I'm excited to go back to Logan, UT (continue chasing my dream, teach again- learn from my MISTAKES, take classes- a fresh start). I know a week from now, I'll be "eating" my words (remembering something I forgot to do during the break, wishing for more time as always). Overall, I think I did what I wanted to do for the break. I chillaxed, did various little projects here and there (being in my room feels like being stuck in the past, my room is like a library of memories. I sort of understand how feng shui can change the vibe in my room which I won't see again until December if everything works out- if I'm teaching over the summer and taking classes. I hope so, so that I can graduate "on time"). I found my old yearbook and journals, it was sort of funny and sad reading them.
Last night I finished typing my handwritten lesson plans. Once again it was a good "review" of what I did last semester. It reminded me of things I want to change this semester (the weird thing- while typing the lessons that I did during the DRAMA, I had a hard time getting through it. I was grudging typing it and when I finally got through it and finished the last lesson, I felt the same relief, which I felt at the last day of classes. Airhead moment- one of the things I enjoyed last semester was the challenge of coming up with different color combinations for my limited wardrobe). Tomorrow, I'm going back to Logan. My dad is definitely happy because I'll be working again instead of spending money.
Anyway, this blog entry is not just about yesterday or the break. It's mainly about FOOD, eating, and making memories over the break! In my gastronomical adventure/foray over the break I realized why food is so memorable. They are unforgetable because most of them deal with our five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and sometimes the sixth sense when for no reason, we can just tell by intuition or something that something is delectable. This break I was in candyland nutcracker style. Caveat- I had these delicious and cholesterol-filled cuisine intermittently during the break in MODERATE amounts (balanced with exercise and regular healthy fruit/vegetable etc. diet).
Shopping- While shopping at Ardmore, during my breaks from "painting" or browsing I ate at Ruby's Diner and the Corner Bakery. I had a pineapple shake, fries and an "Aloha" burger (glazed with teriyaki, pineapple, lettuce and tomatoe). At the Corner Bakery (another day) I had creamy loaded baked potatoe soup with crossant.
Downtown Philly trips- you know my deal with Starbucks so I don't have to recap. Sadly though, this holiday, Starbucks didn't have anything new- just the holiday special: peppermint white mocha, eggnog and gingerbread flavors. Before Christmas, my cousin-friend and I, went downtown, ate mostly and shopped in between light meals. Our first stop was Starbucks. I liked the gingerbread latte (nostalgic of pumpkin spice but sweeter [sad news- Milkboy the cafe in Ardmore no longer makes the vanilla creme italian soda which I liked so much]). I tried Starbuck's yogurt parfait and chicken tarragon sandwich several days later. We just talked about life (what was happening in her life, anything new, etc.). It was awesome to eat, buy some cds or books or clothes and eat again. We went to a sushi place. I just got the mochi icecream flavor: green tea, strawberry and mango. She got a spicy Philly roll and "rock and roll" roll and she shared some with me. We dipped them in soysauce, which had a bit of wasabi (I would normally marinate the ginger with the wasabi and soy sauce but Consensus said no). We walked it off afterwards. We were going to an art gallery but it was closed. We walked in the Gallery shopping center instead and ended the night with a meal in Vietnam, the restaurant. I had vietnamese raviolli (some kind of meat, rice noodle, sprinkled with garlic, with a side dish of lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts and mint leaves [for display]), vietnamese iced coffee (powerful- I drank this around 7 pm and I was able to stay awake past 2 am), fried spring roll, and seafood (medley of shrimp, scallops, and squid) and vegetable soup w/ egg yellow noodles (I added some sauce to add more flavor to the broth). The table that we got was nice, it was by a window. I could see half of Philly's skyline.
Another day (because we didn't have time for dessert), we went to Zen tea house and ordered a Thai pandan cake and hot bubble tea (the tea doesn't bubble, but it has tapioca pearls and tea is just an umbrella term- I don't know if the drinks contain tea but I do know that they had tea flavors). I got a thai coconut flavored hot drink and she got an almond one. The pandan cake tasted similar to my drink- pandan and coconut. It was served on a plain plate decorated with whip cream and swirls of syrup. It was a sponge cake, so it was soft and it melted easily in one's mouth. The hot bubble tea warmed my heart/chest, perfect because it was raining outside.
Pre-christmas party to christmas eve and morning celebration- Pre-christmas celebration started at the Wynne Wood lanes in a birthday party of another family friend's daughter (half swedish and filipino- she's 4 years old, she understands english and tagalog but she can only speak in Swedish). Pizza and Pansit, and some bowling. I found out that the politically correct term for me is a "cultural catholic"- sounds more snazzy than "cafeteria catholic." This doesn't strictly define me (one of its criteria, is claiming to be catholic when ASKED, my response is a bit different. I was raised catholic...- deviation- funny but inappropriate joke- because I don't go to church often, my dad thinks I've changed religion and became a mormon [lol]) Christmas eve party took place at my house. More little kids running around. Relatives from CT visited. Eat, sleep, sing, eat, sleep, eat, sing, sing, eat, sing (until 6 am), sleep, then eat some more. Ham, Flan on table decorated by flowers (roses, carnations, lilys, daisies) and christmas colors
Chili's- Before my friend-neighbors confronted me about not keeping in touch, we ate at Chili's and watched a movie. I just had chili soup (unexpectedly- i ordered something else but I got this instead. I didn't complain because we were tyring to catch a movie, be on-time). This soup was an unexpected good surprise. It was mild chili so it wasn't too spicy. It was topped with melting cheese (a la french onion style), below/under it- the peppers, vegetable, reddish/creamy broth. The smell of sweet red pepper lured the mouth, and egg/spurred the hand to scoop a spoonful. The sweet taste died and burned the tongue momentarily, the cycle repeats.
