Dishes have not been recorded, moments not captured, and sadness has settled in my heart due to a stringent no-return/no-exchange policy (and a vague hope it was just really me and not the camera.)

But then I realized something…a little something. I can still share recipes without photographic evidence and you will still love me.

Well, I hope so anyway!

So while I do my darndest to figure out this shamefully overpriced digital contraption, I shall leave you with a recipe for Greek salad.

And I leave the imagery of this perfect summer salad to you.

1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
Juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
½ teaspoon salt
A few grinds of black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup olive oil
½ medium red onion, sliced thin
2 English cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, thick slices
6 large tomatoes, each tomato cored and cut into wedges
¼ cup loosely packed torn fresh parsley leaves
20 large kalamata olives, each olive pitted and quartered lengthwise
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, chopped

Whisk together the first seven ingredients in a large bowl.

Add the sliced red onion and cucumber and toss; let stand 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and parsley to bowl with onions and cucumbers and toss to coat.

Divide lettuce on wide, shallow serving bowl or platter; top with vegetables, sprinkle olives and feta over salad. Serve immediately.

Makes enough for six to eight people.

© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
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© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at is guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright. And generally cheesing me off.

Are you coming to the Chicks with Knives Sustainable Supper Club dinner?

More than 90 % of American wine production occurs on the West Coast. A large part of carbon-dioxide emissions associated with wine comes from simply trucking it from the vineyard to tables on the East Coast. A wine bottle holds 750 ml and generates about 5.2 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions when it travels from a vineyard in California to a store in New York. A 3-liter box generates about half the emissions per 750 ml. Switching to wine in a box for the 97 % of wines that are made to be consumed within a year would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about two million tons, the equivalent of retiring 400,000 cars. - NY Times

about a month ago, on the anniversary of a death in my life, i took a trip to see a river i'd never met. not that i knew of, at any rate. it was the Yuba River and it startled and awed me.

today, with my same friend, we are adventuring to see and swim in another river. no anniversary today, just a day between things, catching summer before it ends.

if you are visiting eggbeater for the first time from TuttiFoodie, welcome! please make yourself at home-- there's lots to see and taste, and any number of the links will take you to see others for whom i have great respect and admiration.

thanks for visiting!