Can I have it? Can I?

My family and I are pretend-Asians. Evidence: we live in San Gabriel, CA.

Last year when I took Asian American Race Relations,

I was shocked at how much my professor knew about the city I grew up in.

Apparently, the San Gabriel Valley is one of the most well-known Asian ethnoburbs

--which is a suburban residential and business area with a significant

concentration of a particular ethnic minority population-- in the state.

I have been going to school in Santa Barbara for almost three years now

and I am going to be completely honest: the thing I miss most about San Gabriel is

A S I A N F O O D ! ! !

My God, Santa Barbara is definitely lacking in that area.

I mean, IV has Little Asia (blandest Asian food I've ever eaten),

some white-washed sushi places (the best one used to blast hip hop and

was run by an all black/hispanic staff; it is now closed), and

even some Pho places (not really a Pho kind of girl...).

I am constantly dreaming about:

Newport Seafood's flavorful kung pao chicken,

Tokyo Lobby's crunchy shrimp tempura,

President Thai's delicious pad see ew,

and Din Tai Fung's juicy pork dumplings.

But if you know me at all, you know that

my biggest Asian-food obsession is fried rice ♥

I love it. I don't know why, I just love it.

When you think about it, its just a simple side dish

but I think it always seemed magical/mysterious

to me because my family never made it. I remember I used to

get so excited when Señora Drew threw parties in my 10th grade

spanish class because that meant one of my

beloved classmates would be bringing fried rice

(shoutout to Han Phan, whose mother makes the

most delicious fried rice I have ever had, to date).

And that, my friends, is why I decided to accomplish goal

#001: Make fried rice

Did you notice that it is the first thing on my list? Haha :)

I noticed that I had the basic ingredients yesterday

so I looked up some simple recipes online and started cooking away!

Basically what I did is:

boiled and drained chopped carrots & peas,

sautéed some shrimp,

threw the veggies on top of the shrimp,

scrambled two eggs on top of that mixture,

added the rice to the mixture,

and then let it cook for a bit with some soy sauce.

The result was actually pretty good,

but not the standard of excellence I usually find in fried rice.

I don't think I "fried" it enough-- the texture was kind of off.

I also feel like I was missing some ingredient...

Anyway, this is a plea for help from all my

friends that have a tasty fried-rice recipe.

Can I have it? Can I have it? Can I have it?

Can I have it? Can I have it? Can I have it?

Can I have it? Can I have it? Can I have it?

(see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTFZyl7hfBw)

*Chris Tizzle and Kat Van, I'm looking at you...

facebook stalking tells me that you may know a

thing or two about making fried rice.

Can you help a sister out?

♥

Feelin' Risky on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was last weekend and

I was feeling a little adventurous.

You know what that means...

I ACCOMPLISHED ANOTHER GOAL!

#006: Order what the person

at the next table is having

Last saturday Bryan & I went to Nicks,

an American style restaurant right on the beach in Laguna.

I have always wanted to order what the person at

the next table is having (maybe because I love surprises?),

but I could never force myself to do it because

I would get nervous that the person would order something disgusting.

I decided that I had to find someone with impeccable

taste, which resulted in a very intense screening process.

And that is when this beautiful family walked into the restaurant:

You can't really tell from this creepy rapist picture I took,

but this was easily one of the most beautiful

families I had ever seen in my life. There were

four girls, ages (?) 8, 12, 16, and 18.

How were they so beautiful?! They looked like models!

Even the baby!

At first I was going to order what the oldest

daughter ordered, but I was afraid she was

going to order a burger or something lame.

I thought the mom might order something exciting

and sophisticated so I went with her, haha :)

Drum roll, please!

Mama ordered Pan Roasted Salmon with

Sautéed Spinach, Caper Mustard Beurre Blanc,

and Butter Chive Mashed Potatoes.

Not bad!

I was half afraid that she was going to

order a stick of celery with some fresh grapes on the side.

