A Lambent Dream

Boston Cream Mini Pies and Mini Donuts

2012-01-23T15:30:00.000-08:00

Really quickly:

CHUC MUNG NAM MOI!!

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!!!!

(I'll have to talk about my New Year soon, nothing big, since I'm back in Berkeley and my family got to go to temple and family Te^t dinner's back home in SoCal)...
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Onto the post
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Resources are a big issue for me. When it comes to baking and cooking, I like to scrape out the last bits and pieces of every thing I use. You can just get a tad bit more with all that wonderful batter clinging to the sides of your mixing bowl. That's why spatulas are so amazing. Another thing about baking is how some recipes call for just egg yolks or just egg whites. That bothers me a lot; like, what am I going to do with the rest of the egg after this recipe!!! I don't want to bake so soon, and especially with just egg yolks. But the situation came about after making two pies over winter break (one sapote and one pumpkin, to be posted about later). I had 4 egg yolks leftover (the pie filling used 1 whole egg and 1 egg white). Contemplating my options, I juggled the idea of making Boston cream pies (2-layer cakes filled with pastry cream and covered in chocolate ganache, which I've always wanted to try and taste) or maybe cream puffs. I ended up deciding to make a double batch of mini donuts, but with a twist.

Heavenly?

I would make Boston Cream Mini Pies and Mini Donuts!

My idea was just to overfill the mini donut pan so it would create something like a bundt with a base at the bottom and a cavity in the center. This happened the first time I ever baked VeganYumYum's donuts, because I filled the pan about 2/3 full, causing the donuts to rise up more than they were supposed, and closing over the center. With this idea, I would fill the cavity with pastry cream and cover the whole thing in chocolate ganache.

Filled with pastry cream, awaiting a topping of chocolate P:

So I baked the donuts. I guess I didn't fill 'em up high enough, so all the donuts didn't completely get that covered cavity. I made amends partway into baking by layering a small dallop of batter on top of the central support of each donut. This created a rather lopsided rounded thing in center of the base, which I pushed down to try and make flatter to be able to stand. It turned out all right, still able to carry the loud in the center.

Boston Cream Mini Pies

Surprisingly, making pastry cream is really easy. All that is required is too simmer the eggs, milk, a bit of sugar, and (vanilla) flavoring over the stove, whisking constantly. Then you cool it to room temperature, covered, and then refrigerate. 4 eggs made quite a lot, enough for me to fill an innumerable number of mini cakes and to make a fruit tart later. I based the recipe for pastry cream off of JoyofBaking, but I used 4 egg yolks, used almond milk (OMG, best milk ever), and vanilla extract and did not put in any liqueur. I folded in a couple spoonfuls of CoolWhip topping to make it lighter, which produced the whiter color and fluffier texture.

Pastry cream is a quick and simple technique anyone can learn, and is a great way to use those leftover eggs. I really recommend every aspiring baker try it at least once.

Okay, back to the mini boston cream pies. So, since the first batch of donuts had uneven bottoms, I decided to use the rest of the batter to make mini cupcakes. I cored the center of each mini cupcake, filled it with pastry cream and slathered a beautiful layer of chocolate ganache. I liked the mini cupcakes better in terms of ease and evenness, but the mini donuts version are really awesome, especially when you can see the pastry cream and cake beneath stripes of ganache.

Cross-section. Gorgeous, no?

I also used a bit of the batter to make some regular mini donuts that I topped with the ganache as well.

Three mini donuts for my friend Sam :)

The recipe for the cake base can be found here. For the chocolate ganache (based from here), I melted about 5 oz of semisweet chocolate chips and stirred in about 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream.

Boston Cream Mini Pies and Mini Donuts
Cake
See here (double the recipe). You can bake in either a mini donut pan or a mini muffin pan. If doing in a mini donut pan, overfill the cups or place some batter over the central protrusion of each cup partway through baking.

Pastry Cream
See here. (You will have leftover pastry cream)

Chocolate Ganache
Microwave 5 oz semisweet chocolate chips (can use some dark chocolate) for about 10 seconds. Stir. Repeat until nicely melted but not overheated. Stir in 1/2 cup room temperature heavy whipping cream. Whisk until smooth. You can let cool a bit more to a consistency you like. Cover and refrigerate leftovers. Microwave briefly to make viscous again. (You will have leftovers! Wonderful for dipping with fresh fruit!)

Assembly
1. Place your mini donuts and cupcakes on a wire rack with a cookie sheet beneath.
2. Core the center out of each mini cupcake (you don't need the tops, so eat them! You know, as a taste test of course! ;-P ).

Coring the mini cupcakes

3. Fill center of each donut (upside down) or mini cupcake with pastry cream just to the top.

4. Put a generous dollop of chocolate ganache on the top of the mini cupcakes and spread with a knife around. For the mini donuts, a striped drizzle is best, accomplished by dipping a knife into the ganache and then slowly weaving across the top of the donut.

5. Let the chocolate ganache set. Serve!

*Note, the chocolate ganache can still stick to things, so when you set these up on plates and serving trays, try to separate them with enough room between pieces and for people to get their fingers in and grab one.

Saucer of goodness!

Enjoy!!!

Wonderful Christmas 2011, a New Puppy, and Raisin Oat Bran Muffins

2011-12-30T15:07:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is nearly bowled over once New Years' hits! Wowie, it's been pretty crazy, but in a good way. The rush of buying gifts was done in pretty good time, for me, unfortunately I still have to do gift exchanges with my girlfriends when they get back from Las Vegas and such (lucky dogs, going to Las Vegas on New Years). This year, we had our Christmas dinner at our house instead of grandma's (which is a long 1.5 hour drive inland). It was simple and not overloaded with food, which I like, but we still had leftovers. My mom made her delicious and famous mi hoanh thanh (wonton noodle soup), my grandma made her ca ri ga (Vietnamese curry chicken, my fave dish of hers!), and my aunt brought over seasoned chicken wings (I think from Costco). My other aunt bought a tiramisu cake from Costco (so delicious).

Mi Hoanh Thanh

It was a good night, one that I liked a lot better than the long-winded Christmases we've had before, which involved pictures before, during and after each present and unwrapping. We shot through our presents, which were also reduced in number this year and again which I liked because I don't like excess.

Me and Ong Noi (Grandpa!)

Cousin's gifts to Cat

Me, my sis, and my aunt

Auntie and Me

Scarf crocheted by Cousin's fiance

Those scares my sister and I are wearing were made by my cousin's fiance. She crocheted them in a matter of one to two days. She is insane!!! What crocheting talent and drive! I can barely edge out one crocheted item every 6 months. She's super awesome and fun to hang out with.

Best gift, though, had to be this cute little guy my sister brought home around 3:30pm Christmas Eve day.

Cody, the Mini Toy Australian Shepherd

He's a Mini Toy Australian Shepherd, a Blue Merl. My sister drove 1.5 hours to get him in the morning, going under the alibi that she had to go "Christmas shopping." She got herself her Christmas gift, haha. She didn't get the complete approval of our parents beforehand; she just went and brought him home. Haha, my dad was pretty excited, and still is. My mom, she's a different story. As old Asian people are: dogs are smelly and dirty! Don't let them lick your face! You'll get freckles! So nasty! Aghhh! He isn't. He's a cute little guy, except now he bites and gnaws at my feet and ankles really bad. Ow!

Sleepy the first two days we got him

I didn't bake or cook anything for Christmas since we had too much cookies and cakes and pies already, but I'll show you some stuff I made during school:

Raisin Bran Muffins

Made with Arrowhead Mill Oat Bran

Raisins soaked in Cola

You can find the recipe on the back of the Arrowhead Mills Oat Bran box. I tweaked their basic oat bran muffin recipe by adding cola-soaked raisins, and a couple extra shakes of cinnamon and allspice, and a light sprinkling of brown sugar-cinnamon topping. You can freeze leftovers by wrapping individual muffins in plastic wrap and in another freezer plastic wrap for extra protection. Just take out and microwave somewhere between 45-60 seconds. These are great for breakfast or afternoon or late night snacks. They are very dense though, so I recommend that healthy and filling combination of a glass of (almond!) milk.

Baking Donuts in the Throes of Dead Week

2011-12-05T16:37:00.000-08:00

It is really hard to believe that I am an undergraduate senior at UC Berkeley and that I am coming to the end of my second to last semester here. "Rest, Recitation, and Review" Week (or more commonly and endearingly referred to by faculty and students as "Dead Week") has just begun and it is going to be hectic. Two group projects/presentations due on Wednesday and Friday this week, so I'm meeting with my groups nearly every day (but today, thank goodness!). Review sessions and mandatory attendance of presentations occur during the same time as my normal class periods, so it's not like classes ended last Friday, as it officially says in the Academic Calendar. Not to mention I have about 5 late shifts this week. This is going to be very intense, but somehow I'll survive.

Berkeley engineering students in the library the day before Dead week

And then sometime find time to write my graduate applications to three more universities and a scholarship app before December 15.

FML.

Anyways, you've all come here to read about my baking, not my personal life. I mean, that's why we browse food blogs right? The person behind the screen does not matter. Only their food and their ability to take photos of their food matter. Therefore, I will digress no longer.

Gingerbread Donuts.

I've been having this unrelenting craving for gingerbread man cookies since Thanksgiving. I bought the Lebkuchen from World Market, made pear upside-down gingerbread cake (from Eatingwell.com, to be documented soon!), and bought iced gingerbread cookie bites from a nearby bakery...Yet nothing has satisfied my craving for a real, full-on gingerbread man cookie.

So I made gingerbread donuts, and am still craving gingerbread men. Oh, the woes of woman, to crave food and men in the same moment. Browsing through Tastespotting, I that livelovepasta posted this wonderfully healthy and tasty recipe for gingerbread donuts and immediately bookmarked it. (She apparently got it from PinchofYum, Sunday morning, I got up and made a batch to bring to my project group (unfortunately didn't have time to ice them before bringing them. So much better iced!)

I modified her recipe because of the spices I had on hand, and I wanted to try the lemon and gingerbread combo I've seen floating around. Berkeley is bountiful with random lemon trees in front of everyone's apartments and houses. It's so great, walking home, reaching into someone's tree, plucking a fresh and plump lemon, and then taking it home. ;-P

Gingerbread Donuts with Lemon "Spicing" (modified from livelovepasta)
For the Batter:
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
Sprinkling of allspice (can be somewhat generous)
Sprinkling of nutmeg (this is strong, don't be too generous)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (dark) brown sugar, divided
1 egg
¼ cup (unsweetened) applesauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup (I used breakfast syrup, darn maple syrup is expensive on a college budget)
2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons butter (melted in the microwave)
For the Glaze:
Powdered sugar, couple squeezes of fresh lemon, cinnamon and ginger, all to taste and texture

Directions
1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and ¼ cup brown sugar together in a medium bowl.
2. Melt butter in microwave. Mix the egg, applesauce, syrup, and milk in a large bowl. Pour in the butter and mix well. (keep the bowl the butter was in)
3. Pour in half the flour mixture to the liquid mixture. Stir to mix. Pour and fold in the rest of the flour mixture.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Use a pastry brush and wipe off the butter from the butter bowl. Use this to grease the mini donut pan.
6. Put some of the batter into a plastic zip bag and cut a small bit of the bottom corner of the bag. Fill each tin ½ full with batter (or 3/4 full for super awesome plump donuts).
7. Bake for about 6-8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Cool in the pan 5-10 min, then use a plastic knife and excavate the donuts from the pan carefully. Let cool completely on wire racks.
8. Mix the glaze ingredients together, making sure it's not too liquidy, but not too hard to stir. Push donut tops in, twist about to coat, pull up. Use a chopstick or plastic knife to smooth out the glaze and to remove extra glaze.
9. Let the glaze harden, set out on a nice plate and ENJOY!!!

(Calorie content should be around 100 if you make around 20 donuts, around 150 if you make 12, and around 50-80 if you make around 24 donuts)

Verdict?

You won't wanna share these little treats. Hot dayum, these tasted really good. I was sad to share them with my roommates and friends, to tell the truth. Really yummy. The donuts by themselves are a little dry tasting on their own (unlike the vanilla and hint-of-nutmeg donuts from VeganYumYum), but taste really good with the lemon frosting.

Definitely gonna make these again when I have time. Oh, 4 weeks of winter break, come now!

Hope you enjoyed this latest update on my Donut Project (and my life, lol). Hope to see you all soon! Wish me luck to survive through Dead Week and Finals!

Product Review: thinkThin Creamy Peanut Butter Bar

2011-10-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I try some commercial products and fast food. My opinions tend to overflow, and in my desire to guide the public in spending their money for worthwhile things, I will post reviews now and then about these products that I've bought and tried. I will rate on primarily on taste and price, with commentary on sustainability, ingredients, and aesthetics.

First review: ThinkThin Creamy Peanut Butter Bar

First time I ever tried a thinkThin bar was a "Bites" sample from some school event. Back then, that sample was not very appealing. The texture was like other creamy protein bars out there (creamy, being in contrast to those grainy soy crisp textures) and the taste was full of that whey protein and sugar substitute and artificial-ness. These thinkThin Bites are marketed as "low calorie protein bars" having "5-6 grams of protein, 0 grams of sugar and no gluten" and only 100 calories. I think I tried the Chocolate Toffee Nut or something, but I was not very impressed.

I had been fooled by the packaging, thinking it would be like one of those super natural, surprisingly tasty, grain and fruit tasting bars like Larabar. (I really think the packaging is marketed for women, who like to think they're green, and like working out and shopping or something.) I was grossly mistaken. It tasted and felt like those Tiger Milk bars that I use to eat way back in early 2000 taking ~~and failing~~ at tennis class.

Tonight, I got a hold of another free thinkThin bar, a full one this time: Creamy Peanut Butter. The first few bites were all right. Again, that same graininess of protein blends (man, these protein blends, be it whey or soy, are really nasty, and and feel so artificial). The give of the coating and the feel of your teeth tearing through the bar, oddly enough, is a satisfying feat, but alas...continued eating of the entire bar is more of its own fitness challenge. Come on, Rocky! Get to the end of this bar! Eye of the Tiger!!! (Ahh, no more no more.)

And the fact that one full bar (2.1 oz) is 230 calories, 8g (12% DV) fat, 3.5g (18% DV) saturated fat, 11 g sugar alcohol, and only 4% calcium...I don't think this is really that much of "thinking thin."

Verdict?

thinkThin is just another protein bar that makes it seem different with its more "natural" looking wrapping (natural, given the tan color and simple design, I believe). I suppose it is supposed to be maybe a meal replacement and an after-workout supplement, but I don't think it's worth it. It doesn't even give you other vitamins that other protein bars or Ensure shakes give you. It would be better to eat a banana and have a chocolate milk after an intense workout.

Taste: 2/5
Price: n/a, but about $1.99 online
Overall: 2/5

Pros: nice packaging, first bites all right, feeling like Rocky and a "Real Housewife" of Orange County at the same time, small and light bar that doesn't break easily in purses (it jumbled around a bit before I got to it)

Cons: misleading packaging, tastes like a protein bar x_x, ending bites are torture without something to drink, expensive per bar (compared to slightly better tasting Odwalla which usually goes on sale for $1 each over in Cali)

Note: I kind of stole the style and based my review off of theImpulsiveBuy's style of food reviews. Check 'em out. They're fun to read.

View from the Top

2011-10-20T02:13:00.000-07:00

Just thought it'd be nice to share a little something with you all.
Something that makes hiking uphill through the UC Berkeley campus worthwhile.
A sight that makes working late at the residence halls satisfying.
From the stairs of Foothill or the balcony of Stern Hall,
You can see the beauty of Downtown and the City (short term for San Francisco).

Granted, this image does little justice to what I see on most nights.

My 5 Megapixel cellphone camera cannot do the nightscene justice,

But I do hope this gives you some feel of the euphoria that fills my soul everytime I turn around

And take in the beautiful view.

Especially at night, when all is relatively serene,

Some lights softly flicker. The clocktower ("Campanile") shining erect.

On a warm night, it is all I need.

If you do ever take a visit to Berkeley, take a hike uphill to the landmark "Big C" at night. Sit up there, stare at the surroundings. Deer wander by sometimes too. It's wonderful.

(Upcoming posts: Eat Real Festival at Jack London Square, Improv Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread Pudding, and restaurant reviews)

Baked Donut Update 2

2011-10-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

To continue my Baked Donut Project update from yesterday, I continue with the Dark Chocolate Espresso Bean Donuts and the Pumpkin Donuts.

Based off of the original VeganYumYum vanilla base, I added in dark chocolate coffee beans. I had these dark chocolate espresso beans from Trader Joe's and chopped them in my spice/coffee bean grinder.

I ended up with kind of a dark chocolate dust, dark chocolate bits, and espresso bean bits. This I blended into the batter, with some leftover. After baking, I melted the remaining dark chocolate dust (with espresso bean remnants) and used that as the frosting. Like last time, I frosted with my pastel sprinkles.

Normal vanilla-nutmeg donuts (top left). Dark ChocoCoffee Bean (bottom right).
Basic and Dark ChocoCoffee Bean frosted with sprinkles.

As you can tell from the picture, the addition of the dark choco-coffee bean bits made the donuts crumbly. This also could have resulted from me leaving the batter in open air on the countertop as I waited for the first batch of regular donuts to bake. The batter could have dried, losing the moisture it needs to stick together during baking. Next time, gotta cover and refrigerate batter.

20 mini donuts for enjoyment ^_^

What I like to do when I bake my donuts, is leave it in the oven for 6 min, then turn the pan around and bake for another 6-7 minutes, just to ensure even browning, since my oven is tiny! It's like a third the size of my oven bake home. So, I have to make my donuts in two batches - which works because I only have one donut pan, but I could do stuff in my multiple mini cupcake pans.

