My Herb Garden Adventure

One of my goals for my "spring break" a.k.a. "spring opportunity" was to create an herb garden. I'm not sure if this past week counted as spring break (no UCSB classes) or if this coming week is spring break (spring break at the school site I work at), but anyways, I achieved this task today. In the past I have had little success with growing my herbs. For the first time, I am living in a place where I have easy access to a small patio. Herb growing has not been easy indoors. I wanted to buy some herbs and plant them in bigger pots so they could be happy and flourish, and I would have delectable, fresh herbs at hand for all of the fresh food cooking I do.

So here is a picture of the starting materials for my herb garden:
1. Thai Basil, Regular Basil, Mint, and Cilantro that I bought from Trader Joe's and Home Depot
2. Rosemary, Thyme, Curled Parsley, and some green onions that my grandma gave me
3. A bag of "organic soil"
4. Three 14" pots, a small shovel, and garden gloves






So here is what my garden looked like after some digging, re-potting, and planting:
Yay, success!

Or so I thought...











So after I was doing some researching about herb gardens online, I learned that mint should not be planted in pots with any other plants, because it is very invasive and it will take over any plant it is planted with. So I decided to go back to Home Depot to buy one more pot and a little more soil.

When I put another bag of the "organic soil" in my cart, this is what I saw on the back of the bag:
Shoot! I bought "gardening" soil, and I was supposed to buy "potting" soil. I looked up on my iPhone if this is a big deal, because I didn't want to have to re-plant all my prettily planted plants. But everyone said that it is a bad idea to use gardening soil in pots. It has something to do with the amount of oxygen and water the soil retains.












SO I loaded this in my cart (along with some flat-leafed parsley that looked good and another pot):

It doesn't state that this soil is "organic," but as long as I don't use pesticides, chemicals, etc., I'll be happy with my natural garden.










So after another round of re-potting, planting, and switching out soil, here is the (current) final product:
Left: Cilantro
Middle: Thai Basil and Thyme
Right: Peppermint











Left: Basil
Left Middle: Green Onions, Curled Parsley, Rosemary
Right Middle: Flat-leafed Parsley (needs to be potted in another pot)
Right: I think it's another type of thyme, but I'm not sure... that one's from my grandma :-)







So yay, I have an herb garden! However, I'm a little worried about the sun exposure. My patio does not face the best direction for sun, so hopefully all my plants don't die. That would be sad. Hope for the best! I can't wait to use all my fresh herbs in yummy meals.

Bro Time

This past weekend I drove down to Sunny San Diego for some quality time with the little bro. I tried to leave LA as early as possible on Saturday morning but inevitably ran into some traffic. Here's where I do a little plug for my iphone: Using my handy-dandy google map, I was able to find an alternate route around the bumper to bumper mess on I-5. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy and I was back to cruising at 75 mph.

I arrived at Jeff's place around 12 noon and was surprised to see that the apartment was not a complete horror scene. It was actually a lot cleaner than the last time I visited.Of course, Jeff's room was the cleanest and I was glad to spend most of my time in there. We watched a little college bball and then decided to start our day off by driving down to the border (not Taco Bell) with one of his roommates to check out this Nike outlet Jeff had found.

BIG MISTAKE!

Either it was some sort of Mexican holiday or people were frantically trying to flee from the US like there was an epidemic! CRAZINESS at the border I tell ya! I swear there were thousands and thousands of cars packed with angry people trying to jam their way through the 4 lanes entering into Mexico. People were driving on the sides of the roads, cutting people off and one guy was even using his own car to PUSH his buddy's car that had somehow stopped running. It was like being back in Vietnam where there's virtually no car lanes and its a free-for-all for the vehicles.

After about 25 minutes just trying to get off the freeway, on an exit labeled "The Last US Exit", we finally arrived at the Nike outlet. I was surprised at how nice the store was and how they had a great assortment of deals and shoes. We browsed for a while, oogling the low prices and cheap clothes. Luckily, I escaped without buying anything.

Apparently this is the next shoe in Nike's Hyper-line.

