Dinner For Two~

Eating out is a great way to expand your taste palette in terms of getting to know the delicious textures of Spanish cuisines or the exotic flavors of Asia. But nowadays it seems like people are such a hurry to get to places that they don't spend enough time in the kitchen to really experience the joy of cooking for yourself or for you and your family. The past few months, being the college kid that I am (and my ever so short budget) I've found a joy in making food at home when expenses are low. It's especially fun when you have someone to cook with. I spend most of my time switching off kitchens with my significant other when we do cook at home. He's quite crafty with the knife and the seasoning, somehow, someway, he always end up making dinner for two. ;)

Sometimes when we're feeling something easy, we always go to our childhood favorite: HK styled teatime spam and egg sandwich paired with french fries on the side with corn. Basic white bread with a fried egg, two slices of tomatoes, a few pieces of romaine lettuce, and spam. The fries can be bought from any of the supermarket for about $3.00 a pack, bake it rather than fry it, it's healthier. :)

When I don't feel up for heavy food, the boyfriend would always just throw some of that romaine lettuce with a few slices of honey chicken and strawberries for a light dinner.

We also get those times when we feel like we should indulge, because... C'mon. One needs to spoil themselves once in a while. ;) We throw together a steak dinner lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, garlic mashed potatoes, homemade bruschetta, and a plum ginger sesame salad.

Take some time out of your busy life and try making dinner at home, I'll guarantee you you'll have loads of fun. Until next time!

Ciao~!

Kitty

The Greatness of Paninis...

I had my fair share of paninis from Panera Bread, Corner Bakery, Urth Caffe, to Slymar's Fix. I gotta say that my favorite one by far is are the ones stuffed to the brim with delicious goodness. The ones that use sourdough bread I find the most delicious. Panera Bread had always been my favorite place to grab a good panini, but over the recent years I have found that they were starting to put less in them than they usually did and that they've stopped using sourdough bread. :( They now use plain white toast. On the other downside, if you get the sandwich alone, it's still $7.85+. It's worth more if you get the half sandwich with the salad, soup, or bread with fruits or chips for $6.99 (As they call it their U-Pick 2!)

Chicken Chipotle with Strawberry Poppyseed Salad and a side of chips. ($7.99 Premium U-Pick 2)

Corner Bakery does almost the same thing as Panera, but their paninis differentiate themselves with the different use of cheese and they add arugula into their chicken pomodoro panini. It's $7.95 for their combo that comes with a pick of soup and chips with a slice of pickle.

Chicken Pomodoro Panini with Mother's Chicken Noodle Soup and Chips

Urth Caffe's Roasted Turkey Panini had thicker biscuit like bread, the meat was a little too dry and it resulted in it being too hard to bite. It was served with baby spring mix with a really good tangy vinaigrette-like sauce. Being Urth and its organic ingredients it is a little more costly to eat here. The panini here was $12.95 although not a bad place to check out for coffee! 

Urth's Roasted Turkey Panini

Lastly, a friend introduced me to new hole-in-the-wall joint near Arleta of the greater Los Angeles called Sylmar's Fix. Raving reviews online (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sylmars-fix-sylmar#query:panini%20sandwiches) and the portions of VERY generous. By far my favorite place to get a panini fix. They were large and delicious, they stuffed it with juicy mushrooms and large slices of chicken. Totally worth the $6.95! It's located behind a shopping center on Foothill Blvd in the city of Sylmar. Pure deliciousness!

Chicken Mushroom Panini

Well, I'm still on my journey to find other great paninis out there and these are the few places that has been on my list that I want to share! Until next time!

Ciao!
Kitty~

Personality Test

Guardian Portrait of the Protector (ISFJ)
We are lucky that Protectors make up as much as ten percent the population, because their primary interest is in the safety and security of those they care about - their family, their circle of friends, their students, their patients, their boss, their fellow-workers, or their employees. Protectors have an extraordinary sense of loyalty and responsibility in their makeup, and seem fulfilled in the degree they can shield others from the dirt and dangers of the world. Speculating and experimenting do not intrigue Protectors, who prefer to make do with time-honored and time-tested products and procedures rather than change to new. At work Protectors are seldom happy in situations where the rules are constantly changing, or where long-established ways of doing things are not respected. For their part, Protectors value tradition, both in the culture and in their family. Protectors believe deeply in the stability of social ranking conferred by birth, titles, offices, and credentials. And they cherish family history and enjoy caring for family property, from houses to heirlooms.

