Salsa Shots

For some reason, this seemed like a good idea.

At the time.

Now? Not so much.

(tummy bubbles)

Blame it on the finals. The final of finals for my first year.

Can I get a...

No.

Finals makes you do things you wouldn't otherwise do.

1. Like...buy a bread turtle from Boudin Bakery, when you only meant to eat a grilled cheese.



Cuttteeee, huh?

2. Take salsa shots with El Pollo Loco salsa. I almost choked. Not cause I couldn't handle it...because I can! And did...sorta. But, taking a salsa shot...laughing...having the salsa (spicy, chunky salsa) go down the wrong puka, thus resulting in intense coughing. And then trying really hard to swallow the salsa and not have it come dribbling out of my ose. Little traumatizing. Not gonna lie. I'd probably give it another try tho.

3. Watching the T.O. Show. Well, I'm not really watching it, but it's playing on tv, and I overheard this quote to T.O. from one of his chick "friends":

"You don't have a job. And you don't have a woman."

Ouch and ouch.

4. Not bake. And I've tried to. Let me tell you, I've tried. I wanted to bake brownies tonight. Fail. I wanted to bake cookies or make spam musubi for my review session. Fail. I wanted to bake blueberry muffins for work. Fail. Hopefully this trend does not persist to my finals. My oven misses me.



Hmm...can't say I blame the finals for this.

(Tummy bubbles)

52%

That's how close I am to finishing my MBA.

Assuming I pass Operations Management class...a rather large assumption at this point.

But aside from that, today was officially my very last day of my first year of MBA classes. Yipppeeee!! Though it was somewhat unceremonious because the reality has not quite sunk in. I don't really understand not having to go to class every Tuesday and Thursday. Although, I will be going to class every Wednesday and Thursday in LA in just about a month and a half...but again, the reality has not quite sunk in. LA? Huh?

Even though I use this blog as my little monku (that's complain, to you people not in the know) outlet for school, there are a few...ok very few things that I am really going to...umm...what's the word...miss. Yuck. Geees. Such a cheeseball.

So in no particular order, I'm going to ahem...cough, cough...miss:

1. Turkey sandwiches eaten by the half: How many turkey sandwiches can one person possibly eat in a year? A lot. Believe me. Just when you think you can't stuff down another turkey and swiss sandwich on wheat with a piece of lettuce thrown in for color...you do. And you think it's yummy. And you call it dinner. But why the half? I swear class makes me lose my appetite.

2. Laker games: I missed an unforgivable amount of Laker games this year. But, I did try to fill every free spare moment with the Lakers. Did I miss class? Yes. Did I leave class? Yes. Did I watch during class? Yes. Did I follow it on my iPhone during class when laptops were not available? Yes. Did I ever once give it a second thought? Oh heck no. But why is this something I'll miss? Because I'm pretty sure there's no tv's at the LA campus that I have easy access to. iPhone to the rescue once again.

3. Peach green tea: It's the little things really. When the OCC fairies re-stock the tea supply and peach tea makes an appearance, I feel like it's Christmas...or at least Easter. I absolutely luv the peach green tea, and I have Maryn to thank for introducing it to me. Slightly fruity, floral and 100% yummy. Does LA have peach green tea? Negative.

4. Watching people fall asleep in class: Who doesn't like free entertainment? I'm pretty sure I'll get to still witness this, but I have my favs in class.

5. Professor Ansari: Maryn...I know you agree with me. Our stats professor was by far my...ok our favorite professor ever! He was just too hilarious, and I have to thank him to providing us with many of our fav catch phrases and quotes. Who knew stats could be fun? It's all in the...the...eeeeevvvviiiddeennnccceee.....just kidding!

6. Note passing: Maryn and Steve are quite possibly the most entertaining seat buddies. Mike too...but he's a Clipper fan and tends to get out of hand about that. I put him in line today. But I digress. I don't think I would have/could have survived class without their entertainment. Maryn would fill me in on details about cool restaurants she's eaten at, new recipe adventures and wedding updates. And Steve's just always unexpected...and yet always seems to know what's going on in class. I need to learn this trick.

And I think that does it. Sooo...how did we top off our last night of class? Take a look.



Our social chairs were awesome enough to bring beer and tacos! Oh...and is that a lemon, I see? Where's the party?



Oh! There it is!

Maui in the News

Not to be confused with The Maui News.

"We're Big on Maui."

Yup, that's actually their slogan.

Or...at least it used to be! I just visited the website, and now it just says "Maui's Newspaper Since 1900".

Huh? Who authorized this? I much prefer the old version:



Don't you?

