I woke up at my parent’s house to this awesomeness…

a handwritten note from my mom. She woke up before 5 am this morning to get ready for work and still prepared a pot of coffee for the family. I didn’t care as much about the coffee, but I did love the note. She used to write us notes all the time growing up, and I miss them.

Mom got some samples of the new Starbucks Blonde coffee, so we had that with breakfast.

Sis woke up in the mood for cooking. She made us waffles using the waffle iron she got for Christmas two year ago.

She found a special recipe online for extra-fluffy waffles. The trick is whipping egg whites and then folding them into the rest of the waffle batter. From the looks of the waffles, I think she’s onto something.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had from-scratch waffles. Actually, I don’t think I’ve had them since the last time Sis made them.

I asked my dad to tell me about his early life again over breakfast. He’s told us the stories hundreds of times over the years, but they never get old. I guess part of the reason is because I never really knew my grandparents, and they’ve all passed, so I like to get to know them through my parent’s stories. And every time dad tells a story, I learn another gem of information. For example, recently, I learned that my grandmother’s favorite color was light turquoise (like TCL-blue!) and that she studied fashion design at the Moore College of Art & Design. She even designed and sewed her own clothing. I wish she was around still so we could have sewing sessions together and talk fashion.

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My sister decide to make lunch for us, too.

She made ginger-soy chicken with rice and one of her specialities…

Miso soup {with onions and potatoes}.

It was all delicious, and I ended up eating too much. But, I did save room for dessert.

My sister {who actually hates most vegetables} has recently fallen in love with winter squash. She made us roasted acorn squash with maple syrup and butter for dessert.

I know it sounds a little odd, but it was actually good and made for a great dessert. I told her she could save any leftovers to make a squash oatmeal for breakfast like this one I made awhile ago. Sounds weird, tastes great!

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As for all that menu planning talk from yesterday…interestingly enough, hubby suggested we work on a meal plan on our car ride home. I don’t think he actually read yesterday’s blog post, but maybe he did. Either way, I agreed it was a good idea, so we worked on a draft on our way home.

I don’t love it, but it’s a start. I’ve realized that sometimes I don’t menu plan because I don’t think I’ll do a good enough job…so, I just do nothing at all. But, I suppose a so-so menu plan is better than none at all, right? Plus, perhaps menu planning is like most things – it gets better with practice? I like to think so.

What are your menu/meal planning tips? I loved the one Jackie left the other day saying to use categories or themes. My family (mom, dad, sis) actually likes to do that when they menu plan, and it definitely seems like a great idea. And reader Dione suggested having lazy/easy dinners and freezing batches of food. Hubby and I were actually just talking today about how we used to eat easier meals back in the day and that we should start doing so again. And I’m a big believer in freezing food – especially soup! Any other ideas, guys? Share your meal planning tips in a comment.

EIM Eats

We’re enjoying a relaxing weekend with my family, which means lots of down time with lots of good food, too.

We had eggs, biscuits/rolls, bacon and my fave – my dad’s potatoes.

Do you make your dog sit away from you when you eat? We do. We usually make him go on his bed, but when he’s at my parent’s house, we just make him sit away. I definitely had to give him the “I’m watching you” sign a la Meet the Parents. I think he knows what it means, too.

Sis and I wanted to spend some QT with my mom for her birthday, but she didn’t really want to do anything except hang out around the house. It’s been forever since I had the chance to just veg-out, so today, with nothing to do, we ended up watching TV. We got caught on the Investigation Discovery channel. Man, that channel really sucks you in…just like Lifetime! lol

We heated up leftovers from last night for a quick lunch with some fresh-cooked veggies.

For dinner, we had dad’s chicken noodle casserole with steamed broccoli & carrots, and a biscuit.

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Menu Planning

I will be the first to say that I suck at menu planning. I think it’s because I’m always so busy running around, that I find it hard to sit still long enough to think through the week and actually plan something out. I also find that I like to decide on dinners based on what I feel like eating that day. I know – excuses, excuses.

