Taking it Back Old School (Great Depression Era Cooking)

Hi all! I am sorry that this will be a quick post, but I did want to put something up for the week. I was out of town for the first half of the week and have been a bit busy for the past few days. I also had to deep clean for apartment inspections & entertain a guest, today.

However, I do have a quick update! I came across a Great Depression era cookbook that belonged to my late great-grandmother. It's called "Meals for Small Families" by Jean Mowat. What I would like to do is periodically post recreated recipes from this book. I will call it "Taking it Back Old School", or TIBOS for short. One normal blog post and one cooking post of me replicating the recipes in the book and giving you a review on how each tastes. Some of the recipes are very interesting. I'll insert a picture of the author's recipe for coffee. There is a big difference between a one person serving and a whole cup of coffee. I believe that the egg and egg shell are being used as a thickening agent in this recipe to make the coffee go further. Perhaps during the Great Depression, eggs were affordable, or maybe more people did homesteading and had easy access to hens. I love history from WW1 to the end of WW2, so this little new blog segment will be fun for me, and I hope it is for you as well! I will do a history factoid too, because why not. I hope you guys are looking forward to this new blog segment, and enjoy!

This book is copyright 1929 and has been in the family for a long time. That's why it's so worn out looking.

It will be interesting to incorporate the egg in this one. I hope I don't get sick!

Let me know in the comments below if you would also like me to do WW2 era recipes after I get through the end of this book.


Till Next Time!

-Hachi

When Fish Fly! - Newport Pier Restaurant Review

Hi all! Today's post is a review of an eating establishment I recently went to. While I did provide a Yelp review for this particular establishment, I'd like to extend my review on my blog with pictures included. The establishment that I went to is called "Fly 'N' Fish Oyster Bar & Grill" in Newport Beach, California.

Photo taken from the Fly 'N' Fish website

The location is in McFadden Square by Newport Pier. Parking is $1.90/hour, and if you have a handicap placard or license plate, you do not need to pay at most parking locations. However, there are some exceptions. Newport Beach is known for frozen bananas and Balboa bars as well. Unfortunately, I forgot to grab one before leaving. Expect to circle around for long periods of time to find parking both here and Balboa Island. However, once you do find parking, check out the local hangouts around both of these areas. You can even grab touristy items in both locations.

Photo from Newport Beach Magazine - Balboa Bars

 My original Yelp review:
The atmosphere is nice and lively. It can be a tad bit loud so expect to speak loudly when you're with others. We (my mother and I) got the fish and chips, today. The fish has a great texture, not over seasoned, and not overcooked.  You get four pieces. You also get a side of fries, which I believe could be truffle fries, and coleslaw. As an avid coleslaw hater, I can say I ate it all up like Goldilocks eating baby bear's porridge. It has golden raisins in it as well, which adds a nice sweetness to it. The cocktail sauce was great with the fish as well. I've had a lot of fish and chips and this one is up there with the best. Also, the executive chef/general manager came and talked with us many times. He was funny and courteous. Also, he had really cool glasses This might have been my first time, but it certainly wasn't the last.

Started off with a glass of Blue Moon on draft with an orange slice on the side.

The inside of the restaurant - The man in white is the executive chef.

Fish & Chips with truffle fries, and coleslaw. That cocktail sauce was also amazing! I normally hate cocktail sauce.

At the restaurant- headband by & Other Stories

Sunglasses by Fendi, Crop Top by Forever 21, Overalls by Cherokee & thrifted from Savers, Over the Shoulder Bag by Mz Wallace, & Sandals by Mephisto

My view from Newport Pier - It was around 84 degrees that day - May 20th.

Anyone that personally knows me knows that I very rarely do Yelp reviews. I have to either really like or really dislike a place to review it. Luckily, Fly ' N' Fish made it on the 5 star review from me. I hope that you liked my review and photos.

Let me know in the comments below what Orange County restaurants you recommend me trying. I'm very open-minded when it comes to food choices.

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

Spring Favorites - 2017

I decided to do the Spring Favorites tag to mark the end of the first full month of my second favorite season! :)

Favorite Spring Lip Color: Mangoes Wild (Juicy Shaker) - Lancome
It took me a long time to make this purchase because I am one of those people that likes to try out a color multiple times to determine if I really want to buy it. It is a little bit on the pricey side at $22 (U.S. prices). However, you can get a lot of usage out of it. Less is definitely more. Using bi-phase technology, the Juice Shaker series mixes various oils with colored pigment. Occasionally, depending on the color, there might be more subtlety in display. For instance, many reviewers have stated that Mint To Be does not show up as blue on the lips despite the pigment being blue. My color, Mangoes Wild shows up quite noticeably on my skin tone and displays a decent amount of shine that is not overwhelming.

Favorite Spring Drink: Strawberry Acai - Starbucks
I LOVE this drink a little too much. I even call it liquid gold. As someone, who has a big interest in healthy living, this drink is great. It's lower on both the carb level and calorie level for those who want to enjoy Starbucks, but don't enjoy the high calorie intake of the fraps or the "basicness" of iced coffee. It isn't too sweet, but not bitter like unsweetened tea. It has a good balance for those who aren't into sweet drinks, like me, but also for those with a slight sweet tooth. I recommend getting it without the dried strawberries because they can leave a bit of an odd aftertaste. Others also get it as "the pink drink" with coconut milk, or straight concentrate without water.

