Ikea {Costa Mesa, CA}

After my first day of school after a glorious Winter break, B and I were kinda exhausted from first-day-back-to-school-boring-lectures. We wanted food and we wanted it bad. For some reason, I find that after a long day of brain usage, I always tend to get hungrier than usual, and since our daydreams of non-school-non-responsibilities-non-work have not yet completely eluded us, we decided to wander aimlessly in the long and winding pathways of Ikea. I love Ikea, if not for their cheap furniture and perfectly arranged living spaces, then for their juicy Swedish Meatball plates and $1.99 weekly breakfasts. It's definitely not gourmet but it does the trick, especially when smothered in lakes of creamy gravy. Lingonberry juice is always a must too, good thing they make concentrate take home-able, how else would I be able to survive? Did I mention that I love Ikea?

I left my heart in San Francisco

A few pictures from my recent trip to SF:

Tofu with Ground Pork and Shrimp

This is one of my most favorite tofu recipes ever. I've been such a pest to my mother in the kitchen lately; messing up her perfectly cleaned kitchen and bothering her with endless questions on her food. I have a feeling that she secretly loves it and since it's to my benefit, it's a win-win situation. This tofu is sweet from the juicy tomatoes but salty from the ground pork and I've never gotten bored of it after 20 years!

Tofu with Ground Pork and Shrimp

Yields: 8 - 10 servings

24 oz. ground pork

8 oz. ground shrimp

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsn. sugar

4-5 tbsn. fish sauce (depending on how salty you like it)

2 packages of extra firm tofu, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

vegetable oil

6 large roma tomatoes, chopped into 1 in. pieces 

2 large onion, wedged and broken up

4 tbsn. of ketchup, to your liking

2 tbsn. oyster sauce, to your liking

1/3 cup of chopped parsley

Directions:

In a deep pan pour the oil in until it reaches a height of about 1 centimeter. Heat the pan on medium high until oil is hot. Lay the tofu in carefully and cover the pan and let cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Carefully turn the tofu on its other side and cook until brown and crispy. Once done, take out let cool and then slice into 1 inch cubes. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the ground pork, ground shrimp, pepper, fish sauce, and sugar. Mix well. Heat a large pan on medium high. Add the meat mixture and break up while cooking. About 5 - 10 minutes later, add the diced tofu, tomatoes, and onion. Cook for another 10 - 15 minutes or until all well cooked and onions are soft. Next, add the ketchup and oyster sauce. Add more of each to your own taste. Mix well and let meld for another 3 - 5 minutes. Once everything is all cooked, serve hot and top with the chopped parsley. 

Milk {Los Angeles, CA}

I love the holiday season and all of its charming bliss. Usually I like to stroll down neighborhoods with a large display of Christmas lights at least once. This year we (me and some friends) decided we would try something new and go to the Griffith Park Light Festival. It was a total bust. Never will I ever do that again! It was basically a long, freezing walk with a mediocre, extremely boring light display. But time spent with friends is never wasted and I definitely had a light at the end of the tunnel waiting for me: Milk.

Milk is a charming little restaurant/ cafe on Beverly that is known for its wonderful sundaes, odd blue velvet cake, and tasty sandwiches.

1. The Media Noche is one of their most popular sandwiches. It feautures pulled pork, ham, manchego cheese, pickles, and roasted garlic mayo. This knocked me out! It was warm, crispy, and had so much flavor.

2. The Blondie: features a white chocolate blondie, vanilla ice cream, butterscotch, and pecan praline. I've never personally had a blondie before but I vow to myself from now on, to always have one any chance I can possibly get. And topped with pecan praline? It really couldn't get any better.

3. Frozen Yogurt Sundae: buttermilk waffles, ice cream, caramelized apples, and caramel sauce. This one was ginormous and the apples were actually fresh rather than that canned nastyness. It was warm, crispy, and melty!

I Lied, I'm Sorry

I lied before. This is the last one, I swear. The last one before the 27th, when Mixwit shuts officially down. Hopefully these will work after that day, but no guarantees. I thought I'd shove as many as I could get in before I never could again. 

1. Etta James - At Last

2. Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royksopp Remix)

3. Feist - Inside and Out

4. John Legend - P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)

5. Lykke Li - Tonight

6. Kings of Convenience - Love Is No Big Truth

7. Bjork ft. Anthony Hegarty - Dull Flame of Desire

8. Rachael Yamagata - Be Be Your Love

9. Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina

10. Adele - Best for Last

11. Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love

12. Joshua Radin ft. Ingrid Michaelson - Sky

13. LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great

14. The Postal Service - Nothing Better

15. Broken Social Scene - Stars and Sons

16. Band of Horses - Detlef Schrempf

17. Mates of State - My Only Offer

18. Lavender Diamond - Open Your Heart

19. Feist - How My Heart Behaves

20. Sade - By Your Side

21. Frente! - Bizarre Love Triangle

22. New Buffalo - I've Got You and You've Got Me

My Sister's Famous Bread Pudding

For all of our family get togethers, my sister has established a tradition. That tradition is Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding. It's simple, easy, moist, and delicious. I love it especially for the fact that it's not overloaded with sugar. Most desserts these days overkill the sweet factor but this one has it just right. 

Bread Pudding with Chocolate Chunks and Bananas

(adapted from Zov: Recipes and Favorites from the Heart)

Yields: Enough for 15 - 20

3 tbsn. unsalted butter

3 medium bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups 2% milk

1 cup sugar

8 large eggs

1 tbsn. vanilla extract

6 oz. of coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 1/2 lbs. of coarsely chopped challah, hawaiian bread, or croissants 

powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 13x9x2 baking dish with 1 tbsn. butter. Melt the remaining 2 tbsn. of butter in a small skillet. Add the bananas and toss to coat. Using a fork, mash the bananas, set aside to cool. 

