homemade delicousness

i went to washington a couple weeks ago. i was spoiled with good weather, home made food, great wine and beer, and tons of great company.
the views were outrageous and sometimes burgers and beers just taste better on a porch overlooking the puget sound. in addtion to this whole lovely adventure, aunt susan cooked up some stuffed jalapenos and fresh sauteed mushrooms. i was in heaven. she had her own special jalapeno de-corer thing-a-ma-bob and they were held in this canister that was made for the grill (check it out here:jalapeno rack) god, i love williams sonoma. i cant wait to actually live in my own place and have an excuse to buy these types of novelities... a girl can dream. anyway, to all my cooking friends out there, words to the wise: ALWAYS hand pack your burgers and grill the buns.

envelopes & sprinkles

after i received the "small envelope" there was an out-pour of amazingly supportive, inspiring and funny words said, emailed and texted to me from friends and family. its funny how a crummy situation can be turned into a graceful and blessed one. i suppose i shouldnt be surprised that the people in my life are so supportive, loving, honest and funny but it gets me every time. i think when you dont expect that much from people, they are always bound to surprise you. thats the beauty of life, love people as they are and they will always surprise you with their love, generosity and kindness.

      my oldest sister, jennie, emailed me some advice. she said to eat cake pops. clearly she has all ready forgotten that im on a diet. i wont let the small envelope completely ruin my hard work this week, however, i will blog about them. i want to make a disclaimer: i knew about cake pops long before they were popular. trust me, i wouldnt claim this if it wasnt true. i have never been one to be on the cutting edge of anything, but i was there when cake pops happened. in fact, i have never even made a cake pop... i make cake balls... im that cool. the recipe i used had been on "all recipes" for ever. i dont even remember the first batch i made, i was that far ahead of the game. cake balls are great for soooooo many reasons. i dont even like sweets but i love me a cake ball, actually, i usually only eat half. dont think im all strong and stuff and i can stifle my desires, because i cant. put a bag of chips in front of me and they are gone instantly... shout out to sean h for indirectly making me put the bag of doritos cool ranch down. i owe him one. 

       anyway, cake balls are fun. they are fun to make, fun to eat and fun to decorate. plus they are divine. i mean its simple really: cake, frosting and chocolate, all mixed into a ball. i dont see how you can go wrong, and you cant. they are easy to make. however, dont be over zealous when melting the chocolate to dip them in. i learned this the hard way. always procrastinating, i was in a hurry and melted the entire bag of chocolate on the stove. if you bake... you know what happened next... a pot of HARD chocolate. really not ideal friends, not ideal at all. well once i learned this little golden rule of baking, they have been perfect ever since. perfect is subject to the observer though... in so many more ways then one. but in regards to cake balls, mine never look like peices of art you would see at the getty or the sf moma. mine are kinda train wrecks. i think its more fun to just plop them in the bowl of choclate and not worry about the small details. plus, sprinkles make everything look better. i feel like i should live by this moto. not the perfect part, but enough about when life throws you lemons, make lemondae. lemons are sour, lemonade is sour. why not say when life throws you lemons, take the lemon zest and make scrumptious lemon cake pops with a cream cheese frosting. i mean if life is harsh and delivers you a small envelope, you wont want to make anything, youll want to eat, cry, drink some wine... or vodka and soda if your on a diet... get into your sweats, listen to some depressing music and read a depressing music. oh wait, thats just me.

        i need to mention though, starbucks sells cake pops. they are not nearly as good as mine but i think they are a tad bit easier on the eye. if your into over produced art and have a thomas kincaid on your wall, these ones are right up your alley. if not, maybe youll be lucky enough to try one of mine. dont hold your breath though.


