life has been pretty action packed lately

march - april: studying for the Project Management Certification exam

may: passing of the Project Management Certification exam. woohoo! + my mom's arrival for an 8 week visit + 2 spot prawn feasts

june: bill starting his new job in the ecommerce team of a large company known for its hardware and software + 24 hrs in Seattle to eat at the amazing Spinasse restaurant in celebration of said new job + watching a ton of films for VAFF

july: my last month with OpenRoad + more VAFF volunteering + 3 days in San Francisco (see flickr set)

with august comes exciting (and scary, if I'm honest) new adventures at my new job at Tyze which requires an actual commute! the excitement for the new is being tempered by the sadness of leaving a bunch of fantastic people at OpenRoad. i will never forget them, especially now that i have a google+ circle for them!

here are some of my favourite pictures from the past 5 months that didn't make it into flickr.


- st patrick's day celebration courtesy of @seafoam



- sarah letting me convince her to put on this hat and strike a cute pose



- june birthday celebration at OpenRoad



- @selmaz post laser operation



- spot prawn boil at Refuel




- spot prawn feast at Ken's Kitchen



- dimsum for Bill's going away lunch



- freshly made angel hair pasta w pork ragu at Spinasse. my lord it was good.



- bill at Save On Meats



- @CarolienD and @selmaz at The Diamond



- a fresh bite of delish from Bob Likes Thai



- bill at The Precidio in SFO

summer weekend report

1. nibbles with friends
- M and C came over after work this past Friday to catch up on our lives, drink Joie rose and nibble on goodies.


- M holding a glass of the rose


- we were all setup on the patio but then had to move everything indoors because the lawn mowing generated lots of dust and pollen.



2. chef for the day
- a call at 8:15am saturday to ask if B and I would be available to take over 2 spots for the Chef for a Day put on by Edible BC meant a quick get ready to be at granville island by 9:30am. not that it was really a hardship as we were soon to realize.
- we shopped for ingredients, prepared the food at the Miele showroom in yaletown and then sat down to enjoy the meals
- the expensive henckels knives and cookware were so lovely to work with i'm convinced i need to invest in some nice knives.


- chef cari infront of city seafood to pickup 3 lbs of spot prawns


- the 8 of us split into 3 groups. B and I were part of the spot prawn group cuz it's a favourite of mine. here B is snipping off the longer tendrils and legs of the prawn while it was still alive.


- one of my tasks was to poach the prawns in clarified butter for a minute then line them up on a roasting pan. notice how i meticulously alternated the alignment of the prawns. i was pretty proud of myself.


- we finally sit down to the meals we prepared. everyone was rather exhausted from 5 hours of shopping and cooking and was happy to just be sitting.


- the rhubarb crumble dessert was rather fabulous. i asked for a second scoop of ice cream.



3. main street car-free event
- spent an hour taking pictures of Brian's food table at the Blim
- i might have also bought a dress at eugene choo and some yarn


- yummy rustic italian breads and pies which all sold out by 2:30pm


- herb twists for only $1!!!


- i couldn't resist taking this photo for J who has claimed that "feather headbands are the devil's playground"

deacon's corner

deacon's corner at 101 main street
- biscuits, i'm talking BISCUITS WITH SAUSAGE GRAVY!
- thin potato slices seasoned with cumin
- large portions

i think the pictures (mostly) speak for themselves.



my meal, rob's meal



rob BEFORE attacking the meal



rob DEFEATED by the meal

update on freezer project

MINUS
- finished the coffee ice cream last night
- threw out the wontons. B suggested that i reconsider this item.

PLUS
+ with the help of B, we made more dumplings tonight so as to use up leftover dumpling wrappers. the freezer now has 2 more bags of frozen dumplings.

also, 2 litres of anything is feeling like a long commitment so i've happily decided that i'll be purchasing two 500ml containers of ice cream instead.

