Buko Pandan Shake and an award

It was a sunny, yet slightly breezy afternoon as I had helped my mom with a couple errands. By the end of it all we were starving. We decided upon a little Filipino food to appease the stomach. We ventured into Chow King. It a "fast food" joint that serves up some family Philippine meals. I've glod about them before and this particular meal. (here) My mom and I both ordered the half bangus meal.

 But this time around I decided to order up a shake to wash it all down. A buko pandan shake.

 Look at that nice green color. What's the best way to describe this drink? Well first off...buko (boo-ko) is made from the meat of young coconut. Pandan according to About.com :

Pandan (screwpine pandanus) is a type of tree that grows in tropical areas of Asia. Pandan leaves have a sweet, unique flavor that is commmonly used in Southeast-Asian countries to enhance both desserts and savory dishes.

In actuality it's a dessert made from buko, pandan, gulaman (firm jello-green), cream and condensed milk.  They just decided to turn it into a shake over at Chow King.  You can see the little bits of jello, and cocnut at the bottom there. So it's a coconut-y drink. But so delicious.

I'd like to give a shoutout to Michelle at All Home Cooking All Year Long for passing this award along to me. Thanks a bunch.

You can find out more about this nifty award here.

1.Display the Stiletto badge of honor.
2. Brag about it-post a link to the page to highlight what the award is about
3.Say thanks! Include a link to the friend who nominated you.
4. Share the love-nominate 5-10 more blogs. Leave links to their blogs and leave them a comment so they know they won!
5.Do what you do! Keep at it and keep inspiring others!

As far as passing along to 5-10. I'm the type who doesn't like to choose. I'd like to share it with all of you. Because quite frankly you readers are the awesomest!!

Today in history...

I was born.

Yep. I'm another year older today. Sixteen years old to be exact. Give or take ten years.  How do I feel on this day? Not sure. But it's nice to have it on a holiday.  President's Day. So today I'm taking the day off. What shall I do on this day? To be honest, I haven't really planned anything in terms of celebrating. It's always been a "go with the flow" and see what happens or just go out to dinner and maybe splurge a little. Most likely it's the dinner option. Last year I was able to get a nice big prime rib dinner at Lawry's in Beverly Hills. That's because someone had given me a gift card. SO no big splurge this year. But I'm happy with just a simple meal. Heck, I'm even happy with just a cupcake and a little teeny candle.

What will I eat? What will I do? You'll just have to wait.

Also, I'd like to thank Nutmeg Nanny for passing along this lovely award to me a few days ago. If you you don't know of her blog yet, now you do. Check it would because she's got some great recipes. As for the award there are some instructions that came with it.

Instructions for the award:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. Paste the award on your blog
3. Link the person who nominated you for the award
4. Tell 7 interesting things about yourself
5. Nominate 7 bloggers or less
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominated


So let's see...seven things that I haven't mentioned yet here and here. In no particular order:

1. I do some work as a background actor on film and television. You can see some of the screen grabs on some of the shows I've been on here. This is where my production eats series comes from.

2. I have a fear of clowns. They still scare the crap out of me after all these years.

3. I have a passion for photography. I like to take pictures of even the most mundane things that inspire me.

4. Two things I need to have with me at all times: My small black notebook and my favorite pen.

5. I keep a small snack box next to my desk filled with little goodies. (Shhh...don't tell ;-D)

6. Laughing. I tend to look serious or contemplative a lot of the time, but in reality, I really love to laugh.

7. I'm really easy-going. It takes a lot to get me angry and it doesn't happen too often.  I may look small, but I can be feisty!


As for Number 5 and 6 in the instructions. I'll just pass it on to all you loyal readers. It's always hard to pick just a few. And I'm in such a giving mood that I'll share it with all of you.

So for now I'll be like Dopey and get ready to chomp down on a slice of cake!! 

