A Personal Story: Meet Anthony from the Boston Rescue Mission

This article is part of a larger series of articles about the Boston Rescue Mission, and organization for which I am raising money this winter. Other posts in this series discuss 1) why I decided to start this fundraiser in the first place 2) Why the Boston Rescue Mission 3) The meals we cook and serve while volunteering 4) The recipe for the delicious bacon wrapped pork loin that we cook and serve to the homeless, and 5) A Personal Story from Billy O, a former client

 Happy New Years Eve!

To close out 2011, I've decided to share stories about two people who actually spent some time at the Boston Rescue Mission.

Yesterday we heard a little bit from Billy O, a former client who now runs the kitchen at the Boston Rescue Mission.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Anthony.

Anthony is one of the nicest guys around. He's sweet, friendly, and funny. He's gone through some pretty tough times in the past, and it's super encouraging to see how far he's come.

I visited the Boston Rescue Mission earlier this year to meet him and hear his story so I could share it with you.

Anthony was born into a 2-parent home, with seven brothers and sisters. He was the middle child, so often he got forgotten a bit. The year Anthony turned thirteen, his father left the family. Soon afterward, Anthony started using drugs and alcohol. For the next twenty years, he struggled with drugs and alcohol.

Then Anthony had a son. Anthony came to the Boston Rescue Mission to get help. His son was only 2 at the time, and he was raising him alone.

"To go from a year to two years of just moving from drinking/drugging to raising a child that has all of these issues - crying all the time, all these things I wasn't familiar with - was frightening at the beginning."  

"But as I got to know people, I started to really see. I was blessed with knowing they've been through this, and I can learn something from them. Through the program here I've learned the patience, the understanding to see if something is wrong or something is good. And it has helped while raising him up."

"This is a spiritual program, which really helped me along because I am a believer in God, and it played a role in my program."

 Soon after Anthony graduated from the program, he came to the Mission asking if he could help out.

"I felt that this was a good fit for me because helping people is something I felt like I needed to do to stay off drugs and alcohol."

I've been working here for about 5 years. I continue to grow with the Mission. It's a great organization. Each and every person here has a story, from John Samaan all the way down to the clients."

"I have a 7 year old son and I am a single dad. I can go to any one of these people here and give them questions about what I should do, like 'is this normal?'"

Anthony says the age-old saying is really true. "It takes a village to raise a child. That has been really really helpful in my life, in my growth at the Boston Rescue Mission."

Anthony has been doing tons of stuff at the Mission. Not only is he head of housekeeping, he is also one of the board members. Last spring, Anthony trained for and ran the Boston Marathon, all to benefit the Boston Rescue Mission.

It's incredibly inspiring to see how he has turned away from a life of drugs and alcohol to one where he is helping others in such profound ways. I'm especially touched knowing that his son will grow up with a father, which is something Anthony himself did not really have.

Thanks so much Anthony for taking the time out to share your story with us.

Giving Back
I am so inspired by people like Anthony and Billy O who, as a result of being blessed, give so much back to the organizations that helped them. Seeing and meeting dedicated people like Anthony and Billy just makes me all the more excited and committed to supporting the Boston Rescue Mission.

If you'd like to partner with me in supporting the Boston Rescue Mission for all of the great work that they are doing, you can donate to the Tiny Urban Kitchen Fundraiser.

Thanks so much everyone! Looking forward to an awesome new year!

To donate, click on the image below and check the box for "Tiny Urban Kitchen Fundraiser." 

A Personal Story: Meet Billy O. from Boston Rescue Mission

Billy O. - the guy in charge of food at BRM

This article is part of a larger series of articles about the Boston Rescue Mission, and organization for which I am raising money this winter. Other posts in this series discuss 1) why I decided to start this fundraiser in the first place 2) Why the Boston Rescue Mission 3) The meals we cook and serve while volunteering and 4) The recipe for the delicious bacon wrapped pork loin that we cook and serve to the homeless.

I got the best news this past week.

It was a perfect early Christmas present from an unexpected source.

