Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back...

Hi all! Well it has been a mighty long time since I've logged on and ranted about my foodie experiences. Lots have happened these past 2 years and I look forward to catching up. I temporarily deactivated my Facebook account so that I can turn my attention and concentration to my blog.

Post of few words

I like him enough to throw him a surprise graduation par-tay... He was so pissed that we didn't go to the movies... LOL

Left to right: Brownies with walnuts, Tortilla chips and salsa and chicken enchiladas (hiding underneath the aluminum foil). The spatula is sayin' "I'm ready for ya!" Red velvet cupcakes, front and center.

Breakfast one morning: French toast, hash browns, bacon and OJ.

JMK made me dinner. It was really nice of him. Lomo Saltado a la JMK.

Breakfast skillet: Canadian bacon, bell peppers, onion, eggs and cheese on top of more cheese and a layer of tater tots. We're having a breakfast pot luck on Wednesday and I'm bringing one of these babies.

Our first experience with the community grill. Ribeye steak and oven roasted red potatoes.

Pioneer Woman's biscuits and gravy... and a side of scramble eggs.

Saturday night dinner: Roasted chicken, steamed carrots, mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy (from scratch of course).

And now you're all up to date :)

Graduations

Wow! I haven't updated in a long time. You'll have to excuse me because I've been quite busy, moving and everything. So let's see... I'll try to give ya'll as much details as possible in terms of what's happened these last two months.

I moved into my awesome apartment at the end of April. Everything's come together pretty well. I had a gathering about two or three weeks ago. I made fruit salad, chicken empanadas, and potato salad. I also ordered one of those pinwheel roll sandwich platters from Vons. JMK bought an excessive amount of beer which is still sitting in the refrigerator. So if you're ever in the neighborhood and need a drink, come on over!

I've realized that JMK has this insane compulsion with purchasing things... lots of things. Things that we'd need eventually but can be held off until later.

Speaking of JMK, he FINALLY completed his Masters of Science degree in Counseling. Congrats to him but it's been the longest three years of my life. I'm much more ecstatic about the news for my sake. I guess I'm a tiny bit selfish that way. Anyway, my very very dear friend L finished her program in Mobility Orientation and I'm super duper proud of her. I'll miss her though, she's moving, today as a matter of fact, to Palo Alto to complete her internship. We surprised her with a graduation/going away party last night. I fibbed and told her that I didn't have any plans to celebrate with JMK and that I had to go home and get some much needed sleep for today's trip to Riverside. It was a great surprise. Her hubby M hired a taco guy, he was the star of the party no doubt.

Last Friday, we went to Tokyo Delve's in North Hollywood for a pre-graduation celebration. That place is awesome! I had a great time even though I didn't have any Sake Bombs. The staff did a great job pumping everyone up and they had good music. It was a really good show. I'm going to save my pennies so I can take Goober there and maybe Bren because she likes sushi. Speaking of Bren, she had her baby. A beautiful baby boy, dimples and all, name Damian Isaiah.

Here are some pictures from Toyko Delve's

After Goober's graduation, we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch.. here's what was eaten. I didn't get much, just a cup of minestrone, I spoiled my appetite with a breakfast burrito from the UCR cafeteria.

Birthdays and apartment hunting

Last Saturday, we celebrated Carlos' 30th birthday at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Nick Nack and I were at the juice station. Goober and Buddy were on canned salmon. And my JMK was down at the weighing dock. It was an unusual celebration but I'm glad we went. It was good workout, especially for JMK. Unfortunately, I forgot my wrist brace and my right hand started throbbing the next day, mind you that it's my left hand that needs the brace. The pain subsided after I rubbed some Tiger Balm on. We were there from about 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, we were late of course, guess which one of us it was who caused the hold up. Anyway, after preparing the food packages we were famished. Nick Nack wanted to go Home, so we did. Goober got the Grilled Chicken and Avocado Club, Buddy got the Chicken Parmigiana Sandwich, Nick got the All American breakfast with french toast instead of pancakes and a side of home fries, JMK ordered the Steak Sandwich and I had the Tex-Mex pizza. Unfortunately, due to the lack of my routinue shot of caffeine, I got a horrible headache. =(


This is what happens when you leave a 14 year old alone with a bunch of canned salmon. Too much time on her little hands.


Last Sunday, it was the annual Ching Ming (Chinese day of the dead) but I didn't get up. I was still aching from Saturday. I did manage to get up in time to get some breakfast though. =) Unfortunately, I threw it all up early the next morning. =( It was good while it lasted. I'm planning on going to the doctor to find out why I'm all broken. I've been feeling really lazy too.


We celebrated April Fool's Day and JP's birthday at work in All Saint's fashion.. a BBQ! I didn't take a picture of my plate but I did get one of Pam B's funky cookie thing she made for JP (the secret love of her life). I didn't have any of those cookies but LM told me that they were dry and not so great.


