Spices Of Life Blog on eCookbooks.com

Discover FABULOUS Rosés (Pt.3)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:50:52 +0000

What was Julia Child's favorite August sandwich?

Sliced tomatoes on white bread with mayo and salt

That combo screams out for a fresh rose.

VIDEO

video duration 3:25

MORE ROSE FOOD

Prosciutto di parma and watermelon

It tastes better than it sounds.

Summer White Wine Suggestions

• Spanish Albarino


• Argentinean Torrontes,


• Portugese Vinho Verde,


• Austrian Gruner Veltliner.

• Italian Barbera


• Dolcetto from Piedmont


• Grenaches from Spain, Australia, and the Rhone


• A nice juicy California red Zinfandel.

The Food Project

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:11:24 +0000

I'm a sucker for great looking vegetables and reasonable prices, so naturally I was drawn to the Food Project stand at my local farmer’s market.

There, I talked with J. Harrison (Director of Agriculture, North Shore) and some of the kids working the stand, and they told me all about the Food Project:

They sell their produce at stands in the Inner City and donate it to shelters, bringing good food to people who can't afford it.

They had such passion in their voices, especially J, and if you go on their website, the www.thefoodproject.org you will see what a remarkable organization it is.

The Food Project has become an inspiration for similar programs all over the U.S

· Eat fresh, local food (organic if possible)


· Support your local farmer’s markets

Nina

Grammar Girl's BEST Grammar Tips

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:12:55 +0000

I found this out recently at a PodCamp 3, a New Media conference in Boston, when I talked with Mignon Fogarty, who is known to many people as Grammar Girl about · Her terrific Quick and Dirty Tips Podcasts · Her newly published book,Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips For Better Writing. · Common grammar mistakes o Who vs Whom o Lay vs Lie o Effect vs Affect Watch this 2 minute video for some tips from the one and only... Nina

Discover FABULOUS Rosés (Pt.2)

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:10:01 +0000

We are entering that wonderful part of summer in New England when farm
stands, home gardens, and farmer's markets are overflowing with ripe
vegetables and fruits! If I had to choose the ultimate wine to accompany all
these great homegrown flavors, it would have to be a Rose.

How about a salad of heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, and buffalo
mozzarella....Or some corn that was just picked the same day....Or
summer squash and zucchini on the grill? And let's not forget the berry
families and fuzzy peaches, possibly as a side dish to a Sunday brunch?

Now rose wines are originating from every wine-growing
region in the world, and they are being made with a wide variety of red
grapes. A few years back you would have never encountered a Chilean Syrah
Rose or a South African Cabernet Sauvignon Rose.

So, celebrate the bounty of our local farmers along with a cheery selection
of refreshing rose wines.

Cheers,

Howie Rubin,
Bauer Wines, Boston, Mass

Made in China

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:41:28 +0000

I first discovered “Made in China, the stunning Chinese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt in Beijin,g when it first opened in 2004. It’s STILL one of the BEST restaurants in China.. It’s four open kitchen areas captivate diners!! You can watch your Peking Duck bake to a lustrous golden brown in a massive, brick wood-burning oven. At a neighboring station, foods are tossed in woks over roaring fires and nearby a group of white-jacketed chefs roll out paper-thin dumpling skins and cook freshly made noodles. Surrounding walls are lined top-to-bottom with shelves full of wooden moon cake molds, tea pots, woks, clay pots, and an eclectic assortment of kitchen objects all “made in China”, underlining the restaurant’s theme. It is one of the MOST STUNNING restaurants anywhere!! It’s also pretty neat in a country where customers are usually barred from seeing ANY Chinese restaurant kitchen.

The ingenious décor is the creation of Super Potato, an innovative design firm that has established an international reputation. The menu stresses classic Chinese dishes with an emphasis on northern regional cooking. Peking Duck skin is memorably crisp; pot stickers have a dramatic crusty top hat; and dumplings are generously stuffed with beef and leeks. A “must have” dish is the “tonghao” vegetables (edible chrysanthemum greens) which are tossed with chopped garlic and clear rice vinegar. The details are: Beijing Grand Hyatt, 1 East Chang An Avenue, (86 10 8518 1234)


Another Insider Beijing Dining Tip

For carnivores, who long to nosh on mouth-watering kebabs of tender lamb and rustic breads, seek out the Xinjiang Provincial Restaurant located at Beijing’s Xinjiang Municipal offices. On your way out, you can pick up some of the famous Hami melons, grapes and other seasonal fruits at bargain prices. They are all flown in daily from Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital city, along with sides of fresh lamb.

