Dragon Fruit

[posting from Hong Kong]
I was at the supermarket on campus yesterday, and I found this little guy:

This is a Dragon Fruit. I've never heard of it or seen it. Normally, i stick to fruits that i already know, because i always like the comfort of getting what i know i like (e.g. ordering the same dish at the same restaurant). But since i'm here trying to be all cultural-experiency, i thought i'd try it out.

So this morning for breakfast, i cut it open in half. Huh!

DG had described that it is basically looks like a poppyseed muffin on the inside.
Drew googled it and said it looks like a disorganized kiwi.

Whatever the case, it was delicious! It has the consistency of a soft pear, and has a light pear-melon-sweet taste. The little seeds are not as annoying as raspberry seeds, but i did have to do a teeth check when i was done. Neat though!

I guess the origin of this fruit is Central America. Well, close enough. I went out and bought a couple more today. They're like 2 for HK$5, so that's like $.32 each in USD.

Grub Plates

My favorite kind of meal is the Grub Plate. I googled it, and there doesn't seem to be any such term, at least, not in the way I mean it. This is highly disappointing.

A Grub Plate is when you have a spread of delicious finger foods, and you eat that as your meal. Almost always, you gotta have a meat (usually deli cold cuts), some cheese, some fruit, and some sort of bread. This is different from hors d'oeuvres because a Grub Plate is a MEAL. Get it? It's not just appetizers, it's the real deal. And it's not a picnic because you usually eat it in the comfort of your home, not outdoors. Please start using my new term.

Here are some memorable Grub Plates from the last few years or so.

Grub Plate #1: 503 Girls' Reunion 2008
hummus, pita, challah bread, grapes, strawberries, black forest ham, turkey, colby jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, sauteed chicken gizzard


Grub Plate #2: Winery Tour 2008
Pizza bread, raclette cheese, super crazy salty olives, pickled garlic, salami, strawberries, blackberries, grapes


Grub Plate #3: Beer Tour 2009
(all from Zingerman's) Manzanilla olives, sorpressata peppata salami, Spanish arbequina olives, bridgewater cheese, stichelton blue cheese, parmesan peppercorn bread, Irish soda bread, pears, blackberries


I...I...I just can't tell you the utter joy it brings me. Make your own grub plate today. Just...please. Please.

Cupcakes

I have been doing a bit of cupcake baking for the past few months, and i think it's strange that i haven't posted anything about them here. I guess i don't really consider it cooking, since I bake out of a mix. But here's why that's okay: 1) I am a grad student and have no time, 2) out-of-the-box cakes are still pretty darn delicious, and 3) it costs a lot less to just get a $.99 box of Pillsbury than it is to get cake flour and all that nonsense.


Back to the original problem. It's still not really cooking cuz anyone can make boxed cake. So instead of doing a recipe or instructions, I'm just showing you pretty pictures. I hope that's okay. OH and these were all taken with my new telephoto lens! :)

Since i'm a poor grad student, i don't have a cooling rack for my baked goods. So i use the toaster oven :)


These cupcakes are for my Ling class, who have worked hard all semester on pretty challenging stuff, and I thought it'd be nice to end the semester by bringing in cupcakes and playing jeopardy as review. So i made these bizarro one-of-a-kind-cuz-I-can't-repeat-the-same-design cupcakes. (Sorry, the lighting is horrible though because i took these at midnight under my kitchen's fluorescent light.)



Here is the "Sunny". I love decorating them like this, they just look so cute!


Here are the ling inspired ones.


Instead of going with vanilla frosting, which is gross to me, I decided to go with the more tolerable chocolate frosting, which i will actually eat.




They were a hit! It was the first time i had made cupcakes for my students, but it'll definitely have to become a regular thing :)