Later that day, JMK got out of session and we went over to Compadre's, a Mexican restaurant known for their Flaming Margaritas. That's his arm reaching for more tortilla chips... He polished off three whole baskets by himself that night. We shared the Botana which is an appetizer platter with a chicken quesadilla, garlicky shrimp, chimichangas, and carne asada. I didn't have my camera to take pictures but I will on a future visit.

Thursday, I made pot roast for dinner and brought some over for Bren. I figure the baby should probably have some veggies. She loved it. She loves the idea of JMK not wanting to have anymore of my cooking which makes her the replacement diner. I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of that little guy. He's due at the end of May.


We went apartment hunting today and afterwards we moseyed on over to the Cheesecake Factory. Say no to bread and butter? Not my JMK. Even though I had ordered some delicious stuffed mushrooms to start. I got the Louisiana Chicken pasta (lunch portion) and he ordered the Stuffed Chicken Tortillas. I didn't get a picture of his because he (as usual) dug into before I could even turn my camera on.




I really liked the apartment we looked at today. It was nice and well-kept and in a very quiet area in G-Dale. The price is okay. Slightly more than I was aiming for but still affordable. We'll see. We're still going to keep looking. The lady asked when I'm looking to move in and I said June because I haven't given my 30-day notice (to my mother) yet. I told her tonight. She seemed to understand that I can't live with her forever and that everyone else got to spread their wings but me. We'll see how long that lasts. She did ask if it would be more convenient for work. Of course it is! Wish me luck.

No meat Fridays

I gave up soda for Lent and since I'm a wannabe Catholic, I decided I'm not going to eat meat on Fridays either. JMK and I usually observe the no meat deal on Good Friday but I figured I'd better take it up another notch! Last Friday, LM, LG and myself brought a small potluck of non-meat items for lunch. I made baked ziti, LM brought garlic bread and LG picked up a Caesar Salad from Roma's. Sorry, no pictures but believe me, it was an awesome and satisfying lunch. I almost forgot about no meat when I was thinking about dinner later that same day BUT I remembered and made myself some eggs over medium with toast.

The week before last, I made ceviche with imitation crab meat. My dad has this problem with imitation crab... "Why are we still eating imitation crab in this day and age???" Anyway, for those of you wondering, imitation crab is really Alaskan Pollock. I got this recipe from Maria, I think hers is the best ceviche that I've had thus far and I think I did a good imitation of her recipe. Notice anything missing?? No tomatoes! Don't worry I added them in after I took my share out.

This Saturday, Buddy and I went to IHOP to check out their new Loaded Country Hash Browns. As you can see, they all looked pretty damn good.


I'm not a huge bacon fan so I was able to cut it down to two choices, the ham and swiss or the sausage and cheddar... the winner?
Ham and Swiss...


Of course, I had to get sausage on the side and I told the waiter to hold the pancakes and bring me some sourdough toast instead. I think I did a pretty good job.

After that hearty breakfast, Buddy and I did some grocery shopping at Vons and then headed over to check out an apartment for rent. Unfortunately, I chickened out. Buddy got a nice scarf out of the trip because we happened to stop at the yard sale on the same street. Better luck next time.

They gave us some of these yesterday in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. I think they look radioactive, but I guess they're good because the super had two in a roll.


Last Sunday, after doing the laundry, Nick Nack and I went over to Fredo's in Pasadena. She had the cheese ravioli with fresh mushrooms and I had this..


The Fredo's Special; pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper and sausage. YUM! Since it was a buy one, get one deal, I took the second one over to JMK.

By the way, in case you didn't know, MARCH is Social Work Month! I bought the girls some Krispy Kreme donuts earlier this month but I haven't seen anything from the higher ups yet. Selfish beasts.

I went on a j-o-b interview last week and it went pretty damn good if I do say so myself. It's a gorgeous facility and the people seem genuinely happy to be there. I got a call for a second interview, but it hasn't been scheduled just yet. Cross your fingers! Or not... I'm excited for the change but as some of you may already know, I fear change. I'm not sure I want to leave my residents and families. I worry that they won't be taken care of... I'm too damn caring I guess.

Lovin' from the Oven is officially on Spring break until May. Here's one last picture for the road...

Cooking Asparagus

I apologize for not posting anything in a while... I've been incredibly busy and tired these last couple of weeks. I'm trying to find a way to balance everything I want to do and have to do. I've decided that I will only really bake on Thursdays and Sundays, Wednesdays will be for prepping. I really want to get through New Moon before the movie is released in November so I'm going to try Fridays out for that. Mondays and Tuesdays will be my shopping days (groceries and miscellaneous supplies) . Saturdays are for JMK whom I have not seen much of lately even on his off days (Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Of course Sundays will also remain ironing day. I'm a weirdo, I like ironing, I find it relaxing. Don't judge me.

