Rubs Wanted

Candy Bar

2012-02-12T21:26:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, Renee brought my attention to an online deal at Candy Bar (dessert bar). A $17 voucher purchased in advance entitled one to two desserts and two drinks. It sounded like a good deal so I made a purchase and took Escamillo on a date. ****Note: this was pre-appendix surgery****

We headed over on a Friday night which was poor planning on our part as parking was impossible and there was an hour wait to get in the door. Once seated, we ordered and I immediately spied a Battleship set. I challenged Escamillo to a friendly round over chocolate and jasmine tea champagne based mixed drinks.

The game was fierce and intense but the drinks were stupid and overly sweet. It was the sort of drink annoying, prissy girls like to order on a night on the town. We finished the game but not the drinks.

I ordered the lavender honey semifreddo with almond brittle. It was not bad but the lavender honey powder had a weird consistency when it came into contact with anything remotely moist and stuck to my spoon funny. Escamillo liked it though, especially the almond brittle.

Escamillo ordered the tiramisu. We both agreed it was a dud.

For $17 it worth it, for a night out but I don't think we will be returning even in the event of another voucher. Despite the not so good food and terrible drinks however, we had an exceedingly good time. Battleship! Escamillo won. I was a bad loser as usual and accused him of cheating.

In my defense, the cheating accusation was not baseless. I called out a position and he heard E instead of D. It led me to mark the wrong shots on my map and later confusion. Hrmph!

***Escamillo appendix surgery update: he is hobbling around now but still has inexplicable night sweats and sporadic fevers. Overall, Escamillo is healing nicely, aided by never ending mounds of chocolate iced cream and lime dusted corn chips.

things i like (continued)

2012-02-12T03:23:00.010-05:00

America, hiking so I can pee where ever I want, freedom, cold weather, tea, tea parties, effortlessness, breaks, old books (preferably hardcover), all things old timey, old lady type things and activities, dogs, orchids, miniature items, camping, camp fires, clothes that smell like roasted wood after you sit in front of a fire for too long, reminiscing about past adventures, Van Morisson, correspondence (handwritten, sent via USPS), penmanship, libraries, red lipstick, being contrarian, gear, gardens, museums, tours, eating, a warm bed in a cold room, fancy paper and blank books

things i like

2012-02-11T02:38:00.003-05:00

Cheese logs, manatees, hamsters, turtles, Asian foods, congee when I am sick, tomato juice on airplanes, rubs, Escamillo, sparkles, clean sheets, blankies, big cities, honey, remote wilderness, eggs, iced cream, candy, Hello Kitty, pretending to be bad ass, Nero Wolfe, snobs, fancy tea, mysteries, Bad Company, procrastination, real mac n' cheese, gossip, sweets, trinkets, Escamillo's slow cooker cookin', rubs, wooly socks, pretty dresses with skirts that twirl, deals, art supplies, journals, anecdotes, good friends, moss

Treats for Post-op Escamillo

2012-02-09T22:26:00.000-05:00

Today was not a bad day. I did pretty well on my mid term exam, got a lot done in endodontics lab and got to take a rawther long lunch break. Escamillo is still not feeling well so I thought I would cheer him up by bringing home some special food from the bakery near the dental school.

He wanted raisin bread so I picked up a very heavy loaf of Wolverine bread. It is a sourdough bread with raisins, nuts and dried apricots baked into it. I liked it but maybe would have preferred the traditional kind of raisin bread with cinnamon swirls.

The other item was the big surprise: chocolate cake with salted caramel icing. I was informed by the man behind the counter that this is the best cake in the city. After having a bite, I do not believe I will question him. It was in fact wildly delicious.

Escamillo ate it with iced cream at his desk. He has been shuffling around all day, feeling varying degrees of unwellness. Poor thing....

My First Winter 2012 Midterm

2012-02-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

It is an oral pathology midterm that takes place tomorrow morning at 8am. I should be studying so of course I am blogging. Truth be told, I have not been studying much what with Escamillo's emergency room trip, subsequent surgery and my caretaker responsibilities.

The above is a cookie my friend Scott made for me. It was particularly delicious. I liked how the sweetness of the chocolate hits fast and hard but the cookie itself is a bit salty so it ends in a slightly savory finish. I have been eating a lot of sweets lately and am concerned about the diabeetus. New research is asking that the government make refine sugar a controlled substance. I scoff of course but must also admit I have a sugar addiction. It's bad for me, makes me fat but I can't kick it because I love it so. I wonder if this is what it is like to have a meth dependency.....

Appendicitis

2012-02-07T22:33:00.000-05:00

Escamillo's stomachache turned out to be appendicitis. I feel really bad about it because on Sunday I kept insisting it was some sort of virus. Around 6pm, Escamillo demanded to go to the emergency room so we went. A slew of doctors came in (it is a teaching hospital) and poked at his stomach. Everyone but the intern (she was the first to poke) thought it was a classic case of appendicitis.

Fun fact, if you poke around the abdomen and there is no pain in the recoil, you probably have appendicitis. Obviously, it is not the only sign but it is a big one. Escamillo agreed to a CT scan to make sure and it ended up confirming what everyone (but me and the inern) suspected: appendicitis.

Escamillo had surgery on Monday afternoon. Apparently, his appendix was so infected, it began to rot and got gangrene. The doctors let him come home today, but he is still in a lot of pain from the surgery.

In related news, Pip is also sick. He has been more sluggish than usual and has an enlarged butt. To be fair, he always had a big butt so I am not sure if I am jumping to conclusions because of Escamillo's illness. The interwebs say an enlarged hamster butt means constipation which is deadly for hamsters. I am feeding him fruits and veggies to maybe loosen him up. It turns out I do not give him enough fresh produce. All the internet sites say you cannot give them too much or they will get diarrhea which is also deadly to hamsters so I was trying to be careful. Ugh. Hopefully, he is just lazy with a fat butt and not actually sick.

This was my rushed lunch in between hospital visits and class.

Escamillo Makes Carnitas

2012-02-05T18:32:00.000-05:00

Escamillo is becoming a wiz in crockpot cooking. The other night, he made carnitas. They were delectable in flour tacos.

Though made in a crockpot, Escamillo shreds the pork in a baking pan. Personally, I think the shredding in unnecessary for the pork falls apart as you pick it up anyway. As you can see, there was a lot of carnitas, so we have been eating this for days.

Right now, I am making stock with chicken bones saved from the last time we had roasted chicken. Well, that and studying for my oral pathology exam. A lot of gross things show up in the mouth and it turns out that it might be cancer. I am getting off topic here... Back to the stock. The reason I am making stock is poor Escamillo has contracted some sort of virus that is giving him stomach troubles.

The worst part is that we are missing a Super Bowl party where his very good friend is flying up from LA to attend. It is so terrible that he has been in bed most of the morning and all afternoon. He can't eat anything so I thought stock might be nice to drink when he gets hungry. I think white bread is also okay in stomach situations so perhaps I might bake some bread too.

Weekend Hike in Pacifica

2012-02-04T14:22:00.001-05:00

Escamillo and I went to Pacifica to for a mini hike.

Here is Escamillo carrying our water.

I thought these plants looked prehistoric so I had to take a picture.

After maybe an hour of walking around, I insisted that we head back as I needed a lunch break. For some inexplicable reason, a hankering for clam chowder swept over me and I desperately needed to find some. Escamillo was nudged into locating one via smartphone. I personally do not have one and must rely on herd immunity. Where ever I am, someone usually has one. Plus, I am with Escamillo most of the time anyway and he likes to feel needed. He is the official navigator of all of our outings.

We drove to a place called Nick's and ate clam chowder and dungeness crab sandwiches. The resulting chowder was only okay but the sandwiches made up for it. Sourdough bread slices crispy with butter were filled with crab and accented with just a touch of tomato. *SWOON*

It was so good, I suggested we hike in Pacifica every weekend and stop by for a sandwich on the way home.

Dinner at Joyce's in Japantown

2012-02-01T01:22:00.000-05:00

Joyce is a fun lady Escamillo met when he first lived in San Francisco. He was fresh out of college and Joyce was about 30 working on her PhD in Economics at Berkeley. I believe they met working at a start up during the first dot com boom.

Joyce is also my rock climbing friend and one of my favorite Chinese ladies in San Francisco. I can only hope that one day I will be as awesome at climbing and outdoors activities as she is.

The other night she had us over to her new place in Japantown (Joyce is also a homeowner, and thus a grownup). Escamillo and I nibbled at cheese while she finished making sauce. I drank lots of wine and may have started going on a rant about fluoridated water.

Did you know that fluoridated water is unnecessary if one brushes one's teeth regularly? It is a Big Brother program for people who do not brush their teeth. There are no negative effects of fluoridated water but this whole time I thought it was beneficial to everyone. Nope, it only helps people who are not responsible for their own oral hygiene. My mind was boggled, BOGGLED, when I learned this fact. But I digress.

Joyce made a yummy pappardelle with meat sauce. I have not had pappardelle in forever and only just remembered how much I love it. The next day, Escamillo and I hit Trader Joe's for a package, because I could not get enough.

Dessert macaroons. I love macaroons.

A Tasting with Scott & Stephanie

2012-01-31T00:39:00.001-05:00

My friend Scott is dating Stephanie, a chef in training. On Saturday, they hosted a little tasting party which ostensibly a dry run of a menu Stephanie created to enter a contest.

Upon arriving, Escamillo and I were greeted by a very hospitable Scott and presented with a rum based drink that tasted like candy. I gulped down an entire glass and asked for more. Scott called them Wet Willies.

Mushroom bruschetta were not part of the tasting menu but were immensely delicious.

French bread mini pizzas were also not part of the contest menu but they were so good, I could not stop eating them.

Stephanie had leftover rabbit from the main course so made made us rabbit tacos.

Scott made a special request for crabcakes so here they are. This still the appetizer, non-menu course. Escamillo is from Maryland, home of the crabcake and likes to think of himself as a crabcake expert. He was in heaven and quite frankly ate more than a polite guest should. When the crabcake haze dissolved and he came back to his senses, Escamillo was a bit embarrassed by the depravity of his actions. .

Pan fried herbed goat cheese rested on a bed of beets, some kind of drizzled oil and green stuff. The yellow flowers were edible and tasted green. This was the first of the competition menu. It was delectable.

Rabbit with port reduction with creamed parsnips and carrots and a risotto.

Dessert was a madeline resting on a small pile of apple chutney with a dollop of fennel iced cream and vanilla custard. I don't really like fennel but this was a magnificent dessert.

Leftover fennel iced cream with M&M's, because we are classy.