OPERATION use up stuff in my freezer so i can buy 2L of chocolate ice cream

DILEMMA: no flat surface for the 2L of ice cream i want to purchase and add to my thighs


WHAT'S IN MY DAMN FREEZER?


starting clockwise from the top right:
- homemade dumplings from february's party
- homemade wontons from the summer of 2008
- steak (2007? not sure)
- package of pandan leaf (this is B's item)
- ziploc of leftover red wine
- whole package of edamame
- green onion pancakes
- two butter chicken sausages

not pictured:
- big bag of ice from february's party
- bottle of hendrick's gin (also B's item)
- coffee haagen dazs

in the process of taking all the items out, i finally removed the big bag of ice and threw out the steak. and wow, that made a huge difference already.

THE PLAN
i plan on using up the wontons, dumplings, green onion pancake, and edamame for a cast/crew wrap party for R's comedy feature that we're about to finish shooting.

the rest:
- i see g&t's in my future
- i'll eat the coffee haagen dazs tonight
- B will make some kaya with the pandan. some day.
- i'll pickup some kale and make a kale-sausage stewy dish



BUT I THINK I HAVE A BIGGER PROBLEM with the 6 blocks of cheese in the fridge!

2hr nap + hunger = grocery shopping FAIL

i had a short-ish and not expensive list of ingredients to purchase for my planned monday night dinner. i'm thinking maybe $20 to get everything. so how come i ended up spending ALMOST $90 and had to hit 4 (four, the number after three) different grocery stores?????

clearly, grocery shopping FAIL.

and i blame it on my 2hr afternoon nap and the fact that i went shopping when i was really really hungry.

LONG AFTERNOON NAPS_____
i had one of those LONG afternoon naps today where you wake up and you're not sure what day it is or even what year it is. there have been epic afternoon naps where i've thought i was late for work and i've thought i was twelve and still living at home.

that's what the omg-i've-slept-too-long naps do to you: they screw up the space-time continuum.

and they encourage poor shopping decision making. let me give you the exciting play-by-play:

CONTEXT #1.....
monday dinners usually end up being a going-out situation because i have NO ENERGY ON MONDAYS due to the transition from the weekend. THEREFORE, i decided that tonight i would pick up the ingredients needed for the dinner i had planned for monday: chicken corn soup with thai chicken baguette. if i have all the ingredients, then i have no excuse to make dinner.

CONTEXT #2.....
i had planned on going grocery shopping after a late evening workout at the gym. i leave the gym at 8:30pm (note: i have not had dinner yet) and drive to choices for the meat requirements and plan on going to the dollar store on the drive for the rest.

STORE #1: choices - i go to choices (the one on cambie and 19th) for the chicken. this location is undergoing renovations and the entire meat department is under a big orange tarp. so i decide to go to capers just 3 blocks away for the chicken. total bill = $0.00

STORE #2: capers - oh my frack, i'm not going to pay $11.00 for half an organic chicken breast. however, i pickup brown rice crackers, B12 vitamins, parbaked baguettes, caper's very own chicken stock, and green's & black's milk chocolate with almonds. total bill = $43.22

STORE #3: dollar - so economical at dollar. i love dollar. they have their own cloth bags imprinted with the faces of the owners. these bags rule. i'm able to obtain everything on the list but the chicken and the chinese sausage. total bill = $17.21

STORE #4: supervalu - this store depresses the shit out of me. and it's because of the combination of the sickly lighting and the cashiers who somehow make me feel guilty for making more money than them. i go directly to the chicken area but then remember i need creamo, bagels, ground pork, turkey deli meat, and malt vinegar. total bill = $27.45

GRAND TOTAL === $87.88 plus i had to go to four different stores

ok, ok, sure, now i have supplies for other things like breakfast for the week and stuff to make pork dumplings.

but what i'm trying to impress upon the 2 ppl who've read this far into my post is the annoyance of the $20 and 2 stores VERSUS $90 and 4 stores. we've all been there, right?

storm watching in tofino

spent this past week in tofino during storm watching season. this is tricky marketing at its best, people.

tofino's main draw is its good surfing and i think some very smart marketing types came up with a reason to NOT ONLY compel tourists to visit during non-surf season (aka storm watching season) BUT ALSO convince tourists that it's worth paying premium to WATCH HARSH WIND AND RAIN.

but wait, it's harsh wind and rain... ON THE BEACH.
AHA - we have them now! Yes.

well, there was 1 night of the storming but since it happened mostly while i was sleeping, i guess i didn't get my money's worth.

