Asian Staycation - Day 3

Day 3 -
Country - Vietnam
Food - Ga Quay Mat Ong (Honey-Roasted Chicken)
Cookbook - The Food of Vietnam: Authentic Recipes from the Heart of Indochina by
                     Trieu Thi Choi and Marcel Isak; p. 106
Movies - Apocalypse Now (Director's Cut)

Today I saw Apocalypse Now.  It's been a really long time sine I've seen that and the first time I've seen the director's cut.  I forgot Harrison Ford was in it.





Speaking of Harrison Ford, did you see the news that several cast members will be returning in J.J. Abram's Star Wars Episode 7.  I really hope Mr. Abrams can revive the series.  The first trilogy was great and I see the original theatrical release versions at least once a year.  I don't like all the extra stuff that has been added in over the years.  I haven't seen the second trilogy since they first came out.  Once was enough.

I like what Mr. Abrams did with the first few seasons of Lost, Revolution, Person of Interest, Almost Human, Fringe and the new Star Trek films which made it watchable again.  Hopefully he can create a good Star Wars trilogy.  He's also set to produce the Half-Life and Portal movies which are based on the computer games of the same names.  Fingers crossed for those.


I didn't have time to watch a second movie.  Oh well.



Today I tried another version of the vegetable dumplings; this time I pan fried them.   They turned out much better than the boiled ones yesterday.  I think too much water got inside them when they were boiled.  Today I made sure to crimp the corners and add more pleats.  They were crunchy on one side and not as translucent.

The second recipe was a Honey Roasted Chicken.  It had a sweet dry-rub marinade that sat on the chicken for about an hour and then a sweet sauce for basting.  The basting is the key in this recipe.
Instead of a small Cornish hen (enough for one) I used a large whole chicken.  This gave me a larger canvas to work with and I was able to experiment.  I used the traditional basting sauce for the entire chicken be then added a little extra honey and soy sauce mixture on half.

Both sides came out great.  In the pictures, the darker half is due to the honey/soy sauce mixture.  It added another level of crispiness to the skin and wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be.

It looks burnt but it's really not.  It was really moist and juicy and had good flavor.  I'm going to turn the leftovers into chicken salad.

Next I head for Korea.  See you all tomorrow!

Michael

Asian Staycation - Day 2

Day 2 -
Country - China
Food - Classic Barbecued Spareribs, Vegetable Dumpling and Wonton Filling Cookbook - The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan; pp. 33, 41
Movies - China Syndrome, Chinatown, Big Trouble in Little China





I saw three great classic movies today;  China Syndrome, Chinatown, Big Trouble in Little China.  They all have their strong points and it was nice to end on a lighter note.

I highly recommend all three!  If you're only going to see one, however, go with Big Trouble in Little China.  It's a hoot and a half!  I'm not one who can sit and watch movies for six hours even when on vacation so I during part of the movies I did some small business work and some gaming.  The exception was Big Trouble in Little China.  That movie deserved my full attention.  Keep on Truckin' Pork Chop Express!

BTW, the small business work is for my company Schor Enterprises LLC.  Currently, it's mostly eBay and Amazon sales of books, games and collectibles. There will be a lot more to come.  I'm trying to de-clutter and sell off what I don't absolutely need before I reach the hoarder level.  I shipped my second sold item today; an action figure I sold on consignment for a friend.

I'm considering April-June to be a soft launch phase; low quantity, "auction" or "buy it now" only.  By July, I should have the knack of shipping methods, inventory management and supply ordering.
When I officially launch in July I should should have several hundred to a couple thousand items ready for listing.  I'm trying to get a small SBA loan now so I can get some help cataloging, researching, pricing an listing writing.  If I can't get the loan, I'll try ASU and the other local colleges and libraries to see if I can find an intern willing to work for free experience.

But, enough work talk.  On to the food!




