...fun with rosemary...

so i "trimmed" my rosemary bush this weekend and I ended up with oh...hm...about 2 POUNDS of it on my kitchen counter. Then I tried out some dishes.

I first made a rosemary hair rinse by boiling water, vinegar, and rosemary. It's supposed to bring out luster and shine and dark highlights. I have no idea if it works. =)

Then I made Lemon Rosemary Salmon. Pretty good stuff!

Then I made Garlic Roasted Potatoes on Rosemary Skewers. As you can see, I had a field day with rosemary.

...Yourvarlakia Avgolemono...

Today I made Yourvarlakia Avgolemono (a meatball soup from Cyprus). I was in Borders and I found this recipe from some random Middle Eastern cookbook. I've made Avgolemono before with chicken, carrots and orzo. Avgolemono is a soup with an egg/lemon broth. The meatballs made an interesting touch. Meatball soups are cool (think Italian Wedding soup and Mexican Albondigas soup)! Yum Yum!!!

Meatball Soup from Cyprus (Yourvarlakia Avgolemono)

1lb ground lamb (I used ground beef...which I hate watching turn colors..but nevermind=)
1 small onion chopped
1 egg
1/3 c rice
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp chopped mint (optional)
salt and pepper
flour
5 cups of chicken stock
2 eggs
juice from 1 lemon

1) Mix the ground lamb, onion, egg, rice, parsley, mint and salt and pepper. Shape into meatballs the size of walnuts. Coat lightly with flour.

2) Boil the 5 cups of chicken broth. Drop in the meatballs and simmer for one hour. (I personally thought this was too long-maybe it's different with lamb??)

3) Lightly beat the 2 eggs and add the lemon juice. Beat until frothy.

4) To avoid curdling the eggs, add 2 cups of the broth to the lemon egg mixture and stir. Then slowly add the lemon egg mixture to the rest of the meatballs.

5) Serve with lemon slices and parsley.

...decorating for $1.87...does it work? You vote!...

Yesterday I stopped by Homegoods the new home store place in Yorba Linda. It's kind of like a TJMaxx or Ross for home decorating stuff. I normally don't buy stuff from those places since they tend to have really weird things like rooster dishes and fish shaped candles. But I stumbled on a deal. I found a white had crafted crystal vase/bowl thing for $1!!! it has a really small chip on the lip, but you can't notice from just looking at it. The placemat with circles on it was 87 cents. Kind of ugly but I was trying to go with this circle theme. anyways...I put a tea candle inside of it and there you go...it lights up!

So what do you think??

Oh!!! Happy (belated) Earth Day Everyone!!!

I found this site on Montana Girl's blog....if everyone on earth lived like me, we would need 1.3 earths. How sad!
Calculate your Ecological Footprint!

...JiaoZi-Chinese Dumplings...

It's so nice to be home this weekend and (attempt to) cook! I made JiaoZi-Chinese Dumplings. The last time I made them was last summer and I followed some funky vegetarian daikon raddish recipe. Did not turn out well at all. =(



So today I decided not to follow a recipe and I threw in some chinese leeks, tofu, shitake mushrooms, and a little bit of asparagus. Turned out great!

...music from Goong...

I LOVE THIS SOUNDTRACK! =)

...Sweet Peas...

these are pictures of sweet peas I bought. $10 for a HUGE bouquet at the little farm in Placentia (I call it the "emu farm"). I was actually able to fill 4 vases and I gave some to Jennica for her birthday.

Can't wait until mine bloom!

...all good things must come to an end...

Here are some highlights from my Spring Break...

"EXTREME" hiking in Chino Hills...

How was I to know I led everyone on a CLOSED TRAIL!?! =)

...spent some time with Dora in San Diejo. I got to visit IV Large group. Here is a glimpse of their passion for justice...

