D's Daily Obs & Thoughts

I've Relocated.

2007-10-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

I will no longer be on blogger....I've moved on over to worpress. Here's my new blog:

http://dmesswriter.wordpress.com

Gochi, Gochi, Gochi Coo

2007-10-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Our friend L invited us to go to Gochi with her on Saturday night. We had 2 wait to weeks for this event because you have to make a reservation in advance. The reservation was originally for 6 people...but it ended up being J, L, and me. Oh well...it was still a nice experience. Gochi's tag line is Japanese fusion tapas and that's what it basically is. All the dishes range between $6-$14. Nothing was overpriced at all. When you get to the restaurant, you wouldn't even think twice that such a nice place exists in such a dumpy strip mall...but I've been fooled before (refer to Bleu Ginger restaurant which is also in a strip mall). Once you get over the fact that the restaurant is in a strip mall and you enter the restaurant -- it's a whole new ball game. We were seated in the dining room with the raised platform where we had to sit shoeless in tatami-style seating. This was very interesting indeed. This is the first time I've been somewhere that you are required to take your shoes off. It was neat.

According to an article I found, Gochi is Japanese slang for "good food." -- In my opinion - very true. It is also a globally inspired izakaya restaurant -- meaning these types of restaurants serve small, elegant plates of grilled and fried food (just like tapas plates you get at Spanish restaurants.) Since Gochi claims to be Japanes fusion tapas (there are some hints of French and Korean inspired plates), we decided to try a little of everything.

Since Gochi doesn't provide their menu online...I will have to remember what we ordered from my memory. We had:

Crab Croquettes - Cream cheese and crab quickly fast fried in a batter
Steamed Cod with a plum soy sauce
Chicken thighs chopped and topped with a house teriyaki sauce
Shrimp balls in a broth
Pork and Tofu Clay Pot (a traditional style of Japanese cooking, ingredients cooked in a clay pot, when the waiter brings it out, they have to mix it up and dish it out for the patrons)

We were all pleased with our options. We got plenty of food and when we left there, we didn't feel overly stuffed. It'd be fun to go there again with a bigger group -- that way we can order more dishes to share. They have an extensive menu offering some simple dishes, but at the same time some eclectic dishes (like pork innards, cow tongue....)

I definitely will go there again...except I might ask to sit at a table next time instead of on the tatami mats. I need my back support.

Banana Leaf Is Too Crowded

2007-10-21T19:54:00.001-07:00

Friday night, J and I met up with our friends M&N for dinner at this joint called Banana Leaf, which is a Malaysian, Indian, and Thai restaurant. Overall, the food was pretty tasty....but I wasn't too impressed with the service and the atmosphere at the restaurant. It was too crowded in there and all the tables are about an inch apart. It's just too crowded. I didn't like the layout of the restaurant at all. Besides how bad everything else was....at least the food was good. We decided to order a few dishes and share with everyone.

We started off with the Roti Prata, which is a multi-layered home made Indian bread dipped in curry sauce and the chicken satay. Both were excellent.

For our entrees, we decided on 4 dishes:

Mango Chicken (with green & red peppers in a spicy mango sauce served in a mango shell )
Malay Sizzling Black Pepper Prawns (with onions in a pepper sauce)
Penang Sizzling Prawns (with onion, green & red pepper with chef's special sauce)
Belachan KangKung (Ong Choy) -with Malay special shrimp paste sauce

We had the Hainan Seasoned Rice with turmeric to accompany our dishes.

The Mango Chicken had very nice flavors and the sauce accented the chicken very well. The presentation of the dish was very nice.

Both the prawn dishes were very good. The vegetables and sauces went very well with everything. It was very tasty.

The KangKung is similar to baby broccoli. I found a new vegetable that I like. It was good...not bitter at all like I thought it would be. Very satisfying.

For dessert, J and I ordered the Deep Fried Banana a la mode. The waitress told us it came with mango ice cream. I asked her if there was another kind of ice cream we could get instead -- she told us yes, vanilla. So I tell her I want the vanilla instead. She repeated my order back to me....but when they bring the dessert out, it's got mango ice cream. I didn't want to be picky, but didn't I specify I wanted vanilla? I had to remind them, so they took it back and brought the dessert out with the right ice cream. It's not that complicated, is it?

Anyway...the dessert was decent -- it doesn't compare to the other banana desserts I've had at other Asian restaurants. To be honest, I was kind of scary. The bananas were dipped in this really red-orange breading, because the dessert came out and there were 2 crescent shaped objects in the weirdest orange color. It was kind of scary. After the first few bites, it isn't too bad.

I say I would go back there....but during the week when it's less crowded.

R.I.P. Tiramisu...

