8. Roaring 20s, Tossing Pennies in The Pool

And my wishes came true: favorite foods and wines for my 24th.

Happy Wednesday,

You’re halfway to the weekend, woo! This past week, I cooked some exciting recipes and ate out a bit too much but it’s January which means it is my birth month so all is forgiven.

The 24 club is, dare I say, confusing? Maybe it just hasn’t settled in yet but somehow I feel younger than I should, being closer to 25 and all. Beside all contemplations, I hope that 24 holds lots of travelings, new experiences, and comforts. Thank you all to the warm birthday wishes and for reading my newsletter every week!

Party hats, candles, and friends

Something I Cooked…

Canned mackerel in tomato broth (serves 5-6)

2 large cans of mackerel in tomato broth

1 medium tin of whole peeled tomatoes

1 cup of herbs (cilantro/dill/parsley/basil), chopped and stem included

1 medium-large onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

Seasoning: chili pepper flakes, salt, pepper, oregano, and fish sauce

1. Heat olive oil in a pot until the oil is hot. Add in onion, garlic, a sprinkle of salt+pepper, and a couple of shakes of red chilli flakes to sautee in the oil until the onion is translucent (about 3 minutes).

2. Then add in a can of whole-peeled tomato, sprinkles of oregano (or italian seasoning) and let everything simmer away for about 30 mins. Season the tomato mixture with salt, pepper and fish sauce to taste.

   Let the heat does its job of pre-breaking down the tomatoes before using a wooden spoon to further smash it to make a tomato sauce.

3. Add your cans of mackerels, sauce and all, to the pot. Let the fish cook in the tomato broth for about 15 minutes or so. If you prefer the dish to have flaked pieces of fish throughout the sauce then you can use a wooden spoon to encourage the fish to be broken down. Be careful not to overdo it, you don’t want fish paste soup.

4. Once the fish is warmed through and the broth tastes like what you want. Add in the herbs and stir it through. Serve the fish with toasted crusty bread.

Shrimp spring rolls (serves as many as you want to eat)

2-3 lbs of medium sized shrimp (I repurposed the shrimps from my shrimp cocktail in the previous newsletter, here)

2 heads of romaine hearts

1 large cucumber, cut into sticks

1-2 portion of dried vermicelli noodles, cook following instructions

Rice papers

Lots of herbs: mint and basil

Nut sauce: 3 tbsps of nut butter (almond/peanut/cashew), 2 tbsps of hot water, 2 tbsps of hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, a dash of fish sauce, 1 tsp of garlic powder

1. Wash and peel the shrimps before boiling. You can just simply boil the shrimp for about 3 minutes and shock them in an ice bath or following the shrimp cocktail bouillon boil to get additional flavors.

2. Sliced the shrimps into halves by placing the knife parallel to the cutting board with your hand on top of the shrimp to keep it stabilized. Then, just slice through.

3. Prep the veggies and let the water drained out completely, or use a salad spinner.

4. Prepare the peanut sauce by combining all of the ingredients above. Taste and stir until it is to the right consistency and flavor. If it is too sweet, add some more soy sauce or fish sauce. If it is too thick, add some more water to loosen it out. If it is not sweet enough, add in some more hoisin sauce, oyster sauce or sugar.

5. Plate out all of the ingredients. Roll the spring rolls by first wet the rice paper, add in veggies and vermicelli noodles. Roll it up halfway like a burrito and place 3 shrimps near the edge of the rice paper before complete the roll. This will show the shrimps through the rice paper. Dip in the nut sauce and enjoy!

Spring rolls for some the wintertime’s depression of melatonin.

Seafood chowder (serves 5-6)

1 bulb of fennel including fronds, chopped

2-3 tbsps of butter

1/4 cup of all purpose flour

1 large onion, chopped,

3-4 yellow potatoes, 1/2 inch cubed

2 carrots, 1/2 inch cubed

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 1/2 cups of white wine

1-2 cans of baby clams, drained

1 bottle of clam juice and 1-2 cups of additional water or stock

1 fillet of cod (sub or add in shrimps, crab meats, oysters)

1 lb of scallops, quarted.

1 cup of heavy cream or whole milk

Seasoning: oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, chicken bouillon cubes, bay leaf.

1. In a large pot at medium-high heat, sautee the chopped onion, fennel, and garlic in a olive oil and melted butter until softens (2-3 minutes). Season with salt and pep.

2. Add in the potatoes and carrots. Season again with salt and pep. Let it sautee for another 3 mins. Add in the all purpose flour and stir to combine. The flour should immediately soak up any moisture leaving the pot dry and floury.

3. Deglaze the pot with the white wine and let the alcohol cooks off for about 5 minutes. Stir to make sure the flour are evenly dissolved for a thick sauce with no clumps present.

4. Once the alcohol vapor subsides, add in the broth (clam juice first, then water/broth) and cream until it is the desired thickness (think lobster bisque). Stir to combine before seasoning it with all of the listed seasoning and spices.

   Try to taste it briefly though the flavors will meld together more after simmering. Just make sure the salt level is right where the veggies can be seasoned inside out as they cook.

5. Put the lid on and let it simmer on low-medium for about 30-40 minutes to cook the potatoes until creamy. Check in occasionally.

6. Meanwhile, prep the seafoods by draining the canned clams, quartering the scallops to bite-size pieces, and cubing the cod fillet. Set aside.

7. Once the potatoes are completely done, taste the creamy broth again to make sure the flavors, consistency and seasonings are desired. Add in the seafood and fold everything through. Let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes to ensure everything is fully cooked.

8. Serve with crusty bread or crackers, and a couple of dashes of Tabasco.

Warm chowdah.

Something I Ate Out…

Big time for the newly 24 year-old, aka me, for eating out. I hit up Tiny Champions with my besties for the celebration, which was a blast. We ordered a couple of cocktails, orange wines, an appetizer of mozzarella balls, and 3 pizzas- mushroom, sausage and kale. It was oh so wonderful!

Kale pizza, mini boss and orange wine.

Since Marty couldn’t join us, we met up on Sunday for a bottle of natural wine at Light Years, of course. I cannot complain about turning 24 and going to all of my favorite spots in Houston. Love my friends v much!

Au revoire,

XX Trammy