#(there's a few other asian pears apparently)

[yesthatsatumbler]

...oh so that's why they're called that!

(I kept translating their Israeli name as "presidential apple" and couldn't understand what they have to do with presidents. I think it's actually spelled differently?)

They're very tasty! It's almost like an apple, but still obviously a pear. Often a bit too sweet, though.

Nashi pear? Nashi pear! It took about another week and a half to ripen enough for it to be edible. I've tried this one before but it's been a long time and I kind of forgot what it was like?

The nashi pear (pyrus pyrifolia) tastes somewhere in between an apple and a pear. This particular one was very mild and a little bit grainy. I thought it was okay, partner didn't really like it, but I also feel like there's some luck involved with nashi pears because I see plenty of people go mad for them.

All in all maybe not the most exciting fruit, but fun to try nonetheless. Let me know whether you've had a nashi pear and what you thought about it! I'm still waiting for that quince (cydonia oblonga) to ripen and I'll probably make a jam or marmelade out of it, after trying it raw.

[dropthedemiurge]

i started watching because of you and i did not expect to cry so hard over the main character's dad. don't get me wrong, the angst and romance drama is very sad and secondhand embarrassment too but what apparently hits me the hardest rn is the dad stuff. i don't know much about thai society but i can guess they value family a lot and being a sudden orphan must have nerfed the main character's confidence even more

oh also pear is really cute we love to see a girl winning. you go get that education and the life you deserve! im hoping for her sake the writers will be compassionate to her in the ending however that works out. she's so kind to everyone, please be kind to her. it's not her fault she has a somewhat crush on her childhood best friend. that's quite a long time to get to know someone

i also feel bad for the angsty guy like when he showed up drunk the day of the wedding i wanted to close the blinds and give him water. call his heart a fiddle the way he's being played/strung along rn. ten years ago i probably would have read sad angst fics of him and cried for him because he's so obvious about his feelings but clueless guy is so oblivious. but i don't think those secondhand emotions will hit until clueless guy is enlightened so im happy to postpone all of that for later. clueless guy really is quite the train wreck.who knew time wizards could fix light-up snow globes? i want a snow globe that lights up AND plays music. in the show they think it's cheap but that is combining several snowglobe selling points into one. in addition to having fake snow in the sculpture ball!!!!!!

i don't really know what else to say so far im not caught up yet but thanks for exposing me to this. oh also! it's funny they included a cat food commercial in the show. they really know their demographic lol

First of all, I really appreciate you anon sharing your impressions of Be My Favorite with me - but I couldn't be more perplexed when the first message came in without warning and NOTHING indicated me that you were talking about BMF and not some random time wizard shops xDD Anyway, now that I'm on the same page -- YOU GET IT! Anon, you get it. I'm not watching BMF as much for the romance and everything, as I'm watching it to see all character's development (which is done so great) and damn, all the scenes and flashbacks of Kawi, the clueless guy, with his dad are just so. Hitting right in your heart :'))) Not just Thai society, basically in Asian culture they value family and traditions very strongly! (as opposed to western's individualism etc). You can see a lot of Thai, Korean, Japanese series incorporate it so well with showing hierarchy between people, dependence from parents -- but also caring about each other, sticking close with your family and wanting to put all effort into managing that bond. It even extends to other people outside of the family, people being affectionate and bonding with one another and calling their friends family or caring for strangers and helping them because they remind them of their relatives etc.

Sorry for the sidetracking xD Pear is absolutely loveable person but all the characters so far in this series are grey, there is no fully bad or fully good person.👀 I'm really curious to see whether they'll go with Pear.

Clueless guy is maturing with full speed. Pisaeng also found the courage in Kawi and now he'll stand up hopefully to own his life and be confident about it. They all grow and hopefully they'll take care of each other, as it seem to be the message of the show. But... There are still few episodes left and damn, let's get ready for even more angst xD I'm happy that you were motivated to watch Be My Favorite because of my posts! I feel bad sometimes for spamming but the quality, the production, the storytelling is done SO WELL in this series that I cannot help but share and share. Because it's a rare thing nowadays and I'm excited. I literally have no complains about this show at all, I'm fascinated to dig and interpret every single detail.

New episode is coming today! Have fun watching!

[thistransient]

The other day there was nothing particularly new and enticing offered by the fruit purveyors on GrabMart, but there was a sale on pears. I feel neither here nor there about pears but I couldn't remember the last time I'd had one so I indulged. When they turned up they were well swaddled and also rock hard, so I figured they'd just been picked early for export and would soften up in time. A few days later there was zero change but I was desperate for something crunchy and cut one open anyways, only to discover it was perfectly edible, crisp yet juicy, an almost apple-like texture. I was very suspicious. Apparently they're actually Asian pears, which bear little resemblance to European pears and are grown in large number in Korea, which would also explain why my bananas have come wrapped in Korean newspapers twice in a row now.

[grows-onyou]

This Party Sucks

Whoever invented small talk should be beaten with loaves of old bread. The two of us are sitting in a small bedroom with drink cups in our hands making stupid, awkward small talk. It looks like a guest bedroom by the bland, unused look of the room. He, Mike (I think), looks nervous. I probably look bored but if I were to be honest with myself I’m also nervous about agreeing to get matched up with a guy at the party of an acquaintance I don’t know all that well even though I said something stupid like “yeah, we can chat or whatever.” And now here we are making stupid small talk. 

It can’t be easy being gay in the suburbs of the Deep South. Or anywhere in the Deep South where country music and talk radio reign supreme on the air waves. Atlanta proper has a thriving LGBTQ+ community but we were well beyond the city limits and I think Mike mentioned something about having recently moved there from somewhere even more southern and less hospitable. 

“Is talking about movies and tv shows we’ve never seen or ever going to watch what you were hoping for at the party tonight?” I finally asked.

“No.” Expressed with an air of dejection. 

The look on Mike’s face gave every indication of wanting to hide and cry because Gregg decided to jump straight to the “I don’t know what tact is” zone. Great job Gregg, you idiot.

“I’m not leaving. I don’t think either of us are enjoying this conversation but I’d like to chill here for a while with you.” Was my attempt to salvage the situation and Mike’s dignity. But what the fuck did I mean by that? What the hell does “chill” mean?

Not dissimilar to a puppy hearing the word “leash” or “walk” Mike’s spirits shot back to life and he asked if we could hold hands together. 

“Sure?” Why? Why did I agree to that? But also why did I also not mind it? His hand felt warm and I liked how his arm rested against mine. It had a weight I wasn’t accustomed to when cuddling. I didn’t move away when he rested the length of his body against me in the bed. 

“Is this ok? Are you ok with this? Is this fine?” 

“Yeah I guess this is ok, or whatever or something.” Gregg, you silver tongued devil you. It beat the hell out of small talk and if I were honest with myself I thought he was cute and I enjoyed it. 

We made slightly more substantive conversation with each other about nothing I really recall. Without noticing the gradual changes in our configuration I found myself holding him in my arms close enough to feel his breath on my face, his heart beat on my chest, and the distinct impression I could feel his erection against my leg. I didn’t mind. I think by then I had given up on the absurd notion of two dudes just chatting about dude things in a spare bedroom and pulled him onto me so he could feel my erection growing against his. 

His eyes looked soft and nervous and with a shallow breath asked me again if I was ok and if this was ok with me. I replied with rubbing myself into him again and he replied by asking if he could put his hand beneath my shirt. Mike was a champion and prince of consent and I probably learned more from him than I’d like to admit. 

“Go ahead.”

His hands felt heavier against my chest than I was used to but by then I found I enjoyed the difference. The weight. The force. Vocabulary redundancy. His hands betrayed nervousness though and his breath was quick and shallow against my mouth. 

I inquired if he wanted to kiss.

“Is that ok?” 

I replied by licking the parting of his lips. He replied by burying his erection as deeply into mine as he could and putting as much of his tongue into my mouth as he could. I guess his answer was “yes”. The stubble caught me off guard. Somehow I hadn’t anticipated that and I had to wrestle with that for a moment in my stupid little brain. 

He sensed my hesitation and asked maybe 9 more times if I was ok with him and the situation. I replied by gripping the small of his back and pulling him into a long, slow kiss. He replied by continuing to try and erode the fabric of our pants at the crotch through the powers of lust and the coefficient of friction. 

I asked if he’d like to continue this in our underwear. You know, for comfort. I took the moan in his throat and the shudder along his spine for a yes and began to help him out of his clothes as he eagerly reciprocated. Smooth, Gregg. Real smooth, calm, charmer. Totally in control. Nothing but chill. In truth I was terrified. Here I was kneeling on a bed in my boxers staring at the wet spot pooling on Mike’s boxers at the tip of the outline of his cock. What was I doing? What was supposed to happen next? I couldn’t stop staring at him. 

He asked if I was okay a few more times and I pulled him onto me so that his boxer lagoon matched the wet spot that was beginning to form on my boxers. His entire body trembled as he breathed and despite my stone cold exterior (So Stone Cold! TM) I was terrified at what I wanted to do next. The fear you feel getting on a roller coaster with a known history of injuries didn’t come close to how much effort it took to make my vocal chords say the words I needed them to. 

“Can I take them off?” I asked with my fingers in the elastic strap. 

A silent and equally terrified nod affirming. 

I moved to pull them down so I would be at eye level with his form. His eyes looked at me in apprehensive terror. He was absolutely covered in glistening precum but also completely uncircumcised. Is this what they’re naturally supposed to look like? This? My awkward terror was temporarily suspended by amusement and incredulity at evolution. Wild. 

My silence and lack of any single action filled him with a tangible sense of dread and he began asking if I was ok and if he looked ok and if I wanted to stop and again he seemed on the verge of tears. Gregg, you fucking moron. You should probably fix this situation. My own terror returned. How? Doing what? The greater terror was my own lust. I knew what I wanted to do. I could feel myself on the verge of shaking and knew if I waited any longer everything would fall apart. 

I took him in one hand, feeling the soft fuzz of his hair against the sides of my hand and looking him in the eye asked if he was ok. 

Again the terrified affirming nod. 

With an equally terrified deep breath I pressed my lips against his wet tip in a kiss. His body froze and his breaths were whimpering pants. The salty tang of precum on my lips. So weird. But I enjoyed it. It was what I wanted. I looked up into his eyes asking a silent permission to continue and he silently nodded. 

A lick of the tip from my tongue. More tang. Sharper. Another whimper. Now what am I supposed to do? What do you do with the foreskin? Sliding my tongue down the back of the tip beneath the skin. No longer tangy. Kind of funky. But I wanted this too. I wanted to know this. Running the tip of my tongue inside his foreskin around the head. More tang mixed with more funk with whimpers settling into deeper moans. 

Don’t over think this Gregg. Don’t use your teeth! Never use your teeth. Breath through your nose. Relax your jaw. Relax your throat. Uh, this is going to be difficult. Don’t over think this! Get out of your mind and focus on what you’re doing. What am I doing? Giving the head of his cock little French kisses around the foreskin to the accelerating tempo of his breathing. Feeling the twitching and jerks of him in my hand. 

Nothing about this seems real. I don’t believe it’s me doing this. But I am. And I love it. It’s exactly what I want to be doing. Looking up I see Mike’s eyes shut and his fists clenching the sheets as if he’s trying to destroy the forces that hold the atomic particles together. I pull my mouth back so that my lips are resting against the tip of his cock and contemplate more of the inevitable. I’ve applied just about everything hoods and labia have taught me to the head of this cock, apparently to Mike’s enjoyment, and it seemed like time to start on the length of him. Don’t fuck this up. Don’t over think this. Control your breathing, breath through your nose, relax your throat and jaw, and take him in.

Hello gag reflex. Not that bad, not that good. Certainly remember hearing myself make a quite undignified sound as his cock reached the back of my throat but it also strangely satisfied. I could feel the warm skin on my tongue and against my lips. Relax, breath through your nose and work with your tongue. More tang, more funk, the feel of his heartbeat through his legs against my face. Using my free hand to run my fingers through the wispy hairs of his testicles and more intense squirming as a result. 

Another plunge down the length of him and no bad gagging this time. Good Gregg. And another. His body bucking against the mattress and another plunge into the back of my throat. A hand resting on the top of my head now gripping the hair. Not forcing, just resting and gripping. Calm down, breath through the nose, relax the jaw, use your tongue on the skin against it. Feel the twitch of it against the roof of your mouth. 