 

This week in Production Eats, Plus some Pomegranate Goodness

This week I worked on the set of Saving Grace. It's a show starring Academy Award winner Holly Hunter, a really sweet lovely person and petite like me. I was actually surprised when the main cast ate in the same room as the crew and background. I thought was pretty cool. It was a night shoot. So that consisted to staying up all night long. How about 4pm to 5am. I do love night shoots though. They're really fun. I say with with all honesty. We were given two meals that night. I only ate at the first one. I took a picture of the second meal courtesy of a fellow background artist. It was around 2-3 in the morning when they gave us the second meal and I didn't feel like eat another heavy meal. You'll see why. But let's go for the first meal, which I found to be quite delicious, especially with dessert. 

My cowboy hat casually making a cameo at the top there.

Top going clockwise: cesaer salad, dinner roll, underneath the dinner roll is some chicken salad, a few pieces of caprese salad, mixed rice, sauteed bell pepper and eggplants, veggie wrapped fish roll, grilled steak.

I loved the steak. Nice and tenders pieces. I like the eggplant and bell peppers, too. Chicken salad was so-so. I stuffed that into the roll. But the fresh caprese salad made for it.  I found the fish to be okay, but I do like the idea of wrapping pieces of a fillet into a rolls.  I may just have to try that for my next fish dish. (The wheels in my head are turning now.)

For dessert, a nice slice of carrot cheesecake with a cinnamon crumble topping and graham cracker crust. Yeah. No words for this one. I devoured it.

The second meal-

From left to right: Salad, some sort of pasta looking dish, grilled chicken with a yellow gravy on top, and a brownie.

A bit of a heavy meal at 3 o'clock in the morning. I did have the brownie. The recipient of the plateful of food had graciously given me his brownie. It was rich, moist with a crisp top crust. The the right amount of sugar to keep me going for the rest of the night.

Next, I got a lovely surprise at my doorstep this week. The wonderful folks at POM had sent me another delicious sampling of two new juices.

Pomegranate Nectarine

Pomegranate Kiwi

I realized as I was already guzzling down the POM Nectarine that I hadn't taken a photo of it yet. Hence the half empty bottle on the right. Oops. haha... It's an awesome twist to the regular ol' POM juice. I loved them both. You can definitely taste the Nectarine and Kiwi in each with a lovely blend of POM. If you haven't been too keen on the regular POM juice due to the tartness of the fruit, why not give these two new flavors a go. I'm sure it'll change your mind. It's refreshingly good. Plus, pomegranates are good anti-oxidants. Healthy juice that's flavorful and healthy gets a plus in my book.

Oh, before I forget, I'd like to give a special shout out Alta from Tasty Eats At Home for passing along to me the One Lovely Blog award earlier this week. Thanks, Alta!!

Noodle World and Pomegranate Tea

Few years ago back in my college days, I used to frequent this little place in Old Town Pasadena called Noodle World. It was a joint that served pretty good food. A mixture of Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese, but they're mostly known for their Thai dishes. I would have lunch production meetings there as well as casual "get together"s with friends, even wrap dinners from a long day's shoot. It was like the "go-to" place for me and my little circle of buddies. Oh the good times.

I hadn't been back there in a long time as I'm not around the area as much as I used to. So a couple days ago, I lunch with a couple close friends of mine. I didn't have a clue at the time as to what we wanted to eat and first thing that popped into my head was Noodle World. Being back at the place brought back a ton of memories of yesteryear. Nostalgia at it's best. They've been there for quite a while, so I guess they must be doing something right to have been able to stay open as long as they have.

We arrived there short after the lunch crowds have gone. There have been times when the place has been fully packed. We get shown to out booth and we begin the search for what we want to fill our bellies with. The service is pretty quick there. The wait wasn't long for our food to arrive from when we ordered.

The first two were ordered by my friends.

Spicy Laht Nah 

Rice noodles topped with a choice of ground chicken or beef stir-fried with garlic, chili, vegetables and basil in gravy.

Seafood Noodles

Shrimp, mussels, squid, imitation crab meat, fish ball and fish cake with a choice of rice noodles. I had a taste of them and it was pretty good. Add a hit of Sriracha to the soup and I was good to go.

 Chow Mien

While I ordered once of my favorites. Chow mien with pan-fried crispy noodles. It was a mixture of veggies and chicken with a gravy sauce pour over pan-fried noodles. I usually ordered their duck and rice dish, but I was feeling a bit noodle-y that day.

