Sukhjit 3.0 » Food

Finding Mexican Food in SD

sukhjit — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:44:31 +0000

I just wanted to send a quick video thank you to everyone who tweeted recommendations of places to find great Mexican food in San Diego and So Cal this weekend. My friend @RachaelJoyTV is visiting and we had two excellent meals thanks to friends on twitter steering us in the right direction.

Las Brisas in Laguna Beach
Beautiful location with an incredible view. We went there on Sunday night after getting lost on the way to my nieces water polo match!

I had a Mahi tostada salad, but its the guacamole, chips and salsa that are something to write home about. The guac was super fresh and a perfect balance of avocado, lime, salt and some kind of seasoning. Mmm. Thanks @efren and @thatsjuststeve for the pointer to Las Brisas.

When Rachael asked me where we could find great Mexican food here in San Diego, I was so embarrassed not to have an answer. After sending out a quick tweet we had several places to choose from:

We ended up at Cantina Mayahuel – a place with a name I can’t pronounce, but with 3 tacos for $5 and excellent margaritas with several kinds of tequila, I have a feeling I will be going there often, at least until I can figure out how to say Ma-ya-hu-el.

Here are the tacos. Apparently, Monday is taco night. We also had this unexpected surprise… chocolate cake with flan baked on top. Sounded really suspect to me, but I assure you, it was all goodness.

Thank you @WhitBenj for that recommendation. I know we haven’t met IRL yet, but after that dinner tip, I have no doubt that you and I need to hang out! Finally, I say it in the video, but it’s worth saying again.. thanks San Diego friends for stepping up when I call out for ya. You really know how to make a girl feel welcome and I appreciate that very much.. as does my belly!

Grrr. I’m giving up coffee. Really.

sukhjit — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:04:08 +0000

Day 12 I’ve been weak.

Today I fell off the caffeine-free-month-of-August-wagon. I’m not proud of it. It was a quarter cup of chai, which is Indian tea. Chai is more than a drink in my culture it’s an experience. That being said, it’s not an excuse for my slip! Sorry friend… especially those of you who decided to join me and by giving up some kind of vice this month. Boo.

Day 7 It’s been a week.

Thought it was time since I’ve been through an entire week to do a simple update. It’s not fancy, but at least you can see that I’m surviving! For those of you taking the challenge with me… I’m happy to have the support. Do let me know about your challenges and solutions… don’t let your friends and loved ones blame me for your caffeineless grumpiness =).

Day 4 Learning New Habits.

(Note: The video for this text is in the featured area above)
Finding substitutes for my coffee (and chocolate & tea) cravings has been interesting. I started with hot water or cup of almond milk the first couple days. Sounds weird to you hard core coffee addicts I’m sure, but it’s been ok. The bigger and more interesting change is in my morning activity. Instead of settling in with my cup of java and my Macbook for the morning… I have been going out for a challenging walk. There are a lot of hills in my neighborhood, so it’s not hard to get my heart rate up. In the video above I actually went to a different neighborhood because those stairs are challenging and the views are spectacular. Why not have a little pleasure with the pain! And by the way, when people have talked about the headaches they get when they give up caffeine I didn’t believe them… that is, until I started to get them myself.

I hope you enjoy coming along on this walk with me. Of course a good soundtrack is essential to the workout and the song in the video is what I was listening to so I wanted to share. I’ll continue to update this post with any new discoveries or adventures from the rest of my caffeine free month. Like I said before, feel free to leave a comment or message. If you want to leave a video comment, you can do that by pressing the + in the bottom right of the video player. Video comments are always welcome! Thanks friends!

Day 1 The Beginning.

If you know me at all you know how much I love and look forward to my morning coffee. Sometimes (actually often) I think about the next day’s cup before I go to sleep. I even have 5 different gadgets for making coffee from an old fashioned drip machine to various presses to a campfire espresso maker. Well, I’ve decided to break the “addiction”. I’m giving up coffee for the month of August.

