She's only asian by injection

WARNING! WARNING! The following NEW dessert from famed pastry chef Jen Kenny Nguyen seems Asian. But... Just like how Jen's name sounds Asian but she herself is not, this dish sounds Asian but has a flavor profile that matches quite well with the usual Salt House fair. She calls it Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Watermelon and Thai Basil syrup. A refreshing dessert for the tail end of summer fruits.

On another note, my laptop formerly known as "the Baby" is no longer. As of Thursday, September 6, 2007, I was stumbling around in the dark and knocked over a glass of water all over the former Baby. This was my invincible work laptop that I've had for 4.5 years but still was the computing powerhouse that powered much of life's work. (Ok... I sound overly dramatic but if you know me, you know how much that thing meant to my livelihood.) I was able to recover some bits and pieces of data but did lose a big chunk of my programming work. ARG! All weekend long I've been massaging my head with happy thoughts to forget about that event, and the iPhone has helped immensely. Can you avid readers out their figure out what the new "Baby" is?

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Culinary Word of the Day: Tapioca
Tapioca is basically a root starch derived from the cassava, or yuca plant. It's often used to thicken soups and sweeten the flavor of baked goods, and it makes a dandy pudding. We suggest you don't try making your own tapioca at home. Cassava roots have traces of cyanide in them! The ever-resourceful Mayans figured out how to extract this poison for their blow darts, leaving the uncontaminated roots free for eating. Source: Ask Yahoo!