mom's birthday

God, sometimes I feel I'm the epitome of an Asian-American. A food blog. Fascination with phone charms. Almost a hundred photos of my cat ON MY PHONE.

Fuck it. I like food. I ate at Cafe Sistina for mom's birthday and even though she had a bit of a cry because they ran out of vanilla ice cream it was still a pretty nice night. These photos are awful because I didn't want to use the flash and I didn't really want to spend 99% of dinner photographing it.

We were greeted by a dog. And bizzare menus. Then my brother complained that the cola tasted funny and we traded drinks. He took my iced tea and added five sugars to it. Escargot with polenta, a little too buttery but still tasty. Caprese. Holy crap was this dressing amazing. Perfect olive oil/balsamic vinigarette combo. My mom and some bread. My mom got some kind of spinach fettucini seafood spectacular. I couldn't eat it but it looked and smelled amazing. She said it was slightly spicy, just right. Craig got lasagna. Craig always gets lasagna. And me? Well I got some chicken penne something something in a creamy tomato sauce. It was a little dry and bland. I was pretty disappointed. After her teary-eyed bit, mom said really loudly that she should be able to get some kind of dessert for her birthday. So the waiter brought a slice of cheesecake. She didn't even eat it! Anyway, this is the only decent group photo the waiter could take. He was a really nice guy, but didn't speak English super well and wasn't familiar with cameras.

Anyway, Cafe Sistina is really affordable considering the atmosphere and service and food. While I was a little disappointed with my entree, the appetizers made me more than happy and my mom and brother seemed really satisfied with their food. I'll just be sure to order something without chicken next time.

it hurts, guys.

so first i want to start this post with pictures that will guaranteed gross you out. yesterday i worked a really long shift (6am-130pm) and i was dead tired afterwards. i rode my bike home begrudgingly and when i got home i had less than an hour to nap. i figured that it wouldn't be worth it, because i'd wake up more tired. i decided, then, that i should go jogging to boost my energy. this is what happened.




i. fucking. tripped. and. ate. shit. UGH. sorry for the bandaid photo but when i took it off this morning i was thoroughly grossed out with myself. i hate the sight of blood especially when it's my own. but now i have this crater thing in my knee. no skirts or shorts for a while. in addition to that knee, i have a scrape on the other side, scrapes on my right elbow and on both of my hands, and a bruise because i hit a rock on my right thigh. I AM IN PAIN. :((((

anyway onto the less gross stuff! my last day at satura photos:

miho and i. she's leaving, too!

actual last day. andy bought me a lei. i had to wear it all day.

blurry, but this is a picture of the soda josie bought me as a good bye gift in addition to the waste cupcake that cody gifted me. thanks, guys!



miho and kyoka made me a goodbye cake. amazing!! i miss you guys already.

then to go back in time, here are photos from my birthday dinner at CPK with my mom. my brother didn't show up. but that's okay, i guess. i was so tired this day.

asparagus and arugula salad! and the hummus and pita bread thing!

see, i told you this is my mom's signature pose.

clam linguine

me and my sam adams, margherita pizza, and diet coke! the pizza was mediocre.

it's so weird how into greek food my mom has been lately. it started when she wanted to eat lunch with me one afternoon and we couldn't decide where to eat. "how about greek?" i asked. she made the nastiest face ever, "yadda. daikirai." really? i asked. turns out she was basing her disgust on that movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding and how the food didn't look super delicious. "niku bakkari janai ka?" no, mom, it's not completely meat filled cuisine. after a bit more talking i convinced her to try eating at the greek corner with me over on university and king. she was amazed! she kept saying that their food seemed so healthy, not bad oily, vegetable filled. she also loves feta cheese.



here's a photo of her at the greek cafe. i went there with her a few weeks ago and it was pretty amazing considering the price, but definitely not the best greek food on island.

i'm really bad at ending posts with the whole tying this whole blog together thing. i feel like all my posts are just some stream of consciousness bullshit that never gets anywhere and no point is ever made. but meh, i think it's a good idea to record my thoughts regardless of how scattered they are, right?

pizza rant

MAN. so i really really love papa john's pizza. i don't really know what it is about the garden fresh pizza (maybe the deliciously sweet tomatoes, or maybe it's the crunchy bell peppers?) but i am hooked. absolutely. and guess what? i really really love papa john's because they allow online ordering. AND they post all their specials up there. gasp! the internet has officially made me fat.

i guess i'm excited because i do not like ordering over the phone. i always get way too caught up with the specials that the employee kind of barfs out at the beginning of the phone call. this leaves me feeling overwhelmed with options that i haven't had time to consider, and me being indecisive makes it all the harder. i can't even tell you how many times i've hung up on pizza places which in the end made me opt to not even get pizza because i was afraid if i called back they'd recognize my voice.

