Drenched in vanilla and cinnamon

My pan de muerto, fresh from the oven

What better time than the holidays to forget about dieting and go all out for decadent treats? The problem is I already indulge myself year-round. In late October I attended a Mexican bread making workshop, and I still feel guilty about the ridiculous amounts of butter and sugar we used to make our bread.

La Cocina, San Francisco’s food entrepreneur incubator, organized the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muerto) traditional bread workshop. I like Mexican bread for its dense, scone-like texture and was curious to know how it’s made. The opportunity to bake my own bread and taste it fresh from the oven was too good to pass.

Chef Luis of Chaac Mool Yucatecan Food, a beneficiary of La Cocina, was our instructor. More than 20 of us made it to La Cocina’s kitchen in the Mission District on a weekday night, wore the apron provided to us, and listened attentively to Chef Luis’s introduction of the pan de muerto (Bread of the Dead) traditions and the recipes we would be making.

Dia de los Muerto offerings on a makeshift altar

Pan de muerto, a type of yeasted sweet bread, is offered to the dead as part of the Dia De Los Muerto celebrations. Mexican families set up an altar in their homes and present deceased family and friends with their favorite foods and beverages. The occasion is meant to be festive and not somber – just look at the colorful paper-cut decorations on the altar.

Because Chef Luis doesn’t speak English, a translator repeated what he said in Spanish in English. Although I don’t understand Spanish, I could tell Chef Luis, in his crisp chef uniform, spoke assertively and eloquently. La Cocina does a great service helping immigrant entrepreneurs like Chef Luis tap into their culinary talents and broaden the reach of their home-country cuisines in the Bay Area. He now runs a Yucatan food stand in San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center.

Chef Luis and his translator addressing the group

We first made the standard pan de muerto. Chef Luis already mixed and leavened the dough for us, and each of us got a ball of dough. Suffice to say that the dough contained a lot of sugar, butter, milk, and eggs. There's also a hint of citrus because of the lemon and orange zests and juices mixed into it.

We took some extra dough and rolled it into decorations for the bread. Never good at crafts, I placed a simple cross on top of my dough. Then I sprinkled some sesame seeds onto it.

Finished decorating the dough and chilling

My pan de muerto before baking with the cross on top

After placing our pan de muerto into the oven, we moved on to the next recipe: pan patas de crema. Chef Luis said this sweet bread is his family specialty. We first made a cinnamon cream by mixing cinnamon, sugar, vanilla extract, butter, and flour together, then rolled the same dough we used for the pan de muerto over the cream.

Because the cinnamon cream was too watery and didn’t stick to the dough initially, we had to keep adding butter and flour to the cream. It’s unbelievable how much butter we used.

Our hands were all dirty and smelled of vanilla and cinnamon by the time we shaped the dough into a log (maybe this is why the bread is called pan patas because patas means limbs in Spanish). Chef Luis suggested that we brush the dough with more cinnamon cream to give the bread a golden-brown color. I was still coming to terms with the high-fat, high-sugar content of the dough so I resisted.

Chef Luis’s family specialty: pan patas de crema

Pan patas de crema out of the oven

After the pan patas de crema went into the oven, we finally had dinner. Coincidentally, the woman next to me and I were the only vegetarians in the group. Our dinner platter consisted of mushrooms cooked in cheese, refried beans, a tostada – all topped with a black, mole-like chimole sauce. Chimole is a Yucatan condiment made from chili peppers, onion, garlic, spices and has a smoky flavor. The non-vegetarians got turkey.

Vegetarian dinner platter: mushrooms, cheese, refried beans, and tostada in chimole sauce

The dinner was decent but no match for the ever-stronger smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the kitchen. Out of the oven, the breads were huge with a hard surface. We were like kids marveling at our creations and taking pictures. This might be the best part of baking: the magical feeling of creating something delicious out of such simple ingredients as flour, butter, and sugar.

Because Whole Foods was a sponsor of the event (most of the ingredients were from its 365 brand), we all left with a Whole Foods shopping bag to carry our bread. The bread was warm and supposedly we should let it cool before eating, but the smell of vanilla and cinnamon won over my self-control.

As I walked to the 24th Street BART station,  I couldn’t stop nibbling on the crunchy coating and dense interior of the pan patas de crema. I finished the entire loaf of bread when I arrived at the station. Guess how long I could keep my hands off the pan de muerto for the rest of my trip home.

Non-stop eating in Singapore, part II

Another food outlet that was on my must-try list during my 36-hour trip to Singapore was a bakery chain called Breadtalk.

Breadtalk in Bugis Junction

Started in Singapore, Breadtalk is one of the few bakery chains that managed to expand across Asia including the tough-to-crack China market. I first learned about Breadtalk when it opened its first store in Hong Kong several years ago, but I’ve never tried it. I was curious to find out what the buzz was about at Breadtalk’s home base.

