Delightful Days

Broadway in Bryant Park

2010-07-25T00:19:00.006-04:00

Broadway in Bryant Park, the annual series of free concerts featuring performances by the casts of upcoming and currently running Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, began July 8 and is now at its halfway point. The weekly 106.7 Lite fm event is held from 12:30 to 1:30PM every Thursday through August 12 on the lawn in Manhattan's Bryant Park. Typically, 4 different shows are featured each week, each one performing usually 3 numbers. A schedule of performances can be found on the 106.7 Lite fm and Bryant Park websites.

I attended a couple of the concerts last year. One was on July 9, and my main reason for going was because the cast of Avenue Q was performing. The show's Broadway closing notice had been posted, and I thought it would be my last chance to see a live performance from the musical for a while. At the time it hadn't been announced yet that the show would go back to playing Off-Broadway. Even so, I was glad I came out to see the show in the park because I got to see original cast members Ann Harada, who returned for the Broadway closing, and Jennifer Barnhart, who stayed the entire run, perform their roles one last time.

Along with Avenue Q, other shows in the lineup that day were Stomp, Phantom of the Opera, and In the Heights. Also, The Joe Iconis Rock and Roll Jamboree opened up the concert with a few songs. Below is a small selection of photos I took during the concert.

The Joe Iconis Rock and Roll Jamboree:

Stomp:

A future Stomp cast member?

Avenue Q:

Ann Harada and Anika Larsen performing "The More You Ruv Someone."

Jennifer Barnhart, Seth Rettberg, and Robert McClure performing "If You Were Gay."

Phantom of the Opera:

In the Heights:

Christopher Jackson and Mandy Gonzalez performing "When You're Home."

Singing "96,000."

The other Broadway Bryant Park concert I saw was on August 13, the final for that year. The shows that participated that afternoon were Mamma Mia!, Altar Boyz, South Pacific, and Billy Elliot. In addition, there were 2 special guests appearances. Musical theater and television actor Matthew Morrison, best known for starring on the hit TV show Glee, performed a song cut from the show's pilot episode; and actor John Stamos stopped by and spoke about being in the then-upcoming Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie. Several photos can be seen below.

Mamma Mia!:

Altar Boyz:

I had finally seen the musical less than a week before and really enjoyed it!

South Pacific:

Loretta Ables Sayre singing "Bali Ha'i."

Sayre later introduced former fellow cast member and the revival's original Lt. Cable, Matthew Morrison, who sang "Leaving On a Jet Plane" as performed on the television show Glee.

Lite fm personality and Broadway in Bryant Park host for that day, Christine Nagy, with John Stamos:

Billy Elliot:

The cast singing "Once We Were Kings."

Many more photos can be seen on my Flickr photostream.

The ArchAndroid

2010-05-18T00:09:00.005-04:00

My premium pack of Janelle Monáe's The ArchAndroid arrived yesterday! I didn't expect to receive it a day before the release date, though I did read that some copies were sent early. Getting it made my day! (^_^)

Included in the premium pack were a "movie" poster (Monáe thinks of the album as an "emotion picture"), t-shirt, The ArchAndroid CD, and mp3 downloads of the songs "Tightrope" and "Cold War." Photos of the physical items are below.

Movie Poster

T-shirt and CD

In addition to the CD I'll also be getting a digital download of the album. I unwittingly bought it when I went to see Janelle Monáe in concert last month. It was included with the purchase of a "Tightrope" CD single. No wonder it was kind of pricey. (^^;) When it comes to my favorite music artists, I'd rather have a CD than just a digital file, and I don't know if the CD single is available anywhere else. I heard the person at the merchandise table telling someone about a pre-order, but somehow I didn't make the connection to the single. (^^;;)

I'm listening to The ArchAndroid as I write this. It's my third time. I listened to it the first 2 times on Janelle Monáe's MySpace page when a preview was put up a couple of nights ago. It's an excellent album; I highly recommend it. Head on over to her MySpace and give it a listen. If possible, check out the first 5 tracks of Suite I, also known as Metropolis: The Chase Suite, before The ArchAndroid, which consists of Suites II and III. The album is like a soundtrack, or perhaps to put it more accurately, it sounds like it could be the cast recording of a musical. I'm loving the music and the story Janelle Monáe has to tell.

Wave Hill

2010-05-01T00:25:00.001-04:00

I first learned about Wave Hill when it was featured in an issue of Time Out New York. Located in the Bronx, New York, and overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades, the once private estate is now a public park and cultural center. It seemed like such a pretty and picturesque place, that I wanted to see it in person. I suggested visiting to a friend, and we went on one of the free admission days in June last year.

It took us a little less than an hour to get to West 242nd Street Station from midtown Manhattan on the subway. From there we walked over to the free shuttle van service pick-up and drop-off spot, which was on the west side of Broadway directly in front of Burger King. Upon arriving there, I got a little bit confused and concerned because I wasn't sure we were waiting in the right area. There wasn't any sign denoting that the shuttle stopped there. The pick-up/drop-off time was approaching, and the shuttle only came once every hour. My friend suggested that we ask someone in the Burger King, so we went inside, and I decided to ask a man I saw who, from what he was wearing, looked like he worked at the subway station or in construction or something similar. I talked to him for a while, confirming we went to the correct place, but neither he nor the person he was dining with knew about the shuttle. They also didn't seem to be familiar with Wave Hill. The man suggested for next time I should write down the telephone number just in case. Yeah, I probably should have done that.

As we were walking out, a woman who had overheard part of our conversation tried to help us as well, but she didn't seem to know about Wave Hill, either. She thought we were students, which the man thought as well, because apparently, there's a bus that stops around that area to bring students to a nearby college or university, I assume. I hope it wasn't a high school! My friend and I both look young for our age, but I don't think that young. I mean, it's nice to look younger than your age, but you get to a point where you don't want to be thought of as a high school student. I guess nowadays I get mistaken for an age somewhere around 19 to 22 at most.

Despite all the very nice people trying to help us, we were still unsure about the shuttle when we went back outside. Because the time it was supposed to come was very near by then, I started to get anxious about it. We ended up running over to a school bus that was stopped close by to the subway station, but of course, that wasn't it. There was a man near the station steps trying to offer taxi rides, and he told us that many people wait for the shuttle but that it never comes. I didn't know whether to believe that, and then he proceeded to tell us how much it would cost to go to Wave Hill. I would only take a taxi as a last resort, and I don't think my friend wanted to take one if it could be avoided. We also went across the street, which I didn't really want to do because we were on the side we were supposed to be on, but there were a few mass transit buses stopped there. My friend asked the bus driver and a couple of people waiting at the stop about Wave Hill, but they didn't know. You'd think at least one person we asked would.

By then, it was already past the time that the shuttle bus was supposed to arrive. I saw the man I had spoken to earlier at the Burger King crossing the middle of the busy 5-lane street, and it turned out that he had come specifically to talk to us. He had seen the Wave Hill van pull up and had told the driver that he had to stay put because there were 2 girls waiting for it. He was such a nice guy! We rushed back to the other side of the street, and I thanked him many times. He also wished us well before we parted ways. We got in the van, which was parked in the parking lot, and a few moments later, a couple who must have arrived just then asked the driver if it was the one going to Wave Hill. I told my friend later that it was a good thing I asked that man about the shuttle because otherwise we would've missed it, and that couple would've as well since they came late. My friend told me afterward that she was scared about getting into the van because she didn't see a sign on it, but we saw it later.

When we entered the garden, one of the first things we saw was the pergola on the Great Lawn and behind it a wonderful view of the Hudson River and the cliffs of the Palisades in the distance. It's a beautiful place. There was even a shoot for a wedding photo spread taking place while we were there. Since we missed the tour, my friend and I just wandered around following a map. I think we saw most of the major areas, including the flower garden, the Marco Polo Stufano Conservatory, herb and dry gardens, wild garden, aquatic garden, and Wave Hill House. We also saw a couple of art exhibits at the Glyndor House. Since pictures can tell so many words, below is a selection of some of the photos I took during my visit.

The pergola from the Hudson side:

The pergola with the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades in the background:

The flower garden:

Flowers outside the conservatory:

A cactus inside the conservatory:

The garden pool:

The Aquatic Garden:

More photos can be seen on my Flickr.

I would recommend a visit to Wave Hill to anyone who's interested in seeing a garden in the New York City area. I've only seen a few gardens in New York, but I think it might be my favorite so far.

Looking Forward to More 'Metropolis'

2010-04-17T22:32:00.010-04:00

Last week I finally saw Janelle Monáe perform live in concert. I'd been waiting close to 2 years for her to headline a gig around my area. I was very excited when I found out that she was going on tour to promote her upcoming album, The ArchAndroid, and happy that I was able to snag tickets to one of her New York City shows, all 3 of which sold out. She is such a fantastic and entertaining performer! I wish I had gone to more than one show. Below is one of the photos I took at the concert.

I'll eventually post more photos, but for now I want to share a couple of videos. The following is the video for her latest single, "Tightrope."

The ArchAndroid and Metropolis: The Chase Suite released in 2008 are part of a concept revolving around an android character named Cindi Mayweather. At the concert I heard some of the songs from the upcoming album, and I'm looking forward to listening to the whole thing when it's released next month, even more so after I saw this video on Janelle Monáe's website the other day:

My reaction when I watched it was:

OMG! What the...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So AWESOME! XD

Amazing. I can't wait. :)

Heart Decorated Treats and Chinese Snacks

2010-02-14T17:37:00.003-05:00

Because it's Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year I thought I'd write about some heart-decorated sweets and Chinese snacks I've cooked. It's been the longest time since I last posted about my cooking, and while these treats are not things that I've made recently, they've been in queue waiting to be posted.

Starting with the Valentine treats, a few years ago Kellogg's came out with a new cereal called Rice Krispies with Real Strawberries, which were just regular Rice Krispies with freeze-dried strawberries added to the mix. I've been making Rice Krispies Treats since I was at least 12 years old, when I memorized the recipe, so of course turning the latest flavor into those snap-crackle-pop treats came into my mind. The same thing happened when the Power Puff version with Pop Rocks type candy was released for a limited time. How did those turn out? Not bad, but most of the carbonated candy popped when added to the marshmallow mix.

Because of the strawberries in the cereal I thought coating the Krispies Treats with melted chocolate would make a great flavor combination. The sprinkling of red color from the fruit made it nice for Valentine's Day, so I decided to cut them out into heart shapes. For a little flourish I decided to put some heart-shaped sprinkles on top of the chocolate. With the scatter of red, pink, and white I thought they came out pretty cute, and they were pretty tasty, too. I don't think the treats will be as easy to make again, though, because it seems Kellogg's no longer makes the cereal. The good thing is that it's not hard to find freeze-dried strawberries, but now that I think of it, the treats could be even tastier if regular dried strawberries, the type that are moist, were used.

I had a lot of heart-shaped sprinkles leftover from the Rice Krispies Treats experiment, so when I found the Gourmet.com web-exclusive recipe for Glazed Chocolate Cake with Sprinkles, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use some of them. The cake was easy to make, but in my opinion it didn't have a rich enough chocolate taste. That could be due to the cocoa powder I used, but I haven't tried making the cake a second time. I'll probably bake another one eventually. I still have plenty of sprinkles left.

On to the Chinese snacks. I have a couple of Chinese recipe books on how to make dim sum. One of them is a Wei-Chuan Cookbook by Huang Su-Huei titled Chinese Snacks. Pictured below are Yam and Glutinous Rice Cakes that I made using a recipe from the book. The cakes consisted of a mixture of mashed steamed sweet potatoes and glutinous rice flour. In the middle of each I put some sweetened black bean paste, although the recipe called for red bean paste. Black bean was the only kind I had at home, and I think they would've tasted better with red bean paste. The cakes were cooked in boiling water and then coated with dessicated coconut to finish.

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Lunar New Year!

Big Apple BBQ 2009

2009-12-17T18:43:00.003-05:00

What is summer without barbecue? Well, technically it wasn't quite summer yet when I went to the Big Apple Barbecue in Madison Square Park, NYC on June 13, but close enough. It being my fourth year in a row going to the event, I already had an idea of how to get the most out of my visit—go early, share food, and hope for good weather. I think I made out pretty well, for the most part. I got there right at the 11AM start, so I didn't have to wait in very long lines. I split the barbecue servings with another person, and I was able to try the most I've had at the BBQ so far: 4 kinds. As for the weather, I sort of got what I wanted. It was nice and cool compared to the sauna that was last year's, but it began to drizzle around 1PM, which then became stronger later. That didn't much bother me, however, because I was out before the more steady rain began to fall.

Below are some photos I took during the day.

Homemade smoked sausage with pimento cheese & crackers from Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, Alabama:

A sign for Jim 'N Nick's. Who didn't take a picture of this?:

Ribs on the grill:

St.Louis-style ribs & jalapeno coleslaw from Baker's Ribs in Dallas, Texas:

Western Tennessee-style whole hog from Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint in Nashville, Tennessee:

Beef Brisket, sausage & coleslaw from The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, Texas:

One of the musical acts that day, SaRon Crenshaw:

He did this trick where he strummed the guitar strings with his tongue, but it can't really be captured in a photograph.

There weren't any interesting desserts at the BBQ this year, so a stop at Il Laboratorio del Gelato in the Lower East Side was in order. Scoops of hazelnut and pistachio gelato:

Chocolate hazelnut and banana gelato:

Paella and Afternoon Tea

2009-11-19T00:36:00.005-05:00

June 7, 2009 was the date of the first annual Paella Parade held at the South Street Seaport Water Taxi Beach in Manhattan. At $25 a ticket, admission included the opportunity to sample paellas from 10 different participating restaurants—Don Pedro, 1492 Food, Socarrat Paella Bar, Mercat, Cap I Pota (now called Mercat Negre, I believe), Xicala Wine & Tapas Bar, Solera, La Nacional, La Paella Tapas Wine Bar & Restaurant, and Meigas. Wines from El Coto de Rioja were served alongside.

I had gotten tickets ahead of time, and it was a good thing that we arrived not long after the 11AM start because I heard that they sold out during the event. Upon entry we each received a wooden paella spoon and a rather heavy metal keychain shaped like a paella pan, both branded with "Paella Parade" and "El Coto de Rioja," which nice little mementos. The place was already somewhat crowded early on and became even more so later in the day. The Seaport Water Taxi Beach was a bit small for the event, and navigating through the canopied area with all the food offerings was a bit of a squeeze. Although we came around half-an-hour late and stayed for the entirety we were only able to try the offerings from 6 of the 10 restaurants and all 4 of the Rioja wines. Photos of some of the paellas can be seen below.

Paella from Meigas Restaurant:

Xicala Wine and Tapas Bar:

La Paella Tapas Wine Bar & Restaurant:

Socarrat Paella Bar:

Solera:

Not pictured are the 2 other paellas I tried, one which was an arroz negro from La Nacional and the other from 1492 Food. My favorite was the paella from La Paella Tapas Wine Bar & Restaurant in Norwalk, Connecticut. I didn't think I'd like the dollop of squid ink on the top, but it was fine. I read on an ingredient list that their paella included oxtail, and that must have been what put it on top for me.

At each restaurant table there were name cards that could be used to vote for favorites in the categories of Prettiest, Most Creative, Best Use of Ingredients, and Best Overall Taste. If I remember correctly, 1492 won for Prettiest, Xicala for Best Overall Taste, and the 2 others went to Don Pedro, the paella of which I did not get to sample. The winner announcement marked the end of the event, which if memory serves me correctly, was around an hour earlier than the scheduled 3PM. All the paella had run out sometime before then, and when I looked down on the beach from the South Street Seaport shopping mall later, I noticed one latecomer with a ticket who had come only to find that it was over.

After filling my stomach up with rice and wine at Water Taxi Beach I still yearned to taste more. I heard that Double Crown in NoHo (316 Bowery at Bleeker) had recently started offering an afternoon tea menu from 3:30PM to 5:30PM on the weekends. I enjoy having hot tea with a little snack everyday and wanted to try one of the afternoon tea offerings in the city. I ordered the sandwich and scone set which included tea. Since we were seated outside and it was warm, I decided to get a mango lassi, though hot tea would have been a much better choice to go with the scones. On paper the amount of food didn't seem like much, but it was a lot! There were 3 small sandwiches, a little pot of pickles, 2 scones, clotted cream, homemade preserves, a piece of spiced coffee cake, strawberry slices, and blueberries. I think the sandwich fillings were ham, smoked salmon, and curried chicken salad, which was my favorite of the 3. The scones were good, but I didn't enjoy the coffee cake so much. I was already pretty full from the paella, which I didn't realize until I started eating again, but I single-handedly finished every single edible in that set save for a sprig of watercress used as garnish and a little bit of the clotted cream and preserves.

