Super Lunch, Super Bowl and... the Feds are coming!!

I forgot to mention in my last blog that we had an awesome department luncheon last month. Our wheelchair vendor gave us $100 for lunch, and without much ado, we high-tailed on over to Lola's Pollo a la Brasa (on Victory & Kester in Van Nuys). I love their chicken. It's got TONS of flavor! A big plus is that it is reasonably priced, $15 plus tax for a whole chicken plus two sides. We always get the fries as one of the sides and this time the other side was beans. LM and I also got a side of Papas a la Huancaina. Delish! Sorry about the picture, I started eating then remembered about taking a picture for this blog. That green stuff is the Aji sauce, which has a nice kick. I often told JMK that we were made for each other, he's from the potato country and I LOVE potatoes.


On Thursday the 29th after a rough day at work, JMK and I went to the Olive Garden for dinner. He got the Steak Tuscano of course (according to him, pasta is poor people food) and I got the Four Cheese Stuffed Mezzaluna with Shrimp. Yum! Unfortunately, I filled up on breadsticks (with Alfredo sauce of course!) and stuffed mushrooms so I had to get a to-go box. JMK had no problem scarving down, 2 Cokes, 6 breadsticks (with sauce), most of the ensalada, half of the mushrooms and all of his dinner. He took his own picture that's why the knife is in the way.



Sunday was no ordinary Sunday, it was Super Bowl Sunday! It's about the only football game that I will sit down for. I was rooting for the underdog like I always do and JMK was confident about Pittsburgh's win. I fell asleep during 2nd Quarter but I did catch Harrison's run down the field. Reason I fell asleep is because I woke up early to cook up these beauties.

Pico de gallo. JMK said it was spicy this time. =)
Potato salad. Red potatoes (I left the skins on for Carlitos), celery, hard-boiled eggs, S & P, mayo and (just a squirt) mustard.
Fruit salad... honeydew, cantaloupe, strawberries, red seedless grapes, and pineapple.
Chicken tenders
Ah!! These chicken wings are naked!
And now they're dressed! Whew!
This is the awesome filling (russet potatoes, green onion, cheddar cheese, sour cream and S & P) that goes inside of...
These critters. They taste like a loaded baked potato wrapped in a tortilla. Yum!
Kabobs a la LM (except for the mushrooms that was all me). I marinated the steak overnight in Lawry's Steak & Chop marinade. Before...
And after.. Yum! The meat had lots of flavor. The peppers were tender. Not bad for a first-time kabob-er eh?
The federal department of health people came yesterday and caught everyone off guard. We passed our state inspection just fine last month, but I am told that these guys are auditing the auditors. I spoke with all three of the inspectors within a span of 30 minutes. Talk about stress. I had answers. I just hope they're the right ones. These guys (two guys and a gal) are here for the week so I guess I have to make nice.

Lovin' From the Oven, Buddy's Birthday Breakfast and a Wedding.

Today I passed around a price list for my baked goods at work. Hiding it just in case my Super was lurking about. Many people seemed to like the idea. Chess was very enthusiastic about it and kept throwing ideas at me (for this Sunday's Super Bowl), I welcomed the suggestions but told him that I'm not doing anything fancy at this point. Dino ordered some Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip cookies. 'melia ordered a dozen Chocolate Chip cookies for her spa weekend next week with all the department managers. Marie placed an order for 2 dozen Peanut Butter cookies and LM wanted a dozen Chocolate Chip cookies. I guess the order forms Carlos gave me for Christmas came in handy afterall. Not bad but I'm a bit apprehensive about it because I've been so lazy and uninspired lately. Now that I don't have any exams to study for, I feel kind of out of place and out of my mind, what to do with all this free time? Time will tell.

Buddy turned 14-years old on Saturday the 24th. She requested to go to dim sum at CBS Seafood in Chinatown. Goober brought her friend AND her fancy justice-balance pin. It was a rainy morning but we got there just in time before the weekend breakfast rush. So without further ado, here are some pictures from that glorious morning when I realized just how old I'm getting.

Place setting

Ha Gow

Pork Ribs with black bean sauce
Shui Mai

Steamed Shrimp Noodles OUR favorite

Gai Bao (Chicken buns)

Ham Sue Gok - Buddy's favorite. We got some nice homemade ones later that same day from our neighbor.
Custard pastry - Nick Nack's favorite

Later that night JMK and I went to Lin's sister-in-law's wedding. Dinner was delicious. Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and mushrooms were accompanied by mashed potatoes, green beans, baby carrot and yellow squash. The person at our table who ordered the vegetarian meal left before dinner so we passed her plate around and everyone just picked something off of it.


The wedding cake was gorgeous but I'm not a big cake fan so it didn't do much for me. It was Neapolitan flavor and the servers butchered the poor thing.

Intro

Hi folks! I'm starting this blog because I want to keep my sanity now that I'm done with school, share my many food pictures, recipes, experiences, and thoughts, and I'm trying to get all these pictures off my cell phone. Hope you enjoy it!