Anywho, I think menu planning can be very effective for not only Eat in Month, but every day living. I keep meaning to start doing it, but I usually only make it a week or two before falling back to my slacker ways. So, since I can’t offer any advice on meal planning, I turned to one of my favorite resources – you guys!

I asked for your personal and recommended sites and blogs (via my Facebook wall and yesterday’s post) for meal planning and here are some you shared:

• Jackie of That Deep Breath posted a link to her Menu Planning category on her blog
• Emily at Relishments posted her tips on menu planning
• Athena shared I’m an Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday
• And Nicole mentioned finding good inspiration on Pinterest (PS click here to see my Pinterest profile and click here to go straight to my “Entree Chic” board )
• And lastly, I found a cool resource by Real Simple – a PDF you can print and use for menu planning (click here to view) along with a couple quick tips

Do you have any more meal planning sites/blog posts to add? If you’re a reader without a blog, you can just share your meal plans and/or tips in a comment if you want (here or on my Facebook wall).

The cold/flu season has hit me already, so sorry for the lack of posting the past week. I had one of those I-feel-terrible-but-not-bad-enough-to-take-a-sick-day kind of weeks.

You know…where you feel like total crapola but you don’t really have a fever and don’t feel like paying the doctor $50 or whatever for them to tell you that they don’t know what you have and to come back if your symptoms get worse.

It’s like being quasi sick.

So, I just pushed through.

I fought back with lots of my Mom’s Get Well Soup (a Filipino family recipe), hot tea, and some hippie medicine.

I seriously love this soup whether I’m feeling bad or not. You may note on the recipe that it says to add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of rice while cooking. If you do 1 cup, you’ll get a more brothy soup. Go 1 1/2 and it’ll thicken up like porridge.

Note Day #2 texture. I guess the rice just soaks all the liquid up. I suppose you could add some chicken broth to the soup while it’s re-heating, but it’s tasty regardless of the texture. I even ate it for breakfast one day, and I really liked it prepared that way.

Oh, and you know what else is pretty great when you’re sick? Oatmeal. I haven’t been eating as much of this for breakfast, but did you know oatmeal actually helps your immune system? It’s true…whfoods.com says so:

“…starting your day with a bowl of oatmeal may boost your immune response in addition to your morning energy levels.”

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Anywho, I’ve been resting up this weekend, catching a few Lifetime movies, brainstorming holiday recipes (cookies and pot luck dishes!), and trying to generally chill out. I’m feeling much better today, so I’m hoping to be 100% sometime this week.

I’m hoping to get some holiday decorations up soon, too. How are yours coming along?

Hope you’re all staying happy and healthy!

We enjoyed a slow morning with family the day after Thanksgiving. No Black Friday shopping for us.

Rose had pancakes, bacon, and coffee waiting for us when we woke up.

And she even made me some of her special oregano elixir since I’m feeling a cold coming on.

{Heidy, Mario, Sis, Rose, me, Ben}

We bid adieu to the family, and a smaller group of the young crowd headed out for our favorite Atlanta tradition – dim sum.

{Leo, Lindsay, and Sis}

We trekked over to the Oriental Pearl (where Sis and I went somewhat recently) in search of dumplings and other deliciousness. The last time I came here with cousins, a few years ago, the restaurant had converted from the amazing dim sum restaurant to a run-of-the-mill buffet. We were so sad to think our tradition had disappeared. It wasn’t until Sis and I made our trip to the OP in May that we discovered the dim sum was back in action! Hazzah!

The restaurant was far less busy and had a smaller selection since it was a weekday, but the carts were swinging by within just a couple minutes, and they proved to have most of our favorites.

We quickly snapped up some har gow, steamed BBQ pork buns, and shui mei.

We got one of the long shrimp dumplings (and a beef one – not pictured).

Crispy shrimp balls.

Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce.

Love their plates by the way!

Baked BBQ pork buns.

With a plate full of my favorite eats, I was one happy eater.

So was Leo.

And sis and I tried a new dessert – a sort of mango jello-type dessert with evaporated milk poured on top.

