WEEK 21: May 20th - Movie Night

I'm looking forward to a night in, relaxing on the couch watching a movie... And if it's before 10:00pm I'll probably be able to stay awake during the entire film!!! Who wants to join me???

WHAT: Movie Night (Movie: Hard Candy)
WHEN: Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 7:30 PM
WHERE: My apt.

Snacks will be provided, though bring whatever you want to bring... like your own snacks and drinks, a pillow or blanket...

Hope to see you there!

REVIEW on WEEK 20: Sushi Night

For many people their experience with sushi has been just consuming it, not actually creating it. So when people learned about sushi and how to make it - use the sticky rice, add rice vinegar, let cool, spread on top of the nori, add fillings, roll - they found out it was a lot easier (and cheaper) than they had thought it would be. People brought many types of fillings that I haven't even tried before. We had cucumber, avocado, smoked salmon, imitation crab, bacon, brie, mexican cheese, carrots, jalapenos. Each person had a chance to sit in the "sushi seat" and make a roll with whatever ingredients they liked. The end results were a variety of different yet tasty kicks in our mouths. Yes, the bacon was pretty good and a nice alternative to the fish. Asparagus is another ingredient that I usually use more of but it just slipped my mind this time.

Some of us also got experimental with creative rolls, some of which we named: Firecracker Night, Dragon Scale, Rabbit Roll, and Squirrel Chaser.

I also made a huge batch of Japanese chicken curry in case the sushi didn't fill us up. Originally the sushi would have been the appetizer, but I got carried away and made multiple rolls which just about filled everyone up. I hope people will continue to experiment with sushi and I hope to come up with a roll I can sell, or finally go along with my "Wrap and Roll" idea I had way back in college. In any case, this was a pretty successful event! :)


STATISTICS -----
People attended: 8
Time alloted: 3 hours

----- RATING ----- (out of 5 stars)
Overall Experience: 4.5

UPCOMING! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

So I have several things I'm planning that are in the works, and they may take some planning (or at least a headsup) on your end, so I wanted to stick it somewhere on your radar too.

1. Clothing Swap - Clean out those closets and make room for summer! Bring all the clothes you don't care for and we'll swap them out. Your trash is another's treasure! All the leftovers and unwanted clothes will be donated to charity.

2. Open Mic Night - I hope you're preparing what you're going to be sharing! Poetry, music, dance, etc. This is an open night for all creative souls!

3. Craft Day - We will each come up with a craft of our choice and make it to share with a group. If possible, we will get together and donate some of these to local children's hospitals.

4. Iron Chef - The ingredient of choice will be either eggplant or cherimoya. Stay tuned!

5. Volunteering with the Soup Kitchen - Anyone interested???

Flavors of My Saturday

Saturday, May 10th - Spent the day in Malibu...

Hiking in Temescal Canyon... nice trails despite the dry season. We came across a waterfall with little water falling but a trickle. You could climb a rope up the rocks to the top of the waterfall. I got up halfway. Super scary! My shoes were slippery. And I thought I was going to lose my life the entire time. When it comes to hikes and nature, I'm all for it, but not so much rock climbing. Have you guys heard my story about rappelling down a cavern? Rocks and heights equals broken ro... Anyway, there were other cool things to discover as well, like hidden caves and a bustling beehive. Beware the poison oak though.




After we stopped to relieve our bladders, we went to this gorgeous beach in Malibu called El Matador. We checked out the other two, but our first stop was by far the best. I'm not a fan of So-Cal beaches, but this one was very intimate and had unique rock formations... one in the shape of an elephant. Many couples and families were there taking family photos or anniversary pics. Great picture spot... just a little chilly. I haven't been by the ocean out here for a while. But I always freeze as far as I can recall.




By this time we were starving (or at least I was) so we went to Malibu Village and ate at Nobu Restaurant. Supposedly Matthew McConnehey was there, or so stated one of the papparazzi. Didn't see him there, of course. But the food was delicious! Well worth the prices. Not super fancy either for we trailed in with the clothes that had been accumulating dirt all day. I ordered what I usually order when I try a new sushi place - albacore sashimi and spicy tuna roll. So good! The spicy seafood soup was very filling and very good, as well as the tempera (mushroom, pumpkin, and sweet potato) and the beef sukiyaki. Raw beef there tastes like the seared ahi tuna (one of my favorites!!!!!!!)

Thus, I would highly recommend each of these places (the hike, the beach, and the restaurant) to only my close friends (to keep the number of people at a minimal.) Perfect place to spend a Saturday.

Oh, and once we were back in town, we stopped at MILK for ice cream and sorbet. Yum-yum!!!
:)

WEEK 20 - May 12th: Make Your Own Sushi Night

Want to make a custom sushi roll, made with whatever ingredients you want? Now you can! (My favorite is the ones with a slice of cheese rolled up within...) I'll provide the rice and the seaweed. You bring whatever fillings you want!

WHAT: Sushi Night
WHEN: Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 7:00 PM
WHERE: My apt.