I need excuses to eat my favorite baked goods too.

Breadtalk has many branches in Singapore and the one I stumbled upon is in the underground food mall at Bugis Junction. My first impression was that the store looked Japanese with its modern and airy design. The buns felt Japanese too – they were small and soft with interesting fillings from adzuki bean paste to cream cheese. Some items had a Singaporean/Chinese touch, such as the use of pork floss (shredded dried pork).

I bought several buns among the dozens on sale, then I saw another bakery as I wandered around the mall. I couldn’t remember the bakery’s name, but it follows the same Japanese style as Breadtalk. The sight of display cases overflowing with buns got the better of me. I picked up a couple from this bakery too.

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Once I returned to the hotel, it’s time for a taste test. Some items in contention (you can see them in the photo album) included: Breadtalk’s flaky pastry filled with banana and cream cheese; Mr. Hakkaido, a long bun spread with adzuki and white kidney beans; the other bakery’s brioche cube with cream cheese filling and pumpkin seeds bun, among others.

Considering their taste and texture, Breadtalk won easily.

But my Singaporean friends told me later that Breadtalk is no longer considered among the best bakeries in Singapore. At least it’s better than the Japanese bakeries in the US though!

I don’t want to bore you with more details of my food adventures in Singapore, so I’m going to stop here. Other memorable bits from the trip that had to do with food:

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- traditional Singaporean breakfast of kaya (coconut jam) toast and kopi (coffee with condensed milk) in a hawker center, and you actually use a spoon to drink the coffee

- curry puff with potato filling and spicy sambar from another hawker center

- vegetarian laksa (though I didn’t try) and other Chinese vegetarian food stalls near the Kwan Im Temple

- endless shopping malls with large food courts and emporiums in major commercial areas (people probably need to stay indoors whenever possible because of the hot and humid weather)

- I brought my running shorts but quickly gave up exercising once I realized how much food there was to check out in Singapore

And finally, thanks to Gina and Siyin for having dinner with me and helping me buy kaya to bring back home. I’m still using it to spread my breakfast toasts…

Note: Yay, this is my 50th post, a mini-milestone for this blog that I should have reached two months ago. THANKS for reading!

Refreshing Saturday hike, vegan lunch, and more

After a busy week at work, I was frazzled and desperately needed some fresh air. So I went hiking over the weekend.

San Andreas Reservoir after the rain

My destination was San Andreas Trail along the ridge separating San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. I was drawn to it by its views and this was my first time there. The weather was dreary with some drizzles, so there were fewer people than usual. All the better because I can’t stand crowds.

The hike was short but rejuvenating. The sun re-emerged after the rain and bounced off the water in the tranquil San Andreas Reservoir. The air was clean and crisp. I even saw deer along the trail. My composure returned.

Not in a zoo…deer grazing along the trail

What’d be better than a raw, vegan lunch after a refreshing hike? I picked the interestingly named Que SeRaw SeRaw in Burlingame, which I’ve meant to try for a long time.

The store was small and all its products were in a refrigerated case for take-out. Knowing it’s my first visit, the cheerful storeowner recommended the mock tuna pate, a white mixture made from ground almonds, sunflower seeds, tahini, celery, and other ingredients. At $7, it was quite pricey for two small mounds of pate.

Que SeRaw SeRaw storefront in Burlingame

I was pretty hungry so I also grabbed a packet of Judy’s Breadsticks dipping sticks from the natural food store next door. Then I sat outside and enjoyed my lunch.

Perfect match:  Judy’s Breadsticks and mock tuna pate

The pate was remarkably fresh and had a toothsome texture. It tasted a bit like tuna salad (probably from the kelp powder), but without the fishy smell. It complemented the crunchy dipping sticks perfectly. I’d love to try other products from the store in the future.

Although the sun came out, it was still breezy. I rounded out my lunch with a steaming cup of cafe au lait. It’s amazing how simple things like this satisfied me.

After the hike and a healthy lunch, I felt I had a good excuse to indulge myself in the evening. I wanted to use up a can of sweet adzuki bean paste that had been standing in my pantry for months. I made a vegan adzuki bean paste cake.

I spread the bean paste on top of a cake base made from a recipe in Dreena Burton’s Eat Drink and Be Vegan. To give the cake a more mochi-like texture, I substituted some of the wheat flour with glutinous rice flour.

Sweet ending: adzuki bean cake

The bean paste turned out to be too sweet for my taste. Nonetheless, the cake was a great end for the day.

Breakfast sugar battle

I felt guilty when I saw that I haven't written a post for 3 weeks. January was unusually busy for me, and now we're in February, I know I can't put off writing anymore.

A friend asked me recently how I am keeping my New Year's resolution to eat less sugar. Do you want to know too?

While overall I've succeeded in having just one BIG dessert each week, I found it's difficult to eliminate sugar completely from other meals, especially breakfast.

