Friday Night Dessert @ Zuckersuss

Went out for sushi and went for some froyo for dessert.  We went to a local place in Hayward called Zuckersuss.  The place was started by two UCB grads and touts all natural yogurt and a variety of toppings.

I was being my cheesy self and was taking pics of our froyo and ourselves for FB food porn when the cashier (and I think part-owner) offered to take a picture of all four of us.  I was thrilled to have a family photo because they are so rare.  He took one shot and it turned out great, all of us were looking!  Woot!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Peepshi!

Peeps + sushi = Peepshi!

Saw an article with instructions on how to make peepshi with Peeps, Rice Crispie Treats, and Fruit by the Foot.  Awesome concept and I really wanted to make them but did not have time before Easter.  So I bought all the ingredients for my little mother's helpers and they made some and dropped off a plate to me!

They are a total sugar overload but actually taste pretty good. The fruit strip helps to cut the sweetness. =)

A couple of my friends made them too, it's def the year of the peepshi!  Maybe I'll actually make them next year if I have more time.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Birthday Love

I feel so loved this week. Monday was my birthday and along with many many FB birthday wishes and wonderful presents, Daddy J took me to Tahoe for the weekend (will blog about that later). We are also meeting up with some friends this weekend to celebrate in the city.

Here is a picture of one of my wonderful presents. It looks so yummy, I can hardly get myself to eat it!...but you know I did! =)

My Date with Dee

Back to my SoCal Trip...sorry this is all out of order. Blogging about this trip is a bit time consuming, and you know...life happens!

The girls and I met up with my good friend DC and her daughter KL. I love it that she is also a foodie and of course brought us to good eats. Life is so hectic that we seriously have not sat down for a meal since Baby C was born!...actually even before that since they moved down to SoCal several years ago. Anyhoo, it was great catching up...as much as we could chat dining with 3 kiddies. =)

We met up in Irvine and hit 3 places in 3 hours...cuz dats how we roll!

We started at a ramen place called Ajisen. They had a cute little ramen girl in the front.

I ordered the "premium pork" ramen which had thin slices of pork. I dunno why they call it premium, but it was delicious! We also had some potato croquettes and gyoza as appetizers, although they came after our ramen arrived.

If Daddy J were with me, he would have ordered this. I actually found an Ajisen place in Fremont, so hopefully we'll get there soon to partake!

After we had ramen, we walked over to this place called B.B.Q. that serves yummy fried chicken. B.B.Q. actually stands for Best of the Best Quality, or something like that. It's Korean run and they fry their chicken and batter in olive oil. It was quite delish and had a unique flavor.

We then drove to Yogurtland at the Spectrum. My poor sister is so deprived of yummy yogurt because the only yogurt place they have in Anchorage is TCBY...and it's in the airport! ...so you need a boarding pass to partake! LOL!

We chowed down! (as you can see) They were having a promo with Tokidoki cups and spoons. Super cute stuff!...and yummy yogurt of course!

And to top the evening off, the girls played "Ring Around the Rosie" outside Yogurtland. So cute!

Lemon Bars

My friend SW posted a picture of some lemon bars she made the other day on FB.  They looked so yummy thta I had to ask for the recipe.  I am not much of a baker, but they turned out pretty good.  Here is the recipe in case ya'll wanna try it out!

Lemon Bars
Makes 36

Ingredients:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
Topping
4 large eggs
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
½ cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup whipping cream
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 13- x 9- inch baking pan.
Sift the sugar, flour, and salt into a bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the topping, whisk the eggs and sugar together until blended. Add the lemon rind and juice and mix well.
Lightly whip the cream and fold into the egg mixture. Pour over the still warm crust, return to the oven, and bake until set, about 40 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting into bars. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

I cut the recipe in half and used an 8x8 pan. Turned out good, but I would make a full batch next time (cuz they are yummy) and perhaps use a bit more lemon rind/juice to make it more tart (cuz I like it like that).

SoCal Eats!

