When I have company, I like to impress them with homemade chai. I can tweak the amount of sugar and spices to my preference – the advantage over using an instant mix. Chai has become my signature – I’ve given multiple lessons as per friends’ requests, and had even received an inquiry to make a pitcher if one provides the milk.

For the last few years, my family has gotten together for dinner to celebrate Christmas and my grandmother’s birthday. This year will be the third Christmas without my grandmother, but in her honor, all of us young ones continue to find the opportunity to come together.

This Christmas, my family will be hosting after dinner dessert. I will be serving chai to accompany the baked goodies. A good cup of tea always brings people together. What will you be serving this holiday season?

Additional Chai Recipes and Resources :

10 years ago I could not find a decent chai recipe online, but today, there are many good recipes posted online. It’s readily available and a common place in both Starbucks and the American household.

• The Kitchn
• Simply Recipes
• Vee Tea

I think of chai as yummy delicious goodness – but the history of chai is much more complex, one that is intertwined with colonialism and power dynamics. I have an interest in both the history of tea and the workings of the current tea market – from cultivation, to labor, tea auction, and how tea plays a role in the local and world economy. Any suggestions on good reads?

First Stop: Mooncake Food Asian Diner
Photo taken by Wing Lee at Mooncake Food. Soba salad, chicken curry, teriyaki salmon, garlic bread.

Mooncake Food, self-identifies as Chinese American food redefined in the Spanish neighborhood of New York City. The staff at Mooncake Food presented a generous plate of teriyaki salmon, soba salad, chicken curry, garlic bread, and a little garnish of tomatoes and cucumber. The menu focuses on healthy, crowd pleasing, comfort food, and reflects the multiculturalism of New York City.

Second Stop: Mu Jun En Ji Traditional Korean Restaurant
Dishcrawlers were welcomed into Mu Jun En Ji with hospitality. Staff enthusiastically refilled the side dishes, and initiated conversation as a proud ambassador of Korean food. Mu Jun En Ji has passion for old heritage and traditional roots.

Photo taken by Wing Lee at Mu Jun En Ji
Traditions, roots, and history came in the physical form of kimchi. Mu Jun En Ji’s kimchi is grown, prepared, and left to ferment in the high cool mountain of Korea, then packaged and sent to our dining tables in New York City. Mu Jun En Ji is in the business of bringing old Korean tradition and spirit into the USA.

Our server summarized, “Kimchi and rice – that is life!”
The second server stated, “Kimchi and rice – that’s a (complete) meal for us (Koreans).” Yet, we were served much more than kimchi and rice: beef & pork bbq, panjun, bimbimbop, and soondubu jigae. We left Mu Jun En Ji with a full belly.

Photo taken by Wing Lee at Mu Jun En Ji

Third Stop: ilili Fine Dining Lebanese
ilili’s head chef, Philippe Massoud, shared with us his story, “The American Dream is very much alive here in NYC and in the kitchen here at ilili.” Chef Massoud immigrated to the United States as a young man, noted that Lebanese fine dining was not incorporated in the fabric of American restaurants. He took it upon him to be the pioneer of Lebanon’s cuisine.

Chef Massoud is on a mission to bring fine Middle Eastern cuisine to international limelight. He recognizes the potential playground for innovation: ‘ilili is 60% tradition and 40% fun’. At ilili, diners can enjoy traditional Lebanese food, and innovative new dishes.

Dish crawlers received a warm welcome from the Chef Massoud while enjoying the braised lamb on top of thin shavings of tomatoes and bits of fennel. Dish Crawl offered diners the opportunity of an intimate conversation with the people behind the food.

Photo taken by Wing Lee at ilili’s
Last Stop: Ayza
The evening ended with some sweet and salty treats at Ayza.

Photo taken by Wing Lee at Azya

Photo taken by Wing Lee at Azya
Dish Crawl is an event that highlights and supports the local businesses and creates meaningful dining experience, and a sense of community for both diners and the local business.

Restaurant Baby (RB) #3 tied the knot in May of 2011. She was the first in our family to marry. If there was one thing Mom made sure of, it was for RB#3 to marry with all the luck and good wishes. Mom consulted relatives, and friends – especially those with an elderly at home, on our hometown Chinese wedding traditions. As it turns out, RB#3’s mother-in-law (Auntie K) was also doing the same.

On the day of the wedding, while all the girls were primping (starting at 6:30am), Auntie K brought breakfast galore and the much appreciated coffee to the bridal chamber. Along with breakfast she dropped off a tray of semolina pudding, and instructed that everyone eat some: “At least a bite. It’s sweet. This is a lucky food in our culture (Gujarati).”

