We made jian bing recently (crepe with egg and veggies inside, Chinese style). Usually the crepe would be wheat dough you have to knead and roll out very thinly, but we made this batch using dosa batter (rice-based) and they turned out great!!
We can buy dosa batter from a nearby Indian grocery store, so it’s easier. (Of course, if we made the wrappers at home, they could be whole wheat.)
I used a variety of fillings: egg, fried tofu matchsticks, Chinese pickled spicy mustard stem, fishcake (Korean-style, leftover), minced onion, green onion, lettuce, and cilantro. Sauces were hoisin, peanut chili oil, super spicy oil (leftover from hotpot), and garlic chili sauce.
Pretty darn good overall. My only tip for next time is to use less hoisin. General cooking instructions here.
We had really good Japanese hotcakes at a restaurant, Rule of Thirds, in Greenpoint. I thought it would be fun to recreate them at home.
The original. Goo in middle is maple butter. Plus the restaurant had fancy counters (walnut, maybe?) and fancy design in general.
The original pancake was light and fluffy, and somewhat eggy but not custardy. Like a standard pancake, it is probably leavened by both eggs and chemical leavening. But the soufflé-like texture is probably from a relatively high proportion of egg and whipping the egg whites. It was not very sweet, similar to a standard pancake.
I figured I wanted some features of a standard pancake and some features of an whipped eggy cake-y thing (not really a soufflé — the hotcake weren’t that eggy).
We happened to see the hotcakes in progress at the restaurant. The batter was ladle-able, but had enough body to make a mound in the baking dishes (definitely egg fluff). It wasn’t particularly yellow.
2 oz (1/2 cup) cake flour (I actually used maybe 3/4-1 cup)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1/4-1 cup (??) milk (I actually used maybe 2/3 cup)
2-3 Tbsp butter, melted (I actually used maybe 2 Tbsp)
Whisk flour and baking powder
Melt together milk and butter. Keep warm.
Whisk egg whites with sugar.
Whisk yolks until light in color and fluffy. Temper with some of egg white mixture.
Fold 1) into 4). Fold in 2).
Bake for 15 min at 350°F.
V1 of the home version. Not so close.
I think I reinvented corn bread (without corn). It wasn’t bad, but not very close at all to the restaurant version.
One big issue I had is that I added WAY too much milk, which caused the batter to be too liquidy. I added more flour to give structure to the batter, which made it too dense and cake-y. It seems like most of the structure needs to come from whipped egg whites. My pancake is also more yellow than the one at the restaurant. The eggs we get have super bright yolks, but maybe the “pancake” needs less yolk.
So for next time, I need less flour, and to reduce the overall amount of liquid (so less milk, butter, and maybe egg yolks).
Recipe to try next time:
Hotcakes V2?
2 oz (1/2 cup) cake flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 egg yolks
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Whisk flour and baking powder
Melt together milk and butter. Keep warm.
Whisk egg whites with sugar.
Whisk yolks until light in color and fluffy. Mix in 2). Temper with some of egg white mixture.
Fold 1) into 4).
Bake for 15 min at 350°F.
As it turns out, there are recipes online for “Japanese soufflé pancakes”. I didn’t bother searching, because I didn’t think the “hotcake” recipes I would find would be soufflé-y enough. I think I’ll continue with the experiment because it’s fun.
While Jimmy was at an internet café, I went to the nice Goodwill on 6th Ave. They have a section at the front with sorted-out fancier items (nice for a quick browse), but even the non-curated items are quite nice.
Prana. Intending to use this as more of a work/outdoors shirt. It fits pretty well, but the pattern’s just okay. The fabric is pretty loosely woven, so it may not last well.
“Flanders Linen”, although I couldn’t find out much about them. They claim to have been around since 1350. The shirt is only 30% linen, though. It is crisp and light — should be good for summer. I just washed everything, hence the wrinkles.
Corduroy shirt from Uniqlo. Really this is too big, but we’ll try it out.
My first Muji shirt!! I like their clothes. They have interesting construction, but are still simple. I like the low collar on this. Overall it looks like monk clothing.
Cuff detail. The cuff pleat is formed when you button it! Might use this on future shirts I make. Color is more accurate in the previous photo.
I also found this nice mixing/serving bowl on the sidewalk on the way back!
The first three pictures are from a quilt exhibit at the American Folk Art museum, on Tucker Square. The quilts were really cool. They also had a good exhibit on wind vanes a while back (there was a wind vane made by the guy who made the wind vane on Faneuil Hall in Boston – it’s a grasshopper!).
This quilt narrated a scene of people going to church and some Biblical scenes. “Twelv [sic] desires six on each sid [sic] of the river”. There’s a river off to the right, not shown.
Ladies going to church, if I recall correctly.
Quilt by a professor (?) of mythology with a sense of humor.
Seen at a thrift store, maybe Austin Creative Reuse. Black bean bag, anyone?
The front. I’m still not sure the green fabric was right for the border. It’s just a totally different look. I am glad I made the quilt bigger, though. It’s only just big enough for a twin bed as-is.
The back. Sibling C and I dyed the blue fabrics using indigo.
In use and with the edging sewn on! It looks good and it’s quite warm. I’ve been using it all winter.
About a year and a half ago I found an orchid at our local free-swap shelf. It’s the common kind, Phalaenopsis, and shockingly one of the plants bloomed last year! The flowers last a LONG time — several months — so it’s very rewarding.
Last year’s flowers!
With more buds open.
It seems that the secret to getting Phalaenopsis orchids to bloom is that they have to be somewhat cold for a few weeks, especially at night. “Phalaenopsis are induced to flower when exposed to temperatures lower than 79 F (26 C), particularly during the day. Traditionally, growers use a 77 F/68 F day/night (25 C/20 C) temperature regimen for spike initiation” (Orchid Society document).
I did this accidentally (and well below 68°), because our 1900 apartment doesn’t have great insulation and my orchid is right by the window. But if you live in a well-insulated or very temperature-controlled place, you might have to go to some effort to get cold enough temperatures.
If you want to avoid the winter chill requirement, you can get Polychilos subgenus Phalaenopsis orchids. I’ve been reading a lot about orchids. The success with this one has been motivating.
In fact, both plants are gearing up to bloom this year. One has a head start of a month or so, so we should have flowers for a fair bit of the spring and summer.
This is the same one that bloomed last year. It seems happy!
This one is blooming for the first time. See the new spike coming in right below the crown? It’s shaped like a backwards C and purplish in color.
I coaxed this orchid to have 4 leaves. Both plants have been aborting the oldest leaf when they grow a new one. I thought maybe they were too dry, so I misted them just about every day. I guess it worked?
My knitting needles have been in an opaque pencil pouch for a while. It’s hard to see them and everything gets mixed together, so I’ve been wanting a new organizer for them for a while. Over the winter holidays, I made my own with some scrap fabric.
Basic layout (unfinished — pockets will be added on the far left and right sides). The purple fabric is from an old sheet from my grandparents, and the green seersucker fabric is scraps leftover from a maternity shirt my grandma made (that both she and my mom used).
Rough design dimensions. I sewed it a little bigger than this, but it should’ve been even bigger! Some of my needles are too long and stick out.
Sizes of pocket pieces to cut.
Pattern for closed-top pocket (pleated for extra volume).
Finished inside!
Finished outside!
It ties so if you fill it up a lot you can still close it.
And with all my needles added! Besides some of my needles being too long, having multiple rows of needle pockets all on top of one another doesn’t actually work that well. The bulk builds up fast. It would be better to offset the pockets, just have one or two rows, and/or make each individual pocket wider. Definitely a step up from my old storage method, though!