What's a vacation without indulgent food? ...plus it just wouldn't be my blog without some food porn, right?

Even though it was hectic traveling with 2 kids, we still managed to grab some good eats here and there. Here is a sample of good eats we encountered during our SoCal week...at least the ones I remembered to take pics of. =)

Yes...I heart food... Enjoy!

Started off @ Guppy @ Hacienda Heights.  My sis ordered some sort of spicy soup noodle dish.  I forget because dinner was a bit hectic with Baby B on the move. As you can see she is holding her iphone...a device, I discovered through the week, that is permanently attached to her hand!  LOL!

This was my meal, a dumpling noodle soup...note to self: hot soup not great with restless kids..dangerous, and I can't eat it fast!

I ordered Pineapple Fried Rice for the girls...obviously way too big, and they ate like 3 kernels of rice each.  We took it back to the hotel and munched on it all week, so it all worked out.

Here is what Guppy is known for...Shaved Ice!  We order the "to-go" size of their red bean variety, which feeds like 3-4 people (we did not finish it).  It was the smallest size they had. The regular size feeds like 6-8 and basically fills up the whole bowl!

A SoCal original - Sprinkles Cupcakes - Coconut, Red Velvet, and Chocolate.  Perfect bedtime snack...cuz dats how we roll!

My Sis with a San Francisco classic - Sourdough bowl with clam chowder from the "wharf" @ California Adventures. (cheesey I know)

Some yummy treats from California Adventures.  I could not bear paying $9 for an apple, so I just took a picture. =)  Cute as heck tho.

At my sister's request...we had to stop at See's because apparently there are no more See's in Anchorage! =O

This is not from SoCal, but my friend DC bought some for me on her recent trip to Hawaii.  They were delish and she is the bestest!

I wish I captured more food on film, but most of the time, it was too hectic with the littles, and/or the food was just very basic, so not "food porn" worthy. LOL!

Black Friday

After the T-Day food hype comes the Black Friday sales blitz. Now I've never got up at the crack of dawn for this coveted shopping sport, but I was tempted to do some online shopping since some sales started at midnight...but I resisted, rather, I was just too plain lazy to do the research! Hah! Besides, I am ALMOST done with my holiday shopping, so I thought I'd be practical and just not give into the hype...and save some $$$!...plus there is always Cyber Monday, right?! =)

Instead of doing the BF thing, we met up with our friends KG & FG for lunch at this Afghan place called "Kabul" in Sunnyvale. I ordered the seafood combo kebabs (salmon & prawns) and a yogurt drink called "dough" (blah) and Daddy J ordered the lamb kebabs. Everything was delish (well except my drink).

Afterwards we went over to their house to partake in T-Day leftover drinks & desserts.  We also played some Rock Band and admired a Lego Eiffel Tower that FG just built (see pic).  Baby B's newfound mobility has allowed me a bit more freedom because she is a bit less clingy.  Baby C made herself at home on the couch and watched some TV.  It was a nice treat to hang out with some friends on a gloomy Black Friday.

- Yvonne
- Sent from my Palm Pre

The Second Time Around

 

I find that Baby B is "experiencing" things a lot sooner than Baby C did...especially foods.  With Baby C, I tried to adhere to the guidelines that the pediatrician laid out as far as introducing foods, etc, to reduce the chance of allergies.  With Baby B, it's tough when we are eating all together and the B Monster wants some of what we are eating.

Anyhoo, here is a picture of Baby B with a juice box.  I don't think I gave Baby C full-on juice juice till she was probably 2 years old!  Poor Baby C, I feel like I totally deprived her.  LOL!

My New Vice

Ooh...found these at TJ's. So yummy...extra holiday pounds, here I come!!!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Happy Birthday ZR!

Today we went to Super Franks to celebrate my cousin's son's birthday (does that make him my second cousin?). They did a "walk-in" party in the Safari Adventure room and it was a blast as usual. Baby C always has a good time there and Baby B is starting to enjoy it too as she gets more mobile.

