Happy New Years!

Inspired by Emily of Knittripps' post about looking forward and looking back I decided to do my own list about food (what else) resolutions.

2005 Highlights:

- created this blog;
- started cooking more ethnic cuisines, especially Thai;
- forayed into the wonderful world of gourmet teas.

2005 Lowlights:

- ate way too many fast food meals, especially McDonald's;
- inconsistant blogging;
- being too lazy to make lunch, whereby eating junk or fast food.

2006 Resolutions:

- learn more ethnic dishes, like Korean;
- try my hand at more pastries and desserts, they for some reason scare me;
- explore more local eateries and specialty stores.

I hope everyone has a Safe and Happy New Year!

Gong Fu Tea Part II

HELP! I think have become a tea junkie!

A few posts ago I wrote about my trip to find the perfect Christmas gift for my girlfriends and my total delight at what I found at Gong Fu Tea store. Of course, I really wasn’t able to walk out of that place without getting something for myself. (Oh, come on, you know I deserve it!)

Well, since then I’ve become a tea addict. I think I’m averaging about 2-3 cups per day and I came home tonight and all I wanted was to curl up with a nice cuppa. It’s getting so bad that now I’ve taken to leaving the tea brewing pot on the counter and every morning I wake up, stumble out of my room, and turn on the kettle. I’m not even sure I’m awake half the time. Hrm... do you think I need tea drinkers anonymous yet?

My morning tea with milk and sugar:



I adore Earl Grey. This has to be the best I've ever had. The wonderful aroma of bergamont is to die for. No oily or alcoholic taste/smell to it either which, I believe, means they use real bergamont in their blend and not the essential oil you find in most Earl Grey.

My afternoon tea:



This is the white tea I was telling you about. A delicious tea I find very similar to a green tea but with a more delicate flavor. The only thing I found about this tea and the next one is that I really don't like the first brewing. So I've taken to rinsing my tea (pour water, let steep for only 30 seconds, discard water) and drinking the second brewing.

My evening tea:



According to the gentleman that was helping me, this tea is their biggest seller. I now know why. There is an amazing floral bouquet that wafts up at you as soon as you open up this tea. It's a bit too floral for me but I've found I really enjoy it right before bed. Somehow, it's very relaxing.

Oh, and this is the really cool tea brewing pot I picked up for Emi, Sherry, and I.



Love it! You put the tea in the pot, pour water, wait the minutes it takes for the tea to brew, then you put it on top of your tea cup. There is hole in the bottom that opens when you put it over you tea cup. What a wonderful invention. I may have to go get a few more.

You know, nevermind about helping me... I think I kind of like my new found addiction, thank you very much!

Moo Sup Pad Bai Gkaprow (Minced Pork Stir-fried with Thai Basil)

A few weeks ago I posted about an Asian grocery shopping spree. Now that things have settled down a bit I decided I would show you what I made with all that food.

Another favorite luncheon dish from Thailand I used to eat on a semi-regular basis was gai pad gkaprow. Translation = chicken stir-fried with Thai basil. It is usually served over a bed of rice with a crispy fried egg over easy and some of the ubiquitous Thai condiment; Thai bird chilies in fish sauce with a squeeze of lime. This is a dish you will find all over Thailand. I’ve eaten this dish in the south on a white sand beach, on a mountain top in the far north, and all over Bangkok, from street stalls to fancy restaurants.



I was in the mood for pork so I decided to make mine with some minced pork I had picked up. One of the greatest things about stir-fries is you can decide what meat you feel like. If you’re in a Thai restaurant you may want to give this dish a try. Live a little and get it spicy like we do, come on I dare you. I double dare you!

If you feel like trying your hand at this at home here's the recipe:

3 Tbsp canola oil
1 lb. Minced pork (or chicken, sliced)
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 to 20 Thai bird chilies, bashed with the side of a knife or chopped (adjust for you heat level)
2 shallots, minced
1 cup of Thai basil leaves
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce for color
pinch of sugar
dash of white pepper

Heat wok or large saucepan until smoking hot, add oil. Add garlic, stir for a few seconds, then add shallots, stir-fry for another 30 seconds or so. Add minced pork, stir fry until done, about 2 minutes. Add chilies, stir-fry another minute. Add fish sauce, dark soy sauce, pinch of sugar, and white pepper. Add basil and stir-fry until it is wilted. Serve over rice with a egg over easy if desired. Garnish with cilantro.

Recipe adapted slightly from Kasma Loha-unchit.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone is having a great day full of fun, family, friends, presents, and most of all FOOD! Here is a picture of the christmas cookies Emi and I baked a few weeks ago to get your stomach rumbling:

Gong Fu Tea

In search of the perfect Christmas gift for my two girlfriends Sherry and Emi of Knittripps I finally made my way to the East Village. For those who have not heard of the East Village it is an area of downtown Des Moines that has been renovated. Instead of dingy old abandoned buildings there are wonderful eclectic little boutiques and shops. As much as I would have loved to have wandered all over this new neighborhood I had a specific shop in mind for this trip. For my two tea-loving friends I decided to check out the selection at Gong Fu Tea. I'm awestruck by what I found.



