No Plain Jane

Last night, Jenna took me out to a highly recommended restaurant on State street: Jane. Apparently, all her friends love the place and some even cited it as their all-time favorite food spot in Santa Barbara. We got to the small, but intimate restaurant around 6:45 and although it didn't look crowded, we had to wait quite a while. Actually, we ended up sitting at the bar because the hostess told us that their reservations scheduling was messing things up and we'd have had to wait much longer. (tip: Call ahead of time and make reservations) Next time, I would love to sit upstairs on their tiny balcony area where you have a view of the outside streets as you eat your meal.

Sitting at the bar actually came as a good thing for us. We got our drink much faster and the bartender/waitress was always tending to our every needs. She filled our drinks numerous times without us asking and just when I was gonna complain about not getting bread, she came out with a small basket and little cup of butter!

It only took us a few seconds to decide what we wanted to eat because of recommendations on Yelp and from looking at the menu outside while waiting for our seats. Jenna ordered the Penne Pasta with Seafood and ordered the Grilled Chicken with potatoes and grilled vegis.

Jenna's Seafood Penne Pasta









I'm sorry, but this picture does not do justice to the flavor that this broth contained. It was buttery and smooth and you could taste the infused wine throughout. It blended perfectly with the freshly chiffonade basil and humongous pieces of shrimp and clams. I loved biting into two tooby pieces of pasta with cheese on top only to have the awesome broth shoot out from within! A very decadent dish indeed.

My grilled chicken with potatoes and grilled vegis














OOOO! The kicker here was the hidden Anaheim chillies buried beneath the fan of grilled chicken. You would cut a piece of chicken, slather on the scrumptious sauce mixed with vegis and then while you're eating it, this intense spicy, BUT OOOH-so-flavorful taste would blast through your taste-buds. The chilies added such a depth of flavor to the dish that I couldn't have imagined it without that bit of spice. Another hidden gem on the dish was the sauteed Chard. It was devilishly salty and we noticed that it was included in a lot of the other dishes at Jane. One of the best chicken dishes I've ever had. We just couldn't figure out how both dishes could be so flavorful. It might have been because Jane used great wines as their base for their creamy sauces!

COCONUT layer cake!














The literal icing on the cake came at the end of our meal when we ordered their world famous layered coconut cake with creme anglaise sauce! Now, if you don't know, I am a LOVER of everything coconut and therefor have developed high standards for anything that attempts to use the ingredient. Nonetheless, this coconut cake may have been the best I've ever had. It was so light and fluffy and the frosting was the total opposite of thick and heavy. There was so much coconut stuffed into eat bite that you could keep chewing coconutty goodness for minutes! Jenna didn't really prefer the creme anglaise sauce because she thought it was too sweet, but I slathered it on with every bite. We tried to only eat a bit and save the rest for later but ended up eating the entire $8 piece in one seating! (actually, we ate it at home b/c we had gotten it to go).

Overall, our experience at Jane was an excellent one and we must go back another day to try more dishes. Apparently, they have salads and burgers with fried brie on top (yes, i said FRIED brie) that we really should try. Its just a very quaint little restaurant that is actually very romantic because of its size and dim setting. You might not get seated right away, but as Jenna put it, it was 'well worth the wait!'

"Happiness is the best facelift"

I got me a JOB! Woot. It may not pay a lot, it may not have benefits and it may literally drive me crazy, but I'm about to work again! That means I get an income again. I get to be productive again. I get to wake up with a purpose again. And best of all, Jenna won't have to worry (as much) about me! Maybe now I can do stuff and not feel so guilty about spending $5 on some food.

To celebrate, Jenna took me out to BCD on friday night! Yum. The spicy tofu was such a delight after our long hiatus from it. We even indulged in a dessert from Yogurtland to top off the night.

