Weekend wrap up

This cooking class was AMAZING!! Her cooking and recipes were beyond wonderful!! Now, why can't I cook like that at home by myself??? at one point i transposed the measurements for the ingredients and thought, "Crap!! i'm going to have throw it out and start over..." then i remembered that I wasn't baking. Phew...precision is not a priority when cooking.

Scallion pancakes...

i know i'm supposed to take photos of the stuff we make but it was SO good, i couldn't be bothered with that nonsense. Instead, please visit steamykitchen.com for her recipes. She just got a cookbook deal so we should see something in a couple of years. In the meantime, she's holding a recipe for this homemade hotsauce of hers for hostage. I promised her that i'd but the book if she'd spill the recipe. Instead, she just gave me the remaining jar. Oh well...better than nuthing.

thai curry with coconut milk. Anyone have curry leaves or kaffir limes in their backyards???

Sadly, i was on my way into church this morning and had a serious injury to my person. I was walking near the sanctuary up the left hand side. There's this crack in the sidewalk that I *ALWAYS* have problems with. I don't know why, but I think i'm the only one. I always tend to jump over it because i've lost my balance there before. Well...i finally ate it. And there was no one to call out to for help. I look up at first hoping that no one saw...then i realized that i couldn't breathe....or move. i thought to myself...breathe deeply, shake it off...just walk it off. no such luck. I sat on the ground for a few minutes before I had to courage to attempt to stand up. bad idea. major pain shooting through my ankle. Sat back down...i was exactly 1/2 way between my car and the door to the church service. if I went into the church service, I'd be walking in weeping with pain. i somehow hobbled back to the car, called erin, then fuyu...then just text messaged them both. Luckily, erin just happened to be walking by her cellphone when my text went through and she came to my rescue with a bandage and ice....and drove my fat @$$ back home with the help of Matt, one of my former junior high school kids...i'm so much trouble.

anyhow, i've been huddled up on my couch ever since praying the throbbing would stop. this sucks...i had so much to do and now I'm laid out. sucks. well, miles wanted a picture. just a little swollen - no bruising like Miles' monster. eew. i don't think he heard of ice. good thing I shaved my legs this morning or this photo wouldn't exist.

Steamy Kitchen...

so my first cooking class was great!!! i had a lot of fun....that's jaden hair from Steamy Kitchen!! Bee from Rasa Malaysia is in the back, right corner

learn something new...

I went to the Farmers Market on Sunday after church. I like going to my small neighborhood farmers market because of one vendor in particular who sells a lot of asian vegetables. There's always something interesting or new that I find there. This week was no different.

At the market, I was introduced to the peculiar fruit pictured above. It's called the Jujube. It has the consistency and taste of an apple. The browner it is the better the fruit tastes. Some medicinal purposes include alleviating stress and relieving sore throats. Very interesting item.

The other thing I tried for the first time was fresh dates (drupe). It was SO yummy. Tons of sugar in it, I'm sure!! It has the taste of a dried date but with a fresher, almost apricot-like consistency! Some medicinal uses for this fruit include having cleansing power for intestinal troubles, sore throat, fever reliever, and may even counteract alcohol intoxication (i'll let you know...).

Last new thing I tried was Casa Sanchez on Centinela Avenue near Mar Vista/Marina del Rey. It got 11 thumbs down (my whole family went to this place). The food was horrible. My chicken was dry, the spanish rice tasted like it was cooked in chicken broth only, the flavor had no punch or distinguishing aspect to it. The entrees were priced between $18 - $25. Way too high for what it was worth. Added to the was the Mariachi Band (which plays from Thursday - Sunday nights). They were great and talented but TOO loud for such a small space. Unnecessary speakers put up everywhere made conversation a joke. Most people had their hands over their ears to block some noise (didn't help much). I say, go, if you dare but it's not worth it.

Back at the old desk...

View from the Castle near Langhirano

*SIGH* I'm sitting at my desk looking at my cubicle walls and thinking, "What is this travesty?? where's my views of rolling tuscan hillsides??"

Here's a wrap up of our trip to Italy...

Rows of Parmiggiano Reggiano

Master Cheesemaker in the center cutting the cheese. Yellow liquid is the remaining whey.

