I SCREAM!

Ok.. I haven’t been updating my blog lately because I’ve ACTUALLY been SWAMPED at work and super BUSY at home with my BFF’s baby shower this weekend. I have a few blog posts brewing in my head with regard to training and my first race of the year and some other random thoughts.. but I just HAD TO share this:

At first, that just looks like a martini glass full of icecream, right? Well.. in a way it is.. but what is the icecream made from??

Someone must following me around, because I had just had this AMAZING IDEA about a month ago to make icecream from breastmilk and wondering whether or not it would taste good (or too weird?). Too bad this is WAY far away and is super EXPENSIVE.. but it’s definitely innovation on icecream. Now.. I will definitely be trying to make  my own whenever I have kids.

The FOCUS Challenge from Cotter Crunch

Seems like ever since I went into the “off-season”, I’ve been in a rut in terms of fitness and training. It’ll be a long road back to where I was for Silverman (and that wasn’t even where I wanted to be). I’m slowly heading back into regular training, but my mind set is not focused on it. So… I’m trying the Focus Challenge from Cotter Crunch. You can check out all the details on her blog HERE.

I’m kicking off the challenge with the Fountain Valley Community Center Fit to be Square 5K tomorrow morning. Come out and join me if you’re free. And check back in 10 days to see how I faired with the Focus Challenge.

Downtown Anaheim Art Crawl Experience

On Saturday night, Minh and I headed to Downtown Anaheim to check out the First Quarterly Art Crawl Experience. Having not spent very much time in Anaheim, I thought it’d be a nice way to see something new in Orange County. It was fun, though I wish there was more daylight so we could take more (and better) pictures. Pretty much all the art galleries in the area participated in the Art Crawl, which was fun. Lots of them had snacks and drinks available for patrons. The Promenade was open for a small craft fair. “Food Truck Alley” was set up in the Disney Ice parking lot. And everything is located pretty close together, so there isn’t miles of walking.. PLUS you get a nice little map to tell you where all the galleries and outdoor art displays are.

Downtown Anaheim Art Crawl Experience

My favorite was the Muzeo. Only one building was open, but it was the same building that had an exhibit on the History of Anaheim and some 100+ photographs from Anaheim photographers world travels (I didn’t care too much for the photographs since there really wasn’t any overlying theme to the exhibit.. A part of me thinks it would have been better if they were pictures of Anaheim). Look at these cool “artifacts” from Disneyland:

A pop-up map and a puppet from the Pinnochio Ride

Close-up of Pop-up Disneyland Map

Disneyland Ride Tickets

There was actually a lot of interesting information crammed into the exhibit about Anaheim and the first settlers. I would recommend it for someone who wants to know a little bit of the history of Orange County. Since we came in, we got a coupon for buy one get one free admission to the Muzeo. We’ll be coming back to check out the “GOLD” exhibit.

Paper wrappers that were used to package oranges

A rusted old Bird's Head Derringer

The map for the A.C.E. showed all the outdoor works of art that are part of Anaheim’s Art in Public Places Project. We didn’t get shots of all of them, but we’ll probably come back in the summer to get some better pictures.

Anaheim "A" Benches

Fountain at the Veteran's Monument and Plaza

“Birdhouses”

Another view of “Birdhouses”

The Downtown Anaheim Art Crawl Experience is supposed to take place quarterly, with the next event on Saturday, May 14. I think it was a very successful first run, since there were easily hundreds of people out walking around, enjoying music and food, perusing crafty goods, and admiring artwork.

Downtown Anaheim Art Crawl Experience

205 Center Street Promenade
Anaheim, CA  92805

http://www.downtownanaheim.com/artcrawlexperience

Review: Cocoa Lounge at the Island Hotel

I was SO HAPPY to find out that my best friend does not have gestational diabetes. This meant that we could eat all the sugar and sweets we want!!! It also meant that I had someone to go check out the the Cocoa Lounge at the Island Hotel with, since Minh is not a big fan of desserts. I, on the other hand, could LIVE off sweets if it wouldn’t make me sick or malnourished.

