Movie round up

This past year we watched several movies on the big screen, a few of them pretty good and few quite shiteous...

"War Horse" was the first movie of the year that we watched and I don't care that Steven Spielberg directed it. It was a total snoozefest and two+ hours of my life that I'll never get back.

On the other hand, there were a few other movies we saw that made up for that big timesuck...

United Portuguese S.E.S. Market

I'm cheating using an older picture (below) from the day we went to the Elegant Truffle. This is on Avenida de Portugal, a small side street off Scott. What you see below is the United Portuguese S.E.S. Hall...

We parked in their private lot and headed to the back...

Date night in Old Town

[Update - Closed as of June 2013]

Our original plan was to go to the Pearl but I was PO'd because I'd misplaced the coupon (which of course I found later when we got home). Not to worry because I had Plan B in mind and it was a place that Bert and I enjoyed from past visits, 25 Forty Bistro.

Our favorite parking spot in a hidden area in Old Town was taken but we got lucky with other open spaces near Congress St. It also helped that we went super early (5:30 pm)...

Shopping at Pata Negra

Since we're on the subject of ethnic markets, my neighbor and I recently visited Pata Negra, a Spanish market in PB. We wanted to make this again:

Our epic paella from several weeks ago....She also ended up going to Seafood City to buy some giant squid. Now she knows what disgust I went through cleaning those things! Anyhow, we needed to pick up a few items for future paella dinners...

Santos Farms Market

Back to that market that Cathy and I passed by on our way to Caffe Calabria. It's on a small side street off Lincoln Street nestled between some newer condos and a pawn shop and laundromat.

We could not help but look at the arrow and signs...

Random food + gifts

These past few weeks, we received a few food gifts such as pomegranates from TORC's backyard...

This was only half of them. TC had fun breaking these apart and picking out the seeds...

Another interesting fruit I received was one from Cathy's yard...

Caffe Calabria

After our really fab lunch at 30th Street Cafe in which our husbands (and in my case, child) got to enjoy the leftovers, we got back into the car and drove north up 30th.  We saw this cool vintage Corvette parked on Lincoln St.

We also saw this market with many signs advertising their products (Oaxaca cheese, fresh salsa, and more)...

We made a mental note to stop by after our coffee break...

Plan B - 30th Street Cafe

A few days ago, I met up with Cathy of Mmm-Yoso. Our original lunch destination was this place:

which unfortunately (and I failed to read the hours correctly on their website) is CLOSED on Mondays and Tuesdays!  This is a small eatery and catering place on Adams Ave that I'd read good things about. One thing that attracted me was their  focus on one international cuisine a week. This week was supposed to be German food! Alas, it was not meant to be this day....

So instead, Plan B was to consult my GPS to see what else was nearby...

Return to La Concha Bakery

Last week I decided to give La Concha Bakery another shot.

My first visit last month didn't leave me that impressed with some of their offerings. This time, I happened to go in the early morning and was greeted with the lovely smells of freshly baked bread...

Cafe Barbera

While all the bloodthirsty materialistic consumers were out clawing each other's eyeballs out over discounted Furbies, iPads, and plasma TV's, I went out to the movies with D (yes, TSBD part 2!!!!! Again!). Afterwards we enjoyed a Thai lunch with her as well as Bert and TC, who saw a movie as well, the reboot of "Red Dawn" (with North Koreans as the commie bad guys instead of Russkies). As of this afternoon, our Christmas tree is up and the cards went out Wednesday so folks should be getting it TODAY. Yes, I am anal organized!

Anyways, since I'm not shopping for anything I've got time to catch up and crank out some posts.

After our lunch at Napizzawe headed out of Little Italy and headed uptown...

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

From this...

to this!

I have to say that my dad outdid himself this year with the turkey...

Turkey day prequel - desserts and one side

Yesterday TC and I made a few things ahead of time for Thanksgiving lunch.

This was originally going to be pecan pie in an actual pie pan but the dough wasn't fully thawed out.