(I believe this is a photo from a dim sum trip from the early ninties – and do you recognize the girl to the far right?! )

As I mentioned earlier, we made many trips to visit our cousins over the years. Each trip ended with a family trip to the Oriental Pearl for dim sum.

The adults were busy this trip, so the new dim sum crew held down the tradition for this adventure. It’s interesting to think about the transition that is already under way – from the old crew to the new crew. And it’s fun to think about this table being filled in a few years with our children, who will be the next future dim sum crew!

sometimes the food is the best because of the context

The trip reminded me of something Anthony Bourdain said in that show I saw recently. When asked about finding the best food, Anthony said that sometimes the food is the best because of the context. He’s so right! I mean, the food at the Oriental Pearl is delicious, but what makes it so special is the company, the familiarity, and the sentimentality of the experience. We’ve been eating at the Oriental Pearl for about 20 years now, and I hope we get to enjoy at least 20 more years together.

I didn’t grow up with a lot of family nearby. Most of my dad’s family lived in the North and most of my mom’s family lived in the Philippines.

(photo from the family album)

Our closest family members, who we referred to as “cousins”, were somewhat distant relatives. I believe the mom of the family, Rose, is my mom’s third cousin.

(photo from the family album)

It never really mattered to us how they were related – they were simply family, and they also lived in the South, just a couple hours away.

(photo from the family album)

We spent many holidays together when I was growing up and grew quite close over the years. I actually like to think of my cousins, Leo and Marlon, as the brothers I never had. Over the college years, the trips to see our cousins grew infrequent, but we visited when we could.

***

This year, for the first time in many years, we decided to visit cousins for Thanksgiving. Hubby and I left Thanksgiving morning from Charlotte and were meeting my parents and sister in Atlanta.

I thought this text message conversation with my mom (sent during our road trip) was particularly hilarious…and telling.

After about 4 1/2 hours in the car, hubby and I were greeted by Rose and some surprise family members – Rose’s sister, Amy, and her family, Rose’s brother, Ben, who came all the way from the Philippines, and Ben’s daughter, Joy, and her family. We were also greeted with a kitchen full of delicious Thanksgiving food.

We had a bit of a Filipino-fusion style Thanksgiving – many of the traditional Thanksgiving fare paired with some traditional Filipino eats: turkey, mushroom gravy, macaroni and cheese, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, plus pancit…

…avocado popsicles…

…and a Filipino dessert I’ve always wanted to try – suman.

Suman is a sticky rice made with rice and coconut milk that is wrapped in coconut leaves and steamed. When it’s ready, you unwrap it and eat it with sugar.

It’s a wrapped version of the “sweet rice” dish that I love so much. It was good, but I think I like the sweet rice dish better because you cook the coconut milk with brown sugar and the flavors really develop together.

Anywho, as we were finishing up our first round of Thanksgiving eats, Rose, Amy, and Joy decided to whip up a giant batch of lumpia, which is like Filipino spring rolls.

These were made with pork, garlic, green onion, and water chestnuts.

After finishing up dessert, I headed out with the younger crowd to go visit my cousin Leo who got stuck working on Thanksgiving. Boo! He’s a bartender, so it made it easy for us to visit him and have a couple drinks. We also brought him some Thanksgiving eats.

After relaxing for a couple hours, Sis and I headed back to the house for more Thanksgiving food: turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pancit, broccoli salad, and lumpia…

And more dessert: suman (with brown sugar this time), pumpkin pie, a piece of my sister’s chocolate chip/oatmeal bar, fruit, and flan.

Leo came home shortly after with the rest of the gang, so we could enjoy the rest of Thanksgiving day all together. We had plenty of food, laughs, family, and friends, which is exactly what I love on Thanksgiving.

Reader questions: how did you spend your Thanksgiving this year? What was your favorite food?

As I work through editing the photos from Foodbuzz Festival, I’m realizing that there are so many that I want to share with you that many of the related posts will be pretty photo-heavy. This is one of them.

