; )

----- Let's Eat not Design -----

Long time no write readers (silent applause). It's okay, I made you a dish to replenish your taste buds for your mind, and stomach. I've come to a point where I ran out of things to write, and because summer facilitates the laziness so well. Anyway, less design and more eating in this post today. I conjured up a delightful dish of pasta with ingredients I already had in stock.

Cooking is like designing. First, you brainstorm what to make and what you have in hand to work with. Second, you start executing the concept and process. Third, the finish and presentation. I opened my fridge I found goat cheese, Italian sausages, fresh basil, red onion and some tomatoes. Then the penne from my pantry, and here is how they met each other:

- 2 medium tomatoes — diced

- 3 sun-dried tomatoes — sliced into thin stripes

- half red onion — diced

- 1/4 cup of basil — chopped

- 2 gloves of garlic — chopped

- 1 Italian sausage (hot or mild)

- goat cheese

- 2 cups of Penne -

- tsp. of dried oregano 

- tbsp of red wine

- 2 tbsp of cooking oil

- black pepper and salt

1. Boil water at medium heat, add salt and pasta; stir occasionally. Ready when its al dente. Drain and set aside. (save pasta water if your sauce needs it)

2. Meanwhile at the same time, prep all the ingredients. Peel the skin off the sausage by making a short incision. Next, roll the meat into gumball sized meatballs. 

3. Heat pan with oil. Add garlic, onion, sun-dried tomatoes until lightly browned. Put tomatoes and red wine, and oregano;  stir for 30 seconds. Add sausages. 

4. Once the sausages are cooked (they will feel firm), season to taste with pepper and salt. Stir in a tablespoon full of goat cheese; it helps thicken the sauce.

5. Add the penne; sprinkle basil and mix until all ingredients are well blended. 

6. Garnish with goat cheese and basil.

7. Done.

Italians and Chinese are quite similar. They're loud when they're angry—and happy. Adult children are still acceptable to live with their parents. Family is large and important; weddings go big or nothing at all, and we love our food; it's always about the food. Which is why both cultures share similar taste buds. Sometimes a risotto is 2 cups of water away from being congee; our noodles are pasta's grandparents; cannoli is sexed up egg roll. See the similarities? The point is pasta can be dressed up like a congee or a plate of lo mein; it's just the foundation, you can dress it up any way you want.

Buon Appetito! 食飯啦...!! (how my family howls dinnertime )

----- Packaging Dreamland -----

I feel disappointed to only have heard about the culinary heaven William Sonoma at the end of this year. They recently opened in my town; at first when I saw the construction announcement, i couldn't resist and said, "another cookware store?!". Oh how i regretted it once I stepped foot in the store, which then followed by long hours wasted on their website. Boy, it is not affordable; cookies for over $20; salsa for $16. The American stores serve and cater food; carry precooked food as well. I am overall most impressed with their in-house products; the packagings are to die for. Shelves and shelves of gorgeous visual design porn. Their in-house team is an impressive bunch, if not the team they hired; as well as the packaging from other brands they sell.

Williams Sonoma

statelysandwiches

----- Experimental Accident ----

As I was preparing salad dressing, sprinkling fresh rosemary onto the olive oil inspired me to photograph the natural beauty of ingredients. An idea sparked. It's probably been done but I'd like to add this into my photography folder.

NO THIS IS NOT MY PICTURE.

But i was so inspired by this (a posting from Refinary 29 that doesn't talk about fashion for once) i actually went out and purchased the same items and made my lunch today. I added figs, sauteed in balsamic vinegar, to it. Took some pictures that turned out horribly un-porn like, so I scrapped them. I'll give you a taste summary: deliciousatastic!

Ciabatta bread + goat cheese + cherry tomatoes + fresh basil + figs .

----- Food Truck Post! -----

The city's unofficial food truck propagator, Grumman 87 also known as the 'taco truck', organized a foodie event to be held on the first Friday of the Summer months at the Olympic Stadium. Our city still has a law banning street food due to a politician in the 70s who felt it would cause visual pollution—while true but old fashion thinking. So instead, they are only allowed to sell food at a disclosed area or at events. The ratio of people and food trucks resulted in sold out menus and long lineups; however this is a great start and perhaps a convincing one to persuade the city to abolish the law. 