where to find me: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/cake-balls/Detail.aspx

soul mate

i dont want to be that girl that constantly talks about her diet on her blog... but... i am dieting and since i have to make decisions on food based on calories, i feel like its turning into that. hopefully next week i will have this diet thing figured out and i can stop mentioning it in every post... until then, i feel the urge to discuss garden burgers. as previously mentioned, i used to be a vegetarian and i have never really lost the nack for eating veggie. i mean if i didnt live in orange county, i would put some serious thought into digging up my veggie roots but alas, the oc has very little room for quality veggies and i am not the type to cook every meal at home. i really dont know how people do it. so garden burgers are one of my favs when they are done right. while i was visiting the filling station cafe in orange, me and my friend heidi ho shared a veggie burger and a zucchini quesadilla. i will discuss the quesadilla some other time. the burger was delicious. the thing i love about veggie burgers is there is so many flavors and spices in them that you really dont need to add cheese or any condiments. sometimes its great with some balsamic dressing but honestly, go plain and savor the ingredients. i had another DELICIOUS veggie burger at daphnes, it was on pita bread bun, with feta cheese and was just mouth watering and fluffy. anyway, the reason i love heidi is because although she is on a diet too, she is never afraid to splurge. for example, she cooked me this tasty although WAY too healthy dinner last night. tofu and veggies, NO RICE, and water. it was delicious and me and marissa (abs of steal inside and out) ended dinner with some sort of tofu ice cream mini sandwich. i love these girls because they are not afraid to eat, splurge and go crazy but they eat crazy healthy during the week. i think at one point heidi said when she gets hungry she eats an almond. man, when i get hungry i eat fritos and onion dip. i admire my little heidi ho's dedication and passion to being healthy and trimming the lbs. i also admire her for never saying no to waffle sandwiches... post on that soon to come... or beer. heidi ho always knows how to have a good time and she is like my little blonde norwegian soul mate.
back to the filling station, it has a wonderful little patio where there are flowers and good people watching. its right by the orange circle so if you have the urge you can do a digestion walk and go antiquing and dig for treasures... two things that i personally am not a fan of and give me anxiety thinking about but im trying not to be selfish here.


where to find me: http://www.fillingstationcafe.com/index.html

pavlov's dog

some of the simplest decisions in life, are the hardest ones to make. where to eat dinner? what to eat for dinner? red or white wine? soda or water? diet or splurge on cake? go for a run or lay in bed reading the most depressing book ever? i suppose life is all about making decisions. we constantly have to decide things.  you decide to go to work when you could stay in bed, but then you might loose your job, so you decide to get out of bed. emphasis on the word decide. for example, i decide every monday i am going to go on a diet but this week i have to make decisions based on the diet and not what i want to eat. yesterday i ordered a salad with no dressing while tm decided to eat taquitos and yummy cheesy queso. then when i got home i decided to have a glass of wine but i had to look up the calories: 120 on average. then when i was about to leave the house i saw my mom making one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE snacks: fritos and onion dip. let this not be mistaken with the can you buy in a jar and it looks like a jello mold. im talking about sour cream and onion soup mix: another beautiful union. its the simplest little snack but it gets me every time. i feel a theme here, salty chips get me every time.... anyway, i resisted the temptation but then i was just dreaming about them and almost salivating at the thought of them. i was like one of Pavlov's dogs every time the bell rang i salivated. it was awful and i couldn't kick the urge so when i got home, like a good little food addict, i went into the fridge and had some onion dip and fritos. lets focus on the positive though, although i shouldn't be eating onion dip and fritos on a diet, i DID ration it out on a plate and refused my self seconds. it was the simplest decision: to eat fritos or to starve my mind and tummy of a strong desire to indulge. i choose somewhere in the middle and i have no regrets.

