holiday party

People in my department are so busy that we just don't have time to do much other than work. When I first got here last June, there was a potluck--mostly for our student assistants--to mark the end of the school year and graduation. Since then, there hasn't been anything.

When December came and I was beginning to get into holiday mode, I was hearing other departments plan holiday parties, but not a peep from my department. Just when I thought we weren't going to have a celebration, a co-worker mentioned that our other co-worker was leaving soon for her year-long leave of absence and there was no plan for a send-off. So, I volunteered to organize the potluck and turned it into a combination holiday and going-away party.

Here are some pictures of the spread. We had some great food. By special request, I made pumpkin swirl cake again. It turned out so much prettier baked on the cookie sheet.

Unfortunately, people didn't really linger for long--everyone's just too busy--but at least, we got to gather and celebrate and be festive, even if only for a little while.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

For the longest time, my sister used these red wooden beads to decorate her tree. We had gotten these years ago from our sister-in-law whose office was getting rid of them. This year, my sister decided that she was sick of them. So, I took them to work and decided to make my workspace festive.

I hung them around my cubicle entry, and lent some to my friends so they can decorate, too. While they looked cute by themselves, they actually didn't look that festive. I figured they needed stuff to hang onto them, and I thought I'd make paper ornaments and/or snowflakes.

Well, that same afternoon, my friend, Susan, and I took a little break and walked around campus. On the way back, we saw these liquidambar trees (I thought they were maple) with these dried spiky fruits hanging on them. And I thought these would be light enough to hang on to the beads (which in turn were only being supported by pushpins). Susan actually spied some fruits that were not dried up, and they had green and red hues. Perfect! Though these ones were heavier than the dried ones, they looked so much more festive and went much better with the beads. So up they went.

wednesdays are for cooking

Since my sister is now back in the work force, we no longer have the luxury of planned out, home-cooked meals; instead, we have divvied up the work week. My sister is in charge of dinner on Mondays and Thursdays, while my brother-in-law has Tuesdays and Fridays. I have Wednesdays.

I haven't really been cooking much the last couple of years, so my cooking is definitely rusty. But I figured I should take this as an opportunity to brush up on my cooking skills and cook new stuff. I can't say that I've really succeeded.

On December 3rd, I made teriyaki chicken. Both my niece and nephew like teriyaki chicken, so I figured this would be a good dish to try and make. I had actually planned on making this much earlier, but it took me a while to get the mirin and the sake needed for the recipe. So, here's how my dish came out.

It was okay (my sister said it was good), but it tasted nothing like teriyaki chicken in restaurants. As you can see, it looks a bit dry. I think I was waiting for the sauce to look like the restaurant sauce, so I may have overcooked the chicken. Oh well. I may just have to leave this dish to the restaurants, unless I find another recipe to try.

On December 10th, I stuck with the more familiar. I made Filipino bistek and my version of shrimp tempura. I'm actually not that good at making bistek, but this turned out quite good.

As for my tempura, I've made this a lot of times, though not lately (maybe years?). I was going to try to actually make it the Japanese way, but I was too lazy to butterfly the shrimp and everything. So, I just did it my way. This was good, though I think there wasn't enough shrimp. My sister can be such a glutton when it comes to seafood--she could have eaten the whole thing. But i guess it's just as well there wasn't more. All that flour and oil isn't good for us, especially since the bistek also had oil. And, of course, we ate all that rice to go with them.

This has been about it for my non-dessert cooking. Can't say that I've really been too successful. Oh well...

good deal

I get to work by vanpool, and we meet up at a Kmart parking lot. On Friday, the week after Thanksgiving, I got to the parking lot and smelled barbeque. Well, when we got back in the afternoon, it turns out that this company sells smoked meats there on weekends. (They begin smoking the meat at dawn so that they could begin serving at lunch.) I love bbq, so I just had to try some.

I wanted baby back ribs, but they were out of it. So, I got two orders of spareribs instead. However, because it was already 6pm, their closing time, I got a good deal. One order (half-rack) is supposed to be $8 (I think), but I got 2 whole racks plus half a chicken for for $12. The meat (though not the chicken) was definitely fall-of-the-bone soft, and the sauce was yummy. I totally scored!

thanksgiving cooking

Thanksgiving has never really been a big deal to me. I think it's because it's an American holiday, so it wasn't something I grew up with. This wasn't something we celebrated when I was little and living in the Philippines. And, once here in the US, I often lived away from home, and it made no sense--time-wise and money-wise--to go home for Thanksgiving when I was going to go home a couple of weeks later for an extended Christmas vacation anyway. (Plus, the Thanksgiving break has always been a good time to catch up on school and/or work.)