Upon walking into the store I immediately knew this was going to a store I would be frequenting often. I was charmed at seeing all the shelves of teapots lining one of wall of the shop, their collections of teapots are designs from around the world that range from normal to whimsical. I probably could have spent hours looking at these pots. As the gentlemen behind the counter were busy with other customers I meandered into the rear of the store and found some delightful candles, soaps, cups, and tea-related gadgets.



After snagging two candles for some other people on my list, I made my way up to the counter and just stood in awe of the selection available. Canister upon canister lined ths shelves behind the counter filled with loose leaf tea from around the world. Did you know there is a tea from Africa? I didn’t. While I don’t claim to be a tea connoisseur I have grown up drinking teas and have been exposed to many different Chinese and Japanese teas, just don’t ask me to name them. So with the help of the ever so charming and knowledgeable gentleman behind the counter I was able to pick out somes teas as gifts and for myself. As a slight test and a bit of curiosity I quizzed the gentleman, who I believe is part owner of the store, as to the various teas he carried. Here are some of the teas I found out they carry:

Earl Grey
English Breakfast
Chamomile
High quality jasmine
Oolong
Green teas
Black teas
Chrysanthemum teas - these are cool they come in tight bud that will blossom in your tea cup.
White tea- tea that has not be oxidized at all.
Dragon pearl tea - if I remember right this type of tea is very high grade serve to royalty type teas

I asked about the last three types of tea just to see if he knew about them. These last three are high quality teas that I’m told you have to go to tea stores in Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco for. I would never have thought I’d find them in a locally owned little tea store in Des Moines, Ia. [Insert picture of me dancing with glee here.]

Luckily, for my girlfriends’ or for me I’m not sure yet, I was on a mission to purchase gifts. So I managed to curb my desire of buying every tea in the store and only walked out with three teas for myself and two gift containers of four different teas and tea brewing pots for my girlfriends. If you, my wonderful readers, are lucky I might be able to talk Emi into taking a picture of her gift for you all.

Sorry for the length of this post, but I just had to tell you about the Gong Fu Tea store. I’m in love with this store and will probably wax poetically about it for ages. If you’re in Des Moines and like tea you MUST!!! go there. Even if you don’t like tea GO THERE! If you do, you may just find me ensconced in the corner with a good book or some knitting as I plan to be there quite often. If you really can't make it (and there better be a good reason as to why) to the Gong Fu Tea store click on the name above and it will take you to their website.

Enjoy!

Granite City's Sunday Brunch

The weekend before Thanksgiving a good friend of mine came up to town and suggested we go to Sunday brunch at Granite City. Most sundays I’m lucky if I get out of bed before one o’clock and the last thing I’m usually thinking about is food. You have to understand that saying something, that a foodie like me isn’t thinking about food for once!

Since this was a special occasion to spend some time with a good friend I actually got up, got showered, and dressed before 11 o’clock. Amazing, huh? I think so! Alright, my bad sleeping habits on sundays aside what I really wanted to talk about was the food. What else, right?

If you haven’t had the chance to check Granite City’s amazing Sunday brunch I highly recommend that you do. It’s a little pricy at $14.95/person and you may have to wait a bit for a table and in the buffet line, but man is it worth it. At the beginning of the buffet your choices already get your mouth watering. After retrieving our warm plates, we stepped into line and were offered a choice of fresh strawberries, cantaloupe, chocolate muffins, blueberry muffins, white chocolate raspberry muffin, or croissant. Oh my!

I started off with some fruit, a croissant and took a white chocolate raspberry muffin home with me. Next up was your choice of eggs, scrambled or cheesy egg casserole with ham. I had the scrambled eggs. They were to die for and I don’t even LIKE scrambled eggs. I ended up going back for seconds on the eggs even when I felt my stomach was about to burst. The eggs were buttery, had a wonderful flavor, and seemed to melt in your mouth. I’m drooling just thinking about them. Next is a choice of sausage or bacon. Every in my party who had been there before kept raving about the bacon so, of course, I had to try it. It was wonderful. I believe it was a smoked apple bacon. I remember thick pieces of bacon that tasted real without any weird artificial flavor taste to it. This, my friends, is what bacon should taste like.

I faintly remember a pasta dish (it is brunch after all) and some potatoes. I think I had the potatoes and there were good but not that memorable. Almost at the end of the buffet, there was roast beef with horseradish sauce. It was a little too well done for my taste as I like my beef pretty rare, but still very tender. At the end of the buffet was a made to order egg mcmuffin stand. My friend had one and said it was great. I trust her taste so I’m sure it was, sadly I was too full on my second trip up to try it. But, you can be sure I’ll try it on my next trip to Granite City’s Sunday brunch. Well, that is if I make it past the eggs and bacon I’ll be heaping on my plate.

Oh, and before I forget, you can also get mimosas and bloody mary’s. The bloody mary’s very tasty too. Just beware those can fill you up and you might miss out on more of the scrambled eggs and bacon. Sorry, I REALLY like the scrambled eggs and bacon. Can you tell?

If you get up early on a Sunday I highly suggest a trip out to Granite City. It’s a great place to take your friends or family out for a special Sunday treat and laze away the late morning and early afternoon hours. Just be sure to schedule a nap for the afternoon. You may need it, I know I did.