yoso-silly – Page 25

So what did you do on “Dark Thursday”?

September 9, 2011 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Were you one of the 5 millionpeople who were unwilling participants in "dark Thursday"?

I was driving on Balboa avenue at 340 pm yesterday afternoon when I noticed that all of the traffic lights went out….then I noticed all of the lights everywhere were out. It was a bit chaotic getting home; the usual 15 – 20 minute drive took twice as long and I know folks whose drive home took 3-4 times as long as usual.

We had made tentative plans for dinner, but didn't think it would be a great idea to go out and decided to just stay home as we sent text messages (for some reason voice calls wouldn't go through, but texts worked just fine) to our friends to make sure everyone was ok. So it ended up being Spam and Egg sandwiches for us……

I later went to the nearby strip mall to see what was going on…….. the supermarket, Rite Aid, and all other businesses were closed…except for the liquor store where a line stretched all the way across the strip mall:

Funny thing was, it looked like folks were buying a whole lotta beer…and not much anything else! Strange priorities….and like one of my co-workers told me: "If last night was the zombie apocalypse, we'd have been dinner….."

Man, without all that white noise it sure did seen quiet, but the moon sure did look beautiful, though my photo didn't…..

And in the end I joined all the folks who would have become zombie fodder……heck, I couldn't let those two cans of Tecate go to waste, could I?

Like they say…."when you have clamato…you make Micheladas". The overall vibe was not nearly as crazy as the last time we had anyrhing close to this and I was glad for that.

Today, I'm sorta feeling…well, outta-synch might be the best description, so we ate at home again.

So what did you do during Dark Thursday???

Sunday Stuffs: Yakyudori in Hillcrest is now Raku, Mrs Rice is now Thai, and other stuff

July 24, 2011 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Yakyudori in Hillcrest Closed:

FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Yummy Yummy" sent me a text almost two weeks ago telling me that Yakyudori in Hillcrest had closed. About a week later I read the same on SD Urban. Since I was in the area earlier this week….and hey, I must've won the lottery because I scored a parking space right in front of the former Yakyudori. Signage is up for a place called Raku Japanese Tapas:

And no, I don't think this place has anything to do with Aburiya Raku.

3739 6th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Mrs Rice is now Dusit Thai Cuisine:

Now when did that happen? I ate at Golden City one week and it's Mrs Rice….I come back the next and it's just what we need in this area…..another Thai Restaurant…of course we can always use a good Thai Restaurant, so we'll see….

5375 Kearney Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

What does this have to do with San Diego (well, kinda)?

I try to catch Ken Kramer's About San Diego on PBS when I remember and have some time. Certain shows have fascinating tidbits….. and at then end of one of his segments he started mentioning famous folks from…..Valley Center. And one of the names he mentioned (nope it wasn't Bill Murray) was Betty Crocker….. well kinda Betty Crocker as the name is a brand name. Agnes White Tizard, a Home Economist who created and tested recipes for the Crosby Washburn Company, and was the voice of Betty Crocker on radio shows starting in 1924. Though we now know Valley Center for Valley View Casino and on this blog, places that Cathy posts about…. I thought it was fascinating to to know that Betty Crocker (kinda-sorta) lived in Valley Center!

And finally…

Do you think Sammy really likes Frosty Paws Bites???

You know….I've been tempted to eat this way on more than one occasion……

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

COMC: Little Sheep in photos

July 10, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

A couple of months back, the Missus requested Little Sheep for Her B-Day dinner. I took some photos as always, but never posted them. A couple of days ago, I got an email from one of my favorite FOYs (friends of yoso) who kiddingly dared me to do a hot pot post….. even though I enjoy spicy food on hot days, Sichuan Liang Mian, a good Koi Soi… man, hot pot would be pretty tough, for me. What about you?

Of course I'm expecting a comment from Ed from Yuma telling what he'd go for huo guo anytime, even after walking over cactus and tangling with gila monsters in the 120 degree Arizona heat running backwards uphill both ways….. (just joking Ed!)

Me on the other hand, I'm not so sure….. even though I know folks looove hot pot in Sichuan and other areas of China during summer.

Anyway, here's to hot pot, but maybe not on a week like we just had. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot & Grill
4718 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

The Missus just peeked over my shoulder and told me, "why are you doing a post on Little Sheep, are you nuts???" He-he-he…maybe a bit crazy from the heat?

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Going out to eat and craving SPAM™

June 24, 2011 Cathy What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk is busy, ed(from Yuma) is busy and Cathy has some free time.

The other day, after posting about America's SPAM™ Championship at the County Fair (at the bottom of the post), I was wanting more than a simple SPAM™ breakfast, even though I now had some ideas for a more complicated use of the delightful canned pork and ham product.

The Mister and I were at Westfield Parkway Plaza, out here in East County. I saw this sign at Hula Hawaiian BBQ, in the Food Court.
$1 for SPAM™ musubi. I think there were restricted days or hours. Anyhow, I was in the right place at the right time and ordered two pieces (the regular price is two pieces for $3).

