Tagged!

Daphne of More Than Words tagged me a while back for a what? 38 random things meme? Or technically 37 since the 38th question is to tag others. Geez, makes me feel like I'm back in elementary school or writing in slam books. Remember those? Anyway, so here goes so no one accuses me of not playing any blogger games. Because not participating in memes would make me a bad sport right? Heh! :P 1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Chandler. I was watching a Friends re-run. :P 2. What were you doing at 0800? Sleeping. 3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Updating my blog. 4. What happened to you in 2006? I started this blog! :) 5. What was the last thing you said out loud? Bye? I was on the phone with lil' sis. 6. How many beverages did you have today? Water. Hong Kong milk tea. 7. What color is your hairbrush? I don't use one. That's right, I don't comb my hair! Ever! Because it breaks the strands. I finger-comb my hair with conditioner in the shower. 8. What was the last thing you paid for? Groceries - 1.5 lbs of Korean short ribs, 1 package of fresh ramen noodles, 1 head of napa cabbage, 1 set of brass straining spoons for hot pot, 1 wok draining rack for deep-frying. Total $9.94 and I had exactly one $10 bill in my wallet. 9. Where were you last night? Home. 10. What color is your front door? White. 11. Where do you keep your change? Wallet. 12. What’s the weather like today? Raining! Reminds me of home! 13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Cinnamon! Yay! My favorite Fosselman's November flavor. 14. What excites you? Traveling! Food! Books! 15. Do you want to cut your hair? Just did last month. 16. Are you over the age of 25? Yes. 17. Do you talk a lot? Yes. 18. Do you watch the O.C.? Nope. And that's so wrong. We do not call it "the Orange County." Pfft! 19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Dated one a long, long time ago. 20. Do you make up your own words? Sometimes. Or rather, when I get tongue-tied. 21. Are you a jealous person? Sometimes. Usually of people who have recently traveled somewhere. Because I want to be there! 22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. A----. 23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. K-----. (Ha! Gotta preserve their privacy. OK, these last two are really, really lame!) 24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? UnHipLA. :) 25. What does the last text message you received say? "ok. which one do u like better. I like the peach flavor at pech house" (sic) Message from the oldest '87 who asked what time a couple of the local fro-yo places closed, and which of the two I preferred. 26. Do you chew on your straw? Nope. 27. Do you have curly hair? Nope. 28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Dunno. 29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? Dunno. Don't dwell on that kind of stuff. 30. What was the last thing you ate? Korean short ribs and pork chops with Chinese five-spice sauce and Malaysian roast chicken with curried rice at Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie in Alhambra. Yum! Yum! See? And I only posted this because I hate posts without pictures. :) 31. Will you get married in the future? Hopefully. 32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Lust, Caution. 33. Is there anyone you like right now? Geez! Really slam book-like! So I will be childish and say, "I'm not gonna tell you. Nyah! Nyah!" 34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Yesterday. 35. Are you currently depressed? No. 36. Did you cry today? No. 37. Why did you answer and post this? Because I like Daphne and don't want to hurt her feelings by not playing? :) 38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. Ha! I wouldn't do that to you. But if any of my blogging friends want to do this meme, then leave a comment and I'll "tag" you. :)

Where I've Eaten AKA I Didn't Know I was Such a Glutton and How You Can Be One Too!

