LIFE MIXER

Alhamraa - Moroccan Food in C'Ville

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:26:00 -0400

I went to my first Moroccan restaurant tonight with my awesome colleagues/friends from work. It was our last dinner before our graduating students leave town. Having it at a very ethnic restaurant was perfect!

The restaurant was Alhamraa. Very authentic Moroccan food according to my Moroccan colleague. The restaurant was quite big. The majority of the seats were benches along the wall with large tables. The center was pretty much an open space. They host Latin dance events twice a week and bellydancing once a week. Beautiful Moroccan curtains and lanterns were hung on the wall and from the ceiling. All of this gave the restaurant a nice ambience and made me feel like I stepped into a local dining spot in Morocco.

Luckily, the owner was my colleague’s friend, so we got some kefta briwat (ground beef pastry) on the house. The kefta briwat was so delicious like the rest of our dinner. We ordered boustaila (sweet and savory chicken pastry with almonds and eggs), kefta belbaid (beef meatballs topped with eggs), zaalouk (eggplant, tomato, olive oil), and meakouda (potato and cilantro pancakes). All of them tasted completely new to me, except for zaalouk. After eating so many different types of food, it was refreshing to taste something unfamiliar.

The boustaila (bottom of the third picture) was nothing like I’ve ever eaten before. It was pastry filled with shredded chicken, raisins, and almonds; all mixed with various spices and rose water. The whole thing was dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Powdered sugar!! Talk about sweet and savory. The rose water and spices in the filling gave it a novel flavor to me. It was interesting and took a couple of bites for me to get used to it.

My favorites were zaalouk and kefta briwat. I loveee Middle Eastern and South Asian eggplant dishes. The Moroccan style is very similar, as well. I could eat zaalouk and flat bread all day. The spices in kefta briwat were amazing! You’ll definitely see a post about them when I make them soon.

One of the best parts about the dinner was getting the owner to agree to host a special event for the International Center! It’ll be like a party with a set menu for us with some bellydancing entertainment. I can’t wait!

Until then, I’ll be back with my friends to try out their other dishes. I’m a bit sad I only found out about the restaurants recently.

Started the day off by picking these darlings at the office

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:03:07 -0400

Started the day off by picking these darlings at the office

If you like crabcakes, you need to try out this Southeast Asian salmon and rice cakes from the...

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:46:00 -0400

If you like crabcakes, you need to try out this Southeast Asian salmon and rice cakes from the kitchn. It’s made with canned salmon, shallots, fish sauce, brown rice, and some other yummy ingredients. The sauce is Sriracha mayo. Do make extra sauce to put on top of everything you eat for the next couple of days.

I served the salmon cakes with a simple nappa cabbage slaw I saw on pinterest. I adjusted the ingredients a bit to make it more Southeast Asian, or rather Vietnamese.

Ingredients

1 small head Napa Cabbage, finely sliced (about 8 cups)
4 small cucumbers (1 ½ pounds), julienne cut (6 cups)
½ cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts OR roasted sunflower seeds
1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/8 cup chopped mint leaves

(For the dressing, adjust the following ingredients to taste)

1/4 cup peanut oil, safflower oil, or canola oil (you can leave this out entirely for a lighter dressing with more flavor)
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/8 cup fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon of chili garlic sauce

Instructions

Combine cabbage, cucumbers, peanuts, cilantro, and mint in a large bowl. Whisk oil, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, salt, and chili garlic sauce in a small bowl. Pour over the vegetable mixture and toss to coat.

"I understand."

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:16:25 -0400

Do I? Do you? Truly?

I notice I’ve been using “I understand” more and more these days. It’s a polite way to console someone of their unfortunate circumstance and express my care for their situation. But this morning while I was driving to work, I questioned that statement. Do I really understand? I think I can sympathize more than understand most hard situations people go through.

How could I or other people fully understand another person’s problems unless they’ve been in the exact same situation and had the exact same experiences? Even if I’ve been in a similar situation, I could kind of understand. How we perceive and deal with problems are incredibly contingent on our personality, values, and life priorities. Very few people are the same in all of those regards.

Perhaps, we should expand our “I understand” statement more. For example, “I understand that this situation is tough for you,” or “I understand you’re trying your best to overcome this hurdle.”

Whenever I vent to my friend about my problems, they usually express their understanding of them and it is comforting to hear that. They may understand the problem I’m telling them well, but how well do they understand all of the emotions involved.