*******Update: Stephanie made it to the finalist round! Escamillo and I are so excited for her.

Green Apple Books

2012-01-29T18:54:00.000-05:00

Ecasmillo and I took a field trip to the Inner Richmond yesterday. We needed the exercise and walked. It was a lovely day.

Our first stop was Green Apple Books.

I am a sucker for mysteries and stationary. The package says miscellaneous, but I misread it to say "mysterious." I bought two. Oops. It was still cool though. I got a ton of awesome cards, most of which cost $4 a card at the store. It seemed a bit high to me but Escamillo explained that no one sends cards anymore but old people and the upper classes in general. These demographics have large amounts of disposable income and can afford to spend $4 for each card. I am not old or upper class so maybe he should add a third category of "old fashioned."

Really, I am just an old fashioned girl.

Vietnamese sandwich snack. Escamillo and I split it. It was so delicious I regretted not getting my own.

Saturday Breakfast with Escamillo

2012-01-28T13:51:00.000-05:00

Escamillo made breakfast this morning while I downloaded Instagram to my iPad. This is the result.

Asian Girl Date: Tea at Samovar Tea Lounge & Iced Cream at Smitten

2012-01-27T00:09:00.001-05:00

My two Chinese dental friends and I have been sampling tea houses all over town. This is the latest. We like to drink tea, kick back, gossip and discuss dental things. Nancy and Renee are studying for boards right now (I took them in the summer) so this is their break for sanity time.

Renee finds all of these online coupons so we end up getting to try fancy tea set ups on the cheap. Actually, I did not know she had a coupon for this and silently freaked out as she started ordering what seemed to be loads of food. Normally, these tea places ain't cheap.

This three tiered tray boasts fruit, one current scone, and a quiche with side salad. The quich and scone were great. Fruit is fruit, but it was good fruit.

The Russian platter arrived laden with smoked salmon, deviled egg, sesame crackers, borscht, eggplant mush, horseradish mayonnaise, fruit, and a very small chocolate cake. Smoked salmon was delicious, and I love horseradish anything. Everything else was only okay.

We also ordered a rice bowl consisting of duck, brown rice and poached eggs. It was nothing to write home about. I could get a better and much cheaper version in Chinatown.

After tea we needed a sweet. Samovar did not knock our socks off so we went elsewhere to satisfy the old sweet tooth. Nancy suggested Smitten.

Nothing is frozen; they freeze your iced cream when you order. All the smoke you see coming out of the mixer is from the liquid nitrogen they use. It is supposed to result in smaller ice crystals and smother iced cream. I ordered coconut and it was very tasty.

Unfortunately, this tiny cup of iced cream cost $5.50. It was not that much better than Ben and Jerry's or Hagen Daaz. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely better but not so much better that I would pay more for one tiny scoop of Smitten iced cream than I would for one pint of the stuff one can find in the grocery store.

All in all, a fun day.

Chinese New Year Feast 2012

2012-01-25T03:06:00.001-05:00

Escamillo and I went to my brother's wife's family's house for Chinese New Year. It was our first time celebrating it together. This is an offering made to her family's ancestors. My family is Catholic so my ancestors did not get an offering. I hope nobody felt snubbed.

In case you are wondering, that is in fact a tongue of some sort on the left. There might also be an animal (I am guessing mammal?) penis under the chicken head.

I like tea and tangerines. Both are big players in Chinese New Year Celebrations

This was a mystery soup. Neither Escamillo nor I could name all the things floating in it. Escamillo pretended to like it so we were given a huge jar of it to take home. It was embarrassing because Escamillo barely touched this tiny bowl of soup he so adamantly pretended to love. I ate it for dinner tonight and thought it was pretty good.

This is my brother's mother in law cutting pork.

The Feast.

roasted duck

Noodles and a bowl of beef neck muscle stir fried with vegetables

Shrimp

Chicken (yellow) and pork (the other stuff)

Everyone was full but there were still leftovers. Our very generous hosts made giant packages of food for me and Escamillo to take home

Dessert was stuffed glutinous rice balls. I ate the red bean ones while Escamillo ate the black sesame.

I made a pie but no one ate it. Well, the hosts at it to be polite. Everyone else brought it home for breakfast. We were all too full.

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve

2012-01-22T14:03:00.001-05:00

Sorry I have been lazy about the posting. Turns out I don't have a lot of work this quarter, so I have been frittering away my time running around town, eating food, and general hijinx. The worst part is that I keep forgetting my camera.

Case in point: I went to Atlanta for my very goof friend Catherine's wedding, and I brought my camera but in the mad rush to get ready and meet everyone at the shuttle from the hotel that would take us 2 blocks over to the wedding, I forgot my camera in my room. Ugh! I did not want to miss anything, so I did not go back. Hopefully, other people took photos and I can steal those.

Anywho, it's been raining non-stop here in San Francisco. There was a nice little break in the storm clouds yesterday however and I was able to meet up with Renee and Nancy to get various Chinese New Year items from the Chinatown in the Sunset. Nancy found the Hello Kitty door greeting at the $1 store. None of us can read the Chinese so she took a photo with her phone and sent it to a friend to translate. I think it is supposed to say something about good wishes and good luck.

We also bought pomellos and tangerine leaves. Nancy said that the tradition is to boil pomello and tangerine leaves, then pour the concoction over one's self as the last rinse after a New Year's Eve bath. There is to be no bathing for the entire day of Chinese New Year. Nancy said her mom says it is supposed to wash off all the gunk accumulated from the past year and allow the individual to start fresh. I'll let you know how it goes.

******* I did the bath thing. It did not smell as citrusy and fresh as I would have liked. The water smelled more like vegetables than fruit. It was only okay. I forgot and went to the gym the next day. I waited until 11:30pm but broke down and took a shower.

Breakfast at the Embarcadero

2012-01-18T23:45:00.000-05:00

Escamillo and I went on a field trip downtown to the Embarcadero in search of deliciousness.

The first thing I wanted to do was find breakfast because I was starving. Just our luck, we happened upon a little seafood cafe and were able to order breakfast burritos. This was a the bay shrimp one. It was essentially a flour tortilla wrapped around an omelet with bay shrimp and a avocado based sauce. The sauce really carried the whole thing.

The dungeness crab burrito however was swoon worthy. It was just egg, and mounds of crab. I guess there was also whatever the green stuff in the picture is but mostly it was crab and it was soooooooo good.

To be honest, when we first got the burritos, I thought they looked a bit small and I was ready to be disappointed. I think the crab was $15 and the shrimp $12, sort of pricy for a burrito, especially a tiny one. In the end it was perfect. There was a lot of seafood and no unnecessary filler. Escamillo and I each had one half of the shrimp and crab, totaling in one burrito a piece. Normally, when I eat burritos from Chipotle or the burrito places in the Mission, I get over full by the time I get through with 3/4 of it. It is too small to save so it inevitably goes in the trash. These burritos were the perfect size; I ate the whole thing without getting too full.

I Rode My Scooter to Japantown

2012-01-17T20:55:00.000-05:00

I defied the odds and rode my scooter to Japantown and back. As you know, I am not so good at the driving and have only been riding around the UCSF campus. It has been many months coming, but I finally did it. I rode all the way to Japantown to eat snacks and peruse Kwuai (cute) type things. There are no pictures because I forgot my camera, but a good time was had. The only down side was that I had to pay $6 or parking.

Coron: a Photo Journal

2012-01-16T13:36:00.000-05:00

We arrived in the evening.

A boat was rented

I slapped on a snorkle

This is what I saw

My cousin Rachel ordered this for dinner but I could only have white rice because I was vomiting profusely.

Nausea did not stop me from swimming and checking out the surrounding islands however

There were a lot of green hills

and interesting swimming holes

The water was gorgeous

This was the boat we rented

Our hotel: The Seadive Resort

I graduated to plain white buns but my stomach was still very unstable. Those purple cookies were tempting.

I like eating pigs

View from hotel during dinner

I finally got to eat some seafood but then promptly threw it up. My illness is still a mystery.

Taxi to the airport

Philip Chives Lee in 2012

2012-01-09T13:07:00.001-05:00

It's a new year and I thought you might like to see updated photos of Pip. Here he is giving a saucy wink at the camera. Needless to say, young Pip is a hit with the ladies, very popular really. One might say he has that animal magnetism people are always talking about.

Escamillo thinks he is getting a bit fat and is warning me about possible diabetes and heart disease. Apparently, I show love through feeding. This bodes ill for any future offspring.

He is a truly adorable little guy.

A pensive Pip

Quiet Pip, at home eating a sunflower seed. There is also some poop in the foreground. He will probably be embarrassed when he sees this. In his defense, however, he is usually a meticulous housekeeper.

Breakfast in the Philippines

2012-01-05T19:06:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of the breakfast foods I found in the Philippines. All Pinoy breakfasts are served with rice, an interesting meat, and an over easy egg. Some of the fancy places also give you a little pile of shredded and pickled vegetables.

This is a fish ubiquitous in many of my meals, called the Bangus. I think the English name for it is milk fish. They serve it whole, like you see above but I had many meals where they serve only the belly. It is a pretty good and obviously versatile white fish.

Pork adobo is not generally an item seen on breakfast menus but here it is served in the traditional breakfast platter. It is ostensibly pork slow cooked in soy sauce and vinegar, recipes vary and can include coconut milk, different meats, etc.

I ate this in the Chinese part of town but the Philippines is the only place I have ever been served congee with a raw egg dropped into it. My brother loves it this way and when he orders congee at a restaurant here in San Francisco, he will always ask for an uncooked egg and drop it in himself.

Sago and gulaman drink is an anytime drink that consists of sugared water, jelly and tapioca. I find the stuff you get at restaurants is much too sweet. These people are sitting duck for the diabeetus. I had to pour tons of ice water into it to temper the overwhelming sweetness.

Ooooooooo! Longasino are sweet, Filipino sausages.

I really liked the Tocino, a preserved, sweet pork that is grilled before serving. The only problem is that I had diarrhea every time I ate it. Granted, it did not stop me from eating it more than once as it was delicious but the stomach problems were annoying.

At a fancy hotel in Baguio with my Uncle, I opted for a Western breakfast.

Two cold cereals were served

as well as fresh fruit. Is it me, or is the milk weirdly white and opaque? It looks like a glass full of cream.

The fruit was okay but this cold oatmeal was gross. My lesson for the day was to avoid Western food in the Philippines. In my defense, this hotel is the former Camp John Haye and US military camp up until WWII.

More longasina, this time with the traditional vinegar dip often accompanying this type of sausage.

This is another version of Tocino, the sweet, preserved pork.