So.. on Friday, Michele and I headed to the Cocoa Lounge for a nice girls’ night out…

The Cocoa Lounge at the Island Hotel - Newport Beach, CA

I didn’t really know what to expect with a chocolate dessert buffet. Part of my was expecting a Vegas-style buffet line, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually a “lounge”. There was lush velvet draped over the walls, and cozy couches and coffee tables for lounging. The lighting was a bit dim, which didn’t make for good pictures, but added to the romantic and relaxing feel of the room. Michele and I took a table out in the restaurant instead of the lounge, but there were other people actually “lounging” with friends.

Between Michele and I, we tried almost everything… and there were over a dozen different chocolate desserts to choose from… I was in chocolate heaven.

Snickers Cake and Chocolate Caramel Tart

German Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Pudding Cake with Gianduja Mousse

Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Pot de Creme

A "handful" of truffles.. hehe..

Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Fudge Cookie S'more, Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake, and Chocolate Cupcake

Vanilla Custard-filled Eclair and "White Chocolate Mousse Square"

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Here’s how I ranked everything – from best to good (there was not “worst”):

• Chocolate Pudding Cake with Gianduja Mousse – This one was THE BEST!!! It was rich and creamy and almost the perfect chocolate dessert.
• Pots de Creme – Cold, custard-y chocolate pudding, with cute little malt balls
• German Chocolate Cake – Rich, moist chocolate cake with a coconut creme. Very well balanced and not overly sweet.
• Chocolate Caramel Tarts – This was Michele’s favorite because of the different textures: the silky chocolate and caramel with the crunchy tart shell.
• Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Mousse – light mousse with a moist vanilla cake and just a hint of strawberry sweetness
• Snickers Cake with Cream Cheese Icing – first thing we tried that night, and it tasted like the best Snickers I had ever had.
• Port Truffles – No overpowering port taste, which made for a sweet, rich truffle; the ganache was the perfect texture
• Chocolate Lollipop – a good chocolate truffle.. ON A STICK!
• White, Milk, and Dark Chocolate Truffles – by the end of the night, I was too stuffed to actually eat any of the “plain” truffles. But I imagine that they tasted just as good as the chocolate lollipop. UPDATE: My coworker just told me that these were not “plain” like I had assumed.. which makes me which I had actually grabbed one of each.. oh wells. There’s always next year!
• Vanilla Custard-filled Eclairs – the custard was good, but the eclair was nothing to right home about. I think I’ve had better eclairs from a Vietnamese Bakery, but it was nice that they added a dessert that wasn’t some form of cake.
• Chocolate Cupcake – your basic chocolate cupcake.
• White Chocolate Mousse Squares – this one confused Michele and I a bit because it seemed like just a chocolate cake when we ate it, no white chocolate or mousse in site. Perhaps mislabeled? UPDATE: Apparently, the white chocolate mousse was the layer inbetween the chocolate cake layers.. but there was so little that I didn’t even notice it.
• Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding – the bread pudding was good, but very custardy. I think they made it in a water bath (lending to the texture).. I wished it was a bit more firm. I did like that they used croissants for the “bread”.. it makes it more buttery and delicious.
• Chocolate Fudge Cookie S’mores – the marshmallow on top was DELICIOUS.. but the fudge cookie on the bottom was HARD. Would have been better if it was a fudge brownie… but maybe the chef was going for the different textures..
• Chocolate-covered Macaroons – tasted like a good Mounds.
• Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake – This one threw me off a bit.. the banana flavor was a lot stronger than I was expecting. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t really in the mood for banana.
• Chocolate-covered Peanut Caramels – I didn’t get to try this one, but Michele wasn’t a fan. Perhaps because it was one of the last things she ate and she was all chocolated out…
• Milk Chocolate Cheesecake – I dont’ remember this one, perhaps I didn’t eat it?
• There was one thing that I know I didn’t try.. and I can’t remember what it was called… but it looked too exotic so we skipped it. UPDATE: My coworker told me that the one we skipped (that sounded too exotic) was actually one of her favorites that night.. Which teaches me that at a buffet, EVERYTHING deserves a taste.