This year, I'm actually living close to family, and I still didn't celebrate Thanksgiving. My mom went off with her sisters to vegas, while my sister and her family went to her sister-in-law's. Though my sister invited me, I preferred having the house to myself instead.

I did try to get into Thanksgiving mode by doing some cooking. On Thanksgiving evening, I made bourbon pumpkin cheesecake (again with the pumpkin. lol). Actually, I used Jack Daniel's instead of bourbon, so maybe it should be just be called whiskey pumpkin cheesecake (hmm... that doesn't quite have the same ring to it.) Everything was made from scratch, including the crust.

I didn't realize how long it takes to make a cheesecake. I first had to make the crust (by grinding graham crackers and pecans and mixing these with brown sugar and butter). After forming the crust, I had to chill it for an hour before I can pour in the cheesecake mixture. I then had to bake it for about an hour.

I then had to take it out of the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes, while I made the sour cream topping. After putting the topping and more pecans, it was back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Then, it had to be cooled for 3 hours. By that time it was 11pm, and it still had to be chilled for at least 4 hours. So I couldn't even eat my creation on Thanksgiving. It wasn't until after lunch the next day that we got to eat the final product.

This was really good. My nephew, who loves cheesecake--but only the plain kind, loved it. He even said that he'd give me $5 to make it again. Everyone else liked it, too. We finished this in 2 days.

That friday, I also decided to make mushroomkopita (like spanakopita, but with mushrooms instead of spinach). I've made this before, but with intervals of years in between. (I probably last made it over 10 years ago.) Each time I make it, I remember why: working with phyllo dough can be difficult and is a lot of work--what with the buttering of each layer and all. Here's how they looked before baked them:

Here are the finished products. They were crunchy and tasty. Even the kids liked it. They're probably not that good for you, though, with all that butter. Good thing I only make them every few years.

more pumpkin

On November 12, I continued with my pumpkin theme and made pumpkin swirl brownies. I'm not so sure about this recipe. It turned out good, but not great. There definitely wasn't enough brownie to it. My sister and my niece were only eating the sides, which had more of the brownie part, and I was left to eat the more pumpkin-y middle.

I'm not sure if this would be better if baked in a smaller container, so that the brownie part would be thicker. but then again, that would also make the pumpkin thicker. I think the recipe just calls for too much pumpkin in it. Maybe if i double the brownie part. Hmm...

pumpkin fever

Ever since I baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from Sharon's recipe, I've really been in the baking mood. And, since it's fall, I've especially been in the pumpkin-baking mood.

It was easy to decide to bake the aforementioned cookies, since the name alone sounded good, and all I had to do was ask for the recipe. It's been a lot harder trying to find other recipes on my own. Pumpkin pie is out since I'm actually not a big fan. I really should have already made pumpkin cheesecake but I haven't.

Today, I finally baked something with pumpkin. I made pumpkin swirl bars. I found the recipe a couple of weeks ago, but never got around to making it. But I finally found the time today.

I asked my niece to see if we had all the ingredients on hand, and she said we did. When I finally started baking, I found out that we did not have the right amount of cream cheese. So, I had to go to the store to get some since I already started mixing some of the stuff. (It gave me an excuse to do a couple of my other errands, too.)

I messed up when I was doing this because I didn't soften the cream cheese before mixing it. I eventually had to microwave it a little.

The recipe said that it should be baked in a jelly roll pan. I don't know about that. I think it would have been better if it was in a larger cookie sheet, as that would have made for thinner bars and perhaps, the swirls would have turned out better.

The recipe didn't call for chocolate chips, but I added some on top anyway. (Gotta have the chocolate.) I think it turned out good. The pumpkin part was certainly good, and the chocolate chips were good additions. I'm not so sure about the cream cheese part, though. I think if it had been spread out more (as it would be if baked on a cookie sheet), then there wouldn't be the cream cheese chunks. I would definitely have to remember that next time...

yes, we did!

Tuesday, November 4th, was election day. I had already sent in my absentee ballot the previous Friday, so there wasn't much for me to do. Beginning in the afternoon, I began to monitor the internet news, but there really wasn't much going on yet.

It wasn't until I got home that the results were really beginning to come in. It was exciting. When they called Pennsylvania and Ohio, i knew it was pretty much over. We did it! Obama won! I was so excited, I began to do a victory dance.

I was talking to my friend in the Philippines about it, and I turned on my videocam so she could watch what I was watching on tv. She got to see my victory dance. lol. I stayed up to watch MCcain's concession speech and Obama's victory speech. It was amazing to see all those people in grant park. I wanted to remember the moment, so i took some pics of my tv. lol.