Mommy, Nicole and I were once in a feature article when I was little...and Nicole was really little. Slow news day, I suppose. We were at Ooka Supermarket (which is gone now...sad) in the cereal aisle...when suddenly, a photographer from The Maui News asked that he take our picture for some nutrition feature he had going. Us? Nutrition? That's new. Apparently, this guy overheard Mommy rejecting our idea of buying lettuce because and I quote, "lettuce has no nutritional value." Like Lucky Charms does...which is what we were going to buy instead.

To the photographer, this gave her credibility. So we posed for his photo. Nicole, at age 2, 3 or 4 (who can remember) happily reaching for a box of Lucky Charms...and me...6 years older than her wondering why I couldn't be the one getting the cereal. Whatever.

But today, during my daily visit to Yahoo! Sports, something caught my eye:

Well...first I saw the article about Marbury (blahhh), but then I saw this!



Create-a-Caption: Shane Victorino has the right to remain silent.

Shane? Victorino? From Maui??? Ah!

Did I comment? Of course.

Then, on my food blogs...I see this map of Maui as one of the Top 10 US Food Policy Destinations to see where your food comes from. And in this case, it was pineapples! Although, I am sad to report that Maui's pineapple crops are dwindling...which is soooo devastating because they are so yummy.

Maui on Yahoo! and a legit food policy blog!

Is it Christmas yet?

There's No Crying in Cooking

Or is there?

I mostly use this blog to write about my foodie adventures and creations...but rarely (ok never) my misfortunes. But not anymore.

Truth is, I've got a million of em. And, I try really hard to erase them from my memory...but why do that when you can immortalize them in a blog?

Hmm...

Just when you thought I didn't have any tears, I do have a small reserve set aside for cooking failures...and sad little scenes in animated features like Wall-E. Walllllll-eeeeeee! I think we all know what scene I'm referring to.

Sigh.

Moving on.

Most recently, I made a disaster of a normally amazing chocolate cupcake recipe. My favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. I forgot to add the sugar. The sugar! Of all things! Of course I realized this at the very end, when I went in for a little batter taste test. And at that point, it was too late. The baking chemistry was ruined. The little sugar molecules didn't stand a chance. But I baked them off anyway, hopefully that maybe...just maybe...it wasn't the end of my cupcake world.

But it was.

They were spongy...with a weird pudding like texture that I could not comprehend. Toss.

A while back, I decided it would be fun to make broccoli cheddar soup. Which of course, required that the soup be blended. Lesson learned: hot liquid + blender = massive explosion. Broccoli cheddar soup everywhere. Ceiling. Floor. Cabinets. Fridge. Me. Everywhere. I just sat and stared at the carnage before I could even contemplate clean up. This soup is the reason why I now have an immersion blender. Every cloud has a silver lining.

And then there was the time back in high school that my mom convinced me that olive oil = vegetable oil because..."you know, Clarice, olives are vegetables." Followed by, "what you think is in vegetable oil? Vegetables. Olives are vegetables." Well, when the Ghiradelli brownie mix says vegetable oil, they mean vegetable, not olive oil. Especially Costco olive oil. I could just smell the olive oil crisping away in the oven as these brownies...excuse me..."brownies" baked. They were terrible. But my mom, being the frugal person that she is made me take them to school anyway for some potluck. Everyone wanted to know what I put in the brownies. And not in a good way.

And then there's tonight semi cupcake debacle. First experience with a pastry tip. Never pretty, I guess.



Tasty? Yes. Picture worthy? Umm...no.



As you can see by swirly cupcake (my 2nd cupcake), I was over it by cupcake #2.

Blame it on the...? I don't know. Do better next time.

Sooo Over It

It being Operations Management. It being Cost Accounting. It being Strategy.

And in a larger sense, "it" being school in general.

I'm tired of being tired...and being too tired to bake.

Just til the end of the month. Then 3 weeks off! Or 3 weeks of marathon baking? Hmm...decisions, decisions. I wonder how many cupcakes I can make/eat in 3 weeks?

Only one way to find out I suppose.

But, until then, I'm in class. Going bananas.

I mean, how many times can I watch a machine lay down patterns on yards and yards of fabric in a factory in Spain? Or be amazed by the magic that is the solver function on Excel? (Professor's words, not mine). Or hear about how to calculate an AR to sales ratios? What kind of ethicist am I, the professor wants to know? A tired, disenfranchised one that is in desperate need of a cupcake break. And a quiz every week?? Please. In a 1.5 unit class? I have spent wayyy more time and effort in this 1.5 unit class than both of my 3 unit classes combined. Where is the ethics in that?

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

And the end result of that is seen below. This is what we do in class now. Everyone has their tipping points.