Wanting to be of service to others, Protectors find great satisfaction in assisting the downtrodden, and can deal with disability and neediness in others better than any other type. They are not as outgoing and talkative as the Provider Guardians [ESFJs], and their shyness is often misjudged as stiffness, even coldness, when in truth Protectors are warm-hearted and sympathetic, giving happily of themselves to those in need.

Their reserve ought really to be seen as an expression of their sincerity and seriousness of purpose. The most diligent of all the types, Protectors are willing to work long, hard hours quietly doing all the thankless jobs that others manage to avoid. Protectors are quite happy working alone; in fact, in positions of authority they may try to do everything themselves rather than direct others to get the job done. Thoroughness and frugality are also virtues for them. When Protectors undertake a task, they will complete it if humanly possible. They also know better than any other type the value of a dollar, and they abhor the squandering or misuse of money. To save, to put something aside against an unpredictable future, to prepare for emergencies-these are actions near and dear to the Protector's heart. For all these reasons, Protectors are frequently overworked, just as they are frequently misunderstood and undervalued. Their contributions, and also their economies, are often taken for granted, and they rarely get the gratitude they deserve.

Romance

Guardian women look for traditions to start or maintain. They are generally suckers for flowers, cards, chocolates, and the like. They are among the most likely to notice and appreciate signs of status unless these signs are flaunted, such as entrance into an exclusive club and being welcomed by name at a trendy restaurant. Men often appreciate Guardian women who lavishly pamper their partners.

Example: Leilah is a Guardian Protector (ISFJ). Guys often didn't even notice her in high school because she was so shy. In college, she had one long-lasting romance. However, her boyfriend turned out to be abusive. Since he would always apologize and she is very trusting and loyal, she stuck by him. The abuse escalated, so she finally left. Now she is dating a man who treats her like a queen. She'd like to marry him, but she's afraid he might change afterward.

LOL. Now I know why I'm a sucker for cliches.

Dear Baby Girl,

I know this past summer was turmoil and a hellish ride for you. I didn't get to see you, but I felt your pain and your sadness. Although I don't quite fully understand the whole thing, I want you to know that we're with you 100% of the way. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to actually face Death in the face, the heartache and utter despair that befalls someone when the one person who was their superhero, their rock, their support disappears from your side. But I do understand part of it, I know what's it like to fall so deep into a hole and feel like I can't crawl out- when the world seem to collapse on me and my life crumbling to my feet. The fear and the denial, I know it all too well.

When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer almost two years ago, I felt my heart stop. I even snorted and told the doctors that that couldn't be possible. In a way, I saw my mother as almost invincible, nothing could take her down. I was denied the possibility that this was happening to her. I denied it so hard that I pretended that I never heard those words. But Life wasn't always a pocket full of sunshine. It wasn't until she started her chemo treatments, losing her hair that she loved so much, and me watching her life deteriorate before my eyes did the reality of the whole thing slap me across the face. Hard. My family was also arguing and fighting amongst each other everyday, and I think because everyone was so desperate to find release that they forgot that everyone was suffering too. And I added to that fire, I was childish and stubborn, I was angry at the world... At Life for doing this to my family. I fought with my dad even harder than before, bitter words were thrown at each other, and I knew that I shouldn't be fighting with him, especially in front of my mother whom was laying so delicate in the hospital bed with the beeping monitors next to her. It was then that I broke down when I saw my mother cry telling us feebly to stop fighting. I cried so hard in that hospital room, I think that was the first time that I really let myself go. I was at my lowest point in life, and I detested myself for it. I honestly thought I had lost myself through this muddle of chaotic mess, yet deep into the depth of my heart, I had faith in my mom. I had always believed my mother would survive through this, she was a fighter. She was my role model, the strongest woman I knew (although I would never tell this to her face, only through letters did I confess my thoughts to her). It was the only hope I held onto- and that pulled me through the darkness with the help of my cousin and sister who were the only ones that listened, who were pacifists. For those two years, they were my only support system. But we made it. My mother fought hard the next two years, and she persevered and won.