where to find me: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-French-Onion-Chip-Dip

adventures in sushi

i always thought eating sushi with cousin ricky would be fun. he seems into food, adventurous and has an appetite. i was oh so excited when i was home one day and could actually join him and my mom in their sushi adventure. we went to niko niko sushi. i was thrilled. edamame, salads and specialty rolls oh my! however, ricky disappointed. he is on some crazy lame diet where he cant have any carbs or processed meats or nitrogen. i might have gotten that wrong, diets are so annoying and complex. dont worry, mine is great. this is day 2 and i have all ready worked out! GO ME! back to the story, ricky didnt splurge with me in this adventure and instead he got a very boring albeit tasty sashimi salad. i have to say that it wasnt as bad as my moms lack of anything raw so she always opts for the teriyaki chicken bowl. thankfully we have ME to liven things up. i ordered the best thing i have ever ordered. i often go out on a limb and regret my decision almost immediately. josh always makes the best food decisions but they seem so boring and safe. im adventurous... when it comes to food... since i have only been to mexico and canada i think its safe to say josh wins in all other categories in regards to adventure. not sushi though. i got a spicy tuna roll topped with fresh albacore and garlic oil sauce and fried onion strips. granted the fried onion strips were not so healthy but they were oh-so-delicious. just an fyi- i wasnt on a diet when i ate this. this was last week on wed... and we all know how long my diets last. but i feel like it was pretty healthy. this roll was scrumptious. i love sushi but i dont love quail eggs. my friend marissa eats the most insane food when she goes to sushi. i swear she has a stomach of steal and i plan on featuring her in the blog very soon. plus, its super annoying because she weighs all of 100lbs. lame.

where to find me: Niko Niko Sushi : RSM, CA

pancake galore

its monday. this means its really "diet" day. yup, its that time of the week where i decide enough is enough and i start a diet. this time i swear im sticking to it. the thing about dieting is its all fun and games until you wake up craving pancakes. speaking of pancakes, this was my favorite easter food this year. it started with banana pancakes at my sister krissys house. they were delicious. i was quickly transported back in time to emilys kitchen... one very early morning after one very long night... i remember being introduced to these famous banana pancakes. i think hers had a secret ingredient which i believe was some sort of alcohol (naturally), whatever it was, it was DIVINE. especially when served with fresh mimosas. yummy. i thought my pancake fix was complete but then i showed up at my dads. he served me this mound of pancakes with whipped cream, fresh strawberries and "cheesecake". i think he called pancake surprise or something. regardless, like i have said before, my dad never fails in the kitchen and he hit it out of the park on this one. plus, since its diet monday, i wanted to share this mildly healthy recipe. it was one pancake on bottom, then a heap of sugar free cheesecake pudding, topped with a pancake, another heap of pudding and finished off with strawberrys and low fat whipped cream. granted my version of "healthy" is different from the average persons but trust me on this one, its freaking BRILLIANT. i thought i only wanted a bite because i am more of a savory person and less of a sweet person. im telling you, you need to make this for the next weekend breakfast you have... kids will LOVE it! i was pleasantly surprised when the sweetness level was totally average and subsequently perfect for me. i have put a lot of thought into this and i think its because you do not need syrup. i love syrup on banana pancakes... but only when the syrup is warm. which btw, if you are eating your pancakes with syrup at room temperature, you are seriously missing out on so much in life. speaking of life, why of why are there bathing suits in target and all over every.single.freaking. catalog i get in the mail?! i mean i thought living in orange county was a good enough reminder but now i have to be reminded to go on a diet like 100x a day. clearly this has not affected me since i have been "going on a diet" for at least a month now but thats not the point. the point is when i am dreaming on pancakes galore and i get an image of me eating them in a bikini, i loose my appetite. i wish i could just get tan in sweats. now that would be awesome.

where to find me: daddios kitchen

baconmania

someone once told me that cooking with bacon was cheating. i gave it some thought and almost consider she might be right. then i had a bacon bite. a little bacon nugget filled with macaroni and cheese. it was delicious and it was then that i realized: she knows nothing. i visited the oc fair food truck today and brought some company to ensure i could try as many wonderful delectables as humanly possible. my mom and friend tm were great company and thank god they were there since i basically sat around and took pictures while they hunted down the best of the best. the bacon mac and cheese nugget took the cake for sure. speaking of cake i also had a sweet potatoe bacon cupcake. it was good but would have tasted better with coffee, as most desserts do. back to the bacon bite. i had a bite of this bite sized treat and then tm had a bite. we booth "ooed" and "aahhhed" and i knew instantly that this was a success. tm is a great friend for many reasons: he corrected every paper i have ever wrote, he complains endlessly about my grammar and lack of capitalization, he bought me a grammar book for dummies for my birthday, he likes coffee, he is funny and we run together (read: drink coffee, walk and talk). he is a funny guy but ever since he started his blog, http://pleaseoptionmyblog.blogspot.com/, he has become selfish. he never shares his jokes anymore. he just stores them in his little lawyer brain and waits to post them for all the world to see. this is annoying. whats more annoying is that i threw away the last bite of my bacon wrapped pb&j bacon bite. now that's depressing.

