completed projects :D

1. 156 CAKE POPS 

This took 2 days where Thursday night, I had baked 8 boxes of cake mix, smashed it all up with icing and shortening and rolled them into balls to rest over night in the fridge. Friday, Jennifer came over to help dip the pops...and I felt like this just took forever. I really don't have the space for 156 cake pops to be strewn about lol. But we made do and got all the pops dipped. After dipping, me being my anal self...I didn't want any helping piping the details on the lightning mcqueens and hello kitties. God my hand was cramping up by the end of the night!!! Im not exactly too happy with how the piping turned out...I think for the finer details like the eyes and the whiskers...I should have just invested in food markers and draw them on. Lesson learned :D For never having pipped or made cake pops before and especially a batch of 156...I guess they came out good. They definitely were a hit with the kids at the party Saturday evening haha. Every single parent was asking me how did I do it...was it hard...how long did it take me...Truthfully...it wasn't hard. IT WAS JUST LONG. And I really needed more space to function. If you cant mash up cake, roll it into a ball, stick and dip...then you have problems. So yeah...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

2. INTERVIEWS. 
Yes, I have had set up a couple since I last posted. Gotta keep at it is all I can say. -.-

3. PAPER QUILLING.
The art of rolling paper and gluing it 3-dimensionally. So yes...I did spend a good amoutn of time cutting strips of card stock, 1mm wide...rolling it between my fingers to make a coil...then shaping it into the design I want only to glue it down. I did this for a couple of hours. And it is all made by paper and glue. I have no life.

God I wish an employer can see the skills with my hands and translate it to the skills I would have as a Lab tech. I got them steady hands and commitment to do mindless work for hours lol. sigh. 

   

Eating Habits

Thanks to craigslist, I have been pretty lucky in finding babysitting jobs that allow me to still be around my family and attend school. And puts gas in my car!!! And I have been SUPER LUCKY that every child that I have watched have been super awesomely easy, haha. I mean I get paid 15 an hour to do arts and crafts and cook. But let me not demean the care I provide. I actually do watch the children, talk to them, play with them, make sure they are treating their siblings correctly, etc. This experience though has taught me something interesting regarding habits children develop from the start and yes its ultimate tie to obesity in America.

MY HOME/PREPARED MEALS
Growing up in my house, it seemed I would always eat come  the moment I woke up, noon for lunch, and at 6/7 pm for dinner. I never skipped a meal until I started middle school and eating that early bothered my stomach. Even now its to the point where if I am not THAT hungry, I will still eat on schedule. Another point to note, growing up, I really didn't have a say or have a choice in what I wanted to eat. Whatever my mom cooked for dinner (WHICH WAS DELICIOUS) was what was for dinner. Now if  I care to put in the effort, I can eat what I want if I don't feel like having what my mother made. My mother even makes the baby food for my niece and nephews. She takes the time to cook orzo, ground pork, sautee veggies and blends it up for my 1 year old niece to eat. We don't buy babyfood. However sometimes we do get the baby snacks that melt in the mouth or pureed fruits. Portion wise, we are generally consistent with the appropriate amounts...but it is the amounts that WE THINK is right. We could be wrong in doing this...

OPTIONS/WHOLEFOODS
The first babysitting job I had was for a 1.5 year old girl. She would be already sleeping when I arrived, wake up an hour later in which I'd bring her down for lunch/snack, and then leave once her mom came home. Her mom doesn't cook and does the whole "I SHOP AT WHOLEFOODS" thing. So there was hardly anything worth eating in the fridge. But I was definitely able to whip something up. The first day, I tried giving her pieces of a turkey sandwich...which she didn't want to eat. The mom told me she would usually take a plate and arrange finger food that the baby could choose from. BABIES KNOW WHAT TO EAT?? I guess my inclination when hearing this, letting children choose what to eat, is that they will always choose candy and crap. Not true and kinda interesting to see the little girl make good decisions about what she ate. After the failed turkey sandwich, I made a plate of blueberries, diced cheese, sliced strawberries, and pieces of the turkey. She very much enjoyed picking what she wanted to eat and for the most part, I was okay with her leaving food behind. I could see what she didn't really like and what she loved. With this, the next time I watched her if I really wanted her to eat what she left behind, I would pair that with something different and it turned out she'd eat it. It was interesting having to play around with the different combinations of finger food and I think the important thing was that she ate until she was full. This is a perfectly healthy baby, who didn't really care for meat, but loved fruits!

