1. I found a job
2. I bought myself insurance
3. I (sort of) learned how to drive
4. I did taxes (hooray!)
5. I baked bacon oatmeal raisin cookies (Yes, among all baked goods, this one I actually consider an accomplishment. Try this amazing recipe from Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Seattle, WA)

Now moving onto…

1. Figuring out (more or less) what I’m going to do in the next two years
2. Get good at driving
3. Find a roommate and an apartment for next year
4. Stop being lazy and write more for this blog & TNGG

Anyhow, I wanted to put up some photos I took at work and seduce you to come to my restaurant…

Vanilla & Dark Chocolate Cupcake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Housemade Giant Bucatini with Putanesca Sauce

Seedings! From our rooftop garden

Sage Croissant with Blue Cheese Ice Cream and Chocolate Ganache

Sopaipilla (a fried pastry from South America)

Lucuma (a Chilean Super fruit!) Cake with Champagne Mousse and Cocoa Dust (ahh dessert photograph so well)

Duck Confit Tacos with Mole Sauce (this one was taken in the office ha)

Lastly, some delicious drinks featured on our cocktail list right now. Both using Bully Boy Distillery products

I’m brainstorming ideas for the next post. Any suggestions?

I apologize for not having written a post in ages! I have not forgotten about this blog – the past month, I’ve been running around like a crazy person, figuring out insurance (done, luckily), getting a permit (done!), networking (ongoing…) and continuing to look for a job. And before I realized, we are well into fall and I have not cooked enough with apples! Luckily I can still find high-quality apples in the local markets – I heard that enterprise, empire, cortland, Fuji and a bunch of other types of apples are harvested in the winter as well.

There really are few kinds of fruit as versatile as apples. Stuffed in grilled cheese, dipped in caramel, thrown in casseroles, they can bring a sense of warmth and sweetness to compliment almost any dish. And for those with a sweet tooth,  apples crisp, apple sauce, apple upside down cake, apple cider glazed doughnuts are just a few…Oh did I mention apple pies? A flaky, buttery pie with sweet and tart apple-y goodness oozing out of the shell…is as American as it gets (especially when baked by Mom).

 Is it fair to say that apples are the king of all fruit? Not only are they extremely affordable and have a taste that appeals to almost everyone, apples can be grown worldwide (although China produces more than 35% of the total). The apple tree was said to be the first tree to be cultivated, so it’s not surprising at all that the word “apple” has profoundly rooted in our language.

Now, count to 10 and think of as many phrases as you can with the word apple in it!

Here are a few examples, some more commonly used than others:

Apple of one’s eye – figuratively means something or someone dear and precious. Apparently, the saying dates back to the early Middle Ages, when apple of one’s eye literally meant “pupil” because people thought pupils were spherical and solid like apples. Since sight is our most important sense, the phrase quickly became a metaphor for something precious and cherished.

The Big Apple – a nickname for New York City. There are a bunch of theories out there, but this one seems the most believable to me: during the 1930s jazz era, musicians started referring to New York City as the “Big Apple,” as in”there are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple,” meaning New York City is THE place for the show biz.

Apple butter – according to The Eaten Word by Jay Jacob, “apple butter” is an old American slang for smooth talk. Other sources I found online say that the phrase is actually “poised apple butter” and “apple butter days” means “the good ole days,” where things were better and easier. Why apple butter though, as opposed to pumpkin butter or plum butter, I’m not sure.

Compare apples to oranges – an irrelevant comparison, a false analogy. It seems like in most European countries though, the idiom is “compare apples to pears.” Latin Americans, on the other hand, “compare potatoes to sweet potatoes.” To me, the last one is by far the most clever metaphor, since potatoes and sweet potatoes do look similar, but are from two completely different botanical families!

Apple pie order – another phrase I’ve never heard of! Supposedly it means tidy and well ordered. Some say it originated from the French phrase “nappes pliées,” which means “neatly-folded tablecloth.” There’s no concrete evidence to support this theory though.

Bad apple, rotten apple – a bad person. Or I guess you could say a bad egg?

Applesauce – apparently in the old days meant “nonsense,” “bullshit.” Well, that’s just plain wrong, because applesauce is delicious, especially when made fresh! Here’s how:

You’ll need:

• 2 pounds of peeled, cored, and chopped apples (Use good cooking apples)
• 2 strips of lemon peel (Use a potato peeler)
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of white sugar (you could also use honey or agave nectar)
• 1/2 cup of water

1. Put everything (except for the honey, if you are using it) into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat down to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Discard the lemon peels. Mash the mixture with a potato masher or blend it in a food processer for a smoother texture.

3. Stir in honey at the end. If you add the honey too early, it’ll turn the sauce into an ugly brown mess. (Trust me, it’s what I did…still tasted good though.)

P.s. To make other delicious apple treats, read this The Next Great Generation article. My fellow writers and I submitted some great recipes!

