a Taiwanese feast

everyone knows that grandmothers cook the best food. so when our friend Sharon told us that her grandmother wanted to have a group of us up to Taipei to cook us a traditional Taiwanese feast, of course we were in! [for the sake of brevity, I'm going to just refer to Sharon's grandparents as grandma and grandpa from here.]

we arrived while grandma was still cooking, so we sipped jasmine tea and listened to grandpa show off his collections of glassware, stamps, and coins from around the world. [I was getting nostalgic about the stamps, since I helped my Dad sort through my grandfather's collection a few years ago.]

then we were ushered upstairs to the dining room, where the table was laid out with a feast of dishes. we also met Sharon's aunt and uncle. after a group photo in front of the giant light-up picture of the Canadian Rockies [that also made running water noises] we dug in.

the dishes that grandma made for us were some of her specialties, and all very traditional Taiwanese. Taiwan has a unique blend of influences from various regions of China, Japan, and many other cultures that have made their mark on Taiwan. the result is a cuisine you won't find anywhere else.

there were chicken wings with specially spiced hard boiled eggs [滷蛋.] a braised pork dish [滷肉] in a delicious gravy/broth. a melt-in-your-mouth fish dish with green onion and pork bits on top, and shrimp and vegetable stirfry.

this cold salad with seaweed, bean sprout, mushroom, and clear noodles was one of my favorites. apparently, grandma went to DinTaiFung and ate their 招牌小菜, and decided she could make a better version at home.

there was a platter piled with small bites which disappeared quickly: fried vegetable balls, vegetables wrapped in seaweed and tofu, and fried chicken rolls.

another favorite of mine was this cold tofu dish. it was in a marinade with vegetables and a strange japanese jelly "noodle" called konnyaku [also known as devil's tongue.] the texture was really interesting, almost gummy. I'm not making this sound very appetizing, but trust me, it was GOOD.

we sampled the dishes, then took seconds. and occasionally thirds. there was almost an arm wrestling match over the last fried vegetable ball, until we were reassured there were more downstairs. there was more of everything. and not just more of the foods that we had been stuffing ourselves with... more dishes to try!

the next to emerge was a giant steaming bowl of "Buddha jumps over the wall" [佛跳牆.]  Aunt Michelle explained it is called this because the dish is so tasty, even the Buddha himself would jump over a wall to eat some.

this was followed by a dish of greens sautéed in garlic and peppers - a fairly common [but really delicious] way of eating greens in Taiwan. grandma wanted to serve us a vegetable that we had never tried before. this green stemmed vegetable with tiny curls might have been my favorite thing... green things sautéed with garlic and peppers are always tasty but the best part was the name of this vegetable: DRAGON WHISKERS [龍鬚菜.] you guys know I love my dragons, and the whiskers did not disappoint.

and then came the fish ball soup [阿嬤的手工魚丸 .] this is one of those dishes that doesn't sound very appealing, but tasted a thousand times better than you'd imagine. and of course, grandma made these fish balls from scratch. starting with a fish and making it into a paste, forming it into a meatball-like lump, and cooking it in an outrageously delicious broth chock full of cilantro and green onion.

for dessert, there were FOUR dishes to try! first came the fried taro balls and sweet rice formed into little squares with fruit. then one of Taiwan's signature pastries: homemade pineapple cakes [阿媽的鳳梨酥.]

for the grand finale, there was dessert soup [湯圓.] it was a sweet broth filled with tiny balls of mochi dough and dried fruits [which were rehydrated in the soup.] I was both surprised and happy to discover that even though the gummy balls were made from glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice is actually gluten-free. hello new world of desserts I can eat!

many of the dishes we ate are becoming rare to find homemade, since they take so long to prepare. most people just go to the store and buy pre-made fish balls and pineapple cakes. I don't know that we will have the chance to eat any as good as we were served this weekend. [though we did come home with a leftover un-sliced chicken rollup, and Husband totally threw it in the toaster oven and then ate it like a burrito.]

all in all, there were SIXTEEN dishes for us to try! everything was delicious, colorful, and so very Taiwan. I'm so grateful that we had the chance to experience some of Taiwan's traditional cuisine in this manner - that Sharon's grandparents were so kind to open their home and cook us this feast.

have you ever had any of these dishes? I would highly recommend trying them if you ever have the chance. Taiwan is a great place to eat and any of these dishes would make a great addition to your list to try!

easy gluten free pizza crust

today I want to share one of my favorite go-to toaster oven recipes: gluten free personal pizzas.

pizza has always been one of my favorite foods, and in my early days of being gluten free was the one things I "cheated" most with. in the states there are now many frozen options [Udi's is my favorite] and several pizzerias have started to offer gluten free crusts as well.

but in Taiwan... well, they haven't really gotten on the gluten free bandwagon. from time to time I can find gluten free baking mix at the import store, but never consistently. usually I have to go to Taipei, order it online, or have my parents ship some over.

this recipe was born out of trial and error [and lack of kitchen equipment] and has been made with at least 8 different brands or types of gluten free mixes. that includes the time I used pancake mix - which I wouldn't recommend but it still came out tasty.