On Sunday, Jeff and I went to this huge Swap Meet at San Diego's Sports Arena. There was a $1 entrance fee but you could definitely spend ALLLLL day there browsing peoples junk from their garages. We really wanted to buy some cool war vet medals and other war documents that were probably worth lotsa money... but we didn't. We also really wanted to eat some Phil's BBQ, which was sold at the Swap Meet, but again, we resisted. In the end, we walked out of there with ZERO hidden treasures but nonetheless, the trip was worth our morning time.

Then we found this really cool Pet Store down the street.

Even though it said Pet Store, it actually was more like an aquarium for RARE and SUPER EXPENSIVE fish and reptiles. They had a bunch of turtles and snakes and lizards and funky fishes. The best part came when the store mascot, the Rooster, came walking past us to gawk at one of the monitor lizards in his glass cage. It was hilarious watching the rooster stare and bob his head at the lizard, taunting him to try and eat him through the glass! Shoulda took a picture.

Here's a really colorful Chameleon that we watched for a while because it looked like he was gonna go after some crickets.... but he didn't. His stupid eyes kept wandering in opposite directions so he probably didn't even see the crickets right in front of his face.

These turtles were HUGE and I was really tempted to touch them. They had prices marked on their back and I there were all well over a couple hundred dollars each.

After our adventure, we headed back to Jeff's Apt to watch some college MARCH MADNESS and snack on spicy hot cheezz-its. Overall, a great weekend with some good quality time with my bro. Hopefully, I can go down more often (or visa versa) and we can hit the beaches as it starts getting hotter!

Almost Beach Time!

As March draws to a close and April nears, all signs definitely point toward sunny beach weather. Good thing that old rhyme doesn't apply to Southern California. Ya know, the one that goes, "April showers bring May flowers." It's more like, April sunshine brings the funtime.... ok, bad attempt to be cleaver.

Anyway, I haven't posted in a while so I decided to share a little from my last visit to SB.

The weather was perfect and we took that opportunity to take our first stroll along the beach in a long time. The sand felt great and gave me something to look forward to on my next visits to see Jenna (other than her). I really wish I could find a cheap surfboard so that I could start attempting to surf.

Remember that time we went surfing in Hawaii?! Crazy fun!

Here's Jenna on the beach. The lighting was really interesting that day and reminded me of this awesome site I once found online.... Check it out. It's solely dedicated to light.

And although she hasn't done ballet for years, shes still got it! In jeans no less! I'll leave the flexibility and gracefulness to her and I'll stick with hurting myself on the bball court.

Oh, another thing that apparently happens quite often to me is that I get bits of food stuck in my teeth a lot. Maybe its from not wearing my retainer as a kid or just the fact that I eat a lot of food, but there's always something lodged in those hard to reach gaps between my teeth. On this day, I could not for the life of me get this little piece out. Jenna constantly complains about my extra bits of food I've been saving for later... I bet my mouth is way worse at work because I eat a giant leafy salad almost everyday. Sorry coworkers.

Walking on the beach always works up an appetite. We quickly whipped up some bruschetta with Ricotta and grape tomatoes. Delicious as always.

Here's the chef with her masterpiece.

Can't wait to go back to SB for more sun so I can finally stop being WHITE!

Tilapia Tacos

"No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut." ~Channing Pollock

OK, not a quote related to this post but its just so true and so me! 

Tonight, I made Tilapia Tacos with garlic lime Tilapia. They were unbelievably delicious! Remember those $1.00 authentic tacos from Ensenada? Oh, you don't, but I know Jenna does. Well, mine were just as good. My inspiration came from a couple fish taco recipes from Food Network but ultimately I winged it.... like usual.

First, I marinated the tilapia in lime juice and garlic. After 15 mins or so, I threw them on a hot grill pan so they could get that nice crispy outter layer on them. I added some salt and pepper and ended up with three flaky, tender, and delicioso pieces of fish. 

While the fish finished grilling, I threw 2 of Bryan's tortillas (thanks, buddy) in the toaster oven so they could crisp up a bit. I plated the tortillas, topping them with a bed of lettuce (even though I wanted to use cabbage) and placed the large pieces of fish on top of that.

