Browse Month: April 2006

Teriyaki Salmon

salmonI tried a new recipe for teriyaki marinade today and with Jes’ baking/broiling technique, it totally rocked. Share time!
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In a small saucepan simmer the following ingredients:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine) or medium-dry Sherry
2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh gingerroot
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Simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved and reduced to about 1/2 cup. Cool to room temperature in a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water.
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Wrap a salmon steak (I buy them individually wrapped and frozen from Costco) in foil with the sauce. Bake in the oven (or toaster oven) for 20 mins at 250 degrees. Then finish it on a broil (with the foil opened) for about 5 minutes to get a nice crust on the top. Plate with sliced green onion on top and drizzle remainder of teriyaki sauce on top.

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Serve with cold/warm soba (topped with furikake and sliced green onion) and dipping sauce. I add wasabi to the dipping sauce for a little extra kick.

Mellow Day

It’s officially my last few hours of Spring Break. *sigh* What to do?! I guess I can say that it was nice to have the week off. I was kinda productive, yet I’m not sure where all the time went. Fortunately I had a pretty mellow Sunday.
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In the morning I dragged the husband, brother, and dog to the river bed for a 3-mile jog. Since it rained the night before, there was plenty of flowing water in the river and a few ducks and birds to see. Once we got home, we had breakfast and watched a little TV. Then we went to the mall to buy some new livingroom furniture to replace the set that we gave to Johnny. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazying around and going to the dog park. I thought it was a pleasant way to end my Spring Break. I’m just dreading all the work I have to do tomorrow. I didn’t do a lick of work this week. I’m gonna get my butt kicked this coming week.

An Afternoon with The Brother

Last night we went to Agora Churrascaria for dinner with Dayantha, Thilan, and Ti. The sirloin and skirt steak were good. I didn’t care for any of the chicken. The meal was about $35 per person and I’m not sure I really ate my share. Afterwards we met up with Derek and Elise who were in town for the weekend. We ended up at Dave and Buster’s at the Spectrum. We had some drinks, played some games, and I came home with a million little erasers and a little stuffed penguin for Koa. Mmm…penguin.
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This morning Patti came over to help assemble Holly’s invitations. We had to get them printed at Staples and I was happy with how they turned out. I’m so relieved that it’s all done. I suppose I could have done it all myself but it was a good excuse for the two of us to chat and catch up on things. It was great hanging out with you again, Patti!! And thanks for all your help!
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Later the brother came over to do some shopping for his apartment. We first went to Costco and I got myself a knitting book/kit. I’ve had my eye on it for some time and decided to snag it this time. Jes and I almost got ourselves a Dyson but smartened up and left it for another day. When we got home, Jes went straight to bed for a nap while the brother and I continued shopping. The next stop was Target and then the grocery store. We also sat down for a couple episodes of Tom & Jerry, which were hilarious. We were laughing so loudly that Jes could hear us from upstairs while he was trying to finish his nap. We also prepared a yummy pork carnitas dinner with all the fixings. Jes was so confused when I told him to go downstairs for some carnitas because it usually takes 4 hours to prepare. Well, this was Chiembanchong-style cooking where it involves taking the pork out of the package, warming it in the oven for 15 mins, and then shredding the meat. Jes was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Haha…the brother and sister team strike again!!The evening was topped off by a couple games of poker. The cousins came over for a second time this week and brought friends. Ken had some crazy cards in the first game and took everyone out one by one. I lost with a King-high straight! What kind of luck is that?!

sittin’ all day

Luckily I went for a run this morning because I pretty much made a dent in the couch from sitting in the same spot all day. Dayantha also made his own dent on the other couch too since he spent the day with me at home. He was doing research on rentals in Hawaii for our August trip and I finished Holly’s invitation (my first official Photoshop CS2 project!). I think the only time we got up was to have some lunch. What a great way to spend my last day of Spring Break. Oh yeah, I ran a 30:05 5K today…I’m getting close!

more Taku-chan

DSC_3245.jpgMarie had a presentation today with a client so I went over to her house this morning to babysit. It was only for an hour and Cole was on his best behavior. He’s so much easier than before. The last time I had to do this was when he was only about 4 months old and it was pretty rough. Now he’s walking around and much easier to entertain.
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This evening we had my other cousins over, Pish and Debbie. It feels like ages since I last hung out with them. Anyway, it was nice to catch up again. Now that it’s cycling season again, we’re all going out for a ride on Sunday morning. It should be fun. I just hope there aren’t any crazy hills.

through a child’s eyes

DSC_3102.jpgToday I took Marie and Cole to the Long Beach Aquarium. I wasn’t sure how it would go considering Cole’s age and unpredictable mood but it went rather well! Cole sat in the stroller most of the day and appeared so engaged in each exhibit. He will look at anything you point to and watches the fish so intently. He’s also walking now so he had some time to wander the halls freely and lean up against the glass to see the fish. Overall, I think he had a good time and Marie seemed to enjoy it herself. Afterwards we had lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., which was across the street. It was such a nice and sunny day that eating out on the patio was very pleasant. The service was not as cheesy as I had remembered it to be and Cole contently sat in his stroller eating his turkey, bread, fish, and avocado. Boy, can he eat! By the end of the meal, all three of us were stuffed and the birds had a feast with all the food that Cole had dropped on the floor.
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Later in the afternoon, I had to babysit Cole while Marie had to take care of some business. So, I baracaded my livingroom and hung out with him for about an hour or so. The dog and I even took him for a walk to the park and had some snack together. I’m so happy that Cole was in a good mood today. It made that hour so much less stressful than the last time I babysat. Phew!