It’s certainly no secret that I love Thanksgiving. I love those days leading up to Thanksgiving, spent in brainstorming menus, planning out logistics, starting the prep, and solving the puzzles of refrigerator space. And of course, the actual day of Thanksgiving, when everyone hangs out together for a whole day with nowhere to go and nothing to do but chat, cook, eat, drink, and be generally merry — what’s there not to love, right?

But there’s another reason I love Thanksgiving. Even after everyone has gone home, all the leftovers have been eaten, and the colors have faded from memory just a little, you’re still left with this warm and fuzzy feeling of a day well-spent, cooking a giant, delicious meal for those you love. A feeling that brings a smile to your face throughout the crazy holiday season to come. Especially a holiday season that creeps up upon you because you’ve spent most of December holed up in a library writing and totally forgot about that little thing called Christmas and so had to run around to do the shopping literally two days before Christmas.

So this year in particular, I’m thankful for the memories of Thanksgiving.

PS: I’m also thankful for this recipe for a basic roast turkey, no shenanigans involved. The only change we made was to add two lemons, pierced all over with a sharp paring knife, and a little bunch of thyme into the turkey cavity during roasting.

So apparently, October is over. Where did it go?? I guess at least that means it’s that much closer to my favoritest holiday ever! Woot! (Not that I know what we’re going to make for Thanksgiving dinner yet.)

I sound like a broken record these days: life so busy, no time to write, blah blah blah. But I realize it’s really just an excuse. The truth is I keep feeling like I need to have something to say before I can write a post. And these days, I don’t really feel like I have much to say. Or at least, anything remotely interesting or clever that’s not related to wanting to graduate, painting walls, having to pack stuff into moving boxes, etc. But I miss posting! So I hope it’d be ok if I just shut up and post pretty pictures for a while. I promise I’ll keep it at least somewhat related to food.

But there may not be a recipe with every post (*dun dun dun*).

I know. It’s pure madness. But bear with me.

Here’s one such recipe-less post. We took a trip up to Portland back during the Month That Just Disappeared. We hung out with friends, sampled beers, saw leaves that were not actually green(!), poked at weird yellow stuff growing under rocks, and ate too many donuts. Those crazy people at Rogue Brewery even made a beer that is based on the Maple Bacon donut at Voodoo Donuts. So yes, we even drank some beer that tasted like donuts.

(PS: I actually keep a photo blog over on Tumblr, so don’t worry – you won’t be subjected to endless shots of cats and flowers here. Yet. Mwahaha.)

A lot of times, when people find out my love of food, they tell me that I should go be a food critic. I would smile but tell them that there’s no way that would happen. I mean, don’t get me wrong, just like anyone else who loves to eat, I also happen to think that the life of a food critic is pretty grand. And I do daydream sometimes about being able to eat at the hottest and newest restaurants in town for work(!!). But here’s the truth of the matter: I would make an absolutely terrible restaurant critic.

For one, I’m just not very good at being critical, something that I’m well aware of even in my daily life as a grad student. But it’s not like I’m faking it – I really do find most projects, most parts of science, and most people fascinating! (Ok, and I just realized there’s no way to type that last sentence without sounding totally fake. But hopefully, if you know me, you won’t think I’m being insincere.) And the same pretty much goes for food too. I love everything about food – the preparation, the eating, and the culture around it. So it’s very difficult for me to rain on someone else’s food parade and most likely, if I don’t have anything nice to say about a restaurant, I just won’t say anything at all. After all, maybe it’s not my cup of tea but perhaps it’s someone else’s?

So given that, even though I’ve been wanting to write about the many restaurants in our fine city, I’ve hesitated because I didn’t know how to do so without it sounding all “food critic-y.” Lately, I’ve been toying with this idea of starting a series here on some of my favorite things to eat at some of my favorite places to eat in the city. Not a review. Not a promotion. Not really anything, except a chance for me to tell you something to the effect of “!!!OMG!!! You have to eat this!!”