Sandwich and scone set:

Scone with clotted cream and preserves:

Mango lassi:

Tea sandwiches:

It was quite the food-filled afternoon, and I was happy. If there is another Paella Parade as the describing words "first annual" suggest, I hope they can improve their serving system and find a better-suited venue. I'd like to go again. I'd really enjoy having afternoon tea at Double Crown again as well.

At the BBG

2009-10-30T21:38:00.002-04:00

I started writing this post at the beginning of June, and it's taken so long for me to finish it...

I first found out about the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, or Sakura Matsuri, held at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, New York a few years ago. It's a weekend-long event that celebrates both spring through the viewing of the blossoming cherry trees, and Japanese culture with performances, demonstrations, and displays. I tried to go one day last year, but because of a forecast of rain, I canceled my plans. The days leading up to that date I kept hoping that the weather would change, but the forecast never gave any good news. Lo and behold, when I woke up the day I had wanted to go, the sun was shining and there was no sign of rain! It was just too bad that I wasn't able to benefit from the good weather because I slept in late. So this year I was more determined to go, but the threat of rain loomed again. When my friend and I got out of the subway station in Brooklyn, it was raining lightly, and I was a little worried about how well we could enjoy the cherry blossoms and the festivities. Fortune was in our favor, however, because after an hour or so the showers stopped, and eventually the sun came out! The weather was beautiful for the rest of the day. When my friend and I initially made plans, we were going to go on the second day, but we later switched to the first because it was more convenient for her. It was a good thing we changed our plans because I think we would have dealt with damp weather all day if we had gone on Sunday.

Cherry Walk

It was the first time I was able to appreciate blossoming cherry trees in abundance. The only other time I had seen that many cherry blossoms was when I went to a wedding in Washington, D.C. one spring several years ago, and then I was only able to catch a glimpse turning the corner on the way to the church. My friend and I had a fun time taking photos of each other among the cherry trees; it seems like we spent half the time posing next to flowers. Something we noticed while doing so was that people were climbing the trees to pose for pictures, and my friend wanted to do it too. After she did, I decided to climb up and pose as well, and after a couple of shots I noticed a man with a professional camera mounted with a super long lens was also taking photos of me! I was taken aback and wasn't sure what to do. Normally when I see someone taking photos or video, like in tourist places, I try not to be in the shot. My friend does the same thing. I realize that type of thing is not a big deal because who pays attention to who's in the background, but I still do it anyway. I probably should have tried to cover my face in that instance, but I let my friend take one more photo of me. Even as I got out of the tree, the stranger photographer took photos of me! When we entered the park there was a sign which stated that by entering you were giving permission for your image to be photographed or filmed, but a lot of people have SLR cameras. How can you tell who's a professional on a job and who's just doing it for personal enjoyment? I unwittingly captured the photographer's image in the background of a few photographs that I took of my friend, and on a later date my friend happened to see him walking in her neighborhood but sans camera. For all I know one of the photos he took of me was published somewhere. The whole situation bothered me. Also, maybe some people don't mind having a "telescope" pointed at their face, but I do! Of course, I had to be lacking sleep and felt like I didn't look so great that day, either. :P

Apparently that was not the last time my image was intentionally captured on camera by a stranger. I was surprised when not too long ago I stumbled upon a photo someone had taken of me at some other event I attended! Why'd that person take a picture of me? It wasn't the most flattering angle, but I saved a copy, anyway. :P At least in that case the photo was taken in such a way that only people who know me and knew I was there would recognize it as me, and maybe not even then. When I went to Japan Day in Central Park this year, a professional photographer happened to take a photo of my 11-year-old cousin while she was participating at one of the activity areas. I wasn't there at that moment, but her mother told me later and didn't seem bothered by it. I wonder if that was ever published somewhere.

Getting back to the original topic, besides the cherry blossoms, we saw a few of the special performances and exhibits, including a traditional Japanese dance and a bonsai display. We also viewed the rest grounds to see the various flora. The tulips that were in bloom were especially beautiful. Below is a sampling of some of the photos I took that day.

Bonsai in the Bonsai: Living Sculpture display:

Tulips:

Torii at the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden:

Kanzan Cherry Trees and Blossoms:

The same photos in larger size and more can be seen on my Flickr. I'm really glad I was able to go and that my friend was able to come with me. Since visiting the botanic garden, I've gotten more interested in visiting parks and gardens. It seems like a lot of the photos I've taken in the past few months have been of flowers and plants, so more is to come. :)

Holiday Meal Weariness

2009-05-25T01:12:00.006-04:00

It's been quite a long time since I last posted a cooking entry. Right now it's Memorial Day weekend, but unlike many people living in the US, I will not be having a barbecue. I enjoy eating grilled food, but I think I like it a lot more when I don't have to cook it. I can't wait for all the outdoor barbecues this summer where I can just check out what looks good and eat. This holiday would be a perfect opportunity to impove my barbecuing skills, but I'm feeling a bit weary of preparing meals that consist of several different types of dishes.

The last huge meal I cooked was for Thanksgiving last year. A party of 10 people shared the feast I prepared that consisted of 10 dishes:

Caramelized-apple and Pecan Pie

Most of the recipes I used were by Lillian Chou and from the Come Together menu in the November 2008 issue of Gourmet, with exception of the pie recipe by Nancy Oakes and Pamela Mazzola which was from that month's Bon Appétit. I was drawn to the menu because of the Latino flavors. The recipes were very good; it was great to taste the food prepared and to find that it was delicious. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, especially those who liked a little bit of spiciness in their food. That they liked the food was very satisfying. If I remember correctly, I had been standing up for around 10 hours that day cooking the meal, and I had also spent several hours the 3 or 4 nights before then preparing whatever parts of the meal I could in advance. In total I think I spent 20 to 24 hours making the meal, and when it came time to eat it, I didn't have much of an appetite! Maybe my stomach got full on the armomas? I was so busy getting the dishes on the table that I didn't have enough time to photograph everything. The only photo I was able to take was of the Mango Pomegranate Guacamole and the Plantain Chips:
My cousin brought some of the guacamole home with her plus a bit of the Poblano Potato Gratin too. Her husband asked how I cooked the turkey because in the past he had made 4 unsuccessful attempts. He also said that he didn't normally like turkey but the one I cooked tasted more like chicken. I could guess that was because of the turkey; I only followed a recipe, afterall. He offered to give me a barbecue recipe of his in exchange, and I seem to remember one of my uncles (who wasn't there that day and probably would like to have it) once saying that it was a good one. I thought of giving a copy of a good turkey recipe using herb butter that is rubbed underneath the skin. I followed it to roast a turkey the 2 consecutive Thanksgivings before (see photo below), and I would have prepared it the same way again if it weren't for that appealing Latin-inspired menu.
In any case, although I was severely tired from cooking that meal—instead of gaining weight I actually lost 3 pounds that week!—the next day I woke up early, visited a bunch of places, and went to see a movie. I had wanted to see Slumdog Millionaire, but it was sold out, so I decided to see Australia, which had just come out, instead. While I was waiting for the movie to start, my head began to hurt, and I felt that the screen was too bright and that the sound was really loud. I also started to feel nauseated and felt progressively worse as the movie wore on. I stuck it out for about an hour until I finally decided to leave and immediately went to the ladies' room. Even though the line was rather short, I wanted to ask whoever was ahead of me if I could cut in front because I wasn't feeling so great, but I was afraid to say anything because I felt I would get sick right there if I opened my mouth. I almost didn't make it; but at least there was a bright side to getting sick: I didn't have to go through the agony of watching the rest of the movie. :P I went home as soon as possible, and after an hour-long nap, I felt perfectly fine! I guess I pushed myself too hard with all the cooking. It's fun to prepare a large menu, but if I'm doing it all by myself, maybe once or twice a year is enough. Sometimes even when I cut the number of dishes to 4, I'm still left feeling worn out afterwards. I'll try refrain from cooking another big meal for a while, but I know the right recipes will eventually come around and lure me into spending long hours in the kitchen yet again.

"Candy"

2009-04-16T01:32:00.004-04:00

Paolo Nutini performing "Candy," the first single off his upcoming album, Sunny Side Up, at a secret gig in London. Lucky contest winners! "Give me some candy!" exclaims a girl in the audience. XD Ah, I'm really looking forward to hearing his second album!

"I was perched outside in the pouring rain trying to make myself a sail. Then I'll float to you, my darling, with the evening on my tail. Although not the most honest means of travel, it gets me there nonetheless. I'm a heartless man at worst, babe, and a helpless one at best. Darling, I'll bathe your skin. I'll even wash your clothes. Just give me some candy before I go."

Ugh, I think I might just make myself sick of listening to that song soon enough. (^^;;)

Just because, one of my favorite songs of his, "Jenny Don't Be Hasty," recorded live at Bush Studios:

"...I'm deftly waiting for you to smile and change your mind. Then I'll say I'm sorry and I'll wrap my arms around your body. I really hope that you forgive in a hurry and don't just ask me to leave. Oh, Jenny, don't be hasty.... You said you'd marry me if I was 23, but I'm one that you can't see if I'm only 18."

A Day in Central Park

2009-01-31T23:55:00.001-05:00

One day in August I went to Central Park with 2 objectives. The first, which I failed to accomplish, was to ride the AeroBalloon at Cherry Hill. The basketed helium-filled balloon was there to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Greensward, the original plan for Central Park, by offering riders the opportunity to view the grounds from 300 feet in the air. I wanted to ride in it because how often do you get the chance to fly in a balloon and get an aerial view of Central Park?
The balloon was available for rides from 7AM to 10PM, and when I arrived there sometime past 10AM, I figured I'd have enough time to fly up, eat lunch, and then go on to do the second thing on my agenda. When I got in line there were maybe around 40 people ahead of me. That didn't seem too bad since the rides were supposed to last 10 minutes, and up to 4 people could ride at a time. After a few minutes of waiting, however, one of the AeroBalloon workers came to the end of the line to give an unconvincing speech—for people who must have said it so many times, couldn't they have at least figured out how to sound more believable and undeniably not joking? Maybe spouting off by rote, they just came across as really bad actors—about how the people waiting at the rear would have to wait 8 hours or more to get on the balloon. The guy said that he knew that we were optimistic, but that we could be doing better things with our life. Being in the spot where we were, we might not even be able to get on because they would probably have to halt rides later in the day if the wind was too strong. The wind had already affected the speed of the line; instead of 4, only 2 people were let on to ride at a time due to it.

View of the Lake from Cherry Hill

Despite the attempts to convince us there was no hope of getting on that day, people still stuck around for a while. We were told that if we wanted to try another day, it was best to come before they opened at 7AM. The only problem was that was the last weekend the balloon would be there, and the final day was that upcoming Friday. After a few hours of waiting and considering whether I could try to get there earlier on another day, which I could but didn't exactly feel like doing (:P), I finally decided to give up since I was anxious to get ready for the other thing on my itinerary for the day—to see the SummerStage concert happening that afternoon.

I'd never gone to see a SummerStage performance before. Most of the events are free to attend, and there are a few benefit concerts. There were 3 concerts that season that I considered. The one with Santogold I couldn't have gone to since I had tickets to see The Dark Knight in IMAX that afternoon. When I think about it now, I could have resold them for a crazy amount like some people did since they were hard to come by at that time. :P It's too bad I missed the concert with Janelle Monáe. She's one of my new favorite music artists, but I was a bit busy around that time and would have been too tired if I had went. I even thought of getting a ticket to see her open for Raphael Saadiq but later shot the idea down. At least I was able to see some clips online of her performance at SummerStage. Here's one of her doing the moonwalk and performing one of my favorite songs of hers, "Sincerely, Jane.:"

Love it!

The SummerStage concert that I went to was the final one for that year. When I got into Rumsey Playfield for the concert there were still a lot of empty spots in front of the stage, but with the sun blaring and having neglected to bring something to sit on, I settled for sitting on the bleachers all the way in the back. Later on during the show, before the final act came on, I shimmied my way through the crowd to get a better view.

All the acts that performed that day were Daptone Records recording artists, starting with Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens, then Menahan Street Band, and finally Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. I was only familiar with the latter, and that was the reason I went to see the show. It was great to see them live; Sharon Jones was especially terrific.

Below is a selection of photos I took during the concert:

Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens:
Menahan Street Band:
The Dap-Kings:
Sharon Jones:
Ms. Jones dancing with a man pulled onstage from the audience:

Dancing with another member of the audience.
If I remember correctly, his name was Rick:

The rest of the photos I took can be seen on my Flickr.

Broadway in Bryant Park 8/14/2008

2008-10-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

I didn't expect to see another Broadway in Bryant Park concert so soon after my first one. I wasn't very interested in the shows performing, but I decided to check it out since I had some time that day. What's nice about the concert in Bryant Park, as opposed to Broadway on Broadway in Times Square, is that you don't have to come early in order to get a good view. You can squeeze yourself into an empty spot on the lawn, and you can grab a chair from the park to sit on rather than having to stand. Although there are less shows represented at one time than there are at Broadway on Broadway, at Broadway in Bryant Park usually more than one song from each show is performed. It's a nice way to spend your lunch time.

Below are some of the photos I took during the concert:

13:The all teenage cast was really energetic. After listening
to the title song on the website and at the concert, it
got stuck in my head for a little bit. "13! 13!"

Young Frankenstein:
Grease:
Legally Blonde:
Featuring 2 girls (Bailey and Autumn, IIRC)
from the casting reality show that aired on MTV.
The final Broadway cast of Rent performing "Seasons of Love:"
More photos can be seen on my Flickr.

Broadway in Bryant Park 7/31/2008

2008-10-12T23:53:00.004-04:00

Instead of going to Broadway on Broadway this year, I finally got around to seeing my first Broadway in Bryant Park. The series of free summer concerts is held during lunchtime on the lawn in Bryant Park. I first found out about it around 5 years ago when I started seeing shows regularly. That year I made plans with a friend to see one of the concerts—wanted to catch the performance from Thoroughly Modern Millie, which I hadn't seen at that time—but unfortunately, the event was cancelled that day due to the lawn being wet or something or other. The weather that day happened to be great, though.

This year I wanted to see The Little Mermaid since I didn't get to see a performance from the show at last year's Broadway on Broadway. The weather forecasts leading up to that day were predicting rain, and I kept hoping it wouldn't because I'd miss another show due to it being cancelled. Fortunately, it turned out nice and sunny. I even got a sunburn on my scalp from sitting out there in the glare of the midday sun, which I didn't even notice until 2 days later! (O_o) Me looking in the mirror: Hey, wait a minute—why's my scalp red? (O_O) I always used to think about putting sunscreen where my hair parts, but I didn't do it that day because I never did it. Now, after that, I always do it.

Back to topic, besides The Little Mermaid, the other shows that gave performances that day were A Tale of Two Cities, Cirque Dreams (not to be confused with Cirque du Soleil), the limited engagement off-Broadway show In Transit, and the off-Broadway show Altar Boyz. Below are some of the photos I took of the concert:

Cirque Dreams:

In Transit:
The Little Mermaid:
Sierra Boggess performing "Part of Your World."
Tituss Burgess performing "Under the Sea."
The ladies who play Ariel's sisters and
Brian D'Addario as Flounder performing "She's in Love."
Because of the performance, I've come to like the new song. :)

Altar Boyz:
I thought the songs and performances from the show were
really cute and funny. I'll have to see it one time. ;)

The concert host being serenaded by the Boyz
singing "Something About You."
More photos can be seen on my Flickr.

Big Apple BBQ 2008

2008-10-10T20:52:00.000-04:00

This past summer wasn't really big for me in terms of eating barbecue. The one time I had to enjoy it was at the annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party held in June earlier this year. The weekend the event fell on was one of the steamiest, and with all the grilling and smoking and frying going on during the event, it was especially hot! Why couldn't it have been like 2 years ago when it was so chilly that I actually needed to wear a jacket? Even the weather at last year's BBQ was quite mild; I remember wearing a short-sleeved cropped cardigan that day.

