Food

My love of food, drink, and cooking began sometime when I was in college in the late 1990s. As a freshman, I would cook my own dinners at the "wok station" provided at the cafeteria.

Later on, when I moved off campus, I bought a cookbook called the "Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cookbook," and began experimenting with the recipes. I would visit the stores to stock my kitchen and buy ingredients. It started as an attempt to save money by cooking at home, but developed into a passion for cooking.

I was never a bartender, but being a 21+ college student, I also developed a taste for alcoholic beverages. I built up my collection of liquors and bartending gadgets, and began experimenting with building cocktails. I also developed a taste for craft beers and tried new beers whenever I could.

Then while I was in graduate school, I met my future wife. We began going out to eat a lot, and I discovered the foodie world of trying different restaurants and styles of food.

These days, I still cook almost every day for my wife and three kids. There are about 50 unique dishes in "The Rotation," featuring dishes I've perfected for convenience and taste. I take pride in cooking Indian chicken biryani one night, Ghana peanut soup another night, and Peruvian lomo saltado the next night.

The love of food is a lifetime evolution. With this section of my blog, I hope to publicly explore new cuisines, restaurants, technologies, and ideas surrounding the world of food.

Family Cookbook: Ramen Stir-fry

Food

Ramen stir-fry is my teenage daughter’s favorite family dish. It’s basically ramen noodles without the soup, served up with lots of chicken and vegetables as a comfort food dinner.

Experiments with Seasoned Coffee

Food

Store-bought flavored coffee is almost always flavored with natural or artificial flavors. Even when flavored with “natural” flavors, the flavorings are still highly processed and often taste “fake.” But what if we truly flavored our coffees naturally?

The Antipodean Cookbook

Food

The Antipodean Cookbook is a unique collection of 101 fusion recipes that blend the cuisines of countries that are at opposite ends of the Earth from each other. Featuring easy-to-follow recipes and stunning photography, this cookbook offers a wide range of delicious and imaginative dishes that will take your taste buds on a culinary adventure around the globe.

Taiwan’s Famous Stinky Tofu

Food

One of my earliest memories is of looking down at my feet as my sandals squished into the mud after a summer thunderstorm. One of my hands held a tiny plastic bottle of Yakult, while the other clutched my mother’s hand. She led me up the muddy street through the market where my grandmother was […]

Eat Pizza with Ketchup???

Food

An Indian eatery called Tava Fry opened up near me a couple of years ago. I tried it once when they just opened, but I was a little turned off by their focus on brain, goat, and lamb dishes. I don’t mind people eating them, but it’s not my thing. Last week when I was […]