風景 From Kitchen Trousseau to The Monuments Men

Reflective very, see I.  The pent up forces of Halloween have turned my little boy Darth and me, Master Yoda :)  Being a cookie(the action counterpart of foodie), I must admit the Malle W Kitchen Trousseau shot me right through with a bolt of blue.  Yes, I would choose Shun knifes and Sarpaneva cast iron casserole over lingerie and silk slippers anytime!

這ㄧ箱四十三件的Malle W Kitchen Trousseau正中我心, 幻想自己穿著牛皮圍裙, 揮舞旬刀懷抱Sarpaneva鐵鍋便醺然.  此套廚具的統籌者據說靈感來自女兒大了離家成就這另類妝奩…

我母親不下廚, 童年回憶裏談不上什麼媽媽的味道, 家中歷任管家兼廚子手藝普通, 不過我父母對吃這爿慷慨, 弟弟與我從小上遍各風味名館口福不淺.  近年我喜歡下廚單純好吃好奇, 非偏執為心愛的丈夫兒子洗手做羹湯, 不認為好妻子好母親和會不會燒菜有關係.

Desire is a bottomless pit of hell fire fueled by ego strokes.  Before I expand impetuously, I decided to take a deep breath, inspected my armory, and devised creative usage of my array of gadgets:

Sous Vide Supreme

The water oven has been a great companion in my kitchen.  Very quiet and smoke free, it churns out perfect steaks every time.  Filet mignon is really not the point since most decent cooks have very little chances of ruining the fine protein.  Sous vide works magic on inexpensive, tough cuts.  I found a clever recipe from Low Temp Half Cork for braised beef shin.  The result?  A beautiful Taiwanese style 'charcuterie' without the curing salt and long days of waiting, I just sliced them to go with a glass of cabernet sauvignon or to top a bowl of hot noodle.

那天思考sous vide既然能調理費時耗力的osso buco, 應該可以西學中用來道滷牛腱吧?  幾經蒐索, 果然找到這食譜和部落格, 格主雙語書寫廚事字字到位, 想來是行家 :)  偷師之餘按家有材料略作更改, LK風滷汁由chai茶包, demi glaze, 和龍舌蘭蜜調成.  少了些傳統滷汁的喧囂, 沈靜淡然的襯托肉質特有的香甜, sous vide滷牛腱的口感鮮韌與老式熬煮收汁的軟透各擅勝場, 另ㄧ半和孩子吃得驚艷, LK家廚平添ㄧ道私房菜.  吮指間想起研究所的好友C, 外貌清純甜美的C當時攻讀艱澀冷門的東亞政治, 我們在某個同學會上ㄧ見投緣, 成了無話不談的手帕交.  C是么女, 萬千寵愛集ㄧ身, 每到夜色降臨如果C不在宿舍, 她那位同在修博士的英俊兄長總會急忙掛電給我:  LK, 我妹在不在你那兒? 教向來凡事ㄧ肩扛, 五湖四海任我行的自己驚嘆也艷羨.  有回C邀我結伴出席她系上日本同學的派對, 兩個大女生商量著帶些什麼赴約, 懶人我提議好看好喝的蘋果酒, C堅持自製滷牛腱!  當年的我廚藝遠不及今日, 只敢負責採買食材, 揭盅那日但看C十指纖纖蔥花輕撒, 片得薄薄的滷牛腱香氣四溢的鋪陳青花瓷盤, 耳邊是她銀鈴般的笑聲… 美人美食定格校園回憶溫暖美景 :)  C取得學位後回臺北任教某國立大學, 心思細密的她總適時捎來鼓勵問候, 擔心我家庭事業蠟燭兩頭燒和長途通勤.

Canning

A while ago, my friend Liz invited a few of us over to make peach preserves.  The canning trio(funnel, jar lifter, lid lifter/wand) I picked up from Williams-Sonoma came in handy.  The operation was not smooth despite the wonderful peach themed lunch our hostess provided largely due to our ignorance on the proper function of 'pectin'… Anyway sugar, lemon juice, and fresh peaches couldn't go wrong.  Each of us came home with six jars of peach preserve - it pairs wonderfully with plain yogurt to start the morning off.

Nambu Tekki

Le Creuset, Staub, Lodge, or any cast iron pan from a reliable maker is a versatile kitchen tool; it cooks and serves from stove top to table.  I love my Nambu Tekki skillet and pot by Sori Yanagi.  Other than the Japanese traditional sukiyaki dish, I baked gluten free pizza for my little boy, too.

Souvenirs for foodie are food related of course.  My team member Stef went home to Berlin for her family reunion and brought me an exquisite utensil rest in the form of a silver cricket.  Thank you, Stef!  Hubby was called to be on a short notice business trip throwing a wrench into my already packed schedule.  He made up by lugging back Taiwanese tea infused LE Christine Ferber jams - Yay, it's time to have friends over for high tea :)  

每日近三小時的通勤的確挑戰耐性體力.  我需要這份工作, 不只為了金錢, 日日與團隊互動如魚得水, 鍾情樂在其中的充實感.  既然暫時無法免除長途跋涉不如花些心思好好利用馳騁南北的私人空間: 聽'說書' - audio books! 本週聽完二次世界大戰傳記The Monuments Men, 深深震撼於這羣槍林彈雨中出生入死與納粹斡旋, 殊死保衛人類文化遺產史學家團隊的智勇雙全.  奪寶戰場橫跨納粹高壓佔領下的巴黎Jeu de Paume美術館, 聯軍久攻不下傷亡慘重被喻為闇幽死谷的義大利僧寺山城Monte Cassino, 地勢奇峻卻又是藝術品最佳天然保險庫的奧地利鹽礦Altaussee…  電影版陣容華麗由喬治庫隆尼領軍, 將於今年聖誕節上映, 十分期待!!!

My latest combat against daily long commute - audio books!  The Monuments Men:  Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel inaugurated my library on the go.  The book was told in multiple angles anchored by the memoirs of eight prominent founding members of the MFAA on the impossible mission of retrieving looted art by Nazis.  The determination and courage of these extraordinary men and women(most of them art historians, museum curators, sculptors, architects… with minimal military background) against the Reich in the destructions of World War II were invigorating.  I cannot wait to see the movie adaptation with the illustrious cast led by George Clooney(Cate Blanchett as Rose Valland!  Matt Damon as James Rorimer!), to be released December 18th :)

ps.  上篇網誌語焉不詳, 數位格友來信關心: 是不是從此不寫了?  要聲明我會繼續寫, 也很珍惜相遇這部落格的緣份, 只是希望更重質感呈現較寬闊的視野 :)  十月中旬開始連串商旅, 啟程前奉上這篇免得荒廢成習.  密集出航雖勞苦, 小確幸是此趟行經上海, 會議結束後將與旅居在滬的少時玩伴敘舊, 飲黃酒啖秋蟹, joie de vivre!

I have not been good at updating the blog in the midst of family life(a.k.a. midlife crisis), overwhelming tasks at work, and travels.  Just want to say a big 'Thank You' to those who PM me to let me know how much you enjoy my writing - it means the world to me and here's the virtual cafe with a plate of zeppoles for my dear friends!