Making Mochi

I'm a big fan of mochi, so when I found out you can easily make it at home without having to use a rice pounding mallet and execute a carefully choreographed traditional dance routine, I figured it was worth a try.

Using mochiko, glutinous rice flour, eliminates the need to complete the labor-intensive rice pounding process, and you basically combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl, pour the mixture into a greased pan, bake, cool, cut, and voila!

I couldn't find potato starch at the store, so MH and I rolled our cut mochi in a rice flour and powdered sugar mixture. Our mochi absorbed the coating after a few hours and got a little gooey, but I'm not sure if it was because of the lack of potato starch or the humidity. Nevertheless, they turned out pretty well and the next time I make them I think I'm going to try to make a few different flavors.

Here is the recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.Com:

Ingredients

- 1 pound mochiko

- 2 1/2 cups white sugar

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 2 cups water

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 (14 oz) can coconut milk

- 1/4 teaspoon red food color (optional)

- 1 1/2 cups potato starch

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Whisk together the rice, flour, sugar, and baking powder; set aside

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the water, vanilla, coconut milk and red food coloring. Blend in the rice flour mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.

3. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool completely.

4. Turn the pan of mochi out onto a clean surface that has been dusted with potato starch. Cut into bit size pieces using a plastic knife. The mochi does not stick as much to plastic knives.

Papaya King

MH and I happened to catch an episode of 'The Originals with Emeril' and his visit to Papaya King, one of New York's famous hot dog stands, caught our eye. They are known for being the first to combine freshly made fruit juices with frankfurters. Who could say no to that?!? Luckily, they recently opened a location in Hollywood, so we decided to give it a try.

We ordered a frankfurter with chili, a frankfurter with sauteed onions, a frankfurter with sauteed mushrooms and onions, curly fries, a papaya tropical drink, and a pina colada tropical drink.

Everything was affordable and tasty. However, we both thought that the bun to frankfurter ratio was a little off and wished there was a little less bread. My favorite part of the meal was the tropical drinks! I thought that the choice to have something other than soda at a hot dog joint was refreshing.

If you plan on going, keep in mind that the place is super tiny with only standing room and counter space to eat. Since it is in Hollywood, parking can also be a challenge, so watch the meter signs.

Financial Crisis For The Future of Ice Cream

I can't say I am surprised by Dippin' Dots recent Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing (WSJ article). Dippin' Dots prices itself alongside premium ice creams brands and clearly does not have the consumer base to support its business. However, my heart goes out to them and I wish they could pull out of their financial funk because I am one of their adoring fans! There is a Dippin' Dots store in Rancho Cucamunga that I like to visit any time MH and I are heading up or coming down the 15 and my road trips just won't be the same without it.

A Visit To The Motherland

Work has me traveling the world, and a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the motherland, China. Since our work kept us in Beijing for over a week, we had the opportunity to go on a weekend sightseeing extravaganza. With the help of our local office, we were able to arrange a private tour guide and driver which were both key for our action packed weekend since there are hoards of people in China and rules seem to be optional when you are on the road.

On Saturday, we visited the Temple of Heaven, Tian'anmen Square-Forbidden City, Lama Temple, Hutongs at the Shichachi Lake, and National Silk Market.

Temple of Heaven

Beijing Roast Duck

Tian'anmen Square - Forbidden City

Silk Worms

On Sunday, we visited the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, Olympic Stadium (Bird's Nest and Water Cube), and Summer Palace. The Great Wall is truly amazing sight to be seen. The wall seems to go on forever and ever and the burnt orange hues of the changing leaves made the view even more breathtaking.

Mutianyu Great Wall

After our time in Beijing, we took a quick trip to Shanghai and I was able to visit the Bund Center. Unfortunately, since our time there was so short and I started coming down with a cold, I wasn't able to see anything else before I had to jump on my plane to head back home.