2007-10-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last night, J, our uncle, and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Olio's. Lo and behold, we were saddened to learn that they took the Tiramisu Valencia (espresso and grand marnier soaked ladyfingers, Italian mascarpone cheese) off their dessert menu. Let me just say that this is a HUGE, HUGE, and HUGE loss. This is by far the best, I mean it -- the best tiramisu we've ever had.

We are in shock. The waiter told us that it wasn't being ordered enough, so they decided to remove it once and for all. No fair. Not fair at all. How can they take away such great tasting food? I loved that the tiramisu was made fresh daily.

My friend L suggested that we ask for the recipe. I doubt they would give it out, but you never know-- I've frequented there quite a bit. I'll have to work some magic. Oh well, may the tiramisu be off to a better place than my belly.

Sad. Sad. Sad.

I'm salivating just thinking of it. Hmmpf.

Birthday Shout-Outs

2007-10-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

I would just like to take the time to tell 2 of my beautiful sisters - D & C - "Happy Birthday!"

D is celebrating her 20th birthday today and C is celebrating her Sweet 16 tomorrow. I can't believe how fast time flies. All of a sudden, 4 of my younger siblings are in their 20s like me.

Wow.

Anyway...love you girls...hope you both are having the best time!

It's Basa...Not Bass...

2007-10-11T10:54:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago when J and I went out to dinner with our friends S and L (at Bleu Ginger), the waitress was telling us about the specials. She was talking about some fish special, so when we asked her what the fish was, she said "Basa." From the look on her face and her body language, she did not look too sure about it. We asked her what was basa and she couldn't even muster an answer. She just shrugged and giggled nervously and walked away. I bet she sold that dish to many diners that night....riiiiiiight. When she left, we discussed amongst ourselves and agreed that it must have been bass, and basa was a typo on their menu.

Well...we've been proven wrong. I was out with J and L this week and we ate at this cute little Italian place by where we live. The waiter there was telling us about the specials and they had a fish special, featuring basa -- at this point, J and I started laughing. We asked what basa was and the waiter confirmed that it's similar to sole. It sounded delicious...but I went with a porcini mushroom ravioli instead -- which was a good choice.

By the way...just checked wikipedia, and basa is more of a catfish than sole. Maybe the restaurants should inform their waitstaff on what basa really is. Maybe I'll try it someday...I do love catfish.

Our Little Visit to Saratoga

2007-10-08T09:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday turned out to be more than what we expected. J and I decided to go to Saratoga (it's about 15 minutes from where we live.) J's always driving through Saratoga to go up into the mountains on his bike rides. He's also a fan of Cinnabar wines and they have a tasting room in downtown Saratoga. It's a cute road with little boutiques, cafes, and restaurants up and down the street. Why we never went there before is beyond me. I instantly loved how pretty Saratoga is, it's nestled right below the mountains and the scenery is beautiful. We stopped off at Cinnabar and did a tasting, which only cost $5 and we got to sample 4 wines, plus a dessert wine. We got to sample 2 white wines: a Marsanne and Chardonnay and 2 reds: Mercury Rising Cab and a Lodi Petit Verdot. They were all excellent. Really good wines. I liked the chardonnay especially. I'm used to Chardonnays being very okay, but this one was very crisp and clean on the palate. The dessert wine we tried was an Ice Wine and it's pretty tasty -- it was very sweet, but it would go nice with a fruity dessert or something. We bought 2 bottles of wine from there - J bought a Cab Sauvignon and I bought a Paso Robles Valdiguié (which is a limited release from Cinnabar). Haven't tried it or anything...but it seemed interesting enough and I'm always up for something new.

After we left Cinnabar, we walked around downtown for a while. We decided we'd eat dinner there, but none of the restaurants were opening until 5 or 5:30. We checked out some of the menus hanging outside the restaurants and we decided we wanted to eat at la Mère Michelle. We still has an hour to kill before dinner so we stopped by this wine shop called Uncorked. I didn't even realize there was a wine shop besides Cinnabar. We had a good time in Uncorked. We both did a $10 tasting and got 3 different wines to sample: a Fess Parker Chardonnay, a Page Mill Cab Sauvignon, and a Mann Syrah. They were all okay. I wasn't crazy about any of them. It was just nice to sit down and enjoy some wine. The wine selection the owner has is great. There are a lot of good wines in his shop. We left with 6 bottles or so.

