...it's all about food...

These are pictures of things I've made in my kitchen/ate/shared with others this past week. :sigh: I love summer! What a great time to try out recipes and take pictures of them! =)

Last Sunday Fi invited me to a dinner with international students at Biola and Talbot. We all brought some ethnic dish to share. I made pinakbet (A Filipino vegetable dish).















I'd post the recipe of pinakbet, but I figure you could just ask if you're really that interested. The whole point is to make the vegetables look "old". Check out my before and after pictures.












Thursday some Epic folks went to Musha's in Torrance. (I'd post the link, however my blogger has issues. It's in German and I only have spellcheck and post pictures available! Can anyone help me??) Anyways, it was such a unique Japanese food experience....like Japanese tapas. Great food and great company. Who can complain??



























Then I made Paella for the first time yesterday. I'm glad my house church were willing to be guinea pigs! I'll post the recipe when I figure out this "everything's in German and I can't do links!" problem. This paella had chicken, shrimp, and chorizo. I could have done better....the rice was a little undercooked and taken the tails off the shrimp completely...oh well...at least I tried. I've wanted to make this dish for a long time...









Lastly, I made Hobak Namul, a korean zucchini dish. If you haven't talked to me recently, I've been on a "Korean drama, movie, food, culture, etc" obsession for a few months now. I've made it a life goal to write my own Korean drama one day. =) Watching all the eating on such shows led my to a xanga site with korean recipes (see my links).


How's that for my wannabe food blog?? ; )

...17 more days...

...Until OMAN!!!

A little "Where is Oman?" movie I made. Yeah imovie and my brother's Mac!

...more randomness...

Got another one from a friend...

Four jobs I've had in my life
1. Field Naturalist (basically leading nature field trips)
2. Summer Camp Instructor
3. Director of Short Term Missions (Student Missionary Union @ Biola)
4. Teacher

Four movies I can watch over and over
1. Pride and Prejudice (all versions but the A&E version is my fave)
2. Sound of Music
3. Right now...Korean movies like "...ing" and "The Classic"
4. Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea (I was extremely disappointed in the last one)

Four places I have lived
1. Placentia, CA
2. Yorba Linda, CA
3. La Mirada, CA
4. Cairo, Egypt

Four TV shows I love to watch
1. 30 Minute meals w/ Rachael Ray
2. Alias (up to season 3)
3. Gilmore Girls (just started this summer)
4. Korean dramas

Four places I have been on vacation
1. Road trip across the US to Pennsylvania
2. Lake Tahoe, CA
3. El Paso and Van Horn, TX (I actually met a penpal!)
4. Hawaii

Four of my favorite dishes
1. Arroz Caldo (Filipino Chicken Rice Soup)
2. Pizza
3. Pancit (Filipino Noodles)
4. hm...a tie between any kind of noodle and ice cream (not together of course!)

Four websites I visit daily
1. google.com
2. mail.yahoo.com
3. youtube.com
4. iheartcamels.com

Four places I would rather be right now
1. Shanghi, China (visiting Jayme)
2. Oman (can't wait to go!)
3. Camping in Oregon (or someplace with big trees and a forest I can get lost in)
4. Bay Area (I wish I could be hanging out with Becca and picking cherries off her parent's cherry tree!)

...weheartchacos...

c'mon Chacos! We'll advertise for you!

Ma'Salema Deek! Have fun in Germany!

...Camel Lover's children's book reviews...

Yes, I'm not afraid to admit that my favorite genre of literature is Children's books. (and please don't say it's just because I'm a teacher....I know lots of teachers that rather read something else!) So far I've read two great books this summer...and I'm working on a few more.


Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan has become one of my favorites. It's about a rich Mexican girl who loses everything she's ever known to come to California. Beautifully written and I love learning about this period of history.





Becoming Naomi Leon also by Pam Munoz Ryan is about two kids that live with their grandmother in San Deigo county. Through a series of events they enter a road of self-discovery and healing. It's neat to read about the Radish festival in Oaxaca, Mexico. This was on our summer reading list.

...4th of July...

I REALLY enjoyed the fireworks at the Hunts. Front row seating! There's nothing like having the ash of the fireworks fall on you as you watch them. Hee hee.