[Cook] Chinese Red Cooked Pork Ribs

There's a great sale on pork spareribs for $1.47/lb. I was able to buy a 5+ lb full rack for only $7.63. My mom makes the best Chinese "red cooked" pork ribs. So I called my mom to get her recipe. Mom told me all the ingredients that goes into the braising sauce, but she wasn't sure about the amount because the way she cooks is by her "feeling" so she never measures anything. I did my best to figure out the correct proportion for everything. It turned out PERFECT! It tastes exactly like my mom's!


Chinese Red Cooked Pork Ribs

I started cooking at 9am. The ribs finished right on time for lunch. This was my version of Memorial Day's salad, ribs, and corn.

[Teddy & Twinkle] A Day At Laguna Beach Dog Park

We took Teddy and Twinkle to their favorite dog park, Laguna Beach Dog Park, yesterday morning. They just love running around on the grass and making new friends in the small dog area.



Teddy also loves big dogs. He kept on trying to make friends with them over the fence.

[Coupon Shopping] Walgreens + CVS + Ralphs (5/29/2011)

I did my coupon shopping in 3 stores yesterday morning. Did pretty good, but could've been better. Here is the recap.


5/29/2011 Walgreens Shopping Trip ($69.30 $13.03 ~ 81% Saving)

Transaction #1

• Illy Coffee Cafe ~ $2.00 RR ($0.05)


• Celsius Green Tea 4 pk ~ $3.00 RR ($1.19)


• Used $3.50 RR (from last week), paid $3.11, received $2.00 RR + $3.00 RR

[Coupon Shopping] Vons and Stater Bros Trip (5/28/2011)

I went grocery shopping at Vons and Stater Bros yesterday. The supermarkets were BUSY! I think everyone was out getting grocery for Memorial Day BBQ. Here is my shopping trip recap:

VONS


Starbucks Frappuccino ($4.00 $2.00) x 2

I went into Vons and saw that Starbucks inside Vons are having a special sale on all grande frappuccino for $2.00 after 2pm till 5/30. Nice! I bought one for myself, and one to bring home for Dr. P.

[Getting Organized] Linen Closet

Our house is a mess! Actually our house looks neat and clean at first glance. But inside our closets and drawers are the places we hide our mess. There are so many "junks" that I've collected over the years... things that I keep "just in case" I'll use it one day. I have set a new goal for myself, get our house organized and decluttered! I'm taking small steps to focus on one small area at a time. I know eventually I can get everything organized.


(Before)

This week I started with our linen junk closet. This was supposed to be a linen closet. But we (ok mostly just me) use it to store "junks". I get something that I don't know where to put it, so I just throw it into our junk closet. Then it became this mess.

[Cook] Pasta Prima Grilled Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli

This was our semi-homecooked lunch yesterday. Pasta Prima Grilled Chicken and Mozzarella Ravioli was purchased from Costco. I like this all natural ravioli. The inside was filled with lean ground chicken.


Pasta Prima Grilled Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli

I cooked the pasta in boiled water for about 8 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, I sliced up some fresh mushroom, and sauteed in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. When mushroom is done, I added the sauce. The sauce I used was Bertolli Garlic Alfredo sauce. When sauce was heated through, pasta was done, just toss everything together. Add some shredded parmesan cheese. Done! (I wish I had some parsley to add some color though.)

[Lake Forest] [American] Milo's Cafe

Milo's Cafe
26771 Rancho Parkway
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 900-6660
http://www.miloscafe.com

I bought a $10 for $20 voucher for Milo's Cafe on one of those Groupon similar websites. (There are so many of those sites right now that it's kinda hard to keep track!) I bought the voucher as soon as I saw it because it is a dog friendly cafe. They even have a dog menu! It sounded great, but people on Yelp doesn't seem to like this place too much. Most of the reviews complained about their slow service. Then I saw them on Groupon yesterday (the deal is still going on right now), and thought if service is already slow, we better go before the Groupon crowds hit this place.



Our navigation system had a little trouble finding this place. It if located inside the same plaza as Home Depot and 24 Hour Fitness if you can't find it. If you bring dog(s) with you, you have to go all the way around to the back and enter through the patio.