Since coming to the U.S., I've grown used to eating something just a bit sweet in the morning. Fruits containing natural sugars are okay. What I've been trying is to avoid added sugars in breakfast foods.

Believe it or not, many kinds of breads in the market contain added sugars, be them honey, molasses, or plain white sugar. French or Italian breads tend not to have them, but sandwich bread and other eggy breads such as challah usually do.

I typically don't eat muffins or pancakes for breakfast either because they are too sweet for my palate in the morning.

But there are times when sweet cravings strike. So my strategy of dealing with them? I make my healthier version of sweet baked goods.

Previously I only did so over weekends when I had more time. I've since found easier recipes that I can make on weeknights, so I can have homemade baked goods in the morning. Weird as it sounds, baking at night is also a stress reliever after a long day.

The recipes are mostly quick bread recipes that keep well in the fridge so I can eat them over the week. Not only did I cut down the amount of sugar in the recipes significantly, but I also used applesauce to substitute for the eggs and most of the oil, and white whole wheat flour to increase fiber content.

Here are two recipes I felt were superb: cranberry tea bread adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe, and gingerbread cake adapted from a New York Times recipe.

Vegan cranberry tea bread featuring fresh cranberries sitting in my freezer

 

Incredibly moist vegan gingerbread (applesauce) cake

The secret ingredients were the orange or lemon zests in the batter. They lifted the quick breads by giving them a fresh and fragrant flavor. Thanks to the applesauce, the quick breads were wonderfully moist. You wouldn't know they are vegan and contain no eggs.

So things are going alright. There were days I felt so tired after returning home from work that I slipped and stuffed myself with less than healthy food. Getting enough sleep every day is key for me going forward so I'll have the willpower to stick to my regimen and win the sugar battle.

In fact, I am even snoozing when writing this post...

 

What is this? Yeah, the panettone I shouldn't have eaten 

for dinner and breakfast, but it was delicious...

Much belated New Year resolution

Wow, the first two weeks of the year went by like a whirlwind as I was super-busy at work. This weekend, I finally get to put my thoughts together.

I typically don't make New Year resolutions. Looking back at 2009, however, there were a few things I wish I could have done differently. Self-help experts say putting them on paper (or sharing them publicly like on this blog) will help drive changes. I thought: why not give it a try?

I will spare you the more personal goals. My top food-related resolution for the New Year is to cut down on sugar in my diet.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I have a BIG sweet tooth. Just look at the number of posts tagged with "desserts" on this blog. I can think about sweets, especially cakes, all day.

During the week I have pretty good self-control and can keep myself away from sweets. (I resisted the urge by looking at pictures of sweets online). But come the weekend, my defense broke down and I could just eat sweets, almost nothing else (I still had some fruits).

It got worse during the holiday season, which coincided with my birthday. It gave me additional excuses to indulge in sweets. I recently tallied up how much I made/bought/ate over the holidays and I was shocked to say the least.

Everyone knows the harmful effects of excessive sweets on our health. In my experience, my energy level tanked quickly after a sugar-induced high. I may be paranoid, but I'm really worried about developing chronic diseases like diabetes down the road.

I felt I need to change this bad habit right away.

Abstaining from sugar is not going to work. There's no way I can eat just one cookie or one tiny serving of cake at one time either, so portion control is out of the question.

My strategy is to have sweets as a meal and thoroughly enjoy it only ONCE A WEEK. If I have sugar cravings at other times, I'd reach for hot water (yes, surprising but it works), nuts, lesser evils (in my case at least) such as chips and crackers.

So how did I do so far? I didn't completely adhere to my strategy, but close. My willpower wavered and I had small amounts of sugar here and there. Another problem also emerged: I ate too much of other non-sugary snacks.

My first "sugar-meal" in 2010 was a German pancake called pfannkuchen for brunch. It's actually more like a sponge cake but much easier to make (no flipping of pancakes).

I got the recipe from the cookbook Totally Vegetarian and served slices of the cake with sliced banana, maple syrup, cranberry jam, and peanut butter alternatively. Moist and lightly sweet with an hint of almond, I savored it to the last bite. Then it'd be another week before I had sweets again!

Pfannkuchen topped with sliced almonds fresh out of the oven

A slice of pfannkuchen served with sliced banana and maple syrup

This exercise can be taxing, but I am still forging ahead, learning and adapting along the way. Do you have any food/diet-related resolutions? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Budget tour de France

What do the following have in common? (Hint: post title)

a. Macarons, gateaux, viennoiseries
b. Pierre Herme, Laduree, Gerard Mulot
c. Dorie Greenspan, David Lebovitz, Ina Garten

Welcome to the world of French pastries! Like many people who love sweets, I dream of visiting Paris and sampling exquisite French pastries (a) at some of its most venerable patisseries (b). Despite my very limited French, I want to follow the footsteps of American chefs (c) who call Paris their second home, and pretend I am a local to experience French life to the fullest. (Perhaps Ina Garten is a stretch, she's REALLY American.)