ZR is two now and quite a little character, completely 180 of his sister at this age...and keeping my cousin JR and her husband on their toes! It's amazing how different siblings can be, I guess its a testament to the "nature" part of the age-old "nature vs nurture" debate!

Man, Super Franks was packed today with all the party rooms filled, and with the parties running about $350-$400 for each 2 hour slot, the owners must be rolling in the dough! Now why did I not think of this business idea? I just love it there, the space, the concept, and even the food and drinks are decent! =)

Here are some of my fav pictures from the party. We only took like 150 of them! LOL! Not too many of Baby C - she was moving too dang fast!

Baby C and Birthday Boy ZR playing "jack in the box".

Good times....

Baby B driving already?!

Rock that fishie!

Just me and the girls!

Baby B posing with the firetruck.

Girls rule!...at least Daddy J!

Dessert?

Mealtime is always a struggle with Baby C. She eats sooo slow. She is a petiteactive toddler, and I don't want her to run on fumes all the time (which is what it SEEMS to run on). I know some people say don't bribe kids with dessert, but honestly, we'll try just about anything to motivate her to eat just a few bites...some nutrition...some substance!

Here's a picture of her enjoying her "reward" - a Tofutti sandwich (soy). Personally I love ice cream sandwiches, but don't you hate it when the "bread" gets all stuck up in your grill? LOL!

Day On The Glen

On Sunday, we went to Dublin's annual "Day on the Glen" event. It's a great community event that's fun for the whole family. The weather was on the warm side, but it was a great way to end the summer. Here are some pics to share:

Baby B chilling in the Joovy. She was a very good stroller passenger, which made for a great day since it was probably too warm to carrier her in the Ergo.

Baby C at the petting zoo. The first thing she did was grab some hay and then proceeded to TRY to feed every animal, unfortunately, none of them wanted to eat! I felt bad because she genuinely wanted to feed them!

Daddy J and Baby B waiting for us outside the petting zoo watching the goat.

Baby C on a pony ride.

We grabbed some yummy food - gyros, sweet potato fries, and strawberry lemonade.

We scored some shade, ate lunch and watched the Frisbee dog show. The was a variety of dogs including some pit bulls, and even a little dachshund! Super cute! After the show, they invited all the kids to come out and pet the dogs. The dogs were very patient in the heat and all the kiddie hands!

Impulse Buys

Question of the day: What is it about farmer's markets, street festivals, fairs, carnivals, and other fun outdoor events that make one buy ginorous tubes of kettle corn?

JAMBA!

I love smoothies, and I know I can easily make them at home, but I am lazy, and Jamba is convenient, so we go there often during the warm months.

Here is a picture of her enjoying her first Jamba at 7 months.

We recently gave Baby B some Jamba at about 8.5 months, and she loves it too!

For comparison, here is Baby C at about 9 months, still enjoying her Jamba!

Zing Zang Zoom!

Today we went to the circus at the Oakland Arena. The show was called "Zing Zang Zoom" and believe it or not, was my first time at the circus! I really enjoyed the show with all the clowns, tigers, ponies, zebras, elephants, gravity defying acts, and everything in between. We filled a luxury suite with friends and family and had a great time.

Picture of the "girls" - Me, my half-sister RY, and my Babies B & C! My sister and I did not really grow up together, and I am trying to make an effort to spend more time with her these days...for us, and for my girls to get to know their Auntie RY.

There was an "all access pre-show" where everyone got to go on the circus floor and see some acts up close.

Baby C sitting on Daddy's shoulders watching Asia the elephant.

They began the show with the National Anthem and an elephant walking around the stage in patriotic gear.

Here are some shots from the show:

Um, that's a nice angle, eh?

This was the "upside down" portion of the show...I spent the whole time wondering how they stayed suspended...?!

And of course, some pics of the girls...they were well behaved for the most part, but glad of course that we were in a luxury suite again with some room to stretch:

Baby C eating a bite of an overpriced chicken strip. Considering how many bites she took of her meal, and how much it cost...that bite probably was about $2.50!