Next up are the pumpkin donuts, of whose flavor is the quintessential, nearly hackneyed predilection of foodies and bloggers during the fall season. For this one, I did not use VeganYumYum's recipe, but based it off this one: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Donuts. Again, I did not make it vegan, nor gluten-free. I used all-purpose flour, a blend of white and brown sugar, butter, and a blend of pumpkin puree, soymilk, and frozen yogurt.

Some frosted, some not.

Such good texture...*drool*

The results were fantastic. I loved just munching on them without frosting (a general statement for all the donuts I've been making). Frosting for me is purely for decoration purposes; I'd rather eat the cake in all its normal, not overly sweet euphoria.

Puffed up in the pan, hot and toasty!

Yup, so that pretty much sums up my donut project so far. Every time I make some, I give some to my housemates and then to my friends at UC Berkeley. I even called up my old roommates to meet them on campus and extend some yummy baked donut love.

It's always good to share (but of course save some for meself too! ;-P )

In the meantime, I've cooked a few random things and made an impromptu pumpkin pie which I'll post up soon too.

Baked Donut Update

2011-10-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

For lack of posting, you must forgive me.

I am a college student, a senior in bioengineering at UC Berkeley, and juggling projects, clubs, assignments, and some tests here and there. I do have a legitimate excuse for not posting as much.

It's called PFAT: procrastination, Facebook, ADD, and Tastespotting (okay, so the ADD part isn't really real, but I have such issues focusing sometimes).

Zits really tells you how us college teenagers (wait, I'm no loner a teen, dangit!) work (please click the images below to read):

Another funny Zits comic about blogging:

Well, besides this detour, the purpose of this post is really an update on my semester Baked Donut Project. So far, I've made about 5 different types of donuts (1 of which failed and we will not post pictures of the lava flow it produced on my pan x_x ): basic vanilla from NorPro (the baking pan I bought), vanilla-nutmeg from VeganYumYum, dark chocolate coffee bean, failed eggless carrot cake, and pumpkin.

For now, I will only post my first two trials so that people with slow to average internet connections don't suffer from the load times.

Norpro Vanilla Cake Donut Recipe: came out flat and more cookie like
(harder and crispier than cakey). Simple frosting with pastel sprinkles.

Try 2: VeganYumYum's Vanilla-Nutmeg Donuts. Very very awesome and delicious.
The nutmeg added a very pleasant flavor, while the texture was perfect.
Even the day after and after it was still delicious.

Cakey interior texture, springy under strain (omg, viscoelastic!).
Have to admit, the sprinkles are pretty, but I don't like how much
crystalline crunch it gives to the top. I want normal sprinkles.

I modified VeganYumYum's by making it non-vegan and using unsalted real butter, milk, and eggs. Instead of apple cider vinegar, I used fresh lime/lemon juice. For the frosting on both, I mixed powdered (confectioners') sugar with a touch of milk, lemon, and vanilla. To frost, you just dip the donuts upside in it, let some drip down and wipe some off, smooth it a little, then dip the frosted top into a small flat bowl of sprinkles, making sure to roll along the sides.

Because Norpro's failed me in terms of shape and texture (flavor was good), I will not post their recipe. Above are links to VeganYumYum's recipe, so you can go there to experiment with hers. It is a great recipe base, which I modified with the aforementioned dark chocolate coffee bean, which will be posted up ~~next~~ ~~soon~~ sometime...

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Note to self: try the recipes on this page

Paula Deen Will Be Proud: Mini Donut Project Prep

2011-09-21T01:39:00.000-07:00

I just bought three 1-lb blocks of unsalted butter from Safeway at 11 pm.

Mini Baked Donut semester-long project.

It's on.

Food Blips from Texas

2011-09-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

A long overdue and unfortunately truncated post, this is a picture recap of some food-related things I pursued during my internship in Texas.

Sundried tomato risotto (Lundberg) with Blue Baker Olive Focaccia,
made for an intern dinner I planned.

Bourbon Bread Pudding from Bell Ranch Steakhouse,
in the Hilton Hotel. Very very sweet and very large portion.

Pho Bo Tai - rare sliced beef pho - from Rosie's pho. This was so good.
I never realized pho could rival ~~or exceed~~ my mom's homemade pho.

Japan vs US cake made for the Women's FIFA Final game.

Cream cheese frosting....Japan or US. Who would win?....

Hard to celebrate after, since most of my friends were rooting for
America, so they didn't feel like eating cake. Cake was like a cinnamon
muffin texture and flavor.

Failed attempt at beer bread (made it bland this time around), and
surprisingly delectable cornmeal cookies. Easy to snack on.

Like crisper, but still light and airy, corn bread in bite sized pieces,
lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

Secret menu item at McDonalds: Strawberry Pie McFlurry.
Only $1 in Texas. So good! Not overtly sweet like DQ Blizzards.

La Bodega crab enchiladas. Decent. Their tomato sauce is like
a strange pasta sauce.

Fish burrito. Green sauce is okay. Too much creamy topping. Red
sauce also like pasta sauce. Innards do not have enough fish >:(

Potbelly's Berry Smoothie. So many seeds, so you know
it's real fruit. Good taste, good price. So cute with the
cookies on top!


My last baking in Texas. Had to make Texas "chicken in a chive biscuit" with my Texas cookie cutter. ^_^

That pretty much recaps my food adventures in Texas. Sorry for the lack of recipes of some of the things I made. The result of these recipes I think were only all right, not anything spectacular. I was mostly proud of the presentation for my FIFA cake and my Texas-shaped biscuits. And I had to share the Pie McFlurry with you all. Everyone has to definitely try this at least once. The saltiness of the pie crust complements the sweetness of the filling and the sweet milkiness of the ice cream.

Hope you have enjoyed my (partial) itinerary of Texas!

Forgot to thaw your meat? Try...Tofu Sloppy Joe's!

2011-09-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Oh no. You've done it again.

After a long day at work (or school, in my case), you return home in the evening and realize that you never put out your frozen meat to thaw out. It is sitting nice and frigid in the freezer, encased in frost and icicles, hard as a rock.

Source: What's Cooking America

You don't want to try and thaw it now. Nuking in the microwave would just result in an exterior of tan-white cooked sections over a still-frozen nucleus. Darn, why does that cell have to have both a membrane and a cell wall as barriers!

...But I digress...way too far into biology.

The matter is that you have no centerpiece to your dinner tonight? What do you do?

This is where tofu comes to the rescue. Yes, all you carnivores. Tofu. Although many people cringe at the thought of tofu, prepared correctly, it can be the shining star of a dish. The great thing about tofu nowadays is that it comes it so many varieties and can keep in the refrigerator for one or two weeks without going bad. Even then, you can just freeze it for use later.

Source: Restaurant Widow

Last week, I had come home and had nothing for quick dinner options but ramen, soup in a can, or buying out. Luckily, I had a pack of firm tofu in the fridge, which would complement well with the abundance of tomatoes I had. The idea for tofu sloppy joes came up. Healthy, quick, and not too warm for these hot summer nights (which are fading soon!).

I started off by looking up recipes for tofu sloppy joes, coming across this and this, but nothing was really satisfactory to me nor to the ingredients I had at hand. So I improvised, which means the recipe below is a rough estimate of what I did. I admit, what resulted did not have the original smoky, hearty flavor of a classic beef sloppy joe, but it was very flavorful and made a great sandwich filling that was not sloppy at all. Maybe I should call these Tofu Clean Joe's, instead!

Tofu Sloppy (or Clean) Joe's (serves 4-6)
Ingredients
1 block (12-16oz) silken firm tofu
3-4 tomatoes, diced, some seeds and liquid innards removed
3-4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2-3 Tbs Gochujang sauce (Korean red pepper paste, *see Notes)
1 Tbs ketchup
1 small white or yellow onion, fine diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 stalks of green onion, chopped
Sprinkling of sugar
salt and pepper

For assembly:
8-12 bread slices (Whole Food's organic multigrain is a great one)
8-12 green lettuce leaves
2-4 tomato slices per sandwich if desired

Directions
1. Drain the tofu and mash. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium skillet pan over medium heat. Add in some oil and saute the onion till yellow. Add in half of the garlic and saute until fragrant and lightly tanned. Add in the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a large pan, saute the garlic until lightly tanned. Throw in all the tomatoes and simmer. Add in the Worcestershire, Gochujang, and ketchup. Add in sugar, salt, and pepper until you get the taste you want. For more spicy, add more Gochujang. More tang, add more Worcestershire. More sweet, add more sugar or molasses or brown sugar.
4. Add in the tofu onion mixture. Simmer about 5-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning further as desired. Sprinkle top with chopped green onion.
5. To assemble, spread the tofu mixture 1/3-1/2 inch thick on one bread slice. Place tomato slices on top. Place two lettuce leaves on the other side of the bread and serve (let guests see the wonderful filling before they place the sandwich it all together!).

Notes:
*This came out super tasty and my two housemates really liked it. Really try the Whole Food's organic multigrain small batch bread. Its texture, thickness, and taste is great for pretty much anything. I would definitely make this again when I have some extra tomatoes and silken firm tofu lying about.
* If I had more ketchup laying around and had the made the effort to cut one or two more tomatoes, it would have made more sauce, which I think would have added to the dish overall.
* If you don't have gochujang, you can probably just use some tomato paste from a can and add in pepper flakes or powder.

Random Food Likes

2011-08-15T01:33:00.000-07:00

I always come across certain marketed foods, try them out, and am both surprised and delighted when I find that I like them. When I eat consumer foods (i.e., fast food, packaged grocery items) and I like them, I wonder what other people would respond to these foods and with whom could I share my enthusiasm? For lack of such people close at hand, I generally turn to the comical review website, The Impulsive Buy. One late night, I stumbled across this consumer foods review site and laughed so much at its ridiculous comments, which verged nearly on Family Guy kind of humor.

But, I digress.

The reason for this blog post (no, I am not avoiding studying for my GRE, which is in 12 hours and 44 minutes...) is that I would like to share my thoughts on particular food purchases I have made recently.

1. Greek Yogurt: Danone and Fage
You've heard of the Greek yogurt craze. You've seen the yogurt/dairy shelves slowly being replaced by new number 5, PP, plastic yogurt cartons with strange Greek words on them. Fage??? Oh wait, it's pronounced Fah-yeh. Repeat after me, faaaaaa-yaaaayyyyy. And Danone? It's always been Dannon, but now they're all being European fancy with their Danone. Anyhoo, recovering from pedantic appellations, I have to say that Greek Yogurt is the shiz. It's thick, but not cream cheese-choke you up thick. It's a euphoric kind of thick and glorious texture, with a slight tang of yogurt cultures.

Fage flavors: Cherry Pomegranate, Strawberry Goji, Mango Guanabana (Custard apple), Blueberry Acai, and Honey. (Courtesy of Trendcetera)

I enjoy having my yogurts not pre-blended. By having the fruit spread on the side, or underneath, you can get a scoop where you have an angelic layer of pearl white, plain Greek yogurt, juxtaposed by the deep color of the sweetened accompaniment. Once it enters your mouth, the contrast is enhanced on your tastebuds, as it encounters the tanginess of the yogurt, then the sweetness of the fruit spread. It really is super tasty, and the individual cups are great portion sizes with the right proportions. One 5.3 ox cup is 130 calories, and about 13g of protein, and much less sugar than the regular blended yogurts such as Yoplait of Dannon regular yogurt. I would recommend trying all the flavors.

2. Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill
Is there a word to describe food institutions that combine freshness, natural and organic ingredients, and quality? Would "healthy" and "responsible" suffice? I wish I knew, but until then, I can only describe it by "Sharky's". This place is like an upscale fast food restaurant - better in decor, service, and quality than seemingly synonymous Rubio's Baja Fresh. Sharky's is an all organic (meat, fish, produce), health-conscious Mexican Grill that does not sacrifice flavor one bit.

I've been here twice. The first time, I got an eclectic "wild salmon 'lite' burrito." For only $7.49 here in Aliso Viejo, I got salmon, avocado, cabbage, poblano brown rice, and interestingly enough nori (dried seaweed found in sushi) wrapped inside a whole wheat tortilla. The salmon was grilled to a nice crisp bust still juicy and tender. The inclusion of the nori really gave it almost an obfuscating (definition: confusing, confounding) flavor that was redolent (definition: reminiscent) of sushi. The flavor isn't bad at all, but it's just...interesting.

Second time - today actually - I ordered the kids BBQ salmon rice bowl, which came with a small (less than 3 oz) piece of salmon, poblano brown rice, grilled veggies, a drink (yay Organic Valley lowfat milk!), and a min churro. The brown rice occasionally had an unexpected crunch to it, but was surprisingly still good. The salmon was again cooked perfectly, tender and juicy, but maybe could have used a slight extra brush of BBQ sauce. The grilled veggies were a tad too crispy, but eating it all together with some salsa melded it all together. Overall, a really awesome plate for a kid to have. Nearly gourmet in that it was presented in a large white bowl-plate with a thick rim. They even bring it out to your table. I love the experience and food here. If I could, I would eat this often (and feel good about it!) and force someone to open a store near me in Berkeley!

Kids BBQ Salmon Rice Bowl - $5.92 (tax incl)

Hrm, I'd like to include some more ravings, but alas it has hit the 1:30 am mark here. I really should sleep soon so that I don't impair my test-taking abilities tomorrow afternoon. Well, wish me luck and talk to you all soon!

The BEST Sweet Cornbread

2011-07-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

I had previously titled the last post as "Sausage-Kale Bread Pudding and the BEST Cornbread" but I finished the bread pudding recipe and totally forgot to add the cornbread. I remembered now and will correct that, by giving the BEST Cornbread its own post - which I believe is fitting.

Before coming to Texas, I imagined that I would be fed baked beans, barbecue, and cornbread at every turn. After 5 weeks here already, I have found cornbread only sold at the grocery stores and minimally at one or two restaurants. I was quite appalled. Cornbread, I guess, is more of a Southern thing in Georgia or South Carolina, whereas Texas is considered "West".

With this horrible, relentless craving for cornbread (and resisting purchasing the 8" cornbread round at WalMart), I decided to purchase a small pack of cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. The basics of baking so that I could make some of my own cornbread.

A couple weeks ago, one of the other interns at the apartment made some Jiffy cornbread, but it was absolutely delicious. Nothing like any Jiffy cornbread I had eaten or made before. The trick, she told me, was to add sugar. Well now, fancy that.

So, heeding her advice, I looked up some "sweet" cornbread recipes online. I came across this recipe that has been tried repeatedly by so many people across time and space. I read some of the comments below and made the revisions they suggested. Also, I was restricted to what pantry items I had on hand in the apartment, so my take on the original is a little different as well.

What resulted was a delicious, moist, sweet (but not too sweet) cornbread that didn't crumble upon handling. I was overjoyed. I hope you try this out yourself as well. It's definitely a keeper for when a cornbread craving hits you as hard as it hit me.

Brown Sugar Cornbread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3-3/4 cup of dark brown sugar (I mixed some Sugar in the Raw)
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup lowfat milk
1/3 vegetable oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly butter/oil an 8" square pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Combine wet ingredients, then mix into dry ingredients.
4. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with brown sugar.
5. Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden on the edges and light golden on top, and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 12 squares. Each serving: 173 calories, 7 g fat, 26 g carbs, 3 g protein

Notes: I might leave the cornbread in there for 25-30 minutes next time to get a little crispier crust and bottom. Also, flecking the top more evenly with Sugar in the Raw crystals might be prettier than those crumbles of dark brown sugar (humidity made it clump). Adding chopped jalapeno, chives, corn kernels, or even cheese might make for a more savory bread. Either way, this bread can be eaten as a snack, breakfast, or an accompaniment to vegetarian chili or corn soup.

Another Kale Sausage Bread Pudding

2011-07-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, I made another kale-sausage bread pudding, but this time for two of the other interns. Having leftover french bread, a nice juicy and large all-beef hot dog, kale, corn, carrots, and onions as usual, I decided to make use of resources. Oh, bread pudding, how you cater to my need to use up resources.

Kale Sausage Bread Pudding (serves 3, or 4 as a side)

Ingredients

3 kale leaves, washed and chopped

About 3 oz (7 baby) carrots, chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large all-beef succulent beef hot dog, chopped

1/2 corn on the cob, boiled, sliced off

2 or 3 eggs (I can't remember)

1/4 cup plain yogurt + 1/4 cup water

1/4 loaf French bread, cubed

Salt, seasoning, black pepper

Directions

1. Lightly oil the pan over medium heat. Add hot dog. Saute, then slide onto a plate.

2. Saute onions in the remaining oil till lightly yellow. Add in garlic, carrots, kale. Saute till kale is soft but still firm. Add in corn, saute one minute. Add in hot dog. Stir a little, then remove to a large bowl. Mix with bread

3. Preheat oven to 420 F. Lightly oil a small 8 by 8 inch pan.

4. Whisk eggs, yogurt, water, and seasoning. Pour over bread-veggie-meat mix. Stir so all the bread is soaked. Let sit for 5 min to saturate.

5. Pour into pan. Bake for about 35-45 minutes until set. Let cool for 5-10min. Slice and serve warm.

San Antonio Part 1, July 1-2

2011-07-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here's that recap I promised about our fun foray into the depths of San Antonio and New Braunfels.

On Friday, July 1, I returned from a trip to HEB and proceeded to pack quickly. L+D were coming in the early evening to whisk me away to spend the night at L's place in San Antonio. I had gone to HEB to gather ingredients to make Mango Chai Bread Pudding (recipe from Eatingwell.com, where I often go to for lighter baking recipes): a fresh loaf of French bread, which never fails to delight the taste buds and warm the stomach without complexity; and dark brown sugar, the color of which is rich and gorgeous. I already had the wonderful box of yellow Ataulfo mangoes that my mom sent me a week ago, and one of the other residents was nice enough to stock the pantry with all the spices, herbs, and seasonings a cook could ask for! I packed away all the stuff to make the bread pudding, stopped by the poolside BBQ, then jumped in the car with my friends for the 3 hour drive to San Antonio.

Along the way, I saw cows and lots of land that looked the same.