Whisk the cream, milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Fold in the mashed bananas and chocolate. Add the bread cubes and toss to coat. Let mixture stand for 25 minutes, tossing occasionally. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and spread evenly. Bake until center is set and the top is golden brown, about 35 - 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Cut, sprinkle with the powdered sugar, serve, and enjoy!

* Also great with vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce!

The Last One

This may be my last, and definitely my most treasured mixtape. Mixwit was an easy way to jumble all of my random tunes into semi-organized categories that were easily accessible and pretty to look at, and I will sure miss it. But alas life goes on as it always does. A special mixtape as a gift to all my special people for this Christmas!

1. Nujabes - Kumomi

2. Common - Be

3. Nujabes ft. Fat Jon - Aurarian Dance

4. Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton - Our Hell

5. Nujabes - Summer Gypsy

6. The Cinematic Orchestra - Exit Music (For a Film)

7. Nujabes - Feather

8. The Twilight Sad - Cold Days from the Birdhouse

9. Nujabes - Blessing It (Remix) ft. Substantial & Pace Rock from Five Deez

10. Adele - Chasing Pavements

11. Nujabes - Lady Brown ft. Cise Starr from CYNE

12. Royksopp - Poor Leno

13. Nujabes - Reflection Eternal

14. Greg Laswell - Come and Goes (In Waves)

15. Nujabes - A Day by Atmosphere Supreme

16. Thievery Corporation - Omid (Hope)

The Selby

Definitely loving The Selby right now. From the website, "The selby features intersting photographs, paintings, and videos by Todd Selby of interesting people and their creative spaces."

Especially love the one of Alexander Wang. Perfectly personifies him as well as his designs. Simple and to the point. 

Homemade Holiday Gifts

For a simple and super addictive holiday treat to your friends and family this year, try chocolate drizzled golden grahams! Kinda weird, I know, but one day as I was strolling through the vast amount of serve-yourself barrels at Sprouts the other day I came across these little munchies. I had a small sample and then wouldn't you know it, a couple minutes later, I found myself filling a bag up to bring home. My sister and I always make little snacks to give out for Christmas and I immediately knew I would be making these this year. They're super simple and a total crowd pleaser. And in addition, we added some of our annual goodies: chocolate covered pretzels. But this year we wanted to change things up a little so we sprinkled chopped nuts all over them. I really wonder why we hadn't thought of this earlier. TO DIE FOR, really though, I'm gouging my eyes out as I'm typing.

Chocolate Drizzled Golden Grahams:

Yields: Enough for 8 - 10

1 box of Golden Grahams

1 12 oz. bag of semi - sweet chocolate

In a double boiler melt the chocolate. On a cookie sheet, spread out a single layer of the golden grahams. Once semi - cooled but still melted, pour into a normal ziplock bag and push it to one edge on the bag. Snip the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the layer of golden grahams. Repeat. Let cool until the chocolate hardens. Bag up for gifts and enjoy!

Nutty Crunchy Chocolate Covered Pretzels:

Yields: Enough for 8 - 10

1 medium bag of salted pretzels

1 12 oz. bag of semi - sweet chocolate

1 cup of walnuts (pecans or almonds would also be fine), chopped 

Over a double boiler melt the chocolate. Using a butter knife spread the chocolate on the pretzel (it doesn't matter how messy it looks). Repeat. Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle the chopped nuts all over. Let cool completely, bag, and enjoy!

My cupcakes bring all the GIRLS to the yard!

I am blessed at work to be in the company of mostly all girls. That's why when Christmas is just rolling around the corner, I thought it best to treat my girls with some home baked goods. What gift could be better than a homemade treat, made with love? Don't get me wrong I love my boys, but can they chat over seriously addicting crap like The Hills, or gush about the new to-die-for Spring collection from J. Crew, or shop for hours until your feet practically disintegrate? I think not...

I am definitely not one of those girls who prefer men over women as friends. There are just some things that a girl can't talk about with boys and I like it that way. Give me a girl who can relate to monthly freakouts and boy problems any day! 

Black Bottom Cupcakes, from Smitten Kitchen

Yields: 12 cupcakes

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 oz. chopped semi-sweet chocolate

1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour

1 cup of light brown sugar, packed well

5 tbsn. of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup water

1 tbsn. white vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and egg until well mixed. Then stir in the chocolate and set aside.

For the cupcakes: Prepare a cupcake pan and line with cupcakes liners. Preheat oven to 350 F and adjust the rack in the center of the oven. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl combine the water, vinegar, oil, and vanilla. In the dry ingredients, create a well it the center of the bowl and pour in the wet ingredients. Slowly mix them together moving from the inside out. Be careful not to over mix the batter! Divide the batter among the cups evenly. Then drop about 1-2 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture into the chocolate batter so that they are about 80% full, make sure not to fill completely! Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Let cool completely and enjoy!

Easy Peasy Rainbow Cupcakes

Yields 15-20 cupcakes

1 box of plain white or yellow cake mix

1 can of white or vanilla frosting

food coloring, more variety the better

various sprinkles and jimmies

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the batter according to the directions on the box, then divide the batter into 5 bowls. Add different food coloring to each to create a rainbow of colors. 1 - 2 drops should create a perfectly vibrant color, but add enough to your preference. Prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Drop tablespoons of each color into each cupcake well to create layers of colors, filling it 3/4 full. Bake according to the directions on the box. Let cool completely. Decorate, frost, and TASTE THE RAINBOW!

* I would highly suggest using white cake mix rather than white. Yellow cake mix kind of muddled up and dulled my coloring into Easter themed cupcakes. If you want more vibrant colors, go for the white.