I love beans…not just for the nutritional benefits, but I find it to be a versatile food to keep around. I toss it on a bed of greens and love coming up with various types of salads. I like to purchase dry beans in a bag, soak it overnight and boil it the next day.
This is a White Bean Salad with Artichoke from The Pasta Store…
I mixed it with black beans (store bought)…
My favorite dressing? Simple…a spoonful of olive oil and mustard directly in the salad bowl.
I looooovvveee umeboshi—a Japanese treat. Yummy? Absolutely. It is a tad bit high in sodium so daily consumption is not recommended! The flavor comes from salt and the color purple from shiso (perilla) leaves. It is most used as a filling for onigiri (a popular rice ball wrapped in nori). I like hachimitchu (honey) plum for the sweetness. Give it a try…you’ll love it too. I put it on a plain bowl of rice with nori (dry seaweed) and also drop it in a cup of hot green tea to get the bitterness out.
Pizza by the name: Da Willy. A fantastic restaurant in Milan. I know eh? I stumbled upon this eatery when I got uber lost. I walked into the joint and asked the manager for directions. She was sweet, kind AND spoke perfect English. Grazie Bella Donna.
I returned back to the restaurant the very next day, for I was craving pizza. They have one of the largest pizzas I’ve ever seen, and it’s delicious. These extremely thin crust pies (made in a brick oven) come in over two dozen varieties. It’s seriously addictive…I was so hopelessly addicted to the taste of Da Willy that I ended my very last meal in Milan with one of their fungi and ham pies.
San Francisco’s Chinatown is one of the top tourist attractions in the states and a mega-fun place to shop. I take the bus to the gates of CTown whenever I have out-of-town guests. You can pretty much find everything under the sun in this ‘hood…I can spend the entire day tasting dimsum, munching on coconut pastry, shopping for anything San Francisco, etc.,
Peking Bazaar – all the trinkets you can possibly buy
Columbus street is loaded with eateries selling roasted duck for under $10
Dol Ho Restaurant – cheap dim sum for under five bucks…this place is really low-rent but makes up for it with the best greasy food…
Patan City is about 5 km south of Kathmandu Valley. It’s a royal city (meaning monarchies used to live there centuries ago). I feel like I’m back in the past when I’m in Patan…its surreal.
It’s a must-see if you are visiting Nepal. Why? Where else can you see craftsmen creating wood ornaments, stone carvings and metal statues of deities surrounded by temples….Yep, there are temples EVERYWHERE. The craftsmen will shoos you away when they are creating their art, but the key is to BUY some of their creations and then take pictures. But I’m not here to talk about art or temples…customer service at restaurants in Patan can be a tad bit slow….so, here I am waiting for the menu from the waiter….it’s been over 30 minutes…
Rows and rows of aged cheese…
Yummy smoked fish and salmon…
Prepared salads…
Prepared pies…
Prepared desserts…
All kinds of dips (my favorite-salami paste)…
This is my european eatery. I taste all the samples, fill my basket with goodies and enjoy the treats at home. I love their snack-able size sausages and slices of cheese at the register. The place is like a candy store for adults—specifically ME!
The Pasta Shop
1786 Fourth Street
(between Hearst Ave & Virginia St)
Every time I purchase heirloom tomato I feel the need to team it up with mozzarella. Store bought is great…but hey…why not make my own mozzarella…woowie! Um…the direction I got from the Pasta Store looked easy…but creating round mozz cheese balls was a whole different story…how do they get it so perfecto round?
What you’ll need…
Mozzarella curd bar
Salt, Water
Heirloom Tomatoes, Olive Oil and Vinegar
Mozzarella curd
Cut the curd in cubes
Soak them in heavily-salted-boiled water
Remove the curds from container and knead them
My favorite heirloom tomato
Perfect with olive oil, vineger and a loaf of bread
I satisfy my Chinese food craving with a monthly trip to U-Lee. They do not deliver but you can call in advance and pick up the food. I’ve been eating at this place for over a decade—and NOTHING compares to it. The same family had owed the place and I only know the owners by the name Ken and Judie. I love it when they recognize my face when I walk in…yeah, there’s nothing like getting a five-star treatment at a hole-in-the-wall eatery…total bliss!
I order the same three entrees every time I’m at U-Lee. They serve the best Fried Chicken, Pot Stickers and Mongolian Beef. I pair it with Tsingtao. This joint gets the Diiver Hall of Fame.