Bund Center Shanghai

That should be it for my international travel for this year. I can't wait to see where I am assigned to go next year!

Weekend In The Mountains

Over the weekend, we went to Mammoth Mountains to celebrate a family friend's 60th birthday! Since we were in the area, MH planned a quick day trip to Mono Lake and Yosemite.

Mono Lake is known for it's "tufa towers," calcium-carbonate spires across the lake shore. Apparently, the best time to visit Mono Lake is at day break, to catch the morning light. When we arrived at 6:30 AM, we pulled into a full parking lot and found a number of visitors with the cameras and tri-pods already set up along the shore.

Mono Lake

After we snapped a few pictures we continued on our journey to Yosemite. To give me the quick tour, MH first stopped at the Tunnel View point to show me the grand view.

Yosemite

Then, we made our way down the Yosemite Valley to the Visitor Center and did a short hike on the Lower Yosemite Fall Trail. It was a beautiful day to be outside and as we strolled along the trail we spotted a couple deer snacking on the brush. After our hike, we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch and then headed back to Mammoth.

When we get into shape we will have to return to hike half dome. Any one else interested?

OpenWorld 2011

Just after we returned from Hawaii, I headed off to San Francisco to attend Oracle's annual conference, OpenWorld. Being a first time visitor to a conference like this, I wasn't prepared for the magnitude of the event. However, I should have known when I started looking into hotels and everything was either sold out or cost a small fortune, like $600/night to stay at the Holiday Inn.

Shout out to Ickity for letting me stay with her during a heavy loaded school week. Even though you were crazy busy, it was still good to see you and spend time with you in between the chaos.

The conference as a whole was a great experience and very informational but I'll spare you the details on that aspect of it. What is more exciting about the conference is that they had Sting and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers perform at their appreciation event on the second to last day of the conference at Treasure Island.

Sting! (the little speck in the middle of the stage)

In addition to having a full blown stage set up for the musical performances, they also had complimentary carnival games, ferris wheel rides, food stands, and beverages. It was a VERY impressive event. Fingers crossed I get to go back next year. Maybe Metallica will be headlining ;)

A Trip To Paradise

While our honeymoon was a once in a lifetime type adventure, we wouldn't necessarily describe our trip to Africa as romantic or relaxing. There is something about the constant application of bug spray and waking up before the sun that seems to kill the idea of romance and the feeling of being well rested. Thankfully, we had the opportunity to go with Oahu with my family at the end of September to get the R&R that we needed.

Sunset @ Waikiki Beach

While we were there, we caught a rerun of Man v. Food that featured the Mac Daddy Pancake Challenge at Mac 24-7 in the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel. The challenge is to eat four pounds of pancakes in 90 minutes without leaving the table before you're finished. Since the restaurant wasn't too far from our hotel we decided to give it a go and ordered the hot and wild blueberry pancakes.

Mac 24-7 Hot & Wild Blueberry Pancakes

It is difficult to fully comprehend the true size of the pancakes in the picture. With four of us eating, we came no where close to finishing it, and were only able to eat about half!

On the recommendation of a girl friend, we also tried Mana Bu's, Hawaii's Masubi Headquarters. We picked up a few different masubi's one morning and they were a perfect afternoon snack for a day at the beach. On top of our little masubi pyramid is their fresh strawberry mochi. Although it cost more than any of the masubis, I do admit that it was quite tasty, and I wouldn't mind having another.

Treats from Mana Bu's

Last but not least, we found this awesome beach just north of Haleiwa where we got to watch a group of Hawaiian green sea turtles snacking on the vegetation just off of the shore. Unfortunately, none of them were out on the sand sun bathing. However, every now and then you could see their heads pop up for air or one of their fins sticking out of the surf as they balanced themselves in the waves.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

It's always such a treat to visit the Hawaiian islands. Till next time Hawaii, I'll miss you!