A push down, gag reflex. The muffled and inarticulate “hrrrggllt” of suppressing the gag. The way his body pulsed at the noise my throat made. Tang and funk. More twitching. His hand letting up enough that I have some mobility along it’s length. His moans becoming unintelligible whimpers again. Him trying to make words no person could possibly discern. A pleading quality to the whimpers and the hand on the top of the head pushing me further down him. 

At least I probably won’t get it in my eyes. The twitching and the increasing tang. The funk long washed off onto my tongue and throat. The whimpers almost crying as his body shakes. A fruit gusher, an Asian pear, a fig, okra, a tube of toothpaste, nothing really prepares you for it.

It’s 1:35A.M. in an Atlanta suburb and your mouth is filled with semen and you try to not spit it out all over him as he shudders. It’d be easier to swallow it if his cock wasn’t still deep in your mouth but you want to savor this moment. The not pleasant but not unpleasant bitter brine that plays along your tongue. 

You manage to put it down your throat with another Tony award winning sound and make sure you clean the rest of the cum off of his cock and out from inside the folds of foreskin. At this point his ability to form words have returned to him and you can make out “it’s too much, stop, I can’t handle it.” and you remember from your own experiences that he’s probably feeling like being struck by lightning. Sexy lightning. 

You remember your usual oral sex routine and he shouldn’t receive any less. Kisses on the insides of both thighs and slow lingering kisses up the center line of the torso and across each nipple. His breathing is entirely heavy pants and you notice your own boxers wet spot has grown considerably in size as well. 

[qr-sa]

Tag game!

Tagged by @sleepanon

Rules: answer 17 questions about yourself, then tag 17 people

Nickname: saph, du, among others

Zodiac sign: Sagittarius

Height: 5’3” if I can measure myself correctly

Hogwarts house: slytherin/ravenclaw

Last thing I googled: don’t quite remember, been using duck duck go recently :P maybe “zoom security”?

Song stuck in my head: none! I prob slept decently, or I’ve just been doing too much not music lately

Amount of sleep I get: ideally 8 hours, but 5.5 hours last night... too distracted lately

Lucky number: 7, 8, I also just like multiples of 3, 4, and 5

Dream job: I don’t dream about jobs (something that will let me have a more chaotic schedule)

Wearing: sleepwear

Favorite songs: hard time choosing favorites, it really depends on the mood! I’ve been listening to mafumafu and TVQX among others recently, though

Instruments: voice, piano, clarinet, very minimal amount of sax (all rusty to various amounts)

Random facts:

southern Chinese abhor several of what they consider northern Chinese culinary abominations.

frozen and thawed pears. It’s blackened from the cells bursting when the water within them freezes, and thawed for a soft texture, this is usually eaten in the winter when you can simply leave your pears on the windowsill and bring it back inside to eat

I think this is less known, but tofu isn’t the only sweet/savory debate... this continues into soy milk, which southern China only drinks sweet and which northern China sometimes drinks... salty with soy sauce.

Besides that, did you know that zoom apparently had so many security flaws that Apple pushed a security update to patch it for them? And zoom didn’t want to do it themselves when a user brought up the issues? Stay safe everyone!

Aesthetic: I have a few depending on the mood

current popular East Asian minimalism, but also with form, color, mood

visual kei / tech wear / street

ghibli, cozy

some lazy french energy / business very casual

Tagging: everyone, but specifically curious about @angelicdmn @xenophonspeaks @ninannarambling @yotsuyaq @spiritofcamelot @babe-in-red @power-bottom-keith @mokoiiiiiii @eidolonazii @arthistoryislife

[thankonomics]

Tagged by: @fortegrace

Rules: answer the questions and tag twenty of your followers that you’d like to know better! (If you’re tagged I’m honestly not expecting you to do this. Just had you guys in mind is all :9)

Name: won’t give you my real name, so you get my tumblr handle - thankonomics

Nicknames: Nine

Zodiac: Taurus

Height: Between 5′ 4″ and 5′ 5″ 

Age: 27

Orientation: facing my computer monitor

Ethnicity: Filipino, Chinese, and apparently a few other things. But we’ll stick to Filipino and Chinese to keep it simple. 

Favorite fruit: blueberries, mango, asian pear, watermelon, guava 

Favorite season: fall and winter

Favorite flowers: not really well-versed in flowers, but off the top of my head I’ll say chrysanthemums 

Favorite book series: Gonna cheat and go into graphic novels - most of the stuff written by Inio Asano, essentially

Favorite scent: fresh-baked goods, food being cooked in general, and...probably not really a scent, but that first deep breathe you take when you’re outdoors in the cold...currently got Yosemite on my mind, actually xD Also that deep breathe you take when you’re out near the sea.

Coffee, tea, or cocoa: They’re all good, but I’d pick tea first

Cat or dog person: I like both, but I grew up with relatives who had dogs, so I’ve a preference for dogs

Average hours of sleep: 5-7 hours

Favorite fictional character: Kino from Kino’s Journey, Lilka Eleniak from Wild Arms 2, Utena Tenjou from Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop, Saber from the Fate series, and Bob Belcher from Bob’s Burgers. 

Honorable mentions to Makoto Kino, Siegmeyer, Tracer, Widowmaker, Miakis, Serge, MOMO, Yuffie, and Pearl. 

OTP: Usually whatever about pairings, but I somehow fell into the Widowtracer hole, and I can’t seem to get out.

Dream trip: Travel the Silk Road. And honestly, I’d love to go back to Sasebo. 

Blog created: July 2012

Number of followers: for this blog here is just 344 

Now I tag: @100criticaltome, @unsurpassedtravesty, @j-er, @cloudpudding, @ash-andstuff, @sunnysunflowers, @valiantorange, @chimeresnervaliennes, @piemanlives, @for-general-madness, @zeroinvador, @venomaker, @mira-the-oni, @of-dreams-and-dust, @johnnylawgottagun, @se3ve3, @kodokami, @kiraraboshi, @drwpy, @tjdiii

[anoddreindeer]

Asphyxiation

Fred checked his watch and grimaced.

Frederic Volga was a huge fellow, head and shoulders taller than most of the guys he worked with, and he was what you might call a demolitions expert.

Assassinations required to look natural weren't his specialty; they required a great deal of stealth and groundwork, and were unforgiving if - god forbid - an unexpected variable threw your plan into disarray. He was the guy you asked when you needed someone gone and didn't mind if their whole car went with them. Or give him a soft target and a sniper rifle, and he'd solve the problem with a surgical precision. It was when bullet holes and bombs would raise too many suspicions that most of his expertise became less useful.

In this case he had to do it in a highly urban area as well; because a six-foot-plus white man in an Asian city was of course the least conspicuous thing possible. He'd hadn't questioned out loud why neither Phantom nor Tongs were given the assignment - both of them less obviously out of place than Fred in such a city - but Lexington had given him an old-fashioned Look and told him to take it up with Tevitz if he had a problem; upon being asked, Tevitz had offered him his choice of others for back-up but those two were not on that list. 

Fred had requested Fingers - Cpl Damien Kilgore, - and had been told he would rendezvous with him in the city. The very next day Fred was shipped off  in civilian clothes to a densely packed urban landscape that was a far cry from the jungles and mountains of his most recent missions.

He'd managed to cadge a few pointers from a particularly 'fab' CIA agent who'd been on temporary assignment to the base, and his current outfit reflected that. There was, apparently, nothing to be done for the military cut of his hair but the plain black suit with the top two buttons of the shirt undone was, he had been assured, the very height of fashion. The agent's advice had been to play a drunken businessman in town for a meeting and a good time, and Fred had simply stared at the man until the agent had shrugged and walked away.

Meeting up with Fingers had been tricky, given the parts each of them were set to play - Fingers had been set up as a street magician for some godforsaken reason - but had been worth it in the end. Fingers informed him that if things went pear-shaped there was an extraction squad ready on standby, which at least made Fred feel a little better about the whole charade.

And so here Fred was now, trying as best he could to keep the military stamp out of his step and his body language loose and relaxed, like he'd already had a few though it was barely eleven hundred local. He couldn't tell how well he was succeeding; people were still getting out of his way left right and center but they did that on a normal day. Maybe they looked more annoyed than fearful, which would be a change, but he couldn't be sure.

He was coming up on his target from the south; a large office complex, many of which were leased to important local businesses. His target would be in one of the civilian offices on the third floor, western corridor, in four days time. Fred was never sure where Tevitz got his information, but the man was seldom wrong so even though it sounded a little far-fetched he was perfectly willing to take the information at face value. The trouble was what to do until his window of opportunity opened; for that, he would have to follow the slick CIA agent's advice as best he could.

Four days of day-drinking, whoring, chatting up businessmen both local and foreign, and a completely ludicrous dinner party later, and Fred was about sick of it. If there wasn't so much fruit juice in the cocktails he'd had to down with various legitimate - well, actual if not particularly legitimate - businessmen, he was pretty sure he'd've gotten scurvy by now. He'd managed to avoid the recreational drugs for the most part, and could only hope the various bedmates he'd shared a few hours with were clean; they'd looked it, but you could never tell for sure.

But now there were other things to contend with. Getting into the office complex was no problem; an apologetic look and the insinuation that he was going to be murdered horribly for being late to a meeting had the receptionist waving him by with a bored, disinterested look, and getting up to the correct floor was easy enough - apparently businessmen were not fond of using the stairs, leaving Fred to make his way quietly and rapidly to the third floor. The correct office was immediately obvious, the ostentatious nameplate and bracketing potted plants the office equivalent of a neon sign that someone who considered themselves noteworthy worked there, and the name on the nameplate matched the one Tevitz had given him. He went to open the door and paused.

The door was open a crack.

Fred tensed internally but managed to keep it off his face with some difficulty before pushing the door gently open all the way and going in, closing the door firmly behind him. The scene inside wasn't as bad as he was expecting. No blood painted the walls, no angry secretary or business partner was standing over the body holding the obnoxious golfing trophy that sat on the far left side of the desk. In fact, the place looked deserted - if he hadn't had as much experience with Tevitz as he did, he would've said the man was wrong. As it stood....

A soft snore split the silence.

Fred headed over to a ludicrously large couch that occupied one corner in an awkward enough fashion that the seats couldn't be immediately seen from the door - or indeed anywhere else in the office. Fred ended up standing directly over the back of the couch and the scene that met his eyes wasn't surprising. The man he'd been sent to kill, sleeping on the couch in underwear and dress shirt, a pair of silk stockings trapped between his back and the couch. If Fred hadn't already had his suspicions, the smell would have confirmed it and he sighed, making a mental note to wash his hands on the way out of the building.

He cast a weary eye over the scene, Lexington's injunctions to make it look natural - no witnesses - going through his mind. If he did this one way, the girl would take the rap and it'd be just another case of a spurned lover seeking revenge. The thought didn't sit well with Fred, so he looked over the office to see what he had to work with. Fountain pens were useful, but not if you wanted it to look natural; the same went for the three gaudy letter openers. Various objects - including and especially the golf trophy - would work if he wanted to make it look like the girl did it, and he filed them away reluctantly as possibilities.

Finally, in one of the lower cabinets he found a pillow and blanket. Both had obviously seen much use - seemed like the guy liked to sleep in his office, avoiding his spouse maybe? - and an idea sparked in Fred’s   head. The blanket was only so useful, but the pillow....

Fred took the blanket and pillow over to the sleeping figure on the couch and gently put the blanket over the sleeping form; it'd entangle the guy's arms and hopefully make it harder for his to struggle. In one quick movement, he had the pillow down over the guy's face as Fred leaned his full weight on the man's chest.

Instantly the guy was awake, eyes rolling wildly as his chest struggled to expand under Fred ...and failed. Arms vainly writhed underneath the covering blanket, and legs tried to kick but found only empty air. Twenty seconds, and the struggles were getting weaker. Thirty seconds, and the guy's eyes rolled back in his head and went limp. Fred knew better than to let up now; rookies would stop, mistaking unconsciousness for death, and their victim would get the air so desperately required for life.

Not this time.

