Sciue Lasagna & Pastas

Daily Lasagna & Cafe Au Lait

It's a race against time as I struggle to at least finish the main Tales of Zestiria plot before the anime comes out, and before Tales of Berseria's release. It's been almost ten years and I still haven't finished Tales of Vesperia, so that's next on my gaming to-do list. What's that? Fire Emblem? Yeah... that's going to be on the back burner for a bit.

Today, I want to mention that I love Sciue. It's not pronounced sck-ewy, like my friend suggested. It's apparently pronounced shoo-eh. My coworker was surprised when I told her that, as she said she and another coworker always avoided mentioning it by name because they weren't sure how to pronounce it. I think it's a little alienating when your customers can't pronounce your business name, but the Sciue on Pender Street at least is doing great. There's always a lunch rush when I go, and for good reason. Its fresh-tasting pastas and breads are a-maze-ing.

They always include a little piece of bread with the pasta, and the bread is always just the right level of warmth and chewiness. I usually forego getting a drink there, preferring to grab some Tim Horton's on my way back to the office so I can roll up my rim. But I was in a 'treat yoself' mindset when I got my lasagne; the cafe au lait was really nice, but I let it cool too much while I played Fire Emblem the day I took this picture. It was still a lot better than the stuff I get from Tim Horton's, though Sciue would probably balk at being put on the same level as Timmie's.

The lasagne was nice and filling, though nothing special. I had a particularly nice pasta there a few days back that had pesto mixed in with the tomato sauce, with sausages and mushrooms. The pasta there was a lot harder than I was used to, but it was actually really delicious; I feel like the extra texture made it seem a lot more than it was. I might start making my pastas closer to al dente from now on.

Pistachio Ganache, Mink Cafe, and Macarons

     Pistachio ganache with a cafe au lait, which I got from Yaletown Breka! I went with some coworkers two nights ago to Juno, and then we went to get a bit of dessert. It was very yum, though all together, it was a bit too much. 

     The pistachio was really sweet, but it never got overpowering to the point that I had to stop, so all in all I was really happy with it. My coworkers both got the strawberry shortcake, and they both said it was too dry, so I made the right choice. The cafe au lait was really heavy, and I think that was what made me feel a little sick. I'm sure if I hadn't eaten a sushi roll and udon carbonara earlier, I could have finished it fine though.

    Earlier that day, I went to Mink Cafe to get some coffee (I'm tired of drinking double-double, and I hadn't felt like washing my cup to make another Keurig). Normally this wouldn't warrant much of a mention on my blog, but I just have to reiterate something I'm sure a lot of my real-life friends know. I ... really don't like the downtown Mink Cafe. It has terrible customer service. While waiting for my coffee, I watched the barista in charge of it chat and jam out with his friend, which wouldn't really bother me normally. Except that his friend was just that - his friend. Not an employee, but an actual friend. It's so unprofessional, and I could see the manager there behind the counter not saying anything. Last time I went, it took me a while to get someone's attention to pay for my coffee because they were all seated at the bar drinking Jugo Juice with their friends. Like if you want to drink Jugo Juice with your buddies, do that on your own time.

     My mother came back from France last night and she brought some macarons from Laduree. Not 'macaroons' - I know some people who think the terms are interchangeable. There's a Laduree in Taiwan, and when I got some there, I mentioned to my grandmother than the macarons in Taiwan are, as a whole, too mushy. They taste too much like cake, and there's no sensation of a crust, which is what normal macarons should have. My grandma was just like, 'no, you're wrong.' But when I bit into one of the macarons my mom brought, and felt the distinct 'crunch' of a shell, I immediately put it down and exclaimed, "I WAS RIGHT!"

     I just wanted everyone to know that. I was right. And also not to waste your money on macarons in Taiwan, because that stuff doesn't taste genuine at all.

NaNoWriMo Day #3 / DAVIDsTEA 'The Glow'

Day #3 of NaNoWrimo has just passed. I thought I was making reasonably good progress, with just over 4600 words or so on my story. Then, I went to visit the forums and I saw that some people already had over 10,000 words. It's only the third day! Mad respect for them. 

It's starting to feel like winter now: Starbucks has their seasonal Christmas drinks out already; the weather feels like it's in the negative degrees; I slipped this morning walking to my tutor job ... it feels like December even though it's November! It's cold even in my apartment, which is notorious for its heat.

