baby rambutan

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of AccuWeather. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thirty years of living in the United States, and one of the first conclusions I made was that small talk was an important skill to have, particularly small talk about the weather. It used to irritate me so much, but I now know that this is a necessary skill.
The root of all this necessary small talk of course: the weather in this part of the world, is quite exciting and volatile. It is very interesting listening to the meteorologists. I sympathize with the poor blokes, they have a very complicated job I think! And then when everyone assumes the forecasts are exact, nature always throws big unpredictable surprises.
I am about to go on another plane trip, alone this time, and I am quite anxious about the weather. I peer anxiously out the window and check out AccuWeather for the latest news, both for my destination and my point of origin.
It’s quite easy to navigate and everything I need to know is right there.
At the very least I need to know what kinds of clothes to bring–keeping warm is of the utmost importance to this tropical creature, you know.

yesterday, it was.

more and more snow–the photo does not quite capture how fast and furious the flakes were falling.

banh xeo, for pancake day (Shrove Tuesday) at our neighborhood pho palace…this was a disappointment. not much flavor; thankfully our only child for the day, #2son, loved the crispy egg crepe. (daughter was off on a trip with her friends, #1son at college. their winter/spring breaks don’t jibe anymore).

comfort food: a bowl of bun, noodle salad, with all good things as toppings (grilled pork and shrimp, meatballs and shrimp cake).
so why is today another (painfully flat as ) pancake day?
i’ve just had my not-quite-yearly mammogram (i am always reluctant to book this appointment), and to you my blog sisters…you know what i mean .
have you had your check-up yet?

sometimes the path from “A” to “B” takes some convoluted twists and turns. the craving was for lobsters…as in $2.99 per pound medium size lobsters–i kid you not! the price was too low as to be worrisome…we haven’t seen prices like these since we were teenagers, and we’re talking Maine, straight-from-the-dock prices! good-luck-to-the-lobstermen kind of prices…–
but to get to that, first i had to have chocolate cake.
of the three-layer-punch-in-the-face variety.
i take my job really seriously you know, the job of checking out chocolate cake or brownie recipes that tout themselves to be the best.
now, i’ve proclaimed that i won’t buy any more new cookbooks or food magazines at all. but i forgot that i did subscribe to two family oriented magazines last year, to support my kid’s public school.
when the first issue arrived, the first thing i noticed was the purported “best chocolate cake recipe ever!” which i dutifully decided had to be put to the test.


i was tempted to stop icing the cake right then, and eat the rest of the frosting straight up with a soup spoon….

but i had good self-control. for a change.

then i had to hie off to the newly opened fish mongers at the 4th edition of summer shack. it is a New England institution by now, Jasper White’s humble down home chain of restaurants that evoke hearty New England chowders and lobster bakes. we went to the original location in Cambridge years ago for a mothers’ day dinner–it is so memorable to me because it was the weekend before i’d have to find out if a lump on my leg was something to worry about or not (NOT, as it turned out)…so i was determined to have a great good time.
the food was divine, and i remember sharing a broiled lobster platter with my then 2-year old youngest child, and the fish lumpia (spring rolls) that were so terrific we had to order more.
this 4th franchise has a fish store, and our first peek last weekend the fish monger whispered that there’d be a sale on lobsters, this weekend.
there i was, buying, incredulously at $2.99 a pound…”give me FOUR!” wheee….i was almost in a diabetic shock state from hunger, having just swum 30 lengths at the pool, having just popped a cracker dipped in fish pate from the sample counter, having just walked out to try and get a nice takeaway lunch from the supermarket round the corner…when i literally walked into the towering gent, the what, 6 foot 4 inch tall– the one and only Jasper White himself, seeing some dining customers out the door.
“murrrmpphffaffff!”
i tried to swallow the mouthful of cracker.
“how nice to see you! i’m a fan!” i know, so lame….
he graciously, gallantly shook my hand, laughing,” happy new year!”


i swear, he was right there!

ask me about the chocolate cake recipe, which was fabulous! i’m still too stunned right now….

hehe, very predictable yeah?


a light and flavorful broth, and any or all fixings you could possibly think of: fish cake, crab legs, thinly sliced meats (beef, lamb, chicken) and fresh vegetables.

it was so much fun, there was only one hitch: we ran out of table space. there was also necessary vigilance, for the large fondue pot had an electric cord which thankfully had a safety feature of being magnetically attached to the electric probes (?) so the danger of accidentally tripping on it would not cause the pot to up-end… also became a bit of a problem when it easily got nudged out of position. no worries, we had a great meal.

cook’s notes: serve with bowls of short-grain (Tamaki Gold) rice; thick udon noodles; sa cha and XO sauces, alongside finely minced garlic, chilis, and scallions. ooh i’m making myself hungry…

so we dug ourselves out of the snow…and into town for a glimpse into the movie magic of


The Great Hall

the diabolically pink professor’s room
i just had to be very sneaky and feel like a secret agent with my hidden camera (under my folded up down coat). they were heavily guarding the Cedric Diggory robes too well, i’d have thought that would be the most popular attraction given the Twilight craze, but there wasn’t a thick enough crowd for the Secret Agent to hide behind! the exhibit, which has been in Boston since September, is phenomenally crowded, this second day of the year, and rightly so: such finely crafted and minutely detailed props and costumes. they didn’t cut corners on the special effects. you’ll also be able to quickly guess that the actors and actresses aren’t that tall. they just seem larger than life, thanks to movie magic.