Out of the blue, while I was in California for the holidays with Bryan's parents, I got an email from Eric, an organizer at the Boston Rescue Mission (BRM), telling me the Tiny Urban Kitchen fund had raised $3094.19 so far this year!!!

My jaw almost dropped. 

I had initially been really, really discouraged. Two and a half weeks after my initial post about the fundraiser, Eric told me that the fund had only raised about $200, (a chunk of which came from Bryan's parents - thanks Mom & Dad!).

I remembered my quote "I will be over the moon if we reach our $10,000 goal" and wondered whether I had been dreaming a bit too big. $200 felt so so far away from that goal.

Last week's email totally gave me renewed hope. 

Thank you so much, all of you generous donors, for contributing to the fund. It takes a lot to give up a bit of your own comfort and luxury in order to help some pretty needy people. Thank you so much.
 
I am thrilled to be 30% of the way to my goal. 

As a way to end 2011, I will spend the next two days sharing about some really special people from BRM and their stories. 

These are people whose lives came upon hard times. Through the perseverance of the individual, the hard work of the BRM staff, the support of volunteers and donors, and lots of grace from God; these people have been able to turn their lives around in incredible ways.

Today, we'll meet Billy O, who is the official "acting food service manager" at the Boston Rescue Mission, but who I like to call "Executive Chef of the BRM Kitchen."

Cooking for Hundreds of Homeless a Day

I had the privilege of interviewing Billy O right inside the "tiny urban kitchen" in the basement of the Boston Rescue Mission. Billy works at BRM as the acting food service manager. It is in this crazy, tight kitchen that Billy and his team churn out hundreds of meals every single day.

Working at BRM is challenging and full of surprises. First of all, they serve six meals a day - 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners. According to Billy, during the winter months (when more people come), you could be feeding up to 600 people a day. 

Each day, different donations pour in from various sources. You never know exactly what you're going to get. Billy's difficult job is to decide how to combine all these daily donations together to execute enough tasty and complete meals to serve to these hundreds of people.

Though the stress sounds daunting to me, Billy finds it challenging and fun.

"[not knowing what you're going to get] makes it exciting.  Because of our long history here, we get donations from many of the upscale restaurants in area."

Like what?

"Duck breast for example, or jumbo shrimp. Or squid meat balls from the North End."

"I just love, like, when we get donations and we get all these different foods. I just love watching it unfold until the moment when it's time to serve the entire dinner. I've been doing it for so many years it's like second nature to me."


What have you learned from your experience cooking here?

"Keep it simple, keep it basic - that way you're going to reach more people." Don't add too many weird spices. Instead, put the spices out and let people season their own food. A lot of people don't like onions; a lot of people don't like garlic; you'd be surprised."

Sometimes if they run out of food, they end up scrambling like crazy.  It's at these stressful moments when he really needs to think on his feet, creating meals on the fly from available ingredients in the pantry, refrigerators, and freezers.

"We make sure every single person gets fed. No one will be turned away. That's what we've been doing for 111 years."

Volunteers Cooking at the Boston Rescue Mission
Boston Rescue Mission works with several church groups who cook and serve food during their Sunday Community Dinners. I asked Billy O a little bit about his experience with these volunteers.

"Here's the beauty of what I love about the church groups on Sunday nights. They come from all denominations. Pauline from Boston Chinese Evangelical Church comes with her group and they make Chinese food. The Koreans come from the Korean churches and they bring Korean food. And then you have the Baptists and they'll have soul food. Depending on the group that's coming, you basically know what they're going to be cooking."

"We really appreciate the volunteers. We depend on that. What you consider small, to us it's huge."

Turning a New Leaf

Billy O is a recovering alcoholic and went through the recovery program at the Boston Rescue Mission about seven years ago. With help of a great team of professionals, case managers, and others at BRM coupled with Billy O's strong desire to change, he slowly got his life back on track.

Billy attributes the community aspect of BRM as the main driver for his success in the program.

