Thursday, June 28, 2012

Day 109: Tom Yum in a Flaming Pot is Not the Same in Westwood


Tom Yum in a Flaming Pot (from Thai House, Westwood)

I'm sorry, Thai House Westwood--but my heart belongs to another. All I can think of when I see you is...


I miss you, Berkeley! <3 And all the wonderful things that come with being in a the bay full of stellar, awesome people.

Day 108 (6.27.12): Going Cow Crazy for Chunky Cheesecake Brownies



Chunky Cheesecake Brownies Recipe


These are absolute winners. Cheesecake and brownies in one luscious bite really can't get any better--I brought this to my students today as part of a writing exercise (yes, you read that right!) and they disappeared faster than a Disapparating wiz. So if you want a real magic trick, pop these bad babies in the oven and then watch them disappear the second they're out!

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
  2. Combine cream cheese with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Stir 1 cup chocolate chips into the cream cheese mixture (I prefer to stir mine into the brownie batter or leave it out altogether). Set aside.
  3. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off, and set a heatproof mixing bowl over the water. In the mixing bowl, combine butter with the remaining cup of chocolate chips; stir until just melted and blended together. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 eggs, then sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into chocolate until evenly blended.
  4. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer. Top with remaining chocolate mixture (this doesn't need to completely cover the cream cheese layer). Using a knife, swirl the top chocolate layer into the cream cheese to make a marble pattern.
  5. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is crinkled and edges pull away from sides of the pan. Cool thoroughly. Cut into 12 to 16 squares. Store in the refrigerator or freeze.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Day 107 (6.26.12): Homemade Granola Recipe

Homemade Granola Recipe


An amazing recipe that has gotten rave reviews. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
- 2 cups oats
- 1 1/4 cup assorted nuts, finely chopped (I like using walnuts and
pecans)
- 1/4 cup black sesame seeds (optional)
- Finely ground flaxseed (optional)
- 1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries

- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon syrup (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. In a bowl, combine oats, chopped nuts, sesame seeds, and flaxseed.
3. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, oil, cinnamon, vanilla,
and
syrup. Bring to a light boil, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture over
dry
mixture and stir to coat. Spread coated oats evenly over foil-lined
baking
sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 12-18 minutes or until
crispy,
stirring occasionally to keep granola from burning. And enjoy!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Day 106: Running in Circles Eating Repeats

Today I had nothing that has not already been seen here a half dozen times, because it was that sort of a day.

What sort of a day, you ask?

Cat running around in a circle

This kind of a day. Taught my first classes, which were really good fun! And also extremely, extremely exhausting. After hitting up the gym and literally just being happy to let the hours slip by, I am now slightly panicked at the mountain of work still looming over me.

Oh well. This is what I think of you, mountain-of-work, research, and lesson-planning:
snooki


Day 105 (6.24.12): Vegan Strawberry Dessert Parfait (with Recipe)

Photo: Strawberry vegan gelatin parfait from the Native Foods cooking demo this morning!

Vegan Strawberry Dessert Parfait (from Native Foods cooking demo)

I attended a cooking demo yesterday at Native Foods, and it was simply delicious! I'm including the recipe for this parfait below--enjoy!

Recipe below the cut!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

How I Imagine Myself After Working 3 Years on My Dissertation

After the Last Final of the Year

Day 104: Falafel Pita w/Potato Crisps (Don't Need to Tell Me It's Why You're Fat)


Falafel Pita w/Potato Crisps (from Falafel King)

Greek food is healthy. Granted, this is a pretty universal truth--it's probably one of the most healthy cuisines on the planet. Of course, that's not saying much, but it's still saying something.

It's also saying something, then, when you can bring a nice quaint cuisine like Greek food to America and turn it into a fair food fried legend. This falafel pita topped with fried potato slices was simply heavenly, but it did make me feel like I had just stuck my face straight into a deep fryer and inhaled its boiling contents.

If you haven't seen it, you might be interested in looking at this blog, featuring everything glorious about America, obesity, and heart attacks that you never would have wanted to know, and maybe still don't:

Featuring ridiculous and (and some scarily not-so-ridiculous) things like this:
Inside-Out Spaghetti &amp; Meatballs
A giant meatball stuffed with spaghetti, marinara sauce and ricotta cheese.
(Submitted by Lex)
A giant meatball stuffed with spaghetti, marinara sauce and ricotta cheese.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Every Time I Come Home for the Holidays, My Mom's Like...