Back to reality. I have neither the money nor time to take a grand tour of Paris.

The Bay area has a fair number of places such as Bouchon in Napa Valley that sell French sweets, but they are pricey. Trader Joe's now sells macarons in the frozen section at very affordable prices, but seriously, they tasted terrible even though I've had macarons only a handful of times in my life. So what can a budget Francophile do?

LU biscuits to the rescue. I first encountered LU during my first French lessons at Alliance Francaise in Washington, DC. Madame Auclair, our teacher, often brought several packets of LU to class. There were always LU's signature Le Petit Ecolier biscuits - buttery biscuits coated with chocolate depicting a little schoolboy. I love nibbling so I tried hard to keep my hands away from the biscuits. I knew M. Auclair and my classmates in the small class could figure out how many I ate easily.

LU's signature Le Petit Ecolier biscuits

I made myself believe every bite would transport me to Europe

Call it self-delusion, but every time I had LU, I felt I was eating something uniquely European (and it is too). My two favorite LU biscuits are Le Petit Beurre and Rich Tea. They are simple, crispy biscuits with a rich, buttery flavor and nothing else, and they don't weigh you down like shortbread.

I am surprised to find LU in almost every supermarket now, likely because its acquisition by Kraft in 2007 has opened up a vast distribution network. The biscuits are straight from France, and a packet costs only about $3.

Just be careful that some flavors contain artificial ingredients. I wonder if Kraft introduced them to cut costs just like what many food manufacturers have done to brands they bought, but that's another story.

Obviously I can make French sweets at home, but many of them are infamously complicated. I finally came across a recipe on David Lebovitz's blog (check it out, he's a former Chez Panisse pastry chef now living in Paris, I LOVE his sarcastic but incredibly humorous tone) for pain d'epices, kind of a French version of gingerbread.

Freshly baked pain d'epices, coated with sliced almonds

It's simple to make and promises some complex flavors derived from a melange of spices (including pepper!), orange zest, and honey. I had never used dark rye flour before but it really deepened the flavors. This is great for breakfast or an afternoon snack, and is even better when served warm.

A slice of pain d'epices - even the crumbs were delicious

Next time when I have the chance to visit Paris, I'll find out whether pain d'epices is as commonplace in France as David described. Before then, I am planning to read Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets over Christmas, drool over the recipes, and imagine my eventual trip to the City of Light.

Weekend dispatches from the kitchen

Sorry that I haven't updated this blog as often as I want. The last couple of weeks were filled with commitments that it was difficult to set aside time to write. Now that it's November, I know I cannot put it off any longer, otherwise you may never come back!

I try to make more complicated dishes over weekends. Not only because I have more time, but I find it to be a huge stress reliever. I am a constantly on-the-go person and there are often a hundred things in my head at one time (this is NOT bragging!). Cooking is one of the few activities that can force me to let go of my immediate concerns and focus on what I have on my hands: create something delicious. Obviously I have to stay alert because the kitchen can be a dangerous place!

I agree 100% with one of my friends who said cooking is therapeutic. The process of creating something is very satisfying to me. Unlike other pursuits such as sports that require lots of hard work and perseverance before you begin to see payoffs, cooking is relatively easy. Also a bonus: you get to eat what you make.

One of my recent weekend projects was an arugula/carrot frittata, adapted from my favorite cookbook Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. This also helped me use up leftover veggies in my fridge. I'm not a big fan of cheese so I left it out, and there were probably more veggies than eggs, so this is not a typical frittata. But it was delicious and comforting, especially when eaten along with toasted crumpets (kind of like English muffins). I'll certainly add this to my brunch repertoire.

Arugula-Carrot Frittata with Toasted Crumpets 

 

Because of my fascination with baking, I am naturally a fan of Dorie Greenspan, one of the doyennes of baking in America. Her specialty is French baking, and I've learned SO MUCH about fancy French pastries (macarons, the Pierre Herme cult, etc.) from her blog. Her Baking: From My Home to Yours is a definitive work in baking, but because it's a tomb of 500+ pages, I was hesitant to pick it up from my neighborhood library although I saw it on the shelf for a couple of times.

I finally mustered up the courage to take it home one weekend. After flipping through many luscious pictures AND painfully long recipes of cakes, tarts, and pies, I decided to try two that I believed were manageable: Chewy, Chunky Blondies and Swedish Apple Cake that is a variation of the Swedish Visiting Cake in the book.