The first item I made was Boiled Vegetable Dumplings.  These were very filling and I forgot to cut the recipe in half so I have lots of extra for tomorrow.  I tried the boiled directions today and the mostly turned out pretty good.  They look like little green brains but they were tasty.  I think tomorrow I'll try the pan-fry method.

Pobody's Nerfect - Not everything worked out as planned ; here are the bloopers.  Too much water/water seeped inside, dumpling was too dry when it went into the pan or over-stuffed so it broke apart. 

The second recipe I cooked was Classic Barbecued Shortribs.
The recipe actually called for a full rack of St. Louis Style Porkribs but to save money and my weight, I chose to use 4 medium to large beef short ribs.  I used the full recipe for the marinade so I had plenty to baste with.   They came our tender and very flavorful.

I added a couple spoonfuls of Chinese "Hot" Mustard on the side for dipping.  It wasn't very hot but it still added another great layer of Asian flavors.

I am moving the third meal, Beef Chow Fun to the weekend.  Between the dumplings and short ribs I was stuffed.


See you tomorrow (or today since it's past midnight) when my train arrives in Vietnam.

Michael

Asian Staycation - Day 1

Day 1 -
Country - India
Food - Shrimp in Coconut Cream Sauce
Cookbook - Flavors of India: Authentic Indian Recipes, by Meena Pathak; pp.51 
Movies - Outsourced, Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime

The first movie I saw was Outsourced starring Josh Hamilton, Ayesha Dharker and Asif Basra.  It was somewhat humorous if you can keep to the back of your mind all the jobs that were lost in the U.S. when the jobs were outsourced in a tough job market.  It was released in 2006, not long before the recession.  Bad timing.

There was a TV show of the same name that followed in 2010 starring Ben Rappaport, Anisha Nagarajan and Diedrich Bader.
 
I thought the series was better and the banter had a kind of "Better Off Ted" feel to it.  

I also went over to YouTube and watched Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime.  This 2-part video follows the actor's vacation through India.

Part 1
Part 2


Tonight's meal was Shrimp in Coconut Cream Sauce.  Since I'm only cooking for one, I made some modifications to the book's recipe.  


I cut the shrimp from 2.5 lbs. to 1 lb.  In addition to a reduced number or portions it was also a cost saving measure.  I increased the tumeric from .75 tsp. to 1 tsp.  I knew the coconut milk and yogurt were going to cool the recipe flavor down so the extra tumeric kicked it back up to my preferred level of spicy.  

I also skipped the rice since I already have a couple of other recipes this week that call for rice and the dish was filling enough on its own.

I wish smell-o-vision had been invented because my kitchen smells really good right now.

Until tomorrow, I leave you with these pictures of my finished dish.

Michael

Asian staycation just got easier and cheaper.

I've doing some research for my Asian staycation looking for a market where I can buy my food and other supplies.  There's a little place down the street from me call House of Rice.  All the years I've lived here I thought they were a restaurant but apparently they are also an Asian market will all the food, sushi kits, etc.

http://www.houserice.com/

It just goes to show that there are still little nuggets of information I can find about my own neighborhood.

I was planning on going today after work but, unfortunately, I've been trapped in the apartment Africanized Bees.

The nest was discovered yesterday.  It was brought to my attention when a man in a beekeeper suit knocked on my door.  The next is on my level across the walkway.  He was warning me that they are going to spray the nest and the bees were going to get really upset.

This morning I noticed that most of the bees were gone but about 30+ of them shifted from their nest to right in front of my door and window.  They're bumping into the the door and window which I've been told is a good sign but it can take 24-72 hours after a treatment before they're gone.

I found out at a young age that I'm deathly allergic to bees so I'm pretty much stuck here until they are gone or until they are down to a quantity that I can slip by.  After all, I don't want to spend my vacation in a hospital.

So until then, I'll do some library work at home and put some extra time into planning my trip.

BTW, don't forget that Phoenix Comicon is coming up soon and they have some really awesome guests and panels. Ticket prices go up tomorrow.


