Cheesy Chicken & Veggie Soup

This is a fuzzy cell phone picture of soup, but what it represents is significant: the first time I ever cooked for my boyfriend.

I don't really cook much in general, especially since during school, I have a meal plan at my dorm. Spending this past summer on the East Coast, buying groceries and doing stuff with them, gave me motivation, though, that I wanted to cook a little for myself and share the food with my boyfriend. Visiting a friend, who cooked delicious ceviche for his visiting girlfriend, my boyfriend, and me, provided even more motivation.

Instead of going out to eat before watching a ballet Saturday, my boyfriend and I had a home-cooked meal. It was up to me to decide what I would prepare. What ended up influencing my final decision for a dish was that my boyfriend was recovering from a cold, so a warm bowl of soup on a cold evening sounded wonderful. I found a recipe for Cheesy Chicken & Veggie Soup, courtesy of the blog vanilla sugar. My boyfriend especially seems to like creamy soup that's good for dunking bread into, so this definitely fit the bill. I would definitely consider this comfort food.

One of the things that I like about this recipe is how easy it was to make something so yummy, especially on my first attempt. I did feel a little bit of pressure (from myself), though, because I wanted to make a good first impression in the kitchen. Before starting cooking, my nerves definitely were getting to me when, for example, I couldn't find the milk that I had bought and my boyfriend had to go out and get some more. For the 10 minutes or so he was out, I was probably 80 percent done with chopping a medium to large onion (I'm not very confident in my knife abilities and tend to chop slow). However, things ultimately ended up working out for the best!

This is a dish where you can use whatever you have on hand in terms of leftover poultry and vegetables, which also helps cut down on the cooking time. Since I didn't have the "luxury" of leftovers, I used cubed pieces of turkey breast and grilled chicken from a supermarket's salad bar and a can of strained vegetables that had carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans, and potatoes.

I served this soup with slices of French bread that had garlic rubbed onto them, along with butter, cracked black pepper, and parsley. The bread unexpectedly got a little too toasty after just a couple minutes of broiling in the oven, but on the bright side, they weren't that burnt. Since this meal is hearty and kind of rich (with the creamed corn, cream cheese, milk, and mozzarella cheese), I served something light for dessert: fresh blueberries -- yum!

All in all, it was a great meal. My boyfriend and I were very pleased, and I definitely would like to cook again in the (hopefully near) future, not just for sharing food I had cooked (He also helped me a little in the kitchen, too), but also for myself.

Trick or treat

Smile! :-D

This was my first ever attempt at carving a pumpkin, though really, it was a team effort between my boyfriend and I. I designed it to be like a pirate with an eye patch. When I was carving the smile, one of the corners came too close to the eye patch, so we used toothpicks for support. The toothpicks actually added a cool effect. If we could have found a flimsy, black piece of fabric to put over the patch, then I wonder what kind of effect it would give it.

On Halloween, I also got to go trick-or-treating, something that I hadn't done in years! I was part of a group who dressed up as characters from the "Star Wars" films. Ahead of time, we had gone to thrift stores to find clothing to put together costumes at an affordable price. The results were amazing:

I was Princess Leia, and I probably spent less than $25 to put together an outfit that consisted of a white robe, a white skirt, and her famous hair buns that covered each ear. I pinned dog mullet wigs (go figure) that were each in hairnets to the sides of my head.

Afterward, we watched "The Others," starring Nicole Kidman:

Kidman plays a 1940s mother to a girl and boy, who all live in a big house in England. The children are sensitive to sunlight, so (conveniently) the rooms are so dark and add to the mysterious atmosphere when the family thinks there are ghosts haunting the place. The movie is suspenseful and there are parts that can make you jump, but it's not a film filled with blood and guts, which is good, since I can't stomach (ha ha) violence and gore. I was also familiar with the big twist of the film without having seen it. While that might have "spoiled" it for me in that regard, at least I could watch the film without being too jumpy and running out of the room.

All in all, it was quite a nice way to spend a Halloween evening.

