San Jose Area Fun Times

My blog is long overdue for an update, which is easy to do without pictures, which may be added at a later time. I just got back from a lovely week in Sunnyvale, and that means I had some memorable experiences with food. Picnics. Excellent home cooked dinners/ breakfasts. Fun Japanese snacks. Organic produce. I was a very lucky lady, and not just because I scored a huge head of Kohlrabi, but because of everything I had the good fortune to experience.

My boyfriend's parents are fantastic cooks. Our dinners included meals such as Greek steak with potatoes and corn on the cob, shrimp scampi, and customizable hot dogs. We also went on some picnics, once with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches using my mom's home made plum jam, and the other time with cheese, crackers and apple. Sunnyvale has some lovely parks, of which we had time to visit four. Next time I go over there, I hope to visit some of the others.

One day we went to Japantown in San Jose and visited Nijiya Market where I bought some soda flavored hard candies, chocolate filled Koala cookies, and a funny looking cartoony rice seasoning to send to my penpal in England along with some green tea. I also found some cute strawberry flavored Hello Kitty cookies. Let me loose in an Asian market with candies/cookies with cute, brightly colored packaging, and I can't resist buying at least $10-$15 worth of goodies. I guess it's one of my weaknesses. :)

Anyway, while we were in San Jose we went to Kazoo Japanese Restaurant for a late lunch. We both got "lunch box" meals which included miso soup, rice, some California roll, salad, and (for me) some sashimi and fried seafood and (for him) some sashimi and teriyaki chicken. Truly a satisfying feast, and we managed to still be hungry for the home cooked dinner awaiting us a few hours later. That's why I love Japanese food!

This other day in Sunnyvale we went to this Chinese place called Wok's On that one of my friends recommended I check out, and to be honest, it wasn't as amazing as my friend made it seem, but I think it's hard to find truly "amazing" Chinese fast food. I got sweet and sour chicken and some chicken chow mein, which were fine, but my hot and sour soup was a bit too peppery for my taste. Should have went with the egg flower soup. Chinese food is all kind of the same to me, but I enjoy it more if it's at a nicer sit-down restaurant.

One day we went to Full Circle Farm and took a tour. We learned about the planting and tending process, what kinds of fruits and vegetables they grow, and how the community comes together to help. Along the way we got to sample some herbs and berries, and we were given some kale and kohlrabi to take with us. At the farm stand we bought some basil and some honey they also make at the farm with their own bees. They have about 20 chickens on the farm too, and it was so cute watching them gather around to eat some of the kale we gave them.

So, that's about it for now... can't wait to go back to Sunnyvale in about a week and a half!

More June things...

1. I made Pasta alla Vodka from The Pioneer Woman. It was just as good as she said it would be. Creamy, rich, and you can't even taste the vodka but you can *feel* it. After one serving I felt like I'd had a drink, but in pasta form. Might just make another batch tonight :)

2. I also made some blackberry muffins using the wild berries that have been growing in my yard. Simple and delicious. :)

3. My best friend JoDee and I went and got cupcakes from KK's Gourmet Bundt Cakes at their Santa Maria, CA location.

I got the strawberry cheesecake and red velvet. 

They were so pretty I almost didn't want to eat them...

but I knew they would taste just as good as they looked.

Just look at that red! The chocolate chips on top were a nice touch, too.

Before July, I'm going to try to make some rosemary shortbread cookies. Not sure how they will turn out, but apparently they're a classic from the Victorian era, so I'm intrigued. :)

Favorites of This June

I'm going to adopt a feature I see on some of the other blogs I read and share about some of my favorite food-related memories of this month. A lot has happened and the month is only about half over, but here it is.

1. Making Mel from My Kitchen Cafe's Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese with my boyfriend in his on-campus apartment the night before his college graduation. We had to borrow some of his roommate's utensils, which was a humorous challenge as his roommate was also in the process of packing to move out, but we got it done :)

 The graduation was lovely, too.

2. We also made Michelle from Une-deux senses' Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal the previous weekend. Who knew oatmeal could have so many fantastic possibilites? Michelle did-- she features several kinds of delicious fruity/sweet baked oatmeal, of which this is only one, but quite a good one.

3. Getting three different varieties of cookies from my penpals from afar....

Gingerbread and custard creams from Christian in England...

 

And home made caramel apple cookies from Ashley in Virginia :)

4. Dinner in Santa Cruz after my sister's graduation at this fun little vegetarian space-themed cafe:

My Huevos y Papas burrito was excellent :)

That's all for now... more to come :)

Sweets!