And I'm just like...




My First Trip to the Ice Cream Parlor After My Diet Ends


Ranma e Akane (gif)

I've been reading so much #whatshouldwecallme and How Do I Put This Gently? lately that I started getting ideas for my own spin-off based on animated/illustrated features, since those are more of my thing--so here they are. Feel free to let me know what you guys think!

Day 103 (6.22.12): Zhong Zi--Sticky Rice w/Assorted Filling


Zhong Zi (Sticky Rice w/Assorted Filling)

We eat these for the Dragon Boat or Double Fifth festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar year--credit to Wikipedia for my misleading apparent knowledge of my own culture.

Remember that guy Li Bai? Me neither. He's been dead for centuries, but I still remember having to read all of his poems and somesuch, one of which included a sort of ode to the moon and Chinese-like things. Here's the man of the hour:

Li Bai, Chinese Poet




Friday, June 22, 2012

Day 102: Vegetable Pad See Ew (Can Be Really Ew, If You're Not Expecting It)


(Leftover) Vegetable Pad See Ew (from Siam Chan)

Ever have that experience where you take a great, anticipatory bite into a completely delicious looking sweet treat...and find out it's savory instead? Ew is right! Fortunately, this wasn't one of those extreme cases (the pad see ew was just slightly spicier and less sweet than I'm used to), but it did remind me of the "cupfakes" I made last month, as well as the original post that inspired them:


This is the "cupfake" with mashed potato "frosting" and a cherry tomato on top that featured in Willow Baking for April Fool's one year. 

To read more about it from her angle, take a look at this cute featurette here.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Day 101: Double Fortune Cookie--Better Than A Lucky Cricket


We're officially in the triple digits + 1!


Double Fortune Cookie (from Siam Chan)

I don't remember what the first one said, but I definitely approve of the second one, which said "You will spend the rest of your life in happiness."


My mom taught me never to resist good advice. I'm as passive with this one as a bubble on the wind, thank you very much. As long the fortune as it doesn't come from a talking Chinese dragon with a lying self-proclaimed "lucky" bug, I think I'll be all right.


Associated with: Mulan

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Day 100 (6.19.12): Baked Mac 'n Cheese with Graham Cracker Crumb Crust


Baked Mac 'n Cheese with Graham Cracker Crumb Crust (homemade)

In an essay, you're supposed to write the most exciting thing first--essentially, what makes your paper such a stellar shining standout from all the other papers--to hook your audience in. The first thing you'll encounter with this baked mac 'n cheese recipe is exactly that: the sweet stuff on top or, to be more specific...graham cracker crumbs!

Using graham cracker crumbs instead of the traditional seasoned bread or cracker crumbs gives this comfort food a delightful twist, and really brings out the flavor of an otherwise rather mild dish. I'm personally of the opinion that anything can be made sweet and still taste phenomenal (or even better!), so I wasn't hesitant at all about making this ingredient swap. If you're feeling wary about it, though, I would recommend making a small serving first (maybe in a muffin tin) and seeing how you like it before you bake an entire batch. My roommate and I both have sweet tooths, but you don't have to have one to enjoy this pleasant change of pace with a traditional favorite that you can bring to a potluck. Then, all you have to do is sit back and watch the delighted surprise on the guests' faces as they try their first bite!

Day 99 (6.18.12): Fruit! Thank You, Sunny California


Fruit! Thank you, sunny California.

We also have the world's happiest cows, in case you didn't know...

Sho happy!

And of course, here in the Golden State, we all surf to school--just like the Canadians and Alaskans ride huskies. Sometimes on a sled, but mostly bareback.
 
Why yes, I do!! Do you want to see?

Me surfing to school with my teacher:
 
That's him on the right. He's trying to beat me to the classroom before the bell rings.
Not going to happen, bub.



Monday, June 18, 2012

Day 98 (6.17.12): Acai Berry Granola Bowl (Let the Cheese Cube Diet Begin)


Acai Berry Granola Bowl
Status: Restaurant (Real Food Daily)
Satisfaction: 10.