Along side all the desserts were these amazing chocolate sculptures. I especially liked the chocolate fish and the basket of roses.

Abstract chocolate sculpture with various chocolate desserts

Chocolate Fish ... so cool!

Close up of Chocolate Fish

Chocolate Rainbow Fish

Truffle Table with Rose Basket

Close-up of Chocolate Roses

Another abstract chocolate sculpture

By the end of the night, Michele and I had had our fill of chocolate desserts.. and table full of plates to prove it.

A chocolate battlefield..

Those desserts really didn't stand a chance..

The Cocoa Lounge at the Island Hotel is only open for the month of February. Apparently, 2011 is the third year that they’ve put on the Cocoa Lounge, and it has been a huge success! I don’t know why I had never heard of it before, but I’m hoping that I can make this a February tradition for many years to come.

Cocoa Lounge at the Island Hotel
(Inside the Palm Terrace Restaurant)
690 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Tues – Sat, 6PM – 10PM, until Feb 26th
Price: $18 per person
Call for reservations: 949-760-4920

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

I originally wanted to make this to bring to work for Valentine’s Day:

Red Velvet Cake Ball Cake (via Bakerella)

But.. my cake skills aren’t exactly up to par, so what I ended up with was this:

Chocolate Cake with Red Velvet Cake Balls

Side View - so you can see the chocolate candy cups

I will say though, it turned out pretty nice. It’s a two-layer chocolate cake (recipe adapted from A Chef’s Kitchen), with a simple whipped cream frosting (tinted pink), decorated with some red velvet cake balls (adapted from Bakerella). All from SCRATCH (no box cake mixes or premade frosting here!… although I didn’t go milk a cow or mill my own flour, this is as close to perfectly from scratch as it gets for a “city” girl).  It was my first time making cake balls, and it was harder than I had expected (the candy coating part, not the forming part). I think if I ever try it again, I’ll make the cake pops.. in my head, that seems easier and will likely produce prettier results. Recipes to follow later this week….

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

Minh’s Corner: Specialized Hardrock Longtail

For those of you that don’t know,  I am REALLY big on brand loyalty. There are certain brands that I will buy and many brands that aren’t even worth my time.  When it comes to welding equipment, it’s hands down Miller! When it comes to hand tools, it’s hands down Craftsmen (only because I can’t afford the better stuff). When it comes to power tools, it’s hands down Makita. And when it comes to bikes, Specialized is my brand of choice. In the short time that we’ve been riding, we have already owned 11 different Specialized bikes (HRXC, Big Hit SPEC, P2, Hardrock (2), S-Works HT, Stumpjumper HT, Era, Allez, Dolce, Tricross).

When I was in the market for an urban/commuter bike, I naturally looked at the Specialized lineup. I needed something that could carry stuff and be fun at the same time. The globe line of bikes were pretty cool but I wasn’t thrilled with them (although I still want one). Utility bikes have always sparked an interest in me so I decided to build one myself based on… you guess it, a Specialized frame.

Using my “old” 2008 Specialized Hardrock Pro as a “donor bike”, I picked up an Xtracycle FreeRadical base frame, FreeLoaders, and FlightDeck. I built the bike with left over parts that we had laying around… it just so happens we have some nice parts laying around the garage.

This is the end product…

Specs:

