Tartine Bakery & Cafe

It took me nearly two years of living in San Francisco to finally make my way to Tartine Bakery! A few reasons for that include the fact that I don't really crave sweets & pastries and the fact that every time I pass by Tartine, there is a long stretch of people waiting in line. With an open Monday morning, I decided to bike over to get a taste of the famous morning bun. Though considerably shorter than on the weekends, there was still indeed a line. It moved fairly quickly and soon enough, I had the morning bun in my hand. I ripped off a chunk of the perfectly shaped bun and noticed that the inside is more of a bready than flaky dough. A hybrid between cinnamon sugar toast, a croissant, and a cinnamon roll, the morning bun is kind of the perfect intermediate. I bet it's even more delicious slightly warmed up.

Recipe: Ochazuke

After returning from Korea, I have refound my roots, particularly the fact that I can't live without rice. Although I heart Korean food, I am smitten with Japanese food, which I find so intriguing for its clean, simplistic, and refreshing qualities that also highly regards presentation. I experimented with making ochazuke, a dish made with pouring green tea over rice and toppings. There a number of different varieties of ochazuke, depending on the toppings and tea you use. For instance, I used canned tuna because I didn't have raw fish and the result was still fantastic but the variations are endless. The following recipe is just a base for this simple and comforting rice dish.

Ochazuke
Serves 1

Ingredients
cooked rice
½ 5-oz can tuna in water, drained and broken up into flakes
¼ zucchini, sliced thinly and cooked
pickled ginger and onion
1 sheet salted and toasted seaweed, crumbled
¼ avocado, sliced
½ tsp wasabi
½ tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 cup brewed green tea

Instructions
Place warm, cooked rice in a large bowl and place tuna in the middle.
Add the cooked zucchini, pickled ginger and onion, and toasted seaweed along the outer edges of the bowl so that it surrounds the rice.
Place avocado on top between the tuna and other toppings.
Add wasabi and top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Pour hot tea over the rice until most of the bowl's contents, about 2/3rds, are soaked.
Mix and eat immediately!

Bianchi Nyala

I'm so thrilled to have a bike again! I was so upset when my precious Trek bike was stolen last year so I held off investing in another bike for fear of it getting stolen again. As luck would have it though, my third grade boys took a class called Mechanical Engineering this past year where they learned to take apart and put together bicycles. I took a liking to the Bianchi frame and was able to keep it at the end of the school year! I would have preferred a hybrid over a mountain bike but perhaps a mountain bike will be better for all of San Francisco's hills. The Bianchi has new tires, cables, and handlebar grips and although I trust the 9-years olds that built the bike, it's also been checked by someone who knows their bike stuff so I feel safe knowing that it won't break down on me.

Korea Land

I'm in a weird post-Korea funk. My visit to Korea was one of the best trips I have been on yet. It had been 12 years since I'd last visited and my memory of it in 2002 is foggy. So this time, I truly made an effort to remember and store all the sights, smells, and tastes of Korea. Also, who knows when I'll have another opportunity to travel and spend an entire 2 weeks with my mom, just the two of us. One of the highlights was also having the opportunity to reconnect with family members whose faces I've forgotten. Despite not having seen some of them in 12 years, it all felt natural and easy. I also spoke exclusively in Korean for most of the trip so my language capabilities have also improved. I found myself really connecting with and embracing the Korean culture on this particular trip and I can't wait to return.

First, the landscape took me by surprise as I didn't realize that Korea has so many mountains. It was breathtaking how lush and full of trees they are. The streets were also wider than I remembered and so so so clean. I rarely saw trash on the ground but the smog in the air is really bad. It made my throat hurt and I didn't see a clear sky, clouds, or stars the entire time. Also, everyone was so friendly and kind, which my aunt tells me is all a recent change in Korea. And the food, oh the food! I thought I knew all there is to know about Korean food but I learned so much more, especially about regional cuisine. I found an amazing restaurant that serves traditional Korean food, tried subway waffles filled with cream and apple syrup, ate a freshly made hotteok, and best of all, tried poop bread! I'm also obsessed with daechucha, or jujube tea, that I had at a tea house, and have also come to the conclusion that sweet potato pizza is the best kind of pizza there is. Some things I knew beforehand but still found quirky about Korea were: wet towels at restaurants, hole-in-the ground bathrooms, shoes must be taken off in dressing rooms, servers don't wait for you to browse the menu, abundance of drinking water everywhere, ear cover protectors included in hair dyeing kits, no tax, no tip, napkins in tissues boxes at restaurants, and lots more but I can't remember the rest. Rather than post a series of photos from my trip since most are all on Instagram, here's just a few of the highlights.

