I need a drink

TOPIC: Beer

I feel like work has been non-stop and with the undercurrent of drama I haven't had a restful night in the past week.  What is there possibly to stress about?? I just want a dreamless night, please. So all I could think about after work is getting a beer.  Not just that but grabbing beer, heading to a rooftop and hanging out with friends while we talk about life. There is something about beer that makes me feel like I am allowed to be lazy.  Thank you Homer Simpson.

Credit: comicvine.com

That aside, here's the breakdown of beer:

WHAT'S INSIDE?

1. Where as wine comes from grapes, beer comes from grains.  Usually it's barley but others grain like oats, wheat, corn, and millet have been used.  Barley is best though and has become the grain of choice.  First, the grain has to be converted to "malt."  This is done by soaking the grains in water and allowing it to breakdown from the inside out.  Enzymes from the embryo (innermost center of the grain) work outwards by breaking down cell walls and starch + proteins that reside in the endosperm. It will sprout and signal starch digestion has occured. Yay! Longer soak in water means darker the malt. (sugars turn brown, just like when you make caramel). The kiln process is next where the grains are dried and heated to kill the embryo and retain the balance of enzymes and sugars. That dry grain can be stored and used whenever it is needed. TA DA! You have malt. 
2. Hops. It's the female flower portion of vine plant. Not saying the name because it's in Latin and we all know that's a dead language. Moving on, they are crucial to the flavoring of the beer. The more dried hops are added, the more flavorful the beer will be. Think dark, earthy microbrews. This is also where the bitterness comes from. Erm..not a fan of that but to each their own!

PROCESS

1. Mashing: malt is reconstituted with water and both starches and protein is broken down into it's most basic form of sugars and amino acids, respectively. Then you call that brown liquid wort. What a weird word.
2. Boil, boil, toil and trouble: add the desired amount of hops. During this process, flavors are extracted from the hops, bacteria is killed, and enzymes inactivated. The result is a darker, more concentrated wort.
3. Fermentation: yeast is added. Most common is Saccharomyces cerevisiae (for fast fermentation). The process takes about a week at a pretty warm temperature of 71F/21C.
4. Conditioning: Where the beer is clarified and bubbles are produced from carbon dioxide. Ideally it would happen naturally but who can wait for beer? So nowadays, carbon dioxide is pumped straight into the mixture. The beer is then filtered to clear it of all the yucky things floating inside, packaged and pasteurized. 

SERVE

Keep it away from light because the beer will develop a strong sulfur odor. Skunky is the term. The light reacts with the hop's acid creating an unstable free radical that in turn will react with sulfur compounds thus resulting in the skunk smell. Not so tasty. 

Cold for lighter beers. Room temperature for lagers/darker beers to get the full body flavors.

Yeah. I can't believe I typed all that. Here's a video of all those crazy beer myths you heard. Can't believe beer before liquor, never sicker has been debunked. Sadness. I need a beer. 

chocoLATE

A belated Valentine's Day to all the lovers. An amazing Single's Awareness Day for the better lovers!

I had a customer approach me with a bouquet of roses. They were absolutely gorgeous, until they weren't for me. pashaw. Get out of here, Romeo.

I would have to side with those cynics calling Valentine's Day a marketing scheme by corporations to make people spend lots of money on a single day's importance. That's ridiculous. To wait for one day to show you love your love? You're better than that.

So what's the deal with chocolate? Roasted cocoa beans smashed into a liquor to drink and savor. Or as they do now: blended with stabilizers & enzymes, pumped into molds, and cooled through long tunnels to be wrapped in colorful paper and purchased by you. Yum yum yum?

And old chocolate? I recently found a stack of chocolate bars hiding in an old lunch box from 3 years ago. Yum, Salmonella. Anyways, I opened one of the bars to see how it looked after being suffocated in a plastic lunchbox in a cool basement. It was the usual white-ish film I see on old chocolate. What is that weird white stuff? (that's what she said?) It's FAT BLOOM. Super sexy! The fat a.k.a. the cocoa butter separates from the chocolate and raises to the top or surface of the chocolate. Still ok to eat but texture is off making the chocolate a bit grainy. What happened?? Basement was a pretty moist environment and the chocolate was clearly not stored well. Exposed to these elements, the chocolate had little chance of surviving the three years.

No. I didn't eat that.

Have a great week! Eat more eggs!

I LOVE MY CITY.

Sadly, I've only been to Molinari's from Anthony Bourdain's drunken layover in San Francisco. But it was delicious!! I highly recommend it. Sorrento's in the outer mission is just as good. And probably cheaper. Yum! Have a look at where else he went to get plastered:

The kitchen is a laboratory.

Introducing Moto from Chicago! Where the chefs Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche are pushing the limits on what your tastebuds can experience. A serious mindf**k when you realize you're tasting tuna but eating watermelon. But their argument is that with this new technology, it will soon eliminate several environmental issues caused by the food industry such as over-fishing and shipping ingredients long distances. The device they used reminds me of something I learned in food engineering. I never thought you would want to do this at the restaurant level. Food manufacturers do this all the time with flavors. I recall walking into a whole pantry full of plastic jars of "natural" flavorings for the rice I was working on. But I digress.