Driving by downtown San Antonio

On Saturday, I met L's dad, a pretty nice guy. I really liked how he renovated his apartment. The living room portion of it was painted blue and had a blue bookshelf, and he installed some sills on the wall on which he placed photos and trinkets. After a nice breakfast at McDonalds (I must admit that oatmeal is dang good, with a copious amount of fruit), L and I got dropped off at the Alamo!

The famous Alamo!

You can't take pictures inside the Alamo, and it isn't mind-blowing, but it was better than I expected. My expectations were lowered because my roommate talked about how small it was. Truth be told, it was bigger than I expected. The coolest part with just looking at the names and origins of the people who fought on that fateful day. There were people from various states such as TN, TX, SC, FL; as well as people from Germany and Ireland. There was Davey's Crocket's gun. A man in the courtyard was telling a battle story. The giftshop was packed and had cute trinkets. My favorite was a Christmas stocking shaped liked a Texas cowboy boot.

We then proceeded to the RiverWalk, which is basically the upscale tourist attraction there. A coughdirtycough river, lined by restaurants, one end cupped by a typical shopping mall and hotel. It felt like I was back in Hawaii at a resort again.

Nice fountain-stream before the RiverWalk

One part of the RiverWalk (restaurant seating under umbrellas on right)

I wanted to check out El Mercado, the Mexican Marketplace that supposedly was 15 min away. Heat definitely makes it take much longer. But look what we found along the way!

Trolleys!

Deer-rabbit?

Torch of Friendship - gift from Mexico to America

After that long, draining, heat-exhausting walk, we made it. The plan was to eat at the famous Mi Tierra Bakery & Cafe, but the wait was 1 1/2 hours! We wandered more, with fatigue and blisters pestering. We ended in the food court where we bought some Mexican food and watched traditional Mexican music and dancing.

See the lucha libre masks on the right?

Cute little dancers

Later, I got the tres leches cake from Mi Tierra. First time trying it! Got a HUGE slice, for $6. Ate nearly all of it and it was super filling and very very tasty. I like, I like.

We went back to the RiverWalk and took the tour boat (~$7-8) through the canals. I'll add the slideshow after I make it. Beautiful and interesting.

(SLIDESHOW TO COME...)

For dinner, some of our group wanted to go to Dick's Last Resort bar restaurant. If you didn't know, this place is known for its bad service. Literally, it is their purpose to give you rude service, throw things at you, and keep a dirty atmosphere. It was amusing at first, but then it just got annoying. It's too loud, other people are wadding paper and throwing it all over the place, the waiters don't give you really what you want, you get bequeathed with ridiculous tall paper hats with random insults. Some ladies were having a bachelorette party, and they were given a huge blow-up cartoon penis, which they paraded around the front with. Great. Classy ladies, real classy. The food was nothing close to good or spectacular. Pass.

Kinda sucky ending, but otherwise a good wandering experience. The return to San Antonio and tubing down New Braunfels tomorrow!

Quick Soccer Check In

2011-07-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th weekend! I know I did. It was quite a tiring but fun adventure. My friends and I drove down to San Antonio and New Braunfels, slept over at cousins' houses, and explored. More on that later. I am quickly giving a check-in on today.

So, I've been trying to keep up with the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. It's difficult because the games are on at 7 am, 11 am, or 1 pm daily, but I am often in lab so I cannot watch. I go to the FIFA Women's World Cup page where I catch up on the highlights. Here's a quick run-down on what the matches have been like:

What's crazy is that Japan scored four goals against Mexico. Germany beat France today; if you didn't know, Germany and France have a rivalry rooted deep in their history. For me, I say "Deutschland Vor!!!!!" North Korea has lost all of its games so far. USA won all except against Germany, so I'm a bit torn on who to root for. Tomorrow, we have Equatorial Guinea vs Brazil, Sweden vs USA, North Korea vs Colombia, and Australia vs Norway. US and Germany has been super strong so far. We'll have to see who comes out on top.

What's awesome is that I played a pick-up game of soccer today with some REU interns and their Civil Engineering grad students. It was pretty awesome. We played on the field by ISLB at 7:30 till close to 9ish, when the sun was almost completely set. I have not played soccer since...maybe elementary or middle school. I was super surprised when I found myself running back and forth across the field, trying to steal the ball, blocking, shooting. I somehow managed to keep running and hustling despite never playing before.

Best of all, I got two goals.

Boo-yah.

It was crazy. Many times I was by the other goal, tussling with the other team to try and get the ball in. We were kicking back and forth right in front of the goal for a good minute. Twice I was on the ground in some weird position, kicking in an even weirder position to try and get it in.

My star quality is being the small and swift one. They said I had good positioning, and I really tried to book it to get the ball from others and block. Only thing, small is not good for goalie, haha.

Anyhow, today was the perfect summer day. We played soccer through the sunset, with a good breeze, and some intense players. Ozzi was a little squat, but man does he have bursts of speed. He's a real star player. Him and Berto were awesome. Ozzi was great with his speed and head and passing. Berto was all crazy footwork. He was a real powerhouse. Then there were the two intense girls, Liz and Mara. They kept cheering me on, "Keep on it!" They were real supportive in that sporty way.

This was such an awesome day. I made about 15 hydrogels during the day, made 2 goals in the evening, and am watching "How the States Got their Shapes" on History Channel as I blog (awesome show. Check it out). I will definitely play soccer with everyone again on Thursday.

Updates on July 4th weekend to come up soon too! I've got lots of fun pictures of the Riverwalk and such. Till then, enjoy the night!

Texas Fourth Week Part 2

2011-06-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 23
At lunchtime, I went to Joy Luck Delivery Chinese restaurant with S. This place was one of the few Chinese restaurants around College Station with really good reviews. I checked the menu out, and it looked pleasing, with an enticing lunch menu to boot. The place is really cheap too. $5.55 lunch specials? $6.50 seafood and combo meat? Yeah yeah! It comes with soup (egg drop or hot and sour) and a vegetable eggroll.

Egg drop soup - why so yellow?

The egg drop soup tasted so much like eggs, a little TOO much like eggs. It was okay.

I got the Yu shan shrimp, which is some sweet and sour gravy with shrimp, water chestnuts and mushrooms. This was good, a little salty if you ate all the sauce, and there a was a bit too much sauce. Good spiciness. Glad I didn't get the spicier Hunan shrimp. LOVED the eggroll. I must admit, though, I love a good Chinese eggroll, and this place was fried perfectly, crisp. Delicious cabbage and other veggie innards, with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Yushan shrimp with vegetable eggroll

This was enough for two meals. Very filling. Yup, those other Yelpers are right; this place is a good eat in College Station.

Afterward, I wandered around and went shopping around World Market. Man, this place has some awesome stuff! Their image is that of the exotic and eclectic from around the world. Check out the randomness below:

They have New Orleans King Cake Mix and Cafe Du Monde Beignet mix too! My two Louisiana friends here told me about these and maybe we'll make these one day!

Spotted dick = British dessert. Such a funny name.

I had so much fun going around World Market, eying things to put in my fantasy house in the future. They even have clearance shelves where I bought a bunch of chocolate and some cute, sturdy paper boxes for pastry and confection giving!

Friday June 24
The next day, I got out early again, and decided to go to the mall. Post Oak Mall is the closest one nearby, and houses JC Penny, Dillard's, Hot Topic, Aeropostale, A&M stores, shoes stores, a legit comic book store, and others. I walked through the entire place and enjoyed the store selection. The food court has Chick'fil'A, Taste of the Tropics (smoothies), Sonic, Toll House Cookies, Japanese, and Chinese. I got a mango smoothie from Taste of the Tropics. It tasted weird at first but it grows on you. Only $1.60 for a small too. Cheaper than McDonald's. The smell of Auntie Anne's pretzels was such a temptation, I forced myself to not buy one.

The Puppy Store only sells cute puppies, like these baby Chihuahas


Antoine Dodson: Bread Intruder Video and song: http://youtu.be/y54yESyq6Io http://youtu.be/hMtZfW2z9dw Tribute to ma' sister!

I ended up buying boots, a raccoon beanie, and a moustache purse from Hot Topic, all on sale. The boots were only $10! Come on; tell me who can buy boots for only $10?

For dinner, we went to Layne's of College Station, a fried chicken finger place. Almost right next door is Raising Cane's chicken fingers, so these two have a rivalry. So, we came, we ate, we left.

What a deal! lol

I really didn't like it.

Maybe fried chicken fingers isn't my thing, but the chicken was dry, the black pepper sauce was weird but you get used to it. I like the thick and wavy shape of the fries, but they're just a little too thick and starchy for me to eat much of it. The Texas toast was yummy with its lathering of butter, but a bit salty. Meh, I don't think I'll come back every. The cole slaw was the one redeeming factor, but not amazing either. A bit much on the mayo.

I think we went dancing again this night. If it was Daisy Duke's or the Social Lounge or Luxe or something, it was really fun.

Sweet Eugene's Cafe - review

2011-06-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

Add-on to Wednesday, June 22
Ash and I got back early, so I asked if she wanted to go work at a cafe with me. We took the bus and trekked to Sweet Eugene's Cafe. I can only start with:

Oh wow.

This cafe is huge and definitely has a character of its own. First walking in, I see slushie machines behind the counter mixing and chilling Butterfinger, vanilla, and chocolate smoothies. Farther down the counter is a display case with cute little donuts, muffins, and other pastries. A little farther down is the cashier with the menu, the drink machines out back, and more pastries (cakes, kolaches, muffins, quiches). On the left is the rest of the cafe. It extends into three open rooms with tables and chairs strewn about. There's this huge, antique coffee mill called the Behemoth or something like that. On the restroom doors, instead of W and M to designate gender, they have a picture of Audrey Hepburn and a picture of James Bond (I think)! Cute!

There are couches along walls. There are enclaves with dimmer lighting and bookshelves to make it feel like something from...the pirate ride at Disneyland! The atmosphere is really mind-blowing here.

I loved the paintings on the walls. Whoever the artist is, she is wonderful. About $200 for the two that I liked, "Fairy" and a dancer one in the bathroom. I want to buy it and bring it home somehow...(Sorry no picture. I figured I'd be infringing on copyright if I took a picture).

The apple cinnamon muffin here was...absolutely ungodly amazing. I have never eaten a muffin with quite such chewy fluffy soft pillowy texture as this one. The apple muffin. Get it. Like, no joke. If you are in College Station, drag your butt here and get this. It's only $1.80 or close to that, and probably good to eat in two portions.

Apple Cinnamon Muffin - to DIE for

The blueberry scone is delicious as well. Huge and filling, about $1.90. Again, warning, FILLING. Great to have a good scone place around here, just too bad it's so freakin' far away from the apartment and that the buses don't run on weekends.

Blueberry scone - looks better at a different angle

Sweet Eugene's also has breakfast, lunch, and dessert crepes. Not too bad pricing either ($4 for simple, $7 for lunch). I want to come here and try a sweet and a savory crepe some time.

Basically, if you're in College Station, don't leave without going here. They even have a variety of java smoothies, fruit smoothies, and typical cafe drinks, which you can all order through their drive-through window! Oh, and two free wi-fi networks, both of which don't need a complicated password like in Berkeley! This place is awesome!!!

Sweet Eugene's House of Java
1702 George Bush Dr E
Ste 100
College Station, TX 77840
sweeteugenes.net/

Dancer's Thoughts on a Sunday Morn

2011-06-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Just watching "So You Think You Can Dance, Season 8" now. I need to catch up on all the episodes since this season started. I had started with the "Top 20 Perform" Episode, and it was gorgeous. The talent of all the dancers was ebullient throughout the show. Their passion, eloquence, and adaptability to various genres of dance were simply...astounding. Such beauty was absolutely breath-taking. It inspired me to get back to dancing. That was Friday, when I went into lab, and we waited for vessels. Since the guy who brings us our vessels never called TN back, I put on SYTYCD and we watched the "Top 20 Perform." TN actually seems discerning and somewhat knowledgeable about dance, such that he made intelligent comments about the dancers during the show. It's not like I'm used to with other people who watch shows like this, who basically say things like, "Oh, that person looks funny. That person is just okay. Wow! That person is amazing! They're so good!" TN actually noted some technical and expressive points of the competitors.

After watching the LA Auditions and Vegas Callbacks, I have to pay tribute to three women. Patty Anne Miller and the sisters Sasha and Natalia Mallory. Patty is a stunning popper. Till that moment, I had only seen male poppers that were so good at what they do. Patty showed that females can pop and lock it just as good as the boys. Actually, even better I'd say. Opening her audition piece, her movements were perfect increments of pops that it looked as though the video was constantly going, stopping, going, stopping, every millisecond. I was blown away. She can control discrete parts of her body with unparalleled ability. Please check out her audition piece:

Next up, the deadly duo, Sasha and Natalia Mallory. These two girls are more than just good dancers, they actually are two sides of the same coin, peanut butter and jelly, and all those other twin cliches out there! They are adorable; their sisterly interaction seems to brim with trust, love, and mutual understanding that allows them to be like the little kids they act like with one another. I mean, maybe they aren't as buddy-buddy as they are on TV, but, you must remember, I can only speak from a third-person point-of-view.

Their dances together are beautifully choreographed. Both dances seemed redolent of Africa. I believe it is beautiful and artistic to embed vestiges of one's heritage into dance. They move together fluidly and complement each others' movements. I must admit that Sasha may outshine her sister with speed and strength, but Natalia is very powerful in her own regard. Both girls definitely deserve applause for their hard work. I would love to see them continue into dance fame with more duets.

I cannot wait until I get that "care package" from home. My Mommy is sending me some Ataulfo mangoes (those addicting and amazing yellow ones), so I asked her to also send me my bear claw dance shoes.

Bear Claw Jazz Lyrical Shoes

Then, I'll be able to dance more naturally in the aerobic room here at the apartment. On Friday, I had gone in and did some dancing. With my socks, I was able to do a quad pirouette on my right, do my leaps, etc. But it'd be much better when I have my shoes. Can't wait!

Texas: Fourth Week Part 1

2011-06-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

Monday, June 20, 2011
I already posted it, but I decided to cook this day. I had made the kale bread pudding.

Tuesday June 21, 2011
Thanks to a 365 deal (kind of like Groupon, but specific for College Station), we got tickets to go see a Brazos Bombers Baseball game. The field was 6 minutes away from the apartment. The deal was $5 for a ticket and a Bombers baseball cap. We were pretty excited, so at 6:30, we got together and drove to the baseball park. NH was nice enough to drive some of us there even though he wasn't going.

Our baseballs caps

We got there, got our hats, and went in. We saw the Cookie Monster walking around and took a picture with him. Waiting in the bleachers, we watched as the Bomber mascot strolled around, playing it cool with the kids and adults. It was cute. Some of us bought some baseball food and ate as the game started.

It was quite boring.

Yes, sorry, baseball fans. Baseball is boring. And both teams, the Bombers and the Dallas Copperheads kinda suck. The Copperheads barely got any straight hits. It was a forced excitement whenever some batter actually hit the ball right and when they sometimes got runs in. The only fun part was watching the random prize games in between pitches. They had two little kids race to the some people, rushedly put on adult business clothes, then drag the huge hand luggage case back to the start. The girl won even though the boy tried so hard. Haha. Another game, a dad and his daughter raced with shopping carts, picking up paper bags off the floor and raced back. The dad was winning so he pulled out his cellphone and pretended his wife was calling him, which the announcer joked was his wife yelling at him that he didn't pick up the right groceries. So the dad's little daughter won. So cute.

We started seeing lightning a lot in the distance, so we left early (plus the fact we were all bored) at the 7th inning.

Moral of this story? Baseball's only fun for the mini-games, the tailgate food, and probably only fun if you're drunk, which is why we see all the adults drinking beer and stuff there.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011
EB told us about a comedian she met at Blockbuster. This comedian told EB to check out the comic night at Schotzi's, which the comedian would be at. At ten, they went, and I joined half an hour later. I'm really glad I came later. The first act was the comedian that EB met. This lady was not making good jokes, and because people weren't laughing, she was getting belligerent. At the end of her skit, she forced everyone to laugh before she would get off:

Comedian: "Any one of you guys gonna buy me a drink? No, seriously. I mean it, who's gonna buy me a drink. I've been up here this whole time. Buy me a drink now...I'm not leaving this stage until you all laugh. 1, 2, 3, laugh. Come on. I said LAUGH."
Awkward, forced laughter ensues. Comedian gets off stage...

The ensuing comedians were slightly better, but all really sexual and vulgar. The one Asian guy had some funny ones. A Caucasian, a recent graduate from A&M, had even better ones, and less vulgar. Slightly nerdy. A good long poem about semi-frat domination ("Hey, y'see that girl? Slipped a roofie in her drink...Hope she gets a good night of sleep!")

Otherwise, I didn't really enjoy the comedy night. I would have rather gone to karaoke again. Maybe this Wednesday, and if we can stay up long enough, stay until 2 am to try and win that $50 prize.

Third Week Part 2

2011-06-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 16
Aha, bad memory. All I can remember from this day is what I have from pictures, and that's of dinner. LOL, totally me.

So, at dinnertime, I got some of us to go to Crazy Cajuns, just past the Schlotzsky's. It's a Cajun/Creole place. Lots of space inside, with lots of booths, very down country down college kind of thing. Lady comes up, kinda old, but that kind of active "How may I help ya, honey's?" kind of waitress lady. I like her spunk. Anyhoo, the place serves us the classic N'aw'leans (=New Orleans) kind of food: jambalaya, red beans and rice, boudin (sausage), gumbo, and po'boys.

A bottle of spicy Creole seasoning in a Corona bottle.

Awesome meat selection: crawfish, shrimp, chicken, boudin...and GATOR! I HAD to try this one. So I ordered the kids fried gator platter: fried gator pieces, french fries with some seasoning on it, and 2 hush puppies ($6.99 ish).