More Tocino... I was eating a lot of it despite the diarrhea it was causing. Some versions were more tasty than others but all caused the loose bowel.

These longasina had their ends tied with inedible string. It seemed old fashioned.

Christmastime in Manila: A Photo Journal

2012-01-05T00:48:00.001-05:00

Airplane Food and a Chance Meeting with Michael Bolton

2012-01-03T21:56:00.001-05:00

I am finally back from Asia. Actually, I got back on Sunday night but have been trying to unpack and clean up. Plus, Monday I got caught up in watching American Horror Story on Hulu. TV is too addictive. I lost a whole day then had nightmares. TV is known to do that.

Anywhoo, I chronicled the airline food I was served on China Air. For the record, China Air is a cheap but horrible way to fly. The food is okay but the planes are ancient, not clean, and I was almost stranded in LAX on my way home.

The above is a beef tendon dish served with rice and broccoli. Salads on planes are generally inedible and this was no different though the fruit was not bad.

Shrimp fried rice with salad (again not eaten) and a delicious mango jam filled cake.

This is processed fish balls with rice, fruit and cured meats. The green thing in the upper right corner is a peach yogurt drink. I ate the yogurt but the ingredients listed on the package was suspect and full of weird preservatives that one does not expect to find on a package of yogurt.

I have no idea what this is. It was a snack the flight attendants passed out on the Manila to Beijing route. The bread had brown swirls that looked sort of like cinnamon bread in pattern and color but had no cinnamon taste. The meat is cured, possibly corned beef. I chased it all down with hot tea or "cha" as they call it in Mandarin.

It was a mistake to order the duck. The meat was a nice texture but it was drowning in a overly saltly sauce. On the bottom right is a bowl of cold duck salad where the duck was presented in a more edible form. Let there be no confusion however as I ate all the duck in both containers. the fruit was okay and they served the weird yogurt drink again which I also ingested. Dessert was a Chinese version of the KitKat made by Nestle. I do not recommend it.

Beef lo mein for dinner. The chocolate cake was not bad but salad still inedible.

Congee was what was served for breakfast. I ate everything on this tray. Nothing was good but everything was tolerable.

Michael Bolton is a super cool guy. He just finished a New Year's special in Beijing and had first class all to himself. I was impressed by how both modest and gracious he was. Not only was he totally nice about having photos taken but he talked about how lucky he felt to be able to perform and do the thing he loved best. I have nothing but glowing things to say about this man.

Last Meal in America for 2012

2011-12-10T10:35:00.000-05:00

I'm leavin' on a jet plane tomorrow for the Philippines. Escamillo chose it for our Christmas vacation destination (I chose Chile) and he won. Except it turns out he has to work so I am going by myself. It shall be three weeks running up and down the archipelago all by my lonesome.

Since I won't be eating American food for a while, I thought chicken pot pie would be a nice going away meal. I made it today in between packing and cleaning the apartment. Sadly, the apartment is not as clean as I hoped it would get before I left. I had to take too many breaks due to exhaustion. This illness is truly cramping my style.

It has been almost ten years since I have been to Asia. I think it will be fun. There are tons of things I did not get to check out when I was there last time. Hopefully, I the flu lifts and I can do all of them.

I'll try to post from abroad but you know how that goes. Until then, Merry Christmas!

Sometimes I Miss NYC...sometimes

2011-12-09T10:53:00.000-05:00

How to Live in New York City

Move here when you’re 18 or 22, maybe even 24. Come from somewhere else-the north, south, west, Xanadu- and come to realize that everyone living in New York is a transplant. Even the ones who grew up on the Upper East Side end up moving into a place downtown, which, as you’ll soon discover, is like moving to a different city.

Discover the cruel and bizarre world of New York City real estate. End up spending an obscene amount of money on something called a broker’s fee, first and last month’s rent and a security deposit. Cry a little bit in the leasing office but remind yourself that you’re so happy to be here.

Picture hearing a man playing the saxophone outside your bedroom window. End up hearing a lot of sirens instead. Figure it’s okay because it’s New York and you’re still so happy to be here.

Go out to bars in the Lower East Side because the Internet told you so. Fall in love with a bar called, Max Fish, and always stay out till four in the morning. Eat a falafel and have someone pay for a cab back to your apartment. Watch the sun start to rise while going over the Williamsburg Bridge and feel like your life is becoming some kind of movie.

Eat bad pizza but trick yourself into believing it’s good because it’s made in New York. Do the same thing with bagels and sex.

Meet people who will be your best friends for three or four months. They’ll help you transition into city life and take you to weird bars in Murray Hill. It will be like the blind leading the blind but once you get a firm grasp on things, you can stop returning their phone calls.

Watch your life in New York go through phases. Spend a summer in Fort Greene with a lover and get to know the neighborhood and its rhythms. Once the fling ends, forget the blocks, parks and restaurants ever existed and don’t return unless you have to.

Encounter a lot of people crying in public. Watch an NYU student cry in Think Coffee, a business woman in midtown sob into her cellphone, an old man whimper on a stoop in Greenpoint. At first, it will feel very jarring but, like everything else, it will become normal. Have your first public cry in front of a Bank of America. Cry so hard and don’t care if people are watching you. You pay good money to be able to cry in public.

Work long hours at a thankless job. Always be one step away from financial destitution. Marvel at how expensive New York is, how when you walk out the door, $20.00 immediately gets deleted from your wallet. Understand that even though no one has any money, everyone is privileged to live in New York City.

Go home for the holidays and run into old friends from high school. When you tell them that you live in New York, watch their eyes widen. They’ll say, “Oh my god, New York? That’s so crazy. I’m so jealous!” Have a blasé attitude about it but deep down inside, know they have good reason to be jealous.

Go home and feel relieved to be away from the energy of the city, that punishing 4:00 a.m. last call. Spend the first two days eating and sleeping, getting back to normal. Spend the last two days feeling anxious and ready to get back to your real home. Realize this city has you by the balls and isn’t going to let you go.

Someday you might grow tired of it all though. You might start crying in public more often than you’d like, have a bad break-up and want to pack it all up.

Certain moments of living in the city will always stick out to you. Buying plums from a fruit vendor on 34th street and eating three of them on a long walk, the day you spent in bed with your best friend watching Tyra Banks, the amazing rooftop party you attended on a sweltering hot day in July. These memories might seem insignificant but they were all moments when you looked around the city and felt like you were a part of it all.

When you leave the city, you probably won’t come back. Eventually your life in New York will seem so far away and sometimes you’ll even wonder if it really happened. Don’t worry. It did.

DEC. 20, 2010

By RYAN O'CONNELL

Finals are Over, But I am Still Sick

2011-12-08T19:47:00.000-05:00

I had my last final this morning and was the third person out of there. Though I am getting better everyday, I am still ill. My uncle asked that I pick up some oil for him downtown and the trip just about exhausted me. I stopped for Indian food for lunch because I thought I was going to pass out. This is crazy! I cannot ever remember being so weak that I couldn't ride the subway and walk a few blocks.

When I was little, I used to feel sorry for the dumb people who went to school with me. Most of them were nice people and I watched them struggle with understanding concepts that seemed obvious to me. I wondered what it must be like to be dumb; to try really hard to think but always come up blank. When I got to college and started taking upper level Math and Science courses, I learned what that was like. Then I felt sorry for myself.

On a similar note, there have been times I have looked on with revulsion and disgust on the weak. Mostly, I think they are faking it and are just lazy but golly, to actually be weak and tired from only walking a couple of blocks (okay by a couple I mean ten, but still, ten blocks is not a big deal) is crazy. When I finally got back to my apartment, I felt more sick then when I woke up this morning. I thought I was going to die coughing and then took a nap.

Being weak and stupid is the worst ever.

Alien Landscape

2011-12-07T14:56:00.001-05:00

We camped in Big Bend and this is what we saw. Creepy.....

Escamillo and I pretended we were on Star Trek. I was Captain Kirk. Escamillo was the guy in the red shirt who kept rolling his eyes.

All this mysterious smoke kept coming up from the ground. We had no idea what it was. First we thought it was hot springs since there was a tiny bit of water everywhere but it wasn't. It was just steam. Weird.

OMG I kid you not, but on the hike over we saw Indian Burial Grounds (feather not dot) and a Pet Cemetery. I know...... scary.

One of the alien life forms up close.

Water hole

We thought about fishing but were too lazy.

Aliens on the attack.

Seriously, what in the world is this? It was surreal. I certainly did not want to sleep here.

It was sort of pretty but still.....

We ended up camping a little bit away but I was scared to crawl out of the tent to pee.

I kept imagining one of these alien thing waiting for me outside of the tent, ready to attack. They don't look hospitable. It's probably all the tentacles.

It's the Flu

2011-12-06T23:33:00.000-05:00

I went to the student clinic on monday after my morning exam and it turns out I have the flu. Since it is a virus they couldn't do much. If I was an elderly person, immuno compromised person or a little kid, I might have pushed for some Tamiflu or something but alas, I got nothing.

On the bright side, I am slowly getting better and can walk around now not hunched over in pain. Things still hurt but the "I just got hit by a bus" feeling is mostly gone. My head is still throbbing and congested and throat sore and I have since developed a cough with mucus but truly not as bad as i was on Sunday. Plus, I am not dropping off to sleep as much. Granted, I did fall asleep halfway through my exam on Monday morning but Oh Well.... I woke up and finished it way before the time allotted anyway.

We got out test case scores back to day and I passed everything, not to mention I rocked crown & bridge. I might be a decent dentist after all :) Anyway, two more exams to go then I am free fro three weeks!

Rainbow Trout for Thanksgiving

2011-12-06T23:20:00.000-05:00

I know Thanksgiving was a billion years ago but I never got around to posting these photos for one reason or another. Better late than never?

We went to Redding to fish in the Lower Sacramento River.

It turns out Escamillo is quite good at fly fishing. He caught a ton of fish! It was salmon breeding time and the trout love eating salmon eggs. We used little orange and pink plastic balls as bait and those little guys fell for it every time.

I only caught one and it was by sheer luck this guy got tangled on my hook. It was the biggest one caught that day however at a good two feet. Rainbow trout are so beautiful. The area where we fished is catch and release only so everything we caught went back into the water very carefully.

The guide showed us how to slowly nurse them into the river allowing their gills to get enough oxygen for them to recover from shock and swim away. If you just dump them in, they will drown, so you have to hold on to the fish and make sure it is not floating on its side or back and wait around until they zip out of your hands. We also used barbless hooks. It's a law there or something.

