eG Foodblog: Ling & HhLodesign - The cool kids at Belltown Lofts

[Pontormo]

Hello all. When last we spoke, I had just ended my blog after Lorna had been blatantly flirting with me.

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This is the version of the story Henry loves to tell, but he seems to have blocked out the part about how he had been emailing me in hopes that I'd respond to him months before his blog even started! And the part about how he had a weird EG-foodie crush on me. 

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Thanks for clearing that up guys. You know, I have been lying awake at night, wondering how this all started..

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FOR THE RECORD, I recall a little bit of a PUBLIC exchange towards the end of Henry's blog when one of Ling's posts elicited a BLATANTLY flirtatious remark from Mr. Lo. I sent a message to Lorna telling her to flirt back immediately. She responded by indicating that I was not alone in sending the same unsolicited advice. It was definitely a moment when this place resembled a very happy Soap Opera. Thanks for the fun, you two. I had been hoping for such a blog after reading some of your terrific joint-reports in regional forums.

What you've offered thus far is a feast already, thanks in part to the wider eGullet community in the Pacific Northwest/Vancouver. (What, pray tell, do Canadians use to speak of that part of North America?)

Edited to remove question Henry just answered while I was writing this.

Edited August 27, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Ling]

tamiam: Yes, unfortunately I have to exercise. I'm pretty sure my metabolism has slowed down as I've put on some weight in the last year.

Shaya: Eden was the one who brought the chorizo and fig dish, but from what I could tell, there were caramelized onions and balsamic vinegar reduced into the sauce. It was delicious with the fig juices and of course, the rich chorizo.

[GourmetLight$]

RE: Iron Chef Ingredient

Maybe we'll just take a tally and the ingredient with the most votes by midnight PST tonight will be our ingredient. Please vote on the following list:

Peaches

Eggs

Garlic

Bacon

Cheese

Mushrooms

Salmon

Just post your vote in the thread. thanks!

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Hi Lorna and Henry: I'm waving and smiling from up the road. Looks like I missed out on a great Tapas Party yesterday at Char's!

I vote for Eggs.

Cheers,

[rjwong]

Congratulations, Lorna & Henry!!

Hello all. When last we spoke, I had just ended my blog after Lorna had been blatantly flirting with me. So I responded in kind and tried to finagle myself into a French Laundry dinner. In case any of you were wondering if I got an invite, wonder no more. You can read all about our trip to SF and Napa here:

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This is the version of the story Henry loves to tell, but he seems to have blocked out the part about how he had been emailing me in hopes that I'd respond to him months before his blog even started! And the part about how he had a weird EG-foodie crush on me. 

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Thanks for clearing that up guys. You know, I have been lying awake at night, wondering how this all started..

You look really happy together. How wonderful that you share this love for food!

Lorna is correct about Henry's hinting. By the time he was blogging, asking about how to find the right girl, Henry received the advice of "looking across the border, ... hint, hint ...". Remember that, Henry??

Look who forgot to post a picture of my Valdeon Cheesecake. I guess someone doesn't what to be associated with any less than perfect baking project! 

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Careful, Henry. Lorna can smack you down with her high-heel shoes. You know that, don't you?

As for the Iron Chef competition, both of you must prepare both savory and sweet dishes, ehh? Not just desserts or appetizers only?

Here is my vote for the Monday Night Mayhem: Bacon.

... and some added suggestions: Foie gras ; Mochi ...

[slbunge]

RE: Iron Chef Ingredient

Maybe we'll just take a tally and the ingredient with the most votes by midnight PST tonight will be our ingredient. Please vote on the following list:

Peaches

Eggs

Garlic

Bacon

Cheese

Mushrooms

Salmon

Just post your vote in the thread. thanks!

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Good stuff in the blog so far.

I would say definitely peaches. All of the other stuff is available locally (for you) at many other times during the year. But local peaches for you right now must be spectacular.

[Abra]

Are you kidding? That list is WAY too easy!

How about some

fregola

bai krapow

mimolette

boquerones

rau ram

achiote

geoduck

C'mon, stretch yourselves! You know everyone's going to vote for bacon, right? The ballot box is pre-stuffed when it comes to eG and bacon.

[hhlodesign]

I am really looking forward to the Chinese banquet.

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I'm really looking forward to learning more about your Chinese banquet.  Are you cooking that, or is it going to be out somewhere?