Fred gave it nearly twelves minutes; overkill, probably, but better safe than sorry. When he finally stood up off the corpse, Fred took a moment to fluff the face impression out of the pillow and rearrange the limbs into a more natural configuration before heading for the door. He was done with this building, the town, and this mission, and if Lexington wanted to fuss he could give more specific orders next time or send a more specialized specialist.

[juniorformulamotorsport]

Thursday, 7th March 2019 – Frog by Adam Handling, London

Back in London again for another theatrical event, and having kept costs down on our previous visit, post seeing Sir Ian McKellen, talking entertainingly and at surprising length about his career now he’s turned 80, at the Duke of York’s Theatre, we opted to go to Frog by Adam Handling. This place has been on my radar since it opened, given how impressive Handling was when propelled into the spotlight by Masterchef: The Professionals back in 2013. It it was clear then that he was something quite special in culinary terms. Now, at just 30 year’s old, he has a growing mini-empire of seven establishments across London and has clearly impressed the Belmond group enough for them to want his restaurant in their second UK hotel (their other UK hotel is Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons with the ever-wonderful Raymond Blanc so they have high standards).

It was a fairly unpleasant night outside and we kicked out of the theatre slightly too early, so we scooted past (to see the staff setting up for the evening) and went to The Port House for an aperitif of one of Niepoort’s white ports before turning round and heading back just before 6pm.

From the outside, the restaurant is very low key, and inside it’s perhaps not as flashy as you might expect. There are no tablecloths, just incredibly shiny black-topped tables, and the kitchen is open to the world. There’s a counter where you can also sit and from which you can watch the chefs in action in incredibly calm action. There are plenty of front of house staff, as well as a large number of kitchen staff and it all felt very Scandi in atmosphere, reminding me very strongly of the places I really like in Copenhagen. That was an impression that lasted all the way through the evening, particularly given the food that followed, and the way in which it was presented.

We were welcomed in, served a glass of excellent Champagne, a biscuity Lallier Grand Reserve, Grand Cru Brut from Aÿ (not Reims as the waiter who first served us claimed) and handed the menus to have a think.

We thought very carefully (for about a nano-second!) and decided the full tasting menu was doable and looked fabulous, and that we’d also take the “extra” course of lobster with Wagyu fat, along with the matching wine selection. A second glass of Champagne arrived after we figured we’d treat the first one as a second aperitif, along with the truly dramatic looking “Snacks”. These were delivered in a cloud of dry ice (I know it’s quite an old-fashioned thing to do but it’s also entertaining and I love the odd theatrical flourish), in a bowl and a box. Once the clouds cleared, further inspection revealed a pair of razor clams, beautifully garnished with hazelnut crumbs, apple, herbs and edible flowers, and that tasted as fresh as you could wish. I was briefly distracted by the way the liquid between the stones in the dish kept bubbling up every so often in the aftermath of the grand entrance, but I am sometimes very easily amused!

Next was a fabulous little tube filled with smoked cod’s roe (so a pretty posh taramasalata you might say). It was rich and creamy and densely textured, and I loved it. It had tiny blobs of caviar and of creme fraiche sitting on the top of the cylinder which added considerably to the richness.

The third and final snack was a duck meat bon bon, and it was a deliriously delicious little mouthful (though I stretched it to three bites because I didn’t want it to stop), with a crispy coating on the outside and full of dark leg meat cooked down perfectly. This is what most confit duck has ambitions to be when it grows up!

After we’d finished the snacks, a serving of bread arrived, an IPA-infused sourdough, served warm, and accompanied with the most delightful butter, whipped through with chicken jus, and sprinkled with crispy chicken skin. We tried to restrain ourselves, but it really was too good to resist for any length of time. Summoning all our reserves of willpower, we turned down a second serving, but it would have been soooo easy to cave in and eat a second portion. This is dangerous food, in the best possible way!

It’s tough to say whether the bread or the butter was the greater, but together they made the perfect match. I love good bread, and that was definitely good bread.

We now came to the second dish of the menu, named Mother, apparently because Handling’s mother suddenly announced she’d become a vegetarian the day he opened his first restaurant, and he had to very quickly figure out what he could possibly give her to eat. In an interview with Foodism he had this to say about it: “When I opened my first restaurant, we had 50 journalists, food critics and influential people coming in to taste my menu for the very first time. And my mother told me she was going to be vegetarian. So I created this dish, and I called it ‘Mother’ to try to embarrass her.” The result concoction of salt-baked celeriac, with a confit yolk, and apples, and liberally dusted in black truffle shavings, is a truly amazing dish. If all vegetarian food could be like this, I really could happily give up meat and not miss it. It was accompanied very successfully by a glass of Sepp Moser, Grüner Veltliner von den Terrassen from Austria’s Kremstal, which went down very nicely.

Things moved from vegetarian to marine-based now, with a glorious scallop, oyster and caviar dish. The scallops were not cooked, rather ceviche, with some incredible gel bobs and an oyster mayonnaise, dotted with micro-herbs and nasturtium leaves, and topped with the caviar. It was subtle, slippery, smooth and lovely and was a great pairing with a 2015 Chardonnay, Trinity Hill, Hawkes Bay, the Kiwis supplying an example of just what Chardonnay can do (as opposed to what it so often sadly is).

What came next was even better. Having recently discovered the joys of black garlic, it was used to tremendous effect in a pasta dish of agnolotti, stuffed with mushrooms and served with tiny little blobs of crumb covered deep fried bone marrow. The black garlic was incorporated into the pasta dough, which made it a tremendous shade of black, with a deep garlic flavour matched by the mushrooms which were enhanced by the wonderful crunch and stickiness of the bone marrow. It might not please the Italians, but it was definitely one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had the pleasure of eating. With it we drank a delicious 2014 Monopole Blues Kékfrankos from Hungary.

The wine stretched to the next course too, which was described as “crab, kimchi, tart” and was in fact a crab tart with kimchi at its base. The pastry was so short it almost exploded in the mouth when you bit into it. It was the lightest, shortest pastry imaginable, and while I don’t know who the pastry chef is, they are clearly blessed in their ability to create pastry. The crab was creamy, the kimchi delivered a bit of punch and the whole thing was a mouthful of pleasure, the surface glazed with cheese and dusted with paprika.

Next was the extra dish, where a portion of lobster is in effect marinaded in Wagyu fat for a day or so before being cooked. The initial bite, when your mouth fills with the seafood but also seems to flood with the oleaginous fat feels very odd, and as if it will be too much for the tastebuds. In fact it’s almost unpleasant, until the moment you start to chew and then it all miraculously comes together. I don’t think you could eat much of it; it’s far too luxurious to do that, but the smallish lobster tail was just right. We had a fresh white wine, slightly effervescent, with it, but it wasn’t listed on the menu, so I can’t say what it was, just that it was well-chosen.

We had one more fish dish still to come, a portion of cod, with tiny cubes of smoked eel, brown shrimp, kohlrabi and a selection of sea vegetables including samphire. The creamy sauce brought it all together in a very cohesive way. It was terrific. So was the bone dry 2016 Riesling Steinhugel Tatomer from California that went with it.

And then there was meat. In fact there was duck, sausage and foie gras. I mean, what’s not to like? It came with a jus so glossy you could see your own face in it, and was sumptuous, deep, a hug of a plate with all sorts of dark, autumnal notes to it. The meat was perfectly cooked, and it was simply allowed to stand very much on its own considerable merits. The wine with it was a plummy, deep red fruited 2017 Primitivo Rumirat Terre de Chieti from Abruzzo in Italy and it fully deserved its place in the pairing.

And thus, inevitably, we came to the sweet stuff. First up was pear, anise (in the shape of more tiny, perfectly deep-fried “croquettes” which gave off not the slightest hint of whatever they were fried in but just tasted of aniseed which is a damn clever trick) and sweet cheese. It was a refreshing plate after all the richness that had gone before and showed off the pears very well too. Pears are tricky, even trickier than apples; some varieties can be horribly grainy and gritty (as stones start to form, I’ve now learned), but I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that these were perfect. For dessert wine, we were back in Riesling territory again, this time with an Australian example, Mount Horrocks, Cordon Cut Riesling from the Clare Valley.

We’d now hit the home straight with one more dessert before the end, a light confection of bergamot, stout, miso and smoked Earl Grey. Handling was known for having something of a fascination with Asian elements, though he has by all accounts toned it right down in the last few years. It came through here though with a fascinating mix of savoury and sweet, done with a light hand. It was a good way to complete what had been quite an adventure. The final wine saw us back in New Zealand and again at Hawkes Bay, this time for a 2016 Chenin Blanc Late Harvest specimen, a medium bodied dessert wine full of honeyed tones. On a side note, if our visit was on a typical night, around a third of the tables were taken up by young Asian women, dining in pairs, and furiously Instagramming everything, which may or may not be an effect of the Asian flavours. Who can tell?

By now it was gone 10pm and although coffee and tea was on offer, we declined (I no longer drink coffee after around 2 in the afternoon, at least not if I want to sleep) but we were still presented with the petit fours, which were playful and fun. These little jellies had to be peeled off the plate they came on.

And these included coffee-flavoured chocolates made to look like coffee machine capsules to my probably unreasonable delight.

Nearly five hours after we’d sat down, we paid our bill, then wandered out into the night to catch our train promising ourselves we’d be back when we could afford it. We’d had a brilliant meal, served by attentive, friendly, knowledgeable (in the main) staff and while it really couldn’t be called cheap in any way, it was worth every penny.

Food 2019 – Frog by Adam Handling, London Thursday, 7th March 2019 - Frog by Adam Handling, London Back in London again for another theatrical event, and having kept costs down on our previous visit, post seeing… 1,957 more words

[benjamingarden]

Weekending

It's summer!!!!!  We've had quite a bit of rain but the temps are up!  This is the time of year that it feels like there is way more to do than time to do it.  Outdoor projects must be completed before fall sets in.  It's a super busy time of the year for our soap & skincare business, there are indoor projects pulling at us, and of course, the garden. J was able to get the entire house, roof, deck, and porches power washed.  It hasn't been done in a few years and it definitely needed it.  Although it only took 2 days to complete, that was a very large project checked off of the list.  I've also been taking care of my mom for a couple of months now (I wrote about this in Friday's newsletter.  If you don't receive it, you can view a copy here.).

In The Garden Let's start with the garden, shall we? I planted a MUCH smaller garden this year.  And now that I'm also caretaking, I'm very happy that I did.  It is doing well.  I've been thinking about replacing the netting we previously used for a couple of years.  I wanted something stronger that could also hold smaller varieties of winter squash.  I've seen cattle panels used quite a bit and decided that's what I wanted.  More on that in an upcoming post.  Let's just say my husband wasn't a fan but I got my way.  😉

The broccoli is doing ok.  What our woodchuck didn't demolish anyway.  I'm going to re-plant for a fall harvest.  There's a ton of green tomatoes.  Just waiting for the very first glimpse of red.  And then there's the pear tree.  Do you remember me sharing that we don't spray our fruit trees?  This means there's no consistency with the fruit.  Well, our pear tree is a tree grafted with 5 varieties of pears.  Out of those 5 varieties, we have.....wait for it......2 Anjou pears. No, you aren't reading that wrong.  Two (2).  That's the number. The other 4 varieties are, apparently, on hiatus.  So, if you were thinking of dropping by the end of summer and grabbing a beautiful fresh pear off of our pear tree, think again.  J has dibs on one and I have dibs on the other.  They are both spoken for.  Sorry!  I can, however, offer you a beautiful (and tasty) Asian Pear.  That tree is absolutely LOADED this year.

In The Coop The coop girls are doing very well.  They are laying plenty of eggs which makes the people of the homestead quite happy.  And of course they receive plenty of goodies, which in turn makes them very happy.  They love fruit and greens and still adore carbs. The broccoli and bean plant stealing woodchuck who uses our property as a pass through (and a lunch box apparently) really upsets them for some reason.  He doesn't even pay them any attention, and his path is quite a few feet away from the coop, so I'm not sure what gets them all upset but my-oh-my do they squawk and chatter when he's spotted on the compound.  All activity stops as they stand like statues and holler out warning squawks.  Then they all run inside the coop like Armageddon is coming.  There's a flurry of feathers and dust left swirling outside.  It's pretty funny.

