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Posts in the category "Food"
posted on May 03, 2009 by Shanin
I have been celebrating my birthday for about half of April. It is tradition in my family to try to drag it out as long as possible.
It all started on the 18th with a night in the City. After I got off work I met Josh at the train station, and he drove me up to San Francisco. He took me out to dinner at Baghdad Nights where we met up with Jason, Iris, Evelyn, Gregg, Sena, and Doug. Of course, I got to open presents. I got a beautiful heart shaped necklace, a quilted bookmark, and cards with birthday wishes. Then we headed to the Punchline to see Josh’s and my favorite comedian, Jake Johannsen. He was just as funny as always.
I took the week of my birthday off from Bed Bath and Beyond. I got to finish a book, relax, cook, do a little homework, and work a little extra at Yavneh. The day of my birthday I woke up with presents piled around me! Josh made me Banana Fosters with waffles and ice cream. Then I opened my presents while watching “Ugly Betty.” I got tickets to Shen Yun, dancing lessons, scrapbook scissors, and a night gown. Josh bought me Starbucks before we headed to the Science Academy in San Francisco.
We stopped by his work so he could show me around. The building is boring on the outside, but has a modern inside with a little creek in the middle of the building. The offices are divided by group, so I got to meet most everyone that was on his team. He has quite a hike every time he goes to work.
We headed to Golden Gate Park afterwards, and had no problem finding parking. We strolled to the Science Academy taking pictures of the building and the statues around the park. We started with the African exhibit. They have a huge tank and rock area at the back of the African hall where you can see the cutest penguins. We then went through the natural history area. We got to see lots of bugs and other gross stuff. The natural history area flowed naturally into the aquarium. An intimidating albino alligator is the first thing you see before you descend down the stairs to the aquarium. The aquarium was filled with exotic aquatic life. I got a great picture of Josh in front of the Coral Reef tank.
We then stopped for a bite to eat. They have a nice little eating area where you can pick from a wide cultural variety of food. I wasn’t too hungry so didn’t take advantage of it, but Josh got some kind of duck dish. After eating we headed for the rainforest. There is always a long line for the rainforest, but it is worth it. The area is in a sphere for climate control, and inside are butterflies, birds, little frogs, bugs, and all sorts of stuff. The rainforest even has a basement underneath where you can see up through the glass bottom pond at the bottom of the rainforest.
The last stop we made was the roof. On the roof they have hills with windows to light the insides. We didn’t stay out there too long because it was real windy that day. On the top of the building the cold wind shows no mercy.
Next stop was the Botanical Garden. Upon entering we were attacked by squirrels that practically crawl up your leg. We walked around for a while enjoying the vegetation. We snapped shots of pretty flowers and water retreats hidden in the park. Before we left we saw a sign that said the plants had GPS tracking devices to keep people from stealing them. We thought this was hilarious!
We avoided traffic by going to see “Monsters vs. Aliens” in IMAX 3D. It was a cute movie, and the IMAX 3D action really brought it to life. The IMAX wouldn’t have been worth it if there wasn’t 3D too. Afterwards we stopped off for a Starbucks befor the drive home.
The next day I went hiking with my Dad, and shopping with my mom. I enjoyed spending one on one time with them. The last day of my birthday weekend was Foxy Lady Day, where all the ladies got together to exchange gifts and hang out. We all got cool stuff, but I got scrapbook stuff, and Fox shirts. Then I did two scrapbook pages of my nieces. I also got to play with Miranda, making the day perfect. I had an awesome birthday that I will get to celebrate more with my tickets and dance lessons.
posted on Dec 06, 2008 by Josh
Thanksgiving was a success, once again. We all got together over at Shanin’s parents’ house (by “we”, I mean Ken and Vicki and their two kids, Stephen and Katie; Jason, Iris, Claire, and Maya; Rindy and Miranda; Shanin’s mom’s parents; Shanin’s parents (of course); and us). If you were keeping count, that’s 16 people! We were definitely elbow to elbow around the table, but dinner was great! There was turkey, sliced & cooked sweet potatos, green beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and some other things that I forgot, but everything was fantastic!
posted on Aug 12, 2008 by Josh
It’s the middle of the week, I’m feeling expansive, and I want to do something nice for Shanin, so I made a meal that I think she’ll like. She should be home from work any minute now, and my task is to get dinner ready and served practically when she gets home so we can go work out tonight and get to bed at a decent hour. My additional spin on the task is to make it a nice meal that she can brag to her friends about (and I can brag to mine, let’s be honest). Enter Wild Mushroom Pork Chops with a side of Tomatoes Caprese.