Favorite Spring Clothing: Superdry
I am obsessed with Superdry. It's a really nice brand from the U.K. and influenced by Japanese culture. I love the designs on the clothing and the usage of Japanese and English. I use almost all my super dry shirts as workout shirts. If you do #mysuperdry on Instagram, sometimes the company will like your posts and maybe even repost them.

Favorite Spring TV Show: Bomb Girls
I haven't got into any new TV shows lately, so I'll just mention one of my favorite shows that I watch over and over again. Anyone, who knows me well, knows that I am a huge WW2 history buff. I have seen most of the WW2 era TV shows and will always recommend shows to people. The one I am currently obsessed with is Bomb Girls. Bomb Girls takes place pre-bombing of Pearl Harbor. The show is set in Ontario, Canada, and revolves around the lives of women working in a munitions factory called Victory Munitions, which supplies bombs to the troops fighting against the Axis forces. This show has romance, topics about gender relations, sexuality, race relations, etc. It's an interest show to say the least. It's currently on Netflix and is two seasons and one tv movie (it unfortunately got cancelled, but the TV movie does it justice).

Favorite Spring Nail Color: Baby Blue
The last time I got my nails done was last spring. I don't typically get my nails professionally done, but sometimes I just have the desire to glam up. I got my nails done at Diamond Nails in Fullerton, CA. Cassidy is great when it comes to design work, so I recommend her.  On my Instagram, I have a photo of my nails from last year.  I am hoping to do a similar design again; it's so vintage and cute.

Favorite Spring Food: Grilled Shrimp Vermicelli Salad
I am really into light meals that fill you up, and vermicelli salad will definitely do that for you. Vemicelli salad usually includes: lettuce, cucumbers, bean sprouts, vermicelli noodles (not the standard Italian kind), peanuts, sweet and sour dressing, and whatever you would like to include in it ( shrimp, Vietnamese egg rolls, grilled chicken, beef, pork, etc). I really like the Pho Ha chain of restaurants in Southern California, but you could go to most Vietnamese restaurants and get it.

Me wearing the Mangoes Wild Juicy Shaker by Lancôme

I think that's all for my spring favorites list, but I'd like to do favorites for every season, and if any favorites change, I'll let you know.  What are your spring favorites of 2017? Let me know in the comments below. :)

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

October/Autumn Favorites!

Hi all! Happy October! This is one of my favorite months because it's almost Halloween! :D So I'll do a list of my October/Autumn favorites for this blog! :)

October Favorites:


Fashion: I love dressing fairly casual during this time of the year. My go-tos are bootcut jeans, long flowy skirts, cardigans (when it's actually cold in Southern California), and simplistic t-shirts/tanks. If I do wear a dress, it's usually with boots and leggings. :)

Typical Autumn clothing - stock photo

Makeup: Darker shades of blue and purple for my eye shadow, thin tipped liquid eyeliner pens, black brown eyebrow liner, and NW-45 powder foundation.  My go-to brands are Urban Decay for the eye shadows, Rimmel London for the eyebrow and eyeliners, and MAC for the powder foundation. (There is nothing wrong with drugstore makeup! ) Occasionally, I'll wear a darker berry lipstick/gloss and that will typically be from Maybelline,  Rimmel London, or Sephora brand.

Make up for darker skinned women - stock photo

Drink: Apple cider has probably got to be the best thing ever for the autumn months. Whether it's sparkling apple cider, alcoholic apple cider, or hot apple cider, that is my go to drink. While most people flock to the PSL (which I had only one so far since they came out, sadly it was very watery tasting and sort of lack luster.  Thanks alot Sbucks!), my love is apple cider.

Apple Cider - stock photo

Meal: Something that I enjoy eating in the month of October/Autumn and pretty much all year long is Pho. Rare beef pho. It is probably the most amazing soup ever. I can even eat it in 100 degree weather. Crazy, I know. If anyone's turned off by the name, the beef actually gets "cooked" by the broth's heat. For me, I prefer rare beef pho to the well done beef pho because rare beef pho has a much softer texture.

Rare Beef Pho - stock photo

Movie: For the Halloween season, I love binge watching Harry Potter movies. I am still waiting on my Hogwarts letter, it's about 14 years late. :( I'm totally blaming the owl on that, by the way. Also, Slytherin represent! Woot woot! Anyway, I also enjoy watching Hocus Pocus, but Harry Potter is my all time favorite.  Side note: My favorite HP book is The Order of the Phoenix, which also happens to be my least favorite movie.  Oddly enough my least favorite book was The Half Blood Prince, but my least favorite movie is The Goblet of Fire.

Ron (left), Harry (middle), and Hermione (right) - stock photo

Nail Color: Any shade of blue or purple is also my go-to nail color for the autumn season. Last Halloween, I had Harley Quinn nails, but this year, I am looking for more of a simpler look.

Nail Polish - stock photo

Hope you enjoyed this blog post! Stay tuned for next week's blog! Also, leave you October or Autumn favorites in the comments below! :)

Till Next Time!

-Hachi