mock duck

i like mock anything in a can. one of my favorites is mock duck. the brand i happened to get is diing yuh foods co. you can get this, and other similar items, at any asian market, and it's usually priced under $1. you can't beat that. it tastes great, it's a good meat substitute, and you can pull together a quick meal in minutes. make it fresh by adding your favorite veggies and top it over rice. you can also season it to your own taste since it is not salty or strongly flavored. win-win-win.

if you need help finding an asian market near you, post a comment or email me!

welcome #3?

we have moved yet again. after a crazy stay at LPCH a few months ago, we decided living closer to the hospital was ideal. so....another new kitchen! we had hoped to stay in this apartment for a long time, but we are already setting plans for moving back down south.

anyway, we love our new dwelling. it's in a quaint little area, close to everything we need, and the layout of our place is much more spacious than our sf apt. orion has his own room, so it's much easier for him to sleep. this place is much less cluttered with toys in comparison to our last apt, so it's easier on my eyes.

we are getting the hang of our routine. it's nice that orion has a daily ritual, so it's predictable and i can set my schedule a bit easier. he's usually in bed by 9pm which leaves me the rest of the night for household chores and personal time. bo has been working insane hours, so i have been quite busy with the little guy. i think he's getting bored of me :( he misses dad a lot.

i haven't really been cooking much, i am losing motivation! i haven't been feeling all that well lately, which leaves me with little time and energy to cook full-blown meals. i must try though because I'M getting bored with my own food, which means my family must be too. i also have to state that my brain is in "high-calorie" mode since orion's on a special butter-oil-butter diet. this is not helping my tummy at all! weird though, one of my best friend's said i'm the skinniest she's ever seen me and i look frail. how sad. so i really need to make sure we all eat healthy, good calories and fats, and orion will have his extra butter-oil combo on his plate only. i have been more careful about what i choose at the market. i typically shop at trader joes, and i only buy whole wheat pasta and bread now (though we still eat white jasmine rice), lots of bright fruits and veggies, if we are going to have meat i buy turkey, pork and fish. orion loves tofu, but our local trader joes only offers one kind of tofu??? he really likes anything that's very saucy, but he also hates tomato sauce. seriously, i can't eat alfredo sauce all the time. i want to bake more, especially breads and desserts. so many things i want to do.

i've also decided i really need to break down my blog even more. i want to keep a high-calorie diet section so i can have my ideas out. that way, when i'm not sure what to give orion, i can refer to my blogs and remind myself of his favorites.

time for bed. i have an achy back and i need to rest while i can!

korean and hawaiian in one day

orion had an appointment with early start today. early start is state-provided developmental services for kids in need. anyway, it was pretty close to our house so we walked. the appointment finished around 130 so we decided to grab lunch at one of our favorite korean places on market street called yi ru bbq. one kalbi plate is only $7.99 and you get tons of rib meat, rice, bean sprouts, cabbage and broccoli, and jab jhe noodles (i can never spell it right) plus kimchi, oh and a bowl of miso soup. orion ate like a madman. he ate all tofu out of my soup and bo's, then ate almost half a peanut butter sandwich. he was stuffed.

we walked home after our giant meal and i took a nap with orion while daddy freecycled for me (saving that for another blog). we were going to meet deanna for dinner, so off we went at 6pm to meet at hawaiian drive inn #28 on mission street in excelsior. i've never been here before but i yelped it and it was rated 4.5 stars. wow! amazing food, service, and price! orion and i shared a mini-plate of chicken katsu that came with rice and macaroni salad. $3.70!!! there was still plenty left over that is now sitting in the fridge waiting for me to eat tomorrow. bo ordered the regular plate of teriyaki pork chops, and he too had leftovers. with a drink, our total was less than $10! you can't go wrong with cheap and delicious food. the food is so good, even orion ate a bunch of chicken, and he hates meat! we need to eat out more often ;)

Good Breakfast, Good Dinner

I had an early-morning snack today. I woke up at 4am feeling very hungry, so Bo made me a cheese quesadilla. Delish! I went back to bed and woke up craving an english muffin egg sandwich. While the english muffin toasted, I fried an egg on both sides and seasoned with salt and pepper (no soy sauce today). I then cooked up slices of ham in the pan to avoid chances of getting listeria. I layered it all atop the muffin, and breakfast was ready. It was accompanied with a side of vanilla rice milk.



After taking care of paperwork, it was lunchtime. I was too exhausted to make anything, so we had leftover chinese. Not so exciting, as I had kind of a sick stomach today.

I've been pretty tired lately, so Bo made dinner tonight. On the menu: chicken seasoned with soy sauce, lemon, parsley, basil, and a touch of ginger ale. This was baked in the oven along with diced onions about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. I was so starving, I went ahead and ate and didn't get a picture of the side of spinach he made. The spinach was boiled in water and was really, really good (soy sauce and salt, what else?).



Chocolate has been one of my biggest cravings lately, so I couldn't resist the bag of Chips Ahoy Bo bought today. Sooooo good with vanilla rice milk!



I am ready for bed :)

Busy day, not much cooking

I woke up starving this morning after a restless night of sleep. I think I had too much sugar the night before. I decided to make eggs seasoned with garlic salt, black pepper, soy sauce (yes, I put soy sauce in everything), and some dried herbs - I can't remember which one I used. I sauteed diced onions first, added the egg, then added quartered grape tomatoes. I served it with a couple of tangerines for sweetness.



With a break between doctor's appointments, we came back home for some lunch. Just leftovers from last night's dinner, nothing too fancy.

After two more doctor's appointments and lots of walking around, I was too exhausted and cramped to cook the chicken fried rice I had planned for dinner. We opted for a nearby chinese restaurant Chef Liu (Mountain View) and ordered to go: beef fried rice ($5) and green onion beef ($7.95). Man, do they give you tons of food! It definitely satisfied my craving for beef.




I also told myself I would not have any sweets tonight so I can get some good sleep. I couldn't resist that bright lime green jiggler in the fridge, so here I am, up and energized again.

Valentine's Surprise

I had breakfast in bed this morning! There was even a menu for me to order from :)



I ordered the buttermilk waffles with syrup, a side of fresh strawberries, and potatoes with onions, bellpeppers, and salsa.



For lunch, I made chicken and cheese quesadillas. The chicken was marinated in salt, black pepper, garlic salt, soy sauce, dried parsley, and dried oregano, served on a tortilla with mild cheddar cheese and a side of salsa. I was too hungry, I did not take photos.

The special Valentine's Day dinner was simple and tasty!

Eazy Cheesy Pennette:
I sauteed some freshly chopped garlic in olive oil. Next came diced white onion. After sweating the onion, I added ground beef that was seasoned with garlic salt, black pepper, and dried basil. After browning, I added a simple marinara sauce and seasoned with more salt and basil. While this sauce simmered, I started to cook the pennette very al dente. Once finished, I added it to the sauce, tossed the mixture with mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese. I then topped it with even more mozzarella and parmesan (I really adore cheese). The pan was covered in foil and baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. After baking, I took the foil off and broiled it for ten more minutes. Voila!



This dish was served in our very cool square bowls and topped with basil and parmesan cheese.

For dessert, I was feeling a bit nostalgic for childhood sweets, so I made lime Jell-o and chocolate pudding. No pictures, I couldn't figure out a way to nicely present bright green Jell-o.