Looking Ahead

Happy New Year long lost bloggies! I know I've been MIA lately...it's been tough keeping up with writing/reading blogs and I've actually considered closing up shop. No worries (for any of you still reading!), I'm not ready to do that just yet :)

Lots of changes have been taking place over here and I've been neglecting my kitchen. A lot. I've been exploring a lot of fun new restaurants, but I'm ashamed to admit that I've been Yelping more than blogging about them. Have you had a chance to check out the reviews?

I'm also trying really hard to take breaks from technology. You know, turn off the computer, TV, iPhone, etc. Sometimes you just need to do it.

So, what else has the beans been up to while neglecting the blog?

Reading

I've gotten really into reading lately. I used to read a lot as a kid (so much that I'd fall asleep with books in my bed every night) and now I find myself going through waves where I zoom through books. This recent wave has me reading a ton of fiction...which is new for me. I tend to lean more toward non-fiction (mostly memoirs), but these novels are a nice way to escape from reality.

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The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

I really enjoyed the way this book was structured. I liked that each chapter gave you a new perspective on the situation as it introduced a new character. What I did not like - I felt like it left me hanging at the end. I kinda wanted more from a couple of the characters.

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One Day by David Nicholls

It took awhile for me to get into the book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. It's easy to get wrapped up in the bumpy relationship between the two main characters. Have you ever seen A Lot Like Love (if you haven't, just wait for it to come on FX or something)? That's what this book reminded me of at certain points. That and City of Angels. Random, I know.

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Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

I picked this book up at the airport after watching the o so sappy TV movie (o yes, yes I did). It was a nice sappy read, but not as moving as I had hoped. I got a little misty watching the movie and hoped that the book would have me boohooing. Notsomuch.

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

I'm only about halfway through and I really like the book so far! Not only does it explore the forbidden relationship of two teenagers during the war, but it also touches upon the strained relationship the main character Henry has with his father in 1942 and with his own son later on in life.

Traveling and Celebrating

It seemed wrong to head east for a long weekend, so I decided to spend a whole 11 days out there! My east coast tour began in Long Island for our annual family Christmas Eve celebration. Jamie drove up and we cleaned up in yankee swap:

I started out with a shake weight, but thankfully that got stolen by an unsuspecting tot and I walked away with a sandwich maker. LOVE! Do you have any idea how long I've wanted one of these? Insta hot pocket!

Christmas day was a blur, followed by a major white out!

O yes, hey snow storm! So instead of visiting friends in NYC, we stuck it out in the 'burbs and picked up some clothes for Mr. Bear

went into Lego overload

and reunited with a few friends

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Not too bad for a snow day :)

We had plans to head to NJ the next day, but woke up to just over 1 foot of snow! Eeek! Good thing I bought some galoshes and snow pants the day before ;) Hooray for snow fun!

Roads were clear the next day so we began the journey to Manassas. The 10 hour journey. That should have only taken 5.5 hours. Awesome.

The next day we explored glamorous Manassas followed by a day trip to DC (still can't believe we had to get a hotel room) and then I closed out my trip with a stop in Alexandria and Fredericksburg. Whew. Whirlwind tour! So happy to see everyone though.

Noshing

Pre-holiday week, I met up with friends and snacked at some fun spots in the city. Full reviews are on Yelp, but I'll leave you with names: Mamacita (tasty Mexican tapas), First Crush (fun wines and comfort food), Zero Zero (fancy pizza and pasta). They're worth checking out!

During the holiday week, I was determined to visit certain eateries I've been craving since I moved. On the list:

Southern style pho - I haven't found any noteworthy southern style pho yet in SF so I really wanted some Pho 75. Unfortunately that is way far from Manassas. Enter, Pho 234. It'll do.

Potbelly - I miss you Chicken Salad w/hot peppers!

Not pictured because I was just too hungry - Peruvian rotisserie chicken. Not quite EPR, but Super Chicken was Super YUMMY!

