drink: limonada

I traveled recently to San Diego, and to the delight of my brother’s in-law family requested calamansi from their backyard shrub. I suppose if one had to describe the taste of its fruit, it would be kumquat and tangerine. Filipinos use kalamonding to sour sinigang, but in my childhood, my relatives squeezed it into limonada. And so I made a few pitchers of calamansi juice and simple syrup. My sister-in-law's parents filled a plastic bag from which I made 3 large pitchers of calamansi-ade and then split what was left with my sister. I figured my remains would make 1 more pitcher. 

This is a no-recipe recipe. Cut the tiny calamansi fruit in half and remove the seeds and then squeeze the juice from the halves into a mason jar. In another mason jar, I microwaved equal parts granulated sugar and water to make simple syrup. Pour some of each into a glass with ice and stir. I always add water to temper if the limonada is too sweet. Delicious.  

When the simple syrup cooled, I poured it into the mason jar of calamansi juice and refrigerated. Because I wanted even more limonada, I squeezed a few limes into the concoction to drink more juice over the next few days. I'm gonna miss San Diego because the Asian grocery stores are more numerous and have a larger variety of produce ingredients like sawtooth coriander and kaffir lime leaves. I brought back those makrut leaves with me to Northern California. Stay tuned.

cook: laab

I spied lots of mint in the garden, had a cucumber, green beans, cilantro in the fridge and had stopped at grocery stores for ground pork and jasmine rice because I wanted to make laab, which from Thai restaurants I had ordered as larb and ate as a salad though it was never really served with lettuce and which I ate as an appetizer. Looking up the recipe, laab is simple enough. Just cook the meat in a a couple tablespoons of boiling water and then toss with sliced shallots and fresh herbs and toasted rice powder and serve with raw vegetables like cucumber and cabbage. I didn't have a large mortar and pestle, but I did have a big muddler and metal bowl.

My neighbor had come over and suggested tomatoes while I toasted the jasmine rice. She also drizzled lots of fish sauce and had me taste because she'd watch her Laotian friends cook the dish. It needed a lot more herbs and instead of squeezing the 4 limes juice, she had me cut them into quarters and bash all together with the muddler.

 

And I totally forgot about the green beans and cucumbers I had intended to serve the laab with, and instead ate with lettuce leaves and steamed jasmine rice.

I ate the laab like lettuce wraps, and the meal just brimmed with freshness of herbs and citrus. Larb will definitely be in the meal rotation.

cook: crab & surimi omelet

I made a crab/krab salad--a can of crab claw meat, surimi, Kewpie and Best Foods mayo, green onion, Old Bay seasoning. And so I've been eating crab, avocado, swiss melts on sourdough. But one morning, I decided to switch out the bread for eggs. And added lots of herbs. I beat two eggs with chopped parsley, chives, and a bit of marjoram. I also omitted the Swiss and sprinkled ample Parmesan instead.

No sour cream needed as the omelet was pretty rich already because of the mayo in the crab/krab salad and the avocado and cheese.

Darn tasty.

cook: white chicken chili

Some days ago, I soaked 2 cups of dried small white beans and then boiled them for 45 minutes, and so the cannellini needed to still boil longer to make a poultry white chili. I thought I was going to use ground turkey, but the mom of my sister-in-law can't eat turkey because of gout. I scoured the internet for recipes and found a white chicken chili in New York Times Cooking. My brother's grandkids have liked my red chili con carne, and so I thought they would also enjoy my white one too.                

And I've bought another Dutch oven. I dropped my 5-quart pot on my kitchen floor and cracked both the Dutch oven which flaked off a large shard of enamel and chipped a tile on the floor. I've been so loathe to buy a Staub or Le Creuset Dutch oven because my Costco set were fine without the high price tag, and would a more expensive pot been of that much better quality? And so my new pot is my favorite material of black cast iron with the enamel in the interior, and it's got 2 lids, one glass and one metal which can do double duty cooking as well as lower sides. However, it doesn't arrive for a couple months, and so I'll use my stainless steel pot in the meantime. 

I'm pretty sure I could cook this white chili recipe from memory. I cooked the ground chicken in two batches, one with the herbs of dried oregano, hot smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, jalapeno, and cilantro and one with the corn and then put it all into the same pot with the beans and chicken broth to simmer with salt and pepper in between 

I also brought for the meal train, pickled jalapenos (already made a week ago) and pickled radish and red onion.