Once we were done at Uncorked...we headed over to the restaurant. It's set inside a Victorian house. The restaurant's been around since 1972...so it's vintage. We were seated at a table near the windows. They had all the windows open, so you got nice fresh air flowing through. I was wined out....so I didn't pursue anymore wine, but J did and he ordered a bottle of 2002 Grgrich Hill Zinfadel. By the way...they have a huge wine list, featuring lots of known wineries and wines. We were impressed by their list. For starters I got the Baked French Onion Soup au Gratin and J got the Mixed Green salad. They make everything fresh so it was a good 15-20 minutes before my soup came out, which I appreciate, because you rarely go places where they make it from scratch as you order it. Well, the soup was good....fresh and hot, but in my honest opinion, it lacked a little something. It needed more flavoring or seasoning. I'm always used to the soup being a little saltier. Oh well....can't complain too much since everything else was delicious.

I ordered the Prawn and Scallop Cakes Topped with Lobster, which sits on a Lemon Vodka Caviar Cream sauce. J ordered the 20 oz. Bone-in Rib Eye. Both our entrees came with candied carrots, steamed broccoli, and scalloped potatoes. Can I just say that everything was superb and delicious. The prawn and scallop cakes were to-die-for...such a nice change from the traditional crab cake. I got 2 cakes on my plate and both were topped each with a lobster tail. I love lobster and this was wonderful and fresh. The scalloped potatoes were delicious! They were so creamy and so tasty. It's not like any scalloped potatoes I've had before. This was wonderful. J's rib eye was just as good...cooked to perfection. He ate the whole thing! All 20 oz of it. After our delicious meal, we ended on a sweet note with 2 scoops of the restaurants homemade double vanilla bean gelato. Yum yum yum.

We will definitely go to la Mère Michelle's again....but only for a special occasion. It is a bit pricey for the meals. We will return to Saratoga for another excursion in the future.

Designer Eyewear -- As If!

2007-10-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, I went and had my eyes checked....it's been at least 5 years since I had an eye exam and it was about time I got one done, since I knew that my vision was failing in not 1 eye, but both eyes. I was correct. The vision in my right eye is just as bad. I used to be 20/20....but gone are the days. I ordered some new glasses and all this place had to offer was designer eyewear. Who knew that every designer these days makes eyewear? There was Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Kate Spade, Donna Karan, Burberry.....and Vera Wang. At first I was a little shock at how much the frames were alone, but I figured, why not?

So, in conclusion, yours truly got a pair of Vera Wang's and they are beautiful. The cost -- too much, close to $400 (frames, lenses, etc.) Ew.

Nonetheless, they are cute and fashionable. I am wearing them proudly.

Bleu Ginger Review

2007-10-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, my husband J and I met up with our friends L & S for dinner at Bleu Ginger Restaurant, which is classified as Asian Fusion. The funny thing about this place is that it's in some strip mall and when you're inside the restaurant, you'd never believe it was in a strip mall. The decor is very chic and beautiful. The ambiance is very intimate and tables are set far enough from other diners so that you can just relax and enjoy yourself without feeling crowded.

When you first walk into the restaurant, you see the hostess and a huge pot filled with white orchids. To the left is a fountain with a mosaic wall and a little stream of water if flowing down and it's lit up with a pink light. There are 6 glass circles on the floor by where the hostess stands and each one is illuminated and with a different color or design. The rest of the restaurant is just as nice with beautiful light shades each with a different design. All along the walls are paintings. There are a 2 or 3 tables where diners can sit and relax on couches. The table we were seated at had very comfortable chairs. You sit in it and you don't ever want to move. The chairs were great.

So, right away, I was impressed with the decor and the ambiance of the restaurant. Now comes the food....

We started off with a couple of appetizers:

Fusion Rolls (Fried salmon, mango, avocado, cilantro, and lettuce wrapped in rice paper, served with sesame citrus soy)
Pan Fried Dumplings (Handmade pot-stickers filled with scallops, shrimps, scallion and ginger served with sesame soy)

All I have to say is that they were both delicious. Very fresh flavors, especially in the rolls - the salmon and mango went perfectly together. I loved the dumplings because the mixture inside was blended well together.

Now the main courses. We each ordered a different dish (which is smart, that way we all get to sample a little bit of everything.

I ordered the Steamed Chilean Sea Bass (Chilean bass with glass noodles, shiitake mushroom and ginger wrapped and steamed in banana leaves)

J ordered Bo Luc Lac (Wok seared filet mignon steak cubes, (8oz) with soy black pepper sauce)

L ordered Atlantic Salmon (Fresh Atlantic salmon with sweet chili sauce, sauteed with oyster mushroom chayote, carrots, served with fried taro mashed potatoes)

S ordered Niman Steak with Sweet Potato Garlic Fries (Grilled Niman Rach NY steak with mushroom sauce) S substituted the fries for the fried taro mashed potatoes

Overall, everything was very good. I loved my sea bass wrapped in the banana leaf. It was very refreshing with the ginger and mushrooms. I got the chance to sample J's Bo Luc Lac and boy, oh, boy was that delicious. Of all the dinners ordered, his had to be the best. The cubed filet mignon were so tender and the flavor and seasoning was excellent. The salmon was just as good - I usually have a hard time ordering salmon and enjoying it, but they did a good job at Bleu Ginger. I didn't try S's steak, but I did try the taro mashed potatoes and they were so creamy and rich. Entrees get 5 stars!