So here we go with my first pick. Taqueria Vallarta is this colorful little place on 24th Street in the Mission. 24th Street has what amounts to a panoply (thank you, Decemberists, for teaching me that word) of taquerias and early on in our relationship, Nathan and I actually tried to empirically determine the best thing to get at each. At Taqueria Vallarta, we determined that anything that comes off the little taco cart, parked just inside the doors of Vallarta, is perfection.

Your meat selections include common stuff like al pastor, carne asada and more adventurous things like tripas (tripe), lengua (tongue). But my personal favorites? Definitely cabeza (head) and suadero (“hip”?). They used to also have cachete (cheek) there, but alas, I haven’t seen it the last few times.

You order directly from the guy manning the grill and he hands you a paper plate with corn tortillas topped with piles of meat and some optional onions that’s been sitting on the grill near the meats for hours. And that’s it. There are a couple of tubs lining the front of the cart with limes, cilantro, a couple different salsas, and some sliced radishes. Decorate your tacos as you please, pay at the cash register, sit down at one of those blue and yellow tile-top tables, and chow down.

When we go shopping for groceries at the Latino markets along 24th St, we can never resist stopping into Vallarta for one (or more) tacos. By the way, whoever decided on the placement of that taco cart, close enough to the street that you can’t help but smell the delicious when you walk past, seriously deserves a raise.

Taqueria Vallarta
3039 24th Street (between Harrison and Treat)
San Francisco, CA 94110

Just kidding! In fact, it’s anything but a trifling matter. Because I cannot be more excited about my guest post over on I Am a Feeder. Thanks to the lovely Ms. Jackie Lee for the invite!

And yes, I made a trifle and Jackie’s British. I know, I’m hilarious. Now hush and go make yourself a trifle.

I was sitting at work on Thursday when a chat window popped up on my screen. My sister asked, “Do you want to come with me to La Cocina‘s Street Food Festival preview dinner?” Uhh, did she just ask me if I’m a sucker?? Of course I want to come! Doesn’t she know my middle name is “StreetFood”?? (Ok fine, it’s really not, but how cool would that be?)

The preview dinner, sponsored by Whole Foods and held at the bistro of their Potrero hill location, got me even more excited about the festival. And because I’m all about sharing, here’s a preview of some of the many goodies you’ll get to eat at this year’s festival.

Hummus is always a good appetizer/snack, no? Especially when one of them is flavored with harissa. If you agree with the last statement, look for ♥ & Hummus next weekend!

The Scots may have been brilliant to invent Scotch eggs, but it’s the Nigerian street food vendors who took it to a whole new level by adding spices and ginger to the sausage layer. Get thyself to the booth of Chiefo’s Kitchen posthaste!

One of our all-time favorite La Cocina/Street Food vendors busting out her trifecta of Malaysian goodies: star anise curry (spicy!), rice cooked in coconut jam, and asparagus with spicy peanut sauce. Oh my! You must must visit Azalina’s booth on Saturday.

I have to admit that I’m generally not a big fan of cupcakes… until now. These tres leches cupcakes are light, fluffy, and not too sweet – the exact opposite of many cupcakes I’ve had. They can be yours at La Luna Cupcakes‘s booth next weekend.

So what are you waiting for? Go buy a passport, plan your eating agenda, iron your stretchy pants, and I’ll see you next weekend!

I’m not a competitive person by nature. But! If the first time you meet me is on July 4th, in the vicinity of Chez BabyChili, then you may not really believe that last statement. Especially if you are also in the process of placing a beercan chicken on the grill. Because once a year, during Battle Beercan Chicken, IT. IS. ON.

Ben’s annual BBC is one of my favorite traditions. So much so that at the start of every summer, you will find me constantly bugging him about when it’s happening. I know. It’s always held on July 4th. I know. But hey, my mama didn’t raise no fact-assuming, non-triple-checking fool!

