Weekend Fun

Have you tried Mendocino Farms? It was pretty tasty. I split the ham and mac grilled cheese. It was good. I wish they had fries though. Why don't sandwich places have fries or even better onion rings?!

mine is on the left.

Then we went to Handsome Coffee. It's pretty serious in there. No pastries. Luckily, I had donuts in my bag. Yes, I carry donuts in my purse when I can. 

Michael Phillips was there that day. Did you know he was the first US barista to win the World Barista Championship in 2010?

There is Michael Phillips brewing coffee. He was very nice and explained the 2 different blends for the day.

Then at church on Sunday Martin Smith was there to lead praise.  A pretty great way to end the weekend!

4th of July

We had a nice bbq at my friend L's house. 

I made blueberry lemon cheesecake squares a Tyler Florence recipe. These are the changes I made. I used one large lemon instead of 2, I doubled the amount of crust, I only used 1 cup of blueberries, and I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla. 

After a nice day of eating and lounging we went out to watch fireworks!
A loved it!

Big Sur 2013

We went to Big Sur again for our annual camping trip. It was so nice to get away! A did a hike which wasn't so easy. I was so proud of her! Can't wait for next year. 

our campsite

our kingdom 4

evening walk 

celebrated my 15 anniversary

hanging out and catching up with friends!

apple maple bread

Black and White Cheesecake Squares

I had to try Myung In dumplings after I saw Anthony Bourdain's koreatown show. We met up with some friends and chowed down! 

Spending lazy afternoons doing puzzles and riding the scooter around the neighborhood. Now we just need to teach her how to ride a bike.

We also went to Balboa Island to walk around on Sunday.

balboa bar with toffee almond

I ripped this page out of a Martha Stewart magazine long, long time ago (I think an '09 issue) but never got around to make it. It got great reviews from everyone who tried it.

Martha Stewart Living

Yield Makes 24

ingredients

• Vegetable oil, cooking spray
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
•  2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

cheescake mixture

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both long sides, then spray parchment.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cream butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until smooth. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat until incorporated.
3. Reserve 1 cup of dough; cover, and refrigerate. Press remaining dough into bottom of prepared dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake until base is set and edges are puffed, about 25 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack.
4. Mix cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread over cooled base; crumble reserved dough on top. Bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in dish on wire rack, then lift out using overhang. Cut into 24 squares.

*I did not fridge the dough for 30 minutes. I just threw it in the oven.

Fire Chicken!

Who doesn't love donuts?!

I made kimbap for dinner one night

ready to be planted outside

A started piano lessons this week

kimchi quesadilla for snack

Mother's Day brunch at Blu Jam Cafe

Last night I tried to make bool dak (korean spicy fire chicken) for dinner

cabbage, onions, perilla leaves, korean peppers, carrots, and korean sweet potatoes

It was quite spicy,I also added rice ovalettes to the mix. 

Next time I will add more sugar, ginger & perilla leaves.

sauce

2 T gochujang

1 T sesame oil

1 T sugar

1 1/2 T red korean pepper flakes

2 T mirin

1 T soysauce

1/2 t ginger grated

6 garlic cloves minced

1 pound of chicken (thighs)

1 1/2 cup cabbage

1 medium onion sliced

1 small korean sweet potato sliced

1 small carrot sliced

3 green onions  cut

1 bunch of perilla leaves cut  

1 cup rice ovalettes

Make the sauce in one bowl. Chop the chicken into cubes or slices and put it into another bowl. Add a spoon of the sauce and mix in with the chicken. Set aside.

Start chopping all the veggies. Set aside.

Add 2 T of oil to a pan (big enough to cook all the veggies and chicken in) and add the chicken. After a few minutes, add all the veggies, rice ovalettes and the rest of the sauce. Cook until the chicken is done and you can poke a fork smoothly through the sweet potato.       

Is it only Thursday?!

It's been a long week in my house. A has a stomach bug again. She's been home all week. My new best friend has become the washing machine. A is in a much better mood today which I am so thankful for.

Some things that happened before the stomach bug hit my house.  Made french toast from ATK book. They were ok. The flavor was good, but the bread didn't soak up the liquid enough. Possibly because of the flour the recipe called for? Guess they weren't too bad since they disappeared before I could take a picture of the final product.

Had a little Korean bbq while my sister was in town on my older sister's new dining table.

That's my girl holding up the flag for the school's Friday morning pledge.

I hit the library and got me some books.

Drinking this coffee at the moment.  Thanks GP!

Caramels...yummmm...thanks AC

these days

I made this Strawberry cake from Saveur magazine. It only got 3 stars, but several blogs claimed it was really good. Let me say...it ended up in the trash. E said it was the worst thing I've made and I had to agree. I would give it 1 star.

So I made a lemon cake to make up for it.

chocolate coffee muffins

Received this clip/coffee spoon for my bday last year and I love it!

making strawberry jam today