bell pepper cole slaw

this is only my second attempt at making cole slaw so i am proud of how it turned out, especially if you consider that my first batch of slaw was peanut butter based.

i found this recipe on the food network and gave it a try:

dressing

• 3 tbls sugar
• kosher salt
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp celery seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• ground pepper
• 3 tbls dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

salad

• bell peppers cut into thin strips
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced

i'm not sure if someone made a typo or if someone didn't text this recipe before posting it but it is WRONG!  as i've mentioned i am not one to measure ingredients (unless it's for baking purposes) but this time i figured that the fail proof plan would be to follow it exactly.  i'd like to report that my fail proof plan failed indeed but only because the food network failed me.  after i was kindly told by brenda that there was no saving the dressing i started a new batch.  i used all the same ingredients but this time i didn't measure and i definitely didn't add 1/2 cup of vinegar.  as for the veggies i added purple cabbage along side the green for some added color.  the end product was a sucess but it did take some adjustments to get there.

i might have to wait, i'll never give up

i guess it's half timing, and the other half's luck
wherever you are, whenever it's right
you'll come out of nowhere and into my life

michael buble married.. why me???  i thought this song was written about me.  no joke after our brief encounter during his concert in san diego in may of 2008 i was certain he would send out a search party to find me.  guess i was wrong and i guess that's his loss.  still i need a moment of silence.

p.s. his wife is really pretty but check out the video, girl can NOT dance!
p.p.s. i am not sure i can pay to see him in concert for a 3rd time.  not knowing that he is are no longer available for me to grope.

ihop chicken and waffles

it was okay but not legit, nice try though!

ihop's version of chicken = chicken fingers

opposites in every way

here is a picture of the eggs i made for my nephews this morning.  one of them only likes the yoke and the other only likes the white part of the egg.  one likes blue and one likes red.  one loves toast with his yoke and the other HATES bread.  can you imagine.. it's barley breakfast and these boys are just getting their day started, bring on the opposites.

there is one thing these boys can always agree on, and that is bacon and lots of it! (sorry bacon i made is not pictured)

pho via hoa

gotta love a good bowl of pho and even better a good bowl of pho that is super close to your house.

done and done thanks to pho via hoa

easy monkey bread

ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cans (16.3 oz each) pillsbury grands homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

1/2 cup raisins, if desired

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

directions:

• heat oven to 350°F. lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. in large -storage plastic food bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.
• separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. shake in bag to coat. arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces.
• in small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
• bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. cool in pan 10 minutes. turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. serve warm.

biscuits plus cinnamon and sugar.. looks delicious right?

 then even better once i added melted butter and brown sugar

i'm certain i've mentioned that i am not a baker before now but in case you missed it.. I AM NOT A BAKER!!!  take this for example:  you may think this should've been an easy think to make, especially since it's pillsbury dough ready to cook, well think again.  yes i managed to screw it up. 
i will say in my defense that i didn't have the right pan to cook it in so i had a genius idea that i don't need a fluted pan and i can just cook it in a mixing bowl.  shows how much i know about baking right?  WRONG, it was a bad idea.  so bad in fact that the dough only cooked on the top, bottom and sides.  so i had to pick the pieces apart and try cooking the middle on it's own.  but it happened again, yep i had to pick the sides off again and throw it back in the oven.  i believe it's what they call a sticky situation.  needless to say this was more or less a masterful disaster but there were some parts that i managed to salvage and eat.  better luck next time i guess.

this was my finished product

monkey bread that i somehow turned into

orange chicken.. who knew?

highland friends reunion

throwback thursday - but i won't do that??

while i know this video is creepy, i just had to share.  last month i found out that my dear friend peter griffin had never heard this song.  i couldn't believe my ears that such a travesty could have accured, mostly because the singers name is meatloaf and he loves meatloaf.  also this was a #1 billboard hit in 1993 or 1994 after its release but most of all because he's got an older sister.  if you are anything like me then you are wondering how in the world and why did his older sister fail to make him listen to this smashing hit?  was she not one of us tens of thousands of girls who played this track over and over while singing at the top of her lungs?  while i am confused about how this was possible the more pressing question that still haunts me nearly twenty years later is to know what "that" really is.  am i the only one stumped and left curious?

griffin's grill take one

peter griffin has agreed to help teach me how to grill, we made chicken kabobs during our first lesson.

if you look close at these pictures you can see that we doubled up on the sticks to make turning and cooking them easier.  now that's what i'm talking about, now the items won't shift and turn and it helps keep them from sticking to the grill.  what a great tip!!

as for seasoning lois soaked the chicken in soda, then we loaded the skewers and peter sprinkled them with salt, pepper, grill mate seasoning and then brushed them with a garlic jelly glaze.  why can't i find a restaurant to sell me bbq this delicious?