[Teddy & Twinkle] Riding In The Car

We took Teddy and Twinkle out yesterday. Twinkle LOVES riding in the car. Teddy doesn't seem to like the car ride too much though.



Twinkle likes to look around. She goes to the left window, goes to the right window, and stand up to look out the front. She's just a curious little dog.

[Cook] Easy Chicken Fajita

This is my version of SUPER easy chicken fajita. You can have this dinner ready on the table in 15 minutes! I made it with things I found in my fridge. The dish came out even better than I expected. I think the fresh California grown avocado added some points. Dr. P loved it and ate way too much that night. haha....


Easy Chicken Fajita

Onion, sliced
Green pepper, sliced
Shredded chicken from a store bought rotisserie chicken (I love Costco's chicken!)
Salsa, or any Mexican flavor tomato based sauce (I used Pace Picante Sauce)
Avocado, sliced
Flour tortilla

[Cook] Avocado Hot Dog Sandwich

I received a package in the mail. It was delivered via overnight express shipping. I had no idea what was inside the package.



Inside the brown box, there was another box inside. Hand grown avocado in California?

[Coupon Shopping] Shopping List (5/29/2011)

This is my "possible" shopping list for this week (May 29). I say "possible" because sometimes the items are out in the store, or I change my mind later. There are many other good deals, but I only buy things we (or family members) will use. Also I only shop at stores that are close to my house. I know Rite Aids and Albertsons often have really good deals, but I don't like to drive out of the way to shop. Gas is too expensive nowadays. This is my shopping list, but maybe it'll be helpful for some of you? Happy shopping!

Ralphs

Santa Cruz Organic Juice – $1.50
Use $0.75/1 printable
Final price is $0.75, or $0.50 if your store doubles.

White Peaches $0.88/lb

Baby Carrots 1 lb – $0.99

[Laguna Niguel] [Chinese] Golden Dragon Chinese Food

Golden Dragon Chinese Food
27311 La Paz Rd #G
Laguna Niguel,CA 92677
(949) 362-4739

I tried Golden Dragon Chinese Food before when Dr. P was out of town, and thought the food was good. I told Dr. P about it. He said he would like to try the place, but somehow we never got around to it. After having lunch at Sango Sushi, we decided to go to Golden Dragon in the same plaza to get take-out for dinner.


House Special Chicken ($4.95)

House Special Chicken had tons of vegetables. Broccoli, carrot, celery, zucchini, mushroom, and water chestnut. the chicken was very tender. The stir-fried brown sauce was tasty. We liked it. Their egg roll was filled with cabbage and carrot. It didn't taste oily at all.

[Laguna Niguel] [Japanese] Sango Sushi Restaurant

Sango Sushi Restaurant
27261 La Paz Rd #A
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 831-7287
http://www.sangosushi.com/Laguna.htm

We haven't been to Sango Sushi for a while. We missed sushi and went to Sango for a quick lunch.


Sushi Combo B ($9.80)
Tuna with cucumber roll, tuna, salmon, shrimp, white fish, albacore, squid, yellowtail and egg

Dr. P ordered his usual Sushi Combo B with spicy tuna roll. It was strange that they put chili sauce on top of the roll to make it spicy this time. But it was still good. Every piece of sushi was fresh and delicious. Dr. P's favorite was yellowtail and salmon.

[Coupon Shopping] Do You Coupon Shop?

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I love coupons! I love to eat with coupons, and I love to shop with coupons. TLC has this show called Extreme Couponing. People are able to get $1,000+ grocery down to $100 with coupons! It's amazing. I've always shopped with coupons, but I don't nearly save as much as those extreme people. I learned that to get things for the best price, you have to combine a sale with a coupon. So it's necessary to spend some time to organize your coupons, study store ads, and figure out the best combination to maximize the saving. When price is low, you can stock up on non-perishable items. These were my results of 3 weeks of coupon shopping.