Thai Iced Tea with Boba

To wash it down I ordered myself a nice refreshing Thia iced Tea with boba (tapioca pearls). Yum!! It was a good lunch. It brought back fond memories and made new ones.

Noodle World

24 West Colorado Boulevard
Old Pasadena, CA 91106

(626)585-5885

Noodle World

I was contacted once again by the awesome folks at POM Wonderful asking if I'd like to sample some of their new pomegranate tea. I couldn't resist the offer.  So a week or two ago, I received a little care package. Inside were four bottles from their new line of pomegranate tea drinks called POMx Tea, the Antioxidant Super Tea. After letting them cool in the fridge for a day, I began my tasting. These are the flavors I had the opportunity to sample.

Light Pomegranate Hibiscus Green POMx Tea
Light Pomegranate Wildberry White POMx Tea

Pomegranate Lychee Green  POMx Tea
Pomegranate Blackberry POMx Tea

There's one other flavor I have yet to try, I think it's a peach flavor. I'll try that one at another time. But I really liked the first two. The light teas. It was very subtle and refreshing. A nice blend of flavors. I had those in one sitting, on separate occasions. The other two I wasn't much of that fan of, but it was still tasty. The lychee and blackberry flavors combined with the pomegranate didn't mesh well with me. Though, that's just my preference. You may like it more than I do, so why not give all the flavors a try? See which one you like. I'd definitely go and buy a bunch of the light teas to stock up my fridge.  Thanks to POM Wonderful for the samples!

Finally, I'd like to give off a special shout out today to Parita of Parita's World. A couple weeks ago she had passed along to me this award called the 360˚ Foodie award. Thanks a bunch!!

Bday Dinners and some awards

Before we start, after you read today's post, head on over to my other blog The Misadventures of Little J to see a little animation I did a few years back. (here)

Now I rarely do restaurant reviews of any type because well I suck at it. But last weekend, I had a birthday dinner for my cousin at Amici Trattoria at the Americana on Brand in Glendale, Ca. I think it just opened several weeks ago. Every time I pass by, the place is always full of customers. Inside and out. There were 5 of us. My mom, my two cousins, one of which was the birthday celebrant and my cousin's friend. I apologize for the color of some of the pictures as some are a bit blurry. I didn't use a flash. My point and shoot is really a piece of crap at the moment. I've put it through so much. I think it's time for it to retire.

Anyway, the place was pretty packed when we got there, but we were lucky to have been seated right away. The prized spots were in the patio, but a party had reserved it at the time. I was fine with eating inside. It's a decent sized space. The tables were placed a bit close to one another, so there were a lot of "excuse me" going around. Decor looked modern. Lighting was on the slightly dimmed side. Our host and waiter were two burly men with what I think were Italian accents. They may have looked intimidating, but were really friendly.

Someone from the waitstaff brings out the traditional bread basket with some rosemary foccacia and slices of french bread. Accompanied with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We wanted to order some wine, but the wine menu was several pages long. Literally. It was a book! I didn't want to spend too much looking at it as I was really hungry. It took me forever just to think of what I wanted to eat, let alone choosing a wine was something that would take me another hundred years to decide. I'm not picky, I just can't choose from all the delectable selections. I was saving up my appetite for this meal.

The waiter takes our order without writing down our choices as I request for another round of bread. You know I love bread, right? From the anti pasti selection, we ordered Frittura di Calamari e Zucchini. Calamari and fried zucchini with a side of marinara. Both of which were nice and crispy when brought to our table. That was gone in a few minutes.

We didn't have to wait long for the main course. With the place being so busy, waiting wasn't much of an option. There were a bunch of other people waiting to have a seat. It was really packed. Our entrées arrived nearly one after another as another person from the waitstaff comes around carrying a big bowl, with spoon in hand, of freshly pre-grated parmegiano reggiano. Offering us if we'd like to add extra cheese to our dish. I opted not too. my dish was already packed with cheese. The portions were large, but really good.

My mom had the Linguine Alle Vongole Veraci. Linguine with manila clams in light olive oil and white wine sauce. Here we go with the white wine sauce again. I'm telling you, I got her hooked!