Scoops of Summer

Since we had some leftover buttermilk from making fried chicken I found a recipe for Strawberry Buttermilk Ice on epicurious and decided to give it a go. The recipe is pretty easy and is a refreshing summer treat. Since it is an "ice" the end result is similar to a sorbet and from the reading the other reviews it sounds like you can use this recipe with a variety of fruits.

Ingredients:

-2 12-ounce baskets of strawberries, hulled and halved

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1 cup of low-fat buttermilk

Directions:

Puree the strawberries and sugar in a processor. Add the buttermilk and process until smooth. Pour into a 8x8x2 inch glass dish and place in the freezer. Freeze the mixture until firm, about 3 hours.

Transfer the mixture to the processor and process until smooth. Spoon mixture into a plastic container, cover tightly, and freeze until firm, about 3 hours.

Here is the link for the original recipe: Strawberry Buttermilk Ice

So Much For South Beach

I've been meaning to get back onto the South Beach Diet for a couple of weeks but MH and I got into a cooking at home kick and of course cooking at home isn't as much fun when you're trying to be healthy.

Thursday Dinner Menu

-Buffalo Sirloin

-Mashed Potatoes

-Garlic Green Beans

Friday Dinner Menu

-Hawaiian Style Pork Ribs (Aloha Seasoning & Pineapple Juice Marinade)

-Iceberg Salad

-Baked Beans

-Corn Bread

-Fruit Salad

Saturday Breakfast Menu

-Buttermilk Belgium Waffles with Berries & Ice Cream

Saturday Dinner Menu

-Fried Chicken

-Corn

-Mashed Potatoes

-Corn Bread

Going on a diet always seems like a better idea next week anyways. After all, you only live once.

Labor Day Weekend in NYC

I had to work in NJ the week after Labor Day, so MH and I decided to do a weekend trip to NYC. Luckily, we had fabulous weather and it was a beautiful day for sightseeing.

We did a bunch of touristy stuff the first day we were there and visited the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building. To conclude our day we went to Peter Lugar's to try New York's #1 rated steak house for the past 24 years in a row.

MH and I must admit, that the quality of the meat is top notch, but since they just salt and sear the steak we thought we have had better tasting steaks at home. I think my personal favorite is still Mastro's.

Our second day in the city was a complete eat-a-thon. We started at Katz's Deli for their signature pastrami sandwich...

stopped into Bisous Ciao for some macarons, Balthazar Bakery, Lombardi's for their margherita pizza...

the Big Gay Ice Cream shop for some soft serve, and finished our day at the Momofuku Noodle Bar!

Momofuku Ramen

Of all of the restaurants, MH and I were most impressed with the Momufuku Noodle Bar and thought it was the only restaurant that fully lived up to all of its hype. I had the most delicious lychee slushie and all of the dishes we had were terrific.

The next day, we stopped into Eataly for lunch, headed off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, enjoyed an afternoon cookie snack at Levain Bakery, and then had Shake Shack for dinner.

Shake Shack Soda, Rocky Road Shake, Cheeseburger & Shack Burger

(From Left to Right)

Originally we had thought we could go to the Shake Shack for lunch but when we got to the Madison Square Park location the line was out of control and we decided that it would be much easier to grab something from Eataly. After we went to Levain Bakery, we were conveniently close to the Shake Shack on Columbus and 77th and we decided that the 15 minute line there was manageable. MH had the cheeseburger and I had the shack burger (without tomatoes, of course) and while both burgers were delicious, we were surprised by how small they were considering the price. The potato bread bun was a nice touch, but we both still prefer In-N-Out.

On our last day, we visited the Museum of Modern Art, enjoyed a frozen treat from Laboratorio del Gelato, had a late lunch at Republic, and then headed off to the airport so MH could catch his flight home and I could pick up my rental car for the week.

Times Square

NYC was another great trip to add to our memory book. Shout out to JR for all of his hospitality! You were a fabulous host and hope you also enjoyed our city adventuring.