Merry Christmas!

Mushrooms!

Since my friend and I just started this blog, I have a lot of pictures that were taken pre blog and I have yet to write anything about them. The picture above was my personal collection of Blond Morels that I had foraged from the woods this past summer. To tell you the truth, I was having a hard time finding any wild mushrooms at that time. I mean I read about it online and in books, but when I actually went out foraging, it was different. Mushrooms are elusive and it takes trained eyes to spot them amongst the pine needles and leaves. I actually spotted these morels while I was driving.

Putting it to the test.

So I've made some fresh tortillas from scratch at home, now it's time for me to incorporate the tortillas into a lunch dish at work. It's going to be Shrimp in House Made Tacos with Pico de Gallo, cumin sour cream, Tomato and Avocado Salad, Cilantro, Rice and refried beans. Well this is just a rough idea right now, it might be different by the time lunch is served tomorrow.

Fresh corn tortillas, way better than Taco Hell. Sorry about the crappy lighting.

Satisfaction.

There is nothing better than to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Creating something from start to finish then eating it afterwards can make you feel very satisfied both mentally and physically. I had recently made some fresh agnolotti and corn tortillas for two separate dinners and I must say that it was actually therapeutic for me. Something about creating something that is physical just from my thoughts really gives me such a satisfactory feeling. Maybe I can run a clinic that uses cooking as a form of therapy...or perhaps not.

Winter is here to stay.

Duck Confit with Roasted Root Vegetables, Polenta, Red Wine Jus.

The calls of the geese and the snow on the ground could only mean one thing when you live in Vermont. Winter is finally here to stay for a long while. Here in the North East, snow brings people and people equal more business. While having increased business is great, winter really makes it harder for a restaurant to utilize local and sustainable products. Especially with the type of service that we run, we have no choice but to buy asparagus that’s flown in from Peru. I love using local products as much as any other cooks/chefs out there, but the reality is that it’s pretty much impossible for a lot of places with short growing season. Winter can really force you to become more creative with your ingredients, and being creative can go a long way in a place that has no menu. So weather I like the long winter or not, I’ll just have to deal with it in the best way that I can.

Enhancing Flavors

At work, we've been using kalamata olive brine to brine things like tuna and salmon belly for a while now. So I figure why not cook Artichokes in the olive brine along with a few olives. Once cooked, the artichokes are also left in the liquid to develop more flavors. We are only limited by our own imaginations, but in this day and age, I find that being creative is becoming increasingly difficult.

Fist Picture With a New Camera.

This picture was taken with my new Canon T1i

Camera. I think it came out pretty well for a novice such as myself.

Momofuku

I just recently bought the Momofuku cook book by David Chang and I have to say that I really like this book. It's one of the few cook books that I actually read all of the contents. I have to admit that I buy cook books more as an art book than cook book. I don't know, I'm a visual learner and I get a lot of inspirations from looking at pictures rather than reading a recipe. But the Momofuku book is full of recipes that I really wanted to try because there are recipes of foods in there that I am a big fan of. One of the recipes that I've tried was the Alkaline noodles a.k.a. Ramen noodles recipe. The recipe is super simple to make, the hard part was getting a hold of the sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate that's required to get the correct pH level. The correct pH level is required so that you will get the distinct smell and texture that is associated with true ramen noodles. After 2 tries, I created a pretty good batch of ramen noodles that I shared with my parents for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. I can't wait to make some pork buns next!

Who celebrates Thangsgiving anyway?

Okay so pretty much everyone in the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving, except for people like me. Why don't I celebrate Thanksgiving? Well it's because I am a cook and I have worked every Thanksgiving since I've been working in the food industry. Plus I am Thai and I grew up in in Thailand until I was 11 years old before my parents made the move to America. Thai people don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Although it's amazing how holiday tradition like Thanksgiving can really change peoples moods. Everyone seems happier during the holidays, even if they had to work on that day. Oh and instead having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, I made some fresh ramen noodles, broth, etc... for dinner and it was delicious.

What We Are All About

Well my friend and I got a little bored and decided to start a blog and see how it goes. Our blog is going to be focused on Food and Culinary Arts, but I will also talk about other stuff on occasion. So happy reading, enjoy our pictures and please comment and pass on the link to others so we can become famous.....just kidding... but seriously...

Thanks