Then, I added a crapload of mashed up guacamole, some cut up sharp cheddar, a splash of lime juice and a strong dose of HOT sauce. Oh, I almost forgot the secret ingredient: Toasted Sesame Seeds! yum. Just like in sushi, they added a roasty-toasty undertone to the whole dish. 

The last steps were to fold and DEVOUR! Man, they were so frickin' tasty. It was like being back in Ensenada eating those tacos on the street with Jenna. The best part was licking all the drippings that ran down my hands and arms! haha. 

Eat, eat, eat, gone.... Since I was practically ravenous from my hour+ commute home (dam you LAKERS home games!), my two large tacos were gone just as fast as they appeared. But don't worry, I plan on making more tomorrow! In fact, they're so scrumptious, I almost feel like cooking them for others to try. Come on over and have a fish taco with me!

Hey Akon, Whatcha up to?

I have a little story to share with everyone!

I was at work today, working on a new package for these headphones we are trying to sell. My fellow graphic designer and I were supposed to come up with a cool, fresh name for these headphones. I couldn't really think of anything except for The Beats by Dre. My boss was pressing us to come up with names but I was telling him that it had to be cool like The Beats. He's like, "Ooooh yeah, the Dr. Dre ones! Those are so nice..... Hey Casey, email Akon and ask him if he wants to do custom headphones with us. Oh, yeah, P Diddy too because he's pretty popular."

 

Ummm seriously?! He was not joking at all and really wanted me to email them!! What a wacky company haha.

Anyways, I attempted to find their email address without any luck. (duhhhh) So if you happen to know Akon's or Diddy's email address, forward it on to me. Thanks.

Or maybe I'll give him a call...

Roasted Potatoes

I woke up to a cold and rainy mid-morning and knew it would be the perfect day for roasted red potatoes and eggs!

 

Mmmmm. Just cutting up everything and mixing it together makes me salivate! I cut up 3 red potatoes and added rosemary, garlic, EVOO, onions, parsley, salt and pepper. 

 

I then spread out the entire batch of goodness onto a foil lined sheet pan. The garlic smell was already permeating the whole apartment. Of course, when i put it in the oven, the garlic smell only got stronger and STRONGER! Bryan and Jane came drifting out of his room like you see in cartoons where characters float in the air, following the scent of a fresh meal.

As I waited for my potatoes to roast to perfection, Bryan and Jane whipped up some monstrous omelets. I wanted eggs too but stuck with two simple over easy style ones. 

 

And that's my breakfast. Simple, yet uber delicioso! 

What's next?

T.G.I.F.

Man, am I glad it's Friday.

Ok so I have a story to tell from this morning. I had to go the post office to pick up a package. Luckily, there was no line and I was immediately helped by the first available fobby post office lady. Of course she needed I.D. to make sure I was the right person picking up the package. I took out my wallet and showed her the 15 yr old version of myself. She took one look at it and started cracking up! She looked back at me and said, "whooooa" and then proceeded to PUFF up her cheeks at me!! It was pretty frickin' hilarious. Rude and blunt: just the way asians are meant to be! haha.

 

She basically looked like this!

Anyways, Jenna is still in Chicago and I hear she is having lots of fun. I really wish I were there with her to sample all the great food and explore the sights around Chi-town. She sent me a picture of the famous 'Bean'.

This thing is so famous and really really cool. I could probably stay there for hours just trying to find cool creative ways to photograph it. She also told me about the delicious deep dish pizzas and hot dogs that Chicago is also so famous for. I want some!

Instead of an oooey-gooey deep dish pizza, I had to settle for a meal full of veggies and grilled chicken... I am on a pretty limited budget you know! Here is the random smattering of veggies I sauteed up tonight. Cauliflower, Tofu (not a vegi), Snap Peas, Celery, Bean Sprouts and left-over Okra. And for the sauce: I don't even remember.... because like my mom, I just grabbed whatever sauces and herbs looked good at the time and threw it in there!

The vegis actually turned out pretty good and I was glad I made enough to cover me for a few days. 