I’m not saying we should stop using or devalue this statement or question it the next time someone says it to us. I know people mean well when they say it. I just never looked at this common phrase in this light before and it is intriguing to dissect it.

I wish I could really “understand,” so that I could better help my friends through tough times.

Stir-fry broccoli and tofu with quinoa

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:57:00 -0400

One item I really miss from large Asian grocery stores is fresh fried tofu. It’s great for many dishes and by itself with good soy sauce. I can’t find it anywhere in Charlottesville. The only kind of fried tofu available is pre-packaged and doesn’t taste as good. I tried frying regular fresh tofu but it didn’t taste the same. It didn’t hold as well when I cooked it with other stuff. That is, until I discovered frying food coated with corn starch!!! The corn starch gave it a nice thin skin when I fried it without losing the internal taste and texture.

It’s very simple. Slice up extra firm tofu to your desired size. Toss it with corn starch. Fry it with peanut or vegetable oil. I didn’t used too much oil; just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. You could probably bake it if you want to avoid oil, all together. I haven’t tried it before, but it would probably work.

Now, an easy stir-fry broccoli and tofu recipe…

{Ingredients}

2 heads of broccoli
1 container of extra firm tofu, fried like above
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Oil (grapeseed or safflower oil are best for the high heat used in stir-fry)

For the sauce, mix together (approximately)

1/2 tbsp corn starch (thickening agent, zero flavor)
2 tbsp vegetable/chicken broth or water
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tsp crushed red chili (optional)
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
black pepper to taste

Adjust any of the sauce ingredients to fit your taste.

{Directions}

-Boil a large pot of water, then add broccoli for about 2 minutes. Drain.

-Add some oil to a pan or wok. Then add garlic and semi-cooked broccoli.

-Saute for about 2 minutes. You don’t really need to cook it much because it’s already blanched. Add fried-tofu, mix gently.

-Add sauce to the pan and mix evenly. You want the tofu and broccoli covered in the sauce as much as possible to add seasoning and flavor to every bite. The sauce will thicken up because of the corn starch in it. If it’s too thick for you, simply add more broth or water by 1 tbsp at a time.

-Add more soy sauce or salt, if necessary.

-Serve with rice or quinoa for a healthier option.

The stir-fry sauce ingredients are flexible. You can keep it simple by just using soy sauce and pepper alone. You can substitute brown sugar or oyster sauce for the sweet soy sauce. My parents always use soy sauce and oyster sauce for stir-fries and pretty much every other marinade. It’s a great combo. If you’re not too familiar with oyster sauce, it’s thick and taste a bit salty and sweet. Don’t be too generous with it. It could taste strong for some people. I usually do a 2:1 ratio for soy sauce:oyster sauce. Some fresh minced ginger or lemongrass (totally Southeast Asian flavoring) tastes good in the sauce, too. Go crazy, if you want! Whatever makes your taste buds dance.

Any choice of meat could be substituted for the tofu. Cook it first, then add broccoli and sauce. Broccoli could be substituted with kale, Chinese spinach, asparagus, or a veggie mix of carrots, bell peppers, and mushrooms. I wouldn’t use this sauce with all types of vegetables, though. Some just don’t taste really good in stir-fries or with soy sauce, like zucchinis and cauliflower.

Al Fresco Dinner

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:47:00 -0400

I love eating outside! There’s something soothing about eating a healthy meal with a breeze in the air, birds chirping nearby, sunshine from above, and some wine. It makes the whole eating experience so much more enjoyable. I also just love being outside.

The weather is perfect for al fresco dining right now because it’s nice and cool. I invited my student staff over for dinner this week to thank them for all of their hard work this year and to send off the graduating staff. All of them love being outside, so an al fresco dinner was perfect.

Isn’t the table covering darling?? It’s Kraft wrapping paper with little gold stars from the dollar store. So, for $1, you can get a nice simple table covering that will make cleanup a breeze. They have other cute patterns, too.

I got the menu idea from an article about entertaining ideas from Tel Aviv (previous blog post). I always had to repeat what I served at dinner in the past. With the menu, I didn’t have to do it at all. I put it in the open and everyone read it. I have to do this again for future dinner parties.

The fruit flavored water was so refreshing! I found a simple recipe from Jamie Oliver. In a nutshell, slice up your favorite fruits and put it in a jug of water with ice. I used limes, lemons, oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and mint. Following the recipe, I squeezed in an orange. It sweetened up the water just a bit. Everyone said each cup they got from the dispenser was a little different, which made it fun.