FRAME: 2008 Medium (17”) Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc

FORK: Ritchey WCS Carbon MTB Disc Fork with Carbon Steertube

HEADSET: 1-1/8 Chris King Threadless

STEM: RaceFace Dues XC

HANDLEBARS: Ritchey Logic Carbon Flat Bar

GRIPS: RaceFace Lock-on Grips

FRONT BRAKE: Avid BB7 – 6” Rotor

REAR BRAKE: Avid BB7 – 8” Rotor

BRAKE LEVERS: Avid Speed Dial 7 Levers

FRONT DERAILLEUR: None – Raceface Bash and Third Eye Chain Watcher

REAR DERAILLEUR: SRAM X9 Long Cage

SHIFT LEVERS: SRAM X9

CASSETTE: SRAM PG-970 11-34 9-Speed

CHAIN: Shimano XTR CN-7701 9-Speed

CRANKSET: Custom Shimano 170mm FC-M762, 2pc

CHAINRINGS: Single RaceFace 34t with Bash

BOTTOM BRACKET: Custom Shimano, integrated outboard bearing

PEDALS: Crampon Pedals from Canfield Brothers

WHEELS: Specialized Enduro

FRONT TIRE: Specialized Fast Trak LK Armadillo Elite Tire – 26×2.0

REAR TIRE: Specialized Fast Trak LK Armadillo Elite Tire – 26×2.0

INNER TUBES: Ultralight presta valve

SADDLE: Selle San Marco Ponza Saddle

SEAT BINDER: Salsa Clamp

NOTES: Custom Gusset Chain Tensioner, Custom Kick Stand, Planet Bike Freddy Rear Fender, Ulock+Mount

Velosport Jr Team Named USA Cycling Center of Excellence

2011 Sho-Air/Rock'n'Road Junior Cycling Team

Team Velosport (Sho-Air/Rock’n'Road) Junior Cycling Team has just been named a 2010 USA Cycling Center of Excellence. (That’s a lot of links in one sentence). Here’s what being a “Center of Excellence” entails:

Funded by the USA Cycling Development Foundation, cash grants for Center of Excellence recognition are awarded to programs that meet specific structural requirements with the potential and ability to develop athletes into international-level competitors, and have consistently produced national results and coordinated with USA Cycling’s National Development Program participation. Since the program’s inception eight years ago, USA Cycling has distributed over $160,000 to grass-roots development programs thanks to the generous donations to the USA Cycling Development Foundation.

USA Cycling recognizes the outstanding work of all of these Centers of Excellence as they continue to grow the model of athlete development in cycling and contribute to the elevated levels of competition and growth of the sport in the United States.

Only 8 teams were chosen for 2010, including: Boulder Junior Cycling (BJC), NOW-MS Society, All Sport – Team Swift, Young Medalists High Performance, Peanut Butter & Co. 2012, Rad Racing, and Team Specialized Juniors.

It’s a great honor to be part of a team that puts a lot of energy and support behind junior cyclists. If 2010 was any indication for the future of the team, we should be expecting many many many top 10s and podium finishes from the 31-member team (and still growing). CONGRATULATIONS!

Dinner in a Bottle?

I’ll admit that the idea of chewing your dinner a la Violet Beauregarde piqued my interest back when I was a kid.. but this has got to be a little ridiculous:

Meat flavored water? How am I just finding out about this? Launched in 2007, Meatwater is only available at fully sponsored events (seemingly held only in NYC). I’m a little intrigued as to how these would taste… Anyone tried one yet?

Review: Valhalla Table

Last Sunday (January 30) was Minh’s Birthday. For whatever reason, I made NO PLANS to celebrate his birthday. We went to church in the morning.. had breakfast.. watched some TV.. had lunch.. hung out at Barnes and Noble for HOURS (one of our FAVORITE activities) .. and then planned to go to dinner.. this is where the “no plans” went horrible awry… Ends up that at some point between paying for lunch (at Boudin’s) and hanging out at B&N for hours, my wallet went mysteriously misplaced. It must have fallen out of my purse when I was pulling out my phone or something.. either way, we didn’t realize that it was gone until we went to pay and I had no wallet (note.. this is the third time I’ve lost my wallet.. it really sucks). The one thing I did plan for the night was where to have dinner.. We were going to try out Valhalla Table at the CAMP since Minh and I LOVE LOVE LOVE sausage and beer… but since I was now totally bummed out, we decided to just go home and call the necessary banks and such and order pizza….

Fast forward to this past weekend.. we were originally going to get dinner at the Tet Festival in Garden Grove, but Minh didn’t want to deal with the parking and the crowds and the noise.. so we headed to Valhalla Table for dinner (side note.. the streets were absolutely DEAD because people were inside watching the Superbowl). The place was DEAD.. we were the only customers in the place for a while (but people started showing up later).