Xinjiang Fanzhuang, #7 Sanlihe, Haidian district 86- 10 8836 5363, 6835 1820.

Discover FABULOUS Rosés

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:27:07 +0000

It was so much fun to taste great rosés wines and learn about them from Wine Authority Howie Rubin, of Bauer Wines. Howie is a familiar face and voice to Bostonians: He has been writing and lecturing about wine for years on WFNX, WBCN, local TV stations, as well as at clubs and gatherings. Howie will be dispensing wine information regularly on Spices of Life. We welcome your comments and questions!. Here’s Howie’s knowledgeable take on roses….

Enjoy!

Nina

Howie’s Rap on Rosés

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've always enjoyed the subtle qualities of a good rosé wine, dating back to since the late 1970's, when we were pouring rosé by the glass at the London Wine Bar in San Francisco. It is with mixed feelings that I witness this prolific rise in rosé's popularity over the last five years. On one hand, I'm glad that there is now a new wave of rosé -wine lovers, but on the other hand, fashionable trends like this (goodbye Merlot, hello Pinot Noir) often leads to overproduction and the watering down of a particular style of wine. But in the meantime, let’s ride the rosé wave, as sales of the pink are up about 53% in the United States, and a statistic that I find mind-boggling though, is that rosé sales have surpassed white wine sales in France. That’s a statistic I find mind-boggling. Now, there's an awful lot of great white French wine to be had, so this means rosé must be here to stay.

We are now seeing rosé's from every red-wine growing region in the world, ranging from South African Pinotage Rosé, to Spanish Garnacha Rosé, to Sardinian Cannanau Rosé, to Oregon Pinot Noir Rosé. The list is both endless and exciting at the same time, and now is the time of year to be enjoying a nice chilled glass of the pink stuff! Some people avoid rosé because they still associate it with the sticky sweet Mateus Rosé or the white zinfandels of the 80's. ….but that's as antiquated a notion as equating Chianti with a fizzy red wine in a wicker bottle. Rosé producers could do themselves a service by denoting the level of sweetness on either their front or back labels.

Suzhou Canal

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:03:05 +0000

With its lush gardens and quaint canals, Suzhou has always been considered
a Must-see?city in China. Despite the building boom all over China, Suzhou
retains its old-world charm. The gardens may be packed with tourists, but
many still have tranquil corners and they have been beautifully restored.
The newly-rebuilt Suzhou Museum, designed by I.M Pei
http://www.szmuseum.com/szbwgen/html/xw/2006/0930/157.html is also a
treasure. Make sure you visit the lovely gift shop which is managed by
Roberta and Gee Pei, niece and nephew of I.M. Pei, the renowned architect.

The highlight of our trip (besides the canal ride) was our stay at the
beautiful Ping Jiang Hotel. www.the-silk-
road.com/hotel/pingjianghotel/index.html Insist on talking to the
manager, who can help organize your entire visit! Don and I were given a
room with a magnificent Chinese bed and our friend, Mary, had a spacious
room overlooking an enchanting courtyard. Friends introduced us to Roberta
and Gee Pei and they were kind enough to take use to their favorite
restaurant ?(and also a favorite of their uncle's, I.M.) Wu Men Ren Jia.
It's located within walking distance of the Museum, Lion Rock Garden and
the Garden of the Humble Administrator. The cuisine is "pure" Suzhou and
it is in a sprawling, old -style Suzhou courtyard house. Our favorite dish
was the stir-fried river shrimp- so fresh and simple.

Suzhou is a lovely reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Shanghai, and you
can do it all in 2 days!!

More from China coming up!

Nina

Quick Bites: Sweet and Sour Pickle

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:40:59 +0000

When I went to Asia, my Cantonese chef/teachers introduced me to whole, new style of pickle-making and it’s so easy!! Any home cook can do it. As you can see from this Quick Bite, you simply mix equal parts vinegar and sugar with a little bit of smashed ginger. You add the vegetable(s) and let them marinate a few hours and you have a tasty, crisp pickle. I like to heat up the mixture to dissolve the sugar and speed up the process a little, but this step can be omitted.

My Dad, who became an AVID cook a number of years ago, REALLY loves to make this pickle with cucumber slices. He makes it all the time. He’s 88 and is still cooking away so I tell people, if he can do it, anyone can!!

Stay tuned for these upcoming videos:

--My visit to Suzhou, the lovely city near Shanghai which is known as the Venice of China

--My favorite restaurant in China and some of its specialties (Hint: It’s in Beijing!)