Fried Gator Kids Platter

It came with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and/or gator sauce. Gator sauce was nasty. I ate it with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and ketchup, alternatively. The gator meat was delicious and a wonderful texture. Not too soft like stewed chicken, not too tough like steak, not dry like turkey. Very yummy. The flavor of the batter was good, or it could have been the taste of gator itself. Definitely try you tastbuds at alligator when you get the chance.

My friends got the etoufee, gumbo, red beans and rice, and shrimp basket. The etoufee was wayyy too salty and didn't seem to have a lot of crawfish. You're better off getting the one from Herbert's Cajun. Shacks always serve authenticity and taste better. Gumbo was very liquidy, but I didn't try it.

They serve various po'boys, which I want to go back and try. They also have a 2 foot po'boy challenge. I told the lady she should invite that "Man vs Food" guy to try the challenge. That'd be pretty cool. But, as I said, I want to try a po'boy. My Louisiana friends here tell me a lot about New Orleans. I want to go so bad. We've talked about taking a weekend trip there. It'd be soooo awesome. Sounds like a party all the time!

Friday June 17
No vessels today, cuz the lab technician misplaced his phone and then accidentally drove over it. Haha, baaddd mistake. I started a MatLab program to automate solving for flow, pressure, volume, and radius of a lymphangion with input flow. The lymphangion is modeled as an electric circuit, and these equations are related and used to solve for those parameters previously listed.

Dinnertime, I FINALLY got G to come with us! Usually, the poor kid is held hostage by his work or his professor (who talks incessantly) and he comes back late. So this predicament and failure to receive my messages on time has prevented him from joining us for our nearly daily dinners. But, after three weeks of trying, I finally got him to come to dinner!

Rooftop patio seating. Nice, but humidity not.

Ah-ha. :)

G eating with us! Huggeee chicken strips crushing some fries underneath.

So, we went to the Corner Grill, which has weekday $5 specials. They have fish taco Fridays, so we went. You can see my full review on Yelp.

Grilled tilapia fish tacos with chips and salsa. All so tasty and fresh.

Sum up: fish tacos = amazing when grilled. Fish tasted fresh and juicy, AND you get a whole filet in each taco! Didn't like the tortillas themselves and the green lettuce could have been subbed for something better, but overall very fresh and tasty and filling.

Then, we tried to go to a dance club in Houston. It looked super awesome online, this place called Hush, but it was horrible. No one really dancing; some DJs and rappers on stage doing what my friend called old Louisiana rap and which I totally was not grooving with, a bunch of drunk guys scouting women to grind on...blah. Very disappointed. Wasted $10 on it. Sucky club. Don't ever go.

But the good thing, was that it said "Dressy attire enforced." So we went to Kohl's beforehand and I got myself (in an amazingly quick shopping sprint) these cuuteee shoes:

Mud heels. Only $19!!! Love Kohl's!

Hung out in Houston with Lal's friend. Oh, and I had bought some banana pudding at a pit stop (Waller County BBQ) during the drive. Yum, but very very sweet. 2 am snack plus breakfast the next day. We slept in, and poor Lal had to drive us back in the morning, then she had to drive to Dallas for Father's Day. She's strong, that one!

Saturday, June 18
Today was a home-day. Laundry, chatting, reading. Got a crunchwrap supreme for 99 cents...yum. I guess that's it for that day. We all needed resting from the night before.

Well, that sums up week 3!!!

Cooking Kale Mid Internship

2011-06-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was quite exciting. While baking in the apartment kitchen, we found that some nice guy put all his cookware, spices, and oil in the cabinets for free but respectful use. I was ecstatic and thanked to the air this fella for his generosity.

Undeniably, I cooked today, being as I was, super excited to eat homemade cooked food. Granted, I ate a couple of homemade meals, but lunch sandwiches don't count.

With my trusty kale, sausages leftover from IHOP, bread, buttermilk, and minimal utensils, I headed to the kitchen!

What ensued was none other than this lovely, hearty, tasty Kale and Sausage Bread Pudding - for One. Enjoy, because I sure did.

Kale and Sausage Bead Pudding (serves 1)
Ingredients
2 sausage links, chopped
2 large kale leaves, torn into small pieces
2 slices bread chopped into 1/2 or 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 egg
1 TBS Newman's Southwest Salad Dressing
Pinches of garlic and onion powder
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Any other seasoning, to taste

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400 F. Drizzle olive oil and some dried seasonings over bread cubes and mix around. Bake on a sheet in the oven until hard. Remove.
2. As bread is baking, heat sausage in medium skillet over med-high. Once slightly brown and releasing some oil and juices, toss in kale, with a little bit of water. Cook a little. Cover, let steam, and occasionally stir. Cook until kale is wilted and starting to crisp. Add some garlic and onion powder, a teaspoon or two of water, and mix around.
3. Beat egg and buttermilk together with southwest salad dressing.
4. Combine breadcrumbs, sausage-kale mix, and egg mix in a large bowl. Pour into a little pyrex glass bowl or other small baking pan.
5. Bake in oven for 30-40 min, until egg is set and bread is crisp on top.
6. Let cool 5-10 min. Dig in!

Note: This is quite filling. If you triple the ingredients, it can serve four.

I do believe I am in love with kale now. Boiled, raw, and especially cooked stovetop - they're all delicious. I've heard kale chips are amazing. I'll have to try that soon.

My Frappe

2011-06-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Help make my frappe drink famous on Starbucks!

Please go here to vote for me!

The drink is a mix of the light coffee, chai flavor, raspberries, with cinnamon and ginger on top. Healthy but refreshing and still tasty!

Wait...do you win anything for this...?

Happy Fathers Day!

2011-06-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

To my daddy:

I wish I were home to bake you up something gloriously sweet and fattening to tingle and thrill your tongue (perhaps a carrot cake cheesecake pound cake triple layer dessert??? Oh my, the madness!), but alas I am a 5 hour flight from home. I did bake today, although from premade mixes. I made blueberry muffins and white cornbread muffins. I will eat one in your honor ;P

I want to thank you for everything you are and are not. For all that you've done, and all that you will continue to do and be.

To the father who watched over his daughters, his wife, his family.
Who never forgot about the needy or less fortunate.
He who stays youthful, thanks to a tireless passion for surfing and martial arts;
To the father who shares my passions, and gets excited about technology and science.
Who enjoys the outdoors just as much as I do.
To the dad that gives us what we need and even beyond what we want,
Such an unending love that cannot be encompassed by words.

You've done so much for me, for Cat, for Mom. I always feel blessed for having such great parents, who love me and provide for me without reserve. You've taught me to become selfless, thoughtful, intelligent, and discerning as you are. Faults and virtues alike you've shown and taught me. You truly are my hero, and someone I not only look up to, but strive to do better for. Just the thought of you inspires me to do the best I can, in all that I do.

Thank you, Daddy. For being there for me my whole life, and supporting me in what I do, and giving me advice when I need it. You keep me strong in spirit and body.

Happy Father's Day. I love you a lot.

To Kung Fu Panda. *wink* ;-)

The Third Week Part 1

2011-06-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

Meh, I've been slacking. A whole week left unblogged. To start off, this was a very eventful week, did something nearly every night.

Saturday, June 11
I attended this business seminar entitled something like "Business in a Turbulent Economy." It was sponsored by the Mays Business School here, mostly for A&M alumni, and went from 9-5pm with a happy hour reception afterwards. I attended and wore my business dress. You may be wondering, You are a bioengineer; what are you doing attending a business seminar? No, it was not just for the breakfast and lunch. I wanted to see if I could learn anything about the economy and business from this. I do have hopes of one day opening my own business, be it a bakery, a franchise, or a biotech company.

View from the Universitiy Club, top of Rudder tower

It was pretty good (food was definitely really good, lol). The seminars were interesting and the people were both funny, nice, and talkative. The first speaker sounded like Forrest Gump, no joke. My favorite seminar was this funny one about how many people abuse Powerpoint when giving presentations (click the link). I sat next to this woman who was more excited about playing Angry Birds on her Nook and a woman and man who doodled and constantly whispered and giggled to each other. Haha, I thought it hilarious how these adults were so kiddish at this professional business event.

The whole thing about "Aggies help Aggies" fosters this community atmosphere among these alumni. They were really nice to talk to and told me about resources. At the reception, I chatted with a woman working with IKEA in Dallas, and she told me about a non-profit group there that refits medical devices to be used in third world countries.

The seminar itself was enlightening and allowed me to explore the business world. I definitely enjoyed myself.

Sunday, June 12
Umm, I don't remember much, except that I went to Schlotzsky's again:

The "Original" - pretty yummy

Monday, June 13
Sigh, no vessels again today. So, Tam and I just did more mathematical modeling. I climbed a tree:

Tuesday, June 14
Attended another lunchtime seminar. This time, the REU seminar had a grad student panel, in which we asked about "Life as a Grad Student." Sounds like grad school is the way to go in this troubling economy, and one must be diligent about searching for funding. Not everyone gets funding as a grad student. You really need to constantly look for fellowships and grants.

I can't remember when I did this, but I visited the Cosgriff-Hernandez lab here. Dr CH is a biomedical engineer whose lab focuses on tissue engineering. I asked for a tour of the lab, which one of the grad students politely obliged. It was really cool. They create various hydrogels as grafts for blood vessels if one needs to be removed in surgery. The grad student who gave me the tour showed me her hydrogels and said that they use polymer chemistry synthesis to attach certain integrins to allow for selective binding of cells to the inside of the hydrogel. When the hydrogel is inserted, you do not want all types of cells and biological debris binding to the inside, otherwise it would just clog the vessel and prevent normal function. I got pretty excited and plan to prepare myself for a future in working with stuff like this. I need to take a polymer chemistry synthesis class and continue with my tissue engineering track.

Wednesday, June 15
No vessels yet again, so Tam and I did more mathematical modeling, yay! We met in the afternoon and tried to develop some empirical model of lymphangion response, but we actually spent half the time doing a crossword puzzle. LOL. We finished it though! First one I've ever done!!!

After, we walked to the rec center and I tried some rock climbing. One guy there helped me out a bit by giving me pointers while climbing. I could only do one rock climbing path though. It's tough.

This girl makes it look like she's gliding across the wall.

Nighttime rolls around and we head over to Ash's cousin's place. We play rock band, which is a good return for me after two years. Fun stuff. And then Lin let me borrow "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Mastermind." I watched "How to Train Your Dragon" that night. Sooooo good! I am seriously buying this movie when I return home. The way they made the dragon act and move is very true to animal behavior: the sliding scale between curiosity, love, fear, and defensiveness. The animation was great, and the story was superb. It was not a strained, heavily milked story-line, and neither were the jokes. It did not try to make too much humor, but had a decent amount to aid the story along. The main characters are likeable, although the annoying teen side-characters are the only "strain" on the movie. Definitely a recommend if you haven't seen it yet.

TX June 9-10: George Bush Museum

2011-06-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Day 9: Thursday, June 9, 2011
I need to add some fun stuff about Wednesday night. We went to Paddock Lane and did some karaoke. They have a karaoke competition that starts at 10 pm (actually really gets going around midnight) and ends usually around 2 am. I went with Ash and Lalis and managed to persuade them to sing. It was a lot of fun. I sang "Walk Away" by Kelly Clarkson, "Won't Say (I'm in Love)" with Ash and Lalis, and then "I Will Survive." It was a lot of fun, but we left around 1 am, since we all had to get up early the next day.

So, Thursday, I came in to lab, practiced dissecting and mounting lymph vessels. It was kinda hard, and I think I probably poked a lot of holes in the poor vessel. Plus, I cut it pretty short, probably too short to be effective between two valves. At least I got it on, I suppose.

I also got to see what S was helping out with. She was doing stuff with Phuoc, mapping out the bat wing. Cute! Had to be uber sterile though, because Phuoc is the only one that is inoculated against rabies.

Since I finished at noon, I ate and went to explore near HEB. After shopping round (I caved in a bought some muffin and cornbread mixes and aluminum muffin pans), I waited at the bus stop to get back. I started chatting with this TAMU student next to me. He was really nice, actually from Cali as well, but came out here following his girlfriend and then decided to stay because he really liked it here. He told me about how every month during the school year, TAMU has a Zombies game that students and non-students play. People with Nerf guns are humans and people with bandanas tied around their arms are zombies. It sounds like so much fun. I immediately thought of my boyfriend and Nick and how psyched they'd be about it. I want to play too! The TAMU guy was nice enough to take both buses back with me since he lived nearby. People are so nice around here.

Day 10: Friday, June 10, 2011
S and I went into lab but didn't have anything to do. I persuaded her to go with me to the Bush, Sr., and Barbara Bush's birthday celebration at the Bush Memorial Library and Museum. President George H.W. Bush's birthday is June 12 and Barbara's birthday is the tenth, so I guess the museum decided to do the midpoint of their birthday. We got there and I ate some cake and Blue Bell ice cream (still unhappy that this popular ice cream company uses high fructose corn syrup and many other ingredients rather than a small amount of simple ingredients). Then, we toured the place. They have a heart health exhibit that showcases the red dresses of the First Ladies and special red dresses designed for some celebrities. Look at the slideshow below! I liked the one for Katie Couric the best.

Then here is a slideshow of the photos and presentations inside the museum, all about Bush, Sr.,'s life. They even reproduced his Oval Office there, but you have to pay to take a picture.

For dinner, we went to Jin's Asian Cafe. I got the healthy steamed chicken and veggies with black bean sauce on the side, with the unhealthy fried rice.

Fried rice, steamed chicken+vegs, black bean sauce

Bimbimbap (with lettuce?)

Decent food here. Strange that it serves Thai, Indian, Korean, and Chinese food. Chinese food is relatively good, Korean doesn't seem legit, and don't get the chow fun! Those are NOT the noodles that are supposed to go with that dish! They used some weird kind of thin thin thin noodles. Don't think my friend liked it.

No partying that night, though, but met Ash's cousin and mom. So awesome, her cousin likes steampunk and Y: The Last Man too!

TX 6/7-6/8

2011-06-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

Day 7: Tuesday, June 7, 2011
I didn't have to go into lab until after 1, so at lunch, I went to Henry's Cajun Food, this little square shack in the middle of the parking lot shared with Taco Bell and McDonalds'. I ordered the Crawfish Etouffee, because Rebecca said that crawfish was really good and I've been meaning to try some legit Cajun/Creole food (that doesn't break the bank! *shakes fist at Disney's Bayou restaurant).

Small (12 oz) Crawfish Etouffee - $4.75

I boiled up some kale and ate it with it. Good spices and flavors, but the taste/smell of crawfish is a little strong. I don't think crawfish is my go-to protein, but the dish is overall tasty. It's a tomato-based roux with crawfish pieces over rice. Reminded me of a spiced seafood risotto. The rice was thick and creamy thanks to the sauce all over it. I split this in two, enough for two (light-ish) meals.

At 6, all the REU students were invited to a welcome dinner with speaker Dr. Pettit on "How to get the most of your REU Internship." They catered from On the Border Mexican grill, and the food was good. I made two large flour chicken-black-bean-squash-lettuce-salsa-guacamole-sour cream tacos. The rice was simple, light red-brown, and came with corn. Good, didn't give me indigestion as most original Mexican rice does. The black beans were delicious with specs of tomatoes.

Dr Pettit was a very good speaker, telling us what we should do to make long-lasting relationships, learn thoroughly, and advice on how to approach academic research. Most important is to make yourself known to the professor, show efficiency and productivity, keep contact after the program, and always be ready for an opportunity. These I should really keep in mind, when I consider grad school soon.

Day 8: Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Darn bug bites. I got 4 total and 3 are persistent and aggravating. They are so itchy and they are almost like rashes. T_T Let it be over already...

Lunchtime we had our first seminar sponsored by Dr Hsieh. Dr Ji presented to us about MRIs. It was quite interesting. I get excited when I understand things. MRI used to be called "N"-MRI for "nuclear" magnetic resonance imaging, but the nuclear part was dropped later because it gave a misleading connection to radiation. The MRI works on the basis of quantum spins. The nucleus is mostly protons (+ charge) with electrons (- charge) revolving around it. This spin creates an individual magnetic field per molecule (right hand rule, thumb is direction of field). Normally, each molecule is oriented randomly in space, but when an external field is applied, some molecules line up parallel and others anti-parallel to the magnetic field. Furthermore, if an electric coil is placed near the molecules and the field, it can read a frequency coming from the molecules that translates into its spatial identity. There are more complex stuff, but that's what I remember and care to explain about right now. Look it up! Wiki MRI!

Went back to lab after that, where I observed and minutely helped my grad mentor attach lymph vessels to a fluid flow contraption, put flow through it, and try to get it to intrinsically pump. After 2 failed attempts (lymph vessels were dead), the third one finally showed pumping and we were able to get a pressure reading. Wow, 5-ish hours to jut get some pressure readings. This may be a tiring research project, but that's what research always is. A lot of waiting. It'll be interesting to see how things come along when I get my hands in on the action.

Total fluid flow device

There's a lymph vessel in the middle of that blackness.

Beautiful TX sky

Oh. And I want to bake. :'(

TX 6/4-6/6

2011-06-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

Day 4: Saturday, June 4, 2011
After a fun Friday night, most of us slept in. I got up around 10:30 and wandered around. I walked past Schlotzsky's to the Traditions bookstore and Hurricane Harry's, exploring the options of stores and restaurants. Schlotzsky's is a fast food restaurant dishing up (healthy?) sandwiches and pizza. Their bread is a perfect squat cylinder, which they like to call "Bunz." I thought that was cute, plus the pumpernickel is dark brown to close to black. Interesting when you make a sandwich. I walked back to the apartment (oh my god, it's sooo hot!) and did some reading. When I migrated to read by the pool, it was just too warm and I ended up dozing off on my bag instead. Dan came out and we chatted for a bit. It's always a fun conversation with Dan. He said he went to Schlotzsky's twice now since coming here and that it was amazing, so later for dinner we gathered everyone to go there for dinner. All day Saturday and Sunday their 8" pizzas are only $2.99! Such a good price. I got the chipotle chicken pizza, which came with a generous dallop of guacamole on top. Spread that green sucka across the whole pizza. Damn, this is one tasty pizza, but I could do with a little less guac and 2-3 pieces less chicken to let the cheese and veggies shine a little more.

