Takakoyaki Etc.

Some Greece pictures

2009-10-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Since Lance asked, I've uploaded some of my old blog entries on Greece with all the pictures :)

Athens!

The beds were stiff.

The view.

I moved to 416 by the next night but I didn't take any pics of it.

The only other event of the night was me falling on the sidewalk.

The Agora:

Temple of Hephaistos and a view of the Acropolis.

All the students sitting on the steps of the National Museum in Athens. I'm on the very right!

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Onto Napflion and Mycenae!

From when Mara, James and I went to the pebble beach at Nafplion.

Napflion square in the day.

Us eating the gelato. From the left, Amy, Kate, James, me, Megan, Margaret and Jen.

The pebble beach.

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Girls in the Epidaurus group.

The theater. We got 10 euro student tickets.

Helen Mirren. This is the best pic we could get from our seats.

Marianne and I at the bottom of the fortress steps.

The sunset.

Mara's Alexander the Great ouzo bottle. James said he looks like a crystal alien.

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Me, Mara, Mary, and Marianne on a Greek church festival night.

Saturday morning's "field trip" to Tiryns, a citadel only 15 minutes away. James and I are there on the right, wandering around in the 100 degree weather. Fun.
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About to get on the ferry in the morning!

Us on the boat.

View of Hydra from the deck

"Beach" of Hydra

Beach in Spetses

Crammed on the carriage.

Horse!

Some of the sights we saw on the way.

Having ice cream at the cafe. I got a strawberry special.

At the port at the end of the trip

Dude who caught a baby octopus

Long beach is long.

The restaurant!

Me, Jen, Mara, Lyn and Erica making a star with our feet in the sand.

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Some daily life pics

Restaurant where we had lunch every weekday

My "hotel" - La Belle Helene, aka House of Schleimann.

The Lion's Gate, Mycenean Citadel.

A picture I took of Mara and James.

The site!

Marianne and Megan digging in the trench next to ours.

Puppy who belongs to the owners of Belle Helene.

The other trench (Square 55).

Mycenean sunset.

#3 - Spring Rolls

2009-01-28T21:55:00.000-08:00

These are spring rolls that are incredibly easy to make and require not very many ingredients. They are also healthier for you than restaurant egg rolls or spring rolls because you can use turkey if you like, and they are pan-fried rather than deep fried.

Easy Spring Rolls

1 lb package of ground turkey or pork
1 jicama, diced
1/2 head of cabbage, diced
1 or 2 packages (depending on the count) spring roll wrappers
1 egg
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Oyster sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

1. Put the oil on the bottom of a large skillet over medium heat and brown the garlic. Add the meat and brown it, only a few minutes. When it's cooked, add the cabbage and jicama and mix thoroughly.

2. When the veggies have begun to cook down, start adding the sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Depending on how strong you want the flavors to be, you can add just 2 tbsp or more than that. I usually just eyeball how much sauce I want, if it doesn't look (or smell... or taste) like enough then I add another splash.

3. Add salt and pepper to taste and let the mixture simmer for about 10 more minutes or until the cabbage has been completely cooked through.

4. Quickly beat the egg in a small bowl, you will use this to close the spring rolls when you are done folding them. It's best to just bring the skillet you cooked the filling in directly to the table or counter where you will assemble the spring rolls themselves.

5. Put a spoonful of the filling on each wrapper, then fold the sides together and roll them closed, using some of the egg mixture to seal it shut. The way I tend to roll mine they turn out more flat than round; this makes it easier to cook them in the pan.

6. When all the filling has been used up (or all the wrappers), simply spray some cooking oil or margarine on a skillet and throw the spring rolls on, cooking them until the skins are just slightly browned on each side.

It's my birthday on Friday, but I'm not really planning on doing anything fancy. I might cook myself my own birthday dessert though, hahaha...

#2: Tomato Beef Chow Mein

2009-01-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

Tomato Beef Chow Mein

Sauce:
1 16 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 lb top sirloin, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp cornstarch
Vegetable oil
Rice cooking wine
Soy sauce

Note: As for the noodles, any brand of dried Chinese egg noodles will do. They usually come in large boxes at the Asian market, so buy a box and you can fry up as many batches as you like, it tastes great without sauce too.

1. Marinate the beef with a splash of cooking wine and soy sauce plus salt and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

2. Before you start cooking the sauce, start heating a large pot of water for the noodles.

3. Heat enough oil to cover a medium size skillet and brown the garlic. Then add the beef and stir fry until cooked. Next, add the tomatoes and peppers and mix well. Wait until the mix comes to a boil, then add the cornstarch and stir. Let simmer over low heat for another 5-10 minutes.

4. Boil the noodles (I usually put 2 or 3 handfuls of dried noodles in a large pot) and strain as soon as they are finished. Heat another pan with some oil, when it gets hot add the noodles and fry until the edges are crispy. Serve immediately with the sauce on top.

This is a recipe my mom would make for me quite often, I usually have all of the ingredients on hand except for the beef. The brand of Chinese noodles I buy if I can is called "Quon Yick Noodles" and is sold at Asian markets and even sometimes other stores like Smart & Final, but like I said earlier any kind of Chinese egg noodle will work just as fine.

I dug out the George Foreman grill and made another panini with it, it turned out excellent. I bought the pesto from Trader Joe's instead of making my own, theirs is my favorite jar pesto and it will definitely work in a pinch if you don't have the time to make your own.

#1 - Experiments

2009-01-21T21:39:00.000-08:00

Success: Today I tried making Rosemary Lemon Chicken from I Found Happy. My siblings demanded that I use chicken breasts instead of thighs, so it turned out to be drier than if I had gone with thighs, but it was still delicious.

In addition, the garlic mashed potatoes I made to go along with it per recommendation of the recipe were fantastic. Khursten advised me to steep some garlic in melted butter and mix that in with the potatoes and it turned out great. Do try it next time you've got potatoes lying around! My sister and her boyfriend dubbed me "Iron Chef" of the house for these, seriously.

Failure (mostly): I also tried making a panini just using a regular iron skillet for lunch, but I don't think I used enough cheese. In any case, you only need three or four ingredients to make a delicious panini:

- A good quality loaf of sourdough or ciabatta rolls
- A fresh ball of mozzarella
- Good quality bacon
- Any type of sliced meat, or sliced tomatoes.

My 20th birthday is coming up and I might ask for a grill pan. They're so multi-purpose, I can't wait to get those lovely grill marks for my next attempts.

Testing, 1 2 3

2009-01-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

Misadventures coming soon!