After our first night in Parma we took off the next morning to learn about Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese production at C.P.L. cheese factory. Apparently the master cheese maker works 7 days a week and never takes vacation. His presence is critical to the production of the cheese. He's well paid and the job is prestigious but that just gives new meaning to being married to the job!

After the tour we had a bit of the tasting and decided to wait to buy our cheese until just before we left. We had a few hours before our Balsamic Vinegar tour so we decided to hit up the MaxMara Outlet, Diffusione Tessile. Let me tell you...see below for the photo of the outlet itself. It was massive and had TONS of great deals. Erin & I would gladly return to go shopping here.

Erin in back of our royal blue ride getting ready for our shopping experience.

Now, see below for the photo across the street from this outlet...

The field

Needless to say, finding this outlet called for extraordinary measures. Our directions were only so-so and we didn't have a GPS (if you're traveling to europe and planning on driving, get a GPS system). Erin did a great job navigating our way through the country roads. I ended up with a jacket, sweater & scarf. Erin got a sweater & scarf.

Next challenge was finding the balsamic vinegar place. talk about over the river and through the woods. We were 1 1/2 hours late by the time we found the place (after erin spotted a AAA for Italy, we ran in and asked for directions...they found it online and printed out better directions for us and explained the way to help us out!). He only had a few minutes to show us around, but he gladly gave us the tour and tasting! It was fantastic. He told us he, his girlfriend, and one other would be harvesting the grapes this week for the Balsamic Production.

Owner of Villa San Donnino, Balsamic Vinegar producer

Balsamic Vinegars aging anywhere from 3 to 50 years...

The following day brought us to the Parma Ham Festival. We were initially told by the guy at the front desk that we couldn't go on a production tour (which was true on a normal basis) so Erin asked about the Parma Festival and he said, "no, it's not open to the public." Saddened with defeat, we went into downtown Parma to check out the city. First place we visited was the Information Office who told us that it was, in fact, open to the public. So after our quick tour and lunch in Parma we took off 30 minutes away down to the town of Langhirano for the festival. 

Once we finally got parking (illegal parking, of course - the workers promised us we'd be ok...and we were.) we found a tourist booth that gave us the idea to go down to the production facility tour. Naturally, it was all conducted in Italian by this guy to the far right. After the tour was over, he shyly came up to us and started talking to us in Italian wondering how much of it we understood. I said, "Nunca...nada...no parla Italiano..." He was pretty dumbfounded and asked, "at all?" He ran and got his girlfriend (pictured with Erin and our tour guide below) so that she could translate the process. 

It was fun after we got a play by play explanation and I was really glad that we went, although I felt VERY uncomfortable at first. I just knew I didn't belong and they said that they didn't know we didn't understand because it appeared that we were just absorbing everything in. And we answered some questions that were asked of us. (Erin & I learned to guess very, very well)

Very cute couple - we found out that they met at a club, that they had been dating for a year, and they had their first kiss at the Castle.

Erin & I sadly left Parma - this part of the trip went so fast!! and everyone was very helpful in the countryside.

We arrived into Milan by around 3:30pm. We were staying in the 'hood. I've never seen so much graffiti before in my life. Erin walked faster than I've ever seen her walk. We were that scared. We walked around before and after our tour of the Last Supper (i saw people from the US begging for any opening that comes up for the Last Supper...they thought they reserved it but never got charged...hello...clue number one that your reservation didn't go through - I had the same problem but kept plugging on until I finally got a booking confirmation number which took me weeks to accomplish.) I felt bad for them but I was really relieved that we were ok. 

We walked around the Duomo (below) at just after sunset. It was an impressive sight at night. We walked up to the top of the Duomo the following day, which could be a bad thing considering how deathly afraid of heights I am!! It was an amazing view and a beautiful Church...

After traveling for more than 16 hours we finally made it home to Los Angeles. It was a fantastic trip...a lot of fun but I'm definitely glad to be back home! Thanks, erin, for a great time in Italy (despite my hermit like, people hating nature).

Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium 

they can book tours to Parmigiano plants in the area.  You will need to book ahead if you need the tours in English.

