Harvest.

[from Saturday]

It's one of those dreary, horrible Saturdays because it's raining outside.
Except it isn't. It may be cold and dark outside but it sure is warm and cheery inside.
The roommates decided to go all out on a southern comfort style breakfast. Bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, grits and all. I had to leave early to go celebrate my dad's birthday at a buffet. Sigh. I and my little bellow are not made for buffets.

The seasons changed so quickly. I was wearing tanktops last week and suddenly the sky remembered it was suppose to be fall and began to mourn the end of summer by sending down tears of rain. The sky wasn't whimpering tears, it was bawling.

But rain also means life (or green things).
My stepmother's tomato plants use to be wee weed-like beings and now they have transformed into bushes bearing little beings of life. I hope my herb plants can be just as fruitful.

Cooking Creations.

The kitchen and I have never been terribly close.
Whenever I attempted to make anything, things never went quite according to plan.
Making mac and cheese set a dish towel on fire. Heating a pop tart set a fire in the toaster oven. Those types of things...

But restrictions can change people.
Not allowed to cook for two years, I now want to cook EVERYTHING.

I have been following a blog called Closet Cooking.
I want to make every recipe on it.

 Carmelized Mushroom and Onion Pizza

I couldn't find an puff pastry so I just threw it on pita bread with alfredo sauce.

Ingredients: pita bread. onion. mushroom. parsley. gorgonzola.

My Additions: alfredo sauce. mozzarella.

This is such a great way to make delicious caramelized onion and mushroom that can be used for anything. I want to try it with mashed potatoes next.

-1- Heat 1tbsp oil. 

-2- Add 1 onion chopped and cook till caramelize (~20min) 

-3- Add 1tbsp butter and melt. 

-4- Add 1 pound chopped mushroom and saute till caramelize (~20min) 

-5- Add 1 chopped clove of garlic and 1/2 tsp thyme chopped. 

-6- Season with salt and pepper. 

-7- Add 1/4 cup white wine. Deglaze and cook until evaporate.

Then... just throw everything on pita and bake in toaster oven or microwave.

Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Food processors are awesome! Pesto making is such a breeze.

Herbal Chicken Soup

Everyone around me was sick with something. So just for preventative measures I asked my mother for her herbal chicken soup. Too bad I couldn't find any of her suggested ingredients.

Mom's Ingredients: organic chicken. 15 slices of ginseng.

My Ingredients: black chicken. ginger. wolfberries.

 Cut up chicken. Throw all ingredients into pot and cook in 4 cups of water. 

Let simmer for a very long time. I left it in slow cooker over night. Drink the broth. Not bad.

No Pictures.

I seemed to have misplaced my camera cord during all the moving.
It isn't that I would mindlessly toss something so important aside,
I strategically placed it in the front pocket of my black backpack.
You see, I know exactly where the cord is. The problem is the backpack.

My weekend did NOT go as planned. It was even BETTER than expected.
But I do not have the pictures to show you.
So I will tell you.

Friday was supposed to be a chill movie night --> and turned into a surprise birthday people for two of the nicest people I know.
That's something I love about living in a house with a little extra space. You can fit guests in that little extra space.

Saturday was supposed to be game night with the new church --> and turned into a double date-like night with the pastor and his wife.
I imagined board games and cocoa. We had wine, Mexican cocoa (it comes in a bar), and a whole lot of Xbox action.

Sunday was supposed to be a daylong birthday celebration with ONE of my favoritest people --> and well.. you can read about it in an earlier post. I thought I would get to recycle the birthday balloons and hat from Friday but they are still eagerly waiting in my trunk for the next birthday boy/girl. I got to see TWO people I rarely get to see! Except this week I get to see this rare person THREE times!

Tonight may be epic. Let me emphasize. E-P-I-C.
If you are from the Bay Area you might be there too.
If tonight goes well, I hope I find my camera cord soon so I can share it with you.
[Note: President Obama is in the area today too. Avoid 101 at all costs.]

Falling into place.

I have always dreamed of living in the city. It would be so fun and exciting. There are so many people and things to do. Every moment would be a new experience.

