As part of my Bake/Cook Something Once a Week Challenge (hereby deemed "Food Challenge"), I chose to make this dinner by my new favorite food blog Dinner: A Love Story. Why I've only just stumbled upon this blog is beyond me. As you can see from the photo above, it came out pretty scrumptious (hm, just decided I'm not a fan of that word but I'm keeping it as such.) I actually made this dinner last week, but I've been busy socializing the remainder of my winter break which just ended today (super sad moment.) I went to Trader Joe's, the mecca of any obscure food item you've never heard of (i.e. "agar" that I now know is a vegetable-based gelatin) and bought all the ingredients. To note, this recipe does not contain any odd ingredients but I prefer buying groceries from Trader Joe's because it's my Happy Grocery Shopping Place and their free samples are always out of this world. Of course, it's a smidgen pricier but hey, I'm only cooking once a week (hopefully more) so why not splurge a little. I bought free range chicken thighs, almost two pounds, so I adjusted the recipe a bit and added a little more of everything to round it out. I paired the thighs with brown rice (found in the freezer section of Trader's; just pop in a plastic bag and microwave for 3 minutes and you've got perfectly delicious brown rice) and poured the remaining sauce on top. For garnish, I chose parsley (if you find parsley overly powerful, you can choose thyme like she suggests or even no garnish, it's that good.) All in all, I had five chicken thighs between three people so there were leftovers (also tasty the next day.) I liked this recipe so much for its simplicity and taste I added it to my Recipe Book. That's saying something.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Food Challenge: Meal 1
As part of my Bake/Cook Something Once a Week Challenge (hereby deemed "Food Challenge"), I chose to make this dinner by my new favorite food blog Dinner: A Love Story. Why I've only just stumbled upon this blog is beyond me. As you can see from the photo above, it came out pretty scrumptious (hm, just decided I'm not a fan of that word but I'm keeping it as such.) I actually made this dinner last week, but I've been busy socializing the remainder of my winter break which just ended today (super sad moment.) I went to Trader Joe's, the mecca of any obscure food item you've never heard of (i.e. "agar" that I now know is a vegetable-based gelatin) and bought all the ingredients. To note, this recipe does not contain any odd ingredients but I prefer buying groceries from Trader Joe's because it's my Happy Grocery Shopping Place and their free samples are always out of this world. Of course, it's a smidgen pricier but hey, I'm only cooking once a week (hopefully more) so why not splurge a little. I bought free range chicken thighs, almost two pounds, so I adjusted the recipe a bit and added a little more of everything to round it out. I paired the thighs with brown rice (found in the freezer section of Trader's; just pop in a plastic bag and microwave for 3 minutes and you've got perfectly delicious brown rice) and poured the remaining sauce on top. For garnish, I chose parsley (if you find parsley overly powerful, you can choose thyme like she suggests or even no garnish, it's that good.) All in all, I had five chicken thighs between three people so there were leftovers (also tasty the next day.) I liked this recipe so much for its simplicity and taste I added it to my Recipe Book. That's saying something.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Winter Road Trip
Ah, the Grand Canyon. One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World (you won't believe how many lists of wonders there are for the world.) The Seven Natural Wonders have always been my favorite and they're all on my bucket list for seeing (next, I'd like to see the Aurora.) To note, I am lucky enough to have an amazing boyfriend who is "down" to go along with my spontaneous adventures. Otherwise seeing this wonder would not have happened for quite some time (I'm pretty sure I'm the only one out of my friends who thinks the Grand Canyon is ridiculous cool.) I visited the Grand Canyon once when I was three according to ancient lore (also: there's a picture of me looking upset by snow covered canyonry.) I didn't remember it at all, but for some reason I held this allure of the Grand Canyon in my head over the years as a really remarkable place filled with awe-inspiring scenery. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful (see photo.) I was geniunely awe-inspired for a good ten minutes and snapped a dozen pictures that all pretty much turned out like the one shown above. We only spent one day at the Grand Canyon. I hadn't really researched what we could do and just winged it. I sort of regret it now only because they had mule rides--mule rides!--on trails around the Grand Canyon. There was also this huge, cool pink tour Jeep you could pay to take you around to all the viewpoints. Even though we didn't do much besides slide around on ice (it had been snowing) and look at the Grand Canyon for about an hour, it was worth it to me.
My boyfriend stole my Nikon D3000 and snapped a thousand photos (the power of holding a DSLR.) Above is one of me trying to get it back.