Yogging & Biking

Yeah, it's reduced to jogging. :( I'm slowly getting back into things, but I'm super cautious and it's really frustrating. Going from a minimum of 5 miles to maxing out at 2 is rough. Jamie and I did a run on the battlefield over the holiday week and it was a great change of scenery.

What I didn't expect was how exhausted I felt during the run. Ech.

Wining

Just a few new bottles:

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Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rose - I was nervous this sparkling rose would be too sweet, but it was a very nice balance of dry and sweet! I tried to find a bottle for New Year's Eve, but failed.

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Altos Malbec 2009 - Cousin brought this to Christmas Eve dinner and it was pretty good...then again, I've never really had a malbec I didn't like.

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Finca Sophenia Malbec 2008 - I really liked this one. They were pouring this as the happy hour red at Vermillion and it was pretty bold at first, but enjoyable. Definitely looking out for this one.

Appetizing

Got to cooking at Jamie's place for New Year's Eve. Lots of fun mini treats:

Wieners in blankets

Meatball Wellington (recipe courtesy of The Food in My Beard)

a bunch of mini flatbread pizzas (a bbq chicken, plain, veggie, pepperoni)

and a HOLEY CARVEL CAKE!

Happy birthday, here's a gaping hole in your ice cream cake!

How did you close out 2010/ring in the new year?

It's December?

I walked around without a jacket this afternoon. In December.

I'm in denial that there are only 2 weekends until Christmas.

I should go shopping soon. Instead I'm building playlists and catching up on blogs.

In an effort to get myself in the Christmas mood, I browsed through some old holiday photos...

(kinda miss the old home...definitely miss the tree.)

And built a Christmas playlist (just a few of my old and new faves):

Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World

What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder

Welcome Christmas - Glee

Christmas Lights - Coldplay

To kill a little more time (well, not really, it helped as I made a present), I also built a Brain Escape playlist. A what? Yeah, brain escape...like way beyond a chillax playlist. Songs that completely calm me down no matter how crazy the day gets. For some reason, I always get in the mood for these songs during the holidays. Must be the weather.

A sampling for you guys:

Getaway Car - Audioslave

Home - Michael Buble

Don't Panic - Coldplay

Your Song (Tim "Love" Lee's Semi Bearded Remix) - Groove Armada

Really random selection, but it puts me at ease. What puts you in the holiday mood? What takes you away from the craziness of life?

Thanksgiving Recap

This shouldn't come as a surprise - Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love cooking for large crowds and getting together with friends and family for this day of feasting.

We spent this Thanksgiving with Selin's family and had an amazing time. There was plenty of cooking, eating and drinking for all!

On the menu:

Baked Camembert and Caramelized Onions

1 wheel camembert

1 sheet puff pastry

1 large onion, sliced and caramelized

2 chives

flour

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out puff pastry on a foil lined baking sheet. Place camembert in the center of the puff pastry and top with onions. Gather opposite corners of the puff pastry and pinch at the top. Tie chive around top.

Bake until golden.

Slice into the crispy crust and unleash the delicious goo inside!

Great w/some crackers or, if you're really into cheese/are starving, on its own. The bolder camembert made this more flavorful than a standard brie en croute. Just saying.

The appetizer kept us full as we continued working on the rest of dinner...

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Mixed Greens with Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese

Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots

Roasted Root Vegetables

3 parsnips, sliced

4 carrots, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

1 bulb fennel, sliced

1 japanese sweet potato, peeled & sliced

olive oil

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Toss all ingredients in a large bowl, spread out on foil lined baking sheet.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

We tossed in some of the fennel tops for flavor/fragrance since the bulb was tiny. No biggie.

Italian Sausage and Bread Stuffing (adapted from Gourmet)

1 (3/4- to 1-pound) round Italian loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes (8 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 lb hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 medium onions, chopped

4 large celery ribs, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp rosemary, minced

1/2 tsp sage, minced

1 tsp thyme, minced

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (2 oz)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 350. Spread bread out on a baking sheet and bake until just dried out, about 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook half of sausage (mixing hot and sweet), stirring and breaking it into small pieces, until golden brown.

Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl and repeat with remaining sausage.

Pour off fat from skillet. Heat butter over medium heat. Add onions, celery, garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add vegetables and bread to sausage.

Whisk together eggs, 1/2 cup cream, chicken broth, cheese, and parsley, then stir into stuffing and cool completely, then drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup cream. Cover stuffing and chill.

Preheat oven to 425 and bake stuffing, covered tightly with foil, until hot throughout, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is golden and crisp, about 20 minutes more.

I've made this stuffing for the past couple of years and it's always a crowd pleaser. This year, I cut the bread a little bigger than usual and baked it a little longer without foil. The result: a crispier stuffing...yum!

Also present, but not pictured: Mashed Potatoes, Red Wine Braised Short Ribs, Turkey (duh), Circassian Chicken, Scallion Rice, and PIES!

Delicious thanksgiving!

How did you spend your turkey day?

okinawan arrival

Hello all. I am going to help Karena out here since her little laptop has imploded. This is going to be all about my time in Okinawa over the New Year’s holiday. There will probably be two to three more posts about my trip.

My close friend (aka Tater) is currently working at Kadena Air Base. He really lucked out with his posting because he doesn’t have to work in the snow, wind, and frigid temperatures that I work in. His workload is about ten times mine…so I guess it evens out. Most of yall already know that we were both TDY Kadena last year. We had a great time and got to explore a bit of the island. I have been trying to figure out a way back ever since I returned to the States. The food is excellent (lots of pork and seafood), the people are very friendly and helpful, AND it is a nice tropical island with mountains and beaches.

PERFECT!!!!!

It has all of the necessities for the type of place I could see myself living. Ahhh….daydreams are nice :)

My trip from Gunsan to Inchon Airport was a little nerve-racking. I got on the airport bus (it is about a 3.5 hour ride to the airport) and within one hour we had hit the mountains and a nasty snow storm. We’re talking four-ways on, single lane, 25 mile-per-hour slog through snow and ice. It was very depressing as we continued on and on and thoughts crept into my head about how the airport would be shut down. I really thought I wouldn’t be able to leave Korea and visit Tater and his wife in sunny Okinawa. Luckily, about 45 minutes outside of the airport, the snow stopped and the sun came out. WHEW. Crisis one avoided. I got inside the terminal, walked around, ate some dolsot bibimbap, and took a two-hour nap since I was a bit hungover from my night out with the subs.By the way, Inchon Airport is absolutely beautiful inside and out…there is also tons of shopping and places to eat inside. It was easy to spend an hour just cruising around and window shopping. Once I woke up from my nap it was time to board my Asiana flight to Fukuoka, Japan.

We arrived at Fukuoka early, so I had an additional hour between my flights. This extra hour proved useful as I was about to be faced with crisis two. After I came out of Customs & Immigrations in Japan, I entered what I thought was the airport at Fukuoka. I had to check into ANA to continue on to Okinawa so I wandered over to the check-in terminals…all of them were down :( and there was nobody at the ANA desk. I thought “this could be normal. when flying abroad in other countries, they sometimes don’t open ticket counters until two hours before the flight.” So I decided to wander around the shops and see if I could find an information kiosk. Well, an hour went by and I decided to try the ANA counter again. Same deal as before, but at least there was a counter representative. So, I pushed aside the metal barrier meant to keep people like me away from the check-in counter and walked up to inquire about my flight. I pointed to the portion of itinerary that said FUK – OKA, 30-DEC-09, 2030. The ANA rep just gave me a confused look. I said “Check in?” Another confused look. I said “cancelled…delayed?” Nothing. Finally, he came around the counter and motioned for me to go with him. He took me over to a door where he had to swipe his ID and punch in an access code. I remembered now how I thought it was weird there were no flights listed for Naha on the Arrivals/Departures board. At this point, I started thinking that Okinawa was having some bad weather and my flight was cancelled…depression struck again.