In The Kitchen It's strawberry & rhubarb season!!  We have celebrated with Rhubarb Bread, Strawberry Spinach Salad (I adapted this recipe by using pureed berries and a touch of honey with a little water or veggie broth to make it pourable rather than using jam & oil), and Strawberries & Biscuits as well as plenty of raw berries.  I won't be making any jam this year.  I'm trying to reduce my sugar consumption down to rarely eating it.  With everything happening with my mother, and knowing genetics is concerning, I'm working even harder to ensure I'm eating as healthy as possible.  Summer squash, greens, sugar snap peas & broccoli are ready as well.  I did not get peas planted in time so I've been purchasing them at the farmer's market. I've been thinking a lot about milling my own flour for bread.  I know, I know .... adding another thing to my to-do list.  The thing that's holding me back is that we don't eat a lot of bread.  Maybe once or twice a week.  I'd love to hear from any of you who mill your own flour.  Do you think it's worth doing?  What mill do you have and do you like it? I've been making homemade sourdough bread as well as trying out some spelt bread recipes.  I'm going to work more with Einkorn flour next.  I've worked with it a bit in the past but would like to find time to try again.

Oliver Ollie is doing very well.  Although I don't think he really enjoys going to the farmer's market with us (because we're there for 7 hours) he definitely does not like being left home.  We've had so much rain on Sunday's that this has happened for a few market days.  I don't see a point in bringing him in the pouring rain so he stays home.  And that boy can pout!  He snubs me, snubs his dog cookies, and sulks for a bit to let me know I've upset him. He's enjoying a lot of deck time in the sun.  His very favorite summer activity is to supervise our side street.  He has never liked white vehicles, white vans in particular, so he enjoys really laying into them when they have the audacity to drive down his street.

The Business It's summer which means the soap & skincare business is very busy.  Our Sunday farmer's market has had some struggles because we've received quite a bit of rained out days so (thankfully) we've seen an increase in online sales.  We had one craft show in June which was a little slow and will have more in July & August that are typically pretty busy. One thing we've learned about both farmer's markets and craft shows is that you just don't know year-to-year what they will be like.  Although our market has been pretty consistent for us in years past, last year and this year it's definitely slowed a bit.  Last year we also had two craft shows that we previously did amazing at that we only did ok at.  We try to figure out if there's anything we can change but sometimes it just comes down to that you have to ride out the wave and see if the momentum comes back. This & That I'm going gray!  Yup, I've been fighting gray hair since my mid-twenties (thanks genetics!) and I'm done with coloring my hair.  So, for just over a month I've been letting my gray grow out.  I honestly didn't anticipate doing this until I was in my 50's but I'm so tired of sitting in a hair salon for 3 hours every 3 weeks (my hair grows very fast), and I'm tired of spending the money on it, and most importantly, no matter how "natural" any hair coloring claims to be it isn't.  That's just the truth - it can't possibly be good for you (I know henna is fine but I'm not interested in going through the trouble of figuring that out).  And so I will be completely gray within 1 year.  I'll do a post on it at some point because I think it's a pretty emotional issue.  I've wished I had the nerve to do this for years so I'm sure others struggle with the decision as well. I know I'll look older but I'm ok with it, so the decision has been made.  It's actually kind of freeing to not care about what others think at all.  I would love to hear from you about your experience with this!

Hoping you had a wonderful weekend!!

Weekending was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[jira-chii]

Reflection on Devotion

Hello my sister finally convinced me to watch a play-through of Devotion, a Taiwanese horror game with absolutely stellar visual storytelling.

I don't normally enjoy horror games but I made an exception for Devotion, because I had previously seen Detention (the other game by Red Candle), and I loved it. However it completely blew my mind how much better Devotion was, visually and conceptually. Like, I legit did not think they would have been able to top Detention. And they did. And it was so impressive I had to write about it. So here we are.

The first half of this post will be spoiler-free, because I definitely don't want to spoil this game. Unfortunately, Devotion was taken off Steam for (imo really dumb) political reasons but I highly recommend seeing a play-through of it or something, because I seriously want everyone to experience its story before reading this.

I have no qualms about spoiling Detention though so we'll start from there. (They're not really spoilers though, because it's been a while and I don't remember most of the details).

One of the things I remember loving about Detention was the integration of the school setting with the personal family setting. At one point we are suddenly dragged into a representation of the main character's house, making the fear feel uncomfortably close. I loved this because the game was now able to mix the “familiar” with the surreal, in an even more effective manner than with the school. Furthermore, it gave us new insights into the main character by showing us facets of their life from a new and more empathetic perspective.

And now we have a game completely “devoted” to this concept. Hooray.

Devotion (and Detention to a lesser extent), uses an unconventional type of horror in that it relies less on jump scares and shocking, gory scenarios, and more on atmosphere and a mysterious story. This subtle type of horror is more typically seen in Asian countries than Western ones, and the result is that immediately, it might not feel as heart-poundingly terrifying, but it leaves you with very disturbing thoughts, that get scarier the more you think about them, and don't leave your mind for a very, very long time.

I'm gonna say it now but Devotion is 10x more scary if you're an Asian with traditional family values, because the situations are so relatable.

The game revolves around a family of three. Using limited settings and a limited amount of characters, the storytelling feels compact yet at the same time is able to delve into multiple perspectives.

The other cool thing is that Devotion's horror is not an external, unknown threat. It is about a series of events, that permeate every aspect of gameplay, but by the end there are relatively few mysteries. That said, at one point it becomes very clear what happened. But we can't do anything about it. Which is terrifying and possibly all too relatable for some people.

There are waaay too many elements to analyse in this game, so I'm going to narrow it down by focusing on one idea, namely the one of Family. This also gives me a chance to talk about all three of my favourite scenes in the game:

The Arowana fish tank

The Storybook scene

Reducing stress with marbles

*SPOILERS* start here if it wasn't obvious.

The game's title screen shows the three main characters in a family portrait. Father and husband Du Feng Yu is a screenplay writer, his wife Gong Li Fang is a retired singer-turned movie actress, and their daughter Mei Xin wants to grow up to be a superstar just like mum.

The picture hangs above the living room sofa opposite the TV, and that space is like the embodiment of all the values of the dad, Feng Yu. Interestingly, this title screen image is taken from the perspective of Mei Xin's bedroom, and seems to mirror a scene in the game where she peeks at you from said bedroom.

Anyway my point is the title screen very clearly shows that family is the focus of the game. So I'm going to talk about each of the family members.

Mei Xin is definitely the character I relate to the most. She constantly pops up in the game, and is represented by a doll, which is the perfect symbol because even though she looks creepy to the player, she actually won't hurt you, and is more manipulated by the people around her than anything else.

Mei Xin is in fact powerless to do anything on her own, a concept which is taken to its literal limits in the fish tank scene where you actually have to press the buttons to make her move. From the arowana’s perspective, we see Mei Xin going about her day, revealing things to the fish she wouldn't dare reveal to her parents. As a fish in a tank, you also get a good feel for how trapped Mei Xin feels, being unable to go to school, and even being denied her promised trip to Alishan.

Mei Xin hates being in the house and she hates taking her medicine. It doesn't seem fair that she has to listen to her parents when they lied to her. She ends up dumping the medicine in the fish tank, and as we look up, we see the deadly pills slowly fall toward us. Unable to escape, the fish can only watch as death approaches, which is a metaphorical foreshadowing of Mei Xin's fate as well.

Can I also just mention, Feng Yu bought that fish to bring the family prosperity and fortune, so it's super ironic that Mei Xin was the one who killed it. It's a really neat metaphor for the relationship between the father and daughter. Feng Yu thinks spending more money will fix the family but materialistic goods could never be a substitute for real affection.

Mei Xin is probably the biggest victim in the feud between her father and mother. It is heartbreaking to see her inner thoughts in her journal. Though it is not explicitly stated, it is not hard to see how she herself might feel guilty about her parents’ fighting. After all, their financial situation is partly due to her father doing everything he can to cure her illness. I appreciate the marble scene in making Mei Xin's anxiety apparent. If you don't use the marbles to distract Mei Xin, huge mouths begin to overlap the screen and her vision becomes more chaotic, making it very obvious that the source of her stress is her parents fighting. Here I also have to commend the superb voice acting. Listening to the parents arguing in the background very near gave me PTSD as they sounded so similar to my own parents.

As mentioned before, it is ironic that, even though both parents are doing everything they can to help their daughter out of love and devotion, they don't realise the thing she truly needs is their physical presence. That's why the storybook scene absolutely killed me.

In a rare moment of genuine father-daughter interaction, we get to experience reading Mei Xin's favourite book. Literally. First of all, I love this scene because of the visuals. We go inside the storybook and the way they've created this huge change in tone is incredibly imaginative and a welcome break from the creepy apartment we've been trapped in the whole time. Perhaps in a similar way, this is how Mei Xin escapes her depressing reality too.

So on top of having nice visuals, and a semi- decent story, this scene is important because it actually shows Mei Xin and her father having quality time together. And it even emphasises their bond by having us experience the changes Mei Xin makes to the book as a result of the conversations she has with her father, which is really cute and sweet but also just the best way of showing why this book is her “favourite”. Towards the end, we find out the book's core message is about the love a daughter has for her father, and the lengths she will go to because of that love. Plus that extra touch with the tulips at the end is just breathtakingly beautiful, a huge contrast to almost everything else in this horror game.

I have heard a theory that the true meaning of devotion in this game isn't that of Feng Yu’s devotion to his daughter, but of Mei Xin's devotion to her father. The hint is in the lyrics of the song she performs, Lady of the Pier, which was also her mother's debut song. I guess that's the beauty of a title like this. There can be so many different interpretations and the creators really maximise the possibilities of each.

As an added bonus, Mei Xin means beautiful heart.

Gong Li Fang is probably the most underappreciated character in this game. I honestly have so much respect for her. It took courage to sacrifice everything she had built up to become a housewife and support the family. That's her devotion to her family. But when everything goes pear shaped suddenly everything also seems to conspire against her. The message she gets from her own mother is particularly scarring. Li Fang wants to leave the relationship but her mother tells her not to. Instead of supporting her own daughter's wellbeing, Li Fang's mother wants her to grin and bear it in order to save face. This was, of course, the norm in the 80s, but it is still painful to see a once highly successful woman struggle against the patriarchy.

Another scene that really gets me is the welcoming ceremony? I forget the name. There is a list we find, of strict instructions regarding the mountain load of things the wife had to prepare before guests arrived for what was essentially a housewarming party. Sometimes the superstitions really go overboard. Could you imagine going from a famous movie star to that? Li Fang is portrayed as a demon in the game, but honestly I don't blame her. Du thinks she is possessed, but truthfully he is just blind to what she really needs.

The elevator scene shows this best I think. Following what is possibly the most frightening chase scene in the entire game, we enter the elevator. As the doors close, Li Fang's demonic face has changed to one showing her loss and desperation, as she lays pitifully on the floor, watching helplessly as the doors close in her face. Maybe she was actually looking to us for help, but instead we ran from her.

As we stew alone uncomfortably with that knowledge in the claustrophobic space, we hear the radio. Li Fang has decided to return to her career. Naturally the radio announcer asks about this news in relation to how her husband reacted.

Coming out of the elevator, look behind and we see her in the moment she gathers the courage to leave. Her silhouette against the elevator light is ethereal and beautiful. Wearing the qi pao her husband hated, she walks step by elegant step away from the household that has caused her so much pain. Her stance implies she is defiant and confident, but of course that's because we never see her face.

Li Fang leaving has huge ramifications for the rest of the family, and I bet it definitely created a heap of problems for herself. Leaving her husband will basically be seen as a scandal and her career going forward is going to be rocky. Oh, also she'll probably be disowned by her family. Plus she never sees her daughter again. But in that moment I just felt so proud of her.

Du Feng Yu is the main perspective the story is told through. The core concept around him is blindness. Near the start of the game, graffitied onto the wall outside the apartment is a sentence: why are you closing your eyes? Incidentally, my sister at this moment was covering her eyes to avoid any jumpscares. I now know this message had a far deeper meaning.

The disjointed way Feng Yu sees things as he pieces together all the things in the past that culminated in the tragic present makes a great premise for horror. Things like people knocking on doors, hospital beds, sudden phone calls, and even a huge bath of red liquid are eventually all explained through the story.

