Shilyo's Recipe for Chinese Hot Pot

Dear Isabella and Olivia,

I am very excited to know that you have put my e-mail on your blog.  Today I'd like
to give you a recipe for a kind of chinese food - hot pot. In Northern China, it is
very cold in winter. So people like eating hot pot.

First, you should make some soup you like.  But you'd better not make borsch or
chowder, because it will make the taste bad.  Maybe you can make some soup with
pork, chicken or seafoods.  You know, chinese like chicken soup.

Second, you can buy many vegetables or meat you like.  The best ingredients for hot pot
are vegetables and seafood.

Next, you just put all the ingredients into the soup.  For example, if you want to eat
some tomatoes, you can put some tomatoes into the soup.  A few minutes later, you can
scoop them up from the pot and eat.  Don't put all the food into the soup at the same
time.  You could finish some food and then put another food into it.  We usually eat
hot pot with many people, our family or friends.  And we eat it for a long time.  Because
to sit beside the hot pot makes us feel warm in winter and we can talk to our friends
for a long time.

I am sorry that my English is poor.  I am afraid you can not understand me clearly, so
I will send you a video about hot pot.  I hope you will like it.
                
Yours,
Shilyo Tse

Need for Speed: A Mommy's Lunch Manifesto

By Biggie, a work-at-home mom of a three-year-old preschooler in San Francisco, obsessed with cooking and building a faster, better packed lunchowner . You can learn more about Biggie and her passion for bento lunches at lunchinabox.net

I'm a mom who packs lunch. What's important to a mom? Nutrition and speed: I want to feed my family nutritious food, but spending a lot of time on every meal isn't feasible. I strive to achieve balance between the two - losing this battle would either have me waking up hours before everyone else to cook lunch, or reaching for a Lunchable processed lunch.

Spending an hour preparing a weekday lunch is only going to happen in my house if it's a special occasion like a birthday or holiday - I spend my morning getting myself and a preschooler ready to go out. Although ornate lunches shaped like cartoon characters and whimsical shapes are artistic and intriguing, I know my limits. I would burn out if I tried to do that every day. For me it's got to be sustainable over the long run, which is why I make speed bentos.

How did I arrive at this point? I lived in Japan as an expat for nine years and am fluent in Japanese, but didn't pay much attention to the whole lunch-packing ("bento") culture there until my husband was misdiagnosed with a food intolerance that ruled out restaurant meals. Back in San Francisco, I decided to send him to work with delicious lunches that would make him feel like he was eating better than his colleagues who were going out to eat. A trip to the local Japanese-language bookstore turned up bento cookbooks that I started studying, especially the creative packing tips and techniques that could be adapted to our normal diet. My husband has since been "undiagnosed" with the food intolerance, but then I found myself carting around a diaper bag stuffed full of little Tupperware containers for my toddler son ("Bug"), or leaving the playground early to go get lunch. Time to pull out those bento boxes again so we can spend more fun time out and about!

So now I'm learning to think on my feet when I look at the refrigerator in the morning. Where I used to see either uninspiring food or time-consuming meals, I can now see quick lunches taking shape. I have fast lunch items in the freezer and fridge, and speedy prep techniques at my fingertips. Let me tell you about some of the speed techniques I've picked up from reading Japanese packed lunch cookbooks.

Use your leftovers!
Don't hesitate to pack food left over from dinner! Leftovers can be your weapons against boring lunches - maximize payout for the time you already put into dinner by making a little extra food. Granted, eating the same thing again can get boring, so look at your leftovers creatively and find ways to give them a makeover. Potato salad can become potato pancakes or faux Scotch eggs, leftover curry can become the base for a curry noodle dish or the stuffing for dumplings.

Pre-pack lunches when possible
If you find yourself with dinner leftovers, get a head start on the next day's lunch by packing up some of the meal directly into your lunch container (Tupperware, Laptop Lunchbox, bento box, thermos, etc.) when cleaning up the evening meal. This way you have most of the next morning's work done already, and lunch will be ready with only minimal preparation like cutting up some fruit.

Ready-made foods
You don't have to make everything for lunch the same day. Make full use of frozen foods and canned foods to speed things up. Frozen vegetables can go into quick sautes or little frittatas, canned beans can become quick salads. Ready-made deli foods such as hummus or tabbouleh are quick lunch additions. Also, ready-made foods don't have to be store-bought: many dishes can be made in advance, batch frozen in individual portions (spaghetti cups, unsauced pasta, sandwiches, rice balls), and either defrosted naturally or in the microwave. A well-stocked freezer can save the day on time-pressed mornings.