A nice lady came out and asked to see my itinerary. I handed it over and she read through it and asked if I was going to Okinawa. There was a slight bit of disbelief in her voice, like “haha, this guy has another thing coming if he thinks he will be in Naha tonight.” She thought for a while and said “this is the international terminal, you need to go to the domestic terminal.” I felt like such a bonehead. I had no idea that there were two terminals. I had only seen one when we landed. Of course, that makes sense. That is why Okinawa was not listed on the Arrivals/Departures board and places like Seoul, Beijing, and Hong Kong were. She said that all I had to do was catch a bus to the Domestic terminal. They were on the first floor and outside of the door. So with time ticking down, I dashed out the door and managed to catch a bus that was loaded up with people. After about a 15 minute ride, we arrived at the Domestic Terminal. I hopped out and wandered off to find the ANA counter. Like anywhere else in Asia, there was a line to check in. I waited and waited and finally got up to the counter. Everything was smooth sailing after that. I made it to the gate about 15 minutes prior to boarding. This gave me time to chug a nice hot can of coffee and ponder downing a chu-hi. Ahhh chu-hi a vice of mine that, luckily, can not be found outside of Japan. Who else would think of mixing akahol and fruit juice into such a delicious can of happiness that you can buy anywhere…restaurants, gas stations, corner stores, etc. It is like drinking a Snapple that has an alcohol content of 5%.

I arrived into Naha Airport on time. It felt like I was coming home. There was a smile on my face from ear to ear. I reached the baggage claim and there was a gaggle of angry looking Marines that must have landed just before me. They were all waiting on their bags. The carousel wasn’t even moving. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait at the same baggage carousel and big red soon popped up on the conveyor belt. I was done and out the door and Tater was waiting in the lobby for me. Ah, there is almost nothing better than good friends being reunited. I was very happy to be in a place that I love with my good buddy. The weather was about 60 degrees and misty at about 1000pm. Better than 16 degrees and snow at 300pm! I was immediately reminded of the challenges of driving in Oki as I went to open the driver’s side door (on the right side of the car). Hahaha…I thought I was getting in the passenger’s side. Then we started driving on the wrong side of the road, up one-way streets, and towards oncoming traffic. We also had a nice cabbie start yelling at us in Japanese. We had no idea what he was saying as he made hand gestures for us to pull over. So we did just that and don’t you know, he sped right by us. We had to turn around to get our bearings set and head out of the airport.

It took about 45 minutes to reach “home, sweet, Hamagawa” the lodging facility where Tater and his wife are living. It took me 46 minutes to crack a chu-hi and ask about dinner. Let me tell you, that Tater, he is a lucky man. He has his wife living with him, is within a five minute walk to MOS Burger and has a steady supply of tasty foods at his disposal. I was very excited to return to MOS Burger, a place that will put any burger chain back home to shame (this Singapore site has some menu items in English). Just look at that menu; hamburgers, hot dogs, soups and stews. They also serve fresh milk and fresh, healthy juices (orange, mango, guava, etc) for the little ones. Trust me when I say it is all good! My personal favorites are the shrimp cutlet burger and the original MOS Burger. The shrimp cutlet is served piping hot and is a fried patty of diced whole shrimpies (you can actually see them) topped with shredded lettuce and tartar sauce.

It is about the size of a hamburger or cheeseburger at McDonalds. The MOS Burger is a purely decadent combination of a hamburger patty, cheese, diced onions, chili, and a thick slice of tomato. Oh. My. Goodness. Prepare your eyes!!!!

You need about five napkins to keep yourself clean but you will still find little bits of chili somewhere on you. You’ll also find yourself licking the wrapper to get the bits that may have fallen off the sandwich. Of course, I guess that is why you can also order fries or onion rings (good – but not MOSB’s strong suit). After that delicious dinner Tater and I headed back to the Hamagawa to catch up on old times and chu-hi. Around 300am we got another hankering for food and decided to wander around his neighborhood looking for dining options. Well, none were open. Actually, we did stumble into one spot and were told that it was for locals only. Okay. We got the message. Tater and I entertained the idea of catching a cab to Gate 2 Street, but decided against it (wisely). Walking home we decided to stop at the all night soba hut that is on the side of the street. These places sell up some good Okinawa Soba at all hours of the night. I decided on the soki soba and a side order of fried gyoza.