HIPPY/ORGANIC/SNACKING
The next family I babysat for has 2 boys, one is 7 and the other is 3. Both are home schooled by the mother and the father started and runs a non profit organization. The best stereotypical way of describing them is as a family of hipsters trying to survive in the suburbs. When it came to meat, the 7 year old doesn't like to eat meat because he knows the animal had to die for it to be on his plate. But he could handle chicken nuggets and ground beef because he doesn't quite know yet where it comes from. His little brother in general doesn't care for meat too much either. In my opinion, the food that the mom made never seemed appetizing, but some how the kids would eat it. Sometimes, the kids didn't have a meal at all and it would be because they snacked through out the day. They had a drawer full of snacks-healthy snacks and were never denied dipping into it. In my house I was raised that if I wanted desert or a snack...it had to come after the meal or in that between time of just coming home from school and starting homework. I even saw in their fridge a lot of their produce were organic. The mother told me that one day she tried giving her 3 year old son the option of choosing regular strawberries and organic ones in which he would always choose the organic. Are organic strawberries really that much sweeter and better tasting than regular ones? My mom would always slice strawberries up for us and add a bit of stevia to sweeten it. Both are perfectly healthy though I think could benefit with a little more fiber in their diet...needless to say...the kids aren't regular in their poopage.

Vegitarian/local produce
I currently watch a 3 year old girl in which every time I pick her up from day care, I start cooking her dinner once we get home. She and her mother are vegetarian (the mother's decision) while the father eats whatever. Occasionally he does slip his daughter a bacon strip or a piece of fried chicken and she goes crazy over it. I feel so bad when I have to deny her her dad's food sometimes, especially when she is sick. The mom really didn' t want me to give her chicken soup when she had a cold...HOW CAN YOU BE DENIED CHICKEN SOUP?? Anyways, I actually do prepare meals for the little girl and I do try to use up whatever is in their fridge before it goes bad. The mother got into getting local produce shipped to her door. She is big on wanting to know where her food comes from. She eats eggs, but they have to be organic and cage free. she doesn't drink milk because she believes milk is rape (rolls eyes). She didn't even want to use her garlic anymore once she found out that Hmart gets it imported from China. She wants to avoid all produce from China because she believes farming and land conditions are poor and we'd some how get cancer  (which her family has a high risk of). She also doesn't eat fish because shes afraid of the toxins that stays trapped in the oil and again...will lead to cancer. I think she needs to realize...everything today...pretty much has the potential to lead to cancer. But yeah, back to the local produce. The idea is nice and I really am up for supporting local farms and businesses. I also understand that the difference between the US and other countries is that we give into eating what we want to eat...even if it is not in season and if we have to pay top prices for it. But the reality is, when the farm ships you a bag of beets...WTF ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THOSE BEETS?? She receives produce in which I am not familiar in how to cook like swiss chard, kale, beets, parsnips, and mustard greens. Those take forever to disappear from their fridge and in the end...they have to be thrown out. Its a waste in the end, if you are trying to support your local farm and eat what is in season.
For cooking vegetarian...they come out pretty awesome and tasty!!

  

Ha Ha...of course I would abandon the site for this long....

Instead of apologizing...and making up excuses (cause we all know I just got lazy)...I'm going to just continue as if nothing ever happened. Of course I did eat during this hiatus :D

I actually have a couple projects/goals going on:

1. Work on my yard. I am tired it looking so embarrassing and its not like I have a huge ass yard. I will make it decent. I will grow back my herb garden. I will grow veggies. My fig tree will thrive. I want to obtain a couple of  wooden pallets and make this:

2. Successfully making around 200 cake pops for my niece and nephew's birthday. I know I've already gushed out the plan/details in my head to people...I just hope I can pull this off! I'm anal about details. I was THAT KID who would get frustrated or disappointed when things didn't appear as they were on the box or the tv. So I am going to try my best at making 50 pops in the shape of lighting mcqueen, 50 in the shape of hello kitty, and the rest of the 100 regular pops with the color theme. I definitely will be having help haha. I steal idea from the internet...but my friends and family have been saying I have talent...I just don't think I am good enough...

