Good Work Day = Good Lunch

So I have conclude that despite how hectic or tiring work can be some times, a nice lunch always makes it better!

Today I went to Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot with my coworker. It was perfect for the weather and for my cold and cough. The soup was made out of herbs and the food that comes with it are pretty healthy in general.

I'd been to Little Sheep for dinner before and tried various of their soup base. By far, I love their original. The spicy one is good too but it was too spicy for my throat. Their soup is so rich, healthy and favorful that no deeping sauce is needed for the food. I can't wait to go back.

The Best Veggie Burger Ever

Of course I want to believe that I can make the best veggie burger ever, but there is nothing, not even a real meat burger, can beat my love for The Plants Cafe veggie burger. It's so flavorful and unique, and thus, I would choose it over In and Out or any gourmet burger anytime. I also love it when I could get it on sliced wheat bread instead of a bun.

I was happy that Plants Cafe lists out the ingredients in the burger patty, and was even more happy when I found a recipe with the amount of ingredients needed and instructions, so I can make it myself! I did have some variation from the recipe though, for convinence.

The recipe and Plants Cafe uses red lentils, but I couldn't find it, so I just use regular. Also, I used canned beets instead of fresh ones. Lastly, I used lightly salted cashew instead of raw ones. I like the smoky flavor of roasted cashews better.

[Ingredients:: makes 4 patties]
3/8 cups of pre-soak lentils, 1/3 cups of pre-soak bulgar wheat, 1/3 cups of cashews, 1 cups of beets, 4oz of mushrooms, dash of salt, oil for cooking.

[Instruction]
Soak the lentils and bulgar wheat for at least 5 hours. Sauteed the mushrooms. Drain the liquid and blot dry the canned beets. In a food processor, chop the cashews until medium grain. With a food processor again, pulse all ingredients together until coarse. With hands, form mixture into 4 patties. Place patties on a plate with wax paper or saran wrap, and refridgerate for an hour before cooking. Add some oil to a frying pan, and place patty into the pan. Cook one side for 5 minutes and then flip, and cook the other side for 5 minutes. Turn heat off and serve with favorite buns.

The burger building process...

Cold Sesame Noodle

I love Chinese style cold sesame noodle. I can eat it all day especially on a hot summer day. It's super easy to prep, so it's perfect when I don't feel like spending a long time for prepping lunch. All I had to do was boil the noodle of choice. Julienned some carrots and cucumbers, and sliced some ham and egg. Lastly, I just had to make the sauce, and viola, lunch!

For the sauce, I use 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 5 tablespoons of chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, 1 tsp of sesame oil and a dash of chili oil. Then I poured it into a ziplock bag and placed it with the noodle. Mix it into the noodle before serving.

A very refreshing lunch, especially after refridgerating it.

Cookies Cookies...Cupcakes

So I always wanted to make Cookie Monster cupcakes. When Hansen's birthday is around the corner, I told Lucia that I want to make him some. I ordered the sprinkles ahead of time, but didn't have time to make it until a week after his birthday. So I made some and delivered it to him. I tried looking for a giftbox and I only found one that pack four, so in the end, I brought the remaining ones to work.

As much as I try to make them all the same, I love how they all have different expression. They all have different personalities. The one in the giftbox looks very scared, haha.

It's so funny that on the same day, I came upon a kid cookie monster T-shirt at Target. My brother saw it and fell in love with it, so my mom bought it. Good thing I can fit into it also. Maybe I can borrow it sometimes and deliver Cookie Monster Cupcakes with it!

Brother's First Performance

I took the day off because I woke up feeling really sick. I couldn't stop blowing my nose when working, which was super annoying. Anyhow, after sleeping in, I finally woke up and head back to the city to see my chiropractor. After that, I waited for everyone in my family to come home and drove them to see my little brother's band performance.

I can't believe his first year in middle school is almost over. The last time I sat in their auditorium was during the middle school newcomer orientation. Anyhow, I'm proud my little brother got through the year okay so far.