ball gown and dress robes, left to right: Viktor Krum, Hermione, and Ron

the only disappointment i felt was the absence of anything pertaining to Luna Lovegood.
so you know what i’m talking about now, yes? if not, then you must think i’m crazy (which i assure you i am), but you also must have just wandered out of the Sahara? or tundra?….

after an afternoon at the museum we were treated to a hot pot dinner, which just hit the spot. the freezing spot! cooking our dinner over the kim chee broth (alongside a mild version)–reminiscent of our New Year’s eve fondue feast, but this time we felt quite self-righteously healthy.
for dunking, you choose from beef, pork, lamb, chicken, seafood…among many others; they also give you a platter of vegetables alongside: tofu, Napa cabbage, watercress, corn, shiitake and enoki mushrooms, and bean curd skin.

for the dipping sauce sister-in-law recommended a little bit of everything (XO sauce, raw garlic, scallions, chilis, kim chee bits) in the Japanese soy sauce. i say, Amen, sista!

and if there’s an exotic ingredient on the menu i’m so going for it….beef tongue please!

Shabu-Zen
Brighton Avenue, Boston
reasonably priced, and great fun especially with kids tall enough to reach over the pot…

The Harry Potter exhibition runs until February, hurry up and go!
Museum of Science

the day after, i feel like i am the ultimate kulelat of the Boston Marathon, all beat up and crawling to the finish line.
and i feel like giving all the Santa “facilitators”,a great big hug! you know who you are! give yourselves a standing ovation, for helping Santa deliver his presents to all the nice kids and/or not too naughty ones.
christmas morning i made buttery scones for breakfast, having stumbled upon a prettily,accessibly priced jar of clotted cream in one of my favorite salvage storeshaunts.


then i made this really easy yet delicious apple walnut spice cake–everyone overlooked the patchiness of it especially when i hand-whipped the calvados vanilla cream at the party venue (i didn’t want to make a fuss or noise at the hostess’ kitchen, ssshhh!).


it diminished in size so quickly, #1son made sure he scored two leftover slices to take home. i’ll make you some more, promise!
as usual, recipe will be posted upon request! please, bug me if i neglect to respond. my life’s like that!

i hope your Christmas was a joyous one.

a fabulously lavish, superYUMMY Christmas!

there were so many things i wanted to spell out, but for the first batch i settled on “yummy!”, buttery sables with a caramel glaze. just poifect with milky tea i think!

i waited a long time before i could get this truly special cookie cutter. i’ve had my eye on this ever since i saw them from a food blogger/cookbook author’s website from, where else, Germany.

i want to say thank you to you, the loyal visitors to this silly little foodblog. i know i haven’t been posting as much as i did before, and it’s a reflection of how my life is going these days.
i can’t bear to neglect baby rambutan though, it is still very dear.

anyway, the other day i heard this song which was a welcome break from all the Christmas carols playing everywhere i go. made me want to put on my boogie shoes.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

debated whether to change out of my soaked clothes into a new outfit, or just to slip back into my flannel pajammies and fluffy bathrobe…the flannels won, and i’m just drying out the old outfit.
it was a day just like today, pouring rain with flashes of lightning and grumbling thunder, when i attended what i call a “diabetic convention” (really a community outreach program from our hospital)–it was a Saturday early morning and no it wasn’t the free breakfast and lunch that made me bounce out of bed. it was a grim determination to finally confront the demon diagnosis from three years ago. i wanted to learn more about my disease instead of just always pushing it down into the dark recesses of my mind.
i am really still mournful about it, but i learned so much about carbs, and diet, and how insulin works and how my organs will fail if i don’t attend to my body. i have mostly banished Ms.Information and Ms.Conceptions and Ms.Givings from my awareness; sadly i have turned into a rabid food label reader, a fervent new member of the food police force. i hope that my kids and husband won’t get too resentful and even actually benefit from the vigilance i’m trying hard to maintain. kids, i am also always donating to diabetic research requests (kahit piso piso lang). i am so sorry but it’s hereditary, and i want diabetes gone in your lifetime.

part of our new regimen is the search for delicious multigrain stuff, and these loaves from Nature’s Pride fit the bill exactly. we spread almond and peanut butters and have it for breakfast, and the #2son specifically requested a sandwich with turkey breast slices for his school lunch. that’s phenomenal! he’s more of a subway rolls kind of guy.
success, what? just disregard all that chocolate in my categories.

this slice is for you…
who’s all ears when friends pour their hearts out
yet somehow always alone when yours is shattering into pieces all around
who takes care of everybody when they’re sick, and buys them treats
and proffers hugs freely when they’re anxious and tired
yet is content with the flat pillow and the downy covers on cold nights
the crumb and the batter and the washing up
the sticky greasy pans
it’s there in the hot blast from the clunker oven
there in the singed edges of lashes and brows

the company of cake


recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. multiple steps, a sinkful of washing, at least three bowls, three kinds of chocolate, loads of butter, thick and lush icing.

“the things we ate did last summer….
i’ll be burning off remember all winter long…” –a line from one of my dad’s favorite songs.