"I could just go and talk to anybody and talk about what was going on. All the doors were open. They makes you feel like you are really a part of the community. It's been years now, and I thank God for this community."

How did you do it?
 
"I approached it with a serious mind and a deep commitment. I did it a day at a time. I realized I didn't have to stay clean & sober for the rest of my life. I just had to do it today. That was a huge relief. I can do today. It's all based on being consistent with the program."

How do you deal with holidays? parties? Times when you're feeling down?

"I go to work! I stay connected here. On a holiday if I'm getting that feeling, I'll just come here and volunteer or do some paperwork. Or I make good friends and things like that."
 
Final Thoughts from Billy
"Our mission from day one has been to help feed and shelter those who have fallen on hard times and who are less fortunate. It's awesome to know that if you know someone who's fallen on hard times, they have a place to go where they can be treated with respect."

"I'm really motivated to give back to a community that gave so much to me, literally gave me a whole new life. It fulfills me to do this, and I genuinely get appreciation and gratitude for doing this."


Thanks Billy O so much for the time you spent sitting down with me and sharing with all of us a little bit about your life, you passions, and the workings of the BRM kitchen!


Giving Back
I am so inspired by people like Billy O who, as a result of being blessed, give so much back to the organizations that helped them. Seeing and meeting dedicated people like Billy just makes me all the more excited and committed to supporting the Boston Rescue Mission.

If you'd like to partner with me in supporting the Boston Rescue Mission for all of the great work that they are doing, you can donate to the Tiny Urban Kitchen Fundraiser.

Thanks so much everyone! Looking forward to an awesome new year!

To donate, click on the image below and check the box for "Tiny Urban Kitchen Fundraiser." 

Abigail's

Have you been to Kendall Square lately?

Within 2 years it’s transformed from being an office-building heavy tech area that was dead at night, to one of the hottest spots for new restaurants! Being a Cantabrigian who went to MIT and used to work at One Kendall Square, I’m thrilled at these new developments.

Abigail’s is one of several new restaurants that has opened in Tech Square this past year. Abigail’s aims to serve familiar, American fare with a slight upscale twist - "blue collar bistro" as they like to call themselves.


Sweet Corn Bisque – jalapeño corn salsa, bacon crème fraiche (cup 4, bowl 7)

Abigail's is the culmination of a lifelong dream for couple James Ludwig and Sarah Murnane, who named the restaurant after their daughter Abigail. It hasn't been easy getting here. James (only 36 years old!) suffered an aortic dissection last year and was immediately rushed to MGH for open heart surgery, which left him paralyzed from the chest down. Soon afterward, his family moved to a wheelchair accessible building right next to the restaurant.

Despite all these pitfalls, the couple did not let this get in the way of their dream.

 Gouda Fries – chicken gravy, bacon 9

The restaurant opened in August 2011 and so far things have been going strong. Even though James does not cook in the kitchen, he is very involved in planning the menus, executed by chef de cuisine Jason Lord (also from East Coast Grill).

During our first visit, we were immediately intrigued by the interesting appetizers. The gouda fries (topped with chicken gravy and bacon!) were a playful interpretation of Canada's classic poutine, and were very good. The sweet corn bisque sounded promising, but disappointed slightly with its watery consistency.

Three Grain Salad - light carrot sauce, medley of farm vegetables, greens 17 
I like the fact that several of the entrees seemed geared towards those who care about eating healthy. I ordered a three grain salad that came chock full of kale and other grilled vegetables. It was nice - not amazing - but reasonably enjoyable, and definitely healthy!
Yellowfin Tuna – sweet corn sauce, heirloom tomato panzanella salad, fresh basil oil 25 
Bryan liked his grilled tuna dish, especially the tasty sweet corn sauce.
Sweet Ricotta Pie – dark chocolate ganache, toasted hazelnuts 7
Dessert was fine. Nothing to write home about, but it was a interesting offering (something I've only seen in the North End) that was pretty enjoyable.