Villa San Donnino s.n.c.
Strada Medicina 25
41010 San Donnino (MO) Italy
Telephone: +39 059469325
Mobile: +39 340 2579734
Fax: + 39 059 469325
info@villasandonnino.it

To book tours of the Balsamic Vinegar production.

Prosciutto di Parma Festival 

This festival is usually the end of August or beginning of September.

Goodbye, Firenze, hello, Parma!

View from rooftop dining terrace at the Best Western. Duomo & Giotto Bell Tower
Farmacia Profumeria - Convent that created perfumes

It was a little sad for me to leave Florence today. It was a city that was a lot of fun this time around. I think it helped that we stayed in the city. Before we left, we went to the Santa Maria Novella Church...there's a perfume shop there that's been around for hundreds of years. It smelled...a lot...kinda incense-y.

After we stopped off, we went to pick up our train tickets to Parma. I didn't realize i bought so much - I had a hard time getting my luggage around. I swore to erin that I was done shopping. Day 1 of that resolve - so far so good. (we even went to an outlet in Fidenza and we both walked away with nothing)..

After we checked into the Holiday Inn Express in Parma (that is, AFTER we finally found it!!), we decided to hit up the Fidenza outlet where we struck out. After we got back we went to La Greppia in downtown Parma (I drove to the city center...the maitre d' saved a parking spot for us so we parked right in front of the restaurant). The food was WONDERFUL!! I think it's the best meal I've ever had in Italy. We started with a plate of cold cuts (local products); shared 2 pastas, and finished off with a braised beef with polenta dish. I'm can barely move. It was an arm and a leg but if you ever make it out to Italy, i HIGHLY recommend a visit to Parma (rent a car) and a dinner here!!

fresh handmade pasta in the glass window into the kitchen! you can see the chefs cooking!!

braised beef in wine and polenta

Bisquit tray...(the small red round things in the center are super miniature apples! it was great!)

Cooking 101, Italian Style

So today started off with me slacking off on running...i decided to sleep in. Erin & I headed out to the Boboli Gardens at Pitti Palace. It was nice...but a lot of uphill, upstairs walking. My ankle was starting to bother me by the end.

We went shopping at the Mercato Centrale which was a lot of fun. I bought a black purse and erin bought a brown one. Ooops. sorry...no gifts for anyone. I suck. hoping more for Parma & Milan.

This evening we went to our cooking class. I was a little irritated by 2 sets of our co-team mates. By the end of the evening, I was exchanging email address and business cards with everyone with promises to send photos out to all. We had a mother/daughter couple who were visiting from the phillipines; a newlywed from Norway (she kept tasting EVERYTHING as we were preparing stuff...i don't know this woman...how sanitary IS this???); and a taiwanese lady (who was a bit bossy and asked a million questions).

then the wine flowed...and everyone was happy and laughing. it was great. we actually had the opportunity to open up and share with each other some funny stories...

clockwise from bottom: Newlywed hubbie from Norway, Phillipino Mama, daughter Ruthie, Greta the Taiwanese lady, me, erin, newlywed wife from Norway

I know I'm in Italy when...

I'll know that I've finally arrived in Italy when:


- I see the gelato shops on every corner (like starbucks in LA)
- I get pushed around by on-coming people (most likely 80 year old ladies with a strong arm!)

- I trip on the street over all those darn cobblestones

- I see a bidet in my room and still after all these years wonder what I'm supposed to do with it.
- the wine is cheaper than soda or water!

- i can actually order a panna cotta!

- 4 course meals are the norm and not the exception.

- when you're at the pool or spa, all the men are wearing speedos (never under any circumstances is it acceptable)...

that's off the top of my head. Only 2 more days before I take off (including today!) for Italy. I'm so excited!! All I want to do is plan my vacation and I've got SO much work to do before i leave. Now I feel compelled to take my laptop (free internet access at two of my hotels that we're at) so I can check in and also upload some photos! things to consider.

weekend fun!

8:30am:
Tosh calls, "hey, girlie...I was just calling to get an ETA on when you guys will arrive..."
Jenny: "Well, sao said she'd be here around noon..."
Tosh: "hahaha..."
Jenny: "So...i figure we'll be in San Diego sometime tonight..."
Tosh: "that's the one thing I can count on...you guys never being on time...and sorry, chickie...you guys always come down together so I lump you two in the same group..."
Jenny: SIGH...


