Share the Lex

This video came out a few weeks ago. Since then, I can't stop watching the first 30 seconds.

The video has a quirky sense of humor that I love. It also makes me think about my life in the L-E-X. 

Today is the 1008th day since I move to Lexington. Growing up in a busy and crowded city like Hong Kong, it was hard to imagine there's a place called Bluegrass somewhere in America. When I first moved here in January of 2011, I didn't think I would fall in love with this city. This Love Letters: Lexington, Kentucky by Megan Smith of The Art of Homemaking and this video were just reminders of how much I love this place. 

It is in Lexington where I got engaged, married, bought a house, and kicked off my career. Where I met several of my very good friends. Of course, it is where how this blog got started. On the days when I take Paris Pike to work, I am amazed at the beauty of the Bluegrass, a place that I now call home. 

It is in Lexington where I learn how to bet on horses and appreciate bourbon. Where I found a deeper love with (Southern) food, from barbecue to cheesy grits to fried chicken. With all the new restaurants and food events popping up around Lexington, this is becoming my foodie heaven.    

Watching the video makes me want to Share the Lex and my love for it. As I head into the third year of living in this love city, I am anxious to see what it has to offer. Whether it's stuck in traffic on Nicholasville Road or heading downtown to tryout a new restaurant, in the end, what matters is the city I am in. I embrace what the LEX has to offer and happily becoming a tiny part of it. 

Kentucky Food Blogger Dinner Party

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You know when you are at a food blogger event when they...
A) Talk about their favorite foods and best restaurants in town.
B) Must take several pictures before, during, and after a dish is served (with one or more form of digital equipment)
C) Talk about their recently discovery on the best recipe of___________
D) All of the above.


I attended my first Kentucky Food Bloggers get-together this past Saturday. The dinner party was hosted by Kate Horning of Simply Nutritious by Kate and Chef Bryan at Kitchen Concept. Throughout the night, Kate and Bryan made dishes inspired by their worldly travels and love for ethnic cuisine. Wildside Winery from Versailles, Kentucky was also at the event to do wine pairing.

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The evening started off with Seared Tofu with Kale. All fresh ingredients were locally grown and/or made. At one point in the evening, Kate asked us what is our favorite vegetable. A question in which I have not thought of, but somehow I knew I dislike raw celery.

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The second dish was Shrimp and Grits, a dish that is hardly heard of up north in Wisconsin. The only grits experience I had before moving to Kentucky was the "grits" served in college dorm cafeteria. After first bite of cheesy and garlic-ful grits at Billy's BBQ, I am in love. Although I was a bit embarrassed to admitted that I never made grits before when the discussion on how to make grits was going on. Using traditional Southern style of making shrimp and grits, and combining with Japanese seasoning, this dish was my favorite of all.

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Then using a fall classic ingredient, butternut squash, along with some Jamaican curry, came this Curry Squash Soup Shooters. The soup was thick and spicy with a hint of sweetness from the butternut squash, while the sour cream "cools" off the heat.

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The night finished off with Creole Veggie Burger made from red kidney beans, rosemary, chipotle perppers, and Creole spice. The patties were served over whole wheat baguette and drizzled with honey-based sauce to balance the flavorful spice. Then Hot Banana over Vanilla Ice Cream, a simple banana foster-like dessert with ginger and red pepper flakes.

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I had an awesome time at the dinner party. Besides the delicious food, it was great finally meeting some Kentucky food bloggers in person, and learning what made them become interested in food and blogging. I got to share my passion for food and restaurant anecdotes. It was the one place I did not felt awkward having my camera and taking pictures before every bite because that was expected.

This is how food bloggers roll.

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Race

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In Lexington

It's that time of the year 

When the rings set off 

The gates open 

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And they go!

Fast and around

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People cheer, waving papers in the air

Thump, thump, and thump

There they run

 

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Cheers are louder

And the scene gets wilder

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The winner is...

The one you didn't see

Perryville Battlefield

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One of my favorite part of living in Kentucky is being closer to historic sites and lots of living history events. Although not quite like Philadelphia and Boston, I love the small historical towns and monuments around this city.

