use wht is in ur frigo

so, instead o the typical new yr dinner, we'r prepping for our trip to Seattle/Vancouver, then Whistler. so we'r doing use wht is in the fridge day.
for lunch, i stir fried the cabbage, Chinese style (w/garlic), rice, tofu (pan fried + soy sauce)
then after walk in forest, we began to make his nana's special canteen cookies (chocolate chip) but instead o vanilla extract, recipe says to use orange zest & orange juice (we used blood oranges) it turns out so amazingly yummy & the last batch we added m&m's! o the crunch!


for dinner, we made our version of eggplant parmesan! with tons of tomato sauce, no mozzarella (using smoked gouda), we ate it w/basmati rice stir fried w/zucchini. it turned out so amazingly yummy, our favorite so far!

1:2009 lemon risotto with asparagus & shiitake mushroom

this is mini spice reporting in after a long absence. i guess no one's really writing on ths blog anymore...

i've decided to start writing in this 5 spice blog of my eat-in dine out experiences while i'm here in portland 2009.
so,
first dish i cooked ths yr, recipe found on Food & Wine site, my favorite spot to look up recipes.
intead of shiitake mushroom tho, i used a combo of white/brown button mushrooms+clamshell mushrooms.
basically i cut the recipe in 1/2 because i'm cooking for 2 instead of 4. and american portions 4 servings normally feeds 5-6 to my standard.
tho i prob hv way more veggies than the risotto, which is better anyway, to hv less starch.
n instead of the store bought boxed/canned chicken broth, my frnd allie, suggested using bouillon cubes, vegetables. being italian herself, she doesn't quite understand why in a meatless dish would the recipe call for chicken broth. i'm fine either way. but the bouillon cube worked out fine n i didn't hv to haul something heavy around town.
for the wine, i bought Fat Bastard, allie's recommendation, she's had it b4. turned out great for both drinking n cooking.

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places i hv eaten in portland (PDX)....

STUMPTOWN cafe, yummiest coffee & boulangerie.
Kenny & Zukes:, a jewish deli. such yummy pastrami & all sorts o pickles!
50 Plates, wow, the decor is quite beautiful & the gourmet sliders r just something else, esp the kobe beef one!
Higgins Bar & bistro/ resto, we ate in the bistro/bar section. had this crispy fried garlic in the sauce. very tasty tho a bit on the salty side. huge beer menu! i was told this is a very typical Portland type of resto/food.
Lovely Hula Hands, as named, quite lovely. resto is in the home style located in the mississippi section of portland. also very 'portland' style food, local & current menu. no reservations. i had the duck leg, yum, n he has the milk braised port shoulder. also very delice.
Pho Van, not bad for being far away from little saigon of Bolsa region in southern cal. but they don't serve broken rice here :-(
Pok Pok, this place i visited on last visit to pdx, ther's indoor fine dining n outdoor patio dining. def prefer the outside... tho nowadays, no 1 wd b caught ther i guess. it's a very interesting fusion of the SE Asian cuisine, creative & tasty. no wonder it's resto of the yr, 2007!
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tht's it so far.
just realized how many places i've been to already!
more to come!

my goal is to cook at least a diff dish ea/week. trying things out. nothing crazy like 1 per day. ok, if i'm good at it, 2 per week?