otherwise, i had a really nice time in tofino: eating yummy scallops at shelter restaurant, walking the beach, enjoying quail at sobo, taking pictures at glice bay, dining on lamb at raincoast cafe, getting my new deck boots soaked by an unexpected wave, and experiencing food heaven at the wickaninnish inn restaurant.

my artsy tofino photos are here


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here are a couple that didn't make the artsy cut:

on jan 1st, at the beach at pacific sands where we stayed, 3 people decided to do the new year's dive into very chilly waters.



a little boy is hesitating before making the jump over a patch of water. don't call the child protection dept, his mom is just out of frame.

it's the tops

for those of us who like to compile (and read) these things, here's my top lists for the year.


. FILMS. . .
#7 Orz Boyz
#6 Still Walking
#5 Synching Blue
#4 Heima, a light documentary about Sigur Ros
#3 The Savages
#2 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
#1 Lives of Others (ok, i know this film came out in 2007 but i only watched it this year)


. MUSIC. . .
#5 Black Mountain: In the Future
#4 Ladyhawk: Shots
#3 Fleet Foxes: s/t
#2 Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid
#1 Radiohead: In Rainbows


. EATING OUT. . .
#6 2 chefs/aurora/medina
#5 Trattoria
#4 Chambar
#3 Grub
#2 Pied-a-Terre
#1 Boneta

this might be my favourite picture from 2008:

food stuffs

the past week has been pretty exciting in my food world.

korean food___________
across the street from Seb's on broadway near fraser is a new korean restaurant that replaces the korean tofu soup restaurant that i had wanted to try but never did.

the new korean restaurant serves skewers, bulgogi, bibimbob, bbq eel on rice, etc.

besides the deliciously prepared food are some other wonders:
1) the entire interior of the restaurant is covered in orange tarp.
2) the middle of the restaurant has these large cauldrons of their version of miso soup.
3) the menus are written on big, old soup pot lids
4) the chairs are blue plastic stools

be warned, the place gets packed by 6:30pm.

oh, also, we were able to order makalee which is rice wine and it tasted home brewed and was waay cheaper and tastier than the soju. btw, the makalee is not on the menu. it was advantageous having rob there to order this drink.






cheese and olive party___________
this past saturday, rob and i attended the swankiest party we've ever been to. the location was a remodelled 1950s house in the dunbar/southlands area.

it was like stepping into an issue of dwell magazine.

and then there was the amazing selection of cheese to be had. the hostess sourced the best and most exclusive cheeses then presented them along with fruit, breads, and olives.

something that surprised me was how friendly this mostly affluent crowd was. everybody smiled as you walked past them. every single one.

you know how people say money doesn't make you happy? well, if i had the money to live in this house, i think i would rather happy.

i'm not a real film geek and other stuff

this week so far, there have been 3 (three) whole days on which i did not watch a film at VIFF.

at a screening this weekend, the film introducer asked people to raise their hands if this was their first film, if people have watched more than 10 films, 20 films, 30 films, 40 films, 50 films, 60 films, and i shit you not, 70 films.

there were at least 3 people with hands still up for 70 films. wtf.

.................
in other news, i skipped 4 Nights With Anna tonight since rob has a nasty sinus flu and so i picked up chicken noodle soup, apple juice, green juice smoothy, crackers, and fruit from capers.

capers is very expensive.

i purchased a small container of maple glazed brussel sprouts because rob loves them. a small container containing about 14 of those little things set me back $7.38. that makes the heirloom cherry tomatoes at $4.99 a steal.



you don't even want to know how much their organic turkeys are selling for.

.................
also, i just cancelled our trip to victoria for this weekend's victoria marathon. rob is in no shape to run a marathon and in the past month alone, i've managed to run approximately 20 minutes on a treadmill. twice. so i'm not really ready to run the 8K either.

but that's cool, that means we can stay home and have a nice thanksgiving dinner with my family.

.................
and lastly, i had a day of great hair. look, the proof! it was even more impressive during the day. just imagine it a little more wavy yet not puffy.

now what?

my post-mamm life so far:


- sleep in: check. i stayed in bed until 11am yesterday.

- visit my family: check. i visited my dad yesterday and we looked at washer/dryers because (oh joy) my dryer broke the night before rob left for toronto.

