There are a plethora of great restaurant reviewers, critics and food bloggers in Atlanta who do this full-time professionally or as an enthusiastic gastronomical hobby. I'm not one of them. I'm less a food critic and much more a food fan! Remember, I'm a Raccoon Foodie who enjoys everything from Waffle House to the Biltmore House! My all-time favorite, ... Continue Reading
Cooking Class: Family Night Sushi! (No Raw Fish Required)
Saturday, February 28, 6pm: No Raw Fish Required: Sushi 101 Family Night! Hands On (Kids aged 8 and up) REGISTER Cook's Warehouse (search by Chef Name: Natalie & Margaret Keng) Learn how to make easy and healthy sushi rolls, nigiri, California rolls, vegetarian rolls and Natalie's kid-friendly "rice rollies." Don't like raw fish? No problem. We'll have plenty of ... Continue Reading
Asian Market Tour & Contest: What's Your Favorite Snack?
Natalie led Emory University staff and students on a fun, unique Asian Market tour. There were old and new favorites-- in the fruit and produce, sauces and chiles aisle, noodle aisle and, of course, our fave, SNACKS! Trending: roasted wasabi peas, watermelon seeds, pocky sticks, and shrimp chips! CONTEST GIVEAWAY! Tell us your favorite snack (and why) and we'll pick a winner ... Continue Reading
Fattening Sushi? Healthiest Choices at the Sushi Bar
Contrary to popular belief, the bastions of "healthy eating choices" can get mixed results especially if you're eating out and counting calories, fat grams and/or sodium. Consider, for example, rich sauces (Indian and Thai curries); vegetarian (butter, cream and cheese); Chinese food (sweet and sour anything, sorry! General Tso's, Sesame Chicken--all fried. Drowned in brown ... Continue Reading
Video: How to Make Natalie's Crunchy Snack Rolls!
Impress your friends and family with Natalie's brown rice and purple rice Crunchy Snack rolls! Don't like raw fish? No problem! Watch Natalie's TV Purple Sushi demo Watch Natalie and Kids Sushi, Asian Snacks on TV ... Continue Reading
Video: Types of Asian Noodles – Shopping, Cooking Tips in an Asian International Supermarket
Eat, Shop and Explore with Natalie in an international supermarket down the ASIAN NOODLE aisle! Learn how to identify different varieties, packages and get cooking tips. Food Bites: What makes Asian noodles different from Italian pastas? ... Continue Reading
Edamame vs. Soybeans
I've been asked this question a lot in my Tour de Tofu cooking classes: ---- What is the difference between edamame pods and commercial soybeans? The lowdown: edamame is an immature soybean but unlike commercially grown soybeans that are processed and used in countless products from tofu to hotdogs. Edamame is healthy for you and doesn't have the enzyme that inhibits ... Continue Reading
Kids Sushi Birthday Party!
I was invited to teach a Sushi birthday-cooking class to a lucky 8 year-old and 8 friends! It was a fun, special day with lots of smiles and colorful sushi rolls! In addition to making sushi, we learned: number 8 and 88 are considered very lucky numbers because they are homonyms with the Chinese words for "father" and "properity." the history, geography of Japan and how ... Continue Reading
"Happy Long Life Noodle Day!"
Noodles are traditionally served on birthdays because they symbolize long life (chang shou). So don't break your noodles when you boil them! My favorite is my mom's Chinese Chili Spaghetti (featured at the Dunwoody Chili Cookoff). In celebration of long life noodle birthdays, here are my favorite noodle highlights: Fresh ramen noodle soup at Umaido Japanese noodle ... Continue Reading