Last weekend we went to Civil Reeactment at Perryville Battlefield. It was the 150th anniversary since the battle was fought between the Unions and the Confederates. On Saturday, there were over 2000 reenactors on the battlefield. It was quite a scene that tested my photography skills.

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My mom was visiting me from Hong Kong last weekend. While I thought the reenactment was really cool, she didn't see the "need" for men to dress up and shoot each other with powder. Regardless, it was a beautiful fall day for great photo-ops. These photos are probably the most interesting ones in my picture folders other than hundreds of food ones.

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In some places, in order to be an re-enactor, one has to has ancestors who fought in the Civil War. There were even families in Perryville dressed in period customs and stayed in character the entire weekend. I guess some like to take pictures of food, some enjoy living in 1860s lifestyle. Even if you are not a history person, I highly recommend going to one of these events.

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Roasted Chickpeas

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The last couple weekends in Lexington, I attended Danville BBQ Festival and Greek Festival in Lexington. It was almost like being in food heaven (if only I get free food!), but my stomach did not agree with me. I was not a BBQ person until I moved to Lexington, and I am a bit embarrassed to say that I have ate at Billy's Bar-B-Q more times than any other restaurants. I was impressed with the quality of BBQ meat at the festival, I love my pulled pork sandwich from Lucky Dog BBQ. Although the BBQ sauce was a bit too sweet for me. Yes, that's those dangerously-super-deep-fried potato chips you see there. I can't resist any crunchy and salty food.

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My BBQ food chow was followed by Greek Festival this past Saturday at the Red Mile Clubhouse. Funny how no matter what culture or country of origin, people always gather around food. Naturally, I was drawn to good food. I had the lamb platter with rice and spanakopita. Jake had the gyro, which was delicious. However, the baklava was the best of all. I also tried kataifi, a heavenly honey and nut dessert, for the first time.

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A lot of eating.

Speaking of crunchy food earlier. I came across this roasted chickpeas recipe a couple weeks ago. This has became my new addiction.
The recipe is very simple. However, the prepping takes a while. The recipe requires the chickpea skins to be removed before roasting them. I have yet to figure out a quicker way to do this. I read somewhere you could boil the chickpeas for a few minutes until the skins become loosen.

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These "skinless" chickpeas took me 40 minutes as I was removing skin one chickpea at a time.
Totally worth the lengthy preparation time.

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Roasted Chickpeas

2 (15.5-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 garlic clove, minced

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. Remove skins from chickpeas. Combine chickpeas and remaining ingredients. Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 40 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.

Mammoth Cave

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This past weekend Jake and I along with our friends went camping at Mammoth Cave National Park in southwest Kentucky. We spent two nights by campfire and went on two cave tours.

Planning for what to eat while camping is always a challenge, since refrigeration is not available and I don't trust food that have remained in a cooler for more than a day. The past camping trip, I have always gotten just-add-water "food". Apparently, lots of ice packs and a good cooler will keep for for least a few days.

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Saturday night we made hobo meal, which consisted of potato, onion, carrots, red pepper, and minced beef. Along with lots of spices, salt, and pepper, the meals were wrapped in heavy duty foil and "bake" for an hour. There are numerous recipes out there, but the ingredients we used are the most common.

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We went on two cave tours, the Historic Tour was 2 hours long over 2 miles and the Grand Avenue Tour was a "strenuous" 4 mile and 4.5 hours long. Both tours were one of the best adventures I have ever had.

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DSLR cameras don't work in caves, unless with a speedlight. Needless to say, I took lots of blurry and twilight zone-looking pictures. My favorite part of the tours is going through an area called "Fat Man's Misery". The passage was narrow and every step was a turn. Most people would have to walk sideways. It amazes me how people in the late 1800s used to explore the cave, with oil lamps walking into complete darkness unknowing what was before them.

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Our campfire nights included s'mores, s'mores, and more s'mores. Something about fire roasted marshmallows that makes everything better.