To make the dinner international, I served tandoori chicken with raita, sesame noodles, and a mango pineapple salad. They are great for outdoor dining because they taste good at room temperature or chilled.

The reason for having so many photos of dinner, besides capturing the beautiful moments, tablescape, and food, is me wanting to try my new camera+ app on my phone. That’s right, all of these photos were taken and edited on the app. They look just as good or better, in some cases, than photos on a regular camera. This app is a keeper :) I highly recommend it to anyone who can get the app on their phone.

Entertaining Tips from Tel Aviv

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:33:40 -0400

Entertaining Tips from Tel Aviv:

Love the first two tips, especially using a large piece of plywood over sawhorse legs as a pop up dining table for a big crowd. I will definitely use that tip in the future.

Another restless night

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:20:26 -0400

I really can’t stand nights when I’m physically exhausted and can’t fall asleep. You would think that when all your body wants to do is to rest, your mind would follow suit. Nope. Body = dead; mind = going strong. FML.

I do attribute this insomnia session to my current stress level. Whenever I have a lot of things on my mind, I have even more trouble falling asleep.

Work has been really busy. I’ve been preparing for a few major events/programs. My boss was away for a week and a half for a family emergency, so I had an unexpected workload. She came back last week and I got a smallll breather while I finalized this weekend’s events. But, she just told me tonight that she needs to be with her family again for the next week and a half. Just when I thought I could take a little break next week to recover from this weekend, I get slam with double work again. Fortunately, she’ll be able to do some work this time.

Tomorrow is our big annual Bluegrass Picnic. We’re expecting 100-125 people to attend. Although I started planning for it a few months ago, I had to do the bulk of the work these past two weeks. I’m usually fine with large events, like our annual New Year’s Luncheon, but I’m always more stressed out with the picnic. Set-up is more labor intensive, so we have 5-7 people helping. The downside to more help is more planning on my part to figure out exactly what needs to be done and delegate them to the group effectively. When I couldn’t sleep during the past two nights, I would run through the event in my head to make sure I didn’t miss some tasks. This prolongs my insomnia!

On top of this, I started my job search, which is a huge stressor on its own. I hate looking for jobs. Does anyone even enjoy it? Probably not. I like to keep my job search to myself because people stress me out more when they ask me about it. This was why I didn’t want to tell my boss for a while. She knows now and has told a few of my colleagues. I really hope word is not getting around. Every time I’m in our head office for a meeting, one more person would ask me about it. How did they know?? The only person I told directly in my office is my boss. Two of my Program Assistants found out unintentionally. I didn’t plan on telling them until I was close to getting an offer.

This week, two of my colleagues asked about my search process and how many jobs I applied for already. Sadly, zero. I wish I could say I found 10 jobs I really liked, applied for them, and will be interviewing soon. I’m a prideful person, so it sucks to admit any amount of failure. For this reason, I don’t like to talk about my job search much. It’s like that saying, if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I know this means to say something nice to/about another person, but the same philosophy applies to a situation. I don’t have anything good to say about the search, so I’m not going to say anything. For this to work well, people should not get me to say something by asking questions.

I can’t wait for all of this to be over. I just really hope I can find a good job before my lease is up. Let’s not add housing dilema to this mess.

One long blog post later, I’m still wide awake, and the birds are chirping…

Cutting up a whole chicken

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:27:42 -0400

Cutting up a whole chicken:

A valuable kitchen skill!

How to help in tough times

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 22:43:00 -0400

How to help in tough times:

I never quite know what to do or say to someone who’s grieving or going through a tough time, so this is really helpful.

I’ve also heard that simply being available is appreciated.

Live on, dinner parties, live on!

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:05:21 -0400

{Background music to this post - Pandora’s Brazilian Radio station}

I didn’t realize that dinner parties aren’t very common nowadays until I talked to my married cousins in their late 20’s and read NYT’s Guess Who isn’t Coming to Dinner. I go to dinner parties and host them frequently.

People don’t host semi-formal sit-down dinner parties anymore like back in the days. The modern dinner parties are more casual and focused on the food and company. Once in a while, we’d buy some flowers, decorate the table, and set out nice dinnerware. Plus, everyone is too busy now to cook all day and get ready for a big dinner party. Cue potluck dinners.