Oh, here are the test run pops! Sloppy and definitely will be 100 percent better come show time :D

3. APPLY MY ASS TO FUCKING JOBS. So I'm saying it here, because I think I can better explain what I want to do career wise with my life. And explain why I have sorta been "hesitant" in having the ball STAY rolling. The cold hard truth...I did not need a 4 year degree to do what I want to do...and that is to be a Lab Tech in some biotech/biomanufacturing company. I actually don't mind the monotonous work and movement in the lab. I'm not saying a monkey could do it, but the reason why I want to be in a lab setting is because well...the work allows me to go to quiet spot inside, where my body and hands know what to do and my mind can just "watch". I mean every now and then it needs to answer a question lol, but I definitely don't want to discover the next cure for cancer. Let's face it, I don't have the drive to educate myself to that level where I need to worry composing the next research grant proposal for the next thing I want to discover that I some how care deeply about. My undergrad grades were not great, so I'm putting my eggs in the basket for hire...work some...work myself up...increase my payrate, getting a company to pay for me to attend graduate school or pay for myself (who would ever thought I'd consider an MBA...I don't know anything about business haha), and have my family. But yes. I did not want to admit the cold hard truth. I did not know about this when I graduated highschool. Honestly, my teacher who inspired me never really explained the reality of it. Not every one gets to work at the NIH. Not every one really wants to work at the NIH. Me aspiring to be her at the time she worked there...was me aspiring to be just a tech. JUST A TECH. A four year degree wasted on just being a TECH. All that money, when all I needed was just an associates. This was something I did not want to admit to every one. Cause with out this goal/plan...I have nothing left.  But now I know I have options once I get my foot in the door. And truly, I relate working in this field to my love for cooking. I love detail. I love when things go right. I love when I AM right. I love reading instructions and getting what is expected. And in the rare moments, I love when my mind thinks outside the box and creates something new or better. So yes, apply to more jobs.

4. Update this blog more often. I need to quit putting this on the shelf. I need to just blog for myself. I know I am lazy, I wish uploading a full blog entry was as easy as uploading a picture on FB from my phone. But the great pictures I take, need to be seen by more than my friends and explained in more than a next to nothing caption. The way I talk about food, its as if I can't live with out its taste, its textures, its smells, the memories, the friends and family. I talk about it as if I want you to feel as if I do. Its borderline obsessive given my figure.  Yes I guess it can be a problem too. But yeah, this blog won't be just dedicated to food. I dabble in arts and crafts...I definitely have pictures of those. Why don't I open an Etsy account? Lol, because chances of me making money off of anything I make is sooooo slim. HOW MANY ETSY STORES ARE THERE?!?! Whats the likelihood that I will make 50 pairs of earings, only to take up the same amount of space if they were just beads un-assembled? AND TO SELL THEM ALL? I need to stop thinking that this blog will be the next "hit." I just need to blog. Lol maybe one day when I make da monies...Ill host dinner parties...and then cooking/baking parties. and blog about them. Then all of you will want to come...and I will have soo much traffic on my blog...and I will become famous like michelle phan...or popular like the ravenous couple and their food parties...or have memorabilia that people want to buy like t shirts and such. Silly dreams. Just keep writing!!!!!

5. Read more. Self explanatory. 

6. Workout/gym/diet/dofuckingsomething. This will need to change its pirority. soon. stop fuckin around!

So thanks for reading! Hopefully my "fans" won't catch this news breaking blog so fast.