The salmon was amazing; I loved the buerre blanc

that was drizzled over it. Strangely enough,

the best thing on the plate was the spinach. It

was all buttery and had slivered almonds in it.

As Rachel Ray would say, YUM-O!

Bryan decided to get in on the fun

and ordered what the father ordered.

Papa got Red Wine Braised Boneless Short Ribs

with Firestick Onions, Roasted Vegetables,

Horseradish Cream, and Mashed Potatoes.

Believe me, the pictures do not do this food justice.

I need a good camera, dang it.

Overall, this was a pretty exciting experience.

It made going to a restaurant really interesting

and I am definitely going to do it again.

♥ OTHER WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS ♥

Disneyland on friday:

Beignets!!!

Beignets!!!

Beignets!!!

BEIGNETS!!!

Uggghh I wished I lived closer to Disneyland!

I had beignets at the Tupelo Junction Cafe in downtown SB,

but they pale in comparison to the ones they serve at

Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. GO! NOW!

Valentine's Day with Bryan:

After dinner, we sat on the beach and waited

for the next showtime of Valentine's Day (the movie).

Comments: Celebrities were extremely hot/beautiful.

The actors were way too famous/hot/beautiful to be believable characters.

The overabundance of celebrities made it impossible to have a believable plot.

But... it was cute? Haha, kind of?

Valentine's Day with family:

No pictures, but it was great...

Visited Dad at home, who had approximately

3 dozen Sprinkles cupcakes waiting for us :D

Went to din-dins with Mom & sissies at

Woodranch in Santa Anita. One word: bread.

The most perfect bread any restaurant has ever served

(close second: garlic balls at Palazzio in Santa Barbara).

And then! We went to go visit Des at her work.

My little baby is all grown up!!!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

In other news, lent starts tomorrow.

What are you giving up? I am giving up

baked goods.

Seriously.

Lord, help me.

♥

Zip it, Lock it

I did something very exciting today!

I accomplished goal

#047: Send in a Postsecret

I am obsessed with Postsecret.

This website is part of an ongoing art project

by a man named Frank Warren.

People all over the country send him postcards

that they decorate with their secrets

and every sunday he posts new ones on his website.

I like this website because I enjoy reading

the honest, heart-warming (and oftentimes heart-breaking)

secrets that people send in.

I think the reason Postsecret is such a hit

is that people are able to relate to and identify with

the secrets that other people send in. Sometimes knowing

that another person in the world is experiencing the same

situation as you or just understands exactly how you feel

is a very powerful thing.

I have always wanted to send in a secret of mine,

but it is one of those things I kept pushing off for another time.

I've been jotting down my secrets on a sticky note

ever since I started the Day Zero Project in October.

Today I was in the mood for a little arts & crafts

(I just finished all my midterms & finally have time to unwind!)

so I finally got around to it. Actually, I sent in ten! Haha :)

I wish I could show you pictures of the cards

I am sending in because I worked so hard on

decorating them... But I suppose that would defeat the purpose.

I will tell you that my secrets are about:

family, boys, friends,

enemies, love, and random

thoughts/feelings.

I guess you'll have to read Postsecret every sunday

and decide for yourself if one of mine was posted

(because my lips are sealed).

Good luck :)

♥

Sometimes I like to pretend...

that I am someone else. Particularly:

Meryl Streep in Its Complicated

- so beautiful, accomplished, and did I mention she owns a bakery?

Mandy Moore in Because I Said So

- sweet, silly, free-spirited, and she has her own catering service!

Maggie Gyllenhaal in Stranger than Fiction

- passionate, intelligent, and ... owns her own bakery, haha.

Cameron Diaz in The Holiday

- she owns her own movie editing company anddd she's adorable

Kate Winslet in The Holiday

- her cottage in Surrey is to die for and she is just my fave!

Like really.

Actually, I want to be Kate Winslet in ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!

That being said, I would also like to be Meryl Streep in anything!

hehe.

the end ♥