The relatives loved the white chili and asked for the recipe. One sister-in-law said she appreciated that the chili didn't give her gas and thought it was because I had soaked dried beans and boiled them.

clay: yellow glazes on red clay body

Clay Body: Red Velvet

Glazes: Coyote Parakeet Yellow

Method/Firing: Thrown/Cone 6

clay: field school for throwing and handbuilding

I was perusing the store website of a t-shirt I liked. I'm in the habit when buying anything online of looking at the  "About Us" or "Who We Are" of a company because I like to know the provenance of my objects even if they're manufactured in China or to know which American city the designers are based. Here's their blurb (with my additions in parentheses):

A field school is the place where everything you have learned meets the messy world.

Fieldschool is about all the things in life you just have to get out and do. Like riding a bike (or paddling a canoe or throwing on a wheel), there comes a time when you have to start pedaling (or paddling or throwing) and see what happens. The learning is in the doing.

I am definitely doing and still always learning ceramics, and I've no idea how long I’ll continue outrigger canoe paddling. I've been in the pottery fieldschool for 20 years, and it's only in the last year that I've been learning to throw. I would have to say that learning to paddle better and throw a pot well were my summer 2025 goals. But even though I've been throwing small bowls at both College of San Mateo and Clay Life, I've also been building a Sculpture Mix under-the-sea themed candelabra and Red Velvet butter dishes and Speckle Buff dinnerware for a niece. 

Over at CSM, where we are firing only Cone 10 clay bodies, I threw a couple of Black Mountain bowls. I rather love 'em because the outside of the bowl is very groggy and brutally rough while the interior is very smooth--I'll be glazing only the interior with whatever white glaze is in the community college studio. I spied a bottle of oil soap there, and so brought what plaster I had left and poured two plate molds.                 

And promptly made that past Tuesday, 3 Black Mountain plates with the 1 plate mold I had while making the other 2 plate molds. I can now have 3 plates at one time drying on their mold in the sun. Next up is my damp box.

  

And here's my sculpture candelabra.     

I like the simple form and its contrast with all the ornamentation. My friend, Jeff says to fire it anyway and let glaze fill in the gaps. And so I lifted and carefully placed that sculpture into kiln, and we’ll see you in two weeks:)

In the meantime, at Clay Life, I've just glazed another plate for the dinnerware set I'm gifting to my niece, Jelissa and her family. And here’s one of the butter boxes as I wait for another butter box and a couple bowls to land on the bisque shelf for glazing.             

On a red clay body, I'd like to try a yellow color. However, this bottle of Bright Yellow Gloss is almost empty.

I may stop at Clay People in Richmond to buy a white engobe and then maybe use the studio's Duncan Stroke and Coat, or find a yellow overglaze which means I need to make test tiles.

cook: lemongrass pork rice noodle bowls

I was not wanting to skewer tiny pieces of meat--a time-consuming and tedious task. Jagalchi copper grill to the rescue, and so I defrosted pork shoulder, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and marinated the protein in lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, and baking soda for the day. Before leaving for the clay studio, I peeled, cut in halves and julienned daikon and carrot, salted and then pickled the vegetables in a brine of sugar, vinegar, and water. Evening arrived, and I placed all the pork into the copper grate. While the meat grilled over burning charcoal, I took out the pickles and rinsed 3 Persian cucumbers.      

I also boiled water and put out the rice sticks or noodles and then gathered mint and Thai basil from the herb garden.

While the meat was grilling to golden brown delicious, I plunged the vermicelli rice noodles into the boiling water for a few minutes and then into an ice bath.

For the mise en place, I had chopped butter lettuce, sliced cucumbers, drained radish and carrot salad, herbs and the herbs.

My neighbor kindly made the nuoc cham or sauce of sugar, warm water, fish sauce, sambal oelek, and lime juice. Dinner was served. We ate. And the leftovers became my lunch the next day.                  

Such an easy meal. I placed leftover noodles and vegetables in a bowl and zapped the meat separately in the microwave for 2 minutes before tossing all together with leftover nuoc cham. Healthy and delicious.

cook: zuni cafe zucchini pickles

Summer means lots of zucchini, and at a loss of what to do with what I couldn't give away, I looked for recipes and made pickles. I sliced the large zucchini and half a yellow onion on a mandolin and salted the vegetables. Pulled out the mustard seeds, mustard powder, turmeric, sugar, and apple cider vinegar to make the brine.