P.s 2 Stay tuned for a pumpkin post…

I was shocked when I learned the reason why many chefs crack eggs in a separate bowl is to make sure that the egg is fresh. What are the chances to stumble upon a bad egg? What does a bad egg even look like? I heard it smells awful. But I have never had a bad egg.

On the other hand, “bad egg” is also a colloquial phrase, perhaps an old colloquial phrase that would make you sound unfashionable if you used it nowadays: a person or a scheme that doesn’t live up to the expectations. Clearly, it came about when a person cracked open an egg, only to find that it had gone bad. But why egg? Why not a watermelon or a pistachio? When was the first usage of the phrase? I went digging for answers.

According to Phrase Finder, the earliest usage of the phrase appeared in Milwaukee Daily American in September 1856:

“Mayor Wood is moving heaven and earth to procure his renomination. One of his dodges is, to get up letters in the newspaper, pretending to emenade from ‘distinguished citizens,’ including merchants, mechanics and working men, soliciting him in the most pathetic terms to present himself to the dear people. There are also on the list a number of notorious blacklegs whom Woods keeps in pay. He is a bad egg.”

It's always tricky to find the bad guy.

But this usage couldn’t possibly be the first one, since the phrased seemed already established. Through the Oxford English Dictionary, I tracked down another material that contains the phrase, published only slightly earlier in 1855. Wonderful Adventures of Captain Priest, written by Sam Adams Hammett (writing with the name of Paxton Phillips), is a collection of sketches and humor stories without a plot. In Chapter 11 titled “hints of ornithology,” Hammett argues:

“No perfection exists among the feathered tribe, and it is only among the human race that we find the PERFECT BIRD.

Birds hae invariably a beak or a bill before them, but the PERFECT BIRD has often a beak with a bill after him.

The notes of a PERFECT BIRD are usually very bad. The PERFECT BIRD has no wings, yet he is considered ‘fly’ upon all sporting matters. Some birds are said to carry brick-bats under their wings to sharpen their bills, and others, stones in their maws to whet their appetites, but the PERFECT BIRD carries a brick in his hat and a s tone in his boot.

In the language of his class, the PERFECT BIRD generally turns out to be a ‘bad egg.'”

The text was smart. But what was Hammett trying to get at here? Was he making fun of human beings? Was this even the first usage?

I was even more puzzled when I realized that in Chinese, we also call a bad person “bad egg”(坏蛋，huai dan), although it is a phrase used more often among kids. Like…you would probably call Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty or Ursula from Little Mermaid a huai dan. So who came up with the phrase first? The Chinese? American? or someone from a different continent?

Argg you are the bad egg, aren't you??!!!

So basically, my research fails to yield any fruit and I still don’t know where the phrase came from. But at least, I know I could also turn to my favorite egg dish for some comfort.

This quiche recipe is infinitely adaptable and super simple.

a pie crust (or store-bought)

a pound of spinach (frozen is fine too, just thaw it first)

1/2 cup of button mushroom

one small yellow onion

two cloves of garlic

4 eggs

1/2 cup of half and half (or milk, or cream)

6 oz of shredded cheese (cheddar is good, you could also use swiss, gruyere, marbled jack, feta, seriously whatever you have on hand or a mix of cheese)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Wilt your spinach in a skillet. Put the spinach in a strainer and squeeze out the excessive juice. It would make the crust soggy.

2. Cook the onion, garlic and add mushroom. Cook until the water the mushroom releases is cooked down. Add the spinach into the pan and stir together.Don’t forget to season with some salt and pepper. You can also add any kind of spice or herbs you like here.

3. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add half and half. Season with salt and pepper. (of course, in case of a bad egg, you may crack the eggs in a separate bowl:P )

4. Lay the pie crust out in a baking dish, folding back the overhanging edge. Put the veggie mixture into the dish, and then pour the egg milk mixture on top. Sprinkle cheese.

5. Bake for about an hour until the egg is set and the cheese is melted to bubbly golden brown perfection. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving!

What’s your favorite egg dish? Could you help me decipher Hammett’s writing?

p.s. My first article for the Next Great Generation, “Organic food myths busted! A student guide to eating healthy, local foods” is up online! Please do read it and let me know what you think.

A trip to Vermont, inevitably, led to a meal at the American Flatbread. A restaurant that sources local ingredients and bakes its flatbread to yummy crusty perfection in an earthen oven. (My mouth is watering as I type…seriously, you’ve got to try it if you haven’t. You should be able to find it in your local whole foods store.)

The mighty flatbread…

We ordered half Sausage with Sun-dried Tomato and Mushroom and half “Punctuated Equilibrium,” and the latter is an interesting story itself. The owner and founder of Flatbread, George Schenk, was a former biologist and has dedicated his whole business to help shape a sustainable food model. Besides founding Flatbread, he established the Medicine Wheel Project and Organic Food For Public Schools and has written extensively about sustainability. In this essay, he credited his academic training in science for introducing him to the “biological logic of organic foods and the central unifying theory of Darwinian Evolution,” which of course explains why the salad at Flatbread is named “Evolution” and why the popular pizza is called “Punctuated Equilibrium.”