I feel like these pictures illustrate the progression of class.



A new day at class! I actually did the reading today. Maybe I won't be bored/lost/confused/hungry/aloof. Here's to hoping!



Hmm...he lost me after about 10 minutes. Why do I even bother reading anymore? MB>MC? Definitely questionable. I guess I should try to see if I can understand...



Forget it. Totally dazed and confused. But not in Las Vegas.



Nap time! Why fight it?

Is it cupcake time yet?

Cruising the City, Part 2

And the trip goes on.

Saturday in San Francisco. In July. The high is 75 and windy. What's summer again?

Whenever I'm in San Francisco on a Saturday, I always try to make a trip to the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building. I know...it's a little pricey and not the hugest selection, but I luv being near the bay...and the street performers help.

On this particular trip, I found lemon verbana (what I'm going to do with it, I don't know...but it smells lemony fresh and amazing) and these adorable bell peppers.



Bell peppers that Kobe would be proud of. Yay Lakers!

Nicole and I also have a tradition of taking a picture on the hearts we see around the city.



Saturday was also Foreign Cinema brunch day! A belated Mother's Day present. Well worth the wait, if you ask me. I've blogged about this place before, and there's nothing else I can really add except that I luv it. Lots.



Strawberry salad with shaved fennel, toasted hazelnuts and arugula with balsamic crema. The salad was just barely dressed and the fennel was a great addition to the strawberries.



My mom had the zucchini and crab frittata with goat cheese, frisee salad and drizzled with a basil oil. Lots of crab chunkies and that goat cheese was creamy and delicious!



My dad had the pulled pork simmered in a garbanzo bean stew topped with a baked egg. Kinda reminded me of a huevos rancheros...but with garbanzo beans. Super hearty.



Nicole had a mushroom and lager omelete coupled with these fabulous potatoes! Their omeletes are so light and fluffy!



I had the bagette french toast. A favorite of mine. The hint of orange in the custard is the magic maker.



Clean plate club!

And another visit to Bi-Rite. My dad is addicted...and price sensitive. He figures that he's better off buying a pint (yes, a pint) of ice cream for $8 as opposed to a $6.50 3-scoop banana split. Umm...yeah. I was under the impression that he was going to eat it over a period of time. Like..30 minutes...40 minutes...but nope. That ice cream was gone in about 12. 12 minutes. 2 cups of super rich and creamy balsamic strawberry ice cream. Devoured. Don't mess.

Nicole: "He's not gonna be ok...no one can be ok after 2 cups of ice cream."
me: "I don't know..." (glancing at Daddy). "He looks pretty peachy to me."
Nicole: "No, I refuse to believe anyone can be ok after that."

1 hour passes, 2...then 3...

He's fine. Like gravy. What a champ.

And what goes better with ice cream than...pizza? Well, maybe not immediately, but we took a BART ride and an interesting walk to Little Star Pizza for dinner. Interesting due to the side street iPhone suggested we take...and interesting due to the very loud bum talking to himself for 2 blocks. The ohana was not amused. At. All.

But they did enjoy the wonderful pizza that is Little Star.



Half chicken pesto, half zucchini, tomato and mushroom. Thin crust, please. I was a little confused by the squirts of pesto on top rather than as a sauce, but it definitely works.

Since we celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday, we had to then celebrate Father's Day on Sunday. Daddy is a big fan of Diners, Drive-in's and Dives. Me...ehh...not so much...it is fun to watch. But hey, it's Father's Day. So we were off to place from the show, and he selected Dottie's True Blue Cafe in the Tenderloin area of the city.

Apparently, we weren't alone in our quest for the quintessential diner breakfast. We waited...and waited...and waited...for 75 minutes. And I know why. The place only seats about 12-15 customers at a time.

So here I was expecting your normal diner fare, eggs, toast, potatoes...but what I far exceeded expectations. Prosciutto? Feta? Frittata? Excuse me? Cardamom spiced french toast? Sold.



My dad had a scramble of prosciutto, basil and tomatoes. Yummy! I had a frittata with zucchini, avocado and goat cheese! Which I ate too quickly to photo.

On the way back, I made this disturbing discovery!



Alpaca? You don't suppose they sell...



Ahhh!!! Lenney the Llama!!!!! Sweaters??? Hats?? I'm going to be sick.

And who knew...



Toothbrushes under lock and key? Seriously? Didn't stop me from sticking my arm in a small crack I detected.

On the way back to Irvine, our plane was running ahead of schedule, so the pilot took us on a scenic tour.



And

Cruising the City, Part 1

My parents are in town. And by town, I mean San Francisco.