To keep myself warm and hydrated while I studied for my STAT midterm and watched TV, I made myself a cup of tea. It's a new kind I bought from DAVIDsTEA; I didn't know there were so many near my home - there's one in Lougheed, one in Waterfront, and one opening over at Metrotown. I applied for an opening as a tea guide to the Metrotown location but alas, I was a few days past the deadline.

Today, I poured myself 'The Glow', which is an herbal blend of rooibos, jasmine, cinnamon, and rose petals. 

I personally don't like tea from Tea Forte, but I can't deny that they sell very cute cups.

The Glow is said to be good for the skin - it's apparently like a spa in a cup. I don't know about any beautifying effects, but I love the delicate flavours of the jasmine and rose petals mixing together. The cinnamon is just barely there; you can taste it but it's not overpowering at all. It enhances the general flavour of the tea, and adds a bit of texture to it that might not have been there if it was only jasmine and rose. 

I've never had non-flavoured rooibos tea - I thought the taste of the rooibos was the cinnamon at first until the second sip. Though not bitter (even before I added my 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar), it certainly gives it a bit more of an earthy taste. It's not so bad the first few sips, but after a while, the rooibos seems to give the tea a sort of ... medicinal taste? That's my own interpretation of this odd feeling. It's not bad - it reminds me of the swallow nests or rose-infused Chinese medicines that people drink for skincare. It's just not something I would usually want to drink on a daily basis. 

'The Glow' was put on my 'To Buy' list when I went to the Waterfront location of DAVIDsTEA because I was interested in the beautifying effects. Now that I've tried the tea, I can positively say I will probably buy it again in the future. Despite my comments about the flavour of the rooibos, I am still enamoured by the delicate harmony of the rose and the jasmine. I am relieved, though, that I didn't buy too much - 50 g is more than enough at one time!

The Glow
Brand: DAVIDsTEA
Type: Herbal - Rooibos
Caffeinated: No
Price: $7.50/50 g - reasonable
Flavour: 9/10 - delicate and harmonized, but I personally don't like the flavour of rooibos
Recommend: 85% 

NaNoWriMo Day #2 / Rosemary Marinated Chicken w/ Cucumbers on Toast

I was never really sure what to write about for NaNoWriMo and so yesterday, when it started, I just let myself type away at the keyboard. Now, I just have the most basic skeleton of the plot but nothing else; I am literally writing by the seat of my pants, making up things and throwing them into the mix as I go. 

This does mean if I ever plan to use the story after NaNoWriMo, I would have to go through some serious editing.

*+*+*+

Today, I decided to cook something fancy for myself after going to a job interview for the fancy L'Occitane. I even bought myself some fancy tea on the way home. When I say 'cook something fancy', I don't mean something like lobster or sirloin steak. Boy, when I usually cook, it's just pouring hot water into a bowl of instant noodles and maybe adding in some boiled vegetables and meats if I feel extra special.

I can't find my dad's camera, so I have to use my cellphone. And I didn't have space on my table because I was writing STAT homework. It's the first day. I'm sure it'll get better.

I marinated strips of Costco boneless chicken in rosemary, garlic, salt, soy sauce, potato starch, and alcohol for approximately five hours while I lazed around doing STAT homework and watched Bloody Monday 2. I only watched a few episodes in Taiwan but I didn't get anything since I didn't watch first season but now I feel glad I took the time to do so. It's a very good show. It also reminded me of the pain of liking a show with a very small fandom. 

Anyway, after marinating the chicken, I cooked them with my trusty frying pan while I buttered up some toast and cut up some cucumbers. I cut up too much so I had to separate the two slices - my dreams of a chicken sandwich were dashed for tonight but this also means I get to eat two slices instead of just one big sandwich. Is that better or is that worse? I think it's better, personally.

The chicken was so tender and juicy I was worried I had undercooked it, but it was perfect. I didn't remove all of the rosemary from the chicken because I thought it was unnecessary - imagine my surprise when I bit into a piece of chicken only to receive a mouthful of rosemary flavour. That was wild. The butter, cucumber, and marinated chicken were so harmonized - both the butter and cucumber didn't detract from the taste of the chicken but enhanced it instead. This is a very easy recipe for a hungry student and I think it will be added into my slowly growing recipe repertoire. 

That is, if I could get the chicken from Costco. My mom gave the chicken to me, and I don't really have a Costco card. This could be a problem if I want to make this in the future. 