Remember that time I went to Chez Panisse? Did I mention that Mara and I went on a mad shopping spree just before dinner? Ok, not really. I only had one store I wanted to visit this trip – Zara. I’ve lusted after their clothes for a long time, but they don’t exactly have tons of Zara shops in the South. I wanted to go by this shop the last time I was in San Francisco, but by the time I swung by the store, it was closed.

This year, I was determined to make it, and make it I did.

I was like a kid in a candy store at Zara and oohed and aahed at all the pretty clothes. I haven’t had a chance to wear the goodies I bought very much yet, but so far, the store has impressed me. The clothes seem reasonably priced with up-to-date styles (that seem to be pretty well made). The huge plus is that the clothes actually fit me pretty well – especially the blazers, which is normally challenging for my wide shoulders.

Anywho, we actually really did go to Zara on Thursday, but it was too dark to take photos, so I snapped a couple when we happened to pass it Friday on our way to the Fisherman’s Wharf.

The first goal of Friday was to sleep in. We ended up waking up kind of early, but we still got to enjoy a lazy morning, which was close enough for me. No rushing to the office for me, thank you!

The second goal of Friday was to get a crab roll for lunch, thus the trip to Fisherman’s Wharf.

I had to snap a photo of Boudin at Pier 39. I really enjoyed bringing some sourdough home from my last SF trip, but since they sell it at the airport, I prefer to just get it there out of convenience.

The weather was gorgeous – i only wish we’d had enough time to go by the Golden Gate Bridge.

I got to see the famous sea lions again. Love those cute “little” guys.

Mara and I approached a row of restaurants and decided to go ahead and find a place to sit down and enjoy lunch.

We ended up going with Nick’s Lighthouse.

The interior had a funky, eclectic style.

Coca cola and a water to drink.

We each got a small cup of crab chowder. With the weather around 59 degrees F (which is cold for this Southern gal), this hot chowder hit the spot.

And we decided to share this crab roll with french fries. It was a good thing, too – do you see how big that sandwich is?!

The crab salad wasn’t at all what I expected. I thought there would be bigger chunks of crab so it more resembled potato salad or something. This crab salad had a texture and consistency like chicken salad made with pulled chicken.I actually found this to be a nice surprise, and I really liked the way they prepared it.

After lunch, we walked down to Tcho, a chocolate shop that Mara discovered on her last SF trip.

Tcho makes their chocolate from-scratch (like, from the cacao bean) right here. Love that!

Unfortunately, we missed the tour by 20 minutes (they only do two a day at this time – one around 10 am and one at 2pm – call Tcho for actual times), but there were at least plenty of samples around to taste.

We decided to bring some chocolate goodness home with us. This drinking chocolate caught my eye…

…as well as these Tcho a day containers that looked sort of like protein powder at first glance.

I got drinking chocolate, Tcho-a-day, and some cacao nibs to bring home. Gotta love an edible souvenir.

Next time on TCL – the first Foodbuzz event!

Reader question #1: Have you been to Fisherman’s Wharf? What was the most memorable place/restaurant/etcc of FW?

Reader question #2: What type of souvenir do you prefer – one you can keep forever (magnet, picture frame, etc.) or one you can eat/drink/consume (chocolate, spices, etc.)?

This weekend, I attended my first ever poetry slam. It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen recently.

But since this blog has been a bit food sparse, let me show you some random eats photos before we get to the slam dets. Once again, a noodle bowl saves the day. This one served as lunch and was made completely with things I scavenged from around the kitchen – spelt soba noodles from my pantry and veggies from my freezer. Who needs time to go grocery shopping, right? jk

I also enjoyed my first pumpkin oats of the season.

I like candy corn around Halloween, peppermint around Christmas, but I like pumpkin around fall. And adding canned pumpkin to oats is one of the easiest ways I like to enjoy it.

This bowl was drizzled with maple syrup and topped with some sliced almonds. Yum!

Anywho, back to the slam. I was invited to the poetry slam with Slam Charlotte by my friend Talicha (click to check out her blog) who was competing in the event. Wondering what a “poetry slam” is? It’s basically a poetry competition where people perform their poems and are judged/scored. Higher scoring poets move on to next rounds of the competition till one winner is selected.