For some sushi ingredient ideas: http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_sushi.htm


Also... FYI: The weekend of the 16th-18th is the annual Duck-a-thon in Huntington Beach. I'll definitely swing by if I'm in OC that weekend.

Info: http://www.duck-a-thon.org/

REVIEW on WEEK 19: Cinco De Mayo

Although Mexicans don't care to celebrate this holiday, it was a great excuse to cook up some amazing Mexican food. On the menu was the following:

- Cactus Soup
- Spanish rice
- Refried Beans and Black Beans
- Sope
- Tacos (con pastor and chorizo)
- Ceviche
- Pan dulce (4 different kinds)
- Cheesecake

And of course the usual accompaniments like guacamole (yum), salsa, crema, cilantro, onion, cheese, and tomatoes.

As we ate and drank at the apartment, we played Kabooki (a Cranium game for the Wii.) A few more people showed, then we walked to the park and beat the Bob the Builder pinata. We didn't destroy the pinata but we knocked all the Mexican candies out of that sucker! First we used a stick off a tree, then we used the baseball bat I used to play with when I was 5. Brought back childhood memories. Ah, nostalgia.




----- STATISTICS -----
People attended: 14
Time alloted: 6 hours

----- RATING ----- (out of 5 stars)
Overall Experience: 4.5 (hooray for the Mexicans vs. the French!)

Flavor(s) of the Day(s)

I've had an action-packed last few days:

THURSDAY:
826LA benefit at Anthropologie at the Grove. Deane won a papier mache head. So cute!

FRIDAY:
Watched "The Mikado" an opera by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. Very fun! Happy ending! Catchy tunes. Like a cross between musical and opera.

SATURDAY:


1. Went with my mom to a buffet lunch at the Indian Restaurant, one of my favorite Indian restaurants in Little India, followed by asian market shopping at 99 Ranch across the street.

2. JPL Open House - interesting, though would have been more interesting if I understood more about robotics and this sort of space technology. I'm not a geek enough, sad to say, though space fascinates me and I still want to take a trip to outer space one day.



3. Dinner at Restaurant Fifteen - tried their $15 tasting menu - good food for a good price! I ordered the mac and cheese, the seared salmon, and we had chef's choice for dessert which was yummerz.

4. Kelly Towles Art Gallery - mediocre, minimal pieces, not as inspiring as other galleries I've visited lately
5. Iron Man at Paramount Studios - I love taking any chance I can to get on the Paramount "campus." And the movie was fun and one of the best Marvel movies yet. I did have low expectations going into it though.

WEEK 19 - May 4th: Cinco de Mayo Celebration!

Hola, mis amigos!

I've never celebrated Cinco de Mayo, but I figure it's another excuse for me to throw a culturally-themed event at my place. Bring out your Mexican flags and sombreros and come over for some Mexican food. We'll be listening to some mariachi, eating beans with our meal, and sipping on some tequila or other Mexican-influenced beverages - someone bring the horchata and Mexican beers. I also have a pinata for us to bust up, so be ready for that as well.

WHAT: Cinco De Mayo Celebration!
WHEN: Sunday, May 4th, 2008 at 2:00 PM
WHERE: My apt.

This is an optional pot luck, which means you can make some food and bring it over as well. Need some good references for Mexican recipes?
http://www.mexicanmeals.net/
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/World-Cuisine/Latin-America/Mexico/Main.aspx

Please RSVP so I know how much food to provide. Muchas gracias!

REVIEW on WEEK 18: Improv and Ice Cream

It's always nice to get out on a weeknight. And you can't beat a great show at a decent price. The performers were very funny. In one act Deane came out singing an improvised tune about beanie babies to "Cabaret." I got all excited because improv was now turning into musical genre. Although I still had my annoying cough, I still had a great time, as always, watching Id Vicious.

I still don't know how they can think up so much on the spot like that. It seems extremely agonizing for me. However, a few of the people that came along with me said that I should put one on at my place sometime. So look forward to that in the future.

Afterwards, we walked downstairs and tried Mashti Malone's ice cream. (We figured Baskin Robbins was closed so we didn't even try to get their 31 cent scoops.) This place looks like it's been around for a while, and it's no wonder. Mashti's uniqueness stems from his use of other ingredients in his ice creams that you normally wouldn't find in others - like saffrom, rosewater, and felulah (I think that's what it's called - a sort of rice thing.) Although they have the common ice creams like butter pecan and cookies -n- cream, the unusual ones piqued me interested taste buds, as always - the herbal ice was good and the felulah was, um, unusually interesting for lack of a better word. I ended up getting the orange blossom, which I hadn't even sampled, but which Nika had described as tasting like tea. So, thinking it would help my cold, I grabbed a scoop of that.


----- STATISTICS -----
People attended: 8
Time alloted: 2 hours

----- RATING ----- (out of 5 stars)
Overall Experience: 4.5

FYI: I took video of their performance. Please view them at my youtube account:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5hB9ZWfX960
(This one's my favorite. There are related links on the side. And I'll be uploading these every time I go.) Hooray!