I didn't think tea or coffee was appropriate but I also didn't feel like drinking water so I just poured myself a cup of milk. I even used one of my favourite cups just because I was taking a picture, even if the picture turned out to be so bad. I bought Avalon milk from the Nesters at school and it tastes so weird. I normally don't like North American milk compared to milk from Taiwan or Japan, but I would even prefer the normal brand than Avalon. 

Drinking it straight is kind of gross, but using it in tea and coffee makes it taste so much better than the normal brand. I made macaroni and cheese last night with the milk and it ended up making the macaroni so much better. I guess it all depends on what I use it for. 

O Magic Bullet

The Magic Bullet. 

Back when I volunteered in a care home, infomercials for The Magic Bullet happened every other week. At first, I ignored it. I had better things to do, like mercilessly crushing my elderly opponents in a game of blackjack. But over time, I began to pay attention to the fanatical praise the underpaid actors were blurting out about it ... and I became fixated on The Magic Bullet ever since.

Don't ask me why I became so fixated on the Magic Bullet after only two viewings of the infomercial, because I can't even pinpoint the obsession myself. I think it's the idea of how many things I can make so effortlessly and with so little ingredients. I'm not entirely sure. 

I have two friends who have Magic Bullets, and every time I visit their house, I beg and plead to let me make something with their Magic Bullet. A smoothie, a shake, a cup of juice ... anything that can be mashed and blended with its sharp, changeable, easy-to-clean blades. I was refused each time, accompanied by the phrase, "Stop being so creepy." 

The reason I made a whole post about The Magic Bullet is because I want one. So bad. The thirst. It is real.

I will be participating in NaNoWriMo this year and I have read on many blogs of people who have 'won' previous NaNoWriMos that using a blender to make homemade fruit juice is an excellent idea during the arduous writing process. Not only does it wake you up with the natural sugar content, but it is a much healthier way than simply reaching for that cup of coffee or that bar of chocolate. Plus, depending on what exactly you put in there, it could be filling enough to serve as a meal, thus helping you cut back on fat.

It's literally win-win! There's no way to lose!

Except I don't have a blender. 

Back in my old house, we had this one old blender that's practically my age. I've seen the thing ever since I lived with my parents in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. And that was when I was two years old. Yes, I remember events from around that age. Two or three, I'm not exactly certain but I can remember the apartment, the nights of watching Jurassic Park with my parents, the pain of falling off the bed and hitting the back of my head while I was watching The Lion King ... happy memories.

But I digress. The point is, that blender reached its factory life long before I even hit my teens, and it couldn't even make me a canned juice by the end. We threw it out when we moved and that was that. I never found a need for blenders and so refrained from buying one, holding out hope that my dad would listen to reason and buy the Magic Bullet that we so desperately needed, for the sake of saying we had one. But then he left for Taiwan. 

My friend, who might become my roommate come January/February, has said that she might bring her Magic Bullet with her, or that we could get one as a housewarming present. This hope that I could get my Bullet without paying the entire pricetag is the only thing stopping me from grabbing my credit card with the intent to pay for some magical goodness. 

But could you imagine life with a Magic Bullet? Readers who already own Magic Bullets, just imagine life without a Magic Bullet, and then imagine yourself in that life imagining yourself with one. My current goal is mainly so that I can use it to make fruit juices or smoothies as a way of losing weight and gaining the nutrients I desperately need due to my admittedly unhealthy culinary choices. 
Beyond NaNoWriMo, though, it's a whole new world. I could make sauces for meats. I can make cappucino. I can apparently even make a whole variety of desserts with the thing, and it can totally cut down on the amount of bowls and stirring utensils that makes baking such a pain. According to the website, I can even make my own toner and my own conditioner using the Bullet. 

I could literally become a god with this thing. A god of the kitchen. A god of the apartment. I could take over the world with the Magic Bullet and oh my goodness, I need one right this second. 

If you're out there, Great Pumpkin, I wish, I wish, with all my heart, to blend with the pros, in time for NaNoWriMo. 

Marinated pig ears

   I was inspired to make this post about marinated pig ears after demolishing half of the little carton box I got from T&T today after my STAT midterm, which is why there's no picture of the marinated pig ears. It's not exactly the prettiest sight and I can't find my camera anyway.

   If you've never had marinated pig ears before, you are missing out, my friend. Thinly sliced and tasting of soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, and green onion, these are the perfect savoury snack on an abnormally hot October day. Crunchy yet soft, marinated pig ears have the funniest texture in the world.

   There's no point to this post. I just love marinated pig ears a lot.