In my many years of living here in Southern California, they have visited me a total of two times. My sister Nicole goes to school up north, and they've visited her, well, more than two times. A lot more.

Anyway, so whenever they come to visit her, I fly up to meet them. Hence, the Wachi Ohana reunion.

On this particular trip, I decided to give Virgin Airlines a whirl. And let me tell you, it was amazing. Nice comfy seats? Check. Individual touchscreen entertainment center with tv, movies music? Check. Ability to create your own playlists on said entertainment system? Check. Having The Killers as a selection? Check!!!



The view from my seat with my totally wonderful Killers playlist. I couldn't have been happier.

And the flight crew was also one of the better I've had in a while. Case in point. I asked for coffee with milk, not cream. And...I guess she thought I wanted coffee and milk. Cause I got a little carton of milk. Which I really cannot/should not drink due to my slight lactose intolerance to it. But...I forced myself to cause I didn't want to be wasteful. Tummy was not happy, but at least I got my daily dose of calcium.



After my awesome flight, I took a not so awesome taxi to the Hyatt. I wasn't exactly sure on how I was going to get to the Hyatt when I de-planed, so I just wandered over to where the shuttles were, and the lady there ushered me onto this somewhat suspicious looking taxi van with other Asians in there. Red flag moment. What kind of "taxi" is this? No seat belt to be found. Oh well. No big deal. He starts the car and takes this sharp turn, and my lack of seat belt becomes a big deal. I go flying to the right, nearly falling off the chair. Geeees. We come upon some traffic on the 101, and he starts cursing like a sailor. Help. Help. Luckily, I'm the first stop. Whew.

My mom, being the master organziner/planner that she is had our water bottles ready (hydration, first) and umm...labeled. Yeah. So much for family.



This surprised even me.

For all the times I've been to San Francisco, I've never been to the California Academy of Science, and I gotta say, it's pretty cool. They have a built in rain forest habitat and a massive marine exhibit.



The guide said the rain forest was pretty hot. And I thought he meant "hott". Which is was. But it was also really hot. Guess that's what he meant.



This coral reef was quite impressive!

Then it was off to the Japanese Tea Garden, which was a rip off, if you ask me. I mean, it was nice and all...but yeah, you can only see so many bonsai, pine and maple trees. Oh. and this bridge.



It's pretty cool. Cause it's really steep, which makes it fun to climb. If you're not scared of heights...like some people I know.



Or some one. Nicole jumped off the bridge approximately 2 seconds after taking this pic.

The real reason for our Golden Gate Park adventure was to see the King Tut exhibit at the de Young Center. But we were pretty hungry and not about to pay $3 for Hello Panda cookies at the Japanese Tea Garden. But luckily, the de Young Center has this cute cafe situated in the middle of the museum. Normally, I try to avoid places in attractions because they tend to be overpriced and underwhelming. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.

But really, there was nothing desperate about this place and the food was really tasty.



Asparagus and crab soup, grilled rosemary chicken sandwich and orzo salad.

The King Tut exhibit was pretty good...and super in depth. Lots and lots of walking and wandering around. We were pretty pooped. Curable only by food.



Excited at the very thought of having some Cuban food for dinner at Cha Cha Cha in the Haight-Asbury district.

I've been in luv with Cuban food ever since that delectable Cuban sandwich I had in Seattle. So I was pretty excited to sample the Cuban offerings in SF.



I had the Arroz con Pollo. One of my favorites, and I like to sample it when see it on the menu. It's one of those dishes were everyone has their own version and thinks that their's is the best. And I like to be the judge of that. The texture and richness of the rice was major points.



Grilled beef. I really like the yucca accompaniment.



And no SF trip is complete with out a visit to Bi-Rite Creamery. At least once. Hopefully twice. It's delicious. Especially when they have salted caramel, balsamic strawberry and toasted coconut. I luv the creamy, velvety-ness of it all.

And now, I'm officially stuffed...I could maybe only squeeze in another bite or two. I can hardly wait til tomorrow when I'm hungry again!

So much more eating to do!

The Almost Red Velvet Cupcake

Close...and yet so far.

So very far.

Sigh.

And.

Sighhhhhh.

So tomorrow is Fab Fiver Mike's birthday, and I volunteered to make something sweet and delicious. You may remember Mike as the disillusioned-Laker-fan-turned-darkside-misguided-Clipper fan (and Angel fan...but that's for another post). But Mike isn't all about the Clippers (thank goodness), and in fact luvs brownies. And so Maryn and I made him brownies. Many brownies. And well, seeing as how it's his birthday and all, you think I would make him more brownies.

That would be the thoughtful thing to do.