11:25am:
Jenny, calling the Kuida's house...
Darin answers: "What do you want?? You want to know if Saoowwy's still at home?? No?? You already know she's still at home?? Hey, sao...what time are you leaving?? and HOUR?? why?? why can't you leave right now??? Jenny, she said she'll leave in about 20 - 30 minutes."
Jenny: "uh huh...sure..."


12:20pm:
Jenny on the phone with Tosh laughing about how its a good thing a spa appointment wasn't booked, therefore not going to be charged due to not showing up on time, picks up incoming call, "hello?"
Sao: "Hiiiiiiii....i'm on my way..."
Jenny: "Ummm...where are you??"
Sao: "i just left..."
Jenny: "oh my lord..."
Sao: "What??? i have TWO kids..."
Jenny, interrupting: "Sao, normally, i'd believe you and say that you are right. If it wasn't for the fact that you're always late, I'd probably buy that excuse...and furthermore, i can NOT believe you just threw your kids under the bus!! BAD SAO!!"


1:15pm:
Sao calls out from the lawn, "I'm heeeeeere!!"
We go on our merry way stopping off at Mickey D's for some sustenance. Traffic is horrendous and takes us almost three hours just to get to Del Mar. But, like old times, we just chat all the way down about nothing. It's great how easy it is...there are some friendships that suffer without regular "hanging out" times but I have to say, it's never that way with Sao and Tosh. It's like we're all back in College.


We reach Palomar Airport Road when I put a call into Tosh, who suggests some shopping time at the outlets. Great idea! I pick up a shirt, dress, spoon rest, and a cool thing for JT (that I better see him using).


Dinner was at this great posh restaurant called "The Marine Room". An entire wall was made of glass and the tides were high, splashing against the windows every so often. The food was great, the company even better. We had a marvelous time and I went waaaaay above my points (weight watchers) for the entire week in that one meal.


I wake up on Sunday morning to go for a quick run with Tosh, advising Sao to take advantage of the "me/alone" time while she still can. We return to a starving Sao to get ready for Dim Sum (Yum, yum, dim sum!!), ate too much as always. During our conversation, the topic of spa appointment comes up.


Jenny: "hey...it's too bad that we didn't make an appointment at the korean scrub down spa..."
Tosh: "why don't we swing by there and see..."


Little did I know that as I excitedly bounced around the back seat in anticipation for the service that it would be one of the most painful experiences that I've had (i got Tosh's chick...really rough). My experiences at the KOREAN spa were vastly different from the ones that I had at the Fairmont earlier in the week.


"Turning over"
Fairmont Willow Stream: gentle hand on the back, while my masseuse whom I shall dub "Fritz" whispers in my ear, "can you please turn over?"
Korean Spa: my service provider whom I shall dub "Helga" slaps me on the butt and says, "TURN!!!"


"face the other direction"
W.S. : Same concept as above...with gentle touch and soft voice
K.S.: Same concept as above except she pulls my head up off the towel pillow by grabbing a fistful of my hair and yells, "Turn!!"


the massage experience:
W.S.: Fritz lovingly, firmly massaged my gluteal area (first getting permission)
K.S.: Helga beats the living crap out of areas that have thus before remained untouched during a service. and because it's a korean scrub down, scrubs in areas that I swear never got scrubbed down like that before.


I emerge from the whole experience in PAIN. I think parts of my body are bleeding due to the enthusiasm of Helga's scrub down. I have to say that I've never been softer but I'm walking funny because my thighs are swollen from the aggressive swelling...see photo below. it's not supposed to be this red.

Ouch. It really hurt. So much so that I had to use a bag of peas to cool down the swelling on both legs. It's better this morning but hurts when I start walking...friction is bad.

Sao & I left around 4:00pm, stopping off in Gardena for dinner at the yellow cow. YUUUUM. still full from that. all in all a FANTASTIC weekend (thanks, darin, for letting sao come out to play!!). Can't wait until next year - maybe Santa Barbara, OC...or???

