Perfect Pumpkin

I know Halloween has come and gone.  But seriously, if you had a pumpkin that looked like this, you'd want it to be Halloween again, too.

He's so real!!  I almost want to feed him Reece's Pieces. 

There's always room for a second pumpkin!

Get Shaved (Ice)

Me and shave ice go way back. 

My very first memories of shave ice are at Sheik's landry mat on Wakea St.  We used to roll out there in my dad's blue 1984 Toyota Corolla to what else...wash clothes.  Well, just our blankets and such which didn't fit in our little washer.  Lucky for me, that Sheik's (now W&F Washerette) had a little shave ice shop inside.  Next to the arcades.  So I always got a nice mountain of shave ice while waiting for our blankets.  Simpler days.  Sometimes I didn't finish and took it home.  And once, just once, I dropped it all over the car.  Mommy got me another one no questions asked.  Mom's are great like that.

And honestly, I thought it was just the best shave ice ever.  Some people claim that Tom's from Tom's Mini Mart is the best.  But I'm guessing those people had large washers with no need to visit a laundry mat.  And there is the little shave ice stand in Kihei next to Da Kitchen, which is also pretty amazing after a nap-inducing lunch at Da Kitchen.  And these people are pretty awesome for cracking open a new can of condensed milk for each shave ice. 

Then, I tried the shave ice at Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu...and although my laundry mat shave ice will always be near and dear to my tummy, Waiola is now my shave ice gold standard.  The ice is beyond soft and pillowy.  They seriously must shave the smallest and finest ice crystals ever because it just melts immediately as you eat it.  And the amount of syrup they pour on these things is just ridiculous and excessive and I absolutely luv it. 

So since I'm only home once a year and at Honolulu even less, I go through major shave ice withdrawals.  Until I read about this shave ice truck...seriously genius idea...only problem is that these fancy LA foodtrucks never ever come down to Orange County.  (Sniffle)  And, then they decided to open a store...in LA (sniffle, sniffle).  So all I've done is read about the amazingness and deliciousness that is the Get Shaved truck.

That is, until yesterday!  I had my very own serving of Get Shaved shave ice (Monkey Brain flavor) nicely packed in ice and a cooler and transported all the way to Irvine.  It was totally in tact and not melted and incredible!  So refreshing and yummy! Best thing all weekend!

Fast Flats

 Oh Dr. Scholls Fast Flats!  Where were you on Saturday?  I could have totally used you!

Maybe then, my right foot would have been spared a gigantic blister.  But, I guess that's what happens when you run down Hollywood Blvd barefoot like a two cent hooker.  Shoes in one hand, purse in the other.  Confusing tourists everywhere.

This was the culmination of a very busy Saturday afternoon en route to The Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages Theater.  Long story short, I had to meet some dude who I sold my tickets to on eBay.  And of course, a very crucial part of Hollywood Blvd was closed.  Of course.  And seeing how I was supposed to meet him at 1:45, and it was 1:45 (the show was at 2) while I was sitting on Highland attempting to turn left on Hollywood, I was a teeny bit stressed.  And not thinking clearly. 

So I did the only logical, and by logical, I mean desperate thing: I got out of the car and decided to walk to Vine.  Initially, Vine did not look too terribly far from Highland (this is where the not thinking clearly part comes in), and I thought that perhaps my foot mobile would be faster than an actual automobile.  After walking past the first cross street, it became alarmingly apparent that Vine was in fact much further than anticipated.  Like 3/4 of a mile.  

Gulp.  So I did the next logical thing a desperate person would do.  I started running.  In my black flat Steve Madden shoes.  Which would be somewhat conducive to running (somewhat), except for the fact that they are 1/2 a size too big.  So in keeping with my theme of desperation, I did the obvious thing...which was to take my shoes off.  

And keep running.  Obviously.  So I ran.  Down Hollywood Blvd, barefoot...very much the way a two-cent hooker runs from her pimp I would imagine.  And I would only imagine this because I'm fairly certain this is what the pedestrians were imagining.  Because this was not your morning jog type of run, it was more of a beep-beep-out-of-my-way kind of sprint.  Purse in one hand.  Shoes in the other.  A good look, really.

But not for my little toesies.  Quite the contrary.  Now I know why Mommy never liked us going around barefoot.  Harashi as she would say.  And so while I spent the better part of Sunday limping around, I did manage to make it over to Target, where I spied those Dr. Scholl's Fast Flats!

To think, this could have all been avoided.  I'm now taking a pair with me everywhere.

Carne Asada Fries

Even I have a limit as to how many salads I can eat.