First Thoughts?
I think Abigail’s is a great addition to the neighborhood. If I lived close by, I could definitely see it becoming a convenient, local restaurant that I would visit for casual dinners. For seafood lovers, they have a raw bar with oysters, clams, crab claws, and more. The menu has several sandwich options, a few burgers, and a solid offering of dinner entrees.

The food's still not as good as places like Bergamot, Bondir, Craigie on Main, or Ten Tables, and I probably wouldn't call it a destination restaurant at this point. However, it’s still reasonably enjoyable, and I think it fits in quite comfortably amongst its new neighbors, such as Area 4, Mead Hall, and Catalyst (posts for many of these coming soon!).

I'm really excited to see how Kendall Square develops in the next couple of years!

Abigail's Restaurant
 291 3rd St
Cambridge, MA 02142

Butagumi

This is part 5 of my latest travel series: Post Quake Japan. Other posts in this series: Kago, Daisan Harumi, Tempura Kondo, and Sushi Mitani.

In a residential part of Tokyo, far from the hustle and bustle of typical Tokyo life, lies a little whimsical house with a crescent moon cut into the side of it.

The journey here is idyllic – step off the beaten path, meander through some lovely parks, and emerge in a little neighborhood to discover Butagumi, a restaurant that arguably serves the best tonkatsu in all of Tokyo.

What makes Butagumi unique?
There are many, many well-known tonkatsu restaurants in Tokyo. The most famous one is probably Maisen, a tonkatsu restaurant housed inside of a former WWII bathhouse.

Unlike Maisen, which sells all sorts of fried items (pork, prawns, potatoes), Butagumi specializes in pork only. The moment you enter the restaurant, you are greeted with a refrigerated display case showcasing many gorgeous cuts of pork.

Butagumi is particularly unique because it has an incredibly diverse range of pork selections. Unlike most tonkatsu places, which may offer one or two choices of pork, Butagumi offers over 50 different varieties of pork – everything from the Kagoshima region’s kurobuta (Berkshire pork) to Spain’s highly prized Iberico pork. The selection varies every day, but on any given day you still have several dozens from which to choose.

Even wall decorations remind you the focus of this special place.

The menu lists which varieties of pork are available that particular day.  If you really can't decide (and many people cannot), a popular option is to try the "Butagumi-zen" (3000 yen), a tasting plate which allows you to try small portions of 5 different kinds of pork.

The Butagumi-zen always includes the Iberico pork, which is definitely one of the tastiest (and most expensive) cuts on the menu. If you do order this tasting set, definitely eat the Iberico one last; otherwise, you will be disappointed with anything afterward!

Although the tasting is fun to get, I still think you should order a whole tonkatsu to get the real experience. The tasting pieces are small and are breaded all the way around. The entire piece becomes less “meaty” and, in my opinion, does not taste as good as a traditional slice of a tonkatsu filet.

If you want to go all out, you can do what Bryan did, which is to get a single order of the Iberico pork tonkatsu (4800 yen). Each order actually comes tagged with a number, likely indicating how many they've sold in the lifetime of the restaurant. Typically, you can choose either a rosu ("roast") or a hire ("fillet") cut. The rosu is pork loin near the lower part of the ribs and is typically juicier and fattier. The hire is tenderloin, and is leaner, but also not as juicy! Usually the staff will recommend rosu since it is juicier and tastier.

If you're not quite ready to shell out close to $70 for a piece of tonkatsu, you can always get the normal tonkatsu lunch special, which is still good and much more easy on the wallet at 1500 yen. Other possible interesting pork types include Tokyo X, SGP (Super Golden Pork), the Mangalitsa pork from Hungary. For an excellent, in-depth description of many of their pork offerings, check out this post.

 Like at all tonkatsu restaurants, Butagumi serves tonkatsu with pickles and shredded cabbage.


But the pork - how did it taste?
Oh, of course, how could I forget! The pork was absolutely phenomenal, definitely among the best tonkatsu we have ever had. The Iberico pork tonkatsu was especially delicious – fatty, juicy, and full of flavor.