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We'll be hosting the Chinese banquet in my studio for friends in the building. Lorna and I will be cooking. We've yet to plan the menu exactly, but so far we're thinking:

Dungenous crab with Japanese pumkin and black bean sauce

Whole steamed fish

Hot and Sour Soup

Potstickers

Red-Brasied Pork Belly

Szechuan Homestyle Tofu

Hunan Smoked pork belly stir fry

Hot and Spicy Chicken

More to come...

[Ling]

FOR THE RECORD, I recall a little bit of a PUBLIC exchange towards the end of Henry's blog when one of Ling's posts elicited a BLATANTLY flirtatious remark from Mr. Lo.  I sent a message to Lorna telling her to flirt back immediately.  She responded by indicating that I was not alone in sending the same unsolicited advice. 

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YES...you are right, Pontormo. Thanks for setting the record straight.

[Ling]

Are you kidding?  That list is WAY too easy!

How about some

fregola

bai krapow

mimolette

boquerones

rau ram

achiote

geoduck

C'mon, stretch yourselves!  You know everyone's going to vote for bacon, right?  The ballot box is pre-stuffed when it comes to eG and bacon.

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Boquerones?!! How am I going to make a boquerones dessert?!! Boquerones ice-cream, anyone?

[hhlodesign]

Are you kidding?  That list is WAY too easy!

How about some

fregola

bai krapow - huh?!?

mimolette - what!?!?!?

boquerones

rau ram - uh....

achiote - who?

geoduck

C'mon, stretch yourselves!  You know everyone's going to vote for bacon, right?  The ballot box is pre-stuffed when it comes to eG and bacon.

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Edited August 27, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)

[Swisskaese]

I was going to suggest sexy pomegranates or mangoes, but I will settle for

peaches

These are all fruits that you can make both savory and sweet dishes.

Or.... you could really stretch your horizons and choose tehina.

Edited August 27, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Eden]

Shaya: Eden was the one who brought the chorizo and fig dish, but from what I could tell, there were caramelized onions and balsamic vinegar reduced into the sauce. It was delicious with the fig juices and of course, the rich chorizo.

The Chorizo & fig recipe was adapted from here. the onions are just simmered & the vinegar is just cheap basic red wine vinegar, but I vary the cooking process slightly to intensify the flavors, and it does a pretty good impression of balsamic & caramelized onions because of that.

What fun to come home from dinner & see it already being blogged! Now I know why you guys skipped out on drinks at Union, you needed to get home & start typing

By the way any funkyness in the presentation of the cheesecake is entirely my fault. Somebody let me do the slicing, and there had been a lot of wine & sangria first I loved this cheesecake - the Valdeon is much more suble than a stilton cheesecake, so you have to stop & pay attention to the flavors more.

My suggestions for the Iron chef list are Cubebs & Long pepper.

[Ling]

My roommate taught me a few things, like how to make Nepalese Momos, but my real teacher was my grandparents Chinese cook. She was a master cook and I learned a lot about pastry and Chinese food from her.

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That's so interesting, Michelle! What are some of your favourite Chinese dishes?

Henry and I cook different things when it comes to Chinese. My dad is from Canton and my mom is from Shanghai, so those are the two cuisines I grew up with. Henry grew up eating a lot of Hunan and Szechuan dishes, so that's what he makes.

[hhlodesign]

Just finished shopping for our dinner tonight at Uwajamya in Seattle's International District (What the locals call Chinatown, but since everyone needs to be PC in Seattle we can't call it Chinatown, even us Chinese People.)

Uwajamya is more Japanese than Chinese centric. We do have a 99 Ranch Market but it's a 30 min. drive away.

It was nice to be greeted by the smell of Chestnuts at the store entrance (for numerous reasons: see previous blog )

While the array of unfamiliar foodstuffs can be intimidating, it's never boring:

I LOVE KIMCHEE!!!!!!!!

While the sauce isle is impressive, this pales in comparison to stores in Richmond, BC

They carry meats from both Snake River and Misty Isle Farms here. Although the marbelling did not seem as prominent as I expected for Wagyu:

It was after this shot that I got yelled at for taking pictures in the store. Evidently, they don't allow it. "Calm down lady! I'm not gonna sell them to the Russians!"

Have you ever seen a larger selection of Panko?

Obligatory Pocky Shot

We had the horrible idea of getting some food at the food court:

Not even worth commenting about.

[rjwong]

C'mon, stretch yourselves!  You know everyone's going to vote for bacon, right?  The ballot box is pre-stuffed when it comes to eG and bacon.

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This little piggie wants to know what's wrong with bacon?

Oink!