And asparagus pizzas.  Frittatas and cherry tomato anything. 

And since we're technically not in summer anymore, I don't feel as guilty about passing over the  nearly 2 pounds of tomatoes in the fridge and throwing some frozen fries in the oven until they're a sizzling oily mess of potato-y goodness.  Welllll ok, so today is technically the last day of summer, and I ate these on Sunday.  Details, details.

But after seeing this post, there was no other alternative.  Summer or not.  Nevermind the fridge stuffed silly with tomatoes, basil, asparagus and pluots.  Before I knew it, I was off to the store stocking up on more jarred items than I'll admit to.  Tostito's con queso dip?  Check.  Jarred sliced jalapenos?  Check.  Salsa Especial from Trader Joe's? Check.  And of course, a big bag of Ore Ida Golden Fries.

After assuming my role as star outfielder in a co-ed rec softball game, resistance to something like carne asada fries is futile.

But see!  If you look closely, there are some halved cherry tomatoes!

I was slightly disappointed with the lack of char on the carne asada...but alas, it's the result of another summer without a grill.  The broiler does what it can.  As a silver lining, the mojo marinade via Tyler Florence was totally legit.  I have a total soft spot for mojo's...Cuban as they may be...for these umm...Mexican carne asada...but it works.  It's the orange aka my fav superfruit citrus.  Works in scones, icings and mojos! 

And what better way to top off a multi-thousand calorie dinner than with an equally heavy cake.

Otherwise known as Pastel Imposible...impossible because you put the chocolate cake layer on the bottom of the pan, and the flan on top and poof! when it bakes, it inverts.  Pretty cool, huh?  And tasty!  Omg, it is so good...except for one small detail, that I could not get the cake to bake all the way.  Even after an extra 30 minutes in the oven.  And when it's like 90-degrees outside, leaving your oven on for unnecessary amounts of time is just...well, unnecessary.

I'm going to try this again at some point because the cooked part was just too good for me to fail at this recipe. 

And the 283 reviewers seem to agree.

Antigua, Guatemala

When I tell people I went to Antigua, everyone thinks of this island in the West Indies.

I haven't been to that Antigua, but I find it almost impossible to think that it is any more heavenly than Antigua, Guatemala.  As I found out, "antigua" means "ancient" in Spanish, which makes sense as Antigua was the old capital of Guatemala.  Unfortunately, this cute little down in the highlands of Guatemala is rather earthquake prone...probably due to the several volcanoes surrounding the city.  And after a few big ones, the capital was moved to today's Guatemala City.

And today, Antigua is a tiny but very charming city paved with stone roadways, amazing ruins and lots of interesting history.  However, being in the highands (and near the equator), it does have a rainy and dry season.  We visited during the slower, rainy season with the idea that rainy in Guatemala was the same as "rainy" in California.  And as we all know, "rainy" in California means little sprinkles.  Occassionally.  Not so in Guatemala.  It really rains.  A lot.  Go figure.

It totally rained the entire first day.  Totally incomprehensible.  I kept looking outside.  Very confused.

But the rain just makes exploration more adventurous.

La Merced Church.

Stayed at Casa Encantada.  Super cute hotel with a rock-path waterway to your room!

But the next day was awesome and perfect for our walking tour of the city with Elizabeth Bell.  Originally from Palo Alto, Elizabeth moved to Antigua when she was 14 (Antigua had only one phone line at the time for the entire city!), and now devotes a good portion of her time restoring historical sites around the city.  And provides awesome walking tours of the city.

We saw so much in just one day!  I've never felt so educated and productive on vacation!

 Parque Central fountain

We went into a crypt!

And visited a Mayan jade museum.

Learned about our Mayan birth animals.  I was a turtle!

These crystal gorillas were so adorable.

Later that day, we hiked up Pacaya, an active volcano near Antigua.

And made some friends along the way.

Vulcan Pacaya.  That's the top.  They're not take people up there anymore since the eruption in May.

The mudslides prevented us from going to see Lake Atitlan...but that just meant we got a couple more days in Antigua...which meant coffee farm tour at Finca Filadelfia.  It was everything I hoped for.  Arabica? Robusto?  What does it all mean??  Now, I know!

Perfectly red coffee beans.

Coffee at the end of the tour!

Iglesia San Francisco courtyard ruins.  This was by far the most impressive church we saw in Antigua.  The paintings are art are incredibly impressive and the paintings actually tell the story of Jesus and the crucification.  Like a storybook!  Pictures were not allowed in the church, but this is the view from the enormous courtyard.  I think this was once a living area.

