Egg

Cage Free vs Regular eggs

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We go through a lot of eggs in the House of Annie, thanks to all the baking and cooking she does. We used to buy our eggs at Costco but recently have started buying them at Trader Joe’s. We find that they are actually slightly cheaper by the dozen at TJ than Costco.

One night, we noticed that the “cage-free” eggs were on sale for about the same price as the regular eggs. It must have been a misprint, as the cashier at first rang them up at a higher price before we insisted a runner go back and verify the lower price. Cage-free eggs are usually 2 to 3 times more expensive than regular eggs, but we managed to get them for the lower price that night. I’m sure they changed the sale price sign soon after.

What is the whole deal with “cage-free” vs regular eggs anyway?

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Barbecue, Pork

Apple City Barbecue Ribs

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Every couple of months or so I get the hankering for some barbecue ribs. My Weber Smokey Mountain smoker has enough room to handle 6 or more racks of ribs so I usually get some friends to order a slab or two from me. They are the best ribs in San Jose after all…

Recently one of my friends had a surprise birthday party and I was asked to smoke some ribs for the party. I normally do a dry rub of salt & pepper (and other stuff) but this time I took the recipe for “Apple City Barbecue Ribs” out of the “Smoke and Spice” cookbook. It involves a wet marinade and a dry rub, followed by smoking and then served with a sauce on the side. This recipe has won several major Grand Championships for the team that created it.
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Site News

The Great Vanilla Bean Giveaway

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Jaden over at at SteamyKitchen has a drawing going on where she is offering a half pound of vanilla beans to 8 lucky people who leave a link to a recipe containing vanilla on her blog. I have offered up my Crepes post and linked to the YouTube video of me making the crepes at home.

What’s that? You haven’t seen the video? Well, here you go!

I previously offered my Paella post for Jaden’s saffron giveaway. Unfortunately, my name was not chosen. Maybe this time (crossing fingers)!

Hey, this is fun. I’m not just blogging about food, I’m blogging for food as well! I should make a sign:

WILL BLOG FOR FOOD.

— edit Nov 8 update —
I found out that we were one of the people chosen to receive the vanilla beans!  I’m so tickled to have been chosen.  In future posts I hope to show Annie putting those vanilla beans to good use!

Aloha, Nate

Japanese

Sakura Tea and Mochi

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Growing up in Hawaii, I was exposed to a lot of local Japanese culture. But it wasn’t until I met Annie that I was introduced to Japanese tea culture. We were privileged to attend a Japanese tea ceremony demonstration held at the Japanese Tea Garden on the grounds of the East West Center at the University of Hawaii. It was quite an experience, one that I will not forget.

Coming from a British-influenced country like Malaysia, Annie loves to drink tea. She was so happy when a Lupicia tea store opened up in the Valley Fair mall in San Jose. They have such really wonderful teas there, and sometimes you can find good deals on clearance items.

Such as this sakura tea – a black tea flavored with lightly salted and cured cherry leaves.

Of course, now you have to have something to go with the tea. What better finger food to enjoy with sakura tea, than sakura mochi? The soft, sweet, glutinous rice paste is filled with sweet azuki bean paste, then wrapped in a slightly salty cherry leaf that adds a faint “green” flavor and a pleasing bite to the texture profile.

Nibble, sip. Nibble, sip. Let the flavors meld in your mouth…mmmmm…..perfect!

What are your favorite tea / finger food combinations?

Aloha, Nate

Making you hungry for the good things in life