The Plague

2011-12-04T20:42:00.000-05:00

I think I have it, the plague, I mean. We did fluoride varnish on a bunch of preschoolers last week and I contracted some sort of horrible disease. I may die. The sad part was that I was using antibacterial gel like crazy but to no avail. It is probably some virus I got when some sick kid breathed on me. Ugh.... I am never going to do pediatric dentistry.

Pit Stop

2011-12-01T02:36:00.001-05:00

Escamillo and I made a pit stop at this adorable diner in Big Bend. We were camping the night before and already had a breakfast of oatmeal but Escamillo thought we ought to have our elevenses.

I asked for a half order of biscuits and sausage gravy. It was marvelous. The biscuits were doughy, sticky and unctuous while the sausage gravy was thick enough to only cling to the outer sides of the biscuits instead of soaking all the way through and leaving a soggy mess. This was a plate of bliss.

Escamillo ordered some sort of lumber jack breakfast. I thought it was only okay but he was in the mood for bacon. However, it did not stop him from eating a good portion of my biscuits and gravy.

Coffee is a comfort especially in cold weather. Is it me, or do I look sort of like a trucker in this photo?

Hot Springs

2011-11-29T00:42:00.000-05:00

Escamillo and I went to Big Bend over Thanksgiving weekend. It is about 4 hours north of San Francisco and just breath taking.

One of the first things we did was hike out to the hot springs. We parked the car and did an easy two mile stroll and found this.

They were very hot. All that smoke you see is steam crated by the very cold air and very hot water. The whole place smelled of sulfur but it was not unpleasant.

We forgot to pack towels so we borrowed some from a hotel we stayed in on Thursday in Redding.

I forgot my swimsuit and did not want to buy a new one so we went in the buff. No one was around so it was okay. I felt a bit shy about it though signifying that I have become more conservative in my old age.

Four feet....

To Escamillo

2011-11-28T23:17:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T13:52:00.002-05:00

Escamillo and I are leaving today for a fishing trip in the lower Sacramento River and some camping and hiking in Big Bend. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and eats lots of turkey!

My Little Pony

2011-11-24T04:59:00.000-05:00

This is what I would look like if I were a Little Pony.

Undies

2011-11-23T13:03:00.001-05:00

My normal regime.

This is what goes down when Escamillo is in town. Apparently, he thinks it is weird that a 30 year old likes super heroes.

Tapas Night

2011-11-22T20:47:00.001-05:00

I went a little crazy at the farmers' market and brought home a ridiculous amount of produce so we decided on a tapas night. Escamillo and I hung out, drank box wine and ate without utensils. We dined on procciuto wrapped melon, heirloom tomatoes anointed with a little oil and balsamic, and baked figs topped with blue cheese.

Escamillo is a refined man, and had some trouble maneuvering food with fingers only. As a result, the white table cloth was seriously blotched by the end of the evening.

Nothing new these days. I am taking a little break from school work, I should really be preparing for finals. The quarter just flew by. If things continue at this rate, I am going to be a dentist in the time it takes to blink. I don't remember undergrad going by this quickly. It may be an age thing. 30 is very different from 18.

Escamillo and I are not celebrating a traditional Thanksgiving this year. Instead, we are heading out to the lower Scramento River to go fly fishing, with a guide of course. We are wildly excited as this is out first fly fishing trip. If the weather is not too cold, we may try to squeeze in a little camping as well but if not hiking and hotels will be in the cards.

Tea Par-tay at DarTEAling Lounge

2011-11-20T21:05:00.002-05:00

We have half days on Thursdays so my friends Renee, Nancy and I used the free time to have a tiny little tea at DarTEAling.

Everything in this place is adorable.

We chose two different teas, one a classic Queen Mary and another was a fruity concoction.

I like milk and sugar in my Queen tea.

The tea sandwiches were amazing: brie & chutney, curry chicken, turkey, and nutella. I almost swooned over the turkey, but all the sandwiches were delicious.

The sandwiches looked small but were very filling.

The pastry tray came next.

These are tiny petite fours and cream puffs with kiwi and jam.

I like my scones heavily laden with lemon curd and clotted cream.

After tea we wandered the gift shop. They had cake pops and

tea of course.

Everything was wildly adorable, even the receipt. Renee had a coupon from Yelp which they refused to honor which was annoying. She called the day before and everything. We thought about making a stink about it but figured if we wanted to return it would probably be awkward.

Now in honor of our half day tea partay, here is a fun video for your viewing pleasure.

By the Way, I Climbed a Mountain.

2011-11-19T11:16:00.001-05:00

I just realized I have not added a post in two weeks. It's been rather busy here at Rubs Wanted.

I climbed a mountain.

It was this one: Lovers Leap in Tahoe.

Lots of gear were involved.

There was this chimney we had to shimmy up, and quite frankly I was so scared a couple of times I almost peed in my pants.

It was fun though. I had a cold but still made it up the 3.5 pitches. The climbing was scary but not bad, however the approach was difficult on the old cardiovascular system. I am not in good shape and need to work out more. It has been too long since I have seen the inside of a gym.

Removable Partial Denture Test Case, Surprise!

2011-11-08T00:43:00.002-05:00

To be fair, I was told about the removable partial denture test case a week ago. I just forgot. Oops. Now I am cramming all the information in my head so that I can duplicate one of the designs tomorrow. There are 6 potential designs and I have to be able to duplicate one of the six and write up the work order for the lab. Crazy.

On a happier note, I passed the written portion of last week's Preventative Restorative Dental Science exam. The word is still out on the crown and bridge test case. My preparation was not very nice but hopefully it was good enough to pass. Hopefully, we find out this week. If I failed it, it will be my first fail. *sigh* I would have rather not fail anything.

****Update: Grades came back today and I got a 96%. Ha!

I also passed the test case but only a 85% No complaints though. It wasn't my best work.

A Weekend of Naps & Cold

2011-11-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

Actually, it was the weekend of studying but studying makes me sleepy so mostly I caught up on napping. Also, it got cold all of a sudden.

Escamillo and I took a little break and went outside.

Brrrrrrrrrr..... Mostly that was coming from Escamillo. He gets to turn the heat way up in his office but no where else. The heat in the new apartment is electric so I have to pay it and it doubled last month.

Now Escamillo wanders around pretending to be freezing. I asked if perhaps he has the hypothyroid or something ( the exam involves thyroid hormones). He looked like such a poor, frozen thing that I acquiesced on the heat but he refused to turn it on in the rest of the apartment.

Personally, I find it chilly but not a big deal. Plus, I over heat easily so the cold does not affect me much.

It Got Cold

2011-11-05T00:28:00.000-04:00

so I made split pea soup. It was delicious and very easy since I just threw everything into the Crockpot. I am a very big fan of the Crockpot. That thing makes endless supplies of comforting foods when the cold winds begin to blow. The Indian Summer here in SF has slowly run its course and we are left once again with cold and foggy weather. I know it sounds awful but I like to turn lemons into lemonade and use it as an excuse to eat comfort foods and snuggle under blankets with Escamillo. A lot of giggling happens under those blankets. Mostly because I have cold extremities and like to surprise Escamillo with them when he is not paying attention. Ha!

We did local anesthesia injections again today, the second round. Each round has 3 injections and my god, they are wildly nerve wracking and painful. The dental students practice on each other, that way we know how it feels and we have live people we on which to practice. It is no picnic however if you can imagine someone rooting around your mouth with a syringe loaded up with 3% polocaine trying to get the angle just right (sometimes while the needle is already deep in your mucosa), and aiming at your major nerves of the face. Afterwards, I arrive home with a somewhat swollen face, feeling like I am drooling, with a hacked up mouth.

It was nice not to have to chew dinner. I sort of want Crockpot Mac n' Cheese for tomorrow.

Cousin's Wedding Food

2011-11-03T00:52:00.000-04:00

My cousin got married in this place called Livermore. This was the cake. I think the whole reception was trying to chronicle their relationship together.

I liked the mini milks they served to go with the cake. The straws were the best part.

Me in the fake eyelashes that won't come off, eating cake.

I think this was supposed to be a Mexican Caesar salad.

Street food themed dinner. The garlic and cheese fries were the best part.

Adorable party favors! We got to fill our own boxes full of treats.

Some of the treats

Eye Lashes Stuck on My Face

2011-11-01T23:11:00.000-04:00

We knew this was going to happen. It was bound to happen. I bought fake eyelashes and stuck them on for my cousin's wedding. They looked pretty good and not fake at all. They were the individual clumps and not the strips. I followed the directions, and it took about an hour because I was not used to it but the end result was great.

I went to the wedding and came home. The kit came with both glue and remover. Good news is the glue worked great, but the bad news was that the remover does not work. Not even a little. I panicked and asked Escamillo to go online to see how to get them off. Most say to dissolve it with oil. I tried baby oil, olive oil, oil based makeup remover. Those puppies would not budge so I ended up washing my face and going to sleep. It was late and I figured I would deal with it in the morning.

I work up and they were in fact still on my face. The directions said to make sure they are glued to one's own eyelashes and not the skin so I could not just pull them off. Otherwise all of my regular (and already sparse) lashes would god with them.

Escamillo and I decided maybe I did not keep the oil on long enough so I sat around with olive oil soak cotton balls on my eyes. It did not work. What ended up happening was a rash all over my eyelids and face.

It has been 3 days. My eyes are swollen and hurt. I still have most of the things on but some have fallen off. I started taking tweezers and chipping away at the glue on my eye lashes and was able to remove some but to my dismay, my actual eye lashes have come off with them.

My face looks ridiculous. The fake eye lash clumps have not come off evenly so my eyes are a patch work of plastic hairs. I hope that by the end of the week they are all gone. I am never wearing fake eyelashes again!

Cousin's Wedding Day

2011-10-29T14:58:00.000-04:00

I found this photograph of St. Michael's Parish online. This is where we have to go today at 3pm for my cousin's wedding. It should be fun despite the fact that I am sick, some sort of cold or something I picked up from scuba class.

Not to worry however, I went to the Walgreens this morning and loaded up on Dayquil. Yes! The night version got me through last year when I had that weird pneumonia so I am hoping the Dayquil will pull me through this weekend.

Oooooooo! AND when I was at Walgreens, I picked up fake eyelashes. Yup! I am going to try them today. It may go really well and I will look awesome or very bad where I just end up with plastic eyelashes all over my face. Frankly, I am hoping for the former but if I end up with the latter, at least I can say I am doing it for Halloween.

A Difficult Morning

2011-10-28T16:13:00.000-04:00

We had a test case (see above) and a written exam this morning. I was not prepared. Big time. Both were fair and probably even easy for a person who put in the work. I am not that person because I have been sick and helping start this women's dental group at school. The women's group is way more work than I anticipated. Geez Louise.

