Hi There!

Happy new year! Can I still say that? It's the end of January... it's, um, almost Chinese New Year. Still okay?

The fall and winter months are always jam-packed for us. In addition to the holidays, we have three family birthdays and our anniversary sandwiched in there too. Toward the end of last year, I took on extra freelance work to design the logo, signage and event material for a nonprofit fundraiser. It was a post-war era theme, so it was way fun mixing modern designs with vintage textures. The event ended up exceeding the fundraising goal. Always good to hear!

I love a good challenge and the thrill of productivity, but it also made me realize how precious free weekends are. Joel and I took a trip to Santa Monica over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. We didn't have much planned other than to hang out at the beach, eat good food and enjoy time together. I say mission accomplished!

(Photos taken with my iPhone. Macrons from 'lette; my favorite was the rose macron. Sausages from Wurstküche, Joel had a rattlesnake and rabbit sausage. It was better than my chicken and apple! )

So now that I am all rested, I am ready to take on 2013. Only a month late. Not so bad, right?

Peach Berry Crumble

It's been over a year since I tried Bountiful Baskets. The last time I ordered a basket, I didn't plan well so some food went to waste. I happened to get several vegetables that I didn't have much experience working with and just ended up not eating them in time.

Despite my experience last time, I still really liked the idea of Bountiful Baskets. Since I having been trying to work more fruits and vegetables into our meals, I decided to give it another shot last week... and loved it!

I think the key is to plan your meals ahead of time and stick to it. The reason I didn't like it last time ended up being one of the reason I like it more this time around. It's a fun surprise to see what you get in your basket and learn new recipes.



We got lots of perfectly sweet and ripe peaches that were delicious the way they were, but it was clear that we wouldn't eat them all in time. I decided to make a fruit crumble with the peaches and a pound of strawberries that also came in the basket.

The result was a sweet and tart crumble, paired perfectly with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!

Peach Berry Crumble

1 stick of butter, cubed
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

4 peaches, sliced
1 pound strawberries, sliced in half
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix dry ingredients, set aside. Toss fruit with lemon juice and additional sugar to taste, add in 2 tbsp of dry ingredients and toss, then place in baking dish (I used a 2-quart dish).  Mix butter and dry ingredients with your hands until crumbly and butter cubes are the size of small pebbles. Top fruit with the mixture and bake for 40 minutes.

(Depending on how full your dish is, you may want to place a cookie sheet under your baking dish to prevent the fruit from bubbling over. I did, but ended up not needing it.)

Ice cream is a must. Enjoy!

Sleeping in Seattle

Joel and I took a semi-spontaneous trip to Seattle. With summer upon us, overcast days and chilly weather was the perfect getaway. I even crocheted a scarf on the way there because I knew that this was the last chance I'll get to wear it until November.

The Pacific Northwest is so beautiful. It never disappoints.

We did lots of regular touristy things like visiting Pike Place and going up on the Space Needle, but mostly our trip was planned around food and coffee. It may sound silly to plan a vacation around food, but it's true. We made a list of restaurants and cafes we wanted to visit and planned our daily itineraries accordingly. I think you can learn a lot about a city and its culture through food, but the bottom line is... we love food.

One of the greatest things about our trip was that we walked or used public transportation to get everywhere we needed to go. It saved us some money and made the trip more fun because we got to see all the in-between places.




We had the best apple from these guys. Why don't apples taste that good all the time? We actually fought over it!



From the top of the Space Needle


Coffee is an art form in Seattle. I enjoyed every drop of it.

This guy always knows how to make me laugh. I'm grateful to walk through life with him and to laugh all along the way.

Dusk

Walking hand in hand, their laughter trailed off into the melodic rhythm of crashing waves. There were few minutes left before nightfall. A few other stragglers were leaving the beach, but none of them existed in their world. I love the moment this captures -- the simplicity of two people connecting and enjoying each other's company.

Happy Chinese New Year!

My mother is a wonderful cook. Everything she makes is comfort food to me. Mapo tofu, stir-fried spinach, red-cooked pork... warmth for my belly. She has no use for measuring cups and spoons because she just adds ingredients and spices until it's "about right." Sometimes it's frustrating to ask her for recipes because it's always "now pour in some soy sauce" and "add sesame oil until it smells right."

Today is Chinese New Year. Last night I was missing home because we'd normally have a big feast to celebrate the new year. Since Joel and I didn't plan anything, I decided to make some Chinese almond cookies. I thought it was ironic because while my mother is a great cook, she has no use for the oven. I don't think she's ever baked anything in her life. The oven is just extra storage space. Chinese families don't have the tradition of baking like many American families.

But that's how I found myself growing up -- in between two worlds, hanging on to Chinese traditions while assimilating into American culture.

I actually do have memories of these almond cookies from my grandmother's house. New Year's is the one time during the year where there would be lots of sweet treats in the house -- all store-bought, of course.