The next night, we celebrated with sushi from Niko Niko Sushi in Burbank. They had pages and pages of different rolls and it was hilarious how long it took us to finally find the 'right' ones. We especially enjoyed the spicy one that had spicy tuna inside, hamachi on the outside and was topped with jalapenos and siracha! HOT! And, again, we capped off the night with Yogurtland.

Lastly, to conclude the weekend :( we, in the spur of the moment, decided to visit Disneyland with our season passes! We had originally planned to go Friday night but the miserable weather forced many of the rides to flood and eventually both parks had to prematurely close.

Sunday's weather was absolutely beautiful and we snuck into the park without even paying for parking! Although we only spent 3-4 hours with Mickey and friends, it was definitely enough to wet our beaks and leave us ubber satisfied. We road all the best rides (space mountain, buzz (oh, I got #1 of the day!), pirates, screamin', monsters inc, and tower of terror) and thoroughly enjoyed our shared footlong turkey subway sub that we brought to the park. It may have been the first time EVER that my feet weren't aching and I didn't need to bring a sweatshirt for the nighttime. The whole couple hours were just so relaxing and all the pressure of getting everything in was totally lifted. This may be the new trend in Disneyland visits.

PS. Sorry to Jenna that I STOLE all the points in Buzzlightyear AND I totally made her go on Tower of Terror even though she hates the dropping parts. hehe, LOVE YA!

It is now almost time to go to bed (10pm...) and wake up for an exciting NEW experience. I am truly ready for anything and want to do a great job. I hope there is a lot for me to do and I hope it'll be as fun (and rewarding) as I'm picturing it! Wish me luck and I'll update later about my day.

G'night.

The Chili Pit

Well, looks like the weather had turned for the worst and the crazy people of LA are freaking out again. Luckily, I can take a quick drive over to Santa Barbara for the weekend and enjoy some sanity with Jenna! And what's the best thing to share with a loved one on a cold rainy day? (besides a fireplace and blanket) How about homemade chili!? You betcha!

Every time i go to the grocery store, I desperately want to buy chili but cannot succumb to the urges because I now read the nutrition labels. Eating ONE can of chili would be your whole DAY'S worth of sodium intake! Absurd. I couldn't imagine going the rest of the day drinking only water and eating plain vegis. Plus, when you make your own chili, you can add all the great vegi's and other ingredients that YOU prefer. Maybe you want double the onions and peppers. Maybe you want half the amount of beans but a double dose of spiciness. By making your own chili, you have the power. Well, last weekend, we had the power.

For our chili, we chose to go tasty/healthy, using 98% fat free ground turkey, kidney AND black beans, 4 onions, 3 orange and yellow peppers, 4 corncobs (minus core) and the regular combo of herbs and spices.

Beans and liquids

Onions and Peppers

Corny Corn














First, we started off by browning the onions, garlic and peppers. Then we added and browned the ground turkey. After that came the beans and the liquids. Now, there's a fine line between a chili too thick and a chili too thinned out. When you add the chicken stock and canned tomatoes, you must be sure to add it slowly and in small portions so that you can control the viscosity. Don't worry though, Jenna and I are trained professionals and got the measurements down to an exact science! ;)

Lastly, after our chili had come to a feverish simmer, we added the final douses of chili spices,herbs and corn. (the corn was added late so it could retain its crunch!) We closed the lid and let the deliciousness grow. And grow and grow and grow. I occupied the time by watching tv/browsing the internet while Jenna worked on school homework but the aroma that filled the air was truly distracting. It's like that old saying about the elephant in the room that no one is supposed to talk about but in our case it was the elephant in the room that no one was allowed to EAT!

We did, however, buy time by making cornbread muffins to go along with our chili. Jenna found a super simple recipe from Foodnetwork.com and we quickly baked up 12 deliciously crumbly cornbread muffins in time for dinner. The whole recipe only used a half a stick of butter (no Paula Deen recipe) but definitely didn't lack in creamy goodness.