I went to bed happy with the knowledge that my candidate won. (I don't think I was a citizen yet when we were having elections for Clinton's second term, so I've pretty much been on the losing end in the elections in which I've participated.)

The following morning, though, I found out that Proposition 8 still hadn't been called, but it looked like it was going to pass. I couldn't really savor Obama's victory with the knowledge that Prop. 8 was going to pass. California voters voted to give rights to their food (Prop. 2), but voted to take away the rights of friends and neighbors. The results were very bittersweet.

We can't do much about the results right now, but opponents of Prop. 8 are going to fight on. And we can take some comfort in the change that's about to take place on the national level.

Si, se puede! Yes, we can!

desserts

After eating some Chinese food on November 1, we decided to stop by the nearby bakery, Grandma's Bakery. We always eat at this Chinese restaurant and we've always seen the bakery, but we've never stopped by. I don't know what made by sister decide to stop by, but I was more than happy to oblige.

Their pastries looked quite good, so we all decided to get one each. My sister ordered the cappuccino cup, which is supposed to be made of chocolate cake & icing & cappuccino. But she was given something else--something with white cake and caramel drizzle (found out when we got home). She was quite disappointed to get the wrong cake.

My nephew got the oreo cookie mousse cake. It just tasted like it was all whipped cream. My nephew had to put it in the freezer to see if it would taste better (make it more of an ice cream cake). I think it was better frozen, but it still tasted like whipped cream.

My niece got the chocolate mousse. It was quite good. She especially liked the fact that it was made of all kinds of chocolates, even the plaid-looking wrapper.

I ordered the tiramisu. I was debating between two things (can't remember what the other one was now), and we asked the salesperson what she liked best. Since she said tiramisu, I went ahead and got that. Out of everything we got, mine was the best.

I'm not sure that we'll ever go there again, but it was fun being able to pick our own little desserts.

halloween

i'm not really into halloween. i guess that's because i think of it as an american tradition (in the philippines, we have completely different traditions for this time of the year.) and, by the time i came here, i was already a teenager so dressing up was not something i wanted to do (and i'm not such a big fan of candy anway).

this year, since i'm living with my sister's family, i knew i'd be involved in halloween festivities somehow. when my niece went to buy her costume, i went with her and my sister. my niece ended up buying a feather mask for her costume. we thought it would be fun if all three of us wore various feather masks, so my sister and i bought ones for ourselves, too. (pics below.)

since i'm working in a university, i figured that there'd be some people in costumes and such so i brought my camera. i happened to be in the student union mailing my ballot, and i chanced upon these amazing carved pumpkins. i believe this was for a competition.





later in the morning, after my vietnamese class, i found waldo.

i saw a few people in costumes in the library, but i didn't take any more pictures (too busy working).

when i got home, they were just waiting for me. so i hurriedly ate dinner. we had our little photo op outside the house. here are the girls:

we headed over to redondo beach, where my nephew's boy scout troop had a halloween maze/ fundraiser.

we went in the maze first before heading out trick or treating around the neighborhood. we found my nephew:

after the maze, we went trick-or-treating--6 kids and 4 adults. there were a lot of people out. and a lot of the houses were decorated. i was surprised. i've never really seen so many trick-or-treaters. and my niece told me they have more people in their neighborhood!

that neighborhood has some nice houses. i tried to take pictures, but they didn't come out too well. i was able to take pictures of this house with the crazy yard. one passerby said that the owner does this for every occasion!

i didn't really take pictures of the trick-or-treaters. (that would just be weird.) but i did take this one.

after a lot of walking (over an hour, for sure), we went back to the maze. my nephew was taking a break from working the maze. he apparently changed from being in the dot room to the kitchen.

we were supposed to go to another maze at my nephew's dojo, but he was having too much fun working the maze. so we left him there, and we went home. that was an experience.

thriller

This month, I found out that they were holding lessons all over Los Angeles for people to learn the "Thriller" dance. This was all part of Thrill the World 2008, an attempt to set a world record of the most people around the world simultaneously performing the dance (which they did).

My 12-year-old nephew is very into the song, so I thought he'd actually want to learn the steps. They had lessons in the area, but he actually didn't want to do it. Maybe it's that age. I would probably have done if the family was doing it. lol.

Fortunately, they had a couple of lessons on the UCLA campus, and last Tuesday (October 21), I was able to catch a little bit of it.

(I actually have a couple of video bits, but it's taking too long to upload, so you'll have to settle for the pics.)

baking

In the beginning of October, Sharon, my former roommate, put on her Facebook status that she was baking pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. That sounded good, so I asked for the recipe, and I baked it the next day. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures. They were good, though--not too sweet. And my co-workers can attest to that.

