Saturday Mornings

Another way to see it.

A Solution for Holes.

After facing a day of unwanted arguments over small buildups, having someone list off everything you could possibly suck at, and ending the night on the phone in tears...its safe to say that through it all, you will always find comfort in some shape or form...or body.

Tonight..I found it through many shapes and many bodies. But of them all, I learned that while I may ALWAYS be late, have commitment issues, being non-confrontational, or being passive aggressive....that being sorry for all these things is useless. A very old friend of mine has given me some advice- which I will choose to take a piece of. I want to make sorry an action verb, instead of saying it-I want to show it.

On a side note

"Listen carefully...because I'm only going to tell you everyday..I love you."

Thank you for the rain

It must be because of the side effects of being sick, the weather, or having finally finished this korean drama. But in any case, I've started having this sinking feeling inside. It just hit me like a slap in the face, in less than a month... I'll be across the country.

I know everyone says it'll be a good experience, which I completely agree with. No doubt about it. I just know that in 6/7 months-a lot of things will be different. I'll be missing graduations, weddings, birthdays. I know it'll fly, but not being there for all those celebrations makes me feel kind of sad for not being able to be there. I'll definitely miss disneyland, late night boba runs, random adventures, poker nights, silent library, basketball games, korean dramas, mama's cooking, movie nights.....

As much as it seems like I'm fine about going, I have to suck it up. Its like the rain...Everyone hates wet socks and this "terrible weather" but I secretly love it. I love rain every once in a while, it makes you appreciate the sunshine way more. I mean...without the rain, how can you miss the sun?

Two Versions of the Same Thing

You're Beautiful-Phil Wickham



You're Beautiful- Korean Drama



both of which I'm very addicted to...

Food for Thought

Russian Hamburgers:
eggs. ground beef. onions. bread w/o the crusts





Duck Fried Rice

Turkey&Provolone Pannini

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Mmm..matthew goode.

A Spiked Dessert

My passion for food has finally been put into action! But of course this action wasn't done on an empty stomach..That's for sure. My first ever attempt to make tiramisu has truly been a "how to bake" for dummies. First off, buying the supplies was a tad bit pricey, and what's worse is when you don't know what in the world you're paying for- like what the heck is marscapone? lady fingers? sounds like a recipe for disaster. But more than anything, I realized cooking and baking is a lot of fun (once you get the the hang of it) but getting the ingredients is definitely a big pain in the butt...Especially if you've happen to forgot one of the main ingredients of the recipe, or completely run out of sugar in your house. But besides all these minor setbacks, finally I give you...
Amy&Annie's version of: Eggless Tiramisu with Kahlua
serves 9-12
Ingredients:
2 cups very strong decaf coffee or espresso, cooled (thanks starbucks!)
1/3 cup plus 1 T sugar, divided
3 T Kahlua (mama chen's secret stash)
2 cups mascarpone (wteff?!)
36 savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers- freaky name for crackers)
1 1/2 cups very fresh heavy whipping cream
small bar good-quality dark chocolate for grating (trader joes 72% cocoa leaves)

edited directions: (for nubes)
Prepare layering ingredients: chill a large bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer (a hand mixer is fine.) Prepare coffee and let cool in a wide-low dish (a loaf pan or baking dish works well.) Add 1 T sugar and the Kahlua, set aside.
Place mascarpone in a large bowl. Fold in remaining 1/3 cup sugar and marsala.
** Then separately, using the chilled bowl and beaters, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.
(if you don't know what soft peaks look like, it looks like that. We had to google a picture. Thank goodness for the internet& youtube.)

Do not overwhip! Gently fold half of the cream into the mascarpone mixture, then add in the rest, folding carefully until just mixed.

To assemble tiramisu, have 8 1/2" trifle bowl (or other straight-sided serving bowl) next to coffee mixture. Dip savoiardi (the lady fingers)one at a time into coffee mixture briefly-count "One" as you dip one side, then turn and count "One" before removing. Place in bottom of bowl until a layer is formed (You may have to break a few ladyfingers before dipping to evenly fill bottom layer. When bottom of bowl is covered, carefully add about a quarter of the mascarpone and cream mixture, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Grate chocolate on top, evenly covering the cream (you should still be able to see the cream through the chocolate.) Cover with another layer of soaked savoiardi, then another layer of cream, followed by chocolate shavings, repeating until you have four layers and all your cream has been used up.

Wrap well with saran wrap and refridgerate at least two hours before serving. You can wait overnight, but the whipped cream condenses a little.

finished product:
don't ya just want to take a bite out of that? My favorite dessert of all time- behold.. tiramisu. No oven required. I wonder what's next on the menu...?

*special thanks to anne and Pithy and Cleaver for the original recipe.

How to bone a duck

Of all the 120984398439 movies I've watched over the course of this break, Julie&Julia has struck a cord in me so deep I had to post this as quickly as possible. Even if that meant sleep deprivation. I really really really really really really want to cook. Can I say it any clearer? And not only that, but I want to make scrumptious, on- going party in your mouth ..and the party is still going on- kind of food. Food that makes you want to scream, "Yum!" not after you've finished devouring it, but while you're actually savoring it. But before I get ahead of myself, I'll have to add this to the list of my projects during this extended break.
But, hey! Eating&Blogging. It's everything I could have ever dreamed of.

Firsts & Lasts

It feels like this year has flown by in a blink of an eye. But despite how fast time passes, I have to say that this year was definitely one worth noting. It goes beyond saying how blessed I've been this year with friends and family.

Instead of New Year's Resolutions I'm going break this year down into my Firsts and Lasts of 2009. I think every year I come up with these unrealistic New Year's Resolutions, but in reality I should just call them my New Year's wishes. Most of the time, they rarely happen, but I guess my attempts to start them or actually acknowledge these things should be counted as an achievement. I'll give myself that much. A great example of "New Year's Resolutions" is what my brother told me today. He said, "Today the gym is going to be super crowded, as will the rest of the month. After this month though, we can start going back." (demonstrates the failed attempts of resolutions) But I do like the idea behind New Year's Resolutions, they give you something to change, to work on, to fix..Another year to do better.

Firsts

• spending Valentine's day at a chinese restaurant.
• going to a UCI baseball& basketball game
• picnic in Aldrich Park
  
• seeing Relient K/Owl City/the Killers/Blink 182& Weezer** (thanks Dgao) in concert
• riding in a hot air balloon
• riding on a Jet Ski
• driving to Norcal
• planning a Vegas Trip with Jeff and Jamie.
• having a fully loaded summer-complete with internship, job and summer school
• OCCEC's college fellowship.
• saying Good-bye to a friend studying abroad.
• saying Good-bye to someone who knew me for most of my life.
• joining a women's small group
• taking a trip to NY, where I was actually old enough to plan my own trip.
• spending $50 on candy (sold by the pound)
• Roadtrip-ing on the east coast.
• seeing Yale,RISD,Brown University
• planning a snowboarding trip to Mammoth with great friends
• celebrating NYE with the family-(definitely one to remember.)
• taking chocolate laxatives (don't ask)
  

Lasts

• being called a "teen"
• keg stand (that's for sure)
• putting too much on my plate
• "living it down"
• saying Yes, when I should have said No.
• *being a lagger. (I'm going to try to work on this one- its an OCCEC curse)

Well, I guess you can say it hasn't been a year of too many regrets. There are definitely more firsts then there are lasts. I only hope there will be more firsts to come.