Tomodachi's!

Friday night, my family and I to Tomodachi's for dinner to celebrate Mason's completion of finals, and my last day at home! It was bittersweet. Mom and dad got me the book "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. I can't wait to read it!

Well, this was the first time I've had Japanese in a while. It was so yummy. We had edamame, tea, miso soup, a white roll (?)-- I think it was shrimp tempura with avocado and crab meat wrapped in seaweed.

 Hamachi don

Mom and I each got a hamachi don, mason got a salmon one, and dad got the cherashi don (variety). 

 Mason!

Dad :)

Mom!

Then for dessert, we shared a banana dessert with chocolate ice cream-- dad's favorite!

This was a delicious meal. Thanks family!

California

The day before I had to leave for Boston, I was working out at the gym, and saw the most stunning sunset over the bay area. It made me so appreciative of Oakland, and made me miss home even more, even though I hadn't even left it yet! I love living in California. Going to school in Cambridge, just reinforces the fact that I want to come back to California after college--it's my home.

Khana Peena Dinner with Robbie and Jon

Thursday night, I met up with Robbie and Jon for dinner at Khana Peena :). I was very impressed that Robbie remembered that I love that place. He offered to treat me to dinner, but I brought a coupon, I got online which gave us one free entree when you purchase one, so my meal was free!

Robbie with his organic mango chicken kabob

Jon with his mango chicken kabob & steam

My vegetable masala dish :)

Thanks guys for taking me out to dinner! I'm really glad we got to hang out before I left. Can't wait to see you guys over spring break!

Lunch out with Taylor

So, last Thursday, Taylor and I finally saw each other after a year and a half! It was amazing seeing him again since it's been soooo long! Even though it'd been forever, we started chatting as if we'd just seen each other the day before. I picked him up at bart and we decided to go to Bacheeso's for the buffet. I know i'd just had it earlier that week, but it's so yummy, I was really excited to go again.

 Taylor!

Taylor and Me

I think I ate more than him, not that that's really surprising cuz I eat more than most people ;). I had 2 1/2 plates and 2 bowls of french onion soup. And, so somehow, we managed to go to Fenton's after! Taylor had never been there before, so even though we were stuffed, we went to the Famous Fenton's Ice Creamery! Fenton's has the most incredible ice cream and desserts. Their ice cream is creamy, fluffy, not toooo sweet, and sinfully delicious. Their brownie was amazing too. I love brownies. It's a weakness... I told Taylor I'd only have one bite of whatever he got, since I was so stuffed, but in the end, somehow I ended up eating half (or more!) of his saddleback brownie w/ vanilla ice cream!! Taylor was really kind. Thanks so much for sharing with me Taylor! And for treating me to lunch!! You really shouldn't have--you are too much of a gentleman :).

Taylor's huge and delicious saddleback brownie w/ vanilla ice cream!

Taylor even got me flowers!

Thanks Taylor for spending the afternoon with me. I had so much fun, and I'm so glad we got to catch up. We definitely need to hang out again soon mmk??

Puzzle

Mom and I finished another puzzle on Wednesday! Thanks Jon and Jordan for your help Sunday :). It was fun watching glee with all of you!

Bakesale Betty's!

Mason wanted to go to Bakesale Betty's after his US History final on Wednesday, so we went there. There was a sudden flash-flood right before we got there, and there was thunder and lightning. It's great that we were holding umbrellas... hah. Mas and I got soaked, and there was a line going into Bakesale Betty's, but I think it was worth it for Mason. I'd just had lunch so I didn't get anything, but he got a beef brisket sandwich which he really liked. The employees were really nice and gave us complimentary tea while we were waiting in line.

Happy Mason!

Bacheeso's

Mom & I went to Bacheeso's right across from Fairyland, on Tuesday for lunch :). It's tagline is "Where the Mediterranean meets Oakland/Berkeley". It's really tasty, healthy, locally-grown food-- mostly delicious vegetable dishes, salads, but also some nice chicken dishes and curries. They have a different kind of special pizza every time and a nice soup. Such a nice buffet for $7.90+tax during the week (11am-4pm) & $8.90 on weekends!

Mom's favorite was the sweet potato puree with coconut and pecan shavings on top. It's light, creamy and smooth-- not too sweet. 

My first plate! (I had 2 1/2 plates and a bowl of soup!)

I tried their mint tea. It has a nice hint of sweetness. I liked the second cup better though because it had even sweetness to it so you could appreciate the minty-ness more. I had a cup of french onion soup, apple/lettuce/mango salad, tomato/greens salad, greek salad, okra masala-like dish, eggplant/tomato, stuffed yellow pepper, asparagus, vegetable moussaka, a little mashed potatoes, cauliflower in italian sauce, chicken pasala (?)--probably my favorite- chicken & penne pasta. I always eat so much, especially at buffets haha. Delicious meal thanks mom!