2 1/2 cups gluten free flour [all-purpose, baking, or bread mixes work best]
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
1 room temperature egg
1 package regular yeast
olive oil
salt + pepper
italian spices such as garlic powder, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, etc.

measure your flour into a large bowl and mix in the yeast packet, salt and pepper, and any italian spices you have on hand. add the egg and stir around until it forms small crumbles in the flour, then drizzle olive oil around the dough two or three times and stir again. starting with 1/2 cup, add the warm water and mix well until the dough is one consistency.

the dough will be "wet" and not much at all like traditional pizza dough. don't worry, this is ok for gluten free! drizzle some more oil on the top, cover and let sit on the counter for 1 1/2 hours.

preheat your oven to 500F [or your toaster oven to 250C] and line an 8x8 baking pan with foil. drizzle olive oil on the foil. divide dough into 4 portions - no need to mix or knead it - and press one portion into the pan so that it lays even. prick with a fork and add a little more olive oil to the top. bake for 8-10 minutes until just starting to brown, remove from the pan and repeat with the other 3 dough portions.

the crusts will be baked through, crisp but with a little give. the longer you bake it, the crunchier the crust will be. [unless you used pancake mix, then it will just get burnt.] take your pre-baked crust and cover in the sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice. bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

if you like, you can freeze the crusts with or without sauce and toppings. I usually let a frozen crust thaw in the fridge a little before topping and then baking, but if it's already dressed then you should be good to go right into the oven. sometimes it takes a little longer to cook, but just keep an eye on it until your cheese gets melty.

the main reason why I make these pizzas personal size is because the only thing that fits in my Taiwanese toaster oven is an 8x8 brownie pan. but I do like smaller size because one is enough per person, and when I'm just cooking for husband and myself I can freeze the extra 2 pizzas for a quick dinner another night. having a stash of gluten free pizzas in my freezer also means I can bake my own when friends come over and order the "real" stuff that I can't eat.

individual pizzas also come in handy when there's a crowd with varied preferences. the night I shot these photos I was cooking for myself, Husband, my mother-in-law, and my two nephews. Husband wanted four cheese [mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, and goat cheese] with mushroom and onions, while I wanted to forgo the mushroom and goat cheese but add olives. and of course, my nephews declared they would not eat sauce on their pizza, only cheese and pepperoni.

I still ate their cheese-and-pepperoni-only leftovers. [actually, I ate all of the leftovers.]

this recipe has been a life saver for me... or really, a stomach saver. there was a point when I thought I would never be able to eat pizza again without having to search high and low for mysteriously obscure gluten free baking additives. but thanks to this simple crust recipe, I can have pizza. good pizza.

if you try this recipe or a variation, please let me know how it turns out! I've never tried this recipe as one full-size crust, or with regular wheat flour, so I'd be curious. regardless of its gluten content or thereof, I think we can all agree that pizza is awesome.

Ubud // Taco Casa

I'm having one of those days. where being an expat is hard and I'm missing the convenience and familiar things of America. [side note: I'm sitting in Starbucks wearing probably the most "American" outfit I could have: cutoff jean shorts with TOMs and a baseball tee.] lately I've really been missing food. and by food I mean easy gluten-free things like Buddy's pizza and New Planet pale ale and grocery stores like Wegman's and Whole Foods that believe in labeling allergens [in English.] traveling and living abroad with food allergies... sucks. living in Asia with a shellfish allergy and gluten sensitivity is really difficult. especially when I can't read or speak the language. I am so ready to head back to the states for summer and eat all of the things.

part of our summer will include traveling to California and Texas, during which I plan to eat my weight in Mexican food. I can't eat flour tortillas but corn tortillas in the form of nachos, enchiladas, and tacos? yeah, I'm all over that. [if you live near/have traveled to San Diego or Austin, please send me your taco recommendations!]

and I suppose my taco craving is why today I want to share with you the amazing Mexican place in Ubud where we ate literally every single day when we were in Bali: Taco Casa.

when I say we ate there every day, I am not exaggerating. we ate ten meals at Taco Casa during our stay in Ubud, and considering we had to hike through the monkey forest to get there, I think that's pretty impressive.

and when you have to hike past those terrifying monkeys? well, darn it, you deserve some margaritas!

in Taiwan, there are a few "Mexican" places that try but fall pretty short. if we want to eat Mexican we cook it at home [thanks to Costco carrying tortilla chips] but it's not really authentic. in Bali they have the climate to grow all the right spices and peppers, and they use them. not to mention, somehow they have cojita cheese.

their menu includes all the standards: taco, nachos, enchiladas, quesadillas, fajitas, and an incredible 8-layer burrito. the staff is friendly and the kitchen runs like a well-oiled machine. everything is made fresh and from scratch: tortillas, beans, hot sauce. have you ever had enchilada sauce from scratch? you want to, trust me.

and if you're not into margaritas I will drink yours for you you can order one of their amazing juices [this one was ginger + carrot + beet] or a ginger lemon soda, or a mint + lime + ginger ice crush. tequila optional.

and if you needed another reason to go? yeah, this sign.

now if you'll excuse me, I'll be spending my afternoon daydreaming about tacos. [and seriously, send me your taco recommendations.]

raspberry lemon coconut bars

since realizing I was gluten intolerant, the amount of baking I've done has dwindled down to almost nothing. in Taiwan it's rare to find gluten-free baking mixes, and they are always even more overpriced than in the states. so when I discovered this recipe for raspberry bars that uses NO FLOUR whatsoever, I was really excited.

