Inspired yet again by Joy the Baker, I have just purchased a bunch of vanilla beans to make vanilla extracts and sugar :D I used the ebayer that someone recommended in the comments and purchased the 30 bean assortment, so we'll see how that goes! I had to have Odi talk me out of that 32oz two-fold vanilla extract, else I'd be using that until my ( Read more... )

So I went to a new optometrist for my checkup this year and ordered some fancy new (coach!) glasses... except that not only is their office on the slow end of quoted times, but sending my glasses to the Fremont office (from the Newark one) and back takes 5 business days. I should've offered to drive those glasses over the 3 freeway exits to the ( Read more... )

Surprisingly, my mom didn't give me the "you don't make soup?!?" lecture on this visit, but she did leave me with a pot of chicken and abalone soup (but that's for a different post,) as well as the ingredients to a pot of carrot, tomato, and potato soup. I have made this soup before myself, but I keep forgetting the steps and have to call mom mid- ( Read more... )

So alright, I know I'm suppose to start exercising but... it's so much easier to just try to eat healthier vs. getting my ass off the chair. I've been getting my foods from Whole Foods more and more, started switching to more organic ingredients, and now I've finally taken the leap and got myself a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership. ( Read more... )

Oh, and happy birthday cerulgalactus, come over and I'll bake you a cake :D

Note to self: If I substitute cayenne pepper for red pepper flakes again do reduce the amount... or hell, just don't put so much pepper in until I've had a taste test. I made those cheese straws I mentioned yesterday, and they definitely had a kick to them. I also substituted 1/4 cup of the flour with WWW flour and added in about 1 teaspoon of ( Read more... )

I think I'm going crazy...

Say a normal person looks at this recipe for banana pudding ice cream and realizes they're missing cool whip and vanilla wafers. Their first thought would be to pick them up at the store, correct?

... I went online to see if I can find a homemade recipe for vanilla wafers, then contemplated a substitution for cool whip ( Read more... )

Steak Knifes: black handles or stainless steel? I use this set of cutlery, and although the black ones look sturdier, the stainless steel looks a bit more modern. I'm looking at these since they're J.A. Henckels and reasonably-priced, but I'm open to suggestions. Help!

Yay! So I survived having 2 teenagers, Alex and his friend Ryan, plus mom stay at my house for almost a week. Odi had to get our house wired for the internet and move another TV upstairs so we can leave the kids to play xbox 360 together upstairs and out of our way, yet Alex still managed to break off a stairs railing that has been loose but still ( Read more... )

I'm proud of my Chinese heritage, but I never did quite like some Chinese things, especially when it comes to government. I wish everyone who were affected on this day 20 years ago and their families well, and that events like this will never happen again. World peace... we can always hope, can't we?