Until then true believer, make mine Marvel!

Michael

Preparing for my Asian Staycation

Since I can't afford to travel to the places I want to go, I've been doing some staycationing.  Sometimes it's just a weekend and sometimes it's an entire week.

What I do is create a theme for my week off.  This means that I cook the food of the country I'm "visiting" and watching movies inspired by or filmed in those countries.


My last week-long staycation was following the Griswolds through National Lampoon's European Vacation.  Before that I spent a week following them through the states in National Lampoon's Vacation.   I've also spent time in Spain, Jamaica, Iceland, Hawaii, etc.

Next week, I'm spending five days in Asia (or Staysia):

Day 1 -
Country - India
Food - Shrimp in Coconut Cream Sauce
Cookbook - Flavors of India: Authentic Indian Recipes, by Meena Pathak; pp.51 
Movies - Outsourced, Swades

Day 2 -
Country - China
Food - Classic Barbecued Spareribs, Vegetable Dumpling and Wonton Filling, Beef Chow Fun
Cookbook - The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan; pp. 33, 41, 138
Movies - China Syndrome, China Connection, Big Trouble in Little China

Day 3 -
Country - Vietnam
Food - Ga Quay Mat Ong (Honey-Roasted Chicken)
Cookbook - The Food of Vietnam: Authentic Recipes from the Heart of Indochina by
                     Trieu Thi Choi and Marcel Isak; p. 106
Movies - Good Morning Vietnam, Apocalypse Now

Day 4 -
Country - Korea
Food - Cabbage Kimchi, Cucumber Kimchi, Glass Noodles with Beef and Vegetables
Cookbook - The Korean Table: From Barbeque to Bibimbap by Taekyung Chung
                     and Debra Samuels; pp. 67, 141

Movies - MASH, Die Another Day (James Bond 007)

Day 5 -
Country - Japan
Food - Miso Soup, Salmon and Avocado Sushi Roll, Tuna Sushi Roll,
            Cucumber Pickles, Green Tea Ice Cream
Cookbook - Japanese Home Cooking by Shunsuke Fukushima; pp. 32, 42-43,44,54,112
Movies - Godzilla (1954), Gamera (MST3K), Gamera vs. Guiron (MST3K)

I think I'm looking forward to Japan the most.  I love sushi and the classic Godzilla movie.  Sushi is also something I can share with Vivian and she's smitten with Gamera!

Here is the shopping list:

ASIAN STAYCATION SHOPPING LIST

4 cups onion

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp ginger pulp

2.25 lbs. large shrimp (raw, shelled, deveined)

4.5 tsp. salt

3 tsp. pepper

.75 tsp ground turmeric

8 tbs. vegetable oil

4 cloves

4 green cardamom pods

1 in. piece cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

.75 tsp. cayenne pepper

.25 cup plain yogurt

1.5 cup coconut milk

3 tbs. honey

6 tbs. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

2 tbs. ketchup

1 tbs. hoisin sauce

11 tbs. soy sauce (same as sweet soy sauce?)

11 tsp. sesame oil

4 tbs. minced garlic

.5 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder

2.5 lbs. pork spareribs (pref. St. Louis style)

13 shitake mushrooms

2 lbs. baby spinach

10 green onion/scallions

1 pkg. dumpling wrappers

.5 lbs. flank steak

2 tbs. oyster sauce

3 tbs. sugar

1 tbs. black beans (fermented)

1 lbs. wide fresh rice noodles or 12 oz. wide dried rice noodles

3 tsp. fresh ginger

1 large whole chicken

3 tbs. honey

1 tbs. lime juice

1 tbs. annatto seed oil (or seeds turned into oil)

