Outfit Post: San Mateo Caltrain

Hello, everyone! I hope you are all having a great Saturday.

The husband took me out on a date (movie and lunch) at downtown San Mateo. I am not sure if we're getting older but the activities we do often doesn't involve a lot of physical strength lately.  All we do is eat, go shopping or watch a movie. I have to admit that shopping burns more calories than watching a movie. At least there's a bit of exercise right there. LOL.

I'm wearing the H&M top I bought on clearance a few days ago. It's a sequined encrusted top and I paid 5$ for it. Can't beat the price and who says you can't wear sequins during the day? To downplay the flashiness of the top, I wore it with my tattered boyfriend jeans, strappy sandals and leather jacket just in case it gets colder in the late afternoon.

 I love the low-heel in my sandals but since I am wearing it for the second time today, I feel like I'm gonna have blisters later. It's not broken in yet and the straps near my big toe is rubbing onto my skin. And oh, I got this sandals on the clearance rack at DSW last month.

How did your Saturday go? Tell me about it.

Singapore-Style (Inspired) Chili Crab

My husband and I have been craving crabs for quite some time. And even though Dungeness crabs are still in season they're pretty expensive. But tonight, the husband felt extravagant and bit the bullet. We bought a three-pound worth two pieces of dungeness crab for dinner. I cannot remember what the authentic chili crab tasted like from one of our travels to Singapore 5 or 6 years ago. I stumbled upon this recipe at foodnetwork.com  from Tyler Florence and tweaked it a little bit to whatever ingredients that was available in my kitchen. It was surprisingly good although I cannot really say it's authentic. But we loved how the flavor came together. Sweet-spicy and a little sour.

Ingredients:

2 Dungeness crab, cleaned and cracked (the Asian supermarket cleaned it for us and hard shell removed)
1/4 Cup banana ketchup (what we had in the pantry)
2 Tablespoons chili-garlic paste (I used the bottled Lee Kum Kee)
2 Tablespoons low sodium stiry fry vegetarian sauce (also from Lee Kum Kee)
1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 Tablespoon tamarind soup powder dissolved in 1/4 cup of water ( i didn't have tamarind paste)
3 Tablespoon sesame oil
4 Green onion stalks, chopped (separate the white and green parts)
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
4 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 Tablespoons cilantro leaves  and more for garnish

Cooking instructions:

1. Steam the crabs for 15-20 minutes or until color turns bright orange. Set aside.
2. On a bowl, mix together the ketchup, chili-garlic paste, soy sauce, stir fry sauce, and tamarind soup. Set aside
3. On a large wok, pour the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the white parts of the scallion,ginger, garlic, half of the jalapeno, and chopped cilantro. Saute for a minute of two or until fragrant.
4. Add the steamed crabs and stir fry until covered with all the spices. Pour in the sauce and toss until the crabs are well coated. Cover for 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Keep stirring until the crab has well absorbed the sauce. Turn off heat.
5. Garnish with the remaining jalapeno peppers and cilantro. Serve with steaming rice. Enjoy! 

Stop and Smell the Flowers

Don't you just love flowers in the spring and summer time?

I kind of not in the mood to write these days and I am slacking again.

Trying to find some inspiration from nature. 

I snapped these pictures from our usual Sunday walk from church going to the mall.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Foodventure at The Grove Yerba Buena

I have read good raves about this restaurant from some famous bloggers I've been stalking in my idle time.

And I have been aching to try it out myself.

So on a trip to San Francisco yesterday with my husband, I had one agenda in mind: eat lunch at The Grove. 

Just like the herd of tourist having lunch at The Grove, a picture from the entrance is in order.

Look at the excitement on my face. It is written everywhere.

My order is an apple chicken salad. The serving is huge enough to share and served in wooden bowls with toasted sourdough bread. I am a sucker for all kinds of salad so this one gets a thumbs up. Nothing extraordinary but good.

The husband ordered the cheesesteak sandwich with a cup of vegetarian soup. I love the soup with a hint of cilantro and avocado. I will order it next time.

What our tablescape looked like. Rustic and homey. They serve breakfast all day and freshly squeezed juice too!

I had to mention that I had the most delicious squeezed apple juice for the first time in my life. No kidding. It was soo good I thought about all day. While my husband didn't like his "Arnold Palmer" juice. It wasn't bad. It was okay for him. Nothing special about it.

How much we spent for lunch. I would say it wasn't overpriced and with the thought that I loved the apple juice so much, I'd say it's all worth it!

The rest of the day spent roaming around SFO. Even had the chance to watch a free concert at the Yerba Buena park to cap the day.

Pork and Beans

We have once a week treat for red meat at home. We've been doing this for quite awhile now and it has been working out really well for us. Our diet consisted mostly of vegetables, fish and chicken. I made my own version of pork and beans last night and it was a hit. My husband loved it. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Rack of baby back ribs
• 1 Cup red beans soaked for 8 hours or overnight in cold water
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 4 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Medium onion, minced
• 2 Pieces carrots, cubed
• 2 Stalks celery, chopped
• 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (if using dried, 1 teaspoon)
• 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (if dried, 1 teaspoon)
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3 Cups of vegetable stock
• 2 Pieces jalapeno peppers sliced, rib and seeds removed
• 2 Teaspoon tabasco or any hot sauce
• 1 Can 8 ounce tomato sauce (you can also use canned tomatoes just make sure to cut them roughly)
• 1 Teaspoon brown sugar.
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoon of water

Cooking Instructions:

1. Separate the ribs by cutting them off individually. Render the fat by putting them on a nonstick pan and letting it cook covered in medium heat letting out all the fat we don't necessarily need. This is important for me every time I cook pork or beef stews. You don't put water in it as it will produce its own juice. This will take about 30-45 minutes. You will know it's done when some of the pieces has turned brown making them look as if they were actually fried . Remove the rib from the pan and discard the unhealthy fat.
2. Put the same pan back to the stove and cook the onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant and translucent. Add in the carrots, celery, parsley, cilantro and bay leaves. Saute for a minute until well combined. Next, toss in the cooked ribs and vegetable stock. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until the liquid is reduced.
3. Pour the tomato sauce along with the jalapeno peppers and a dash of tabasco hot sauce. Season as you like with salt and pepper. Put in the brown sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes more.
4. Lastly, thicken the sauce with the cornstarch mixture and cook for 2 minutes before you turn off the heat.
5. Serve with steaming rice or toasted sourdough bread. Enjoy!