Anyway, this is how we turn in out test cases. We have these removable teeth called typodonts. The professor tells us what preparation he wants and what tooth, then we drill it up inside the face of a mannequin. After the time is up, we unscrew the teeth and place it on a cart to be wheeled away and graded by the professors. Simple.

Simple Baked Salmon with Pesto

2011-10-27T21:27:00.000-04:00

My mom made this. It is wildly easy to make: cover salmon with pesto, top with sliced grape tomatoes, then bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. (15 if you like it rare). I served it with linguini tossed in butter and sprinkled with parmesan shavings.

Tonight I am studying for an exam we have tomorrow. It is actually two separate exams but in the same class. One is written and the other is a test case where we need to perform a porcelain fused crown preparation. I am a bit worried because I am having a difficult time focusing.

Emeryville Dim Sum

2011-10-27T02:03:00.000-04:00

Sunday was a day for dim sim, so my brother took us to Emeryville.

Fried sticky rice balls filled with pork and various savory delicious things.

Steamed stuffed rice in lotus leaves.

Clockwise from the top: fried sticky rice balls, fried stuffed taro balls, steamed rice noodles filled with beef paste.

Oooooooo! Dim sum.....

This is my family. Escamillo took this photograph. They made fun of my lipstick. My brother wanted to know if I was going to fight Batman later.

Family Time

2011-10-25T22:50:00.002-04:00

My mommy is visiting from Florida so I made brunch: Eggs Benedict with homemade biscuits. The biscuits were a new recipe and not good. Perhaps they were under cooked?

This was the set up. My brother and his wife came over as well. Last week was his birthday so I made pumpkin pie, his favorite dessert.

There were candles.

Actually, I made two. One to eat and the other for him to take home.

Escamillo also delights in pumpkin pie. They ate an entire pie between the two of them. No word yet on the one my brother took home. I actually do not like pumpkin pie and only make it for my brother and Escamillo. There is no putting my finger on the reason but it may have something to do with the texture. Fruit pies are more to my liking, but I have noticed boys seem to swoon at even the mention of pumpkin pie. I have never looked for a special recipe because I am just not that interested so I just use whatever is on the back of the Libby's pumpkin can. There have been no complaints so it's what I do.

Escamillo likes it so much that he insists on closing all the windows while the pies are baking, lest even the smell escape. The mind is boggled by boys. They are silly creatures.

Argentine Empanadas

2011-10-23T19:27:00.000-04:00

We had leftover crescent roll dough, you know, the kind that comes in a can. I did not know what to do with it, then I had an epiphany. Empanadas!

I found a recipe for empanada filling on allrecipes.com (see below). It was basic, with ground beef, olives, raisins and spices. We had everything just hanging out in the pantry.

I think figuring out how much filling to use in the crescent triangles was the most difficult part. Initially, I was over stuffing and the empanadas looked like they were about to explode.

There were holes but a quick brush with egg yolk made all the difference.

They looked quite nice when they came out of the oven.

Viola!

The recipe call for puff pastry but I did not have any and wanted to get rid of the crescent roll dough. I bet it would have tasted better if puff pastry were used.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup shortening

2 onions, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika

3/4 teaspoon hot paprika

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

salt to taste

1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff

pastry sheets, thawed

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a saute; pan melt the shortening and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until just before they begin to turn golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the sweet paprika, hot paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
2.	Spread the meat on a sieve and pour boiling water on it for partial cooking. Allow meat to cool. Place meat in a dish add salt to taste, cumin and vinegar. Mix and add the meat to the onion mixture. Mix well and place on a flat to dish to cool and harden.
3.	Cut puff pastry dough into 10 round shells. Place a spoonful of the meat mixture on each round; add some of the raisins, olives and hard boiled egg. Avoid reaching the edges of the pastry with the filling because its oiliness will prevent good sealing. Slightly wet the edge of the pastry, fold in two and stick edges together. The shape should resemble that of a half-moon. You should have a 2/3 to 1/2 inch flat edge of pastry to work with. Seal by twisting edge, step by step, between thumb and index finger, making sure to add pressure before releasing the pinch and moving on to the next curl. Other sealing procedures like pinching without curling or using a fork to seal will not prevent juice leaks during baking, and empanadas must be juicy.
4.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place empanadas on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be sure to prick each empanada with a fork near the curl to allow steam to escape during baking. Glaze with egg for shine and bake until golden, about 20 to 30 minutes.

A Rough Day

2011-10-20T01:03:00.000-04:00

We had to go to an elementary school today to do screenings. It wasn't bad but draining especially since I had allergies and took a Benedryl. Then I fell asleep in class where I have to sit right in front of the professor. This has been happening almost every class and it has got to stop. The professor is getting pissed and quite frankly, I would be too. It is disrespectful and downright insulting to have people fall asleep while you lecture. I knew it might happen so I drank a huge coffee for lunch but to no avail.

Finally I stayed in the lab until 8pm and everything went wrong so I have nothing to show for it. Terrible. I need to figure out a way to not fall asleep after lunch. I may stop eating a full lunch from now on. My friend said the same thing was happening to him and he started eating only a small piece of fruit in the afternoon and it got better.

2011-10-19T01:23:00.002-04:00

For what it's worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Slacking

2011-10-19T01:11:00.000-04:00

I have been slacking on the posts lately because life is getting a bit busy. Nothing school related of course, mostly fun things and Escamillo related things. Let's be honest, when I have tons of studying to do, there is also an increase in Rubs posting. I am a procrastinator. In fact, I am supposed to be studying for an endocrine exam right now.

I have been climbing a lot, had an gastrointestinal exam which I passed by a wide margin (Whew!) and had a party. My mom is coming this weekend and staying with us and I will be hosting an elaborate brunch for her, my brother and his wife. Escamillo will co-host and it will have to be sort of special because it is also a mini birthday celebration for my brother who entered his mid 30's last week.

New Old Chairs

2011-10-17T02:19:00.000-04:00

Our chairs broke and buying new ones from Ikea proved to be expensive and I felt unsure that they would not suffer the same fate as the first set. I decided the best course of action would be to purchase old chairs since clearly they were solid enough to stand the test of time. Plus old chairs are cheap.

I found four chairs on Craigslist for $10 each. They were painted different colors and had awful, not matching seats. The wood was nice however and I liked how they were shaped.

A little white paint and new fabric for the seats and Viola! The only downside is that the end cost was rather expensive. Paint is surprisingly not cheap and I also had to purchase a staple gun. Between all the tools and materials I had to purchase, each chair went up in price by about $20.

Sotto Mare Revisted

2011-10-17T01:34:00.000-04:00

Here is my second newspaper article. The aim is a biweekly food column. I think I am going to do a recipe of some sort for the next one.

This is Escamillo trying to be dashing :)

Okay, now without further ado, my newest article:

Date Night at Sotto Mare

Date night is an important part of the week, and everyone knows that the food involved can make or break the evening. This weekend, my boyfriend and I chose North Beach as our date destination. The weather has been rather spectacular as of late and we were feeling a bit Mediterranean, so we chose Sotto Mare, a tiny restaurant on Green Street. It is essentially a long, narrow corridor where patrons can sit at close quarters either along the bar or in cramped tables lining the wall. My boyfriend and I like the bar because it overlooks their small strip of kitchen and we like to see the dramatic fires that blaze every now and again, sometimes almost large enough to sear off one’s eyebrows. On this fine evening, outdoor seating was available but it was crowded and we opted to sit at the bar for the first spaces available.

For those of you going for the first time, take note that Sotto Mare does not accept reservations. It is a popular restaurant where you will inevitably wait a few minutes to be seated. The good news is that they give complimentary house wine while you wait and the longer you wait, the more free wine you get to pour down the old gullet. Plus, that evening they had a lone musician roaming the one isle in the restaurant singing and alternately accompanying himself with a ukulele and an accordion. He sang everything from Beatles covers to Anchors Aweigh, and despite being a fire hazard, was quite good.

The item to order at Sotto Mare is the Cioppino, a delectable tomato based fish stew with origins among the Portuguese and Italian fishermen who settled in North Beach in the 1800’s. At Sotto Mare, it comes out in a huge, silver bowl brimming with an assortment of crab, mussels, clams, shrimp and other ocean inhabitants. Everything in the Cioppino is perfectly cooked with nary a rubbery bit or mealy morsel to be had. A girl could swoon upon tasting the overwhelming deliciousness of this dish. I particularly like eating the seafood first, then using bread to mop up whatever else is left in my bowl. It is a little pricey on a graduate student’s budget at $33 but trust me when I say it is both worth it and big enough to share between two healthy appetites. If not shared, bringing home leftovers is even better as the Cioppino tastes surprisingly amazing the next day.

If you are feeling a bit more peckish, I recommend the Grilled Sand Dabs. It is a simple, little dish of delicate, white fish lightly breaded and grilled in olive oil. The result is what feels like fish flavored butter melting on one’s tongue. The word “Divine” has been bandied about when describing this dish. I am salivating just thinking of it.

Beyond the food and the ambiance, it must be noted that patrons are issued paper bibs with little, red crabs printed all over them. This is perfect for date night because one does not even need to think about what to wear. A seafood themed bib will take care of it. The only downside is that Sotto Mare does not serve dessert because the owner has the “diabeetus.” It is not the end however for those of us who still maintain a sweet tooth, as North Beach has a wide array of pastry, fudge, and gelato shops lining its streets.

Sotto Mare

552 Green Street

San Francisco, CA 94133

415. 398. 3181

Murder at the Museum

2011-10-14T23:28:00.000-04:00

I almost forgot about this. While we were in Newport, RI, Escamillo and I saw an advertisement for a fun event at the museum so we made a night of it. First, we had a Newport dinner which of course involved lobster. Lobster pie is pictured above. It was okay.

We also had a lobster salad sandwich. It was good but not as good as the lobster sandwich we had for lunch. Yes, we had been having lobster all over town all weekend long. A vacation is not a vacation without sampling the local deliciousness so we did a lot of sampling.

I don't think i ever mentioned this, but I am an amateur detective.

Escamillo likes disguises. Here he is pretending to be a colonial.

Here we are as the Mrs. and Mr. Elliot dressed as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The murder mystery involved various characters of note from the Guilded Age including the Elliot's, the Astors, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, etc. We had a fun night but I was unable to solve the mystery due to a horrible middle aged woman who hogged the clues.

Cinnamon Buns From the Neighbors

2011-10-13T21:43:00.001-04:00

Whitney, my neighbor dropped these delicious treats off the other day still warm from the oven. Escamillo almost swooned from the aroma. As soon as I told him she was coming over with cinnamon buns, Escamillo's eye lit up and he ran to the coffee maker to make a fresh pot.

