So this is what I wore to the Halloween party that Yanbo's coworker threw. She is a MILF. Over 40, and she's smoking hot. I would totally date her.

Anyway, I went with my new roommates. It was so awesome to play with them.

Also, don't freak out, it's only exposed midriff!

This is a thai iced tea. It is really, really good.

Creepy, huh? Apparently we have a whole system of underground rooms at UCR. I went down below Sproul and took this picture of a rather ominous hallway. I felt like twins were going to pop out and eat me.

If you ever wanted to know what my pot looks like when the first stages of curry are being made... here it is.

It's midterm/term paper week, and I have been super stressed out. I drive my car here after my 3pm class after I get food, so I can sit here overlooking this gorgeous view in my car (yes that's my hood), and eat food. mmm. Small comforts in life.

I want to make this. I know how... just no time.

For the first time, I bought a whole chicken & proceeded to roast it with..grape, honey, tarragon, thyme, shallots, among other things. Oohh, and butter. mmm.
It was 4 pounds.

I made chocolate chip cookies. These smelled divine.

Hot chocolate with marshmallows. Yummy! Going to try to make "real" hot chocolate soon.

Life.
Tangled.

I'm supposed to drink this in two days. That's impossible, I think.

I made chicken tortilla soup, from scratch! It tasted... ehh... not as good as Island's. But I tried, for sure.

Made caramelized onion today, with roast beef into a sandwich.

RECIPE
onion, french styled
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

1. heat olive oil on medium heat
2. when oil shimmers, add in onion
3. saute 10 minutes, stirring constantly
4. turn heat down lowest
5. saute 40 minutes, or until nice and soft
6. add a LITTLE vinegar for new flavors

Tomato, onion, bell-pepper and chicken rice.

RECIPE
onion
tomato
olive oil or butter
bellpepper (red or orange, preferably)
rice (day old, preferably)

1. chop up the onions
2. chop up tomato
3. chop up bell pepper
4. heat oil in pan on medium high
5. saute onions until soft (about 7 minutes) stir often
6. add in the bellpepper
7. saute another 5 minutes
8. add in tomato
9. saute 1 minute
10. add in the rice, mix well
11. saute until desired
12. serve!

After the salsa sat in the fridge overnight, I used it to make some tortilla!

RECIPE FOR SALSA:
onions
tomatoes
cilantro
lemons
shrimp (optional) cooked

1. chop up everything but lemons
2. mix together
3. drizzle lemon juice over (1 lemon for 1 onion)
4. mix well
5. let it sit overnight

It tastes better with shrimp, but I couldn't afford it ><
2.

Yanbo told me today (when he asked who would put the groceries away and I said, I'm the only one that does, love.) that there are studies that show women who do housework regularly have a 33% less likely chance of getting breast cancer. I told him that if that's the case, I'm downright immune. He just laughed and said, "Good."

Above you will see the dishes I do on a daily basis, sometimes more than once. I also try to go through the fridge every other day to throw out food that going bad, re-organize it, etc. I wipe and clean the counters as well. If I get breast cancer, I'm going to be very angry.


(jaykay. I think the study is because women who don't do housework are more likely to be ambitious, high-energy, super-driven women who hire nannies/housekeepers.. and their stressful, high-pace jobs give them breast cancer.)

So I was called today and told that I was prescribed the wrong antibiotic, so they gave me EVEN MORE. Joys. Here are two anti-nausea (take as needed) and two antibiotics that I have. &yes, I was asked if I wanted painkillers, and no, I did not need any, even though my kidneys are killing me. Apparently I had a left kidney infection. That would explain why I've been aching like someone has been punching my kidney for the past 72 hours.

Some fruit I prepared for Yanbo when he plays LoL. Lucky Yanbo, having food brought to him prepared as he sits on his ass and plays LoL.

Made pasta today! Also, went to the ER for vomiting and nausea again. Had a very painful shot to my hip to stop the vomiting, missed class ><. Yanbo thinks the strain to get to class (walking 30 minutes in really hot weather, 95?) made me worse.

Went to get dinner with Eusden and two of his coworkers at Neil's Pasta and Seafood. It was really delicious. Most importantly, I got a chance to see my oppa & chat a little in person, which is always very nice.
Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to visit Beijing and teach there, if only for a year.