5/12/2011 Walgreens Shopping Trip ($27.24 $1.27 ~ 95% Saving)

First week I just did a small purchase to test out this coupon shopping thing. I bought:

• Nexcare Bandages


• Pantene Shampoo


• Pantene Conditioner


• Almay Makeup Remover Towelettes x 2

Guess how much I paid? Subtotal was $5.47, with tax I paid $7.26. Nexcare Bandages has a $2.99 mail-in rebate so that brought it down to $4.27. I also got $3 Register Rewards (which is like Walgreens cash) to use toward next purchase. So it was like I got everything for $1.27. $1.27!!!! And that was with tax!!!!!!! Isn't that amazing? The receipt told me my total saving that day was $19.98.

[Costa Mesa] [Italian] Maggiano's Little Italy

Maggiano's Little Italy
3333 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 546-9550
http://www.maggianos.com

I had a $50 Maggiano's gift card that I exchanged with my credit card points. I also had a coupon from email for buy one entree during lunch time, get one free Classic Pasta to take home. I made reservation through Open Table for a Sunday lunch for two.



Maggiano's always packed for dinner. I thought they would be busy on Sunday for lunch as well, but they weren't. Maybe most people come here for dinner after shopping at South Coast Plaza?

[Garden Grove] [Hot Pot] The Red Pot

The Red Pot
12119 Brookhurst St
Garden Grove, CA 92840
(714) 636-7168

We had plan to visit another restaurant in the Garden Grove area. On the way there, we passed by The Red Pot, and I remembered that was the hot pot place my reader Peter commented about. Last time I wrote about Lu Gi, Peter told me about this all you can eat spicy hot pot place in Orange County, and I had it on my "to-try" list. After spotting the restaurant, we changed our mind about where to go for lunch and made a U turn.



It was Saturday lunch time, the restaurant was half empty. I think people like to have hot pot for dinner more.

[Laguna Woods] [AYCE] Hometown Buffet

Hometown Buffet
24381 EL Toro Road
Laguna Woods, CA 92653
(949) 595-0971
http://www.hometownbuffet.com

I received a Hometown buffet coupon in the mail. The $6.99 coupon for dinner with a purchase of a drink seemed like a good deal. After I saw the picture of mouthwatering ribs on the ad, I had to visit. Before heading out to the restaurant, I went on their website to look up the nearest location, also to sign up on their email list. Right after I signed up, I received another coupon in my email. It was buy 1 dinner get 1 free with the purchase of 1 drink, which was an even better deal. Yipee!



We went for an early dinner around 5:30pm. The restaurant was occupied with mostly old people and families with kids. I think they like to earlier. We also like to eat early. Does that mean we are getting old? Or we are still young (like 5 year-old) at heart? haha.... The family in front of us in line offered us the extra $6.99 coupon they brought. So nice of them! But I had my BOGO coupon. So dinner for 2 plus a drink only cost $13.

[Shopping] Paper Coterie Notebook

I had a $40 off coupon from Paper Coterie, and used it to order 3 personalized notebooks.


Personalized Notebooks ($15/each)

The notebooks are $15 each, but after the discount I only paid $5 for all 3. Good deal! I love these hardcover notebooks!

[Brea] [AYCE] Osaka Seafood Buffet

Osaka Seafood Buffet
大阪
200 S State College Blvd
Brea, CA 92821
(714) 672-9698

One of Dr. P's aunt came to visit from East Coast so we had a small family gathering. Uncle P took us to Osaka Seafood Buffet for a late Sunday lunch.



Osaka looked like a very big restaurant from outside. And it was quite big inside, too. They have a fancy looking lobby area with koi pond. Lots of kids hanging around the pond looking at fish and turtles. Weekend price is $16.99/person. They have a salad station, cold seafood station, sushi station, hot food station, Mongolian BBQ station, and dessert station. The food looked really good at first glance.

[Mission Viejo] [AYCE] Big Grill Mongolian BBQ

Big Grill Mongolian BBQ
28601 Marguerite Pkwy #A
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 364-5588

I finally started feeling better after pulling 4 of my wisdom teeth. Now I could somewhat chew normally, I want to eat eat eat! I wanted something all you can eat. I didn't feel like salad and soup at Souplantation, didn't feel like sushi either, then I thought of Mongolian BBQ. Did a search online and found Big Grill Mongolian BBQ not too far from our house.



