Baked Pork Buns, My BUNdle of Joy

I have a confession to make. My favorite meat to cook with is pork. As boring as it sounds, I make pork stewed in soy sauce at least once every 2 weeks. For variation, sometimes pork belly is used or pork feet for that gelatinous texture. I don't know why, the first day of pork stew, it's still good just eaten with steamed rice. The second day, I started to get the itching to make something else out of it. And most of the time, I relented and make pork buns using the leftovers.

Instead of steaming them as usual, I baked them.

Bread-That-Was-Supposed-to-be-Ciabatta with Shredded Pork

Couple days ago, Danielle from Runs with Spatula gave me an award, thanks Danielle! It sounds like a fun thing to write but to be honest with you, I don't know what to write when it comes to 7 things about myself. I will try...

1. I'm a bookwhore. My husband hates how I leave books all around. Trip to bookstore is always filled with temptation.
2. My yearly new year resolution is to be less profane, somehow I haven't succeeded yet. 
3. I get all happy and excited when I go grocery shopping, and spend less than I expected. Then I will show the receipt to my husband and yap about it for a good 15 minutes til he tells me that "I don't really care how much you save". Ouch.
4. Socially inept. It's really hard for me to start a conversation. But after 5 minutes of talking, usually things go smoothly. 
5. I cannot live without chilli sauce. Or chilli itself. We buy the 136oz huge jar and it'll be gone by the end of the month.
6. My husband is 11 years older than me, but sometimes I look 5 years older than him. Life. is. not. fair.
7. My right thumb nail is deformed, has been that way since I was 14. Don't know what's wrong with it. Anyone?

Back to food, last week I made two huge loaves of ciabatta from Peter Reinhart's book, Bread Baker's Apprentice. It was good but definitely not ciabatta. It doesn't have huge airpockets as it should be. I love eating ciabatta just as is, without any adornments. Unfortunately, this bread-that-was-supposed-to-be-ciabatta (BTWSTBC) is too dense to eat as is. So I decided to slowcook a piece of pork shoulder butt with ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, paprika, garlic and dried chilli flakes. And shredded it by hands and top the BTWSTBC with the shredded pork. 

The crunchy, rustic-looking crust with the soft bread and the juicy, tangy pork, without a doubt, is delicious. If that bread was a pillow, I'd love to sleep on it. But the thought of having bread crumbs on my hair snapped me out of it. And pork is such a versatile ingredient. No matter how you prepare it, it will turn out edible if not tasty. And I believe pig's sole purpose in this world is to be eaten. Cow/cattle serves multiple purposes, chicken too. But not pig. Where is pig's destination other than the butcher shop? Oh pork, how I love you.

BTWSTBC is just a vessel for the awesome pork. The inside was scooped so it could be used as a shovel, for transferring the pork from plate to mouth. Eating utensils aren't needed.

My "Beef" with the Fast Food Nomad, Just Because I Want Him to Live Longer!

From where I came from, fast food is the quintessential of American food. To us, KFC is the golden ticket to feel "Western". Your $1 burger worth so much more back there. With so many other food vendors, while I can't say they're very hygienic (just don't drink the water), selling better tasting food, it is ironic we still crowd the fast food joints. In United States, I understand, because price wise, these places are way much cheaper than let say, Serious Pie. But in Indonesia, with food vendors being literally every where you go (they cost way cheaper too), why would we flock to fast food joints? My mom said "Well, fast food is much more trendier than your usual food vendors".

Tell me this looks better than the $1 burger..

My husband is an avid fast food consumer. I nickname him "fast food joint nomad", which he hates by the way, since he practically jumps from one to the other. It's weird how he complains about me overspicing food considering how salty fast food is? I still don't understand until today. My biggest wish right now, is for him to cut down his fast food intake. I'm not a controlling bitch, but I just want him to be healthier. And also not looking forward to the day our son could question "why don't we eat McWhatever burger, but Daddy does?" I am not a saint myself, I have my own share of junky food. Obviously, once every now and then, enough to make me feel so guilty.

