Keep Calm and Carry On: The Diary of Foodie and Gourmet

I think I have mentioned this is in earlier blog posts, but my parents and I are all about supporting local farmers. Whenever we visit our cabin, we always like to stop at various stands along the way to stock up on the numerous goodies these famers have to offer. One of my favorite things about being in upstate New York, is definitely all of the locally sourced produce and meats. (I guess that makes sense --- being as obsessed with food as I am!) The farm stands in our area are outstanding and they sell super fresh produce, as well as delicious grass fed meats. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed! Our newest discovery and favorite farm to visit is Sawkill Farm. This is a small farm owned by a young (soon to be married) couple, Michael and Kallie. All of their animals are grass fed and pasture raised --- and their meat is absolutely phenomenal! Some of the best I have ever eaten! I’ll tell you, this place may not look like much, but you won’t find better quality meat anywh...

The past two weekends, it has just been me and dad. My mom returned to Japan for a short visit, leaving me and dad to fend for ourselves. Luckily, my parents are foodies like me, so even though it was just the two of us, dad and I still ate like royalty! Some highlights from our time alone: Grilled venison steaks Sautée fiddle heads and a gorgeous salad   Getting me ready for my exams with a lobster dinner! Yum! My dad also prepared his famous summer salad. It's so delicious! The best way to end an evening --- nespresso and Zabar's chocolate babka We celebrated the end of my finals with dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant, Umeya Dad smoked chicken livers for our venison Wellington  The venison Wellington was a massive success Reflecting on these pictures, I guess I know where I get my "foodie tendencies" from. Thanks, mom and dad! 

This post is wayyyyy over due, but I wanted to share it anyway. This past April, I attended the "7th Annual BC Network Breast Cancer Symposium." I actually wrote a post about this event last year, too. (To see that post please click here ).  As I mentioned in my previous post, the "BC Network" is a Japanese organization founded by breast cancer survivors. This Japanese network is meant to serve as a support network for those who have survived breast cancer or have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Furthermore, BC network endeavors to educate the Japanese community about breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, etc. Personally, I think this is a wonderful organization and I support it. As someone aspiring to become a breast surgeon, I am always interested in attending breast cancer related events. I must admit, I have recently become fascinated with the field of oncology in general, especially the biochemistry of cancer, but my main focus is still breas...

I love food. Considering that this is a food blog, I guess that fact is obvious. What I should probably say is, I love gyoza. I don't know what it is about gyoza, but I go crazy for them! Gyoza, shumai, dim sum. Japanese, Chinese, Korean…. I'm not picky. I will inhale them all! I am like a gyoza eating machine. A few months ago, my best friend H invited me over for a gyoza party. She is is like my sister and her parents are like my second parents, so I was very excited at the prospect of having a delicious dinner with them. Not to mention, the main course was…GYOZA! Yum!  Making gyoza is an art form --- or at least I believe it is an art form. Thinking of the filling requires an understanding of flavor combinations and frankly, assembling the gyoza requires a dexterity that my finger's don't quite have. Still, I did my best and pulled my weight at this delightful gyoza party. Mrs. A, H's mom, had us make several kinds of gyoza: shrimp and celery, pork/cor...

Over the past several months, I found myself in a rut. Due to my constant studying, I was always cooking and eating the same foods. Not to mention, everything I made was super fast. Grilled chicken, steamed veggies, etc… Getting sick of this routine, I wanted to treat myself to something delicious and decadent.  At the grocery store, I knew I was in the mood for seafood, but what kind? That was the question. I settled on shrimp. The next question, how to cook the shrimp. I looked online to get a sense of what kind of shrimp recipes were out there and liked the idea of garlic butter shrimp. I glanced at a couple of recipes to get a general gist before attempting it myself.  I must say, this recipe was fast, easy, and so so so delicious! A great weeknight dinner or if you want to impress some friends!  Ingredients: - about 1 8 tbsp or 4 oz butter - 1 lb shrimp - 5 garlic cloves, minced - 1/4 cup chicken stock - 1 lemon - 2 tbsp chopped parsley ...

Birthday Lunch: Earlier this month, I celebrated my 25 th birthday. Yup, that’s right. I made it to the quarter of a century mark in my life! Hard to believe I am 25…I keep asking myself where the time went. I’m not one to make a scene, so my 25 th birthday was a very low-key affair. (Also, I was in the midst of preparing for my finals exams and the MCAT). To kick off my birthday weekend (my birthday wasn’t until Sunday), I met my mother for lunch on Friday. We decided to go to a delicious Japanese soba restaurant in the East Village called “Soba-ya”. The food is always excellent and I always want to eat Japanese food. For lunch, my mother enjoyed soba with mitsuba and jako fried tempura style. I opted for the “mini don” lunch set that allows you to have a small donburi (rice bowl) AND soba. I like everything, so I always find it hard to choose just one dish. This kind of a combo meal allows me more variety, which makes me a very happy customer. I opted for co...