Dear readers, Is it a little crazy to think I've reviewed 108 food places in the past year? And posted 141 recipes? Not to mention all my other random postings about my gardening or crafting in between? Even crazier is my backlog of restaurants and recipes. Yup, I could not cook or eat out for the next three months and still have something to write about every single day. Except I haven't been. Because I needed a bit of a break. Because writing takes a lot of work, ya know? Or at least my posts do. And I'm going on the assumption that you like my posts because they're chock full of info and pictures. But it takes time to organize the photos, keep track of all that info, and present it all to you in a mildly entertaining way. But don't worry, there's lots of good stuff I've got on the back burner like how to make your own banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from pickled carrots to meatball recipes. Or four courses of beef (because seven courses is a bit overkill). Or a homemade Korean barbecue. Or well, lots of stuff really! As my sidebar gets longer and longer, I need to think of a better way to present it. I'm thinking of going into a 3-column format. Anyone know how to do this? With specific directions please? I've found some Blogger hack sites but the directions evidently aren't simple enough for this non-techie. Unless you like my long sidebar? It's only gonna get even longer you know! I thought it'd be better to place my ads on one side and the recipe and restaurant info on the other. I have yet to earn any money from this blogging thing, but it sure couldn't hurt to have something to pay for all this food! Anyway, so could I get some feedback from you? Keep the sidebar as is? Move the eating out and recipe index to separate pages? If so, I'm thinking of sorting the recipes by cuisine, alphabet, and category. Restaurants would be sorted by just cuisine and alphabet. Would you like me to at least keep my best recipes and restaurant recommendations on the sidebar though? What about my virtual tours? Anyone want to see more travel pictures and stories from my archives? Get rid of or do you enjoy my food/travel musings? Gardening and crafting? More? Less? Move the non-food stuff to a different blog? You just love everything about my blog and think I'm perfect? :P Hehe. Speak up! Let me know what works for you and what doesn't! On one hand, it is my blog and I'm gonna do whatever I want. But, on the other hand, I'd also like my blog to be easy to navigate and useful to you as well. So please let me know what does or doesn't work for you! And lastly, because I hate posts without pictures, check out this map of where I've eaten. Cool eh? Courtesy of Howie at foodieview.com. The website is a compilation of all the food bloggers as well the mainstream food sites into eating out maps and recipe archives. Each dot is linked back to my posting so you can search for what's closest to you. I've suggested he add a small icon like my clustrmap so you can then click on the icon and it'll lead you to the larger map, thus making it even easier for you to find places to eat. So yes, you too can become as much of a pig as me. Oink! Oink! ***** 1 year ago today, I made turkey tetrazzini with my Thanksgiving leftovers.

Slightly Spiced (Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg) Molasses Cookies

My favorite cookie is the ever so popular Original Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie. But for the holidays, I thought I'd spice them up a bit...literally. I added cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, and a bit of molasses to round it out. They're still your favorite chocolate chip cookie, just a little spicier.

I Ate What? 2006 Eating Out Roundup

With my blog still in its infancy in 2006, there weren't that many memorable meals. But I did want to take note of a few of the dining experiences that were worth mentioning. Comfort food. Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie - Alhambra has been my favorite Hong Kong cafe since it opened in the late 1990s. My favorite Hong Kong milk tea ($2 and free refills), deep-fried chicken wings with spicy salt, beef chow fun with dry soy sauce, Malaysian roast chicken with curry rice, baked pork chop, and Korean ribs and chicken steak platters. Funnest. Cooking on a rock slab at Seol Ak San - Stanton. And they make kimchee fried rice on top of it afterward. Weirdest. You'd think it'd be the chicken knees, or the duck tongues, or the goose intestines, but I've eaten plenty of offal so I'm used to that. I had never heard of sauteed milk before though! At Macau Street - Monterey Park (Closed.). ***** 1 year ago today, Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen - Rosemead.

Tagine - Beverly Hills

Since I elected to spend my birthday at Uzbekistan - Los Angeles, I figured I might as well continue exploring new cuisines. I first came across Tagine in The Los Angeles Times' article, "Striking It Rich: Los Angeles' Top 25 Culinary Bargains." A 7-course Moroccan tasting menu for $42? In Beverly Hills? Co-owned by actor Ryan Gosling? OK! It's sooo SoCal. Yeah?


I roped fellow Biggest Menu-ers KevinEats and HC of LA & OC Foodventures into joining me. It was my first time meeting up with both of them. The restaurant was located on a very quiet street. HC, his friend, and I got there a little early but it was so quiet that we elected to go inside early since there just wasn't anything to walk around to see. Whoa! I'm all for candlelit restaurants but this was a bit extreme. We could barely see inside. It really was that dark.

Jungle Red Hibiscus Flowers

Remember the jungle red hibiscus that I got from a reader? It's blooming! ***** 1 year ago today, little red houses and apple trees.

Happy Holidays or When I Put Up My Tree Or Granny Square Afghan

I don't know what it is about Thanksgiving weekend, but something about it urges me to finish whatever quilt or crochet project I've been working on. And so, I finished my granny square afghan. It took me forever to figure out how to do it. I've been wanting to ever since I saw Alicia's of Posie gets Cozy and Molly Chicken. Instructions if you want to make one too.


Here's a close-up of some of the squares.
Each square has 7 rows, and the blanket itself is 7X7. No significance to the number, I just figured it'd make a good size for a lap blanket.