After we walked by Crazy Cajuns and just chatted outside there, randomly, haha. I think we went back to the apartment after that and wandered/talked.

Day 5: Sunday, June 5, 2011
What did I do this day? Oh yeah, I went to Evans library and blogged yesterday's post. After that, I went to Taco Bell and McDonalds and it started thunderstorming! Crazy! I can't believe how heavy it rains. Gigantic plops of raindrops. Strangest thing is that it's very warm as it's raining. Eventually came back to the apartment, and did an hour run. Wow, did I sweat. I usually don't sweat that much, but I think it's the long run I did plus the heat of Texas. I met up with the others at Dixie Chicken later, after they'd eaten, then we wandered all the way to Kyle Field and the Rec Center. Both of those are HUGEEEE. Lots of fun shenanigans along the way and back. Found some toads hopping around. Fun Sunday.

Day 6: Monday, June 6, 2011
Finally started working on my project. Went with Tam and we got our assignment from Dr Quick. We went to the lab and started coding in LabVIEW. Stayed there until 7 pm trying to get the thing to run right. It started pouring and flashing lightning, even more than yesterday. We both were super hungry but it was raining so much so we couldn't really leave. Tam eventually just biked home (good thing it's warm rain) and came back with his car. He took us to this Mongolian BBQ place and we ate there. Pretty good (I mixed scallops, fish, lots of veggies and their Kanzhu sauce with udon noodles), but kinda pricy. Didn't even get any leftovers for total of $12+tip. After we both got a pint of Haagen Daz chai tea ice cream. Came home and ate that. Wowwww, sooo good! Still kinda sweet, but good flavor! I swam for 30 min in the pool at midnight. Really nice and warm. Yay Texas warmth.

TX First Weekend

2011-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here are more pictures from our tour around campus on June 1st (slideshow opens in new window)

Slideshow design generated with Smilebox

Day 2: June 2nd
"S" and I leave at 8:30 am to walk down University to the Veterinary buildings across the railroad. It only takes 10 minutes to walk there, so we hang around for a bit. We take a look at the Critical Care Cafe and look at the decorations. All along the walls are paintings and photos of animals - dogs, cats, cows, horses, etc. This is a very elaborate veterinary school. We come back to Dr. Quick's office and wait. He comes some time after 9 am since he had to drop off his kid at school. As he's quite the talker, and passionate too, he tells us more about the two projects: pulsatile lymph flow and bat blood vessel reconstruction. Total, he probably talked 3 and a half hours. He gets excited about what he talks about, and he really knows what he's explaining. Plus, he tells it in a way that is understandable, and even writes things on the board so we understand. The most exciting thing for me was seeing my two BioE classes from last semester and a couple other classes prior integrating into the projects described. Transport phenomenon and cardiovascular physiology! I actually understand this! This is why I got pretty interested in the lymph flow project, although the other project sounded interesting to work with the bats (which are trained to sleep with their wing open in a lego-constructed box!!!)

After finally being saved by our GSI Tam, who mentioned lunch to Dr. Quick, we escaped around 1 pm. Tam was really nice and he drove us to HEB supermarket so we could buy food. I lingered as I usually do at the grocery and felt bad to get so much, but I'm glad I did now. Yay snacks and sandwich materials. Dude, HEB has the awesomest coupons. Buy one get this free.

I did some reading about the lymph project and then looked at the NSF grant for the bat blood vessel one, but I still felt drawn to the lymph one.

Eventually, we all went to dinner at Antonio's Pizza by the Slice. Dannggg, HUGE slices of pizza and of many different varieties. I got the black bean avocado one; pizza crust with black beans replacing marinara sauce, crumbled cheese, avocado, and some other vegetable. The black beans kinda sucked out the flavor, so I dumbed all the pizza condiments on it and stole S's red oions to give it more flavor. Afterward, I was very full. We went back the apartment after that, hung out, talked, went to the pool, wandered. Good day.

Back to front: Sausage/pepperoni, ranch chicken, black bean avocado

Day 3: June 3rd
S and I went in the morning to meet up with Dr Quick again. After a little more talking and explanation, I decided on the lymph one and S decided on the bat blood vessel one. We got a bunch of articles to read to prime us on it and then we left around noon. I dragged S along with me to the Chef Tai Gourmet Truck to get Asian-fusion. We both got 2 tacos, one Korean BBQ beef and one caramelized brussel sprouts and tofu. The two stuffed tacos morphed into four normal sized tacos for me.

Caramelized brussel sprouts and tofu (L) and Korean BBQ beef (R)

The Chef Tai Mobile Bistro

Me and my box of tacos

The Korean beef taco was very flavorful and delivious. The tofu one was a little lacking in flavor but nonetheless good. We ate the tacos in the McDonalds. McDonalds here is HUGE and very nice. They have an extension with lots of chairs, tables, benches, couches to study and eat on! And it's clean here. AND, best of all, it's SUPER CHEAP! The ice cream is only 50 cents, sundaes $1. Sooo good.

After I wandered around North campus and into a couple of buildings:



Later I got most of us plus a CivEng intern to go to Downtown Bryan for First Fridays. By stroke of luck, another gourmet food truck was there: Madden's Street Cuisine. S and I split one of their specials: softshell crab sandwich. It came with their spiced up shoestring fries (with cilantro). It was pretty good, although I don't think I'm that much a fan of eating the softshell crab. Softshell crab sandwich with (spicy) slaw and fries We wandered around Bryan more. We went into Must Be Heaven and got Blue Bell ice cream. My first time having it. Got it since Becca said it's "the best". I got the cinnamon flavor (yay cinnamon!). Dude, the single scoop ($1.85+tax) is like a third or half a pint! (My photos on yelp) After, we came back to the apartment then went to Daisy Dukes for some country clubbin'!!! It was SOOO MUCH FUN. First thing we do when we get in: country line dancing! It's like the electric slide but country! There were waitresses walking 'round with test tube racks filled with dollar test tube shots. These are basically mixed drinks. Soo cool! They also played hip hop and gangster music. Danced to that too. Ash, L, and E danced like crazy, but Ash most of all! She's sooo energetic and fun! Eventually, I danced with this guy who does fancy footwork, like top-rocking. He was pretty cool. He then showed me how to two-step, even though he admitted he didn't really know himself, being from Utah and all. Man oh man. That was a great first Friday to begin this internship. A lot of things, I admit, making this post long, but so worth it.

Howdy from Texas!

2011-06-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, haha, totally didn't post the day after my last post. As usual. Oh well. Things come up. More on that later. It is now time to post about my last two and half days in College Station, Texas!!!!

I arrived at Dallas Airport on Monday afternoon. The airport is HUGE!!!! There are four terminals, A, B, C, D. They even have this tram that can take you from terminal to terminal. I didn't take it. Rather, I wanted to explore the airport to kill the hour between layover flights. Walking through, I took these pictures:

Two stories of vendors at DFW Airport

Awesome random structure to walk through (terminal D)

Touch screen info booth! Lists where everything you'd want to know is.

Cute Texas souvenirs!

Then, 30 minutes later, I arrived in the TINY airport in College Station, where Dr Hsieh picked me up. He is such a nice professor! He picked up me and another intern and took us back to our apartment. The apartment is NICE!!! There's an outdoor pool, gym on the 5th floor, nice decor inside, and the whole street of bars and restaurants right across the street! The weather is hot and humid during the day (90 degrees!!!) but it's wonderful at night. Right now, I'm sitting poolside writing this blog. It's breezy and feels great. I would like to sleep out here. And funny thing, it's 11 pm!

Day 0: May 31st

After getting picked up and then settled in at the apartment, we get driven to this Chinese buffet nearby. Since it's 2 hours ahead of California time, I had only just eaten a large lunch a couple of hours ago. But since I'm also a big eater, I took a plate. Good pineapple chicken and veggies, good watermelon. Weird red sauce covered bananas o.0

I met all the other interns. They are all really nice and fun to talk to. We've got multiple BioE, one Chemistry, and one or two electrical engineering and/or mechanical engineering students. A couple from around Texas, three from Tulane, one from Sac, and one from Minnesota. We explored the street across from our apartment: full of bars.

A sign in front of one of the bars

Bottlecap Alley

The sleep was really bad though. I was cold. I left the window open to let in the hot air to counteract the freezing air conditioning but then that just let in the NOISY birds in the morning. Interesting birds, those fellas.

"S" playing the profound sounding piano

The kitchen at the apartment. Convection stovess!!! I want to cook!!!

Day 1: June 1st

We meet up in the front lobby at 8:30 am and go to get our IDs. My hair is sooo fluffy! Haha, but I really like using this duo-straightener-hair dryer that my roommate brought along. Then we went to Dr Hsieh's office and conference room at Thompson Hall to set up some things. "B" gave us a tour of the engineering side of campus, which is just like one-fifth of the entire campus. TAMU is GINORMOUS!!! It's seriously 4 or 5 times the size of UC Berkeley. The trouble was that it was sooo hot and sunny. We were all exhausted walking around. The campus is very nice, but it was just so spread out and huge and we had to walk around under the blazing heat. We really enjoyed sitting inside. At noon, Dr Hsieh treated us to the Sbisa Dining Commons. It was good. They actually cook your pasta there for you. I like this a lot better than Crossroads at Berkeley, where the sauce just sits in a hot waterbath and you spoon it over wet pasta. Nasty. Here, the sauce was cooked over a skillet, and the pasta added to the skillet and tossed by the cook, then served in a large beautiful plate. They say Sbisa is the largest dining common in the US! The sweet tea here is sooo tasty too!

After we got to meet up with our mentor. "S" and I went to the Veterinary School of Medicine to meet Dr Quick. We first met with the GSI Tam, who gave us a tour of the lab rooms. Some cool stuff! I got excited about his work with lymph vessels and already started thinking about what I could research and help out with. After, we met with Dr Quick, who gave us an exciting and passionate but lonnnggggggggggg talk about the projects we could be working on for these next 9.5 weeks. I got really excited about the lymph one, but the idea to work with bats is sooo cool! At 4:30, we left to go the REU Welcome BBQ at ILSB. We came 45 min late and there was almost no food left. I managed to scavenge a sausage link, a small brisket slice, beans, mashed potatoes, SWEET TEA <3, and salad. I love mashed potatoes, and I have found I love the Sweet tea in the South!!!! I'm gonna need to buy me a jug.

We went back to the apartment after that. After a much-needed nap from all that hot walking, I went to the pool and swam laps. The other girls came down and swam with me. Eventually we stopped and just sat poolside talking to a physics REU intern. He was pretty cool. Then, after a shower, I met with "S" at the ASC and we read up a little bit about Quick's research and chatted. "S" brought crochet stuff. Sometime I will show her how to crochet a cute round chick or teddy bear. I wish I brought my crochet stuff! Sleep was good this night. Quite warm, now with two covers and my long sleeved shirt.

Good to be Home

2011-05-30T02:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, which means Monday (today) is off. Since beginning my summer after my junior year, it's been absolutely wonderful to be home. I came back home from Berkeley on Tuesday, May 16th. Right after I flew in at 3:30pm into John Wayne airport, my mom picked me up and whisked me away to get a massage, my hair cut, and eat some delicious Thai food.

The massage was some "reflexology" massage - foot-based I believe. Well, it really was not very relaxing to me. Apparently, my mom and my sister both really liked it. It was just rather stressful for me, ironically. The lady giving me the massage was...lets say, powerful. Her fingers are STRONG and she perhaps could have used more lotion to prevent significant friction between her fingers and my skin. It was only $20 though, and part of it was relaxing. I'm guessing she teased out some tension, but overall I wished I had gone to a more Western-style massage.

After, we got a haircut from Le Nam salon somewhere else in Garden Grove. The lady was nice, talked a lot to me and my mom, and cut my hair well. Yay. I think I should just keep my hair about shoulder/chin length. It looks nice. Only problem is that the $60 messed-up perm is still left in my hair and prevents my hair from relaxing into a nice straight 'do whenever I wake up.

Next up, we went to Royal Thai Restaurant because Thai Gulf in Newport Beach was closed on Monday. My mom wanted to take me there, but I'm glad it was closed. This place was nearby and it was good. The lady was really nice. I have photos which I'll have to upload later, but the food was pretty good (not the best, but large portions and tasty) and the service (particularly the one lady) was attentive and awesome. The owner lady was so sweet and cute, what with her hawaiian shirt, and her easy-going behavior. She took pictures for us and even took a picture with me standing on the seats when I asked her! It was awesome. Plus, free drink via yelp! check-in is nice ;P Full review with pics to come on yelp later. But, take-home message: try out Royal Thai restaurant if you're in Garden Grove and want cheap good Thai food with nice service!

That was just in the evening that I came back home from Berkeley! The days following have been full and fun as well! Best part of being home, though, I have to say, is spending time with family and my boyfriend...and BAKING! A little preview of some things I did:

The last picture is a real winner of a baked treat! Can't wait to post about it! And you all should definitely try this recipe out if you wanna wow some people!

Well, hopefully, I will post tomorrow on my summer adventures!

[RECIPE]Summer Mango Apple Pie

2010-09-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

In June, I was back at home, and that usually entails a countertop toppling over with fruit because my mom buys so much all the time. She practically lives off fruit because she gets it really cheap at the Asian and Persian supermarkets (yea yea, Crown Valley Marketplace and Saigon City!!!) I came back from the university to a huge box of ripening champange mangoes and a whole bag of red apples. My great-aunt (the most amazing baker and resourceful cook in our family) had given me Pillsbury pie crusts a while back and these I froze. Figuring I should use up these things that needed to be done away with.

I sliced up the mangoes and apples, and mixed these with brown sugar and cinnamon. I rolled out the pie dough, parbaked it in the pie plate, then filled it with the fruit mixture. After which I popped in the oven a bit longer. Out came this delicious, quick, and satisfying pie that's just the right amount of natural sweetness with just a bit of savoriness from the crust. It's quick and a nice change from the usual apple pie, which in stores is laden with too much syrupy filling.

Easy Mango-Apple Pie (serves 8-12)
Ingredients
1 champagne (or Kent/Keitt) mango cut into slices
2-3 apples cut into same sized slices as the mangoes
1 frozen pie crust (or you can make your own, but I lazy ;P )
1/4 or 1/2 cup (I think) of brown sugar
Cinnamon to taste (be liberal!!! It's tasty AND good for you!)

Directions
1. Parbake the thawed pie crust according to directions.
2. Meanwhile, mix the fruit slices, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Let the pie crust cool a bit, then spoon in the fruit filling.
4. Bake until the crust is just golden.

*Note: to prevent burning the crust (which I was on the verge of doing), put aluminum foil over the edges of the pie crust.

Judgement? Great! My dad loved it! And it makes me happy when my dad likes my baking, cuz I tend to experiment with "healthifying" things and then he doesn't like the blander taste or weird texture. I'm still trying though. More experimentation will lead to perfection.

Try this sometime. Maybe you have some addition or suggestion to it to make it even better. Let me know! But, in general, mangoes are just about a great addition to anything, and definitely perks up the usual apple pie.

Summer Cookup Collection

2010-08-21T01:40:00.000-07:00

I did a lot of cooking last spring semester. A lot of it wasn't chronicled, but why should every dinner be? Now, that'd be a hassle. I have a couple of pictures of experiments I've tried this summer. I finally decided to stop procrastinating and post them up. I don't know if I have the recipe for all of them, but I can give a gist of what they are and what I did.

Banh Da Lon (Vietnamese Pandan and Mung Bean Layered Cake)

This is a steamed cake, made by alternating layers of coconut-pandan rice cake and mung bean paste. I didn't have green food coloring when I made this, so it doesn't look like the typical one you see in Vietnamese stores, but it came out all right. Steaming was a little hard, and I had a tiny pie pan, so I couldn't do many layers. It came out all right. Will definitely have to keep practicing.

(Recipe courtesy of ch3rri-blossoms)

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Mushroom Ragu(?) over Cornmeal Mush

I actually can't remember what I did with this and where exactly I got the inspiration. I think I basically put cornmeal in boiling water, then added garlic parmesan dry mix from Costco. The mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil with onions and garlic, and maybe some wine. It came out kind of bland and tough to eat, actually. Won't make this again. Plus, I need to cut off the stems of shiitake mushrooms. Those were the tough part to eat. This was like eating some kind of savory cream of wheat again. Not that great, but pretty in the picture at least.

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Strawberry Jam Cake

I can't remember where I got the recipe for this. It was a cake with a swirl of strawberry jam through it. It was tasty and pretty, but not sweet enough. I added icing (lemon, milk, confectioner's sugar, butter) on top to make it more dessert-like and it was perfect.

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Homemade Tomato Sauce and Broccoli over Spaghetti

This was a simple, quick, and tasty throw-together. Just put cut-up tomatoes, sauteed with garlic and onions. Cooked with tomato paste and Italian seasonings and salt. Served with steamed/boiled broccoli, parmesan cheese, and spaghetti. Very easy but probably the tastiest of my Spring 2010 cooking attempts.

Next post up is my collection of summer attempts, hits and misses, including my first FANCY CAKE! Here's a preview :D See you soon!

Crazy food all over the place - tortas, pho tacos, and jap crepes

2010-08-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

Sooo, I'm actually just going to blog about some interesting new food popping up all over SoCal. Recipes and food I've been making or have made and need to post about shall ensue.

Like any other foodie, I've been obsessed with the torta fad lately. Soft telera rolls generously fillled with succulent meats, smears of avocado and beans, creamy queso fresco, with refreshing lettuce and tomatoes. I've tried a couple of places around North and Southern California, but I definitely have to branch out. I've had it at Senor Pedro's Tacos in San Juan Capistrano and from the Mexican supermarket Cardenas in Norco. I have to say, the one at Cardenas was by far the best so far. Luscious meat, great bread, I dunno, it was just so good. I also had one from some place in Mission District in SF (location is near the BART and McDonalds). That one was all right. Another from NorCal was from the taco truck on 1st and International in Oakland. Veryyyyy good - or maybe cuz it was 1 am in the morning, but I had eaten dinner already and I had to eat the whole thing.