October 25 -- Pancake Breakfast

More than 10 days ago, the big event that I've been co-organizing for the past few months finally took place ... and I've been recovering from it ever since. I've recovered from it enough that I'm dusting off the cobwebs from this corner of the Internet to provide you, dear readers, with some updates.

I was one of the co-organizers of a fundraiser/outreach event at my work. My boyfriend was kind enough to take some pictures during the event and share them with me afterward. The photo above shows a centerpiece that was on each of the tables. Believe it or not, the base is actually a red plastic cup. However, it has become more classy with the help of ribbons and leaves (As you can see, the event had a fall theme). The cup was topped off with a flat, clay pot, more leaves, and a tea light candle. Unfortunately, the candles couldn't be lit, due to the sensitive nature of the building (it's made of wood!).

In that picture, you can also partially see the program, which looks similar to the flier. You can also partially see the menu; have a better look:

The days leading up to October 25 were particularly busy. Among other things, I was responsible for much of the computer-based designing for the event. I especially liked how the donation drawings sheets turned out, which were used to showcase the different prizes that were available for people to buy raffle tickets. The prizes were pretty impressive -- who wouldn't want a chance to see a performance or visit an amusement for the fraction of the normal price?

Side 1

Side 2

Here's a picture of the dining room. Flags representing countries from all over the world are present, like at all of the previous Pancake Breakfasts, but my co-organizer and I wanted to focus on our theme and do additional decorations that were different. Warm shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown made up our color palette. Fake leaves and butterflies were hung from the ceiling with fishing wire, as well as on the walls.

The event really was like running a restaurant, with the residents of the dormitory helping out at different positions. The residents wear traditional clothing from various countries, and some of them perform, as you can see above. Overall, we served more than 300 people that Sunday morning.

I am SO glad that Pancake Breakfast is over. It was definitely stressful sometimes, and I didn't get very much sleep. On the other hand, we received a lot of positive feedback for the event, and it was a good personal experience when it came to event planning, which I'm sure will come in handy in the future.

10 more days ...

... until Pancake Breakfast, an outreach event / fundraiser I've been co-organizing at my work! At this event, the residents of the dormitory will cook, serve, and entertain hundreds of people during the morning of Oct. 25.

The residents wear clothing from different cultures while performing these tasks and interacting with guests. My workplace has some donated clothing of that sort, and Wednesday night was the first date that I started checking them out to people. 

It was interesting to see people trying on the exotic apparel -- sometimes it felt like a culture clash like the photo above depicts with the young woman using new technology while wearing a traditional dress.

I've already posted the Pancake Breakfast flier, and when they're finalized, I'll post other materials that I've made. I've designed the tickets, which will be simple leaves on colored paper. We've been so fortunate to have received so many great donated raffle prizes so far, and once all that has been finalized, I'll show you the prize information sheets that the people selling the raffle tickets will carry. 

I've also designed menus that will be on each table. Even though it's called Pancake Breakfast, we'll have three distinct buffets:

an American breakfast of pancakes and all of the related trimmings for that, scrambled eggs, bacon, beef sausages, and hashed browns

a Persian breakfast of lavash bread with toppings such as butter, feta cheese, labneh cheese, and mint leaves, and the bread is paired with a lentil soup called adasi

an Asian breakfast with pajeons (Korean pancakes) of scallions and kimchi that can be eaten with soy sauce and sesame oil and a Japanese miso soup

I've been so busy with the designing (gotta do programs too!), planning, and managing. Part of me is looking forward to Pancake Breakfast, while the other part can't wait until it's done and things have calmed down. Pictures from the event will be posted at this blog in the future, so stay tuned!

(Photo by

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogersmith/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

)

'That ain't no Etch-A-Sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, Homeskillet. '

I wanted to watch something from my big pile of library DVDs (I've already watched a few of them). I was in the mood for something relatively brief and decided to check out "Juno." I heard so many good things about it, such as an Oscar win for its screenplay.