So would you eat nacho-look-a-like that tastes sweet or tuna that is actually watermelon? These chefs have too much fun with liquid nitrogen. And I don't blame them. That stuff is AWESOME.

It's been a good year 2011. Let's review

Happy New Year everyone! Happy 2012! I hope you all had a very safe and wonderful day!

2011 was a year full of adventures for me.  I was pushed to do things I wouldn't normally do. I learned more about myself as I traveled on my own for 6 weeks. I learned to be brave with each challenge I faced. I met incredible people. I was given many opportunities and I fully appreciate the experience of each.  What a splendid end to a fantastically adventurous year! As for a new year's resolution? I hope I will be able to blog at least once a week about what I am truly passionate about and share it with you. Cheers!

Now for the review! (I'm broadening my horizons on blog topics. Enjoy!)  I'm pretty obsessed with television. Ever since I was little, I was the sack of potatoes on the couch. My mom tells me that's why my eyes are so big. Because of watching so much television. lol. Oh Asian mothers.

Early on, I lost interest in the Food Network Channel due to the redundancy of its hosts and food topics. Yawn. Thus I was excited when the Cooking Channel debuted.  And this year there's a new show that premiered today called: Cheap Bites.  Within a few minutes I was hooked. I just met my cheap food soulmate.  I laughed so hard I cried. And I feel like a lot of people can relate to the topic of staying within a budget and/or being an Asian. The host, Eddie Huang (Check out his blog: http://thepopchef.blogspot.com/) was a very honest host and just very frank which is refreshing! His restaurant, Baohaus in NYC, serves Taiwanese-style street food items called baos.  These fluffy buns are filled with different ingredients with an American spin.  He mentioned that it's $3 per bun. My goodness. Clearly he doesn't know how cheap I am. $3?! per bun?! You cray cray Eddie. My absolute favorite part in the show was when he had his mom come on his fishing trip with him. I made my tiger mother sit down and watch this part because I could not stop finding similarities between them. It was hilarious especially the scene where she tells him, "I should have brought food. Next time we need to bring crackers. Saltines." LOL. Died. I don't know why but my mom always has to have food with her also. And at the end when he is on his date. Ahahaha. That's actually how I order food. Based on the price because not everyone can afford everything. "Oh NO! That looks DISGUSTING. Especially that number at the end." lol. It was $16. I was at an Italian restaurant yesterday in Berkeley where I had to justify paying $31 for sub-par food and minimal portions.  I know I may be a small Asian girl and you adjust the portion size because of that but I can eat. Never underestimate, my friends. :)

I cannot wait for the next episode. There is going to be another episode, right? I sure hope so. Because he's a keeper folks. I couldn't find a copy of the episode online and Cooking Channel hasn't acknowledged it on their website either. Shameful. But to get a sense of his humor, have a read of his Iron Chef recap: Eddie's Recap

If you're not in NYC to go check out his buns, come to San Francisco to try The Chairman's buns.  Eddie Huang may have slung dirty fighting words at us but we rise above such pettiness.  Besides, not everyone can afford a plane ticket across the country. Sorry buddy!

As always: stay curious, my friends!

Today at work I ate:

Steamed mussels, clams and shrimp in a red chili soup.  Mixed greens salad with goat cheese, apples, toasted sliced almonds all tossed in an olive oil vinagrette.  And french fries sprinkled with sea salt on the side. What a delicious job. :)

Cheese Factor and Weddings

I wish I meant, literally, cheese.  But I don't.  For once, not a food related cheese reference.  *gasp*

Actually, I was just shocked to find out an old classmate is now MARRIED.  Uhm, you're 22.  That's CRAZY!  Maybe not for everyone, but it happens.  So my whole weekend was full of sappy Hallmark and Lifetime movies about weddings, marriage, and all that complicated adult relationship business.  The cheese factor was to the extreme in all those movies.  I could hardly stand it sometimes.  Major cheese!

I'm angry the Giants lost to the Dodgers again.  I ooze with hatred for the Dodgers!  Grr!  That aside, I was thinking about weddings and large celebrations in general.  I have my best friend's graduation in June and I hope to make it easier to find me by making a very large arrow pointing at me and her family.  Like really, I'll be hiding in a sea of tall blondes.  Can you blame me??

I mentioned before that I'm probably, most likely, fairly certain though not medically proven, that I'm hypo-glycemic.  I have to eat.  Well, snack.  So during my graduation my mother made me a candy lei and an apple lei for eating during the 3-hour ceremony.  She knows I get cranky if I'm not munching on some food and even angry if I'm out in the sun.  It was a HOT day.  But ever so delicious.  My leis caused such a stir that we nearly had a picnic in our row.  And I was thinking, weddings are pretty long too.  At least the church ones are.  As a bride, you probably didn't eat in the 24hrs leading up to the big day.  Who does that?!  So I propose (haha, pun)  an edible bouquet for the bride and bridesmaids.  YUM.  Of course, mix in some flowers but place fruit shaped like flowers too.  So good. And while the priest is going on about spending eternity with each other, the bride can be nibbling on some delicious fresh fruit.  I don't know about you but that's what's going down at my wedding.  It'll be a delicious day indeed. :)  Cheers!

Yes, I'd like some pineapple daisies in my bouquet as well. Thanks.