LOVE

Akihiko Tsukamoto. Man Kiss + Lady Kisses = Love. 1982

Got this from the partner-in-crime. Speaking of whom, I'm calling her out as she hasn't posted her monthly blog post yet. :P

Year-Old Cake

Believe it or not, year-old, defrosted cake isn't as bad as it sounds.

Though I will admit that for the entire day, we had been avoiding it like it was the plague.

Watching a wedding on TV was the perfect distraction.

Toasting to many more years of married life.

While it may not have been terrible, one bite of the semi-frozen cake was not quite satisfying.

Thank you, Cocola, for being a place we could run to! Hubs picked this Le Sultan slice and it was perfection! We both agreed that we each should've had a slice.

What happened to the rest of the cake? We marched it straight to the dumpster, together! :)

Napa day trip

Nestled among the wineries of Napa Valey's wine country

is a marvelous castle called Castello di Amorosa

"The castle of love"

was the perfect place for Marc & I to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary.

Together we explored the vineyards,

toured ourselves around the castle,

and chased friendly farm animals such as this sheep.

We eventually found the cellar down below

where crates of wine were stored.

We had a marvelous time in the tasting room and even brought home the product of rotten grapes. Surprisingly, we liked everything we tried and wanted to take it all home!

Before we knew it, we were headed for the door.

Farewell beautiful castle!

Our day wasn't over just yet. We made a quick stop at the famous Guigni's deli

and treated ourselves to some top-notch sandwiches and a stroll around the town.

When it came time to go home,

we found ourselves back on the road.

Thanks for a glorious day, Napa! 'Til our next visit!

Celebrating 1 year of marriage

One year ago on 4.26.09, this happened....

I'm not exactly sure what forced time to go by so fast but it really does seem like we got married only a few weeks ago! Every situation that we've had to face together in the last 12 months have made us a better and stronger couple and for that, I am eternally grateful. I am excited to find out what the next year and future years will have in store for us.

Can't wait to finally take a bite out of that year-old wedding cake. : )

I love my husband, Marc to the nth power!

Orale

The fish is hiding underneath that garden up above.

Sorry you have to keep hearing about it but the battle for fish continues. I've plagued this blog with my taco talk for quite awhile that I find it appropriate to share my Yelp review on a newly found and tried taqueria.

The desperate cravings for some beloved fish tacos have left me to linger around Yelp for recommendations around my new town. After much deliberation and fighting the voice inside me that kept saying "It won't be like Baja Fish Tacos," I decided to finally give Orale a try. The Mister got out of class early on Wednesday night. I, on the other hand, arrived home exhausted from interviews and sitting in traffic. There IS traffic in the Bay Area! I obviously am not on the road during rush hour to witness such a phenomenon. It took me almost an entire hour to travel a mere 14 miles from Palo Alto to Campbell. Say, what?! I can almost liken it to the 405 in OC. Gross! So we're both at home on a Wednesday night. I obviously did not make dinner and so the alternative comes to mind-dining out. To us, dining out for dinner has seemed to become a thing of the past so the thought of entertaining our evening hunger with some 'outside' food excited us both. We head on over to Orale to find a small mom-n-pop establishment that is surprisingly immaculate! Orale, you should be honored to receive brownie points from a woman with OCD! Hungry hubs orders a platter of 2 grilled tilapia tacos for himself complete with salad, rice and beans. I opt for 1 grilled halibut taco with rice and beans of which of course ends up looking untouched by the end of the meal. Ooops, spoiler alert. Fresh chips and amazing salsa arrive at the table. We devour it, ask for seconds and finished that up as well. The food arrives. The Mister plows through his plate not leaving a trace behind while I pick at the fish inside the taco. I always do this and why I don't just get grilled fish instead of the taco whose shell I don't even eat is beyond me. The rice was pretty good-really soft and tender unlike some others which are rock hard and grainy. The fish....well, the fish. It was ok. Nothing spectacular. It was grilled fish and that's what it tasted like. There was too much going on inside the taco-sauce, lettuce, bell peppers, and chili's. To me, the flavor of the fish was masked by everything else. I was sorely disappointed but for $4.95, can't complain much. I've got to give them credit for not only being clean but having their food look and taste fresh. Oh and the workers were exceptionally nice! Will I come back? For the chips, yes! 3 stars for Orale.

A post about everything

Over the weekend, I had some pretty bad So-Cal withdrawals. There's this little Mexican fast food place in Costa Mesa that was introduced to me by my twin, Jane called Baja Fish Tacos. They seriously have the best grilled fish tacos EVER! I can just taste them right now. Across the street from our old apartment was an OC chain called the California Fish Grill. For $10, you get an entire dinner-fish, rice/fries, cole-slaw, and bread. May I add, they have the freshest and largest portions of fish too. To slightly curb the fish-craving, I made miso salmon. It was good but I still want my So-Cal fish. Ohhh so-cal fish, come to me!

