It's My Birthday!!!

The day finally came... it couldn't come soon enough...?  In any case, I had an awesome birthday.  Everyone from my family to my friends made this day so incredibly special starting a week ago.  From organizing an amazing dinner to heart warming cards and thoughtful gifts, I could not have asked for more.  Maybe an iPad 2 but no, seriously, this is probably my best birthday yet.  I can't wait for next year!

Enough with my being chatty - enjoy the photos.

The birthday started out with a beautiful bouquet from Winston Flowers.  My favorite place to give and receive flowers.

First thing on Monday morning, I was given a whole boxful of these delightful cookies! Who can resist Momofuku Milk Bar Cookies?! Not I.

The next surprise came from Beacon Hill Chocolates,

and I got macarons!!!

Then my coworkers put together this spread for me. Best. Place. To. Work. Ever.

Can you feel the love?!

My friend Lola bakes me a margarita cake - there was rum in the frosting.  Can we all say YUM now? Yes, I'm trying to make a wish.

My mother made me a platter of 50 egg rolls.  Very, very delicious and yes, I'm partial.

The rest of the spread came from Trader Joe's.  I didn't have time to cook.  :(

Spinakopita, mac n' cheese balls, taquitos!

More taquitos and more egg rolls.

And the night ended like this...

Sorry, can't post the rest... :D

Practicing Self-Compassion

As an early birthday gift, my friend Lola gave me two shirts that say, “I <3 My Two A Days”.  She said it reminded her of me since I say that so often.  Yes, there are days when I actually do my two-a-days but that’s not the point of this post.  The point is why is it that we don’t treat ourselves as well as we treat our friends and family?  I know, I tell you the point without your having to dig for it.  I thought of this idea today when a friend brought it up since I told him how much self-loathing I engage in when I miss a workout.  The problem with today is that I am sick.

Here’s the background, every morning between the wee hours of 6-7 AM, my Lola sends me a text message with her workout plan.  Sometimes, she’s already gone for a 6 mile run and on other days, she’s already done her boot-camp training.  I then update her with my plans for the morning with the potential plan of an after work workout.  She then tells me whether she’s in or out.  “Are you in or are you out?” I think that line comes from Bruno.  We share different workout ideas, new foods to include in our diets, and support each other to overcome our mid-afternoon sweet cravings. 

So it was of no surprise that even though I felt like crap yesterday, I agreed to head to yoga after work.  I was told that I looked pale and green after my workout.  Yeah, no bueno.  Today, I feel even worse and was put on antibiotics but somehow, I managed to squeeze in a workout.  Again, no bueno.  I think there’s an addiction to breaking a sweat and panting heavily after an amazing workout.  Maybe? No?

I guess the real question is why can’t I treat myself better.  I’ve often complained on this blog that I find it so hard to cook for one and easier to cook for two.  I guess that is because I find it easier to take care of another person than it is to take care of myself.  Missing a workout is not going to hurt me in any way – it’s not like if I were to miss a day of strength training that I will lose everything I’ve gained.  Or is it because of the extrinsic value we learned as children that the harder we work the more we gain – such as money for every “A” received, prizes for every book read, etc.  I think the new-age parenting focuses more on the intrinsic value, which fosters drive and motivation within the child.  In other words, the child somehow decides that activity is what he or she wants to do regardless of what he or she might gain in monetary prizes, however, if any is gained then it is just a bonus but it doesn’t take away or give more to the pleasure of the act.  Was that too complicated?

I think one of my goals this year is to practice self-compassion.  As my birthday is slowly approaching, I’d like to learn how to truly take care of myself, be nicer to me, and allow myself to enjoy activities without thinking of it as loss and gains but more as pleasures in life that create growth and drive.

Anna & Amanda Bike to AOU BBQ!

Amanda and I have witnessed many of our colleagues biking to work everyday and deep down, we were uber jealous of their fierceness.  You see, we're deathly afraid of biking on the streets - come on, cars are on it! So, we thought it would be hilarious and quite the adventure if we were to bike to our unit's BBQ in North Cambridge, which is approximately 6.2 miles away from Back Bay.  We saw two bikes left at thehubway station by Copley Library and claimed our game. However, I do not recommend this method - these bikes were super expensive! At the end of the day, it cost us each $72 to rent the bikes for 5 hours.  I believe Urban Adventures Bike by the Waterfront only costs $35 for 24 hours rental.

Here are some photos from our silly adventure to North Cambridge and one that we survived without much damage!

This is by the Charles River - how gorgeous and merely two blocks from my apartment!

We found some nice strangers to take our photo but because it was so sunny - I made a silly face - not sure if you can make it out or not. 

We made it to the BBQ drenched in sweat. 

Then I spent most of my time playing with this lil' lady - she is SO SO SO cute.  I really mean that. She was fascinated with my hand and thought it was a toy. 

And then we did this... no worries, we took the train to Charles MGH and biked our way home and of course, making a pit stop at the Apple Store. Just because. 