My cousin ordered the Risotto ala Catalana. Italian Arborio rice with shrimp and baby asparagus with saffron. I had a taste of this and the risotto was nice and creamy. It was really good also.


I had the Milanese di Pollo. Or Chicken Parmigiana. It was nearly the size of my head. Yes, it was that big. Made from breaded organic chicken served with sautéed arugula and roasted garlic potatoes. The chicken was nice and tender. Cooked just right. The mozzarella perfectly melted with just the right amount of sauce. I'd pick up a piece and that lovely string of melted cheese would tag along for the ride into my mouth. I finished the whole thing. I was hungry, remember? But I enjoyed it.

I didn't take a picture of the other two dishes, but one was a Capellini Alla Checca, angel hair pasta with a chopped tomato and basil. The other was Penne Arabiat, penne with a spicy marinara sauce. I think there was chicken in there, too. I can't remember.

With our stomachs full, we couldn't end the meal with just our entrées. No, no, no. I say desserts are an essential for occasions such as this. So we ordered a nice slice of tiramisu to close the meal. We all shared and loved it. A lot of Italian places I've been tend to go overboard on the rum and/or espresso and that can get a bit overwhelming sometimes. This tiramisu was just right. There was barely a hint of it. Did you know that tiramisu originally never had alcohol in it? The mascarpone cheese filling was so smooth, it was soothing to the palate. Slight touch of espresso, soaked just enough into the sponge cake. There were a couple fresh raspberries and blueberries on the plate as well and the familiar dusting of cocoa powder. It was so good and I wanted more, but I didn't want to force my stomach. I wonder if you can order a slice to go. I must find out. Tiramisu is one of the desserts I love and will soon make on this blog. Stay tuned.

Overall for 5 people it was a decent price for an upscale like restaurant. I'd definitely try this place again. Maybe next time, I'll try one of their pizza, pasta or seafood dishes

Trattoria Amici at the Americana at Brand (across from Barnes and Noble)
889 Americana Way
Glendale, CA 91210
818.502.1220


Next, a couple weeks ago, I received a few awards. For the first three, I'd like to give a special shoutout to Finsmom from Latest Addiction for passing them along to me.





This last one I'd like to also give a special shoutout to Heather from Girlichef and Kim from The Ungourmet for passing this to me this very brand new award.

Please visit these lovely ladies blogs. They've got some awesome drool worthy recipes, and deserve this tasty award as well as the many food blogs I read everyday. I share this with all of you.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow. The picture below isn't your average pasta dish. A new day, a new recipe. Ciao!!

Random Food Stuff with an Award

For my tiny little write-up on Julie & Julia, please visit my weekly blog (after you finish reading the rest of this post first.) Don't worry, no spoilers. ;-p: The Misadventures of Little J.

-----------------------

I never really began to appreciate books until I was well into college. I pretty much a lazy bum when it came to reading when I was a child. I would have rather been eating, playing video games, taking naps or watching tv. Some productive kid I was, eh? But now I've come to love books. I'm trying to catch up on all the classics I passed on. I missed quite a bit.

I've been lagging on this one. A couple weeks ago, I was tagged by the Heavenly Housewife at Donuts to Delirium. I got something called the Joy of Reading award. Here are the rules of this one:

1. Collect the book that you have most handy

2. Turn to page 161

3. Find the 5th complete sentence

4. Site the sentence on your blog

5. Pass it on to 5 other bloggers

So I have a few books on my desk at the moment. Let me see... Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson, but that only goes up to page 140. Next. A cookbook on Paris (French cuisine) from Williams-Sonoma. And that's a recipe for madeleine cookies. That one just says "preheat oven to 375˚F." Umm...ok. I think I shall make that soon. But let's find an interesting one. Ah...Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I'm trying to catch up on on some classics at the moment. This was also made into a movie by Sally Potter with Tilda Swinton in the title role. A really good movie you have to check out. Anyway, here's the 5th sentence on page 161:

"At last, she cried, she knew Sasha as she was, and in the ardour of this discovery, and in the pursuit of all those treasures which were now revealed, she was so rapt and enchanted that it was as if a cannon ball had exploded at her ear when a man's voice said, 'Permit me, Madam,' a man's hand raised her to her feet; and the fingers of a man with a three masted sailing ship tattooed on the middle finger pointed to the horizon."

