Getting ready for winter?

Not sure what's going on but I've been in the mood to pickle all week. It seems that most people only get this way when they visit a farmer's market (and see irresistible produce) or with the approach of winter (to stock up on vegetables for times of need).

Me, I think I'm just in a bit of a domestic/homemaking kick.

On Tuesday, I first made Chinese pickled (napa) cabbage (sometimes called "Sour Cabbage" on restaurant menus). It's a Northeastern Chinese delicacy that can be enjoyed many ways - straight, in pork and lamb hot pots, dumplings, or stir-fried with various meats. Not one for waiting, I'm using a recipe that requires only 3 days of fermentation. Since I reduced the recipe by quite a bit (the original called for 2 large heads of cabbage), C thinks that my batch is under salted/seasoned but I'm hopeful that it will turn out well. It's now day 2 so we will see how it tastes tomorrow night. (Hopefully C will be willing to have the first bite...but I will be nice and cook it first before having him taste it. LOL~) If successful, I'll probably proceed with the next step and make some lamb hot pot this weekend.

Today, I made Korean yul mul (water) kimchi or "pickled white radish (daikon)." Again, the fermentation process will be short, only 2 days this time. C isn't a big fan of this dish but I love how it tastes with Naeng Myeon (Korean cold noodle). Again, something to be had this weekend.

Later tonight, I'm going to try a Japanese* recipe for homemade ginger ale. Supposedly, cafes and bars in Japan often serve a ginger ale cocktail with something made by Asahi called "Wilkinson Ginger Ale" but since the syrup is hard to obtain (even in Japan), people try to make their own versions at home. As with the other two recipes, this one won't take too much time - only one night (mainly for the syrup to chill).

All this plus C's homemade Magarita pizza for brunch on Saturday...I guess you can say it's going to be another food-filled weekend. Which means that spring time is here in our household. Yay! Let the food play begin!

*Notice the use of CJK recipes? I'm such a freak.

[Photo credit: Metroblogging/Tokyo]

Fun design/interior idea site

I'm kind of slow at discovering cool things but it's not a race and I'm just as happy to be the first or the last to find interesting ideas.

Today's happy design find is apartmenttherapy This week's news email from DWR mentioned that they're running a contest for the "Smallest Coolest Apartment" in conjunction with Apartment Therapy so I followed the link to see more info and photos from the various entries.

To my delight, they have this feature called House Tours where you get to see slideshows of real people's homes [the one linked here goes to the San Francisco collection]. Not only do you get to read tibits about the space residents - their design aim and recommendations - but also photos of all of the design elements that are mentioned. One, in particular, contained links to flickr albums that had the before/after photos of a project in Bernal Heights.

Just seeing the photos gives you a sense of what the couple had to go through to create their dream home. C and I would probably never be willing to go through all that hardwork and waiting but I can imagine what it would be like to live in such a home where every nook and cranny reminds you of the dedication and passion you put into the place.

If ever we actually find a house that we'd like to settle in for a "long" time (which would be > 10 years?) then it might be fun to take on a project like this. But then again, we're having trouble just keeping our place neat and clean right now so maybe getting there would be a first step.

[Photo source: apartmenttherapy.com]

Things that make me smile...

My happy photo find of the day from Mondo Gelato...(so sad that they closed in Berkeley)