Tartine's Zucchini and Orange Marmalade Tea Cake

Edited to add: Before things get out of hand, I need to add: I do not have an offer yet. I am just optimistic.

I can't believe I have less than 48 hours left in the United States! As a parting gift, Mother Nature sent me a respectable amount of snowfall a few nights ago. For some reason, the way the sidewalks are shoveled, it forms a neat shelf of snow that remind me of chocolate sheet cake with marshmallow frosting. True story.

It won't be long before I'm back in the Philippines, staring dejectedly once again at the weighing scale. It can't be as bad as my last stay here... Can it? The cold wasn't as bad as the last time, but my resolve not to overdo going out and spending (sometimes to get all-new ingredients for something, as it's not my kitchen I'm cooking in) has fueled my sloth, which is probably not so bad considering WHEN (hehe... THE SECRET! lol) I get that residency this coming July, I will not have a moment to catch my breath. Which, if you knew me from before this blog, is my "zone", though I do a better job than most at keeping "zen".

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Rose's Chocolate Feather Bed

Just a reminder: you can still join our Momofuku book giveaway. Before February 7 (12NN GMT), just insert a short paragraph in your next post about the most important food book of your life and link to our post on the Gastronomer's Bookshelf here, Then leave a comment on that post. Non-bloggers can also join by using the contact form on the site (visit the link above for details). Open to all!

While Garrett has been busy decorating his new apartment, he brought up an old post from his archives about dining alone. I am a strong dining-alone proponent, so I had to leave a comment on that post.

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Momofuku's Roasted Rice Cakes

We now interrupt my usual story or philosophical rant for a (and here we substitute my Oprah-yelling voice) GIVEAWAAAAAAAAY! Duncan and I are giving away a copy of acclaimed book... MOMOFUKUUUUUUU! by David CHa-AAAAAANG!

Before the rest of my chatter: head on over to The Gastronomer's Bookshelf to find out how to participate. Also, check out my newest review, for Momofuku! (You can also check out our archive page to read all our reviews so far.)

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30 Days and 30 Nights (San Francisco Part 5)

Hi everyone, I know I made an appeal to your generosity not long ago for my own country, but if you have something to give for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, please visit this page to find immediate ways to help, and visit these blogs who are helping too. Thanks so much.
I know, I know. I skip out for a week and a half and come back with a travel post!!! I just spent so much time filtering through hundreds of pictures from San Francisco and editing a fraction of that and still managed to end up with material for maybe three posts, so I thought I'd get a head start on writing about that before I forget. But how can I forget about San Francisco? It's not just about the sun and the culture, but also one of the places I consider home. I called this post 30 days and 30 nights because that's exactly how much time I spent in the United States when I landed last August. Part of the time was spent in Greenville, North Carolina. Above is a picture taken on Maiden Lane (and how), where all the high-end boutiques are.

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Spice Cake Stuffed with Almond Paste

Gevulde Speculaas

Chinese settlers have been in the Philippines since before the Spanish colonization, and as a result we've inherited a bit of the cuisine and ingredients (yum) and traditions (and for a certain percentage of the population, genes). Much of the latter has to do with superstition, of which I'm not a fan. Sometimes it's harmless things like having to eat noodles on your birthday, to less harmful things like following feng shui principles for your home to harmful things like firecrackers. However, new year's eve is when we witness nearly all of them in one night. It's apparently crept over to Filipino communities here in the States. I'm not even sure if all of these are based on Chinese superstition, but we would've done them proud in our ingenuity if it turns out they aren't.

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