For weeks before July 4th, you’ll also find me constantly forcing Nathan to brainstorm chicken strategies with me. Last year, we almost tasted victory with “Imitation Seoul,” our not-exactly-authentic Korean chicken and first foray into the world of Asian-inspired beercan chickens (our two prior entries being both squarely in the Latin-American realm). Since it was the top performing chicken so far in rice&wheat beercan chicken history, we decided to try for yet another Asian-inspired entry this year.

The only problem with that decision is that through the years, we’ve noticed an increasing convergence towards Asian flavors. So we had to think of some way to distinguish our Asiany chicken from everyone else’s, something slightly unexpected and exotic. Ah ha! Asian and slightly exotic? Why, that just happens to be my definition of Macau!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by Macau, a former Portuguese colony just a short hoverboat(yes!) ride away from Hong Kong. I love that the street signs there are bilingual in Chinese and Portuguese. I love the colonial architecture that at times, makes you feel like you’re in Europe. And I love love love Macanese cuisine, which is the sort of fusion cuisine that has been around long before “fusion cuisine” was even a thing.

This African Chicken here is one fine example. Just read over the list of ingredients and it’s not hard to spot influences from Africa (peanut), India (coconut), Portugal (smoked paprika or pimenton), and China (five-spice powder). We tested the original recipe, a silky stew/curry with a gorgeous color, and immediately fell in love. So off we went to adapt it for the grill for Battle Beercan Chicken (see Ben’s post for full details).

Alas, the grill version of African Chicken still wasn’t enough to win us that elusive Golden GOB. But I smell a turning of the tides next year. BabyChili best watch it.

IT. SHALL. BE. ON.

This week, it’s Tres Leches cake. Last week, it was Tibetan momos. A month or so ago was Hainanese chicken rice.

When life gets busy, some people like to daydream where they want to go on vacation when they get a break. Me? I like to daydream about all the things I want to cook when life simmers down again. My list is growing longer every week. But no matter, because once I’m done with school, I’ll have free time up the wazoo.

Right? Right??

Wait, don’t answer that. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

(Thanks to Jean of Lemons and Anchovies for these photos!)

In the meantime, I’ve been making these scones like crazy. I feel like I’ve been bringing them with me to every single party or brunch or potluck we’re invited to recently. And every single time, they’re a hit. Perhaps you have had them. Or perhaps you’ve heard of them and tried bidding for them back during the online Bake Sale for Japan (which, by the way, I am about three months late in relaying my thousand thanks!) Whatever the case, here is the recipe, after much much delay.

These savory, cheesy, slightly crunchy – Yes! Really! There’s cornmeal in there! – scones have easily overthrown those Lemon Berry Scones of yore, as the standard scone made in the Rice & Wheat household.

Because let’s face it, when life hands you a dissertation to write, what better way to cope than playing with butter?

Maybe you’ve already heard (especially if you follow me on Twitter), but I’m officially addicted to savory oatmeal. I’ve been eating it constantly for breakfast and have even been tempted to eat it for dinner too, especially with all this research/thesis-writing staring me in the face.

It’s a bit blurry but I think this is what happened. One day, I stumbled upon Penny De Los Santos’ gorgeous post about savory oatmeal and I unconsciously filed the idea away. Then one morning a few months later, I was rummaging for breakfast ideas, spotted some leftover oatmeal, randomly remembered the idea, and voila! An obsession was born.

Honestly, I may never go back to the sweet stuff again, now that I’ve started playing around with the endless possibilities of the savory path. Leftover sauteed greens, a poached egg, and a pinch of red chili flakes (top photo)? Oh it works.

And of course, I had to try Penny’s original idea of olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and a hard cheese (I used Parmigiano). Oh dear. It may not look like much but hey, didn’t your parents teach you to not judge an oatmeal by its color??

Another morning, I had a craving for soy sauce and found some chives in the fridge. After I took this photo, I even went and sprinkled some furikake on top. I’m never one to turn down seaweed and MSG after all.

Since Nathan has taken to making some sort of salsa every week, I sometimes just throw some on my oatmeal the next morning. With a fried egg, naturally.

