TIBOS: Orange Toast

Hi all! Today's the first day I am doing a "Taking It Back Old School" recipe post. I was supposed to have two posts, this week, but my computer seems to hate me and keeps blue screening. While that is annoying, I wanted to get at least one of the posts up. The first recipe I decided to recreate is considered to be an appetizer rather than a breakfast item. It's called Orange Toast, and as the pictures below will show, it's really orange-y.

These are the basic ingredients needed for Orange toast:
Sugar
Orange Juice
Orange Extract (I just took it from a real orange)
Orange Zest
Bread
Butter

 

 First, I toasted my bread. I used French Toast bread by Kroger (which, if there are any vegans viewers reading, is also vegan friendly). I am somewhat low tech and cheap, so I do not have all of the fancy kitchen appliances as of yet. As a result, I toasted my bread in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 mins.

  

I let my butter soften, and added 1/2 teaspoon of orange juice. *There are no exact measurements in this recipe, so feel free to mess around with amounts - I also added more butter later.*

 

I squeezed a few drops of fresh orange juice (not the concentrated one on the top) into my butter.

 

Afterwards, I mixed it all together or as they called it in the book - "I creamed my butter and orange juices together"

 

I originally forgot that I had sugar packets, so I used about half a packet of sugar on my toast after removing the edges as stated in the recipe. This is also where the orange zest gets applied as well, after buttering your toast.

 

I then cut the pieces into ribbon-esque strips and they are best served hot.

 

I gave everything a taste to see how it is. I will do this at the end of every food post because it's not authentic otherwise. ;) 

 That's it for today's post! Overall, I would rate this a 6/10. I think the orange taste was a bit overpowering, and the sugar seemed a bit unnecessary to me. However, you guys might like it, so give it a try and let me know what you think of it!

Till Next Time!

-Hachi

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

My, oh My! Mini Apple Pies!

Hi All! I am getting ready for my trek up north for the holiday today. That should be an adventure. Before all of that, I am doing some winter cleaning, and finishing up some baking. Here's a post of my mini apple pies recipe :)

Mini Apple Pies

While I made my own dough (which I will add in a later recipe), store bought dough will work just as well. :)
Here is a conversion chart from U.S. to metric units too.

Mini Apple Pies

Ingredients

• 1 package of store bought pie crusts - should have two dough rolls in it (room temperature)
• 1.5 - 2 apples (chopped/sliced/diced -whatever suits you)
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (add a few dashes more if disregarding the nutmeg) (or 1 teaspoon of cinnamon / 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg)
• 1/2 cup of sugar (or less depending on your tastes)
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of sugar for sprinkling on the pie tops

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees (F)
2. Grease a baking sheet with either butter, or baking spray (lightly)
3. Roll out your dough to 1/8 inch thick and using a 2.5-3 inch diameter cup (or cookie cutter) cut out 24+ circles.
4. Refrigerate the circles for 15 minutes
5. Mix together the cinnamon (or cinnamon/nutmeg), sugar, and cornstarch in a separate bowl.
6. Mix the dry ingredients with the apples. (You might have extra filling left over if you choose to make more pies later.)
7. Beat the egg and set aside
8. Add 2 teaspoons of filling to each bottom circle and lightly dab the egg wash to the edges of each bottom circle.
9. Cover with the top circle and pinch to seal.
10. Poke or slice four holes or slits in the top circle
11. Lightly cover the tops with egg wash.
12. Sprinkle the tops with sugar.
13. Bake 20 minutes

I hope my recipe made sense to you. If you made some, post a picture of your creations in the comments below :)

Merry Christmas (eve)!

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

Uh oh! Spaghetti-squashios! :o

Hi all! Once again school strikes and I get too busy to blog. At least, it's almost summer and I'll have more time. :) Today's blog is a recipe blog for Spaghetti Squash. It's a very simple recipe and would be great for tricking helping kids eat their veggies. It was my first time making it, and probably won't be my last. So without further ado, here's the recipe for spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti Squash:

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash (2-4 lbs would be good for two adults to eat)
Pasta sauce (store bought or homemade) or toppings of your choice

Directions:
 1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half - lengthwise
 2. Scoop out all of the seeds.
 3. Preheat the oven to 375 F ( Gas Mark 5 / 190C)
 4. Put the squash cut side down on a baking sheet
 5. Bake for 45 minutes
 6. Using a fork, scoop out the squash width-wise to get the spaghetti shape
 7. Add whatever topping you desire (for me it was organic pasta sauce) and enjoy~

Here are some pictures of the process :)

Spaghetti Squash (recipe can sometimes be on the sticker)

Before you scoop the seeds

After scooping out the seeds

After baking

Fully baked after 45 mins

Scraping with a fork

End Product

That's all for today! Let me know in the comments if you have ever tried spaghetti squash and how you liked it :)

Till next time!