The restaurant is bright and spacious. Even when there were full (it got full soon after we sat down), it didn't feel crowded. But when there were a lot of people in line, getting your food cooked might take a while. They only have one grill with two chefs working.

[Aliso Viejo] [Fast Food] Arby's

Arby's
27002 La Paz Road
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-3040
(949) 643-1913
http://www.arbys.com

I moved to US from Taiwan in 1989. In the 22 years that I've been here, I have never been to Arby's. I don't know why I've never tried it. I know they are famous for their roast beef, but I never get the urge to try it. I got a coupon from Arby's the other day. It was buy one drink and get their new pecan chicken sandwich for free. Sounds like a great deal to me. So off I went to Arby's for the very first time!


Small Drink ($1.79) / Grilled Chicken and Pecan Salad Sandwich ($5.29 FREE)

I got a drink for $2, and received the $5 sandwich for free! Woohoo~~~~

[Rosemead] [Taiwanese] Le Arbre Tea House

Le Arbre Tea House
有點閒
8508 E Valley Blvd #101
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 307-8818

I bought a $7 for $14 Groupon for Le Arbre Tea House thinking that when I go up to SGV, I could stop by to get some pork chop rice to bring home. I got there, asked for the menu, and couldn't find pork chop rice on the menu. A Taiwanese place without pork chop rice? Boohoo~~~~ They only have maybe 5 or 6 food items, 2 of them were not available for take-out (noodle soup dishes), and they didn't have 2 of the other items that day, so that only left me with 2 choices. After placing the to-go order, I had to wait for a good 20+ minutes for the food to be ready.


雞腿飯 Chicken Leg Rice

Chicken Leg Rice was about $7. It was pricey, but it also came with a drink (tea or milk tea) and a dessert (coffee jelly). The chicken had a smokey flavor. It was good, but nothing too special. The side dishes were corn and cucumber salad (that used too much vinegar). Everything was served with plain white rice. I think it would be better if they had Taiwanese meat sauce over the rice.

[Arcadia] [Chinese] Chang's Garden

Chang's Garden
樓外樓
627 W Duarte Rd
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 445-0606

I went home to have a belated Mother's Day dinner with my family. Brother suggested Chang's Garden. They all ate there before, and thought the food was good. I've never been there, and was really looking forward for some delicious Shanghainese food.


花生 Peanuts

Our friendly waitress brought us some free peanuts while we looked through the menu. The first thing I noticed about the waitresses at this restaurant was that EVERYONE has the same haircut! They all had this short bob cut with bang. They were all wearing the same uniform. I wonder if they have "uniform hair" rule, too?

[Cook] Greek Burger

This "Greek" burger was made with stuff found in my fridge. At first I had no idea what to make for dinner. After looking through my fridge and found some "Greek" items, I thought it would be good to put a burger made with Pita bread together. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, so I made one for myself first to test it out. It turned out great! So I made another one for Dr. P. He loved it, and kept on saying it was better than fast food burger. :-)


Greek Burger

1 Beef patty
1 Pita Bread
Cream cheese
Chopped green olives
Sliced roasted red pepper
Crumbled Feta cheese
Cilantro leaves

[Bread Machine] Old Fashion Raisin Bread

This Old Fashion Raisin Bread tasted incredible! I always love raisin bread. The bread made using the recipe came out soft, fluffy, with just the right amount of moist, and slightly sweet.


Old Fashion Raisin Bread
from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook

1 1/2-Pound Loaf

1 cup dar raisins
1 1/8 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons SAF yeast

[Anaheim] [Chinese] Wang Tcheng Restaurant

Wang Tcheng Restaurant
王城
1199 N Euclid St
Anaheim,CA 92801
(714) 778-9988

It was Mother's Day and Grandma P's 101 birthday. Yes, 101!!!! Grandma P is the oldest person I've known! To celebrate, the P family decided to have a big gathering at Wang Tcheng Restaurant.



We've been to Wang Tcheng Restaurant a few times. It's a Korean style Chinese restaurant. Just like how I feel about other Korean Chinese restaurant, I think the food is good, but it's soooo expensive comparing to Chinese Chinese restaurant.