If you're thinking we took a road trip from California to Arizona only to see the Grand Canyon for one day, we didn't. In fact, before we went to Arizona we drove to Salt Lake City, Utah. Why you ask? To see our favorite rapper, Scienze, perform at a hole-in-the-wall venue which never happened. Yes, we got stood up by a rapper. I know, pretty cool (it wasn't.) Still, we made the best of it by buying a bottle of Jack and going back to our hotel room to watch Big Fish. Buying liquor in Salt Lake is a mission! They don't sell liquor at gas stations so we Google Mapped it and found a liquor store which was the most packed liquor store I've ever been in. Seriously. We couldn't even find parking so I had to run in and buy Jack as fast as possible. Food wise, before going to the concert-that-wasn't-going-to-happen, we ate at a Thai restaurant we found on Yelp. It was so delicious! I had this lemon-y, peanut buttery noodle mix. Thai food might just become our thing. We'd eaten at another great Thai restaurant in Anaheim a few months before. Plus, Thai tea is my favorite beverage next to Dr. Pepper (it makes the world taste better!) I kind of wish we lived in Salt Lake City just so I could eat there everyday and become a "regular." We also ate at this sandwich place, like Subway but much, much better. It had a drive-thru and was called Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches. Inexpensive and tasty. There are some in California, but none where I live. Boo. They deliver. I think that's the allure for me. The ultimate form of laziness. Why make a sandwich when you can have it delivered? 'Merica.
All in all, we spent two nights and one day in Utah and one night and one day in Arizona before driving back (we got home around nine o' clock.) It was a very short road trip, but really fun. It's just fun being with G. We had a lot of talks, a lot of musical selection, and plenty of food stops. I always say that if you really want to get to know someone, go on a road trip with them. There were a few bumps in the road (namely scuffles about stupid things) but like all road trip scuffles it ended laughably. By the way, driving to the Grand Canyon at night during the winter is not recommended! At least if you're coming from Utah. It was never-ending on a two-way winding road with ice sleeking it most of the drive. Thankfully we were in G's 4x4, but still! Scary. Make sure you get there during the day.
Getting revenge for him snapping random photos of everything.
My winter break is winding to a close, but it's been such a great break from the norm/routine of everyday life. I'm so happy I made these memories to reflect back on. Hooray for road trips!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
New Year's Resolections
I’m, like, a huge fan of making up words. Nay. More so combining them. I won’t pretend I’m that clever. If you’re a fan of deciphering word combos, you’ve probably already figured out “resolections” is a combination of “resolution” and “reflection” pluralized. As a consequence, I also love combining couple’s names. I’m a bit convinced I could work for a tabloid. Which is both unfortunate and strangely gratifying.
I know. It’s horrible. But this is me. I’m not sorry.
Back at it: yet another year has passed and I find myself asking the same thing I ask every year since ringing in 2010…Did I get dumped New Year’s Day? Nope? Well then, I’d say it was a mighty fine year. Yes, yes, up until January 1, 2010 my life played out like some sort of sappy, sad rom com.
Okay, let’s be honest…that might have lasted a few months after 2010’s arrival and transformed into a depressing year of a young woman on the verge of spiraling self-deprecation. But that’s what a horrible break-up does to people. My main hobby in 2010 consisted of sitting on the couch watching rom coms, preferably the ones dealing with divorce because I felt I could relate to that pit these characters had dug for themselves by having their lives ruined so prematurely. My favorites to watch were It’s Complicated and When Harry Met Sally. The latter I still watch regularly. I simply adore that movie. Top Five. No shame. It gets me. (Note: If Celeste & Jesse Forever had been around in 2010 I would have been so rapturous.) (Note of a note: I’m listening to the Celeste & Jesse Forever soundtrack on Spotify as I write this because, yes, it was the best movie of 2012 and, yes, it had the best soundtrack. Duh.)
Anyways, since 2010 New Year’s and I have had our differences. Reflecting on last year’s to this year’s I feel like I’ve aged a million years. The remains of a pre-twenty Grace are long washed away and I’ve finally shed that person I so loathed at age nineteen. I would have so not been friends with me. I’ve learned so much within this last year alone, it blows me away. Despite me having a great mentality of loving me because I’m an amazing person, I still screw up on the regular. Discerning, but I’ve reached that psychological peak of not caring. I have the veneer of Perez Hilton. The defense of Thorin Oakenshield’s oaken shield. I feel invincible. Except when I’m feeling vulnerable. But vulnerability in the sense that the best thing to have ever happened to me happened in 2012. I fell in love. With a pretty amazing person. And if vulnerability is creeping on me, it’s worth it for having him in my life.
Enough on reflection, onto resolutions! I have a few. Not too many. First, to recap last year’s resolutions with a strike through the ones I did do:
1. Go to Coachella (HA!)
2.Make a snowman. The most awesome snowman to have ever existed made of Shock Top caps in place of buttons. He was the coolest (hehehe.)
