Baltimore Road Trip Extravaganza

Liang and I had an adventurous trip to visit some friends who have moved to Baltimore for a medical residency. The drive out wasn't too bad at all (after we got out of Pittsburgh traffic of course). When we got in our friends showed us around their new house, which is super adorable! And OH the rooftop deck :D
Up on the deck they pointed out all their neighbors they've met and told us a little about their neighborhood community, which sounded SO amazing. Apparently, the area they live in is known for the roof top decks - so much fun! I was so happy to hear that they found a nice neighborhood they could fit right into and make fast friends :) and all the activities Mansi is involved with, that girl impresses me to no end! I do not know where she gets the energy, but I could use a serving of it :D

After the grand tour we walked to Nacho Mama's, where I got to experience a pulled pork quesadilla (which is mouth watering, trust me)

Giant, no?

This puppy not only had the pulled pork, but jalapeno mac n cheese and a couple cheeses within it's crispy tortilla topper. It was a monster, as you can see. To wash it down we were going to try a hub cap margarita, but we arrived after the cut off time to order one. So, instead we ordered the locally popular National Bohemian beer (90% of distribution is in the Baltimore area), otherwise known as Natty Bo. This may be the most fun and interactive beer I have had in a while. Why? Because the cap provides hours of entertainment for drunk people trying to work out the puzzles, plus there's a guy on top with an awesome mustache! haha

I am digging the 'stache



The beer was tasty for a light beer, plus it gets bonus points for being fun. The next morning we got up and went to a local park to walk around and find a place to do our book club. We found the perfect place to enjoy looking at a whole bunch o' ducks (plus a few geese), and shade for my sake haha. It was so nice to be able to enjoy each others company since we hadn't seen them in so long. As I've never been part of a book club before, I wasn't sure what to talk about. But Mansi had discussion questions and I feel more prepared to better participate in the next meeting. Later, we headed out to Little Italy where we had some brick oven pizzas (mouth watering...) and then onto a gem of a place called Vaccaro's. Can I just say the array of Italian desserts was amazing. We got a mix of cookies, a piece of Tiramisu cake, and a chip and dip (cannoli shell chips and cannoli filling) to share. Next visit I will definitely be buying an assortment of cookies and cannoli.

The Harbor was a happenin' place! All kinds of vendors and people. A neat guy was painting beautiful pictures on all kinds of items, like cardboard and planks of wood. Very artsy :)
I was amazed at the size of the Barnes & Noble at the harbor. The old building was more charming and had more character it seemed like to me than the newer more modern buildings (that's just me).

That night we got to eat at what Liang was hunting for, and I had heard so much about, blue crab!!!! I have never had it before, but boy is it involved eating haha. I will say that eating with a mallet was way more fun than it should be. I had fun, but it was Liang who destroyed the crabs with superior focus, so she should get all the credit for this table of devastation!

I'm glad I got to experience that, with a professional :)

The next morning we got up and went to a famous breakfast place, Blue Moon Cafe, and (very patiently) waited in line so we could experience the food that everyone has been talking about. I got the captain crunch french toast, which is topped with whipped cream and fresh cut fruit. I didn't even need syrup - it tasted so good (thinking about it is making my mouth water just a little bit!) Liang got her fill of crab by ordering the Maryland Eggs Benedict, which is Eggs Benedict with lump crab meat.

 Delicious :)



Soon after breakfast we headed out back to Pittsburgh, but the drive wasn't too bad on the way back either. Once we returned, Michael took a picture of us to remember our happiness at the end of our voyage (I must have been tired with my eyes closed and all hehe).

Our trip was fantastic and I can't express enough how awesome it was to see our friends and hear about how they're doing. I can only hope next year rolls around and that David and I do half as well in adjusting to our new city as well. We already have our next traveling book club meeting tentatively planned, so when they come visit us, Liang and I will have our work cut out for us to make the trip as much fun as we had, but we can't wait!

Ramen in Pittsburgh: Taste Test at Last!

After months of waiting and two failed attempts to eat at the newest Asian-cuisine addition to Pittsburgh, we finally scored our bowls of noodles last night!

I ordered a miso-base ramen that had one large chunk of stewed (chashu) pork and a bunch of bean sprouts. I also added a soft-center egg. It was great. The noodles were chewy and plentiful, the egg yolk was wonderfully unctuous, the meat was tender and very generously sized, and there was plenty of soup to slurp.

Michael opted for a soy sauce based soup with wontons. He had five wontons, a decently sized piece of tender white meat pork, and plenty of slightly pickled bamboo shoots. He enjoyed it and gives it 3.5 truffles out of 5 truffles.

So would we go back and recommend it to others? I would say yes and yes, but with an asterisk. We wouldn't necessarily frequent it very often as a random weekend dinner, as it is indeed a bit pricey ($9-10) for an-only-slightly-better bowl of noodle soup than we could make at home with frozen ramen kits from the Japanese grocery store (~$4, serves 2).

But it would be a fun experience with friends, good amount of food for the price, and they have some wild crazy ramen choices that you can't get from the grocery store (e.g. kimchi ramen, curry ramen). Unlike many Yelp reviewers, I think the amount of meat they give you is really quite tasty and generous (obviously those reviewers haven't eaten at noodle establishments in Asia where they only give you a few super thin slices of meat per bowl of noodles). And it really isn't that much more expensive in price than noodle bowls at other Asian restaurants, like Vietnamese pho.