I wanted them to look like flowers so the only constants were that each square had a pale yellow center and green for "leaves." I used a nice Delft blue for the outer rows and to connect them, with two rows of Delft blue for the border. I wove the ends in as I went along. I also used every color of yarn I had available and tried not to have any two squares look exactly alike. I think I succeeded. Most of the yarns are acrylic for ease in washing. Phew! This was a lot of work!

Here it resides on my footstool, within reach if I ever need to snuggle while watching TV.

Oh, who am I kidding? It's usually jumbled up like this. :)

I usually get my tree during Thanksgiving weekend as well. Can't find any of my lights so it's staying pretty simple for now. Actually, I quite like it simple. I don't like excessive decorations covering the tree part. Ornaments were purchased several years ago at Target's after-Christmas sale for 75% off. And the tree must always be Douglas Fir, it's Oregon's state tree, you know! :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

*****
1 year ago today, the best New England clam chowder recipe ever!

Chicken Pot Pie

This is the chicken pot pie for Thanksgiving dinner that the older '88 wanted me to make in exchange for her pumpkin crunch.  

Salt Rub and Butter Turkey and the Rest of My Thanksgiving Dinner

Isn't it crisp and golden looking? I know you've just been waiting and waiting to see what my turkey looked like. This was a 22.55 lb turkey.

To give you a little perspective, I told my brother to put his hands next to the bird. Except, not that way! That makes his hands look huge and it doesn't make the turkey look very impressive! Hmph!

Thanksgiving Dinner for 1 :(

I've got a 23-lb turkey brining in the refrigerator and a 10-lb sack of potatoes ready to be mashed and roasted. Lil' sis says she'll make three boxes of Stovetop stuffing. And by request, I've now added a Chicken Pot Pie to the menu. In exchange, the older '88 will make her famous pumpkin crunch dessert.

But what if you don't have an extensive family like I do? Or aren't one of my friends who secured a dinner invite? Or don't have any friends offering to feed you? I think I'm only feeding 20 people this year? Phew! Actually, that's a significant drop from last year. Hence, why I'm only making one instead of two turkeys. :P

So if you're a lonely soul, who still craves a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day, I'm gonna help you out a bit. No, no. You don't get invited to my house for dinner. But I did spend several weeks tasting frozen turkey dinners just for you.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Are you still checking in dear readers? I did not realize it's been so long since I've said, "Hi." So "Hi!" :)

My ClustrMap was reset on November 16, since it's now been a year that I started keeping little red dots of where my visitors come from. And in 3 days, I've got little red dots all over the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia. With occasional dots from South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Apparently I'm not so popular in Russia. :( Some of these dots are in the mid-range, indicating either multiple visits or more than one reader.

And since I started using Feedburner, I found out I have 170 subscribers? Where are you all coming from? What brings you here? What keeps you coming back? Come say "Hi."

I'm nice.

Sometimes. :P

Anyway, American Thanksgiving is just a few days away. And this will be the third year I'm hosting. In previous years we sort of just rotated from house to house depending on whichever auntie was cooking. Or even *gasp* had separate Thanksgiving dinners. I must admit, I like hosting since there are so few times these days that a big group of us get together anymore.

Here's my tentative menu, everything will be homemade except for the pumpkin pies, well, and the stuffing is Stovetop, supplemented with celery and bread. Since my family always brings plenty of other food, I'm making it easy on myself and providing just the basics.
1 23-lb turkey, salt rub marinade, maple/orange juice/butter glaze
1 3-lb chicken, salt, black pepper, lemon marinade
Roasted potatoes with the chicken lemon juices
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Biscuits
Chicken noodle soup
2 pumpkin pies, hearty spicy, and smooth and mild

The turkey will be a combination of last year's salt rub with the previous year's maple/orange juice/butter glaze. All my previous recipes are linked above. Except for the chicken noodle soup. So here you go.

Is My Scrap Crochet Blanket Hideous?

What do you think?

It's made from leftover yarn. I just kept crocheting in bits and pieces of whatever scraps are available. It's large enough now to be a lap blanket. Should I stop or make it into a full-size blanket? Or should I unravel it and make it smaller?

*****
1 year ago today, I showed you the heirloom bell peppers I grew in my garden.

Grapevine Mediterranean Cuisine - La Verne

Grapevine Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant is a century-old house with a hookah lounge and belly dancing on weekends. Although, it was the first and not the second or third that caused me to dine there.

Actually, the real reason I got lil' sis to dine with me back in March was the lack of dining options in this area and that we had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon.

