GAC, LLC, Est.

Over the last few weeks I've been heavily involved with a firm of wee folk, the Gingerbread Artisan Company, LLC, Est., in the creation of a gingerbread house. True, most gingerbread houses do not warrant a full construction crew, but this house (or "haus," as they prefer to call it) is to be an entrant in the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show at the Tulsa State Fair this next weekend.

Rather than bake entire slabs of gingerbread and cement them together into a lifeless box, akin to modern pre-fab buildings of today, I have decided to enter a construction with a bit more character. I enjoy the art of timber-frame construction, and several books on the subject got me thinking... "I'm going to need some really tiny woodworkers..."

Enter GAC, LLC, Est.

They have a wonderful work ethic and know where to find the gingerbread trees.

After using an adze to shape the gingerbread logs (left), the logs are cut to sizes manageable to manuver (right).

I had to provide various tools for the Artisans to use, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves! The mortar they used was a mix of walnut flavouring, red and green food colourings, powdered sugar, water, and the bark from the cinnamon trees cut to provide the logs.

Construction proceeded as layer by layer, the logs were fitted together in a design inspired by The Foxfire Book (I lent them my copy).

Once the roof's beams were set into place, roofing proceeded quickly and efficiently.

I would like to invite everyone to the Tulsa State Fair, and specifically the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show! Show up on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 for fun and sugar! Bring your camera!

There, you can view the completed log cabin (and more photographs of its construction) as well as other confectionary constructs submitted by the author (and a great many other constructions submitted by real professionals). :)

All photographs and their contents are the sole property of the author;

any unauthorized use thereof will be met with an angry letter

at the very least.

Duk Hing, a pilgrimage into Chinatown

Within San Francisco's Chinatown, there is one deli everyone should try -visitors and locals alike.
Have you ever eaten chicken feet? I have not yet found another restaurant nor recipe that produces the chicken feet sold at Duk Hing. Also known as 德興雞鴨肉食公司, Duk Hing Chinese Deli & Meat Inc. is located at 1151 Stockton Street.

德興雞鴨肉食公司

If you are in doubt, look through the front window upon arrival. Duk Hing's chicken feet are right up front. Go inside, stand at the counter and explain how much you want (by box size or in dollars).

Wonderful view of non-goopy chicken feet!

I ordered one of the large to-go boxes. I thought I would have all evening to munch away... it turns out I didn't, due to a prior engagement (roller-derby), so on to the munching!

One box of scrumptions feet...

You might be asking yourself what is it exactly that one eats off a chicken's foot? Answer: everything but the bones. There is a surprising amount of stuff there: skin, tendons, etc. No, no, don't go "ewww;" folks never flintch away from eating fried pork rinds (especially the flavoured ones!).

Front to back: Before, During, & After.

They smell wonderful, they taste wonderful, and if anyone out there knows Duk Hing's recipe, would you please send it my way?

If you care to see the "standard" chicken feet recipe available in the US, try searching for "golden pheonix claws." If you find yourself looking at gooey, sauce drenched, battered & deep-fried pile of what once might have been chicken feet, you have done your search correctly.
...Now you can say "ewww."

The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

Good day to you, my friendly blog reader!

You may have noticed a lack of blog posts over the past several days. Mostly this is because of my work, which has nothing to do with culture, architecture, or food, and much to do with geometry... but I digress.

In the last few days, I feel I have made up for all of that. Over the next several days, you will be able to see what I did with my vacation to San Francisco, CA.

What's that? How could I have made it to CA and back in 4 days without killing the horses? We in Oklahoma do have access to planes nowadays. Still don't believe me? OK, how about this:

'In Oklahoma, we don't have access to quality
Chinese merchandise such as this.'

All in all, it was a good trip: my sister used her time for Ph.D. research, and I'm stocked on (yes, a pun) tea for the next year or so.

Were you wondering, yes, the title is a reference to the infamous H2G2 'drink.'

They said they served Udon...

...And they did, sort-of.

Today, I visited Pho Lien Hoa (901 NW 23rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK -Open 9AM to 9 PM all week long). If you know where the infamous Miriwa Chinese Restaurant is, Pho Lien Hoa is just to the west of that place.

The store always seems pretty busy. Of the 30 or so available tables, most were packed.

A word of advice: they do not accept any credit cards.

The atmosphere is pleasant: there is a fish tank and many pieces of artwork; the tables are oddly futuristic-looking; I especially enjoyed the cow diagram showing, in Vietnamese, the names of various meat cuts.