For dessert we all had the Fried Banana with Ice Cream. I've had this dessert at several places, but J and I agree that this is the 2nd best we've ever had. Whatever coating they had for the banana was extra tasty and the coconut ice cream that came with the dessert was just as good. The best part of dessert was the bottle of wine I ordered. I love moscatos so I was very pleased to see that they had one of my favorites: St. Supery Moscato. I can never find this bottle at any of the wine stores around town...so I told J that the only way I can stock up on this wine is if we went to Napa. I already did Napa two weekends in a row in March, so it might not be bad to go again soon.

The conclusion is that this is a great restaurant. I will definitely be heading back there in the future. Food was excellent, ambiance was wonderful -- what more could I want. If any of my family or friends come out here, you know where I might take you...

Who Likes Jane Austen?

2007-09-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy day in the valley this past Saturday so I decided to spend my early afternoon taking in a movie. I decided to see The Jane Austen Book Club. The movie is based on the book by Karen Joy Fowler.

The basic premise of the story is that 6 people form together for a book club, thus the Jane Austen book club. Each person will be responsible for holding the book club meeting at their place for each book. The 6 following books by Jane Austen are:

Sense and Sensibility
Northanger Abbey
Emma
Mansfield Park
Pride & Prejudice
Persuasion

Overall, the movie was good. There were some really funny scenes and the cast is full of good actors and actresses: Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, Maggie Grace, the wonderful Emily Blunt (who doesn't love her?), Jimmy Smits, and Hugh Dancy (oh my, he's so cute!)

I've been reading the novel and in this case, I think the movie may be actually better than the book. I usually prefer books to the movies...but I enjoyed the movie much much more. The book can have its' dull moments and go off on different tangents not related to the story at hand. I do agree that if anyone hasn't ready any Austen, this could be a good introduction her novels.

Either read it or see it.

My Emmy Predictions

2007-09-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

Since I enjoy television shows very much....I thought I'd weigh in on who should win the Emmy's in the Outstanding Series, and Lead Actor/Actress both Comedy and Drama. I am in no way a psychic -- so if one of my predictions is correct, then I don't know what to tell you, except that I am that good, not just good, but that good. Let's the predictions begin:

Outstanding Series - Drama: Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, and The Sopranos

My choice: Grey's Anatomy. It was full of so much drama this past season. Since it is a veteran show, I believe that it will win. (Although I prefer Heroes to win...but since it is a new show, I think it needs to build cred before it wins.)

Most Likely Winner: Probably The Sopranos since the show ended last spring. It's not unlike of the Emmys to grant the Outstanding Series to a show that has ended.

Outstanding Series - Comedy: 30 Rock, Entourage, The Office, Two and a Half Men, and Ugly Betty

My choice: Ugly Betty. I love everything about Mode and un-Mode. This a great show with a little evil twist -- a modern soap opera. The characters are wonderful and the actors all do a great job. I love Betty Suarez. She rules.

Most Likely Winner: 30 Rock or The Office. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing either show on a regular basis, but from what I've seen, they're f-in' hilarious.

Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series: James Gandolfini (Sopranos), Hugh Laurie (House), Denis Leary (Rescue Me), James Spader (Boston Legal), Kiefer Sutherland (24)

My choice: Hugh Laurie. The man is genius as Dr. House. You just love to hate him sometime, but still adore him. I love this complex character he plays. He deserves to win.

Most Likely Winner: James Gandolfini. For the longest time Mr. G took the Emmy every year...now that his show has ended, he's guaranteed this one.

Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Steve Carrell (The Office), Ricky Gervais (Extras), Tony Shalhoub (Monk), Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)

My choice: Alec Baldwin. He's funny. He's got this clever way about him. I hope he gets it.

Most Likely Winner: Tony Shalhoub...not sure if he won it last year, but he's won plenty. I'm sure one more him wouldn't hurt.

Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series: Patricia Arquette (Medium), Minnie Driver (The Riches), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters), Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: SVU), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

My choice: either Mariska or Kyra. I love both shows and I love both characters. It should go to one of them. They're strong women and are both superb on their shows.

Most Likely Winner: Edie Falco. Sopranos is over, they will be rewarded.

Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series: Tina Fey (30 Rock), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Mary Louise Parker (Weeds)

My choice: America Ferrera. I heart Betty. America played the part so well. She's the youngest in the group and the most deserving.

Most Likely Winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She won last year and she'll most likely win again. I don't understand why. She annoys me.

