Bay Area Cooking

I wake up in the morning and consult the Google calendar. Lately I’m not sure how I could make much of anything happen without it. Tasks are driven largely by to-do lists with breaks for an occasional lunch. And lots of granola baking in between. My yoga teacher hasn’t seen a whole lot of me, and Sam and I finally went grocery shopping for real last night (it’s been awhile). This time of year seems populated by things that other people need done: from the farmers market organizers to new Marge vendors and book-related emails  – there’s a lot to tend to. That is, until the craving to bake cookies strikes on Sunday night and it seems that, actually, everyone can wait. (...)Read the rest of Just Because (777 words) © megang for A Sweet Spoonful, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: farmer's market, Marge Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Fueled by a burst of summertime energy, I’ve been feeling quite productive at home and work and was looking forward to clearing many more items from my to-do list this week.  But plans... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

After a weekend of partying, gourmet eats and running around at Disney World, we’re ready for simple, homemade meals. This past weekend, Scott, Todd/Diane and I hosted our 6th Food Blog Forum event at Disney World (well, it’s 2nd time at Disney, 6th conference overall). I’ll be sharing lots of photos and thoughts from the event in another post – we’re all still decompressing! In the meantime, here’s one of our “house recipes” – something I make quite often and practically with my eyes closed. There’s no measurement, no weighing, just what you’d call a dump-n-stir, except this is more like a throw-in-n-stir-fry. The great thing about stir fries is that a little meat goes a long ways. Just 1/2 pound of ground chicken will feed 4 people. You can sub with any type of ground meat – I like chicken best. If you don’t have baby bok choy, sub with Napa Cabbage, regular Bok Choy, or any leafy vegetable like kale! Baby Bok Choy with Ground Chicken Stir Fry Recipe Video *** Bok Choy with Ground Chicken Stir Fry Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes If you love fish sauce (we do!) use 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon fish sauce instead. Ingredients: 2 teaspoons cooking oil1/2 pound ground chicken1 stalk green onion, chopped2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger2 cloves garlic, finely minced1 pound bok choy, cut in half lengthwise1 tablespoon water2 teaspoons soy sauce1 teaspoon sesame oil Directions: In a wok or large saute pan over high heat, add the cooking oil. When hot, add ground chicken and saute until browned (but not fully cooked through). Lower heat to medium-high and add green onion, ginger and garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add bok choy to wok with the water, toss well to coat with the oil, aromatics and chicken. Cover the wok. Allow to cook for 2 minutes or until the bok choy is crisp-tender. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and toss well for 30 seconds. The baby bok choy should be just-tender in the stem, but not too soft. Serve immediately.    ©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2013. | Permalink | No comments

About Holdaplate While pursuing his MBA, John Zox, formerly a professional musician, began taking design courses to nurture the right side of his brain.  Hidden in plain sight at those famed biz school cocktail parties was an unsolved design challenge: how to hold both a plate and glass in two hands while also attempting to meet, greet, and eat. The eureka moment was realizing that the heavy center of gravity, the alcohol and glass, had to remain in-hand; current market solutions, all of which involve hanging or balancing glassware off a plate’s edge, were both precarious and inelegant. The Holdaplate™ was thus born, and with the skill of architect and product design partner Ding Liu, brought to life for cocktail partygoers everywhere to enjoy. The 6-inch plate, offered in materials ranging from plastic to paper to porcelain to bamboo, and generally dishwasher and microwave safe, is available online at www.holdaplate.com, or wholesale via special order from the company’s Philadelphia headquarters. Holdaplate – The Cocktail Plate Evolution “The Holdaplate™ is literally the most innovative plateware product I’ve seen in years. It’s that good!” touts International Housewares Association consultant Joanne Stone-Geier.  We’ve all been there: that awkward balancing act performed exclusively during a cocktail party, when we must hold a plate of food and a glass—one in each hand—while attempting to shake someone’s hand or eat. The 2013 A’ Design Bronze® and Good Design® Award-winning and patented Holdaplate finally solves this problem – without hanging or balancing your cup off the side. Product Testimonials A subtle, almost whimsical contour, or LipGrip™, in the plate’s periphery allows for a cup of any size to easily nestle alongside, held in place by the user’s index finger and supported effortlessly by the remaining fingers below.   And unlike party platter solutions on the market, the Holdaplate™ is elegant enough for even the most formal of gatherings (beautiful and simple in form), is easy-to-use (glassware stays in the user’s hand), and is versatile (works with any size cup or wineglass).  Eat. Greet. Finally! Included in this giveaway 6-inch; Dishwasher Safe; Stackable; BPA-Free; Available in Melamine, lightweight plastic, porcelain, and compostable paper at www.holdaplate.com 1 Set (6 Plates) of Lightweight Plastic Dishwasher-Safe Holdaplates (White), MSRP: $12 1 Set (6 Plates) of Lightweight Plastic Dishwasher-Safe Holdaplates (Black), MSRP: $12 1 Set (6 Plates) of Upscale Melamine Dishwasher-Safe Holdaplates (White), MSRP: $25 (Approximate Retail Value Total: $50) How to enter this giveaway Please fill out the entry form below. For good contest karma, like and follow Holdaplate on Facebook and Twitter. ©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2013. | Permalink | No comments

Peace. Quiet. Two simple things in short supply these days. With weekdays full of honking cars during dreaded commute traffic, ring tones that jolt, emails that never cease and all manner of pinging high-tech gadgets tethered to us 24-7, our lives are assaulted by so much noise – both figuratively and literally. So, when Folgers [...]

Creating the exotic flavors of Morocco in your own kitchen just got a whole lot easier, thanks to Chef Mourad Lahlou of San Francisco’s Aziza restaurant His new line of gourmet spices, mixes and sauces for Williams-Sonoma transports you to this faraway land with its heady fragrances and flavors. Recently, I had a chance to [...]

Try the Mini Food Gal App — For Free Yes, now here’s your chance  to try a mini version of my Food Gal “Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining” – for free. Available at the iTunes store, the  free version has 21 recommended restaurants on it. If you like what you see, you can download [...]

I mentioned on a recent post that my Kindle reader has been practically attached to my left hand for the last two weeks.  If not in my hand, it’s been conveniently in my bag, ready to be... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  Forgive this post for being a little schizoid. But when I visited the former Betelnut restaurant in San Francisco last month, it had recently revamped its interior and menu and had renamed itself Hutong restaurant. But after a lackluster review from the San Francisco Chronicle, Hutong abruptly became Betelnut again. Fortunately, many of the [...]

I’m breathing a huge sigh of relief tonight.  After a few months of one problem after another on the back-end of this blog, everything is getting back to normal and L&A even got a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]