Jenna pouring the batter into cupcake slots!

FINALLY! After an hour of simmered love, the chili was complete and it was time for a feast. We brought out the two largest bowls in Jenna's cupboard and paddled the chili into them. We grabbed and transported the red wine, three cornbread muffins, the two boats of chili and the tv remote over to the family room table.

 Dishing it up.

Here's where my lack of vocabulary savvy hinders my ability to describe the sheer deliciousness of our chili. It was indeed the best I've ever had and we could not get enough! It was so good, in fact, that I went back for a second large helping! It may have been the bottle of wine we drank, but we were undeniably intoxicated by the mouthwatering, savory dish set before us. Not only had we succeeded in creating a chili that was light in sodium, but had included items that we preferred and loved that aren't necessarily included in all canned chilis. The only thing better than the taste of our chili was the fact that we had leftovers to last us a week! Thank goodness for Jenna's ingenious idea and for a homemade meal that warms on a cold wintry day!

For me, it looks like it's back to the gym!

Connections

My green iphone case had officially taken its last breath as i struggled to take it out of my pants pocket.

Jenna and I were over at Kristen and Josh's place on friday and I wanted to show Josh my messed up case. He's the Assistant Manager at the AT&T store and I knew he would recommend a good replacement. As I was trying to get my phone outta my pants, I ripped apart the bottom of the case and everything came out of my pants in pieces. Although I was sad, Josh immediately suggested I come by the store the next day and he would replace my case for free! Hot Diggity! I was getting hooked up!

The next day, Saturday, Jenna and I drove to the ATT store after our 3.5 mile hike in the Sb mountains. Alas, Josh was no where in sight and the guy that helped me said they could only replace my case with the SAME exact one. However, their store no longer carried the green case because it apparently didn't sell very well... :( Bummer for me.

We drove off back to Jenna's apartment, broken-cased iphone in hand...

I would not give up so lightly. When the opportunity for something free appears, I MUST take advantage. We decided to go back to ATT while on our way out to dinner. (EDOMASA!!) And wouldn't you know it, Josh was there and I was beaming. Well, long story short: we went in, did the shady look around the store, he showed us ALL the cases, I picked the bestest one, and he rung us up. The receipt printed out with an owed balance of $0.00. Woot woot. There's more to tell but I'm just now realizing that this story is boring. HA. Heres a pic of my new case:

Unfortunately, my case is not nearly as colorful as these. Mine's just black with a grey inner body. I may have to spray paint it when I get back to LA!

(ps. those ugly hands in the picture are NOT mine)

Wish I were more Incredible

For our 2010 New Years party, we donned Pixar/Disney costumes to make things more interesting. Jenna and I chose to be one of the most powerful couples in the Pixar family: Mr. and Mrs. Incredible. We had shirts (at least Jenna had hers) and figured we could scrounge up some heroic tights. That meant we only needed a couple items to complete our alter-egos: Mask, gloves and belt! That should have been easy enough to find or, if you're crazy like me, make. Little did I know that gloves would be super tricky and sewing each individual finger BY HAND is a pain in the ass! I've sewn a jean jacket before (don't judge) and figured that these smaller items should be just as easy. T'was not....

Here is a full view of my FIRST glove before it's turned inside out. Here's a little tip for those of you trying to recreate this feat: When measuring your hand/fingers for the pattern, leave a good 1/4-1/2 inch of room around each digit so you have some breathing room when you're sewing. I learned this the hard way and had skin skin skin tight gloves. Luckily, the velour material had a tiny bit of give.

Close up of the ugly made fingers.

Here's the mask. It was pretty tricky to make the nose part but with my SUPER designing skills (the power I posses before I transform into Mr. Incredible) I knocked it out seamlessly. And because I wasn't satisfied by the finished look, I added a layer of the velour material over the top to match the feel of the gloves. Ingenious, if I may say so myself.