After having a bite, we went “Mmmm…yummy! I’m going to get more luck,” and refilled our plates. We happily obliged, and made sure all family and friends coming into the bridal chamber at least had a bite.

It just so happened that three days before the wedding, RB#1 reorganized the kitchen cupboard for the conclusion to the Eat Down the House challenge. Overwhelmed with the variety of flours in stock – semolina, buckwheat, cake, bread flour – RB#1 made a passing comment, “What am I suppose to do with semolina flour?”

It occurred to us, that this simple, delicious lucky pudding was a perfect way to use up the semolina flour.

Happy One Year Anniversary – Wedding Hightlights:

All the lucky customs and lucky food must have worked. RB#3 and my brother-in-law are one of the most blessed couples. They have so much love for each other and from their family and friends. Happy 1 year anniversary! And many more sweet memories to come!

Kim (aka Restaurant Baby #4) is a fan of Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. We started accumulating all sorts of whole grains (and, yes, one bottle of blue agave nectar). When I was looking through our pantry for Eat Down the House, I found a handful of red quinoa, less than one cup to be exact. What to do with the quinoa?! Luckily, Chocolate and Zucchini posted a recipe for Japanese-Inspired Quinoa .

What is quinoa (KEEN-wa)? It resembles couscous and bulgur and looks like a grain. However, according to Wikipedia, it is actually not a grain but is “grain-like” and is closely related to spinach. When cooked, quinoa has this awesome nutty flavor and is super nutritious to boot. Originally from South America, it is gaining popularity here in the States, so much that we may be making it less accessible to local Bolivians . I feel a little guilty, and reminded that moderation and diversity has its virtue.

Other Recipes for Quinoa:

• 101 Cookbooks’ quinoa recipe collection
• Chocolate & Zucchini’s Japanese-Inspired Quinoa

And “Why today?” you ask. This risotto will be my “carb-loading” for a running race tomorrow. I have never carb-loaded before, at least not for a purpose. (In our household, you may think every day is a carb-load day.) What do you like to carb-load on?

Other Recipes with Lap Cheong:

• Pig Pig’s Corners’s Lap Cheong One Pot Rice
• Delicious Asian Food’s Lap Cheong Omelette

Eat Down the House was inspired by an overflowing pantry and refrigerator, a lack of time, and a desire to save money. It lasted about six weeks, from the end of March until the beginning of May. Perhaps the experiment could have lasted longer, but alas our humble abode became wedding central and hosted bridesmaids and friends from afar. I had no choice but to go grocery shopping and make sure our guests were well fed.
The content of just one cabinet.

Looking back, Eat Down the House was a fun distraction from work and one of my favorite projects in quite a while. As the weeks went on, I could see the shelves getting sparser and felt a sense of accomplishment. What I enjoyed most though was working with my sisters on Restaurant Baby. Though Eat Down the House is over, I look forward to future posts and collaborations with my fellow Restaurant Babies.

A few lists and fun facts to sum up Eat Down the House

How to Not Go Grocery Shopping for Six Weeks

• Start with a well-stocked pantry.
• Work 70 to 90 hours per week. If you are working that much, your work place should be providing your food.
• Be so exhausted from working too much that when you actually are home, you only eat enough so you do not have trouble falling asleep from a growling stomach.

• Live with a sister who likes to throw dinner parties and eat the leftovers or cook with her leftover ingredients.

• Live near parents who love to feed you as much as possible and bring food over to your house on a regular basis even when you ask them not to, but they do not really understand the word “no” especially when it comes to food, so why do you even bother?

• Loosely interpret “best use by”, “sell by”, “expires on”. Trust the Sniff Test or the Hm-It-Is-Not-Curdled Test. Don’t judge me.

• Eat out at restaurants for every single meal. Just kidding! I actually ate out less than usual during Eat Down the House.

Cumulative Grocery Bill during Eat Down the House:

3/25      Bananas          $   4.00
3/27      Bananas          $   1.25
4/10      Coffee             $24.00
5/01      Half & half     $   1.66

Total $30.91

Related Posts:

• Eat Down the House Challenge
• Eat Down the House: How to Cook Frozen Dumplings
• Eat Down the House: Dates, Cheese, Sausage
• Eat Down the House: Butternut Squash Risotto with Saffron
• Eat Down the House: Three Treasures Bread Pudding
• Eat Down the House: Seaweed Mushroom Soup
• Eat Down the House: Star Anise Beef Stew with Bok Choy
• Eat Down the House: Spiced Roasted (Sweet) Potatoes
• Eat Down the House: Grandma’s Tomato Eggs

I celebrated Memorial Day by participating in the Bangladeshi Ambassador Program organized by Jeff Orlick of Iwantmorefood.com, and hosted by Bangladeshi Ambassador Mr. Rashid Mohammad and the owner of Khaabar Barri Restaurant Mr.Kaysar Halim.

