do not go past the cardamom + rose water ice cream without a taste. and you probably won’t go past it, because it’s way too delicious.
when you go grocery shopping and have no idea what you getting, sometimes you just have to go by taste, and an incredible amount of faith in mystery meat sausages.
amexitriciana sauce
(a mexican version of amatriciana sauce. not verified by mexicans, but hell, longaniza is pretty freaking mexican.)
serves 4 with linguine, or use as a sauce over vehicular foods (e.g. bread).
brush a flameproof casserole with oil, add the longaniza and break up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon. cook over low heat until the fat runs.
add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes until lightly browned.
add the tomatoes and chilli, season with salt and pepper. cover and simmer on low for about an hour, adding a little warm water if necessary.
so the indian summer is was upon us, in a pretty big way. we’re talking 3 showers a day, sweat constantly dripping off my face.
having quickly realised my lack of foresight — then again, when was SF weather ever predictable? — meant that the delicious ice cold horchata should’ve been made 24 hours prior, i decided to find an easier, non-overnight version.
and here it is, sans almond and overnight wait. even the new roommates approve. that, or they were just really hot and thirsty. either way.
genius cantaloupe inclusion. sweaty golf claps all around.
horchata de arroz
yields 1.5 litres / 48 fl oz. recipe modified from here. hai, trip to oaxaca pls. beeline to the cooking courses, pls.
soak rice in water for about an hour.
pour the rice with its soaking water, along with the cinnamon and sugar into a blender. blend for about a minute. basically, the rice has to be completely pulverised into mush.
strain into a pitcher. there are a few ways of doing this, depending on how much patience you have:
add the cold water and evaporated milk, and stir through. serve over ice and with diced cantaloupe on top.
other things that roli roti should ‘chetta-fy:
i could go on forever. in the meantime, hit up the ferry building farmer’s markets and wait 30 minutes in line for the best porchetta sandwich ever. nom on a lamb hotdog from prather ranch to stave off the extreme hunger.
today marks the first day i went grocery shopping in the mission. i ended up spending half an hour in casa lucas, looking at jars, spices, and bags full of latin american weirdness.
since most of these mystery things had little to no english on them, this means that i’m going to have to eat my way through all of them to know what they are.
not that i’m complaining. i mean, i bought a longaniza thinking it was like regular spanish chorizo. it isn’t. it’s freaking delicious in its own right.
today also marks the first day that i bought a boatload for groceries and only paid $18 for it all. take that, inflated upper haight prices.
so it’s a tad expensive, but they stew a very good pork. it’s homesickness in every slurp.
not to mention that it’s on once a week at coffee bar AND is a one minute bike ride away from my new flat. beats biking to inner richmond / japantown, anyway.
so i made biscuits. and no, i don’t mean the crispy british variety / assortments. i mean the fluffy, piping hot, straight-out-of-the-oven biscuits that are normally used to mop up gravy and runny eggs. like savoury scones, i suppose.
the recipe called for 2 cups of all purpose flour, but i substituted one cup with spelt flour just for the hell of it. and surprisingly, it didn’t break.
spelt biscuits with thyme
modified from a bobby flay recipe. makes 6.
preheat oven to 230ºC / 450ºF.
combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. mix through with a spatula until combined. scatter the cold butter pieces over the flour mixture; incorporate into the flour using your fingertips until it resembles a coarse meal. add the buttermilk and mix with the spatula until the mixture just begins to come together.
scrape the dough onto a lightly floured counter. pat the dough into a 3/4-inch / 1.5 cm thick rectangle. use a 2.5 inch / 5 cm round cutter (or a glass) to cut out biscuits. press together the scraps of dough, and repeat process.
place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle with thyme.
bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
i know that being chinese makes me obliged to not like westernised chinese food. (i actually really like sweet and sour pork.)
but when it’s brought to you by the dudes that started mission street food AND mission burger AND it’s interpreted by asian american chefs who aren’t too far off the mark AND it’s super tasty, then i’m obliged to like the fiery szechuan chillies out of it.
and what isn’t fun about trying to find chicken wings piled into a giant plate of dried chillies?
even their fried rice was solid(ly awesome). but i won’t go into how they’ve used egg as a separate ingredient vs. binding agent — ‘cause y’know, i have to be snobby about SOMETHING that i’m ethnically an expert at.