Anyways, AM PM is trying to get on the bandwagon and is currently promoting their own tortas, and now a "Tower of Torta." Intrigued, I went to their facebook where they apparently have a bunch of crazy secret menu items. This is what it looks like:

Sounds like a heart attack of a secret menu, huh? Donut burger? Triple burgers, triple tortas. Pizza wrapped around a hotdog. Yeah...

Nevertheless, I am actually considering trying their torta. Just one, though. NOT that insane tower of torta. Wayyy too much for me. What do you say? Should I do it?

Other interesting food things that I've come across:

(pic from yelp)

Japanese Crepes at Harajuku Crepes in Beverley Hills. I am soooo getting a green tea crepe with azuki beans and strawberry ice cream. Going this Thursday and I'm sooo excited!!! They're so cheap too! $3.50 for crepe, $1 for fruit or azuki, $0.50 for ice cream, $0.50 for whipped cream or nutella!! So cheap but I've read soooo delicious!!!!

(Xoia Eats)

Vietnamese Taco: move over Korean taco trucks, the Viet taco is coming to town! Ha, now chefs and aspiring cooks are putting whatever protein they can get their hands on into corn tortillas. My mom just made pho. Maybe I'll just take the rare sliced beef, fresh onions, cilantro and put it in the flour tortillas she just bought. Wow. I've created a pho burrito. I'm gonna be famous. *waves flag*

That's what I've been up to lately. Sucked into my computer. Hope this bit was entertaining for you. Next post will be a collection of some stuff I made up at Berkeley, along with some other recipes.

Yogurt Blueberry Scones

2010-07-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

The best days are those when you get to sleep in, and then you wake up and bake yourself a nice breakfast.

Today, I slept in until 11, finally getting more than the 5-6 hours I've been getting all week. I got up and decided to use those nice blueberries in the refrigerator! I found this recipe for blueberry yogurt scones somewhere on the internet, but adjusted to my liking and resources. What I changed was using flavored yogurt instead of plain, adding a hint of spices, halving the sugar, and reducing the amount of milk. Adding the recipe's amount of milk proved too much. The scone recipe could actually go without the milk that is added, or just 1-2 Tbs of the milk. The recipe below will have my recommendations.

Yogurt Blueberry Scones
Ingredients
2 cups of flour (1cup whole wheat pastry, 1 cup all purpose)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs light brown sugar (instead of 2 Tbs)
Spices to taste (usually 1/2 tsp of spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, etc.)
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
6 oz of some kind of berry flavored yogurt (instead of plain)
1-2 Tbs of milk (may omit if dough looks wet enough)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries (may add lemon zest for extra flavor)

Directions
1) Combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and spices.
2) Cut in butter and mix into flour until crumbly.
3) Add in yogurt and vanilla, and milk if necessary. Fold in blueberries (and zest).
4) Knead two or three times.
5) Preheat oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit. Put parchment paper in a 9" round cake pan. Lightly butter if you want.
6) Roll dough into a ball, then place in center of prepare pan. Pat out into an 8" round, then slice into 8 pieces.
7) Bake in center of oven 12-15 min or 15-20 min, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and it's a light tan color. Let cool in pan 5 min, then remove to a wire rack to cool further.
Makes 8 scones

These came out very tasty. The mixed berry yogurt adds a wonderful aroma that wafts from the scones like heavenly perfume. So delicious and actually healthy! Not full of butter and cream like the traditional scones, yet still satisfying and taste-electrifying! Doesn't even need a lemon glaze (which I usually think overdoes it on any pastry). I bet crystallized ginger would have been a nice addition too, if I had it. Well, I hope you enjoy this wonderful treat sometime!

Sustainable Food Debate

2010-07-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

I just read this article against the current trend in "sustainable" food.

http://responsibilityproject.com/blog/up-for-debate-sustainable-food#fbid=v4t0D8ft4Zt

What the NPR host says is that, if we look at developing countries (ones that Americans and Europeans see as less high tech in their agriculture) such as Africa, they subsist off of this "slow food" movement. The irony is that they are a developing country because of and leading to this slow food way of getting and distributing their vittles.

I do agree with Paarlberg that Westerners must clear their minds of this idealized view of the "slow food" and "sustainable" movement. We should not give up on it, but rather not let ourselves get sucked into organic messages that overplay the moral values of their goods. Oftentimes, organic or local really is not better for you or the environment. I could sell you a lemon from my tree at home for three times as much just because it's local, but that may not defeat the fact that it's grown in a suburb or may have grown by use of synthesized fertilizers. My opinion is that the organic and slow labels are often overplayed by many companies and groups to try and woo consumers into forking over more money for their goods.

Addressing the world hunger case, I do agree that we must "de-romanticize our view of preindustrial food and farming. And that means learning to appreciate the modern, science-intensive, and highly capitalized agricultural system we’ve developed in the West" . The industrialized agricultural system is created to most efficiently feed a massive population of humans. Let us consider what the goal and what the methods are. The goal of "solving world hunger" cannot truthfully be met by a "slow" and "local" method because this does not output enough to feed a large number of people. World hunger means a lot of mouths to feed. Slow and local only feeds a small rich group right now in the West. I will admit that industrial agriculture of the modern day is not glamorous or humane at all. I personally detest the way they coop up the animals and the way they kill them; yet, if people want to solve the proposed "world hunger problem," I can't see a more efficient way to do so than this way.

It's just unfortunate that solving world hunger and maintaining humane practices for all living creatures can't go hand in hand...

What do you all think about this?

Scallop Vegetable Risotto and Double Banana Muffins

2010-07-22T00:55:00.000-07:00

Hello again.

"..."

What? Don't remember me? Oh yeah. We haven't spoken in a veerryyyyy long time. Well, between fun stuff, procrastinating, school, and other various distractions, Blog, you have been set at a lower priority. But, now I have returned to post!

"Really? A review, huh?"

Nope! I have my own recipe and it's delicious! Although, I must admit, I do have a long list of restaurants that I must review on Yelp, along with other foods I have made at home since my last post.

Today, I surprisingly had a lot of time. Also, surprisingly, I was not too tired in the evening despite staying up late to try and finish homework and getting up semi-early to go to research lab. After class was over, and after taking a fun stroll through Whole Foods, I was prepared to finally achieve one of my life goals!

Cooking risotto!!!

So I did it. And I was so psyched when I finished and even now. Haha. The finished product was really good, and SOOO much better than Pasta Pomodoro's special this month: Asparagus Risotto. That thing was bland and had no love put in it. Just kinda thick rice with asparagus. Nasty. Their El Cerrito branch will be receiving a bad review on Yelp soon...

Anyways, back to the risotto. A couple days ago, I made my own vegetable stock out of a bunch of vegetable shavings and leftovers. So excited that this dish is COMPLETELY from scratch. Makes it such a proud experience. It is a scallop risotto with red bell peppers, red onions, celery, and carrots. Apparently, the onion, peppers, celery, and carrots is the usual base mix of vegetables to start any dish. My roommate called it some fancy Italian or French word, but I forgot.

I based my risotto of the general procedure for "Our Favorite Risotto" from Cooking Light that was made with mushrooms and mascarpone cheese. Instead, I added my own vegetables, herbs, meat, and cheese. Below you will find the recipe. It came out very creamy and delicious, but must be served warm-hot to really enjoy it to its full extent. Before making the risotto, I made some banana muffins modified from a recipe my mom used. My mom baked for the first time last night!!! She made these banana muffins and added too many bananas and less butter, but it came out amazing. But she's back at home home and I'm in my college home, so I didn't get any. So I craved and made some myself - with my usual changes of course (cinnamon, spices, wheat). The recipe for the banana muffins follow the risotto recipe. (Picture to be added tomorrow).

(Pardon the messy pot. It's the starch and cheese.)

Scallop Risotto (serves 4-5)
Ingredients
1 medium-large red bell pepper, large diced
1/4 large red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, including leaves, diced
1/2 lb small-medium bay scallops, patted dry
Various herbs (I used dried oregano, basil, thyme, and parsley, freely added)
3/4-1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/4-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for sauteing
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Heat stock in saucepan to a simmer but do not boil. Keep warm.
2. Saute the red onions till limp. Add garlic and Arborio rice. Saute for 5 min. Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
3. Add 1 cup of stock and cook, stirring until most of it is absorbed. Meanwhile, begin to saute the carrot and celery (reserve the celery leaves). Add the red bell peppers and continue sauteing. Remove from heat once cooked. Add stock to rice 1/2 cup a time, stirring constantly, until absorbed each time.
4. Season the scallops with salt, black pepper, oregano, and basil. On a hot pan with olive oil, sear scallops till cooked through on each side. Kinda stir-fry it. Add in vegetables to reheat, then remove from heat.
5. Once rice is thick and starchy, and fold in scallop-vegetable mix. Add in rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper, to taste. Add in Parmesan cheese, and fold through rice.
6. Spoon into bowls and top with chopped celery leaves. Enjoy!

Double Banana Muffins (14 normal muffins, or 12 muffins + 6 mini muffins)
Ingredients
4-5 ripe, medium bananas, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sugar (mix white and brown)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 TBS canola oil
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, to taste
1/4 cup chopped banana chips, toasted in oven

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins with grease of liners.
2. Beat bananas, egg, sugar, vanilla, butter, and oil.
3. Mix dry ingredients. Add to wet ingredients. Fold in banana chips.
4. Pour into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Note: Make sure to check on the mini ones just to make sure they don't cook too much before the big ones.

Winter Fun 3: Pumpkin Pie Bars

2010-01-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

Nov 24, 2009

CVS of all places fulfilled my Autumn/Winter holiday dreams! On the sale rack after Halloween, they had a small pumpkin on sale for only $1.30 or something close to that. I immediately grabbed it. With my cute pumpkin in my arms, I went home and stored it until I was ready to make some legit pumpkin baked goods!

When the time came around, I found how hard it is to cute a pumpkin, cook it until mashing consistency, and puree - all without a real steamer and food processor. I chopped up the little thing with much exertion, scraped out the seeds inside, steamed it in a rice cooker, and tried to mash some of the pumpkin flesh in a small blender. This was way too much work with little result. The little blender could not blend anything that wasn't liquidy enough, So I had to semi mash it and eventually gave up and settled with semi-mashed pumpkin puree. The rest of the pumpkin, I lightly sauteed in olive oil and ate with spaghetti and spaghetti sauce. This I made for my housemates and friends as a Thanksgiving dinner.

I don't have the exact recipe with me now, but it's something close to this recipe. When I get the exact thing, I repost this later. What I did differently was halve the the pumpkin part of the recipe and baked the thing in an 8 by 8" pan. the crust was REALLY yummy. The pumpkin part was delicious too, and I actually lacked having some pieces of un-pureed pumpkin to chew on. It was pretty good, but I don't think I ever want to mash a pumpkin myself again. Thank you Libby's!

Winter Fun 2: Ganache Topped White Butter Cake

2010-01-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Nov 22, 2009: R's Birthday

I wanted to make a cake for my roommate's birthday, so chose the white butter cake from JoyofBaking.com and made a dark chocolate ganache topping. It was so beautiful before I drizzled it with white icing! The icing was too liquidy over the also-liquidy ganache, and the two flowed into each other to make a funky mess. I could call this a Messy Zebra cake, but that would just be a sad attempt to cover up a mistake. Nevertheless, the cake came out very good: rich and sweet under the dark chocolate. The hardest thing was whipping up the egg whites. I don't have a beater or hand mixer in my Berkeley home, so I used chopsticks to try and whip it up. Man, my arms were so tired! Baking is a serious form of exercise, I'm telling you!

Cake Ingredients
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (or fresh lime/lemon juice if you don't have it, like me all the time :P )

Cake Directions
See JoyofBaking.com recipe

Dark Chocolate Ganache
Dove dark chocolate squares, chopped up
Whole fat milk

Ganache Directions

Add a small amount of milk to a small saucepan and heat on medium low, stirring constantly. Add dark chocolate and mix in until you have a thick consistency. Pour this over the cooled cake. I don't recommend putting icing on top unless you have a very thick ganache and a very thick icing. If you want icing, just mix powdered sugar and a small amount of milk until you get the desired consistency.

A Cornucopia of Winter Fun

2010-01-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

Disney Downtown, New Years' Eve

Winter Break is a blessing in the middle of the school year. After a long semester of studying and work (along with bits of fun thrown in here and there for good measure), it's nice to come back home and not worry about the next onslaught of midterms and homework. Even better is the warmth of my hometown compared to Berkeley. Down south, it feels like a warm spring! I remember the chilly air on those sunny Berkeley days reading out 50 some degrees Fahrenheit. Despite it all, it was a refreshing walk through the city and campus, but once I got inside a warm classroom, nothing else could have felt better.

Now, back home, I watch the news and see the weathermen talking about subzero conditions elsewhere in the US (frozen lizards falling from trees, people dying from cold), and then compare it to our wonderful conditions here in SoCal. Wonderful 70-80 degree weather. My insulating-lacking body loves it! But, I just saw that there will be cooler weather coming in soon, along with some rain on Wednesday. It'll be a nice change, I suppose, and the dry SoCal terrain needs it.

In my long hiatus from blogging, I've done a lot of experimenting and taste-testing. As is the usual case with me, I felt too lazy to post; rather, I read other bloggers' posts and went on Facebook to pass the time. This morning, I decided it's finally time to post up my collection of Winter experiences. These will follow in subsequent postings after this one. Enjoy!

Nov 8, 2009: Asian Christmas Veggie Mix-Up

Ha, my attempt at an original name for something I made. This is something I quickly cooked up in Berkeley to replicate a dish my mom always makes. I didn't have the par-fried tofu we usually get from the Asian supermarket, only the silken tofu from the American stores. The problem with this tofu is that is crumbles at the slightest touch, which really changed what I was going for. Nevertheless, the dish came out still good and refreshing, as my mom's is. The other thing I was lacking at that moment was green onion and cilantro to garnish with. I served this with brown rice for a very healthy yet delicious lunch.

Ingredients
Garlic, minced
Frozen or fresh green beans
Plum tomatoes, sliced into thick wedges
1 pack firm tofu (if you want to do it like in the picture) or semi-fried firm tofu
Soy sauce
Sugar
Olive oil

Directions
Saute the garlic in olive oil until yellowish-brown. Add the green beans next if using fresh, otherwise, add both the green beans and tomatoes. Saute for a bit longer until the juices of the tomatoes comes out and the vegetables are soft. Add in the tofu. Add in some soy sauce and sugar to taste, not too much sugar. Saute until tofu is cooked as well. Garnish with sliced green onion and cilantro.

Corned Beef Pasta

2009-12-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

This was just an experimental dish due to food that needed to be used and hunger. I had a bag of corned beef that I only ate 4 slices from, and I had some cauliflower and bell peppers, plus this grated Parmesan-Romano cheese, so I figured I might as well make pasta.

I just sauteed garlic, then the cauliflower and sliced red bell peppers, throwing in some dried oregano and basil in for good measure. Added some of the cheese and chive cream cheese until it had some sauce on it and came out with this!

To be honest, it was light and good on the tongue, but not necessarily delicious. Next time, I will make a white sauce first, then add the cheese and cream cheese to get more flavor, but, hey, lets just say this is healthier.

Nov 9 Birthday Dinner at Milanese Caffe

2009-12-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

Hi ya'll. I decided to finally get my lazy butt on this blog and actually post something up. I always go on blogger, but I just browse other people's blogs and never want to write up my own.

In that time, though, a lot has happened.

My birthday was on November 9, and my housemates threw a surprise birthday party for me! I came home early from dance practice and stumbled in upon them still decorating! My roommate baked this cute cake for me! She's so good at decorating cakes! It was X's birthday yesterday, and she made the cake look like a basketball.

The next day, we went out to eat, restaurant of my choice. I didn't want to force them to spend a lot to eat and I wanted to try this cheap Italian place just up the street called Milanese Caffe. General price range is around $8 for entrees. Pizza though is only about $4, and they an interesting one called Egghead Pizza, which is just a pizza with a fried egg on top. My friend got it, but she threw most of it away when it got cold. I would say that fried eggs taste good on almost anything, so I think I would've liked it. We came in at 8:30pm, and they close at 9pm, so the guy told us we could only get to-go. I wanted to have a sit-down dinner for my birthday, so we ordered to-go and sat there. What's really stupid is that they force you to leave when they close. That is not at all like other restaurant courtesy. Other real restaurants let customers stay till they finish eating. But nope, not Milanese. When it's nine, it's out! So, we packed up our half-finished to-go boxes and headed home at closing...

I got the Spinach Fettuccine Smoked Chicken. It was tasty, but had too much creamy sauce, if you can tell by the picture below. If they toned down the creaminess and sauciness a little, it would've been just perfect. They also serve pastas with their garlic bread and pizza bread.

It's like green and red islands floating in a sea of cream...

Left is pizza bread, right is garlic bread. I didn't like the garlic

bread and the pizza bread was decent.

Overall I'll give Milanese Caffe: 3/5

Decent food, good price, but poor service

The next few posts will be the food I've made since my last post: a simple pasta dish, recreating Mom's comfort food, and sweets.

Chicken Tikka Masala and Stitches

2009-11-08T00:18:00.000-08:00

Forgive me for not posting in so long. I've been quite busy (*cough* and lazy) with school. I just finished my physics and organic chemistry midterm this week, so now I just have catchup reading to do in my other classes and to get ready for finals. I've been busy, also, with club events. I just did an acting audition for Cal VSA's Spring Culture Show! Pretty excited to see if I get a spot, although I am a little anxious about how busy I will be next semester with my tentative schedule: Biology, Physics, Engineering, Undergrad research apprenticeship, Culture show choreographer and actress. Whew! Time management will be key.