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Woodford Reserve

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Jake's friend from Wisconsin is visiting us this week, and we took him to Woodford Reserve . I have visited a couple bourbon distilleries of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail already, and Woodford Reserve is the best I have been to. Located in Versailles, Kentucky, the distillery is the smallest and oldest one in Kentucky. Besides its fine bourbon, Woodford Reserve is also a great photo op spot.  

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Although I am not a big fan of hard liquor, I love the aroma especially when we were inside the storage warehouse and the fermentation room. I know, I can be weird.

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During the tour I kept wondering how bourbon marinade is made, and what ingredients I would use to make it. Moreover, what can I cook with a bottle of good bourbon. I am sure many of you are the same as me, always thinking about food.

This reminds me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Bourbon Factory.

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The tour gave us a detailed insight on how fine-crafted Woodford Reserve is. Not to be biased against other bigger name brands, but the detail and care that go into making the bourbon really makes the product different. According to one of the guides, tasting bourbon should be like "chewing" and not sipping or slamming the beverage.

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Besides the barrel warehouse, my other favorite scene from Woodford Reserve is the historic limestone structures. The buildings give the distillery the rustic feel to it. Definitely worth the trip to take pictures, and I supposed the bourbon.

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P.S. Like the new banner? There's nothing I can't do with Paint and Word :) You can now follow FHTP on Facebook, click on the FB icon on the left side.

High Hope Steeplechase

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After living in Kentucky for a year and half, I still don't get the whole thing with horse races. Last Sunday Jake and I went to the High Hope Steeplechase at Kentucky Horse Park. I explained to Jake that steeplechase is like hurdle for horses, close enough, right?

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In Wisconsin, people tailgate for Badger games, Packer games, Brewer games, and other sporting events. But not for horse races. We showed up without a cooler filled with food or drink and no picnic spread. I found a towel for Lola that I keep in my car truck, and we used it as our picnic blanket. Very classy compared to the families dressed in neatly ironed khakis with polo shirts and cute sundresses.

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Here we go!

Did you know that steeplechase horses are different than the racing thoroughbred?
I thought horses are just horses...
We randomly picked a horse that we think will win, and of course, our horse never won.

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There is nothing cutter than watching terrier dog races. They use a fake squirrel to lure the dogs to dash for the finish line. It gets them every time. Lola would have saw right through their trick.

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Even though I was probably the only one there holding a DSLR camera without a fancy zoom lens, I am happy to see how my pictures turned out.
We were unprepared for High Hope Steeplechase, I kept thinking what I would bring for a picnic at the race track. Knowing me, I think about food constantly.

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Speaking of picnics, what will you be making for Memorial weekend?
I will be making a Wisconsin "tradition", more on that later.

Happy Memorial Weekend!

Lexington Farmer's Market 2012

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Today is the first day for outdoor Lexington Farmer's Market at Cheapside Pavillion in downtown. A few girls from my master's program and I had the opportunity to set up a booth at the market (coordinated by me!). We gave free health information, nutrition advices, and recipes. Thanks to our neighbor Elmwood Stock Farm, who lent us a tent. If you were there, you probably saw me.

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When I was living in Madison, Wisconsin, going to farmer's market was a weekly ritual. The market was at least 4 times bigger than Lexington's, and 10 times more the amount of cheese. I miss the hot spicy cheese breads. Truckloads of these savory breads would come throughout market hours and the they get sold out instantly. Oh and I must not forget the squeeky fresh cheese curds! (Google it if you don't know what they are, it's a must have Wisconsin staple)

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Why can't my tomatoes look like this?
Silly me did not think to cover up the tomatoes on my balcony during last week's frost, now most leaves have died except for the stem. I am really hoping for a good comeback.

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I was a bit disappointed to find that most produce today were actually from Florida. On the other hand, I had a great time this morning getting to know the people of Lexington. I talked to a geologist, a couple professors, moms, visitors from Miami, culinary students and more. People come from all over the country and choose Lexington as their home. Everyone I spoke to loves living here and now I see why.

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I am really looking forward to more locally grown veggies like this beautiful lettuce in a few weeks.
Whee can't wait!
My group and I will be there every other week, so stop by next time!

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