For the chicken, I pan grilled it and used a small hat of foil to kinda steam the whole thing. Worked well and this chicken was definitely way juicier than the one I made for Valentines day... Sorry!

And that's it. My unexciting Friday night meal. Quick, easy but satisfying.

I don't really want to admit this... but I will anyways. After a saltier dinner like this, I tend to crave chocolate or something else really sweet. But since I've given up cereal for the time being, I resorted to the Girl Scout Cookies I'd stashed in the freezer. Amazingly, I stopped after 2 samoas but embarrassingly moved onto another food group. My current obsession is shelled peanuts. Tonight, I think I went through at least a POUND. There's just something so satisfying about breaking each shell in such a perfect way that the peanuts inside remain perfectly whole so you can toss them straight into your mouth. Of course, it's also quite depressing when you crack the peanut wrong and end up obliterating everything inside... OR, it's equally sad when you open the shell and all you get is a shriveled nut or none at all! 

yes... I did just ramble on about peanuts. I love them.

Anyways, I'm quite ready for the weekend and want to do something fun. I'll be picking Jenna up from the Burbank airport tomorrow so hopefully we can do something fun at night. Perhaps a visit to downtown LA? Perhaps another Food Truck Adventure? We shall seeeeeeeeee!

February: I Hate you!

Sunday marked the closing of many things. First and foremost, it was the closing to February. It was also the closing of the Olympics, the closing of the weekend and HOPEFULLY, it was the closing to the bad karma that is my life. Sunday night, I went to the gym and came back with (YET AGAIN!!!!!) another tweaked knee. :( I don't wanna think about it so we'll leave it at that.

I cannot express how thrilled I am that March is here. February was just NOT my month.... It was just hordes of crap dumping down upon me for the entire short span of 28 days. Imagine if February actually had 30 or 31 days?! That could be 2  or 3 more days of shizz coming my way! Hell, February even caused the 8.something earthquake in Chile!

Good riddance to February.

In just ONE short day, March has already brought a plethora of good news. This was my March 1st:

1. I finally got my fix-it ticket signed off by the CHP and now only have to mail it in to the LA Supreme Court. This marks the ending to the whole car fiasco.
2. Payday $ at work. (except in the case of my work, it's more like half-a-$)
3. Jenna and I have officially been together for 6 years and 11 months! Craziness...
4. I got news from my parents that I'm getting a rebate back from the Gov!
5. And the cherry on top... Jenna came to LA for the night AND brought Girl Scout Cookies! (Samoas and Thin mints)

Thank you March.

 

Here are a few pics from my last day of February. The 28th was a nice day (weather wise) and I decided to take a bike ride to South Pasadena/San Marino. 

I stopped by this church because it looked really cool with that huge tower and with the sun behind it. BUT also, there were a couple girl scouts selling cookies out front! haha. (i dont know why I keep mentioning G.S. Cookies... oh yeah, I'm the Cookie Monster. Or maybe it's because I gave up cereal for Lent even though I'm not religious whatsoever!)

Anyway, I rode on and ended up at this really nice looking park. I wanted to bike around inside but when I got to the front gate, the dude told me that I had to PAY just to walk around the park. Oh LA... always trying to scam another buck. This is the only view I got of Lacy Park.

 

Another cool thing I found on my bike ride was this steep path that a lot of people were walking up. I had to carry my bike up a lot of stairs but the ending destination was well worth the work. When I got to the top, it seemed as though I'd entered into some ridiculous place where every house was literally a mansion. Not just cuz they were big and fancy, but they were decked out. Decked out like the houses you see on Cribs! Every house had a gate in front protecting their huge front yard, driveway and 5-6 expensive cars. Scattered throughout the front yards were statues of Greek Gods, enormous fountains or huge white house style columns. Everybody had pristine swimming pools and either a full sized tennis court or gated basketball court. I was in such awe that I neglected to take one picture to prove any of this...

Alas, Feb is over and I'm moving on. My car is in the repair shop, and although it's costing me my whole paycheck, it will finally be fixed and best of all, fully registered and licensed! Hopefully things will pick up from here and I can deliver happier posts.

Hello to all the new readers who FINALLY discovered our little blog.