Saturday, June 09, 2012

TASTING A FEW THINGS TODAY

Today I was rolling with my sister out to look for some things to taste on a Friday evening. So we kind of did the opposite and went for dessert first. Our first stop was "Susie Cakes" in Manhattan Beach, CA. We tasted the Red Velvet Cupcake, Strawberry and Chocolate on Chocolate. We also tried the strawberry shortcake cake.
The Red Velvet cupcake was nice. The cake was moist and sweet while the cream cheese frosting was sweet but not too sweet; definitely enjoyed the red velvet cupcake the best. The strawberry cupcake was a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting. The frosting was a tart flavor frosting which I wasn't use to, but the frosting and cupcake when eaten together was not bad. The chocolate on chocolate cupcake was ok.I personally love my frosting to be lite and sweet but I know in the tradition of making cupcakes the frosting is like the sweetest thing on the cupcake, all good! The strawberry shortcake cake was sweet in taste but the frosting was a lite cream with no sugar, well at least I didn't taste any.
My overall experience at Susie Cakes was ok. Appreciate the sweets for a Friday evening.

After dessert, we headed towards "THe Hummus Factory" in El Segundo, CA I believe. I ordered the Lula Sandwich (ground beef) and my sister ordered the Beef Sandwich with hummus and pita bread. I forget what the yogurt dip is called but we ordered that as well. My Lula sandwich was wrapped in a big pita with a ground beef like sausage, cilantro, onions and lettuce. My sandwich was OK. The hummus was basic and the pita bread to eat the hummus was a bit on the tough side. I would say that they have nothing on "Georges Greek Restaurant". I think the Hummus Factory is a Mediterranean style restaurant, but for me I'm gonna stick to Georges. I'm glad I had the chance to try out the Hummus Factory, but overall I'm good and am in no rush to return.

Hope everyone had a good Friday night and if by chance I taste anything else new, I'll be sure to share with the blogging world. On that note, good eats, good reads and good night!

NEW BOOK CLUB - "B-R-T"

So my friends and I have decided to form a new book club just for us. We're always talking about books we want to read and discuss, but either one of us reads the other one doesn't read and the other one doesn't complete the book. So we have all committed to reading at least one book per month which really in the reading world is NADA! One of my friends read 4 books in one day, who does that? Man, I wish I could do that. I think I was able to read 2 books in one day whoa.
So we've decided to read, "When you were mine" by Rebecca Serle and we will have our first discussion next month. I'm excited to read this book because its not your ordinary boy meets girl, Romeo and Juliet book. There is a twist which really catches my attention. I'm one of those "Happily Ever After" readers and please have a good ending or else I will be one unhappy camper! So I'm really going to put my best foot forward to read the chosen book for the month and also push myself to read 50-100 books for the Year 2012! Wish me luck:0

On a personal note, another book I'm looking forward to reading is "Heart of the Matter" by Emily Giffin. A story of two women who lead different lifestyles but where their families are their numero uno priority in life, as it should be. Something happens to the two ladies which makes their world tumble and they need to decide what needs to be done to save their families. I'm 'hoping its a good read. Lets just hope I find some time to read all the good reads that are out there to dive into! Until then, wishing myself good luck with the new book club and other books on the list to conquer..

Thursday, June 07, 2012

DINERS, DRIVE INS AND DRIVES (TRIPLE D'S)

                         FOODNETWORK'S  DINERS, DRIVE INS, AND DIVES

So my new thing is to come home from work, turn on the tube and crash into Diners, Drive Ins and Dives with Guy Fietti (sp?). I love this show and even though I don't cook, I totally love to watch other people cook, other people taste the food, then who knows, if by chance one day I'm in one of the towns that are featured on the show- you better bet your bottom dollar I'm gonna have what was on the show - NO JOKE! So Guy, the host of the show lived in Belmont Shores, CA which is neighbors to the LBC - known to the locals as Long Beach City - oh yea! So that in itself is great. I love Belmont Shores. Its such a small city and the neighborhood looks so inviting. Every weekend you can count on Belmont Shores being packed with college students in the pubs, bars and local restaurants. I''m proud to say that I've been to a few of the restaurants in Belmont Shores and have enjoyed walking the strip in the late evening hours of the night. Its  a safe little city, well lit, police patroling the area in vehicles and on bikes and just alot of people out to have a good time, wine and dine and enjoy the ambiance.

