Myra Waldo’s Chinese Cookbook

Posted on April 5, 2011 by chatty

Maybe it was the wonton making, or the Facing East visit, or the UCONN winning (Yes!) but I’ve been nostalgic for homecooked Chinese food lately. It could also be that I’ve taken white rice (well, almost all rice, grains, breads, etc) out of my regular diet and think of it as “special occasion” foods. For these reasons, what a treat it was to find this gem at Twice Sold Tales, which is closing its U-District store and was having a 70% off sale:

Yes, Myra Waldo, food and travel writer, wrote this tasty cookbook of Chinese cuisine in 1968. She also wrote about the flavors of Spain and Africa. It was lovely reading about how to make fried chicken; pineapple fried chicken; steamed fried chicken; and the like. The majority of recipes contain a combination of soy sauce, dry sherry and corn starch. A few use ketchup. And it seems cider vinegar is an integral part of Chinese cooking as well.

Pork Chop Suey is also in here, with an author’s note that, indeed, Chop Suey is not actually a Chinese dish, but a “Chinese-American” dish.

The book, naturally falls open to the “Special Egg Foo Yung” recipe. I think you know what that means. Some lucky family got to enjoy Myra Waldo’s recipe of not just any Egg Foo Yung, but her “Special” Egg Foo Yung. Here is another classic that made me smile:

Yes, apparently we Chinese like fried fruit. I wish I knew.

Despite the chuckles it gave me (and a recipe for hot-and-sour soup, a real true favorite of mine), I was genuinely excited to see a recipe for “Chinese Bread”, which I presume to be the steamed buns you use with Peking Duck, or with which you use in BBQ pork buns and this even the Taiwanese Pork Burger I raved about earlier. There are no photos in this book, so I can’t say for certain. I seriously thought about making them, but then remembered the Asian market I discovered on the same trip to the U-District as the one where I found this thrilling cookbook, and decided I should save the time and just buy them at a store that’s about 3 miles from my house. Whenever it is I get around to enjoying bread again, that is.

Facing East on the Eastside

Posted on April 1, 2011 by chatty

It’s nice to take a break from SBD once in a while. Today was break day.

One of the benefits of working in downtown Bellevue … trying different restaurants at lunch (when time permits, of course). A few blocks from the office sits Facing East, a small Tawainese restaurant that offers some tempting small plates. Yelp is all over this place. We headed there early to beat the lunch-time rush. Good idea. Not shown are the sweet potato flour pancake with oyster, egg and vegetables; nor the spiced pork over noodles (what my dining companions enjoyed). We all had a taste of the Taiwanese Pork Burger (amazingly delicious); I enjoyed the Stuffed Fishball Soup and then asked them to pack a dessert to go, Sweet Red Bean Soup with Mochi Balls. Smiling and satisfied.

Taiwanese Pork Burger: delicious pork served in a steamed bun, with pickled radishes, cilantro and a spicy sauce.

Fish balls stuffed with pork, in a clear broth seasoned with fried onions. Haven’t had fish balls in a long time. Reminds me of growing up in a Chinese household.

Sweet red bean soup with mochi balls. This reminded me of the type of dessert you would have during a wedding banquet meal. So good.

Next time my parents come to visit the Northwest, we are SO going here!

Pizza Fail

Posted on March 27, 2011 by chatty

Some Sunday dinners are better than others. This one, while not actually a failure, was definitely a “surprise”. I decided to do homemade pizza, but wanted to create a crust that adhered to SBD rules. So, no white flour, basically. I chose whole wheat and oat. Should have added some type of gluten, I guess, because what came out of the bread machine was not your typical pizza crust. Not gluten-y enough. Couldn’t toss it or shape it like your standard pizza pie. So instead of pizza night, it was flatbread night.

Sauteed mushrooms and onions; chicken sausage; kalamata olives; fresh mozzarella cheese and goat cheese on a half tomato/half olive oil base.

It wasn’t bad by any means and in fact was very edible. More than edible, though the dough was very obviously a “whole grain” bread. It’s just when you have visions of pizza in your mind, and the end result isn’t pizza, it’s a “surprise”.

I made enough dough to freeze a second batch, which I clearly labelled “WHOLE GRAIN FLATBREAD DOUGH” on the ziploc. So no surprises when we take it out next time.

“Winning” Wontons

Posted on March 20, 2011 by chatty

One of my favorite things that I learned from my dad was how to make wontons. We’d sit there watching basketball and making wontons. Tough to do these days because it does take a while to prep and make. I prepped while the husband took the toddler out on errands. Then made while she napped, and listened to the game on the radio in the background (Michigan vs. Duke, I think. They’re all running into each other). I even ran out of wrappers and literally ran to the store to get more.

