Boo!

Boo! Happy Halloween!

Tee hee. This is the time of year that everyone alike - kids and big kids - think about candy. There is candy all over. I am trying to resist buying bags and bags of it. No one to share it with. I am not a candy freak but I enjoy buying candy for others to enjoy. I wonder how the economy will affect it this year. I have been progressively seeing dwindling numbers of kids over the past years and years. Well, we shall see. I hope the kids have fun. Big and little.

Boo!

Happy Hour Friday - Screwdriver

Hmmm...I did not want to list any exotic drinks that have pumpkin (for Halloween). I want to keep the happy hours easy. But something orange or black. Espresso martinis came to mind but not everyone will have espresso around. I will save that for a future happy hour. How about something plain and simple like a Screwdriver. Almost everyone's first exposure to alcoholic drinks.

Screwdriver

• Fill ice in a tall glass.
• Add 1 oz. vodka.
• Fill with orange juice.

Boo!

Darn it, Obi-Wan!

Saw Angels and Demons awhile ago. A coupla months ago, I think. Still tripping. Dang it.

If you have seen it then you know what my comment means. If not, check out the movie.

Dang it.

Bridge Chaos

Well. The Bay Area has made national news. The Bay Bridge has been closed due to a beam falling onto the bridge. Fortunately, no one was injured. This brings back memories of when the bridge was closed from the Loma Prieta earthquake. We did have scheduled closures the past coupla years but that was widely advertised. This is a sudden closure. The commute is a mess. All over. Blech. Let's hope this closure does not last too long. What a mess.

Klingonese

OMG! I found it. My audio tapes on how to learn to speak Klingonese. But sad to say that I did say audio tapes. What to do now? Find an old Walkman somewhere? See if I can find them in CD form? Sigh. I will just have to ponder that for a later time as this is not the time to be frilly with expenses. But I am happy to just find them. Guess it does not take much nowadays.

:-D

Totally Fried

As in fried chicken. I blew through one of those supermarket take-out fried chicken dinners. Only got through two drumsticks and three thighs. I traded my two wings for one thigh with my sister. She digs wings and, well, I like buffalo wings and not too much into fried chicken wings. Funny though how I said "only" when that is actually quite a meal for most folks. Heck. What can I say? I like to eat! I enjoy the experience - the taste, the sensation, the whole gig. Some people just eat to eat. Not me. The experience for me all the way.

I admit that I ate the skin this time. I usually tear off the skin since it contains about 40% of the fat calories and fat is not all that good for you anyway. At least not chicken skin fat. Okay, okay, okay. Maybe for schmaltz. I got the chicken from the hot food side this time. I usually get the cold fried chicken. But today, I wanted the crunchiness of the chicken skin. I just had too much of it and will surely pay for it tomorrow.

Trotter Craving

It hit me again. Craving for pig's feet. Chinese pickled pig's feet made with black vinegar, ginger and whatever else is in there. Which means I hit up the all-you-can-eat hot pot joint. Today it is really, really busy. First, a van full of Korean tourists arrive. They eye spy the pig's feet. Oh oh. I think they are going after it. Good thing I already filled up one plate. I actually ended up filling up another plateful. Two down. Then a busload of Chinese tourists disembarks. Oh, I am really deep competition now. Yep. I realize I cannot get through this crowd. I shall wait unless I feel like getting into something ugly. No YouTube vids today!

Bottom line. I had way, way too much to eat. I think I just put back on the few pounds I just lost last week. It is probably a wash at this point. Crap. Now I have to start all over again to get those pesky pounds back off. No fun if one is an eater.

:-\

Happy Hour Friday - Pink Squirrel

Since it is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought it would be fitting to have a pink cocktail for this week.

Pink Squirrel

• Fill a martini shaker with ice.
• Add 1 oz. vodka
• Add 2 oz. lemonade
• Add a dash of grenadine
• Shake until blended and drink is cold.
• Strain into a martini glass.

Yum!!