There you have it folks. My predictions. Will they come true? Only one way to find out. Watch the Emmy's tonight 8:00 pm ET/PT on Fox.

Since I don't have TV/cable anymore...I won't actually get to watch :( I usually like watching the before show where we see all the stars on the red carpet. I'm all about the fashion at the Emmys!

Anyway, it doesn't really matter who wins, they all deserve it...but the one category that I do want someone to really win is Best Supporting Actress. I really want Katherine Heigl to win, she went through so much on Grey's this past season. She's a superb actress and plays Izzie Stevens so well. Go Katherine!

Surprised It Was Good

2007-09-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Last night J and I watched the film Black Snake Moan, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci, also with Justin Timberlake and S. Epatha Merkerson. We didn't know what to expect going in. I remember seeing the previews and all I saw was Christina Ricci running out of house and she's got a chain around her waist. I really did not know anything else about the movie. Samuel L. Jackson plays Lazarus, a man who's lost faith in people after he learns of his wife's unfaithfulness with his brother. Ricci plays Rae, a victim of sexual abuse as a child, who now needs to have "it" all the time. If you're uncomfortable with sexual scenes, this may not be the type of movie for you. Some of the scenes can get graphic. Rae loves her boyfriend Ronnie (played by JT), but he leaves her to join the army. After Ronnie departs, Rae goes out of control -- getting high on drugs, sleeping around with various men, until one night she is left unconscious and abandoned by the side of the road. Lazarus stumbles upon Rae and he decides to help her by taking care of her and healing her. When Laz goes into town and learns more about Rae, how she's promiscuous and out of control, he decides that he will rid her of her "fever." I don't want to give out too many details (why is she chained?), but this story is beautiful. We witness a true friendship forming between Rae and Lazarus and how they help each other out and deal with the pain they've witnessed in their lives. I'd recommend this film to anyone who goes into it with an open mind. Acting by Ricci and Jackson is wonderful. At the same time you are repulsed by Rae and her actions, you can't help but also love her and feel sorry for her. Lazarus comes off as a tough mofo...but underneath, he's so caring and has so much kindness to offer. Rent it or get it on Netflix.

Road Trip....kind of...

2007-09-12T09:12:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday I had an interesting work day. My colleague S and I went to Roseville (a few miles north of Sacramento) to do a peer audit in the SAC Record Center. Since there was a BART station near where J worked, he dropped me off there and I took the train to San Leandro where my colleague S lives. S picked me up and we headed for Roseville. Let's just say that it wasn't the most exciting car ride since the beautiful scenery of the bay ended as we drove further away from it. Everything is so flat in the Sacramento area.

Once we got to our Roseville office, everything was fine. Their office is a lot smaller than SJ's or SF's, but it's always nice to see the different offices in our sub area region. Now, I only need to see 3 more offices and then I'm complete. I'll be knocking one more down next week when I head to Seattle.

For lunch, S and I went to this Italian eatery called Piatti. The decor of the restaurant is very trendy and modern - comfortable enough and nicely arranged. I had an enjoyable meal for the most part, except for the dessert. How can anyone screw dessert up??

Once you are seated and the waiter takes your drink order, they bring over a basket of bread. The bread was delicious. There were 2 types, a foccaccia and baguette. We were also given olive oil mixed with balsamic vinaigrette to dip our bread. It was one of the better balsamic vinaigrette's that I've had.

For my entree, I ordered House-made Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with a Lemon Cream and Citrus Gremolata. Overall, I enjoyed this dish very much because not only was it light, but very flavorful. If you like lemons or citrus flavors, then you'd enjoy this.

For dessert I got the Warm Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sauce, Whipped Crema, and Mint Gelato. Can I say "blech...." First of all, my cake was not warm (I was expecting something along the lines of a molten lava cake) -- this was far from it. It wasn't even close to warm because the chocolate that is supposed to melt was still hard! Grrr. The Mint Gelato -- "WHOA!" All I could taste was an overload of mint (not creme de menthe style, but mint leaves) I mean if I wanted some mint in my mouth, I'd eat some Asian style food like pho or bun. The mint taste was so overwhelming. What a waste of $7. I would never recommend this to anyone. It was really bad.

According to my husband J, he just said it was karma. We're supposed to be swearing off desserts, so he said it was karma that my dessert did not taste good. Boo.