Since I started video blogging, I’ve gotten a lot of support for many things I wanted to try, like when I wanted to ride my bike to work last year. The encouragement and advice I got from my friends on Seesmic pushed me the right direction. Now I love riding my bike in the City, where before it was just something I talked about doing for years. So, I’m sharing this challenge with y’all as well. Check back here for updates… though beware, they may not be so pleasant! Grrrr = grumpy.

Leave me a message or share some stories if you’ve done something similar. What worked for you? Any advice? And if you feel like challenging yourself this month.. lemme know, I’m here to support you too.

Preeth and I went to Puka Dog

sukhjit — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:56:25 +0000

It’s almost one in the morning and I can’t sleep. Why?! Because I had to do one last video blog post while I’m in Hawaii. I’m flying out tomorrow, but before I go, here is Puka Dog. It’s a hot dog shop in Waikiki! It came highly recommended from my friends Adam and Eileen so I made a point to go. Adam, in fact sent me a few messages about it so I knew it had to be something interesting.

If you’ve watched the video, you probably have a few questions… like “what does Puka mean?”, “why make the buns like that?” or “what makes the sauces so special?” Well friends, gotta tell you, I was so taken by the dog that I didn’t think about any of that stuff. My teenage niece told me later, “puka” means hole in Hawaiian… hole dog, dog hole, what ever you want to say.. it was delicious and I will be eating there again on my next trip to Hawaii! I wish I could go back for another puka dog right now. Enjoy the video.. and try Puka Dog if you’re in town!

Unboxing From Honolulu: The Purse Hanger

sukhjit — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:27:23 +0000

What do you get the girl that has everything?! Well, every year on April 29th, that is my problem because it’s my sister, Amerjit’s birthday. This year my brother-in-law, Larry gave her something I thought was pretty great, I’m not sure what it’s official name is… but I’m going to calling it the “Purse Hanger” and it comes from a store called Into in Downtown Honolulu. If you follow me on twitter you know I’m in Hawaii visiting family and because I think the “Purse Hanger” is such a fabulous find, I decided to share it with you as an episode of Unboxing. This particular innovation is really exceptional and around $20. I think anyone who has been stuck with a bag or purse at a bar or restaurant would agree this is a must have. I also want to say, if you’re looking for a place for great $6 Loatian plate lunch, Lemongrass Cafe is the place for you. No link, but I mention the address towards the end of the video.

If I get any more product details I will make sure to post them here. For now enjoy this episode of Unboxing.

Cooking Capsules is an Android App

sukhjit — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:16:48 +0000

I talk about Cooking Capsules quite often, but I realized somewhere along the line, there’s a chance that people who follow me on twitter or facebook have no idea what I’m talking about! So, I decided while having a coffee with the creator of Cooking Capsules to film a very simple video to serve as quick explanation. I shot this in a crowded cafe with my Flipcam so please be a little forgiving of the blur and audio, there is a more polished video in the works. For now… here you go! Also, there is a great story behind the creation of the Cooking Capsules Android application for the G1. If you’re an entrepreneur read more about it and the creator, my friend Mary Ann Cotter.

Click here for the Chana Dal recipe I mention in the video.

Whiskey and Wireless

sukhjit — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:22:45 +0000

Help celebrate the end of the line for Sukhjit & Rachael’s SXSW and Beyond roadtrip! We made it from San Francisco to Austin to Washington DC. If you’re in the area come out for “whiskey and wireless” on Wednesday.

Where: Busboys and Poets @ 14th & V, 2021 14th St, DC (202) 387-7638

Date: Wednesday March 25th, 2009

Time: 7PM

No host bar.

We’ve had a marvelous time meeting tweeters, seesmicers and all kinds of social media (and non social media) folks. There’s been an adventure at each stop, hugs, food, live music and good times. Here are some quick highlights:

Happy endings & end of nachos… on 12seconds.tv

Visiting @pogobrian. Pogo-ing is good for you! on 12seconds.tv

best coffee in phoenix is at ground control. on 12seconds.tv

This is real BBQ at County Line!! and the REAL Chimentos! #sxsw on 12seconds.tv

New Orleans

Atlanta

Talking about PeopleBrowsr in Atlanta! on 12seconds.tv

Raleigh

Washington DC

Leaving NOLA with great memories

sukhjit — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:53:15 +0000

Our average Thursday in New Orleans has turned out to be quite magical. I hope you got a chance to see yesterday’s video with the street jazz too!