Cold water and ice cubes into the vegetables for at least 20 minutes while I simmered the brine and then divided both into quart jars.

Intended to give one jar to a friend for a birthday, but the jar broke:( And so will cook zucchini fritters and give her the other jar this Thursday :)

cook: herb baked eggs for breakfast

I rarely eat breakfast, but when I do and usually on a Sunday morning, the meal involves eggs which I've come to love. I also love herbs, so no brainer that for breakfast a few Sundays ago, I prepared Ina Garten's herb baked eggs. I stepped into the herb box to snip rosemary, thyme, parsley, and garlic chives--chopping and then adding them to a couple cloves of mashed garlic.

I happened to also have on hand a loaf of Capitola sourdough, and our pantry always has the staples of eggs, shredded Parmesan, Irish butter, and heavy whipping cream.

I love a quick and easy breakfast, one that just uses a very hot oven.

Yah I don't have a toaster as I don't want it taking up residence on the kitchen counter.

But a 400 degree oven gets the job done.

Scrumptious as always.

(stay)cation: standup paddle board lesson and a monterey getaway

Exhausting but exhilarating weekend. My Friday started with a stand-up paddleboarding lesson in Redwood Shores with Nicole. And because of outrigger canoe paddling and surfing, standing up on that humongous fiberglass board with a long paddle felt somewhat easy. No pictures because I can't take photos when engaged in open water activities, and that's more than okay. After the lesson, I drove immediately to Monterey. T'was cold and windy, and I turned my beach weekend into an eating vacation. Right away I spotted a seafood restaurant where the locals eat.                             

It's not a beach vacation unless I eat oysters, and omg ate 6. Should've asked the waiter if I could just order 3.

 

The oysters were ginormous.

Then I ordered the halibut special which came with penne pasta and sauteed organic vegetables. I think I prefer more tender white fish to halibut, which I find kind of tough when grilled--they're better boiled and then dipped in melted butter.

The next day at the regatta, my women's novice team of Ho'okahi Pu'uwai came in 5th in our heat, BUT I was a "loaned paddler" to the Napa's Ohana Wa'a club and our co-ed novice team came in 2nd though really we were 1st in our heat because the 1st team was penalized 10 seconds. In the finals, we came in 2nd or 3rd. I then just sat in my beach chair and watched races as well as helped with food prep and serving for our club.                

I didn't stick around for the awards ceremony and started packing up the rice cooker and foldable chair for my car. Saw this boat and thought of my parents because all 3 of us are Libra.

We finished the regatta at 2:30, and so I walked Fisherman's Wharf (ugh) and then the commercial Wharf #2, where I found the Sandbar & Grill and ate my second seafood meal of a bowl of mussels before returning to my hotel and finally collapsing into sleep. Got up the next morning to meet Nicole at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, for which we were both nostalgic.            

 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium seemed smaller than we remembered. Mainly we relished the views of the bay.

We got hungry and looked for a restaurant on Cannery Row for lunch. Nicole mentioned the 2 that were her family's favorites, and we went to the Fish Hopper. Now there's an idea for a Bloody Mary: prawns instead of bacon.                                 

I dithered over the petrale sole stuffed with crab and prawns and the sanddabs while Nicole was indecisive over seabass or halibut. She ended up going with Taste of Monterey while I went with the Sanddabs, but we both...

 

...shared the Oysters Rockefeller.

While I drank a glass of Chardonnay, Nicole drank the fancy Watermelon Cucumber Refresher, infused watermelon cucumber vodka, triple sec, fresh lime juice, and agave nectar.

We both liked what we ordered. I enjoyed my grilled sanddabs in butter lemon caper sauce with mashed potatoes and sauteed organic vegetables (every waiter seems to rave about the veggies) while she relished her Cajun seabass and prawns with artichoke ravioli and spinach and tomatoes in a cream sauce.

 

Afterward we ate mini ice cream sundaes at Ghirardelli Square and again relished the views of the bay.

I did want some more last views of the giant kelp forest, so we returned to the aquarium. Again I think we enjoyed views of the Monterey Bay more.                            

But if you're a kid, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is definitely a highlight.

I definitely love giant kelp...

 

...though the leopard sharks and rockfish and sturgeon also fascinate.

I was also entranced by the rainbow trout and steelhead.

Farewell to Monterey...

I hope to return and spend longer than a weekend, standup paddleboarding and maybe even take up an invitation by Hi'ilani 'O Ke Kai and do outrigger canoe at Del Monte Beach.