In a way, I learned a lesson, "For the first time I had to deal with the fragility of life. I have foolishly lived feeling invincible, thinking that I and my loved ones will live into our 70’s or 80’s, without event. But for the first time, I’ve thought about what is truly important in this lifetime. The two things that are of most value for me are my family having a purpose that extends beyond this life. There must be more to this life than living an X number of years while simply trying to be a good person." I know the ending of this story is way different than the one you went through, if not on the other end of the spectrum- but I'm here to listen to you. I want to be your support that you can depend on. I want you to know that you're not alone in this! (:

With much love,
"Elie"

Cafe Haus!

4 Stars out of 5

WOOT! I finally got the chance to cross this off my list of 'To-Go' places even though it's down the street from my house, and it's walking distance! But one less place to bookmark! (:

ATMOSPHERE:
This place has gone through a lot of phases and I've seen them all, cause I've been in Walnut for a good decade almost. I think right now might be their best yet. Their interior designs and ambiance are simple and clear cut. It gives off that neat 'hole-in-the-wall' cafe joint with it's own separate patio that allows people who smoke and don't smoke different areas to hang out. The inside of the store is actually quite spacious despite the fact that they already have a large outside area, I just love it. It's super cute and convenient.

FOOD:
Let's get to the food: First off, I hate waffles. With a passion. But Cafe Haus has me licking the crumbs off their plates when I was done with their Strawberry Waffles that I ordered! I was so surprised! I honestly had iffy feelings that I might not like it. How wrong I was! The small serving is topped with a good slather of nutella (SO DELICIOUS) then a handful of strawberries and bananas, chocolate is drizzled deliciously across the entire plate then lightly sprinkled with fluffed powered sugar. Adding in the perfect crispiness of the waffle itself made the whole thing like an f**king party in my mouth! The first bite was like walking on cloud nine. The nutella melted onto my tongue and I could just taste the slight tartness of the strawberry on the side. Then the crunchiness of the waffle takes over and the dough seems to suck all the flavor together and it becomes one and down it goes into my stomach! It also comes with a side of strawberry ice cream which was all right, wasn't the best. A bit too frozen for my liking. But the overall presentation and taste of the Strawberry Waffle was very impressive: 5/5 stars! I also got their Iced Green Tea, it's actually pretty good. It comes with their own tiny pitcher of sweetener so you can adjust how sweet you want your tea according to your own preferences. I thought that was very thoughtful of them to make something like that. Plus, the tea wasn't super strong and overwhelming, it was light and airy. Something I'd definitely drink on a hot summer's day like today. (:

SERVICE:
Great service! The girls there are all so petite and cute... They were very thorough with us because it was my other friends first time eating at a cafe like this (with the waffles, shaved ice, and crepes, it was all new to them so they didn't understand). She went through and explained what each dish was and how they tasted and such. They were very accommodating towards us! But like some review says, we rarely saw our waitress again after our food was served. Exception to one time she checked up on us or was it twice?

OVERALL BILL: $5.98 (Tax included)
Tip: They do accept master card and visas only and no minimum! Hooray! Free wifi! ;) They will definitely be seeing me again and I'm definitely going to try their crepes here next time! Until then! :D

Iced Green Tea & Strawberry Waffles!

Anniversary!

An anniversary coming up? Try doing something simple but thought provoking. (: There goes a story in Japan that if you made 1000 cranes you'd be granted one wish. Whatever the heart desired. A few months back I made about 1000 stars and had them placed into a jar... I wanted to put the idea of the crane's story into the gift as a secret gift from me to him. One wish in a jar~ One love. (:

Materials:
- One glass jar (be careful with that!)
- Star paper (comes in strips)

Here's a link that I posted that has the instructions on how to make them. They're rather simple, but always comes with good meanings. :D

http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/japan/morigami_star.htm

Time: Varies

Price: $3.00

Love is in The Air

It's the eve of Valentine's Day and I was able to finish the cupcakes for my boyfriend! :) I hope they tasted okay, ahahaha~

And my finished product from my last post:

It seems that even mother nature is feeling the love in the air! Tonight's sunset was breathtaking, I hope everyone was able to enjoy it! It was like the sky was on fire~