--More Vegetable Quick Bites

--A personal tour of my FAVORITE DIM SUM Restaurant in London
Great Tips on BARGAIN Summer Wines with Howie Rubin, from Bauer Wines


Nina

Shanghai Golden Pancake

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:57:11 +0000

Visiting China is ALWAYS EXCITING to me BUT NEVER more than now –just before the Olympics (which has heightened the buzz). This trip, even after 37 years of travel and NUMEROUS visits, was AMAZING!!

Here’s the first in a series of videos that I taped while in China. In Shanghai, we stayed at the brand new Hyatt on the Bund, a hotel that is located in the HEART of the ACTION shanghai.bund.hyatt.com. In the second floor Aroma restaurant, Mary Risley, owner of Tante Marie cooking school www.tantemarie.com , who is a dear friend and was with me on the trip, discovered a wonderful breakfast specialty that I had never tasted. It’s called a SHANGHAI GOLDEN PANCAKE and it’s so easy and delicious that I wanted to introduce people to it. Dieter Lengauer, the Executive chef, who you’ll meet in the video, had the clever idea to go out and explore some of the street foods of Shanghai so that they could create them back at the hotel. They saw these pancakes and hired one of the ladies (They call them “ai” in Chinese or Aunty.) Her name is Mary and she was lovely!! (Also a great cook!)

Mary was also captivated by the dish and she made a special point of asking the chef (who shared her name) to teach her how to make it. Then, as soon as she got home, she tested the recipe, so thanks to Mary for her hard work. In the traditional dish, the Chinese use a fried cruller, but Mary tried substituting foccacia and really liked the result. Try it!! It’s REALLY GOOD!!!

Enjoy!!

Nina

Quick Bites: Roasted Lemon Asparagus

Thu, 29 May 2008 05:54:51 +0000

TBD

Quick Bites: Stir-Fried Broccolini

Thu, 29 May 2008 01:21:08 +0000

What does SUNNY London, a Chinese artist/ designer, and the world-famous Chelsea Garden Show have to do with this week’s EASY vegetable recipe?? Let me explain…

As you may remember, I was JUST in China 2 1/2 weeks ago (YIKES!!) traveling and researching several articles, BUT I missed meeting Shao Fan, an internationally recognized designer who had gone to London to build the FIRST-EVER Chinese garden for the show. (I am writing about him for an article in the NY Times.) SO I followed him to London for an interview and it was there, in the garden (video to come later) that I was inspired to do a simple Stir-Fried Broccolini for this week’s “Quick Bite” to launch our upcoming video’s on my trip to China. Next week, we offer a NEAT video and an introduction to a “Shanghai Golden Pancake”, a WONDERFUL, new snack that I had never tasted before!!! Just wait until you see it!

In the meantime, enjoy this stir-fry, one of my “staple” recipes that I make for my family and serve with grilled or pan-fried seafood or meat with some steamed rice, couscous, quinoa, etc. I like to use different vegetables (same recipe) depending on the season and then add leftovers to soups, stews, or reheat quickly in my microwave for 1.5 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Nina

Quick Bites: Stir-Fried Broccolini

Wed, 28 May 2008 04:57:29 +0000

What does SUNNY London, a Chinese artist/ designer, and the world-famous Chelsea Garden Show have to do with this week’s EASY vegetable recipe?? Let me explain…

As you may remember, I was JUST in China 2 ∏ weeks ago (YIKES!!) traveling and researching several articles, BUT I missed meeting Shao Fan, an internationally recognized designer who had gone to London to build the FIRST-EVER Chinese garden for the show. (I am writing about him for an article in the NY Times.) SO I followed him to London for an interview and it was there, in the garden (video to come later) that I was inspired to do a simple Stir-Fried Broccolini for this week’s “Quick Bite” to launch our upcoming video’s on my trip to China. Next week, we offer a NEAT video and an introduction to a “Shanghai Golden Pancake”, a WONDERFUL, new snack that I had never tasted before!!! Just wait until you see it!