Think Pink

I am sure you are well aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. (C'mon now. The media is blitzing all over about it.) I hope you all will find opportunities to support the cause. I, personally, am eye spying the Bloomie's umbrella for only $12 (!!). At the very least, think about the cause and ones you may know who have been affected by this disease.

More Protein?

Speaking of beef...

I went on Jillian Michael's website to check it out. (She is one of the personal trainers on The Biggest Loser.) I went through one of the assessment tools just to play around. I enter my height, weight, age, gender, current weight and target weight.

It bounces back that my food ratio should be 50/30/20 (50% protein, 30% fat, 20% carbs). This is interesting. It is different from Zone philosophy (40/30/30) which is the usual standard for most people. I am what is termed a "fast oxidizer" since I crave salty snacks, meat and cheese. So, it turns out that my high protein meals were okay to a point. I am supposed to have protein at each meal. Okay, that is fine. I got that one. But I was surprised at the 50% figure. I had went on an extremely high protein diet years and years ago. I can tell you that the ketosis effect is true. Gack. I remember my kidneys aching from trying to process all that protein.

So, now, this assessment tells me to find that happy medium to attack that belly fat (sorry, girls, you know we all have it) and wherever else. This should not be too much of a problem. Well, maybe. I have to get the right portion of protein right. As you may have already read, I am a beef freak. Toss a steak in front of me and I get downright crazy. Stand back and dunt talk to me. Things will be flying and you may get into the crossfire. Outta the way!

Beef Attack

I wonder if my upstairs neighbor is ever bothered by my beef attacks. He is a vegetarian and his kitchen is right above mine. I think you can get the idea that I like to eat a honking steak every now and then. Well, maybe more than now and then. Okay, maybe more than the occasional now and then. I can imagine that he can hear the loud sear of meat. And the smell. I bet it wafts right on up even though I have the stove fan on when I am doing a quick sear. Okay, let me tell you that I like my beef seared on the outside and practically still moving on the inside. More than rare. I have been known to make people queasy just by looking at how raw (yes, raw not rare) my beef is cooked (cooked is actually not a good description). To top it all off, I wonder how he reacts when he hears me sharpening my knife on the electric knife sharpener. The squeal from the device is unique and everyone knows what is going on -- sharpening for the slaughter. Dunt get me wrong. I am much of a salad eater (Peppermill size; think of my nemesis Portion Control) but my body just needs iron at times. So, I make a quick sear and a much quicker retreat out of the kitchen with my dinner.

Oh, forgot to mention that my nemesis Portion Control is always behind me. The steak was a pretty healthy 1-1/2 pounds. I probably have an inner wish to be a competitive eater. Not much of a healthy portion by their standards but pretty big nonetheless (I have done much more damage before).

Gadz, I really like to eat...

Surprise Treat

Found -- a few pieces of macadamia clusters. Hiding in the pantry corner. I tossed them there so I would not fall into the mindless eating trap. Well, they will work for me today. I will think of Hawaii while I am savoring these treats. Yummmm...

Reese's Found!

I (finally!) found the dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cups at Walgreen's. Hmpf. I totally forgot to check for the coco-MMers. Well, I can report that the p-butter cups are not bad. I still wonder what took them so long to get that a-ha moment. I am one of those Reese's eaters who take a bite and then like to have it melt in my mouth. It is that mouth feel that does it for me. Mmmmm...yummy...gooey...tasty...

E-quake Anniversary

Today is the 20th anniversary (!!!) of the Loma Prieta earthquake. This is the earthquake that locals call "The Big One" although the experts say the big one is yet to come. This earthquake was seen around the world since it happened during the World Series held in San Francisco that year. The news showed the devastation -- the Bay Bridge collapsed, the Marina District engulfed in flames. All the power was knocked out and the city was covered in total darkness. It was such an eerie sight. It was also strangely quiet in the streets.

Everyone has a "where were you" story for that day. For me, I was on the commuter bus headed home and we were sitting at a red light at Pine and Leavenworth on the hill. Suddenly, the bus shook. I thought we were rear ended. I looked out the window to my left and saw the streetlight bending and flipping up and down. "What is going on" raced through my mind. The bus continues on its course through the blank lights and when we hit Van Ness (a main cross street) there were lots and lots of people who had run out of buildings into the middle islands for safety. I put on my Walkman (yes, it was that long ago) and try to hit up a radio station. I could only get an AM station. They reported that we had a huge earthquake. It was unbelievable. But true.