The colorful tricycle in front. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

The Ambassador Program, as described by Jeff Orlick on Iwantmorefood.com:

“The Ambassador Program has one expert of a culture lead a group of people for their own dream meal… This allows us diners to let go, eat well, and expand our boundaries for the city, the world and our palates.”

It was no surprise that Mr. Mohammad chose to showcase Bangladeshi cuisine at Khaabar Baari. On this Monday afternoon, Khaabar Baari was a bustling hub for the community – filled with families, as well as groups of men socializing both inside and outside of the cafe. On the main floor are savory snacks, and sweets, along with a buffet of hot foods. The downstairs dining room offers Bangladeshi Halal Chinese fare.

After an introduction, Mr. Mohammad led us into a private party room that is available for banquets and meetings. We were invited to sit in the audience of 100+, who came to meet the candidates running for election in the Bangladeshi Business Association of Jackson Heights. We got a sneak peek into the organization and leadership of an active community in Jackson Heights.

Mr. Mohammad welcoming us. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

The pre-election meeting. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Brought back to the dining room, we were greeted with an abundant and varied buffet. Appetizers included chotpoti, a popular snack of chickpeas in tamarind tomato sauce, topped with slices of boiled eggs. The rest of the appetizers consisted of deep fried savory snacks: singuara (samosa), samucha, aloo chop (giant potato croquette), moglai (stuffed naan), vegetable oakora (pakora/battered fried veggies).

Samucha, flat triangular fried dumplings. Chotpoti, a popular snack in Bangladesh. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Aloo chop, huge croquettes. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Singuara and oakora. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Moglai is naan stuffed with meat and spices, deep fried. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Behind the scenes: the making of moglai. Photo by: Veronica Chan.

Behind the scenes: singuara and samucha. Photo by: Veronica Chan.

The main course consisted of grilled king fish seasoned with fish masala, a spicy beef bihari kekbab, and a stew of mixed vegetables. Though there are commonalities between Indian and Bangladeshi food, according to Mr. Mohammad, Bangladeshi food can be summarized as simpler and homier. He also pointed out that fish is major staple.

There were three types of polao (biryani/rice pilaf): mutton, chicken, and beef. Since Islam is the majority religion of Bangladesh, the food reflects the religious customs. At Khaabar Baari, alcohol is not served, all meat are halal, and pork is nowhere in sight. Mutton and beef are more commonly served.

Grilled king fish. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Behind the scenes: grilled king fish. Photo by: Veronica Chan.

Beef bihari kekbab – off the skewers. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Three types of palao and a platter of mixed veggies. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

When there are so many flavorful foods, it’s nice to cool the mouth with something refreshing like a green salad. And when eating dry food, like fried snacks, bread, and rice, it’s nice to put season with relish, chutney, or what the Bangladeshi are known for – bharta. A bharta is essentially cooked mashed vegetables seasoned with onion, garlic, chilies, and spices. Many varieties of vegetables can be made into a bharta. The bharta is like a spread. We had two varieties: tomato and eggplant.

Tomato bharta. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

At the end of the meal, the chef, who has over 30 years of experience, greeted us and explained the process and ingredients that went into our meal. Common seasoning consists of garlic, onion, ginger, cilantro, coriander seeds, fresh chilies, and a blend of spices.

No meal is complete without tea and dessert. We enjoyed rich, hot chai tea with rosmalai, soft patties of cheese curd in sweet milky cream; rogolla, a dough made with semolina flour and cheese, soaked in syrup; chom chom, a cube of milk and sugar; and gurer sandesh, a packet of moist fudge like sweet make with milk and molasses. Mr Halim proudly explained that gurer sandesh is unique to Bangladesh and made out of all natural ingredients. The desserts were intensely sweet, and a perfect finish to our feast.
Gurer sandesh (Bangladeshi fudge). Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Meet the chef. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

Mr. Halim and his staff showed warmth and hospitality. After serving folks at the buffet line, Mr. Halim personally went around the tables, asking “More? Here, eat more,” as he filled up our plates with extra meat, fish, and rice. There was plenty of food leftover, which we were encouraged to pack and take home. Not only did I leave with a full belly, but I left with a snack for later. Mr. Halim and Mr. Mohammad enthusiastically shared with us their warmth and hospitality, culture and lifestyle, as well as their love and aspiration for the community.

The chefs, Mr. Halim, and Mr. Mohammad. Photo by: Jeff Orlick.

The Eat Down the House Challenge, is to go without grocery shopping, and eat from the stock in the fridge and pantry.