In my opinion, psychological horror honestly makes for the best horror. It is eerily surreal when the realistic setting of the apartment is overlaid with mental representations of people and events. Even worse when they move.

The repetitive setting also means when we see something other than their apartment, it leaves a lasting impression. For me that was the bath scene, which became worse when I thought back after the end of the game and realised we basically experienced what Mei Xin did...

Each of the family members is tragic in their own way. Mei Xin because she dies without being able to do anything. Li Fang because she is forced to choose between herself and her family. And Feng Yu because he basically did the opposite to Li Fang. He continued to hurt himself, sacrificing himself financially and spiritually. He only wants the best for his child, but is unaware he's going about it the wrong way. He was too stubborn and self absorbed in his own worries to see the other factors tearing the family apart. And I don't blame him. It's not easy for him either. As the man of the house he is expected to hold it together. His wife gave up her career so he is the sole breadwinner. The pressure must be intense. The sad thing is situations like these are all too common.

Finally I kind of want to list some of the reasons I personally find this game so relatable. If you have zero interest in my life, feel free to skip the rest, and also thank you for reading up to now.

The size of the following list probably explains why the game resonated so strongly with me. I will admit first off that I am not Taiwanese and I have not been brought up in the most traditional Asian household. A lot of these similarities are also pure coincidences. That said, this kind of horror capitalises on the player’s familiarity with the setting, and I hope these vignettes of my own experiences help to convey just what that means for me. Because of course it’s terrifying when you realise just how similar your own family is to the main characters in a horror game. 

Devotion starts with the family portrait title screen. This probably isn’t a Asian-only thing but we also have one. It’s hung in the dining room. Asian families love taking family photos. There are even special studios just for it. I appreciate the game drawing a link to the importance of photos and memories using the camera. Incidentally, my dad also used to be a photographer. But he only knows how to use the old ones with film. Digital cameras sadden him.

All Asian kids play the piano. Unfortunately, unlike Mei Xin I have no fond memories of our piano at all. Barely anyone plays it now and it’s basically just a status symbol at this point (it’s a grand piano).

On that note, I would like to make it clear we are not a rich family, but Dad loves giving off the appearance that we are. Grand piano, chandelier, and most recently, a finger print scanner for our front door. What a waste of money, all for the sake of maintaining face. There could be a deeper meaning to it though. Dad immigrated from a very poor part of China, so when he got the opportunity he made sure nobody would ever look down on him again.

Like Feng Yu, lately Dad is not earning much money from work. This is actually because of age though. He does physical labour and nowadays he can't take on as much as he used to. Luckily mum and I still work. That said, dad does zero housework.

Dad’s spot is also the sofa in front of the TV. He also eats dinner there. Even though we have a dining room...

We have a fish tank. For the same reason Feng Yu bought one. Having nine goldfish is supposed to bring good fortune. Except ours kept dying. Dad just bought more. But now he’s moved on to raising tropical fish? Which are even harder to keep alive?? And are more expensive??? And yes they keep dying and he keeps buying more. Omg can you imagine how much the Arowana scene triggers me.

You may have noticed by now but Dad makes the worst decisions out of all of us. But he refuses to listen to the better judgement of all four women in this household.

Can we just talk a bit about Mei Xin’s dream to be a superstar? This is an interesting departure from the stereotypical mindset that all Asian parents want their kids to be doctors or lawyers. Mei Xin’s parents definitely still push her in a similar way though, taking her to professional singing classes and whatnot. I’m glad she had supportive parents, because my parents were also supportive when I decided to major in Japanese (basically every Chinese person in their generation hate the Japanese).

I’m sick all the damn time. Apparently my mother also had a fragile body.

My aunt is divorced, and she is religious (though not very serious about it), and involved in a pyramid scheme selling supplements :( I feel for her kids. She damn near involved us in the pyramid scheme too, but luckily mum has a brain. Since the divorce, my aunt has thrown all of herself into her work and that’s basically her whole life now. Unfortunately Du Feng Yu doesn’t get that luxury.

Mum and dad actually made a promise to never divorce, even though there’s never been any love between them. Dad was guilted into a wedding because he got her pregnant, and they had to live together to get permanent residency. In the past, dad had a divorce with another woman and it really had a negative impact on his kid then (my older half sister). You really get a feel for this in the later scenes of the game, where Mei Xin misses her mum. A divorce is really not good for a kid who’s still that young. That’s why dad is determined to keep the household together this time; it's literally their devotion to us, their children, that are keeping them together.

Writing this just made me realise my dad embodies the worst of both parental figures in this game. We still love him though.

That about wraps up all my thoughts regarding this game. It got a little personal near the end but I hope this post has conveyed why this game was so impactful to me. Asian representation in media always gets me excited and I really hope Red Candle recovers soon so I can look forward to their next game.

[feedblogspot]

Type of Venue: Cafe, Pottery, Retail Warehouse Cuisine: Modern Australian with British influence Recommended: Steak and Eggs, Gembrook Potato Chips, on-display muffins and sweet pastries

Robert Gordon remains a household name throughout Australia, with their high quality stoneware holding a place on dining tables, kitchen counters and cabinet shelves across generations. Founded by a family of potters who first began their journey in 1945, Robert Gordon Australia has vastly expanded to become the largest family-run pottery production in the country. Famously known for supplying some of Australia’s top restaurants with their varied range of handmade products, their reputation continues to thrive, with imports to New Zealand and the United States of America recently topping their list of accomplishments.

Given their prestige and in-demand status, it is humbling to discover that their sole production factory operates out of a suburban region of Melbourne, known as Pakenham. Neighbouring a handful of industrial warehouses and local housing, Robert Gordon Pottery + Kitchen offers a unique destination venue for those near and far, with a retail store and cafe attached. Purpose-built to cater to their mass production of pottery, the on-site factory has come a long way from the simple tin shed in which Robert Gordon Australia began. Welcoming visitors into the Robert Gordon ‘family’ as soon as they walk through the door, the down-to-Earth and helpful attitude of the staff enhances the community vibe of this multifunctional site, making everyone feel a part of the Robert Gordon Australia family. Applying this same level of passion and enthusiasm to the undying craft of pottery, there is a reason why this brand remains a quality-assured favourite by many.

A point of difference is the fact that all of their products are hand-made, utilising specialty equipment and tools to create their varied range of products. Involving a 2-week process from start to finish, their skilled craftspeople mould, design, press, fire and glaze each item. High temperatures of 1200+ degrees Celsius ensures that the products are adequately vitrified, with their twice-fired method a catalyst for their products’ added strength, durability, quality finish and avoidance of moisture absorption. The nonspecific style and design guarantees that their products remain timeless, with their product range extending beyond the kitchen, in the form of a soon-to-be released range of bathroom sinks. Although their products are undoubtedly perfected before being placed on retail shelves to be purchased, each item tells a story through their unique individuality arising from the fact that they are not mass-produced by machines, but by human hands.

Their versatility is further demonstrated by the Robert Gordon Kitchen, encompassing an in-house cafe that is open to both customers and visitors. Inspired by British farmhouses that riddled Head Chef Chris Henderson’s childhood growing up in England, the white weatherboard scheme with gentle brown and soft white furnishings accompany the similarly British influence of the all-day menu. Aiming for an approachable variety of breakfast and lunch items to cater to all tastes, the menu draws on local British favourites including “Steak and Eggs” and a “Proper Bacon Sandwich” to contrast the Australian-influenced “Smashed Avocado” and simple eggs on toast cooked to your liking. Sourcing ethical produce from local suppliers, the intentionally simplistic offering on the plate is anything but simple, with every ingredient having a purpose when it comes to flavour. Changing the focus from complexity to quality, Robert Gordon Kitchen offers an unpretentious yet comfortingly memorable experience to accompany their menu style and notable plateware.

In addition to the handful of breakfast choices and sweet pastries, things like a “Poached Pear Brulee” with apple bircher, “Soba Noodles” with roasted eggplant and a full English breakfast entice those with a bit more of an appetite. Predominantly well-balanced in their fusion of Australian and British cuisines, their minor dip into the Asian realm with a couple of menu items suggests slight confusion regarding their approach, though their apparent objective of offering diversity does not go unnoticed.

“Steak and Eggs” ($24.00) (Gippsland beef steak, fried egg, roasted tomato, potato hash croquette)

“Cumin Fried Rice” ($20.00) (with curry roasted cod, poached egg, almonds, chives)

“Gembrook Potato Chips” ($9.00) (malt vinegar mayo)

With fun activities involving kids and families, such as painting your own plate and decorating your own cupcake, Robert Gordon Pottery + Kitchen attracts people of all ages, yet successfully preserves the focus on their quality products handmade just a few steps away.

Note: I visited and dined courtesy of Robert Gordon Pottery + Kitchen. Thank you to all of the staff for their hospitality, in particular Kate Gordon and Aaron. The opinions, comments and photos presented in this article belong to the author, and need to be approved before being used by others.

Robert Gordon Kitchen 114 Mulcahy Road Pakenham, VIC 3810 Hours: Kitchen – Wed-Sun 8am-4pm. Store – Mon-Tues 9am-5pm, Wed-Sun 8am-5pm.

A pottery studio, retail warehouse and cafe: Robert Gordon Pottery + Kitchen, Pakenham. Type of Venue: Cafe, Pottery, Retail Warehouse Cuisine: Modern Australian with British influence Recommended: Steak and Eggs, Gembrook Potato Chips, on-display muffins and sweet pastries

[myfuckofffundjourney]

Money Diary, Week #3

Thursday Jan 18

Wake up, bus to the shuk - 5.9 nis. Grab a coffee and I don’t even want it. 11 nis. So weird. Maybe it’s because I’m already running late and feeling anxious about time. I drink half and then grab groceries for the client I’m cooking for, all of which I’ll get reimbursed for so I won’t list them. I also cab to their place - billing them as well. Nobody got time to haul groceries on a bus #lazy.

After cooking for 6 hrs (hey guess who just made +1200nis!!) I pack a meal from what I made (chicken, potatoes, and an Asian pear, and it’s all fucking delicious, and free, and I even had a container because of yesterdays lunch that I took to school, score!) and bus to the central bus station. 5.9 I’m feeling a bit woozy so grab soda water to calm my stomach. 7 nis. I decide to finally buy a pair of Blundstones, a decision I’ve thought about for literally like five years. I see a pair that I like that are on sale for 350 and I grab them. Also add 50 nis to Rav Kav. The boots feel great in the store and for the dash to the bus, but as soon as I’m off the bus and walking to class, they start to kill! I’m worried I got the wrong size, even though the next half size up is way too big on me. I take them off in middle of class to make sure I don’t fuck them up too badly. Finish class, head home, make toast with peanut butter and hang out with Josh.

Friday Jan 19

Wake up and peel myself out of bed to grab some random groceries - I have no coffee in the house, and really feel like having eggs for breakfast. At the grocery store, I also find an avocado thats not hard as a rock (fun fact: apparently there were no deliveries of avocados to Israel for a week and so the price doubled, and none of them are ready yet. I don’t care that the price is doubled - it’s only like 6 shekel anyway and i’ve been wanting an avocado all week.) I get eggs, an avocado, and laundry detergent - 28 nis. There is a massive bag of Tide for 60 shekel (8 kg) and I think I might get it because it smells so nice and is cheaper per kilo than anything in the store and will last for like, half a year or something. And in two weeks I’ll even have a HOUSE to store it in!!!

I stop at my favorite coffee grinder guy and pick up 100g of coffee for 6 nis and think back to when I was living in Florentine and I could find the same amount for at a minimum 10 nis, usually more. Thank you, Jaffa gods, for making prices reasonable.  This usually can last for almost a week, but it’s exam season and I’m going to be mainlining coffee.

When i get home, I make a good breakfast (toast, eggs, salad, coffee) and THEN I CAN DO MY LAUNDRY! FOR FREE!!!! I’m so effing excited, it’s been literally four months without a washing machine at my disposal. I’ll probably need to throw some things in the dryer at the laundromat because its going to be a fucking COLD weekend and I have no clean socks and stuff, but still!