It cracked as I unwrapped the plastic. It was my fault for not reading the thaw time correctly. I was a bit disappointed in myself, but thought I could still salvage the recipe...

Foodblogger potluck

A few weekends ago, I hosted a small potluck with several friends, all of whom happen to be foodbloggers. I thought it would be cool to use these plates and utensils I've always seen sold at Costco during the holidays. There was a coupon in our Costco mailer so Bert picked up one set of each...

The dinner and salad plates come in a box of 50 (25 of each size). It faked out several guests who were expecting a "real" china plate and were surprised by how "light" it was because it was really plastic!

Below are the fake silver cutlery, also plastic.

I don't think I'd use this for every gathering or dinner part but it was fun to give it a try...

Well, enough about this nonsense. On with the food!

Ube macapuno turnovers

Lately, I've been on an ube kick. From ube filled rolls to polvoron to pan de sal. I just love ube.  Recently, I bought some ube halaya (purple yam pudding) from Valerio's at Seafood City.

I also bought a jar of macapuno strings (freak  or "mutant"coconut; yes, that's what it's really called) for this first attempt at this dessert...

Two more Filipino dishes...

Another dish I made for the potluck was Ulang sa Gata (prawns in coconut milk)

This is one of my favorite "go-to" recipes. The recipe specifically calls for HEAD ON Shrimp. None of that wimpy headless shrimp here! Don't you just love their beady little eyes looking at you?

Binagoongang Baboy

Recently, I hosted a small potluck gathering with a few friends who also happen to be foodbloggers. One of the dishes I made utilized a very Filipino condiment...

For the uninitiated, the smell can be quite strong and possible off-putting...

Napizza

This past weekend, we took advantage of the "free" parking on Sundays to finally visit a new pizza place in Little Italy...I hate parking meters, so Sunday is usually when we dare to venture here.

And wow, is it really Fall? Well, this is San Diego after all. Behold, the beautiful view of San Diego Bay as you head down Hawthorne...

Return to D Bar

After our lunch at Pink Noodle, we went out to have our dessert right around the corner...

I'd been wanting to go back here to try some of their sweets...

Return to Wunderland

What I loved about Portland are their different neighborhoods which seem to have their own vintage movie theater, such as the Bagdad in the Hawthorne district...

On a trivial note, this was the same theater that hosted the premiere of Gus Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho" in 1991, after it was renovated by McMenamin's.

In the Belmont district was the Avalon not only shows movies but is an old fashioned arcade.

Maybe those of you that don't have a kid  or kids wouldn't think of going here, but we wanted a relatively inexpensive way to pass the time indoors....

Time to Hit the Road

A few random things before heading out to Ottawa...

These "cheese" Sky Flakes crackers were delicious, courtesy of C during her trip to the Philippines back in May. Apparently, they also make a chocolate flavor of Sky Flakes. One of TC's friends was eating some at school; they were brought back from the Motherland as well.

Fresh strawberries picked by TC in C's garden...

And wait, what's this?

Let's open it up, shall we?

Return to Pink Noodle

[Update - Pink Noodle is closed]

Of course, after the movie, we were  pretty hungry. Astroboi and I aren't big popcorn eaters or soda drinkers...Today I learned a brand new way to get to Hillcrest from Mission Valley without taking the 163.

Call me naive, but I never knew about this miraculous and freeway-less route!

Five for five with Astroboi

Today was it with my GBFF Astroboi...

As I braved the shitty morning traffic to get to the movie theater early, I thought, "It's been four years...

Asparagus + Yellow Squash Gruyere Tart

A few days ago, TC made this fabulous Asparagus Gruyere Tart..

Since we had some extra asparagus spears laying around...

MJ's Yogurt Time & Deli

This past weekend, we decided to try a new food joint in our area...

Despite the title, they sell more than just yogurt here...

Rubio's Seafood Torta

Is this a miracle or what? I'm posting on the same day! Ha ha, well, last week, I got an email from the good folks at Rubio's inviting me to try their new Seafood Torta for FREE.