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy in My Tummy

2007-09-08T16:44:00.001-07:00

Today was a gorgeous day here in the Bay. My good friends (they're sisters) - L&L and I went to Los Altos today for our friend S's church fundraiser. The little festival was serving Mediterranean food. Everything was really good. Here is everything I sampled:

dolma - grape leaves stuffed with rice and beef (although people use lamb as well)
kibbe - minced lamb meat shaped into balls stuffed with spices and pine nuts
kunefe - a dessert dish consisting of a soft cheese. The soft cheese is spread on the same type of pastry that is used for baklava and it's baked. As it is done a thick syrup (of sugar, water, and drops of lemon) is poured on the top, so it hardens a bit
shawarma sandwich - a wrap with chicken and beef, lettuce, red onion, and a spicy sauce, the special thing about these wraps are that the chicken and beef are cooking on a big spit, so the meat is really tender and delicious
tabbouleh - a Lebanese dish made with bulgur (similar to couscous), finely chopped pasley, mint, tomato, scallion, and other herbs with lemon juice and various seasonings
walnut mamool cookie - a Lebanese filled cookie, stuffed with chopped walnuts and pistachio
spinach turnover - bread stuffed with spinach

Before we left the festival, I had to stock up on some dolma and kibbe to bring home so that J could try some. I really enjoy tasting different cuisines and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to get a little sun and good food today.

Be My Hero Please!

2007-09-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of July, J and I canceled our cable because we wanted to have a more active lifestyle and not be distracted by the television -- also, with how crappy of a cable spot we had, we rarely got any of the channels we were paying for. I refused to pay almost $70 a month to a crappy cable company any further. So I canceled the damn thing!

Now because we no longer have cable at all, nor do we get the regular channels (I told you we are not in the best spot), we've decided to just watch movies when we can or watch TV shows on DVD. We got through Season 1 & Season 2 of The Closer and Season 1-3, 7 of Seinfeld thus far. We usually watch an episode a night -- that way, we figure we're only watching about an hour of "television" a night, whereas we used to watch at least 3. It's a good thing.

Our newest TV show that we are currently watching is Heroes. OMG is all I have to say. We are 8 episodes in and we're hooked! It's cool to see J all into a show because usually I'm the one who's always into everything. I'm glad we both like the show so much. We always want more because each episode is "to be continued..." So far, I can't decide who my favorite hero is...although it's between Claire Bennett and Peter Petrelli. Claire -- because I love her super power, Peter - because he's played by Milo Ventimiglia (he's a cutie!)

If you haven't been a watcher of Heroes, I recommend you become a faithful fan. If you love the X-Men movies...Heroes will be your kind of thing. I guarantee it.

Parents...Tsk, Tsk...

2007-09-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

A while back I stumbled across this website called Parents Behaving Badly. I cannot believe some of the stories I read about on here. Why do people do such things to children or babies? I'm sure that most of the incidences that occur are mistakes....but when you break your infant son's leg because he wouldn't stop crying and then don't bring him to the hospital for 2 days is pure stupidity in my book. We all make mistakes, but it's what you do to fix the problem that matters.

Anyway...this site is depressing. Some of the stories I read just anger me. Why is that people who are not competent to be parents can pop babies out like it's no thing, but then the people who really do want children and care for them have such a hard time conceiving? It's just not fair.

The world can be very twisted when it wants. Parents profiled on this site should all be charged for their crimes and cruelty against the young. It's obvious when reading through some of the stories that these parents can't take care of themselves, much less their children. I just feel sorry for these children -- for the ones that suffered a fatality at the hands of their parents and for the ones that will be traumatized for life because of the choices their parents made. I hope the best for them.

Harry Potter 2.0

2007-09-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out on July 21st, I've read it twice now. I love everything Potter. I'm a big fan. Now that it's the end, I needed to find some new series to read. After doing extensive research on Amazon and Google, I found a couple of series that may intrigue those who are followers of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and all things Hogwarts.

The first series is called Septimus Heap by Angie Sage. Like HP, the series will include 7 books. So far, only 3 have been published:

1. Magyk
2. Flyte
3. Physik

I have read Magyk and Flyte so far and I've enjoyed them very much. The books are really easy to read and follow. The plot is entertaining and tells a beautiful adventurous tale of the Heaps. Septimus Heap (our hero) is the seventh son of a seventh son. The number 7 plays a big role in the book. I'll admit, when I first started reading Magyk, it was hard for me to get into (but I know it's because I had just finished the last Harry Potter book twice and loved every minute of it!) Once I got involved with Septimus' story, I was hooked.

The newest series I'm reading is called the Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. There will be 5 books in the series. The first 3 books are out now:

1. The Lightning Thief
2. The Sea of Monsters
3. The Titan's Curse

I just started reading Book 1 and I'm about 100 pages in and I'm hooked! If you love Greek Mythology, you'll understand and know all references made to gods like Zeus, Hera, Dionysus, Aphrodite and a lot more. Percy Jackson is always finding himself in the middle of trouble (kind of like Harry), he even has black hair and piercing green eyes. If you can get past that, the book is funny, adventurous, and easy to read.