And then Amy and I drove up to the Bay Area to visit Jayme. Some of the highlights of that trip included:

• leaving at midnight so we can drive up Hwy. 1
• sleeping in the back of Amy's Matrix at a random rest stop
• having a Seder meal with Jayme's Bible Study
• meeting up with Becca at Starbucks
• Best breakfast burritos in the world
• Ice Cream at Fenton's in Oakland
• Naan and Curry and buying jewelry on the streets of Berkley
• pedicures
• Hanging out on Mt. Diablo Easter morning

...I'm obsessed...I know...

So if you didn't know...I have a little obsession with Korean Dramas...

It doesn't last very long...a few weeks to a month at the latest. But boy do I get hooked.

It all started when Ana told me about some drama she watching last summer. I was flipping through channels one night and I found one on channel 18.

"My Name Is Kim Sam Soon" -that was the show...and I was hooked. Somehow Fiona got into it and started downloading the series (which was a contributing factor that led to the end of her laptop as we know it). Since Fi was living with Joy at the time...and I'm sure Joy will smile when she reads this...Joy got hooked too.

Then I started bugging Grace about it. She rents K-Dramas all the time and she brought some episodes over. BUT THERE WERE NO SUBTITLES and Grace tried her best to translate. It wasn't enough for me so we watched the rest of the series separately.

And then there was that ONE night last summer. I believe it was Sarah and Fi's housewarming. I showed up around 11 or 12 at night and we stayed up until 4 to finish the series for good. AND WE STILL MADE IT FOR CHURCH THE NEXT DAY. We are crazy.

And well...I did it again. Seriously, I did. Last night I stayed up to finish off the last episodes of "Princess Hours". i found them on the internet...streams! No downloading!!! Not as good as "Kim Sam Soon" but still hilarious. Both have absolutely CRAZY characters, cute stuff animals, and FOOD FOOD FOOD!!! =) The only bad thing about it now is that the SECOND SEASON DOESN'T COME OUT UNTIL NEXT YEAR. I hate season finales that REALLY leave you hanging...This one was almost as bad as the Alias season 2 or 3 season finale when Sydney Bristow wakes up in a strange place after missing for two years. WHY THE HECK DO THEY DO THAT TO US!!??!! =)

Well, I hope that it ends well. I always get into series with dumb endings. For example, I had to say it, but I was into Dawson's Creek a little bit in high school and college. (Jayme and I used to leave Gospel Choir early to catch it in time...but that's another story...) You won't believe how disapppointed I was with the very very last episode. IF I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO END THAT WAY, I WOULD HAVE NEVER STARTED. And then there's Alias...it went SO sour no one knows what happened....and probably no one cares. NOTE TO J. J. ABRAMS: YOU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED WITH THE WHOLE "LET'S AVENGE MY BABY'S DEAD FATHER" STORYLINE A LONG TIME AGO. =)

Anyone up for a hike tomorrow afternoon?? Grace? DB? Let me know...i need to get out of the house! ; )

This is dedicated to all the Pride and Prejudice fans out there.... ; )

...some of my favorite things...

It's my first weekend home for weeks...and i did some of my favorite activities....

First I went to the Farmer's market at UCI Saturday morning. I'm a sucker for farmer's markets and it was my first time going to this one. The size was decent, however it's sad that this is the biggest one in OC.

I discovered a new fruit!!! To me at least...Chinese Dates a.k.a. jujubees. Very interesting, red, wrinkly things...I bought some for the adventure. =)



I had lunch with Philip and Dora at Rutabegorz and then we went hiking with Amy down in Mission Viejo. What a beautiful spring day!!!

This afternoon I watched . Very interesting and i love the subtle messages. This film was the 2006 Best Foreign Film Academy Award winner*. Very beautiful and unique cinematography. Here is a short synopsis from the movie website:
Set amidst the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto - where survival is the primary objective - TSOTSI traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader who ends up caring for a baby accidentally kidnapped during a car-jacking.




*I have to note that I was very upset that my first choice, Paradise Now, did not win. THAT is an awesome movie and I will watch with with anyone who wants to see it with me. * =)