You had to sign up for a day and time to "claim" your torta. TC willingly came along to help sample this new menu item...

Child Labor - Asparagus Gruyere Tart

The same day we went to TORC's for lunch, I recruited the one and only TC to make her first "gourmet" dish...

The previous night, she made chicken adobo for the first time and the next morning, this super easy tart involving only six ingredients...

How easy was it?

Citrus Curry Shrimp

This past week has been Shrimp-tastic!

Just look at those cute little pink critters sizzling away...

Paella

Oh yeah....Paella baby...

This was a fun afternoon spent with my neighbor shopping for ingredients then putting everything together at her house for dinner that evening...

We merged the recipes that we found online to come up with these versions of paella...

Past dinners...

Fresh from Canada...

After hiding in our pantry this past summer, we finally got around to opening this can of wanna-be Spam...complete with an old fashioned "key" at the bottom to open the can!

miXtape

A few weekends ago, TORC and I went out to see a play that we'd been wanting to see forever, "miXtape"...

We were curious to hear and see how the 80's would be interpreted.

Little did we know that we would run into another type of "retro" that evening...

In fact, this was the last few minutes of the Fall Back Festival, which served two purposes. The "Fall Back" referred to the Daylight Savings Time Change, while it also referred to San Diego's olden days, hence the many folks in period costume. The food and game booths were being taken down as we walked towards the Horton Grand Theater. It was kind of neat to see guys dressed up like cowboys, complete with Wild Bill Hickock style moustaches.

Portland Day 8 - Return to Ha & VL

Our vacation was nearly over...only a few days left in the rainy Pacific Northwest.

We normally don't go back to the same place, but we broke that rule here several times with repeat visits to Wunderland (post is forthcoming), An Xuyen Bakery and this unassuming soup place...

Dewy's Redneck Grill

Located in the center (note, the American spelling) of the Island is the town of Mindemoya.

We'd already been here earlier during our trip but now we were back to get some lunch and hopefully provisions for dinner...

Canada 2012 - Day 4: In search of butter tarts

C and FarmerJohn were kind enough to let us borrow their mini van while we did errands on the island. TC and C's daughter played on this ginormous gravel pile back at the farm.

One of Canada's most beloved desserts is the butter tart. We thought we could find some ready-made version close by rather than driving all the way out to Mum's (a  thirty minute drive!).

This was the map near the gas station and convenience store in South Baymouth.

If we couldn't find any here, we'd try a few other spots recommended by C...

Mango

[Update 2015 - This place is now closed.]

Whenever I hear the word "mango", I don't think about that luscious tropical fruit.

Instead, this is what comes to mind (most of the time!)...

Chris Kattan as the infamous "Mango" from SNL:

For those of you that remember watching the whole episode, Garth Brooks was full of win that night, with "Who's More Grizzled" and "Celebrity Jeopardy". This one was pretty funny (but disturbing).

Well, this post is about another kind of mango as well. Something that we thought we'd try but ended up regretting...

Return to Otay Farms Market

After our lunch at Boll Weevil, we headed just a short distance up the 5 to the Main St. exit. Hang a right on Broadway and you will see this...

I wanted to see if they had still had a particular potato chip flavor...

Boll Weevil yet again...

Yesterday, we had a craving for Boll Weevil...

Bert had to return something at Big 5 next door anyways, so burgers for lunch it was!

More odds and endz...

Just a few random photos from the past month or so...

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!

Last stop, dessert!

Our original plan to visit David Bacco Chocolatier in Mira Mesa was a bust. We couldn't find a sign, although we did find the address; plus the door was locked. It was too hot to drive further east to another place I had in mind (a French bakery/dessert place), so it was back down to Chula Vista.

at Sweet Sisters Bakery and Cafe. None of the gals besides KD had been here before. A few weeks go during Fall break, I'd gone with KD and our girls.

The construction in downtown CV has been ongoing this whole later summer and fall...

Costumes 2012

All right, now that Halloween is all done...

let us gaze upon these donuts...