The story of a teenage girl having an unplanned pregnancy isn't exactly an original concept. Juno the character and the words she and the other characters say are suppose to give this film something extra. There were times when I felt that the film overdid it with cultural references and attempts at "witty" remarks, like the title of this post, so that got a little annoying. Maybe I felt a slight letdown from high expectations.

Still, there were nice moments in the film that were funny, touching, or made you think. Not sure if this would be considered a SPOILER, but one of my favorite quotes from the film is advice that Juno's dad gives to her when she wonders if "it's possible that two people can stay happy together forever":

"Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with."

Direct and interesting word choice, but the sentiment is so true.

The music on the soundtrack was pretty cool. I recognize a Belle & Sebastian song because a special someone introduced me to that band a year ago. I also recognized Cat Power's version of "Sea of Love," which was a standout song to me when a friend wanted to check out her CD, The Cover Records, and let me borrow it from him.

OK, one DVD done, but so many more left!

It's raining, it's pouring

People often associate sunshine with the Golden State, a.k.a. California. Today, though, there have been storms throughout the state: so much wind and rain! Luckily, I didn't have to go out that much or spend a lot of time outside. On the other hand, my sister, who goes to a university in another part of the state, still had to attend her aqua aerobics class, which takes place in an outdoor pool!

When I did head out, I was armed with an umbrella that I had bought in May in New York, where I attended training for my internship. I didn't bring an umbrella or hooded coat when I went to the East Coast over the summer because I didn't expect it to rain so often -- yet it did in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. During that time, I was definitely missing the sunshine and lack of much humidity back in California.

I look forward to the future, though. It should be sunny later this week, and I'll be attending a musical performance this Saturday with a special someone -- I'm definitely excited!

By the way, the picture above is appropriate to me, not just for the rain, but also for the Stormtroppers. I'm going to be Princess Leia for Halloween! I need to put together an outfit and figure out what I'm going to do to my hair to give myself nice, thick buns on each side of my head (my hair is just past my shoulders). Oh well, I still have time!

(Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
(P.S. Check out more photos by Stéfan of Stormtrooper figurines -- one for each day starting on April 3, 2009 -- doing fun stuff, such as playing "Wheel of Fortune," slicing kiwis with Darth Vader, and going surfing).

'I love you too, but I'm gonna mace you in the face!'

Out of context, the above quote may seem funny. In context, it's just plain hilarious in the film "The Darjeeling Limited." This Wes Anderson film is about three brothers, played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman, who all have baggage (literally as you can see above, but also figuratively) and go on a "spiritual quest" together across India. Things don't go as planned, however.

This is the first Wes Anderson film that I've seen, though I've heard of his other ones, such as "The Royal Tenenbaums." I wouldn't necessarily recommend "The Darjeeling Limited" to everyone, because it is an acquired taste. I found it an interesting experience.

"The Darjeeling Limited" is one of a few DVDs that I recently watched. I don't go to movie theatres that often, but I do watch DVDs sometimes -- I have a pile of them from the library. Here are a couple other ones:

"Man on Wire" is a documentary about Philippe Petit, a French tightrope walker and street entertainer who performs his art illegally in 1974 between the recently constructed World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City. Through reenactments, old footage and photos, and interviews with those involved, the historic event and the planning and action that precedes it comes alive. Viewers also learn more about Petit and two previous daring, illegal performances he has done at famous locales.

There were a bunch of superlatives on the DVD case, and this documentary has won many awards, including the Oscar earlier this year. It certainly deserves the acclaim. Even though I know what happens (the DVD case basically spells it out), I still waited with anticipation for how it would transpire. Reenactments in documentaries can be cheesy and unnecessary, but they really did help tell the story in "Man on Wire." The camerawork was interesting, though there were a few times when the filmmakers made the introductions of certain people so overly dramatic that it was comical.


Finally, the other film I recently watched was "The Triplets of Belleville (Les triplettes de Belleville)," a French animated film about a grandma who goes searching for her missing bicyclist grandson and is aided by a musical trio. The images aren't cutesy and bright; they have character and use a lot of earth tones. One of the songs from the film was used in a cool dance a couple years ago on the television dance competition, "So You Think You Can Dance":