Also noteworthy here is that Guatemala's only patron saint, Hermano Pedro is located here.  And the church has an awesome exhibit where we learned all about him. 

But sadly, this was the last activity on our Antigua tour, but happily we were off to Tikal the next day!

Guatemala, Belize & Back

So I think where we last left off, I was busying myself with my pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid, and desperately trying to clean out my fridge.

The good about cleaning out your fridge before a trip is that you return to a wonderfully clean fridge, free of any spoiled surprises.  The bad thing is that you return to a woefully empty fridge and a rumbly tummy.  And you end up surviving on scoops of chocolate sorbet and a few blueberry muffins in the freezer.  I concede that there are more dire food situations to be in, but when you compare that to the deliciously crispy fried chicken you ate the day before in Guatemala...well...chocolate sorbet just doesn't cut it.

 I know...fried chicken in Guatemala?  It's seriously good stuff.  Actually, just about everything in Guatemala was seriously good.  I was there for 4 days and Belize for another 3, and there's no way I could tell you everything I liked about it. 

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.  So here's a quick list.

1. The coffee.  Guatemala, particularly Antigua is serious about their coffee.  It's amazingly smooth and has almost no acidity. 

I looked forward to coffee con leche every morning in Antigua. 

2. The ruins.  Antigua is an amazing place to check out the ruins of cathedrals and other old structures dating back to the 1700's when the city was rebuilt. 

This is the courtyard at Antigua's La Merced Church.  The amazing thing about these "ruins" is that they are totally accessible and working churches. 

3. The animals.  There were cows and chickens everywhere!  They're adorable.

Adorable, but smelly.  I decided not to pet them.

4. The scenery.  The Guatemalan Highlands is situated between 3 volcanoes, which you can see from mostly any point in the city on a clear day. 

Volcanoes at sunset.  This was taken on the slopes of Pacaya.  Quite the hike.

5. The food.

I especially liked how the hotels included breakfast.  Especially when the breakfasts involved pancakes. 

6. Sarita Ice Cream.  Sarita ice cream is the ubiquitous ice cream brand in Guatemala, and rightfully so.  It's like the Lakers of ice cream.  It's that good.

I'm convinced they really use cream in this ice cream, and almost no milk.  It's rich and creamy and amazing. 

7. The Mayan ruins in Tikal.

Totally amazing and worth every single mosquito bite.  Crossing my fingers for staying malaria-free.  I climbed up these original temple steps!

8. Pollo Campero. 

Fried chicken has never been so good.  Extra crispy.  Juicy, fried and wonderful.  This chicken is so wildly popular in Guatemala (and throughout Central America), that people take this on the plane with them to California.  If only I had such foresight.

9. Go slow.  I heard this all over Caye Caulker in Belize. 

Sunset and happy hour at the Lazy Lizard bar in Caye Caulker.  While Guatemala was more educational, Belize was all about relaxing and snorkeling and BBQ chicken.  I could definitely go for a few more days of that.

10. My Spanish.  I learned Spanish while in Guatemala!  Ok, ok a teeny, tiny taste of Spanish.  But more than I came with.

Whew!  Sorry about the grossly over-generalized summary of my vacation, but there are more details (and pictures) to follow! 

Last Supper

For the week, I mean.

Because at this time tomorrow, I'll be here:


View Larger Map

(Squeal!)

And later here:


View Larger Map

Ok...well on an island sorta close to that Blue Hole. 

But before that, I have a fridge to clean out.  Ahem...I mean had...because it's so completely emptied out.  Makes me kinda sad for the lack of food.  But happy for wiping down the shelves.  It's been a mixed bag of emotions.

And not a shortage of eating.

There was a half cup of blueberries.  So, blueberry ricotta muffins on Saturday.

Just when you thought it was all about ricotta pancakes.  It's even better in muffins.  I took a blueberry muffin recipe and subbed out the sour cream for ricotta.  So light and springy.

A bag full of mini eggplant.

Which was broiled and dressed for marinated eggplant.

5 giant tomatoes became an arrabiata sauce with homemade pasta.  Note, the pasta cutter is helpful to avoid the ultra rustic look...as seen below.

But who doesn't like rustic?

And last night, I was left with a half pint of cherry tomatoes and 2 ears of white corn.

Salads are the perfect thing for random veggie binges.

As is pizza.  Even when you let your dough languish and dry out in the fridge because you forgot to cover it with a damp towel.  Proof that pizza really is the perfect food.

But with any luck, for the next week and a half, I'll be stuffing myself silly with this.

Did I mention my unhealthy obsession with tamales?