Genki Tummy

New Format

2009-12-21T23:35:00.002-06:00

As you may have noticed, Mike has been picking up the slack and has taken over blogging on this site. Why?
Partially because I've been lazy and have been adjusting to a full-time job. The other reason is that I've been slowly working on updating the format of my blog. I've been dappling with code and photoshop and finally finished the new "blue" layout. Yay!

So with this project done, I'll get back to blogging.

Day 4~Restaurant Crispi 19

2009-12-18T20:54:00.000-06:00

On our fourth day we sought out a truly great culinary experience. We had spent the previous night looking for places to eat online, and we settled on a seafood restaurant called Crispi 19. We marked it's general location (near the top of the Spanish Steps) on our map (which wasn't very good), and decided we'd wander around and find it the next day.

When we began our trek to find Crispi 19 we immediately realized our mistake. Our map had a big icon of the Spanish Steps that covered a lot of small streets in the area. This made finding the restaurant really difficult. We wandered for a while, and since we were already really hungry, we almost gave up. Just when we were discussing where else we'd like to eat we happened to see a street sign for Crispi street. It was then that Lauren had an epiphany that saved our day. Guess what? The restaurant name was also its address. Problem solved.......we went in an got ourselves a table.
Unbeknownst to us, Crispi 19 was acctually a fine dining establishment. We looked totally out of place in our jeans and t-shirts. The saving grace was that being a fine dining restaurant, Crispi 19 didn't really serve much lunch.....sure they were open, but we were the only ones there. Plus we were tourists, so no one really cared.
We shared a bunch of food, and passed the plates back and forth.....probably a no-no, but being tourists eating when no one else was there, we didn't have to be embarrased. I got a prix fixe meal (tuna tartare, crab and shrimp ravioli, and a dessert), and Lauren got a pasta with fried squid. The tuna tartare was interesting. I'd never had something like this before. It felt overly fancy for my tastes at first, but when I mixed the tuna, the onion, the salt, the egg, and the pesto sauce together (and made everything look really messy) and ate it with the orange, it was really good. It was rich and salty, and the citrus cut it perfectly. Lauren thought it was okay, which is saying a lot because she doesn't really like raw fish.
Lauren's pasta was also very good. I think the sauce was some kind of seafood stock with olive oil, tomatoes and basil. It was a bit salty, but it as also thin, so it fit nicely at first. When you got towards the bottom of the bowl you got more and more sauce, and it got too salty for Lauren. I hapily finished her bowl.
The shrimp and crab ravioli was excellent. It was rich, but the portion was small so it wasn't overpowering. It came in a creamy seafood tomato sauce.
I don't remember much about the fish, other than that it was fish, that it was cooked perfectly. I think it was halibut, but I'm not sure. Lauren really liked it!
I don't remember what the dessert was called, but it was also good. There was a chocolate cake that was moist and had lots of fresh whipped cream on top. There was also a soooth and creamy panna cotta. Its kind of like creme brulee, except without the brulee. The texture is a little different though since panna cotta is thickened with gelatin instead of just eggs. We both enjoied it....especially Lauren.
We spent the rest of the day......you guessed it......eating. We went to a sicilian pastry shop. There were a bunch of awards displayed on their door. Lauren was so impressed that she took a picture.
The pastries looked beautiful. We had an exremely difficutl time picking out what to eat. We finally setteled on an asortment of goodies, and ate them outside. We both decided that italian pastries are a little too sweet for us.

I don't remember exactly where we went, or what we ate there, but we also made it to a gelateria before the end of the afternoon. When something's good, you just have to stick with it. We had a lot of gelato throughout the rest of the trip.

Day 3~Italy Food!

2009-12-17T16:26:00.000-06:00

Our third day in Italy was spent hunting for food. We went to the Jewish Ghetto and grazed. Lauren loved all of the bakeries and I had my fair share of pizza. We sampled so many things that by the time lunch came we weren't even hungry.
Lauren went crazy in this bakery and ordered a bunch of things. As a note to all you foodie travelers, bakers don't like it when you order just one of something when it's sold by weight, especially when they're super light things like pretzels. I think the tiny cookies (~3 pieces) and pretzels (~5 pieces) Lauren got were like 20 cents or something like that. We got a bunch of stuff, so it was okay, but one of the workers got scolded by the manager when she tried to ring us up for a .1 euro bill.
We ate our purchases right outside of the bakery. I got two kinds of arancini, fried rice balls. Between the baked good and the fried goodies, it was a fun experience.
We saw a bakery/pizzeria that a lot of locals were coming out of, and we knew we had to try it too. In our experience, this is one of the best ways to find good food. We also went to Campo di Fiori, an open market. There was a ton of fresh produce, and lot of other things. We bought a fruit cup to share, and looked around.
We bought some dried spices to take home but we keep forgetting to use them.

In case you didn't notice from the last post, Lauren and I aren't always the best with maps. We wandered our way toward the subway station, and ended up back near our hotel. Instead of going out to eat dinner, we decided to engage in one of Lauren's favorite activities.....we went to the grocery store. Don't think this was the first time we went during our trip....no, no, no we went way back on day one. This was just the first time we decided to go and buy a meal there. We got breadsticks, cheese, wine, bread and ate it in our room. It was nice to relax in the room for a night. I think this helped prevent us from getting travel fatigue.

