Zen Mama

Chinese Gambling Rice So, I finally got around to my next assignment from the Cooking Mamas: Chinese Gambling Rice, or “ pua kiao beng ” in the Teochew Chinese dialect of Singapore, from where this recipe originates. My fellow Cooking Mama, Eva, found this recipe and an evocative story about preserving ties to our cultural past through passing on family recipes, written by author Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/22/AR2011032202865.html I adore the history behind the name of this dish, which the author’s grandmother served to keep gamblers in their seats longer, instead of having to leave her illicit gambling den in search of food. That’s a practical and smart woman for you --  serve a rice dish that gamblers can hold in one hand while continuing to gamble.  While reviewing the list of ingredients, I could already smell and just about taste the familiar aroma of rich Chinese black mushrooms (which are believed t...

Something about living in Paris inspires the chef in everyone. Not only have I started my own home-based cake and cupcakes business, I've also joined a group of 3 cooking mamas + 1 (me). 2 of the cooking mamas are fellow Asian women who moved to Paris with their European husbands and children. We met through a great group of Asian women who had been meeting socially once a month, and then we decided that this group was so meaningful to us that we volunteered to set up a Board, to keep the group going. We are now known as the Asian Women's Association of Paris (www.awa-paris.com), we have 80+ members and we keep growing with each new event. So, now back to my assignment! As part of this group of Cooking Mamas, we are supposed to try 2 new recipes/menus a month. My first assignment was Paris Bresse ( poulet de Bresse farci avec asperges ) or Stuffed Bresse chicken with asparagus. Recipe here:  http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Stuffed-Bresse-Chicken-with-Asparagus I only ...

Blogged about by a gourmet food lover with her own cooking blog. Thanks Eva!  http://baguslahandsedaptoo. wordpress.com/

My little business mentioned in Parisian Style blog: lourivka: Creamy time : "Depuis un moment déjà les cupcakes connaissent un succès fou. Les gourmandes que nous sommes chez Lourivka Chineuses de style n’ont pas manq..."

I was recently at a branch office of my bank on Avenue Emile Zola in the 15eme depositing a check, and I had a question about filling out the envelope so I went to the  acceuil (reception) desk. During this time, a French woman came into the small agence . When I turned around to go back to the ATM, she was just finishing up filling in her envelope and we both approached the ATM at the same time. She pushed in front of me brusquely saying that she was here first. I corrected her and said I was there before her, but whatever, I told her to go ahead and “ pas de soucis ” ( no worries). She continued to grumble, and I told her there was no need to be rude, I was already letting her go first. She told me to go back to my own country. I said: “yes, you French are all racist (not that I meant ALL French, of course, but people like her)” So she told me again to leave France. This is the 3rd time since arriving in Paris that I’ve been confronted by such direct racism in my...

My kids are spoiled. They have not only come to expect birthday parties each year -- they also have started to request the exact theme of the party and the design of the birthday cake that they want to have. So, this year, as Jean-Michel is about to turn 4 years old, he requested a dragon cake. But he loves dinosaurs as well. So, I made this dragon/dinosaur cake! After sharing this photo with a number of friends and acquaintances here, I've started to get orders for other children's birthday cakes! Why not? I can do something I love to do, and start a little business! Strangely enough, in the pastry and gourmet mecca of the world, there IS a shortage of places in Paris where one can find novelty cakes and cupcakes that Americans are used to. So, let's see where this may lead...

I can't believe it's been 1/1-2 years since we moved from Hong Kong to Paris! It's hard for me to answer the question: "So how do you like Paris?" Where can I start? It's a beautiful city, and I've met a diverse group of people from all over the world, mainly tapping into the local, international community through our children's bi-lingual international school, and through a group of Asian women living here. But, as anyone who lives or has lived in Paris before, life here comes with its frustrations...