Chinese Almond Cookies
Adapted from Cooking for Engineers
Makes about 30 cookies

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs (1 is for egg wash)
12 ounces butter
1 ounce water
1 teaspoon almond extract
Blanched almonds for topping cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt and almond flour in a bowl, set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in one egg, water and almond extract until combined.
Mix in flour mixture until a soft dough forms.
Spoon out cookie dough and roll between your palms to form 1-2 inch balls. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Press an almond into the top of each cookie.
Beat one egg in a separate bowl for egg wash. Brush the egg wash over each cookie. This will give cookies that glossy, cracked top.
Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Homemade Marshmallows

Monsoons

At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back.

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.
Job 37: 1-5

I have always loved rain. I love being enveloped in falling drops of water and smelling the fresh scent of earth. Since I grew up in southern California, I've never experienced severe weather patterns. Rain has always been soothing and peaceful.

I was totally in awe the first summer in Phoenix when I experienced my first monsoon. There is something so majestic about the power and speed of monsoon storms. I used to consider it a rarity to see lightning during a big storm, but monsoons can illuminate the sky like how an old light bulb flickers at the end of its life.

Last night we had our biggest storm since moving into our new house. Some friends from Sacramento were staying with us for the weekend. We joked about praying for a monsoon during their stay with us. During the day, fluffy white clouds would build up, seeming to promise rain, but then eventually dissipate.

Finally, the storm we had hoped for rolled into Phoenix Sunday night. We stood in our front yard and watched thundering clouds move in toward us. Within minutes, rain fell and pretty soon strong winds forced us inside.

So we all sat silent and watched from our living room window.

Sparkler Love

No matter how old you get, fire and sparkly things never get old.

I appreciate America. I appreciate freedom. What I appreciate the most on the Fourth of July -- SPARKLERS.



I mean, can you blame us? They're shiny, sparkly, and make us feel like we're holding magic wands.

Have you slept in a wigwam lately?

A few weekends ago Joel and I went up to Holbrook, a small town along Route 66, and stayed in the historical Wigwam Motel. If you've seen Pixar's Cars, you'll recognize the similarities between the Wigwam Motel and the Cozy Cone. I'm a big fan of Pixar and pretty much love all of its movies, but I didn't appreciate just how great Cars is until I visited Holbrook. The creators of Cars did a great job capturing the spirit of small towns along Route 66.

The Wigwam Motel isn't your luxury resort, but it made for a fun experience. It's one of the things on our AZ Bucket List. I loved the vintage cars that were parked in front of each teepee. I could've sworn that some of the main characters in Cars were modeled after the ones at the Wigwam Motel.

Poor Joel felt like he was a giant living in a Hobbit house. I, on the other hand, felt right at home. The advantage of being vertically challenged is that I never have to duck for anything. Sure, I have to get all of my pants hemmed and I need help reaching things in tall places... but not having to duck, that's something, right?

So, have you slept in a wigwam lately? Or somewhere else interesting?

Garden Dreams

This morning I found this little guy helping himself to a nice big breakfast on my basil plant. How dare you eat my basil plant before I’ve even had a chance to?!



I immediately clipped the leaf off and put him outside in my front yard (not before snapping a few photos first, of course). I was very upset, but didn’t have the heart to kill him.

Since we lived in a little condo without a yard or patio before moving in the house, I was eager to start planting things in the backyard. A few weekends ago I bought a few plants to grow in pots: a tomato plant, cilantro, basil and mint. Where I had enthusiasm and love for my plants, I lacked in my green thumb. Within two weeks of planting, my tomato plant and cilantro both died! I was totally devastated. I had dreams of having beautiful, ripe garden tomatoes this summer, but all of it – crushed!

It’s not that I thought I was a pro gardener, because I really don’t have much experience. I guess I was just spoiled by Sacramento climate and soil. It seemed like everything I put in the ground thrived without much effort.

Now that I’m in Phoenix for good, I definitely need to learn more about gardening in a desert climate. I’m going to buy tomato plant #2 and give it another go. Let me know if there are good gardening books you’d recommend. My beautiful tomato dreams must prevail!

Home

We moved in three weeks ago and yet I can still hardly believe it: we're homeowners! It seems like the end of our home search was a long time coming, but maybe that's the story of every homeowner. The other common story among homeowners is the amount of time you spend fixing little things in the house. I didn't come from a family of handy people, so the only things I knew how to do were to paint and change door knobs.

Still, it's been a rewarding experience learning as we go. There's something really therapeutic about working with my hands. I admire people who make pottery and people who know how to build things. So much thought goes into each project and it must be so rewarding to have something that you made from planks of wood and chunks of clay.

Since I shoot exclusively digital now, there is no need to spend hours in the darkroom mixing chemicals, unwinding film and developing negatives. Most of my work is done on the computer and sometimes, I miss getting my hands dirty.