These were unusual flavored sodas I bought from the new Bev Mo last month - Pineapple Coconut Nutmeg (not a fan, I was), and a really intense blueberry soda.
I would have liked the fruit soda better without that nutmeg taste in my mouth...Ugh!
We had the sodas that day with tacos...
I bought some ready made chicken fajitas from Fresh & Easy, which we had with tortillas, leftover beans and rice (from dinner night with the neighbors) and fresh salad with yellow tomatoes.
We didn't have iceberg lettuce so we used this new "baby gem" salad I got, also from F & E. They were mini red romaine lettuce leaves which we tore by hand.
The next day, we had the marinated carne asada (F & E again) with tacos. We liked this better than the chicken fajitas meat. The beef was tender, juicy, and very flavorful.
These had a kick to it. It caught up the next day, if you know what I mean.
The co-workers and I were at Mea Kwan menu recently. Looks like they upgraded their menus. Now they are no longer hole punched and bound by cheap curling ribbon (I shit you not).
Several of the co-workers got the same thing, the Pro Ram. This was the meat of your choice in a "spicy peanut sauce" with broccoli. The sauce wasn't that spicy. It was too sweet in fact. I'm glad I didn't get it.
Another dinner had us enjoying a garlic ciabatta loaf with butter...
and sliced sauteed zucchini. I was happy that it caramelized so nicely.
It was one of those super hot days last month so we had a salad with boiled eggs and whatever fresh vegetables we had on hand.
Another lunch outing with the co-workers, this time at Rubio's. Mr. Tight Jeans' grilled chicken tacos...
This was my fish taco plate - one rilled tilapia and the other was fried (the girl at the counter said I could have one of each). But you can't tell anyways since they're covered with chopped up cabbage and onions. Had a $1 off coupon for this. My other co-worker was disappointed because they got rid of the sesame soy tacos. Those were good too, so bummer!
Later that same day, Bert, TC and I made use of more Rubio's coupons. I had a "half-birthday" coupon which allowed me to get two burritos for the price of one, woo hoo!
Bert's mahi mahi with corn, salsa and avocado which he really enjoyed.
My salmon...looks the same as above, eh! Ha ha...
Lately, I've been kind of lazy with making dinner. I bought this jarred sauce and a couple of packages of prepared ravioli from, you guessed it, Fresh & Easy...It was a big hit with Bert and TC.
Local educators got a free burger certificate for Halphen Red, so I used mine last month. Below, the bacon burger. I upgraded to a combo and added mango iced tea.
The bacon was a bit too thick and chewy for my tastes. I had to remove it so I could eat the burger without feeling like I was tearing into a piece of meat like a wild animal chewing on a tendon. This was a good burger despite the overly thick bacon slices (only two).
Now this was a wierd sight to see. This was the day the Educator GF's went out for TORC's birthday lunch. We saw this man with three horses near the 805 and Kearny Villa Road.
WTF...
My attempt at making an Eggless Custard Cake, using the Bird's custard powder I bought from Canada. See Kirbie's post with recipe link here. It didn't taste as "light" as I thought it would. It was also crumbly. Both Bert and TC really liked it, especially Bert since he had it with coffee everyday until the cake was gone.
On my way to a training (and at a red light, I might add), I saw this Mexican baked goods truck. Marinela is an offshoot from the brand "Bimbo" (known for their breads). Marinela is the snack cake division.
At my SIL's baby shower...her homemade Kare Kare (peanut oxtail stew). This is her preferred brand of bagoong, the Kamayan brand. The shrimp paste is pretty dark and pungent. I actually don't like it. I like the one I use better (forgot the brand, but the paste is more pink).
Another recipe experiment...I actually made two versions of Caramel Cracker cookies.
I saw the recipe on Mary's blog (click here for the awesome recipe and more detailed photos) and was intrigued since it utilized Saltine crackers.. I used Maldon sea salt instead of the Pink Himalayan salt. I also cut down on the butter for my second attempt (1.5 sticks rather than two sticks).
My first batch was too buttery and sticky. The second much better. I think if I do this again, I would just use one stick of butter and not so many chocolate chips on the top. The sea salt flakes are a nice touch. Mary's recipe calls for making the caramel cracker cookies first then crushing them and putting those pieces in chocolate chip cookies! I just did the cracker recipe.
Our neighbor's dog, Maggie the Chihuahua. She's eight years old. She was at our other neighbor's house where we made paella that night. That post is forthcoming.
One of my favorite necklaces, bought at H & M last Spring ($12.95 I think). I usually wear this with my matching mini spike earrings (it's just one dangling spike).
D bought Bert and TC desserts from Sweet Sisters during our bday outing last week. This was the fruit topped cheese take for TC. Bert's dessert was an apple caramel cheesecake (not pictured).
More fun with sauces from Fresh & Easy. This time, with their Tikka Masala sauce. I sauteed some onions, ginger, and garlic first. Then I added potatoes, carrots, and eggplant, along with chicken breast and lastly, green peas. It was pretty hearty and could have been meatless too.
Whenever I cook, I like to maximize my time in the kitchen. I usually do my cooking marathons on Sundays so I can plan our meals. Usually while something is going on the stove, I have another thing going on in the oven. Here, I roasted some potates with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and sweet paprika.
Here they are before going in the oven. I like to roast my potatoes until they have a nice crisp coating.
Bert bought these potato chips and tried to hide them from me. He didn't do a good job! Ha ha!
Another lunch out with the co-workers - Bento Noodles. This was the assorted sushi and sashimi plate. I don't remember what was what but you can probably figure it out by looking at it. I liked the rolls in the middle (topped with scallops and crab) the best.
While cleaning out our pantry, I saw this old bag of Bernie Bott's all flavor beans, which has "gross" flavors like "grass", "dirt", "snot", "earwax", and "vomit". Next to the beans was the variety pack of cocoa flavors bought from a Canadian Wal-Mart. They had Coffee Crisp flavored cocoa! This was Bert's favorite, along with the Rolo flavor (since it has caramel in it). TC liked the After Eight flavor which was minty. I'm not a cocoa fan so I didnt' have any of this.
On another shelf in the same pantry, I found these bento food picks that I bought at Marukai awhile back. They're so cute!!!!! But as you can see, I never really used them. TC wants them now, so I gave these to her.
I thought this was hilarious, the "warning" on the backside of the package.
Anyhow, this was my version of "COMC" (as Kirk would call it, aka "clearing out the memory card").
More posts to be forthcoming:
Canada, Portland, and our recent paella night...
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