Since it was so hot, the first thing my BBQ-hungry companion and I did was head on over to the Blue Smoke table to get root beer floats. What a life-saver with that yummy cold ice cream! I had to restrain myself from finishing the whole thing right away because I wanted to at least have some left to drink when I had gotten the next thing on my list, Smoked Crawfish & Okra Hushpuppies from City Grocery.What drew me to trying the fried little balls of cornmeal was the crawfish factor, though I don't think I could really discern the crawfish taste. Maybe it was the proportions, or I just need to eat more crawfish to get better acquainted with the taste. ;) It was the first time I tried the Southern food, and I really liked them. I thought they were especially tasty with the sauce.
After the appetizer, it was time for a main course. I headed over to the Mitchell's BBQ tent to try the Whole Hog & Coleslaw. I had read people's raves about how great the pork was, so I was eager to try it. I felt like I missed something because it wasn't as great as I had hoped—did I go to the right place, why was there no line if it was so great, and where was the crispy pork skin everyone kept talking about? I kind of wished that I had spent my caloric intake somewhere else.
When I was through with the pork, I was already feeling a little full. I guess guzzling down that root beer float in the beginning ruined my appetite, not to mention all the little free sample cups of Snapple tea and water I drank in attempt to cool myself off. Nevertheless, I still had to try the one thing I wanted for dessert: a Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcake from Blue Smoke.
Ooh, I love peanut butter. Look at the photo below of the peanut butter icing melting down from the heat! Just below the oozing topping in the center you can see the jelly filling. Yum!The cupcake was my final taste of food at the BBQ. I wanted to try the special flavor of frozen custard Shake Shack had for that day, but after waiting in line for a while, the heat made me change my mind. Instead, I ordered a drink with Prosecco wine that I think was called a Strawberry Mint "Julep."

At my next Big Apple BBQ my plan is to share instead of eating whole portions. I wanted to sample more, but my stomach wasn't big enough. I didn't have the patience to stick around too long in the humidity, either. I hope next time the weather is much nicer.

Fig Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust

2008-10-10T19:00:00.001-04:00

In a previous entry about cooking with figs, I mentioned that the next time I would be using the fruit would be to make a tart. The recipe I had in mind at that time was Fresh Fig Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Mascarpone Cream. The combination of sweet and savory ingredients was uncommon for a dessert, which made me curious. The flavor was pleasant, and I didn't find the rosemary, of which the strong scent of I sometimes dislike, in the crust too distracting. The crust was a little dry, though, which had me choking a bit while it was going down. Overall, the tart was pretty good, and the presentation was very pretty, especially with the glaze of honey and red currant jelly on top of the figs.

Pork Noodle Soup

2008-07-19T00:25:00.003-04:00

What interested me in trying this recipe for Pork Noodle Soup with Cinnamon and Anise was the fact that I really enjoy Chinese stewed beef flavored with anise and served with broth and noodles (especially Hong Kong style). It's one of my favorite things to order when I eat in Chinatown. As for this pork version from the December 2007 issue of Gourmet, I thought it was just okay. I'm surprised it received such good reviews on the Epicurious website, mainly because the amount of brown sugar called for in the recipe makes the broth almost disgustingly sweet. Perhaps using 1/4 of the sugar (1 tablespoon) instead of 1/4 cup would be better. I gave the recipe a second chance, and half the amount of sugar still seemed just a little too sweet. With the reduction of the sugar, the dish gets a little better; yet there is something missing that would make the recipe great.

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

2008-05-31T22:37:00.002-04:00

What do you do when you have over-ripe bananas? Make banana bread—of course! But I remember when I baked my first banana bread ever, I didn't know that little "secret." The result of that lack of knowledge was a bread sorely lacking in banana flavor, and if I recall correctly, it was not very tasty. =( Thankfully, I eventually wised up to the problem, and now I can bake up a fine banana bread like the rest of them. :)
The last time I found myself left with a couple of those blackening bananas, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try a new banana bread recipe. ;) So I headed on over to my favorite recipe site, Epicurious.com, and found the instructions to make the highly rated Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts.

I made the recipe twice. The first time I followed the list of ingredients exactly as written, which gave me a moist bread but one that was much too sweet. Thinking it was worth trying again, the second time I reduced the amount of sugar to half, which resulted in a bread that was not quite as moist but rose more. Though not as sugary as before, I still thought that the sugar could be reduced more. Other than that, it was good; tasty enough to make again the next time I have overly ripe bananas.

Ajiaco and Pozole Rojo

2008-04-30T23:13:00.003-04:00

When I think about it, I guess the reason why I decided to try a recipe for Ajiaco was because the chunks of corn on the cob in the photo that accompanied it made it look like it could be tasty. ;) Ajiaco is a Colombian stew made of chicken, corn, and potatoes; and the recipe with the appealing photo was from the September 2007 Latino America special issue of Gourmet. I had never tried Ajiaco before following the recipe, so I can't say how authentic the resulting taste was, but I enjoyed it. One of the traditional ingredients that I could not find were yellow potatoes called papas criollas, which break down and thicken the soup, so I used grated russets instead. If I can find the potatoes, I'd like to try making it again. I already ended up making it 2 times because on my first try I couldn't get fresh corn and instead used frozen kernels. The flavor of the soup was just okay that way, but when I finally got fresh corn and made it the second time, I enjoyed it much more!
Another recipe that I tried from the same issue of Gourmet was for Pozole Rojo, a Mexican pork and hominy stew. The ingredients in the recipe just made it seem like it would be good, and I was not disappointed! The stew is made with meat from country style pork ribs that have simmered for around an hour and then shredded. It is then added back to the resulting broth which is mixed with a puree of toasted Guajillo and Ancho chiles that give the stew its rojo, or red, color and adds a tiny bit of heat. When finished, the Pozole Rojo can be eaten with a variety of condiments. In the photo above there are sliced radishes, tortilla chips, white onion, avocado, lime, and crema. Because of all the toppings and preparation of other ingredients in the recipe, the active time for making the dish ends up being around 5 hours for me. From the time I start cooking the pork, to when the stew is finally prepared, I'm doing something—chopping, blending, straining, stirring, or whatever else is involved (that includes cleaning up, too). I think it's worth it, though. I've already made it a few times; but a funny thing is that when I first cooked the stew, it had a nice little bit of spiciness that has been absent the subsequent times I have made it. I don't know what I did that first time. That lack of spiciness was a bit of a disappointment for me, and I didn't enjoy eating it as much. I'll probably try adding more chiles when I make it again. The recipe is definitely one I'll use many more times, and everyone I've served the stew to has liked it. :)

Pork Tenderloin with Guava Glaze

2008-03-18T19:16:00.002-04:00

When I saw that pork tenderloin was on sale, I looked up some recipes and decided to make Grilled Pork Tenderloin a La Rodriguez with Guava Glaze and Orange Habanero by Bobby Flay. Not only were the reviews good, but it also put to use a jar of guava jelly that I didn't know what to do with. The glaze and the pork came out well, but I really didn't care for the mojo. Most people who left reviews for the recipe seemed to like it, though. It tasted a bit too sour to me, and I actually like sour but not like it tasted in the mojo. Perhaps it had to do with the orange juice that I used, but on its own it tasted good, so I don't know. I think I probably won't use the recipe again, but it was worth a try.

Les Miserables

2008-03-13T00:49:00.006-04:00

I meant to finish writing this post a long time ago...
Back in September I saw Les Misérables for the first time after winning 2 free tickets to the Broadway revival in a giveaway. I had never seen the show during its original Broadway run because the story never really compelled me to get a ticket, and I wouldn't have seen the revival if not for winning tickets because most reviews stated that it wasn't as good as the original. Nevertheless, I was excited to see the show, especially when I found out that Lea Salonga was playing the role of Fantine during that time! Salonga originated the leading role of Kim in Miss Saigon, the show that got me into loving musicals. I knew the music from the show and listened to the original cast recording numerous times before ever seeing the musical. When I finally saw it—my first Broadway show—it was long after Lea had left the cast. Having never seen her perform live on stage before, I really looked forward to seeing Les Miz, even more so when I discovered that Ann Harada was in the cast as well. =) She was the original Christmas Eve in one of my other favorite musicals, Avenue Q.

With my other ticket I brought my mom since I thought she might want to see Lea perform live. My mom had seen only one other Broadway musical before going with me to Les Miz, and that was Nine, a show we also saw together, which starred the handsome Antonio Banderas. :) When I asked her what she thought of Les Miz after seeing it, she told me that she liked Nine better. :) As for me, I thought Les Mis was just okay, but my opinion was changed recently when I saw the excellent anniversary concert on TV. In the revival, I enjoyed Lea's performance. She was wonderful. :) I enjoyed seeing Ann Harada as well and thought she was entertaining.

After the show, we waited by the stage door, which I don't usually do. I had only done it at 2 different shows before then, one of which I did just for the heck of it because I saw people gathered there. My mom, on the other hand, has done the stage door thing 100% of the time because of being with me. ;) Since she was with me again, I thought it would be fun and a nice memory. We got our Playbills signed, and when Lea came out, I said that we should ask if we could get a photo taken with her. My mom's reply was, "Who's going to take it," which knowing my mom and how she said it, might have been her way of saying that she didn't exactly want to do it. One of the people who was waiting next to us cheerfully volunteered to take a photo, though; but when Lea went to pose with me, my mom didn't even try to get in the photo! =( She can be a little camera shy at times. I had my own bashful moment earlier when Ann Harada came out and started signing. I wanted to ask her for a photo together, but when the time came, I chickened out and didn't ask! (^^;;)

Signed Playbill

As Lea worked her way down the line of waiting people, the crowd began to disperse, and I took the opportunity to take some photos of her while she was signing autographs for the rest of the fans:

Afterwards, I finally got some photos of my mom posing outside of the theater, and she took some of me as well. :) We also went across the street so I could get some shots of the theater with the marquee lit up, and while I was taking photos, a man walking past asked us if we would like for him to take a photo of us together. That was something I didn't expect, considering we weren't taking pictures of each other. I was a bit wary, but then I told him, "Okay." So in the end, my mom and I did get a photo taken of us together. :)

Broadway on Broadway 2007 & The Little Mermaid

2007-12-23T23:45:00.002-05:00

I debated whether or not to go to this year's Broadway on Broadway since the quality of the show had gone progressively downhill in the past few years I've attended. It wasn't until almost the last minute that I decided to go once more; but maybe I should have just stayed home because, afterwards, I felt that it was such a wasted effort to go to the Times Square concert. This year's Broadway on Broadway was the worst I've been to; I don't know if I'd ever be compelled to go again.

I decided not to take any photos because I ended up standing farther from the stage than I expected. The spectators were let into the viewing area differently than in years past, so that people who came hours later than others were able to get a better view just because they had stood waiting on the opposite corner, across the street from the line that had been started by the kids who had apparently gotten there at 1:30 AM. Since I had gotten there a few hours before the concert, I waited in the same line as those early birds, which resulted in me not getting such a great spot to view the action from. The best I could do was get a spot at the inner side at the barricade, next to the empty middle aisle they had created, where I could look with no people right in front of me to block my view. A couple of older ladies who I had been chatting with while waiting in line were so annoyed about their wasted efforts in coming early that they actually complained to the police at the event. While I was just standing there waiting, one of the police officers actually felt the need to say to me something to the effect of: "Don't worry, miss. The show will go on." (^^;) Since I was bored being by myself, I just stared at the jumbo screen up there in Times Square and watched the minutes pass by on the clock that was also there. Maybe I looked worried, but I was only really sighing to myself. :P
There was only one thing that brought me back this past September, and that was the promise of a performance from Disney's newest Broadway production, The Little Mermaid. I had read online that the cast was scheduled to perform, but, unfortunately, that did not happen. Despite the absence, I did leave with a lot of Little Mermaid beads and Disney on Broadway sticker sheets. They really plied them on us! I think I must have gotten almost every color of bead necklace they had except for one. Those are more things to add to my collection of Little Mermaid items, of which I have quite a few since The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney animated movie. ;) I loved it so much as a kid that long after I had grown out of it, when I was in college, my mom thought it was a good idea to give me a set of Little Mermaid figures as a Christmas present. ;)
I haven't seen the musical on Broadway yet. At first I thought that I wouldn't see it unless the reviews were good, but now I've changed my mind and don't really care. I was looking for a ticket a couple of months ago and found some seats available within the first few days after it was supposed to open, but I didn't go through with the purchase. That was a good thing since the opening night was changed to a later date after the stagehand strike, and I would've been too sick with a cold to go anyway. I hope I can see it early next year. Just thinking about it now, I'm getting excited to see it! ;) I better get a ticket soon...

Paolo at The Fillmore New York

2007-11-11T20:20:00.000-05:00

I was a bit disappointed when I wasn't able to get tickets to the Amy Winehouse and Paolo Nutini concert that was going to be at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park in September. Not only did tickets seem to be sold out when I checked online the day they went on sale, but I couldn't find anyone to go with me. Although there are all those free concerts at Rumsey Playfield during the summer, I've never been there, so I wasn't sure how safe it would be for me to leave there alone at night (and then there are those weirdos who talk to you sometimes).

When I found out that Winehouse had cancelled her US tour dates, I thought there might be a possibility that Nutini would instead tour on his own. I like both their music, but I like his songs more. So I was very happy when I learned that he was going to have a concert at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza in Manhattan. It was a second chance to get tickets to see him, and I was successful that time. (^__^) I also found someone to come along with me to make it more fun. :)

Opening act The Virgins:

It's blur-tacular!

Paolo:Times like this, I wish I had a better camera:

I didn't remember being this close. It seemed further back, but then maybe my perception was skewed because of all the taller people in front of me. I thought of wearing higher heels than I did, but, oh, my poor feet! (T_T) They still hurt even though the heels of my shoes weren't very tall, and actually, I still have a reminder of that in the form of a black-and-blue toenail. :( What we girls do for fashion...and to get a slightly better view at a concert. :P

See cell phone: we're taking the same picture. =)
(More photos can be seen on my Flickr.)

I really enjoyed the concert, and Paolo was great! After the show, I overheard someone talking on her cell phone, telling her friend thank you and that Paolo was her favorite now. After seeing him live, I also like him even more. :D

(This is my 100th post!)

Mango Tart

2007-09-30T19:18:00.000-04:00

Mangoes. Gorgeous. I like almost everything flavored with the fruit, but I think they're best unadulterated. So with a Mango Tart like this, with not much adornment, the taste of the fresh fruit can really shine through. I really like it; it's very easy and quick to make, depending on the amount of time you want to spend arranging the mango slices prettily. The base of the tart is made using a frozen puff pastry sheet, which just bakes in the oven for a few minutes. The cream between the pastry and the mangoes is a mixture of whipped cream cheese, sour cream, a bit of sugar, and lime zest. It's really yummy and delicious! I'd like to have some now if I could! ;)

Finally, I've caught up with all my cooking posts! (^__^)

Barcelona-style Rice

2007-09-30T18:45:00.000-04:00

Barcelona-style Rice was the second paella that I tried cooking. The recipe is by chef Tyler Florence from his cookbook Eat This Book: Cooking with Global Fresh Flavors. Since I used to watch his shows Food 911 and Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network, I thought it was worth trying the recipe.
I made the rice once to yield the original 4 servings and then again to make about 6 servings since the size of my paella pan is more suited to 6. The contents of the rice dish were chicken, littleneck clams, shrimp, lobster, chorizo, peas, tomatoes, and various spices. So it wasn't exactly a traditional paella, but the taste was pretty good. The people I served it to seemed to like it. It was much better than the Arroz Moreno that I made, which was a bit underwhelming and did not seem worth the effort that was put into making it.

Arroz Moreno

2007-09-29T19:58:00.000-04:00

Arroz Moreno, rice with cuttlefish and vegetables, was my first try at cooking paella. I found the recipe in the June/July 2005 issue of Saveur in an article about Valencia. Since I wanted to be authentic, I bought a traditional steel paella pan just so I could make it and other paellas in the future. I also used Bomba rice. The only thing I didn't do was cook it on an outdoor grill.
Besides the rice, the other ingredients in the paella were mostly vegetables—artichokes, asparagus, string beans, favas, zucchini, garlic, tomato, and spinach. Vegetable stock was used as the liquid, too. Instead of cuttlefish, I used squid (I think maybe less than the recipe called for), and a little bit of squid ink was stirred into the paella as well.

For my first try making paella, I think it turned out okay. I didn't like the recipe too much, so I won't be using it again. I'll just keep trying more recipes.