Waikiki Visitors Bureau

I've been feeling sick for the past few days. Head congestion...you know. Needless to say, I hadn't had the energy to want to do much of anything but I felt I needed to be at this function for Hawaii since I plan events there.

It was AWESOME. Jake Shimabukuro, the grand master of the ukelele performed along with Hapa. But back to Jake. This kid is AWESOME. He brought the noisy room to dead complete silence while he played. check him out... www.jakeshimabukuro.com

Then I had the pleasure of meeting Roy Yamaguchi of the Roy's. He made some lau lau with mango sauce that was delish!!! http://www.roysrestaurant.com/

That was before I met ALAN WONG (Pineapple Room). He's even more awesome!! He made poke over guacamole over crispy fried wonton sprinkled with micro-shiso. His level of spiciness of the poke was PERFECT. Not too hot not too mild. Here's the embarrassing part - i joked with him about giving me a bento box for the poke...and he did!! see picture below. He's awesome. I think i gave him a kiss before i left. Many, many people were yelling at me as I left with my big @$$ container of poke.
http://www.alanwongs.com/pineroom/pine_room.html

goodie bag - i got more food & candy from there PLUS an autographed copy of Jake Shimabukuro's CD. I'll give a listen to it and let you know what I think!!! :) oh yeah...also got a stickpin from Ferragamo's!!

Napa Valley Weekend...

raye, bert, and erin in line for Golden Gate Bakery

Me & Chuck. Charles Shulz' hometown is Santa Rosa!!

I went up to Nor Cal to celebrate my belated birthday. An early wake up call of 3:00am to get to the airport for our 6:00am flight left me a bit loopy.

Bert had wanted to get an early start up North so booked us on a 6:00am (YIKES!!) flight. Needless to say, I was a bit tired. We started off our day with a breakfast at The Omelette Express in Santa Rosa. Great breakfast joint if you're looking for someplace to eat in Sonoma.

My omelette at Omelette Express

We followed that with a visit to Hartford, Davis, Alder Brook (YUCK), and Viader. I swore up and down to Erin, quite self righteously that I wasn't planning on joining a wine club. Yeah. I'm now a member of Viader. Don't ask, kids. It makes no sense to me at all, but for the fact that I tried all of their wines and liked each of them. Very solid wines that I felt comfortable buying.

Some weird art work at Davis Winery

Darn...could my joining the winery club have something to do with the cute dog??

or could it have been the magnificent views??

We finished up our first day at Greystone, the Culinary Institute of America's restaurant in conjunction with Wine Spectator. It was a delightful experience. Very expensive but I really enjoyed the dinner so I thought it was ok. Actually, i enjoyed everything around the actual main course but I think I was so full by the time I got the main course that it was almost wasted on me. (I had the duck, which I deduced to be around $6 per slice). The great stuff was the chef's hors d'oeuvres (yes, miles, that is the way you spell it) and dessert. everything else in between could've been just more hors d'oeuvres and more dessert. :)

erin's french onion soup...

bert's birthday creme brulee

The following day found us with rain and large crowds. We had a late start and I think I got a bit sick from too much coffee. We made it to only 2 wineries because we spent a lot of time at Miner's - another favorite wine of mine. Sadly, I can't remember how many cases of various wines are being shipped to my office. My boss is totally going to think he pays me too much and that I'm a complete wino. *SIGH*...we had a relaxing evening back at the hotel and decided to watch a movie - Letters from Iwo Jima. Pretty good, but I still had to read the subtitles because there were a lot of military words that I didn't understand. Some of the translation wasn't as good as the words they were actually using.

Erin and I decided to go for another movie and watched The Holiday. We both decided that th movie rated, "cute". nothing spectacular or gut wrenching. just mindless cutesy-ness.

We finished our weekend up in San Fran enjoying Chinatown. Yum yum dim sum. We went to a place called Lychee Gardens. Very Crowded...very greasy. but it was yums so I was happy. Bert let us run down to Golden Gate Bakery to pick up some baked goods. again...more pockets of deliciousness.

this is what I love about chinatown...underwear on display everywhere!!

all in all a very good weekend!! can't wait to go back!