Anyways...on to what this post is supposed to be about:

Chicken Tikka Masala.

Or, at least, my attempt at making it. Granted, this tastes very good, but I doubt any Indian would say it's authentic. I used what I had on hand and threw in as I saw fit. This dish also occurred around the slashing of my finger by a glass cup, the finger which proceeded to bleed for an hour before I went to the ER to get it stiched up. While it was cut, I applied paper and pressure to it while still on and off cooking this tikka masala. Such an eventful Friday night!

So, I looked up a recipe for chicken tikka masala and proceeded to add ingredients as stated, not measuring anything and crushing whole coriander and cumin seeds with the back of a wooden spoon. This was very much a "whatever's-on-hand" kind of endeavor.

I marinated cubed chicken in yogurt, lime juice, cumin, coriander, paprika, black pepper, chili powder, and ground ginger the day before. I then somewhat followed this recipe with the change in marinating the chicken.

First, I stir fried some chopped onion with ground ginger and garlic. I added cumin, coriander, curry powder, turmeric powder, paprika, and more chili powder and sauteed some more. I then added some chopped tomatoes that I blended. Simmer a bit, adjust flavors to taste. Then, I added the whole shebang of marinated chicken, with the yogurt marinade and all. Since I wouldn't be thickening the sauce with any cream or the like, I figured the yogurt would be a fine substitute. It was all right, but cooked yogurt tends to become grainy in the final product. I let this simmer until the chicken was cooked through. ^Above, I served it with brown rice - no basmati, I know :'( - and mixed field greens. Haha, soooo not Indian. Lets say it's Indian fusion or something wild like that. In all, it was pretty good. Next time, cream or whole milk would make the texture better and more curry and turmeric powder.

And finale!

Came out of the ER with a splint. Looks like I broke my finger,

but it's just 6 stitches! :P

A Taste of Home - Vietnamese Noodle Salad "Bun"

2009-10-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

Being an 8 hour drive from home, I often miss the good home-coked meals that my mom makes. Especially her Vietnamese food. My mom has been the main cook and caretaker for her family since she was just a kid, and despite being one of the youngest of 11 siblings. Through all her years of hard work and experimentation, she has become a master at Vietnamese cooking. If she were asked what her specialties are, they would have to be her pho (beef noodle soup), mi hoanh tanh (wonton noodle soup), and com chien (fried rice). My relatives rush over to our house when they hear she has made mi hoanh tanh or pho. Everyone praises the hearty, delicious taste. And my mom puts hours and intense labor into her work. The wontons are individually wrapped into pockets the size of ping pong balls, then steamed till perfect. The pho soup is simmered for hours to extract the flavors of the beef bone and vegetables. The com chien components are individually sliced and chopped and added one by one to create an enticing mix. It's a Vietnamese heaven at home.

But, at UC Berkeley, despite our medley of diverse and cheap cuisines, the Vietnamese selection is decent and much more expensive than where I am from. I often have cravings for bun (noodle salad), nem nuong cuon (BBQ pork salad rolls), and other Vietnamese dishes. So, I decided to make some bun for myself!

Bun is basically a mix of cooked rice noodles with some kind of meat, a medley of fresh julienned vegetables, mixed with nuoc mam cham (fish dipping sauce), and topped with a generous serving of fresh herbs. The meat can be thin-sliced beef, tofu, chicken, egg rolls (really good!), BBQ pork, or whatever. The simple meats can be stir-fried in finely-chopped lemongrass for flavor and texture. I only had chicken and firm tofu on hand, so I simply stif-fried that with ginger powder. I made the nuoc mam cham myself, adjusting until it tasted just sweet, salty, and tangy enough. I like to put heaps of garlic and thinly-sliced carrots in the sauce. I was pretty happy with how it came out. Eating it let me remind myself of home and how happy I am for being Vietnamese! Yay food and culture!

(I don't have the exact amounts, but this a kind of dish that you throw together to your own preferences. Bell peppers aren't usually in Vietnamese dishes at all, but that's what I had on hand and it went in as a good substitute for mung bean sprouts.)

Bun Ga (Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Chicken)
1. Cook rice noodles. Drain and let cool.
2. Saute chicken breasts (cut up into small pieces), tofu (cut into small cubes), ginger powder, and 1 white onion (chopped) until cooked through.
3. Make Nuoc Mam Cham: add 2-3(???) Tbs white sugar, 3 chopped garlic cloves, and 1/2 fresh squeezed lime in a small bowl. Let flavors absorb for a while. Add a good amount of fish sauce and water until it the salt, sugar, and tangy flavors balance out. Sorry, I can't explain better. If you've tasted this before, try to go towards that. If not, you can find recipes online with exact amounts. Add thin slices of carrot. It all came out to about 1 very full cup.
4. Put noodles in bowl. Add meat and tofu and top with fresh vegetables (julienned cucumbers, mung bean sprouts, lettuce) and herbs (cilantro, Thai basil, mint, VIetnamese coriander)

French Onion Soup

2009-09-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the French Onion Soup I made at the beginning of this week.

I bought a bag of onions a couple of weeks ago, so I wanted to use the rest of it. Onions are used in basically every recipe for extra flavor, and they're chock full of good vitamins. They have the flavanoid called quercetin, which protects against cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. They also contain 20% of your daily recommended vitamin C. Flavor and taste! What better reason to eat them?

...Well, I guess the tears.

So, I was cutting just 3 medium yellow/Vidalia onions and I was crying for at least 6 hours afterward. It was rather annoying. My nose kept running and the onions left their bite on the cutting board, so when my house-mate cut peaches, it had an undertone of onions. Whoops. Ah well, the soup came out good enough.

So, I made my own vegetable stock from scraps of carrots, lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, onions, and cilantro from the past two weeks. Just threw them in a pot of water and boiled with dried basil and oregano and sea salt. I did this first, then proceeded to make my French Onion Soup.

French Onion Soup (serves 4-5)
Ingredients
1-2 Tbs butter
3 yellow/ Sweet Vidalia onions, chopped into large pieces
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
3-4 or 5 cups vegetable broth (beef broth would probably taste better)
~4 Tbs or more of balsamic vinegarette to replace white wine (I'm a sophomore, I don't have access to alcohol...)
Oregano, basil, salt, and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Melt butter in stovepot. Layer in onions with sprinkles of salt. Don't pan-fry them. You want them to turn translucent and soft. Cook for some 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Pour in vegetable broth and garlic. Season with herbs and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered for 1 hour, stirring periodically. Pour in balasmic vinegarette halfway through, maybe. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Once satisfactory, turn off heat, let cool a bit.

Now, you can serve it with some toasted bread with cheese melted on top! The classic way is to pour them into broiler-safe crocks, top with slices of crusty French baguette and Gruyere cheese, and broil until they look GOOOD. As you can see from my pictures, I didn't have that stuff, so I just used my Oroweat potato bread and grated parmesan cheese. Good enough. Oh, and the picture has ground turkey in it, but it's as good without as well. Enjoy this college-version of French Onion Soup!

A lot of Things I've Made

2009-09-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

So, I've done a lot of cooking since the last post. What with school starting and all, there's been less time to post. I took pictures of the food and planned on blogging about them, but then a day would pass and then suddenly it'd be a week since I'd made that dish! Here's a listing of what I've done in the past couple of weeks:

Sesame Fish Sticks

Paprika Pepper Salmon

Cilantro Pesto Pasta (with Pork Fu and Lettuce)

I've done a couple of other random things, but didn't take a picture. I also made Sauteed Vegetables and Turkey in Bechamel Sauce, and today I made French Onion Soup. It's been fun trying out new recipes and experimenting at will with whatever ingredients I have on hand. I don't really have exact measurements for any of my recipes, but here is the basic ingredients for the Salmon and Pesto. To make them is fairly quick and simple - contrary to making the fish sticks, which required deep-frying. I put them in a low-rim pan and hot oil was spraying all over me! It was not fun, and I was in a rush to take it to my friend's Disney Movie Marathon. But, people liked it, so I guess it was worth it.

Paprika Pepper Salmon:

Salmon, Paprika, Pepper, Onions, Garlic

Pan-fry in olive oil until cooked through.

Cilantro Pesto:

1/4 cup Almonds, Bunch Cilantro Leaves, 3 Garlic Cloves, Enough olive Oil to desired consistency, Salt + pepper (to taste)

Blend in a food processor.

Vegetable Empanada

2009-09-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Cooking with friends is both fun and time-saving. Not only do you get a few extra hands in the kitchen, but you get enjoyable company that gets to taste the delicious product when the cooking's all done! This is what I finally got to do two weeks before going back to school. I invited five of my friends over to have a cooking/ice cream/crafts party. I said I'd make them vegetable empanadas for lunch, and then we'd make chocolate gelato, and then we'd crochet or do whatever else they wanted to do at my house. I always wanted to make empanadas (it's not just because I went to that Tapas place earlier!), and finding a baked version peaked my interest.

I didn't have any of the Mexican spices on hand, so I sub'd in a good amount of tabasco sauce. I also used whole wheat flour because I was low on normal white flour. I also made some other tweaks, which you'll find in the recipe below. One of my friends who came over was really helpful with the preparation. She helped make and roll out the dough. When she asked for a rolling pin, I gave her a wine bottle wrapped in a cookie sheet because I didn't have one. She laughed at my paucity of baking tools, but I was laughing too. I'm used to it. ;P

Baked Whole Wheat Vegetable Empanadas (adapted from here) Serves 8
Ingredients
3 carrots, chopped (I recommend using less. The carrot flavor overtook the empanadas)
2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 - 2/3 can of whole sweet kernel corn (low sodium, preferred)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 minced garlic cloves
4 Tbs (?) Tabasco sauce
2 tsp (?) sea salt
2 Tbs flour mixed with 1/4 cold water
1 cup (?) shredded Mexican cheese
3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 Tbs baking powder
8 Tbs chilled butter
2 tsp soy sauce
1-1/4 cups ice cold water
1 egg mixed with 1 Tbs water

Directions
1. Boil carrots over medium heat until tender.
2. Mix tomatoes with Tabasco sauce and salt. Blend in the 2 Tbs flour-water mixture.
3. Saute onions, then add zuchinni and saute, then add garlic and saute, then add corn. Stir in tomato mixture, bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 3 minutes; uncover and constantly stir until sauce is thickened.
4. Stir in carrots and cheese. You can add more salt, cheese, and/or Tabasco sauce to taste.
5. Remove from heat, cover, and refrigerate.
6. Preheat oven to 400°F. For empanada crust, combine 3-1/2 cups flour and baking soda. Cut in butter and mix into a coarse meal. Make a well in the center.
7. Mix soy sauce and water and pour into the well of flour. Stir with a fork until the dough rolls away from the sides of the bowl.
8. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 30 seconds.
9. Divide dough into 8 pieces (we made 7). Roll into an 8" circle.
10. Spoon generous amount (3/4 cup) of filling into center. (You'll have extra leftover. You can set these out at the table if anyone wants extra.)
11. Moisten edges with egg-water mixture. Fold dough over into half-moon shape. Pinch and flute edges.
12. Transfer empanadas onto ungreased cookie sheets on baking pans.
13. Prick tops with fork multiple times and brush with egg-water mixture.
14. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before serving.

Tapas Restaurant and Nightclub

2009-08-24T23:49:00.000-07:00

Tapas Restaurant and Nightclub 3/5
Anything wrapped in dough and fried is delicious. I had my first empanada for the first time at Tapas Restaurant and Nightclub. My aunts took me and my sister there for one of my aunts' birthday. That night, there was entertainment from the belly-dancing group The Jewels that Raq. Admission to see the show is $10 a person, which doesn't include dinner. Darn. :P

The belly-dancing was interesting. A little strange and exotic, but enjoyable. They even danced with snakes, which they let us play with after the show. We talked with one of the dancers and she was very nice. It was also fun when they pulled up people from the audience to dance. One funny thing I noticed was that more women than men were smiling while watching the show. My family joked that it was because the guys didn't want to upset their significant others by showing interest in belly-dancing women. Haha. :D

I forgot to take a picture of the food, but the dim lighting wouldn't have gotten very good shots anyways. What we ordered was:

Antipasto Madrid: Combination with Tortilla Espanola, Sauteed Mushrooms, Crab Crouquettes, Chorizo, Empanada de Pollo and Albondigas $16.50
Roasted Piquillo Peppers: Marinated and served with Fresh Garlic $6
Chicken Marsala: Tender chicken breast topped with a Marsala Mushroom Wine Sauce, served with Bomba and Vegetables $15
Stuffed Chicken Breast: Chicken breast stuffed with jamon serrano, spinach and cheese, served with Bomba and Vegetables $19

The appetizer platter was delicious. It comes served on a bed of lettuce. We split up each item so each of us could try some. Everything was really tasty. I would order this for my meal if I ever came back (which I don't think I would...). My order, the roasted pepper was not that great. I chose red snapper for the filling, and it was only all right. Cream sauce good, but the texture of a roasted pepper is not that delectable. The two chicken plates were good, but my aunt and I thought they were a bit too salty. I could get better marsala and stuffed chicken elsewhere for cheaper. But, it is a Spanish restaurant trying to do Italian for those two chicken dishes. I bet if we ordered other real Spanish stuff, it would have been better.

Decent entertainment, decent decor, and decent food. This place gets a 3 out of 5.

Other than that, I love the look and taste of empanadas, so I made some with my friends at a baking party I had two weeks ago. We made healthy vegetable empanadas. I'll post that up tomorrow!

Black Cherry Muffins

2009-08-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

On the same day that I made my banana bread, I made cherry muffins so I could use the oven at one time. We had some dark cherries from a few sales at the supermarket, and my mom forgot that we had them. I took them out and decided to remake the fresh cherry muffins I had at Souplantation!

I used the Black Cherry Sour Cream Muffins recipe from Baking Bites. As I never have sour cream, I used vanilla yogurt instead. And I used whole milk instead of cherry juice. Whole milk really adds flavor to all these baked goods. Even though I did not glaze the top with an egg wash or milk, they came out shiny and moist. My sister asked if I did, and I said, "No, they just came out like that." I think it has to do with the yogurt and milk giving it a nice sheen. Pitting and chopping the dark cherries covered my hand in a dark red juice. This stuff really stains! But it was well worth it.

The first bite, I thought they were bland, but as you let the taste come out, it is a really good muffin. Not too sweet, just right. Perfect for a light breakfast or after-meal snack. The warm cherries are great too. I bet a little white icing drizzled lightly on top would be a tasty and pretty addition.

The Best Healthy Banana Bread

2009-08-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

My absolute favorite baking dish has to be banana bread. It must be because of how much I love bananas and sweet yet hearty breads. The combination is perfect. Ever since I was a little kid, I always had to have a banana every day. And I was picky, too. The banana had to be the perfect ripeness. Yellow with hints of green. Not ripe, but just getting there. I had a thing against those really yellow bananas. They were just too ripe and mushy. But...ripe bananas are exactly what you need for baking!

My quick breads are made with whole wheat bread for the hearty texture. I added graham cracker to the top, which added a little something extra to the banana breads I've had before. Man, when I ate a slice of this, I was simply in heaven. My face just goes into an expression of pure bliss and all I want to do is enjoy that bite forever. My mom took it to work and liked it a lot, too, even though I didn't use any white flour - all whole wheat! This made me pretty happy.

Graham-Topped Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1.5-2 graham cracker sheets, crushed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour an 8.5" by 4.5" loaf pan.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
3. Mix vegetable oil, egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix into dry ingredients.
4. Mix in mashed bananas. Pour into loaf pan, then sprinkle top generously with graham cracker crumbs.
5. Bake 55-60 min until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

My bread came out slightly moist near the middle when I tried it, but it was actually very good. The next day and following, the texture gets better in the bread. Enjoy this for breakfast or dessert; this is a great quick bread!

General Tso's Chicken

2009-08-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

Chinese? Puh-lease. Delicious? Yes!

General Tso's Chicken is an Americanized-Chinese dish. As Racialicious de-mythifies: "General Tso’s chicken is unrecognizable to people in China. It is the quintessential American dish, because it is sweet, it is fried, and it is chicken." It really is just KFC, slightly less fried, and with Asian ingredients for the sauce. But, really. We all like how it tastes in America so we don't care if it's really authentic or not. Heck, I seriously don't care. This is a real tongue-pleaser! It hits the spicy, sweet, tangy, and salty parts of your tongue. Plus, it can be paired with almost any vegetables and rice. It is quick to prepare and it delivers.

My dad came home from work, ate a bowl, and later went up to my mom to compliment the dish. She replied that I actually made it! He came to me, with a beaming smile, saying how good the chicken was. It made my really happy and I shall for sure have to make it again.

(I got this recipe from some blog somewhere. I can't seem to find it now.)
General Tso's Chicken
Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs hoisin sauce
3 Tbs rice wine vinegar
3 Tbs kethcup
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 lb skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
3-4 Tbs cornstarch (less is better, trust me)
2 stalks green onion, chopped
2-3 inch piece ginger, minced
1 Tbs sesame oil
Red pepper flakes (fresh or dried, optional)

Directions
1. Mix ingredients from brown sugar to water together.
2. Dredge chicken in cornstarch. Saute in pan over med-high heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
3. Using another pan, stir-fry the green onions and ginger in sesame oil until lightly browned. Add the sauce. Boil, then simmer until thick. Add cubed chicken and cook through.
4. Add red pepper if desired. Top with fresh green onions. Serves 4-5 people.

You can serve this with steamed broccoli, carrots, or cabbage or just fresh lettuce for vegetable pairing ideas.

Got the Blues? Make Muffins!

2009-08-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Summer is that special time for berries, berries, and more berries! The entire food community is chock full of cool (in both meanings of the term) berry desserts and dishes that just highlight the vibrant colors of the season. Muffins hold a special place in my heart (and my mouth!), and the sound of "Blueberry Muffins" has such a wonderful ring to it. After going to Souplantation, my mom really enjoyed their blueberry muffin and their cherry muffin. The cherries came out piping out; so good fresh! The blueberry muffin I didn't taste, but they used tiny little dried ones, which are never as good as the real things!