Apricot Slice

2007-09-29T19:11:00.000-04:00

I got the recipe for this Apricot Slice from Donna Hay Magazine issue 31. The cake part was made mostly of almond meal (ground almonds) and it was flavored with some grated orange zest. Apricot halves were placed on top and sank into the cake as it baked. The apricots I used were pretty big, thus the slices were also. The taste of the apricots were pretty sour, though, which I wasn't expecting; but the cake part was nice. If only the apricots had been sweeter... I'm not quite sure if I'll make it again, at least very soon, since the almond meal is very expensive, and there's always new recipes to try! With the little almond meal I have left I think I'll try something else.

Tandoori-style Chicken and Mangoes

2007-09-28T19:46:00.000-04:00

Mangoes are my favorite fruit, so of course when I saw the recipe for Grilled Tandoori-style Chicken and Mangoes with Mango Jasmine Rice, I knew that I had to try it! ;) I was not disappointed; I already made it twice. The first time I cooked the chicken I used leg quarters, and the second time I used skinless thighs and drumsticks. On my initial try I thought the chicken lacked flavor from the marinade, so upon the second try I prepared it more like a traditional tandoori. Instead of marinating it for 1 hour as the recipe instructed, I marinated it for something like 6-8 hours in addition to pricking the chicken all over with a fork. The result was more flavorful and tastier. If it weren't for lack of time, I would have marinated it for about 12 hours, and I think it would have tasted even better.

Now I realize that when my camera takes photographs of
chicken, it turns out looking a bit on the pink side. It's cooked!

As for the rice, I thought it was very tasty. It was flavored with some of the same marinade used for the chicken, and diced mango and toasted pine nuts (love!) were folded in after the rice was cooked. I cooked it in a rice cooker for convenience and the best result. I found that the amount of water used in the recipe was too much, so I reduced the amount the second time I made it. I don't like rice over-bloated with water; I prefer it more on the slightly harder side that's not too sticky.

I will most definitely be making this recipe again! :)

Egg Fettuccine with Figs

2007-09-28T19:06:00.000-04:00

Reading the interesting combinations of ingredients in the recipe for Egg Fettuccine with Figs, Rosemary, and Pancetta was enough to pique my interest in making it. Despite the way it sounded and the good reviews it received on Epicurious.com, I was disappointed by the flavor of the dish. It somehow didn't quite work for me. In addition to the main ingredients listed in the name, there was also some white wine, chicken broth, red onion, parsley, lemon juice, and a sprinkling of toasted bread crumbs and freshly grated parmesan on top. Maybe there was something I missed in the preparation? I don't think so. The next time I use figs will be to make a tart, and after that, maybe I'll try this pasta dish again, just to give it a second chance.

Curry Chicken Wings

2007-09-27T19:29:00.000-04:00

Since I really enjoyed the Chicken Wings in Peanut Sauce, I decided to try cooking some different flavors of chicken wings. Chicken Wings with Curry-yogurt Glaze was something I remembered seeing when perusing through appetizer recipes, so I decided to give it a shot. It was a very simple recipe—just marinate and bake the chicken, then baste it occasionally with the extra marinade/glaze which consisted of yogurt, garlic, onion, curry powder, cumin, cilantro, and ginger. It was good that it didn't take too much effort to prepare because the taste was nothing to rave about. I won't be making them again; I'll stick with the wings in peanut sauce.

Peach Pie with Vanilla and Cardamom

2007-09-27T19:10:00.000-04:00

Seeing all the delicious ripe fruit in the summer brought about the urge to bake up a nice fruit pie. The type I decided to make was the intriguing sounding Summer Peach Pie with Vanilla and Cardamom. The whole thing was made from scratch—no prepared crust. The peaches were left unpeeled, which according to the recipe, gave it flavor, texture, and color. It did, and the filling was a pretty pink. I didn't mind or notice the peels at all while eating the pie. As for the taste, it was just okay to me, not really memorable. Eating the pie with some vanilla ice cream made it better, though. :)

Shrimp Salad Rolls

2007-09-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

When I saw a photo of Shrimp Salad Rolls in Gourmet Magazine, they looked appetizing enough to try out the recipe. I like shrimp, but what really ruined the taste of the shrimp salad for me was the tarragon. Now I can safely say that I am not fond of that herb, and maybe I can say, too, that I do not like any flavor like that combined with shrimp. Shrimp and fennel—bleh. The only time I like that licorice type flavor is in sweet foods and Asian flavor combinations like anise and beef—yum, a favorite. Though I can't say that I hate tarragon; it's fine when it's mixed with other herbs and not the main flavor.

Back to the salad, aside from the tarragon, I don't think the taste was too bad. It was easy to eat in the hot dog rolls, but I think it tastes better eaten with a different bread like pumpernickel, even if it becomes a little messy. The hot dog rolls make a nice presentation, though.

Summer BBQ

2007-09-22T23:01:00.000-04:00

These were the foods I cooked up for my pre-Fourth of July barbecue. ;) I didn't have any plans for Independence Day because of this. The menu was for 6 people and consisted of Feta Burgers with Grilled Red Onions, Grilled Hot Dogs with Mango Chutney and Red Onion Relish, Molasses Baked Beans with Ginger, and Creamy Potato Salad with Lemon and Fresh Herbs. I'm not the most experienced at grilling, and it was the first time I barbecued hamburgers. They came out a little dry. I think if I had used a leaner ground beef, like 90% instead of 80%, and cooked it for the time specified, it wouldn't have turned out that way. I think leaner beef takes longer to cook, but then the recipe didn't call for a beef with a specific fat ratio. Well, at least I know what I can do for next time, if there is one—grill it less or use leaner beef.

The other dishes turned out fine. There wasn't much to the hot dogs, just a special relish that had to be prepared. The baked beans were just okay. I think I liked the potato salad the best. I really enjoyed the lemon zest and fresh herbs (parsley, basil, and dill). If anything, I would make that one again.

Linguine with Chorizo

2007-09-20T20:03:00.000-04:00

This dish is called Creamy Linguine with Chroizo, Pea and Fetta and is from Donna Hay Magazine issue 32. The name pretty much says it all in terms of the ingredients...but there was a little bit of fresh basil, too. I was quite tempted when slicing the chorizo; it smelled so yummy and delicious that I wanted to eat it right then and there! But I resisted. It was so nice to finally taste the sausage in the completed dish, which was very simple and tasty. Yum.

Nacho Mac and Cheese

2007-09-20T19:38:00.000-04:00

I love nachos and I love macaroni and cheese, though I only eat either of them very rarely. Actually, I think the interval between the last times I ate nachos was something like 5 years. As for mac and cheese, it's not something I make very often (not to mention that it's bad for the waistline). It's my love of cheese that makes the foods so appealing to me. :)
So when I spotted this recipe for Nacho Macaroni and Cheese and saw that it was supposedly fast and easy to make, I decided to give it a try. The nacho part of the dish comes from the fact that there are tortilla chips and cheese atop the macaroni, and there's salsa verde and cilantro in the mix, too. I especially liked the crunchy chips on the top; I think it makes the mac and cheese really enjoyable to eat. The overall taste of the dish was pretty good, and it's good to make in a time crunch. I already made it twice. ;)

Strawberry Granita

2007-09-18T18:57:00.000-04:00

One of the desserts I loved making this summer was Strawberry Granita with Whipped Cream. I had never made granita before trying out the recipe, and I found that it was so easy and oh so delicious! I really loved the freshness of the berries and lemon juice, and the whipped cream made a great partner. The dessert was really refreshing during the hot summer days (as you can see in the photo, the heat melted the granita pretty quickly). If only strawberries were still in season, I would make it several times more!

Zucchini Bread

2007-09-08T16:11:00.000-04:00

Zucchini Bread is one of my favorite breads. I've loved it since childhood. Being not very fond of vegetables as a child, it was one of those strange foods. How can something with a vegetable as a main ingredient be such a delicious, sweet baked good? I think I can thank one of my former next-door neighboors for introducing me to zucchini bread. She used to make a delicious one. I can't remember if she ever shared her recipe, but I do have one from some unknown source which could quite possibly be her. It's hard to say because the recipe is typed out, but I think I must have copied it with the typewriter when I was a little kid. The numerous spelling mistakes and odd word choices are telltale signs. (^^;) Although the origin is unknown, it's the only recipe I've used when I want to make zucchini bread, and it turns out pretty tasty!

Heirloom Tomato Salad

2007-09-02T20:46:00.000-04:00

When I saw heirloom tomatoes available at the grocery, I thought it would be a good opportunity to finally try using them. I decided on a simple recipe for Heirloom Tomato Salad with Mozzarella and Basil. The tomatoes, along with some fresh basil and perlini, was tossed in dressing. It was a nice summer salad, though maybe a little too many tart tomatoes for my taste. Tomatoes aren't my favorite ingredient in salads, but the recipe was a nice change of pace.

Big Apple BBQ 2007

2007-09-02T20:21:00.000-04:00

Earlier this summer I went to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party for the second year in a row. Since I forgot to take photos of the food the previous year, I made sure to remember to do so this time around, though I didn't have the chance to sample much.

Pulled Pork shoulder (with their championship red sauce) and Coleslaw from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q:
I should have put more sauce on there!

Fried Pies from Stehling Brothers Fried Pies:
These were pretty good. They looked like empanadas, only with apple filling.
I also took a few photos around Madison Square Park, NYC, where the BBQ was held:
Roxy Paine's Conjoined, one of three works of art that will be on display in the park until December 31:
Big Apple BBQ sponsor tents:

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

2007-08-14T22:17:00.000-04:00

Since it's the summer and berries are in season, I've made quite a few desserts with strawberries as an ingredient. The first strawberry recipe that I tried this season was Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes. Ooh, chocolate and strawberries is a winning combination!As the recipe suggested, instead of cutting the cakes and layering them with whipped cream and strawberries, I just added both as toppings. While it looked nice, I didn't like the taste experience too much. The textures seemed so separate—there was the dry shortcake and then some strawberry with wet juice, etc. When I tried it again the traditional way, I liked it much better.

Muhammara

2007-08-09T21:13:00.000-04:00

I'd even heard of, much less tried, muhammara until I found the recipe for "Magical Muhammara" from Diana Abu-Jaber's book, The Language of Baklava: A Memoir, printed in an issue of Saveur. While I haven't read the book, I did try the recipe as well as different one that was printed in Bon Appétit Magazine. The one from Abu-Jaber's book I found much better and is the one pictured.

Muhammara is a dip made of ground walnuts, roasted red bell pepper, breadcrumbs, pomegranate (in this case, juice), olive oil, etc and is eaten with pita bread. I didn't think it was that spectacular when I first tried it, but I started to like it bit by bit. Actually, I liked chewing the pita bread more than tasting the dip! I really liked the chewy mouthfeel of this particular supermarket brand of pitas, and it made eating the dip very enjoyable. On the other hand, people I served the muhammara liked it a lot on the very first try. I've since made the dip 3 or 4 times, and I think I'll make it again soon!

Campanelle with Tomatoes and Feta

2007-07-15T22:58:00.000-04:00

I tried this recipe because of the simple ingredients—tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, green onions, arugula, feta cheese. It was easy to throw together, a nice fresh-tasting dish. I'll probably make it again when I want to cook up a light, quick meal.

Chicken Wings in Peanut Sauce

2007-07-01T21:54:00.000-04:00

I cooked these Chicken Wings in Peanut Sauce for Memorial Day. The chicken was rubbed with some oil, ginger, and garlic and baked at a high temperature and then broiled to crisp the skin. After the cooking, the chicken was tossed in a peanut sauce made from natural peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, and some spices. They were very tasty and nice and crispy, and the lime and peanut flavors really stood out. Everyone seemed to like them.

Even though I love peanut butter, I don't think I would have ever tried the recipe were it not for the excellent reviews it received on Epicurious. I'm glad I did. It makes me want to try some different recipes for chicken wings now. I think there was a curry one that seemed a bit interesting. :)

Braised Oxtails

2007-06-03T20:33:00.000-04:00

This is Braised Oxtails with Star Anise and Chinese Greens. I had only eaten oxtails cooked one way, and when I saw the recipe for these oxtails with anise, I thought it would be interesting to try. I really liked the way it turned out, and the flavor is similar to stewed beef that I like ordering (usually with noodles) from Chinese restaurants. Actually, I think I might like this better than the beef with anise flavoring that I have tried so far, but it's been a while sine I've had some. Maybe it has to do with the fat in the oxtails because it gives the sauce a nice silky quality.I ate this with yu choy and rice, and it's nice to have some vegetables with something so rich. Because the meat was slow cooked for 3 hours, it came off easily from the bone, so there wasn't much difficulty or mess eating it. I'll definitely make it again sometime.

Cold Sesame Noodles

2007-05-26T18:44:00.000-04:00

This is Cold Sesame Noodles 66. The recipe is by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and is part of the menu at his restaurant, 66. I've made these noodles several times, mostly because I have an aunt who really likes it, but never got around to taking a photo until recently. The noodles used are the bean thread type, which is plated atop a soy sauce and vinegar based broth flavored with cilantro/coriander and cinnamon. In addition to the broth, the is also a spicy peanut-sesame sauce added, some mung bean sprouts, cucumber, apple, crystallized ginger, scallions, and peanuts. The recipe makes plenty of broth, so it might be better to halve the recipe, and I prefer the servings to have less broth than specified. Also be warned that if you try the recipe, although it calls for "light soy sauce," do not use actual light soy sauce that you would find in an Asian grocery. What I think they mean is "lite soy sauce," as in low sodium, and that seems to be the case for all Gourmet and Bon Appétit recipes. If you're familiar with Asian ingredients, you'll know that light soy sauce actually has more sodium that regular soy sauce, if I remember correctly, somewhere around 200-400mg more. The first time I made the recipe I used actual light soy sauce, and it practically ruined the taste because of the saltiness!

Half of the times I've made the noodles, I served it like in the photograph, and the other times I just mixed it all together for convenience so it could be served buffet style. It's much better to serve it in individual bowls so that each person can mix it themselves, and it is more enjoyable that way since it does not become too mixed and the individual flavors can be appreciated.

Spring Flowers

2007-05-18T21:40:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos that I took in April of magnolia trees in blossom:

"Ehh" photos. I think all the blossoms drive my camera crazy!

Crew

2007-04-28T17:43:00.000-04:00

"Let's all stroke together..."♪

Men's Heavyweight: Compton Cup:First Varsity: Princeton vs. Harvard

Women's Open: Class of 1984 Trophy:
Tigers ahead.

Tigers finish first.

L to R: Dartmouth, Bucknell, Penn

So I went this year! =)

Pancakes with Apples

2007-04-03T23:44:00.000-04:00

I'm not really into breakfast foods so much, but I decided to make these Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Syrup Apples in order to use up some leftover buttermilk I had in the fridge. Usually if I make pancakes, it's whole wheat; or if it's for guests, then I'll make the puffy oven variety topped with fresh fruit. I didn't want to do the same old stuff, and the recipe for these pancakes was the first I came across when flipping through my cooking magazines.

The pancakes have the typical ingredients but also had a little bit of cornmeal, yogurt, and brown sugar added to the mix. The texture when it was cooked was light and airy, and as the recipe stated, it was like a cross between a crepe and a pancake. The apples were cooked very simply with some maple syrup and butter, but it tasted a bit sweet to me. I guess normally I wouldn't use that much syrup on my pancakes; but overall, the pancakes were good! :)

One Night Only

2007-04-02T23:49:00.001-04:00

I've been watching some streaming videos on the net of Broadway performances lately, and ever since I saw this clip a few days ago of Hugh Jackman from the 2004 Tony Awards opening, I've had "One Night Only" stuck in my head! When I watched the original broadcast, this didn't happen to me. It's a good thing I have the Dreamgirls soundtrack!

Hugh should come back to Broadway. :) I saw him in The Boy from Oz, but I sat in the nosebleeds because I got my ticket from TKTS. That was during the BC/EFA (Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS) fundraiser, so at the end of the show they were auctioning off things such as Polaroid photos with Hugh, a kiss, and Hugh's t-shirt with "traceable DNA." XD (If he's ever in another show, I'll try to get his autograph for you, You-know-who-you-are! (^_-)

Here's another video from the same awards show, a performance by the cast of Movin' Out:

The video doesn't play smoothly in certain spots because there's too much movement happening. =( I wish this show were still on Broadway. It would've been the first show I'd think of taking visitors to see if they wanted to watch something on Broadway.