 Dorie's Chewy, Chunky Blondies

Dorie's simple yet elegant Swedish Apple Cake

Not surprisingly, both turned out to be wonderful, despite my limited baking skills and using 50% less sugar in the batter. The blondies flecked with chocolate chips and shredded coconut had a hefty texture but you'd certainly ask for more, while the apple cake was simple yet sophisticated. I am looking to tackle more of Dorie's recipes in the future, so please stay tuned!

Simple faux oyster sauce from home

Oyster sauce - thick, black-brown, savory with a hint of sweetness - is a must-have in Chinese cooking. Made from oyster extract, it's off-limits for vegetarians. Although vegetarian oyster sauce is now widely available, I am reluctant to stock it because of the artificial ingredients and preservatives usually added to it. Fortunately, after some experimentation, I've discovered an easy substitute with an eerily similar flavor that I can make at home.

I am embarrassed to call it out here because it's so simple: just mix tamari/soy sauce and molasses together!

Molasses's flavor is intense so you want to use it judiciously; otherwise the sauce will end up too sweet. Not many recipes feature molasses, so it's a great way to use up any leftover molasses from the all the gingerbread baking in the winter months.

Hearty bok-choy, tofu, mushroom stir-fry

The dish that features my faux oyster sauce today is a straightforward stir-fry of bok-choy, sliced tofu, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and dried kombu. After heating all ingredients in oil laced with ginger for a couple of minutes, I seasoned the dish with a sauce made from my oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, water, and a little bit of cornstarch. Like other stir-fries it's a homey, hearty dish, best served with a bowl of steamed rice.

As a dessert fanatic, I cannot resist sneaking in a treat I made recently to round up this post. These date-nut squares are from (again and again) Isa's Vegan with a Vengeance, my stand-by vegan cookbook. Made by layering chopped boiled dates and walnuts on a shortbread crust, these squares are rich, sweet, crunchy, and salty at the same time. They also contain no added sugar since the dates provide the sweetness. If not because I last made a coconut dessert, adding shredded coconut to the topping would be an interesting variation to try.

Sweet, crunchy, buttery date-nut squares

A sweet, decadent end to summer

This summer went by in a snap. It wasn't long ago when I welcomed summer with an end-of-winter cake. Before summer's official end, I had decided to indulge myself for the last time. So I made an over-the-top, decadent vegan coconut cake over Labor Day weekend.

Decadent, vegan coconut layered cake

As a coconut devotee, I love coconut cake. Unfortunately, most coconut cakes in the market are laden with thick, fatty buttercream frosting, of which I am hardly a fan. Vegan cakes provide a healthier alternative since the frosting is often made from silken tofu instead of dairy products. So I jumped at Canadian vegan cookbook author Dreena Burton's Coconut Cake recipe in her Eat, Drink & Be Vegan cookbook when I saw it.

Since I don't have a blender, it's difficult to make smooth, tofu-based frosting. That's why I was excited to pick up Nasoya's new Silken Creations, a pre-blended tofu dessert starter, from the grocery store. It's in pudding form originally, so I mixed some Earth Balance margarine into it to make it more spreadable as the frosting for the cake.

The cake turned out to be moist and flavorful although I cut down on the sugar and fat in the recipe significantly. The fragrant shredded coconut that I bought from Whole Foods really made a difference. I cut the cake into slices and stacked them one on another to form a three-layered cake. The tofu frosting, however, ended up being too runny. I spread some of it between the layers and poured the rest over the cake like a glaze. I didn't add any sugar to the frosting because the tofu already has it, but it was still way too sweet for me.

Next time when I make this cake, I'd either leave out the frosting or make it from scratch so I can control the sugar content. My attempt at layering the cake definitely made it look more sophisticated and less homespun though, so presentation does matter!

Bonus great find: I also bought Shady Maple Farms' Organic Stroopwafels (Dutch-style wafer cookies) with maple-flavored filling when I was at Whole Foods. They were exquisitely made and tasted amazing! Couldn't restrain myself from finishing them all at once...

Shady Maple Farms' Stroopwafels from Canada

Crunchy, chewy, and delicately sweet - all in one bite

Happy Birthday to Mom

Spiced plum vegan birthday cake for my mom

Note to Mom: Sorry this is overdue!

This weekend was my Mom's birthday. Although she's in Hong Kong, I meant to give her a surprise and write about the birthday cake I made for her on this blog. My mom, who became a vegetarian a long time ago, was the first person who told me back in the 90s that a vegetarian diet is much less energy-intensive than an omnivorous diet (read this Mark Bittman NYT article for a detailed analysis). Environmental considerations are one of my top, if not the most important, reasons for becoming a vegetarian. That's why I want to dedicate this vegan, low-fat spiced plum cake to her on her birthday. By the way, my mom looks much younger than she is, which I believe is in part because of her vegetarian diet. Her compassion and selfless spirit certainly help too!