3. Bake/cook food once a week. (Yeah, even that I couldn’t accomplish though I kept it up for almost half the year. My favorite recipe: Curried Pumpkin Soup.)
4.Learn to make a scarf. (Here’s to loom knitting!)
5. Run a 5K. (Huge fail! I will run the Zombie 5K with or without a partner this year.)
6. Volunteer for an organization. (Giant disappointment I didn’t do this. Though not in the same lieu, I did discover Schools on Wheels. I’m starting the program a week after school starts up again. Super excited for this.)
7.Discover a new band/artist. (Among my favorites, an underground rapper my boyfriend told me about called Scienze. My favorite at the moment. A few other favorites include Happy Birthday, The Lumineers, The 1975, Imagine Dragons, Alabama Shakes, Passenger, Kimbra, Kate Earl, and, of course, Frank Ocean. It was a great year for music, so many great finds. Oh, also Young Buffalo. A band my boyfriend introduced me to. He has great taste. Did I mention that? As for artists, I’m smitten with Doren Chapman’s president portraits. Definitely need some for my future classroom.)
8. Go rock climbing. (Uh, yeah. Bad planning on my part.)
This year’s list:
1. Manage my finances better. As in, saving more diligently and making wiser monetary choices.
2. Accomplish 3, 5, and 8 from last year.
3. Go ziplining. Already made sure this is happening. I love Groupon.
4. As boring as it sounds, get in better shape. Eating healthier, Zumba, y’know.
5. Keeping my spirituality in check. Priority.
I really am looking forward to 2013. I know it’ll have its downs, but those ups will outshine them like usual.
Bye, 2012. You were something else.
I know. It’s horrible. But this is me. I’m not sorry.
Back at it: yet another year has passed and I find myself asking the same thing I ask every year since ringing in 2010…Did I get dumped New Year’s Day? Nope? Well then, I’d say it was a mighty fine year. Yes, yes, up until January 1, 2010 my life played out like some sort of sappy, sad rom com.
Okay, let’s be honest…that might have lasted a few months after 2010’s arrival and transformed into a depressing year of a young woman on the verge of spiraling self-deprecation. But that’s what a horrible break-up does to people. My main hobby in 2010 consisted of sitting on the couch watching rom coms, preferably the ones dealing with divorce because I felt I could relate to that pit these characters had dug for themselves by having their lives ruined so prematurely. My favorites to watch were It’s Complicated and When Harry Met Sally. The latter I still watch regularly. I simply adore that movie. Top Five. No shame. It gets me. (Note: If Celeste & Jesse Forever had been around in 2010 I would have been so rapturous.) (Note of a note: I’m listening to the Celeste & Jesse Forever soundtrack on Spotify as I write this because, yes, it was the best movie of 2012 and, yes, it had the best soundtrack. Duh.)
Anyways, since 2010 New Year’s and I have had our differences. Reflecting on last year’s to this year’s I feel like I’ve aged a million years. The remains of a pre-twenty Grace are long washed away and I’ve finally shed that person I so loathed at age nineteen. I would have so not been friends with me. I’ve learned so much within this last year alone, it blows me away. Despite me having a great mentality of loving me because I’m an amazing person, I still screw up on the regular. Discerning, but I’ve reached that psychological peak of not caring. I have the veneer of Perez Hilton. The defense of Thorin Oakenshield’s oaken shield. I feel invincible. Except when I’m feeling vulnerable. But vulnerability in the sense that the best thing to have ever happened to me happened in 2012. I fell in love. With a pretty amazing person. And if vulnerability is creeping on me, it’s worth it for having him in my life.
Enough on reflection, onto resolutions! I have a few. Not too many. First, to recap last year’s resolutions with a strike through the ones I did do:
1. Go to Coachella (HA!)
2.
3. Bake/cook food once a week. (Yeah, even that I couldn’t accomplish though I kept it up for almost half the year. My favorite recipe: Curried Pumpkin Soup.)
4.
5. Run a 5K. (Huge fail! I will run the Zombie 5K with or without a partner this year.)
6. Volunteer for an organization. (Giant disappointment I didn’t do this. Though not in the same lieu, I did discover Schools on Wheels. I’m starting the program a week after school starts up again. Super excited for this.)
7.
8. Go rock climbing. (Uh, yeah. Bad planning on my part.)
This year’s list:
1. Manage my finances better. As in, saving more diligently and making wiser monetary choices.
2. Accomplish 3, 5, and 8 from last year.
3. Go ziplining. Already made sure this is happening. I love Groupon.
4. As boring as it sounds, get in better shape. Eating healthier, Zumba, y’know.
5. Keeping my spirituality in check. Priority.
I really am looking forward to 2013. I know it’ll have its downs, but those ups will outshine them like usual.
Bye, 2012. You were something else.
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