And the final product! --->

And just because I don't look quite incredible enough... here's what I'm really supposed to look like:

Just can't stomach it

Last night, Jenna and I went out to downtown LA hoping to go back to this Mexican restaurant that jenna ate at a few weeks ago. Little did we know that the place closes at 7pm. Luckily, we had the trusty iphone handy and could yelp another nearby Mexican restaurant. She scrolled down the list and found El Tepeyac! We had to go there. Being featured on Man V Food gave me a great preview of the deliciousness that we were about to encounter.

It was about 7:30pm and there was already a line out the door. There also a side area where you could order to go but we wanted the full experience and decided to bear the wait. Within maybe 20 mins, we got our counter-side seats and were eagerly browsing the menu. I was aware of the Manuel Special challenge from the MvF show but knew there was no way i could tackle that monstrosity. A 5 lb mountain of a burrito smothered in cheese and green chili was way too much for me to stomach. However, we did get to preview the burrito boat while waiting for our dishes... It was the stuff of legends. As it was brought out through the dining area, everyone stopped eating to gawk at the giant meal. I badly wanted to take a picture but wouldn't dare. Here's a reasonable equivalent of what i saw:

Crazy, i know. I don't think I could have even done the challenge when I was fat! Just too much burrito for one man. On the menu, the Manuel Special is recommended for 2-4 people! That's enough food for a family of 4!!

If you can successfully take down the beast, you'll receive this all new prize!

Anyways, we thoroughly enjoyed our own smaller, but equally delicious dishes. Jenna had a chicken taco and a cheese enchilada while I had their famous Chili Verde smothered over their deep fried pork.

El Tepeyac was great experience and I'm glad we finally got the chance to go. That means i can cross off another food joint from my yelp list and only have one more place to go to retrace MvF's path through LA dining.

Langers, here I come!

Life is SO HARD

Rihanna's song can sum up the feeling that I have when applying for jobs and school. If it ain't fun... I don't wanna do it! Tonight, Jenna and I spent a long time ordering transcripts, looking up school address and admission requirements, and basically making lists for me for the rest of the month. Lists... grr. I think its the one thing I need to seriously adopt in my life. Better yet, maybe lists will be my New Years resolution. It is required that I make my list (possibly ordered by importance or date due) and then PRINT that sucka out! This way, as I finish each task (granted I do), I can powerfully and celebratorally CROSS off that task. That's called instant gratification in baby steps!

Jenna has truly been a saint throughout this whole process and I cannot thank her enough for helping me and most importantly, being patient through times of my sour behavior. One way or another, I'm getting something done!

I'm makin' a list, checkin' it twice. Gonna find out if I've been naughty or nice!

UPDATE! : Woohoo. Just went to Target today and got myself a planner! I've already entered this monday's tasks (calling schools!) and will begin to enter in the many future LOOMING deadlines. Hopefully this keeps me on track and motivated to cross those mothers out!

Me want cookie...

So I've finally made it back to LA (alhambra) after spending a nice few days in Santa Barbara with Jenna. Once again, I'm back to the igloo and have to use my little portable heater. Also, I have no food! There is no way I wanna make a run to the asian market at this time of day (3pm) so I decided to make do with what I have and wait til tomorrow to do my grocery shopping. Well... what I have is some salad, canned olives from new years, manderine oranges (with seeds! boo), coffee, peanuts, almonds, oatmeal, and special K. Not healthy and not exciting. :(

To say the least, I'm hungry!

Being Japanese is Awesome!

There are 3 reasons why I love New Years:

1. I get to see my family and friends and become the human jungle gym for my little cousins.

2. You get time off from work/school!

3. And best of all....Because of all the delicious food!

Her are some pictures of 'traditional' japanese new years food made from a white Jewish guy! My one suggestion if you're ever joining us for the new year celebration: be one of the first ones in line. I know you'll feel bad for messing up the presentation of the food... but the line builds up like you're waiting for cookies at Diddy Riese!