Anyway, I’m at my next conundrum, which is the fact that it’s now sale season and there are so many things I want/need. In the wants column, we’ll just put new clothes. I’m v bored of that I have and would love some new additions. In the needs column, we’ll put shoes - this is a biggie, I hate buying shoes and spending money on them - house items (coffee table, bed, closet, curtains, oven), a new phone (this one is pissing me off with its jerkiness and general crappy demanour. I could probably get it to work well if I do a factory reset but the screen is also cracked and replacing it will cost at least 400 nis. I’d rather get a new/secondhand phone.) Anyway, IKEA is having a sale, all the clothing stores are having massive sales, and I’m not sure what to do. These are more investment type items, but it’s still hard to justify spending the money. And then the fact that Uri and Jordana are getting married soon - I’ll actually make a bit of money from catering his aufruf kiddush/her shabbat kallah dinner, but not a ton.

I FINALLY get a message that I’m getting paid for an event I did like, three weeks ago - that’s another +1,630. YESSSS. That plus an extra +500 for shabbat will be so helpful for the move.

Run out to throw some things in the dryer - I just collect random shekels and don’t actually keep track, but i think it’s around 8 nis. While waiting for my stuff to dry, I get some binders, highlighters, little page markers, and also use the stores hole-puncher to hole-punch LITERALLY like 500 pages of notes. Don’t have to buy a hole-puncher though! It’s still 33 nis. Ugh.

I end up heading to Jerusalem kinda stupidly late, and end up taking a taxi to the bus station with Josh, but he covers it because he owes me money for groceries. The sherut is 35 nis - ugh. I’ve left my purse at home so Josh lends me a 50 that he also says to use toward groceries.

Saturday Jan 20

I work for WAY longer than I would have wanted to, and it really isn’t very much money, and I really needed the time to study, but on the other hand, it was pretty easy and it was 500 nis. So, balances out. After Shabbat is out I head to Jerusalem - 5.9 for the train, and 16 nis for the bus. When I get to Tel Aviv, the bus to my house is a friggin half hour away so I have to walk home, which is a massive waste of time. Really need to sit and calculate how much that half hour was worth to me, because I’m SOOOO behind on my studying, but can I just stay up a half hour later? Does life even work that way?

I make a peanut butter and banana wrap. Wraps are THE BEST thing to have around but I never buy them because I feel like they’re expensive? But a friend left these at my house and they’ve been the base of many a quick happy dinner, so maybe I’ll keep them around. Also come up with a plan to market myself as a meal-prep delivery service for people who can’t cook at home... i wonder if I’d ever actually execute that.

Sunday January 21

Basically spend all day inside studying/making food/cleaning/doing laundry. All of these are relatively money-less endeavours! On my way to school I do grab some fruit because I have none in the house. 9 nis

A friend coming from New York places an order on amazon for me for bamboo toothbrushes and charcoal exfoliating gloves - those guys are the shit and I hate throwing out plastic toothbrushes. They last quite a while and it only comes out to 70 shek - I’ll pay him when I see him.

Monday January 22

I meet Kim at the shuk for a grocery shop. It doesn’t really feel so smart to do the shop before my CSA gets in. I need to recalibrate my weeks so that I can do it on Tuesday morning and not be starving. Anyway, I get:

Parmesan and goat cheese - 24.6

Oatmeal, wild rice, and raisins - 20

Salmon - the guy cuts me way more than I asked for and I tell him off. I asked for 300 grams for a reason, mister, not for 350 grams. I’m turning into an asshole lol. 33 nis

Avocado, sweet potato, zucchini, chilis - 18 nis

Clementines, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and an impulse buy dragon fruit - 34 nis

Green onion - 5 nis

On the way home, I still can use my transfer on my Rav Kav. Hell yes. Now I just need to stock up on things like more coffee, wraps, and one or two other things, but between this and the CSA I should be good for the week.

At home i make a big pot of rice, roasted veggies, two sauces (one using up cilantro that was going bad and yogurt I didn’t feel like eating), salmon, and sauteed greens from last weeks CSA. Now I have food options! And I only need to finish my celery and romaine lettuce from the CSA. Don’t know what to do with it though. Hmm.

Buttttt ugh I get an email from the school. I owe tuition, I think it’s loan time. I’m thinking of asking them if I can consolidate the debt, and when I do a huge work event I can throw a few thousand shekel at tuition. PAYING FOR SCHOOL IS SUCH A BITCH. But at least the loan system here doesn’t blow. I also get an email about a grant. GRANT I NEED YOU GET IN MY WALLET.

CSA box comes with some dope looking ingredients. I’ll have to cook wisely this week so nothing gets wasted though - my fridge is already FULL of food. What a nice feeling :).

Tuesday January 23

I wake up late, ugh. Go grab coffee - this time i get double what I got last week - rice milk, and cashews, to maybe turn into butter. It comes out to way more than i anticipated - 44 nis. Eek.Still though, haven’t eaten out once this week except for one coffee and one bottle of water, so I’m feeling good! Then I feel terrible when i think about tuition and moving. Gah! Cashew butter tastes amazing though, so there’s that!

Finally get an answer to an insurance claim I filed (and won) months ago! They had sent me a cheque (srsly who does that) which I never received, so they are going to cancel it, and wire me the funds. It’s around $350 - just wish I’d done this before the dollar crashed so hard. Oh well. Still free-ish money!

Buy an eclair. I need some comfort sweets. Interestingly, I don’t think I’ve had anything with overt amounts of processed sugar in a few days - since Saturday, I guess. I’ve had honey in my tea and stuff, but that’s it. I wonder if I’ll feel anything? It’s only mediocre but I needed to get out and interact with a human who is not Josh/the dog. 10 nis.

Wednesday January 24

I have to print some notes for this exam that i am definitely in no way passing (hi moed bet!) It’s way more expensive than it would be at school. Damn. 12.5

Total: 770.7 - minus shoes - 420.7

School/misc- 403 (includes a 350 nis pair of shoes that are too small and that I will try to return)

Groceries- 221

Eating out- 28

Transportation - 118.7

Money earned: 500, 1620

The takeaway from this week is: School is effing expensive, and I spent freely on groceries to not be tempted to eat out which worked (slash my extreme isolation/studying helps too) but I also bought a lot of “nice things” that I don’t need. On the other hand, I’ll have lots of food stored for the next week or two. Wins all around, I think. Would be nice to get most of my weeks spending to look like this (minus the shoes) - I could be down with spending only 400 nis a week.

[zillowcondo]

Secret Gardens: 6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants

The slow food revolution has swept across the country. While restaurants in Europe and elsewhere have been utilizing locally sourced produce, meat and dairy for some time, Americans were slow to catch on. Thanks to activist chef Alice Waters and others, restaurateurs around the country are beginning to realize the benefits of buying locally, whether its to help local farmers and purveyors or to have fresher and more beneficial foodstuff. If you live near a large city, chances are, you’ve eaten at a farm-to-table restaurant.

Eateries such as the storied French Laundry in Yountville, California, have been slow-food meccas for years. But unlike many locavore restaurants around the country, French Laundry has a working herb garden onsite, allowing for the freshest ingredients possible with the least environmental impact. Is this why chef Thomas Keller’s cuisine gets the highest praise of any American restaurant? Probably not but it definitely helps boost the quality and taste of the food. Following French Laundry’s lead, a number of other fine dining establishments around the country have taken farm-to-table to the next level: either using existing parts of their properties to build herb and vegetable gardens or purchasing nearby farmland to grow produce and raise livestock. Here are six of our favorites from around the country:

Bardessono, Yountville, California

This eco-chic, boutique luxury hotel in California’s Napa Valley has earned accolades for its commitment to sustainability and the environment. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the hotel’s two gardens, one onsite and one a short distance away from the property. Lucy’s Garden is a small green space located on the south side of the property. Here, culinary gardener Noel Lopreore works her magic on two large and two small vegetable and herb beds. The garden is mainly used for herbs and root production but Lopreore grows 18 different varieties of basil as well. The garden is certified organic through the CCOF, making Bardessono the first hotel with that distinction.

Bardessono also leases a quarter acre of land from the Hill Family (the hotel shares farm usage with the nearby French Laundry). The Hill Family Farm has been certified organic for more than 20 years and Bardessono’s portion has two orchards at which peaches, nectarines and citrus fruits grow. The farm also boasts an 8000-square-foot mixed vegetable garden, a 30-year-old black mission fig tree, apple and pear trees and a mulberry tree. Lopreore operates a year-round greenhouse at which she cultivates many of the crops, some of which change season to season. In 2010, the hotel focused on 300 different types of tomatoes as well as black and white garbanzo beans, cucumbers, squash, sun chokes and three different types of corn.

“Through the gardens we lower emissions by not trucking in the amount of food we grow. We also compost our kitchen scraps and use these in our gardens which lowers the need for trash pickup and adding to the landfill,” says Lopeore. “Besides all the environmental benefits, it provides our chef with the unique opportunity of being able to request unusual items like the Bhut Jolokia, which we grow on site. The Bhut Jolokia is the hottest pepper in the world.” See our full review.

Trellis Restaurant, Kirkland, Washington

Guests dining on brook trout with grilled broccolini and oven-dried tomatoes at Trellis restaurant have enjoyed the eatery’s locally grown produce. The Kirkland, Washington, restaurant creates agrarian cuisine for what they dub “Wine Country-inspired dining.” The restaurant mixed modern cooking techniques and rich, rustic flavors to create innovative dishes.

The restaurant owns and operates a 10-acre farm in nearby Woodinville. The farm is salmon safe-certified and subscribes to organic growing methods, according to chef Brian Scheehser. The farm doesn’t raise livestock but grows Flemish pears, baby leeks, red onions, baby garlic, mixed greens, sage blossoms, chive blossoms, six varieties of apples, seven varieties of blueberries, and three varieties and blackberries as well as 30 varieties of tomatoes, among other fruits and vegetables.

“I have been farming years before Trellis and it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to share with dining guests the source of their meal,” Scheehser says. “Immersing myself in the earth has given me a unique understanding of a food’s inherent flavor and texture. The growing process amazes me, and I enjoy the art of coaxing out the earthy, natural attributes of fresh produce using the simplest culinary techniques.”

Although located in the Pacific Northwest, the farm is a year-round operation thanks to the four greenhouses on site.  

Rosemary’s, New York, NY

Rosemary’s is an Italian restaurant with a rooftop farm situated in the heart of Greenwich Village. Created by Carlos Suarez, the owner of Bobo and Claudette, Rosemary’s is named after Suarez’s mother and is inspired by both her home in Lucca (Tuscany) and the rich heritage of the restaurant’s Greenwich Village corner.

Executive Chef Wade Moises serves seasonal Italian dishes that highlight the herbs and produce from the rooftop farm, as well as housemade pastas and a selection of focacce, as an homage to the location’s predeccessor, Sutter’s Bakery.

Uncommon Ground, Chicago, Il

Uncommon Ground lays claim to the first Certified Organic rooftop in the nation, which patrons can go up and visit. When dining there, I was pleasantly surprised at how much time their rooftop farmer spent giving me the grand tour of his elevated bounty and explaining the building process. The rooftop is fit with solar panels surrounded by manicured raised garden beds of herbs, tomatoes and more.

Obviously a rooftop can only supply so much for the restaurant, but the local concept goes beyond just their own building, to a commitment to source the majority of their food from local, sustainable organic producers – 24 percent of which comes from within 300 miles of the restaurant. Their menu is constantly changing according to the seasons, which makes each visit a unique experience that gives patrons a strong sense of time and place.

True midwesterners like myself can vouch for their hearty meatloaf, made with local grassfed beef and of course, wrapped in bacon and served with mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and fried nordic creamery cheese curds (a product commonly found amidst Chicago’s lively farmers markets). For dessert, I’d venture toward the seasonal crème brulee or s’mores tart.

They support the local economy by more than just helping out local farmers, but also local artisans, as you will regularly find local artist’s work featured inside and local musicians entertaining diners. See our full review.