Everyone can make fried chicken, if they don't mind deep frying

The other day I was so pissed. We went to the baby's 4-month checkup and on the way back, hubby wanted to grab some fast food. It being around lunch time, of course it was packed as hell. He kept on offering our son "do you want some burger from XYZ?" And I was so glad my son said "No, I want roast pork" (We had roast pork the other night). While waiting for the other cars to move forward, he asked our son again "So you want some?" I don't know, perhaps it was me being super hungry or PMSing, but I was pissed. Didn't say a word after that, just let our son decides for himself, right? And still glad he declined. After 20 mins at the drive thru, we went home and I heated some of the roast pork and sauteed some spinach. Voila, all done in 10 minutes. I crossly said "Faster than Jack". Although I was trying to make a point, I regret being so frivolous. *Disclaimer: I love my husband so much, but not his food choice*

Brined roast pork with lemon

I just hope that slowly (we've been together since 2006, and I've only seen a little progress) he'll eat healthier. That is all. Am I selfish for wanting him to live longer? He loves to complain about how he feels bloated (uh, DUH? The cheezburger did it). And plus, these food from fast food joints isn't so fast anyway. But to make the change easier, I've been making stuff that fast food serve, but with wholesome ingredients.

Stuffed Bitter Melon Pyramid, No Wonder He Likes It

I can't believe I used to hate bitter melon. The bitterness is actually so natural now, I can't have enough of it. Funny how my son loves it, although it's not his "favoritest" food, he doesn't show repulsion (like I did) at all. Kids nowadays are so picky, I'm glad mine is not!

Get to Know It More, and You'll Love It

Have you ordered food at a restaurant, with high expectation, but it turns out to be a flop?

We were shown a duplex unit in Ballard, and loved it. It was within our price range, on the ground floor (we have a stomper here) 2 bedrooms, bigger than our current rental and it has washer and dryer in unit. It felt too good to be true, and it was. The next day, the agent said that the owner decided against renting it and wants to sell it. That was like the flopped dish. You were expecting it to be so good, it makes you moan. Turns out it makes you moan out of disappointment.

But then, have you ever had food that looks so-so if not unappealing but it leaves you sated and happy?

Yesterday, we stumbled upon this ads for a rental in Greenlake. It's an apartment complex with more than 5 units on premise. We felt iffy because for one, most resident managers look at us as nuisance (thank you kids) and for two, it might not be the first floor (it wasn't mentioned in the ads). For three, more neighbors to deal with (not that we don't like our neighbors, but our current neighbors on the left hand side are bad enough to make us worry).

When we were met by the resident manager, I was relieved. She loves kids! Of course she didn't say that, or it might be an overkill. But we can sense it and it feels sincere. Also she said that there are other kids in the building, slightly younger than my son. And then she walked us to a ground floor unit, I was pretty much so happy at that point, I grinned from ear to ear (yeah, I haven't mastered the art of hiding my feelings). Yes! The one available is the ground floor unit! And the neighbors? That part, I don't know yet but it's a corner unit so nothing much to worry. So far, it has everything we need. With 2 kids, it's a necessity to have washer and dryer in unit.

We sent in the application and hopefully we passed and get it (I think we should.. unless they have other people who applied before us). So right now I'm just crossing my fingers! 

That Greenlake apartment is like the food you expect to flop, but turns out to be the one that makes you feel sated and giddy with excitement.

That kind of food looks like this.
 

Ham hock is not appealing at all, thank you Mother Nature. But it's oh so good when cooked to perfection. The meat falling off the bones, with the chewy yet tender skin. Stewed for so long, you can taste the deep, dark soy sauce and garlic in every inch of the meat. Coupled with crunchy chopped red chilies. What is not to like?

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have second.

You need to get to "know" it more, and you'll love it. ps: Eat with your hand (whichever you prefer) for maximal pleasure.

From Sausage to Corn Dogs

After weeks of being busy doing homework and school-related stuff, last weekend my husband finally had spare time to spend quality time with me. Our idea of quality time? Sausage making. Amid the hum of the stand mixer, we talked. We were catching up. Nowadays, juggling with two kids (me) and pursuing his master degree plus working full-time (him), it's hard to chat without interruption of a 4-yr-old wanting attention. Or a 3-month-old needing her milk. Or a homework needed to be done. 

 

Chili for Chilly Weather

2011 is my 7th year in Seattle, I am still not used to the cold weather. Even my husband, who's been living here his entire life, cannot stand the chill. And after consuming copious amount of herbal soup these past couple weeks, we agreed we need something we haven't had in a while. But it has to have the same warming effect herbal soup has.  

End of Sausage Casings Quest and How Sausage Making is Better than Twilight

And finally the sausage casings quest has ended. One of the perks of my husband working in downtown is, he can walk to Pike Place Market and gets the sausage casings at Don and Joe's Meats.

So this is what we had for breakfast brunch today. And it's neat how my husband actually enjoys helping me make the sausages.