What are you doing for lunch today at #sxsw?

sukhjit — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:25:24 +0000

The Beacon Lounge upstairs on the 4th floor is a great place to have lunch while you’re at SXSW. Money from the deli lunch goes to non profits.

Learn to make Lebanese Shawarma

sukhjit — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:53:13 +0000

My dear friends Fatmeh and Adam had me over for afternoon tea. She is an excellent cook of all things Lebanese and runs a blog called Lebanese By Heart. We decided to do a live show that day to share the event on my site sukhjit.me. A lot of my friends around the globe came around for it. This is the cut down of that video.

The shawarma Fatmeh made was so delicious. In fact, so much so that I didn’t record much of me eating it. If you follow my video blog, then you know I record all the time, so that shawarma was so good it stopped me from vloggin it!!! The meat was so flavorful and tender. I hope if you’re interested in Middle Eastern cooking you will try Fatme’s shawarma recipe or any of her other dishes.

Find the Shawarma recipe and others from the talented chef, Fatme at Lebanese By Heart.

On a side note, I want to point out that this year Adam and Fatmeh have become good friends of mine and I met them because of social media. Adam is a web wiz and use to post to Seesmic when I worked there. He, among a handful of social media friends, helped me get this video blog started after I left Seesmic. When I think about the connections I’ve made since joining the legions of web2.0 addicts I am reminded of why I am such a social media advocate.

Pumpkin Enchilada Recipe

sukhjit — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:45:31 +0000

My friend Lori made pumpkin enchiladas a few months back for one of our usual Sunday night dinners and they were really good. After I posted this picture to flickr I had quite a few people ask for the recipe, so here it is! It comes from Martha Stewart. Now, as most of my friends know, I’m vegetarian on Sunday and Thursday, so of course I the Enchiladas I ate were a veggie version of this. I put some substitution suggestions at the bottom of the page.

Ingredients

Serves 4.

1/2 leftover Thyme-Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, skin removed, meat shredded
6 scallions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno chile, quartered (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
1 teaspoon chili powder
8 corn tortillas (6-inch)
1 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (6 ounces)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine chicken and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 2 1/2 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth (hold top firmly as blender will be quite full). Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dish.
Lay tortillas on work surface; mound chicken mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place dish on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Again, this recipe comes from a Martha Stewart cookbook that Lori likes to use. To make a veggie version for me, Lori substituted diced roasted vegetables for chicken. She used a squash, a small onion and some potatoes. I’d also suggest bell pepper & brown or white mushorooms.

Tea Time on my Zannel channel

sukhjit — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:50:21 +0000

This week I’m starting to use a new microblogging tool called Zannel. Similar to Twitter, Zannel let’s you post quick text updates and video and pictures too. I’m embedding the player here on Sukhjit3.0 but my content post on Zannel’s site and into their international community where users can follow and comment. Are you using it yet?

For the next month, I’ll be using my Zannel channel for tea time. Each day after 4, I will post a tea time video. Why 4 and why every day? I’m one of a group of San Franciscan’s posting to the 420News each day at… well, 4:20 pm. I know what you’re thinking… “4:20 has some interesting connotations, Sukhjit”. Well, Friends, to me 4:20 means I’m probably having my last cup of tea for the day. That is truly what I’m usually doing around then…. and if I’m on the farm with my family it means I am probably having my 3rd or 4th cup of tea. So whatever 420 means to you, or anyone else, to me it’s tea time. I plan to post a fabulous afternoon snack each day. If you’re interested, I hope you’ll check it out. I promise… if nothing else, I’ll show you something delicious. My first snack was actually sponsored by the lovely Brian and Keisha of That Takes the Cake. They are a fabulous husband and wife team who earn their living making and selling cupcakes.