Phew! That was a long one. Hmm...Not sure what to make of that. Maybe prince charming sweeping me or some damsel off their feet and pointing to the future. I don't know. A girl can dream, right? So now, the five bloggers I tag for this:

Sophia from ~Burp and Slurp
Peachkins from The Peach Kitchen
Heather from Girlichef
Reeni from Cinnamon & Spice
Jamie from Life's A Feast

Oh, I added a Contact Me button under the About Me section as well as redesigned the twitter button. Follow Me, if you aren't already. Just in case anyone needs to contact me directly.

With this being a food blog and all, I just can't end this post without having something about food. A few weeks ago, I had went to an annual car show near where I live. So many awesome classic cars. I loved them all. Plus, Sha Na Na played a concert there, too. They're the guys who wrote and performed a lot of the songs in the movie Grease.

Two cars had an old-fashioned carhop tray attached to the window with display food and all. Look at me. I'm surrounded by some awesome cars and my eyes dart towards a couple of carhop trays with food. I guess food is never far from my mind no matter where I am. I just found it really cool. In the background there, you can see an old remodeled radio. I believe this was from a Chevy. I forgot what year it was. Note: ice cubes were fake.



The other one had some Bob's Big Boy food on it.


That's all for now, come back tomorrow and you'll find out what this last picture is. It was really good!!

10 Fun Food Facts of the Day and a couple of awards

It's that time again. Woohoo...fun food facts!!!!! Enjoy!!


one -
Did you know that butter is one of our oldest foods?

(Hooray for butter!!! I don't know what I'd do without you!!)


two -
The candy bar "Baby Ruth" was named after the daughter of U.S. President Grover Cleveland in 1921.


three -
In 1919, a molasses flood killed 21 people in the north end of Boston.

(Wow how much of molasses do you think it took?!)


four-
In 1930, Ruth Wakefield of Massachusetts, invented the chocolate chip cookie. At that time, it was known as the "Chocolate Crispie"

(Thank you, Mrs. Wakefield. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be a chocoholic!!!)

five -
There are over 240 varieties of fish and shellfish sold in the fish markets and grocery stores.


six-
In 1953, a 1 pound can of lobster cost a nickel! It was also commonly used as farm fertilizer and was considered "Poor Man's Food"

(oh, how the tides have turned on this beloved crustacean.)

seven -
Carrots really can help you see in the dark! Vitamin A is known to prevent "night blindness," and carrots are loaded with Vitamin A.

(So be sure to eat your carrots, folks. Bugs Bunny did!!)


eight -
It takes 50,000 bees to produce 500 pounds of honey in one year!


nine -
Asparagus is related to onions, leeks, and garlic.


ten-
More than 96 billion pounds of edible "surplus" food is thrown away in the U.S. each year. It is estimated that almost 27% of our food supply is wasted.

(Which is why I don't like to waste. I'm all about making use of any leftovers.)

--------------------
Sources:
http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/foodtrivia.htm
http://www.vvsd.org/districtdept/food/foodfacts.htm#popcorn
-----------------------



I'd also like to acknowledge a couple of awards that I recived this week. The first is from ValleyWriter at Adventures in the Pioneer Valley. She had passed along to me the Kreativ Blogger award.


Second is from Laura at Hey What's for Dinner Mom? She passed along to me the Hard Working Food Blogger award.


Thank you ladies!!!! Please be sure to check out their blogs. They got some wonderful stuff and you won't be disappoint. ;-)

Kreativ Blogger

Really? Am I a Kreativ Blogger? I never really thought of it as anything else, but a way for me to share my cooking and baking experiments with you, the reader, a la Dr. Frankenstein mode. Me in my little laboratory (the kitchen) and proclaiming "IT'S ALIVE!!!!!" This blog has definitely come a long way since it's birth in March. Though, I've been blogging for a few years with The Misadvenutres of Little J. I'm wondering where this melancholic mood of mine came from. Now I know. I think it a bad idea be listening to Radiohead while trying to write a food post because now it's putting me in a very nostalgic frame of mind. Wait...okay, now it's Poker Face by Lady Gaga. Very catchy. Nice beat. Good for working out. (singing: *Po-Po-Po-Poker Face, Po-Po-Poker Face. Mum mum mum mah*) Much better.