Yanbo come home from work today and complained (jokingly) because... there was no hot dinner waiting for him. I think I've spoiled him way too much.. pretty sure that, in college at least, having a meal at the end of your day is a rare treat, not an everyday occurrence. I told him to make a sandwich, but I caved in and made this potato salad. This was super easy to make. Potatoes, mayo, mustard, celery, pickles, onions, hardboiled egg (save time by boiling the potatoes with the egg. Also, if you're lazy like me, you can just boil the potato until the skin is cracking a little. Makes it super easy to cube and prepare, plus you just throw the potatoes in!) The recipe called for basil and red bell pepper, but I was like.. pft.

I LOVE potato salad, to be honest. I think next time I'll throw in a bit of balsamic vinegar&olive oil and see how that turns out.

RECIPE
2 potatos
mayo
mustard
1 stalk of celery
1 pickle
1 table pickle juice
1/2 onion
1 to 2 eggs

1. boil egg and potatoes together until potatoes aredone (but not too soft)
2. chop up potato, egg, celery, onion, and pickle
3. mix together
4. add in pickle juice
5. add in mustard
6. add in mayo
7. let chill or eat warm

I'm really proud of this creme brulee I made. The dark sprinkles is ground cinnamon, and I made this completely from scratch! (I used the egg whites in a spinach omelet later). I didn't have the little torch for the sugar, so I stuck it in the broiler for 2-3 minutes.

[Actually, I made 4 of them, but I only took a picture of this one.]

RECIPE
5 egg yolks (discard whites, or save for omelette)
1 pint of heavy cream
1/4th cup of sugar (more or less, depending how sweet you like it)
vanilla extract (as much as you want)
nutmeg
cinnamon

PREHEAT OVEN TO 370
1. mix yolk & sugar together until fluffy
2. in saucepan, heat heavy cream and vanilla extract, a little cinnamon until VERY hot but NOT boiling (it will curdle)
3. mix a little of the yolk and hot cream
4. pour the rest of the yolk into saucepan, mix well
5. pour into ramekins, top with nutmeg & cinnamon
6. bake in waterbath for 30 minutes or longer, until it jiggles like jello slightly in the middle
7. when it's done, fridge it overnight or 2 hours
8. CRUNCHY TOP: sprinkle sugar over the top, then broil it or use a torch

This is my double baked potato recipe I tried. It was actually surprisingly simple and very time effective.

RECIPE:
4 russet potatoes
olive oil
bacon (4 slices)
milk
butter

1. rub potatoes with olive oil, poke with a fork, and bake at 350 for an hour or until soft
2. when potatoes are done, fry bacon (no oil, bacon has a lot) while potatoes cool
3. chop up the bacon
4. cut potatoes in half, like little boats. scoop out potato, but leave a thin layer of it on the potatoes (see picture)
5. mix the potato (hopefully still fairly warm), bacon, milk, butter, and bacon drippings
6. divide into the little boats

one slice of bacon for every potato.

Pretty much the cutest dog in the whole world.

Debating on whether or not I should use this picture.

As some of you may know, I'm on a budget. A really, really, really tight one. I was at Target the other day, though, while waiting for Yanbo to get off work, and I found these adorable mugs for $1.00. How awesome is that? Not only do I get to replace my broken coffee cup, I get to replace it (cheaply) with a (much much much) cute(r) mug that reminds me of my wonderful baby Dinner (who, I have heard, is being spoiled by the grandparents up north in Palo Alto).

So this deceptively simple dinner took a lot more time than yesterdays dinner. The tomato is oven roasted (with olive oil, oregano, salt and freshly ground pepper). The chicken is sauteed in butter with shallots and tarragon. The pasta is the easiest part, mixed with olive oil to keep it nice and fresh.

RECIPE
tomato
shallots
chicken (diced)
tarragon
olive oil or butter
oregano
salt
pepper
pasta

(MAKE PASTA, then drain and toss in olive oil to keep it fresh)
1. cut up tomatoes, drizzle with oil and oregano, salt and pepper to taste
2. bake for 15 minutes at 400
3. heat butter or oil in pan
4. saute shallots for 8 minutes ish on medium high
5. add in chicken
6. cook until chicken is done
7. add in tomatoes
8. mix with pasta