First Farmer's Market of Spring!

It is officially Spring, and what better way to welcome the season than a trip to Farmer's Market? My housemate and I went to Campbell Farmer's Market and I got some lovely things. We also saw lots of cute friendly dogs and there were some musicians playing musical instruments/singing-- some blues, and even some music from Zimbabwe.

I got... an onion to make quinoa patties later, some flowers, a butternut squash, pumpkin paratha (Indian bread with pumpkin filling) and fire-roasted eggplant spread from Sukhi's gourmet Indian foods, and some dino kale to make kale chips later.

Not sure what I'll do with the rest of my day, I'm on semi-spring break now (got the week off from just my internship, still have to work at my normal job) and I have about a week and a half until I need to have some work done for my other class. So I'll just enjoy the beautiful weather, maybe sit and read a book on the sofa by the sliding door where the sun is shining into the room.

Epic Sandwich

Last weekend a friend and I went to Ike's Place, a sandwich place in the Castro district of San Francisco, near the Mission District. I'd heard this place had amazing sandwiches, and if you just check out their menu, you can see why. My friend and I both thought the Heath Ledger or The Joker sounded like the best choice-- the Heath Ledger (which my friend got) has "Beer Battered Zucchini, Ike's red pesto, Ranch, Vegan Meatballs," (and lettuce and tomato) whereas The Joker (which I got, with the addition of banana peppers) has the same ingredients but all beef meatballs. Want to see a picture?

This is pretty much the best sandwich I've ever had... aside from the Croque Monsieur I got from Tartine Cafe a few weeks ago, which was also amazing. 

So, we picked up our sandwiches (and chips and drinks) and went and ate at Dolores Park. It was a pretty nice day out, not too cold or too warm. We sat in a sunny spot but also near trees so we would have access to, as my friend aptly phrased, "theoretical shade." Lots of other people were enjoying the nice weather too so it was neat to people-watch and see all the dogs wandering around. There was even a guy flying a kite! 

So, that was really fun. This weekend I think a friend of mine from back home is visiting and we're going to some malls. Happy almost weekend, friends!

More weekend fun

Hi friends! Well I finally got around to creating a Flickr account since that is one of the only ways I can get pictures off my phone. So, I wanted to share my recent visit to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium, a very fascinating place in downtown San Jose.

This is the sign at the front...

And here are some statues at the front, too.

A statue of the venerable Julius Caesar...

Inside, it was just as nice...

Ancient Egyptians used to keep records on these cuneiform tablets. Usually it would be for things like taxes. It amazes me how they could write on these little tablets that could fit in the palm of your hand.

Of course, they also had other ways of keeping records...

Some samples of papyrus.

They even had the Rosetta Stone there. This is just a model, the original is in the British Museum in London.

One of my favorite features of the museum was this display of vases and vials for holding potions or perfumes. It's incredible that these have been preserved for so long, and it's really fascinating to get a glimpse into the personal lives of Egyptian people and their taste for glass craftsmanship.

I enjoyed seeing these ancient instruments, too.

The staff at the museum were very enthusiastic and helpful. There was a girl who gave a lesson (mostly for children, or "junior archaeologists" as they were termed) about the mummification process, and the museum actually had real live mummies. Don't worry, I didn't take any pictures of *them.* I was really mostly interested in seeing artifacts from their everyday lives, which were undoubtedly much more simple than our own, yet rich with experiences and memories all the same.

Well, until next time... take a moment out of your day or week to enjoy the simple things, like a live performance of someone playing a musical instrument, or a good book, or the beauty of a handmade vase. :)

An eventful Sunday

For a while I was so busy/tired I didn't go out and do much of anything on the weekends, but that seems to be changing. I visited the San Jose Museum of Art today with a friend, and afterwards we got gourmet french fries from the Little Chef Counter. I got poutine again... this time, with shredded braised short ribs. Delicious, as expected. I've gone to the farmer's market in Mountain View two weekends in a row, and they have just as much of an abundance of produce as they did in the summer. It's really remarkable. Last time I got kale, some kohlrabi, a butternut squash, a variety of apples, a pomegranate, some tangerines, some grapefruit and some daikon. Today, I got more grapefruit, some blood oranges, another pomegranate, a couple Asian pears, some more apples, some carrots, some yellow onions, some green grapes, and a head of cauliflower. It's so fun to just browse the aisles, try the samples, and decide what new and interesting thing to get each week.

