Felix Hu

An aurora in northern Norway due to the current solar storm hitting Earth.

source: [Spaceweather Spotter] spaceweather.com

# space

Venturing outside of my typical short grain rice and jasmine rice has never been more exciting, especially when I get to play with all of these fragrant spices.

Source: [Indian Style Pilaf] felixfood

The Fast Life of Oscar Pistorius

The “fastest man on no legs” may be Olympic-bound.

The Perennial Plate Episode 84: Dumpster Diver

I’ll admit, this is kind of infuriating how much food we waste when so many people are starving in the world. There’s no food science that can solve cultural stigmas and fear of litigation.

CAN SOPA!

Go me. Took Paule Caillat’s famous brown butter pastry crust recipe and used it instead to make cookies. Drizzled and dunked in ganache. Served over mint macerated strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream. I know, I know, not in season, but if Whole Foods is selling it, it’s okay right?

Jamie pointed out that farmed trees are not as hearty as they would be in their native environment, and they’re more susceptible to diseases and damage from pests. Tree farms must apply pesticides and fungicides to prevent damage that could turn the needles yellow and make the trees un-sellable… Today, 98 percent of non-artificial Christmas trees sold worldwide come from Christmas tree farms.

So students at Berkeley are selling “free range” trees: “short little trees, with trunks that meandered left and right and branches that were sparse and uneven.”
How about we just get rid of the whole tree tradition to begin with?
Source: [O Perfect Christmas Tree] QUEST

Jamie pointed out that farmed trees are not as hearty as they would be in their native environment, and they’re more susceptible to diseases and damage from pests. Tree farms must apply pesticides and fungicides to prevent damage that could turn the needles yellow and make the trees un-sellable… Today, 98 percent of non-artificial Christmas trees sold worldwide come from Christmas tree farms.

So students at Berkeley are selling “free range” trees: “short little trees, with trunks that meandered left and right and branches that were sparse and uneven.”

How about we just get rid of the whole tree tradition to begin with?

Source: [O Perfect Christmas Tree] QUEST

President Barack Obama’s self-described “evolution” on same sex-marriage appears likely to end with a strategically timed (if low-key) pre-election announcement of his support for marriage equality.

Source: [Obama, the Courts, and Gay Marriage] The New Yorker

Why Asian Food is Superior (haha, j/k. only kinda sorta)

A study in the journal Nature examines why Asian cuisine tastes so different than Western cuisine.

According to the study, Western cuisines have a tendency to pair ingredients that share many of the same flavor compounds. East Asian cuisines, however, do precisely the contrary, avoiding ingredients that share the same flavor compounds. The more flavors two ingredients share, the less likely they would be paired together in Asian kitchens.

The cultural ramifications of this study will surely be great, especially in Western restaurants and schools that have been studying Eastern cuisine. And I hope it causes some of the more pretentious culinary folks out there to reconsider their ardent philosophy on food pairings.

From the Asian perspective, this is all well and good. Historically and philosophically, the concept of “yin and yang” has been applied to cuisine for, well, I dunno, a long time. I learned to cook this way from my parents. All cooking ingredients inherently have these “hot and cold” properties (not temperature) and you mustn’t overwhelm one with the other in any dish.

Cultural Food Rules a la Michael Pollan from the East to the West.

Source: [Why Does Asian Food Taste So Different From Western Food?] Gizmodo
Source: [Flavor network and the principles of food pairing] Nature