mom's 粽子

Originally I wanted to plan a 端午節 party this year with friends, where we could wrap 粽子 together. We did that a couple of years ago and it was really fun. Things got busy what with trip planning and all, so that idea fell by the wayside. But, my mom made a bunch over the weekend and gave me a bag, so at least I could have fresh 粽子, even if I hadn't made them myself.

After eating some yesterday night, I have to say my mom's 粽子 are noticeably better than mine. They were very delicious. Must figure out what I'm doing wrong...

unnecessary guilt

Why does American society conspire to make women like this feel guilty? What's wrong with not thinking the world revolves around your kids, anyway?

She says, of loving her husband:
...I am far too busy worrying about what's wrong with me. Why, of all the women in the room, am I the only one who has not made the erotic transition a good mother is supposed to make? Why am I the only one incapable of placing her children at the center of her passionate universe?

Yet, her husband does not seem to feel the same guilt:
He seems entirely unperturbed by loving me like this. Loving me more than his children does not bother him. It does not make him feel like a bad father. He does not feel that loving me more than he loves them is a kind of infidelity.

It's tempting to chalk her thoughts up to one woman's worrying too much, but anecdotally, it does seem that friends and family of new parents act like the mothers should be able to think of nothing but their babies.

From the article:
Actually I remember very little of my Percocet- and Vicodin-fogged first few days of motherhood except for someone calling and squealing, "Aren't you just completely in love?" And of course I was. Just not with my baby.

Honestly, one of the things that makes me fear having children is that so many parents say that "it changes your whole outlook on life". I don't want to revel in sleep deprivation and go around saying things like "it's all worth it" and become a social hermit but not even care. If I do have kids, I hope that I can be at least as grounded as the author of this piece, and still maintain other priorities. (But, without the guilt complex.)

daytrip to Point Reyes

Since I'm leaving for Peru next weekend, I didn't want to make big plans for Memorial Day, but I did want to get out of the house, so I decided to plan a daytrip to Point Reyes.

We started out in Novato, and stopped briefly at the Rouge et Noir cheese factory and the Tomales Bay Oyster Farm before heading to lunch at Nick's Cove. There, we had local fresh oysters (the Preston Point was especially good), clam chowder with leeks and bacon, a fried oyster and pork po' boy for D, and a Camembert and salami sandwich for me.

After lunch we drove down to the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station, where I discovered I liked their "Red Hawk" even better than their classic triple-cream "Mt. Tam". I also bought some delicious "Cave Aged Marisa", and a Spanish Fig Almond Cake.

From there we headed towards the Point Reyes Lighthouse. The road was a bit windy (WINE-dy) and the weather was very windy (WIN-dy), but we had a good time driving around, enjoying the views, and walking the short distance down to the lighthouse:


On the way back, I mostly enjoyed gawking at the fields of cows. In some places there weren't even any fences between the cows and the road. It was there that I realized they are very placid animals; our presence apparently did not bother them at all:


We did try walking along the Mount Vision trail for a bit but the day was too foggy to see much of anything, let alone a view, so we soon headed home, briefly detouring through Samuel P. Taylor Park, mostly for nostalgia's sake. I used to go there all the time as a kid, and I even remember specifically learning to jump rope there, when I was about five or six years old.

The rest of the weekend was pretty chill. There was a birthday dinner, a housewarming party (at which I tried Kopi Luwak coffee, which my cousins and I will probably forever call "poop coffee"), some board games (of course), and tonight we watched the Nuggets-Lakers game at a friend's house (beat LA!), but overall I feel quite well rested, for once. Time to start packing...

gardening

This year, we've actually started to grow some fruit and vegetable plants in our backyard. (I myself have done nothing to contribute to this process; I just sit around and take pictures.)

They're pretty small as of yet but still fun to watch. And, the tomato plants in particular have started to grow really fast recently.

Tomato plants:


Strawberry plant:


Watering the cucumber plants:

adventures in ice cream

A few months ago, I was chatting with a friend about our impressions of Bi-Rite's ice cream, and she suggested I try Humphrey Slocombe, since I have a penchant for weird flavors.