I combined the recipes for the Rosy Peach Cake from FatFree Vegan Kitchen and Spiced Nectarine Cake from Bon Appetit, and substituted the fruits in these recipes with plums. I was on a shopping high at the farmers' market the previous weekend and bought more fruits than I could consume, and by this weekend my fridge still overflowed with plums. My mom is never a fan of frosted cakes, so I thought she would like this simple cake that made use of plums at their peak.

I cut down on the sugar called for and used only two teaspoons of oil in the batter with no detrimental effect. The cake was still moist, lightly sweet, and fragrant because of the plums and rose water in the batter. I sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar on top of the batter before baking to give the cake a rustic, golden-brown hue. As you can tell, I am no expert cake decorator - I simply dusted the cake with powdered sugar to make it a little bit prettier.

Cake dusted with powdered sugar (try pairing it with ice cream!)

Although the cake was great as is, I also tried pairing it with the new coffee ice cream from Starbucks. The combination was wonderful.

Happy Belated Birthday to my mom again!

My summer food adventures

I'm going easy with my post today. A melange of food-related pictures I took in recent weeks for you to ward off that mid-week slump. Hold on for just a couple more days for the weekend!

SF's Civic Center farmers' market with the City Hall as backdrop

This farmers' market in San Francisco's Civic Center is my favorite in the city. You can find a wide variety of produce - Asian, organic, heirloom - at very affordable prices. You get a real flavor of San Francisco's diversity because the clientele really come in all stripes. I think it's much better than the more famous but ridiculously overpriced Ferry Plaza farmers' market.

Ultimate instant gratification: cheap Cantonese, vegetarian dim-sums from SF's Chinatown (I need to take better food pictures!)

Staying true to my Hong Kong upbringing, I crave Cantonese dim-sums every now and then. They are not what I can make at home easily, so I am thrilled to find a great place in San Francisco's Chinatown for them: Good Mong Kok Bakery. You know it's good when you see Chinese housewives squeezing into the small store and coming out with boxes of their freshly made dim-sums. Be prepared to be decisive AND aggressive when getting what you want though as neither the counter-lady nor other customers will hesitate to yell at you if you are in their way. These are good, cheap dim-sums indeed. Ten pieces including vegetarian steamed buns, dumplings, scallion flatbread, sesame ball, pastries, all for under $6, transported me to carb heaven instantly.

Focaccia topped with black olives and peppers, served with marinated pepper salad and tortilla chips

There's a gentleman who sells homemade focaccia and other Italian breads and pastries at the Millbrae farmers' market in the Peninsula. He often sells out pretty early, but I got to snatch a piece topped with black olives and sliced peppers last weekend. I warmed it up in the oven and ate it along with homemade marinated pepper salad and lime-flavored tortilla chips from my favorite brand, FoodShouldTasteGood. The focaccia was chewy and fragrant (and without cheese!), and a good value at $4 apiece that's good for two big meals.

Low-fat banana bread for breakfast to satisfy my sweet tooth

Finally, something more healthful, but not quite. I had to use up a bunch of almost rotten bananas so I made banana bread by adapting the Blueberry-Banana Bread recipe from the blog Fat Free Vegan. I left out the blueberries, but followed the recipe by using mostly applesauce in place of oil to make it lower in fat. It satisfied my sweet tooth as I try to stay away from desserts during the week, and was still incredibly moist and yummy.

Summer concert treats

You know summer is in full bloom when outdoor concerts are everywhere. Down in the Peninsula where I live, every town has its own series of concerts, providing free entertainment in different musical genres during a leisurely afternoon or early evening. Listening to music while people-watching or meditating is relaxing enough, but being ambitious as always, I was determined to complete the picture with a homemade picnic meal.

It didn't happen. On a recent Sunday after I had my morning jog, bought groceries from the farmers' market, and cleaned my apartment, I wasn't in the mood of cooking several dishes from scratch to bring to the concert. So I picked up a baguette and some roasted red pepper hummus from a store, and dashed to the Washington Park in Burlingame, where the concert took place. I did bring something homemade though - ginger cookies I made the night before to go along with the picnic meal I had thought I would prepare.

These homey ginger cookies are, again, from Isa Chandra's Vegan with a Vengeance. With a strong molasses undertone, these cookies are not for everyone. But I like their rich, complex flavor and the fragrance that come with every bite. I substituted most of the oil with applesauce screaming "Use me" in my fridge, so the cookies turned out to be more cakey than crispy.

I couldn't remember the name of the band or the type of music it played, but the concert was great. A delightful Sunday afternoon indeed.

Ginger cookies with a strong molasses flavor

Sunday open-air concert in Burlingame's Washington Park

All my efforts to lower my fat intake by using applesauce in the cookies went down the drain though when I bought Haagen-Dazs Five Vanilla Bean ice cream later in the day because it's on sale (and hey, it's hot too!). Made from only five ingredients (milk, sugar, cream, eggs, vanilla beans), its gelato-like texture topped my expectations as the Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream, also from Haagen-Dazs, did a while back. Served with crumbled Belgian-style almond biscuits from Trader Joe's, it was another hugely satisfying indulgence.