NOODLES NOODLES NOODLES NOODLES

I think, in the american culture, soups are really underestimated. There aren't really any restaurants dedicated to just serving soups. But lets look outside of the box. In Japan they have dedicated ramen shops and carts serving you hot bowls of noodles. From Vietnam, Pho restaurants have begun to popularize America. When I was little, I don't remember Pho restaurants attracting such a diverse crowd, but today, EVERYONE knows about Pho and have come to CRAVE Pho.

Lol, however, this entry is not about Pho. Its about INSTANT SOUPS and how settle for more than your "top ramen" and "cup o noodles"
I love trying different instant soups because there is such a wide variety for under 50 cents a bag or a dollar a bowl. But who says you have to eat them the way it says so in the directions? With just the seasonings and condiments it comes with?

ADD SHIT IN!! lol usually, the picture on the front of the packaging, should be your guideline ^.^ (if you have no idea what to put in...)

I will probably be revisiting different ways I dress up my instant noodles in the future with different brands of soup. So here is one that I suggest :)

My sister bought this soup from Lotte (korean grocery store). SEE HOW THEY DRESS IT UP IN THE PICTURE? Anyways, it was pretty good. Would have liked it to be spicier (cause I'm a hot head), and I added different ingredients.

Not so bad looking right?
I added chopped cilantro, steamed broccoli, a fried egg and squeezed lime all over the soup. It was prettttty delicious ^.^

Don't be like this noob that I found on youtube. She has NO IDEA what she is doing.

YOYOGI Sushi :D

328 Main Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
*Closed on Tuesdays*

Starting From the Back: Tuna Avocado,
 California Roll, Eel Roll

*I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos, we were sitting outside in which the sun casted a glare on my phone and so couldn't catch the shadow I was casting onto the food...*

Let's start of with a little random fact about me. I DID NOT ALWAYS LOVE SUSHI. In fact, in middle school, I hated it. I couldn't stand the taste of the seaweed, I hated the idea of eating RAW fish, I hated that it was served cold, I hated that it...

Crispy Rainbow Roll-10 pc. cooked

 tuna, salmon, yellowtail

A lot of reasons to which this day I find the younger version of me, ridiculous of. SUSHI IS FUCKING GREAT. And now I am a snob. Since the nori and the raw fish was the most important aspect of the dislike for sushi, my first roll was the California Roll. I liked that there wasn't anything raw about it and that the nori was on the inside of the roll. This meant that the "sea water" taste wasn't the first thing to touch my palate. Through time, I just evolved into this sushi-monster-fiend.

California Rolls, are for noobs. Here comes the sushi snob...

My very good friend, Vinh, introduced this little hole in the wall sushi place to me and our group of friends a while back. First, we complained why it was so far away. Second, I asked, "How the hell did you find it?" Third,  "Let's just go to HINODE in Rockville for sushi..." But no, he was adamant about this particular place. So we went and this time around, it was my idea to revisit this little place :D

So along came Vinh, Linh Roy (broda), and Jennifer. Too bad Phuong, you missed out :p After a side mission we were on our way!

Futo Maki Roll-10 pc. roll w/crab,
shrimp, egg, tofu

Upon entering Yoyogi:
Broda: So lets order two spider rolls, two shrimp tempuras, two...
Me: Wait, why don't we decide between the all of us what to get, so we don't pick the same thing. (I'm thinking family style eating like our last visit)
Jen: Lets get the crispy combo, beef and chicken teriyaki and share it...
Vinh: No, I want my own entree...I'm so hungry...
Broda: Everyone just order whatever they want...

And that's what we did -.-  This just lead to us ordering this:

Me

Spicy Tuna Crunch Roll- $4.00

Shrimp Tempura Roll- $3.50

Spider Roll- $4.00

Futo Maki Roll (ordered with the intention of sharing)-$12.00        

Shrimp Tempura, Spider Roll,
 and Spicy Crunchy Tuna

Jen

Tuna Avocado Roll- $4.00

Crispy Rainbow Roll (ordered with the intention of sharing)-$12.00

Crispy Combo (ordered with the intention of sharing)-$8.00

Crispy Combo- Crispy Beef
and Chicken Teriyaki

Vinh

Crispy Beef-$7.00

Salmon Avocado Roll-$4.00

Eel Roll-$3.50

California Roll- $3.50

Shrimp Tempura-$3.50

Broda

2x Shrimp Tempura Roll-$3.50

2x Spider Roll-$4.00

Shrimp Tempura and Salmon
Avocado Roll

As you can see, there were items that were gluttonously over ordered and in the end we were struggling to finish. The owner, who happened to be bringing us the food to our table, was smiling so big and said we ordered a lot of food! Our plates of food were touching plate to plate ^.^