I made two packages of wontons worth, enough for dinner tonight, and 3-4 future dinners. Or nice gifts for friends & family (they are so impressed when really they’re pretty easy to make). Once the manual labor is done it’s a cinch to throw the frozen wontons into some boiling water to make an easy meal. I season the water with soy, sesame oil, some ginger root and scallions. Not exactly SBD-friendly (the wrappers aren’t, but everything else is legit), but I was pretty good the rest of the day/weekend that I approved this breaking of the rules.

I added a quick vegetable stir fry to complete tonight’s meal.

I cooked two dinners in a row! When was the last time THAT happened?

March Madness

Posted on March 20, 2011 by chatty

It is madness! I did dinner duty on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Here is Saturday:

Lots of basketball-watching these last few days. The husband and I are rooting for the Huskies … both Washington and Connecticut! Last night I decided to make Brinner (breakfast for dinner), to be well-fed before for the Connecticut game (on the West Coast it was on around 6:30 pm, great timing).

I tried a new Buckwheat pancake mix, as Buckwheat is allowed on SB. Our standard “Heart Healthy” Bisquick Mix, while probably not terrible, isn’t on the SB list. The pancakes were interesting, but definitely needed a topping to be worthwhile, we all agreed. Especially Lily, who prefers a little pancake with her maple syrup. You can see a line of syrup across my pancake. I also used a little Brummel & Brown yogurt spread for taste.

Chicken sausage and a vegetable fritatta completed the meal. A little too much spinach on the frittata, and not enough cheese.

By now you know, too. The Huskies won… and the Huskies lost. What a weekend!

Sunday Night Dinners, continued

Posted on March 14, 2011 by chatty

I’m getting pretty good at this routine. Tonight I cooked my first steak, ever, that I can recall. Lots of guidance from the husband. Marinated top sirloin with some red wine and soy sauce (suggestion courtesy of The South Beach Diet Cookbook that I recently purchased). My one mistake: I forgot to season the darn thing before throwing it under the broiler. Oopsy. Oh well. You live and learn. And you still make a nice steak salad.

The previous night, the husband and I watched “Brunch @ Bobby’s” on the Cooking Channel, where our buddy Bobby Flay was making a traditional Irish breakfast. He sauteed these delicious-looking mushrooms so I had the urge to do the same.

His look better than mine. I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks. Still tasted pretty good, though.

Flashback: January Cookies

Posted on March 12, 2011 by chatty

Found this pic in our Pictures Folder. Got really into Snickerdoodles that the Metropolitan Market sold at the coffee counter. Then realized how easy they are to make. This was fun because I made the dough and kept in the fridge for the week. Every other night or so I’d bake a dozen. We didn’t overdose on cookies on any given day so we managed to keep them around for a little bit longer.

Mmmm …. cookies. Ah the good ol’ days.

For anyone keeping score, I have had a couple of girl scout cookies since the trip to SB-land started. But just a couple of Thin Mints. Man are they good. I’ve hidden the last box of TMs in the house somewhere. We’ll be enjoying them later on in the year. As Lily would say, “Yum-MEEEEE!” You betcha.

Your typical breakfast on South Beach

Posted on March 12, 2011 by chatty

Here it is. What I have been eating for breakfast pretty regularly lately …

One egg, some liquid egg white, spinach and whatever other veggies we have in the house (usually mushroom or red peppers). Tiny amount of parm sprinkled on top. Salt and pepper to taste. A scoop of 2% cottage cheese. A scoop of salsa. Technically, the salsa is a no-no because it has pineapple in it (Newman’s Own All-Natural Bandito Salsa with Pineapple). So good. So sue me.

As it turns out, this morning I just had old-fashioned oatmeal (the kind you cook on the stove). That is allowed in Phase 2. Learn more about SBD here.

Din Tai Fung

Posted on March 10, 2011 by chatty

Work lunch to celebrate the move to our new offices. We moved down the street in downtown Bellevue, to Lincoln Square. On the second floor you’ll find a world famous dumpling place, Din Tai Fung. Popular in Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the like. Really great tasting food.

I had a terrific time breaking all of those South Beach Diet rules, trying the pork shu-mai, dumplings of all sorts of meats, spare ribs, fried rice. I even tasted one lo mein noodle. A classic hot & sour soup was one of my favorite dishes (haven’t had it in forever), but really, everything was delicious.

More pics here.

Our menu also included pickled cucumbers, stir-fried green beans; wonton soup; soup dumplings (they called them ‘juicy dumplings’), basically more dumplings than I can remember. I ordered a Boba Milk Tea as well, something I haven’t done in years. Hey, special occasion, right?

The dessert was a simple, delicious red bean dumpling.

Fantastic way to kick off a new office in a new building.

Monday Night Dinner