Awakening Birthday Dinner

For my birthday dinner, I decided to put my recent awakening into action by making some changes with my grocery shopping habits.

The ingredients were composed from last minute shopping at Venice Wholefoods Market. I was so thrilled to take the steps to make changes by selecting “local” first then “organic”. I picked a free ranged duck and some organic green figs both from local farms, some domestic prosciutto instead of the imported one I usually get, and some local organic raspberries with mouthwatering fragrance. Since it is impossible to buy products without the conventional packaging, I decided to start with the breakfast cereal. I was so excited to find all the crunchy and tasty cereals at the grain section and got a few different mix instead of my all time favorite, Dorset Cereal. Dorset Cereal is so yummy and hard to give up, however, it does come all the way from Dorset, England, with a few boxes a week, there are quite a bit of packaging materials wasted and it does increase carbon footprints. By selecting local producers in loose bins seems to make better sense here. It was a positive process as I stock up my shopping cart.

I am fortunate to have choices and I can made conscious choices, not just to pay less for more, but making choices to support local farmers so they can be more productive with more natural products, to reduce carbon emissions, and to eat ingredients that are more natural, free of antibiotics, supplemental growth hormones, animal byproducts feed, long-lasting chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

To select a bottle of wine to pair was challenging. I don’t care for wine produced in southern Californian. Since it is my birthday, I decided to make one exception picked up a bottle of Schnaitmann Rosé from my favorite wine region, Württenberg, it has lots of fruit, dry, well balanced, and absolutely delicious!

Menu

Crispy prosciutto and calimyrna figs with caramelized balsamic vinegar



Duck breast with fresh raspberry coolie


Lime tart

Awakening

I decided to write this after reading Financial Time, Aug 12, 09, on the analysis column, A new twist on Life. After genetically modifying our food, restricting what seeds farmers can use and when they can use them, our Frankenstein scientist are now going into the ocean to modify algae for bio fuel. Not only that, species can be converted from one to another by “genome transplant”; an artificial chemical system that will evolve and self sustain in a couple year? Without strong ethics and strict control and over sight from governments and people, where these remarkable scientific discoveries will lead to is unthinkable.

I am well aware of Franken produces and meats traveling long distance to supermarkets still look perfect and pretty; they don’t smell or taste what they are supposed to. It is also known to me that the animals are kept in a confined space in factory farms. Yet it was awakening to learn what is going on in CAFOs. In order to convert farm animals to meat cheaply and quickly, concentrated animal feeding operations, CAFOs, were introduced to factory farms. A typical CAFOs, would house 1152 chickens in a 6X8 foot room, caged and stacked to the ceiling, and never see grass or sunlight. Animals get physically stressed so they get their routine antibiotics in their feed in order to ward off diseases, and the amount of manure they produce, the health impact, and the pollution this creates??? It is frightening.

While we are enjoying a memorable dining experience, Thanksgiving feast or back yard BBQ, we are also indulging ourselves with doses of antibiotics, pesticide, and GM crops, and the side effects are still unknown to us. In addition, we are indirectly creating pollution and increasing carbon footprints. I had to ask myself if I can still buy the groceries the same way I always do without making changes.

Coming from a food rich culture, I am passionate about gastronomy. I want my food to come from resources that is honest, fair, clean, and the natural way. I can’t change the world but I can change my little world.

Brie and Heirloom Tomato Omelette

Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripassa 2006

...Of course the bottle is empty...

I came across this excellent wine while waiting for my girlfriend at Cafe Ugo in Culver City. It was surprisingly delightful, balanced, easy to drink yet just complex enough to challenge your palate with a refreshing finish. At $29 a bottle at Wholefoods, it will not disappoint you.

Pacific Barracuda

Just around noon on this beautiful summer day, my neighbor knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted some freshly caught pacific barracudas; he just came back from sport fishing trip…lucky him!

As I approached his front yard, there I saw three 3-feet long strong, fresh, and handsome fish. He insisted for me to take two of them. After I took them home, I immediately cleaned them up without hesitation.

Barracuda is not a popular fish to be served in restaurants. Only the pacific barracudas do not contain fugu toxin. It is rare to get them so fresh that you can actually enjoy the intense flavor of the fish instead of wondering if the fish has gone foul.

A throughout cleaning is imperative. I always gut, clean, cook, or throw them in a very cold ice box immediately if we catch them ourselves, this helps to keep them fresh and flavorful. Cooking with skin on is OK but I usually don’t eat the skin.

Here is a simple receipt to cook this gorgeous ocean beast:

Scour the fish with a few cuts, top and bottom
Put fish in a oven bake pan
Splash generous amount of olive oil on the fish
Season with sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper
Slice heirloom tomato, different colors make the dish look visually exciting
Sliced yellow and red bell pepper
Well cover the fish with vegetables so they will keep the fish moist.
Add few tweaks of fresh sweet majoring, thyme, and oregano
Sprinkle capers on the veggie bed generously. I love them.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes at 350 F. Check the fish with a fork to make sure it is cooked. Try not to over cook the fish or it will taste flaky and dry.

Frida Mexican Cuisine in Glendale, CA

We arrived at the grand and airy setting of Frida at Glendale for lunch and were welcomed by the friendly staffs. Frida at Glendale offers casual hang out for margaritas and wonderful chips and salsa, green salsa was the preferred choice for us. The service was great, decent Mexican cuisine; it makes a nice stop before or after shopping.

www.fridarestaurant.com
The Americana at Brand 750 Americana Way
Glendale, CA 91210
(818) 551-1666

GJelina on Abbot Kinney

My hand chopped lamb burger was grilled to one’s liking, sandwiched between arugula, a slightly spicy herbal seasoned red sauce, and pain rustic was to die for. The skinny fries are lightly seasoned with herbal sea salt cooked to perfection, my standard, of course. I have visited Gjelina twice so far, the service is consistently impeccable yet very friendly and casual cool. The décor is arty Italian country modern with lots of aged wood, table and floor. We love the clear light bulb chandelier above the bar! The space is airy, comfortable, and it just always offers a delightful dining experience.

GJelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 450-1429