Associated with: The Devil Wears Prada

Starting today (although technically, today is already tomorrow--so tomorrow), I am joining these girls on the cube-of-cheese diet. Okay, so I don't have that kind of willpower, but acai berry (i.e. the "miracle" weight loss fruit) granola bowls sound pretty close to what Emily from The Devil Wears Prada would be eating if she had to eat at all. I've gotten so fattened up over the past few weeks that the beginning of summer seems like a good place to restart my system. 

Here's to trying!

Day 98 (6.16.12): Three-Tier White Cake (Appropriate for Birthdays and Unbirthdays Alike)


Three-Tier White Cake
Status: Restaurant (Empress Pavilion)
Satisfaction: 6. Not a huge cake fan...

Associated with: Alice in Wonderland

Tier cakes make me so happy. I'm not a huge fan of cakes myself, but every time I see those tiers, it makes me want to recreate the unbirthday party cake from the scene pictured above. It's been done--so one of these days when I have the time, resources, and sufficient amount of boredom, I will do it. Maybe.

Anyway, we had this cake in celebration of my great-uncle's 90th birthday. Happy (belated) birthday!!

Day 97 (6.15.12): Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap (Please Don't Supersize Me...)


Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap
Status: Restaurant (McDonald's)
Satisfaction: 8. But then, I'm pretty ridiculously easy to please.

Associated with: Supersize Me

First off, let me just say that it was not nearly as good as the picture above (courtesy of McD's awesome marketing team) would seem to suggest. But I digress.

I can't help it. I really can't. I'm becoming the epitome of fat America, snack wrap by snack wrap.


Sunday, June 17, 2012

Day 96 (6.14.12): Copenhagan Crepe (Fit for a Prince, and Maybe Making Love in the Stacks)


Copenhagan (Strawberry + Cream Cheese) Crepe
Status: Restaurant (Cup and Saucer)
Satisfaction: 10.

Associated with: The Prince and Me


Please tell me somebody other than me still remembers this tremendous, terrible movie about Denmark (hence the Copenhagen connection).

Based in Denmark, the film's premise is a playboy Denmarkian prince who basically visits the States to study and ends up falling for this rather attitude-heavy, ultimately super-steamy and intriguing farm-type girl. The details escape me (not a loss, in my opinion), but there is that one unforgettable scene where sex in the stacks is nearly consummated--that is, before the paparazzi gets a whiff of it and catches it all on camera, naked torsos and all. All in all, it's a great(ly horrifying) movie, and appropriate, since my brunch partner was the same as my in-theaters "The Prince and Me" partner!

Day 95 (6.13.12): Bottomless Salad and Minestrone (The Next Cardian)


Bottomless Salad and Minestrone
Status: Restaurant (Olive Garden)
Satisfaction: 9.
This wasn't my exact picture, but it seems about right.

Associated with: Minotauron from Sailor Moon

I don't know why, but somehow the word "minestrone" always reminds me of minotaurs, which inevitably reminds me of the epic episode in Sailor Moon R when one of the cardions took on the shape of an incredibly ineffective female minotaur. Maybe I have a Sailor Moon obsession. Or maybe I just like imagining really disturbing things while I eat.

Day 94 (6.12.12): Crispy "Chix" Salad (or What We All Would Eat If Chickens Ran the Ranch)


Crispy "Chix" Salad
Status: Restaurant (Saturn Cafe)

Associated with: Chicken Run

On their website, Native Foods says that "chix"--fake, soy "chicken"--would be what we all would eat if chickens ran the ranch. Unsurprisingly, therefore, I have selected a tale of poultry usurpation and general uprising that results in the overthrow of the evil human beings who seek to devour them. Fitting, I think.

Day 93 (6.11.12): Eggplant Mozzarella Melt Sandwich (on a Bella Notte)


Eggplant Mozzarella Melt Sandwich
Status: Restaurant (Mary and Robb's Cafe)
Satisfaction: 9. I actually liked Alex's egg white frittata better...go figure.