The warm rice topped with a nice teriyaki sauce, topped with a thick slice of grilled SPAM™ and wrapped with a strip of seaweed- a perfect combination of flavors and texture and great food at a crazy inexpensive price. Satisfied my craving…
Until two days later, when I went with a friend to Chopstix Too and was told to order "anything I craved".
So, I chose the tofu salad ($4.25) (A very good size lettuce salad with par-boiled broccoli and shredded carrots and red cabbage as well as chopped tomatoes topped with about half a pound of a very silken tofu. There is salad dressing on each table here and I added it to the lettuce after enjoying it plain.)
as well as SPAM™ roll ($3.95) (apparently a 'log' of raw SPAM™ with radish and avocado rolled in seaweed then rice and sesame). This was excellent, and exactly what I wanted.

I hope everyone gets to fulfill a craving when they are out and about. It's a great way to live.

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1288

Midweek Munching: Cha Soba Tororo…. and SPAM Katsu Curry

June 22, 2011 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes, yoso-silly

I've been kinda bored with things lately, so over the last week I decided to play with my food a bit. My pantry is a bit too heavily stocked so I picked an item or two to liquidate, a would pick up some ingredients on the way home….often with little idea of what I was going to do. This is what I ended up making.

Cha Soba Tororo:

I enjoy Cha Soba, basically soba with green tea powder added. I enjoy the flavor; it seems to have some inherent saltiness with hint of green tea in the background.

A little actually goes a long way. I only made half of the bundle which was enough for two small servings. I know you can't see it but there's a bed of grated yamaimo(mountain yam) adding some refreshing…. well, snottiness to the whole dish. I picked up some ikura and benishoga on the way home. Both were on sale at Mitsuwa.

A bit of mustard and a drizzle of Chiba Shoyu and this was good to go…. the Missus didn't think much of it at first, but really enjoyed it.

I finished up my smoked duck legs, added some hiyakko tofu and konnyaku sashimi, and I had a nice refreshing summer meal.

I had also picked up some quail eggs, but really didn't know what to do with them. So I decided to take the easy way out and made some:

SPAM® Katsu Curry……something that I've posted on before. A while back Marukai had SPAM® Singles on Sale. And while the internal me cringes at how expensive this stuff actually is compared to a can of SPAM®, at least I won't feel obligated to eat the whole can of SPAM® after I open it…… wait a minute, I'm going back to cans after this!

Anyway, 1 package of singles cut in half made two panko breaded "cutlets" if you will. Two packages of Japanese Curry from the pantry, benishoga, and four quail eggs later….. You got crunchy breaded and fried SPAM® over rice appropriately formed by my musubi mold on a bed of curry, topped by some fried quail eggs.

Not something I'm particularly proud of…….. but it was tasty….. and one of my favorites. Hey maybe if Curry House had served this, they might still be open in San Diego? Nah…..

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Saturday Stuffs: Flavaful Yogurt now serving Banh Mi, and what I had for dinner

June 18, 2011 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

Flavaful Yogurt now serving Banh Mi:

At least that's what the sign says. So now you can get a Banh Mi to go with that Durian fro-yo. I guess I'll be checking them out soon. Actually, I enjoy the lychee and coconut more than the durian yogurt here……

Flavaful Yogurt/Avian Fresh Drinking Water
6937 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

What I had for dinner:

I really wasn't up to going out tonight….so I made due….

Some Sun Noodle Cold Udon.

Earlier in the day I smoked some duck legs on my stove top smoker. I tried them straight out of the smoker, searing off the skin, but really didn't think the texture was too great.

I decided to deep fry the duck leg, which turned out quite well, along with some hiyakko tofu…..

I've been using my stove top smoker quite a bit recently…..

I hope everyone;s having a great Father's Day weekend!

What to do……..

June 15, 2011 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

When your spouse requests that you make something; then refuses to eat it? Well, when you have lemons……

The Missus wanted me to make Melitzano Salata; basically an eggplant dip. So being the way I am, I selected a recipe, and made it as directed, something that I'll do just to see how it turned out.

It just so happened that I selected a recipe from a Greek Cookbook that I have, and this version, in addition to the standard lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil, uses Greek Yogurt and finishes off things in a blender. It actually tasted delicious. But the Missus wanted a chunky version, and I guess just as you wouldn't give someone who wanted chunky peanut butter, smooth…. She just plain refused to eat it. And told me that, "you better finish every drop…."

So while the Missus stuck with Her oven roasted vegetables…..

I had to figure out what to do….. bread and melitzanosalata got pretty old pretty quickly. But I soon had an idea. On the way home, I bought free range chicken leg cut for karaage, which cost me all of $1.79. I smeared a good amount of the eggplant on a plate, poured some olive oil (they call it "liquid gold") we brought back from Crete on it, and brought it to room temp.

Meanwhile, taking the Ali Nazik Kebab, as my point of reference, I seasoned the chicken with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, oregano, ground chili, and a pinch or cumin and seared it off. I placed the chicken on the bed of eggplant puree….

Served with roasted fingerling potatoes, thin slices of onion (love the bite of onion, it cuts the richness), and some sliced tomatoes (ditto the acid)…. this turned out to be pretty good.