Of course we also had some Orion’s. It was very delicious and I had to add some splashes of awamori infused with hot chili peppers to clear my head from those flights. It was the perfect end to a long day.

O hello, 2010. Nice to meet you.

Haaaappy New Year blogland! Hope everyone had a great New Year's :)

I ventured out to Arlington to hang out with some friends for New Year's Eve and I brought some tasty treats with me.

A few weeks ago I was contacted about giving Aunt Nellie's Pickled Beets a try - um, YES! Shortly after I replied, a box containing this came in the mail:

Wooooo! I refrained from using them until I could come up with a more creative use than just tossing them in a salad. What better time to get creative than a NYE party??

I wanted something simple and fairly easy so I grabbed a baguette, a log of goat cheese and some Herbs de Provence. I mixed the goat cheese with some Herbs de Provence, a pinch of salt and pepper and smeared it on a toasted piece of bread. Topped it with some chopped up beets and voila. Super fast appetizer! It wasn't as pretty as I had hoped, but it was pretty good. Looking back I might have chopped the beets up a little more so there was more beet per bite.
My other contribution to the party were these Pepper & Corn Pies.

I found these on Kayotic Kitchen and HAD to give them a try. Of course I never follow a recipe exactly as it is written :\ I thought these would be great with roasted red pepper instead of just red peppers so I used that instead. I also did a mixture of gouda and cheddar because I thought it could be fun. I also may have forgotten that I was dealing with gouda...or maybe I had a moment where I thought I was using gruyere and figured gruyere goes well with cheddar. ANYWAY. These could have used either more cheese or some salt...or something. They were super cute appetizers though.
How did you all celebrate New Year's Eve? Any fun treats? Any traditional foods? My mom usually makes a big pot of black eyed peas with ham and I think kale and there are ALWAYS big grapes in the house on NYE. I didn't realize these were considered 'lucky' foods to have while ringing in the new year. Thanks, Google.

I don't typically make New Year's resolutions, but I found myself jotting some goals/a to-do list at work on Thursday. Here are some that made the cut:

1. Explore the world of cross-training. There's no doubt about it. My injury is an overuse injury. There are tons of other cardio activities aside from running and my body will thank me for taking a break every now and then.
2. Learn to like the elliptical machine. This ties in with the previous goal since it is a good cross training option. I need to stop dreading it in order to accomplish my cross-training goal.
3. Complete Kelly's Elliptical Challenge. Wow, these first three could probably be smooshed into one.
4. Run a 10K. I haven't done one of these since 2007 and I'm kinda curious about how I'd do in a shorter race.
5. Make a big decision. Sorry folks, but I'm going to be shady on this one for now.
6. Take calcium supplements. I've tried really hard to stick with taking Viactiv ever since the orthopedist gave me a lecture on taking calcium supplements, but it hasn't worked out too well. I recently learned from my doctor that peak bone health is around 30 so I should probably step it up a bit.
7. Log runs. This is really just for curiosity. I want to get a better understanding of why I have some really bad run days...if it's the type of food I'm eating pre-run, time of day, etc.
8. Don't stress about not blogging. I've found that I start feeling really bad about missing days. I don't want blogging to feel like a chore or an extra job. I started this blog because I wanted to share fun food experiments, running stuff and adventures. If nothing's going on I shouldn't feel compelled to force something out, right? Right.
9. Run a half marathon in 2 hours flat. This most likely won't happen for the National Half, but I'd like it to happen this year. I know it's possible.
10. Try a new food item once a month. Or more. In the past couple of months, I've tried seitan, smoked tofu, spaghetti squash and I don't know what else. I LOVE trying new things. I love cooking with new things. Why not look for something out of my comfort zone every month??

What do you have planned for 2010??

My Arch Nemesis

O yes, I dread this machine. I hate it. With a passion. I'd even take a run on the treadmill over this!