Abra, you're right. It's too tempting to go to Daniel's thread and get some bacon ideas. Mind you, the greatest challenge can come from universally-known ingredients like bacon or eggs or chicken ...

We'll be hosting the Chinese banquet in my studio for friends in the building. Lorna and I will be cooking. We've yet to plan the menu exactly, but so far we're thinking:

Dungenous crab with Japanese pumkin and black bean sauce

Whole steamed fish

Hot and Sour Soup

Potstickers

Red-Brasied Pork Belly

Szechuan Homestyle Tofu

Hunan Smoked pork belly stir fry

Hot and Spicy Chicken

More to come...

What kind of vegetables are you going to serve? How about some pea sprouts with garlic? It's a nice change from spinach or Chinese broccoli.

Henry & Lorna, do each of you get to put together a culinary team, real and/or virtual?? It's probably happening already ...

[hhlodesign]

What kind of vegetables are you going to serve? How about some pea sprouts with garlic? It's a nice change from spinach or Chinese broccoli.

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What's "vegetables?"

[Ling]

They carry meats from both Snake River and Misty Isle Farms here. Although the marbelling did not seem as prominent as I expected for Wagyu:

Well, like I said in the store, they have different levels of quality. The Wagyu I get in Vancouver is $100/lb., and the marbling is much more prominent.

We had the horrible idea of getting some food at the food court:

Not even worth commenting about.

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Two chicken skewers, ginger mackerel (this was OK) and an egg roll.

I got a large Americano from Peet's when we went to pick up some stuff from Larry's (which recently went bankrupt and will be called something like "Metropolitan Market" in September). FYI: don't take pictures of Peet's coffee stands or the people working behind the counter will yell at you too.

[MarketStEl]

I wouldn't be so sure that the deck is stacked in favor of bacon.

Ordinarily, I'd vote for cheese, but you can do so many things with cheese, it's not much of a challenge.

Peaches sound like a great idea, and they're in season.

Count me as a vote for peaches.

BTW, congrats to both of you--I must have sleepwalked through the beginnings of courtship that ended your last blog. And Henry--I owe you an "Anatomy of a Cheesesteak." One will be coming. Sooner or later.

[MarketStEl]

I got a large Americano from Peet's when we went to pick up some stuff from Larry's (which recently went bankrupt and will be called something like "Metropolitan Market" in September). FYI: don't take pictures of Peet's coffee stands or the people working behind the counter will yell at you too. 

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Isn't Peet's a subsidiary of Starbucks or something like that?

I don't remember much talk of coffee in that last blog, but as it is to Seattle what cheesesteaks are to Philly, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Seattle coffee culture.

[rockdoggydog]

I vote for peaches, eggs, and bacon. Then either Henry or Lorna can make bacon and eggs ice cream and serve it on a peach cobbler. Come on guys you didn't want to drive all the way to Ranch 99? You could have had soon dobu for breakfast and hit Central Market on the way home, and swung into Fu Man for a snack. Not that I plan all of my trips in relation to where you can eat or anything like that. Looking forward to reading this week.

Rocky

[Ling]

Henry & Lorna, do each of you get to put together a culinary team, real and/or virtual?? It's probably happening already ...

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No, we are doing all the cooking--no help from anyone, professional or otherwise.

BTW, we were kicking around the idea that when we upload our Iron Chef dishes onto our blog, the viewers (you) should be able to vote on a winner (based on presentation) as well. So how can we make this easy--should we just take the first 20 poster's votes (just post "1 vote for Ling" or "1 vote for hhlodesign) and the majority winner gets a bonus x number of points?

[Foodie-Girl]

Your blog is off to a great start~ What a beautiful backyard...it looks so familar

My vote is for PEACHES

Char

[Abra]

Post the dishes anonymously, so we can vote without playing favorites! Peaches, though, aren't local, even though I hate to disillusion those who think we have an actual summer here. They're coming over from eastern WA on a truck, chugging over the mountains all crated up. That is, unless someone has a secret local source, in which case, do tell!

I love soon dobu. Rocky needs to lead a Ranch 99/soon dobu crawl.

Lorna, did you see the chocolate message I sent you? Chufi sent me some incredible chocolate that you need to taste.

[Karen L]

I'm glad you guys have so much chemistry in and out of the kitchen. Your blog should turn out awesome.

I vote seaweed. Wait...that's not on the list is it?...then, bacon it is. Anything fatty is worth serving in every dish.

Have fun!

[Chufi]

I vote for mushrooms, not that it matters, cause no-one else did. Ah well. It will be lots of fun anyway.