As the title of this post would suggest, I went because I had heard they served udon. Udon is a thick wheat noodle of Japanese origin, and one of my favorites (Udon wo daisuki desu yo!). Besides the udon, egg and glass noodled soups are available with an intriguing array of additives. Each soup only comes in one size and costs around $6.50 apiece.
I ordered the shrimp & pig leg udon soup. I could not ask for a nicer vegi plate: jalapeño, very sweet limes, bean sprouts, saw-toothed herb, and thai basil.

The soup itself, though containing a higher meat:fat ratio than I could have expected, was only okay. The broth was okay. The meat was okay. There were a lot of onions- green and bulbs. The udon noodles were very bad: they had been long overcooked and then chopped into fragments of between 1 and 3 inches.

Overall, I suppose they rate "1 & a half Silver Doughnuts" (out of a possible 5).

I'm sure that many people love this place, but for the way they treated those poor udon noodles, I will not be returning.

The Potluck Dilemma

I enjoy what can generally be considered, at least for the majority of the US, non-traditional foods. In particular, fishing cultures are my favorite.

The problem is that I also want to share my appreciation with others, while at the same time others do not want to eat strange foreign grub (literally or otherwise).

Potlucks in particular can be a useful tool. A "potluck" is a gathering of people at which everyone brings some form of food (a 'pot' of their own)- what you end up eating, as a whole, depends greatly on 'luck.' In Oklahoma, nopales (cactus, Mexican cuisine) will go over rather well, whereas bringing cooked insects (Native American, Asian, et. al.) will often be sampled poorly.

I try to balance between what locals will actually be willing to sample, and the interesting and wonderful flavours/textures I hope to introduce.

Here is my solution to The Potluck Dilemma: Instant Jellyfish Stirfry

-Another nice thing about the Potluck is that labels are often not present; the following potluck dish looks sufficiently like vegetables and [perhaps] noodles that people do not hesitate to try it.

Ingredients:

At least 2 pkts of Instant Jellyfish (available for less than $1 apiece at most Asian food stores)

Instant Jellyfish is different than preserved jellyfish. The latter requires sequential soaking to remove the salt in which it was preserved. The Instant form also comes with its own seasoning packets.

A variety of vegetables:
I normally use Cabbage, Carrots, & Bean Sprouts (In the following demonstration, I replace bean sprouts with snow peas)

A small measure of canola or safflower oil.

A sprinkling of Sesame seeds.

& a Pan/pot with mid-tall sides.

Method:

1. Slice/shred Carrots. Slice Snow Peas. Combine all packets of Intant Jellyfish (but not the included spice packets!).

2. Place pan/pot on heat. Add small measure of oil; also add one of the oil packets that was included in the Instant Jellyfish package. Add Carrots, then Cabbage.

3. After Cabbage & Carrots have begun to wilt a bit, add the Bean Sprouts/Snow Peas.

-You might also add Sesame Seeds.

4. After the vegetables have been well and truely cooked/ stir-fried, add the Jellyfish.
At this time, add half of the flavouring packets that come with the Instant Jellyfish.

5. Only allow the Jellyfish to warm. Overcooking jellyfish can make it 'difficult to eat.' The warming of the jellyfish will release an amount of fluid. Strain the resulting mixture, place in plastic container, take to potluck, and serve.

5b. I also print out a small warning label: "Do not eat this if you are allergic to any form of seafood."

Enjoy. Most people find the dish agreeable, even enjoyable.

You can tell them what it was later.

Yatsuhashi in Japan

One of my favorite features found within the Japanese Stroll Gardens (Edo) is the Yatsuhashi.

As can be seen in the above picture of Shohinken in Yatsushiro, Kumomoto Prefecture, the yatsuhashi takes the form of a bridge composed of 8 planks wandering through a bed of iris, though not finishing very far from its beginning. The iris found in Shohinken are a special variety known as Higo Iris (肥後花菖蒲), and were blooming earlier than when the pervious photograph had been taken. (For better pictures see more images at http://flower-k.at.webry.info/200605/article_76.html.)

The yatsuhashi would seem to be a recognizable symbol from Japanese literature, specifically "The Tales of Ise," depicting an 8-channeled river.* However another attribute with which it has been imbued is the philosophy I especially enjoy- "It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end."†

The final picture of a yatsuhashi traversing rather symbolic iris beds comes from the large stroll garden of Okayama. In the short period I spent in Okayama (and not being able to read much kanji), I found only 3 things that would have made the visit worth the trip... one was closed, another was small, underground, but very interesting, and the third was the garden. If you ever find yourself going past Okayama, stop and stroll through the garden- it is very much worth it!

