Tea Making in Taiwan

During my trip to Taiwan this summer, tea making was by far one of my favorite experiences. (I'm sorry to say I don't remember the exact name or place of the teashop but once I do I will definitely update this entry!)

My old dorm buddy, Amy, showed Candice and me around the northern parts of Taiwan and she suggested that we stop by this little teashop famous for their self-serve tea making. Let me tell you, I was frickin' excited. :D

Andrew Zimmerman likes tea too-

We came on a weekday late afternoon so we were lucky to have the place all to ourselves. While we waited for the store manager to bring out the tea supplies, we got to glance around the walls of the teashop, which were filled with wooden bookshelves displaying numerous novellas about

all kinds of aspects about tea- like tea leaves, tea farming, modern tawainese tea, traditional taiwanese tea, modern contemporary taiwanese tea, and so forth and so on..my excitement just kept accumulating.

And then.. the teashop brewers walked out from their stock room curtain like wisemen bearing gifts from rich lands..(at least that's how I remembered it..). The tea supplies came lining up the tables like a little parade of precious floats marching towards my eager heart.. :D, anyways, on with the show!

Our tea of the day was a popular one; green tea!

Haha, Candice couldn't figure out what the white puffy beads were.

They were rice puffs, kinda like the ones in Rice Krispy Treats.

Inside the monster mortar was a mixed bunch of seeds and nuts

(sorry I got too distracted to remember to take pictures..), including

pealed peanuts and black sesame seeds.

Okay, tea grinding is no simple chore, my arms got pretty sore but these

snacks helped lessen the pain..Here's some homemade mochi dusted with peanuts.

Don't the rough black things look like coal? These were dried fruit, I'm guessing prunes, and some homemade chex with salty shrimp flavoring.

Eventually, after about 30 minutes of grinding and teasing from the shop managers about how shamefully weak we were, the tea powder turned into a smooth paste with a great nutty aroma. I was tempted to set some aside to spread on my chips, but no! This puppy has bigger and better plans.

So, was all this effort and time worth it? Ch'ya! The tea was buttery smooth and I love how the rice puffs contrasted with the drink. I could taste it all- the green tea powder, the peanuts, the sesame seeds, all the other unidentifiable whatnots, all in perfect harmony pouring through my mouth and body..yum..

-Angela

Korean Kickback with David

Here's an (unrealistic) idea of what I want to experience before I die



David is my friend and Korean cooking instructor. His guidance is my first stepping stone to achieveing my (unrealistic) dream.

Anyways, David's not only savvy with the kitchen but is also fluent in conversational Korean and Japanese. David graduated last spring and is now setting forth on a new journey in Korea working on an English teaching career, I am very excited to see what pictures and stories he will be sharing with us in the future!

Here he is (forcing a very cheery smile) with his nicely prepared spread of popular and basic dishes.

Here are some of the goods: pickled yellow daikon, ground beef and beef slices, compressed tofu, and seaweed wrap.

Kimbap with Bulgogi

Chap Che 잡채
Bibimbap 비빔밥 before...

BAM! Bibimbap after a good tossing

Dduk Bokki 떡볶이

This dinner was definitely a nice casual sit-down with mounds of comfort food to warm our hearts.

Here's one of my favorite Korean Food Blogs that mixes first-hand experience and humorous commentary-http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/

And here's a movie that keeps me pumping! Le Grande Chef!

- Angela

Foods with Personalities :)

Presentation is 80% of the fun when I'm cooking! Plating a dish can be considered an art, and making it prettier means it will also be more appetizing and more enjoyable to eat. ;D I would highly recommend catching an episode of a cake decorating contest on Food Network if you haven't seen one before!

I've come to like giving my dishes a personality by putting faces on them.






I didn't make this eggo waffle, but it is too adorable to not post!

Extraordinary Crepes

I would like to introduce the crepe to you, a thin "pancake" skin used to wrap both savory and sweet fillings, originating from French cuisine. Now, please make note of the prononciation; in English, crepe is like "cape" but with "cr". In French, it is prononced "crep". Crepes can be eaten as meals, snacks, or desserts, and are so versatile as you can stuff it with anything to your heart's desire! My first experience working with crepes was in middle school, and I created a cooking show with some friends called "Van Can Cook", where we served banana dessert crepes with cinnamon and whipped cream. :P


In this entry, we will show you the wonders of preparing a salmon, mushroom, tomato omelet crepe served with potatoes and parsley.
The ingredients we used:
Lots of spices, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, cheese, garlic, and parsley!
Peel and chop the potatoes.


We used some eggs sprinkled with pepper and spices for the filling.

....as well as some wild salmon and diced tomatoes.




The batter is prepared with butter, milk, eggs, flour, and salt, whipped to a smooth consistency.The hard but fun part of making crepes is wrapping them!


TADA!Served with mashed/fried potatoes, sour cream, and cheese, and garnished with fresh parsley!

Another variation made on a separate day is a chicken pesto crepe served with mixed greens and couscous.
A favorite - dessert crepe! This one has bananas, nutella, and whipped cream!

- Candice

Pizza Hut Pasta

Right after I saw this I got off my lazy bum and tinkered in my kitchen trying to freestyle this home classic with some leftover chicken breast, canned tuna, cubed tomatoes, loads of cheese and heavy cream and garlicky seasonings. Baked at 450 degrees for 20 min.

I was very pleased to have produced so many different glowing shades of orange with my first attempt casserole. Mmm, I love me some chickeny cheesy crispy pasta.

-Angela