1 large head green cabbage

5 cup water

2 tbs. sea salt or kosher salt

.5 bunch garlic chives or regular chives

7 tbs. kimchi paste

2 1-gallon plastic zipper bags

8 mini cucumbers

7 oz. daikon radish

.25 lbs. sirloin tips or rib eye steak

5 oz. dried Korean vermicelli noodles

.5 lbs. spinach

2 tbs. canola, sunflower or other neutral oil

1 carrot

1 tbs. dried wood ear mushrooms

2 tbs. sesame seeds

.25 cup shiromiso paste

.5 tsp. instant dashi

1 tbs. wakame seaweed

3 sheet nori

1.75 cup sushi rice (cooked)

2 pinch wasabi paste

.5 medium avocado

2 strips sashimi-grade salmon

4 strips sashimi-grade tuna

1 English cucumber (10 oz.)

4.5 cups vanilla ice cream (high quality)

1 tsp. matcha

Food pictures and recipes will follow.

ALA2013 Day 1

Today officially kicked off the ALA 2013 conference.  I began the day at the Class of 2k13 debut authors.  The program was hosted by Veronica Roth (Divergent, Insurgent and Oct 2013's Allegiant).  The line up was:

Caela Carter
Cristin Terrill
Debra Driza
Demitria Lunetta
Geoffrey Girard
Jennifer McGowan
K.A. Barson
Kate Karyus Quinn
Liesl Shurtliff
Lydia Kang
Mindy McGinnis
Nicole McInnes
Polly Holyoke, Panel Coordinator, The Class of 2k13
Stephanie Kuehn
Tamera Wissinger
Tara Sullivan

A trivia game followed with each of the debut authors hosting a table; to the winners (not me) were "super" grab bags.
It was a fun program and it looks like it will be a good year for YA fiction.


The next program I attended was Intellectual Freedom 101 hosted by the Office of Intellectual freedom and then the General Opening Session.

At this point the Exhibitor Hall opened  and there was a flash flood of Librarians being swept down the aisles, grabbing what they could as they poured down the aisles,

More details and pics to come.

Michael

ALA2013 warm-up day

Today was the first full day in Chicago.  The weather was great and even had a few minutes of nice cool rain early in the morning.

Today's goals were to get my conference badge, scope out the convention center and begin to "nest".

The first two tasks were accomplished.  The third is under way.  I've got a couple of days worth of food from the local store.  With a small fridge in the hotel room, this is a great cost saving measure as restaurants, room service and snack machines get expensive for a conference that lasts 4-5 days.  One of the few benefits of being diabetic is getting a higher priority for a hotel fridge for the room.

As an added bonus, the 9 story Harold Washington Library was right across the street from the store.  Topped with a skylight garden and gargoyles at the top, this is an impressive building.

The first floor houses their Popular Collection and Information desk.

The second floor is the 18,000 sq.ft. Thomas Hughes Children's Library.  A quick look around shows that the space clearly is designed for children; my opinion is that a children's space should look appealing to children.  This is true of this space.  Kudos to the Chicago Public Library System.

The third floor contains the computer commons, the newspapers/periodicals and my favorite part, the new Maker Space.  According to an employee, this is set to open in about a month but as a conference attendee I was able to join the group that was touring the space.  There were about half a dozen laptops, a laser etching machine and several  3-D printers working away.  The coolest part was the laptop hooked up to a Microsoft Kinect sensor that, after taking a picture of someone, was able to send the image directly to the 3-D printer to create a bust of the person.  Uber-cool!

Unfortunately, at this stage, my blood sugar took a major drop and I had to leave.  I think the 13 hours it took to get from AZ to IL yesterday and today's humidity combined with the four miles I walked in 3 hours was a bit too much.  Like a dope I left my sugar boosters in the fridge at the hotel.  D'oh!

No worries though.  The store across the street supplied me with what I needed and I was able to down some orange juice and stock up on a couple days of supplies.  I returned to the hotel with plans to check out the rest of the library before leaving town.

I have pictures to upload including some shots with Flat Stanley.  My new phone isn't playing nice with the computer right now but I'll get them up soon.

Time to catch some zzzzz's.  The conference kicks off with sessions tomorrow.

Michael