And, now, it is the 20th anniversary of that earthquake. It is a bit hard to believe that so much time had passed. Thinking of it brings tears to my eyes.

Happy Hour Friday - Vodka Tonic

I feel like something light and simple for today's happy hour. How about a Vodka Tonic.

Vodka Tonic

• Fill a tall glass with ice.
• Add 1 oz. vodka.
• Fill with tonic water.
• Add lime garnish.

Cheers!

Tut-ally Awesome!

I finally attended the Tut exhibit. Totally awesome. No pics though since photos were not allowed...bummer but expected. It is amazing how the ancient Egyptians made and carved these intricate relics. Amazing...

Bacon Maple Bar

This is the story on my experiment with maple donut bars with bacon.

I had been watching the Travel Channel and caught a story at Voodoo Donuts in Portland. I thought about the concoction and figured it would be worth a try to check it out. Think about it. We have had bacon with pancakes and syrup so the combo should work, right? One of my favorite donuts (when I am being bad eating not so healthy food) is a custard filled maple bar anyway.

I decided to tweak it a bit differently. Instead of placing bacon strips on top of the maple bar, I thought I would cut a slit into the donut and place the strips inside sandwich-like. Verdict - not bad but needs work. I bought the maple bar from a local grocery store instead of going to the local donut shop. I was expecting the chewiness I usually get from the donuts at the donut shop. The grocery store bar was a bit more cakey than I would like. But not bad.

Food is so fun. You do know by now that I like to eat, right?

...yummmmm...

Stormy

Sigh. Stormy and windy day today. First major seasonal rainstorm. The only bright side to this storm (supposedly 2-5 inches depending on location) is that, hopefully, this will help with the water level since we have been in a slight (...) draught this past year. We all could use the rain/water. But the gloom is such a bummer. But a chuckle comes. It reminds me of Snoopy sitting on top of his doghouse typing away and writing something that starts off with "it was a dark and stormy night..."

PB&B

As in peanut butter and bacon. Sandwich. I caught this somewhere on the telly. It had to be either the Food Network or the Travel Channel. Probably the Travel Channel. My sister called it one of the Elvis sandwiches. Not the heart and artery clogging one with bananas but one of them.
This had started with the Travel Channel episode at Voodoo Donuts. They have a maple bar and bacon donut and I have been fixated on experimenting with my own version. More about that on another day.

But back to PB&B. Not bad at all. It is the sweet/salty combo that does it. Peanut butter smeared on hot whole wheat toast (that is a good combo in itself). Smeared on both sides, of course, with the bacon strips in the middle so that both sides of the bacon is covered with warm, gooey peanut butter. Mmmmmm...yummy...

I have to admit that one must have that taste for it. My guess is that it is more a gal thing than a guy thing.

Tasty...

Blue Angels Revisted

The Blue Angels show did get called off yesterday due to the yucky weather. Not surprised. But it took us over an hour to get off that bridge due to the congested traffic. All the busses were packed and the traffic barely moved. And it was freezing. It was windy and I am hoping that we do not catch a chill from hanging out there so long. Such a long, long wait just to go about a mile.

The weather is about the same today so we decide not to repeat the antics from yesterday. But, to my surprise, the Blue Angels did perform. They adjusted the show to fly only low maneuvers since the clouds and fog were a safety concern. I am happy they did fly so their fans would not be disappointed. But I missed the show. Oh, well. Another missed opp. But, hopefully, the weather will hold up next year and I will catch that one!

Blue About Angels

The weather has been iffy all morning. It has been overcast with a wee bit of fog. Willl it hold up for the Blue Angels show this afternoon? I was going to see their practice run yesterday but decided to wait for the weekend to see it with my sister (we hang out as much as we can; she is all I have for family). We decide to make a run for it. We jumped on the bus and got off at the Golden Gate Bridge. The best place to view the show is either on the Marina Green but the traffic is fierce. But we jumped off at the lookout point at the bridge. Not the most ideal place but one can see most of the show from this vantage point.