anyway, the internet has oversimplified this dilemma and has eliminated what was really preventing me from ordering delivery. now i don't know what i'm doing but i'm eating pizza three times a day several times a week. yes, this is horribly unhealthy (hence garden fresh, i figured the veggies make up for something) but god. i can't help it.

which is what brings me to this point. they're onto me, papa john's that is. i got this in the mail today, just after i had ordered pizza.

oh man. THEY KNOW THAT I'M HOOKED! i know for sure now. i only have till august 28th to take advantage of this deal (which is an amazing deal). even if i can't eat more than two slices in one sitting, i can always freeze whatever the second pizza is and eat it over time.

what is wrong with me?!

supermarket finds!

a few weeks ago my mom and i made an unusual trip to salt lake to visit the carpet store. afterwards, we stopped by target which was right next door. salt lake/that whole area of aiea, pearl city, mililani, ewa, etc is such a strange place. i'm so unfamiliar with it... but to be honest everything looks exactly the same. maybe i am really a townie since i can only establish where i am based on landmarks around me. this cannot be so when you're out there. there's just houses. a TON of houses. i can officially say that suburbia scares me.

because there was only a pizza hut and a starbucks to eat at... we became desperate for decent food. luckily target has food in the form of a freezer aisle and this was on sale for $4. frozen pizza this cheap? unheard of! plus it said that the ingredients were "imported from italy." really?! i was excited.

(note to self: you can't fucking take pictures at 3ft distance. FIGURE IT OUT, GIRL!)

mom made caprese salad with cherry tomatoes and bits of anchovy on top! this ended up being much more delicious than the pizza which was a hot circle of garbage (thanks, kevin, from the office for this quote). why was it bad? there was no flavor! the goat cheese had the strangest texture... and since it wasn't evenly spread you'd just get huge bursts of goat cheese and then... dull... crappy... frozen spinach flavor. yuck. never again.

i've been trying to be more frugal lately but it's hard. i'm an impulsive buyer-- i'll admit it! so when i saw all these items on sale i could not resist. do i really need the equivalent of 20 servings of miso soup in the middle of the summer? ...no. but i might. plus this stuff doesn't go bad, right? right!

i'm really excited for the item on the far right, which is something i haven't seen before. it's just the miso paste except it comes with small baby clams inside! we will see how that actually tastes. i don't want to hype it up too much for myself (like i did for the pizza) only to be sorely disappointed. the miso ramen in the dead center is always good. the soup packets are delicious and the ramen is exceptional for the processed type. $1.50. i just wish it was a just-add-water kind of deal so i could bring it to work.

anyway~~ that's all for now. heehee.

youtube + cooking

it's july! this means birthday month, it's-really-summer celebration, and bbq time! normally i'm not excited for any of these things because hawaii summers are especially brutal (although i know that my friends living off island are experiencing humidity that is just as bad) but i don't know! this year i'm trying to stay optimistic and happy. i'm hoping this carries on till my birthday at the end of this month!

so for those of you who aren't in close contact with me... or you don't really read this blog.. i've been really aching to get a canon ae-1. i managed to for the amazing price of $60 including shipping!

hello new friend. i can't wait to wind you up and get you going!

but in more food related news...

when i cook i'm kind of retarded when it comes to recipes. i mean, i don't know, it says continuously stir. am i stirring vigorously? lightly? when do i stop? why doesn't it say? i need to be told exactly what to do. that's why i love youtube. i can type anything into the search bar and someone has probably made a video on it. it's way more awesome than most recipe websites because instead of simply offering you a photo of what it should look like when you're done, they give you a step-by-step process on how to make it!

personally, my favorite food blogger is chef john with food wishes.

i subscribed to his blog some aeons ago and am almost afraid to go on youtube these days because i can't stop myself from drooling. yesterday, i caught this video (above) and realized oh snap! carbonara is super easy to make. i have all those ingredients right now! inspiring me to actually cook which is so great! his videos are probably one of the best on youtube in terms of quality. you see the exact steps one by one laid out. he also offers the recipes on his website.

anyway you guys should check his stuff out if you're wondering what to make yourself for dinner. so many great videos to choose from!

brother's birthday

back in may my brother turned 20. he really likes italian food, so we decided to go where we normally go: arancinos. a lot of people tell me this place is inconsistent. but when your mom is friends with most of the staff and the owner, they tend to kick the service up a notch. we eat here really often. family gatherings, birthdays, when my mom's friends are in town, when they introduce a new item to the menu. we're irregular regulars, so to speak.