We haven’t been eating much meat lately, simply because it’s so darn expensive; I can make excellent meals without having to go and purchase chicken, pork, lamb, or duck (she’s not much of a beef eater) which can almost double your food bill. I’ve been doing very well at staying around $50 for the two of us per week. But, as I said earlier, I’m feeling expansive, so this week I’m making both chicken and pork; this put the food bill from Trader Joe’s alone at $75, and I usually go to a couple other places for other items!
Anyway, I found a great recipe in Cooking Pleasures magazine (affiliated with CookingClub.com) and just had to go for it. After all, shiitake mushrooms, pork, whipping cream… this all starts to sound really good! Okay, so I’m not perfect, and I still haven’t gotten the hang of our electric stove. I’m getting better, but on the burner I like to use for more even heat dispersion (it’s larger), medium is more like “nuclear”; it’s difficult to get the right temp when they say “medium-hot”. Plus, if there are any temperature reductions, forget it! So, I burned the minced garlic and shallot, but it didn’t smell acrid; I can only hope that the mushroom flavor will get rid of it. (I haven’t finished cooking yet!)
Because she’s one of those freaks that think you have to eat vegetables with every meal, I decided to make a side dish of Tomatoes Caprese with a Balsamic Reduction. We had this (along with other stuff, of course) for our wedding dinner, so it’s got a little significance. If you don’t know how to prepare this, get small, tasty tomatoes, a chunk of mozzarella cheese, and some fresh basil leaves. For the reduction, pour some balsamic vinegar, maybe about half a cup, in a pot and boil it. WATCH IT! When the bubble start getting thicker and slower, take it off the heat. Slice the tomatoes and cheese, stack with the basil, and drizzle with the reduction. That’s it! Simple, huh? Oh, I’m sure you can find a thousand different ways to spruce this up (make it hot with shredded mozz and fried tomatoes, sprinkled with chopped basil in the last minute or two of cooking… yum!), but I like simple and the tomatoes tasted fabulous and the basil is from my plant.
Well, she’s just about home now, so I get to surprise her with my culinary prowess again. Hope she likes it!
Update: she does! Here’s some pics:
posted on Jul 30, 2008 by Shanin
Geri called me a couple of days ago to compare schedules. We were beginning to miss each other (I had emailed that I missed her), so we needed to find time to hang out. Our schedules didn’t allow a lot of time for seeing each other, but we managed to squeeze a plan together to have dessert on Wednesday night. I contacted my favorite bakery, Patisserie du Josh, to put in an order for something special. I had to wait around in the bakery, but the Chef let me taste the batter. I could tell from that little taste that I was going to ooh and awe Geri. Some times I wonder if she hangs out with me because I have a good food source. The chef let me taste the finally product drizzled with his famous frosting, since I was paying soooo much for the cupcakes. I must say he out did himself. I will get the final review from Geri tonight, but I hope she hates them, so I can have more. If I get any requests I might be able to get the recipe if I cough up a little more payment.
posted on Jun 01, 2008 by Josh
It started as a simple thing, really. Both Shanin and I said to each other, “You know, some sweet potato fries would be good.” However, as the days went by and we didn’t fulfill our want, it slowly became an urge, then a hankering, rose into a yen, bloomed into a desire, and suddenly we were faced with an all-out craving!
Sweet potato fries are, just as they sound, french fries made from sweet potatoes rather than Russets or whatever they use everywhere else. They are scrumptious. The only time I’ve ever had them was at this place in St. Helena called Taylor’s Refresher; this place is awesome if you like well made designer hamburgers. They’ve got lots of different things to put on their burgers, have amazing shakes, an extensive wine list (St. Helena is in the middle of Napa Valley, after all), and are home to sweet potato fries. The only problem with this is that Taylor’s is about 2-1/2 hours from San Jose; not close enough to satisfy even a full-blown craving. Thus begins the Quest for Sweet Potato Fries.