The last show I saw was Chicago in January, and it was my first time seeing it on stage. I had to see it when I learned that Bebe Neuwirth was going to be back, albeit in a different role. I'd wanted to see it some years ago when she reprised her role as Velma, but because of certain reasons, I didn't. =( I'm so glad I got to see her in Chicago this time! :D So, in honor of that, here's Ms. Neuwirth in the Chicago performace from the 51st Tonys:

Finally, a Shackburger!

2007-04-01T17:44:00.000-04:00

I mentioned how I was craving a Shackburger in an earlier post, so when I found out that Shake Shack, in Madison Square Park, NYC, had officially re-opened on the first day of spring, I just had to go there! ;D Oh my gosh, I was so excited! =) It was going to be kind of cold the day I planned to go, around the mid-40s to 50°F (around 8-11°C). I thought, "Is 50 degrees too cold to be eating hamburgers outside?" I didn't care, though. I was going to do it anyway! XD

Because it had been a while since I last had a Shackburger and I had been craving one for months, I got a little carried away in ordering. (^^;) I decided to get a Shack Stack, which consisted of a cheeseburger, 'shroom burger (fried portobello filled with muenster cheese), and Shackburger—all in one bun. I only realize now that I've had to look up the ingredients that a Shack Stack has a lot of cheese! (^^;) Well, that's okay because I like cheese, but normally I don't like it on burgers, a Shackburger being one of the rare exceptions. ;) I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to finish it, but I still ordered it and a root beer float. =O

My root beer float and Shack Stack.
The other burger isn't mine, and I only had a few fries
—how could I eat all that!

A close-up of the Shack Stack.

When I bit into that burger, I was so happy. :) It was so good but oh, so so bad. ;) I think with just the first few bites I could have stayed very happy...because trying to tackle the rest of the burger was a challenge. (^^;) I could only finish eating about 2/3 of it. (^_^;;) (It's a good thing I prefer to walk around the city rather than take the subway.) I finished my root beer float, though; but you should have seen my hands shaking from the cold! I might as well been trying to shake water off them, that's how much they were moving. (^^;)

After the first few bites.

You might be thinking, "Isn't it a little crazy to be eating outside when it's that cold," or what the deal is with my hamburger craving. (^_^;) Well, let me tell you, I wasn't the only one. Everyone sitting around me was giggly and happy, saying things like, "Yummy, yummy, yummy," and "How long has it been?" ;) And those just happen to have been said by people who must've been 30 to 40 years older than me! It seemed that many people wanted their Shake Shack fix. =) Even though I went there when most of the snow had been cleared away, I saw photos of people who ate outside when there was still snow on the ground. :P During lunch time you will see a long line despite the weather.

People enjoying their meals.
A long line of people waiting to order.

I've satisfied my craving for now. The next time I go I'll get a Shackburger. I want to try a Concrete Jungle (frozen custard), too, but it will be in the summer so I don't get all chilly. :P

Plátanos

2007-03-30T00:38:00.000-04:00

My roommate in college, who was from Puerto Rico, once cooked these type of plantain chips, and I learned how to make them from watching her. It's really simple. You just thinly slice some unripened green plantains, fry them until crisp, and then sprinkle them with a little Adobo seasoning (I use the kind with pepper, or con pimienta). As a dipping sauce, combine some minced garlic, mayonnaise, and ketchup. It's a pretty tasty snack (even though I don't actually eat much of them). (^^;)
When I visited my friend in Puerto Rico we had this dish that she really loves called Mofongo. She liked hers con chicharrones, or with crisp pork. Mofongo is basically a mash made out of green plantains, and at the restaurant that we ate, it was served with some broth. I got mine with chicharrones, although I thought of getting it with octopus instead. ;) I thought the dish was okay; I didn't like it as much as she. I have an uncle who stayed in San Juan for a short while, and he seemed to love mofongo. :)

I'll probably write about another plantain dish in a future post; it will be a sweet one. ;)

Pan Fried Noodles

2007-03-25T19:18:00.000-04:00

I cooked this "Beef Chow Mein" per request for a birthday; and come to think of it, most of the times I've made this dish was for someone's birthday. The noodles are Hong Kong style that are fried crisp. On top is flank steak, shiitake mushrooms, and choy sum with a sauce flavored with soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sesame oil, just to name a few. I onced cooked it with fish balls, too, because the birthday celebrant liked them. Ooh, looking at the photo right now makes me so hungry! I'd love to have some! ;D

I also baked Coffee-Walnut Cake with Coffee-Mascarpone Cream per request, but I didn't take a photo. I thought it was alright but too much like the Walnut Torte with Coffee Whipped Cream I made before, which was much better. The Coffee-Walnut Cake was a bit underwhelming. =(

Mushroom Soup

2007-02-22T19:48:00.000-05:00

While at the grocery store spotting some shiitake and enoki mushrooms, I thought it would be good to cook up some Spicy Noodle Bowl with Mushrooms and Spinach. The recipe is from the April 2002 issue of Cooking Light, and I remembered it being not too bad, so I decided to purchase the mushrooms and try it again.

In addition to the mushrooms and the spinach were ginger, scallions, somen noodles, and thin slices of pork, all of which was in a beef broth. For the "spiciness" there were hot red pepper flakes, but it wasn't enough for me to even notice. Some cilantro topped it off.

So after a second try, I still feel the same. It's an okay soup.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

2007-02-22T19:44:00.000-05:00

Ever since I saw the recipe for Pumpkin Doughnuts with Powdered Sugar Galze and Spiced Sugar Doughnut Holes and the delicious looking photo, I wanted to try it. So when I saw that canned pumpkin was on sale for 10 cents each after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I immediately thought of the recipe. ;) I basically got it for free, too, because prepared graham cracker crusts were on sale for the same price, and I had a 30 cent coupon. =) Yea for getting a good deal! =P

When a few people stopped by for a morning visit, I decided it was the right time to try my hand at tackling the recipe. I had made doughnuts before, small balls dropped with a spoon and deep fried, and the pumpkin doughnuts were my first try doing the rolling out and cutting method. It was fun making them, and everyone enjoyed watching them being made and cooked and then eating them! :D The taste was good. I preferred the glazed ones to the spiced doughnut holes, but with the amount of spiced sugar the recipe yields, you'd have enough to coat 2 batches of dough used to make holes only. I've already made the recipe twice more just to use up the sugar. No more pumpkin doughnuts this year! :P

Sweet, Salty Snacks Made with Nuts

2007-01-19T22:13:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I tried making candy for the first time using a recipe for Fragrant Indian Brittle. I was almost afraid I would burn it because of my first attempts at boiling sugar and water for Sans Rival way back when. I've since realized that the most important thing is that you make sure you use a heavy pot, or else your sugar will burn quickly. Despite what the reviews for the recipe say at the linked page, which I didn't read until writing this, I made the brittle successfully without burning, and the syrup did reach a temperature of 350°F.

The reason I decided to try that particular recipe was because I have a whole bag of green cardamom pods, and I thought that would be one way to use them up. I don't really like opening cardamom pods, though. The seeds range in color from brown to black, and sometimes they come out clumped together, which makes me think of something unappetizing...if you understand what I'm getting at. (>_<;) I like the flavor, though; but perhaps if you're not familiar with it you might not like the taste of this particular brittle. I think it's yummy! :) Besides the cardamom, also added was pistachios, almonds, cashews, honey (I used Acacia), and other sweeteners. I love the color of the brittle, especially the bright green from the pistachios. :) Having successfully made candy, I'd like to try others, too. It's fun! :)
More recently, I made some Tamari Almonds, which can be seen in the photo above along with the brittle. I'd never had them before, and they seemed interesting enough to make. The recipe I used flavored the almonds with tamari, of course, and a little bit of sugar. They cooked faster than I expected, and, unfortunately, about a third of them got slightly burned in the process. =( The burnt ones aren't bad, and the ones that came out okay are good. They have a nice salty flavor, good for snacking.

Crochet, Knitting Projects

2007-01-14T00:54:00.000-05:00

I saw this video a little while ago about Boise State Football's Ian Johnson who's not only a sport star but a crocheter, too! =)

He used to sell his crochet goods by being contacted through word-of-mouth, but the NCAA has since banned him from selling his work and donating his handmade goods to charity. =(

Damn, he's fast! I'm in awe. He bangs a hat out in 4 minutes! (O_O) Show off. :P A very guy thing to do.

Reading through some craft blogs I came upon a pattern for knitted sushi that is pretty cute. (^_^) I found a pattern for a knitted "Via Mala" purse by Midnight Knitter and a cabled bag tutorial by princess_philo that are nice, too; but I think I'm going to start making more knitted items for my dolls this week, now that most of my craft projects are done. I already made 2 knitted doll hoodies, but I want to make whole outfits. I'm also still working on that sweater I started last month, but I think I'll finish today. :)

Dreamgirls, Hiptix and Theatre Discounts

2007-01-13T23:12:00.000-05:00

I finally saw the movie version of Dreamgirls the other day. :) Back when the soundtrack came out, there was a free "listening party" over at AOL's website. I listened to Jennifer Hudson sing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" so many times that the sound was still reverberating in my ears hours later. (@_@) My ears actually felt tired, and I felt as though I had to take a break from listening to anything for a while. (^_^;) I'm rooting for her to win at the Golden Globes on Monday for her performance as Effie.

Before I saw the movie I watched a clip on YouTube of Jennifer Holliday performing the same song at the 1982 Tony Awards. It's really worth a watch, or another if you've already seen it before. From this performance there's no questioning why she won a Tony for the role:

Nine beat Dreamgirls that year for Best Musical and Best Score. I saw the Nine revival in 2003, and I wonder what number they performed at the 1982 Tony Awards.

On to another "Tony," I was surprised last week when I received a free 2-year subscription to the magazine Time Out New York in the mail. Apparently, it was a free gift for being a member of the Roundabout Theatre Company's Hiptix program, which offers ticket discounts to theatregoers aged 18 to 35. Membership is free, and once you join, you will periodically receive discounts by email to Roundabout's shows. With the discounts, tickets are in the $30 range or less. Sometimes they will also send offers for free play readings, as well.

If you are a member, every once in a while they will throw special parties after a particular performance of one of their shows where you can mingle with other members and some of the performers from the show. In order to attend you need to have purchased a ticket to that specific performance. In the 4 years that I've been a member of Hiptix they usually held one of those events once a year, but last year I think they had 3. I haven't been to one yet, but I considered going to the one for The Apple Tree. I'd like to go to at least one sometime.

I actually only took advantage of the Hiptix discounts once. I saw the play Master Harold...and the Boys for $15. If that's not cheap enough, together with a friend, I once volunteer ushered at Roundabout's American Airlines Theatre and saw a show for free. I signed up at the theatre around a month in advance of the date of the performance. There was a dress code, and we had to wear a white shirt with a black skirt or pants/trousers. On the day of the performance we came early for an orientation, and they chose where each person would usher. I had to usher the front orchestra, and my friend ushered the back. This entailed showing people to their seats and giving out Playbills. During the intermission I also had to "guard" the stage so that no one touched the little microphones on the floor. While the show was on we got to sit in any of the seats that were not taken. I thought the experience was okay, but I would rather pay. Sometimes the theatergoers are a little funny. (^_^;)

Back to Time Out, along with my first issue I also received a Season of Savings coupon book. Season of Savings is one of many that offers discounts to Broadway shows. If you sign up for their email list you are entered for a chance to win 2 free tickets to a show. I was on their mailing list before, and although I didn't win tickets that way, I did win a pair for participating in one of their surveys. I got to choose between 3 shows and picked Movin' Out. :) I went with a friend not knowing what to expect, and we got great seats. It was an excellent show and we had a fun time. :D

HYD2 and...Hambugers? =)

2007-01-11T18:31:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite stories/anime/manga is Hana Yori Dango (花より男子), also known as "Boys Over Flowers," by Yoko Kamio (神尾葉子). Just recently, the second series of the Japanese live action TV drama adaptation, Hana Yori Dango 2 (花より男子2), started airing; and the first episode featured the main characters in New York City. It was fun seeing the shots of them around there; too bad I could not catch a glimpse of them in person.

Anyway, what does this have to do with hamburgers? Well, a few weeks before the new series aired I saw a screencap of one of the actors, Jun Matsumoto (松本潤), filming in NYC in front of the Flatiron Building. Me being the way I am (^_^;) and because I had a particular craving a couple weeks before that, thus was my train of thought (click for entire image):

Matsujun in front of the Flatiron Building...
↓
Which is near Madison Square Park...
↓
Which is the location of Shake Shack...
↓
That makes the burger I was craving...
↓
Eating a Shackburger = Happiness!! (^___^)

LOL. There was also a scene where two of the characters are sitting in Madison Square Park, and one goes off to buy a hot dog. At that moment I was thinking, "Why go to the hot dog vendor when you can go to Shake Shack!" XD Too bad it's closed for the season. :( I think I'll make some hamburgers one of these days. I want to try one with this creamy curry salad dressing that I recently tasted; it seems like it would be a good pairing. ;)

A Flurry of Handmade Projects

2007-01-03T19:45:00.000-05:00

As you might already know, I had several handmade projects lined up for myself in December. I seriously didn't know if I was going to complete them all in time. Usually, the time it actually takes for me to get things done equals what I think it's going to take multiplied by 3 or 4. (x_x) Sometimes I really underestimate how time-consuming things are even though I have experience. :P Miraculously, however, I was able to get everything done last month...although 1 item snuck past my deadline of December 25th. (><;)

One of the things I had to put a rush on making, although half the things I made were done at a sped-up process, was a knitted dress for my goddaughter who will be celebrating her 1st birthday soon. (^_^)Isn't it precious? :) The pattern is "Delores" from Berroco Etc., Etc. Brochure #218, and it was knit with Berroco Cotton Twist yarn. I always thought the dress was so cute, but I never had anyone special to make it for until I was asked to be a godmother.

The color I used was called "Tile," but I also considered a light yellow called "Lemon Meringue." I think that would have been cute, too. I decided to make the dress in the size for 18 months because I wasn't sure how big she was since we live in different countries. I asked but never got an answer. :/

I gave the dress to the grandparents when I met them on Christmas, and it was to be hand-delivered to the family later. My uncle thought I had made it the night before. (x_x) Well, it's true that I worked on it the night before and finished it then, but I estimated it took me 40 hours to knit and crochet. I wish I could make it in 1 night!

I just heard that they received it last night. (^_^) It's big for her, but they promised to take a photo of her wearing it. (^_^) I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks on her!

Before and after working on the dress I also made 2 scarves. The first was made using a pattern from the Holiday 2006 issue of Knit Simple. I used Lion Brand Cashmere Blend yarn in color Charcoal. I knit like a maniac to get it done quickly:
The second scarf was crocheted with Lion Brand Fettuccini yarn using the pattern for the "Man's Scarf" from the Men's Issue of Knit.1. I started it on Chirstmas Eve after I finished the baby dress. Really cutting it close, right? I thought I could finish it that night because it was crocheted using a size N (10.0 mm) hook. I was wrong.

I was hoping against hope that I would complete it in time to gift for Christmas, but I don't really have much experience when it comes to crocheting. (^^;) I had to re-learn single crochet just to do the edging on the baby dress, and the only reason I learned to crochet in the first place was to do some edging on another knitted garment I made a few years ago. Luckily, I find crochet really easy to pick up. It's much easier to learn than knitting which requires some practice to do evenly.

The scarf was crocheted vertically with 150 stitches per row. After completing about 3 of 10 rows, with a bunch of mistakes to fix along the way, I realized that it looked nothing like the photo! As they say, "haste makes waste." By that time I decided that I was going to pull an all-nighter to try to get it done even though I knew the chance that I would finish it was very slim. After trying a few more times, I finally realized that I had read the pattern incorrectly! (@_@) I started again after that, finally the correct way, but at 9 AM I decided to give up for the day. I then went off to have some breakfast and do some holiday baking. Amazingly, I wasn't tired, though my hands felt sore when holding a crochet hook.