We ordered three sausages (served in french baguette) and an order of Belgium fries with garlic aioli… The fries were DELICIOUS, as was the garlic aioli. They were pretty much fried perfectly (with a nice golden color, crunchy outer, and soft inner) and lightly salted.

Sausages (top to bottom): Wild Boar Balinese, Traditional Bratwurst, Veal with Basil and Parmesan

Sausage #1: Traditional Bratwurst with Homemade Sauerkraut

There wasn’t anything special about the bratwurst. It was a good sausage, though a little bland.. definitely needs ketchup and a little brown mustard. The homemade sauerkraut is good, but nothing to write home about. It’s good if you want a traditional bratwurst and don’t know where else to go to get one.

Sausage #2: Veal with Basil and Parmesan with Sweet Peppers

The veal sausage was actually pretty good. I think it had a great flavor, probably from the crumbled bacon on top and mixed in Parmesan. It was better with less sweet peppers, since the peppers tend to overpower the sausage. It doesn’t need any extra condiments, but if you have some extra garlic aioli from the fries, it doesn’t hurt to spread some on the bun. It actually tastes very good.

Sausage #3: Wild Boar Balinese with Caramelized Onions

I don’t know why, but I was surprised at how “wild” this sausage tasted… it had an earthy taste to it, like goat meat or lamb. I’m not complaining, the sausage was good. But like the bratwurst, it was a little bland, so needed the addition of ketchup.

And.. of course.. you can’t have sausage without beer. Minh got a bottle of Palm and I got a bottle of Mad River Brewing Co. Steelhead Scotch Porter.

Overall, Valhalla Table isn’t awesome, but it isn’t bad either. It’s a good place to go if you’re craving sausage, and it’s reasonable priced. The menu is simple, the staff is nice, the decor is clean… I would definitely come back to try something different on their menu… maybe the duck, buffalo, or Texas BBQ.

Valhalla Table
2981 Bristol Street (the CAMP)
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 549-2960
http://www.valhallatable.com

Running Outside > Treadmills

Saturday morning… the sun is shining, the temperature is perfect, and I have a good solid hour to get a workout in. An hour is probably enough time for a quick bike ride, but the hassle of getting dressed and making sure the bike is ready makes that hour an easy hour and a half, and I can’t go very far in an hour… so I opted for a run.

It was my first time running outside since Xterra Crystal Cove Trail Run back in December. After that, I was running on the treadmill inside because the weather was getting cold, the evenings were getting dark, and it was just more convenient. That ended up being a bad idea because I pushed myself too hard too fast and started feeling shin splints and other legpains, which prevented me from running for a while. It was weeks of ice and rest and leg strengthening with no running. Now that my one-month gym membership has expired, I’m slowly trying to get back to running, which brings me to Saturday morning.

I opted for an easy five miles around Mile Square Park (I realize that a lap around Mile Square Park is only 4 miles, but I started half a mile away… so it works out). I went in knowing that I would keep an easy pace and stop to walk if my legs started bothering me. For the most part, I made it through with minimal leg pain.. and finished in 51 minutes, which isn’t horrible for me, having not run for a while. But.. I was feeling it afterwards, and was DYING for ice on the walk back to my house. First thing I did was plump the icepack on my legs and downed some coconut water (YUM!). Today.. the legs are feeling a bit better, though sore from the first run in a long time. I iced a little more, but definitely won’t be running today. I’ll give them a little rest and maybe run again tomorrow.

I have to say, it (mentally) felt great to be running outside. The treadmill is SOOOO boring, and even though I’ve run around the park a million times (<— that’s a gross exaggeration), it was still better than running indoors. Also, I found some new things at the park.. like these added workout/stretching stations along the 3-mile walking loop.

I remember seeing something similar on the 1.5-ish-mile loop at Huntington Central Park and thinking that it would be a GREAT idea for Mile Square Park. I guess someone read my mind. I only saw one because I wasn’t running the loop, but I’m sure there are more. I’ll post back on it once I find them all.