another chili adventure- my family and I were going to go here for my mom's b-day, but we couldn't. My mom was feeling under the weather for her b-day, so we ordered out instead (from chili's). I got spicy honey chipotle breaded chicken, and I sampled other food my family ordered (beans, rice, boneless shanghai wings, mash potatoes, corn). My bro's girlfirend joined us for dinner, so the whole family ate and told stories. Overall an awesome occassion, it's very rare that my family and I sit together for dinner (everybody have different schedules- holidays and birthdays are times when our schedule are in sync). It was nice listening to the stories. My dad recapped our early years here in America. I remembered them when my dad told them, but I found it odd, that I have difficulty recalling them for myself (I wonder if it's some sort of block on my part, but then again, why would I block them? the stories are inspiring and encouraging). For dessert, we had buttercream marble cake and chocolates from Lindt's Chocolatier.
Plates in Ardmore- I had brunch with my high school friends at Plates. It was a nice catch up time. I mostly talked about my semester and I heard work stories from my hs friends. We talked about work, a bit about the past, and we started planning a trip to Europe and meeting in Paris (c. 2009 o 2010) [at Milkboy, I had tofu egg sandwich- they added spice to put more flavor, even though I like the plain taste of tofu, it was done similar to the style of devil eggs but with tofu). Back to Plates- I ordered a salmon grilled burger and water. The salmon burger patti was about 1.5 thick and it was loaded with flavor, spice and seasonings I couldn't name. I just kept eating it because it was delicious. Potatoe chips, crispy fresh on the side, and carrott pineapple/fruit coleslaw-esque salad. For dessert, I had cinnamon bread-pudding topped with butterpecan icecream drizzled with caramel, chocolate and magic.
Family Friend's home during New Years- More Filipino foods (rice, 15-17 inches of fish marinated ins sweet and sour sauce, surrounded by carrots, peppers, egg rolls, shrimp, meatloaf, beansprouts and shrimp), desserts (puto bong-bong, coconut something, sweet brown sticky rice [bico]). I had a bit of "bahama mama" it reminded me of a Dole strawberry, banana, orange pineapple juice gone sour/expired. I had a bit of "French" wine, I didn't like it, I diluted it with sparkling apple cider. The family friend's grand child entertained us- he was filled with energy, he kept running around, dancing and singing. He tumbled once in a while. I have some new year's resolution. One of them is to not get left behind (most are moving on with their lives and I should too).
Artisan gelati and cafe/di bruno bros- more downtown food stops, I recently discover while trying to find other cafes to hang out in order to have a conducive environment for reflecting and being a bohemian poet. Before leaving Philly, I went to the Art museum. I was inspired by Mark Doty (after reading "still life with oysters and lemon") to go to the museum and scrutinize the still lifes. I bought art from an associate artist, and also a book for my co-worker as a thank-you gift. Here's the story, originally I was looking for Corner Bakery (I wanted to order their 3 in 1 salad deal). I walked for three blocks and I couldn't find it so I changed my mind and tried to find a place that had chicken pot pie. I couldn't find any and I was hungry so I settled for mediocre pizza. To redeem my culinary taste, I bought a "snowball" at a italian food market di bruno bros. at chestnut street and ate it in the artisan gelati and cafe at 20th and Sansom st. The "snowball" pastry had bavarian creme layers between cake, frosted by meringue, sprinkled by coconut. I ate this with an awesome plain "latte." I'm used to flavored lattes but this plain one with sugar (brown sugar from HI) surprised me, it was quite potent too, I stayed awake for hours. If I had more money, I would probably try the gelati, but I didn't (so next time). I ate my snowball, sipped my latte while editing a poem I wrote and while reflecting. Good time for solitude. Outside, building towering over me, and buses passing by. I felt the draft of cold air as i write...
dentist- this week I had my bi-annual teeth cleaning (how apt!). The bad news was that my gums easily bled. This could mean that my gums are sensitive and/or plaque/gingivitis are lurking around (irony- I flossed more last year- maybe I'm not flossing and brushing properly?). The GREAT news is that I don't have a cavity (or maybe they didn't spot it). My dentist was nostalgic and commented on when he first met me when I was 9 and now he's still my dentist while I'm getting my MA. I was in the mood to celebrate so I got a pastry top chicken pot pie in Boston Market. Delicious! this is sort of a weird/twisted story. I was inspired to eat Chicken pot pie after seeing the gory musical Sweeney Todd (you'll have to know the musical to get the connection, I won't spoil it for you). Back to Boston Market, the pie is delicious/mouthwatering, and it was served with a loaf of corn bread.
Holiday leftovers- the fridge in the house is still somewhat filled with leftovers. It's nice, I don't have to worry about food during the holidays. I can just heat something up whether it's spaghetti (filipino sweet sauce style), a bread with meat fillings, dessert, reliable rice or whatever. During the holidays, my parents don't hear me whine about the paucity of food in the house. I'm always full.
Food are memorable because they integrate all five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. You see the steaming seafood and vegetable vietnamese egg noodle soup, the table set, you hear the crunch of the garlic, the clinking silverwares, the laughter/the stories told in between spoonfulls of nourishment, you smell the pepper, the flowers at the table, the perfumes of loved ones, you taste the sweet pepper, the sour grape/wine, you touch the food, sponge cake/mochi icecream melts in your mouth, sticky rice kisses your lips before being devoured. And sometimes your sixth sense kicks in giving you the urge to eat chicken pot pies because of a movie or some memory. Bon appetite world!
Posted by Michael Diezmos at January 3, 2008 11:06 PM