A couple of days later I finished crocheting the scarf. Here it is in all its glory (the color in the photo is a little too yellow):
Soon after, I started knitting a new sweater for myself even though my hands still felt sore. I couldn't help myself! (^^;)

Before all those garments, I finished making those felt ornaments I mentioned in an earlier post. The 2 that were since completed, beginning with Santa:
Then, a basket full of apples:
Just because, my favorite snowman ornament:
Finally, one of the first felt ornaments I made a few years ago:
Eventually, the tiredness from pulling the all-nighter (stayed up for 36 hours) caught up with me, and I didn't feel like putting my handmade ornaments on the tree until a few days after Christmas. :( I ended up getting a little bit of a cold, too, probably partly due to lack of rest; but I've pretty much recovered now. :)

Walnut Torte

2006-12-30T23:18:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago I baked this Walnut Torte with Coffee Whipped Cream for a convivial little get-together with some of my relatives:The recipe caught my eye as I was looking for a dessert recipe to use for Christmas. It's a flourless cake that is only comprised of 3 ingredients: walnuts, eggs, and sugar. I wasn't sure how well it was going to turn out, but it ended up being a hit! =) The taste was not too sweet and better than I expected (though I think it could have used more whipped cream for presentation sake). People liked it enough to get seconds, and they even told me that I should bake it again for Christmas. Of course, I had other plans. ;) The dessert I wanted to make was this peppermint pâte à choux thing, but with all the projects I had to finish before Christmas, I didn't have enough time to make it, much less find the ingredients. Actually, I didn't even know if I would have time to bake anything. So in the end, I whipped up the walnut torte again on Christmas morning in record time; I amazed myself. =)

Getting in the Holiday Spirt

2006-12-07T21:09:00.000-05:00

Back in September I went to the craft store, and knowing full well how long they were going to take me, I bought 3 sets of felt Christmas ornament kits. The last time I made something like that, it took me about a month to complete because of all the beading and embroidery, not to mention that the latter was something I was pretty much trying for the first time. (You can see a photo of those ornaments on my website.) Those ornaments at the store looked so cute, though, and they were on sale for $9.99 each. Too bad I didn't have a coupon at the time; I wasn't planning to go there in the first place. =(

Here's what I'm currently working on (click on photo for larger image):
I think I started on this set about 2 weeks ago. Right now I'm making the basket which will eventually be filled with felt apples. The embroidery on that piece in the bottom left is what I worked on last night. It takes a while to do those outlines, but I find it kind of relaxing. What sort of annoys me is the beading and doing satin stitch on the wide areas of embroidery (e.g., on the eyes and cheeks).

The first set I worked on was of these snowmen (click for larger image):
It took me about 3 weeks to complete them. I finished the last one a day or two before Thanksgiving.

Speaking of which, I cooked a whole meal for some of my relatives on Thanksgiving. I was proud of myself because everything turned out perfectly! (^__^) The last time I tried to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal, I underestimated the time, and the turkey was all dry and not cooked so nicely because it didn't have time to defrost that well. :( This year's turkey looked so perfect; I should have taken a photograph. I used herb butter underneath the skin and fresh herbs inside the cavity. There was butter in practically all the other dishes, too. I made the cornbread stuffing and the persimmon cranberry sauce that I tried out last year (see this post). I also cooked garlic mashed potatoes with leeks and baked apple tarts with puff pastry for dessert. :) Sorry, I didn't take any photos of the food. I was so tired from cooking that I fell asleep soon after I ate. (^_^;)

Sometime after Thanksgiving, I decided to do a little bit of sketching (click for larger image):
I confess—I drew from photographs! For shame. :P Art schools tell you it's a big no-no to do that. Where am I going to see wolves, though? Do I see a zoo nearby? No.

I'm kind of rusty when it comes to drawing true-to-life. The last time I really drew like that was when I was in high school. Here's how accurately I was able to draw back in my senior year of high school (click for larger image):
It's an unfinished drawing I did for my Advanced Placement Art class (for college credit). I think when I went to college, I somehow regressed in my drawing skills (a different style of drawing). It looks like it took me 4 years to get back to the level I was at before I entered college! (^^;;) What was the deal!

Brûlée

2006-11-06T00:14:00.000-05:00

Recently I went to Brûlée located in Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey to try their three-course dessert. I heard about the restaurant on the show "Sugar Rush" which airs on the Food Network. I can't resist a good dessert—and three platefuls at that!—so I knew I had to stop by there the next time I went to Atlantic City! ;)
The day I went they were having a 2-desserts-for-$20 special in which you could choose from 4 desserts on their menu. Fortunately, the dessert I wanted, Caramelized Pineapple Tart, was part of the deal. ;) My dining buddy ordered the Chocolate Jubilation, a chocolate cake drizzled with caramel and served with banana ice cream.
The first course was an Amuse Sucrée, which on that day, if I remember correctly, happened to be a small portion of pear crumble. The main course I ordered was accompanied with tropical sorbet, spun sugar, and plated with a mango sauce. Then for the finale, were petits fours, including truffles and other small pastries. The desserts were yummy in both taste and preparation. ;) I'd like to try more, though it will be some time before I go again. I wonder what the desserts at ChikaLicious in NYC are like?

While at the New Jersey shore, I also had a cup of gelato (after an all-you-can-eat crab dinner, no less!) from the gourmet food store, Zeytinia. What can I say? There's always room for dessert! ;) Crabs don't really fill you up anyway, and I once read that you burn 2 calories for every calorie of crab you eat—if you open them yourself, that is.
Don't they look delicious? ;) I stocked up on some salt water taffy, too; and, ugghh, my tummy is feeling a little bit bigger now...

Chicken with Pecan Cream

2006-11-05T23:55:00.000-05:00

I really like this dish. It's Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms. The recipe is from the October 2002 issue of Cooking Light and was listed as one of their "Greatest Hits," or favorite dishes, that month. If it hadn't been, I don't think I would have ever tried to make it. The preparation is pretty simple. The sauce is made of pecan cream (nuts ground in the food processor) and water. Then there's chicken, some shallots, and sliced mushrooms. Place that all on a plate of egg noodles, and it's done. :) You can sprinkle a little bit of chopped parsley on top, too, but for this photo I added some of the freeze-dried kind. Oooh, bad me. ;P Oh, and it's not pink. The sauce just made it look pink. Actually, it was a bit dry! :P

Egg Salad Sandwiches

2006-11-04T17:59:00.001-05:00

Because I had some fresh tarragon I decided to make some egg salad sandwiches:
I tested out 2 recipes—Tarragon-Caper Egg Salad Sandwiches with Smoked Salmon and Tarragon Shallot Egg Salad Sandwiches. Of the two, I think I liked the one with salmon a little more, and it might have tasted even better with rye bread instead of on a kaiser roll. I don't think I had ever tried egg salad until making the sandwiches, and I discovered that I don't really like it. =( Well, either that or I don't like tarragon. I'm not exactly fond of that licorice flavor in most savory dishes. I like chicken salad sandwiches and tuna salad sandwiches, though, and the latter I aquired a taste for when not being so fond of it before. Maybe I'll eventually come to like egg salad, too. It's not as though I don't like eggs and other "eggy" dishes.

Tiramisu

2006-10-27T23:27:00.000-04:00

It's been over a month since I last posted, but just because I haven't been posting doesn't mean I've stopped trying new recipes. I have a bit of catching up to do. First up is this tiramisu that I made last month:The recipe I used was from one of those generic Italian cooking books with no real author. The reason I decided to try the recipe is because I got some free edible flowers, and I remembered the flowers in the tiramisu recipe from the book. I had wanted to try making a tiramisu, so it was a good opportunity. ;)

I followed the recipe exactly, so the tiramisu was pretty boozed up with 3 types of alcohol—Congac, Masala, and dry white wine. The latter 2 were used in the Zabligione cream. The Congac was mixed with espresso and brushed on the lady fingers. Three packages of lady fingers was used, and I think it was a bit much because they ended up pretty dry even with the espresso.

On top and inbetween layers was sprinkled shaved bittersweet chocolate. I used Scharffen Berger since I already had it around, and also on top was dusted a little bit of cocoa powder. Of course, the flowers were there, too. ;)

The taste of the dessert was okay, not truly great. It looked pretty, though. :)

Snacking In Downtown NYC

2006-09-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

When I was walking in the East Village a couple of weeks ago, I spotted a bright pink store from across the street. To my surprise, it was an automat! Of course, I had to cross the street immediately and take a look. It's the sort of novelty I cannot resist ;P
Bamn! is located at 37 St. Mark's Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. They offer a varied selection of snackable foods including chicken nuggets, donuts (that sort of look like beignets. Maybe I should get some Café Du Monde mix?), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, roasted pork buns, mac and cheese croquettes, Spam musubi, and teriyaki burgers that can be bought from the coin-operated machines. At the counter, soft serve green tea and vanilla ice cream, fries, and refreshments can be purchased.
I decided to try the Mac & Cheese Kroket because I love macaroni and cheese, and it's the closest I'm going to get to a macaroni and cheese sandwich, an idea that seems like it would be really tasty to me but no one else. :P LOL. The Kroket was okay. I didn't try anything else, and I'll have to go again to sample more.
A little ways downtown from the Village, in Nolita (North of Little Italy), I also went to visit Rice to Riches, which specializes in rice pudding. It is located at 37 Spring Street between Mott and Mulberry Street. (I just noticed I went to 2 places located at 37.) I hadn't been there in over 3 years, and the only reason I remember is because it was the same day I went to see the last preview of Avenue Q after it moved to Broadway. ;) When I went there last, I had both Man-made Mascarpone and Surrender to Mango pudding. This time I sampled a few different flavors such as Honey Graham for Mr. Smith and Waltz of the Wild Berries, but in the end, I ended up getting Mango again. *shrug* Next time I'll try something different!

Broadway on Broadway 2006

2006-09-22T19:15:00.000-04:00

September means students going back to school, the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn, and also another Broadway on Broadway. ;) The free concert was held on September 10, and it was my 4th year in a row attending. Since I'd never been able to get close to the stage, I decided that this year I was going to do it! I arrived around 7 AM for the 11:30 show, and I was really surprised at how many people were already there! I heard that some of them came as early as 4 AM! I think a lot of them had done early arrival/long wait game before because most of them were prepared with chairs or blankets to sit on, some even had pillows! I, on the other hand, had to stand about for 4 hours waiting for the show to start—around 2 hours in line and about 2 hours after they let us near the stage. Going early is really worth it, though. Apparently, 20,000 people attend the event, so it's nice to see everything up close. Also, you get a nice amount of room to move around, whereas if you're standing in the further blocks, you're all packed together with the sun beating down on you.

Comedian Martin Short, who currently stars in his own musical on Broadway, hosted the event. I enjoyed him as the host. :) Several Broadway shows performed, some of which you can see in the following photos:

The current cast of Avenue Q doing a runthrough of "It Sucks to Be Me."

Of course I'm going to have a lot of photos of Avenue Q. Have you read my handle? ;)

The cast of Monthy Python's Spamalot performing "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life."

Hunter Foster and John Treacy Egan from The Producers.

The cast of Rent perform "Seasons of Love." Again.

"It's 'Gary Coleman!'" XD

Kate Reinders and Eden Espinosa singing "For Good" from Wicked.

The cast of The Color Purple.

Singing "The I Love You Song" from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (which I still need to see).

Donny Osmond, who you can currently see in the role of Gaston in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

The cast of Hairspray performing "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now."

Mama Mia!

Jersey Boys.

The Wedding Singer.
This was better than I thought it was going to be.

Capathia Jenkins of Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me singing "Stop the Show." :)
You can see Martin Short watching in the background.

Finale.

The mess of confetti in Times Square.
Two weeks later, some of it is still around.

Shows that also performed but are not pictured were The Drowsy Chaperone, Grey Gardens, High Fidelity, Les Miserables (coming back for a limited run), The Lion King, Tarzan, and The Times They are A-Changin'. I'm sort of interested in what High Fidelity will be like and The Times They are A-Changin', the latter just because of Twyla Tharp and that I can't really see Movin' Out again. :( I'll wait for the reviews to decide whether I'll watch either.

This year's Broadway on Broadway was okay, but I don't know if I'll go again next year. The quality has gone down from previous years, perhaps due to the fact that it is no longer televised. They do film so that the performances are shown on 3 or 4 jumbo screens in Times Square for the benefit of the audience that it situated far from the stage. Which reminds me that when I was watching the performances, I happened to glimpse a close-up of myself on the jumbo screen! =O *Shock!* Aaaah, I totally did not want to look! LOL! Who knows if I was making a funny face or looked terrible; but I do know that I was smiling before I knew. ;P

After the concert was over I had planned to try for Spelling Bee lottery tickets, and if I didn't win, then The Drowsy Chaperone. I ended up not bothering, and I think I wouldn't have made it in time for Spelling Bee anyway. Instead, I decided to take some photos of the Naked Cowboy (bwahaha):

"Grabbing" some defenseless ladies. =O

Clams for Me!

2006-09-17T12:04:00.000-04:00

When I saw that little neck clams were on sale at the supermarket I decided that it was a good time to try out a recipe I had gotten from Epicurious.com. ;) The clams were steamed with sake, cilantro, parsley, and unsalted butter. The resulting sauce was used to dip slices of crusty bread. For some reason, though, the sauce turned out salty when there was no added salt. I don't know why.... To round out the meal, I also cooked some andouille sausage, and it made for a tasty dinner. :)

Berry-Loaded Cake

2006-09-16T23:16:00.000-04:00

A while back I decided to bake for a birthday Orange Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Berries. It was the cover recipe from the June 2006 issue of Bon Appétit and looked like a great way to make use of the ripe summer berries that were in abundance. It also helped that the recipe photo looked very appealing! ;)Unfortunately, I felt that the looks of the cake were better than the taste, which was too sweet for me. I think part of the reason for that was because the cake was flavored with an orange-flower syrup that was brushed on the two layers. When I made another cake using the same technique it also came out very sweet. The buttercream frosting was sugary as well, and I didn't even use all the sugar the recipe called for. It was made of cream cheese and butter and also had orange-flower water, and a small portion used inbetween the layers was mixed with orange marmalade. I didn't particularly like the cream cheese flavor, and I wonder if it would have tasted better if mascarpone cheese was used in part or whole instead.

Some reviews stated that the cake was dense, and I didn't really find it that way. I made it a point to mix batter only as much as necessary to incorporate the ingredients, fearing the texture wouldn't be soft enough if the flour was overworked. I don't know if that made any difference.

Despite everything, I did think that the cake started to taste better a day or two later. Even so, I will not be making it again because I don't think the taste is worth the effort.

Light Chowder

2006-08-25T19:45:00.000-04:00

It may not be the right season to be eating a bowl of thick and hearty warming soup, but because there was some extra chicken breast in the refrigerator, I went ahead and made some Cheddar Chicken Chowder.
The recipe is from Cooking Light magazine, so it's on the low-fat side. Instead of cream, 2% fat milk was used. The recipe called for 3/4 cup of cheddar cheese, but I cheated and used a cup. ;) Also in the soup was chopped potatoes, corn kernels, and red bell pepper. As a little bit of bonus, some crumbled bacon was added on top, and the vegetables and chicken were stir fried in the bacon fat for flavor. The taste of the soup is not bad for a light recipe. The cheese flavor could have been more pronounced, but adding too much in a low-fat recipe is a big no-no. The chowder is good if you want to cut back on the calories, but still nothing beats a full-fat creamy soup. ;)

Corn Pizza

2006-07-02T17:03:00.000-04:00

Because corn is now in season, I wanted to make this Corn and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza:The recipe is from the July 2002 issue of Cooking Light, and I've made it several times. Maybe corn on a pizza seems a little odd, but with the smoked mozzarella cheese (low-moisture) and a bit of bite from the red onions, it's very tasty. :) I have about half of the smoked mozzarella left, and I'm wondering if I should make some vegetable lasagna or make more pizza. I think I'm leaning towards the pizza. ;)

Big Apple BBQ

2006-06-25T21:26:00.000-04:00

There are always so many events happening in New York City from June until the end of the summer. One of these events is the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in Madison Square Park, and this year was the 4th annual. The event is free to attend, and there is free live music and seminars and most importantly, the opportunity to sample barbeque cooked by some of the top pitmasters in the country. :)

Some musical entertainment.

I went for the first time this year and with a few other people. We arrived at the park around 1 PM and decided to split up and each buy something different so we could try a variety of foods. A plate of barbecue with side cost $7 each. We ended up with 4 servings of Baby Back Ribs with Beans from Memphis Championship Barbecue in Las Vegas, Nevada and 2 servings of Brisket & Sausage with Tangy Coleslaw from Southside Market & BBQ in Elgin, TX. I got 2 plates of Pulled Pork Shoulder with Spicy Crisp Southern Mustard Coleslaw from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. That sounded the tastiest to me, and I ended up waiting in line around 15 minutes longer than the other people in my group. From what I heard from some ladies in line with me, they had seen the pitmaster on TV on The Food Network win an award in a barbecue competition. I guess I picked a good one! =) I really liked my choice the best (^^), and everyone agreed that the Mustard Coleslaw was tasty. :) The other barbecue we had was good, too. It's too bad I didn't take any photos of the food, though, because by the time I got back to my group, they were already eating, and I was so hungry that I forgot! f(^_^)

A few of the stands.