Tupelo Honey Cafe, Asheville, North Carolina

Southern cuisine gets a bad rap as being fattening and highly caloric. Thanks to restaurants such as Tupelo Honey Café, Southern cuisine gets a chance to be hearty and healthy. The Asheville, North Carolina, restaurant lists gluten- and soy-free items and has garnered rave reviews for its char-grilled beef tenderloin and shrimp and grits. Tupelo Honey Cafe operates Sunshot Organics, a revitalized organic berry farm in Burnsville, North Carolina. The 12-acre farm boasts blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries and strawberries as well as edible flowers, greens, lettuces, asparagus, bush beans, cucumbers, herbs and heirloom tomatoes. The farm also keeps chicken for eggs.

Executive Chef/owner Briant T. Sonoskus isn’t new to organic farming. His grandparents had large gardens and stakes in community farms so the desire came naturally. “What I grow does vary a bit season to season. I have a large, fully automated greenhouse for winter growing but my production certainly goes down and is limited to a few cool weather crops. Making a menu item solely from my farm production is difficult but in partnering with other local farms you will see a lot of local combination effort items on menus or on the specials board,” says Sonoskus.

Sonoskus believes the benefits of having your own farm or garden outweigh the costs since customers are appreciative and return for the quality of the food. Growing large amounts of different items allow you to keep the costs down. See our full review. 

Zazu Restaurant + Farm, Santa Rosa, California

Much of the farmland in California’s Sonoma county has been converted to wine growing since it’s profitable and attracts the tourists. Husband and wife team Duskie Estes and John Stewart believe in the diversity of agriculture. In 2001, the duo opened Zazu Restaurant, which is situated in an old chicken coop among dairy ranches and grapevines in Santa Rosa. They added the farm in 2005, when a gardener was hired to tend to the half acre of raised beds onsite. Estes and Stewart live on a three-acre estate 10 minutes from the restaurant at which they raise livestock such as chickens, goats, rabbits, turkeys, pigs and babydoll sheep. Macbryde Farm, named for their daughters, Brydie and Mackenzie, also houses a fruit orchard at which figs, Asian pears, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, olives, peaches, plums, cherries and Meyer lemons grow. The two pieces of farmland also provide the restaurants heirloom tomatoes, squash, pole beans, grapes, strawberries, fennel, kale and herbs such as lemon verbena, rose geranium and anise.

“A chef’s best playground is from ingredients picked when ripe, not picked for travel; a strong local economy depends not on monoculture, in case of bad grape years,” Estes says. “Ingredients picked just before service, never refrigerated, have a noticeable vibrancy. It is great for our cooks in terms of morale [being outside everyday instead of in a windowless kitchen] and understanding.”

Zazu educates consumers in various ways. The learn a bit about the garden at the bar before their meal. The restaurant also hosts a farmers market in the garden on Saturdays at which their farmer and chef is available to offer advice on produce and how to cook said produce.

—Shandana A. Durrani  (Lesley Lamers also contributed)

If you’re a restaurateur and still skeptical about the cost benefits of growing your own produce, follow the advice of Bardessono’s culinary gardener Noel Lopeore:

* Grow what you can’t get in markets or what is very expensive in the marketplace. This will save you money because it’s always cheaper to buy a pack of seeds. Usually, you can buy carrots in bulk cheaper then you can grow them, so unless your focus is on the best carrot ever, buy it in the store, especially if you have a small area.

* Grow your herbs.

* Focus on what you do well and if you can’t grow a successful beet, then don’t. Let the farmers that specialize and dedicate their whole lives to lettuce grow lettuce and you grow something else.

* Feed your soil. Many people do not focus on the soil, but if you keep the soil healthy it will always give you healthy food that is more resistant to bugs and disease. This will prolong the life of your production. It may seem expensive to get a soil test and follow the recommendations of your lab, but it will be less money than losing your whole crop year after year or growing food that doesn’t taste right because you’re missing a key nutrient in your soil. Not to mention the  depression the follows every failed crop.

* No chemicals! The food tastes terrible or completely lacks taste (and it’s not good for any of us).

* Focus on a few items instead of growing many different specialty items. You may find it’s fun to grow 30 different peppers, but if you only have room for 60 pepper plants than you are only getting a very small amount of each pepper. Instead grow 30 plants of one of your best peppers and 30 plants of your next best pepper.

* Let your guests in on the secret. Offer tours or classes if you’re comfortable doing so. Add in the garden to any of your local or repeat customer newsletters or emails. If you stay in contact with your guests, add garden notes, updates, fun blurbs, and/or tips whether it be your daily twitter, facebook, or monthly newsletter.

* Be patient and take the pace of nature.

—Noel Lopeore

Secret Gardens: 6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants was originally featured on GoodLife Report. Reprinted with permission.

The post Secret Gardens: 6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants appeared first on Pursuitist.

Secret Gardens: 6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants published first on http://bogouzunshang.tumblr.com/

[tasteculturepower]

Dragon Fruit

It may come as a shock, but I’ve never actually tried dragon fruit before. It’s actually something I’m a little embarrassed to admit because dragon fruit is so common in Taiwan, but it’s just not something my family typically consumes and since I’m the one in charge of grocery shopping when my mom is busy I tend to buy whatever I like to eat.

I decided to go to Super 88 for my scavenger hunt and it took a lot longer than I expected, as I was quite limited due to my lack of a kitchen and how familiar I was with most of the products that did not require too much kitchen prep. I was almost ready to give up until I wandered into the fruit section to find some Asian Pears, one of my favourite things to eat, and saw the dragon fruits tucked away in the back. There wasn’t a large selection of them as most had been bought already but I picked out one that I thought look right. 

The dragon fruit was a lot squishier than I expected. I’ve never actually held one before but I was expecting it to be much firmer. It was also surprisingly easy to slice considering I only had a generic knife like those found in the dining hall. I did end up having to rip the fruit a little as the base was tougher to get through. I currently work at Jamba Juice and one of our more popular items is the Pitaya Paradise Bowl, so I was little confused as to why the pitaya pulp used in Jamba Juice was such a far cry from the white flesh of this piece. After researching a little I realised that there are two different species of pitaya/dragon fruit and whilst we use the purple on in Jamba Juice, the white variation is more popular in Asia.

 The dragon fruit was a lot blander than I expected. It almost had the texture of a kiwi with a very subtle sweetness. It was very refreshing though and I could see the appeal of eating this on a hot day. It did not have much a smell and when I sliced into the fruit the juice was translucent and very watery. I wasn’t exactly sure how to prepare the fruit and remove it from the skin but after a few attempts, I discovered that after slicing the top and bottom of it was relatively easy to peel the skin back. The dragon fruit was certainly an acquired taste as I found myself learning to appreciate it the more I ate. According to my friends who have experience eating dragon fruit, those of the purple variety are much sweeter.

According to Wikipedia, the dragon fruit or pitaya is originally native to Mexico, however, they were brought over to Central America most likely by Europeans during the discovery of the New World. The dragon fruit is now cultivated all over the world most notably in Southeast Asia, the United States, Israel, Australia, and the Canary Islands. The name “dragon fruit” comes the fruit’s Mandarin name, 火龍果 (huo long guo), which literally translates to “fire dragon fruit”. I’m assuming the name Mandarin name came from the fruit’s appearance because it does look like a little burst of fire with the little wispy bits. However, some sources have referenced a legend in regards to the fruit’s origins. According to the tale, the dragon fruit was created thousands of years ago by fire-breathing dragons. Apparently, when dragons breathed fire, they would produce the fruit and these fruits were collected as trophies to be presented to the emperor. Since these fruits were not native to China, I’m assuming that the legend was created to popularize the fruit and help integrate it into Chinese cuisine and culture. The name “pitaya” or “pitahaya” originates from Mexico possibly due to the fruit’s resemblance to tall cacti with flowering fruit.

 The dragon fruit can be eaten alone as a stand-alone dish, however, due to its mild sweetness, it is often combined with other fruits in fruit salads, smoothies, or juices. The purple varieties are often blended with other fruits to create pitaya bowls due to its vibrant colouring and the white varieties are often used in fruit salads or as garnishes due to high striking they look against the bright colours of other fruits.

Whilst I did not really enjoy eating the dragon fruit by itself I wouldn’t mind experimenting when I return home to Taiwan. The texture of the fruit just doesn’t really agree with me but the taste is quite nice as it’s just sweet enough to satisfy you. I think that if I had a blender and had made a smoothie out of this I would have enjoyed it more but I’m glad I finally tried this fruit.

Bernie Lai

[benjamingarden]

Weekending

It's summer!!!!!  We've had quite a bit of rain but the temps are up!  This is the time of year that it feels like there is way more to do than time to do it.  Outdoor projects must be completed before fall sets in.  It's a super busy time of the year for our soap & skincare business, there are indoor projects pulling at us, and of course, the garden. J was able to get the entire house, roof, deck, and porches power washed.  It hasn't been done in a few years and it definitely needed it.  Although it only took 2 days to complete, that was a very large project checked off of the list.  I've also been taking care of my mom for a couple of months now (I wrote about this in Friday's newsletter.  If you don't receive it, you can view a copy here.).

In The Garden Let's start with the garden, shall we? I planted a MUCH smaller garden this year.  And now that I'm also caretaking, I'm very happy that I did.  It is doing well.  I've been thinking about replacing the netting we previously used for a couple of years.  I wanted something stronger that could also hold smaller varieties of winter squash.  I've seen cattle panels used quite a bit and decided that's what I wanted.  More on that in an upcoming post.  Let's just say my husband wasn't a fan but I got my way.  😉

The broccoli is doing ok.  What our woodchuck didn't demolish anyway.  I'm going to re-plant for a fall harvest.  There's a ton of green tomatoes.  Just waiting for the very first glimpse of red.  And then there's the pear tree.  Do you remember me sharing that we don't spray our fruit trees?  This means there's no consistency with the fruit.  Well, our pear tree is a tree grafted with 5 varieties of pears.  Out of those 5 varieties, we have.....wait for it......2 Anjou pears. No, you aren't reading that wrong.  Two (2).  That's the number. The other 4 varieties are, apparently, on hiatus.  So, if you were thinking of dropping by the end of summer and grabbing a beautiful fresh pear off of our pear tree, think again.  J has dibs on one and I have dibs on the other.  They are both spoken for.  Sorry!  I can, however, offer you a beautiful (and tasty) Asian Pear.  That tree is absolutely LOADED this year.

In The Coop The coop girls are doing very well.  They are laying plenty of eggs which makes the people of the homestead quite happy.  And of course they receive plenty of goodies, which in turn makes them very happy.  They love fruit and greens and still adore carbs. The broccoli and bean plant stealing woodchuck who uses our property as a pass through (and a lunch box apparently) really upsets them for some reason.  He doesn't even pay them any attention, and his path is quite a few feet away from the coop, so I'm not sure what gets them all upset but my-oh-my do they squawk and chatter when he's spotted on the compound.  All activity stops as they stand like statues and holler out warning squawks.  Then they all run inside the coop like Armageddon is coming.  There's a flurry of feathers and dust left swirling outside.  It's pretty funny.

In The Kitchen It's strawberry & rhubarb season!!  We have celebrated with Rhubarb Bread, Strawberry Spinach Salad (I adapted this recipe by using pureed berries and a touch of honey with a little water or veggie broth to make it pourable rather than using jam & oil), and Strawberries & Biscuits as well as plenty of raw berries.  I won't be making any jam this year.  I'm trying to reduce my sugar consumption down to rarely eating it.  With everything happening with my mother, and knowing genetics is concerning, I'm working even harder to ensure I'm eating as healthy as possible.  Summer squash, greens, sugar snap peas & broccoli are ready as well.  I did not get peas planted in time so I've been purchasing them at the farmer's market. I've been thinking a lot about milling my own flour for bread.  I know, I know .... adding another thing to my to-do list.  The thing that's holding me back is that we don't eat a lot of bread.  Maybe once or twice a week.  I'd love to hear from any of you who mill your own flour.  Do you think it's worth doing?  What mill do you have and do you like it? I've been making homemade sourdough bread as well as trying out some spelt bread recipes.  I'm going to work more with Einkorn flour next.  I've worked with it a bit in the past but would like to find time to try again.

Oliver Ollie is doing very well.  Although I don't think he really enjoys going to the farmer's market with us (because we're there for 7 hours) he definitely does not like being left home.  We've had so much rain on Sunday's that this has happened for a few market days.  I don't see a point in bringing him in the pouring rain so he stays home.  And that boy can pout!  He snubs me, snubs his dog cookies, and sulks for a bit to let me know I've upset him. He's enjoying a lot of deck time in the sun.  His very favorite summer activity is to supervise our side street.  He has never liked white vehicles, white vans in particular, so he enjoys really laying into them when they have the audacity to drive down his street.