*Keane, Marc. Japanese Garden Design. Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc. Boston, MA. 1999.
†Japanese Gardens and Japanese Garden Design. http://www.explorejapan.com/jgardens.htm Online: Accessed 13 May, 2004. (Link provided for bibliography only- no longer goes to referenced content. You may visit archived content via: http://web.archive.org/web/20040402053423/http://www.explorejapan.com/jgardens.htm)

I always have Phởn...

Have you ever wondered where to find a really good bowl of Phở in Oklahoma City?

There are quite a few places that serve the soup, and many of them quite good, but I generally go to Mr. Phở. Located in the Super Cao Nguyen Center (the large glass and brick building attached to the Super Cao Nguyen Supermarket) at 1133 NW 25th St, this shop is always busy at lunchtime.


Two entrances: inside & outside the Super Cao Nguyen Center

As the name would suggest, they serve Phở. They also serve Hủ tiếu (rice noodles), Mì (egg noodles), and various rice dishes. For those who do not come for the Phở, they also serve a range of specials that include choice of rice, etc. I go for the soups:

On the left, delicious phở; on the right scrumptious mì.

Prices here are very reasonable, and most of the soups are available in three sizes (the pictures above show the large, which tends to be enough for my lunch). In the background of both images, you see the plate of herbs... sometimes they give you saw-tooth herb (Eryngium foetidum). ^.^

The menus are bilingual Vietnamese & English (well translated), the staff is very friendly, their front window opens on the giant teapot fountain, and the food is great. They open at 10 am.

There! You've no excuses not to visit!

Many appologies if my computer refuses to use the correct characters. And again, I have no affiliation with this shop (besides the fact that I eat here quite often indeed).

Dim Sum in Oklahoma City

If you like traditional Chinese cooking, Grand House is the restaurant for you! Located at 2701 North Classen Blvd, in Okc, it has been a good food standard for years. Every weekend from 9 am to 3 pm, Grand House serves an amazing array of Dim Sum to their adoring fans.

Standard Fare

Ahhh, Grand House, let me count the ways: 1 squid curry; 2 steamed pork buns; 3 delicious dumplings; 4 roast duck; 5....

In reality, it's hard to find something about Grand House I don't like... No, wait, I don't like their chicken feet. I think they're steamed, then batter deep-fried, then stewed...? If it weren't for the bones, I'd be hard pressed to identify them as chicken feet at all. Not at all like Duk Hing's chicken feet (more on them in a later post).  2010 CORRECTION: I had not tried the chicken feet at Grand House for several years, having disliked this dish the last time I tried it. On January the 3rd, 2010, I tried it again, and was surprised to find that it was different from my memory.  Thought still unlike Duk Hing's fare, Grand House's chicken feet are no longer battered and stewed, but rather simmered in a mixture of garlic and broths; it was quite unexpected and fairly tasty.
...I can now say in all honesty that Grand House serves nothing I don't like.  (PS: Try their congee!)

If you decide to sample of Grand House's wares, try to aim for before noon, as around that time the mob begins to form and you can expect some wait. You can make a reservation too. Lots of birthday balloons do not seem to be a problem either.

Did I mention the desserts? Sure there's the Dessert Cart (I highly recommend the flan), but there's also the desserts you can buy at any time:

Just inside the door, on the left.

Drop in and buy a chocolate mouse for that special someone in your life, or cheesecake and tiramisù for those that do not like mice.

Find them online at http://www.grandhouseokc.com/index.php

I am in no way affiliated with Grand House, I just love eating here.

It's harder than you think... "Heh-hey!" -or- Was this what viking was all about?

In Towerblaster (available at http://www.y8.com/games/Tower_Blaster), a fun and somewhat difficult online game, you are pitted against your mortal enemies, the Viks, in an attempt to build a numerically stable tower. The Viks' objective is the same, but they are hidden behind a tarp, and shout things like "we're almost done," and "just a few more pieces!" Sadly, your side seems to have a few disadvantages: you are visible to the Viks, you get taunted by the Viks, and if your tower gets blown up, you get to fall all the way down (the Viks get to hang on the the tarp's tower).

...Still, it is an amazingly fun game...

And thusly I do hereby launch this yogurt...

Welcome to my new blog!

It is at the moment, alas, fairly empty... But what about that nice, fresh blog smell, eh?

-Content Coming Soon-