Haagen-Dazs Five vanilla ice cream with crumbled almond biscuits

Whole Foods July 4th shopping spree

Over the July 4th weekend I also went to Whole Foods Market for a shopping spree. It's true that Whole Foods is pricey, but after scouring various stores in the Bay area, I've found that for many natural or organic brand-name food products, you find the best bargains at Whole Foods. Going to Whole Foods is like stepping into a candy store every time - there's an overwhelming range of products shouting at you, and I can easily spend more than an hour in the store checking out new and sales items without even starting to get what I set out to buy (not to mention tons of money). Among the items I bought this time were vegan deli meat from Field Roast Grain Meat, Nayonaise (vegan mayonnaise), and the always visually stunning Terra Blues Potato Chips. I felt like scoring a win when I left the store because these items were not only on sale, but I also had coupons to cut down their prices further. Hey, don't frown, I am a guerrilla vegetarian after all!

Shopping booty from Whole Foods

I put together a quick sandwich with some leftover multi-grain bread I bought from Arizmendi Bakery, vegan deli meat, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, Nayonaise and roasted red pepper hummus, and served it alongside the blue potato chips. I know I raved about the bread from Arizmendi Bakery before, but the multi-grain bread was another winner. After a few days on the countertop, it still smelled fantastic, and the molasses in it left me wanting for more like a drug every time I had it. I have a weakness for the Terra Blues chips too - I first encountered it on a JetBlue flight, during which the chips were served as a snack. Kudos to both companies for their great marketing as I now associate the blue chips with JetBlue top-of-mind, and I actually tell people about them, like what I'm doing now. I don't know if it's the color of the chips, slightly sweet taste, or plain good crunchiness, I have since become a devotee and they remain one of my most favorite chips.

Vegan deli meat sandwich served with blue Terra chips

To continue with the July 4th-patriotic-color theme, I made a vegan blueberry coffee cake from Isa's Vegan with a Vengeance. Perhaps because I halved the amount of sugar used, the cake tasted a bit bland. I also substituted applesauce for a lot of the oil, so it was quite dry and dense. I guess it's the trade-off you'll have to make for eating (slightly more) healthy. Anyway, the coffee cake recipe is available from the Post Punk Kitchen site too.

Half-eaten blueberry coffee cake

End-of-winter cake to celebrate the Summer Solstice

Today is the Summer Solstice (obviously Father's Day too), which provides another excuse to celebrate with...desserts! I want to feature a cake that marks the end of the long winter months, a light Orange Cornmeal Cake from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. You are probably wondering - how about spring? Well, while there were days that felt like spring over the last few months in the Bay area, the mornings and evenings continued to be chilly so it's still like winter to me. Now that summer has officially arrived, I hope I don't have to bundle up anymore.

I am fond of Everyday Food because it is the first food magazine that ignited my passion for cooking. I remember poring over the magazine for hours and conjuring up all the dishes I wanted to make. Just a little bit bigger than a wallet, it includes a wide range of easy-to-prepare recipes (both vegetarian and non-veg) every month that are ideal for anyone who wants to cook gourmet but cannot spend hours in the kitchen. Like other Martha Stewart publications, its food photography is top-notch, albeit not as sophisticated looking as that of its sister publication Martha Stewart Living.

Back to the orange cornmeal cake. As summer fruits such as apricots and peaches phase out oranges in farmers' markets, I felt that I was hanging on to the remnants of winter by making this cake. I prefer cakes with some texture and this easy-to-prepare (as always!) cake fits the bill. The cornmeal in the batter makes the cake crumbly but it doesn't fall apart easily like cornbread. The orange juice keeps the cake moist and the zest gives it a slightly tangy flavor. This was actually the first time I used olive oil in baking, and while I didn't taste the oil in the cake at all, I believe the cake became lighter and more delicate because of it. I finished the cake by dusting it with some confectioner's sugar and sprinkling a handful of olalliberries (I bought them from the same farmer as last time) on it. Summer is not the time for heavy, buttercream-laden desserts, so make sure you get to try this cake before the last crop of oranges is over, say for afternoon tea or just as an everyday afternoon snack.

Have a wonderful summer and Father's Day everyone!

Everyday Food's Orange Cornmeal Cake

The quintessential American dessert - carrot cake

I was reading a Bay Area Bites blog post today about the chocolate chip cookie as a classic American dessert. While I agree that there are few treats more satisfying than a warm, gooey, yet slightly crunchy chocolate chip cookie like the one I had at Levain Bakery in New York City (still the best I've ever had), my pick for the quintessential American dessert would be carrot cake instead.