I proclaim 2011 to be the Year of the Oatmeal. But only of the savory kind. The brown sugar/maple syrup stuff is sooo 2010, man.

What about you? Are you a fan of savory oatmeal? What are your favorite combinations?

Was it really only two Thursday nights ago that I saw the scariest video I’ve seen in a long long time?

Many of you know that I generally avoid horror movies because, yes, I’m a wimp when it comes to things jumping out from dark corners even if it’s all make-believe. So whenever I go out of town, Nathan takes advantage of the temporarily wimp-free household and goes bonkers Netflixing horror flicks.

But the video I saw two weeks ago wasn’t a horror movie. It was real. It was live footage. It was of a ridiculously major earthquake followed by a ridiculously giant tsunami devastating everything in its path, just a mere ocean away. I watched helplessly the footage of that angry ocean reclaiming plots of farm land, dragging burning houses(!) in its wake. I watched with my jaw dropped, actually wishing that what I was watching was really a horror movie and not the news.

It seems that the story is no longer giant-font-plus-slideshow-worthy for the New York Times with all the other crazy stuff happening in the world. But that, of course, doesn’t mean life is suddenly back to normal over in Japan. As the victims of the disaster slowly piece their lives back together, let’s keep sending them good thoughts.

What else can you do other than send good thoughts? Why, I’m so glad you asked. Thanks to Sabrina over at The Tomato Tart, there will be a online bake sale/silent auction happening on March 30th, hosted by Sabrina but with a long list of food bloggers participating. I myself am planning to offer up two dozens of my famous* cheddar-chive scones, ready to be shipped to anywhere within the US. If you haven’t tasted these scones before, well, allow me to quote my friend Amar: “Scones?? You mean …. scrumpets!” End. Quote.

* if I do say so myself

Cheesecake photos by Miki Sode

As a further treat, my friend Miki who is a true baker extraordinaire will also be participating and I’m beyond excited to host her goodies here since she doesn’t have a blog. I mean, just look at those photos! Here’s Miki:

“This pineapple cheesecake is a ~20 years old Japanese recipe I’ve been using! It has good balance of flavors (pineapple and cream cheese). Its texture is perfect with pound-cake like consistency yet moist. Note that since it is a Japanese recipe, it’s not as sweet as usual American cakes (but don’t worry, the pineapple and cheese flavor will satisfy you for sure). And it’s slightly smaller (3 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 2 in). I like to have it as a breakfast or at tea time with a nice cup of black tea.”

So, let’s talk details:
- March 30th
- Full list of items at The Tomato Tart
- Bidding open for one day
- All proceeds go to Second Harvest Japan, a food bank contributing to the relief efforts by providing food for those in need.
- (And really, when else will you have more than 60 food bloggers at your disposal, willing to send you treats you usually only see in photo format??)

Oh, hello.

Please don’t think I forgot about you. I haven’t. I swear!

February has been a chaotic month. It’s the month I decided to finally buckle down and give myself a deadline, so that this hypothetical paper that’s been hanging over my head would finally become un-hypothetical. Which, really, is all part of a grander scheme to make a hypothetical degree become un-hypothetical.

It’s also the month where I’m starting to teach again, at a small, lovely little lab section at a local university. For some reason, this has led to all these thoughts about what to do after graduation filling my head, most of which involve, you guess it, teaching. So when I’m not working on this paper, I’ve been excitedly researching teacher-y things I can do and daydreaming of life post-hypothetical-degree.

All that is to say that once this paper gets out of my hands (and into my boss’ hands), I’ll breathe a sigh of relief and be able to look more alive over here.

In the meantime, I’ll be relying on simple, quick, and tasty recipes like this one. Well, that and leaving Nathan to work his magic in the kitchen. Just this week, he’s been filling the fridge with Heidi’s coconut red lentil soup with farro, Ursula’s Shrimp Romesco, and a whole mess of soy-glazed eggplants and mushrooms for snacking/sandwich-making.

I know. I’m one lucky girl.