[Laguna Hills] [Mexican] El Torito

El Torito
24301 Avenida De La Carlota
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
(949) 951-9137
http://www.eltorito.com

We were back at El Torito for their 3 course meal. For only $11.99, we thought it was a great deal, especially when you have a coupon. We often get $10 off coupon from El Torito in the mail, but this time I only had a $5 off coupon. Still a good bargain though. (If you sign up for their email list on their website, you can get a $8 guacamole for free!)


Chips & Salsa

It was our first time at Laguna Hills location. Service was on the slower side here. A waiter brought us chips, then brought us salsa 10 minutes later. They weren't all that buys, but food came out really really slow.

[Lake Forest] [Asian Fusion] Pei Wei Asian Diner

Pei Wei Asian Diner
23632 El Toro Rd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 860-2001
http://www.peiwei.com

I received a buy one entree get one free coupon from Pei Wei's email. Signing up for restaurants' email list is a great way to save money because they often send customers exclusive coupons. We've always like Pei Wei. I like how the food is prepared and cooked fresh after you order.



Don't forget to ask for a free Pei Wei's reward card when you place your order. You can get 1 free entree after purchasing 10. We placed our order at the counter, then found a booth to sit down. A few minutes later, a waiter brought us our food.

[Aliso Viejo] [Pizza] Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza
27131 Aliso Creek Rd
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 389-0333
http://www.dominos.com

Did you guys all grab the $8 Domino's Pizza Groupon deal a few weeks ago?  For $8, you can get a large pizza with any topping you want (up to 10 toppings!). For a greedy person like me, that was an awesome deal because I always want to add EVERYTHING to my pizza.


Large Any Topping Pizza ($8.00)

I placed the order on Domino's Pizza's website. The ordering process was very easy, and I love how after I finished ordering, they tell me exactly who is doing what on my pizza. There was a time bar on the page. It showed things like "we have received your order", "now Nicole is adding the toppings to your pizza", "now your pizza is baking", etc.... then it told me when the pizza was ready. Love that feature of their website.

[Teddy & Twinkle] In the Bedroom

Today I'm sharing some sexy pictures of Teddy and Twinkle in bed. haha....



Twinkle and Teddy sleeping together on the bed.

[Huntington Beach] [Chinese] Big Chopsticks

Big Chopsticks
19092 Beach Blvd #V
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 968-2169
http://www.bigchopsticks.com

I went to Huntington Beach to pick my glasses. I was still recovering from my wisdom teeth extraction, and didn't feel like cooking for Dr. P. So I thought I would just get takeout for his dinner and lunch next day. I flipped through my Entertainment Book, and found Big Chopsticks only a block away from my eye doctor.


Mongolian Beef ($5.99) / Assorted Greens with Shrimp ($6.99)

My Entertainment Book coupon was buy 1 entree and 2 drinks to get a entree for free. Their lunch special is really cheap. Everything was only about $12. It fed Dr. P about 4 meals.

[Cook] Chicken Cream Cheese Pasta

I got a coupon to get a free new Philidephia Cooking Creme. I used some leftover chicken and veggies, and spaghetti from my pantry to make Chicken Cream Cheese Pasta. The seasoned cooking creme cheese as a pasta sauce was pretty good. This meal is so simple and fast because of the cream cheese.


Chicken Cream Cheese Pasta

You can make it with pretty much anything you want. Some protein and some veggies would do. I used chicken, snow peas and spinach. Also you can use any kind of pasta you like.

[Bread Machine] Granola Bread

I like Granola, and thought Granola Bread sounds yummy. But my bread didn't turn out good. It was really hard and dry. The bread didn't even come out as a regular "bread shape". Perhaps I didn't measure the ingredients right?


Granola Bread
from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook

(1 1/2-Pound Loaf)

1 1/8 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 1/8 cups bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups granola
1 tablespoon gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons SAF yeast

[Slow Cooker] Chicken Marbella

This recipe came from Woman's Day Magazine. I found the dish to be not salty enough. Even though the chicken turned out good, tender and soft, but the flavor was just alright.


