Post Nap Surprise

“Oh… you’re up.”

Not really the thing to say when you are suddenly woken up by a lunging pup. I can’t really hold it against her… she’s a cutie.

While I was having a much needed snooze fest, M took it upon himself to clean up the kitchen and try his hand at baked goods. It’s not from scratch, but I really can’t hold that against him.

“It’s not really good,” he started to say as I walked into the kitchen. He then went on to explain all the reasons why these muffins were a failure – sticking to the wrappers, not sure if the directions were followed correctly, and well… the stuff was old. A few months past the “use by” date. Not that an expiration date as ever stopped me before. And besides, the kitchen smelled really good.

The muffin did stick to the wrapper, but it was still pretty warm. Taste wise, it was pretty bland. Maybe on the verge of banana bread like. But with no banana, so that’s a bit of a stretch. The topping was a weird powdery mess, but it looked nice enough. Hard as a rock and possibly tooth chipping.

So what box mix was responsible?

I don’t even remember buying it, but I’m sure it was on sale and figured I’d give it a try. It would be better if you doctor the mix and forgo the topping it comes with. You can do better.

The Last Piece

I did my job and helped finish off the leftover cake. And no, I didn't cut it up to get that. It was just there and  thought it was a bit strange - birth at the end.

Delicious deep thoughts.

Spiffy Ramen

I went to Mitsuwa and didn’t order any ramen from the food court. Obviously because of the no meat thing, but also because I went there during one of their crowd packing festivals, and the line for the ramen was out the door. And I didn’t have cash on me. But they had instant ramen on sale in the market – 5 packs for $2.99! Almost unheard of this brand, which of course I can’t tell you because it’s in Japanese and my Japanese is pretty rusty.

I should have bought more… bah! Anyways, I made M and myself a nice vegetarian version. Used the miso flavored packs and boiled some eggs while I picked over what vegetables were left in the fridge. I settled on pea shoots from my weekly vegetable share and chopped scallions. Simple. The ramen came with not only the soup base, but a topping as well. For the miso it’s the red pepper which I love. I added more to my soup from my own supply.

Ah… so good. Good enough for me to borrow from the library “Ramen to the Rescue.” Love e-books – will never have a late fee again.

Breakfasting on Wheels

I was on a good streak there, exercising. But a majority of the summer I've been busy until the late evening so working out just had to wait. Then came that nasty humid weather, or the downpours on the weekends that got in the way of healthy activities.

But I did it. I got back on the bike and enjoyed the nice weather. I really wanted to bike out to Rotterdam, but I ran out of time. Settled on twenty miles. A good number and I got to do some uphill work - and failed.

Must say I really like the crunchy peanut butter Clif bar. Going to have to remember to buy more of those.

Waiting For The Show

I was waiting around for the pool to open up so I took a walk around Cohoes. Not that long of a walk - really just went around a block. But there was enough in that one block that has me wanting to go back with my camera and appetite. Hit up the Bicycle Barn which didn't have what I was looking for (rats); checked out the market across the street (and it really is what I picture a small urban-ish market to be); and looked up the hours of the diner (which I will eat at eventually).

There's a little park, which I guess is called Canal Square. If the sign isn't a giveaway... well, whatever. Anyways, I was looking at the list of bands when I saw the hot dog cart. A hot dog cart! In Cohoes! I don't know about you, but it just seemed out of place. But it was tempting. And it was a buck, so I caved.

Had a quick chat with the lady running the cart and she told me how her and her husband would work the square and the pool, but for health reasons gave up the pool and just work the Friday shows. She also let me know that they won't be selling next week because they're going to do some Indian Powwow. Then she joked that she might have a hot dog too... before she gets hot dogged out.

Leftover Lunch = Dinner

Chicken salad from cafeteria + rye bread co-worker brought in ---> quick snack for my study break this evening.

Aside from lunches at work, I have not gone out to eat all week. My bank account is pleased.

My Treat

There was some candy at the counter, but tea and a red velvet whoopie pie is a much better option.

posted from Bloggeroid

Apple Cider Donuts

I don’t know about you, but one of these would be good this morning. Perhaps paired with some apple cider? Or at least some coffee. I picked these sugar coated darlings up from DePiero’s Farm, which along with purchasing pumpkins, is the thing to do in Montvale in the fall. The place was packed, as usual… making my shopping mission there as quick as possible.

But these, I waited for. Took a number and waited. But hey, it’s cool. They’re apple cider donuts! Yeah, so what if they use a pre-made mix… I’m sure they add in a ton of their cider into it.

Oh, by the way, Saturday is Tour de Donut. I’ll be there, and if you’re free I suggest you should too.

