Today, I wiped the dust off and took my SB-600 speedlight and Nikkor 50mm lens combination for a test run with our recently purchased Nikon D90. It is another overcast day here but I angled the speedlight towards the ceiling and I was pleasantly surprised! Now all I need is a good tripod

Note: These photos were not edited - which explains why the tomatoes look orange or I just need more practice…

The most beautiful bunch of carrots I have ever seen and it is from our garden!

Lunch today was seafood combination from Jin Wah (Beaverton)

We are still harvesting tomatoes. Some of our campari plants are sheltered by the patio roof so I think they will survive a couple more weeks of cold air.

Home-made avocado gelato - best when it is just starting to melt

Ingredients:

Saturday, October 17th

These pictures were taken using a Blackberry phone so they don’t have the best lighting.

Wood-Smoked Quail with Quince, Apple and Chestnut Stuffing over Frisee

Braised Pork Shoulder with Six-Hour Creamy Polenta, Young Carrots and Gremolata

Rustic Bartlett Pear Tart with Mascarpone Gelato

My co-workers had a cake for me but sadly could not find me when it was time to cut it. They celebrated without me and 15 minutes later, I showed up when everybody was leaving They also gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Red, White, and Green

Birthday Cake

My friend Sokbun also treated me to a wonderful seafood lunch at Fong Huong Palace. No picture but the image of that sizzling seafood plate is ingrained in my brain

Thank you ALL for the greetings, cards, e-mails, gifts, cash (!), and the wonderful food.

Freshly Churned

I’ve always wanted to make ice cream at home but could not get myself to buy an ice cream machine. I was afraid I would make too much of it and suffer sugar overload. Besides, I also have a mild lactose intolerance.  That was until I discovered the Italian gelato. During the time we spent in Italy, a day did not pass without us visiting the local gelateria. The Italian version of ice cream is lighter but have intense flavors. Just the way I like it. My local favorite Alotto Gelato has a good description of the difference, as well as David Lebovitz. Whenever we find ourselves in NW Portland, we stop for a cup (or two). They also have a stand at the Beaverton Farmers Market most Saturdays in the summer.

While pistachio is my all-time favorite, I miss the tropical flavors I grew up with, such as avocado, mango, ube, halo-halo, sweet corn, and coconut among others. I have waited long enough so I went down to BBB and selected the 1.5Q Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for its reasonable price and great reviews on Amazon.com. With my 20% off coupon, I only paid $39.99. The first recipe I made was Mango Gelato. I could not find a recipe for it so I referred to the recipes from “The Perfect Scoop”. I used Manila mangoes for this recipe which I froze while they were in season in May.

Ready To Eat

Here’s the recipe I used:

1 cup mango puree (fruit pulp pureed in a blender)

2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1. Heat milk  just until it is about to boil then turn the heat off. Add sugar, stirring until all the sugar has melted.

2. Whisk two egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly pour hot milk mixture, a little at a time to temper the eggs. Whisk continuously to keep the eggs from cooking.

3. Heat the egg-milk mixture until it starts steaming and coats the spoon. Again, while mixing continuously to maintain the texture. 6-8 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, add mango puree.

5. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight then churn in an ice cream maker.

Although our garden continues to produce tasty treats, this will be the last update for 2009. October will be dedicated to cleaning up the garden for next season. I hope you enjoyed the summer’s bounty!