The Business It's summer which means the soap & skincare business is very busy.  Our Sunday farmer's market has had some struggles because we've received quite a bit of rained out days so (thankfully) we've seen an increase in online sales.  We had one craft show in June which was a little slow and will have more in July & August that are typically pretty busy. One thing we've learned about both farmer's markets and craft shows is that you just don't know year-to-year what they will be like.  Although our market has been pretty consistent for us in years past, last year and this year it's definitely slowed a bit.  Last year we also had two craft shows that we previously did amazing at that we only did ok at.  We try to figure out if there's anything we can change but sometimes it just comes down to that you have to ride out the wave and see if the momentum comes back. This & That I'm going gray!  Yup, I've been fighting gray hair since my mid-twenties (thanks genetics!) and I'm done with coloring my hair.  So, for just over a month I've been letting my gray grow out.  I honestly didn't anticipate doing this until I was in my 50's but I'm so tired of sitting in a hair salon for 3 hours every 3 weeks (my hair grows very fast), and I'm tired of spending the money on it, and most importantly, no matter how "natural" any hair coloring claims to be it isn't.  That's just the truth - it can't possibly be good for you (I know henna is fine but I'm not interested in going through the trouble of figuring that out).  And so I will be completely gray within 1 year.  I'll do a post on it at some point because I think it's a pretty emotional issue.  I've wished I had the nerve to do this for years so I'm sure others struggle with the decision as well. I know I'll look older but I'm ok with it, so the decision has been made.  It's actually kind of freeing to not care about what others think at all.  I would love to hear from you about your experience with this!

Hoping you had a wonderful weekend!!

Weekending was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[zillowcondo]

Secret Gardens: 6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants

The slow food revolution has swept across the country. While restaurants in Europe and elsewhere have been utilizing locally sourced produce, meat and dairy for some time, Americans were slow to catch on. Thanks to activist chef Alice Waters and others, restaurateurs around the country are beginning to realize the benefits of buying locally, whether its to help local farmers and purveyors or to have fresher and more beneficial foodstuff. If you live near a large city, chances are, you’ve eaten at a farm-to-table restaurant.

Eateries such as the storied French Laundry in Yountville, California, have been slow-food meccas for years. But unlike many locavore restaurants around the country, French Laundry has a working herb garden onsite, allowing for the freshest ingredients possible with the least environmental impact. Is this why chef Thomas Keller’s cuisine gets the highest praise of any American restaurant? Probably not but it definitely helps boost the quality and taste of the food. Following French Laundry’s lead, a number of other fine dining establishments around the country have taken farm-to-table to the next level: either using existing parts of their properties to build herb and vegetable gardens or purchasing nearby farmland to grow produce and raise livestock. Here are six of our favorites from around the country:

Bardessono, Yountville, California

This eco-chic, boutique luxury hotel in California’s Napa Valley has earned accolades for its commitment to sustainability and the environment. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the hotel’s two gardens, one onsite and one a short distance away from the property. Lucy’s Garden is a small green space located on the south side of the property. Here, culinary gardener Noel Lopreore works her magic on two large and two small vegetable and herb beds. The garden is mainly used for herbs and root production but Lopreore grows 18 different varieties of basil as well. The garden is certified organic through the CCOF, making Bardessono the first hotel with that distinction.

Bardessono also leases a quarter acre of land from the Hill Family (the hotel shares farm usage with the nearby French Laundry). The Hill Family Farm has been certified organic for more than 20 years and Bardessono’s portion has two orchards at which peaches, nectarines and citrus fruits grow. The farm also boasts an 8000-square-foot mixed vegetable garden, a 30-year-old black mission fig tree, apple and pear trees and a mulberry tree. Lopreore operates a year-round greenhouse at which she cultivates many of the crops, some of which change season to season. In 2010, the hotel focused on 300 different types of tomatoes as well as black and white garbanzo beans, cucumbers, squash, sun chokes and three different types of corn.

“Through the gardens we lower emissions by not trucking in the amount of food we grow. We also compost our kitchen scraps and use these in our gardens which lowers the need for trash pickup and adding to the landfill,” says Lopeore. “Besides all the environmental benefits, it provides our chef with the unique opportunity of being able to request unusual items like the Bhut Jolokia, which we grow on site. The Bhut Jolokia is the hottest pepper in the world.” See our full review.

Trellis Restaurant, Kirkland, Washington

Guests dining on brook trout with grilled broccolini and oven-dried tomatoes at Trellis restaurant have enjoyed the eatery’s locally grown produce. The Kirkland, Washington, restaurant creates agrarian cuisine for what they dub “Wine Country-inspired dining.” The restaurant mixed modern cooking techniques and rich, rustic flavors to create innovative dishes.

The restaurant owns and operates a 10-acre farm in nearby Woodinville. The farm is salmon safe-certified and subscribes to organic growing methods, according to chef Brian Scheehser. The farm doesn’t raise livestock but grows Flemish pears, baby leeks, red onions, baby garlic, mixed greens, sage blossoms, chive blossoms, six varieties of apples, seven varieties of blueberries, and three varieties and blackberries as well as 30 varieties of tomatoes, among other fruits and vegetables.

“I have been farming years before Trellis and it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to share with dining guests the source of their meal,” Scheehser says. “Immersing myself in the earth has given me a unique understanding of a food’s inherent flavor and texture. The growing process amazes me, and I enjoy the art of coaxing out the earthy, natural attributes of fresh produce using the simplest culinary techniques.”

Although located in the Pacific Northwest, the farm is a year-round operation thanks to the four greenhouses on site.  

Rosemary’s, New York, NY

Rosemary’s is an Italian restaurant with a rooftop farm situated in the heart of Greenwich Village. Created by Carlos Suarez, the owner of Bobo and Claudette, Rosemary’s is named after Suarez’s mother and is inspired by both her home in Lucca (Tuscany) and the rich heritage of the restaurant’s Greenwich Village corner.

Executive Chef Wade Moises serves seasonal Italian dishes that highlight the herbs and produce from the rooftop farm, as well as housemade pastas and a selection of focacce, as an homage to the location’s predeccessor, Sutter’s Bakery.

Uncommon Ground, Chicago, Il

Uncommon Ground lays claim to the first Certified Organic rooftop in the nation, which patrons can go up and visit. When dining there, I was pleasantly surprised at how much time their rooftop farmer spent giving me the grand tour of his elevated bounty and explaining the building process. The rooftop is fit with solar panels surrounded by manicured raised garden beds of herbs, tomatoes and more.

Obviously a rooftop can only supply so much for the restaurant, but the local concept goes beyond just their own building, to a commitment to source the majority of their food from local, sustainable organic producers – 24 percent of which comes from within 300 miles of the restaurant. Their menu is constantly changing according to the seasons, which makes each visit a unique experience that gives patrons a strong sense of time and place.

True midwesterners like myself can vouch for their hearty meatloaf, made with local grassfed beef and of course, wrapped in bacon and served with mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and fried nordic creamery cheese curds (a product commonly found amidst Chicago’s lively farmers markets). For dessert, I’d venture toward the seasonal crème brulee or s’mores tart.

They support the local economy by more than just helping out local farmers, but also local artisans, as you will regularly find local artist’s work featured inside and local musicians entertaining diners. See our full review.

Tupelo Honey Cafe, Asheville, North Carolina

Southern cuisine gets a bad rap as being fattening and highly caloric. Thanks to restaurants such as Tupelo Honey Café, Southern cuisine gets a chance to be hearty and healthy. The Asheville, North Carolina, restaurant lists gluten- and soy-free items and has garnered rave reviews for its char-grilled beef tenderloin and shrimp and grits. Tupelo Honey Cafe operates Sunshot Organics, a revitalized organic berry farm in Burnsville, North Carolina. The 12-acre farm boasts blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries and strawberries as well as edible flowers, greens, lettuces, asparagus, bush beans, cucumbers, herbs and heirloom tomatoes. The farm also keeps chicken for eggs.

Executive Chef/owner Briant T. Sonoskus isn’t new to organic farming. His grandparents had large gardens and stakes in community farms so the desire came naturally. “What I grow does vary a bit season to season. I have a large, fully automated greenhouse for winter growing but my production certainly goes down and is limited to a few cool weather crops. Making a menu item solely from my farm production is difficult but in partnering with other local farms you will see a lot of local combination effort items on menus or on the specials board,” says Sonoskus.

Sonoskus believes the benefits of having your own farm or garden outweigh the costs since customers are appreciative and return for the quality of the food. Growing large amounts of different items allow you to keep the costs down. See our full review. 

Zazu Restaurant + Farm, Santa Rosa, California

Much of the farmland in California’s Sonoma county has been converted to wine growing since it’s profitable and attracts the tourists. Husband and wife team Duskie Estes and John Stewart believe in the diversity of agriculture. In 2001, the duo opened Zazu Restaurant, which is situated in an old chicken coop among dairy ranches and grapevines in Santa Rosa. They added the farm in 2005, when a gardener was hired to tend to the half acre of raised beds onsite. Estes and Stewart live on a three-acre estate 10 minutes from the restaurant at which they raise livestock such as chickens, goats, rabbits, turkeys, pigs and babydoll sheep. Macbryde Farm, named for their daughters, Brydie and Mackenzie, also houses a fruit orchard at which figs, Asian pears, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, olives, peaches, plums, cherries and Meyer lemons grow. The two pieces of farmland also provide the restaurants heirloom tomatoes, squash, pole beans, grapes, strawberries, fennel, kale and herbs such as lemon verbena, rose geranium and anise.

“A chef’s best playground is from ingredients picked when ripe, not picked for travel; a strong local economy depends not on monoculture, in case of bad grape years,” Estes says. “Ingredients picked just before service, never refrigerated, have a noticeable vibrancy. It is great for our cooks in terms of morale [being outside everyday instead of in a windowless kitchen] and understanding.”

Zazu educates consumers in various ways. The learn a bit about the garden at the bar before their meal. The restaurant also hosts a farmers market in the garden on Saturdays at which their farmer and chef is available to offer advice on produce and how to cook said produce.

—Shandana A. Durrani  (Lesley Lamers also contributed)

If you’re a restaurateur and still skeptical about the cost benefits of growing your own produce, follow the advice of Bardessono’s culinary gardener Noel Lopeore:

* Grow what you can’t get in markets or what is very expensive in the marketplace. This will save you money because it’s always cheaper to buy a pack of seeds. Usually, you can buy carrots in bulk cheaper then you can grow them, so unless your focus is on the best carrot ever, buy it in the store, especially if you have a small area.

* Grow your herbs.

* Focus on what you do well and if you can’t grow a successful beet, then don’t. Let the farmers that specialize and dedicate their whole lives to lettuce grow lettuce and you grow something else.

* Feed your soil. Many people do not focus on the soil, but if you keep the soil healthy it will always give you healthy food that is more resistant to bugs and disease. This will prolong the life of your production. It may seem expensive to get a soil test and follow the recommendations of your lab, but it will be less money than losing your whole crop year after year or growing food that doesn’t taste right because you’re missing a key nutrient in your soil. Not to mention the  depression the follows every failed crop.

* No chemicals! The food tastes terrible or completely lacks taste (and it’s not good for any of us).

* Focus on a few items instead of growing many different specialty items. You may find it’s fun to grow 30 different peppers, but if you only have room for 60 pepper plants than you are only getting a very small amount of each pepper. Instead grow 30 plants of one of your best peppers and 30 plants of your next best pepper.

* Let your guests in on the secret. Offer tours or classes if you’re comfortable doing so. Add in the garden to any of your local or repeat customer newsletters or emails. If you stay in contact with your guests, add garden notes, updates, fun blurbs, and/or tips whether it be your daily twitter, facebook, or monthly newsletter.

* Be patient and take the pace of nature.

—Noel Lopeore

Secret Gardens: 6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants was originally featured on GoodLife Report. Reprinted with permission.

The post Secret Gardens: 6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants appeared first on Pursuitist.

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