Henry's Marketplace had a sale two weeks ago: blueberries for only 88¢! She bought a few cases. Also on sale that week (and for the past few weeks) were the dark red cherries. Dark, delicious, and juicy. My mom really liked the little muffins and asked if I could make them. I was so happy she asked me to bake for her!

I borrowed the blueberry recipe from Baking Bites. It's called Big Blueberry Muffins. The blueberries we got from Henry's were definitely big, and I added more blueberries than called for. I thought it was a good amount of blueberries, but my aunt thought it was too much. With so many blueberries packing the batter, I ended up making 24 scrumptious muffins instead of just 16. I tried to sneak in just a touch of wheat flour, but my mom could still taste it. Just stick to the all purpose flour if you got non-healthy eaters. Otherwise, this tastes very nice!

The Original Pancake House

2009-07-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Restaurant Review: The Original Pancake House 4/5

No. I'm not referring to IHOP. This is the Original Pancake House. And no, not the ORIGINAL Original Pancake House, which first opened in Oregon. I mean the Original Pancake House in California. This one is hidden behind a EZ-Lube, so for a long time, I drove past the sign and never knew where it was. I had heard about their famous apple pancakes and Dutch babies. They've been getting rave reviews and pictures showed their decadence and enormity. I'd been really dying to try this place out. Finally, a reunion with two of my high school friends gave me the chance to eat here.

The wait was not too long. We came on a weekday morning, but I heard that weekend mornings are super crowded. The three of us were seated and we looked through the menu. I figured the apple pancake and Dutch baby were too big for me to eat alone, so I opted for their Western Omelette, which comes with three buttermilk pancakes. I wanted to save the omelette for lunch. One friend ordered Canadian bacon and eggs, which also came with buttermilk pancakes; and the other ordered the Eggs Benedict, which came with potato pancakes (latkes) and applesauce and sour cream for toppings.

Western Omelette

When my order came out, they set down an omelette the size of a dinosaur egg. It was seriously daunting! In it was ham and diced tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Cheese was $1 extra, but the flavor was good enough that it didn't need the cheese. When I ate it for lunch (finishing the whole thing), I felt full enough to last the rest of the day without food! It was literally a 2 pound omelette (I weighed myself after, no joke). The pancakes were good too. I spread each with some butter and topped them with syrup. Too bad they don't have the wide selection of syrups that IHOP has, but it was good and fluffy.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Another look at the Western Omelette

My friends really enjoyed their dishes. The one who ordered the Canadian bacon plate also got the seasonal melon to share with us. They brought out a delicious half of a cantaloupe. When my friend took a bite of her Eggs Benedict, pure bliss covered her face. It was messy over her fingers, but she really was relishing it. Must have been real good.

All in all, I'd say this place is tasty and the service is fast and nice. Next time, I'll have to come back with a couple of people to try the apple pancake. It's a mountain that beckons to be scaled!

Procrastination and Ginger-Steamed Fish

2009-07-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've done quite a bit of baking and cooking and visited a couple of restaurants since my last post. I've been meaning to post, but I just keep putting it off. Procrastination. Not just in doing schoolwork, but even in easy hobbies such as this blog. I suppose I just need to get into the habit of it. I'll first start out with the first thing I made since my last post.

Seafood really isn't my thing, except for fish. While up at the University last year, I would make an effort to go to the dining commons when they said they would have their Japanese Ginger Baked Fish. There are some things that the dining halls do right, and this was one of them. I can't remember exactly how it tasted, but the sauce was good in that dark salty way, and the fish was tender. I wanted to reproduce it at home.

The dish at the dining hall was usually served with rice. If you know me, I would usually choose rice over noodles just because it makes everything easier to eat. You just toss everything together, shove a spoon in, and you get a neat round of everything in the dish. With noodles, you have to pick at everything separately because things don't stick as well. Despite my pickiness, I had been wanting to use up my soba noodles I bought a couple years back. I still had 3 bundles left and thought it would go all right with the dish since it's Japanese.

The recipe is Ginger-Steamed Fish with Stir-Fried Veggies. I replaced zucchini with broccoli and doubled the sauce so I could marinate the fish in it as well. I also, thanks to my mom's help, mixed chopped ginger with the fish to give it more of that warm flavor. My mom was such a big help. I could never have cut everything as skillfully and quickly as she did. If I had done everything myself, I probably wouldn't have eaten that night until 10 pm! In the end, the fish came out SUPER juicy because I steamed it in a bowl inside the steamer. It came out in a pool of its juices mixed with the sauce and ginger. Each bite released the flavorful liquid, which was reinforced with the sauce in the vegetables. It was all right with the noodles, which were a bit too slippery. Next time, I think I'll stick with rice.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-07-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love pumpkin. Ralph's, year-round, has these amazing Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. My mom first found these 2 years ago. They are huge and so light. We fell in love with them. I don't know how Ralph's does it, but they are heaven in your mouth. I wanted to try my hand at them last year and found a recipe on allrecipes.com. This year, I made another batch, but did the whole recipe this time, coming out with 55 cookies! I gave bags away to 4 friends and family. Everyone enjoyed it. My family loves how these cookies are so fluffy. My sister said they are like pillows! Baking it for 13 minutes rather than 15 keeps the soft texture.

The recipe can be found here (I didn't use walnuts). I used an ice cream scooper to try and keep all of my cookies a uniform size. I also never have nutmeg, so I threw in some ground ginger and cloves. Nutmeg would be nice to have one day...Oh, and I also changed half whole wheat flour and half brown sugar, just so I could get my favorite nutty, hearty flavor in there. Pumpkin may be associated with the autumn holidays, but this shows that pumpkin is a treat to be enjoyed throughout the year!

White and Wheat Snickerdoodles

2009-07-06T21:27:00.001-07:00

I love holidays. They are the perfect excuses for me to bake sweets for fun. I'm always in for some good exploration in baking, and July 4th just happens to come along. I have a book at home from Pillsbury called, "Cookies, Brownies, and Bars," and it's a fabulous collection of these baked goods. Everything in there sounds and looks delectable. One of the ones I've been itching to make is their Wheat Snickerdoodles. I absolutely love things with cinnamon, and to have it paired with a sugar cookie??? Fantastic creation, truly. And, now, Pillsbury has the genius to add wheat flour to the recipe to add that hint of nuttiness and heartiness that I love. I just had to make these things.

It was rather quick to make, I just couldn't find my cream of tartar, so I switched it with equivalent fresh lime juice. The recipe said to roll it into balls then roll these in cinnamon sugar, but the dough was too sticky to do so. I added some extra flour to the dough to try to make it pliable, but it still was sticky. Instead, I just plopped tablespoons of dough onto the cookie sheets and sprinkled the cinnamon sugar over them. I was really happy taking them out of the oven: I didn't burn them! :D When you first take a bite, it takes a second for the flavor to hit you, but when it does...Mmmm!!! It takes so good. The buttery sugary goodness is heaven in the form of a cookie. Enjoy!

White and Wheat Snickerdoodles (adapted from Pillsbury)
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla and eggs.
2. Stir in both flours, lime juice, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
3. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Drop dough by tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, 2 inches apart, and attempt to mold into round shapes. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
4. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheets immediately and let cool on rack. Serves 30.

Lower-Fat Peanut Butter Banana Cookies | Recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen

2009-06-30T20:49:00.001-07:00

Oh man! These look amazing it's almost impossible to believe they're vegan! I'll have to try this soon. I just bought a bunch of bananas; just have to wait for them to ripen.

Lower-Fat Peanut Butter Banana Cookies | Recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen

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Three Savory Quick Breads the French Way

2009-06-25T18:28:00.001-07:00

Definitely some breads I'll have to try this summer. My aunt would love to make them with me, I bet.

Three Savory Quick Breads the French Way

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Sauceless, Yeastless, but Delicious Pizza

2009-06-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Again and again, the predicament in my home is an over-abundance of food that needs to be eaten before they expire or mold. The case this week consisted of a Costco pack of Provolone cheese, a couple of tomatoes, mushrooms, and eggs. The back of the BelGioiso cheese pack had a recipe for Provolone, Tomato, and Basil pizza, so I decided to try my hand at that. I never have yeast in the house (yeast breads are really daunting, as many of you would agree!), so I looked up a no-yeast pizza dough recipe online. I adjusted the recipe slightly to include 25% whole wheat flour, which turned out well. We have a jar of pesto spread in the refrigerator, which I thought of using, but I felt too lazy to get it out yesterday morning. I was also too lazy to slice and cook the mushrooms and onions to put on the pizza as well, so it just became Margherita-style for all my laziness. ;-P My aunt and parents liked it, so I'm pretty proud of this, especially since it's healthy.

(Pacman Pizza?)

Tomato White Pizza (serves 8)
Dough: (adapted from here)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1/2 olive oil
Toppings:
3-4 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
Italian seasoning, bay leaves, oregano, or thyme (your choice!)
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
7-9 slices mild Provolone cheese

1. Mix together flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and olive oil. Stir thoroughly until mixture leaves the sides of the bowl. Roll into a ball, then knead 10 times. Divide into 2 balls.
2. Preheat oven 420°F. Roll out dough to a 13" round on a lightly floured surface. Move to a baking pan (I used parchment paper so the edges wouldn't burn). Brush with olive oil. Pinch up edges to create a crust so the cheese doesn't run over. Sprinkle grated Parmesan or Romano cheese on top. Layer Provolone slices on top, then place tomato slices cocentrically. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and your choice of seasonings to taste.
3. Bake about 15 minutes in the center of the oven, until the crust is brown but not burnt. Make sure the dough is baked through. Cut into 8 slices, 2 slices per person. Then do the same for the other dough ball and enjoy!

Homemade Vegetable Dumplings

2009-06-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

This was not just an experiment in making dumplings; this was an experiment to use up vegetables sitting unused in the refrigerator. My mom bought some mushrooms last week to make stir-fried egg noodles, but we made Bun Bo Hue instead. So, the mushrooms were just sitting there for a while and I kept saying I'd make something with them. I decided to try my hand at dumplings! There were also leftover cabbage, carrots, and onions that I knew I could use. So, this morning, I got up, made myself another french toast with cinnamon apples and began preparing the dumplings!

It took 3 whole to get it all done. I didn't really measure anything out; rather, measured using my eyes. I felt so pro by not using a recipe, because that's how real cooks do it. Good food comes from feeling, not written instructions. At the beginning of making the actual wrappers, it was difficult and the dumplings were shaped funny. Eventually I found a better way to fold the seams together. Since I didn't measure, I can only rough out the recipe for you guys here. Just add what seems necessary to make it work! This made about 20-25 dumplings for me, with a little filling leftover which I just ate with my lunch cause I didn't have time to make more wrappers.

Ingredients
6-7 large mushrooms, diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1/4 white onion, diced
1/4 head of cabbage, diced
(Use less onion and carrot compared to the mushroom and cabbage. Also, make sure sure sure! that you cut the carrots small!)
Soy sauce (2-3 teaspoons?)
Sesame oil (1-2 teaspoons?)
Rice vinegar (1-2 teaspoons?)
Black pepper
Flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
Water

Directions
1. Mix the vegetables together with the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and black pepper, adjusting the seasonings to taste.
2. Mix flour with enough water to produce a dough ball that sticks only a little but also slightly recoils when stretched.
3. Take an approximately 1 1/2 inch ball of dough and stretch out to a thin oblong shape. Place 2 teaspoons of filling in the center. Starting from one side, pinch up both edges up and over the filling. Pinch up the seams outward so the dough isn't too thick there.
4. Prepare a steamer and steam the dumplings. I think I steamed them for 5-8 minutes.
5. Enjoy by themself, or with soy sauce or sweet chili dipping sauce!

Pound Cake

2009-06-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

My Dad's birthday was Tuesday, and my mom wanted to get him a cake, so I offered to bake him one. That day, I asked (nonchalantly) what his favorite cake was, and he said it was pound cake! So, that night, when he was sleeping, I baked it for him, which was basically at midnight! Luckily, it finished sometime after 1 am - not too late. The recipe called for a loaf pan, but we couldn't find one, so I just did it in an 8" round cake pan, which probably was the reason 1 hour 20 minutes seemed to long for the cake to bake. If it wasn't for my mom, I would have left it longer in the oven and it would have burned! She told me to take it out. Mom's are so good. The cake came out very good, but I think I'll reduce the sugar next time I make it.

(H B D 47 stands for "Happy Birthday 47." We didn't have all the sprinkle letters -_-" )

Ingredients
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, beating well after each one.
3. Mix milk and vanilla together.
4. Mix the dry ingredients, then add in batches to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk mixture. Do not overbeat.
4. Fill the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until golden brown.

(Recipe adapted from Southernfood.about)

Samosa â You can make Indian appetizers at home, these are spicy filled fried dumplings.

2009-06-02T00:13:00.001-07:00

Samosa â You can make Indian appetizers at home, these are spicy filled fried dumplings.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-05-31T21:58:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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French, Italian, and Family

2009-05-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love breakfast foods, so when I had french toast at the dining commons in college, I fell in love with it! So, as with all things that I come to love, I want to learn how it's done so I can replicate it at home. This week, my mom and I went to Costco and bought this cinnamon swirl bread. They are some THICK slices of bread. Perfect for French toast, I thought! Two days ago, I finally made myself some French toast, and it was absolutely amazing! I personally like to tone down the sugar in the things I make, which turned out perfectly fine, since I think that's how it was originally meant to be: savory rather than sweet. On the side, I added some cinnamon apples cooked on the skillet. The apple was a tiny little organic gala apple - the perfect size for one thick slice of French toast.

Simple French Toast with Cinnamon Apples
1 slice Cinnamon Swirl Bread (or any thick toast)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Vanilla extract
Small apple, sliced thin or however you like them
Cinnamon

1. Beat egg, milk, and vanilla extract together. Sprinkle cinnamon over sliced apples.
2. Place bread slice in large plate or bowl and pour the egg mixture over. Let sit for 10 minutes to soak in. Then flip to the other side and let soak again. I spooned the liquid over the bread to help it along.
3. Lightly butter a pan over medium heat. Cook bread on each side until browned and the egg inside is sufficiently cooked. Remove from pan.
4. Add a little more butter and cook the apple until a little brown and soft.
5. Plate, add any other toppings if not sweet enough to your liking. You can add powdered sugar or maple syrup, or cook the apples with some brown sugar.

Restaurant Review: Piatti Ristorante & Bar 5/5

Today, my aunt wanted to go eat out with me and my sister. First, my aunt wanted Cheesecake Factory, but my sister suggested that we try out the better selections around the town. She jumped on Yelp and looked at some nice restaurants nearby and found an Italian place called Piatti Ristorante & Bar. I have been deprived of real good Italian food since going to college. Oh man, the dining common pastas are simply distasteful: unloved pastas with watery sauces. This was definite heaven here.

We went inside at 6 pm and the place was packed! The hostess said we wouldn't be able to get a table, but we could have a seat at the bar. So we decided to wait at the bar and have some appetizers first. We ordered the Fritto Misto, which came with lemon aioli and mariana dipping sauces. Very good. The texture of the shrimp was really nice and juicy and the lemon aioli hit the spot. Even the water that they gave us was delicious. My sister kept raving over it and tried to drink as much as she could because the bartender kept passing by and refilling. He said something about the water being filtered; I couldn't hear him too well.

Anyways, we decided just to eat at the bar then since it seemed like we wouldn't be able to get a table. The bartender set us up and brought us some french bread. We got to dip it in this mix of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Really good. I love garlic!

I ordered the ravioli filled with ricotta and butternut squash, topped with a basil (and lemon?) cream sauce and walnuts. I was first thrown off by the sweetness of the butternut squash inside, but once I realized what it was, it was delicious. I also liked how the ravioli was green-colored, which meant it was probably made of spinach or some green.

My aunt and sister both got the Orechiette: shell-shaped pasta with chicken, sundried tomatoes, and asparagus in a gorgonzola sauce. My sister and aunt really liked it.

As we were driving back home, my sister continued to rave over everything about Piatti. So much better than Cheesecake Factory. A definite recommend in La Jolla.

Taking the Plunge

2009-05-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

I have to admit: I am a foodie. I've always spent a lot of time on food blogs, restaurant reviews, and restaurant sites. It's just how I wasted hours and hours of my day. By the nighttime, I'd look at the clock and realize that I have got nothing done - all because I was letting my eyes feast upon the amazing food people would make around the world. It just really is fascinating, though. Spending time on a variety of people's food blogs let me draw connections between all types of ethnic dishes. In the end, though, this was all just absorption without production. I feel the need to actually put these recipes and techniques that I'm seeing to something tangible.

Now that it's summer, hopefully I can actually start testing out recipes and learn how to cook. I'm pretty excited. The hard part, though, is competing with my mom! Wowee! My mom can seriously make the best food ever; not just traditional Vietnamese cooking that she's perfected since she was a child, but everything from burgers to pasta to curries. I want to learn from her this summer, as well as try out the recipes I've seen on others blogs. My goals are to learn to make pho, bun bo hue, pad thai, pancit, yeast breads, sweet and sour pork, and a bunch of other foods. I've always been labeled the baker at home (I admit, I have a sweet tooth!), so you'll be seeing some baking more often than not!

All right. My 3 month plan: start out as a simple amateur and advance to chef! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

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General Tso's Chicken

Got the Blues? Make Muffins!

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Procrastination and Ginger-Steamed Fish

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

White and Wheat Snickerdoodles

Lower-Fat Peanut Butter Banana Cookies | Recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Three Savory Quick Breads the French Way

Sauceless, Yeastless, but Delicious Pizza

Homemade Vegetable Dumplings

Pound Cake

Samosa â You can make Indian appetizers at home, these are spicy filled fried dumplings.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

French, Italian, and Family

Taking the Plunge

Samosa â You can make Indian appetizers at home, these are spicy filled fried dumplings.