I spent 5 minutes staring at the preserves section of the import store trying to decide what I wanted... then gave up and just bought both jars.

I returned to my tiny kitchen hungry and excited. I pulled out our second-hand food processor to start crushing the nuts for the crust and realized... I only had about 1/2 cup of almonds while the recipe called for 2 cups. rather than wait [or go back to the store] I decided to improvise by using what I had on hand. I added 1/2 cup cashews to the almonds, and 1 cup of coconut flakes that I processed into a powder.

I really wanted these to have beautiful swirls with the raspberry and lemon but they sortof just blended together. oh well. they still tasted amazing. you should also know that cutting and stacking these immediately will result in all your slices fusing together to create one mega-slice which [let's be honest] is only a problem if you're planning on sharing. if you plan to eat said mega-slice with a spoon while curled up on your couch watching Frozen on a lazy afternoon... then you're golden.

recipe adapted from glutenfreeveganlove

1 cup almonds, or mixed almonds and cashews
1 cup shredded coconut [unsweetened]
1/3 cup liquid coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

process coconut until it forms a coarse powder, then remove. process nuts until they start to bind together, then add back in coconut, oil, vanilla, and egg. process until well blended into a dough.

press dough into a parchment-lined 8in x 8in pan and bake for 20 minutes at 175C/350F in your toaster oven [or your conventional oven.] spread preserves over the crust then return to oven for another 5 - 10 minutes. let cool, cut into squares, enjoy!

these squares are the perfect way to treat yourself! speaking of... today I'm co-hosting the treat yo self thursday linkup with Nicole of Treasure Tromp and Alicia of Jaybird. feel free to link up your latest post below and make some new friends!

Ubud // Balinese cooking class

today I want to tell you all about one of our favorite things we did in Bali. while exploring Ubud, we discovered that many restaurants offered Balinese cooking classes. Husband and I are nothing if not enthusiastic about food… so we immediately decided it would be a fun way to spend a day.

we chose to take our class at Warung Semesta, which serves a mostly vegetarian menu. [I won’t lie - part of this decision was based on my dislike of handling raw meat.] overall I was thrilled with our cuisine choices in Bali, since they are in a unique position of being the only Hindu island of a mainly Muslim nation. this means they offer vegetarian options nearly everywhere. in Taiwan... not so much. I am not a vegetarian and I don't think I'll ever be one, but having the option made me want to choose it most days.

vegetarian or not, Warung Semesta offers fresh, local, and mostly organic foods in a beautiful space. huge windows, painted brick... oh, but we are supposed to be talking about the food. we arrived at 9am and were greeted with a drink of sweet coconut water with lime, given aprons and shown upstairs to the cooking area.

Wayan, our chef and teacher, went over the menu of what we would cook and explained each ingredient to us. at first I was a little disappointed that most things seemed to be prepared already. but as the morning went on I realized we would have NEVER gotten to the actual cooking if we had to do all the prep for 7 dishes.

there was still some chopping and grinding for us to do, along with the actual cooking. Wayan showed us the traditional way of making the paste that is the base for so many Balinese dishes, and also let us try grinding our own peanut sauce and sambals [sortof the Balinese salsa.]

the climate of Bali allows them to grow so many things, herbs and spices and vegetables. so everything we cooked with was fresh and in season. and outrageously delicious.

we made a few dishes [soup, fried rice, pork in soy sauce] then took a break around 11:30 to eat one of the salads for an appetizer. then we got back in the kitchen to finish everything up and made our dessert - coconut and palm sugar filled crepes.

I can't recommend this class enough. we spent about 5 hours in total, cooking and then feasting on the fruits [or - mostly vegetables] of our labor. they offer both a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian menu for the class, and allow you to mix and match dishes if you like.

the food was amazing, but we also learned a lot about the why behind the cuisine. the class was well balanced between the actual cooking, the learning, and the eating. Wayan was a fantastic teacher and we all had a great time. plus - we got to bring home cookbooks so we can attempt to recreate the recipes!

have you ever taken a cooking class on vacation, or do you just prefer to do the eating?

the cup of coffee that fueled the writing of today’s post was sponsored by Hayley. she drinks her tea with 2 scoops of sugar and blogs about life, travel, and adventure over at livin' it up as HayUp.