Hot Tot Dog Crawl

This past Sunday, Molly, Sydney, Talia, Hannah, me, and few other people did a hot dog and tater tots crawl through Williamsburg. My original idea was to try and get people to do a photo crawl but somehow it has morphed into a food and photo crawl. Which is fine with me! I love to eat and gave me an excuse to eat way too many tater tots. We went from Kent Ale House to Crif Dogs to The Grand National (Jell-O shots and photobooth and BINGO!) to Burnside for fried cheese curds.

The main point is to have fun and hang out with friends. Next month is wings crawl.

Spring On A Plate

You know, half the time I have no idea what I'm doing. It's really more like experimenting with ingredients than actually cooking. Cooking for me means you know what you're doing and that the final product will be delicious. Most of the time I just dump everything into a pan and cross my fingers that it'll be edible. And this is the one reason why I don't bake.

How much salt did I use? A pinch? How much is a pinch? Not sure. How much pasta did I really boil? I know 1 serving isn't enough for me so I usually make a little bit more. Is it 3 ounces? How long do I saute the asparagus? Eh....*shrugs. Medium heat, high heat, low heat. I should pay more attention when I cook so that I can be consistent every time. Some days my dishes turn out pretty darn good and some days they're underseasoned. I guess like everything else, it's just practice practice practice.

This is difficult but I'm going to try to be better at this. This whole recipe writing thing.

Anyways, check it out, spring is finally here. I found asparagus (sorry kale) at the farmer's market and decided to cook it for lunch. Luckily I had stuff at home to cook a pasta dish with the asparagus. It was like spring on a plate.

Asparagus, Shrimp with Miso Pasta

Serves 1 ----------- 2 ounces pasta 4 stalks of asparagus cut into inch long pieces 8 shrimp 1.5 tablespoons miso paste A handful of tarragon leaves (save the smaller ones for garnish afterwards) Half and half (you can use cream or pasta water really) Oil 1 knob of butter Salt and pepper

Get a pot of water boiling for the pasta. When the water begins to boil, add salt and add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box. I used fusilli and boiled it for 11mins. While the pasta is boiling, put a pan over medium heat. Add oil and the knob of butter to the pan. When the melted butter starts to bubble, add in the asparagus. Saute the asparagus for about 7 minutes or until cooked through but still has a nice crunch. 5 minutes into cooking the asparagus, add the tarragon leaves. Stir. Throw in the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes or until they just about to turn pink. Season with salt and pepper. Add miso paste and enough half and half to create the sauce. I used half and half because that's what I have at home. A dollop of creme fraiche works well too. Try and dissolve the miso paste into the half and half. You might want to lower the flame a bit here or else the half and half gets cooked off way too quick. Add the pasta and mix well. A little too dry? Add couple tablespoons of the pasta water. Finish the dish with some fresh tarragon leaves.

Do you like asparagus? What's your favorite way to eat them?

If Not Now, Then When?

Here are some random snaps I took in April and May. A nice break from all the food photos eh? Everyone should really take a moment and just take in all the great scenes and architecture NYC has to offer. Try not to walk too fast or you'll miss some things like the beautiful reflected lights on the library or the intense shadows during sunset or a group of women dancing at night.

Facts About Me

- When I was about 4 or 5, I almost got abducted by an old man.

- First movie, I remember seeing in a theater was Rambo: First Blood.

- In first grade, I tried to impress a girl by being a smart ass. It did not turn out well.

- Visited Tokyo for the first time in 1985 and my dad told me it was OKAY to slurp my noodles. That made me happy.

- I hated it when my mom made scrambled eggs over toast before going to school every morning. But I couldn't get enough of it when she made it during the weekends. Yeah I'm weird. (She sure made a lot of scrambled eggs over toast.)

- We had a 12 inch fake Christmas tree on our dining table in Hong Kong, during Christmas.

- In Hong Kong, I lived on the 5th floor, door 4D.

- I once almost climbed out the window.

- My parents fed me "fat kid water" cause I was too skinny.

- In 4th grade, I tried out for the talent show. My thing was lip-synching Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. I practiced in front of a mirror.

- In 6th grade, I was in choir and in band. I played the clarinet.

- My mom introduced me to steamed turnip cakes when I was 11. Still prefers fried ones.

- Last day of school, my aunt didn't know it was a half day and was late in picking me up from school. I had no idea what to do so I dragged my school project about 5-6 miles home. I was in 3rd grade.

- I had a crush on Jenny in 5th grade. She kept taking my pens.

- My aunt loves astronomy. She taught me how to look at the stars and bought me a book about astronomy. Then I thought about becoming an astronomer, I was in 7th grade.

- When I was young, my mom would make spaghetti with meat sauce and tiny hot dogs with pineapple chunks on toothpicks for my birthdays. I kind of miss that.