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 76: Chinese Chicken(-less) Salad (or an Ugly Green Jacket)

Chinese Chicken(-less) Salad

Status: Restaurant (Green Leaf)

Satisfaction: 10.

Associated with: Darien a.k.a. Mamoru from Sailor Moon

Anyone who has ever watched an episode of Sailor Moon knows the cringeworthy feeling that creeps up every time Mamoru pops up on the screen...in that green jacket. Heck, it's become something of an obsession (and fetish) in the fandom. Mamoru's a hot man...but there's no denying that what he owns in brains and good looks, he definitely lacks in fashion sense.

Doris and I had a good long conversation about this over lunch today, hence the (unfortunate) association.

Some more fashion faux pas from ours truly, just because I couldn't resist:

Mamoru in a pee-yellow-and-purple collared jacket

Mamoru in a stylish green pullover...not.

It's cowboy Mamoru! Or dead-cow Mamoru.

Another flattering shot of the infamous green jacket.

And one of my personal favorites, the "what the hell, were you drunk when you put this on?" exercise shirt.

Day 75 (4.21.12): Mini Egg Cheese Puff "Fake-Cups" (Worthy of Any April Fools' Day)

Mini Egg Cheese Puff "Fake-Cups"

Status: Homemade (for a Dinner of Decadence!)

Satisfaction: Haven't actually had one yet...but I was told it was good! (I was sick all of yesterday and couldn't stomach anything of interest--hence the placeholder.)

Associated with: Arias Ink

Okay, so this is the moment where I get to show off my truly geeky side. *Deep inhale*

I got the idea for these "fake-cups" from a blog post on April Fools' Day and decided to make them for the dinner of decadence I was hosting for our--you guessed it (or maybe you didn't)--decadent and pre-Raphaelite poetry class. They're little egg and cheese quiche-like cups topped with a "frosting" of mashed potatoes--decadent stuff, right? I know, instant mashed potato flakes. Real high class.

Anyway, every year, Arias Ink--which, FYI, is a pretty well-established Sailor Moon fanfiction/fandom site--hosts this absolutely fantastic April Fools' challenge where you have to hack, fight, and beat your way into the site through a series of tricks and challenges. Unfortunately, I missed the one this year without even thinking about it, but it's definitely worth dropping by if you haven't done it before. And, you know, if you want to get converted to the Moonie fandom (which I high encourage, by the way--we need more active readers!).

Day 23: Chicken Teriyaki and Gyoza Bento Box

Chicken Teriyaki and Gyoza Bento Box

Status: Restaurant (Tomi Sushi)

Satisfaction: 7. Good gyoza, but not much to say for the chicken teriyaki.

Associated with: Sailor Moon

You all knew it was coming. Come on. Don't deny it.

Season R, episode with the cutest bento box ever. Sailor Jupiter, I may have despised you in my childhood, but you are now my culinary hero. I am going home and making bento boxes up the wazoo for my lunches.