Last weekend before the Bay to Breakers, D and I went to the city to drop off a bag at a friend's house (since she was feeding us and letting us shower and hang out at her house after the race). It was a pretty hot day so it didn't take much to convince her and her boyfriend to join us for an ice cream run to Humphey Slocombe.

The store is located kind of on the edge of the Mission, at 24th and Harrison, which may explain why the line was not too bad. I tasted the Balsamic Caramel and the Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, and decided I liked the latter much better than the former. D tasted Cinnamon Brittle and made a face, so we decided on White Miso Pear, Milk Chocolate Passionfruit, and the Vietnamese Coffee that I'd liked. I thought the Miso Pear was so-so (although D liked it) but liked the Milk Chocolate Passionfruit quite a bit, even though it sounds kind of disgusting. It tasted mostly like chocolate, with a tart-fruity aftertaste.

Overall I thought their flavors were more inconsistent than Bi-Rite, but more ambitious. There were several which we actively disliked (Balsamic Caramel, Cinnamon Brittle), but then there were the surprisingly good ones (Milk Chocolate Passionfruit for me, White Miso Pear for D) and the solid "regular" flavors (Vietnamese Coffee). I think I'll have to reserve judgment until I try a bunch more.

I'm most intrigued by the cheese flavors (Andante Chevre Strawberry Jam, Government Cheese) and the meat flavors (Foie Gras, Pistachio Bacon). Others that sound interesting include the Secret Breakfast (bourbon & corn flakes), Green Tea-Black Sesame, the Peanut Butter Curry, and maybe the McEvoy Olive Oil. I quite liked the Honey Lavender gelato I got from Gelato Classico a couple of weeks ago, so I'm also tempted by White Chocolate Lavender and Lychee Rose Petal. Sounds like I'll have to stop by multiple times...good thing it's the beginning of summer.

Dutch oven, check

A couple of months ago I tried to make bread using the popular No-Knead Bread recipe from the New York Times.

Two things went wrong:
- The recipe clearly states the bread should rest for "at least 12 hours, preferably about 18". Unfortunately, I interpreted this to mean that it was okay for the bread to rest longer, so I left it for over 24 hours. Of course, all the yeast died, so the second rise didn't work.
- The bread is supposed to bake in a "heavy covered pot". I put the dough in one of my trusty non-stick Calphalon pots, happily stuck it in the oven, and went upstairs to work on other stuff while it baked. It wasn't until twenty minutes later, when I smelled burning plastic, that I realized the pot had plastic handles. I cooled off the handles with cold water and continued to bake for the requisite 30 minutes. My poor pot will no longer be the same.

All things considered, the bread turned out surprisingly well. It smelled absolutely delicious when it came out, and although it was denser than it would have been had the second rise worked, it was still yummy enough that we polished off the loaf in two days.

After that episode, I became obsessed with the idea of buying a Dutch oven. I do subscribe to Alton Brown's theory of not buying single function kitchen tools, but I convinced myself that there are lots of other things that can be made in a Dutch oven, like stews, roasted meats, etc. I did my usual crazy internet research thing for several weeks and finally decided to splurge on a Le Creuset, courtesy of multiple BB&B gift cards and one of those ubiquitous 20% coupons.

Of course, now I'm going to be out of town the next three weekends, so I guess I won't be attempting to bake bread again for awhile. Maybe I'll make some when my brother comes to visit in July; I hear he's quite the cook these days.

eek!

My spinning instructor quit teaching my spin class! Apparently her schedule got too crazy, so she decided to only teach Pilates classes, at least at my gym. I'll miss her a lot; her teaching style is super upbeat but she's also great at motivating without resorting to yelling. Much sadness...

finished!

Several months ago, a friend convinced me to sign up for the 12k (7.46 mile) Bay to Breakers, even though I'd never run more than 5 miles before. Since then I've worked on longer distances, finally hitting the 7 mile mark last weekend.

On Saturday D and I stayed overnight at that friend's SoMa loft, as he lives walking distance from the starting line. We were up by 6am, met up with some other friends and got out the door around 7am, and were at the starting line dodging flying tortillas by 7:30am. This year there was a new "corral" system in place, and we were in Corral C (< 12-minute miles), the third of five corrals.