Chicken Marbella
Made famous by the former New York City–based specialty food shop The Silver Palate, this dish is a heady mix of sweet, salty and tangy flavors—the result of pairing pungent olives, capers and prunes with white wine, brown sugar and parsley.

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours

1/3 cup white wine
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and pepper
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 Tbsp capers
1/2 cup prunes
1/3 cup pitted green olives
4 small chicken legs, split (4 drumsticks, 4 thighs; about 2 1/2 lb total), skin removed
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup long-grain white rice

[Irvine] [Chinese] Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechwan Restaurant

Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechwan Restaurant
重慶美味川菜
5406 Walnut Ave #C
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 651-8886

It was the night before I had my wisdom teeth extraction appointment. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to eat normally for a while. So what was the one meal I want to eat before the next two weeks of pudding and soup diet? Spicy Chinese food, of course!


風味冷菜 Cold Appetizer ($5.50)

We got our usual spicy beef, kidney, and green veggie cold appetizer. Everything was good. But we noticed portion has became smaller and smaller, especially when the restaurant is busy.

[Cook] Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart

When I saw the finished cream tart, I couldn't believe I actually made it. It looked almost as good as store bought tart. Then when I tasted it, I still couldn't believe it came out of my own kitchen! I used to be so afraid of baking. Not anymore! The tart is not difficult to make, but just has many many steps, and each step takes some time to make. But when you taste it, you would think all the work is worth it! Since now is strawberry season, and lots of markets have strawberry on sale, it's great time to make this strawberry-almond cream tart!


Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart
Nothing says spring like juicy fresh strawberries, especially when they're topping a tender tart. You'll have extra glaze -- try it on ice cream or pound cake.

Crust:
36 honey graham crackers (about 9 sheets)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 teaspoons water
Cooking spray

Filling:
2/3 cup light cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Topping:
6 cups small fresh strawberries, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

[Cook] Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

The muffins wasn't too sweet. It tasted like really good blueberry muffins with just a hint of lemon. The lemon glaze was ohhhhhhh so good!


Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
The  sweet citrus glaze drizzled over the muffins complements the flavor of the berries.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 cup blueberries
Cooking spray
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

[Cook] Frittata with Spinach, Potatoes, and Leeks

The Frittata looked so good when it came out from the oven. I always thought Frittata is hard to make, but it wasn't at all. This vegetarian egg dish tastes very gourmet and healthy. Love it!


Frittata with Spinach, Potatoes, and Leeks
Of all egg dishes, frittatas are the most wine-friendly, thanks to their slightly crusty, slightly caramelized exterior as well as the fact that ratio of egg to filling is low.

1 teaspoon butter
2 cups thinly sliced leek (about 2 large)
1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach
1/3 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
2 cups cooked, peeled red potato (about 3/4 pound)
Cooking spray
1 1/2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded provolone cheese

[Cook] Field Salad with Snow Peas, Grapes, and Feta

I love the grape and feta cheese in this salad. Such a perfect combination with the balsamic dressing. The snow peas added some crunch to the salad, but I would enjoy the salad just as much with or without it.


Field Salad with Snow Peas, Grapes, and Feta
The sweetness of fresh snow peas and grapes is balanced perfectly by sharp feta in this crisp green salad.

5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (the web version recipe used white wine vinegar)
5 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 cups gourmet salad greens
2 cups snow peas, trimmed and cut lengthwise into thin strips
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

[Cook] Spring Brunch

Instead of going out to eat, I made Eastern brunch at home! I got Wine, Food & Friends by Karen MacNeil at Border's bargain bin for only $5 (original price $25!). The recipes in the book all came from Cooking Light Magazine. Ms. MacNeil basically put the menu together, and suggested wines to pair with the menu.