After finishing off the barbecue, we went to get some dessert prepared by Blue Smoke in New York City. On the way to the stand, we noticed that the lines had grown extremely long! =O I thought we were already a little late when we arrived at the event, but seeing that, I guess it wasn't too bad. We got one of each dessert—Key Lime Pie, Blueberry Pie, and Double Chocolate Brownie—and enjoyed sampling a little bit of each. Afterwards, we wandered around the park checking out what else there was and enjoying the music. The whole event was fun, even for me who's not the biggest fan of barbecue. I really enjoyed it. :)

Finally, here are more photos:

Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q with pitmaster.

Preparing some barbecued pork.

Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q stand sign.

The popular Shake Shack!
I had my first Shack Burger and a Purple Cow a few weeks ago! :D

Art in the park.

Spicy Shrimp Soup

2006-06-19T00:23:00.000-04:00

Here I go again with another dish made with coconut milk. ;) So what do we have here? It's Spicy Shrimp and Coconut Noodle Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms. :)

It's an Asian inspired dish from Bon Appétit magazine and has your typical Thai ingredients such as lemongrass, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, flat rice noodles, peanuts, red chile, etc. The recipe stated to "add a whole chile for a good punch of heat," but I didn't taste any spiciness. =( So, I think maybe 2 dried red chiles would be good. Hehee, just thinking of this is making me want to make it again! =)

Stir Fry with Sweet Potato Noodles

2006-06-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

I cooked up this vegetable dish, Sweet Potato Noodle Stir-fry with Choy Sum and Shiitake Mushrooms, because somehow sweet potato noodles sounded tasty to me and I had never tried them before. :)

I had a funny experience with the noodles. When I rinsed them in cold water after boiling them, they started to get fat, and they were moving around from growing big! =O It was almost like they were alive. XD They were nice and chewy, though. :)

In addition to the ingredients already included in the name, there were also snow peas, carrots, green onions, and shallots. Although the main ingredients of the dish were vegetables, it wasn't vegetarian. It had a little bit of oyster sauce in it along with mirin, sesame oil, brown sugar, and salt for seasoning. The taste was pretty good, though it could have been a little less sweet. I'm not sure if I'll try making it again.

Fish Masala

2006-05-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

One of the lastest things I have cooked was Fish Masala. I haven't had much experience with cooking Indian dishes. In fact, the only other Indian food that I have cooked before this was Chicken Masala, but of course, my experience is not quite so limited when it comes to the type of Indian cuisine I have sampled. :) The recipe that I had for Fish Masala seemed liked it might be tasty, and I wanted to try cooking something a little different. There were several ingredients including sea bass, a variety of spices, coconut milk, tomatoes, mango, chiles, garlic, and ginger:

Here is a photo of the final product:

It turned out pretty tasty, but I think I might be too used to Thai style curries because I really crave the creamy taste of coconut milk in a dish like this. Or maybe I just like fat. :P Hey, it has satiety. :P

When I was in the Asian grocery the other day I found some dev in the Indian section, which was a great find since because of it, I was able to figure out the name of an Indian food that I really like. =) It's called Bhel Puri and is sort of a salad with crispy cereal-type foods and potatoes. I found a recipe for it, so I might try making it sometime. That with a Mango Lassi would be so good!! (^___^)

Crawfish and Potatoes

2006-05-18T20:32:00.000-04:00

Now that fresh corn is readily available at the supermarket, I was finally able to make this dish, Crawfish and Corn Over Smoked Gouda Potatoes:

A few months ago during Mardi Gras I was able to find some frozen crawfish for the recipe. It isn't very easy to find around where I live, and during Mardi Gras one of the local groceries has it available in the fresh seafood section for about $26 a pound with the shells still on. Luckily, I was able to find the frozen kind at the same grocery and at $10 for a pound, which was actually $10 cheaper than what I had gotten it for at another store.

The crawfish was sauteed with some corn, garlic, onion, and spices. The mashed potatoes were pretty basic except with a bit of shredded smoked Gouda cheese mixed in. It was pretty good my second time making it, and I'll definitely try it again for a third. :)

Cookie Monster

2006-05-12T22:32:00.000-04:00

Because someone knows someone who worked at Pepperidge Farm, I somehow ended up with all this:

Not my favorites, but they're still cookies. ;) Chocolate Dipped Chessmen and Amaretto Milanos are pretty good, actually, but they're not Brussels. :P Oh well, I've got to exercise like crazy now. :P If only I knew someone who was a personal trainer. Crunches on the stability ball, how I've missed you so...

More Doll Knits

2006-05-04T22:41:00.000-04:00

Here are a few of the new doll knits I made up:

More photos can be found on my toy and doll blog. You can also read a little more about the knits there if you're interested. :)

Country Lovin'

2006-05-04T21:32:00.000-04:00

So, a while back I decided to try a little bit of Southern cooking. =) I decided to make fried chicken, and, of course, I also had to cook up some collard greens and biscuits to go with it. ;)

The exact name for the chicken recipe I used is Garlicky Fried Chicken from the magazine, Gourmet. The recipe called for the chicken to be marinated overnight in a mixture that included onions and garlic so that the flavors would permeate and to keep the meat juicy after cooking. Overall, the taste was okay, but it was just a tad too salty.

As for the collard greens, that was a new experience. I really had no idea of how to prepare them, and I lucked out by finding pre-washed and ready-to-cook cut greens at the grocery. =) Follwing a recipe for Slow-Cooked Collard Greens, I simmered a ham hock in water for about an hour before adding the greens and some red pepper flakes, and then let it simmer for another 45 minutes. Afterwards, the meat from the ham hock was cut up and added to the greens, and everything was seasoned to taste.

To round out the meal, there was dessert, too. ;) Chocolate Whiskey Bundt Cake:

(Hmm...this photo looks a bit weird resized....) There was definitely a pronounced whiskey flavor to the cake, minus the alcohol. Mmm...chocolate. ;) I wonder if this would taste even better with a smoother whiskey and a higher quality chocolate.

Now if I could only learn how to make Chinese style fried chicken and good pork fried rice. That combo became one of my favorites since I used to order it back in college when the cafeteria food was especially inedible. It was cheap and good. :)

It's Spring

2006-04-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos I took of the trees with their spring blossoms:

Yellow Magnolia

I had wanted to take photos of the magnolia trees in bloom, but sadly, most of the flowers had fallen off before I could. =( I'll try again next year.

Chocolate Mink

2006-03-15T00:12:00.000-05:00

I baked this yummy little Chocolate Mink the other day. :D It's a flourless chocolate pudding cake. The preparation was really easy, and there were only 4 ingredients—chocolate, butter, egg, and sugar. After baking and cooling down, it was placed in a bowl and topped with a scoop of coffee ice cream. :) The next time I make it I think I'll either add less sugar or use a stronger coffee ice cream. The taste was pretty close to oh-so-delicious, though. ;)

Hand Knitted Pullip Outfit

2006-03-14T23:58:00.000-05:00

Here's the hand knitted outfit that I finished for my Pullip doll recently:

Since I already wrote about this in my doll and toy blog, I'm not going to get into the details. Anyway, it's the first original hand knit pattern that I created, and I'm very proud of it! :D

Seafood Ragù

2006-02-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

I cooked this Seafood Ragù yesterday:

The main sauce ingredients included shrimp, halibut, little neck clams, and tomatoes, of course. :) It was a little bit spicy because of the addition of 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, which surprised me because I'm fairly tolerant of spices. I really liked the way it turned out, and looking at the photo right now is making me hungry! =)

While shopping for all the seafood for the dish, I found some frozen crawfish tails, which made me really happy because now I can cook up a recipe that I've been wanting to try again for a while. =) I probably won't be able to make that dish for a while, though, since at least one of the ingredients is out of season. :( Well, at least it's something to look forward to! =)

Fabric Shopping

2006-02-25T00:48:00.000-05:00

Let's talk fabrics. :) During my last fabric shopping trip, I came up with a few keepers. Even though I don't know what I'll end up doing with it, I gave in and bought this great cork-like fabric:
The backing is woven. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it really does look like cork in person! I have a swatch that I got a few years ago of another cork-like fabric, and I decided not to pass something like this up this time. The cost was about $45 USD per yard (O_O), so I got the smallest yardage allowed. I'll have to come up with some ideas of how to use it.

In addition to that, I got these 2 lovely fabrics:

Fabrics without Flash
Fabrics with Flash

The green one has lurex, and the other one is a gold metallic organza. (Click on photos for a larger image.) I'm planning to use the green fabric for a project I've had in my mind for a while, and the gold fabric is for an idea I came up with while looking at it. ;)

Noodles with All the Toppings

2006-02-17T00:18:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I got it into my head that I should try cooking Pancit Luglog, which is a Philippine noodle dish. I don't even like it that much, so why I decided to do it, I don't know. f(^_^;) So with Let's Cook with Nora by Nora V. Daza as my guide, I set off to try...and the result was success! :DIt was a while from idea to conception. I had to pester a few people in order to find out what kintsay is (it's Chinese parsley or Chinese celery). (^^;) I also had to go out and find a few other special ingredients, including crushed chicharrones (pork rinds) and tinapa (flaked fish). You'll find them as toppings in this dish along with hard boiled eggs, shrimp, scallions, and fried garlic. There are two sauces colored with annatto seeds and flavored with shrimp. One is called palabok, and the other is a red sauce with hard bean curd, pork, and the Chinese parsley.
Like many dishes, it's not that it's hard to prepare, but it's time-consuming. I still don't like the dish too much, but I'll try making it again (because I still have some leftover ingredients. LOL) and improve on it. :)

Knit Scarves & I LOVE Bound Seam Finishes!

2006-02-07T01:44:00.000-05:00

Basically, my knitting this winter has consisted of the gift of scarves. My most recently completed project was knit using the Ribbed Scarf pattern from the Fall/Winter 2005 (Men's) issue of knit.1:
The yarn used was Lion Brand Cashmere Blend. The knitting was a breeze, and I completed it last week over the course of a few nights. I'd like to try making the crocheted Man's Scarf from the same issue, but Lion Brand Fettuccini yarn is a bit expensive. I need to learn how to crochet, too! The only thing I've done is reverse single crochet, and I've already forgotten that. (-_-;)

The rest of the scarves I knit this winter were made using different colors and combinations of these types of yarns:
I didn't take photos of the scarves before I gave them away, but you can see a knitted sample of one (red) in the above photo. Some were lacy, one luxurious and furry, and a couple were inbetween. Due to a pathetic lack of creativity (:P), they were all knit with a garter stitch, and you can see a little doll-sized one I made in the photo below. (Sorry the photo is a bit dark!) The sweater is not knit by me, but I'm working on finishing up a 1/6 scale knitted doll outfit. ;)
Since I'm on the subject of dolls, just the other day, as I was perusing the Ajumapama doll clothing selection, I came upon the blue coat below.
That just kills me! Bound edges? On doll clothes! Is that for real, or am I just fooling myself?

Bound edge finishes on a coat I made—armhole and front facing with seams galore! The upper part of the garment is actually at the bottom of the photo.

I'm totally into bound edge finishes on coat seam allowances; if possible, I will choose it over the Hong Kong finish (I'm not fond of raw edges). Part of the reason is that I'm lazy about making linings. I'd have to add ease in various places and make a pattern—too much. :P Binding the edges is a no-brainer, but in the long run, with a lining, you can finish a garment much faster. I'd spend hours upon hours finishing up all those edges. I'd make my own double-fold bias tape, machine sew one side at the fold to the seam, and then handsew the other fold on the reverse side of the seam allowance with a slip stitch. It takes forever, but that way you don't get any visible stitching. Most of the time, on people's clothes—hey, we ain't shopping at Henri Bendel here :P—an unlined jacket will just have serged edges. I think on doll clothes, they would attach the binding by sewing on the outside through all layers at once. I'm still impressed, though. =)

For the Dogs

2006-01-26T00:13:00.000-05:00

One of my projects during the Christmas season was to sew a coat for my relative's dog. The project was long overdue for completion, and somehow or other I decided that then was the time to finally get cracking on it! I didn't get to finish it until about a couple of weeks ago, though, due to fitting issues.

The patterns are from Simplicity that I altered to fit smaller sized dogs. The following 2 photos are of a faux fur coat. I actually made one of these from the original unaltered pattern only to discover that it was too big for the intended wearer. Then it got misplaced somewhere, but I found I had enough fabric left to make another one. It was actually a "last minute" decision to make this one, and the dog modeling it wasn't even born when the first coat was made!
The coat is fully lined, and you might not be able to see in the photos that it has a Peter Pan collar. There are velcro closures in the front, and the underside connects to the back with elastic that loops around the back buttons.
The intended wearer of the fur coat can be seen in the next 2 photos modeling a black velveteen duffle coat accented with rhinestone details. It may seem a bit luxurious, but it was originally intended to match a velvet dress meant to be modeled in a fashion show...but due to certain circumstances didn't work out.
Let me tell you, black velveteen (and velvet) is a pain to work with, especially if you're handsewing! It absorbs light, so it's like trying to sew in a black hole. I could hardly see anything handsewing the openings closed, and the fabric also stained my fingertips. XP
The coat is also fully lined and has velcro closures in the front. It wraps around the body with staps that overlap at the back and are connected with velcro. There is a metal and rhinestone buckle on one of the back straps for decorative purposes (not functional) and four rhinestone buttons on the front. Below you can see a photo of the buttons for both coats and the rhinestone buckle.
I would have liked to have gotten rhinestone buttons that match the buckle better, but they cost $8 USD each! I settled for less expensive plastic-backed ones. In the end, I spent...more than $20...but less than $50...for all 10 buttons. Argh, before I realized what I was doing I had already paid for them. I was in a bit of a rush at the time. (-_-;) They ended up being high-end coats...but have you ever been to a boutique catering to dogs? I once saw a plain cashmere sweater in one that cost a mere $80 USD! =P So, perhaps I could have a future in making doggy clothes? =P

Black and White Confections

2006-01-25T00:45:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago for the holiday season I whipped up this Black Forest Cake:It's not really a cake, per se, but a brownie that had ingredients such as cherry preserves, chocolate chips, coarsely ground black pepper, and dried tart cherries mixed into it. The cherries were flambéed with Kirsch, which was a new thing for me. It took me a while to ignite the brandy—I let it cook for too long at first and eventually needed to add more! (^^;) On the top is a mousse made of mascarpone, cream cheese, and cream decorated with puréed cherry preserves. I couldn't get it to look "just right" because the preserves were too runny, and my patience was wearing thin because by that time I was already burning the midnight oil to get it completed. =(
To tell you the truth, I was disappointed in the recipe (not to mention the way it looked—I'm too hard on myself =P). It was much too sweet and rich for my taste, and the flavor wasn't good enough to compensate the cost of the ingredients. I won't be making it again.

Just recently I decided to bake up a batch of Mini Black and White Cookies. I had never been too interested in black and white cookies; I think I only tried a bite once before making these.
If you've never tried these type of cookies before, the texture is like cake. So, they're kind of like flat cakes with icing. :) Making these drop cookies made me realize that I'd really like to get a cookie scoop; the ones in the photo above are the small amount that baked up in nice circle shapes. The icing was a little runny, so the cookies didn't exactly turn out too white, but they still looked nice, I think. =) The photo is a bit dark, too, so you can't really see the brown color of the chocolate icing. Nevertheless, the taste was very good; it made me realize the love for Black and White cookies! =)

Pan-Asian Menu

2005-12-21T20:56:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy cooking, especially when it's for family and friends. Whenever I hear that someone I know is going to visit, one of the first things I think of is what kinds of food I can cook for them. So when a couple of my relatives came to visit the other weekend, I had a special menu lined up just for them. =) It was Pan-Asian, with some dishes I had cooked before and others that I wanted to try. The menu consisted of newly tried items, Pork Satay and Fresh Vegetable Pickles, and the tried and tested recipes were Fried Squid and Papaya and Frisée Salad with Spicy-Sour Dressing.
I prepared most of what I could the night before because if I didn't, we would have had a midnight meal! (^^) Cutting up all the ingredients and puréeing this and preparing that sauce are too time-consuming. I should really have a sous chef for that! :P The only dish that was completed ahead of time was the Fresh Vegetable Pickles. A mixture of vinegar, sugar, and mint was strained over sliced red bell pepper, cauliflower, jicama (or sinkamas to some of you), and Thai red chilies. Then it was left to marinate in the refrigerator.