Day 2 Part 2~ Italy

2009-12-14T20:36:00.000-06:00

We did so much on our second day that Lauren broke it up into two separate posts. After eating all the gelato, we decided it was time to go and see the sights. Our first goal was to go and see the Trevi fountain. We took the subway to the nearest stop. When we got out there was a fountain right outside, and we assumed it was probably Trevi fountain. There were a bunch of tourists taking pictures next to it, so it seemed right. But after thinking about it for a few minutes it just didn't seem right......it wasn't impressive enough. A quick consultation with our map told us that we still had a 5-10 minute walk to get to Trevi fountain. When we finally got there it was far better.
Instead of the dozen or so tourists that were at the other fountain, there were easily over 100 tourists at the real Trevi fountain. We looked around, sat down and had a rest, and then proceeded on to the Pantheon, or so we thought.
We followed a sign pointing toward the Pantheon....unfortunately it was pointing in the wrong direction.....we confirmed this when we passed it for the second (and then the third) time. So we marched on, and on, and on, and after 30 minutes of so we took a break and sat down on some steps where a lot of people were hanging out. And that was how we saw the Spanish steps. I think we took pictures, but none of them came out good. We proceeded on and on, ignored the sign, asked for directions, and finally got to the Pantheon just before it closed. We ended our day at Piazza Navona. It's the place there Tom Hanks pulls the priest out of the fountain in Angels and Demons. It's really beautiful at sunset, and there are lots of restaurants that line the square. There are lots of waiters there trying to usher you into their establishments......this really turned us off because if the food was good why would they need to be so pushy. But because it was so nice there, despite our better culinary judgement we picked a restaurant that seemed good and sat down for a meal. We got free glasses of champaign, which was good, but the pasta we got was just average. It was nothing you couldn't make yourself, and definitely not worth the $50 we paid. Still the wine was good, and we had a great time enjoying the scenery. It was a Jekyl/Hyde experience. Ambiance - 10, Food - 3.
What did we do after diner? You guessed it...Gelato! Here are more pics. THey're acctually from the gelateria we went to earlier in the day, but they fit here too.

Day 2~Italy

2009-12-03T18:42:00.000-06:00

Day 2 of our Italy Adventure began at Vatican City. While we didn't do the Angels and Demons tour as recommended by a good friend, we did sign up for a tour. As a side note, if you ever go to Vatican City, take a tour.........there is so much art and history to see that unless you are an art history major, you will be totally lost. As another side note, remember to sign up for your tour on the proper day! If you don't then you'll have to panic and call the tour company at the last minute and hope that they can help you out. I'm not saying that happened to us........it's just a friendly tip....
Being an Engineer, I don't really have much interest in art. Suffice it to say that despite this, I was still amazed at the art and history in Vatican City. I won't try to comment on anything, but here are a few pictures of things we saw. A gift to one of the popes, something by Raphael, and something by Michelangelo....that's what the pictures are of....I think. We looked for some of Splinter's work, but couldn't find anything.....the guide got really mad at me when I asked about it. The one above is St. Peter's Basilica....I think....... We were respectful in the Sistine Chapel, and did not take pictures like the hundreds of other people there. Some Japanese company bought the rights to the ceiling, so you're not supposed to take any pictures. I pointed out to the guide that Lauren and I were Japanese so it'd probably be alright for us to take photos, but she just got really mad again.

We ended our day by mailing postcards to our parents from the Vatican City post office. It's supposed to be a cool thing to do since Vatican City is separate country.
After the tour, we went out in search of food. First stop was a pizzeria which Lauren's mom recommended from a magazine article she had read. It was packed full of locals, and looked great. We ended up getting a two slices with lots of fresh cherry tomatoes and some crushed red pepper, one with cheese, the other without. They were great! Unfortunately we didn't know how to ask them to heat them up in Italian.....that would have made them a lot better.
Next stop was a delicatessen that w saw while wandering around. There were lots of school kids outside eating sandwiches, so we thought it had to be a good place.
We went inside, and with limited italian we asked then to make me a sandwich. I got one with some kind of ham and marinated artichokes. It was rather fatty, but very good.
Lastly, having eaten a clearly "Michael" dish (the fatty pork sandwich) we sought out a purely "Lauren" culinary experience. We embarked on our first (first of many) gelato trek.
We made our way to a gelateria again recommended by Lauren's mom from the same magazine. Even though we only went to one gelateria on this day, it still counts as a trek because we ate at it twice. I don't mean that we ordered two cones each. We literally had some gelato, then walked out and Lauren was talking about how good it was, that we turned around and walked 5 minutes back to get more. I don't remember exactly what we had there, but I'm pretty sure they had a pear that lauren really liked. I really liked the chocolate. I think we also had pistacio, coconut, and hazelnut.
Below are some other pictures we took along the way.

Italy~ Day 1 Mike's Version

2009-11-17T20:13:00.003-06:00

When we first arrived in Italy both Lauren and I were tired and hungry. Being "economical" we decided that we would catch the train into Rome and walk to our hotel. We could have caught a taxi, but that would have cost an extra $50 or so. We also could have transferred from the train to the subway to get closer to the hotel, but it was only an extra quarter mile....and so we walked.

To back this story up a little bit, Lauren had read that it would be really cold in Italy. We packed sweaters, jackets, and even hand warmers. Most importantly....we dressed really warm on the flight so we wouldn't be cold when we got off. Funny how mother nature can be so fickle......so there we were, walking in jeans and thick long-sleeve t-shirts in high 80 degree weather. It wasn't long before we decided to stop for a break.
Our first food in Italy came from a bar on the side of the road as we walked to Hotel Domus Aventina. We were both hot and tired and hungry, and we decided to share a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. It was simple, fresh and good. Just look at how red the tomatoes are.
After we arrived at the hotel (and showered to cool off) we decided to go and see some of the sights. Since our hotel was right next to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill we began our explorations there. We started at the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill since we read that the Colosseum ticket line is always crazy long, and admission at one place pays for admission at both. The Roman Forum was basically where the Roman city square and government were located. Palatine Hill was where the emperors lived. We didn't want to wait around for a guided tour, so we decided to purchase an electronic audio guide to help us understand what we were looking at. A bit of advice, don't ever do this (unless you think Ben Stein reading you an art history book would be riveting). Basically you get a device that plays recordings explaining the sights when you punch in certain codes. You have a map to tell you when to punch in the right codes. We were so confused because the map codes didn't accurately match up with the proper areas. And to make things worse, Lauren's audio guide ran out of batteries! Anyway, it was surreal to be standing in the midst of things you learn about in school, but also a bit confusing.
After the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill we went to the Colosseum. Lauren already put up a picture of this in the previous post. This was much more interesting, fun and understandable. Plus we had already seen Gladiator. :)
After our long day, we went back to the hotel and fell asleep.....yes, before dinner! But after a 2 hour nap we woke up and went looking for food. We ate dinner at a restaurant called Insalata Ricca which was recommended by the receptionist at our hotel. Lauren had an anchovy pizza, I had a creamy artichoke pasta, and we shared a half liter of the house red wine. I'd say that our first meal was average. The pizza was okay. The pasta was rich and creamy, and I really liked it, but by the time I was half way through, it was a bit heavy. All in all, nothing special, but not bad. The wine was smooth, and along with jet lag, it hit us hard. Comparatively speaking, it was a pretty cheap meal. Italy can get really expensive really fast. There are no pictures here because we were both too tired to remember to bring the camera.

Italy~Day 1, Rome

2009-11-14T22:35:00.007-06:00

I finally had a chance to sit down and review all the pictures I took in Italy, Hawaii, and Las Vegas and I cannot wait to share all the pictures with all of you. I've just completed my fourth week of work (did I mention that I love my job?) and am only now sitting down to blog about our trip to Italy. I have to learn how to manage my time so that I can squeeze in time to blog at least once a week.

Here's a picture of the Colosseum in Rome. Isn't it magnificent? You read about it in history classes (or see it in "The Gladiator"), but when you see it with your own eyes, you cannot help but wonder how the ancient Romans built these amazing structures.
Here's a picture of Mike and me so you have proof that we were actually in the Colosseum. We did not wear matching clothes during our whole trip. We just randomly packed the same shirt and decided to wear the same shirt on our first day in Rome.
Mike's Italy Tip #1, if you want to check out the Colosseum, buy your tickets at the Roman Forum, and you will save at least 30 minutes wait time.

Lauren's Italy Tip #1, pack snacks so that you do not have to buy food at the snack kiosks near tourist areas.
We bought a salami sandwich and pistachio gelato from a kiosk near the Colosseum. Big mistake. We were hungry, so we stopped for a snack, but it just was not as tasty as other foods we ate during the rest of our trip.
Mike will be taking the lead in blogging about our trip to Italy, so stay tuned for his commentary. In the next couple of weeks I'll be focusing on our game plan for "Black Friday" shopping and be traveling for work.

We're Back!

2009-10-29T22:32:00.002-05:00

We're back from Italy! Actually we've been back for almost two weeks already, but with the move to a new state, the furnishing of a new apartment, and the start of a new job, blogging has been on the bottom of our priority list.
The good news is that bathrooms are free in the good old USA. As you can see in the picture, we ended up paying 1.50 euros to use the restroom in Venice. That's almost $2.50! Crazy huh? A good travel hint for anyone heading off to Venice is to go buy something from the 1 euro menu at Mcdonalds. Anyway, we'll post more later!

Still on Vacation....in Italy

2009-10-03T21:59:00.002-05:00

Hi all you loyal blog readers! I keep apologizing for the lack of blog posts, but will be apologizing a little bit more. I have been taking sooo many pictures, but haven't had the time to blog. The only reason the Daring Bakers post popped up was because I had pre-posted it earlier in September.
September and October have been a whirlwind of travels. After my trip to Las Vegas and Hawaii, I picked up the hubby from Hawaii and we caught a plane to Illinois. We stayed in Illinois for ~24 hours, then DROVE to Texas. We've been in Texas for less than two days and then are heading off to Italy (Rome, Florence, and Venice) in less than 12 hours!
I guess you can say that we're training for the "Amazing Race" TV show. Nah, our travels are not as extreme.

We'll be back in the States in a couple of weeks, so by late October there will be posts about food from Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Italy.

Take care everyone!

Daring Bakers~September Challenge~Vols-au- Vent

2009-09-27T00:01:00.007-05:00

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

These are my mini vols-au-vents filled with lemon curd (Chou's recipe), topped with fresh raspberries.
The initial butter block. Glad "Press n Seal" wrap worked well while I pounded/pressed the butter into a solid block.

One of the first folds of the puff pastry dough. The final dough.
Look at all those layers.
My vols-au-vents all stacked up and ready to be placed in the oven.

Puff pastry "slugs." By the time I was ready to bake the puff pastry, I was super tired and did not read the instructions as carefully as I should have. So I did not place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough prior to placing them in the oven. BIG MISTAKE!
These are the Vols-au-Vent I made the next morning...with a sheet of parchment paper on top.

Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
With the leftover scraps of puff pastry, I made cheese twists. Mmmmm....yummy.

Update

2009-09-10T01:38:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Did I mention...

*I defended my dissertation and passed.
*Dropped off my dissertation to the thesis office yesterday...so it's official, I'm done with school! ~*~woot woot~*~
*Been cleaning and packing up my apartment for the past few days. It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in 4 years!

*Flying to Vegas on Saturday (2 days from now) to hang out with my sister and to attend a friend's wedding (get this, she planned it so that she and guests could attend the UH game against UNLV).
*Flying from Vegas to Hawaii~send me an email if you want to hang out in Hawaii
*Flying from Hawaii back to Illinois to clean up my apartment and move out.

My sister has already emailed me an itinerary for my trip to Las Vegas and its filled with LOTS of restaurants. I will try to blog about them, but I'll be on vacation and enjoying my new found FREEEEEDDDOOOOMMM!

Hawaiian Shave Ice...in Champaign, IL?

2009-08-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, Aaron mentioned that he saw a Hawaiian Shave Ice van in Champaign and asked me if it was the real deal. I was a bit skeptical about the place because at the "Taste of Champaign" a couple of years ago, the "Hawaiian Shave Ice" was similar to the texture of the coarse ice in a "Snow-cone."
Aaron brought it up again and said that he tried it and the ice texture was similar to snow, rather than crushed ice. Here's a picture of a slightly melted cup of shave ice.
So last Saturday, one of my Hawaii friends (yeah, there are a few others from Hawaii who attend school in Illinois) and I finally checked out the shave ice van on Neil St. in Champaign, IL. She's posing next to the shave ice van.
The workers were super nice and friendly and there were TONS of flavors to choose from. We tried the mango and the banana cream pie flavors. We then unintentionally got the cups mixed up and told/convinced Aaron that the mango was the banana cream pie flavor. He even said, "Mmm...that banana cream pie is really good." Then he some how figured out that he was eating the mango one. So, those flavoring in particular could use a little tweaking, but our taste buds could have been shot because we had been cooking and tasting all the food for our "Grown-Up Kids Party."Overall take home message, the shave ice van gets my stamp of approval. It is not as soft as Matsumoto's shave ice or Waiola's, but it's the best I've tasted on the mainland and definitely similar to other shave ice stores in Hawaii. I'd definitely go back, but I would try other flavors. Maybe stick with one of the more traditional flavors like strawberry.

Smirnoff Summer Entertaining Extravaganza:Grown-Up Kids Party

2009-08-24T19:36:00.000-05:00

We were lucky to have been selected to host a "Smirnoff Summer Entertaining Extravaganza" this past weekend. Much thanks to Foodbuzz and Smirnoff for sponsoring this event.

The theme of our party was a "Grown-Up Kids Party," which involved kids' food with an adult twist to them. These foods had a gourmet spin on them, but realistically, it meant that we included alcohol into these foods. A bunch of us Food Science graduate students had a great time chomping down on all the food and just hanging out.

The stars of our "Grown-Up Kids Party" Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade and Smirnoff Vodka Mojito. Prior to the event Aaron and I had a pre-party and sampled these drinks on the rocks for experimental purposes. After all, we needed to figure out how to best incorporate these beverages into our foods.
Extra Lime-y Mojito. See Recipe Below
Colorful Kiddie Fruit Punch (Melon Ball with Grenadine).
Slushy Mojito. Smirnoff Vodka Mojito Mix, Lime Juice, and Ice Blended. Our adult version of frozen slushes and icees.Outdoor Games and Grilling.
We began with the appetizers. As you can see, just like little kids, we all ignored the vegetable platter.
Warm Brie with Aaron's Homemade Sweet Cherry Jam in Puff Pastry. Any kid or adult cannot resist oozing melted cheese! This was soooo good.

Grown-Up Grilled Goat Cheese and Pesto Sandwiches (my personal favorite dish of the night) and our Mini-Hot Dog Bites which consisted of Little Smokies wrapped in Bacon and topped with Maple Syrup.Shrimp Cocktail Concoction (cream cheese covered with shrimp, and cajun cocktail sauce)
Smirnoff Mojito Marinated Shrimp Skewers with three kinds of Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade dipping sauces. We had a Black Peppercorn Parmigiano-Reggiano Dipping Sauce, a Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade Infused Sweet and Sour Sauce, and a Zesty Tuscan Lemonade Infused Sauce. Recipes are below.
I forgot to take a picture of the chicken skewers when they first came off the grill, so this is a picture of the remaining surviving chicken pieces. We also served the chicken with the dipping sauces.

Spiked Gummies. For the recipe, check out my previous post. Gummy colas soaked in rum (get it...Rum and Coke), and Gummy Bears soaked in Raspberry liquor and vodka.
Original Gummy Bear-->Drunken Gummy Bear

Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting. Even though we were all stuffed with all the other yummy food, we all found room in our stomachs to enjoy this decadent cake!

The party was a success! We all were able to enjoy our favorite kids foods with a grown-up spin to them.

RECIPES
Smirnoff Mojito Marinated Shrimp Skewers
Mojito Marinade
1 & 1/4 c. Smirnoff Mojito
5 Cloves Garlic-crush in garlic press
1 Serrano Chili-finely chopped
Juice of Two limes
1/2 c. Canola Oil
1 t. Ground Cumin
1/4 c. Red Onion-finely chopped
1/2 t. Salt

Marinade shrimp for approximately 30 minutes. Then thread onto presoaked (with water) skewers. Grill Shrimp.

Black Peppercorn Parmigiano-Reggiano Dipping Sauce
1/3 c. Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade
1 c. Mayonnaise
1/4 c. Buttermilk
1 T. Freshly Ground Peppercorns
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 t. Onion Powder
1/2 t. Garlic Salt
1 Egg Yolk
1/4 c. Canola Oil
1 T. Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend for a few seconds.

Zesty Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade Dipping Sauce
1/4 c. Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade
1/2 c. Mayonnaise
1/4 c. Buttermilk
1/8 c. Red Onion-Roughly Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic
Salt to Taste (1/8 t.)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend for a few seconds.

Extra Lime-y Mojito
1/2-1 c. Smirnoff Vodka Mojito
8 Mint Leaves-muddled
Juice of 1 Lime
2 T. Sugar
1/2 c. club soda
Handful of Ice Cubes

The aftermath of all the dishes we used!

My Favorite Hawaii Desserts

2009-08-19T12:27:00.001-05:00

I'll be returning home to Hawaii for a short trip next month, so I started thinking about my favorite desserts from back home. It's been a few years since I've visited some of these places so recipes may have changed. Apple Turnovers-Napoleon's Bakery-Zippy's
Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones-Kapiolani Community College Baking Class. (Make friends with a Culinary Student)
Bread Pudding-Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Prince Hotel (close second)
Chichi Dango Mochi-Nisshido
Coco Puffs-Liliha Bakery
Coconut Cake- Ted's Bakery (not only are their pies delicious, but the cakes there are great!)
Key Lime Pie-Morton's (yeah, I know it's a chain restaurant, but it was so good!)
Kulolo-any place I can get it
Molten Chocolate Cake-Roy's Restaurant
Orange Chiffon Cake-Liliha Bakery , my friend's dad's cake
Palm Leaf Cookies-St. Germain Bakery (in Shirokiya or Ala Moana Shopping Center)
Pianomo Roll-Jesse's Bakery
Pumpkin Custard Pie-Sconee's
White Chantilly Cake (this used to be sold at Liberty House)-Prince Hotel

Ice Cream/Sherbets-too many places to choose from, I really like Dave's Lychee Sherbert, and on Oahu, Samurai Shave Ice's Maui-Style Sherbet
Shave Ice-too many places to choose from. At the moment, Shimazu's might be my top choice. Waiola's is good too.

As you can tell, I have a major sweet tooth. I'm sure I am missing a bunch of desserts that I really enjoy.

What are your favorite Hawaii desserts? Or if you think there is another shop/restaurant/bakery that has a better one, let me know, and then I'll go check it out in September. :)

Our Anniversary

2009-08-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

Today marks Mike and my one year anniversary. The year flew by so quickly, and I cannot believe that one year ago we said our vows to be together forever. I also cannot believe that we have been together for almost six years (5 years & 11 months). I guess we must really like each other. :P

Unfortunately we are not spending the day together and have spent most of the year apart than together. Our "forever" will just have to begin later on this year after I defend my thesis. I told Mike that he didn't have to make a special flight to Illinois to be with me on our anniversary. After all, it is just one day and we have a lifetime to spend with each other.

I've mentioned to people that being in a long distance relationship has been the most difficult challenge for me throughout my four years here pursuing a PhD. Surprisingly, it has not been the rigor of the program or the occasional 14-hour days of research; it was knowing that the love of your life lives 5,000 miles away and is a 5-hour time zone away (Thank goodness for cell phone family plans). But on the other hand, it makes the little time that we have together much more precious.
Mike, if you're reading this, don't get mad at me for wasting time blogging. :) Happy Anniversary! I love you very much, husband!

Hawaii Sweets~Shimazu Shave Ice and Fujiya

2009-08-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

Continuing on with our "food extravaganza" we checked out Shimazu's Store for some shave ice. I had never been there before, but Alan from Makiki suggested it. Oh and what a treat it was! The shave ice there is huge and cheap! Plus Shimazu's Store is a much shorter drive from my house than Matsumoto's (North Shore side) or Waiola's (Kapahulu).
Now Shimazu Store will always be on my list of places I want to frequent when I'm back home in Hawaii. I actually might like it better than Waiola's, but it's probably because of the price and size differences of the shave ice.

Look at all the syrup choices!

I am a "shave ice purist" and you will rarely see me order any other flavor besides strawberry or strawberry creme. I never liked to mix flavors or *gasp* so you would never see me ordering the rainbow flavor. Mike loves mixing flavors, but for me, I like enjoying the same flavor from start to finish. I do not enjoy the uncertainty of the mixed flavors at the end of the cup.
But since there were soooo many choices of syrups, that I tried not one, not two, but THREE flavors. But I figured that vanilla, peanut butter, and chocolate were complimentary flavors. It wasn't like I had chosen tutti fruit, root beer, and sour lemon.
D ordered the strawberry creme and vanilla creme. I actually prefered his flavor combination better than mine (my combo was delicious too) and wanted to snatch it from his hands. But would it be worth it, for the sake of our friendship? Probably not.
My only complaint about Shimazu's store is that it is not always open when the sign says it's open. Only on my third attempt was I able to indulge in this snowy goodness. One of the attempts was my fault because I didn't realize they were closed on Mondays. But I checked it out on a Sunday and there were a couple other people who parked and then drove away because it wasn't open.
We then moved on to find the place that makes fresh yuba (tofu skin). They were not making the yuba on the day we showed up, but you can call Fujiya in advance to see if they are making it and can watch the process.
We purchased some freshly made tofu, soy milk, senbei, and mochi. The tofu was delicious! It was extremely delicate in texture and had a mild soy flavor. Here's one of the mochi that I purhcased. I've seen strawberries in mochi mochi, pumpkin, and peanut butter fillings before, but I've never had a mochi filled with blueberries. I though the lima bean paste was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but I was super-stoked about the concept. I think I'll try to make a blueberry-filled mochi some day and experiment with the complimentary filling. Fujiya also sells manju or mochi filled with azuki beans, strawberries, and if I remember correctly raspberries.

Shimazu Store
330 N School St.
Honolulu, HI 96817

Fujiya Ltd.
454 Waiakamilo Rd.
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808)845-2921

Hawaii Restaurants~Koi and Sonny's Grill

2009-08-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

*After reading about all Kat's Hawaii adventures, I just realized that I had a lot of Hawaii posts that I forgot to post. I'll be back home in Hawaii in a couple of months and still haven't gotten around to posting about the places I visited when I was back home in April.***