Field Salad / Frittata / Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

The Spring Brunch menu includes

* Field Salad with Snow Peas, Grapes, and Feta

* Frittata with Spinach, Potatoes, and Leeks

* Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

* Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart

[Aliso Viejo] [Mediterranean] Daphne's California Greek

Daphne's California Greek
26611 Aliso Creek Rd #C
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 831-5004
http://www.daphnes.biz

We had a buy 1 get 1 free coupon from Daphne's Greek Cafe. We have one only minutes away from our home. We slept in on a Saturday, and went to Daphne's for a laid-back weekend lunch. We drove right pass the restaurant, and Dr. P kept on asking "where is it?" We circled around the parking lot one more time and finally spotted the place. They changed their name from Daphne's Greek Cafe to Daphne's California Greek. They also have a brand new logo, new color scheme, and a new menu. No wonder we didn't recognize the place when we drove by. Now the menu is smaller, and look healthier. They added grilled salmon, but got rid of the roasted chicken. I think that chicken dish had like 1,200 calories or something like that. But it was good!


Lemon Chicken Soup ($2.99 $1.25)

Dr. P added on to his order for $1.25 (regular price $2.99). The soup was very lemony. I thought it was too sour for my taste, but Dr. P likes it a lot.

[Cook] Homemade Chinese Dinner

This was a Chinese dinner I made at home using what I had in the fridge.



Sauteed shacha beef, shrimp omelette, tofu stir-fry, and pig's ear from 99 Ranch Market.

[Cook] Pho Bo Beef

I bought this app called The Photo Cookbook on iPad ($4.99). There were 80 recipes with detailed photos on each and every step. All the recipes are quite easy and fast to make. The photo of each ingredients and all the steps help a lot. The first recipe I tried from this app was Pho Bo Beef. I never thought I could make pho at home. Turned out it wasn't as hard as I thought.


Pho Bo Beef

Because of copyright, I won't post the full recipe here. But I'll describe what I did. First I cooked the rice noodle and topped each bowl with some thinly sliced beef. Then sprinkle A LOT of chopped green onion on top.

[Aliso Viejo] [Bakery] Bruegger's Bagel Bakery

Bruegger's Bagel Bakery
26921 Aliso Creek Rd
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 360-8217
http://www.brueggers.com

Bruegger's Bagel Bakery has a Wednesday special to get a dozen bagel for $5.99. I went in to grab the deal and to use a $2 coupon to get a sandwich for lunch.


Roasted Veggie Melt Hot Panini ($5.69 $3.69)

Almost everyone in line ordered bagel sandwiches. But since I was already getting a dozen bagel, I felt like having something else. Hot panini sounded good. I was in the mood for some veggies that day and ordered Roasted Veggie Melt Hot Panini.

[Irvine] [Chinese] Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechwan Restaurant

Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechwan Restaurant
重慶美味川菜
5406 Walnut Ave #C
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 651-8886

Yup, back to Chong Qing again! If I never say no to Dr. P, we'd probably be eating at Chong Qing every two days.


風味冷菜 Cold Appetizer ($5.50)

For the cold appetizer, we got our usual kidney and potatoes. Then I wanted to try something different and picked pig stomach. It was a bad choice. It didn't taste good at all. It lacked flavor and had that organ taste, so it was pretty gross. We think it would taste much better if they make it spicy.

[Mission Viejo] [American] Paul's Pantry

Paul's Pantry
27409 Bellogente,
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
(949) 364-1088
http://www.paulspantrymv.com

I found Paul's Pantry from Groupon. Bought a $20 Groupon for $10 because breakfast is Dr. P's favorite meal, I thought he would love to try a new breakfast joint.



We woke up really late that day, and came to the restaurant around 1pm. By that time the restaurant was pretty empty. I think they close at 2pm. But I can imagine this place to be really busy on a weekend morning.

[Aliso Viejo] [Coffee/Tea] Boba Me Baby (CLOSED)

Boba Me Baby
22912 Pacific Park Drive #B
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(CLOSED)

We live in the city of Aliso Viejo. My friend Amy also works in Aliso Viejo. We often talked about how we wish there is a boba place around here. One day Amy discovered Boba Me Baby near her work. She was so excited when she told me about it. She tried their boba milk tea slushy, and thought it was pretty good. So Dr. P and I went there on a Friday night to try.



Since they had a completely wrong address on a wrong street listed on Yelp, Dr. P drove around the area for at least 15 minutes. Finally we figured out the location from a Yelp reviewer's comment. The place was empty, and super loud music was blasting. There were 4 workers working that night.  I was used to seeing Asians working in boba places, but all the workers at Boba Me Baby were young Caucasian kids.

