kimchi lover

Watched Maangchi’s cooking video a couple times before I got started on my japchae.
First I seasoned the potato starch noodles with some sesame oil and soy sauce.

Cut up some veggies.

Shiitake mushrooms were too expensive so I stuck with basic white mushrooms. I also didn’t buy that much meat …  Next time I make this I’ll hopefully have more money to buy all the necessary ingredients.
Donned plastic gloves to mix everything together.

My friend tried to sneak a taste.
But after all that hard work, I made sure the final dish was ALL mine. Was able to portion out this large bowl for five meals.

Return of the Cafeteria

When I was a kid, I always got hot lunch at school. One of my favorite cafeteria meals was a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. So I decided to make some for lunch.

White bread is so bad for you, but tastes so good. Making tomato soup from scratch was  laborious. I should have bought more tomatoes to give it more substance, but it wasn’t terrible for my first attempt.

Grated some Parmesan on top since I’m an adult now.

When I was in Catholic school, I always got excited when we got chocolate chip Blondies for dessert. I actually had no idea what they were called when I was kid. I just knew they were good. So good, that I had to make them.

Before …
And after …
Served on top a plate of bananas.

The Batter Strikes Back

 

I’m a big fan of The Pioneer Woman, so I decided to make Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes.

The sour cream gives the batter an interesting texture.

Butter up!

Making a stack takes time, so I caught up on some music videos.

Delicious!

None for my friend.

In the afternoon I made some guacamole. Slicing jalapenos agitated my skin, so I ended up wearing rubber gloves to do all my cutting. Hot stuff.

Into the Kitchen

Been cat sitting for some good friends of mine. Since they have three cats that need to be fed three times a day, I’ve been living in their apartment and taking advantage of their spacious kitchen to cook from scratch as much as possible. Here is part 1 of my efforts:

Eggs in a basket:

Chocolate banana cake:

I mixed & matched ingredients from this and that recipe. In the end, I wish I had added more bananas and used white sugar instead of brown. The brown sugar made it too dense.

I didn’t have a double burner so I made one.

So hard to resist eating this whole bowl of melted chocolate.

My friend helped make the frosting.

Always good to have a friend in the kitchen.

$1.50 store

Lots of cute stuff at Daiso, a Japanese discount store where everything is made in China.Got this bear –

… which is a measuring tape! You press the nose to retract. =)

My landlady’s been bugging me about how my chair scrapes the wood floors. So I got chair socks.

Problem solved!

Peeps Brownies

It’s been more than a year since I moved into my studio. So far my oven has served as a bookshelf. But for Easter, I finally used it to bake brownies!!!

Was in a rush to get the finished product to a craft party so I didn’t have time to take a pic, but I still dream about these ducks. Like eating chocolate marshmallows. Mmm.

It was 99 cents …

Mmm, getting hungry again just by looking at this. Nongshim ramen, if only there was a contest I could enter to win a lifetime supply of you.

 

trying new food

Growing up in Wisconsin, my knowledge of Asians was limited to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Vietnamese people. I had no idea Filipinos even existed. Fast forward to my life in California, and after two years of performing with a Filipino theater company, I still haven’t eaten at a Filipino restaurant. Well, I finally got the change to eat at Little Ongpin and am trying to find an excuse to go back so I can enjoy their turon again AND buy more pastries from their neighboring bakery Auntie Dee’s.

My friend Chad got a whole loaf of pan de sal that was still warm.

I tried an ensaymada.

And got some chocolate to go –

Simple ingredients

Little Ongpin is Filipino Chinese fusion. Any suggestions for straight-up Filipino restaurants?

my left shoe

Leftovers from a great dinner at Anatolia Cafe. They have homemade baklava! I’m pretty sure it’s going to be awhile before I go back to Istanbul, so I was relieved to finally find a restaurant that could replicate some of the epic dishes I got to try in Turkey.

Super excited about these new heels I got.

They started off at $35, were discounted to $20 … and I almost bought them, but decided to hold out until – – The only pair in my size was discounted to $12. Score!

 

updates and such

Wow, it’s 2013. I promised myself I’d post at least once before February and I’ve achieved my goal. One resolution I kept.

So one big change you’ve probably noticed is the absence of a quote in the title. New year, new style.

What have I been up to?

Cheap nails

Actually using my stove instead of my microwave to make tea. The extra prep time makes it extra special. Plus I enjoy lighting matches.

Got some fancy eco-friendly chocolate from the boy

Been bulking up my ramen dinners with veggies (loving kale right now), seaweed and kimchi.

Started rehearsals for a puppet improv show

Had the best birthday ever in Venice … just kidding, Vegas.

Holiday party with my long form improv group J.J. Caesar.  Exploded into a fit of giggles after opening my secret santa gift.

And finally, I’ve started shooting a web series written, directed, and produced by moi and the best two co-creators I could ask for. So happy to be able to see my own work onscreen, even it’s a small screen.

Many thanks to the friends who have loaned their equipment out to me.

Proud of my location scouting skills. Got permission to shoot in this alternative art gallery for $200/half day.

Onward!