Associated with: Lady and the Tramp

Remember the guy on the right? That's the Italian waiter whose name I will never remember (if they mentioned it at all). I always hope that my Italian-style eggplant meals will turn into some romantic Lady and the Tramp-esque fantasy complete with Italian men serenading us at creepily close quarters, but so far it's still wishful thinking, and my eggplant sandwiches have gone eaten but singularly unserenaded.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Day 92: Picnic Foods (What Time is It? Summertime!)

Picnic Foods! Macaroni Salad and Gorgonzola Cranberry Walnut Salad
Status: Homemade
Satisfaction: 9.

Associated with: High School Musical 2 song--"What Time is It?" (Summer!)

I love picnics! You know what I think about whenever I hear someone say the word "picnic"?

SUMMER!

To celebrate along with the Wildcats that summer has officially arrived and all of the papers are written, thoughts thunk, and school schooled, I had a picnic-for-one out on the lawn. It was, frankly speaking, a little piece of heaven.

Yes, that's Zac Efron doing an imitation of me as I submitted my last assignment via email this afternoon. Pretty good, but I don't think he puts enough of his hips into it.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Day 91: Ants on a Log (At Least Maxime Thinks It's Hot)


Ants on a Log
Status: Homemade
Satisfaction: 7.

Associated with: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)

I don't know if anyone else remembers this, but every time I watch the scene featuring Hagrid and Madame Maxime, I secretly cringe. Okay--not-so-secretly. The part I'm thinking about is where Hagrid tells Maxime about his mum; after staring contemplatively at him for several silent moments, she reaches down, puts her fingers in his hair, plucks something out...and puts it in her mouth. To this day, I still don't know (or want to know) what it is--flea, tick, ant--but it's certainly a liberty the directors took with the book, and sure as heck isn't my idea of a budding giant romance.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Day 90 (6.7.12): German Chocolate Dessert (Like A Fat Kid)


German Chocolate Dessert
I will preface this by saying that the picture above is not at all representative of what I actually ate. I indulged, forgot to take a picture, and googled a gem that made my mouth water significantly more than the original dessert--end of story.

Status: At a party (store-bought)
Satisfaction: 10.

Associated with: Matilda

Remember this moment? It's the boy who stole some of the evil headmistress' cake and was forced to eat an entire chocolate cake. This is how I feel every time I even so much as glance at a chocolate cake now. I think I've gained 5 pounds just by looking at these pictures.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Day 89: Rockin' Moroccan Tofu Quinoa Veggie Bowl (So Good, It's Not Just a Dream)


Rockin' Moroccan Tofu Quinoa Veggie Bowl
Status: Restaurant (Native Foods)
Satisfaction: 8.

Associated with: Inception

Upon trying to find a list of films shot in Morocco, I came across a familiar gem--ever heard of this one? I can't actually tell you what scene was shot where...but I still think it's pretty cool. Plus, any excuse to get Joseph Gordon-Levitt on my blog is a good excuse.

Day 88 (6.5.12): Icebox Ginger Cupcake (A Case for SVU)


Icebox Ginger Cupcake
Status: Brought in by our decadent professor for end-of-the-year evals
Satisfaction: 5. Beautiful, but unfortunately, creamy frosting treats are apparently not my thing.

Associated with: Law & Order--SVU

I'll never forget the episode where they found somebody's severed body parts in an ice box. Actually, I have forgotten it and I don't remember anything behind that. But it's a good thing to have in mind when you're trying to eat a decadent ice box dessert, right?


For kicks, I decided this flattering picture of Ice-T should be included. Adds to the appetizing factor of the food.


Day 87 (6.4.12): Spinach Ravioli in Pink Sauce (It's a Blonde Thing)


Spinach Ravioli in Pink Sauce
Status: Restaurant (Angelino's Cafe)
Satisfaction: 9. Would've been a 10, except for the fact that the ravioli cost approximately 2 bucks a pop. Nothing is worth that. Maybe a really amazing tub of ice cream, but otherwise, nothing.

Associated with:

Pink--the color of the Greek goddesses. Pink sauce? Probably contrived by a sorority girl who decided that it would match her outfit; only made delicious by the Italians.

I've been wanting to see "Legally Blonde: The Musical" for a really long time--I've heard great things about it! Unfortunately, it's gone the way of The Little Mermaid: Broadway for me...in other words, I haven't seen it, but still wish I really could have. Darn, darn, and darn.