If you are still yearning for Harry, these 2 series may put you at ease for the time being. Check them out!

I Heart Work...NOT!

2007-09-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

So after a nice, relaxing, and long 4-day weekend, it's back to the office for me. I already hate it. I woke up this morning and thought "I don't want to go to work..." (Now, mind you, I say this every morning...you can ask J if you don't believe me.) Here are the reasons why I am not into my work this morning:

1. Everything is so sloooooooow..... it took at least 5-10 minutes just to open up my Lotus Notes (stupid program!), the Internet took forever just to get the homepage, and Excel would not open up my spreadsheet! The first half-hour of work was so irritating

2. Lack of communication. Enough said. There is a select team in my office that never communicates anything to anybody. They wanted me to help them out this morning -- at the last minute! I just told them no because I wasn't prepared for any of it. I am not a team player today, but if I had had some fair warning, then I would have helped out.

3. There is new and stupid policy when it comes to handling packages from outside vendors. Since my office is on the floor near the loading dock where Fed Ex, UPS, Staples, and others deliver stuff to...I usually get my work interrupted to answer the door and let them in -- but I am not authorized to sign for anything. In the past we were able to...but after a package went MIA, now only one person is responsible for signing all packages. It is a big pain in the butt because it's a waste of my time to track that person down and a waste of time for the delivery people.

I just love to vent about work.

The ultimate reason why I hate work is office politics. This is all I have to say:
Politics, schmolitics. Boo-hoo on it and all those that play the game!

Okay...now I must return to my work...

I'm Gaga for LuLu

2007-09-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

I welcome you now to a restaurant review.

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of going to San Francisco for dinner at Restaurant LuLu. I was meeting a friend from high school who was in town. My friend C and I met at the restaurant at 7:30 and it was really busy inside. The nice thing I noticed was that though there were a lot of people in LuLu's, it didn't sound like it. You didn't feel you had to shout to be heard. The music was at a minimum volume, which is what I prefer.

The host brought us to our table. Now, I will complain about the chairs. Though the chairs were cushiony and comfy, you didn't have a lot of room to move them and they didn't move from the table so easily when you wanted to excuse yourself to go to the ladies room. Other than that, everything at our table was fine. Our waitress was very attentive and sweet. She came over several times to ask us if we wanted anything to drink. At this point, C and I were gabbing away and barely looking at the menu. Eventually we both ordered an Aromatic Whites flight ($10.50) We received 4 generous tastings, the wines were:

1. Piepoul de Pinet, Dm. des Lauriers, Coteaux du Languedoc 2005
2. Chenin Blanc, Chateau du Hureau, Saumur-Champigny, Loire Valley 2004
3. Riesling 'Glintzberg' Domaine Roland Schmitt, Alsace 2004
4. Gruner Veltliner, Glatzer, Carnutum, Austria 2005

The wines were all very tasty. I preferred #1 and #3. They all had strong fruity overtones, in fact C and I agreed that the Riesling smelled like bananas (though it didn't taste anything like it, it just had the smell.) It was very interesting to say the least.

When we ordered our food, the waitress recommend that we order a couple of appetizer plates and split a pizza (according to the host, their pizza is the best!) We decided to take their advice and we settled on a Bowl of Baby Lettuce and Bread with Vinaigrette, Portabella Beignets with Garlic Aioli sauce, and a Pizza with Heirloom Tomatoes. Most of it was delicious.

Here's what I thought of the food:

The salad of baby lettuce with bread and vinaigrette was okay. There were some parts of the salad that I found too bitter. I wasn't a fan of it.
The Portabella Beignets were superb. Very delicious. The Portabellas are sliced lengthwise in 3/4 inch thick slices, lightly breaded, then lightly deep fried. It sounds fatty, but it melts in your mouth as you eat it. The garlic aioli adds a lot to the taste as well.
The pizza was very tasty. I love heirloom tomatoes and these were delicious. The pizza had red and yellow sliced heirloom tomatoes. The pizzas are made the old-school Italian way -- they are on a thin crust baked in a wood-fire brick oven. It was marvelous.

The nice thing about the whole meal was that it didn't cost too much at all. We split the bill down the middle and it ended up being about $42 per person (including the tip). Not bad for San Francisco.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes wine because they have an extensive wine list. It'd be great for a first date -- not too fancy, but nice enough to impress your date. Be there or be square. If you're ever in SF, stop by for a wine tasting or sample some small plates.