Miso salmon with garlic-sauteed spinach and brown rice

The other day, someone pointed out that if I am to keep posting pictures of food, I must share recipes. So here it goes:

Miso Glazed Salmon

-1/2 C brown sugar

-2 T low sodium soy sauce

-2 T hot water

-2 T miso (I use white miso)

-2 lbs salmon fillets

-1 T chopped chives

-Cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler

2. Combine sugar, soy sauce, hot water and miso and mix until well blended

3. Arrange fish in dish coated with cooking spray

4. Spoon miso mixture over fish

5. Broil for 15 minutes

Over the last two days, Marc and I walked Missy's dogs as she devoted her entire being to her thesis. I love these two cuties! Now I want dogs. Yes, plural.

In another life, Marc was a dog-whisperer. Burger and Derby love their Uncle Marc, can't you tell?

On Sunday morning, there was literally nothing to eat for breakfast so I went to Target bright and early-before the doors even opened. As I got in line to pay for my staple Morningstar products and a gallon of milk, I noticed everyone walking out of the store with a green bag. Having left my usual reusable bag in the car, I immediately thought, "Oh great, Target is out to guilt trip us by coaxing each customer to purchase a bloody bag. It doesn't help that Earth Day is coming up too so that's twice the guilt." I really wanted to just run to the car, get my bag and be the pompous customer showing off to the hot male cashier (hehe! Oops!) that I brought my bag. Instead, I get to the counter and he literally starts putting my purchases into a green bag. "I have one, in the car; I have several-the red ones," I say. He replies by saying that they are F-R-E-E. Idiot moment, nonetheless. I shut up.

In celebration of Earth Month, Target is giving out these adorable reusable totes.

So after the Target trip, I spent the entire morning baking cookies. Last week, my dearest cousins Mariel and Claudine bantered back and forth on Facebook about Peanut Butter & Co.

Side story: While we were in NYC last year, this place was on our agenda but we never made it there as we got sidetracked by other things (Veniero's!). Claudine found their products at a Wal-Mart in South Carolina and Mariel points out later that they are also at Target. So I join in on the fun and bought a canister of Dark Chocolate Dreams-the inspiration for my cookies I made. They turned out ok-a bit fudgy and not as peanut-butter-ish as I'd hope for them to be.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

• -2 C all-purpose flour
• -3/4 C Hershey's Cocoa Powder
• -1 t baking soda
• -1 t salt
• -1 C unsalted butter
• -2 C white sugar
• -1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• -2 eggs
• -1 2/3 C peanut butter chips
• -Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter (Not quite sure how much I put in as I was trying to wing it....I'm guessing I only put less than 1-1/2 C b/c I couldn't taste it)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. Mix dry ingredients together

3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla

4. Stir in peanut butter chips

5. Gradually add dry ingredients and stir until smooth

6. Drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes

Note: The cookies come out really really soft at first but they will harden on the cooling rack. Oh the cooling rack, I hate you for what you've done to me!

Last night, I met my friend Jackie for dinner who literally dumped half of her shoe collection on me. She's in the process of moving/spring cleaning/I just want to get rid of everything I own type of phase. I was pretty much floored when she opened her trunk and told me to take everything in it. I felt like Cinderella trying on her shoes in a sketchy parking lot between a car dealership and a Subway!

I am in love with these sandals and cannot wait to wear them all spring & summer long. Thank you, Diva for blessing me with your unwanted treasures!

I didn't lie when I said this would be a post about everything. Phew! Just trying to bring my blog back to life (via longer posts and more ranting, obviously). And I'm having formatting problems. Oh well!

Cooling rack mishap

It was getting pretty chilly last night so the solution was to fire up the oven. It seems to work better than our heater which was probably installed in this unit in the 70's or something. So I find a recipe for chocolate chip cookies described as "thin and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside." Whatever, that's besides the point.

I'm cleaning up my mess in the kitchen and as I grab my cooling rack to wash it, my right-hand ring finger magically (I have no other way to explain it) gets stuck in between 2 wires. FYI: I happen to have fat fingers. I think to myself "no big deal, if it got in there, it should come out." I wrestle with this piece of metal for a few minutes until I start to feel the throbbing pain. Oh and by this time, my finger has gone from red to plum but not yet purple. I say to myself, "I got this." Moments after, I finally yell out to Marc in the other room begging for help. By this time, I'm laughing and tearing as he looks up at me in sheer panic.

M: How did you do that?

A: Doesn't matter, help me, please!

Marc stands there and then turns around.

A: What are you doing?

M: Changing and getting the keys, we're going to the ER!

A: NO! That's so embarrassing! I'm not going to the ER with a rack attached to myself-not by choice! (I'm seriously lmao at this point)

M: Well...ok. But seriously, how did you do that?

