moving!

I'm moving to Japan in just a few days, and my blog is moving too! After having a happy home here for nearly 6 years, my blog is now making it's way from mit web space to my own domain. Now you can find me here: http://www.starfruit-cafe.net/blog/

xoxo

food experience list

I really enjoy the whole experience of eating, the ambiance of the setting, well picked side dishes, interesting rituals... Of food "experiences" here are some that I've enjoyed and recommend, and some that I'd like to try.

1. High tea (pot of tea served with finger sandwiches, crumpets, scones with clotted cream, etc.) I had this once at the Ritz in Boston Common, with the lovely gals of WILG. It made me feel very proper and dainty =P
2. Korean BBQ I mean the kind of restaurant where you grill it at your table. On one hand, shouldn't the cooks be better at grilling than you? On the other, few things are better than smelling the thin slices of meat as they sizzle, and popping one into your mouth as soon as it's done.
3. Ethiopian restaurant Where else do you get to eat your table cloth?
4. Hole in the wall You know that one place that has greasy walls, booth seats that need patching, in the basement section of a building, but you've heard it has food so delicious that it makes you willing to ignore that there might be roaches in the kitchen? I find something strangely charming about these kinds of places...
5. 6 (or 7 or 8) course meal at a fancy restaurant I'd like to try, just once, to see how a great chef puts together a whole line of dishes that compliment each other. Not sure if I could actually finish all the food though.
6. taste tripping Described in detail here. Basically eating a weird berry that makes lemons taste like candy and tabasco taste like syrup. I am intrigued.
7. Dinner Theater I've been to the kiddie version of this, Lunch Theater. In the 2nd grade my mom surprised me and my friend with lunch served by Peanuts characters at a local theater and a cute little play about Charlie Brown. I was so delighted =) I'd also like to try the more grown up version.

foods to try

The Very Good Taste blog posted a diverse list of 100 foods (gourmet, exotic, strange, or even bad in a noteworthy way) that they think everyone should try once in their lifetime.

I thought I'd give their exercise a go, since I always love new food experiences! Thanks, Janet, for bringing it to my attention!

bold- foods I've tried
crossed out- foods I'm not adventuresome enough to try
everything else- i want to try it some day

1. Venison - vlogbrothers say it's great!
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari - i *love* fried calimari
12. Pho - i'm not crazy about it-- i prefer ramen
13. PB&J sandwich - i haven't had this in years =P
14. Aloo gobi - yay for indian food buffets, for letting me try dishes i wouldn't order otherwise
15. Hot dog from a street cart - outside Fenway, best hotdog I've ever had. I used to go to baseball games just for the food.
16. Epoisses - i'm pretty much always up for trying new cheeses
17. Black truffle - yes, please
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - plum wine, courtesy victoria fan
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras - once. it was amazing, but since force-feeding geese is kind of cruel, i wouldn't eat it often.
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - i'm pretty sure i was fed this in germany, without knowing what it was at the time
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche - umm, yum.
28. Oysters - i like them best fried.
29. Baklava - student center strangely had the best baklava i've ever tasted
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas - painful food.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - i miss boston clam chowder
33. Salted lassi - i've had sweet lassi, and i like it
34. Sauerkraut - in germany, even
35. Root beer float - mmm
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O - haha, once.
39. Gumbo - homemade. oh, it's only done right in the south.
40. Oxtail - mom's oxtail soup =P
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects maybe if they're covered in chocolate. even then, only maybe.
43. Phaal - it's supposedly super spicy, so yes!
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - not much of an alchohol drinker, but i'd try a sip.
46. Fugu - i like being alive
47. Chicken tikka masala - indian staple =P
48. Eel - only as unagi
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - i also like their maple-glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin - in sushi. the texture is that of a cold tongue...
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi - too sour for me
53. Abalone - i love it in chinese dishes.
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine - looks gross but i'll try it
60. Carob chips - i adore carob chips. my mom used to use them in place of chocolate chips in cookies.
61. S’mores - the two reasons i want to go camping are to look at stars and to make these.
62. Sweetbreads - sound gross, but i'd try...
63. Kaolin - clay? umm, i thought this was a list of foods...
64. Currywurst -in germany. funny idea, but pretty tasty, i thought.
65. Durian - great way to make your room smell like garbage.
66. Frogs’ legs - i adore fried frog legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - i've had beignets at cafe au lait in new orleans, apparently the place to have them. i also had a friend in jr. high whose mom made them for breakfast the times i stayed over. they're fried pieces of heaven sprinkled with powdered sugar. I like churros but lately when I get them at baseball games or amusement parks, they're not fresh at all. and funnel cake is tasty but almost always leaves me with a stomache ache from the grease...
68. Haggis - another thing that sounds disgusting but i'd give it a try...
69. Fried plantain -oh, so delicious
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - one staple of the south that i've never tried
71. Gazpacho - Sister Hildegard from the Abbey of St. Walburga made this once for our family... the fact that it's a cold vegetable soup made me doubtful but I loved it. She's actually never cooked anything that wasn't delicious.
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost-brown goat cheese
75. Roadkill - hahaha. this reminds me of a recent daily show.
76. Baijiu -
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - ick. tastes so processed.
78. Snail - i want to try escargot some time, but i will think of it in my mind as "escargot", not snail...
79. Lapsang souchong- i'm always up for trying new teas
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum - i had the real thing just recently, with faye. i actually really like packaged tom yum flavored ramen.
82. Eggs Benedict - also, just recently, with monica from church. very... rich.
83. Pocky - oh, just 23 flavors of it =P. (plain, milk, pineapple, caramel, chocolate orange, mens, strawberry, lemon cheesecake, pudding, green tea, almond crush chocolate, almond crush vanilla, chocolate mousse, melon, yogurt, coconut, blueberry, banana, strawberry gateaux, pocky-G, pocky-G berry, tahiti vanilla, and pumpkin.) i make a point to try all the different types of pocky i see and that friends find for me =)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef - i hope to have this, very soon.
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers - i had hibiscus in chocolate. it was sour.
89. Horse - i'd never have it knowingly. does sometimes eating at jack in the box count? =P
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam - i like it in sushi! hawaiians know what i'm talking about =P
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa - i don't really like rose flavored things...
94. Catfish - in many ways. i love southern food.
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox - one of my favorite quick breakfast foods.
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta - i stole a spoonful from kenton's plate, once.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake - if it's anyting like frog, yes, i'd like some!