bread. mom usually eats this with balsamic vinegar + olive oil. i just it eat it plain, because it's already baked with seasonings.

blurry photo of my penne arrabita. it's a sort of spicy tomato based sauce with penne pasta. super delicious.

my mom always gets the same thing. tobiko and calamari spaghetti and a glass of merlot.

my brother, craigin, and his lasagna. also what he always gets. the portion is enormous.

mom, again.

blurry photo of the bar.

i suppose i don't know what real italian food is supposed to taste like, as i've never been to italy or been served by real authentic italian chefs. but in terms of flavor/portion/price, arancino's is always satisfying to me. i really like the duck pizza they have. it's duck, looking a lot similar to bacon but thicker cut, atop a thin hand made crust. topped with mozzarella cheese. and normally as a starter we get the bagna cauda. it an assortment of vegetables (celery, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, beans, etc) with an anchovy olive oil garlic dipping sauce.

if you haven't been here i'd absolutely recommend it. it can get a bit pricey (peroni beer is like $6 a bottle here) but the portions are big enough to satisfy me. i usually leave with left overs. they have two locations: one in the marriot hotel and the other on beachwalk.

Look what I made!

Because I'm slacking, here you go.

Scallops and Feta Cheese Pasta

Ingredients!
Olive oil
Scallops
Garlic (3-5 cloves)
White wine
Linguine
Tomatoes, chopped
Spinach
Oregano
Basil
Feta cheese

Directions!
Heat the olive oil, garlic, and scallops over medium heat. Add some white wine (I kind of eyeballed it?) and let it simmer for about five minutes. Meanwhile, boil the linguine with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes. While the pasta is going, mix the chopped tomatoes, spinach, oregano, and basil until everything is kind of tender. Toss the pasta in the sauce and feta cheese and serve!

So originally the recipe called for shrimp. I bet it'll taste a lot better with that, too. But because I have a shellfish allergy I substituted and it came out fine! It's pretty much the only dish I've made to date that my mom has absolutely approved of.

As for the white wine, I say choose one you like to drink (as everyone says). I used Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc. Speaking of! I suppose this is sort of a wine revolution, so to speak, because corks are out and screw on tops are in. Yes! It actually keeps the wine for much longer and is easier to use! I hope that all wine companies jump on that. But back on topic, I like to cook with chablis as well! Both are fantastic to drink.

I think I'm going to try and stray from tomato/wine based sauces and try something simpler. So next up? Maybe a tobiko spaghetti with olive oil? We'll see!

GARLIC BREAD FOREVER

Pretty much anyone who knows me probably knows that I don't really like bread. It's too chewy and I often find myself exhausted before I'm done with a bagel, piece of toast, cheese sticks, etc. My jaw is literally tired from all the chewing. I wish it came in an easy-swallow form (that's what she said).

Fortunately, easy swallowing is exactly what garlic bread is to me. It's this intensely flavorful yet soft bread that isn't hard to chew and goes with just about every meal imaginable (except Asian meals, but come on that was obvious).

I recently discovered how amazing the frozen food section is and Walmart always has crazy good deals. This is my favorite garlic bread but my brother loves it just as much as I do so it's never around long enough. The first slice I had of this was with a bowl of Manhattan Clam Chowder. The bread doesn't go so well with the creamy soups, just a FYI. Lately I've resorted to making a ghetto fab version using french bread. Here's the recepie.

Slices of french bread, 1/2 inch thick
Butter
Dash of salt and pepper (recommend garlic salt)
Parsley (fresh, if you can)
Diced garlic (you can always use minced garlic that they sell in bottles at the supermarket)
Parmesan cheese (fresh or powdered, purely up to you)

I like to heat the bread for a bit in my toaster oven before I spread everything on it, butter first then seasonings and garlic next with the cheese being last. I should probably add here that you totally don't want to add too much salt. It's highly likely that the cheese and butter are already a bit salted for preservation, so try to be a bit skimpy. If anything, you can always add more after it's done. I've experimented with mozzarella but it's not as flavorful as parmesan. Also, using the powdered pre-grated stuff tends to lack the moisture that keeps the bread soft and moist so I say do it legit if you can afford it.

I'm trying to figure out more inventive ways to make it. Maybe creating a butter-based garlic spread with cheese already inside? That way the flavors can mix and sit together before it's spread on the bread? Maybe a different kind of bread. Maybe instead of diced garlic cloves I could just cut them into chunks? Grate them? How about just making the bread with all this stuff in the dough from the get go? Oh, the possibilities! I'll keep you guys posted if I come up with something super awesome.

How the eff did I write a whole blog about garlic bread? Man, this is amazing even for me.