Early this week, Kamran from The Sophisticated Gourmet passed along this award to me. Thanks, Kamran! Folks, here's a young bright fellow, who's new to the food blogging world, yet he's already made some fantastic meals right off from the start. I can see him going far with it. He's definitely got a fan right here. Keep it up! You must check out his blog. Go after reading this!!!! I'm serious. ;-)



Of course, some awards have RULES to abide by. What was that saying? Rules are meant to be broken. Well, in this case, I'll just stick with them. Besides, they aren't that hard. The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who has given you the award
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate
7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.


I've posted 7, no wait 14 things about myself already here and here. Just my those 14 things alone you can practically know who I am.

Now the 7 recipients for this award. I've love to give this to everyone, but rules are rules and only choosing a few makes it a tougher decision. But I love all those who come and visit my blog every day. Makes doing this a lot more fun. Don't be a stranger and say "Hi". I'm pint-sized and wouldn't hurt a fly, so I won't bite.

In no particular order:

Kim from The Ungourmet
Miranda from My Food and Life Encounters
Finsmom from Latest Addictions
Heavenly Housewife from Donuts to Delirium: My Life as a Housewife
Dara from Cookin' Canuck
Zerrin from Give Recipe
Mel from Bouchon for Two

So, that's the seven. Finally, here's a little preview of what you'll be seeing the next two day. It's a 2-parter. Ooooooo... Does this whet your appetite or what???????

Teaser #1

Teaser #2

Cooking Tip of the Day

I realized that it's been a while since I've posted a cooking tip. So here is today's cooking tip. It may or may not be useful to your cooking life, but at least you'll know it for future reference.


You have probably heard of several cooking tips on how to make brown sugar soft again. Well here is one that I like: Put a slice of bread in the package and seal tightly. The sugar will absorb the moisture from the bread and soften up after a few hours or overnight.

Source:
http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/cooking_tips.html



A little side note:
I just want to acknowledge a couple of awards that I received this past week. The first one is from Rebecca from Chow and Chatter. Thank you very much for the award. Special shoutout to her today. Please check her blog out.


The second one is from Heavenly Housewife from Donuts to Delirium: My Life As A Housewife. Special shoutout to her today as well.

The rules of this award is that I pass it along to ten blogs that I have recently discovered. Then, those recipients should do the same.


So here is the ten:

Lisa is Cooking

Bonne Nuitrition

Girlichef

Elra's Cooking

A Blog About Food

Julie Jams

My Tasty Treasures

SheSimmers

Tasty Eats At Home

Pig Pig's Corner


Enjoy!

Racks are cool and friends are too.

Sunday equals a lazy day. So this will be relatively short.

I recently won a giveaway from Evil Shenanigans. The prize...these awesome foldable and stackable cooling racks. I already have a couple round racks for cakes, but this is just what I needed for when I make cookies and bread and other baked goodies. It's a good thing too because I was just asked to bake a little something for a friend who's participating in a March of Dimes event. So I guess it's perfect timing. Thanks, Kelly!

I eagerly wanted to make something quick, you'll see from the pic some bread. I made a wheat version of the French Bread. The treat is on the top rack. Those yummy plump looking things. Recipe to follow. Maybe tomorrow? You'll just have to come back and find out. But I thought this pic would be a nice little teaser for you. Make sure you have a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk on hand because it's a perfect companion for it.



Also, Rebecca at Chow and Chatter and Sweta at Bonne Nutrition were gracious in giving me the Friend award a week ago. Thank you for the recognition. I greatly appreciate it! Be sure to check these lovely ladies out as well as others in the blogroll, too.


Lastly, if you're looking for something else to read that's not food related, I also write another blog called The Misadventures of Little J. It's a weekly blog with postings every Sunday with occasional spontaneous posts as well. Stop on by and check it out. It's my ramblings on everyday life and, of course, entertainment related things.

