I went shopping a few weeks ago at a well known Vietnamese grocery store in Seattle; one with an in-store deli. We'll call this place "A". I was standing in the checkout line which happens to be next to the deli when I noticed something out of the ordinary. Three of their employees were literally throwing deli items that they had sitting out into boxes and taking them into storage. While the other two were frantically putting time labels onto their to-go boxed goodies that they had sitting out at room temp.

What the heck? Apparently, a health inspector was on his way to pay the deli a visit. Which explains "clean up" they were doing.

Yesterday afternoon while eating at another well know Vietnamese restaurant in the international district (We'll call this place "B") I suddenly heard the waitress screaming into the kitchen "Bò Tới! Bò Tới!". Curious to see who was coming I turned my head towards the door and noticed.....my sanitation teacher from school....who also happens to be a health inspector walking in. I directed my attention back towards the kitchen ('cause I'm noisy as hell...) and heard "bao tay! bao tay!" (gloves! gloves!).

The fact that place A, was cleaning up, and putting time labels on their food items proves that they possess adequate knowledge of food safety and sanitation. The same goes for place B. I just wonder why they have to/want to wait until the health inspector shows up for them to comply.

In America, 76 million people get food food poisoning each year! Most of those cases can be prevented by following a few simple guidelines.


-Cook foods to proper temperatures.

-keep hot foods hot, at or above 140'F

-keep cold foods cold, at or below 40'F

-Avoid the danger zone, however cooked and ready to eat foods can be stored in the danger zone for up to 4 hours (because it cooked to the proper temperatures, it takes at least 4 hours for bacteria to multiply enough to cause harm)... Seattle's food regulations allows 4 hours in the danger zone but there has to be a method of keeping track of time for each item hence the time labels place A was frantically putting on their food.

-thaw frozen foods in the fridge, under cold running water or in the microwave

-cool foods to at least 70'F within 2 hours of cooking and then below 40'F within the next 4 hours (in a nutshell, what you're trying to do is cool the food item to 40'F or below asap, within 4 hours).

-reheat cooked foods to proper at least 140'F for at least 15 seconds.

-prevent cross-contamination

-don't touch ready to eat foods with your bare hands...or any bare body part....:p

-when storing food in the fridge, store from top to bottom:

I'm done! C.O.D. went great. I scored a 94/100. Good enough....lol

here it is....

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me over the years. ;D I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

you may be wondering what's going on...or you probably already know what's about to happen.

To recap, about a year ago, I started culinary school...or pastry school to be more exact. After 5 quarters of studying and *trying* to master the art of pastry; it's time for me to graduate. March 5 is my "C.O.D." (chef of the day). C.O.D. is the required final project and is composed of the skills and techniques learned, and personal creativity and taste. Within 4 days I am required to make: a type of bread that requires at least 2 days to make (aka a 2 day bread), a viennoiserie, a decorated mousse cake, a chocolate/candy or petit four, a tart, and a plated dessert. All of which have to be made from seasonal and somewhat local ingredients (from the NW or at least west of the U.S.). Oh boy....

I've actually been looking forward to this for a while and I'm getting more excited as the day comes near. Passion is the name of my C.O.D. because baking is my passion. Combining east and west is my theme. On the menu...we have...

Bread: Pain au Levain with Bacon Roasted Garlic
Viennoiserie: Bouchees with Rendang and Acar
Tart: Roasted Pineapple with Lime Mascarpone, Pistachio, and Oranges marinated in Spiced Red Wine
Mousse Cake: Black Sesame Spongecake base with Soursop coulis, and Coconut and Mango Mousse
Plated Dessert: Pear and Kumquat Mousse with Chocolate Sauce, Coconut Loveletters, Cirrus Cheese and Kumquat Rice Wine Cocktail
Chocolate: Tea Ganache with Passionfruit and Pomelo Flower

Everything must be displayed by 11am on "the day", and will be judged by the chefs that I have been studying under. Afterwards, it will be open to the public for viewing at around 12:15p.m. Viewing is free but samples cost $5 (school's policy) and must be ordered in advanced....anyone want a taste ;p...

Here I go...

Here we go again, what's new this time?  I figured I won't have much time to decorate...so I made the mushrooms ahead of time.  When it was time to serve I just stuck the mushrooms on and voila!

Recipe for cake is here.