Takara Restaurant

I met up with a new friend for dinner at Japantown. We walked around a bit before settling into Takara Restaurant, an obscure restaurant located on the east side of the plaza. As I've gotten to explore trendy Japanese restaurants around the city, I appreciate the places that serve more simple, traditional Japanese dishes. Although Takara's menu is extensive, the dishes are uncomplicated and authentic. I went with the chirashi, which came with miso soup and a savory egg custard. The chirashi presentation was beautiful and the sashimi was fresh and delicious.

Recipe: Chana Masala

Since I'm going out of town for a few weeks, I've been trying to eat up all the food I already have instead of buying new items. I've done too good of a job though because the only things left in my pantry were a can of chickpeas and a can of diced tomatoes, along with a few sad looking baby carrots in the fridge. After some thinking, I decided to try making chana masala, a dish that I've had many times before but never really tried making myself. And how fast and easy it was! I just winged it with the few ingredients I had so think of the following recipe as just a base. Feel free to adapt it however you'd like!

Chana Masala

Serves ~3

Ingredients

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 carrot, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp curry powder

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

¼ cup water

¼ tsp salt

Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add carrot and garlic and saute until browned, ~5 minutes.

Add the curry powder and cook carrot mixture for a minute or two.

Add the chickpeas and tomatoes, stirring often.

Add water and let boil. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer uncovered for ~10 minutes.

Stir in salt and adjust to taste.

Serve hot over brown rice!

Recipe: Miso-Glazed Chicken

Let's talk miso today.

When I went to Eiji a few months ago and had the Eggplant with Walnut Miso, I was blown away! The eggplant was melty hot and caramelized. In order to recreate the dish at home, I needed miso paste. I went to a neighborhood Japanese market for what I thought would be a simple shopping trip. But I was faced with more than ten different types of miso that were all labeled in Japanese. After some research, I picked out a small tub of shiro miso. Shiro miso is also known as mild or white miso because it is fermented for a shorter time and therefore is lower in salt than darker varieties. Shiro miso is also the most versatile type for most cooking purposes.

I used a recipe for nasu dengaku to create the marinade, but instead of brushing it on eggplant, I decided to make a miso chicken recipe instead. It turned out awesome and I've made it for dinner for the past two nights. Smitten with everything Japanese lately, this miso chicken recipe adds a great Japanese flavor to a plain bowl of rice and vegetables. The recipe is super simple and with miso, a little goes a long way.

Miso-Glazed Chicken

Inspired by momofukukufor2/I am a Food Blog

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp shiro miso

1 tbsp sugar

½ tbsp sesame oil

2 chicken breast tenders, chopped

sprinkle toasted sesame seeds

diced green onion, for garnish

Instructions

In a bowl, mix mirin, shiro miso, sugar, and sesame oil until smooth.

Add the chopped chicken breast to the bowl, covering it evenly. Marinate for ~10 minutes or longer.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Add a tiny bit of olive oil and add the chicken, then cover the skillet and cook until the chicken is deeply browned and the marinade is caramelized.

Once chicken is fully cooked on both sides, turn off heat and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and diced green onion.

Serve with plain rice and choice of vegetable sides. Enjoy hot!

Yoga in Dolores Park

I started off Sunday with a refreshing view of Alta Plaza Park. It was a classic chilly San Francisco morning that soon evolved into a sunny afternoon.

My favorite yoga instructor was holding a morning yoga session in Dolores Park so I scooted to the park with my yoga mat in tow. It turned out to be an amazing practice with a small group of yogis and though there were many staring eyes, it felt really nice to be outside and feel the sun on my face. Great start to a new week.

Alta Plaza Park

Dolores Park