We spent some time zigzagging our way forward through the crowd in the beginning of the race, but were mostly clear of the slowest traffic by the time we hit the Hayes Street Hill. The hill was pretty tough, but on the bright side, we seemed to pass more people than passed us. There was a convenient water stop just over the top, where we grabbed a gulp or two of water before proceeding. At this point I'd lost everyone that I'd started with, except my running buddy who I'd been training with for the past couple of months; I guess we were more used to keeping track of each other.

During the fourth mile, we passed by another friend's house on the Panhandle, and were able to wave hello as she peeked through her second-story window in her pajamas. Soon afterwards, we entered Golden Gate Park. At first I thought it was a nice change, but by the fifth mile I was tired of the crappy asphalt, lack of shade, and increasingly warmer (maybe low 70s?) temperatures.

I perked up a bit after hitting the 6-mile marker; in my strange little mind there seems to be a large difference psychologically between being "only 1.x miles from done" as opposed to "over 2 miles from done". So, I was able to finish pretty strong, sprinting the last quarter mile down Ocean Beach.

Thanks to those expensive RFID tags, we were able to see our results almost immediately; I finished in 01:15:38.290, which made me 4182nd overall, 1044th among women, and 338th among women in my age division. It also calculates to 10:09 per mile, which means I almost hit my stretch goal of 10-minute miles.

Anyway, it feels good to be done, even if I am still dehydrated today, after having drunk at least eight bottles of water yesterday.

Next up, Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail. I think I'm just starting to realize that I'll be in Peru in less than two weeks! Time to hit the stairmaster and dig up all that camping gear...

Taiwanese orchids

One of my coworkers is obsessed with photographing flowers; he does a really good job even with the random shrubs between the buildings at work. So, when I was at the Taiwanese American Cultural Festival last Saturday in Union Square, and I saw a ton of gorgeous orchids from Taiwan, I decided to give it a shot, too. This is my favorite:

Vosges tasting

Last month when I was in Las Vegas, I discovered a Vosges store inside of the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. I was pretty psyched about it since I thought they only had stores in Chicago and New York.

Anyway, the night before we left, I swung by and bought a ton of chocolate: two boxes of truffles (Italiana, Green), three bars (bacon, mushroom, goji), and one box of exotic caramels. The truffles and caramels are long gone, but I just started on the last bar today. I've written down my thoughts about all the different chocolates below.

Exotic Caramels
Crema: Argentinean dulce de leche + Costa Rican cashews + milk chocolate
Sunshine: tupelo honey + milk chocolate + bee pollen
Maple: Canadian maple sugar + maple syrup + walnuts + dark chocolate
Tarte: blood orange + Campari® + dark chocolate + hibiscus powder

I surprisingly did not like the blood orange, as it was too-caramel-y and definitely not orange-y enough. The maple syrup was pretty good, and the dulce de leche was not as sweet as I'd feared (having been to Argentina recently), but nothing stood out about them. Even the bee pollen was fairly bland. As you can tell, I was not a big fan of the caramels.

Collezione Italiana
Rooster: Taleggio cheese + organic walnuts + Tahitian vanilla bean + bittersweet dark chocolate
Sale del Mare: Sicilian sea salt caramel + milk chocolate + pine nut
Polline di Finocchio: Wild Tuscan fennel pollen + dark chocolate
Olio d'Oliva: First press extra virgin olive oil + white chocolate + dried kalamata olives
Balsamico: 12-year aged balsamic vinegar + dark chocolate + Sicilian hazelnuts

My favorite of this collection was the Sale del Mare. I'm not sure if it was the pine nut or what, but there was definitely something in addition to salt that I really liked. The Rooster was quite good as well; the cheese taste was subtle, although it got stronger towards the base. The Olio d'Oliva was fine, although I'm not so much a fan of white chocolate, but the Balsamico was too sour (the vinegar overwhelmed the chocolate) and the Polline di Finnochio was also too strong for my taste. Maybe I'm not a fan of fennel, either. Overall I thought the collection was more creative than the Aztec, and about on par with the Exotic, although that one has the edge of greater variety.

