-Tao of tea Sada Chai

-Cardamom (4 whole, green, cracked)

-Cinnamon (whole, 2 sticks, broken into chips)

-Black Pepper (whole, 3 peppercorns, cracked)

-Ginger (dried or fresh 2 teaspoons)

-Whole Milk

-Sugar

1) Boil 3 cups water 2) Add 1 heaping tablespoon of Chai tea. 3) Boil for 5 minutes or until liquid has a dark color when spooned 4) add spices and lower heat to a rolling boil for 5 minutes 5) Add cream and sugar to taste 6) Strain

You can add more spices, more tea, soymilk, honey, vanilla, or whatever else you would like.  This is a simple base to move from.  Try with roobois tea or even mate.  They all are options.  Happy tea making!

I am a proponent of using less in your kitchen.  A wooden spoon, two or three good knives (when I say good, I am not thinking of the $100 German varieties – just ones that hold an edge), and some decent pans should suffice.

That being said;

I love my immersion blender, coffee grinder and salad spinner.  They are great!  I use my coffee grinder for spices, if you can get whole spice and then grind them to order, you use less to get more taste.  To clean, just run some rice through it and you should be good.

I’ll talk about the other two at a later date.

What I have just learned is the power of age-old methods beating out new technology.  I recently purchase a cherry stoner, it was a complete waste of money.  It was at a nifty store and had nifty colors, so I was sold (Pretty colors!  Oh boy!  Buy two!!).  I paid a nifty amount more than I should.  A bit of advice: when you want to buy something for a specific chore in your kitchen, take some time and think about it.  This may well be the only time you EVER buy it, so perhaps buy it where you would expect it to be used a lot.  I spent too much money and found a better option at the Fruit Loop (http://www.hoodriverfruitloop.com/index.html) which I should have picked up.  I made a huge mistake.  So if you want to get a pasta maker, wait until you pass a few Italian festivals and see what they use, if you need to make some dim sum, perhaps sneak a peek into the kitchen.  You will be glad you did.

If you need further reason, just look at this link:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=cherry+pitter&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1552678820060043352&sa=X&ei=VEImTqPgBYqcsQPk8e38CA&ved=0CIQBEPMCMAU4Cg#ps-sellers

How easy is that?  Ten bucks and you have what you need for life.  It also attaches to a mason jar, something you probably are using when pitting 20 pounds of cherries.  Lesson learned, I hope it helps you a bit as well.

I have been a lucky man.

From travel to school, work, family and great friends, I have very little regrets.  One of my favorite things that occurs when one gets into a conversation about food is the glow of the person once you hit that string that really matters to them.

The two photos on this post are from different sides of the world (Bangkok and Los Angeles) but them seem pretty darned similar to me.  Good food at a random place, happy smiles and an excitement about what has just occurred.  Both places were good, and everyone tried something new.  The French food in LA (escargot, butter, wine – always a winner), to the mystery meat bowl of yummy steaming goodness on a questionable establishment in Bangkok was nearly as good as the people who were a part of it.

I love food almost as much as I love friends.

I am thankful for both.

One of my friends has asked me more than once about how to spice up ramen.  If you were thinking the question came from a bachelor, you would be correct.  So here are a few ideas to make a killer ramen dinner.  Yes, I just said that.

Throw away the bag of ramen noodles and go have a decent meal like a grown up.

If that does not work:

Throw out that little bag of sodium thought of as ‘flavor packs’.

Then….

Paprika, specifically Hungarian Paprika.  It is warm and tasty and smokey, it is, in a sense a full spectrum spice that will make broth look really neat and taste good too.  The flavor of a good paprika reminds you of a rich hearty meal that would include roast beef.  Adding this alone to hot water and ten cent noodles will be lunge (far more than a jump) in the right direction.

Lemon grass and shallots.  These two things will make anything taste good.  What I would do is use take the shallots, slice them thin and cook them on medium high with some olive oil (just a bit), once they are browned, add the water for the noodles, boil, then add the noodles and diced lemongrass.

Miso.  Oh miso, you are a friend of mine.  There are many colors and types, so just get a dark or brownish red variety and add some to boiling water and then add the noodles after the miso has broken down.

Beef broth and a little cheap meat (or veggie broth and some firm tofu).  This is a quick way to make something much like Pho without all the extras.  Just brown the meat (or tofu) at the bottom of the pan, add water and then the noodles.  Add some green onions to be extra fancy.

The trick is to have some items in your pantry that you can use for a lot of things.  Miso lasts for a long time in the fridge, so does fish sauce, soy sauce, as well as good quality spices.  I advise to use a lot of spices.  Not a ton of salt, that is where you get something that is overpowering.  So the blends are nice, but don’t go nuts.

If you have never gone – go.

If you have ever had a conversation with me and the word ‘restaurants’ and ‘SE Portland’ was included, Pok Pok was on my list.  This Vietnamese / Thai restaurant is fantastic.  Let me be more specific.  They have a dish called Papaya Pok Pok (Som Tam – a Thai salad) which can be so hot that you will stop making verbal statements which are understandable by anyone around you.  That being said, you will not even realize how hot it is until you are about twelve shovel fulls into it, as you will be gulping it down too fast.  Note to self:  Eat it slowly and ask for it milder.

But the heat is not the reason to go.  The food is so good every time, every item that drops in front of you.  The portions are reasonable, and it is a good idea to bring others and order a variety of items.  That being said, you will find the one you fall in love with and start hoarding.  You wont be able to help yourself.

The place has been open for years, it’s great, and everyone who has been there says the same thing.  If you live in PDX and have not yet tried it, please do so.

Top items to enjoy while there;

Papaya Pok Pok                                                                                                               Khao Soi Kai (Curry soup with chicken)                                                                                 Neua Naam Tok (Flank steak salad)                                                                                     Kaeng Hung Leh (Pork belly)                                                                                               Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings

3226 SE Division Street, Portland

http://www.pokpokpdx.com/

This was a winner from my ‘change of seasons’ dinner event. Really easy to make and even easier if you have an immersion blender (a regular blender will work, but it’s not as cool).

In a large pot, over medium heat combine:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup rice
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon onion powder
As oil warms, add rice, garlic and onion powder. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add:
1 can whole tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil ( 5-6 large leaves minimum, go ahead and add more, it’s cool!)
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme (or more, I’m pro spices)
Bring all of this to a boil and then cover for about 30-35 minutes, or until rice is very tender. Once cooked, add mixture to a blender and puree for until smooth. Return to pot and add:
*1 cup heavy cream
*1 cup non-fat or low-fat milk
dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Combine and bring soup to just a boil then take off heat and serve.
* 2 cups of whole milk can be substituted for the 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup milk, which is less fat, but still very flavorful. I have made the soup with low-fat milk only and the flavor is not as rich, plus the texture changes.

Spice Road Market may not be open to sell you tasty spices at this time, but that does not mean the passion for food is lost! Over the next few weeks we will start providing some recipes, restaurant reviews and cooking ideas.

Feel free to email me if you would like to see something specific.