Punctuated Equilibrium, a theory in evolutionary biology, suggests that evolution is characterized by long periods of small change or standstill (equilibrium), “punctuated” by dramatic and rapid evolutionary change. It strikes George that human food history exhibits a pattern of the punctuated equilibrium, in the sense that agriculture is dramatically changed by a few isolated events: Neolithic revolution, the invention of irrigation channels, the industrial revolution, and the green revolution. How does all this have anything to do with Flatbread, you ask? Well, George sees today’s America entering a new period of punctuation: the natural and organic food movement and he hopes to use this flatbread to honor what he thinks is an important revolution in the history of the American food.

So next time you are biting into that delicious flatbread, think you are marking an important evolutionary event alright?

A Vermont trip certainly is not complete without visits to the farmer’s markets.

The pepper season is in full swing, the maple syrup looking beautiful and the last crop of tomatoes bidding summer adieu. Everything was just lovely.

I can’t wait to go back already.

Seriously, the biggest paella I’ve ever seen. AFTER living in Spain for half a year.

An outrageously delicious hot dog Jamie and I wolfed down in Borough Market.

Scraping down the bubbly cheese to spread on toasty bread…hmm you just died in cheese heaven, didn’t you? See this close up.

Monmouth Coffee @Borough Market. the communal tables.

Indian food in Brick Lane

Chickpea and chorizo stew @portobello market

Any basket for a pound!

Of course…the crispy-juicy-tender-fresh-saltyicious FISH AND CHIPS.

Readers: What’s your favorite foodie trip?

Every Chinese takes great pride in our food and the Chinese food culture is as rich as our heritage. There are 8 major regional cuisines in China and hundreds and hundreds of dishes within each cuisine. (crab rangoon and fortune cookies are not included!) It’s not surprising to find a vast menu consisting of hundreds of dishes in a street fast food stand. Our culture revolves so much around food that there’s an old Chinese saying that goes: “民以食为天,” (roughly translates to “People see food as high as the heaven”). In fact, in the old Beijing, instead of asking “how are you?” neighbors will greet each other by asking “have you eaten?”

Chinese food is so diverse that it can overwhelm the first timers. But what seems to intimidate the diners even more (aside from the pig intestines, read bean ice cream and durian candy), is the names.

There are a few ways Chinese dishes are translated into English. Unfortunately, the translated name either lose its flavor or makes zero sense to non Chinese-speaking diners. Worse yet, are the translations that are just plain. wrong.

1. Onomonopia

Aka: 捞面–>Lo mein; 馄饨–> Won ton; 麻婆豆腐–> Mapo tofu.

Too bad for someone who doesn’t Chinese, these names simply wouldn’t make any literal sense.

2. Direct translation

Aka: 火锅–> hot pot; 春卷–> Spring rolls; 锅贴–> pot sticker; 酸辣汤–> hot and sour soup (Well, except it really should be “sour and hot soup)

3. Only translate ingredients or cooking method (aka: a horrible way to translate Chinese dishes)

佛跳墙–> Steamed abalone with shark fin and fish maw

佛跳墙, in Chinese, means “buddha jumps over the wall.” This Chinese delicacy is known for its rich flavor, the variety of ingredients and long cooking time, so delicious that even the vegetarian monks will be lured out of their temples for this dish. Get it?

百年好合–> red bean and lily bulb

百年好合is a proverb, often used at weddings. 合is a pun here; it means lily bulb as well as “unit” or “be together.” 百年means a hundred years. It’s just a delightful dessert with a sweet message.

蚂蚁上树–> sautéed vermicelli with spicy minced pork

Apparently, the dish got its name from a classic Chinese drama from the Yuan Dynasty called “the Injustice to Dou E.” Dou E’s husband was poor and never had much money for food. The pauper could only afford to mince some pork with cheap vermicelli for his sick in-law, who had a poor vision and mistook the minced pork for ants. Thus the dish: “ants climb up the tree.”

Even Google suggests, when you type "Chinese dish names," that "Chinese dish names puzzle foreigners."

The list for mistranslatted dishes can go on and on…But why wouldn’t the Chinese settle for simpler dish names? The short answer is that no one says pork meatballs can’t be called “lion’s head,” thin noodles can’t be called “dragon’s whiskers” or chicken feet can’t be called “phoenix’s claws.” We can always use a bit more imagination when it comes to food, right?

But here…in mourning of the soon-to-be-over raspberry season.

I’ll start posting a food photo I shoot every Wednesday because…

1. I’m obsessed with documenting everything edible. Seriously, just ask my friends. (I run around the table in restaurants asking everyone not to touch their plate when their dish comes so I can take pictures.)

2. I like to make you hungry when you read my blog.

3. I need excuses to get a new camera for better photos.

4. More reasons for me to bake.

5. Why wouldn’t I post food photos?

So there…today’s photo is from the Sowa open Market. And sorry for…posting words today. Well.