Green Collection
Ellateria: Indian green cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy seeds
Kaffir: Thai kaffir lime + fresh coconut + dark chocolate
Kayoko: Japanese macha green tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom petals
Buddha's Leaf: Malaysian pandan leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder

For me, the standout in this group was the Kaffir, which also trumped all of the Italiana truffles. The dark chocolate was delicious, there was a refreshing lime aftertaste, and the coconut was not too sweet (as it sometimes is). The Ellateria and Kayoko were both yummy and well executed, but I'm a bit tired of cardamom in desserts, and again am not as fond of white chocolate. Also, the cherry blossom taste in the Kayoko was strong and fragrant, but there wasn't enough tea flavor for my taste. The Buddha's Leaf tasted fine too, but the pandan leaf flavor was pretty weak, so it mostly tasted like dark chocolate with cocoa powder. I liked this collection quite a lot; definitely more than the Italiana and the Aztec, about as much as Exotic. It's a shame it's a limited (spring-only) edition.

Mo's Bacon Bar: applewood smoked bacon + Alder wood smoked salt + deep milk chocolate, 41% cacao
Organic Enchanted Mushroom Bar: organic dark chocolate + reishi mushrooms + organic walnuts, 66% cacao
Goji Bar: goji berries + pink Himalayan salt + deep milk chocolate, 41% cacao

My favorite of the bars was the Goji Bar. The sea salt was delicious (I love salty chocolate) and the dried goji berries added wholesome sweetness and texture but weren't too chunky. The Bacon bar was also well done; the bacon bits made the bar slightly salty and crunchy but the overall taste remained surprisingly cohesive. The Enchanted Mushroom was so-so; I felt there wasn't enough mushroom flavor, and I couldn't find any walnut taste at all.

geography

Some friends and I have been researching possible restaurant venues for a party that we're planning for next month. We finally found a good candidate last week, but wanted to see it in person, so we decided to go and check it out today.

We met up in Mountain View for dinner, where the following conversation ensued:

her:	Okay, so meet you in Los Altos?
me:	It's in Los Gatos.
her:	What? Really?? ...long pause...
her:	Holy shit that's far!
me:	Yeah.

As it turns out the place was quite nice and we're likely to have the party there anyway. It took me nearly 40 minutes to drive home, though.

strategy

Overheard during an epic 4-on-4 battle, at our Starcraft LAN party on Friday night:
"We just have to hold out for another 15 minutes and <opposing player> will give up. He has RSI."

We're all good friends, really! (He did give up.)

mistaken identity

I have a pretty common name, so sometimes I find myself the victim of mistaken identity.

For instance, I have an alter ego (who apparently is not too clear on her own email address) living in lower Manhattan. Over time I've been sent her street address, some of her credit information, and her login credentials for several websites. One time I even got hate mail meant for her, from a woman in New Jersey. Apparently the "other me" was getting a bit too cozy with that girl's 19-year-old boyfriend.

There's another person with my name, who works for a company formerly located at my current office. I've gotten several letters intended for her over the years. Last week, I received her Wells Fargo RSA SecurID crypto keychain. I keep meaning to call Wells Fargo about it, but I've been too lazy to do so as of yet.

sigh

I must really be getting old when people younger than me are on their second marriages.

duh

Last week, after running three times in a six days, I started to have some back pain. I've actually had occasional issues with back pain since college, usually lasting a week or so, and with months and sometimes years between episodes. I tried stretching, resting (1-2 days), and ignoring the problem, but nothing worked until yesterday, when D suggested Salonpas. Only after he mentioned it did I remember that last time it was indeed Salonpas that cured me. Four hours later I was sitting upright, standing up normally, and carrying bags of groceries (okay, one bag). Chalk up another one for wacky Japanese remedies.

probably not the point

I went to the symphony yesterday to watch The Four Seasons, as well as a Mozart Divertimento (not a big fan) and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. It was an enjoyable performance, but I was most amused that the first viola snapped a hair in her bow three separate times, and every time she looked increasingly annoyed about it.