The dish in the pictures has a higher egg:tomato ratio than the recipe below. I only had 2 tomatoes in my fridge.

Tomato eggs is a common Chinese dish. There are many versions, the more common version has chunks of tomatoes stir-fried with egg scrambled. But my favorite is my Grandma’s version, which is a silky blend of eggs and skinless tomatoes. During our grandmother-granddaughter trip to North Carolina to visit my cousin Vivian, my grandma taught us both how to make her tomato eggs.

The beginning of our grandmother-granddaughter trip

I took some shortcuts today with this recipe, but no worries! I will share with you my Grandma’s secrets too. The first secret is that you have to remove the skin of the tomatoes. She does this by soaking the tomatoes in hot water, for 15 minutes or so. Carefully remove the tomatoes from the hot water and don’t burn yourself. And just rub the skin off the tomatoes. For you medicine people out there, it is like Nikolsky’s sign .

Both Vivian and I had so much fun cooking with our grandmother. Hopefully, more opportunities will come. Next, I want her to teach me how to make “lup lup” or literally “dots dots” which is essentially a diced vegetable stir fry. More photos of our North Carolina trip to visit Vivian:

Vivian cooking.

Steamed chicken – another dish we made together.

Related Posts:

• Eat Down the House Challenge
• Eat Down the House: How to Cook Frozen Dumplings
• Eat Down the House: Dates, Cheese, Sausage
• Eat Down the House: Butternut Squash Risotto with Saffron
• Eat Down the House: Three Treasures Bread Pudding
• Eat Down the House: Seaweed Mushroom Soup
• Eat Down the House: Star Anise Beef Stew with Bok Choy
• Eat Down the House: Spiced Roasted (Sweet) Potatoes

The Eat Down the House Challenge, is to go without grocery shopping, and eat from the stock in the fridge and pantry.
Please welcome guest blogger Sonia, my oldest sister and Restaurant Baby #1, as she eats down her house with one of her go-to roasted potatoes dish. ~Madeline

This is a variation of one of my go-to dishes and one of the few reasons I always keep potatoes handy in the house. The roasted potatoes are really a vehicle for two of my favorite spices, ginger and cumin.

By now I have not gone “real” grocery shopping for three weeks. I had 2 potatoes leftover from at least a month ago. Typically this is a potato-only dish, but on my last visit to my parents’ house, my Mommy gave me two sweet potatoes to bring back. (*Foods that are given as gifts do not count as grocery shopping.) To add a little volume and variety, I made the dish with both regular potatoes (Idaho baking potatoes) and a sweet potato.

What spices and seasonings do you like on your roasted potatoes?

Other Roasted Potatoes Recipes:

• Simply Recipes’ Roasted New Potatoes with Caramelized Onions
• Gourmet’s Roasted Potato Wedges with Rosemary Butter

Related Posts:

• Eat Down the House Challenge
• Eat Down the House: How to Cook Frozen Dumplings
• Eat Down the House: Dates, Cheese, Sausage
• Eat Down the House: Butternut Squash Risotto with Saffron
• Eat Down the House: Three Treasures Bread Pudding
• Eat Down the House: Seaweed Mushroom Soup
• Eat Down the House: Star Anise Beef Stew with Bok Choy

A birthday celebration with cake and red envelopes for all.

Even though birthdays were always celebrated, it never excused my sisters or me from working at the restaurant during times of labor shortage. As a 12 year old, I protested “But mom! It’s my birthday,”- my last appeal to finagling out. My mother would respond, “So what? I have to work every day, including my birthday.” Point taken.

I was taught to seize every opportunity to celebrate, and that celebration does not only mean taking. For my birthday, I enjoy not only celebrating me, but those around me who makes my life so sweet. For my recent 28th my best friend, Lee Ann, gave me the perfect gift—a gift that keeps giving.

Lee Ann, an aspiring pastry chef, had wanted to make my birthday cake. Instead of making one cake, I started counting the folks in my life, and suggested she double the batch. Being the birthday girl, Lee Ann happily obliged and made a total of 44 carrot cupcakes over the course of six hours.

Doubling the batch means fractions!

It was a gift that kept giving back. I shared my cupcakes with friends over my birthday brunch, with my colleagues on Monday, and with my neighbors. As a result of sharing the cupcakes, I got that many more good wishes, birthday cheers, and a few more birthday treats.

Next time when your friends gather for your birthday dinner, it’s a nice courtesy to bring a treat.
A carrot cupcake made by Lee Ann

Cupcakes being boxed up and ready to go.

Other Carrot Cake Recipes:

• Joy of Baking
• Smitten Kitchen
• Martha Stewart
• Simply Recipe

Lee Ann’s boo-boo from grating carrots