It's been well over a week, the buns have been eaten and I still have the baking dish. I am clearly a deadbeat and bad neighbor who does not deserve fresh baked goods out of the blue.

In other news, I have been falling asleep all over the place. Embarrassing. I go to bed pretty early so I am not sure what the problem is. The worst part is that I have been wearing this crazy bright red lipstick almost everyday and now I am probably known as that sleeping girl wearing the bright red lipstick among my professors. Falling asleep in class has got to stop. The crazy thing is that the topics being covered are pretty interesting. Maybe I have that sleeping problem, narcolepsy or something.

A Blast from Escamillo's Past: The Newport Creamery

2011-10-10T23:41:00.001-04:00

Escamillo and I spent a weekend in Newport, RI back in September and he insisted we make a stop at the Newport Creamery. We shared a delicious waffle sundae with pistachio and caramel turtle ice cream. Their pistachio ice cream is absolutely the most pistachio flavored item I have ever eaten. It may be the more pistachio tasting than actual pistachios. The fake green color throws a person off a bit and I admit I was skeptical, but Newport Creamery certainly delivers when it comes to pistachio ice cream.

Escamillo has fond memories here.

The ice cream brings him back to childhood days of Sunday treats and post soccer game prizes.

All I Did in Boot Camp was Eat Ice Cream

2011-10-09T20:08:00.001-04:00

It was cheap (~$1.25) and pretty high quality. My favorite was the September flavor of the month: Moosetracks. Imagine microscopic Reeses Peanut Butter Cups embedded in vanilla ice cream with thin layers of crisp chocolate swirled throughout. I was in heaven. That whole thing was served in a bowl made out of a sugar waffle.

With temptation like that, I could not help myself. I ate it all the time and probably got the diabeetus. Needless to say, I did not return home from bootcamp more fit than when I left.

Oh yeah, and if you can see the little gold leaf on my lapel, it means I am a dentist. Our sign is a gold leaf with two little silver acorns on the bottom. It was cool when we got our uniforms, because people could stop assuming I was a nurse. Apparently, woman = nurse. Though maybe it is bad to eat all that ice cream with dental insignias all over my clothes because it sets a bad example. Sugar is bad for your teeth, boys and girls.

Frozen Seafood ----> Mediocre Pasta

2011-10-08T18:56:00.000-04:00

I can now ride my scooter all the way to 26th street. This means I can go to the Asian grocery store. Yay! While there, I found all sorts of interesting frozen food and ended up bring home various frozen things that began life in the sea: bay scallops, shrimp, clams, etc. It was wildly cheap so I thought, why not.

I was too lazy to look up a recipe so I just fried up some bacon in a pan, threw in garlic and onion, then the seafood. There was a left over half of an heirloom tomato on the counter so I chopped it up and threw it in for good measure. It sounds like it would turn out pretty tasty, doesn't it? Unfortunately, that was not the case. It was not bad, but not that good. Maybe I should have followed some sort of recipe?

Fleet Week is Here

2011-10-08T17:58:00.000-04:00

Fleet Week is here in SF! Escamillo and I went on a dinner date last night and the accordion player started playing Anchors Aweigh. I sang along. Then I started singing the Marines' Hymn. Then I drank too much wine and kept singing both over and over again in a loop. Escamillo is a loving and patient man to put up with me.

The sailors above are not from last night. It is a photo of my company visiting a destroyer back in September. Every sailor we saw last night were Marines. All enlisted. I thought I should maybe get a crowd of Marines together and sing their song.

I like the Marines' Hymn better than Anchors Aweigh. The last part is the best: If the Army and the Navy were look on heaven's scenes, they would find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.

Hahahaha

2011-10-08T01:47:00.002-04:00

A Glimpse into Officer Development School: My Rack

2011-10-07T00:20:00.000-04:00

This was the sign on the door indicating the occupants and their collateral duties. My roommate spent hours, many drafts, and used a ruler to write her name out first in pencil then in pen. Can you guess which one is hers? Hint: Mine is the one on the bottom and I just wrote it out.

Racks are what Navy people call beds. They are difficult to make and are a two person job. Rulers are involved. The corner folds need to be at a 45 degree angle while the fold over on top needed to be 6 inches exactly. There are room inspections and point are taken off if the folds are not exact and if the room is not spotless.

The garbage can was never used because it had to always be empty and in a specific place under the window. Our chairs were also assigned to specific spots so we hardly ever sat in them. We were also not allowed to be in our beds before 10pm because beds were for sleeping only and sleep was not allowed until 10pm. Laundry bags could not have more than 3 days worth of laundry in them but sometimes 3 days worth of laundry looked like it might be too much so we would throw dirty clothes in the closet to hide them. They are rather persnickety in the Navy.

Spices! Article

2011-10-05T21:46:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned previously, I wrote an article for our student paper. Here it is:

Spices! : A Review

Chinese food is best eaten in large groups, family style. With this in mind, a dozen dental students and I descended on Spices!, a small Sichuan restaurant located on 8^th Ave in the Inner Richmond. We chose the original location but there are two other satellite locations, ostensibly serving the same Chinese taste extravaganza.

Spices! certainly lives up to its name. My party consisted of two Chinese speakers, one of whom hails from the Sichuan region. They did the ordering for our entire group, choosing an array of both spicy and not so spicy dishes. Mild entrees were chosen for those whose taste buds could not handle the heat, but the absence of heat did not mean an absence of flavor or overall deliciousness. The main draw at Spices! however, is spices, specifically, the Sichuan pepper. The Sichuan pepper contains traces of hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, which induces a tingly numbness in the mouth, setting the stage for chili and other sensations.

Unfortunately, our one Sichuan pepper laced entrée did not have enough Sichuan pepper. The Numbing Spicy Beef Tendon was good but did not induce any lip tingles or oral mucosa buzzing. It contained a mix of tendon and delectably unctuous tripe, which was tasty and possessed the perfect amount of resistance against ones tooth but the lack of numbing sensations made it a bit disappointing. However, it did not prevent me from having seconds.

Fire Popped! Spicy Tofu Skin was a mass of one-inch bean curd skin strips, piled high with red and green chili peppers mixed in for color and heat. It had a wonderful, chewy texture with an almost sweet flavor beneath the onslaught of chili. I ate it with white rice and enjoyed it immensely. It was difficult to say the same about the Fried Stinky! Tofu.

Apparently, stinky tofu is for many an acquired taste. I never acquired it though I have done my best to have a “no thank you” helping every time stinky tofu and I cross paths. In case you have never encountered it, stinky tofu is in fact, stinky. Stinky is an understatement because this particular tofu emits a strong, almost overwhelming aroma that probably attracts carrion eaters. Because of my inability to handle stinky tofu, I could not do it justice in a review. Of the people in my party who do enjoy the stink, the Fried Stinky! Tofu received mixed reviews. Some thought it was over fried while others maintained that it was delicious. Perhaps the more adventurous of our readers can go check it out for themselves.

In the realm of not spicy food, Spices! had much to offer. My favorite item was the Stir Fried Ong-Choi with Garlic. I could eat the mounds of luscious greens, slippery and tender with a distinct garlic flavor all day, everyday. The Orange Beef was a nice reprieve from the spicy dishes but it was not the best.

Instead, I would suggest room in the stomach to be saved for the Sweet & Sour Fried Fish Fillet. I can neither confirm nor deny that when no one was looking, I inhaled half the plate.

Spices!

294 8^th Ave

San Francisco, CA94118

415.752.8884

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

2011-10-04T01:46:00.001-04:00

I am feeling melancholy for some reason. I think it is the weather. The beginning of Autumn is getting to me, maybe. I made dumplings today after class. Matt came over for a snack before our afternoon classes and regaled me with his various hijinx around town. He is making me nostalgic for my young and wild days in New York. To be 23 again..... *sigh*

I wonder if all the adventures are over. I am making peso tomorrow and will also try to get a move on studying for my exam on Monday.

It's October!

2011-10-03T11:41:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin month has begun, school is also in full swing and I am behind already. The last week has been very active here however. I purchased and refurbished dining chairs, became a founding member and the treasurer of my school's chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists, and began an eating themed column at the school newspaper. Busy, Busy......

A Day in Seattle

2011-09-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

Escamillo's friend got married so we went to Seattle last weekend for the reception. The first thing we did was eat donuts at Top Pot donuts (photos and review to come). Then we went to the Space Needle, a 1960's futuristic extravaganza built for the World's Fair.

This was the Rock Museum next door. We did not go in but I admired the building from outside. It was crazy looking.

The Public Market, aka Pike Market, is where we had lunch.

Since we were in Seattle, we chose seafood. It was sooooooo good. I ordered the prawn sandwich and

Escamillo ordered salmon. We ate half or each and traded. Escamillo preferred the salmon, while I was torn between the two. The texture of the shrimp was out of this world while the flavor of the salmon was slightly most excellent than the shrimp. Both were amazing however and if it were not so far away, I would hit the market for seafood sandwiches all the time.

Dessert was more donuts!

I essentially ate the whole bag by myself.

In the evening, we went to the reception at the Sea Aquarium. During cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, I fed the sea creatures.

Starfish received mussels and the urchins received seaweed. I was the only one feeding them because everyone else was too busy being fancy and wedding-ish.

Back From a Successful Stint on the East Coast

2011-09-25T18:52:00.000-04:00

I am back from bootcamp! This is me in my working whites the night before graduation from Officer Development School. It was not as fun as I thought it would be and I gained weight from all the bad food. Overall, it was sort of fun and the people were very nice. More posts to come on this topic.

Board results came back and I passed!!! I got an 82, not good but not bad. Basically, a decent score that is not embarrassing. Considering how little I studied, I feel pretty good about it.

The Wurst

2011-08-12T20:20:00.000-04:00

I took the Boards on Wednesday and it was wildly difficult. Whenever I complain about this sort of thing, Escamillo will always say, "If they made it easy, everyone would do it." So that is true, but they may have made it too hard, at least for the likes of me. The results go in the mail four weeks from now so I can only hope I did okay.

Escamillo went on a German kick not too long ago and brought home various wurts. I think this was one of the veal and lamb ones. We ate them with sauerkraut and mustard. No ketchup because Escamillo is not a patriot.

In a moment of agency, I used Dijon mustard. Ha!

Tomorrow I leave for bootcamp for five weeks. I do not think I will be able to post, but I will bring my computer and maybe they'll allow it. Here's a crazy thing about it that I just found out. They are making me pay for all of my own meals. It is something like $11 a day. Can you believe that? Is it part of all the military cut backs they are doing? I think it is ridiculous.