where to find me: http://ns.ocfair.com/ocf/calendar/ViewEvent.asp?EventId=1736

fantasy land

today is a gloomy day. its the type of day where you curl up in your pjs, find a good book and don't leave your couch or bed. today is the best type of day for daydreaming and escaping into a fantasy land that only you will and can understand. besides all that good stuff, the best thing about days like today are grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. even though i like to cook, i hate making grilled cheese sammies. this is for one reason only: my mom makes them better then me, its like she whips up my own little grilled cheese fantasy land and i can live there every.single.bite. i take. i used to honestly wonder why this was but then i caught her in action and found the secret weapon: butter. not pam spray. real butter and she doesnt skimp out on it either. it makes the bread so yummy and moist with just the right amount of crispness. we usually use just the old fashioned campbells tomato soup and throw in a can water. its not the most amazing culinary experience but i really cant complain. my mom used to get really annoyed with me because she thought i was being lazy by asking her to make me it but there is just something about food... it always taste better when someone else makes it for you. probably because you dont realize what went into it so you can eat mildly guilt free. while i was in portland, which is gorgeous btw, we stumbled upon this diner, the blueplate lunch counter. in fact it was featured on DINERS, DRIVE INS AND DIVES! the boyfriend opted for their famous sliders and i went with.... GRILLED CHEESE AND TOMATO SOUP! omg. just imagine portland weather, gloomy like today, sitting in a back corner with the love of your life (puke, i know) and getting this delicious tomato soup and yummy grilled cheese. it was brilliant and simple and so well executed... especially followed up with a banana and peanut butter shake! i mean campbells is great and all but nothing can beat fresh tomato chunky soup. i wish i was in portland right now because i would wait in any line for a taste of that heavenly tomatoe and cheese goodness. however, a plane flight is a tad bit out of my unemployed budget. good thing i have a mom who loves me... MOM!!!!!!! IM HUNGRY!!!!

find me here: http://www.eatatblueplate.com/ : Portland, OR

i call it love

i have never been to ireland. in fact, i have never been anywhere besides all 50 states, mexico and canada. driving around for a month every summer was a high light of my childhood. we spent countless hours watching quality films like grease and pretty women. we made our own dried meat (aka beef jerky) and sprawled out all over the motor home floor. sometimes there would be 8 or 9 of us in there, driving across the U.S., rocking out to some oldies since that and kost 103.5 was the only thing my mom listened to. the best part about traveling in the rv (read: massive tour bus), was spending quality time with family and friends. we drove to alaska and that was before people even realized that it was not really an island. just imagine how much fun we had. actually, you cant imagine it. its unimaginable. honestly, i dont even believe the stories when i tell them or when we all retell them at family events. it was the glory years, although the mackprangs werent always so fond of it because they lacked the amenities that we had... like air conditioning. i imagine that being brutal but thaddeus pulled through with homemade ice cream and his mom always sent her homemade cookies. plus, terry would guide us through the day with little history blurbs on his walkie talkie thingie. the best part though, besides the endless quality time together, was the food. deep fried turkey, thad cream, rabbit, spaghetti, gorelosh, clamming for homemade clam chowder and endless amounts of butter. i could, and probably will, write an entire post dedicated to butter. my dad loves it, my uncle loves and my mom loves it. lets not be fooled though. they love the real stuff, none of that margarine around here. my uncle jaime came over once and saw me cooking with margarine. he took it and threw it away and told me that if he put that tub in the garage and came back a year later it would look exactly the same. my uncle jamie is not a man you disagree with so i smiled and cooked with butter and havent looked back. my dad however is the man in the kitchen. he is simply brilliant but he doesnt do fufu stuff. he does quality home cookin. i mean the man is a legend in the kitchen. he could whip up easter brunch for 30 people in under an hour... who does that?! some people call it blue collar food, i call it love. tonight i had shepherds pie. it reminded me of my dad. just a bunch of great stuff all piled into one pan and topped with some PHENOMENAL mashed potatoes. i mean, it was heaven in a bowl, or thats how i imagine heaven. but what really made it special was i couldn't stop thinking of my dad and all his brilliance. granted i am the princess of ham so i grew up on great food but my dad has a way in the kitchen. he can make cat food taste good. in fact, in my 2 year stint as a vegetarian he used to pour beef broth in my vegetables and all over my fake meat. if thats not love, i dont know what is.