Unlike the chocolate chip cookie or New York cheesecake that suggests decadence and excesses, which unfortunately characterize American desserts for many people, the carrot cake is down-to-earth yet full of surprises. I had rarely had carrot cake before coming to the US, but once I was exposed to it, I got hooked. It's not a fancy dessert for sure, but it so ingeniously incorporates a veggie into a dessert, and along with other ingredients such as walnuts, coconut, and crushed pineapple, the end-result is a delicious combination of textures and flavors that won't leave you with a sugar-high afterwards. I think carrot cake captures the American spirit because most people I've met in the US are simple and forthright, yet they may be passionate about something in such unexpected ways that not only lead to many interesting conversations, but you also can't help but admire them.

Enough of my rambling...this is a food blog after all. My favorite carrot cake recipe is from one of the most unlikely places - the packaging of my Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour. The recipe creator actually won a baking contest because of it, and the cake did not disappoint. It was smooth, moist, and infused with cinnamon flavor like any good carrot cake. A thin layer of cream cheese frosting (I used the vegan Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese) rounded out the cake perfectly.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

The next time I make a carrot cake, I want to try another of my favorite bloggers Heidi Swanson's recipe on her award-winning natural food blog 101 Cookbooks. It doesn't contain any processed sugars - always a plus for me since I eat way too much desserts and need to cut back on sugars!

Baking for breakfast

On weekend mornings when I don't have to rush out of the door to go to work, I often indulge myself by baking pastries for breakfast. Most pastries on the market are high-fat and high-calorie so I try my best to avoid them, whereas if you make your own you can control what goes into them and make them (slightly) more healthful. My breakfast pastries are usually vegan, contain minimal sugar, and are made from less refined flours such as whole wheat pastry and spelt flours. As a result, they have a denser texture and nuttier taste than conventional pastries, but I like them that way and would recommend you to give them a try.

Being impatient and slow as I am, I use recipes that take at most half an hour to make. My favorites are scones and muffins - you don't need a mixer or any fancy equipment, and they allow for much improvisation so you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand. The recipes I've tried are from my favorite vegan author and blogger Isa Moskowitz's bestselling cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance as well as Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. Isa takes an offbeat approach (much like a guerrilla!) to cooking and her recipes are ingeniously inventive, while Nava's are more down-to-earth and suitable for busy family cooks. Nava also makes a conscious effort to make her recipes as healthful as possible, so expect frequent uses of whole wheat flours and fat substitutes such as applesauce in the recipes.

Here are two creations I've been pretty satisfied with: orange raisin scones topped with sunflower seeds and banana chocolate-chip spelt muffins. For me, having freshly baked homemade pastries along with a cup of tea for breakfast is one of the simplest joys of life.

Orange raisin scones topped with sunflower seeds

Banana chocolate-chip spelt muffins

An incredibly easy and yummy vegan cake

So let the real fun begin!

Vegan banana cake with chocolate ganache

My first post on food is about a vegan banana cake that is moist and yummy, easy to prepare, and probably less bad for your health than an usual cake. Like many people who love desserts, I always try to make my creations more healthful, because I know the "everything in moderation" motto is not going to apply and I will probably gobble up an entire cake or a dozen of cookies when they come out fresh of the oven. Although I've been living in the US for a while, I still find most American desserts to be too sweet. I always halve the amount of sugar called for in any dessert recipe, and this cake was no exception.

The cake is based on the Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cake recipe from the PBS show Delicious TV Totally Vegetarian. I really like the recipes featured on Delicious TV, which is hosted by Toni Fiore, because most of them are simple yet sophisticated and delicious. Toni's cooking style is Italian for the most part, but she also ventures into world cuisines such as Asian and Mexican, and make them accessible to people who don't have a full pantry of exotic spices and ingredients like myself. Her show is aired on PBS stations nationwide, so check it out if you get a chance!

I omitted the chocolate chips from the cake batter and whipped up instead a chocolate cream cheese frosting from the Fresh Banana Cake recipe in the 3/09 edition of Vegetarian Times. I applied a thin layer of the frosting on the cake and then topped it with fresh slices of banana. Although the cake does not contain eggs, it still has a moist, custard-like texture thanks to the banana in the batter. The smooth and creamy chocolate frosting adds a decadent touch to the cake. If you like banana, you'll appreciate the faint scent of banana when you bite into the cake. I'd imagine the cake to taste even better if it had more time to rest so the flavors could develop. But I was impatient and liked it warm!

Most important of all, the only tools you need to make the cake are a wooden spoon and several mixing bowls. I don't have a mixer and you don't need one. I am pretty slow in measuring out ingredients, but you should be able to prepare the batter and pop it into the oven in less than 20 minutes. The recipe also lends itself to all sorts of variations, say you can mix nuts or shredded coconut into the batter. I think you can substitute the chocolate frosting for peanut butter frosting too. Banana always goes well with peanut butter =)