For the mushrooms:

You're going to need:
-2 egg whites
-100g granulated sugar
-2 tbs powdered sugar
 -cocoa powder

*Whip the egg whites until soft peaks, gradually add the granulated sugar and whip to stiff peaks, fold in the powdered sugar.  Pipe the mushrooms onto a baking sheet.  The stems and caps are piped separately, of course.  Dust the tops with some cocoa powder and bake at 200'f for about 45 mins to an hour. 

To assemble the mushrooms; "glue" the stems to the caps with frosting, melted chocolate, glucose, melted sugar...pretty whatever you have on hand and is sticky.  

Introducing my newest project/blog:


Stop by when you have the chance and tell me what you think ;).

Cheers!

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything...

If anyone cares or was wondering...I'm not dead, just busy.

Doing What?

The Maitreya Project brought sacred relics to Chùa Việt Nam (the temple where I volunteer), so we were busy busy busy.

Then it was the Trung Thu aka the Moon Festival. So, it was moon cake making day and night to get orders out.

Cake? Where's the Cake?

Today was another sunny day in Seattle. As usual, I was around 2 something p.m. I was sitting in Psychology and the class was discussing human behavior and cultural influences. One of the scenarios was "You have asked your mother-in-law not to give little Elliot a piece of chocolate cake because it will spoil his dinner. She says that she make the cake especially for Elliot and gives him a piece." The question was what would do next/how would you react?

OMG! 2 of my classmates basically replied they would tell her the cake will spoil his dinner, take it away and save if for after dinner. Another said she would tell Elliot how thoughtful it was of his grandma to bake him the cake and ask him save it for after dinner (nice!).

My question is, what's wrong with just letting him eat the cake? Think about it, IT'S JUST CAKE. So what !?!? if it spoils his dinner. Little Eliot isn't going to fall over and die just because his missed dinner that day. The world isn't going to blow up just because he ate a slice of cake. Right? Furthermore, being 'Assertive', taking the cake away, insisting to save if for later causes more bad then good. Bad? Yes, your mother-in-law probably won't like you very much (you might not care but...why would you want someone to hate you?). You're sending the grandma the message that you and Elliot are rejecting her love and affection. She is your mother-in-law, and you're bound to run into one another more then a few times in your life time (i.e. during holidays). So if there's a grudge between the both of you, don't you think the grudge will kill the everyone's holiday mood? Not to mention, you're also putting your husband between you and his mom. Elliot will lose respect for his grandma, since you showed him that you overrule her. Elliot also be in a bad mood since he wants cake and can't have it. You probably won't be in good mood after the ordeal. So why would you react that what? There's nothing to gain. Is it really worth it? Over a slice of Cake? nah.

How would I handle the situation? I would just let Elliot eat the cake. What not, right? Instead of thinking the cake will spoil Elliot's dinner, why not take it as a gesture of love. Realize, appreciate, and be happy with the fact that your son is loved. It's just cake! If this happens regularly, I would tell the grandma in private. Even then I would find a nice way to tell her, maybe...somewhere along the lines of "Mom, I feel really guilty knowing that you're spending your time in a hot kitchen baking him these cakes just for Elliot. Why don't you take a break and relax. Elliot has had so much cake in the past few weeks, that I don't think a break from your cakes will upset him too much."

Is my solution too 'Asian', and my classmates too 'American' (whatever that means!)? I don't think so. I was once told that 'no one on this earth is nice, everyone has a bit of mean inside of them, the only difference is there are people who are dumb and people who are smart'. LOLZ But if you think about it, it's kind of true. There's a time and place for everything, you have to be smart and pick your battles.

For god's sake, let the boy eat cake!

If you posted a question within the last 2 weeks and don't see it published/answered...it's because I accidentally deleted it. Sorry...anyways here are the answers to the questions. If I missed any please repost. Thanks.

Re: Where to buy traditional molds for loveletters.
-Try looking online.

Re: Beating the eggs for Banh Bo Nuong
-the main point is to mix everything evenly without adding too much air into the batter.

Any takers?


A quick lesson in Vietnamese. Me: a tree fruit also know as Tamarind. Me can either be sweet, or sour. The sweet kind makes a great snack as is. The sour kind is used in cooking to make anything from canh chua to soda Me (Tamarind soda). You can find sour tamarind at most Asian grocery stores in the spice section. It comes compressed in block, dark brown in color.