We went for lunch since prices were slightly cheaper than dinner. We were seated in the patio area. I asked, but there was no seating inside during lunch time. I guess there wasn't much point because the entire time we were there, only one other customer showed up. One. As in, he dined alone.

I don't know how it is during dinnertime, but it seemed like an awfully big, empty space.

Top Island Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Alhambra

After meeting up at Woodlands Indian Cuisine - Little India (Artesia) and Miga Korean BBQ Restaurant - Rowland Heights, we decided to do it again at Top Island Seafood Restaurant in Alhambra for dim sum. Mainly because every (?) almost every (?) dim sum item is about $2, not the tiered pricing structure at other restaurants.

Miga Korean BBQ Restaurant - Rowland Heights

After our meet-up at Woodlands Indian Cuisine - Artesia (Little India), some of the Biggest Menu-ers, who didn't attend, wanted to join in so we decided to do it again. CrazyPooh and Meowmi suggested all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue for $9.99 for lunch. I know! What a deal!

About a dozen of us trooped over to Miga Korean BBQ Restaurant in Rowland Heights. The oddest thing for me was that the Korean waitress spoke Chinese so other people in our group were able to communicate and request refills or whatever. Apparently there's a number of Koreans who speak Chinese, especially if they're from the border or lived in China for a while? Who knew?

So what did we get for $9.99?




A whole lot as you can tell by the two thumbs up!

Punjab Indian Grocery Store - Alhambra

After having discovered kulfi (Indian ice cream) at Saffron Spot - Artesia (Little India), I was feeling a bit more adventurous. So one day, after lunch at Luscious Dumplings, Inc. - San Gabriel, UnHipLA and I walked down the street to Punjab Indian Grocery Store in Alhambra.

The Punjab Indian Grocery Store is located in a small strip mall on the border between San Gabriel and Alhambra, a few doors down from Pho Super Bowl Vietnamese Cuisine - Alhambra.

It's pretty small, too small for me to feel comfortable taking pictures of the interior, but filled with lots of videos to rent, packaged Indian foods, and fresh Indian sweets.

Mahan Indian Restaurant - Alhambra

For the most part, I enjoy Indian buffets. I get to try a variety of dishes, and usually for less than $10. One day when I had a craving, I met up with my brother at Mahan Indian Restaurant in Alhambra for their $7.95 lunch buffet.

Woodlands Indian Cuisine - Artesia (Little India)

After our brief stop at Saffron Spot - Artesia (Little India), UnHipLA and I decided to go back to Little India specifically to eat, and not just for dessert. I suggested Woodlands Indian Cuisine after reading about their $9.95 all vegetarian South Indian buffet in the LA Times.

Saffron Spot - Artesia (Little India)

After our lackluster lunch at Belacan Grill - Redondo Beach, UnHipLA suggested Saffron Spot for dessert. Since I've never had Indian ice cream before, I was all up for trying it out. Especially since I was mesmerized by the gorgeous pictures of Saffron Spot that she had uploaded onto Biggest Menu.

I had never seen the like before. Think of all the best parts of Indian cuisine, the wonderful spices, the colors, and imagine them in the most amazing ice creams.

Belacan Grill - Redondo Beach

I had eaten Malaysian food in Northern California and in Oregon, but hadn't tried it in Southern California. So when Belacan Grill in Redondo Beach was recommended to me as the best in SoCal, I figured I might as well start there. I hesitate when people say anything is the "best" because it builds in a set of expectations.

Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant - Los Angeles (Westlake)

The day after our trip to Kyochon Chicken - Los Angeles (Koreatown), cousin Q decided to do the driving this time. Our destination was Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant for a pastrami on rye. The founder, Al Langer, passed away shortly after the restaurant celebrated its 60th anniversary on June 17, 2007. You can read the Langer's story on their website.


We called ahead for curb service. I liked that the person who took our order asked what color and model of car we were driving so she could look out for us. She also told us the total and asked how much we'd be paying so they could have the change ready. Clever!