Lumpia Shanghai

2011-08-09T14:20:00.001-04:00

Escamillo and I had a bunch of left over ground pork that needed to be cooked or thrown away, so I decided to try to make Lumpia Shanghai. I know it has a Chinese city in the name but it is actually a Filipino dish. We did not have a recipe so I tried to make one up based on what I remember from my time in the Philippines.

Basically, I mixed together 1.5lbs of ground pork, 2 eggs, 1 grated carrot, half a diced onion, 1 small package of cellophane noodles and soy sauce.

Escamillo was in charge of rolling the filling into egg roll wrapper.

Here is what they looked like before they hit the hot oil.

I deep fried them.

The results were okay. I remember them crispier, so I think we needed to wrap them in more egg roll wrapper. Notes for next time....

*******************************************************************************

Sooooooo.... I have the dreaded boards tomorrow. I feel nervous but hopeful. The fail rate is pretty low so maybe I can squeeze by on a pass. A lot of the stuff I have to know for it has nothing to do with dentistry. For instance, I refused to memorize muscles that are not part of the head and neck. Seriously, when in my dental career will I have to know about leg muscles?

Sunday Peach Pancakes

2011-08-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, so today is not Sunday. We made them on Sunday and I am just posting now. There seems to be a backlog of photos. Don't these guys look just grand?

I went to the Farmers' Market and bought an insane amount of these gorgeous peaches. Sadly, it turned out that Eascamillo and I could not eat them quickly enough and some had to be thrown away. They were wonderful though, while they lasted. Fruit is so ephemeral and one must be fast in their consumption.

We had left over buttermilk so I decided to make buttermilk pancakes and stuff them with peaches.

Buttermilk makes wildly fluffy pancakes. Escamillo likes them small, silver dollar, I believe they are called. I like one giant one. We made them small, a la Escamillo, because I am a loving.

They turned out pretty good.

Escamillo ate his plain because he said the peaches added just the right amount of sweetness. I, on the other hand, have a sweet tusk and demanded mine be swimming in maple syrup.

******************************************

Today is Monday. I have Boards on Wednesday. There is a decidedly moderate chance I will fail, because science facts seem to be leaking out of my brain.

This morning I did a test run to the exam center so I will know how to get there on test day. It turned out to be in a reasonable area downtown that is public transit accessible, which is nice because I will not be riding my scooter out there. Gosh, I hope I don't fail. My dental school has a 100% pass rate that will be destroyed if I fail. Embarrassed is how I would feel if I destroyed the school's track record. Embarrassed.

OMG! I Have Boards in TWO Days!!!

2011-08-07T14:59:00.001-04:00

And I do not feel even moderately prepared. Perhaps I should not have wasted all that time eating ice cream and reading mystery novels......

Maggot Stuffed Farmers' Market Portobello

2011-08-06T13:30:00.000-04:00

I got to the Farmers' market late the other day just as everyone was closing shop, and happened upon a 'sale' table. Bags of mushrooms were being sold for $3, so I grabbed two. Each bag had three portobello mushrooms in it and I figure $1 for 1 mushroom was okay since I hear they are an expensive mushroom.

Let me back up here and begin with the fact that I have never cooked portobello mushrooms before. I have eaten and enjoyed them at restaurants but never have I prepared them myself. That should not be a problem though because I have the internet! I found a recipe, cleaned the mushrooms, made a marinade and poured it over the portobellos.

Easy. Sort of. I walked away to do some studying for a bit then returned to check on the mushrooms. Something was moving! That cannot be right, I probably seeing things because I am not wearing glasses. I came back with glasses and there were in fact little, white, writhing, worms in the portobellos. They were driven out by the very acidic marinade.

Okay, this is not a problem. I'll just pick out the little guys and throw them away. There did not seem to be too many and quite frankly I think these mushrooms are organic and thus might have a couple of worms. No big deal. A couple.....

I picked one of the mushrooms up, ostensibly to shake the little guys into the garbage can, when the whole thing fell apart. Maggots streamed out from broken portobello mushroom pieces onto the counter, floor, everything! I almost threw up. After a paused, I began to clean it up but my goodness! Everything had to be thrown away. I could not decide if it was normal to have the maggots in my mushrooms but after seeing them all over the place, I could not eat the others which also had a few crawling up to the surface to escape the marinade.

Every time I closed my eyes for the rest of the day, all I could see was maggots. Ugh! ***shudder****

The Summer is Almost Over

2011-08-04T12:21:00.000-04:00

and I have Boards in 5 days.

Where did the time go?

The next few days I will be focused on practice questions. On Monday or Tuesday, I will make a dry run to the test location so I won't get lost on Wednesday (test day). If I fail, I will die. Maybe not die, but I'll be wildly embarrassed and remorseful. I should have studied more, but I don't think it was in me.

At this rate, boot camp will be a nice break.

Ethiopian Food

2011-08-03T15:44:00.000-04:00

Escamillo and I hit up the Ethiopian restaurant near school the other day. I think it is called New Eritrea. This is only the second time I have ever had Ethiopian food. Previously, when people talked about it, I was always surprised because all you ever hear is that they don't have food in Ethiopia.

I ended up ordering 3 different heavily spiced vegetarian dishes while Escamillo ordered 3 even more heavily spiced meat dishes. They brought it all out on one platter so we shared.

We also got this very yeasty crepe like thing to eat with the spiced foods. There was no flatwear offered so we used the crepe to pick up and mop the meats and vegetables. Overall, I was impressed with the food. Though some of the meat was a tad too spicy for me.

Here is Escamillo looking triumphant. He is apparently an Ethiopian food eating pro, having grown up in the DC area. It was on his suggestion that I wash my hands thoroughly once we arrived at the restaurant. Good advice indeed.

News, Updates & Sundry

2011-08-02T01:50:00.002-04:00

1. I finished round two of the dental decks. ~1,500 cards X 2 = that means ~3,000 cards about science. The science was written in minuscule print and I had to memorize it all. Well, do my best to memorize as much as I could. It took 7weeks, ruined my summer, and at times made me want to die. Maybe not die exactly, but I took a lot of naps. The big exam (National Boards Dental Examination Part I) all this was for will occur in 8 days.

2. My friend Matt and I will be climbing Half Dome next summer. I will be training as soon as I come back from bootcamp. Why am I training to hike up a mountain you ask? Well, it is because I will not be hiking/walking up the mountain with the overweight tourists who always walk too slow anyway. I will be climbing up the other side, trad climbing. Matt will lead (place gear, rope, etc) and I will be climbing up from behind picking up the gear as we go. I am sooooo psyched! Escamillo thinks it is dangerous and an idea that may potentially end in death or at least some sort of terrible paralysis. My family seemed unfazed and rather uninterested when I mentioned it. One might say there has been a range of reactions.

3. I can do 30 push ups

4. I still like to eat Cheez-its even though they are clearly bad for the old thighs. In fact, on Saturday a man on the BART confronted me with the size of said thighs. He told me I had big legs. I said "Ok."

Hats & Delicious Things

2011-08-02T01:24:00.000-04:00

Of course delicious things must be introduced before the hats. Escamillo and I went out for crepes as a break from the moving and unpacking of the apartment (yes, these are old photos).

I got the chicken curry crepe shown above. It came with sour cream and I just dumped it on everything. There was also a bunch of mozzarella in the crepe which I initially thought was weird because I had never thought to pair cheese with curry. In the end it worked out because the mozzarella did not add much in the way of taste, just a nice, melted cheese texture.

Escamillo got the chicken pesto crepe. It was what one might expect.

Dessert was a banana and semi sweet chocolate crepe with whipped cream. It was good but the bananas needed to be cooked more. I think they just cut them up and dropped them in after everything was already cook. The textures did not match for some reason.

After supper Escamillo wanted to show me the hat he had been eyeing. It was a bowler and made him look like Boy George. I said as much and he looked disappointed so we wandered about and found a more Escamillo appropriate hat with the help of the overly tattooed and pierced hat salesman.

We walked out with two hats that day: one hat for Escamillo, a Frank Sinatra-esque fedora in black felt, another hat for me, a foldable sun hat. Pictures of both to follow.

The Snacks of Great Writers

2011-07-31T17:47:00.003-04:00

SNACKS

Click on the above link for the cute little NYTimes article. I like the cartoons the best. Also, I would not have imagined F. Scott to eat meat out of a can.

Words to Live By

2011-07-31T00:56:00.000-04:00

The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.

-John Muir

Red Baby Clam Sauce

2011-07-28T23:25:00.000-04:00

I drove the scooter far out into the Sunset into the Asian Market area to get groceries and found canned clams. That along with a slew of frozen seafood was picked up and carried back home with no particular plan until Escamillo stated he would like a red clam sauce with pasta for dinner.

I have never made it before but looked up some recipes online. We did not have all of the ingredients but I improvised and came up with this. It was not very good. Disappointing, actually..... I think maybe I should not have dumped the whole can of clams into the sauce without draining it. A distinct chemical taste was imparted as a result that almost certainly caused the destruction of the sauce. Oh well, now I know for next time.

Today I had lunch with Matt. He is online dating and came up with this hilarious gem:

"I really love internet dating. Because you can take on any persona you want. I especially love messaging Asian girls and letting them know, I will be the fetishized one. Not them. And if their egos can't take it, they better find some other white dude to date"

Semi-Stolen Wild (Potentially Poisonous) Plums

2011-07-26T23:48:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, my friend Matt asked if I wanted to go plum picking. My answer was of course, yes. The rest of our interaction was as follows:

Matt: ok. I'll meet you at your place when it gets dark.

Me: Dark? Are we stealing the plums?

Matt: Yes and no. No one is going to miss them. I just don't want people to see us.

Me: I could live with that.

I don't know if I had ever mentioned this but I live in a nature preserve in San Francisco. I know, the mind reels, right? It is a nature preserve with student housing and crazy science research facilities sprinkled about. The kicker is that it is also always foggy here with huge groups of ravens hanging around. A murder of ravens. Needless to say, it is creepy here sometimes especially when the fog rolls in thick, which is more often than not.

As it turns out, it is also a place where there are tons of wild plum trees. I have been seeing them around and thought they were some kind of enormous cherry. There were a few times I was going to try eating one but I noticed there were crushed fallen ones all over the ground. With all the birds and wildlife living here, I figured that if none of the fruit was being eaten, it might be poisonous. Needless to say, I was not going to risk it.

