"baking" a cake

I made a diaper cake for one of the girls in the office. My friend gave me her recipe (copyright pending!). Too bad the baby shower got postponed two months :(.

candy-making

My small group and I had our Christmas potluck tonight. Everything but the Marie Callender's pies was homemade. We had salad, turkey, glazed ham, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, bok choy with oyster sauce, cranberry sauce, finger jello, peanut brittle, coconut brittle, rocky road, and chocolate covered assorted nuts. I had a nice conversation with my friend's dad, a semi-retired confectioner. He was telling me how to make the rocky road, that the most important part is watching the temperature of the chocolate. It should be about 92 degrees F when you pour it out. I asked, "so it's best to use a candy thermometer?" He said, "Yes, or you can do what [my daughter] does and test it on your wrist like baby formula."

*awaiting picture*

essboarding

Tonight I got to try out my friend's EssBoard. It's like a skateboard, but it only has two wheels and they swivel. You move by twisting your hips and legs, like carving on a snowboard. My friend got it from a friend in Korea, but they sell in the US for around $200. We had fun tonight, rolling around the tennis courts. Snowboarding without snow. I'd like to try it again, at least get to the point where I can balance without anyone holding my hand.


this picture is from the website. check out the video clips by clicking on the link above.

the mission inn

We had our office holiday lunch at the historic Mission Inn Hotel in downtown Riverside. I was really excited because I had heard so many good things about it, from people who were not from Riverside. Last year we couldn't get a reservation because they were booked months in advance. Today we had the lunch buffet, which consisted of salads, cream of asparagus soup, mahi mahi, chicken, pasta in alfredo sauce, grilled eggplant and zucchini, and various desserts. I was disappointed. The food was okay, but nothing outstanding. My friends must have been talking about the Sunday brunch. I tried some of the desserts and it was so not worth it! They had this thing that was made of the same ingredients as a cream puff, but it was hard and flat, the cream was too dense, and it was topped with a hard white chocolate (of which I'm usually a fan). The eclair wasn't much better. Too hard and not much taste. The mini cheesecake was the best thing I tried. The same diameter of a silver dollar, but only tasted as good as something store-bought. I didn't try any of the cakes. I hope I spared myself from something more disappointing. Maybe I've been spoiled by homemade desserts.

the counter

This Saturday, some friends from the bay area came to visit. We had dinner at The Counter, a burger place in Santa Monica. It's cool because you can build your own burger. I opted for a 1/3 lb. veggie burger with jalapeno jack cheese, tomatoes, grilled onions, mixed baby greens, roasted red peppers, and country buttermilk ranch on a honey wheat bun. It was tasty. The veggie patty had lots of corn in it. It didn't try to taste like a hamburger. We shared some orders of sweet potato fries, regular fries, and crispy fried onion strings. I think this was the first time I had sweet potato fries. They were really good, served with horseradish sauce.

I was good, saying no to dessert that night, but blew it tonight as I sampled the decadent desserts at my bookclub meeting. I couldn't resist! Who knew I liked macaroons?


my veggie burger. photo by mrjoro