sorry

hi all, sorry i have been so negligent in posting stuff.......i promise i will start asap.....

Food and TV

I have a new favorite food show. We ran across it accidently on a local asian channel. Its called Cooking Showdown (Dotchi No Ryori Show).

Basically there are two teams and two featured dishes (usually regional specialties). Japanese celebs have to sit in a kitchen studio while 2 guys with 2 cooking teams make 2 different dishes- it's a battle of which dish wins. For example, last week was Katatama Udon versus Okinawa Soki Soba. The the hungry celebrity guests watch as a camera crew tracks down ingredients, and visits famous farms and restaurants, while chefs prepare the items in the studio.Then must pick one dish by pushing a button. The majority wins and gets to eat. The losers just get to watch. I can't find a picture or description of the Udon, but they kept calling it japanese carbonara. It was hot udon noodles added to a bowl with raw eggs and swishing it around and right before you ate it you add a swirl of soy sauce. I found this picture of Flickr and it looks like the noodles. I guess the place that originated this dish always has long lines out the door and usually sells out by lunch time.


The cool part is when the show travels to the places where these dished originate. For example, the Soba noodles are not buckwheat, instead they get their distinct flavor from wood ashes. The Udon uses soy sauce that is made from a type of black bean instead of soybean, and they show the area where it is made. The sauce is supposed to be sweet so these folks in japan also make ice cream from it.

It did not have subtitles, but it was fun to watch. It was also funny, so it wasn't as serious as Chairman Kaga and his Iron Chefs.

Right after the show we went out from some udon..mmmm

Faux Mexican Socialite

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.

A few weeks ago I went to Mexicali for a bridal shower and a baby shower (not for the same person). What I think is great (in a cheesy sort of way) is that when you have parties sometimes a newspaper photographer shows up to document whatever joyous occasion is being celebrated. So my cousin's baby shower made the party pages. While it's not the first time a family function ends up in the paper (or a family member ends up in the news), it is the first time I have been included in the picture! Yay for me!If you can't find me I am standing immediately to the right of the baby shower guest of honor. I showed one of my co-workers the picture and he asked: "are you from a prominent Mexican family?". Uh... no. If by prominent he means we throw a lot of parties because there are a lot of us, then ok. If he means prominent as in wealthy socialites...uhh....no. I actually think if you are prominent you get included in the paper in the actual news section of the paper. I think everyone else gets put in the "Sociales" section. Next time I go to Mexicali, which will be soon, i'll ask my aunt and cousin if they paid to be included or they gave the guy a tip because in Mexicali, everyone is always looking to make an extra buck.

Noah's baby shower

We had a small baby shower for Julie and Noah last weekend. It was cute but the boy slept through the whole thing! Here's Noah with my grandmother.
Of course the food was super good, plus I got to make choclate fondue, thanks to Caroline's pretty fondue pot and recipe. I didn't take more pictures because I was kinda busy the whole time, but whoever made the shower favors deserves a prize!

Christine's Donuts

Christine sent me this:I'm jealous. I want a donut place named after me.

Hearts Day in the (909)

Valentines Day (or as my west l.a., asian, crafty friend who will remain nameless calls it “who needs love anyway” day) came and went and I have a few cute pictures. Because of the commotion with Noah’s arrival I wasn’t able to spend as much time with Fred as I had hoped, but it was a fun trip to Colton nonetheless.

I took him some iced cookies and told him he could write on one. Guess which one is his? I asked him if it was supposed to be something in Spanish or English . "Dee Dee, be nice!"

And of he got me cute flowers…

how did a bitchy cynical girl like me end up with such a great guy? He must be using me for my crazy crafting abilities!

Valentine's Baby

My sister Julie’s second son, Noah Riley, was born yesterday and he’s cute and wrinkled and kinda laid back.I think he realized his time was up and when he heard he was going to be evicted on Friday with a C-section, he decided to arrive on his own terms. We can't quite see who he looks like yet, but my sister lovingly refers to him as a little elf.

Jakob didn’t know what to make of the situation at first when we arrived. Noah was being bathed and he had time to sit with his mom. Once Noah arrived in the room there was a mixed reaction. He was excited then he seemed a little bit jealous. I think he may be realizing that his reign as the sole center of attention may be coming to an end.

"Maybe if i pretend im a newborn again, they'll forget about this new guy!"

Now he’ll have to share the spotlight with his little brother. They say that competition spurs innovation, so now these two boys will have to come up with more fascinating ways to amuse us. Yay for us!

Crafting Craze

Our 2^nd annual craft party was a big hit this year and super productive. Just looking at all the cards makes me tired!

Of course one of the best parts was all the yummy food…..green salad w/ Michelle’s homemade ranch…feta dips and crackers, pizza, egg rolls, fried chicken, cookies, Hawaiian bread, chocolate fondue. These people are serious about food!

What impressed/surprised me was how many cards people made this year. Last year most people walked away with about 2 to 4 cards. I guess people either had a chance to practice during the year or something because it was like a Hallmark factory in my apartment.

Caroline’s "Japanese tree card" was the biggest hit. Way to hold on to your asian roots! (yes i know youre korean). Some people made 2 or three of these cards. Here are two variations of it:

I spent more money on embellishments that I did last year so I think people were excited to use the supplies before they ran out. Last year I spent more money on tools and basics like scissors. I asked for requests for supplies but only heard from a few folks. Ben didn’t ask for anything but he helped himself to other people’s stuff anyway!

I bought Lily a miniature house key and a white picket fence for her to commemorate her new home. She also asked for pasta or pizza embellishments for her husband.

I got Christine this super cute bride cutout to make her soon-to-be-wed sister a card. Being the mean person I am, I also guilted her into making cards for her boyfriend's kids/niece. But I bet you she'll be happy she made them when they shower her with compliments!

Jackie asked for a guitar to make her beau a card--he's a musician. I wasn't clear on how we can integrate it into a card but she totally impressed me with this creation. The loteria card accent and the wood veneer card worked so well with the guitar and music sheet paper.

The other big hit was the baby envelope template. I'd been wanting to get the template for a while, and this party gave me the perfect excuse to buy it. I liked how people started adding their own style to them.

Caroline and I met up a few days later to make our own cards.
Surprisingly we were not as productive as the card party participants. But what we lack in productivity we more than made up with pizazz and flair. hehehe just kidding, we were still drunk off the toast we had at the local japanese restaurant (more on that next time i get a picture of this magical toast) and too distracted by the Olympic opening ceremonies. I wonder if they'll be another card party on this scale. Things are getting kinda pricey and I'm too much of a control freak to let people bring their own stuff. Maybe we'll just have small group parties. Any suggestions?

Craft Party

The craft party was this last sunday and it was a blast. I have a post ready to put on here but I want to wait until im certain that some people wouldn't see cards other people made for them...does that make sense? anyways here are some action shots for know. Check back later: