Thursday, February 24, 2011

Viva Primavera!

Was at the supermarket and about to check out at the cashier when I spotted them, and I couldn't possibly pass up!

Tulips are in the top 5 list of my favorite flowers. And I'm telling you, there is something particularly delightful about finding the first tulips in the stores. You can't stop smiling at the notion that spring actually is right around the corner. And the notion is probably the best thing about winter. It is for me, at least.

And for the first tulips this season, I went for breezy pink.


Love how spring-ful the flowers make my living room!

Until next time,

Sak

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Best Ever! Yogurt

This is easily the best way to eat your yogurt.

A gourmet friend of mine, M, who has a chef husband, taught me this a month or so ago, and I have been religiously eating my yogurt this way ever since. I mean, OH MY GOD! I don't think I can ever go back to eating it the regular way. (The regular way being, open the lid and scoop it with the spoon and eat it. Yea, the way you do it.) Well, actually, come to think of it, I never really liked eating yogurt that much until now.

M didn't make me promise I wouldn't give anyone this magical recipe, so I am going public with this. I hope this will change your world as far as dairy is concerned the way it did mine.

First, you need plain yogurt. Any plain yogur will do.


Then, at least a half day before you want to eat it, you need to drain the water out of the yogurt like this.


I am using a coffee filter here, if you can't tell what it is. A half day later, you will have a cup full of yogurt-tasting water, and less-moist yogurt mass that looks like this.

Put it in a bowl and it looks ...


...like a ball of mozzarella cheese.

And that't it! Since it's plain yogurt, I use maple syrup on top for a bit of sweetness.

Make sure it's 100% maple syrup, too.

What you taste on your tongue is so rich and delicious, it's like eating a piece of cheese cake!


Thank you, M, for your recipe!

Until next time,

Sak

Friday, February 18, 2011

Cinammon Apple for Breakfast

A lot of apples were sitting around the kitchen and getting a little soft, so I cooked them with maple syrup and cinnamon to go with my favorite crackers, like jam. Sort of like apple pie made easy, without the pie crust and all the baking work.


Goes very nicely with a hot cup of tea.



Bon appetite!

Until next time,

Sak

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

List of 10 - Favorite Empty Calories

1) Haazen-dazs Cookies & Green Tea

2) Coca Cola3) Cup Noodle Seafood 4) Root Beer Float 5) Mac 'n Cheese6) Shin Ramyun7) Kara M00 Cho 8) Doritos Cool Ranch 9) Haribo Cola
10) Haribo Grapefruit
In no particular order.

Until next time,

Sak

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Film Report - RED

Haven't done a film report in a while, have I?

Before I give a report, let me reminisce and talk about my movie-going days in So Cal.

I used to be a huge movie buff, which T finds hard to believe. The second year in California, I lived just a mile away from Edwards Stadium 26, and used to just walk there to spend a day off. I didn't have a class on Friday, or a part-time job yet, so my weekends were endless. So I would grab a Snapple or something, and visit Edwards for a movie-marathon, by myself too, at least once a month. You can easily cover 4 movies a day if you were there from the earliest show. Sure my ass fell asleep after, like, two movies, but hey, it was a lovely way to spend my 8 bucks (student discount, baby!).



These photos found on line almost brought me to tears. So many memories! The smell of popcorn... unfriendly customer service at the box office... redundantly huge diet coke... annoying teenagers in groups... the whole scene. It's one of those things that I wake up missing horribly, and that I took for granted while I had it.

Ah... memories!

Anyways, I saw "RED" with T on Friday, and I had a blast! It wasn't some testosterone-driven action film for meat heads that I semi-expected.


A story very well written, and I was laughing my head off at John Malkovich's character. But my personal favorite? Helen Mirren.


A red lipstick and a gun. There is definitely something there.

Until next time,

Sak

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Bakin' Time! IX

After what seemed like a decade, I baked today. The last time was exactly a year ago, Feb 8th 2010. I baked so little in the year that just passed, I should no longer be qualified to claim "I like to bake in my free time" like I used to.

It was mom's 60th birthday last Saturday, which means a lot to mom, who is retiring in two months. And I wanted to make her something, like a scarf or something at least, which I miserably failed. I AM planning with sis to celebrate once she actually retires in March, though.

So, a baked chocolate cheese cake, it is. I was gonna opt for something with strawberries since they are in season, but sis reported she already made a strawberry cake last Sat and I thought I should do something different.


The crack was a disappointment, but other than that, nicely done.



I am proud of the cherry-blossom effect that I created with mom's geraniums that you see on the top there. The powder-sugar sprinkles that I used were all melted to nothing by the time we ate it, though.

Happy 60th year of your life, mom!

Until next time,

Sak