So, in total...
51 things I've eaten
4 things I wouldn't try

Airports

I am overflowingly thankful for:
- free airport wireless
- not having to pay a fee for bursting-at-the-seams overweight luggage
- fast food breakfast sandwiches (a perk of being awake before noon)

Airport pickup line: "You know, I think you and I could really take off." Hahaha.

Guilty Pleasures... Mmmmm

Mamma Mia is an absolute girly delight. It's set on a Greek Island that looks too gorgeous to be true. Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth sing ABBA songs, choreography with snorkeling gear. Adorable clothes, a touching and cute mother and daughter bond. I bought a few of my favorite songs from the movie, and listening to them brings me back to the sugar-like high I had leaving the theater.

The Twilight Series is hailed by many to be "the next Harry Potter". This is a pretty misleading assessment. It will probably be as controversial (being about "nice" vampires who drink animal blood instead of human). But it fits very much into the female young adult to adult niche, whereas Harry Potter appeals to children, adults, guys, and girls. Harry Potter had characters you grow attached to, and rang with a Roald Dahl-esque sense of charm and humor. I wasn't particularly fond of the Twilight characters, and the reason for most of the humor I found in the books was the way it laid on the teen romance thick and heavy *snickering*.

That said, I read all 4 in the course of a week. They're suspenseful, and increase in interestingness and quality of writing with each thick volume. The first 2 were sort of a shoujo manga substitute for me (brainless sappy mind candy). The fourth was a disturbing and wonderful book, that makes me finally like the main female character, and makes the rest of the books look like marshmallows. I'm looking forward to the movie, where the lead male vampire will be played by... um... that actor who played Cedric.

2 things i love

I found an absolutely wonderful pad thai recipe at chez pim's blog (food chronicles of a cute epicure who has judged for Iron Chef America). The secret ingredient is tamarind paste (I made by squeezing preserved tamarinds by hand; painful but worth it.) I have tried many pad thai recipes before, but I can stop now. This is the real thing, this is as good as pad thai from Boston's Nud Pob or Pad Thai Cafe. I love that my mom's kitchen has every possible kitchen implement I've dreamed of, and I could grind my own peanuts for the garnish (mmmm, the smell of freshly ground peanuts).

Here are the results:






I'm not ashamed to say I had a crush on Batman when I was 5. Needless to say I have been super excited about The Dark Knight. I finally watched it on IMAX with Kenton a few days ago. I love what both new Batman movies have done to the Batman universe. The Joker is treated as an incredibly complex villain, the best treatment I've ever seen for a villain before. And he's totally creepy, the kind that gets under your skin. It was a huge cinematic and artistic achievement.

southern food

Today Mikie and I went to Main Street Market Cafe for lunch. It was nice catching up, and I was delighted to find such healthy (i.e. not dripping with grease) and delicious Southern cuisine. Until today, I thought the 2 were mutually exclusive.

Later in the afternoon I went along with my dad to a soup kitchen, which he's been doing semi-monthly. I was moved to find that there is something that unites Southern people of all ages, shapes, and socio-economic backgrounds-- and it's their love of sweet iced tea =P. Also, I think I will have to steal the recipe for hashbrown casserole.

swimmingly

I spent the weekend at my little brother's state swimming competition. Watching people swim is relaxing-- kind of like watching fish in an aquarium, which I love to do.



Oh, and I should also mention that my brother is pretty awesome and brought home 4 1st places, 2 3rd places, 1 4th place, made his first AAAA time, will go to the sectional competition, and was really cute about shaking hands with other swimmers.