Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Around the world in 80 foods
Over the past few weeks, I have developed some new food obsessions, including:
-Greek yogurt with honey. This has replaced rice pudding (which I was admittedly getting kind of tired of after a year-long obsession with it) as my favorite afternoon sweet treat. I first picked up one of the Fage single-serving yogurt-and-honey packs at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, and since then, I haven't been able to kick the habit. It's just the perfect blend of tangy and sweet. How did I not discover this magical pairing until now?
-The Korean supermarket. At a holiday party a few weekends ago, a couple of Dave's friends were raving about the Korean supermarket chain H Mart (and its bigger, badder counterpart, Super H). Their descriptions of its mind-bogglingly big produce department and super-cheap prices were enough to perk up my ears (especially since the prices at my local Harris Teeter are starting to surpass Whole Foods levels of expensive insanity—$8 for a ball of fresh mozzarella? Are you kidding me?!). When I realized that the Super H was technically (via a slightly slower route) on my way home from work, I decided to stop by. Wow. Super H definitely lived up to its glowing reviews. The produce department took up at least a third of the store, and the selection was amazing. (They even had durian, the Southeast Asian fruit that's so stinky it's banned on public transportation in many countries. It was frozen, though, so it wasn't giving off as pungent of a smell.) I was able to buy pretty much everything I needed to make pad thai AND sticky rice with mango for just $20. (By contrast, I paid nearly that much at Harris Teeter for a half-gallon of milk and the four ingredients I needed to make the cookies below.) I foresee a lot of Asian cooking in my future for the next year.
-Amuse Bouche. My co-worker Sara introduced me to this blog, which is written by her college friend Katie. In one of those weird coincidences straight out of a J.J. Abrams show, it turns out that Katie actually has my old job back in Birmingham. Naturally, that goes a long way in endearing her to me, but her blog is also full of yummy-looking and easy-to-make recipes, so chances are I'd be reading it even if she weren't my career doppelganger. Do yourself a favor and make these before the holidays end and diet season kicks in. I'd share some of the batch I made last night, but I can't bring myself to do it. They're just too good.
Over the past few weeks, I have developed some new food obsessions, including:
-Greek yogurt with honey. This has replaced rice pudding (which I was admittedly getting kind of tired of after a year-long obsession with it) as my favorite afternoon sweet treat. I first picked up one of the Fage single-serving yogurt-and-honey packs at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, and since then, I haven't been able to kick the habit. It's just the perfect blend of tangy and sweet. How did I not discover this magical pairing until now?
-The Korean supermarket. At a holiday party a few weekends ago, a couple of Dave's friends were raving about the Korean supermarket chain H Mart (and its bigger, badder counterpart, Super H). Their descriptions of its mind-bogglingly big produce department and super-cheap prices were enough to perk up my ears (especially since the prices at my local Harris Teeter are starting to surpass Whole Foods levels of expensive insanity—$8 for a ball of fresh mozzarella? Are you kidding me?!). When I realized that the Super H was technically (via a slightly slower route) on my way home from work, I decided to stop by. Wow. Super H definitely lived up to its glowing reviews. The produce department took up at least a third of the store, and the selection was amazing. (They even had durian, the Southeast Asian fruit that's so stinky it's banned on public transportation in many countries. It was frozen, though, so it wasn't giving off as pungent of a smell.) I was able to buy pretty much everything I needed to make pad thai AND sticky rice with mango for just $20. (By contrast, I paid nearly that much at Harris Teeter for a half-gallon of milk and the four ingredients I needed to make the cookies below.) I foresee a lot of Asian cooking in my future for the next year.
-Amuse Bouche. My co-worker Sara introduced me to this blog, which is written by her college friend Katie. In one of those weird coincidences straight out of a J.J. Abrams show, it turns out that Katie actually has my old job back in Birmingham. Naturally, that goes a long way in endearing her to me, but her blog is also full of yummy-looking and easy-to-make recipes, so chances are I'd be reading it even if she weren't my career doppelganger. Do yourself a favor and make these before the holidays end and diet season kicks in. I'd share some of the batch I made last night, but I can't bring myself to do it. They're just too good.
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