On one of my last days back in Hawaii, while Mike was at work, I went on a "food extravaganza" with a good college friend from back home. We checked out two restaurants, a shave ice shop, and a mochi/tofu shop all in a couple of hours.
We decided to stay on my side of the island and checked out placed in the Kalihi/Kapalama area. We chose the restaurants based on the numerous articles my mom had cut out of the newspaper about new restaurants. She had checked out "Koi" earlier in the year and said that she enjoyed the "chicken and portabello salad" and the "grilled steak" (which won an award at hte Flavors of Honolulu 2008).
The choices at Koi include items such as, "crab topped salmon," "steak and portabello salad," and the classics "hamburger steak w/ mushroom gravy" and "pork chops with garlic mashed potatoes." Positives about the place...the prices are pretty reasonable. The prices range from mini-plates $4.75-6.25, and regular plates $6.50-$8.00 and the staff was super friendly and helpful. While my friend and I were discussing what we were going to order, the counter lady heard me say that I cannot handle eating wasabi. She said, "I didn't want to jump into your conversation, but I don't like wasabi either, but it the sauce only have a mild wasabi flavor, and we can put it in the side for you."
We settled on the furikake mahimahi (seared island mahimahi crusted with Japanese seaweed served with a wasabi tartar sauce). It was delicious. My friend wanted to be healthy and order a mixed green salad, but I said that we had to try the mac salad because in my mind, a good mac salad means that the food probably tastes good.
Our next stop was "Sonny's Grill" which is your typical local plate lunch and breakfast joint. Again, the staff was super friendly (I started wondering if I have lived away from Hawaii too long, and that I forgot just how nice local people are).

We settled on the mixed bento called that was only $6.95 for a bento containing, grilled mahi, omelet, spam, teri beer, and puehulu steak.
Plate lunch prices ranged from: minis: $5.75-6.25, and regulars $6.00-$7.95.
The differences between the two restaurants was that I feel like Koi served a little bit more refined food. Sonny's was more of your typical plate lunch foods-two scoops rice, mac salad, and your choice of meat.

Koi
2028 Dillingham Bvd. (across the Blood Bank of Hawaii)
(808)845-4564
Hours: M-Sat: 10am-2pm

Sonny's Gril
717 N. King St.
(808)842-9919
Hours: M-F 7am-7pm; Sat-Sun:8am-2pm

Pom Wonderful~Layered Jello

2009-08-03T09:39:00.001-05:00

Last week I received an email from Pom Wonderful asking if I wanted to be sent a sample of pomegranate juice. I was a bit skeptical because I started this blog for fun and have never been offered any food samples before. Plus there was no strings attached to the sample (i.e. no requirement to blog about the product).I'll be moving out of my apartment in a couple of months, so I figured that if I emailed the lady my address, so I figured that I wouldn't receive any spam mail. Plus I live in a secure apartment in which you need a keycard to enter. *yes, I am slightly paranoid when it comes to safety. I used to carry pepper spray, I've taken self-defense classes, and hold my keys a particular way when I walk home just in case I need to strike someone*

I digressed...so last Friday I was pleasantly surprised to find an 8-pack of pomegranate juice waiting for me when I arrived at home.

I was making rainbow jello for a party I attended, so I thought, "why not make pomegranate jello?"

Recipe
(9"x9" square pan)

Ingredients
Pomegranate jello
1/2 cup cold pomegranate juice
2 packets of Knox gelatin

1.5 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1. Gelatin Mixture-Stir in 2 packets of knox gelatin in 0.5 cups of cold pomegranate juice. Let sit for 5 minutes.

2. In a sauce pan, heat 1.5 cups pomegranate juice to a boil. Take off the heat and stir in 0.5 cups of sugar. Then stir in the gelatin and pomegranate juice mixture.

Cream jello
1/4 cup cold water
2 packets of Knox gelatin
3/4 cup water

1 can condensed milk
1 cup hot water

1. Gelatin Mixture-Stir in 2 packets of knox gelatin in 1/4 cup water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix together the condensed milk and 1 cup of hot water.
3. In a sauce pan, heat 3/4 cup water to a boil. Take off the heat and stir in the gelatin mixture. 4. Pour the hot water gelatin mixture into the condensed milk mixture and mix well.

Assembling the layered jello
1. Pour ~3/4 cup pomegranate mixture into the pan. Place in the refrigerator and let gelatin set for 15-20 minutes.
2. Pour ~3/4 cup cream mixture into the pan. Place in the refrigerator and let gelatin set for 15-20 minutes.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2, until you have 3 layers of pomegranate jello, and 2 layers of cream.
4. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve.

*side note* You will have extra cream jello mixture left, so you can pour it into a container and cut up and eat as a snack.

Rainbow Jello

2009-07-30T12:13:00.001-05:00

Mmmm.....rainbow jello. I remember when I was a kid, rainbow jello was one of my favorite foods at family potlucks. I used to pull apart the layers like string cheese and eat it layer by layer. My mom used to tell me that a properly made rainbow jello could not be pulled apart into layers. I guess she didn't like it so much when I could pull apart the layers of jello...because she was the one who made it.

If you want to make a dish will be a crowd-pleaser with the kiddies, bring rainbow jello to your next potluck.
You can choose the flavors and colors of jello for your rainbow jello. The standard combination my mom makes includes: Red-Strawberry, Orange-Orange, Yellow-Lemon, Green-Lime. Although you can be creative and make "themed" jello:
Red (strawberry or cherry) or Pink (watermelon) and cream -Valentine's Day
Red (strawberry or cherry), blue (berry-blue), cream-=Fourth of July
Green (Lime) and cream-St.Patrick's Day
Orange and cream- Halloween

Or school colors...I remember once in high school I attended a grad party and the jello was layers of blue-berry blue and cream. It was yummy!

Recipe
4- 3oz. boxes of jello (4 different colors of jello)
6 packets of knox gelatin
1 - 14 oz can condensed milk
Water

*Makes a 9"13" pan of jello.
Takes about 2 hours to make (including wait time between layers).