I spent all day today in the city and in light of my new experiences from today, I am sooooo glad I do NOT live in the city because I am NOT a city driver. First, there was a 49ers game meaning one word... traffic. Yes, those ideals of fun and a plethora people culminate into a herd of people seeking a fun day at candlestick park storming the freeways and clogging up the roads for innocent passerby-ers like me. Although I admit I would love to go to a game someday. 

So many things fell into place so that my childhood friend and I were able to meet up this morning before my predesignated plans. This meeting felt fated. Despite the traffic (and a few detours) everything went rather smoothly. I took her to my favorite bakery (introduced to me by my brother) and despite being near Church Street (with at least 2 churches at every intersection) was miraculously able to find an awesome parking spot. I was beaming with excitement for this place. A cute, chatty elderly lady behind kept commenting about the line out the door and asked me if it was really worth the wait. I told her I had driven up all the way from South Bay just for the A-mAzing chocolate croissants and I overheard all her friends ordering it. I hoped they liked them as much as I did.

My lunch plans were for a dimsum place to celebrate my lovely friend's birthday. The evite did not include an address so I quickly googled the place before leaving bright and early. Search result #1 listed a place in Milbrae. Perfect! Only one exit away from the airport. So I drove my friend out of the city and delivered her to SFO. That is when the perfect morning ended and my day began to spiral downwards. After dropping off my friend I curse the macchiato and giant glass of water I had drank because my bladder was on overdrive demanding bathroom stops about every five minutes. The clouds began to trickle rain, just to remind me I shouldn't have drank so many liquids. Rainy days also make me sleepy so my sleep-deprivation kicked in. I stopped at a gas station in Milbrae, realized my phone was beeping that horrible red, you-have-no-more battery light and discovered the restaurant was not in Milbrae. Somehow everyone knew which restaurant it was... the one back in the city. Yes, I was sleepy, stressed, and on the verge of no communication with the purpose of my venture.

I finally arrived to the restaurant 1.5 hours late. Everyone was done eating. I was starved but nauseous and frazzled from being honked at by those city drivers (why are there so many unprotected turns? apparently i am not aggressive enough for those) and struggling to find parking and running into a YMCA to beg for bathroom privileges and that sleep deprivation thing I mentioned earlier. (I was up at 5am.) But who am I to complain? The birthday girl was up even earlier than I for a marathon and was having an allergic reaction to herself and was as chirpy as that silly rabbit when he gets his hands on some Trix (prior to the mean kids who don't share). I marvel at marathon runners. Being 1.5 hours late, everyone was done eating and were ready to get on with the days activities. Next up, a musical in downtown. I ordered some chive buns to go which somehow ended up taking 15 minutes. 15 minutes in Chinese dimsum restaurant time is like 1237937589275987519205792180 years. Usually things are out in a snap. I felt so terrible for making us late to the musical. I am a musical fanatic but today I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. This was serious. I decided it was best to head back home before I fell asleep driving up a hill so me and my ready-to-present birthday present and birthday balloons and leftover chive buns headed home... straight into traffic because now the 49ers game was over and people were heading home.

Sigh.

BUT prior to leaving the parking lot I got a taste of one of those most oily, delicious chive buns. I basically stuffed it into my mouth because my nauseousness level decreased enough to allow eating. As I contemplated eating another bun while driving, I saw a man next to the freeway holding a "Starvin Marvin" sign. I took one more whiff of those delicious chive buns and passed it off to the man. If I had not gone to the wrong city, if I had not arrive 1.5 hours late and if I had not waited those 15 minutes of anguish for those chive buns I would not have had any to share. And if I had not been so tired to leave straight from the musical and if I had followed directions properly thus not requiring a detour, there would have been no Starvin Marvin to share my chive buns with. And if I had not been honked at and so frustrated with parking I would not have called Jbear the moment I returned to suburbia to thank him for always driving in the city while I cling to the I-See-My-Life-Flashing-Before-My-Eyes handle and make anime noises. And if it hadn't rained and been so cold I would not be as appreciative for my winter clothes and bed as I am now.

Perhaps my day went exactly the way it should have, everything falling into perfect place.
Maybe where I am now is exactly where I should be.