Harrisburg, PA 56°F
It started on Thanksgiving. It was a pleasant uneventful day during which I stuffed myself with way too many rich starchy foods, turkey, ham and sweet desserts. The food left my body feeling heavy and dull and I missed the summer sun-kissed vegetables which I hadn’t eaten since late fall. The next day I went to center-city Philadelphia to escape the Black Friday madness. After a recommendation from a friend, and a visit to Han-Dynasty (See Stellar Szechuan Blog in Food and Dining) I was hooked. My meal there enlightened me as to how good Chinese Food could be, when prepared with fresh vegetables and authentic spices. I tasted how the underlying flavors of the sauce can balance each other in perfect harmony, the sweet and spicy complimenting each other in different parts of each bite. Since then I have been on an Asian Food bender. I have cooked, ordered, and eaten mostly Asian inspired food. Not the fried egg-roll, General Tso’s, baby corn, MSG-laden take-out kind. Not even the trendy hibatchi and sushi restaurant food, although I genuinely enjoy their offerings. Rather, I crave what I romantically envision as Asian home-cooked food, full of fresh local vegetables and authentic ground spices. It would be cooked by a little old lady in the country who slaved over a wood-fired wok. Or I would find it on the streets of Bejing, prepared and transported by a local farmer and sold the same day from his hot dog cart. Or it could be Udon noodles prepared fresh that day, with an el dente springiness that can only be obtained by hand preparation. Those pictures and flavors have fueled my obsession with Asian Food.
I don’t think of myself as typically obsessive. It could be my way of diverting my attention from the holiday stress of decorating, cookie making, family obligations and a full-time job. All I know is that almost every meal I’ve had in the past two weeks has been Asian inspired. Upon return from Philadelphia, I made a feeble but noble attempt to replicate the Flounder soup from Han Dynastyby simmering ginger, garlic, onion, and red peppers in a pot and gently cooking little pillows of flounder. I dug out rice paper wrappers from the back of my cabinet and tried my hand at rolling spring rolls with lettuce, shrimp, thai basil and noodles. I made pepper steak and kung pao chicken. I now put hot Chinese mustard on all my brown-bag sandwiches, and I have a curious obsession with having bok choi flash-sauteed with garlic and olive oil at almost every meal.
This past Saturday I had a chance to indulge myself further. The hubby and child were Christmas shopping and didn’t want me to go. I headed out to 
Bombay Bazzar, on the Carlisle Pike. I hadn’t been there before, but spied it once while driving past. I was pleasantly suprised. It was huge, clean, and well-stocked. The store offers the most amazing selection of Indian food ingredients that I have seen in this area. They had a huge selection of spices, lentils, rice, spice mixes, and fresh vegetables. They had more familiar vegetables at very reasonable prices as well as some of the more exotic kinds which I did not recognize. I grabbed some garlic Naan, which is a flat bread, some Tahini for making hummus, and some red bell peppers for my Kung Pao chicken. I will definitely be returning there soon.
My second stop was Jumbo Buffet on Paxton Street in Harrisburg. Yes I know.....buffets often have a bad reputation and are not often favored by food critics. I have always gone there on a Saturday afternoon and been extremely pleased with their offerings. The place was busy, but the inside is huge and can easily accommodate big crowds. With plenty of customers, food was replenished at a rapid rate and all the selections were piping hot. As always, freshness plays a big part in quality so it’s probably good to keep that in mind when timing your visit to any buffet. Also, Jumbo Buffet has a very reasonable all-you-can eat price, is much quicker and has a wider selection than other restaurants that serve Dim Sum ala carte to order.
Jumbo buffet has freshly made sushi and a Dim Sum Bar in addition to more traditional offerings which might keep less 
adventuresome family members happy. I headed straight to the Dim Sum bar to scoop up some of the amazing whole fish steamed with garlic and a huge helping of their garlicky baby bok choy. There were two types of hot steamed dumplings, meat and shrimp and both were excellent. They have sticky rice, egg drop soup, and clams in black bean sauce. This time I also discovered some interested Asian vegetables on the salad bar, including pickled cabbage and I believe pickled Jicama root along with the traditional kim chee. There is a generous selection of desserts, including ice cream, however, I like to finish up with some fresh cantelope, pineapple, an orange slice, and a few sugared peanuts.
There are about two weeks until Christmas. My obsession continues. It could be worse, I tell myself. The biggest side effect could be an overdose of fruits and vegetables and a cabinet full of odd spices. I think this phase will probably end around Christmas when it will be time to make the traditional heavy Christmas fare. Or maybe not. My mother-in-law loves Indian food and my sister-in-law is a vegetarian. I think they might enjoy spring rolls and baby bok choy at Christmas dinner!!!
Baby Bok Choy
Take four or five heads of baby bok choy. Clean and marinate with olive oil and anywhere from 2-7 garlic cloves which have been put through a press. Toss. These may be stored in a plastic bag in the fridge until ready. Heat wok or hot skillet on high. Drop in baby bok choy and stir, until leaves are dark green and slightly wilted. Remove quickly and serve. Top with salt and pepper.
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