The Adventures of Tin-Tin

Daytripping in Marin County

On Sunday, J and I went on a lovely drive through Marin. The weather was gorgeous and I was looking forward to the fresh air and stinky cheeses they have there. Here are some highlights from the trip.

The Point Reyes Lighthouse--the windiest spot on the Pacific Coast.

I felt like the wind was going to lift me up and hurl me into the ocean.

The walk up to the lighthouse was about 0.5 mi. I think I was screaming the entire way up. It looks peaceful in the photographs, but the wind was violent and mean. Terrifying fun!

We also stopped by a place I used to visit often as a kid, Drakes Beach.

We played in the sand a bit. Our footprints looked strange side-by-side. Sorta club-foot like according to J.

   

Being as I am a big fan of cheese, we stopped by the original Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station.

LOOK! A foodie in the making...

COWGIRL CREAMERY

80 4th St
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

(415) 663-8153

www.cowgirlcreamery.com

We also visited the Bovine Bakery, famous for pastries, morning buns and buttery treats.

Bovine Bakery's Peanutbutter Blondie cookie bar is pictured below. Absent is the photo of one the best savory handpies I have ever had (next to Mystipies of course). It's the chicken, cheese and pesto croissant at Bovine Bakery. I didn't have time because I devoured it the second it made its way to my hot little hands.

BOVINE BAKERY

11315 Shoreline Hwy
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

(415) 663-9420

Good Things Come in 3's

Tagged by Twice the Rice

Random sets of 3’s:

3 things you WILL do in this lifetime:

1. Have my own business
2. Learn to drive stick-shift
3. Learn to love running/jogging

3 songs with lyrics that have made you cry:

1. In My Life (The Beatles)
2. Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones)
3. Why (Annie Lennox)

3 TV shows you enjoy watching (old or new):

1. TLC's What Not to Wear 
2. House
3. Globe Trekker

Dreams you once upon a time had, but that haven’t come true and you’re okay with that:

1. To be a doctor
2. To be tall, thin and rich
3. To learn to mountain climb

3 places you go/have been where you found a sense of peace:

1. St. Ignatius Catholic Church (San Francisco, CA)
2. Ocean Beach (San Francisco, CA)
3. Watching the donut machine at Krispy Kreme

3 minor regrets in life:

1. Not working in a more creative field
2. Not going to Las Vegas more often when I lived in L.A.
3. Not having the ultimate foodie experience when I went to Paris

3 clichés or common phrases that you tend to believe are true:

1. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
2. The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
3. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I tag everyone who is (a) traveling to another country, (b) getting married, (c) currently attending school, or (d) desperately lacking sleep.

Making My Very Own Hoodie? Perchance to dream...

What if I learned how to make the one article of clothing that I cannot live without????

OOOOOH I can't wait to try to make my own! then I will have an endless supply all custom made...oh the possibilities.

gnacissej shows you how to make your own hoodie on a craftster.org tutorial. OOOOOOHWEEE!!!

Low-res pixel jewelry

From Craftzine. It's like a Monet! Blur your eyes for the full effect...Click here for more examples from Mike and Maaike.

Cendrillon's Chicken Adobo

Cendrillon is a famous Filipino restaurant in New York City. The head chef, Romy Dorotan, wrote a book that I am quite fond of entitled "Memories of Philippine Kitchens." One of the recipes included is for chicken adobo. For those of you who don't know, chicken adobo is the national dish of the Philippines. Everyone has a favorite recipe for adobo and an opinion on how to make it right. You can even buy "Got Adobo?" shirts now.

In Spain, adobo refers to a paste made of oil, garlic and herbs. In Mexico adobo is a marinade of guajillo chiles, apple cider vinegar, thyme, bay leaves, cinnamon, pepper, and avocado leaves. According to Dorotan's book, the Spanish probably gave this native dish the name "adobo" since it resembled their adobo back home. I love it because I grew up eating it at least once a week. Sometimes my dad made it pork ribs and sometimes with fish. But chicken, especially chicken thighs, are my favorite to meat for adobo.

Cendrillon's famous chicken adobo recipe was featured in Martha Stewart Living and is available by clicking here. You can also watch a video of Romy Dorotan cooking with Martha Stewart on her show.

The main flavor component for this recipe are soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic and coconut milk. I haven't really seen a lot of recipes with coconut milk so I was excited to try this one.

After letting it marinade for 2 hours, I placed it all in a big dutch oven.

I found that the recipe as written used a lot more vinegar than I am used to so I had to double the amount of soy sauce. Once the chicken was cooked, I put it aside so I could finish the sauce. After letting the sauce reduce, I adjusted the seasoning and added a little bit more coconut milk to finish the sauce and make it richer and smoother--kinda like how some chefs put butter in a sauce right before service. I haven't watched hundreds of hours of FoodTV for nothing...hehe.

One thing you will find about adobo recipes is that no two are exactly alike. Every Filipino has a certain way that they like to make it and eat it. I like an equal ratio of soy sauce to vinegar. I also don't like sugar in my adobo, which is very Hawaiian and foreign to me. I really do like coconut milk though so this recipe is a new favorite.

Another one of my favorite recipes for chicken adobo is from On My Plate. This recipe is the one I've been using for the last few years since it most resembles my dad's version and has a very classic flavor and texture. No coconut milk in this one! Just tons of garlic and lots of adobo-ey goodness.