A good number of the dinner parties I attend are potluck dinners and I love them! It’s a great way for everyone to contribute to the meal and puts less work on the host. It’s also great for everyone who’s on a budget.

The bottom line is I disagree with the NYT article. Dinner parties are not endangered.

{Dinner parties at my house}

Everyone loves to gather over food and drinks. And because we’re busy, it’s a wonderful way to take a break and catch up with friends over dinner. We all have to eat no matter how busy we are…

Additionally, the community we live in can encourage us to have dinner parties. Charlottesville is a big foodie town with amazing chefs, local ingredients, and wine - factors of a great dinner. Hill and Holler is a local group that organizes big “farm-to-table” dinner parties with local chefs and winemaker to raise money for a local nonprofit. Forage is another group that hosts a dinner series, but for the pure pleasure of good food and company.

Dinner inspirations sprout beyond the local community. There are so many food blogs that feature dinner parties (local favoriate of mine is Beyond the Flavor). Some magazines are dedicated to entertaining, like Kinfolk.

How can anyone who likes to eat and cook not be inspired by these movement and media? I know I am and probably many other Pinterest users. So, if anything, dinner parties are thriving in a different form and will continue to grow.

Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 17:28:39 -0400

Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong:

Valid argument about focusing more on the results than overhead costs

Thanks to my roommate, I now have Ray LaMontagne’s sexy...

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:19:00 -0500

Thanks to my roommate, I now have Ray LaMontagne’s sexy husky voice in my life. This is one of my favorite songs of his

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcake

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:10:31 -0500

Last Wednesday, we got a big snow storm that practically shut the entire city down. UVa was closed. The IC lost power and didn’t get it back until this evening. We moved our house guests to a nearby hotel because the house was freezing and didn’t have hot water. It was a mess to deal with… I feel bad for the disruption and discomfort they’re experiencing. So, being a good hostess, I went to the house yesterday to wash their dishes for them when we had a generator for the furnace for a few hours. Also cleaned up the obvious messes because housekeeping couldn’t clean without electricity. To cap it off, I baked them cupcakes! Chocolate cupcakes can cheer anyone up.

I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe that I got from my cousin. It’s sooo good. It has the right amount of chocolate and moistness to the cake. (Recipe below)

I found a simple chocolate frosting recipe on Food Network and it came out really well. I usually buy frosting, but I thought I’d make my own this time because I already had all of the ingredients. I regretted my decision while I was making it. Have you ever made frosting from scratch before? Did your powdered sugar fly everywhere like mine?? I forgot what a mess it was to make! I ended up adding a couple more tablespoons of heavy cream to keep the sugar contained. Once the frosting splattered on the floor and counter, I carried on with the mess. There was no going back.

For the complete recipe…

{Chocolate Cupcake}

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 F

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water.

Line a cupcake tin with baking cups or use these cute stand-alone baking cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

{Chocolate Frosting}

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used 2/4 unsweetened + 1/4 dark chocolate cocoa powder)
1 stick butter softened
6 tbsp heavy cream (I think…I kinda stopped measuring and counting after the first 3 tbsp. Just get it to the consistency and taste you want)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift sugar and cocoa together into a large bowl. In another bowl combine 1 cup of sugar mixture with butter and 3 tablespoon cream, beating until smooth. Add another cup of sugar and another tablespoon or two of cream, beating well. Continue until all ingredients are combined and frosting is fluffy. Beat in vanilla.

Making Bolivia and Peru Trip Happen!

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:41:24 -0500

{Salar de Uyuni}

Who doesn’t want to see that? I remember the first time I saw my friend’s pictures of Salar de Uyuni and the other sites she visited on her southwest Bolivia tour. I knew right then that I had to see it one day. I was planning on going last year when I finally saved enough money for it, but ended up going to Vietnam and Singapore instead. So this year, it’s going to happen in July!!! Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia and Machu Picchu in Peru because I’ll already be in the area.

I spent a day doing hours of intensive research online about people’s experiences traveling to Salar de Uyuni and practically everyone recommended going on a 4 day/3 night tour. After reading about how adventurous and beautiful the sights were, I was sold.

