Help me celebrate the last weeks of Summer with my Thai Crab Watermelon Salad over at The Cilantropist  where I am guest blogging today.  Please show my dear friend Amanda some love and head on over here to read more!

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Out in Alaska runs Copper River whose name derives from the rich copper deposits found along its banks.  It’s fed by 12 tributaries, is a mile wide and runs at 7 miles per hour.  Besides being the 10th largest river in the US, it also is home to the best salmon in the world — flourishing in the “pure positive environment that creates salmon perfection.”

This Summer I’ll be representing Dallas as one of the Copper ...

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I was daddy’s little girl growing up.  I was his constant shadow — anything he did, I’d do, anywhere he went I’d follow.  He’d tell me stories of his past, about that far away place I knew so little about.  “I was only 17 when I went away to work on the farms…we’d have little to eat…there’d be snakes in the bed…” I’d listen to his tales with fear imagining giant cobras lurking beneath his ...

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My very first professional cooking job was at one of the top French restaurants in Tucson, Arizona.  It took me over two weeks and hundreds of applications before I was finally able to convince one of the head chefs to consider me for the position of Chef de Partie.  He was weary of taking me under his wing –
“You?  Girl?  You want to work in the kitchen?  This is no joke, it’s very hard work, ...

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The almighty pomegranate is native from Iran to the Himalayas and  has been cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of Asia, Africa and Europe.  This mystical fruit with its healing properties and majestic apperance has been featured in Egyptian mythology and art, praised in the Old Testament of the Bible and referenced in the Babylonian Talmud*.   It has even gained distinction as a royal fruit in the literatures of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Homer*.   Pomegranate fruits contain maximum ...

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Since my mother moved back to Shanghai a couple months back, I’ve found myself not only missing her (terribly) but reminiscing back to all the Chinese traditions that she’s instilled in me over all these years.  I almost feel less Chinese without her — no more ancient Chinese medicines, no more meditation practices, no one to speak Chinese to, no one yelling over my shoulder “AIYA JOY put that back, why you always buy buy buy??  SAVE ...

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If you’ve been keeping up with my artizone posts, the site will launch next month!  Which means, you have only about two more weeks until you’ll be able to have the best artisan products in the city delivered to your front door.  This week I am featuring Flavors from Afar and FM 1410 — two well known names in Dallas. (more…)

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So it’s time to join me on a food adventure where we will tour the top artisans in Dallas that will be featured through Artizone — this week I will be featuring Scardello Artisan Cheese and JJ&B Artisan Spreads.
(more…)

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As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received Nature’s Pride Multigrain bread and was asked to create an award winning recipe that would win me a trip to San Francisco to attend the 2nd annual Foodbuzz festival.  Seeing that I absolutely adore San Francisco and I love to eat and drink (ALOT), what other choice did I have but to take a shot and enter? (more…)

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As celebration of FoodBuzz’s new Healthbuzz section, I wanted to discover the mysteries of the Raw Food diet.  This month, FoodBuzz selected my proposal for 24,24,24  I decided to invite a group of my friends and together we explored the beauties of eating raw through a 5 course meal. Does that sound Awesome Rawsome?  I think so.
This was probably one of the most challenging menus for me to think of — I mean eating RAW? ...

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It’s crazy how fast time goes by when life becomes so busy you lose count of the days.  In just a blink of an eye, March is here, Spring has begun and I am on my way to Shanghai.  I can’t begin to express the utter excitement I am feeling now. I realize the older I become, the more I want to learn about the culture that I come from.
I realize the beauty of my ...

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It is crazy how fast time is flying by this year, in a blink of an eye February is already half way gone.  In a month I will be flying to Shanghai with Collin, where he will meet my grandmother for the very first time.
My mother has been sending her photos of us which my grandmother keeps next to her chair so she is able to look through them everyday.  As much as I’d like ...

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