where to find me: http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/ : Mission Viejo, CA.

motivated monday

diet, diet, diet. these are the words i think of when its sunday night and i have reflected on all things i have consumed in the past 72 hours that are considered to be the weekend. i am always amazing at this whole diet thing until around 4pm on monday night when someone offers to go to dinner and i have no self control. however, i feel today might be different. today i have decided to give these miserable mondays a new name: motivated mondays. i have also decided to post small bites on monday to get me and other blog followers in a healthy mood and to realize that good things CAN come in small packages and maybe diets arent so bad. my niece, noodle or kayla as some people call her, asked me what a diet was yesterday. i responded with "its when grown ups want to loose weight so they eat healthy and less food." she responded "i guess i diet all the time then". i thought about that and then thought to myself, "i wish all kids in america ate healthy." maybe it will be the little noodles life mission. considering my sister doesnt feed her anything terrible and refuses to cook with salt, she might be a nutritionist. there is a first for everything in every family. anyways, motivated mondays may feature small things that are tasty or in some cases, not so tasty. i guess it depends what kind of mood i am in. today, i am in a not so tasty small bites mood. as all of you should know, i am ADDICTED to starbucks. i choose starbucks for two reasons: 1. you get free drinks after you purchase x amount. 2. they have a feature online that gives you money on auto refill. i love this because mine refills magically via my mamasita. im spoiled, i know. anyway, starbucks usually doesnt disappoint me but yesterday they did. i have been wanting to try their red velvet whoopie pie. its part of their petites promotion to cater to all of the starving women in orange county. well, i was sad but i also do not prefer sweets so i think my opinion on this is biased. there was just way too much frosting and not enough cake. i was very sad because i really wanted to be petite. oh well, life will go on and i will continue to search for other small bites to satisfy my small bite diet.

find me here: http://www.starbucks.com/menu/catalog/product?food=petites#view_control=product

sexy=refried beans

so now that you know and understand my love for all things mexican, you need to know i am not the biggest fan of burritos. i dont know if i dont order the right thing or what but mine just never taste as good. im more of a taco girl i think. regardless, when it comes to burritos, if your going to eat one, make it 6ft long with two different types of meat, some quality refried beans and mexican rice. this is the best kind of burrito: nice, clean and simple. i think people try to overdue it these days and throw all sorts of stuff in them. getting back to the basics was the best call for what i encountered this weekend. i feel it was meant to be since i just talked about my love for margaritas and mexican food. i think it was fate that pablo and dan ordered this giant burrito as part of their celebration for taking some exam for smart engineers. im sure they passed it since they can build a coffee table out of concrete and i assume if you can do that, you can do anything. this thing, the burrito that is, was brilliant. it was HUGE and the hugeness didnt take away from the taste. in fact, i would say it was one of the best burritos i have ever had. the shredded beef was amazing. believe it or not, i try to be some what healthy so i never order refried beans and i feel as though i have been missing out. there is something special about refried beans. maybe it has something to do with them being slightly forbidden and dangerous. they are sexy and have a luster to them. they are the forbidden fruit. they are brilliant. this burrito never got soggy, it stayed in tact, it was basically genius. oh, another thing. you can totally get a workout if your feeling chunky monkey by lifting this thing like its a bar bell... hm, i think thats what the wight thing is called that those power muscle men use when lifting weights in their tank tops. well, while they are lifting weights, you can lift this. my arms were shaking its so heavy. i mean 6 lbs is intense. so, if you friends out there ever get a craving for something brilliant, find a 6ft long burrito and call it a day.