I hadn't really baked in a very long time. I used to do it a lot when I was in college, but that's a really long time ago. Baking those cookies has gotten me back in the mood for baking. (This is not necessarily a good thing since i'm trying to cut down on sweets).

The following week, I wanted to bake again, but I didn't have a recipe in mind. Based on the ingredients we had on hand, my niece and I decided to make chocolate chocolate chip muffins. They were okay. I actually took pictures, so here they are.

chicken adobo

The past couple of years, I haven't really cooked much. Since I returned to LA in May, i've mostly just cooked breakfast food. In late August, I actually cooked real food. I made chicken adobo. I don't really know how to make adobo, so meAnn, my friend in the Philippines was actually giving me instructions while I was cooking.

So here's the result. I'm not sure it looks appetizing in the wok, but it's the only picture I took. I can tell you, that it's good. Yum! I want some right now!

words

Last week, I got a book that I ordered through interlibrary loan. It's called Three Gay Tales from Grimm by Wanda Gag. Having taken a class in undergrad called "Queering the Canon," I thought it would be a queering of three Grimm tales. And I figured it would be worth looking at the book, especially since Wanda Gag received a Newberry Honor for her Millions of Cats.

I had to laugh at myself while I was reading the first story. Gay didn't mean queer at all! It is actually used in its more original sense, meaning happy or lighthearted. I should have known that. Wanda Gag worked during the first half of the 20th century, and the word "gay" didn't have the same connotation then as it does now.

Funny how words take on different meanings over time. Funny how a three-letter word can mean something innocuous on one hand and something that is threatening to some people on the other hand.

bookstore

The other night, I went to the bookstore with my sister and her family. In the hour that we were there, I read the last two books of The Spiderwick Chronicles. This officially means that I have read the entire series of five books at bookstores.

For my sister's family, going to the bookstore is an outing that they do regularly. (In fact, they went again last night.) Since I usually stay with my sister when I'm in the area, I have often accompanied them on these outings. So, it must have been during one of my visits last year or the year before that I began reading the series.

I know it seems like it took me a while to finish the series, considering I could read two of the books in one hour. Partly, it's because these outings are somewhat "events." Though they happen often enough, they are still considered special. Part of the specialness is that, sometimes, the outing included having dessert or hot chocolate at the bookstore cafe. Also, I often took this time to bond with my niece and we'd spend time just roaming around the bookstore. Plus, I often forgot which books I'd read, so I read some of them more than once.

So, the fact that I got to read the entire series exclusively at bookstores means that I have spent quite a bit of time with my sister's family at bookstores. And that's a good thing.

I know my sister's family loves going to the bookstore. And I enjoy going with them. I also enjoy going to bookstores with other people. So, I wonder how many people also think of going to bookstores as an event? How does that compare to going to libraries?

reunion

On June 21, my brother-in-law had his 20-year reunion with his high school classmates. The evening before, they had a potluck at our house. But the main event was on Saturday, and it was held at a nearby park. I actually went, which is funny because I've never been to any of my reunions (not even sure if we've had any). It was interesting to watch, though. Once I got sufficiently bored, I went home.

graduation party

On June 10, my department had an end-of-term party for our student assistants. This was especially to celebrate those who were graduating (though I don't think any of them made it to the party). The food was pretty good.

california adventure

On June 8, my sister and her family went to Disney's California Adventure. They were meeting their relatives there. (It was one of the kids' birthday, so that family was spending the weekend there.) Since I hadn't been there before, I decided to go with them.

The kids were very interested in showing me some of the rides. They were especially keen on going on the Grizzly River Run, which is sort of like a river rafting ride. Though I haven't ridden on this particular ride, I've actually ridden the version at Disney World; it's at the Animal Kingdom theme park, and it's called Kali River Rapids over there. It was fun. I'm just glad I didn't get soaked like I did in Florida.

We didn't really get to ride that much. We did Mulholland Madness and watched Aladdin. My niece and I waited while they rode on California Screamin'. We may have watched It's Tough to be a Bug, but I'm not sure.

Here are a couple of shots from the park:

We also crossed over to Disneyland and rode a couple of rides. I know we went on Star Tours, but I can't remember if we were able to go on the other rides (many had long lines, some were closed).

That day, we ate at the Storytellers Cafe, which is located in the Grand Californian Hotel (see pic below), where their relatives were staying. They had a pretty good buffet. I especially found their warm bread pudding very memorable. (Yum! I want some right now.)