The crunchy, breaded exterior was perfect – not too greasy yet satisfyingly crispy. If you are a pork aficionado, or if you just really like trying different varieties of pork, Butagumi is an excellent place to visit. The ambiance is comfortable yet quaint; the food is incredible; and the menu offerings are really unique and hard to find anywhere else.

Butagumi is a little off the beaten track. It sits inside a super cute house that was converted into a restaurant years ago. Enter and walk up the wooden, slightly creaky stairs to the second floor, where, if you’re lucky, you can actually sit next to the crescent window!


Butagumi
2-24-9 Nishi-Azabu
Minato-ku, Tokyo
(港区西麻布2-24-9)
Nearest station: Roppongi

Merry Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday.

I look back at my Christmas post from last year and I'm tickled at how familiar the food offerings are. I guess we are creatures of habit and tradition,enjoying similar dishes year after year.

This year, we get to carry home our own batch of CHE family savory pumpkin cakes. Before we head on our red eye flight back to Boston, we will enjoy a hearty, warm hot pot with the family.

As always, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Din Tai Fung (though the wait was painfully long!).

I come closer to my goal of visiting every single Bouchon Bakery by buying some Snowman TKOs (Thomas Keller Oreos) from the Bouchon Bakery in Beverly Hills. Sadly, the family dog ate my cookies before I had a chance to eat them. :(

celery and tofu

At our annual extended family potluck, we chowed down on all sorts of delicious Chinese food made by the relatives.

Homemade scallion pancakes!

Bryan's mom's scallion oil chicken

Pork and Vegetable Pan Fried Dumplings (10 for only $7!!)

We visited our favorite local Beijing style restaurant which makes amazing homemade dumplings and handmade noodles!

Bryan and I also did a bit of restaurant hopping. We partook in a 21-course tasting menu at Jose Andres' Saam as well as tried the omakase (29 pieces!) at Sushi Zo in Los Angeles. Definitely look out for an LA food series soon!

BOSTON RESCUE MISSION UPDATE

I was thrilled to find out just a few days ago that the Tiny Urban Kitchen fund for the Boston Rescue Mission has so far raised $3094.19 this year! I am aiming to raise $10,000 in total. If you're interested in donating to the fundraiser, just click here or on the image above.

 
Gingerbread people from Bouchon Bakery, Beverly Hills

Have a wonderful Christmas! 

Braised Lamb Shanks

After a freak snowstorm in October, we've actually be enjoying unusually warm weather throughout November and even into December.

In fact, we got so used to the warm weather that when temperatures actually reached the twenties a few days ago, everyone complained about how cold it was. Funny thing is, that's sort of normal for December here in Boston!

With the inevitable cold winter arriving, warm and hearty meals begin to look really, really inviting.

I've just recently started experimenting with using the oven more and learning some pretty traditional Western dishes I never made before. I guess most of my life I've cooked simple Asian stir fry, which almost never involves the oven and typically only requires quick cooking of meat.

I'm slowly discovering the amazing flavors that can come from simply cooking meat for long periods of time at low temperatures with certain, key "magic" ingredients.

I was not planning on making lamb shanks the night I cooked this. Instead, I had planned out a whole menu of Milanese osso bucco and oven roasted Brussels sprouts for a good friend (and relative!) who was coming over for dinner. After picking up 90% of my osso bucco ingredients, I stopped by the meat counter to pick up some veal shanks.

"I'm sorry, we're totally out."

????!!

I was running out of time. Why am I such a procrastinator?? The last time this happened, I tried making the same dish with pork shanks. Although the sauce was tasty, the pork came out way too dry.

The butcher looked me in the eye and say, "here are two beautiful lamb shanks. You can use the same ingredients from your osso bucco and try roasting the lamb shanks in the oven. Low and slow - it will taste fantastic."

Dubious but desperate, I called my friend to make sure she ate lamb. Thankfully, she said she liked lamb, so I took the plunge and bought the two shanks.