The Pork Satay was made by threading cut pieces of pork tenderloin onto skewers and then brushing them with a sauce. The sauce consisted of shallots, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, lemongrass, and sesame seeds. When it was time to cook, it was broiled in the oven for a few minutes on each side.

In the salad was frisée lettuce, fresh papaya, fresh water chestnuts, ginger, and roasted cashews. The Spicy-Sour Dresing was made of oil, rice vinegar, red pepper, carrots, lime juice, brown sugar, and chili oil, all of which were smoothed together in a blender. When everything was tossed together, it was then sprinkled with some sesame seeds (not shown in the photo because I didn't remember until later).

Finally, the squid (or calamari, if you like) was cut into rounds, coated in batter, and then fried. It was served with leftover Spicy-Sour Dressing. I think it might have been the favorite dish, but the whole meal went over very well. :) I think we all enjoyed happiness with it. (^__^)

Autumn Dishes: Thanksgiving and Beyond

2005-12-10T23:27:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was not spent with only immediate family but at a relative's home with extended family. I'm not very good at cooking turkey, anyway...not that I would have done it. :P So with no pressure to cook a meal, I decided to bake and bring along this Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel-Bourbon Sauce:
I'm not really fond of cheesecakes, but when I think about it, I seem to have baked many different kinds. I wonder why that is? :) Well, the reason I decided to make this particular one was because I already had most of the ingredients at home.

The crust was made of pecans, and the cheese part of the cake was flavored with canned pumpkin and nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger, and cloves. I think the taste was just okay, nothing spectacular. I once made a pumpkin cheesecake that tasted much better and consisted of three layers—pumpkin, milk cocolate-flavored pumpkin, and dark chocolate flavored pumpkin—and then covered with chocolate ganache. That was yummy, thanks to all the chocolate. ;)

Since we didn't have Thanksgiving at home, my immediate family decided to have our own little "make up" Thanksgiving meal. I made this Corn Bread Stuffing with Ham, Chestnuts, and Sage:
Making your own stuffing from scratch is so much better than anything you can get in a box! I really liked this a lot, but I think it had a little bit too much butter.

I also cooked Cranberry Persimmon Sauce:
(The strong red color made taking a photo a bit difficult!) The recipe sounded like it might be good, and I really liked it! The ingredients were fresh cranberries, Fuyu persimmons, star anise, red wine, and sugar. The cranberries were tart yet mellowed by the persimmons.

Finally, with leftover turkey a few days later I baked this Turkey Cream Puff Pie:
The crust was made of pâte à choux, a pastry used in things such as eclairs and cream puffs, that had a bit of diced Swiss cheese mixed in. The filling included a mixture of turkey, tomato, white mushrooms, and parsley. The pie was also sprinkled with a little bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano, as well as having some in the crust. I only had a deep dish pie plate to bake it in, but that was good enough. If I ever make it again, I'll probably push the pastry up a little toward the sides so it will puff up into a shape that will make a nicer presentation. ;) It was a little different, but pretty good. =)

Foods with Japanese Rice

2005-11-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

I first heard the name “omurice” while watching an episode of the Japanese TV drama, Kimi wa Petto (きみはペット). It looked kind of good, especially with the little drawings done on top with ketchup, and I was intrigued. =) So off I went searching around the internet for a recipe. I tried it and thought it was okay, but not the greatest. I only decided to try it again when I saw another Japanese drama, Lunch Queen (ランチの女王). Yuko Takeuchi looked so happy eating it that it made me want some, too! =) You know, it usually takes more than one time to get a recipe “right,” and now that I've made omurice several times, I've gotten the knack of it and like it quite a bit! =) (I used to be able to do it without getting it brown, though. =( I lost my touch!)
So what is omurice, exactly? Well, it's basically an omelette filled with tomato-flavored fried rice and usually topped with demiglacé or ketchup. Here's what the inside of one looks like:
My fried rice contains chicken, mushrooms, bacon, onion, tomato, and ketchup. I use “Japanese” rice to make it more “authentic” since it is a little sticky. With the extra rice I had, I thought it would be fun to make other Japanese foods. The first one I tried was rice balls, or onigiri/omusubi:
These I just made with a flavoring packet I got from the Asian grocery. The photo above is of my first attempt. (^_^) I didn't put anything like a pickled plum (umeboshi) inside. I know how to roll sushi, too, and I'll tell you a secret: the nori used for the rice balls is from 1996! That's apparently the last time I made sushi at home. The nori's still good, though! (^_^;)
I also got some other flavor packet and made this chaahan:
It's supposed to be Chinese-style fried rice. With the Japanese rice, it's more like sticky rice, I think. Now there's something I should try making next time! (^_~) I've made the sweet kind, but I have yet to try making the savory variety. (^_^) I might even have a dim sum party! =P

Cake, Dim Sum, and Brussels Sprouts

2005-10-31T01:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted. This past weekend I ended up baking the Persian Love Cake again for my relatives' birthday party. (You can see the first one I made here.) I think it was my third time making it. The last time I didn't use any sugared rose petals for decoration, and I really missed it. =( Even though there's rose water in the icing, I think the petals give it an extra special flavor. As you can see from the photo on the left, I used red rose petals this time around, and I think I decorated it a little more nicely. =) I really like the red; it's more striking than the pink and white flowers I used previously.

One of the other things I cooked were Pearl Balls. I got the recipe from the Wei-Chuan cookbook Chinese Dim Sum. They're basically steamed pork meatballs covered with long grain glutinous rice and bits of ham. I experimented with the recipe a couple of times before serving it to guests. The original recipe was too salty and used too much sesame oil. So, I cut down on the sesame oil and added more water chestnuts to suit my taste. The photo on the right is of my second attempt.

On my latest try I added a lot of water chestnuts, possibly too many, but it cut down on the saltiness a lot. The only reason I did that was because I wanted to get them out of my refrigerator. (^^;) I also added more meat, and that reduced the saltiness as well.

All in all, I think it turned out okay; probably my last try was the best so far. I'm still going to make them again as I still have a lot of ham left that I got specifically for the recipe. I also plan to try out a recipe for dim sum-style steamed beef balls, but I haven't gotten all the ingredients I need. I was really tired from preparing just those 2 foods the other day. I didn't get much sleep because I had to wake up very early to make them. I slept for over 12 hours after that!

Since I haven't been posting lately, I didn't get to put up some photos of other foods I cooked in the past month. Here is one of them:
It's Brussels Sprouts with Crisp Proscuitto. Growing up I never tasted Brussels sprouts, but I heard a lot of people say that they disliked them or that it was their least favorite food. When I saw the recipe for this it looked intriguing, so I gave it a chance. Actually, I don't think Brussels sprouts are that bad at all, and, of course, the addition of proscuitto makes it really good! =)

Broadway on Broadway 2005

2005-10-01T03:07:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago I went to see Broadway on Broadway. It's a free outdoor concert held annually in Times Square, New York City, where you get to see performances from current and upcoming Broadway musicals. It was my third year in a row attending, although I haven't been keeping up with the Broadway scene as of late.

This year's show was hosted by John Lithgow and Christina Applegate, who star in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Sweet Charity, respectively. Performances included those from the shows Wicked, The Producers, Avenue Q, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, Rent, The Light In the Piazza, All Shook Up, Lennon, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, among others. Sad to say, I didn't enjoy myself as much as in previous years, probably because I'm out of touch with what's currently on the boards, having not seen a show since February. =(

Here are some photos from the concert:

Frenchie Davis of American Idol fame sings along with the cast of Rent.
The cast of Rent sing “Seasons of Love.”
Ann Harada and Stephanie D'Abruzzo/Kate Monster sing “The More You Ruv Someone” from Avenue Q. ;)
Kate Monster and Stephanie D'Abruzzo.
\(^o^)/
The grand finale, complete with confetti raining down upon Times Square.
The cast members of various shows that performed sing one final song together.

I'll still definitely go again next year, if there's another one! =) The last I heard, they didn't televise this year's show locally as they did in previous years because the sponsors backed out. All the more reason to see it live. Maybe next time I'll actually get a good place in the first block, instead of one back on 44th Street! =P

Tofu Pudding and Something a Little Fishy

2005-09-20T00:20:00.000-04:00

A while ago a couple of people requested that I make this "tofu pudding," and I've been making it pretty regularly as of late.
It's a very soft tofu that is eaten with sugar syrup. One of my uncles taught me how to make it, and actually, it's very easy to prepare. The recipe is sort of a secret, though, since I haven't told anyone how to make it, although some have asked. :P The only thing I will say is that the syrup is made with regular white sugar and water, nothing fancy. I just melted the sugar until it was golden and then added water. You can usually find the dessert in a Chinese grocery or China Town.

Speaking of which, over the weekend I visited China Town and picked up this little thing:
It's kind of cute, isn't it? :) I think this was for a festival that I noticed being celebrated while I was there. If anyone can tell me what it was, I would appreciate it! :)

Corn Ice Cream

2005-09-12T23:23:00.000-04:00

I discovered this Korean corn ice cream treat a while ago on a trip to the Asian grocery store.
It has an outer cone shell shaped like corn on the cob, and on the inside is corn ice cream that has been coated with chocolate.
I like it, and it has a nice corn taste. =) It makes me think of a type of soft corn ice cream topped with cinnamon that I ate when I visited Puerto Rico. The brand Magnolia also makes a corn ice cream with cheese that I thought might be good, but the taste was disappointing.

I only have one of these Korean ice creams left since I took the last remaining 2 at the store. I hope I can find them again. Try it if you like corn. :)

Gâteau Sans Rival - Part Deux

2005-09-10T17:26:00.000-04:00

Here is my first attempt at making Sans Rival look a little more pleasing to the eye:
It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but I guess it was okay. I'm going to do it a little differently next time around, probably when the weather is a little cooler. I don't know how they do it in the Philippines, but my icing likes to melt, making the cake soft. =( The only time that didn't happen was when I made it in the winter. (I'll tell you a secret: I also added too much water because a smudgy “1/3” looked like “1/2.” ^^; ) Well, back to the drawing board...

Three-Pepper Pasta & Mango-Lime Pie

2005-09-04T18:18:00.000-04:00

Here'a a simple little pasta dish that I made the other day:
This is something I wish I had known how to make when living in the dorms in college. Eating instant ramen everyday is just no good, especially for your waistline. Oh, the dreaded freshman 15!! :P

The dish is very easy to prepare. First, you fry up some sliced onions in olive oil for about 2 minutes at medium-high. Next, you add slices of 3 different colored bell peppers and fry for 3-5 minutes. Then you add some cooked ziti or penne and mix in some pesto and a little balsamic vinegar. Finally, you season it with a little salt and pepper to taste and top it off with shredded cheese, such as Asiago, Parmesan, or Romano. It's that quick and easy. =)

In addition to that, I also made this Mango-Lime Icebox Pie:
It's another Cooking Light recipe. ;) I've made it a couple times before even though I think the taste is just okay. (^^;) I had a can of mango nectar lying around, which is the reason why I decided to make it again. Aside from mango, the filling is also flavored with lime rind and juice and fresh orange juice. The topping is Italian meringue, which is cooked by adding a hot syrup mixture to the egg whites.

Interestingly enough, I think the pie tasted a little better the day after, but maybe my taste buds were a little used to it already. :)

Food-related Dorama & Then Some

2005-08-31T21:50:00.000-04:00

Eiji (Takki) eating cakes.

Last week I started watching the Japanese drama Antique (アンティーク～西洋骨董洋菓子店). The story is about 3 men from different backgrounds who come together to work at a cake store called Antique. Tachibana, played by Kippei SHIINA (椎名桔平), is the man who despite not liking sweets, established the shop. Ono, played by Naohito FUJIKI (藤木直人), is the quiet genius pâtissier. Eiji, played by Hideaki TAKIZAWA (滝沢秀明), is the ex-boxer who loves cakes and works as an apprentice to Ono.

I was attracted to this drama right away, of course, due to the cakes and baking element. (^_~) (Aah, to be a pastry chef...but I'm not fond of standing for hours at a time. :P) The first episode really entertained me, especially with Takki's reactions to eating the delicious cakes and shouting, "UMEE~!" At one point he devours several pieces of cake in succession, and though cakes are yummy, it seemed to be hard work. I love sweets, but there's no way I would shovel 5 or 6 pieces of cake into my mouth in one session. (x_x) There's also another part of the first episode where Eiji, upon examining a cake he is given, decides that he has to run 5 km, but has trouble deciding whether he should eat or exercise first. (^_^) Me, I just exercise and then woe all the burned calories going to waste because of all the junk I eat afterwards. (^^;) LOL.

Like most food-related dramas, Antique is episodic but with a continuing story in the background. I'm enjoying it so far. The version I'm watching has Chinese and English subtitles which are passable but could use some help with a little Japanese language knowledge. If you're into food and/or cooking (or watching some good-looking men—ha ha ha), you'll probably like Antique. Other dramas I've seen with the cooking theme are My Little Chef; Ohsama no Restaurant (王樣のレストラン); and Lunch Queen (ランチの女王), which I'm in the middle of watching. If you have any recommendations, let me know! (^_~)

Just last night I discovered that Antique is based on a manga by Fumi YOSHINAGA (よしながふみ). The English name is Antique Bakery and is published by Digital Manga Publishing in the US. I picked up a copy today, and the cover even has a scratch-and-sniff strawberry—cute. (^^) I also bought a copy of Gourmet magazine, and it has a couple of Elvis's favorite recipes, one of which is none other than the famous Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich! Coincidentally, my brother was talking about wanting to make it the other day, so I think I'm going to share the recipe with him. :) Ooh, more intriguing recipes to whet my appetite!

Rent: The Movie

2005-08-30T21:07:00.000-04:00

Times Square

Idina Menzel

I saw the trailer for the Rent movie today. It looks sort of interesting. I haven't seen the musical, but my former roommate and I tried numerous times to win tickets through the rush lottery and never did. I think that sort of put a damper on wanting to see it, and that same friend later had a roommate who won the rush tickets first try. (One of the lottery guys happened to wink at her beforehand. Hmm...) I've since listened to some of the music, and it's not exactly my cup of tea. It was the first musical that my brother saw, and he told me that he thought it was really good at the time. That was before he had a basis for comparison, and now he doesn't think it's so great. It reminds me of a quote from the animated series, Family Guy, in which Peter says something to the effect of: "Geez, if you wanted to do a bad show, we could've just done Rent." (><;;) No offense, Rent fans.

The musical is based on the story of La Bohème. I saw the Baz Luhrmann production of the opera when it was on Broadway. I'm not sure if I'll see the movie version of Rent in the theater, but I'll probably get around to it eventually. After all, it has Idina Menzel, of whom I'm sort of a fan. =) I was lucky enough to see her perform in Wicked opposite her husband, Taye Diggs, who is also in the Rent movie, and both were in the original cast. Actually, most of the original cast returned to make the movie. I'm just not sure about Chris Columbus being the director.

So now, all thanks to that little trailer, I've got that Rent song, "Seasons of Love," stuck in my head! "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.... How do you measure, measure a year?... How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of LOVE!" (^_~)

I feel like seeing another Broadway musical! The last time I saw a show was in February, and that was only because I had won tickets. That's quite a dip from the time I used to average 1 show a month. Maybe The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee? (^_~)

Caesar Salad

2005-08-28T23:45:00.000-04:00

I had been craving this salad for a couple of days. I was finally able to get the ingredients and make it tonight. It's nothing special, really, but here's my homemade Caesar Salad:
Some parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil, anchovies, egg yolk (coddled), lemon juice, French bread, and romaine hearts. :) Now that I've satisfied my craving, my mouth tastes all garlicky, and I'm trying to get rid of it. :(

What to Do with Leftover Yarn?

2005-08-24T18:45:00.000-04:00

I've had these yarns for several years now, leftover from a machine knit project. I can't believe I have this much left, and there are more cones not pictured. It would be a waste not to use them because I spent something like $80. So, I dug them out of the closet and decided to try making some clothes for my Pullip dolls. (^_~) The yarns are perfect for dolls because they're very thin. I started the project about 4 or 5 weeks ago, but I've only worked on it maybe 10 nights or less. Here's some of what I've accomplished so far:

I'll need to get some supplies soon in order to complete the clothes the way I want. I'll post some photos once the outfit's done. :)