I was in desperate need of a good sweat session so I listened to a friend's suggestion to do intervals to keep things interesting. Plan was an easy 10 minute warm up followed by 6 sets of 3 minutes hard, 2 minutes recovery and a 10 minute cool down. I ended up only doing 4 sets because I didn't feel like eating a late dinner ;p Followed it up with my toe taps (per PT's instructions to strengthen the achilles), some bended knee calf stretches and foam rolling (to loosen up my freakishly tight soleus muscle). Feeling good!!

I've had this turkey sammich craving for a couple weeks now and I finally grabbed some Boar's Head Low Sodium Turkey Breast and sammich fixins at the Gigante on Sunday. I toasted some Flax & Grain bread with some pepperjack cheese and then smeared it with Spicy Apple Mustard (obsessed!) before piling on some turkey, cucumber and avocado.
I was hoping to get some red in there, but I couldn't find any roasted red peppers in the house. Could have sworn I had a jar stashed somewhere! Grr. On the side, a mix of 'tropical fruit' and pineapple from Whole Foods.
I don't know why, but fresh (not canned - yuck) pineapple always makes me happy...it's up there with watermelon! I think this was also my first papaya experience. Usually I stay away from papaya because I don't really like mushy fruit. This was actually pretty tasty. Not too sweet and not offensively mushy. Yum.

So I'm going to work backwards to Christmas since I've been a terrible blogger :[

I checked the mail as soon as I got home on Saturday and sure enough there was Jamie's package of goodies! He said he was sending over this crazy Korean instant coffee he's been drinking but I didn't expect this:
A giant sack of 100 individual coffee packs! Jeebus!
I must say this definitely came at an appropriate time. We're in temporary office space right now and there's no coffee machine! I brought a couple packets into work today and tested it out. Nuked a mug of water, poured the contents of the packet in and stirred. Poof instant coffee. I mean, it's on the weak side (mostly creamer with a hint of sweet), but I'll take caffeine in any form in the morning. I may save the rest of the bag for Jamie's return.

Christmas brought some fun new things to my home, including this guy:
O yes, a measuring cup man. He's super bendy and has suction cup feet. Cannot wait to use this...or at least prop him up in the kitchen. Hello stress man!

Before there was Christmas, there was Christmas Eve! In my family, we do the big hurrah on Christmas Eve at my uncle's house in Long Island. Usually it's a big gathering (my dad is one of 7 and I have at least 19 first cousins, some who have sprouted a ton of children of their own) with tons of food. This year was a bit tame since a few family members were out of town. That didn't stop the food from flowing! There was a mix of Italian and Filipino food, catered and made by family members. My mom brought some roast beef, I made a fennel and mixed green salad and my sister made a ton of cookies. Unfortunately I once again forgot to bust out the camera :( I did rock the camera phone though ;)
The heaviest cake known to man. I'm still trying to figure out why it was so heavy - we're talking at least 5 pounds...and it wasn't even that big of a cake! Poor brother-in-law had to wait in a line of like 100 people to pick it up! It was yellow and chocolate cake layered with raspberry and chocolate mousse. Maybe it was the layer of chocolate mousse? It was pretty dense...hm...

Every year there's also a huge, gorgeous tree:
Perfect shape, right? Makes me a little sad my tree is dead and shedding needles :( I got a package on Tuesday night from Jamie's uncle filled with ornaments to add to the tree. I was so psyched to make it look less naked, but when I went to put one on the needles just fell to the ground :( I think it's time to take it down *sigh*

More news in the world of plants - Red is dead. Well, not totally dead. The leaves are still green, but the redness has gone brown. Even with water, plant food and sunshine (well, as much sunshine as we've gotten lately)! Eleven whole days...I think that's a bit of an accomplishment for me! Woo!

How was everyone's Christmas? Any fun New Years plans? I'm keeping it low key - something I've come to appreciate as I grow older ;p A certain someone is celebrating NYE/his birthday in Okinawa this year...hopefully we'll get a travel report? *hint, hint*