Lion’s Head, or shi zi tou is a rustic home cooked Chinese dish that evokes tasty memories for my husband. Over the years I’ve heard about his mom’s Lion’s Head, and I’ve also heard my husband’s numerous requests for her to to make it for him. So when my mother-in-law suggested we make it together, I was excited to learn. The pork meatball and cabbage dish is slow cooked in a pot. The meatballs are meant to represent a lion, and the shredded greens its mane. Continue reading learning chinese cooking from the best: lion’s head
Category Archives: Recipes
they like my balls
Friends. They are such an integral part of my life. I think growing up in a small family and being an only child has shaped my need for seeking and keeping myself surrounded with friends. I’m picky about my friends; I need to have real connection and commonalities. Truth be told, life is way too short to waste time with people who don’t treat you right. I like to surround myself with people who support, inspire, care and make me laugh. I am thankful to have a wonderful group of friends, near and far, who embody these characteristics. Continue reading they like my balls
learning chinese cooking from the best: eggplant salad
My mother-in-law is notoriously hard to nail down in the kitchen. And by that I mean she doesn’t measure or document any of her recipes. I asked her a while ago to make her eggplant salad so I could trail her around the kitchen with camera, pen and paper and finally capture one of my favorites from her repertoire. Continue reading learning chinese cooking from the best: eggplant salad
the zucchini problem
I remember when I was little my parents would grumble about the amount of zucchini that wildly multiplied in our garden. Our zucchini was extremely difficult to pawn off to friends, because it seemed that everyone who had a garden—and most people we knew did— had an abundance of the stuff. You see, the green torpedo-shaped veggies multiply easily and are hard to kill off. It’s the type of ubiquitous squash that keeps on producing, and comes back as a volunteer plant next year, whether you intend to have it in your garden or not. Let’s just say we ate a lot of zucchini during the months of August and September, when squash season is at its peak in the Pacific Northwest. Continue reading the zucchini problem
the cure for homesickness in a dip
Every time I visit my home state of Oregon, which incidentally usually occurs during the summer, I breathe in the state and enjoy my time to its fullest. Family, friends, green as far as the eye can see, inexpensive (relatively speaking) housing, roadside wild blackberries, no sales tax, no getting out of the car to pump your gas; Oregon is easy living at its best. After a visit, I need to remind myself that the wonderland of greatness in the summer turns into a sunless, rainy, gray, borderline depressive state during the remaining eight, sometimes nine months of the year. Continue reading the cure for homesickness in a dip
kitchen failures and the bob’s red mill experiment
I’m going to start by saying I’m dubious of recipe contests. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s my fear of rejection, or my natural uncompetitiveness. However, when my friend Kara told me about the Bob’s Red Mill Spar for the Spurtle contest, I jumped. I have the time to experiment and develop a recipe, and the $5,000 first place cash prize is appealing too. Continue reading kitchen failures and the bob’s red mill experiment
when friends give you lemons
I have the pleasure of having a friend who has a large Meyer lemon tree in his backyard. Mind you, we were friends before I knew he had a lemon tree. In fact, we may have been friends before he bought the house with the tree. At any rate, my friend has been known to leave a shopping bag of lemons on my doorstep, and when this happens, I make things. Lemon pudding cake, limoncello, lemon curd. You get the idea. Continue reading when friends give you lemons
the salad of summer
Last summer I went to a concert at an outdoor winery/music venue. The evening was warm (it was outside the SF fog zone, mind you!), the music was amazing and the company of three girlfriends made for a beautiful evening. However, being the food obsessed person that I am, rather than relish in the musical experience, I couldn’t stop thinking about the peach tomato salad my friend Audrey made for our pre concert picnic. It’s a salad she had tried at Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack and decided to recreate for our concert picnic. It had just the right combination of sweetness and acidity, with a hint of salty cheese. A tasty salute to summer. Continue reading the salad of summer
origami animals and onion dip?
I’m sorry to admit that I’ve been busy enjoying summer and haven’t been as dedicated to writing and sharing recipes as I had originally hoped. It’s been a whirlwind 10 days of obsessing over the plethora of hummingbirds in my yard as well as cooking, picnicking at an oyster farm, hiking and playing the role of tourist in Vancouver BC. Continue reading origami animals and onion dip?
guest blogger – a trick of a dessert
As long as I’ve known my dear friend Erin, she has struggled with, what she calls, an addiction to sugar. Mind you, she’s the size of a pin, so it’s not weight that is her challenge, but rather the dependence on cookies, ice cream and candy. I remember a perhaps not fully sober night, when a group of us walked to the local Plaid Pantry (for those of you from Oregon, you know all about “The Plaid”). Erin made a beeline for a large package of Bit ‘O Honey candy and proceeded to go on and on about how it was the best-tasting candy she had ever had and how she loved it so much. Yes, Erin loves sugar. Continue reading guest blogger – a trick of a dessert
planks and sticks 