Now, I need to explain the difference between sushi, and GOOD sushi. This is where the snobbishness kicks in. This sushi as Vinh said today, has the "Two Layer Grains of Rice," meaning our sushi WAS NOT packed on with rice and rolled with very little filling. At UMBC, our sushi on campus makes rolls with a thick layer of rice packed onto the nori before rolling...I was so mad that day I spent $6.75 on an eel roll and realized I was getting more rice than actual pieces of the eel.Also at these prices, NO ONE is going to pass up quality sushi dirt cheap...WHERE CAN YOU FIND A SPIDER ROLL FOR FOUR BUCKS?!?!?! So when you hunt for sushi, price is also a factor that is considered. Personally, if I do see rolls for 5-7 bucks, I'll just go ahead and get one of the Chef Specialty rolls, wherever I am at. I most likely would not come back to a sushi restaurant JUST FOR a their "California roll."

Jennifer, a happy camper!

Haha...I'm coming back to Yoyogi  just for their SPIDER ROLL, FUTO MAKI ROLL, and Crispy Beef. Oh, and for their prices! After strolling around the Market Square, I already knew before we left that I wanted to bring back a spider roll for mom...SO SHE CAN BASK IN THE GLORIOUS EPICNESS OF DELICIOUS SUSHI and never buy Costco sushi again...lawls.


HAPPY NOM-ING!

Now I'm Not a Gardner...

...but it doesn't exactly take a genius to grow a few plants in his or her backyard. I went to the Home Depot with mom at the start of the summer and bought an assortment of seeds for salad mixes. Arugula, spinach, and this "mesculine"  mix (more arugula, spinach, chikory, escarole, etc.) of seeds were all planted in this 24in deck planter. I just kept watering it every so often and a month later...VOILA...beautiful greens!!!!

All you have to do once your lettuces start sprouting is to cut the leaves when they are small. Arugula for example, known for its spicy bite, will get even "spicier" as the leaves are allowed to grow bigger. I seriously did have enough for two bowls full of salad that day ^.^

Not only do my mom and I grow salad mix in our back yard, but we have tried our hand in squashes, zucchini, pumpkin, corn, peas, green beans, and tomatoes. Oh, and what garden isn't complete with out HERBS? We have thyme, chives, parsley, dill, sage, and rosemary!

So why wait a month for your own salad to grow and wait even longer for your zucchinis when you could just go to the grocery store? By all means, while these little guys are growing, I do head down to the grocery store, ha ha. But these plants are so special because I've planted,watered, and picked them myself. They provide me with so much inspiration that I MUST CREATE a dish involving them...lol, not that my creations come out great all the time...but you learn :) Also regarding the herbs, there's a certain sense of accomplishment in which I am able to go out into my back yard and snip whatever I need during the summer. In the winter however, I must go back to buying my herbs in quantities that will eventually spoil :(

Theres still time left before the cold sets in...you can even try to grow some herbs indoors ^.^

Happy Nom-ing!

test..1,2,3...

SOOOOOO I've mainly posted pictures on my Facebook account of places I have eaten at, FOOD, and food shared with family, friends, and LE BOYFRIEND (haha). OH and pictures of my family :D
I've been told by a few to start a blog, so here I go. I will try and do my best and review food I eat, where I go to find cheap eats, creations that I have made, and every now and then just simply blog about my everyday life. I would like to thank Chris Sayo hehe for helping me pick out a user name ^.^ Check out his blog, found under my followers!

To all my future fans, heres hoping I receive alot, HAPPY EATING! om nom nom nom nom nom nom :D