-Hachi

Stuffed Bell Peppers!

Hi All! So sorry that it's been a couple of weeks since I have blogged. Life gets in the way, as always. :/ I have a few upcoming blogs over the next week since I finally have free time, so stay tuned. :) Today's blog is a recipe I did last week of stuffed bell peppers with rice. As a kid, I was never that huge of a bell pepper fan, but now I like them. So I decided to make stuffed bell peppers, which was something I have not eaten in over 13 years. I was a bit apprehensive to how they might taste, but I must say they tasted ahmayzing (amazing)! So without further ado, here is my recipe. Partial credit goes to Betty Crocker as that is where I found the measurement amounts from. All of my adjustments are in purple font. :)

Stuffed Bell Peppers:

4       large bell peppers (any color)

1

lb lean ground beef (I use 93% lean ground beef for everything)

2

tablespoons chopped onion (brown onion)

1

cup cooked rice

1

teaspoon salt (or you can substitute for 1.5 teaspoons of taco seasoning)

1

clove garlic, finely chopped (or minced garlic)

1

can (15 oz) tomato sauce (any brand)

3/4

cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used Cheddar Jack cheese and lots of it)

Step 1:
Wash and cut a thin slice from stem end of each bell pepper to remove top of pepper. Remove seeds and membranes; rinse peppers. If necessary, cut thin slice from bottom of each pepper so they stand up straight. Place them in a oven safe glass dish.

Step 2:
In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in rice, salt (taco seasoning), garlic and 1 cup of the tomato sauce; cook until hot.

 Step 3:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Stuff peppers with beef mixture. Stand peppers upright in ungreased 8-inch square glass baking dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers.

 

 

Step 4:
Cover tightly with foil. Bake 10 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

  Step 5:
Remove from oven, and let cool a little bit before eating. Enjoy!



I hope you guys liked my recipe post. What is your favorite savory recipe? Let me know in the comments below!


Till Next Time!

-Hachi

Teriyaki Salmon Stir-fry with Noodles

Hi all! So as a follow up to my grocery haul blog, I have a mini recipe blog! This was actually made for dinner on Sunday, but I am posting it today to not overload everyone with blogs.

A bowl, spoon, water, chopped garlic, teriyaki marinade, sriracha sauce. and salmon

So in my bowl I mixed :

6 tablespoons teriyaki marinade

1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce

1/4 tsp garlic

4 tablespoons water (you don't really need to add the water, but that marinade is so sodium filled that adding the water helps to dilute the heavy sodium taste)

1 salmon (with the skin on, it is better for you too)


I marinated the salmon for 1 hour, although 30 minutes is fine as well.

After marinating the salmon for 1 hour, I preheated my oven to 375 F (190 C, Gas Mark 5). I put my salmon on a pie pan wrapped in foil and baked for 45 minutes.

In the meantime, I took one of my frozen stir-fry with noodle packs and cooked it in a non-stick skillet adding some water and teriyaki sauce to keep it flavorful.

Then I took half of the salmon and added it with the stir-fry and there you have it! Dinner :)

Till Next Time!

Hachi

Sales, Savings, and Groceries! Oh My!

So you guys know I love a good sale. There were amazing sales for this week's ad at Ralphs (a Southern CA grocery chain owned by Kroger). Although I bought 15 items at 53$, which seems not so good until you realize what I got for that price. With further ado, here is this week's grocery haul. For the record, my kitchen counter is a bit small (with my Kruger machine and my microwave in the way), so I tend to take the pictures on my stove. Not pictured (1 pk of store made sushi for lunch, watermelon slices)

12 pk Natural Brown Eggs, 1 lbs of ground beef, 1 pk of salmon

8 pieces of chicken breast, 18 pieces of chicken drum sticks, 5 lbs of St. Louis style spareribs

Ignoring the chicken in the back, 1 large bottle of teriyaki marinade, 5 pks of frozen veggies, and 1 lbs of large shrimp.

When thinking about the price of each individual item, based off of the amount purchased and spent, each item was about 3.53$ each. I consider this a purchase well done since everything aside from the veggies individually cost over 5$ each. According to Ralphs, I saved about 25$ and I consider that a win in my books.

Do you guys love supermarket sales? and how do you save at the supermarkets? Let me know below and if you have any tips to save more. :)



Till Next Time!


Hachi