Monland Hot Pot City - San Gabriel

Since we had so much fun catching up at Messob Ethiopian Restaurant, my friend, E(L), and I met up again at Monland Hot Pot City. The atmosphere can best be summed up with Kirk of Mmm-yoso's phrase - "San Gabriel sticky." There's a basic charge of $3.50 per person for white or red (spicy) broths. Both come with Chinese herbs. There's also a mushroom option for vegetarians. We ordered two plates of thinly sliced beef, spinach, vermicelli noodles, napa cabbage, and tripe. Tripe. Vermicelli noodles. The sauces. And we also ordered a plate of dumplings. What can I say about hot pot? Dip and eat. The sauces were decent. The broth was awfully oily. The atmosphere was nothing to speak of. The total cost was a little more than $30 for what we ordered. I prefer the variety of broths, larger portions, and better prices at Jazz Cat Cafe - Alhambra. (Too bad that location doesn't offer it anymore.) Other hot pot and shabu shabu restaurants: Cocary Shabu Shabu BBQ - Monterey Park Happy Sheep Cafe - Rowland Heights Happy Sheep Cafe Shabu & Grill - San Gabriel Jazz Cat Restaurant - San Gabriel Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori-Shabu Shabu - Monterey Park Monland Hot Pot City 251 W. Bencamp St. San Gabriel, CA 91776 626-289-4889

Messob Ethiopian Restaurant - Los Angeles (Little Ethiopia)

After making my way through Los Angeles traffic, with my little box of mini cakes from Kiki Bakery in hand, I met up with my friend E(L) at Messob Ethiopian Restaurant in the heart of LA's Little Ethiopia neighborhood. How much do I love that LA has a Little Ethiopia? The inside decor was pretty nice with the straw hut and tables. I forgot to charge my camera so photos were taken quickly and sparingly. We ordered a tej (Ethiopian honey wine) for $4.50. Tastes like what it sounds - a honey-sweetened wine. We ordered a veggie and meat combo. The injera (Ethiopian bread from fermented teff flour) is key to my enjoyment of Ethiopian food. At Messob, the injera wasn't too sour and was lightly spongy. Ethiopian cuisine is eaten with the hands. Tear a strip of injera and wrap it around various veggies and stews. The $14.99 vegetarian combo included yatakilt alitcha (Ethiopian steamed vegetables with onions, garlic, and ginger), yemiser wot (Ethiopian split lentils in red pepper sauce and spices), collard greens steamed and seasoned with garlic and chilies, pumpkin, salad, tomato fit-fit (Ethiopian shredded and spiced injera). The $13.99 three-meat combo included doro wot (Ethiopian chicken stewed in pepper sauce with spices), siga wot (Ethiopian beef braised in red pepper sauce with assorted spices), and yebeg siga alitcha (Ethiopian lamb stew with garlic, ginger, and spices). I think the wots could have been a little bolder, more spices, but overall were very good. The baklava came free with the vegetarian combo. If you've never had Ethiopian food before, do try. Messob Ethiopian Restaurant 1041 S. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90019 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. 323-938-8827 10% off Monday to Thursday with website coupon

Downtown Los Angeles Traffic

Los Angeles is not a pretty city, but it's been home for a good number of years now. The LA "River" is just a big empty concrete channel until the rains come. As I headed westbound on the 10 freeway to meet up with my friend, E(L) for dinner at Messob Ethiopian Restaurant, I was struck by several things. We've been friends since we met through a mutual friend at a convention in Boston a decade ago. Two moves later for me, and for her, and we somehow both ended up in LA. We've both switched careers. She's seen all the little girls grow up. We even once took them to Chuck E. Cheese's. We don't talk or see each other all that regularly, but we've somehow managed to stay friends. Yes, LA has smog that leaves an ever-present smudge on the horizon. Yes, the traffic can sometimes be a pain in the derriere. But, if you have family around and friends that have somehow lasted through moves and career switches (often the death knell for some of my other friendships), LA isn't such a bad place.

Won Ton Time - Alhambra (Closed)

At Won Ton Time in Alhambra, you have a choice of two noodles -- rice or lo mein. The only wontons they serve are Hong Kong-style -- golf ball-sized and full of large pieces of shrimp. You can also opt for a giant fish ball or sliced beef. The only vegetable choice is Steamed Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) with Oyster Sauce. Rice noodles with wontons $4.


That's the entire menu. Now, of course, you can opt to have wontons and fish balls, but those basics make up the entire menu. There are serious fans of Won Ton Time's cheap eats. I think their broth is rather bland actually, but at $4 for a bowl of giant wontons and noodle soup, I don't expect a whole lot. Lo mein noodles with wontons and fish balls $5.50.

Persimmons

It's persimmon season. The tree in my youngest aunt's house. A close-up. ***** 1 year ago today, Korean barbecue on a rock slab and kimchee fried rice at Seol Ak San - Stanton.