Whew!! I feel slightly better now. It always feels good to plan things out loud, at least for me it does. Now I feel a tinge of obligation to try and stick to this schedule. Let's talk food now, shall we?

Today is Terri's birthday and as tradition would have it, we stuffed our faces. Our potluck today consisted of: Creole spaghetti with sausage, Pasta salad, Chicken salad, Pinwheel sandwiches, Fruit salad with marshmallows and Alice's famous chocolate cake. I made this: Ham and asparagus gratin (recipe from campbellkitchen.com) .

It had flavor and was great, everyone loved it yet... I'm embarrassed to say that I goofed on cooking the asparagus. I didn't realize until after (of course, always after) that I was supposed to snap off a whole 1/3 of the stalk. I only cut off able 1/4 inches! LM tried to make me feel better by giving me her famous, "Now you know and knowing is half the battle" speech. Nice try.

And you know what else I didn't realize until after? I left my slice of chocolate cake in the fridge at work! I'm mad at myself. You people just don't understand. This cake is way better than any chocolate cake I've ever made. In the wise words of Claud, "it's orgasmic!" If you know me, you know that I; a. cannot have chocolate because it gives me phlegm and b. am not a big sweets fan, but this cake, takes the cake. Ok enough of that.

On Saturday, I made this: Baked Ziti

I got the recipe from my Cooks Illustrated magazine. Thanks to LM who got me a subscription for my birthday! The little squares are cubes of mozzarella, yeah, I know, it looks strange but it had lots of flavor and the kids liked it. Next time, I'll use shredded cheese.

Last, last Friday, JMK and I went to one of our favorite places, Mamita's. I got the Arroz a la Jardinera


He got his usual, Lomo Saltado. This picture is actually from one of our day trips, told ya we liked this place.

Last weekend was Valentine's Day. Big deal. We didn't do much. My sisters and I cleaned the house because my clean freak dad was coming back from China that night, God forbid he comes back and the place is a mess. There was some other drama rama brewing but I won't go into that. I do remember getting 4 hours of sleep Thursday night and having to deal with said drama on Friday. JMK got me this:


It was red and everything! Some days, I love him more than usual. I've made a solemn vow not to use it until I move out and have my very own kitchen to put it in.

I got him this:

It's the LG Vu, we got a good deal on it. Of course, being the spoiled brat that he is, he had to have all the bells and whistles to go along with it. He's been watching t.v. on it like he's never seen a television before in his life. As long as he likes it I guess that's all that matters.

On Sunday, we had brunch at Home, or is it No Place Like Home? Whatever.

There are two locations, one in Los Feliz and the one we went to in Silver Lake. It was a different crowd but the food was awesome and the service wasn't too bad. Restrooms (at least the ladies' one) were clean. Price was decent, maybe a buck or two more than Denny's? I got the California Omelette (with ham instead of bacon). The home fried potatoes were amazing! I'm not just saying that because I LOVE potatoes, they had good flavor and were cooked right.


We shared the Santa Fe Egg Rolls. Apparently, they make the gaucamole fresh every morning, so our waiter insisted that we take it to go. JMK eagerly obeyed.

Today, Jonathan comes and asks for my email address so that he can place orders over the weekend when I'm not at work. Lizzy said it'd be a good idea to have one specifically for the biz...
nancyslovinfromtheoven@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!

Cookie orders, Taxes and Rain

I started filling cookie orders on Wednesday and finished on Thursday... Here are some pictures of what I was baking. I also had orders for Chocolate Chip but didn't bother to take any pictures. Next time, I promise.

Chinese take-out packaging =)

Peanut Butter Munchies
Oatmeal Raisin
Sugar


Yesterday, I tried unsuccessfully to do my taxes. My tax guy apparently forgot about our appointment so Nick Nack and I went over to Boston Market to grab some lunch. She got the 1/4 white meat with corn, mashed potatoes (hold the gravy) and macaroni and cheese.

I got the chicken pot pie with a side of new potatoes (because I love potatoes!).


After lunch we made a second attempt with the taxes and still no luck so we went shopping for more baking supplies. On the way home, we encountered a closed main street forcing us to take a side street and there we spotted this...

I made fajitas for dinner and couldn't decide whether to use beef or chicken, so...


It's been raining since Thursday. I hate the rain. I remember when I was younger and actually liked getting wet, now, I try to avoid it at all costs because I get sick so damn easily. I had to wake up extra early Saturday to take Buddy to her Science Bowl competition. I guess it was worth it because she came back with a second place trophy. I'm so proud of her smart ass. And the Nickster got straight A's. These damn kids... I guess I did something right.

I'm so not looking forward to going to work tomorrow. The only good thing is that the Feds are gone. I'll just have to trudge on like I always do. Wish me luck!