{Arbol de Piedra & Laguna Colorada in Bolivia}

So what will the 4 days and 3 nights tour of Salar de Uyuni be like? We start from Tupiza and end in Uyuni. We’ll stop at a bunch of places along the way. The tour is in a 4x4 with 4 tourists, a cook, and a driver. Either the cook or driver will also be the guide. They better be cool because we’ll be with them all the time. Piss them off and I won’t know what they’ll feed me. Accommodations will be very basic. We’ll have about 2 hours of electricity each night and zero heat. The weather should be in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day and EIGHT TO TEN degrees at night. The tour company advises us to bring plenty of warm clothes. I’m bringing a sleeping bag to sleep in under all of the bedding they’ll give us. We’ll have to pay for hot showers. I’m totally prepared to not shower for days and just use baby wipes.

As for Machu Picchu, I really want to go on a 4 day Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu. Sadly, we don’t have enough time to do it. But, I found a two day trek that covers the last leg of the 4 day trek.

{Machu Picchu}

Not much needs to be said about Machu Picchu. Its history, beauty, and popularity speak for itself. I just can’t wait to see it with my own eyes. It’ll be my third wonder of the world.

We’ll be spending quite a bit of time traveling between Tupiza, Uyuni, La Paz, and Cusco. Three overnight bus and train rides. I don’t mind these at all because it’s a cool way to see the country while you’re in transit.

Overall, the trip will be very adventurous and rugged. Comfort and sleep will be minimal. I love it!!! I want to say it’ll be “off the beaten path,” but a lot of people travel to these areas.

The bulk of the planning is done, so it’s time to start booking and charging stuff to my credit card.

Out of my slump and baked oatmeal

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:11:42 -0500

So…yesterday’s post was the result of being burnt out from work. I worked for practically seven days straight. I thought I could do it when I signed up for it. Proved myself wrong. I crashed as soon as I got home from work yesterday at 7 PM, woke up briefly to eat cereal and peanut butter crackers for dinner, and slept until 10:30 this morning. Mixed all of this with PMSing and I fell into a slump.

Anyone who knows me really well knows that I get terrible mood swings when I’m PMSing. One moment I’m perfectly fine and the next I could be depressed. Sometimes it gets so bad that my doctor would suggest taking medicine to control my hormones. I’ve tried meditating, watching funny movies, listening to my favorite songs, or reading a good book to calm my mind and emotions. They don’t always work well. Certainly not last night. I don’t want to take medicine everyday to take care of something that may occur 2-3 days a month. If anyone else has a natural remedy for mood swings, please let me know.

Anyways, after much needed rest and alone time today, I’m feeling better. I tried out a new recipe I’ve been wanting to make for a while - baked oatmeal. My boss makes it all the time lately and gives me some. It’s so good! As much as I love oatmeal, I get tired of its mushiness after a while. So, this is a good alternative.

I made a few adjustments to this recipe by using apple sauce and soymilk instead of pumpkin puree and regular milk. I also used Earth Balance butter to make the recipe completely vegan.

You can make so many variations with baked oatmeal by using different fresh and dried fruits. You can also use coconut oil for a light coconut flavor.

The Single Life

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:07:00 -0500

Some days I just need a little extra support to get through the day. After a long day or couple of days of work, it’d be nice to come home with dinner ready and nothing to clean. Or just simply to have someone hold me while I rest and breathe.

I know my friends can give me this support, but there’s a different comfort receiving it from a boyfriend. I admit that I do miss the comfort of having a boyfriend from time to time. It’s nice of have someone in your life who you want to spend time with doing the simplest things and who wants to do the same with you. So, when I’m feeling a bit down for no major reason, I’d like to snuggle up with a guy and just watch a movie.

Vegan Meals

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:20:01 -0500

Sometimes after eating meat for days, I’d crave vegan food and would go on a binge before the next burger is put in front of me. Today was one of those days. Coincidentally, I also fasted today.

I love scrambled eggs and omelettes on the weekends. It was one of the foods I craved a lot during my vegan challenge. I heard about scrambled tofu as a good alternative, but doubted it could take over eggs’ place in my heart. I finally gave it a shot today and it wasn’t bad at all.

{Southwestern Scrambled Tofu & Baked Pasta with Eggplant and Artichoke Hearts}

My vegan day ended with a delicious baked pasta with VEGAN mozzarella made from almond milk. Vegan cheese was another vegan alternative that I shied away from. It’s not bad at all. It actually tasted pretty close to the real thing.

When I'm trying to get my friends to like my new favorite song

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:00:27 -0500

whatshouldwecallme:

Fact.

Love Modern Family!

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:01:29 -0500

Love Modern Family!