MOON CAKE DAY!

I was informed that today is Moon Cake Day. For some reason, I thought it spanned for a season (perhaps I told myself this so I could eat more moon cakes! =X)

Anyway, my good friend Alice's mom actually makes her moon cakes from scratch. Here's her recipe:

Sesame Moon Cakes

Filling:

One can of red bean paste-Divided into 24 pieces; hand rolled to round balls.

Skin:
(1) Flour-2 cups
Warm water- 1/2 cup
Oil- 2/3 cup

Mix together the above ingredients to make a smooth dough (A). Then roll into a long roll and cut into 24 pieces.

(2) Flour 1 1/2 cup
Oil- 1/2 cup

Mix together the above ingredients to make a smooth dough. Then roll into a long roll and cut into 24 pieces (B).

Directions:

1. Flatten (A) pieces; place (B0 Pieces in the center of (A) pieces and wrap the edges to enclose (B); lightly flatten.
Use a rolling pin and roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch think rectangle. Start at the top edge and roll up rectangle into a thin baton-shape. Turn the piece vertically and roll out to a 1/4 rectangle. Roll up one more time to form a square shape. Repeat for all the pieces.

2. Flatten the skin and lightly roll into a 2 inch circle. Place 1 piece of filling in the center of the skin and gather the edges to close. Pinch and seal corners. Lightly flatten the filled cakes. Repeat for all other pieces until you finish all 24.

3. Use a pastry brush to brush a bit of egg yolk on top of each cake. Sprinkle the top with either black or white sesame seeds for garnish.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and DO NOT bake for more than 35 minutes.

NYAWC GALA

The New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC) is celebrating it's 25th year of helping women and children live free of violence. The gala that they hold annually is one of their sources of raising capital for their organization. I encourage others to try to attend or to make a contribution

The mission of NYAWC is helping battered women overcome violence and govern their own lives, free of abuse. The Center also works to raise public awareness about domestic violence, advocate for the rights of battered women, and create an agenda for social change.

My friend Jeanette is part of the NYAWC's benefit committee. We actually met in college, although ironically I found out that her parents knew my dad after years of buying ice cream at CICF. See ice cream brings everyone together!

On an end note: I admire what my friend Jeanette does so much and support her cause that I will go to her gala dateless. haha

The NYAWC Gala is on October 9th. For more information visit www.nyawc.org

AUTUMN MOON FESTIVAL IN CHINATOWN

I actually just found out that Chinatown has an Autumn Moon Festival. This year it will take place on September 23rd around the Mott and Canal Street intersection.

This is apparently it's 5th year and I have personally never attended. Expect to see me there this year!! What's more fun than being in Chinatown with some mooncakes?

Ummm ummm....now that's what I'm talking about!

MOONCAKE SEASON

It's that time of the year!! Right now, in Chinatown, you'll see that all of the bakeries and markets have beautiful tins and boxes of mooncakes for sale. It's customary to buy mooncakes for familiy and friends as gifts during the autumn to celebrate the Mid Autumn Moon Holiday.

I think traditionally they only came in a few varieties; with the lotus being the most popular. The "moons" in the cake are actually perserved egg yolks. The more moons the cakes have, the more expensive they are.

Over the past few years, I've seen mooncakes come in flavors ranging from sesame to green tea!

I personally like the old fasioned lotus mooncakes minus the moons. My dad used to scold me as a child telling me that I was wasting the best part, but oh well...as an adult i still don't eat the yolks.

Happy mooncake eating!

Notorious MSG at the Bowery Ballroom

Although I have heard about the Notorious MSG, I have never personally heard any of their music nor have I been to the Bowery Ballroom. I must admit, that it was quite an experience.

For those of you who don't know about the Notorious MSG, they are a hip hop band based from Chinatown. Their lyrics are very catchy for us Chinese folks since they have a lot of funny FOB lyrics. I was also surprised to see that their audience also seemed to attract a group of mixed hipsters.

After the first song, I really loved the band because all of their songs are about Chinatown!! (My favorite place in the world! =) ) Famous songs from the band include "Dim Sum Girl", "Chinatown Hustler".

What really made my day was when Down-Lo Mein dedicated a song to me. Ooooh boy....is he a langjy (translation=good looking dude). Although, I don't holler at boys, I would definitely holler at him.

More information on MSG can be found at www.notoriousmsg.com