What's growing?

I am very fortunate to live in a part of NYC where I have enough space to run my feet through soft grass, plant vibrant flowers, and grow delicious herbs , vegetables, and fruit. Actually my mom does all the gardening. She has this amazing green thumb for making everything grow. I think her and her plants have a bond. They love her and she loves them. Me? I just like to reap the rewards. I do find it relaxing strolling through the garden to see what's going on. Today is my day off and I'm trying to catch some rays but every time I go out the sun runs away. Perhaps my pale body is scaring it away. I'm like an albino that is trapped in the dungeon that is the kitchen with no windows!

a little pot of chives.
mint for mojitos.
even a tiny arugula plant!
my thyme is now blooming tiny fragrant flowers that the bees love.


as is my dill.
look at those healthy figs and fig leaves.


basil trying to bust out. peach butt crack.
cilantro my favorite.
perhaps zuchini? I'm not sure. But it will be a nice surprise!
a big big tomato.

baby plum tomatoes. I love photographing these. They are like tiny jade lanterns strewn about.

and my most prized plant. kaffir lime leaves for thai curries and tom yum goong. watch out for those thorns.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Yesterday I made rotisserie chicken in my Ron Popeil's set it & forget it Ronco Rotisserie. Oh man if you have never tried rotisserie chicken from this amazing contraption then you have no idea what you are missing! It's so simple, the machine, the chicken, but the end product is so so sooooooo good. After the first bite of the crispy golden skin and juicy meat your mind is blown away how delicious it is. Everyone who's had it tells me they have to have a Ronco Rotisserie if only to make chicken (although it makes other delicious meats). I had a whole chicken carcass left over and since the weather has been very rainy I thought it would be perfect to make chicken soup...HOMEMADE! not that chicken soup in a can just add water business! I simmered the bones with some chicken stock (that I always have on hand in plenty because my uncle boils chicken breast for his 4 dogs daily) , apples, carrots, celery, black pepper, bay leaf, scallions, and some herbs I picked from my garden- scallions, flat leaf parsley, dill, and thyme. The broth was so naturally sweet due to all the good things I put in it, beats canned any day! I strained everything out and added some diced carrots, celery, onions, and of course, elbow macaroni and voila!....delicious chicken soup. It would have been awesome if I had some left over chicken meat to add to the soup but it was all picked off with greasy fingers!

Chicken Soup

To make the broth:
1 chicken carcass
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock
2 carrots, chopped into one inch pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped into one inch pieces
1 apple, chopped into one inch pieces
1 sprigs of thyme
5 sprigs of dill
7 sprigs of flat leafed parsley
1 stalk of scallion
half a tablespoon of black peppercorns
2 bay leaves

1. Simmer everything together for 45 min to an hour. Strain everything out.

For the Chicken Soup:
2 carrots, diced half inch cubes
2 stalks celery, diced half inch cubes
half an onion, diced
half box of elbow macaroni
salt & pepper
dill, finely chopped

1. Simmer carrots, celery, and onion in chicken broth.
2. Boil elbow macaroni to al dente.
3. When vegetables are soft add elbow macaroni and simmer for 1 minute.
4. Season with salt and pepper and some finely chopped dill.

Favorite Vietnamese Restaurant: destination Manhattan 3.3 edition

Cong Ly is my favorite vietnamese restaurant in Manhattan. It is located in Chinatown on a small obscure street. The placeis small and a bit cramped but sometimes you have to squeeze to get good food. The spring rolls (cha gio) are out of this world and you must order them right when you sit down because they take a long time. You can't rush goodness like that. Their pho broth is also good. This place is new to me so I haven't tried everything. One thing that they have that I haven't found at other vietnamese restaurants is Banh Beo. Banh Beo is a tiny one to two bite steamed pancake made out of rice flour. When I say pancake I don't mean the type that us westerns associate them as. The size may resemble a blinis but it is nothing like a blinis. It is not cakey or spongey or floury. It is slightly gelatinous in texture, resembling a stiff jello or custard. The taste is a balance of both savory and sweet at the same time. It is topped with dried shrimp, crispy shallots, scallions, and yellow mung beans. At the table you pour on fish dipping sauce (nuoc cham) and chilies marinated in vinegar. Once this is added it is slightly sour and spicy on top of the savory and sweet. It's a whole lot of flavor but the vietnamese do it so well.
Check out this website for some more banh beo explanation, pictures, and recipe.

The owner is a little old man who is so awesome I would go just to hang out with him. He is always happy and welcoming and cracking funny jokes. Too bad the restaurant doesn't have a take away menu or else I would post it up for you folks. But here is a picture of the place. Doesn't that guy leaving look like he is full and happy? He sure does to me!

Cong Ly
124 Hester Street (btwn Bowery & Chrystie St)
New York, NY 10012

Dippin Dots

I had Dippin' Dots for the first time! My flavor of choice was chocolate mint. Ever since I was little I always wanted to try it. It just seemed so cool and mystical unlike broccoli. As I got older I lost that urge since it seems more gimmicky then delicious. But since I'm a big fan of science I had to try it since Dippin' Dots was created by a microbiologist who pioneered the process of cryogenic encapsulation.

While walking around the Woodbury Outlet I passed numerous Dippin' Dot stands and vending machines and I was looking for something refreshing to boost my shopping energy so I figured I would give it a shot. It was pretty interesting. At first scooping the tiny frozen balls into your mouth has a funny mouth feel to it but you get used to that. The ice cream doesn't melt on contact like regular ice cream. I actually had to press it with my tongue against the top of my mouth to get the melting started. The texture is also gummier then conventional ice cream. There must be chemicals added to keep it frozen and in its shape that also lends itself to the gummy texture and slower melting point. I don't think I would have it again but it sure was a "cool" experience!

My Two Little Munchkins

Aren't my two munchkins just too cute! I made these Dora and Diego sugar cookie lollipops for my niece's bday party. The kids loved them! Their mouths were all black from licking the sugar toppers. I have to confess though, I'm a lazy pastry cook. It was a very hectic week for me so I didn't have time to make them from scratch so I opted to buy some store bought ready to bake sugar cookie dough, just slice and bake. I decorated them with royal icing with half closed sleepy eyes. I'm glad they had fun with them. Imagine 20 kids, hopped up on sugar, running around, lips all black from the dye, leaving sugar cookie crumbs all over the floor...precious!