Brunch with Dad's Chinese Harvard Friends

My Vegetable Egg Bake

Dad's delicious fruit salad!

 

Mason & Kristina

Delectable Strawberry Spongecake!

Cooking Lesson with Lao-Lao!

On Monday, mom and I went down to visit Lao-Lao & Lao-Yeh. I asked Lao-Lao to teach me a few of her chinese recipes since she is such an incredible cook! She taught me how to make my favorite Chinese tomato and egg dish, Ma Po Do Fu (spicy tofu dish) and zucchini with garlic!

Lao-Lao chopping ingredients

Lao-Lao & Me

 

Ma Po Do Fu

Tomato & Eggs

(I learned how to make them nice and fluffy-- stir lots of air in when you whisk the eggs with a fork!)

 

Us with our dishes :)

Our creations!

Thank you so much Lao-Lao for teaching me how to cook these dishes. I had so much fun! I can't wait to see you in spring break and learn to make more dishes from you :)

Snickerdoodles :)

I made snickerdoodles for Katy Dion's 30th Birthday, and yesterday for robbie and jon when I saw them at Khana Peena.

Cooking Lesson #3!

Today we did a lot!

Trudy with her cooking tools

Trudy cut the acorn squash and I peeled & cut eggplants (cut off the ends, and peel the end at around the edge so that you can get a better starting point peeling down the sides. Otherwise it’s hard peeling it. Put salt on them to "bleed" or get the water out of them so they're more flexible), roast things at 375 or above, chopped bell peppers, garlic.

Mis en plac (french for "everything in its place"- prep everything/all ingredients)

Learned to make:
* Spicy shrimp (start w/ butter & olive oil- to raise the smoke point. add bell peppers and garlic in. cut green pepper in half to add spicyness. add white wine for flavor and to get the brown-ness off the bottom. Don’t want the ingredients to caramelize/brown too much. add butter later for fullness to thicken it, and round out acidity of tomatoes/spicyness)
* Acorn squash & Eggplant Lasagna (see recipe below)
* Teriyaki salmon (take out bones w/ tweezers. we didn't have them, so we used scissors to pull them out. Ideally marinate for at least an hour in teriyaki sauce. Bake for ~15-20 min. can take off skin with a boning knife before baking, or it comes off nice & easy after baking)
* Crispy kale (fold Kale in half, cut along stem, separate kale into 2 halves, arrange on tray w/ parchment paper on it, brush a lil olive oil, sprinkle some salt on it, roast for a few minutes, ~5 min, flip over and roast a lil more)
* Cooked kale (can just pull off leaves from stem, chop up into sections, cook in a pan w/ a lil salt & olive oil, ~1 tbsp lemon zest for flavor, outside of about 1 lemon)

When you are tasting things, esp for meats or egg dishes where you need to add seasonings but can’t, take small portions and try them out. For example, with an egg bake, cook a little egg with the vegetables in a pan to see if everything tastes alright, then add whatever you need to the dish. For the lasagna, we put one slice of eggplant, a lil acorn squash, ricotta mixture, spinach, and cheese on a spoon to see how the dish would most likely taste. Really good! Great flavor

Cooking Lesson #2

Yesterday, I had my second cooking lesson from Trudy ever! I learned how to cut a roasted chicken and a raw chicken (small incisions/little sawing motion). They use different boning techniques. It's much easier cutting a roasted chicken because it basically falls off the bone, and you could technically use just your fingers. For raw chicken, you have to use small incisions/little sawing motions to gently separate the thigh, drumsticks, and breast sections. Trudy said she suspected I'd be good at that part since I was so good with the tomato rose last time :). I like the cutting part since it's kind of relaxing in a way. You're totally focused, but in a nice way. You also have to break the bones at several places and cut ligaments. You trace the line of the muscle to cut the sections. The raw chicken really makes you aware that you're using meat because it really resembles a chicken (that may seem like a no-duh, but hey).

We made roasted chicken breast, chicken soup, and chicken stock. I practiced my cutting skills from my last lesson on leeks, carrots and parsley. To make chicken soup, you start with olive oil to give the soup a nice, full, rich mouth-feel. You can add butter to raise the smoke-point (when supposedly smoke starts appearing from the pot), and it adds flavor and richness b/c of the fat. Then you can add leeks or onions (leeks are just milder than onions) and saute them (get them brown). Next, you place the chicken thigh and wings (with the bones. you can take the bones out later) in the pot with the skin down so that the fat can come out and add nutrients and flavor to the soup. Trudy adds a box of chicken stock for flavor, although some people find that redundant. Then 1/2 a box-full of water. You just need to cover the chicken and other ingredients in the pot. Then you let the soup reduce a bit, by leaving the lid of the pot a little open. You can add carrots and celery and other ingredients too. We were going to add parsley at the end. Trudy doesn't add salt because you can do that at the end when you're trying to figure out what the soup needs. I'm glad I learned how to make a good, basic soup! Mom says it tastes perfect- rich, full-of-nutrients, great :).