Happy Eating!!

Mmmmm...Cookies are Awe-Summm

Childhood nostalgia. I remember eating these cookies when I was younger. Ripping open the bag and devouring them in almost one sitting. Sometimes, I'd have the temptation to buy a bag as a walk passed them in the cookie aisle in the grocery. I had no idea that Mother's Cookies had ceased production on these classics last year until Foodbuzz sent an announcement to Featured Publishers that they were being made once again by the Kellogg Company.

I've been nibbling on these for the past couple of days. Sugar rush...yes! It's a big bag and someone's got to eat it. :-p Thanks, Foodbuzz!



Early this week, Dar from Girlichef was kind enough to pass this Awe-Summm award to me. Special shout out to her today. For this award, we're supposed to share 7 Awe-Summm things about our self.


Alright, as if you didn't think last week was enough. LOL. Here's another 7 things that make me Awe-Summm. (Even though, I don't think I'm awesome in any sense. I'm just a regular ol' plain Jane trying to do what I can.) It took me a few days just to think of these 7 because talking about myself isn't one of the most comfortable thing I like to do. I'm the one who prefers to take the picture rather than be in the picture. But if helps to let me be better known to my readers then I gratefully oblige. So here it goes:


1 I'm humble. I credit my mom for raising me the way she did. Being an only child, I've come to appreciate all the things I already have rather than the things I wish I had.

2 I'm pretty knowledgeable in a lot of things from pop-culture to science, even though 95% of the time I may not look the part.

3 I pretty much knew what I wanted to do career-wise since I was little. When people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said I wanted to me a movie director. many years later, here I am trying to do just that. It hasn't changed since. You can check out my website (here) if you want to preview some of my work. =)

4 I started my own production company (Five Foot Filmworks) when I was 21, which was in 2005.

5 I have been mistaken for a high school student a few times. Oddly enough, I don't really get carded at bars and restaurants even though I want them to.

6 I try to be as charitable as I can, when I can.

7 I would love to one do some humanitarian work abroad.


Now I shall pass this along to a few wonderful foodies.

Rebecca at Chow and Chatter
Daily Spud at The Daily Spud
Diana at Diana Takes A Bite

Check these lovely ladies out as well as other fabulous foodie blogs over on the blog roll on the sidebar.

Ciao!

Free Chicken with the Award Winning Julia Child

Yes, I'm guilty. I got the two free pieces of chicken that El Pollo Loco had for their promotion this past Tuesday. I missed the free chicken from KFC on Monday and the free Baskin Robbins Scoop on Sunday, so I wouldn't going to miss this. I have to admit that I did liked it. (*hangs head down low*) Finger lickin' good! Oh, wrong place. Besides, it was free. Who wouldn't pass that up? The only thing I paid for was my drink and that was around a buck.

It was one thigh and a leg a couple of flour tortillas. You could order a side of rice and beans, but you'd had to pay for those. I'm happy with just the chicken and salsa. That thigh piece was pretty large, too. Aside from me slightly burning my fingers as it was still "fresh off the grill" hot, I got a good meal. (Or maybe I was just hungry.)




This week Teresa from A Blog About Food had passed along this award to me and I'm honored to be one of the recipients. It's called the Premio Meme award. Along with the award I'm supposed to list seven things about my personality, then pick seven bloggers to pass this award to.

Well...here's a little something for you all to know me a little better.

1 Introvert - I'm a really shy and quiet person. I value solitude when I can find it. I'm not anti-social. It's quite the opposite really. It just takes me a while to find my barrings.

2 Loving - I'm very much a family and friends person. They're the ones that keep me from getting a big head and I cherish every moment I have with them.