I forget the names of all these things... They're mostly roots and weird fishy paste items. Oh, and the tied up rolls in the front are seaweed.

'Traditional' sushi platter. Compliments of Costco? Safeway?

Oooh, gotta love the Char sui in the front. The yellow stuff is Kamaboko. The green stuff is pickled cucumber. The back sushi is not my favorite therefore I don't remember the name. To the left is blood oranges and more roots.

Now this is the part of the table where I live! Assorted color mochi with red bean in the back whereas you have white mochi with peanut butter in the front. A little known fact that I learned this year: apparently the peanut butter is not sweet enough by itself, so my aunt adds a healthy dose of brown sugar to the mix. On the right are brownies of some sort... not very popular.

Another view of the roots/seaweed. In the front are the ribs (which always fool me with the little amounts of meat that are actually present) and tuna/salmon sashimi. In the back are more vegi/bean/sprout fillers... not interested! :)

Dinner last night

Jenna was tired from her first day back to work/school and I was tired from... applying to jobs/graphic designing. So our dinner would be the same easy ingredients as the night before.

Taco Salad: Lettuce topped with ground beef, corn, black beans, a crushed up torilla shell and plenty of lime, EVOO and vinegar as a dressing.

Simple but simply delicious!

Feeling Blue?

So last night I was really excited to turn myself into an Avatar/Na'vi so I started the long, tedious process. About 2 hours in, my computer started 'acting up' again which was really frustrating. It seems as though whenever I'm doing a large project in photoshop or illustrator, my computer decides that its too much work and just stops working on me. The key board stops functioning as well as the track pad! What am I supposed to do if i can't move the cursor or type something?! So i had to plug in my Wacom tablet, save my work and restart my computer. This happened about 3-4 times before I finally called it quits and went to bed.

I woke up this morning with a renewed zest to finish my blue friend. And although my computer did freak out another time this morning, I finished the piece.

 Here is what I would look like if I were from Pandora! Kinda cool huh? Here are the steps that I took to get there:

Get those thoughts out!

So I went home for Xmas break (which is weird b/c I'm not taking a break from anything) and was inspired by my brother's artwork. He had been doing some stuff for his girlfriend's brother and also for his friends. I wanted in on the art action. But here the problem I always run into: I either never know what I want to create OR I know what elements I want to portray but am too afraid to put it down on 'paper' for fear that it will not come out the way I envision it in my head. So here's what I did: just start splattering some paint on the canvas and go for my shapes and objects. I tried not to pencil things out and just went with the flow. This way of art is very liberating and can free your mind and creativity. Here is what I came out with.

This was a piece that I had originally spray painted and sharpied some lines and words out. Those steps were done LONG LONG ago and it basically looked, and felt, unfinished. So I found this cool zebra online and painted it out. I found these two astronaut figures and painted them out (sorta). For some reason, I'm into astronauts right now. It may be a feeling like I want to explore and branch out. Or it may just be the fact that I'm weird. Either way, I am still not done with painting but those 3 elements I added make the piece a whole lot more intesting. In a few months I will add more...haha.

Conversely, here is a painting done by my brother, Jeff. It's a Xmas present that he did for my parents. I think the gold looks great!

There was also another painting that I started at home but neglected to take a picture. I'll show y'all the next time I go home.

I think the next art thing I want to do is turn myself into an Avatar! My family + Jenna just saw the movie last Saturday night and I thought it was badass! The graphics are truly ridiculous even though I was skeptical from the get go. The most important scenes for me are the ones where the computer animated figure and real life figures are interacting. James Cameron would have had to get those scenes right for me to believe the magic. Just take a look at the ending scenes where Neytiri is kissing Jakes eyes and you'll see that there's MAGIC! It looks awesome.

The Definition of our relationship

I would say that this pretty much sums up our relationship! Gotta love Disneyland!