A: Just help me!

M: Grease...darn, we don't have grease!

A: What kind of grease are you talking about?

M: Uhm...grease.

Marc runs back into the kitchen and comes back with....PAM, the cooking spray. He sprays it all over my hand (not just my finger) as if he's a fire-fighter extinguishing some forest fire. Then he yanks my hand out slowly and painfully, my finger is released. Relief. That was my idiotic moment of the week. Thanks for reading.

I love but hate you, cooling rack! I love you more, chocolate chip cookie!

Friday adventure to Berkeley

Neither Marc or I were granted the jobs we interviewed for last week. I actually found out the day after my interview and Marc found out this morning. They weren't meant to be, I suppose. But, we'll keep on moving forward. To relieve ourselves of the 'sucky' feeling, (don't know how else to describe it) we decided to get out of the house. I am so glad we picked the right day to do so as it happened to be the only day the sun came out.

Destination: Berkeley, CA

I absolutely adore this city! Its charming neighborhoods, eclectic mix of people, and good eats makes it an ideal city worth loving!

First Stop: Indian Rock Park

Situated in the North Berkeley Hills is a little (it really is little) 'park' (translation: rock) that you can climb from where you can witness a breathtaking view of San Francisco (on a clear day).

Rock climbers frequent this rock as there are numerous 'courses' on it. Since we were without the proper rock-climbing equipment, we decided to take the 'short-cut' and opt for the easy path of following a trail.

We lucked out! It was such a clear day that we saw everything, Golden Gate Bridge included.

At the top of the rock (though you can't tell). It wasn't even a hike-just a really short climb. The 'hike' from where we parked was more strenuous.

Since the rock is located in a neighborhood, parking is quite difficult to come across. Getting there can also be quite a challenge as the old Berkeley neighborhoods contain scattered roundabouts that are slightly confusing. I've been told that there are plenty of other rocks around Berkeley but Indian Rock is said to have the best view.

Lunch Spot: The Cheeseboard Pizza Collective

The obvious: The Cheeseboard sells cheese. Lots of cheese. Different kinds of cheese. Name a farm animal, any animal. I bet it produces cheese. Ok, maybe not a chicken.

Fact 1: The Cheeseboard is a collective. Each person working at this place makes the same amount of money and has equal decision making power as any of their co-workers. I dig this business model and no, I am not advocating communism by any means.

Fact 2: In addition to the variety of cheeses they sell, The Cheeseboard also bakes fresh breads. Some of their breads are available every day while others are only made to sell for certain days of the week.

Fact 3: The sourdough cheese roll pictured above is the best cheese bread I've tasted so far. It is delightfully cheesy and chewy!

Fact 4: The Cheeseboard makes only ONE kind of pizza per day. How efficient is that? They never use pizza sauce and all their pizza's are vegetarian, and may I add, distinctly delicious! Each slice is $2.50 (not noted on sign board).

Fact 5: Each slice of pizza is accompanied with a 'mini slice.' I'm guessing that it's the $0.50 in $2.50! Haha!

Fact 6: Asparagus and shitake mushrooms on a pizza=freakin' fantastic! The lemon zest balanced the flavors really well and that cheese-Montalban cheese...ahhh, so good! This is my kind of pizza b/c I'm not a pizza-sauce type of girl! To me, it was gourmet. For $2.50, can't complain. 5 stars, friends. FIVE entire stars!

Fact 7: YOU should get your butt to The Cheeseboard right now b/c you are missing out! FYI-the line gets really long. They start serving pizza at 11:30 am. We got there at 11:15 am and were the fourth & fifth people in line. How cool are we? The mister loved it so much that he went back for another slice!

Dessert Destination: Fenton's Creamery

When I saw the movie, Up, I was excited to see Fenton's featured during the last scene. I quickly squealed "I've been there" as the people around me looked at me with the "Honey, it ain't real" kinda look. Yes, it is! My friend Jackie treated me to a gigantic ice cream sundae there weeks before my 22nd birthday. Of course, it's real! And so, it was revisited.

It's in Oakland, friends. See for yourself! It doesn't look like a house though.

You've got to be a real ice cream whore to get a "small." This is their "petite" size which is equivalent to one giant scoop. Yup, I said it-giant. Pomegranate was the hubby's choice of cold treat for the day and it was pretty good-not as tart as pomegranate usually is.

I opted for cinnamon! We enjoyed our frozen delights outdoors in Fenton's little patio.

Its been awhile since we last had a food trip so yesterday was really fun! Has this convinced any of you to come visit me yet? (hint hint So-Cal friends). :)

Next weekend is our 1-year wedding anniversary weekend. We want to take a day-trip somewhere near/around the Bay Area to celebrate. Any suggestions? The only criteria is that the destination must involve food somehow!