So good, that the next night I bought some lamb loin chops on the way home and did the same……

Which was even better….. the Missus loved the lamb chops, but of course She wouldn't touch the eggplant. After all, it was a matter of principle and all that…..

Which leads me to the question. What have you made that you thought was a major flop, but in the end turned out to be delicious? You gotta love those blessed mistakes……

Yes, it’s that time again………

April 16, 2011 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

And no, I don't mean it's time for Sammy and Frankie's pre-Easter haircuts and degrading Easter "gear"…… I do love Sammy's expression though. It's almost as if he knew how silly he looked. And here I thought dogs don't have a sense of "self"!

Frankie on the other hand, doesn't really care so long there's a treat to be had at the end of this silliness.

No, it's time for the Missus and I to go on vacation……..

So, as always, I'll turn things over to Cathy, and we'll see you in a couple of weeks!

Here are photos of some of our recent meals….. nothing new really, but I had to use these photos sometime, right? Somewhere in here lies a clue of where we're headed….

Thanks for dropping by! We'll see you in a short while!

mmm-yoso! Shows some skin!

March 31, 2011 mmm-yoso Guatemalan Food, Hanoi, Peru, yoso-silly

You really didn't think, what I think you thought, right? That paints a pretty scary picture in my mind's eye……

Right after my post on Tri-Village, I received an email from "Dave" who asked me about…. well, basically skin, and where I've had the best dishes. The wording was quite interesting, and really cracked me up. So I thought I'd do this post as a companion to the mmm-yoso raw! post. Just for some fun…… After all, there are few things better than fried animal skin. What's interesting is that some of our favorite skin dishes aren't from anywhere here in the US. Even this one, from a future post…..

Wouldn't make the list…..

And in spite of what most folks think; this stuff:

From our banquet in Beijing was plain awesome…. but still didn't make my top three.

So without further ado, in no real order:

Fried Chicken Skin from Pollo Pinulito in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala:

Man, you gotta hand to the country that is home to Pollo Campero; they sure know how to fry chicken. And this little shop in the village of Santiago, on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala made some very good fried chicken skin.

I could smell the seasonings from outside the place. When we entered, that chicken skin, just out of the fryer was calling to me.

I actually carried that bag of chicken skin by boat from Santiago to San Pedro, and then on the next boat to Lomas de Tzununa, then up 400 steps from the muelle to our room. Was it worth it?

You bet……..

Hats off to the deep fried chicken skin in Thailand, but this had it beat by a mile.

Whenever the Missus and I talk about fried foods; this chicken skin from a humble little restaurant in Santiago Atitlan gives us "chicken skin".

Deep fried snake skin from Le Mat Village outside of Hanoi:

Even beyond the whole chugging down the cobra's beating heart…..

And drinking the snake bile and blood shots bit…….

One of the highlights of our Nine courses of snake in Le Mat was the deep fried snake skin, which we dipped in a really complex Nuoc Mam:

I'm not quite sure about meeting the snakes though. I think I'll pass on that next time, though that snake ruou was fantastic!

Cuy skin from dinner in Cusco:

I've probably mentioned our Cuy dinner in Cusco maybe a thousand times. But it is without a doubt, one of the most memorable meals we've ever had. And that skin on the Cuy, simply seasoned with olive oil, huacatay, and salt, was better than any lechon I've ever had.

And while we felt a bit uncomfortable meeting our dinner's siblings. It really didn't stop use from nibbling on those delicious crunchy toes and feet of the Cuy.

I know, I know…. I've shown waaaay too much skin today! But I hope you enjoyed the post. I hope I answered your question Dave!

Thanks for reading!

I was made for sunny days…….

February 12, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days…… nothing serious, congested, a bit of tickly throat, you know….. that kind of thing. Today was such a nice day, it was kind of a bummer ot be sick. After all, I could be doing all those fun things I enjoy on sunny days…. like eating!

Usually, I'll crave some noodle soup, Pho, Mi, or ramen when I feel congested. But today, I just wanted, one, well make that two things…….

I guess because it was rather warm; I wanted the Spicy Cold Chicken (aka "Saliva Chicken") and the Cold Sichuan Noodles……

From Ba Ren, of course…….

From Ba Ren of course. In truth, it did cause me to cough a bit, but man did it clear my sinuses. Plus, this cold has got my taste buds in a bit of a fritz, so the strong flavors sure was comforting in it's own way.

During a recent wonderful dinner with friends, the subject of cravings when sick came up. I mentioned saimin, as it was what I always wanted as a child when I felt sick. Perhaps I'll have to amend that! I really want to feel better soon, since there's a wonderful bottle of sake in the fridge that's been calling to me!

To quote The Weepies:

"I say, I was made for sunny days.

I made due with gray, but I didn't stay.

I was made for sunny days……"

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Postscript: "Little K" sister of FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Yummy Yummy" is off on a wonderful adventure for the next six months. I wanted to drop by and wish you well, but I really don't think you want any part of whatever ills me. So I'll just have to tell you this way. We'll miss you, but we all know you're off on an exciting adventure. I can't wait to hear all your stories when you return!