One last thing just so you know, the 420News is a 30 day project I signed up for with Zannel and it’s a competition. If I get the most followers out of the San Francisco 420News group I can win a brand new FlipCam (which I really want) and some cash (which I really need). So, feel free to press my follow on Zannel. You’ll be helping to push me closer to the #1 winning spot. Thanks, Friends!

Here are a few easy steps for roasting a pumpkin & seeds.

sukhjit — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:09:07 +0000

Roast Pumpkin & Pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. First wash your pumpkin. The one I had is from my Dad’s farm, it was not too big, more of a medium size. It’s one of the ones in the picture above.

inspire me please on 12seconds.tv

After it’s washed, split it in halves or quarters. I quartered mine so it would fit in the pan. You can see for split second at the end of this 12seconds.tv video.

@fogday Farm fresh pumpkin seeds on 12seconds.tv

Scoop out the seeds. Do your best to separate the seeds from the membrane, then rinse the seeds to get rid of the goop.

Put the pumpkin quarters flesh down in pan. I used a 13×9 cake pan. Put about a quarter of an inch of water in the pan. Cover with foil and put in the oven.

Seeds

@thediva Sending you some pumpkin luv on 12seconds.tv

While the pumpkin roasts, toss the clean seeds in olive oil and sprinkle in salt to taste. I used about a tablespoon of olive oil for about a 1/4 cup seeds. I also added about a 1/2 tablespoon of Mongolian fire oil along with the olive oil, cause I like my food to have a kick.

@philbaumann Mongolian Pumpkin seeds on 12seconds.tv

Spread the seeds on a baking sheet and stick it in the oven. Check on them after 10 minutes and stir so they get evenly browned. The seeds are ready after about 20 minutes.

Then pumpkin is ready after 40 minutes or until the flesh is soft. Let the pumpkin cool and separate it from the skin. I cut mine like a cantalope then cubed it and put some it in my pasta sauce. The rest I covered in tuperware and stuck in the fridge. I’m thinking about making pumpkin soup!

Hope this was helpful! One more thing, check out my Dad’s Pumpkin Surprise video for a comforting pumpkin dessert!

My Holiday is coming to an end

sukhjit — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:08:15 +0000

The end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 has been an adventure. My holiday started with a 15 hour drive to Las Vegas for New Years. Tomorrow I go back to SF and get ready for Mac World!

Mobile/E-Mail Post on 12seconds.tv

Mobile/E-Mail Post on 12seconds.tv

That’s what I’m doing. Here are some highlights from the trip.

What are you up to?

5 Great Gifts for the Chocolate Lover in Your Life

sukhjit — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:23:48 +0000

Since this is the time for gift giving I thought I’d help steer some confused gift givers in the right direction, at least when it comes to something I know about, and that’s chocolate. I created the “5 Great Gifts for the Chocolate Lover in your Life.” I’m adding new gift ideas for chocoholics here for the next few days. These gifts are not your run of the mill box of chocolate. These are gifts I’ve gotten and really appreciate. It’s also a combination: gifts you can buy and gifts that are DIY, or do it yourself. I did that because I know this is a tough time for many but there are ideas here that are a little easier on the budget, but still great for people with an addiction to anything cocoa. So far I’ve added 3-5 of what I think are the 5 great gifts for the chocolate lover in your life. Gifts 2 and 1 will follow soon, so please check back… the last 2 gifts are my favorite!

#3 is Chocolat by Stephan Lagorce
This is the featured video above. I know what you’re thinking. This is a book, Sukhjit. I know you guys. But it’s a great big book that looks like a chocolate bar. Inside this handbook you’ll find tips on chocolate tasting, pairing and recipes. This book is a little hard to find. If you have a problem let me know, I may be able to help.