This dishes takes a lot of time to cook, but the actual prep time is not too bad. You need to spend about 20-30 minutes up front and then you just wait for several more hours. 

I started cooking on a Sunday afternoon around 2PM. Sear the shanks in a big pot until they are nice and browned. Set them aside.

Magic Ingredients
Add your mirepoix ingredients (onions, carrots, celery) plus garlic and cook them until they are nicely browned. Don't skimp on this step, as waiting for proper browning will give the final sauce a lot of flavor! Add wine and deglaze, letting a portion of the alcohol to boil off (5-10 minutes).
Add the shanks back in, cover with chicken broth, add rosemary and bay leaves, and bake in the oven, covered. The longer you cook, the more tender the meat will become. I would bake for atleast 2 hours, but if you can cook for even longer, it will taste even better. I ended up cooking it for 4-5 hours before we ate dinner close to 8PM! At that point, the sauce was gorgeously flavorful and the meat was literally falling off the bone.

I served the shank over saffron rice (made in a rice cooker!) with gremolata on top.

It was fantastic and so easy! Sure, it takes a long time, but the amount of active prep time is actually pretty low. You can even "cheat" and purchase a tub of pre-chopped mirepoix from Trader Joe's if you're short on time.

Enjoy!


Oven Braised Lamb Shanks
Serves 4

4 pieces lamb shank with bone
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
2-3 cups wine (can be white, red, or a mix of both)
1-2 T tomato paste
2-3 cups chicken stock (or enough to cover the shanks in the pan)

Gremolata
Saffron Rice

Make sure to use a saute pan big enough to comfortably fit all the shanks because you will be stewing them in the pan later.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Over medium-high heat sear all sides of the lamb shanks in olive oil. Set aside the shanks. To the oil in the pan, add the chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until browned and aromatic (~20 minutes). Add the tomato paste and mix well. Add wine, turn up the heat, and deglaze the pan. Let the mixture cook for about 5-10 minutes to boil off some of the alcohol. Add the shanks back in, and pour in the chicken broth. Make sure that the shanks are covered (or at least mostly covered) in liquid. Add bay leaves and rosemary. Cover the pan and place it in the oven. After one hour, reduce the heat to 325 and cook uncovered for another 2 hours, checking every 45 minutes or so and flipping the shanks if necessary.

Serve over saffron rice with gremolata on top.

Easy Saffron Rice

I love shortcuts and saving time.

Perhaps it's because I like to do many things at once. Or perhaps it's because I value efficiency and hate waste. Or perhaps it's because I am naturally a procrastinator and therefore am always pressed for time!


Whatever the reasons, I've discovered a favorite easy way of making saffron rice with a rice cooker when I'm preparing it to serve with either veal osso bucco, braised lamb shanks, or any other dish that goes really well with this beautifully fragrant rice.

This recipe is super simple because I rely on the meat sauce to provide a bulk of the flavor. My aim here is just to get a strong saffron essence to complement the meat. Traditional saffron rice involves stir frying onions in oil and then stirring in the rice and cooking it in a pot for about 20-30 minutes. I've skipped the onion stage because I think the rice itself is still reasonably fragrant and goes quite well with the meat.

The result is a light and fluffy saffron rice that's fragrant yet not laden down with oil.

Enjoy!


Easy Rice Cooker Saffron Rice
1 large pinch of saffron

2 tsp hot water

2 cups rice*
3 1/2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

In a small bowl, crush the saffron threads with a back of a spoon.  You should end up with about 1 tsp of crushed saffron.  Stir in 2 tsp of hot water and let it sit for 10 minutes.

To a rice cooker, add rice, broth, and saffron infused water. I use medium grain Asian rice, but any grain length should work fine as well. Cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.

If you don't have a rice cooker, you can easily do this in a pot. Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn to low heat, letting it cook for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for an additional 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve!

*Note - I've written these instructions using traditional cup measurements. Most Asian rice cookers come with a smaller rice cup (about 3/4 of a normal cup). I usually use 3 rice cooker cups and fill up to the proper line in the rice cooker with broth.