- purchase a new washer/dryer unit: to do.

- have some bubble tea from my favourite place in richmond: double check. i managed to let the bubble tea slip from my hand as i was closing the passenger side door and it crashed/broke underneath the passenger seat. i went back and ordered another one.

- combine bubble tea and baileys: check. i brought the bubble tea home and figured i'd try a little experiment. the result? a little bit of both but not quite either. it was strange but sweet.

- watch "Wings of Desire": check. watched it last night and it was exquisite. here's a clip:



- wait for rob to come home: check. rob is returning this friday.

look and drool

trattoria
1850 west 4th ave (at burrard)

rob and i ate at trattoria tonight and it was freaking delicious without the il giardino prices.

i had the strozzapreti which had chicken, olives, arugula and cheeze. they make their own pasta on-site! the flavouring was subtle but distinct.


rob ordered the spaghetti with kobe meatballs. it was pretty delicious.


we ended the meal with panna cotta and vanilla ice cream. those were also superbly executed. our server was sweet and friendly. we now count this as a PERFECT MEAL.

i heart oyama sausages

because our household is currently limping along on 1 income, we decided to go on an 'osterity program.'

apparently, this was a favourite phrase of rob's mom during rob's formative years.

anywho, our osterity program involves not eating out unless we have something really special to celebrate (see: birthdays, flag day, and the unlikely event of our documentary being accepted into a film festival).

unfortunately, i'm picky about where i buy my food and tend to prefer:
1) organic food
2) gourmet food

yup, the 2 most expensive grocery types you can buy but i still figure i'm saving money.

this past saturday, i decided we needed more sausages. and the only place i buy my sausages are oyama sausages on granville island.

i like to have frozen sausages at the ready for quick and easy dinners like:
- pasta with sausage, onion, tomatoes, and other available vegetables
- sausage with rice, kale and onions

both recipes from from Peasant's Alphabet by James Barber

oyama makes their own sausages. they make the usual types and some crazy delicious ones. on saturday, i picked up:
- butter chicken
- japanese chicken
- lemon grass chicken
- maple syrup pork




i cooked up the maple syrup ones the next day (sunday) and rob declared that they were the best breakfast sausages he's ever tasted. he said this twice to me.

i think these sausages are worth paying about $2.25 each for them.

dinner with the family

this past wednesday, the usual suspects gathered at Jade Seafood Restaurant on Alexandra Road in Richmond for some food. it was... okay. the desert, a light broth of brown sugar and ginger with dates and dried longans was a big disappointment.

also, it seemed super loud so we didn't talk much which is unusual for my family. so, i'll let the pictures do the talking.

after taking this picture i asked my dad what he was thinking. his response: "I was wondering." fyi, that's a plate of smoked chicken infront of him. yummy.

not sure what to report except....

we're having a canada day un-bbq on tuesday, july 1st from 1pm to late

what's an un-bbq?
it's like a bbq with food and drink but without the use of the actual bbq.

funny thing is that a friend's bbq is currently sitting in our patio but i'm:
a) afraid of the propane and
b) feel that the square footage that would be lost to the bbq and the surrounding area due to the emanating heat don't make it a compelling enough reason to use it.

why am i afraid of the propane?
it's a dangerous gas i can't see.

despite my issues, there will be tons of food and drink and well selected music.

everyone is invited.
please rsvp.

btw, july 1st will also be rob's first day wherein he is no longer employed in the hospitality sector.

dinner with the family

my mom, my dad, my brother, his wife, my nephew, and rob converged on Chen Shanghai Restaurant off Park Place in Richmond tonight.

and yes, the xiao long bao was really good but everything else was WAY TOO SALTY. we all decided the restaurant was attempting to cater to the new immigrant from China which prefers super salty foods.

let me just say this: rob didn't ask for soy sauce.



look at what i made my mom do; the heart symbol from 'lost in translation'




then afterwards, we visited my grandfather (my mom's dad) who lives close to steveston in richmond. it was a very nice visit. my 'jojo' (my mom's younger brother) was there, too.




and look what i found in my grandfather's room, a picture of my brother and i that i don't ever remember seeing. i think it's super cute.