In the meantime, enjoy this stir-fry, one of my “staple” recipes that I make for my family and serve with grilled or pan-fried seafood or meat with some steamed rice, couscous, quinoa, etc. I like to use different vegetables (same recipe) depending on the season and then add leftovers to soups, stews, or reheat quickly in my microwave for 1.5 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Nina

Quick Bites: Toasted Sesame Green Beans

Wed, 14 May 2008 05:30:49 +0000

“Easy Veggie Dishes” is the theme of our new “Quick Bite” series Lets’ face it, we ALL could use more delicious, easy veggie dishes. I just came back from China and walking around the streets to markets and Chinese “fast food” stalls, I was inspired to throw what’s fresh from the market into a HOT wok, with a few seasonings (ALWAYS chopped garlic), salt or soy sauce, maybe some hot chiles and serve it hot and fast. But then you could do something like we show in this video…. I like to serve these beans warm or at room temperature. They’re also a nice bed for a layered salad with other vegetables like roasted red peppers, and left-over cooked meat or seafood. I use a simple sesame vinaigrette for a dressing. (The recipe is in a number of my books including “Spices of Life, “Spoonful of Ginger”, and “Asian Noodles”.

Green beans make me nostalgic because they remind me of the greens beans my Mom used to make on Thanksgiving. She used to pan-fry them with some onions in a pan, using a combination of water and soy sauce. She first covered them with a lid until they were crisp-tender, then uncovered the pan and reduced the juice to a glaze. I still love them- hot or cold.


Enjoy! More Quick Bites and highlights from my trip to China- coming up!!

Nina

BTW, if any of you remember Hailey Hao from previous videos, Hailey is in Sichuan getting married. BTW, Sichuan province is where they had the BIG earthquake in China, but I am THRILLED to say, she is okay and not affected- even though her parents live about 5 hours away.

GOOD Chinese Food Revealed

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:29:13 +0000

Before Jennifer 8. Lee wrote her intriguing new book, “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles”, everyone thought that Chinese fortune cookies were invented by an Italian in San Francisco. Not so! And you will have to read her book to discover their TRUE origin. Jennifer, as I discovered over lunch at one of my favorite new restaurants in Boston (Watch the video to see where I EAT MY DUMPLINGS ) is funny and smart. PLUS like me, she is obsessed with finding GREAT Chinese food. Okay they may not be AUTHENTIC Chinese, but they can be fun- especially if you add “in bed” at the end of your fortune. May you live a long, healthy, and happy life!! (in bed and out) Nina

Best of FOOD Show (Pt. II)

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:59:04 +0000

Welcome back to the Fancy Food Show 2008, this time with the most INCREDIBLE cheeses you've ever seen or tasted! Paula Lambert is a CHEESE ICON (think Marilyn Monroe of the Mozzarella industry) who, in 1982, after living in Italy, she craved her freshly-made buffalo mozzarella. What did she do? She decided to make her own! And so armed with fierce determination, Southern charm, and a love of Italian cheese, she founded the Mozzarella Company (http://www.mozzco.com/) to bring gourmet cheeses to the American public. The rest, as we say, is history…


From her trademark fresh mozzarella to her goats' milk cheeses, (even a dessert cheese!!), everything I tasted was MEMORABLE!! Watch the video to find out more about this amazing woman and her award-winning creations. Also, check out the recipe section for a few of Paula's favorite cheese pairings and a quick and delicious recipe for Chicken with Fresh Mozzarella!

Bellissimo!

Nina

Best of FOOD Show (Pt.I)

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:52:19 +0000

Want to be a "fly on the wall" at this year's Fancy Food Show, an event that features over FIFTY THOUSAND of the NEWEST, HOTTEST (pardon the expression) GOURMET food?? That’s what I did with my Nokia N93 Digital camera/telephone in San Diego a few months ago. But rather than put everyone through the TORTURE of visiting MANY food stalls and sampling everything from Indian food to stone-pressed chocolate, I selected my “BEST OF SHOW” for this and other upcoming videos. Their new “flavored salts” were my number one choice for some of the most innovative “fancy” foods I saw there...
Meet Mark Zoske and Naomi Novotny, who are obsessed, with salt- and not just with each other (they're engaged!!) –and they are creating some of the neatest salts- in addition to importing them from all the world. They're the founder and vice president of Salt Works (http://www.saltworks.com/), From Vintage Merlot to Green Chile, their high-quality salts are chock-full of delicious flavors and culinary creativity (it took them YEARS to figure out how to infuse salt with the full flavor of Merlot!). Check out the video and all their other amazing flavors!

Salt often takes a bad rap for raising blood pressure, but a little salt is absolutely necessary for the body to function. In fact, according to the American Dietetic Association (http://www.eatright.org/), the body needs at least 500mg of salt per day in order for all your muscles (including your heart) to work properly. So I say, if you need salt, it might was well be good salt, right?!