Matt however was another story. He ate one, decided they were plums and ate more. Then he invited me to pick them with him. It seems the darkness was to prevent others from catching on to the plums. That way we could have all the plums, all the plums in the entire coastal forest to ourselves. If they are plums.... About half an hour into picking them, Matt told me his stomach was feeling strange. I then asked when he started eating the "plums." By that pointed I had eaten maybe three and was feeling nervous. He said he only started eating them around the time he invited me to go pick them.

That was only a few hours back! We stopped picking for a moment to consider if they were poisonous. Matt was a Biology major in college. We have just finished our first year of dental school. Neither of us had enough science knowledge to figure it out and neither of us own smartphones with which to look it up. Finally, I decided that if we were going to get sick, it would have happened already. Wouldn't direct toxins make him sick right away or at least within a couple of hours of ingestion. Again, we were not sure but decided to take our chances.

They did in fact taste like plums. Some made our lips feel tingly so we spat those out and threw them away. We did not pick too many because they might be poison. What we did bring home, we peeled and pitted and cooked into a stove top jam. I figure and toxins would probably be denatured by the heat. Who the hell knows? I am just making guesses with limited science knowledge.

Is it me or, is limited science knowledge the worst kind? You don't actually know anything important for real life situations. However you know enough to convince yourself to take risky chances, like, you know, eating possibly poisonous wild plums?!

I took a bunch of photos in case we had to go to the emergency room. That way we could show them what we ate. Anyway, that was a few days ago and neither of us had to go to the hospital so I think it was okay. The plums were not poisonous and the plum jam was pretty good.

*The moral of this story is that science is exciting.

Illicit Library Congee

2011-07-24T22:47:00.000-04:00

I snuck congee into the library! Ha! If that does not say REBEL I do not know what does.

A few nights ago, I made a couple of roast chickens and we saved all the juices that leaked onto the pan with the idea to make it into gravy. I was too lazy then forgot about it. Consequently, the drippings just sat in the refrigerator and solidified into a giant brick of aspic.

I did not come by it again for a few days and was perplexed on what to do with it. Then it came to me, congee! Aspic brick, rice and water were dumped into a crock pot and.... Viola!

Delicious congee. It actually should not be this thick. I think I put too much rice in it. Regardless, the congee was still pretty good. The weather out here continues to be foggy and cold, perfect congee weather.

Escamillo's Fish

2011-07-22T23:37:00.001-04:00

As you may know, Escamillo has been relegated to cooking large meats. I make most of the general meals, but if we happen by large cuts of meat, Escamillo always steps in. It was never discovered how this routine came about but there were some musings on Feminism and the man's role in higher status food/game. Regardless, that is just how we do it.

Lately however, I have been meat-ed out. It may be a weird hormonal thing (I like to explain the inexplicable via hormone hypotheses) but I just could not stand the idea of another meat based meal. Luckily, this coincided with a sockeye salmon sale at the Safeway. Escamillo subsequently picked some up and cooked it for dinner.

It was paired with rather largish heads of boiled broccoli and a balsamic and shallot vinaigrette.

Savory Chinese Custard

2011-07-21T16:48:00.000-04:00

I did it! This is an awesome (albeit not photogenic) dish. It is super cheap and wildly delicious. A couple of years, back, I tried to make it but I skipped some steps thinking I was taking a shortcut and it came out not great. This time I followed everything all the way through and it came out perfect.

It is a steamed egg custard, filled with pork and eggs. I ate the entire casserole dish of it in one sitting. I just could not help myself. San Francisco is a weird city where getting around via public transit is impossible so I have not been making any trips to Chinatown. Zero. Consequently, I have not had this egg custard stuff in forever, at least since I moved out West, and that has made me sad. BUT now I can make it myself. Yes!

I like to eat it over rice, but also with a spoon right out of the casserole dish. Here is the recipe in case you want to check it out for yourself.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tsp salt

1 tsp rice wine

1 tsp soy sauce

10 shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/4 lb ground pork

Mix eggs, chicken stock, salt, rice wine and soy sauce together. In a 1 quart casserole dish, sprinkle ground pork and shrimp. No need to do anything but make sure everything is sort of spread out. Then pour the egg mixture through a STRAINER into the casserole dish. The strainer part is important because I skipped it once and all these bubbles remained and ruined the texture. Finally steam the whole thing in a wok for 25min.

More Pip

2011-07-20T21:44:00.000-04:00

These are kind of blurry because it turns out hamsters like to move a lot. I mean, they never stop moving. You know, how dear get scared and freeze? It doesn't seem to happen with hamsters. Pip will obsessively clean his face when he's scared. Is that normal? Is he just trying to act nonchalant even though he is scared shitless in hopes he does that show no fear thing so you'll go away?

Also, he's getting fat. It may be the fancy cheese I let him have or the graham crackers. He works out all the time though, always running on his wheel. I wonder if he got it from me. I mean the work out all the time but just looking sort of fat anyway thing. Escamillo thinks he has body dismorphia. Or I have body dismorphia or both. I can't keep track with him and his fancy college words.

Polenta!

2011-07-20T21:28:00.001-04:00

I made it, but it was only okay. I put mushrooms in it in an effort to make it interesting. Maybe I should have kept it more fluffy and less solid/square. This was my first time making. I think I have memories of eating it as restaurants and liking it but now I am not sure. Most of it is still sitting in the refrigerator. It will probably be thrown away.

Refrigerator. Doesn't that sound at once old fashioned and futuristic? You know, like how in the 50's and 60's everyone was super into the future, space, and the Jetson's? It sounds like a word made up back then when they wanted a new machine to sound space age-ish. Refrigerator. It's always cold! A miracle of modern times! Refrigerator.

I am clearly slightly delirious from all the studying I did today.

Awesome

2011-07-18T12:25:00.002-04:00

Book Themed Cupcakes

2011-07-17T22:18:00.000-04:00

I found a picture of book themed cupcakes online. If I belonged to a book club I would totally make these for one of the meetings except all the books would be whatever book we were discussing. Normally, I am not a huge fan of overly decorated food. Well, I am not a fan of eating them, looking yes, eating no. I think too much effort goes in to making the food look cute/awesome and not enough goes into it tasting good. Also, I find it always involves a lot of marzipan which i think tastes disgusting. Strange, because I like the flavor of almonds but marzipan makes me want to vomit.

In other news, the apartment is slowly coming together. I have been riding the scooter more since I got a license, and I am slowly and painfully slogging my way through my dental deck (boards study material). Nothing else going on here. Oh, I have been working out a lot and am still fat. I am suspicious that this is some sort of comeuppance for all of those years I made fun of fat people, while glorying in being thin and not having to try. I wonder when karma will relent and decide I have suffered enough.....

AT&T Drove Me To A Breakdown Today

2011-07-16T21:53:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, Escamillo and I moved to an apartment across the street. I had to switch over my utilities as a result. Overall, it was not a problem until I switched my internet. I have AT&T Uverse. It seemed easy at first, I called up, told them I was moving, gave the information they requested, told them I will be using all the equipment I already have and will install myself. A $36 transfer fee was mentioned and that was that. Fine. Done...... Nope.

In the confirmation email, my new address was wrong. So I called again. They corrected it then said I had to wait for the AT&T guy from 9am - 11am for the install at the new apartment. Annoying but it was fine.

On the date they told me they would be there for the install, I waited at the new apartment from 9am-11am. No one showed up. I called and it turns out there was a mistake and I did not have to be there. Okay..... What I did find at the new apartment was a brand new modem that I did not order. The AT&T person told me it had to be sent back because they already charged me $75 for it.

I looked in the box and the instructions for return asked that I get a authorization code for the return. I called AT&T to get the code. All of a sudden, no one could help me. I was on hold FOREVER. When I finally got a real person, they kept transferring me so that I could wait on hold for even longer only to be transferred again. Finally, someone hung up. HUNG UP.

I called back. This time, I chose the "cancel service" option. In case you are wondering, that hold lasts even longer. When I finally got a person, I asked for the code, got it, and then inexplicably started crying. My face was leaking and I had no idea if it was relief that I actually got the code, anger at AT&T for trying to make me buy a modem I did not order and making it difficult to return, or just frustration from my ability to defend myself against unscrupulous, big business. Regardless, the woman on the customer service end was nice but clearly uncomfortable. I never yelled or anything I had calmly just asked for the return authorization and then just started crying like a weirdo. It might be hormonal.

It ended with my asking to get the transfer fees removed and getting refunded for the modem I never ordered. I got the first request but the modem charge could no be removed without their receiving the modem and processing it. I hate AT&T.

Escamillo says they are buying T-mobile, my current cellular provider. I will switch to another carrier when that happens. UGH!

Food Truck (Spicy) Tasting Menu

2011-07-14T14:29:00.001-04:00

The chili peppers on the tickets should have given it away but I did not realize it was a spicy tasting menu. To top it off, it was more expensive than just going to individual food trucks and ordering something. Ugh.

The whole thing was my fault entirely. Escamillo tried to say no but I insisted. Oops.

This was fried pork belly from Senor Sisig. It was cold and sort of soggy with equally cold, soggy noodles beneath. Not good.

Escamillo waiting for food at the Korean food truck.

The Korean food truck gave us rice cakes and beef. We had to throw it away. It was also not good.

The Mexican food truck gave us this stuffed pepper. It was pretty good, a bit too spicy but the meat was delicious.

The Vietnamese sandwich was terrible. There was barely any meat and the carrots and celery were not pickled. Escamillo had one bite and decided not to eat anymore of it. I was hungry so I ate it all.

By the time we got to the last ticket, I asked if I could have something from the regular menu. This was a grilled cheese sandwich filled with potato and chives. It was the best thing we ate all day next to the stuffed pepper.

All the food trucks were parked in this small lot with shoes hanging from the electric wires.

Hamster People

2011-07-14T00:56:00.002-04:00

After hanging out with Sammy the Sea Dog during our houseboating trip, I started bothering Escamillo for a dog. They are just so cute and lovable, there is no arguing with that. Unfortunately, Escamillo put his foot down and gave a firm no.

He claims we do not live a dog lifestyle and it would not be fair to the dog. It was pointed out that the owners of Sammy work at REI, and do a lot of outdoor activities with their dog like mountain biking (Sammy runs along side the bike), running outside, etc. In contrast, Escamillo and I occassionally go to the gym and do a lot of non-REI related activities (like ~me: study dental decks and ~Escamillo: important business-type things).

After all of that, I asked what sort of people we are if we cannot be dog people. Escamillo's response was "We are hamster people. That is the lifestyle we live." I love Pip (the hamster shown above) and all

but I feel like "hamster people" is just not the same as "dog people." Escamillo can be a hard man at times.

Also, is it me or is my hamster a redhead?