The Blue Angels flew over for a little then...nothing. We wait. And wait. And then we see the boats on the bay moving off. Leaving. Hmpf. Is the show over? Maybe the weather hosed it all up. Sigh. Oh, well. Maybe we can catch it tomorrow if the fog blow out.

Happy Hour Friday - Cuba Libre

Basically a Rum and Coke with a lime slice.

Cuba Libre

• Fill tall glass with ice. Add 1 oz. rum and fill with Coke.

Cheers!!

Tut-ally Missed

Oh oh. Blew it. Missed my Will Call opportunity to pick up my King Tut exhibit tickets. By the time I finally got to the museum, I missed the window by about a coupla minutes. Just closed. Argh.

Sigh. I will follow up tomorrow and see if I can reschedule those tickets. I wanted to take my sister out to the show. It had been years and years since we had last seen such an exhibit. We were little kids. Probably on a school field trip. (Remember those?) Although, I am a bit bummed (and mad at myself) about juuuuust missing the window, I will not let that mess up the anticipation of seeing the exhibit.

Blue Angels

The Blue Angels are in town! They flew in this morning into the Bay Area for Fleet Week and will be performing this weekend over San Francisco Bay in addition to other performers. I hope the weather holds up (meaning no fog). The Blue Angels are always heart stopping. Definitely a show to see.

The Mist

It is another drizzly foggy day out. Sigh. It has been like this most of the summer. Even when the temperature rose downtown, it stayed cool and foggy out here closer to the beach. Summer means that the fog is heavier, whiter, thicker and closer to the ground. Drizzly enough to wake up to wet streets. Traveling home from downtown on the bus means going through numerous micro-climates. When the bus chugs up the hill towards the neighborhood, you are hit with a wall of thick fog. It makes me think of Stephen King's The Mist. That is how I visualized his novel of creepy creatures living within that realm. What awaits ahead in the midst of the mist? I crawl out of my imagination fog as I am nearing my stop. I ring the buzzer, get off the bus, pull my hood over my head and walk towards the house. I will have to wonder on another day of what lies within the mist.

Reese's

Oh, my! Reese's peanut butter cups with dark chocolate. Well, geez, what took them so long? Oh, my. Now I really have to get one and try it. I am not a chocoholic but dark chocolate is my preference over milk. Reese's minis are the right combo of chocolate and peanut butter. Now, let's see how they do with the dark chocolate. Oh, my...

Castro Street Fair

Castro Street Fair in San Francisco today from 11:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. Have a great time if you are attending.

Pig(feet)ed Out

My sister and I ended up at the Chinese hot pot/all you can eat restaurant. I like going to this place since it has the Chinese version of pickled pig's feet and is the only place I can find this dish. This dish used to be sold at a Chinese deli but it went out of business years ago. The pig's feet is made with black vinegar, ginger, sugar and whatever else. I should look up the recipe and make it one day. For me, this is an old childhood favorite and a craving hits once in awhile. Not quite on the delicacy list (far from it) but it is tasty. Well, to me, that is. Needless to say, I had a whole plate of the pig's feet (hit the buffet twice for these). Pigged/porked out! (oink, oink) Literally...

Music Festivals This Weekend

If you are in San Francisco over the weekend:

The annual Love Parade (now called LovEvolution) is happening tomorow on Market Street in San Francisco. The parade heads up to the Civic Center where a large dance/music festival is held. A cool venue for those who are into dance music. Lots of DJs and many afterparties over the weekend.

Also this weekend is the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival to be held in Golden Gate Park. Lots of rock musicians and other entertainers.

Fall Into Winter

Now that summer has entered in the fall season, a sign of upcoming winter -- holiday seasonal decorations. The city has already put up their holiday lights on one of the main streets in downtown. I eye spied them a few weeks ago and thought how funny because I was wearing a tank top and flip flops out on a nice sunny day. Huh. Well, go figure.