We Are Crazy, Yes, We Are

2007-09-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

So a few months back, J and I decided that we wanted to buy a puzzle, put it together, and frame it. We both like M.C. Escher and we decided to get the 1,000 piece puzzle of the picture below, titled Relativity. We thought the image was cool and would be appealing in our home. Well, we started working on the puzzle 2 days ago, and all I have to say is this: "Why us?" At the time when we thought the puzzle would be great and cool, we didn't realize how hard it was going to be. Let me tell you, I love puzzles. I do. I can finish a puzzle in a day or two. Yet, this puzzle will be another story. Since Saturday, I finally pieced the edges together. It was tough...really tough. Not only is the image black and white, but a lot of the same images are all over the picture -- the stairs, the alien-looking people, the trees, dark doors and windows. So now I have a new strategy that will help me (see how it's me working on it...J gave up!) I sorted the pieces into categories, so it will allow me to work on certain sections at a time. I do look forward to the end and once I do complete it, I will celebrate!

Wine, Oh Wine, Oh Wine...

2007-09-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last night my husband J and I went out to this wine bar called UNWINED (get it? ha ha). We met up with our aunt and uncle, K&K and another couple B&B. At first I didn't know what to expect. The place is part of shopping strip mall (so you always have to be a little weary of these things...)

Once we settled down and looked at the menu. I felt myself unwinding a little bit (I just had to say that because of the name of the place...) They offer at least 50 different wines to taste and 14 different flights. If you don't know wines, a flight is where you get to sample 3 or 4 different glasses of wine for a great price. We all ordered different flights. I got myself the Riesling flight. I like Rieslings cause they tend to be a little sweeter and lighter.

The 3 Rieslings I tried were:

1. Emrich-Schonleber, Halbtrocken, Nahe Germany 2003 ($18.95/bottle)
2. Schmitages, Mosel-Saar-Rumer, Germany 2005 ($14.95/bottle)
3. Grans-Fassian, Kabinett, Piesporter Germany 2004 ($23.95/bottle)

They were all very delicious and I loved them all. They were all crisp, smooth, and had strong overtones of fruits. My favorite one was the Grans-Fassian. It was just the right amount of sweet. Of course, I had to buy a bottle. The owner told me it's his last case, so I may have to stop by this week and stock up on some before it's out. As you can see from the prices, they are all very reasonable. Since I've been out here in CA, I have enjoyed wine more and more -- and why not? I am in wine country after all :)

Another great thing I liked about this place was that the owner of UNWINED was very gracious and personable. He came over and talked to us. Since he knew I liked wines a little more on the sweeter side, he brought over a sherry for me to try. Though I am not a fan of sherry or ports, I took a sip and I felt as though I was drinking through a vat pureed raisins. It reminded me a lot of a madeira wine -- which is very sweet. It was nice for him to do that...but in the future I will refrain from all ports or sherries.

I also liked the tapas plates they offered. Now mind you, this isn't tapas in the Spanish sense, but they called them tapas or "small plates." We ordered a few of the cheese plates -- there was Stilton (stinky bleu cheese) and Jarslberg Swiss, Manchengo and Parmesan, Gouda and Gruyere, and Brie with Figs. Each plate was accompanied by bread, dried fruit, and nuts. I also ordered smoked salmon on creme fraiche with dill on brioche toasts. It was all very good and accompanied all the wine.

The only trouble with wine tasting is that once you start tasting, you can't stop and before you know it, the bill stacks up. For the 6 of us, our bill totaled about $280. We split the bill 3 ways, so it all worked out in the end. Besides, we had a great time!

If any of our friends ever come out to visit, I'm taking you to UNWINED.

Giving It Another Shot

2007-09-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Recently, my good friend C started her own blog. My oldest sister P-C has been writing a blog for the past few months now. I decided that if these 2 people can keep up and contribute to their blog in a timely manner, then I should really give it another go. Why? Well, I really want to write a novel and I figure as long as I blog about daily crap that happens then it will push me to really start writing and concentrate on my book. I hope it helps me.

I remember the good ol' days when would write all the time. By the time I was in my 1st or 2nd year of college I had written 4 chapters for this silly teen romance novel. I never did go further on it, I am stuck on chapter 5. Maybe I will get motivated and complete this silly romance one day. I may be biased, but it does have a good plot line and story. It seems that Adolescent and Teen Adult novels are very popular these days with such series as Gossip Girl and A-List. Although these books are very popular amongst teenage girls these days, my novel doesn't consist of teenage sex, drugs, language, and crassness as these books do.

The teen romance novel isn't the book I want to write and complete. I have had another idea for my novel since I got out of college 3 years ago and during the time when I was getting married. I am writing a novel that I hope will be regarded and respected like Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Jhumpha Lahiri's works. I want my book to be a bestseller. I have been an avid reader since I was a little girl and this is what I want to be -- a successful writer. I am not going to give out any details because I don't want my ideas to get stolen. I'm being safe here.

Well, wish me luck that I get the first few chapters of my novel out by the end of this year. :)