3 Ambitious - I've got ideas and plans. I'll stop at nothing to get those accomplished.

4 Altuistic - I tend to worry more about those around me than I do for myself.

5 Easy-going - I don't like drama. Period!

6 Adventurous - I'm a curious soul wandering through a big world and there's a lot of adventures to be had.

7 Stubborn - I do have my moments, but it's not too often. I'm willing to compromise, if needed.


There you go... seven things. Now for the recipients of this award. The following are just some of the wonderful foodies I follow. Check them out as well as so many others in the blogroll on the sidebar. In no particular order:

Alice at Savory Sweet Life
Jen at My Kitchen Addiction
Kelly at Evil Shenanigans
Pam at For The Love of Cooking
Natasha at 5 Star Foodie
Reeni at Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice
Sophia at Burp & Slurp


Lastly, as many of you readers may know, my other day job involves the imaginary world of movies. Don't worry this ties into food. So when something comes along that brings together two of my passions in life, it's like a kid in a candy store moment.

Julie & Julia (IMDB)
Based on the book by Julie Powell. Directed by Nora Ephron (Sleepless In Seattle/Silkwood) Starring Meryl Streep as non other than Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell.

Synopsis from IMDB: The film follows Powell, a government employee who decides to cook her way through legendary cook Julia Child's classic cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year's time out of her small Queens kitchen. Powell blogs her daily experiences, gaining a loyal following along the way.

The movie looks promising. Haven't read the book yet, but I will. Opens this coming August. I've included the trailer below for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!!

A few food related things and an award

I figured I'd let you all digest that scrumptious food feast from the week. Just a few small things today. How about some cookies to snack on while you muse the rest of today's post? Here's my favorite. Can you name it?



So, I officially entered the Pillsbury Bake-off. Entered 3 recipes. The 100 chosen contestants will be announced in September. Fingers crossed. I'll keep you posted. It turns out that there's no limit as to how many recipes you enter. If I had known that earlier I would have entered more. I still got a tiny bit of time. But I don't want to rush a recipe, just for the sake of entering. There's always next year, too. So for now, it'll just be three.

Also, My Shrimpy Love photo made it onto the Photograzing at Serious Eats yesterday. Sweet!!!

Oh, and I reverted the comment page back to the full separate page commenting. There's seems to be little buggy that some people aren't able to post comments when the comment form is below the post. Boo on the blogspot server, but I still love ya.

Next, I added a little measurement converter. I saw this at Sophies FoodFiles and thought it was a pretty neat idea. It'll be a great help for those who have a hard time converting tablespoons from ounces and so on. It'll make cooking and baking lives a bit easier I think.

Third, I received a little surprise in the mail a few days ago. It was the moo minicards I had ordered last week courtesy of Food Buzz.

These cute little mini business-like cards are a hand little way to promote your business, hobbies and yourself. I had heard about moo.com before from friends and colleagues who have used it for their own. It's really handy compared to carrying around the regular sized business cards. Then when Food Buzz offered to have our first order on them for the Featured Publishers, I was in heaven. The pictures were already selected (32 of them. 100 cards total.) The only thing we had to do was fill out the info we wanted on them.

Can't wait to stand handing them out to people. Nice promotional idea.

Thanks Food Buzz!!





Lastly, the other day I was given a lovely friend award by Kelly at Evil Shenanigans (She ain't evil, I promise!) I send a special shout-out to her today.



Along with the award comes the following description:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.”

It also says : "Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I'm honored, especially in the short time since Bread + Butter began, that I'm able to be among so many wonderful people who love food as much as me. So, it's really hard to choose just 8 when there's so many deserving of this award. I wish to give it to everyone I follow and who follow me, I really do. The recipients mentioned below are just a few of those who've been really awesome in spreading the food love. In no particular order:

Dawn at Vanilla Sugar
Robert-Gilles at Shizuoka Gourmet
DoggyBloggy at ChezWhat?
Pam at For The Love of Cooking
Oyster Culture at Oyster Food & Culture
Tangled Noodle
Eric at Eric Rivera's Cooking Blog
Chrystal and Amir at The Duo Dishes

There are so many more food blogs that I read everyday. You can check some of them out on the Key Ingredient blogroll on the sidebar. (I'm still waiting to get on that Foodie Blogroll as well - *wink wink*)

It's hard for me to express how I truly appreciate all of you who have visited and continue to do so on this ever-growing little blog of mine. It makes doing this everyday even more fun. Thank you so very much!!

Happy eating!!!