Pre-made sauces give fast flavor
Stock your pantry or refrigerator with a few flavorful sauces that can be added to simple sliced vegetables or sauteed protein/vegetables. These sauces (homemade or store-bought) can be varied to suit your family's dietary preferences; think black bean sauce, barbeque sauce, teriyaki sauce, cooked salsas, curry sauces, noodle dipping sauce, vinaigrettes or Italian dressing, Korean barbeque sauce, etc.

Make full use of the microwave and toaster oven (or broiler)!
Japanese bento cookbooks often tout the time-saving technique of cooking multiple items simultaneously: in the microwave, toaster oven, frying pan, etc. This saves time and energy; the trick is to select foods that will cook well with the same method and to check doneness periodically (don't assume all dishes will be done at the same time).

Time-saving kitchen tools
Lastly, a couple of tools are particularly useful in speeding up lunch prep. A quick slicer (mini mandoline) makes short work of slicing vegetables and is easy to clean. A microwave mini steamer reduces cook time by 50%, quickly cooking vegetables or frozen dumplings.

A Letter from Shilyo, in China

Dear Isbella and Olivia,

I was happy to receive your e-mail. I like cooking foods, too. There is
many traditional food in China. And it is very delicious. Do you know
zongzi?  We eat this kind of food on a very special Festival.  It calls
Dragon Boat Festival.  But it is very difficult to make this kind of food.

Another kind of special food calls mooncake.

We also eat it on a festival calls Zhongqiu Festival.

I will keep sending e-mails to you and tell more traditional Chinese food.

See you next time!
Shilyo

Belle & Liv - 2008 James Beard Award Nominees!

There's an exciting buzz going on in the Spatulatta office. We were just nominated for the 2008 James Beard Awards! This is our third straight year to receive recognition for the excellent work we do. In 2006, we won the James Beard Award for best webcast and it gives us all a great deal of satisfaction to know that we're still one of the three nominees, in spite of the fact the competition gets tougher every year.

Congratulations goes to the whole Spatulatta team!
Liv and Belle Gerasole - Hosts
Gaylon Emerzian and Heidi Umbhau - Producers
John Scott - Editor
Jamey B, David B and Cat at Your Plan B Webdesign
Marcus Farne - Marketing

Also, a HUGE thank you to all the guest chefs who have appeared on Spatulatta or have emailed us their favorite recipes. We appreciate all that you've contributed!

Click on the links to read news articles about Spatulatta and other nominees:

Chicago Sun Times: http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/859098,CST-FTR-beard25.article

Chicago Tribune: http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2008/03/achatz-melman-t.html

Megan & Sarah = Dynamic Duo

We love your cookbook. Today we made 3 recipes out of it for supper. We had lots of fun. Mom and Dad took lots of pictures of us while we were cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Thank you for making such a great book.

Your number one fans,

Megan (8 years old) and Sarah (7 years old)

*Click photo to enlarge

Spatulatta Shout Out :)

The Spatulatta girls wanna give you a Spatulatta Shout Out! To be greeted by Liv & Belle on an upcoming episode, email us the following:

1. First Name
2. Last Initial
3. Age
4. Home State, or Country (if you live outside the U.S.)

For example:
1. David
2. Z.
3. 10
4. Alaska

The Spatulatta Shout Out may sound something like this:
"We'd like to give a Spatulatta Shout Out to 10 year-old David Z. who watches us all the way from the state of Alaska. Hey David, thanks for tuning in!"

Or it could sound like this:
"8 year-old Nikhal S. from India requested a Spatulatta Shout Out. Nikhal, we love Indian food and just learned how to make chapatis!"

Pretty cool, huh?

With your parents permission, email us at info@spatulatta.com

Spatulatta Cookbook Sweepstakes Winners!!!

Everyone has been waiting to find out the winners for the Spatulatta Sweepstakes. We finally received the results from Scholastic! Check out our winners below:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER:
Brandon R.
South Carolina
Favorite Ingredient: Chicken

RUNNERS-UP:
Michael H.
Tennessee
Favorite Ingredient: Cheese

Ashley H.
Michigan
Favorite Ingredient: Chocolate

Isabella H.
Indiana
Favorite Ingredient: Cheese

Alexandra M.
Virginia
Favorite Ingredient: Cheese

Liam G.
Oregon
Favorite Ingredient: Cheese

As a Grand Prize Winner, Brandon won 2 round-trip airfare tickets to Chicago, IL to be featured in an upcoming Spatulatta webcast. 2 nights accomodations at the Hotel Orington, ground transportation, a signed copy of the Spatulatta Cookbook, and a Spatulatta apron are included in his prize!

Each Runner Up will receive a signed copy of the Spatulatta Cookbook, and a Spatulatta apron. These kids will surely be cookin up a storm!

Congratulations to all of our winners!