#4 of 5 great gifts for the chocolate lover in your life on 12seconds.tv

#4 Hot Chocolate in a jar
This year is a good year for DIY gifts. That means instead of buying, you make something.
Get some jars. Fill them half way with powdered coco mix then top it off with marshmallows and candy canes. Put a ribbon on it and you have a great gift. Prices will vary. My favorite hot coco, by the way, is Trader Joe’s sipping chocolate. I tried to find a link to it online, but TJ’s doesn’t do that… so if you want some, let me know and we can work something out.

#5 Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

This is another DIY gift. Chocolate cookies. You can make all kinds. I just happen to have this because my sister made them for me and besides being really rich and chocolaty, they’re just so pretty. The ingredients are below and the instructions are on the Modesto Bee website where my sister edits the Taste section.

Recipe:
Cookies
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg

Filling
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops red food coloring. 1/2 cu crushed candy canes or peppermint candy

Remember the directions are on the Modesto Bee website.

So there you have it. Feel free to leave your favorite gift suggestions, or comments on these gift ideas. And don’t forget to check back for all 5 gifts! BTW, if you haven’t noticed I’m planting these ideas in different social networks, so #1 and #2 may be out there already! Gold star for anyone who can find them before I post them here! Happy holidays friends!

Sending you some gratitude & Pumpkin Surprise

sukhjit — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:12:58 +0000

I created this featured video above since this post was originally made. Since it’s a video from Thanksgiving day, it seemed so appropriate to just add it to this post of gratitude. If you were around over Thanksgiving, you may have seen some of my tweets and videos about my Dad making Pumpkin Surprise. He found the recipe in the local paper. Since he’s a farmer of 2 of the main ingredients in the dessert, pumpkins and walnuts, he really wanted to make it. Of course, I didn’t… but it seemed like the perfect thing to film. It also turned out to be a big topic of discussion between my web of friends! I am so glad I captured the making of Pumpkin Surprise on tape and I have finally finished putting it together.

I hope you enjoy.
*

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. It’s the perfect day to give gratitude, so I wanted to send a quick thank you to the great community I’ve found myself a part of this year. It’s been a turbulent one, as many are, but I feel incredible hope and optimism and I know much of that strength comes from having great support. I’m spending Thanksgiving with my family and I’m sending good wishes to my community and friends.

I’ll post the recipe that Dad and I made here. I may even have a little video to share so check back! (I’ll be editing it today)

Behind the Scenes of a Cooking Capsule

sukhjit — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:18:54 +0000

I’m posting this video to introduce a very cool project I’m part of called Cooking Capsules. Cooking Capsules is an Android application for the G1 Google phone. If you know me even a little bit you know I have a thing for mobile phones, I love food and I like to cook for my friends. That is actually how I got involved in Cooking Capsules. I’ve had my friend Mary Ann Cotter, the woman you see prepping the food, over for meals many times. She is the founder and CEO of Smart Capsules. She created the Cooking Capsule application that lets you watch a cooking show, shop for ingredients using a handy shopping list and make the food with step by step directions. It’s brilliant. I host capsules with some recipes inspired by my Mom’s cooking. I took this video right before we filmed a capsule on Kheer, an Indian rice pudding. It’s a delicious comfort food and a great dessert.

Since I’ve become a vlogger I’ve become very independent of having a crew to produce my video stories but occasionally I’m involved in something like this shoot that puts traditional production models back into practice. As I mentioned, Mary Ann is the CEO but she’s also responsible for the look and feel of the product. She came out and directed the shoot. At the sink washing dishes is the hard working Dia North, she is a very talented and organized field producer. Up at the lights is Shane King. He and Gerry Berkowitz our audio tech took care of lighting the set and getting the shots and the sound.

The shoot is traditional, but the delivery is not. Mobile devices are a whole new frontier for content delivery. Now that the G1 is on the market there is more to choose from than just the iPhone and there is a slew of new applications that entertain, educate or just help you waste some time while on the go. Cooking Capsules is both a useful and fun to watch application and this is just the beginning. There is so much ahead with Smart Capsules and I’m thrilled to be at the start of it all.

We’re ramping up Capsule production so I’ll be sharing more behind the scenes clips, shopping trips and much much more about food and cooking.