I actually used to write poetry when I was in school, just for fun (ok, as a creative outlet for deep feelings), so I was really looking forward to hearing from some new poets and seeing them perform live.

The event was kicked off by Jamaal St. John who was visiting from New York.

He shared a few poems, letters, and stories. The most memorable line from his performance was from his poem on loving thick girls where he said “a waist is a terrible thing to mind.”

Bluz is the current slam master, and he did a fabulous job keeping us entertained between the various performances and rounds. He’s also introduced me to my new favorite song, which I’d like to use for almost any occasion, but will most likely prove useful as an anthem to play during a particularly tough work day. I’ll have to share it with you guys some other time…or maybe just on my Facebook wall.

Of course, I was most excited to see my friend Talicha perform. She did a fantastic job, but did not end up winning this slam. Ahhh perhaps next time?

By the way, I got to be a judge along with my friend Sarah. Apparently, they like to offer the newbies judging roles. I felt really unqualified, but they told us to just vote for whichever poem made us feel good, which seemed simple enough. It was a little nerve-wracking, but we had a good time.

Overall, the slam was so impressive. I’d quote more of the poets, but I’m afraid of butchering their words. Instead, I’ll just tell you that they covered a wide range of topics – from sad, to mad, to happy and everything in between. There were poems about sex, Alzheimer’s, a cell phone, a kidnapped child, a hair stylist, and love.

I think I see more poetry slams in my future (from the audience…not the stage).

Reader question #1: Who is your favorite poet?

Reader question #2: What is your favorite poem?

I’ve wanted to go apple picking for the last couple years, but for one reason or another, the trip has eluded us. 2011 did not disappoint…

We hit the road for a day trip to a nearby apple orchard just over two hours away. We were originally going to make a long weekend of it until I found out (on Friday…yikes!) that I have Monday off, but my client doesn’t. So, overnight plans were thwarted. No bed and breakfasts for us, but I get to roll the vacation day forward and will probably use it around Thanksgiving, which will be nice.

We decided to hit up a local restaurant for lunch (before going to the orchard), and thanks to some Yelp research we chose Flat Rock Village Bakery. They organic eats, artisan breads, and great reviews online.

Just like the reviews said, the place was busy and had a tight waiting area for ordering. The tables were almost all full outside when we walked in, but they turned pretty quickly.

The restaurant, behind a shop called The Wrinkled Egg, had a fun artist (or was it hippie?) vibe to it.

We managed to grab one of the outside tables tucked under a tall magnolia.

After hearing about the sticky buns online, we decided to get one to share and gobbled it up before our pizza even came out. I tried to resist its sticky-sweet goodness, but caved pretty quickly. Life’s short, eat dessert first, right?

I also got an Almond Joy scone to enjoy later.

For eats, we chose the BBQ chicken pizza. The pizza was thin crust and came out piping hot. I’m pretty picky with my BBQ chicken pizzas, and I thought this one was wonderful. It had a great BBQ sauce, gooey cheese, nice bites of chicken, red onion, and one of my favorite components – fresh cilantro.

I only wish we were making a weekend of it so I could have gone back for a leisurely breakfast. The reviews were right. I can see why so many people make a point to stop at the Flat Rock Village Bakery.

Next time on TCL, photos from the apple orchard. I still have quite a few more photos to share with you guys!

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Thank you so much for reading!

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Reader question: Are you a fan of day trips? Tell me about your favorite {or most memorable} day trip.

One of my favorite things to do when I have guests over is make them TCL-style eats. My sister is the easiest to please because she always comes prepared with a list of things she wants to try.

I decided to make a few of my most popular recipes for my friends Beth and Bri.

Basic Green Monster Smoothies

I even decided to do a play on one of my faves for entertaining – mini frittatas.

This time, I made them sans rice and just with parsley and parmesan…and served them with Individual Blueberry Breakfast Crisps.