Next time, curry ramen!

No Whey - We Made Cheese!

I will admit, my title made me laugh which means you now know my big secret - I'm pretty lame :)
But I am getting  off topic, so we had quite the adventure the other day: early Christmas present, delicious food and intriguing spreads! Liang came over bringing her surprise which turned out to be the neatest thing - a cheese making kit. Not only was it a magical dairy transformer package, but it was a MEGA magical transformer kit because it lets you make several different kinds of cheeses! But Liang had more in store for me because she pulled out 2 quarts (her purse was like Mary Poppin's bag I swear) of goat milk and a huge grin on her face when she informed me that we were going to make cheese! Yum. Again she reached into her purse and pulled out 2 more goodies, a fig butter and an olive tapenade that would pair wonderfully with the cheese. I kid you not, I was drooling.

We set to work sterilizing everything, heating up the milk and adding the citric acid when needed, cheese salt, and brought everything to temperature. The only time we faltered was when  we were ready for the curds but we weren't sure how fine was okay to work with. Needless to say a few extra pinches of citric acid later we decided to take our chances and let it drain through the cheesecloth and see what we got. It was a bit tricky lining the colander with the cheesecloth and pouring in the curds and whey but we managed it - slowly! After draining we put it in the little draining mold the kit came with and placed the sack-o-cheese curds we had created into it and topped it with a can of pinto beans to weight it. Finally after 30 excruciatingly difficult 30 minutes we were able to unveil our creation. We peeled off the cheesecloth from the sides and revealed a beautiful and perfect 1/2 lb goat cheese.

You can be sure that we savored this little white block of heaven with the tasty fig butter and olive tapenade. I know I definitely ate more than I should have, but I figure dairy is good for me because it helps ward off osteoporosis - so I was really investing in my future by indulging in this delightful treat hehe. YES I am aware that I'm deluding myself but I am perfectly okay with that :) That is my story and I am sticking to it (besides, that's why we run during the week, right?) Now don't get carried away, we didn't eat the WHOLE 1/2 lb of cheese (geez!) Most of it is saved for David's party this weekend, so maybe you'll get a chance to try it!

Kanelbulle!!

Since our recent visit to the Fall Foliage Festival all I have been able to think about is treats that I love to eat when the weather turns. And since I love to eat said treats so much I have to try and make them a little healthier at least to justify my gorging on them :) So I thought I would share one recipe I make that I REALLY enjoy (and I think Liang and Michael have too) and look forward to making soon. Unfortunately, I have been too busy to make this just yet - but I will be doing it soon! (I have a hankering for them so it has to be soon ha ha)

I was curious and found a fun fact about cinnamon rolls - the first cinnamon roll was baked in Sweden on October 4th, and there it is now known as National Cinnamon Bun Day. These delicious buns are called "kanelbulle" there, but they are known as delicious everywhere I know.

Cinnamon Rolls

I would like to say these are at least a tiny bit healthier (or maybe its my personal bias) and certainly tastier than their store bought brethren that come in a can that you have to slam against a counter to get to pop open. These puppies are more like when you wake up from a dream and you smell delicious bread baking in the oven, the caramelizing sugar, the yeasty bread smell . . . sorry I'm starting to salivate a little . . . well I didn't wake up to this today, but you can imagine what I'm talking about.

**These rolls freeze wonderfully, and can be reheated in the microwave or oven. You can also prep the dough the night before, just make sure it comes to room temperature before you proceed.

• 3 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (about 1 1/2 packages)
• 1/4 c warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 c shortening
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c milk
• 1 egg
• 4 1/2 - 5 c flour, sifted (I use bread flour)
• melted butter
• brown sugar
• cinnamon

1. Add warm water, sugar and yeast together and let sit 10 minutes, or until frothy.

2. Scald the milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and then let cool to tepid.
3. Add the yeast mix and beaten egg to the tepid liquid. Then add 4 cups of flour adding one at a time beating after each addition.
4. Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle. Knead it until it's elastic and smooth. Avoid using too much flour because the finished product will be a dry, tough bread. Turn into a well oiled bowl and let rise 1 1/2 hours.

5. Press dough down and divide into a workable size. Roll dough into a rectangle. Cover with some melted butter and then layer on a generous layer of brown sugar (a good one is 1/4" or more thick of sugar). Sprinkle on the cinnamon to preference and roll up jelly roll fashion.
6. Cut off slices from the roll that are approx. 1 1/2" thick using unflavored waxed floss (trust me this is easier than trying to cut with a knife). Place the slices in a greased pan, giving them all a little room because they are going to rise!

7. Let them rise until they fill the pan generously, about another 1 hour.

8. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden on top. If they get too brown, cover them with a piece of foil until they're done. Don't over bake them!
9. Remove immediately from pan by inverting them onto a plate and then use another plate to right them. OR you can just serve them out of the pan to people :) Now for the glaze!

Glaze:

•  1 c powdered sugar
• 1/2 c (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Mix cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. Spread the glaze on rolls after they've cooled to just warm - unless you really like your glaze runny, then have at it!

I have had customers at my work beg me to bring it in every week since I first made them, so you can be assured they're at least good enough to give a chance. (Of course I don't make them every week, otherwise I'd NEVER finish a 10K race Gangnam style or not...)