Filipino Jerk Chicken Kebabs

This recipe isn't named after the person who made it. Neither is it a social commentary on an entire race of people. Instead, it represents a multi-cultural interpretation of a classic Caribbean recipe. Filipinos are not jerks (at least not ALL of them). This is just jerk chicken with a Filipino twist.

I bought Angela Spenceley's "A Taste of the Caribbean Cookbook" as a souvenir of my trip to the British Virgin Islands. That was two years ago and the only recipe I have tried was one I made today. I fiddled with her recipe for Montego Bay Jerked Chicken and made it South Beach Diet friendly by using chicken breast instead of drumsticks and Splenda instead of honey. Then I added a special Filipino touch by adding soy sauce, more vinegar and a LOT more garlic. The garlicky, gingery, vinegary and sweet flavor is very Filipino and reminds me of my dad's pork bbq and chicken adobo.

Filipino Jerk Chicken Kebabs

• 6 chicken breasts cut into 2 inch cubes
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 bunches of green onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup splenda
• 2 tbsp brown sugar (or brown sugar substitute)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 soy sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp ground allspice
• 2 tsp black pepper

Place all ingredients (minus the chicken of course) in a blender or food processor.

Pulse it until a nice brown paste forms. No not be afraid. It will be delicious despite it's repulsive appearance.

Marinate the chicken in this paste for 1-2 hours. Arrange chicken on skewers and grill on medium heat until cooked through. I try to bunch up as much chicken as I can on a single skewer so it doesn't cook too fast and stays nice and juicy.

I served it with guacamole and salsa since I am still doing Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. But you carbo-loaders will find that it tastes great with some brown rice or tortillas, too.

New Cookbook Alert: Chocolate and Zucchini

I got the Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook in the mail the other day. It is a very unassuming little book. Compared to my huge Joy of Cooking and just as gigantic Mark Bittman books, this is a puny little thing of a cookbook! But boy oh boy is it packed with lots of awesome recipes. There are so many I want to try. I was gonna put a sticky flag on each recipe I liked, but I ended up putting a sticky on almost every single recipe. (except the sugary recipes since I am still following the South Beach Diet). Check out the food blog that started it all by clicking here.

New Built by Wendy Patterns!!!

Last week, two new Built by Wendy sewing patterns came out. YAY! Click here for more info on the patterns. And click here to learn more about the clothing line. Hopefully I will be able to visit the store in Los Angeles in the near future. I am also super excited about the Spring 2007 collection.

 

The South Beach Diet is Kinda Awesome

Weight Watchers lasted a few days. Then I got tired of counting points. So I went back on the South Beach Diet. I first saw how awesome it was when a girl from my Stich-n-Bitch group lost 25 lbs. Then I went on it and lost 20 lbs. (Of course, I gained it all back later on when I went off the program). I have to admit, when I am following the program, I am rarely famished. I don't really have to measure out portions. And I get to eat lots of meat and eggs. I would not call it a low-carb diet since you eat carbs in the form of vegetables. This diet differs from Atkins in that you are encouraged to eat lots of veggies and lean meats. After the first two weeks, you can then start adding "good carbs" like whole wheat bread, brown rice and fruit back into your diet. Here are some helpful links if you are thinking about trying the South Beach Diet:

The Official South Beach Diet Web Site

A list of foods that are South Beach Diet friendly

Kalyn's Kitchen--South Beach Diet friendly food blog

Wikipedia's South Beach Diet--describes the diet in a nutshell

Roast Pork Shoulder with Daisy Martinez's Adobo Mojado

I am a big fan of Daisy Martinez's PBS cooking show "Daisy Cooks." I bought her cookbook and this is the first recipe I have tried so far. My apartment smelled like the best garlic bread ever when I popped this pork roast in the oven. I was very nervous about the huge amount of garlic (and the possibility of it burning) but it browned very nicely and added so much to the taste. It was an awesome pork roast if I must say. I added this wet rub to a 3 lb pork shoulder roast and roasted it for about 90 minutes at 400 degrees or until the center reached 160 degrees.

Wet Rub for Meats & Poultry (Adobo Mojado)

What is a condiment doing in my Top Ten chapter? You'll hear me say over and over how a simple thing like sofrito will change your life, this is another one of those little life changing secrets. Adobo, either this wet version or the dry version (see "Adobo Seco"), will change the way you make pork, chicken, beef, and even fish. I run the risk of repeating myself, but this is not shy or subtle. It is very much "up in your face" food and I mean that, of course, in a good way.

-12 cloves garlic, peeled -1 ½ tablespoons fine sea or kosher salt -1 tablespoon black peppercorns -2 tablespoons dried oregano -2 tablespoons olive oil -2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

The salt keeps the garlic from flying all over the place as you pound them together.

Pound the garlic cloves and salt to a paste using a mortar and pestle. Add the peppercorns and oregano, pounding well after each to incorporate them into the paste. Stir in the olive oil and vinegar.
Wet adobo will keep 5 to 6 days in the refrigerator, which gives you a chance to try it on anything you like from fish fillets and pork chops to turkey cutlets and steaks.

Recipe from DaisyCooks.com