We made roasted chicken breast and put parsley under the skin. Trudy says that chicken breasts (especially boneless, skinless chicken breasts) get really dry because they have no covering or anything juicy around them, so she always leaves the skin on to keep the breast moist. You can always take the skin off later. You can tell when a roast chicken is done in several ways. You can use a thermometer (it should be 165 degrees), or press the tip into the chicken breast to see if the liquid runs clear (no blood so it must be cooked. if it is pink, it needs to be cooked longer), and feel that it is tender.

I also learned how to make salad dressing. Dijon mustard is a great emulsifier (so oil/vinegar don't separate. But if it breaks, then start over and emulsify a lil then add more and more in). You can also use agave honey and lemon and other ingredients. Trudy says the rule of thumb is 1 part balsamic/vinegar/lemon, 3 parts olive oil/other oil (oil rounds out flavor. Learning to make salad dressing is great b/c it helps you refine your palate. We start with the mustard. We purposely started w/ too much vinegar so I'd have to figure out/taste how to balance the dressing with the agave honey. There's a spike in flavor when we tasted it because of the vinegar. We could taste the sourness of the vinegar, and needed to round it out with oil. Now I can take what I learned from fixing salad dressing to other things in cooking like for soups! The basic question is: What do I need to add? What can I do to balance this out?

Great lesson--thanks Trudy!

Lunch feast with the family

Today, mom dad and I went down to San Jose to visit my cousins (Alex & Alanna), Auntie Connie, Lao-Lao, Lao-Yeh, Auntie Millie, little Emma, Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Ted. I also met Kes, Alanna's boyfriend of 14 months for the first time!). It was really nice seeing everyone. Too bad mason had to stay home to study for finals! Lunch was delicious and HUGE of course. Mom and I brought down a salad (lettuce, avocado and mandarin orange with Miso dressing) which I put together there. I didn't know until after the lunch, but supposedly this lunch was a farewell lunch for me before I head off again for Harvard next week! That was so nice of them. I didn't even know! Lao Lao gave me a duck leg for safe travels, and potstickers are also supposedly for good luck, so Lao Lao & Auntie Connie made TONS of potstickers!

 Su Cai potstickers (vegetarian)

more potstickers

Even more potstickers!

 Our Feast!

Auntie Connie also made really yummy, cheesy mac and cheese. Her other dishes sadly had pork in them so I couldn't eat them, but oh well! Luckily, Lao Lao made Su Cai potstickers (vegetarian ones) and beef ones so I could eat them.

 Grandma Peggy brought a mushroom noodle dish and Auntie Millie brought a peanut salad

We had mochi ice cream (mango, green tea and Kona Coffee) for dessert which Alanna nice arranged in the shape of 2 flowers and a heart. Auntie Connie got 9 boxes of mochi (aka 54 mochi balls. wow. there were 11 of us, but still that's a lot of mochi!)

Me, Lao-Lao & Lao-Yeh

 Emma giving dad an "Emma" kiss on the nose :)

Dad's so good with kids still! He used to play animals with me and Mason when we were little. We LOVE it. He hasn't lost his touch. He was playing with Emma with her big stuffed bunny rabbit and she was shrieking and squealing with pleasure. It was really nice to see. They were both so happy hopping around the house. Emma became attached to dad by the end of the day which was very different than at the beginning when she was so shy she wouldn't even say hi to us! By the end, she was holding his hand and following everywhere he went. I think dad liked playing with her because it reminded him of when Mason and I were small. He's so great with kids!

We visited Nai-Nai & Yeh-Yeh afterwards. While I was helping Nai-Nai eat her lunch, mom helped clean out their refrigerator.

They have a huge collection of expiring milk because they forget that they have milk, and keep adding to it each day. We also have a huge straw, and ice cream scooper collection now thanks to them!

Nai-Nai (eating ice cream! YAY!) & Mom (eating popcorn, her fav :))

Nai-Nai & Me

I'm really glad Nai-Nai was really perky today. The past few weeks she's been a bit more here than she has been in the past which is really great to see. She's especially good right after her nap. I'm glad mom and I got her out of the building and across the street to CVS and starbucks! And it was great that we got her to get a coffee and have some coffee cake (banana chocolate chip & cinnamon swirl). I love it when she's there with us, like in the present, and her mind's not elsewhere. I hope we can do this again soon!