Each Jello Layer
1 packet know gelatin
1/4 cup cold water

3/4 cup water
1 3oz box jello

1. Gelatin Mixture-Stir in 1 packet of knox gelatin in 1/4 cup water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. In a sauce pan, heat 3/4 cup water to a boil. Take off the heat and stir in the gelatin mixture until dissolved. Then stir in the box of gelatin (~2 min) until completely dissolved.
3. Set aside and let cool. Makes ~1 cup of jello
If you are limited in sauce pans or want the jello mixture to cool down faster, transfer mixture to another bowl.
4. Repeat process for all four flavors/layers of jello

Cream Jello
1/4 cup cold water
2 packets of Knox gelatin
3/4 cup water

1 can condensed milk
1 cup hot water

1. Gelatin Mixture-Stir in 2 packets of knox gelatin in 1/4 cup water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix together the condensed milk and 1 cup of hot water.
3. In a sauce pan, heat 3/4 cup water to a boil. Take off the heat and stir in the gelatin mixture. 4. Pour the hot water gelatin mixture into the condensed milk mixture and mix well.

Gelatin and cold water mixture. Make sure all the gelatin interacts with the water (not like this picture).
Cream Jello Mixture

Assembling the layered jello
1. Pour first jello layer into the pan. Place in the refrigerator and let gelatin set for 15-20 minutes.
2. Pour ~1 cup cream mixture into the pan. Place in the refrigerator and let gelatin set for 15-20 minutes.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all the jello flavors, until you have 4 layers of colored jello, and 3 layers of cream.
4. Let jello set for a couple of hours before serving.
5. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve.

Tips-
1. Make sure you have enough flat space in your refrigerator for a 9"x13" pan.
2. If your jello mixture is too hot, it will mix together with the cream mixture, and you will lose your layers. Cool down jello to room temperature before pouring over the next layer.

Daring Bakers~July Challenge~Milano Cookies

2009-07-27T00:01:00.002-05:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I chose to only make the Milan Cookies this month.
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

I did tweak the recipe a bit, but it was due to shear panic. I had printed out the recipe and while I was following the recipe, I thought, "FOUR TABLESPOONS OF EXTRACT???" I don't remember ever using four tablespoons of extract in a recipe before, so I quickly cut down the recipe to 4 teaspoons of extract. Even then, 4 teaspoons as extract seemed like a lot for a recipe only containing 1.5 cups of flour.
The cookies ended up coming out okay, so if I make the recipe again, I might try to incorporate 4 tablespoons of extract and I might try to use cake flour to make a lighter cookies.
My first batch of misshapen and burnt cookies.
My next attempt.
The filling that I chose to use were Wilton's pink candy melts and Giradelli chocolate. Mmmmm....the finished products. Milan cookies. The cookies were not as professional looking as Pepperidge Farms cookies, but they still were yummy!

Sick!

2009-07-22T12:15:00.001-05:00

I do not think I've had a cold for over a year. Allergies got me in the Spring, but this past weekend some nasty bug hit me fast. I was in bed all weekend, drank a whole bottle of cranberry juice, a half-gallon of orange juice, gallons of water, and went through a box of kleenex. Maybe my cold wasn't so bad, but I was a pansy about it because I haven't been sick for a while.
It's funny, when I did feel like eating, all I wanted to eat were plain foods like white bread or tea and rice. I hate being sick because eating isn't pleasurable, it's more of me thinking I need to get some Calories in my body.

Being sick put a damper on my dissertation process, and I've lost a bit of my momentum. But I did manage to submit my thesis title page to the Thesis Office for review today, so I guess I accomplished something.
I was trying to edit a paper and spent half an hour trying to figure out what "wan" meant:
"The MDS plot program used to analyze the data wan multiple iterations of the data to create a MDS plot containing..."
I then realized I meant to write "ran." Ugh.

Mike thinks I got sick because I was lacking sleep and overworked myself at the gym, so my body's resistance to disease was caught off-guard. I'm getting better, but now have that froggy voice. Mike and I are now on this "get healthy" kick because we're trying to trim up before we head off to Italy so that we can gain all the weight back eating tons of pizza and gelato. We're basically both pretty healthy people, but we're trying to be extra good.
Mike's Plan
*Go to the gym 4 times a week, play ultimate frisbee once a week
*Limit fast food to less than two times a week
*Limit full Calorie soda

Lauren's Plan
*Go to the gym at least 3 times a week (but really I was going like 5 times a week until I got sick)
-my weekly plan included: lap swimming-once a week, kick & core class-twice a week, cardio camp class-once a week, workout with advisor-once a week.
*Cut out my refined sugar intake (cookies, cakes, etc), cut out potato chip binge-eating
I read all these blogs and wonder how people can stay healthy while consuming all those tasty treats they post about. What's your exercise/diet plan? How do all you foodies balance eating yummy food with a healthy lifestyle?

Whataburger

2009-07-13T13:18:00.000-05:00

What restaurant is this? Nope it's not the symbol for Wienerschnitzel, it's Whataburger!!! On one of the trips Mike and I took while he was visiting me in Illinois was to a "Whataburger."
Apparently Whataburger is only located in 10 states.
So, short story of why we had to eat at a Whataburger. At Mike's workplace in Hawaii some co-workers (who were being trained in Hawaii before being sent back to the mainland) would receive phone calls from friends when they were eating at a Whataburger. Apparently the burgers were so good, that these calls would make people jealous.
Common trend in this blog, I don't eat a lot of meat. Other common trend, Mike eats meat like there is some kind of shortage that I do not know about. While he's visiting me in Illinois, spam, hotdogs, steak, sausages somehow end up finding a place in my kitchen.
I ordered the chicken strips combination meal which was served with toast. I enjoy chicken strips in which you can see the actual piecs of chicken breast...and these were good chicken strips. Mike, however, loves those overly processed chicken nuggets (surprise surprise), so he didn't care for these chicken strips as much.
But if I had to order something from Whataburger again, I'd go with the hamburger, because it was a pretty tasty burger.
Apparently you are not allowed to take pictures in the restaurant (come on, seriously, it's a fast food joint!), but I quickly snuck some pictures in before I got scolded again.