Last night's dinner at Russell House Tavern was great success!  Having all my wonderful friends there reminded me that moping over a lost phone was the silliest thing I could have done all day. I got some amazing gifts and can't wait to use them!

The Obsession w/ My iPhone

(nope, not about food...)

Trust me, I’ve read endless articles on those who sleep with their phones under their pillow just in case someone texts them in the middle of the night.  I used to shake my head in shame at how one could be so attached to technology.  After all, it’s just a phone, right?

No, wrong. I was totally and completely wrong.  How do I know this?  I lost my iPhone less than 48 hours ago and my world has turned upside down and all around - not to sound so cliché.  You see, I’ve been an iPhone user for as long as I know it and looked forward to all the upgrades over the years.  I was particularly impressed with the iPhone 4 and liked it more than I liked my first few iPhones – and maybe I’m only saying this because it’s the only iPhone I’ve since lost.  What I am really trying to say is that I have become completely obsessed and attached to my iPhone without even knowing it.  Yeah, that’s bad.  Let me explain.

Within the last 48 hours, I have come back to the same establishment, where I believe I lost my phone, 5 different times.  I have made over 15 phone calls and written at least 10 emails.  I’ve even scoured postings on Craigslist just to make sure that no one stole my phone and is trying to sell it on the black market.  I think the Find My iPhone site is now my homepage. Fortunately and unfortunately, it tells me that my iPhone is still at that establishment but that establishment can’t seem to find my iPhone.  The frustration is overwhelming.  And when the establishment asked me what my iPhone looked like, this was my description: “black iPhone 4 in a teal Speck case”.  Seriously?

My girlfriends tried to commiserate with me, one said, “oh at least you had a good time on the date, right?” I said, “are you kidding me, there’s nothing more reliable than my phone – for goodness sake, I sleep with it every night!” 

My coworker asked me to join her and a group of friends for happy hour after work and I told her that I needed to go home and mourn the loss of my phone.  Yeah, I’ve got issues.

I even told another girlfriend that I’d rather watch my Herve Leger dress burn in a flaming pit of fire than lose my iPhone ever again.  For those who know me, they know I love my Herve Leger bandage dress.  That was a bold statement.  I might even go as far as saying I’d give up chocolate for the next year.  It is pathetic I’m telling you.

All of a sudden, I don’t know how to coexist in this world anymore.  I walk around now with my old iPhone 3G activated so that I have contact with the outside world, yet, I feel so foreign.  The identity that came with owning a new iPhone 4 in a sleek teal Speck case is now gone and all I’m left with is using an outdated model suffering from serious wear & tear.  Since I just synced my old iPhone 3G with my computer, all of what I had on my iPhone 4 is gone… photos from London, of my dog sleeping with a ball in her mouth, and random photos of my friend’s cute lil’ baby.  My apps are all unorganized and not in the appropriate folders, the fonts look different, and everything is so much slower.  I’ve lost my recent contact information, my calendar has disappeared, and everything just looks so darn fuzzy!  Just from my description, you would wonder how I ever functioned with that phone.

Fortunately, the establishment’s security department has not called me back yet to confirm that they have or do not have my iPhone 4 in their safe somewhere.  So, there’s still a little hope but it’s feeling quite meek.

I am looking forward to civilization and forking over $700 for a new one.  No, not really.  

Pig Cheeks, Snails & Lovage (St. John Hotel)

If you refer back to my London post, you'll see that I ate at the St. John Hotel in Leicester Square and orderd this very dish.  It is so exciting to see it featured in Travel + Leisure Magazine World's Best Awards issue (August 2011).

YAY!

Pork, Shrimp, and Fish Dumplings w/ Shiitake Mushrooms

I have made dumplings more time on this blog than anything else.  I should start a dumpling wholesale business.  Seriously, I mean it.  You can start placing orders.  I can't help it - they're just so fun to make and makes my heart flutter with joy.  If my heart can flutter... or makes my heart beat with joy?  Whatever, you get the point. These are a lot more dim-sum like than any other ones... I think because of the protein density.

On another note, I'm going to Stockholm in September! To visit my old roommate from Israel.  I have not seen him in over 5 years so I totally can't wait.  He's now a make-up artist at Christian Dior.  I totally can't wait.  Let me pull up some throwback photos.

This was us at some ultra cool hookah lounge somewhere in the old city of Jaffa

Us in Jerusalem (there are very few photos of me wearing sunglasses)

Us in Taba, Egypt

Oh! Just looking at these photos make me so excited and can't, can't wait to see him in Stockholm and see his new life there! 

It must also be something about Israel that I decided to make both pork and shrimp - damn, I'm just missing a dairy product in this thing. 

In the mix:

1.5lbs of ground pork

2 cups of minced tilapia

1.5 cups of minced shrimp

1 cup of minced shiitake mushrooms

1 egg

3 Ts of fish sauce (oyster brand)

2 Ts of sugar

1/2 T of chopped chili peppers

Pile of cleaned and gutted shrimp - gosh, these things are so high maintenance. I would definitely hire someone to clean shrimp for me. 

Mincing it until it turns paste-like. 

Just like this. 

