Chives, napa lettuce, and pork dumplings with store bought skin. I made a gelled aspic for the filling, so when you bite into one of these hot boiled/fried suckers, the inside is full of tasty, drippy juice.  Use the fattier ground meat, as the lean makes a sort of crumbly rather than luscious texture that a good dumpling should have. I very loosely...

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Couldn't help myself.  The packaging was just too cute. Couldn't help myself.  The packaging was just too cute. ...

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These pancakes are made partially with chinese chives because that's what I have! 3/4 cup boiling water. The hotter the water the chewier the dough! 1 tsp salt 3 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup cold water butter or sesame oil salt for sprinkling 6 green onions, chopped into rounds very finely peanut oil Whisk salt into the flour. Pour boiling water slowly...

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I've been extravagantly cooking taxing Chinese recipes today. Here is the first test result for baozi stuffed with pork, and a recipe that includes changes I'll incorporate the next time I want to spend all day in a kitchen. Char Siu Bao2/3 cup warm water, 150g 2 tsp active dry yeast, 8g 1/2 tsp white vinegar 2 tbsp pork fat, oil or shortening...

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Before I really started to appreciate Chinese cuisine, this is what my parents ordered so they could get me to eat something when we went to certain restaurants. I have never seen this dish made at home, probably because it requires quite a bit of oil. However, the right balance between ginger and aromatics makes the dish feel lighter. The cooking process for...

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There are plenty literary references to spider silk and the gossamer qualities of fairy clothing and magic thread. However, due to the efforts of two scientists, we are closer to making those analogies reality. The process? A particular breed of malicious looking spider was captured and then restrained in a machine that "milks" the silk. Afterwards, they were released, but the golden filaments...

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From David Thompson's book, Thai Food. The secret to this particular Phat Thai is getting the right amount of tamarind in there. I use a goopy concentrate that is quite strong, so I erred on not enough. I also used half a .14 oz bag of noodle, which requires the rest of the ingredients to almost double. Thompson's recipe is less sweet than...

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I got up this morning and was cold, so I busted out this lounge pant pattern from the November 2008 edition of Burda World of Fashion. The Juki handled everything I tried no problem. I topstitched the seams and made some nice buttonholes on this thick interlock. I'm used to having to adjust for the elasticity of the fabric, so pulling too much...

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Buttonholer with sensor and extra plate used for light weight fabrics. Buttonholer setup. According to the manual the button size range is 0.7-3.2 cm and no thicker than 4 mm. In action and a variety of buttonhole styles. The two on the top left show the difference in narrow and wide selections for the opening width. More buttonhole styles. I stopped cutting the...

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Recipe inspired by a sewing friend and dictated by the contents of my kitchen. 2 cups masoor dal, or lentils 8 cups flavorful chicken broth = 2 quarts 1 scant tbsp coconut oil 1/2 tsp mustard seed 2 dried whole red chilis 1 tsp kala jeera 1 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp asafoetida 1/2 tsp ground ginger 2 small onions, diced 6 cloves garlic, smashed...

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Beef and Onions Braised in Beer the Julia Child way, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Cheddar Scallion Corn Muffins, the CI way. Plus roasted carrots. ...

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Below is a picture of the bobbin winder array. I put the end of the thread through a hole in the plastic bobbin, wind several turns excess in a clockwise direction, insert the bobbin on the spindle and then slide the thread through one of the grey appendages on the winding spool. The grey lever engages manually and stops automatically. Once the spool...

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Since, I spent so much money and will be putting off a serger purchase for awhile, I figured that I should try my hand at more knit garments using the new Juki. I found the double layered construction method on a retired White House/Black Market shirt from many moons ago. This technique gives a simple knit tee extra wearing longevity and opacity to...

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I love pork belly in all sorts of permutations and the recipe Nagasaki-Style Braised Pork from Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, by Shizuo Tsuji is pretty ace. The pork belly is braised for 6 hours in okara, rice or bran water. Then the meat is rinsed and simmered again to remove excess porkiness (there's a Chinese word for this which I don't know...

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"The Uncertainty Principle. It proves we can't ever really know what's going on. So it shouldn't bother you. Not being able to figure anything out. Although you will be responsible for this on the mid-term."  --Larry Gopnik A Serious Man could be a great dark comedy, but somehow the Coens have infused this fable of Jews, family, faith and values with creepy ominousness...

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Traditional Chawan Mushi with shrimp, marinated chicken, ginko and chestnuts. Topped with fresh mitsuba - Aerogarden grown. I wasn't as careful with the stirring and steaming this time, so the surface of the chawan was all bubbled. However, the delicate flavor and internal tenderness of the custard were perfect for the cold winter night. This thin sliced beef served over rice is straight...

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