find me here: Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant- Fullerton, CA

salt lick

i have a weakness. its name is chips and salsa. i love them. some people love brownies, cakes, candy and chocolate. i on the other hand, love LOVE love chips and salsa. actually, when it comes to food, i love all things mexican. i love margaritas, mexican beer, enchiladas, tacos. you name it, i like it. its a simple love but what i enjoy the most about mexican fare is the SALT. i come from a family where i swear we have some sort of low something another because we all eat salt like a horse licks a salt lick. well, i am not sure if horses lick salt licks since i dont particularly fancy animals but i think they do. anyway, thats not the point. the point is: mexican food and salt. two of the greatest things EVER invented come together in this glorious matrimony: salt and tequila. thats right people, the freaking margarita. i love margaritas mostly because i can pretend i am a horsey and lick all of that yummy rock salt off the rim of the glass. in fact, i wish they would re-dip it in there half way through my margarita. that would be brilliant. margaritas are wonderful but most importantly, they are most wonderful in palm desert. i have had these dangerous "little" guys more then once. they always produce a good photo opp and some giggles. you cant go wrong with this beverage from this wonderful mexican place in the palm desert. actually, apparently you can go wrong. heidi couldnt handle it so she is now referred to as the "weakest link". i feel bad for her, i really do. some of us just cant hang when it comes to a beautiful union between an extra large glass, tequilla and salt. anyway, after a long day of tanning in the hott desert sun, you pull up and have some chips, salsa, salt and a nice :little: margarita with some lovely lady friends. you gossip, sip and relax. ahhh. speaking of tan, i need to work on mine.

find me here: Armandos Mexican Restaurant- Palm Desert, CA

baklava

i developed a love for baklava many many moons ago. it started when i was at edgewood. a small little private institute where i spent most of my life, k-7th grade to be exact. if any of you know a thing about private schools, you will understand that we basically had the same 20 people with us from kindergarten through the rest of the time there. on to the point, a girl named norma introduced me to baklava on her 10th birthday. well, i am not sure if it was exactly her 10th birthday, but it was her birthday so i think 10 sounds good. her mom made this yummy, gooey goodness every year and i never forgot about it, which is HUGE because i forget EVERYTHING. i stumbled upon a bakery that made fresh baklava while i was in pasadena a few years back. it was walking distance. it was dangerous. i fell in love. it ended. and then i found love again in mountain view. the most glorious thing about baklava is that it goes with everything. from wine to coffee, you cant go wrong. holy goodness. if you haven't had it, go get some. you wont regret it. your waist line might, but your stomach will love you forever.

find me here:http://www.netocaffe.com/ : Mountain View, CA

bloody happiness

as many of you know, i love all things involving eating, drinking and loving. mainly i love to eat and drink and i plan all of my vacations around the hottest, cheapest yelp places i can find. some people love art, i love food. i also love yummy drinks and one of the most interesting ones i have had came to me in chicago. it was a miserably hott day and i was in no way dressed for the humidity that was surrounding me. it actually suffocated me, i should sue the city of chicago for it. however, i went to eat some scrumptious and all too filling american bbq and stumbled upon a "meaty" bloody mary. just imagine a spicy bloody mary topped with a piece of pulled brisket, olive and pickle. now just imagine dunking that toothpick into the bloody and letting it absorb all that spicy goodness. then eat it. then drink it. oh.my.goodness. i swear it cant get better then that.... but it does because it was served with a sidecar of miller high life. i almost forgive chicago for making me sweat in all the wrong places...

find me here:http://www.thesmokedaddy.com/ : Chicago, IL