All Purpose Tamarind Paste/Syrup:
-200g sour tamarind
-300g water
-400-500g sugar
-1 tsp salt
-chili peppers (optional)

What to Do:
Boil together tamarind and water, let mixture sit for at least 1 hour (better if overnight). Strain tamarind in a sieve (press with a rubber spatula or a spoon to extract the pulp, throw away the outer seed coverings). Mix together tamarind pulp, sugar and salt, bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Uses:
Me Ngào Đường (Sugared Tamarind): A sugary sour and spicy snack. Favored by young students in Vietnam. Heck! I live in America and I like it too. *Mouth watering* Serve as is with toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top and a tooth pick to eat with.
Soda Me (Tamarind Soda): 2 tsp tamarind paste + 1 cup club soda mixed together, top with crushed peanuts.
Canh Chua: Omit tamarind soup base and replace it with tamarind paste. As with savory dishes, you can eyeball the amount and give the dish a taste taste and adjust before serving.
Nước Mắm Me: Omit lime juice and sugar, replace with tamarind paste.

Stepping off the Traditional Road.....
Tamarind Cosmo: Use your favorite Cosmo recipe and replace cranberry juice and lime with 1 tsp tamarind paste.

This is a "5 year plan" that I recently did for one of my classes. I've always been the type of person that takes life a one day at a time and thus I don't put much thought into what the future holds in 5 or 10 years. After a few weeks (I had all quarter to do this) of deep thinking, of looking into what I'm passionate about and how/what I want to do with my life; here's what I came up with...don't laugh!

The “Big Picture”
I’ve dedicated my 20s to exploring the world and enjoying the freedom of being able to wake up everyday and do whatever I feel like doing. I don’t plan to settle down until I’m at least 30. In five years I’ll be 27, which means if according to plan, I still have 3 more years to do random things. So my five year plan is more like a 7 ½ - 8 year plan. By the time I’m 29-30 I would like to own my own bakery/school.

I’ve always wanted to be a teacher since I was in first grade. Their ability to inspire and guide the future is amazing! I wanted to do just that. However, about two years ago while visiting a few of my former teachers I discovered that because of standardized testing; teaching is not what I used to be. Sadly, becoming a fulltime, hardcore teacher is out of the picture but there’s still a little desire deep down inside of me to teach something.

Baking is the drug that I’ve been passionately addicted to ever since second grade. It was the week before Christmas break and Mrs. Jolly taught the class to make sugar cookies. Mamma Mia! I’ve been hooked ever since.

Whatever you’ve received a lot of, you should give back. I feel very fortunate to have the privilege to live in a society that embraces individuality, uniqueness and freedom. I grew up in a loving family, and we always had food, clothes and shelter. I had wonderful teachers who always encouraged me to do my best; to never be good at something but be great at it. My aspiration is to give all of this back to less fortunate children in third world countries. Children are the future and if we want the future to change then we must take the initiative to educate the future. Teach them to not be afraid to question authority, to believe in themselves, embrace their individuality, be compassionate towards others, be open-minded to change and always have passion for what they do.

Back to my bakery/school thing... My plan is to eventually open a bakery and I’m going to call it Moi Passion La Vie or Passion for short. It’s going to be a European bakery with Asian flavors; the best of both worlds. Instead of hiring chefs, I’ll hire pastry students so I can teach them a thing or two while working for me and hopefully be able to inspire them to reach for the stars, the same way my teachers have inspired me. All of the profits will go towards building orphanages and schools for children in third world countries. With anytime left over I’ll teach a class on something, do fire dancing, acting, tailoring, wedding flowers; all of the stuff I’ve been doing…all on the side, to keep life interesting.

My rough, very rough 5 year plan:
1^st year:
Take fire dancing lessons, work somewhere, probably a small bakeshop just for the experience.

2^nd year:
Travel the world.

3^rd year:
Learn to swim and then go to Hawaii, Florida or Mexico to swim with dolphins.

4^th year:
Try to get a job doing pastries in a hotel, save some money. Try sky diving.

5^thyear:
Start a catering business, with the money saved. Build up reputation, save more money. Meet my true love.

6^th-8^th year:
Open Moi Passion La Vie with money saved. Try to turn a profit within 1 ½ years of opening Passion. Use profits to fund schools for orphans in third world countries. Get married and adopt my first child by the time I’m 35. Write a book? Teach something?

I know I’m going to run into countless obstacles and a few things are probably not going to turn out as planned. But I’d rather do something and have it blow up in my face then to not do it and have to go through live wondering what if. Nothing is impossible when you’re fueled by passion.

Sounds good? Am I too ambitious?