Rinsing these suckers and squeezing them well. 

Minced shiitake mushrooms. 

Nice and firm tilapia filets. I really don't like tilapia on its own so I think it was perfect to add them into the dumpling mix. 

All minced up.

These guys are very spicy so use with caution. 

Adding the fish sauce.

I used this brand but you can use whatever else you have on hand like the two crabs or three crabs or four... whatever.

Add a few drops of vinegar. Do it. I promise it will help your dumplings taste better and super terrific. 

Combine super well.  At this point, I just put my hands in there and made sure that it was all well mixed together. 

My set up. I was making a ton so I really needed to take a seat. For wrapping instructions, do visit any other links to my previous dumplings making adventures. 

I made about five plates like this and plan on freezing most of it. 

This was the best photo I could take with very dirty hands as you can see... they were definitely yummy and reminded me of the ones I get at dim sum. 

ENJOY!

Mike's Pastry, North End, Boston

Okay, if you've been to Mike's Pastry before in the North End, then you know that there is often a very long line out the door.  DO NOT GO TO THE END OF THE LINE. This is not how it works at Mike's Pastry and because of this line, every other person who comes after will do the same.  By the time you make your way up to the front of the line, which might take over an hour, you will notice that there is a big sign inside the store that says, "Do Not Form A Single Line", yet that is exactly what every other person will do.

The way it works at Mike's is that you just have to find a way into the store, which means you must ignore the line and go straight on in and make your way up to the counter. Once inside, you'll notice the one person who is too polite, keeps waiting behind with 5 people deep without attempt to move forward - do not wait behind this person - will unfortunately stand there forever, and you my friend is now too smart to do the same. If you see any space to navigate then move on up to the counter and order. No one will say anything to you - in fact, the ladies behind the counter told me this themselves - they have no idea why people line up and wait.

Fun fact of the day.

Random Teaser Photos

So, in finding creative ways to stay in touch while he's embarking on this around the world trip... I receive a lot of food photos as teasers, really. Also, another random thought: while watching TV last night I saw a commercial re: the Olive Garden and their cooking school in Italy and I'd like to visit one day.

Beijing, China:

Again, half eaten. Hakka food he says...

Shrimp on a stick and buried in sand?!

Shanghainese Fish w/ Fern?

Korean BBQ in Seoul

Cupcakes in Seoul

MPM's 28th

This is just a photo MPM took in Beijing of foods he thinks I'd like - scorpions, beetles, worms, etc.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend for sure! I'm glad I'm not turning 28 anytime soon. Not really.

A friend of ours invited us to their place out West (the suburbs) for lunch and we couldn't resist the opportunity to get out of the city. It was also a nice opportunity to show our California friend the other side of Massachusetts. We got zipcar and I drove - made it out to Southborough in under 20 minutes. YEAH!

We were treated to an awesome lunch of fresh greens and grilled steak tips. Our friend, originally from the South mentioned that steak tips are nowhere to be find there and thinks of it as a New England treat. I couldn't help but wiki steak tips and from which I learned that they are also popular in the Central Coast and Valley of California. Interesting.

I forgot to take a picture but MPM took one and I'll ask for it later... but he had a cake surprise with a ninja on top from Gerardo's Italian Bakery out in Westborough. It was a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and italian whipped cream frosting. All I ate was the frosting - what cake?!

Anyway, the weekend was filled with dinner at Cambridge1 (lots of pizza!), scorpion bowl at Hong Kong (of course), birthday dinner at Craigie on Main (disappointed in both food and service*), drinks at Bond, dinner and drinks at Lolita - lots of tequila consumed, and more food and wine from Panzano Market (great place if you're ever out in Southborough!). We got great wine, boar sausage, coppa, fig spread, bread, and many different types of italian cheeses with names I can't recall.

The spread on my coffee table. Never asks boys to take photos - everything is half eaten when this photo was taken. Do you notice that I have these awesome tags for the wine glasses so no more guests asking "is this mine or yours".

The peppered sausage was from Whole Foods and the pate from Trader Joe's - how awesome. That's the boar sausage all nice and sliced. Coppa in the background. Also from Panzano.

I had bought a bunch of persimmons so there they are all skinned and quartered.

Dinner at Craigie. Two birthday boys. Peanut butter ice cream cake from the in house pastry chef. Awesome-o.

Sunday Cooking

Making up for lost time. Nah, this is how it goes down in my kitchen. Focusing on one dish requires too much attention on my part.

Vietnamese caramelized pork with pickled mustard greens.

After 20 minutes, voila!

Prepping the winter melon for a delicious soup.

Nice and diced!

I cooked it in a simple chicken broth with pea pod leaves.

The winter melon is cooked when it is translucent.

Poached drumsticks in a cold water bath. Preppin' for more sticky rice!

Hand shredded.

Throwing the chopped shiitake mushrooms into the broth mix.

The overnight soaked glutinous rice.

You get this after you cook all the necessary ingredients together.

Okay! I'm done cooking for the day and looking forward to tomorrow for MPM to get into town. YAY!