Did someone order some Phoneix?

Well it's nice to know Harry Potter isn't Jesus like the story makes him out to be in the first one. The chosen one! The savior! There is finally some cool wizard battles in this one.

Toys for Us! Pics Below!

Our new office is looking so cool!
















We have a sea-side view... And um... bamboo... boats! Yes, boats. or dinghys.
















Some tiki island flavor.
















Just under the corrugated tin roof there is a black bar that is a big screen for doing presentations or for watching our 50's space movies. Behind the window screens is just a dry erase board. However! Just to the right, a little closer and the sign next to the windows reveals...
















Yes indeed. Yes indeed.
















And Ta-Da! I can't top the office but here is my Chinese Beef Noodles. Let me know if you want some cause I'm hoping I don't have to eat this for the next 10 days.

Nat-atouille

Someone suggested that title. Anyways, after being sold out THREE times, we finally got to see Ratatouille, but with several hours to kill before the next showing, we went out to Skyline Plaza for some grub. But who cares about food. Why? Because not only is Ratatouille a Pixar movie, but it's a Pixar movie about cooking! That's two homeruns without even throwing a ball! Do yourself a favor and go see that movie. It rocks. And the opening animated short "Lifted" is also awesome.

Beef Shanks - Part 1 - Chinese Roast Beef

Pre-cut state.
















So the general steps I followed were

1. Purchase Beef Shank. This was probably a piece a little over 2 pounds. I got it at a Chinese grocery market as I doubt you'd be able to get this type of meat at a Safeway. Plus, I doubt they'd know where they were getting there meat from.

2. Put in a pot (as thin as you have that will fit the meat) and then I indiscriminately started adding all sorts of things. Soy Sauce, Wine, Sake, Mirin. The idea is to cover the meat with liquid so it's submerged.

3. Add a piece of ginger and two Chinese spice bags. Sorry, I cheat. My mom made these bags with pre-measured amounts of spices in there such as anise (the starry looking spice), chinese peppers and such. Maybe you'd like to post the exact contents in the comments Mom?

4. Cook for 60-90 minutes. I think I cooked it for 90 minutes because there was just a little meat poking out the top and when I went to flip the meat over I ended up spilling some of my liquid so =P. The point of interest is it should be tender when you poke it. I don't remember what I exactly did so I probably wasn't paying attention. Mind you I was cooking this, the vegetarian dinner, the plum cake, a big vat of beef noodle stew (later), doing food storage chores all at the same time.

5. Let it cool overnight.

6. Remove and cut thin. It should be pretty firm now. If you cut it hot, it will wiggle around too much and you can't cut it thin. Of course you may want hot roast beef so that might not be so bad. If you do do that, do let it cool 10-15 minutes or so so the juices cool and congeal.

7. Now you have a great snack or sandwich meat. I prefer just snacking on it. I think the center of my meat was a bit of that nice pink color and the ones my Mom and Grandma make are usually brown but this is probably because my piece was so large? Anyways. It's good. If you read this blog and would like to try some, leave a comment and I will do my best to get you some.

Pre-Dance Meal

My coworker Jimmy/Dan is starting a new club/event on 2nd Saturday's of the month at Catalyst Cocktails called "Now Hear This" which advertises "Forgotten Favorites" and "Rare B Sides." Oh, and lies. Wait, that was my contribution. Anyways, you can go to the above link to check out set lists and streams of said sets. So Saturday was a super cook off of Beef Shanks but we'll save that for another posting. I invited other co-worker Chris over for a pre-club/dance meal. Chris being a vegetarian...
















The left one is just carrots, celery, bamboo shoots, (mung) bean sprouts, with vegetable stock and starch sauce. The right one (Chris claims to not like mushrooms so I made these on the side, the right side) is shitake mushrooms with black wood ears. The sauce is hoison, water, and sugar. There was supposed to be some sesame oil in it but I forgot.
















Chris is my #1 patron of banana nut bread but today I did something different. This is Plum Bread. The toppings are sliced plums, chopped almonds, and cinnamon. It's made just like Banana Nut bread but I used 3 plums (blended) instead of 3 bananas and almonds instead of walnuts or pecans. I also used an additional 2 plums to layer the slices on the top as well as putting some bigger chunks in the mix which turned out to be a good idea. You can see one on the side in the picture. Every plum was greeted by a hearty "MMMM!!!" by Chris. Eating it warm also helps.

Friday the 13th or Sunday the 31st?

There is probably a day that is more rare like Sunday the 31st. Not only are there 7 months without a 31st, but how often is it on a Sunday? Well asking questions without answers would not be very fair. In this century, there have been only 6 Sunday the 31st. Wednesday the 31st tops out at a count of 10. While in that same timer period there have been 13 Friday the 13ths! Oh scary! It's the 13th 13th! Has there been a Friday the 13th Part 13 movie yet?
















Havarti, Spinach, Mushrooms, Pinenuts.

Dinner. Daggers.

Don't know when the last time I made Chinese food...

















Also watched The Dagger of Kamui. Ian lent this to me.