Brunch Obsession: Part 1 of many to come

Growing up, I never really understood the obsession over breakfast foods. When I went to college, everyone wanted breakfast foods all day long. There were many late nights spent at the local diner and it always surprised me how excited my friends got when there was an "All-day" breakfast menu.

Fast forward years later and now I totally get it. For me, it's not really about going out to breakfast, it's all about brunch. This should be a fun, social meal that is hardy, decadent, and special. I want something more than what I can get at a greasy spoon diner. I want high quality, well-executed dishes that I could eat all day long. For the next few weeks  months, I'll talk about some of my favorite[brunch] things.

The Quintessential Bread Basket Wishlist

I don't often see fresh bread baskets at restaurants, so instead I have fond carb memories and fantasies about Balthazar NYC's famous version. If I were to assemble a bread basket, it would probably end up being a giant basket that could serve 15. Instead of limiting myself, I'll just throw in everything on my wishlist and then "try" to pare it down from there :P

1. Some sort of cinnamon rolls or sticky buns

These were made in class at SF Cooking School. A couple of the pictures are fuzzy because I got some flour on my phone while taking pictures :(

         

         

Love it! Matcha Green Tea

On my way home from a nice walk with Echo I stopped in Starbucks and asked for an unsweetened green tea latte. The n00b behind the counter fumbled around writing something on the cup. A couple minutes later, I picked up my latte. Excellent! When it cooled a bit I took a sip and it was clearly sweetened. UGH!! I figured it was probably because the n00b got the order wrong. Oh wells...try again next time.

Fast forward to next time...the SAME THING happened again!! ARGH!! So I sat there and used their wi-fi to Google it. Turns out other people have had the same experience. Starbucks uses a pre-mixed powder that has plenty of sugar in it. Shouldn't their staff know about that?! Well there goes another $4 down the drain. Annoying!

I still want a freaking green tea latte though. This calls for DIY. I did a little research and matcha powder comes in different grades and the drinking kind quite expensive, anywhere from $8-20 per ounce. Woah! I went over to my local Japanese market and got a little container of high quality matcha. It was on sale for $7.50 for an ounce.

Also I got a chasen, which is a little bamboo brush used to prepare the matcha. The tea tends to clump together so the chasen is very helpful with breaking the tea down as well as creating frothiness. I'm using a matcha bowl I got for $1 at the dollar store.








Making the matcha is actually a fun little process. I've been doing it everyday and I loving it. Even with the pricey match powder, it's much more affordable than getting one at Starbucks or Peet's everyday. Plus it's totally customizeable to my taste. Love it!

Oh, Yummy Yummy Macarons in My Tummy

I LOVE a good macaron. These little treasures are pretty, delicate, flavorful and delish. Many places sell them, but most places don't get it right. I've been to Paris, the motherland of macarons and tried many wonderful ones at Pierre Hermes and Laduree. I've also had some amazing macarons in NY, LA, and SF. I love that there are so many flavor combinations. It's impossible to leave a store without getting a bunch of them. They are usually brightly colored and matched with a surprising buttercream flavor in the middle.

The crazy thing about these little delights is that so many things can be wrong with them. They look deceivingly simple to make and you certainly can't judge a macaron by its cover.

• The outside can be too hard and crack. 
• The inside can be dry and a pocket of air.
• The inside can be undercooked. 
• The buttercream to cookie ratio can be off. 
• The buttercream can be too soft and just ooze out of the cookie. 
• The buttercream can be too hard. 

There are so many books, blogs, and classes that attempt to make the perfect macaron. These cookies are very fidgety and the success depends on the moisture in the air, the right ingredients, the proper techniques, etc. I would love to be able to bake these successfully and consistently. 

Take 1: Amateur Sur la Table class [FAIL]

The pattern for the cookies they gave us were too small. The circles should have been bigger. 

Since it was Valentines Day we made heart shaped ones. Doing this was pretty stupid. The hearts were way too hard to get right so they all looked pretty messed up. UGLY!

The instructors baked the cookies for us, and they were not careful with the baking times. A lot of them were overcooked or undercooked. Then when they took them off the parchment, they were not cooled enough so the bottoms tore off. Lots and lots of fails!!!

We made chocolate buttercream and caramel fillings. Both of these fillings were a success.

In the end, there were only a few cookies that turned out decent. Maybe I'm being overly critical. I took home the best ones and saved them in the fridge since they are supposed to be better the next day. Then I gave them to my Valentine and he loved them! That's all that counts...at least for Valentine's Day.

Oh, What the Heck...Acting 101

Did I mention I took a 4 week acting class? Initially I wanted to take an improv class, but then I stumbled upon a Groupon for acting. I figured, it's in the same arena as improv, plus it might help me get over stage fright, and heck, I might meet some cool people.

[On stage fright] - Sometimes I can be overcome with intense stage fright and things come out of my mouth like "Oh, I'm imagining you all naked...ha...ha...blah blah...*memory black out, my mouth is moving but I have no idea what is coming out*." Also, my throat starts closing, my voice starts cracking, and my heart pounds out of my chest. If I'm lucky, all of this is accompanied by my knees buckling. :(

So this class I took, it focused on being able to communicate authentic emotions. This involves being secure with intimacy and with yourself, reflecting on past experiences that relate to the part and situation you are playing, and also trying not to over think things.