Parmesan Parsley Mini Frittatas

These easy mini frittatas are not only great for sharing…they whip up in under 5 minutes and take only about 10 in the oven. Switch out your favorite mixins to suit your tastes.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Serves 4 (makes about 16-18 mini frittatas)

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F and prep a mini tart/frittata pan with non-stick spray.
2. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. Stir in cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.
3. Use a mini ice cream scoop (or melon baller) to fill tart/frittata cups about 3/4 full.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes until the eggs are cooked through (I usually wait till the tops are just starting to brown lightly).

Hello gorgeous!

In the afternoon, I did a super-fun kickboxing-inspired workshop that my friend Megan was leading with another friend Ashley.

And post workshop, I went with my friends Sarah and Bri to Mac’s for some casual afternoon eats.

We shared a basket of fried pickles. I’m starting to think that Mac’s makes the best fried pickles I’ve ever had. They’re nice and crispy with just the right touch of spice to let you know it’s there without burning your tongue.

Hubby stayed home to watch football, but he requested I bring home leftovers. So, I ordered the small (haha – do you see that photo?!) combo, which yielded plenty of leftovers.

After such a big lunch, I just whipped up a simple bowl of udon-noodle soup for a light dinner.

I had to save room for dessert…two desserts!

First up…a hefty slice of cheesecake that my friend Sarah made (thanks Sarah!). She first made this tasty dessert way back when for my housewarming, and I still rave about.

Plus, I had caramel apples, which were birthday gifts from Megan and Erica (thanks guys!).

They gave me four fun flavors, but I decided to crack open the pecan pie first.

It had a lovely layer of chewy caramel with crunchy nuts and warm cinnamon.

Delish! I think I’ll be ordering more of these in the upcoming holiday season. I mean…is it just me or do caramel apples scream “holidays”?!

All settled in for a cozy night at The Chic House.

Fried Pickles: Yay or Nay?

Reader Question: Do you like caramel apples? Have you tried any interesting flavors?

I had a couple special treats lined up for the weekend:

• A bangin’ birthday celebration (a couple weeks late because all the Saturdays were already taken with other events, but better late than never, right?)
• A weekend visit from my college friends Beth and Bri (one from SC and one all the way from New Orleans!)

Beth and Bri first swung by my house Saturday morning. I made them oatmeal – a nice light meal before…

Zumba!

Beth is a Zumba instructor in SC and Bri is a Zumba regular back home. So, I figured it would be fun to take them to one of our Zumba classes. The instructor even let me lead two songs to show my friends my Zumba skillz. Beth and Bri were naturals in class even though they didn’t know our choreo and both said they had a blast.

After Zumba, we wanted something light and nourishing for lunch. Luna’s Living Kitchen was the perfect choice!

There were a lot of good options for lunch entrees, but I fondly remember the restaurant for their quinoa burgers and ended up ordering one of those.

We had a beautiful spread. Luna’s always has the most colorful and organic plate presentations.

Bri shared some cranberry walnut baguette.

Beth had the West Coast Wrap (fresh veggies and sprouts in a collard green wrap).

Bri had the Lunasanga (zucchini and cashew cream lasanga)

I had the Clinton Classic quinoa kamut veggie burger with a side salad with hemp dressing. Everything was so tasty and pleasant to eat. I really felt like I was giving my body some great food to replenish after a tough (oh the squats!) Zumba class.

Side note: Love quinoa burgers? It’s not a recreation of this recipe, but check out this yummy Southwest Quinoa Veggie Burger recipe I developed (click).

Happy eaters!

Shortly after lunch my friend Sarah picked us up for a quick trip to the mall. Sarah and I had makeovers booked with my favorite make-up artist, Scott. We had a night on the town planned for later, and since I’m a klutz with make-up, I generally seek professional help with special events. Enter Scott (or Scooter as I like to call him).

Sarah went for a natural fall look and Scooter did super-smoky eyes for me. My eyes have never been so dramatic, but they were perfect for that evening’s occasion.

With make-up out of the way, we just had to go home, get dressed, and then hit up the night scene for my birthday celebration night!

Reader question: Do you like getting make-overs at the mall? Why or why not?