This month on Foodnetwork is "GRILLING". Now I don't grill but boy do the steaks, and meats look delicioso! The food shows I watch are of course Triple "D", Chopped, Sweet Genius, Paula Deen, Cupcake Wars, Iron Chef, Food (ology), Rachel Ray and some shows on the Cooking Channel. There are probably a few that I forgot to mention but I spend most of my TV time on the Foodnetwork channel. Hey who knows maybe one day I'll actually try to muster up some recipes and give it a whirl why not huh! - We shall see (fingers crossed).

So there are few food that stick out in my mind that I will definitely seek out and taste. Pulled pork sandwich, Po Boy Shrimp Sandwich, Paula Deens Lemon Cake, Pizza from Chicago and New York, Cup Cakes from all the cupcakeries in Southern California, Prime Rib from different restaurants to compare the tastes, and the list goes on and on.

Tonight I tried a pulled pork sandwich from Carson, CA at the Home Depot Center. It was an OK sandwich, nothing fancy, nothing jumped out at me it was just OK. The meat was tender and the sauce was good, but thats about it. It was served on an onion hot dog bun- different. I'll seek out other places to try pulled pork sandwiches in the near future. I'm looking for a place to get a good Po Boy Shrimp Sandwich yumm! Some people have told me that there are lots of local places in downtown L.A. which make em, so we'll see if I find time to give it a whirl. In the meantime, if I come across anything else interesting that I've tasted, I'll be sure to share my experiece. But for now, gotta go, "Hasta la Pasta baby!!"

RETURNING TO THE WORLD OF BLOGGING- WELCOME BACK!

OMG, how long has it been since I tapped into my BlOG too long goodness! The last time I blogged was in January and it is now June 7, 2012 - who does that, apparently I do.
Well as usual alot has passed and moving right along with the present ha! Lets see I can say that I did read a few books that I have posted on my blogpage stating anxious to read, but I didn't get a chance to post my review or rather I didn't get to write it up ugh..ay yay yay!
So Hunger Games, the movie, was released a few months ago and I loved it. Now the people who didn't read the trilogy do not fully understand what the movie was about. In order to get a clearn understanding and appreciation for the movie, I suggest that people read the books. I thought the movie stayed true to the book and for that I was grateful! Of course I don't like the plot of the movie where all these young kids are trained to ultimately kill each other and the last one standing wins, who wants to see that? But, the exciting part is the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale. 3 different people all trying to survive in the Hunger Games hosted by the Capitol  and also survival of the fittest in teh districts. Such a sad and torn place to live in those districts, being branded and labeled having no freedom to say, hey I don't want to work with only coal or work in the mines for the rest of my life what the heck..but the books are a definite good read by me. Alot of twists and turns in each book and for this excitement I kept reading like an ant following a picnic basket for food! I really appreciated how the directors perceived the Capitol and the people who live in the Capitol all the bright colors and luxurious speed trains everything was beautiful! I must say that I'm anxiously awaiting the next movie although I don't look forward to all the killings but its part of the books so be it!

Oh some of the books I've read already are Beastly, 10 things I hate about  you, The Soul Screamers Series, glad to say I'm up to date and read "If I Die", good read indeed. I do have other books that I've started but just couldn't get into like "Lost in Time" the Blue Bloods Series and "Destined" The house of knight series. I really tried to read them but after a few chapters there just wasn't anything that jumpe out at me to want me to continue. So I've put those two books aside for now!

A friend of mine referred me to a book site that is fanctastic and if you're a reader and enjoy books, you gotta log on and become a member..Its called goodreads.com! Totally easy to manuever and get around. There are plenty of good things to read and this year isn't exactly turning out the way I imagined, but none the less I will still try to complete my goal of reading 50-100 books CARAMBA GOOD LUCK TO ME!

Well I think thats pretty good for a start to make a come back to the world of blogging. Until the next time..thats all folks!