Work Snacks

More free samples from work. Normally I’m not a fan of vanilla flavored foods, but this wasn’t too bad.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker Series: Sabra Dip

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon to try one of Sabra’s dips. They have expanded beyond hummus and eggplant salads, and now offer salsas, guacamole, and veggie dips. Those new options will have to wait for another day as the store I eventually bought from only had hummus, and even then my options were limited. We'd previously gone to several area grocers to try to find these new selections but were only able to find the hummus and salsa. (Has anyone had any luck finding these new offerings in the capital region?) I ended up choosing the Supremely Spicy hummus for M and I to snack on.

Sisig Topped Arroz Caldo

This was so delicious, I think I’ll have to try this again.

Planters Crème Brûlée Almonds

If almonds (yummy snack) and crème brulèe (yummy dessert) had a baby, do you think it would be something like this?

Move Over, Sauerkraut

“Hey, is there anymore of that atchara left?”

My sister had the ingenious idea of topping her hot dog with some pickled green papaya. I’m used to eating it with fried fish, and never thought about having it on a hot dog. But it makes sense… sour for a sour, and unlike most kraut out there, the atchara is crunchy and has just a hint of heat.

Yes, Sis eats her hot dogs with ketchup AND mustard. Her thoughts on the Filipino substitution?

“Hmm. That’s interesting.”

Not really a vote of confidence, but it’ll do.

Korean Snack

Spotted this on sale at H Mart not too long ago. I think it was 99 cents?

The bag says it’s Korean hot & spicy flavor, but that is somewhat misleading. They’re actually pretty sweet with just a tinge of heat.

Kim Chee Onigiri

After eating at Sushi Park, a classmate and I hit up Edgewater on our way home for some Mitsuwa goodness. He went and ate some gyu don and soba while I grabbed some marked down onigiri (seaweed, ume, and kim chee). Of the three, I think the kim chee (kim chi?) was the best. Will have to replicate this sometime soon, and lucky me… found my onigiri molds.

Mei Li Wah’s Pork Buns

With every trip into the city, I stop over to Bayard Street in Chinatown to pick up a dozen of these for my uncle. I normally don’t get any for myself, but with my sister back in town, I decided to indulge. They offer the pork buns, or the larger, special buns. I have no idea what is in the special ones… I’ll have to ask my uncle one of these days.

You can purchase the pork buns either baked or steamed. The special buns are only steamed. I don’t remember the individual prices, but I know that a dozen of the special is $19.20. A dozen of the pork is $9.60.

The pork buns were pretty good, and the filling was surprisingly more meat than fat. I’m fine with the bread to filling ratio, but I’ve had family members complain that they were too bready. And from what I hear it’s worse with the larger, special buns. But they store well, are easy to re-heat and eat on the go.

I remember my mom and aunts making these when I was younger. While they filled theirs with beef and pork, I made them with peanut butter and jelly. And wouldn’t you know, they were pretty tasty. I found a recipe for siopao in one of my mom’s cookbook and one of these days I’ll try it out. But for now, I’ll stick to these instead.

Mooncakes, At Last

So I’m late on posting the mooncakes… by well over a month. But it’s still something worth mentioning. Or at least posting all the pictures I took.

Viennese Cucumber Salad

 

For challenge #2 in Project Food Blog, I made schnitzel with plenty of sides. Here is one that I had planned to make, but I simply ran out of time. Not that it takes much time, I just had my hands full. I whipped this up after I submitted that entry and have made it a few more times since.

Free Carvel Ice Cream

I was doing some coupon clipping when I came across this ad. Free ice cream? I’m in. And the best part? It was Thursday!  So after sending a message to my friends about the freeness, I jumped in my car and drove to the nearest Carvel. I even contemplated doing an ice cream run, hitting up the three Carvels  in my area.
But first, I had to try out this ice cream.




It looks like Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate ice cream is their new flavor. The free sample is a kid scoop size, I think I read somewhere 3 0z. That’s more than enough for ice cream I’ve never had before. I don’t know if it’s clear or not, but it’s chocolate with marshmallow creme/fluff/something throughout.

I’ve got to hand it to Carvel, it does indeed taste exactly like Swiss Miss hot chocolate… right down to the powdery aftertaste. Might be better in a milk shake.

Sweet Mango

Before their trip to the Caribbean, my aunt gave me some mangoes that she bought from Costco. Instead of eating them immediately, I let them sit out for a few days. Lately I’ve had this streak of waiting until fruit is at the point of over ripeness- the cantaloupes this season got the brunt of it.

This mango was sweet. Too sweet. It was like mango concentrate, stomachache inducing with all that sweetness. This would have been fantastic in a smoothie… or ice cream even!