An anime convention isn't complete without some Asian candy/sweets... and that's one thing I enjoy the most. I certainly enjoyed my share of them this time, along with some other sweet snacks.

Blueberry pocky. I've seen strawberry pocky before... chocolate.. vanilla... but not blueberry. I can't actually try this kind of pocky because I'm mailing it to my friend, but I am sure it's amazing.

Lychee pocky-- another intriguing flavor. Which I am giving to a different friend. I've really got to start getting my friends non-edible souvenirs so I'm not tempted to eat them myself.

Cappuccino pocky-- this one I did try. I think I actually bought about four boxes of this kind because it is amazing. It's a cocoa cookie covered in cappuccino cream.... alliterative and delicious!

Japanese Kit Kats! They have milk chocolate and white chocolate.

The white chocolate was pretty good. There were also cheese flavored Kit Kats but I did not get that kind because I thought it would probably be sort of weird.

I went walking for a little while and found this adorable little gourmet cupcake shop...

...and got a creamsicle cupcake, strawberry, fleur de sel (the caramelly one), chocolate with red velvet frosting, and classic red velvet. Each was very good. 

So, that was a lot of fun... can't wait to go back and try even more!

A Fantastic Memorial Day Weekend

Over the holiday weekend, I went to San Jose for the yearly convention I have been attending. One thing the bay area is known for is amazing food... and, as I learned, they sure know how to make some incredible pizza.

The first night, my friends and I went to this place downtown called Pizz'a Chicago. They serve Chicago style pizza, deep dish and loaded with toppings.

We started off with some caprese salads to share... and it was very good. Sometimes when I get a caprese salad the mozzarella is a bit rubbery for my taste, but the mozzarella on this cheese was perfect... creamy and just chewy enough.  The tomato was lovely and crisp, and the basil gave it a terrific fresh taste.

As for pizza, my boyfriend and I split what they call The Black Hawk... it has sausage, sweet red peppers, lemon zest, two kinds of cheese, and oregano leaves. Fancy and tasty... what more could you ask for?

This is the inside of the restaurant. I like how they decorated the sides of the booths with those jars of noodles. 

This is some of my other friends' custom-made pizza. Just look at the size of that pizza... pretty amazing. 

This is the best pizza I've ever had in my life. Amazing fluffy, thick crust, toppings bursting with body and flavor, and so very filling. Next time I go to San Jose I am totally going there again.

Coming up in the next post: sweets!

Fun with Veggies

Well, I haven't updated in a while, but I haven't really been preparing anything lately except... snack at school, which often nowadays consists of different combinations of raw vegetables which are delivered to us from an organic farm affiliated with some of the students and parents involved with the school. One of my favorites is a very interesting looking vegetable called Kholrabi.

To prepare it, I cut off the stems and leaves, peel off the purple skin and slice it up into thin round slices which I then cut into quarters. It's kind of like a turnip, but bigger, and ever so slightly sweeter, I think. It's got a really nice, refreshing crunchy texture. I tried to look for it at my local grocery stores but couldn't find it anywhere. I guess it's just really special. Some other vegetables we've been enjoying on a weekly basis are snap peas, carrots, cabbage, and celery. We also got a whole bunch of tangerines... the kids will love that!

I am so glad that the staff of the school supports and appreciates organic, locally grown produce as much as I do. This is so much better than just sending someone to the store to buy arbitrarily chosen vegetables. Getting our produce delivered from the farm, we get what's in season and it's almost like being part of a special, exclusive club. We truly are lucky to have access to this great produce.

A Passover dessert/ Happy Easter :)

Tonight's Passover meal was lovely. We had matzo ball soup, carrot tzimmies, chicken with orange sauce, potato casserole, some latkes, and for dessert... my apple crisp, and a fabulous chocolate caramel matzo crunch made by a lady who came to the dinner.

The recipe for this treat is all over the internet, originating from baker Marcy Goldman. After having just one piece, I resolved I'd have to make this for myself one day to share with my friends.These beautiful pictures from various blogs encourage me even more to do so. The people at church tomorrow will certainly enjoy the rest of the batch.

Easter Sunday here in California promises to be a lovely day... sunny, clear skies ringing with the laughter and frolicking of children searching for eggs filled with candy.

My mom found these really cute chick and bunny shaped Easter eggs that we filled with Easter grass and little chocolate eggs for the kids at church tomorrow. It seems like almost yesterday that my younger sister and her Easter rival Joe, both in their 20s now, were fighting over who *really* found the golden egg. Best thoughts of luck to the searchers this year.... and a happy Easter to all.