I couldn't decide what to do with my butternut squash at first. Make a soup? Maybe. Make some fritters? Tempting. Fry it up in chunks and add it in with some kale and melted Monterey Jack cheese for quesadillas a la The Pioneer Woman? I thought about that too. In the end, though, I turned to my Smitten Kitchen cookbook by Deb Perelman, one of my very favorite bloggers, and made her butternut squash and caramelized onion galette.

I knew it would take a while to make-- from making the dough, to peeling and chopping the squash, to roasting the squash in the oven, to grating the cheese (Fontina cheese, which I actually kind of had to search around for to find, but it was worth the effort), to caramelizing the onions with butter, olive oil, and a little sugar and cayenne pepper, but it didn't take quite as long as I thought it would. It actually probably takes longer to make a nice, quality quiche. More vegetables to chop.

Anyway, this dish was fantastic. I was surprised how big it came out, but it'll be great to take to work for lunches, perhaps with some kale salad. Super healthy, to be sure.

Mine came out almost exactly like the one in the book. I just forgot to get some fresh thyme to sprinkle on top, but I used dried rosemary instead. I can see myself making more variations of the galette in the future, or other savory tarts. I used to be so intimidated by making crust from scratch but it's actually really easy, even without a pastry blender or a food processor.

It's great to feel inspired to actually bake/cook dishes that take some time and effort. At some point I'd really like to make Boeuf Bourguignon.. also involving a lot of steps and preparation, but I know the amazing flavor would be worth it in the end.

Hope my readers had a nice weekend too! :)

Christmas Break in Orcutt

I have been having a very nice little vacation at home in Orcutt. Sunday we had my aunts and uncle and cousins over for breakfast.. eggs, salami, my aunt's traditional pear french toast, latkes, bagels, fruit, and I think that's about it.. lots of food, haha. Then for Christmas dinner we had pork roast, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry stuffing, and jello. Some nice baked goodies in between, too, including vanilla candy bark in two varieties (peanut and peppermint), rum cake, Berliner Kranzers, and later we will probably still make some fudge.

My family and I make these Berliner Kranzers every Christmas.
They are sweet and delicate, definitely my favorite Christmas cookie.

This is our tree this year. :)

Also nice seeing some friends....

Fried ice cream with a friend in Old Town Orcutt.

I have about 2 and a half days left until I head back to San Jose so I will try to relax, see some more friends, and be all caught up with work by the time I get back.

Hope everyone else is having happy holidays too! :)

Happy Hanukkah! Also, Christmas times...

Just wanted to shine my light for Hanukkah... tonight is the first night!

My dad sent me a Hanukkah gift set in the mail so I could celebrate it from over here. It came with a menorah, some candles, some dreidels, some gelt, and some little handouts explaining each thing, like the history of Hanukkah, some Hanukkah songs, and how to light the candles and play dreidel. My housemate and I are going to play dreidel one of these nights after he has had some practice spinning the top. So, it's going to be a simple but nice Hanukkah.

Meanwhile, everyone's getting into the Christmas spirit. Downtown, there are street musicians playing Christmas songs on flutes and french horns. There's this event that has been going on for the past few weeks called Christmas in the Park, and it's kind of like a carnival mixed with a Christmas display.

There are rides, and popcorn/hot dog stands, and stands selling all kinds of other food... churros, hot chocolate, burgers, Hispanic food, and more.. and also a bunch of Christmas trees, and little dioramas with dolls of various themes, the trees and dioramas designed by different community organizations. Also there were fake snow, lights, and Christmas music in the background.

Loved this gingerbread house!

Pretty trees...

The Nutcracker :)

A choir singing...

And a big tree of lights right at the front!

It's nice to know that San Jose gets into the spirit for Christmas. Whether you live in a big city or a small town, Christmas is all around.

P.S. My final project is finished... check out the finished product if you wish :)
http://senna.sjsu.edu/aparsons/corobj/finalprojectmain.php

So busy, but here's another video!

So, I'm still wading through finals... and trying to keep up with my second job.... but for my computer class I made another video so I thought I would share it.



I am building a website about medieval literature. I will post the link here when I finish it. It will be featuring all the authors in this video. I will enjoy revisiting all these classic greats.

Another sneak peek:
http://senna.sjsu.edu/aparsons/corobj/france.php

I can't believe it's just 3 weeks until Christmas. Thank goodness my finals will be over after this week so I will have a little more time to start preparing and enjoying the season.