[Laguna Niguel] [Burger] Deemer’s American Grill

Deemer’s American Grill
27221 La Paz Rd #E
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 425-8770
http://www.deemersgrill.com

Ever since we tried Deemer's a few month ago, we were hooked. We came back a few times to get take-out for our burger and movie nights. I ALWAYS get the same thing, Napa Burger with yummy yummy goat cheese. One day we decided to go to the restaurant to have an early dinner over there.



The weather was nice, so we sat outside on the patio. This place got completely full around 6-ish. Lots of family with kids were here. We came here when they were first opened, and business was slow. Seemed like words got around, and people love Deemer's just as much as we do.

[Irvine] [Chinese] Panda Express

Panda Express
73 Fortune Dr #103
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 450-0857
http://www.pandaexpress.com

Dr. P came back to Irvine Spectrum to meet me in the afternoon. He didn't eat lunch and was hungry. I had coupons from Panda Express for buy a 2-item combo, get 1 more item for free. Since there was a Panda Express right there, we just went in to grab something to eat quickly.


Kung Pao Chicken /  Mushroom Chicken / Chow Mein / Fried Rice

We had two coupons, so each of us got an order. We figured we could have the leftover for dinner. 2-item combo was around $6 each. Dr. P picked Kung Pao Chicken and Mushroom Chicken with half chow mein and half fried rice. I liked the mushroom in mushroom chicken a lot. Big, fat and juicy mushroom is so good.

[Irvine] [Vegetarian] The Veggie Grill

The Veggie Grill
81 Fortune Drive
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 727-9900
http://www.veggiegrill.com

Dr. P had to go near Irvine Spectrum to take care of something. I wanted to go to the Apple Store to take a look at MacBook Pro. (Yup, that was the day I got my new laptop! :-D) So he dropped me off at Irvine Spectrum first. Since I had a free birthday meal coupon from The Veggie Grill, I grabbed a free lunch there. My birthday is in February, but they sent me the happy "belated" birthday coupon in April? It even said "happy belated birthday" on the postcard.


Carne Asada ($8 .95) / Sweetheart Fries ($2.25)
Grilled veggie-steak, marinated in Mexican spices, with southwestern spiced vegan mayo, red onion, lettuce, tomato on a wheat roll.

The birthday coupon was for a free entree order. Since I added Sweetheart Fries and a drink to my order, It would be about $5 extra. I took out my money to pay, but the nice cashier girl said "It's ok. You don't need to pay. Happy birthday!" How nice of her! I wanted to try something new, and picked Carne Asada since I've never had it before.

[Huntington Beach] [Chinese] Lotus Chinese Eatery

Lotus Chinese Eatery
清真館
16883 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 848-4940

Dr. P's family came down to OC to visit Grandma P. Afterward, we decided to take Dr. P's mom, aunt, his brother Henry, and Henry's girlfriend Lucine to try Lotus Chinese Eatery to try some Islamic Chinese food. We had dinner here before, and thought the food was even better than Mas Islamic in Anaheim. Since it was a Chinese restaurant, they asked me to do the ordering. I did my best to order food that I thought people would enjoy. But I guess I didn't do too good of a job because there was complaints on every dish I ordered.


什錦砂鍋 Assorted (Tofu, Chicken, Fish, Shrimp) Warm Pot ($14.95)

We had lamb stew warm pot before and thought it was delicious. But since Mrs. P and Auntie P do not eat lamb, I ordered beef stew warm pot. A few minutes after we ordered, our waitress came back and told us that they were out of beef stew soup that day. She suggested that we change it to the combination warm pot. I asked her what was in the warm pot, she told me combination seafood. Lucine is a vegetarian, but she also eats seafood. So I thought she would be able to have the seafood soup, too. She had a few sips of the soup, then found out there were actually chicken inside the soup. I felt bad. But I really didn't know there were chicken in there. Other than that, I thought the soup was really good. Lots of fish and shrimp in it. I like the Chinese cabbage a lot, too. Mrs. P and Auntie P seemed to enjoy the soup a lot also. They all had multiple bowls of soup.