The class was a really good learning experience. I can't say it resolved my stage fright issues, but it did help me identify when the symptoms start and realize that I can get through it a little better with practice. I also appreciate movies and great acting much more. Being able to outwardly channel all of your emotions to others is quite a challenge. It's difficult to accurately translate what you are thinking and feeling without over or under acting. Acting is probably not something I'd go into, but gaining insight into that world was pretty awesome.

Nepal -> India -> Thailand and back!

I meant to write a post on my month in Asia a long time ago, but so many things came up and then I fell way behind on blogging. Instead I'll pretty much use the email I sent to a few people about my trip. :P

First off, I ended up having way less time to prepare for my trip than I initially planned. I wanted to get in shape, buy all my gear, and break it in. Instead, I ended up working until a few days before my trip. It was a pretty mad scramble to get in some cardio and have everything bought and ready to go. Luckily I was able to fit everything into one backpack and one small personal pack. No checked bags for a month of travel. BoOOYA!!!


About the trip...
We trekked the Annapurna region in the Himalayas. The trek was very physically grueling. We were either climbing steeply uphill or going downhill on treacherous terrain for 7-10 hours every day. 

After 20+ hours of travel I finally made it to Kathmandu. Eh...the airport was the smallest, dirtiest, most chaotic place I have ever been too. I arrived first out of my group so I was meeting our guide at the airport. I was cautious since I was going with some men that I've never met before in a foreign third world country. Luckily, our guides were very nice, good people. Phew! 

The landscape was breathtaking yet overwhelming. I felt like I was in a Lord of the Rings movie. Every time I looked out at the immense landscape I felt somewhat dizzy which was scary since a small misstep could lead to plummeting off the side of a cliff to my death. This definitely isn't a trip for everyone, but for those wanting a physically and mentally challenging trip in questionable conditions, but rewarded by amazing scenery, this is right up your alley.

When we got back from the Himalayas, we spent a little time in Kathmandu. The conditions here were very poor and extremely dirty. I had difficulty breathing and wore a face mask most of the time. The streets are dirt roads with no traffic signals or any rules. You can drive on any side of the street. You share the road with cows, goats, dogs, camels, motorcycles, people, rickshaws, and cars. Whether I was in a car or trying to cross the street on foot, I pretty much thought I was going to get run over and die. 

The next leg was in India where we went to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Amritsar. India, much like Kathmandu, was pretty crazy laden with terrible air pollution and poverty. It felt like a chase scene from an Indiana Jones movie. There really weren't many tourists in the parts that we visited so it was definitely an intense cultural experience. India has a really colorful history and learning about its cultural background was very interesting. 

The Taj Mahal in Agra was breathtaking. I could have spent an hour just sitting in front of it and staring at it. Surprisingly, my favorite part of the India leg was in Amritsar. I had never heard of it, but it's the headquarters of the Sikh religion, at the Golden Temple. Apparently it attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal. This massive temple that was built around a small lake was not like any place I have ever seen. It's full of people chanting at all hours of the day. Also in Amritsar, since it's near the border of India and Pakistan, has this border crossing ceremony everyday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagah_border_ceremony Around each side of the border's gate, there is a stadium full for people, either Indian or Pakistani. Then each side does its own celebratory traditions and then both sides do a series of high kicks and stomps towards one another. It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. I'm sure there is a youtube video on it. Seemed like something from a Monty Python movie. Anyways, I loved it!

Taj Mahal

Golden Temple

The last leg, which I did on my own was in Thailand in Chiang Mai and Krabi. In Chiang Mai, which is in northern Thailand, biked all around the city and visited many different temples, historic runes, and the zoo.

Then I went mountain biking, whitewater rafting, and rode an elephant.Whitewater rafting was awesome. The rapids were class 3 and 4 and I totally thought I was going to die, but it was super fun. The best part of Chiang Mai was probably riding an elephant though. 

My last stop was Krabi, Thailand. It was hot, relaxing, and gorgeous. There are beautiful rock formations and islands in the Andaman Sea. I took a kayak out to sea and kayaked around them. It was awesome! The food here was also delish. There was tons of fresh fruit and seafood. yum!

A Little of This, A Little of That...

Seal Point Park

#4 go to some Meetups - woohoo! I went to my first Meetup. It was a tennis meetup and I played for a couple hours and my entire body was aching afterwards. Surprisingly, I feel pretty good today.

#5 start running again - nice and easy 4 miler at Seal Point Park.

#10 start a blog - well...as you can see. done.

Mixed veggies from Suruki Market

#17 eat better - Greek yogurt, fiber tortillas AKA 
colon blow tortillas, raspberries, walnuts, tofu noodles, veggie beef, cauliflower, protein shake, 
peanuts, and fried chicken[Oops].

#18 start cooking - doesn't get any easier than a bag of frozen veggies, salt and pepper.

#21 get in shape - played tennis

#23 explore outdoorsy things - Seal Point Park is a nice run AND there's an off leash dog park there.

Cooking Healthy: mMmm Noodles

Coming up with a delicious low carb, low fat noodle dish is pretty tough. This one, I could eat everyday.

I sauteed onions, cremini mushrooms, Trader Joe's vegetarian ground "beef," celery, cilantro, and green onions. I seasoned with soy sauce, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

For the noodles, I used Shirataki tofu noodles which are only 40 calories per package, and 2 net carbs.
I sliced up some cucumbers and squeezed some lime at the end.

I scarfed the whole thing down in a few minutes. I can't believe how healthy this was.