Deep, Dark Chocolate Cake

2009-07-06T00:43:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite types of cake is a moist chocolaty cake. The problem I find with cakes made from scratch is that they are not as moist as cake mix cakes. But this recipe resulted in a super moist chocolate cake!I just followed Shirley O. Corriher's Deep, Dark Chocolate Cake recipe in "Bakewise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking." The book is kind of neat and provides a scientific explanation of baking certain types of cakes or cookies. It's a bit Alton Brown-esque, and I think Shirley's made some appearances on "Good Eats."
Typically chocolate cakes have a slight red tinge to them. This cake, on the other hand, is as dark as oreo cookies! The secret? You have to use dutch process cocoa powder. I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa for this recipe.

Here's the science behind the deep dark color of the cake:
Dutch process cocoa and baking soda make the chocolate so alkaline (more basic, less acidic) that the cake is almost black. Alkalized chocolate is less bitter and has a more uniform dark color.
The addition of the extra baking soda, also made the batter more alkaline, which helped darken the cake's color.

I decided to dub this cake the, "Oreo Cake."I would definitely make this cake again.

I think it would be cuter and more manageable as cupcakes. I think it would be the perfect color for whoopie pies which are supposedly the next trend following the cupcake craze.

Bayern Stube and Harvest Moon Drive-In Theater (Gibson City)

2009-07-02T10:00:00.003-05:00

So Lauren had been talking for a long time about how she wanted to go to a drive-in theater. There used to be a drive-in in Hawaii, but that closed down a while ago. Lauren found one in Gibson City. We were talking about it one day at her lab, and Aaron mentioned a German restaurant in the area called Bayern Stube. We'd never heard of it, but a lot of people had a lot of good things to say about it. We'd also never eaten German food before, so we decided to give it a try.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I did have German food before on a family trip to Epcot Center a long time ago. I don't remember much about it.......only that people on the adults table had sausage and meats, while I had a bunch of rye bread.
Walking into Bayern Stub is definitely an experience. Animals of all sorts adorn the walls and ceiling. Lauren asked me if I thought they were real. I'm no expert, but they looked real to me. The only one that looked suspect to me was the bear. You can see it in the picture in the left-center. It looked to small to me. If it was real, then it was definitely a baby bear.
***Mike is now currently back home in Hawaii, so I am finishing his post***
Bread with a smoked sausage spread. I thought it was a smoked salmon spread, but I guess my senses were off. Mike asked me what I thought was in the spread and I said, "smoked salmon and a lot of fat." I guess I got the fat part correct.
Fresh Nova Lox~ over a warm potato cake with Dijon horseadish sauce
Red Cabbage
Veal Schnitzel "Dietrich" Topped with Portabella mushrooms and Gorgonzola cheese on a bed of demi-glaze. Spatzle and German fries (potatoes fried with bacon and onions)

Mike thoroughly enjoyed himself at the restaurant. He drank two pints of beer and had fried beef...if he could have finished off a sausage, he would have. Since German food is characterized by meat, sausage, and beer, you can see why I was more excited by the apple strudel.
Although at one point of the meal Mike said that I was "going to town" on the schnitzel. But then images of the South Park episode kept creeping into my mind, and thought, "oh veal...baby cow."
Apple Strudel

Then we were off to the drive-in movie theater. It was about 90F and humid the night we went, but it was still an enjoyable experience. Prior to the start of the movie, Mike and I threw frisbee (apparently going to the drive-in theater is a family affair, and lots of kids were throwing frisbee or playing soccer). It's funny, Mike seemed to think that going to a drive-in theater was such an "American" thing to do. I don't know, but I've always been into watching outdoor movies whether it be a drive-in or on a big screen outdoors (like the IUB Summer Quad Cinema).
We watched Transformers 2 on the opening night, and the drive-in theater was crowded! Unfortunately, towards the end of the movie, I fell asleep. During the fighting scenes, all the machines started looking alike and I couldn't keep my eyes open. The same thing happened when I watched all the "Lord of the Rings" movies. But really, I think the falling asleep thing happens because I've watched these movies during the midnight or late night screenings.
Overall, this was a good "Mike date night." His tummy was filled with beer and meat and we watched a "boy" movie. Little does he know that our next date will consist of high tea and watching a musical or play...

Bayern Stube Restaurant
209 N. Sangamon Avenue
Gibson City, IL 60936
(217) 784-8304

Harvest Moon Drive-In Theater

1123 N Sangamon Ave

Gibson City, IL 60936-1058

(217) 784-8770

Daring Bakers~June Challenge~Bakewell Tart

2009-06-27T00:01:00.007-05:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.
Prior to the challenge, I had no idea what a bakewell tart was. According to Wikipedia, a pastry with an almond filling. I did not want to attempt the challenge this month, partially due to the pictures and the description of the tart (I knew it was not going to be my favorite kind of dessert), and the other reason being laziness.

Well, I decided to make the tart...and since I was in a rush while making it, it didn't come out that well. I was trying to make it to a Cocktail Party at Aaron's house and misjudged the timing of preparing and baking the tart. I also used ingredients that I had in the house....

Unfortunately, that meant that my jam filling between the pastry crust and almond cake consisted of grape jelly (the cause of the oozing syrup in the picture) and some frozen blueberries. I don't know what I was thinking....I don't even eat grape jelly in the first place, but we had it in the fridge because Mike likes jelly. After I made the tart and Mike came home, he said, "That's a really runny grape jelly, I don't think you should have baked with it. Did you add any thickeners?"
FYI, Mike is the non-food scientist in the house. Arg...Let me reiterate, I WASN'T THINKING STRAIGHT. I was even wishing, "Man I wish I could double the baking temperature so I can shorten the baking time." My friends were really nice as they tried to conjure up positive comments about the tart, but overall the tart was one of my disasters in the kitchen. My lesson learned through this experience, baking should be fun and not rushed.

If you would like to check out other Daring Bakers attempts at this month's challenge, check out the blog roll.