this is a picture i took of a view i often miss.  thank you griffins for feeding me and filling my belly with the best bbq i've had in a long time!!

save alternative

92.3 KSJO's save alternative goes off the air today and i'm extremely saddened by this travesty!!  i so love this station and have enjoyed all the new music they play.  the group behind the programming of save alternative explains in this email their motives, e-mail to its audience.  i guess this means i'm now stuck with lame 105.1 that plays the same songs over and over again.  plus they've got a crappy morning show with some dudes named kevin and bean.. how about you bring back woody, tony, and ravey and then i'll listen while driving for my morning commute.  why do these radio people like to mess with me?  if anyone has a better idea of an alternative/rock station in the bay to tune into please let me know.

lead you back to her in time

dear joshua radin,

tonight was the forth time i have seen you live and now that it's over i've got a few things to say.  i think you have done a great job bringing more energy onto the stage and more life into your music.  you added beats to your newest cd that are fun and much more upbeat which i do enjoy.  i'll admit that i do prefer your we were here album over the new one but it's because i love the soul and passion you had to embrace to write those tracks.  i think you are truly a very talented man and i'm grateful to you for ditching the 9-5 and blessing us with your musical talent.  with all this said i hope you can understand that i'm not trying to be a buzz kill but please please please change up your song rotation.  i LOVE winter, closer, today and will's lullaby however these seem to be the only songs you sing off your old album.  while i realize it's not up to the audience (me) to be picky i do feel that after my continued loyalty to you and your music i should at least get to make a request.  so if you are reading this know that i'll be at your next show in san francisco and my request would be that you play star mile.  now that i've got that off my chest want you to know i do like your new stuff.  the new cd is good in a different way from the last two.  really i'm love what you are doing and i congratulate you for your continued success and for packing the house tonight at the great american music hall!!

a map that points to all our mistakes

this picture is just after cary brothers finished his set at the great american music hall.  he came down to the merchandise table where i was able to meet him and we played rock, paper, scissors.  that's right and after 5 intense rounds consisting of 3 ties i beat him fare and square 2-0.  he was super chill and was so appreciative when i purchased his record which he signed.  i am not sure if you've heard any of his music but i would recommend that you do, here are some samples off his latest album called under controll.  this was my second time seeing cary live and i think this performance was better than the last.  i'm sure the fact that i have fallen more in love with music helped my experience.  either way cary is a cool dude making sweet tunes and i can't wait to see what his future albms have in store!

widow maker

dinner at claim jumpers the widow maker - smoked bacon, hand battered onion rings, avocado, double-thick cheddar, mayo and red relish... and i'd do it again!

dynamo

#54 done, one more off the must try list.. 91 to go

waking up early this morning was well worth it for a taste of dynamo donuts.  so it really wasn't a taste it was more like 6 donuts split between the tiny dancer and i.  i'll list the donuts in the order of my favorite to least favorite.

lemon thyme - i almost past up on ordering this donut and it turned out to be the best of the bunch.  the lemon was not over powering in the slightest and the thyme was a perfect match that enhanced the flavor of each bite.  these two flavors combined made each bite a refreshing and delightful.

bacon maple apple - i heard about this donut over the summer and ever since then i knew i needed to make my way over and try it out.  i loved that they cooked the apple in the bacon grease and i also loved that there wasn't a ton of apple in the donut.  the maple glaze and crispy bacon crumbles tasted like breakfast when your bacon and pancake syrup become one.

coconut - yum yum yum there was a generous portion of toasted and coconut topping this delectable treat.

caramel de sel - this has a slight orange flavor frosted in caramel is topped with salt.  i wasn't able to taste salt with each bite but it was a nice treat when i did.

vanilla bean - while it was packed full of flavor it fell a little flat to me when compared to the other unique flavors.

chocolate spice - this was my least favorite because it was heavier than the others.  it was a cake type of donut rather than light and fluffy like the rest of them, also the spices were not a home run for me.

hi life

dinning at hi life with the main asian.  one of the things i love about eating with the main asian is that we like lots of the same foods and we are both willing to share off of one anothers plates.  often times we will order two entress and split them which is amazingly awesome so we're able to have two options.

since we both wanted ribs we ordered both the baby back ribs as well as the dry rub ribs.  if i had a do over i would have had us both order the baby back ribs.  the dry ribs were exactly as they sound very dry.  the meat was hard to eat and it was lacked flavor.  luckily we did have the baby back ribs to enjoy but they were not enjoyable enough to make me want to return.  what i did like was they served garlic bread while you wait for your meal and they serve it with bbq sauce, if you ask me it was tomato soup and not bbq sauce.  overall i was disappointed with the food and the time it took to seat us.  sorry adam from man vs. food but i do not agree with your recommendation and i am still searching for a bbq spot that is finger lickin' good.  leave me a comment if you've got a suggestion.