But. I'm tired of making brownies. There. I said it. Chocolate in a 9 x 13 pan just was not speaking to me. However, red velvet cupcakes were.

Strange, I know. Talking cupcakes?

Honestly, I've never quite understood the infatuation with these red velvet things. I mean...they are essentially chocolate cupcakes...but red. Unnaturally red, in fact. I guess that's what 6 Tablespoons of red food coloring does to you. And that frosting. It's just cream cheese. What's so original about that?

And yet, people act like it's everything and a bag of chips. I would much rather have something more original. Like...strawberry! Or...Peanut butter cupcakes filled with jelly! Or...nutella or pistachio! Or...berry lemon. Oh wait...I did have berry lemon.



Berry lemony amazingness. I even ate all of that pillowy berry frosting. And I don't even like frosting! Or, at least I thought I didn't.

So why the almost red velvet? Well...

Lesson #1: Always check your red food coloring supply before baking red velvet cupcakes. Unless you want brown velvet cupcakes. Which is what I made.

Lesson #2: Invest in some pastry tips for decorating purposes. I thought I had a set. I really did...because I remember failing the last time I tried using them. Locate these pastry tips prior to putting your frosting in a pastry bag. Otherwise you will end up with a pastry bag full of frosting. And no way to get it out. Which equals wasted frosting. Which leads to under-frosted cupcakes. Story of the past hour for me.

Lesson #3: Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting. Even though you really, really, really want to try one. Warm cupcake + cool frosting = drippy frosting. Not attractive.

What does this all amount to?

A decidely home-style, home-grown cupcake. Oh well. I gotta say...it is pretty good. Maybe looks aren't everything.



I think raspberries can make anything look appetizing.



Seeing as how these were definitely not "too beautiful to eat", I decided to munch away. Red velvet without the red. Like a cheeseburger without the cheese.



A few bites later. I'm happy these were yummy. Definitely didn't have their looks to fall back on.



Two bites later. Still no red in my red velvet. Just chocolate crumbs everywhere.

To it's credit, this is a good cupcake. Springy and moist and nice chocolate-y flavor. I guess the red was just for fun, and the cream cheese frosting helps to cover the almost-red-but-totally-brown color. Even though it wasn't pretty pastry star frosting.

Oh well. My tummy doesn't know the difference.

And Tonight, He Sleeps With the Fishes

It's a Sicilian message.

And it's the first thing I thought of when I saw this video of a cheery chick showing the world how to humanely dispatch of a lobster. I use the term "humanely" very loosely, as you can see...there is nothing but murderous killing going on in that kitchen.

How to Kill a Lobster

Not that this is news. You basically want to freeze the lobster to "numb it slightly" as the video says, but also slows down the movement of the lobster to make it easier to handle. Mmhmm...now the truth comes out. Notice how the little legs are squirming around even in its final moments. Then, one swift chop down the middle of its head, and it's lights out lobster.

Oh...what's that? The legs are still moving? Perfectly normal. It's just the nerves reacting. Hmm...great.

But this has nothing to do with the reason why I don't care for lobster. It's just not texturally pleasing to me. And essentially, lobsters are giant bugs. Cockroaches to be exact. The likeliness in anatomy is pretty amazing.



See? Ignore the fact that one is a cartoon.

I've actually never really ordered lobster until I went to Mexico for Juliet's wedding last September. Which really was an adventure in itself.

We stayed in Rosarito, and apparently, the neighboring city Puerto something has lots and lots of lobsters. So we ventured down there for lunch one day.



In a taxi van with no seat belts and no license plate.

But before the lobster, we were served tortilla soup.



Bowl 2 of 3 in 3 days. I'm convinced that the avocados taste better in Mexico.

And finally, the main event.



Nothing like beer at 11am. I wonder if these lobsters got the popsicle treatment.



Probably not.

This was wayyy better than the lobster.



Lobsters and Lakers. My day was complete.

Speaking of the Lakers...Ron Artest??? Yes, yes and yes! Sorry Ariza, it was great knowing you...really it was. And I'm sorry that Houston will have ridiculously high (and unattainable) expectations for you. Life's not fair, I know. But hey, it could be worse...you could be on the Clippers (ahem, Blake Griffin).

Artest wins all day any day. I see this taking his hair styling and video blogging to a whole new level. I can hardly wait!

And how about that sports writer messing up Paul Pierce's craps game at Vegas. And then turns him down when Pierce offers him shots. My hero. I couldn't have done better myself! Well, maybe I would've said something like..."please! You didn't even make it to the small screen as a Nike puppet!" Oh how I miss those puppets.

Is it basketball season yet? Ok, football. It's almost football. Sort of.