------ Muv Box -----

Our cities are regularly filled with so many new and undiscovered gems that we don't either have time or motivation to visit all of them and Muv Box's Resto Lobster Box was one of them in mine. Located slightly off the heart of the Old Montreal district serves lobster—obviously— from the unique, innovating design inspired by using cargo shipment boxes since 2009. It possesses environmentally friendly objectives: solar panels, recyclable and biodegradable materials, local produce.  The idea spawn during a visit to the Venice Biennale when founder, Daniel Noiseaux, saw the Push Button House sponsored by Illy Cafe (definitely check it out).

Imagine the limitless possibilities? Pop-up stores selling retail items, farmer's markets in the metropolitan, coffee shops, tourist information center, better looking port-a-potties—see it's infinite! I'd like one in my backyard as my studio; I would order the 20 feet one which gives 512 sqf of space!

I have a passion for design ideas that reuses obsolete objects and giving them a second life because there are so much more of them sitting on earth's soil, not even rotting away. 

Source

----- My Week in Photos -----

Technically it is still considered Spring, right? It being my favourite season, I am disappointed how extremely hot it was this weekend and how swiftly people exclaims, " I love Summer " when it is still Spring. I'm a 20-22 degree kind of girl; sunny with a breeze on the side; throw on a blazer kind-of weather. Not hot shorts and tank, dripping sweat in sticky humid weather. Not complaining, just wished I had some more personal time with Spring :) 

My weeks constantly include food, wondering if it makes my life fulfilling or lacking.

From my photos, I recognize warm weather brings: Colour, starchy root vegetables and a nice big fucking steak. Hurrah for carnivores.

----- My Week in Photos -----

'Home made' goat Cheese & Arugula pizza. I bought the IGA's whole wheat flat bread and turned it in to a healthier version of a pizza. AMAZING way to resolve those wrinkly grape tomatoes and almost wilting arugula. All you need is: flat bread, tomato sauce, olive oil, freshly pressed garlic, mozzarella cheese (to firmly pack the ingredients together), goat cheese (for flavour impact), grape tomatoes and arugula, choice of herbs, salt & pepper.  Takes about 5-10 mins of preparation. Bake 375˚ for 20 mins but only toss in the arugula at the last 5 mins.

Made a banner for a client's blog. It turned out quite nice on the website, I'm very satisfied.

----- Daily Consumption -----

----- Le Village Des Neiges! -----

Yes, Canadians do live in igloos! Case: the Snow Village. It looked kind of like in Star War's Empire Strike Back when they introduce Luke Skywalker at his aunt & uncle's place in Tatooine; little spherical huts.

My first time at the event, wish i went earlier when it began. The weather is warmer, so the village is melting. Night time is probably the best time to go due to the festive lighting effects and glows; daytime they'll just be a lot of dirt and unforeseen doggie poopie. The village features a hotel, restaurant and bar. Most furniture is built by ice, obviously the mattress is still a mattress. The chairs have animal skin covers so the bums don't stick—i wonder if anyone attempted to lick the ice? eek. The main purpose of the trip was of course, food! Le Foire Alimentaire is an outdoor "food court". Satay Brothers & Grunman 87 were one of the several featured places. Yum!

7/10; definitely got the hang of it, third time maybe the charm.

Trofie al pesto.

New Year's Eve dinner unintentionally turned into a party of handmaking pasta, meanwhile, partygoers were getting drunk and high from euphoria; no idea making trofie took this long.

I was motivated to make this pasta after having a taste of it in Italy's Ligurian region of Cinque Terre (totally did not meant to sound pretentious, but I did traveled there okay?) and it looked easy. Add homemade pesto to homemade pasta. Pesto is really easy: fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil; blend; mix in Parmesan. Done. As for the trofie, all it is you mix flour with water (no eggs), roll into 1/3" thin rope, cut into 1/4" wide pieces then take them to the palm of your hands, roll it forward until both ends are pointy (don't roll it back and forth, it will break). Boil. Done. Add cooked potatoes and string beans, pour in pesto. Done-done. Sounds easy right? What really happened: undercooked salty pasta with really good pesto.

what it should have looked like.