Dreams and Cravings

No, I'm not pregnant. Okay, now that that's out of the way. A while back, I was totally stuck on pancakes. I made pancakes almost everyday for two weeks. I would eat them for breakfast, lunch, or snacks. I probably would have had them for dinner if Michael was up for it. I finally got over my pancake craving, but I've moved on to pudding. There was a pack of vanilla pudding at the house where I'm nannying this summer. I ate them all the first week of work, bought a replacement pack for them and ended up eating most of those too. Last night, I decided to make my own so I would stop cleaning out my employer. I was really happy with how it turned out, especially as it was my first time making pudding from scratch. Hopefully this craving doesn't last too much longer. If only I could move on to something like spinach or carrot sticks.

I don't know if it's all the pudding I've been eating, all the fiction I've been reading, or just another exciting night of sleep, but I had a dream the other night that the world was ending because of some crazy bet that Zeus made with Snape (kind of like God and Satan's deal with Job.). I think it was all going to end well though because Spider-man was there rescuing kids and stopping floods. I woke up before I knew for sure, but I would bet that your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man saved the day.

P.S. The Cheesecake

I can't believe I forgot to mention the delicious cheesecake Michael and I received for our anniversary. Our dear friend Laura, who lives in Brooklyn, sent us a Junior's cheesecake, which is Michael's favorite. Of course, I love it too, but one of Michael's favorite desserts is cheesecake, and his favorite cheesecake just happens to be a New York classic found only in the Big Apple. Thank God for overnight delivery and dry ice!

And thank you, Laura!!

Not all things are made equal

Two years ago, when I was living in New York, the city became the first "in the country to implement a law forcing chain restaurants to post the calorie count of each food in the same size and font as the price"*. Based on that law, the new health care legislation includes a requirement for chains across the country to post calorie information on their menus and drive-through signs**. I completely support this particular aspect of the law. Sure, I can look up nutrition information online, as I did to get the numbers below. Nearly all restaurants post their food facts on their websites, but I like being able to see in the moment I'm about to order what it is I'm getting. One might think that a burger at one restaurant would be similar, nutritionally, to one at another restaurant. I had assumed that the new blended coffee beverages at McDonald's would be similar to Starbucks' Frappuccinos. I couldn't be more wrong. Out of curiosity, I did some comparing online and discovered the shocking differences between blended coffee beverages all over the place. Here are just a few examples:

Bruegger's Mocha Brueggaccino (16 oz.)

640 calories

29 g of fat

82 g of sugar

0% calcium (is there no milk in there?)

McDonald's Frappe Mocha (16 oz.)

560 calories (480 w/o whipped cream)

24 g of fat (18 w/o whipped cream)

70 g of sugar

25% calcium

Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino (16 oz.)

380 calories (260 w/o whipped cream)

15 g of fat (3.5 w/o whipped cream)

47 g of sugar

20% calcium

I could have TWO Starbucks drinks (w/o whipped cream) for fewer calories than either of the other two versions. Maybe some people prefer making uninformed decisions about what they put in their body. Ignorance is bliss and all that. Personally, I'm very much looking forward to calorie counts being posted as soon as possible.

*http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25464987

**http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/business/24menu.html

Thanksgiving 2009

This was my first Thanksgiving as a wife, and all I had to make were the green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. Lucky me! Michael and I drove to Kansas City last Tuesday to visit my brother-in-law and his fiance. We won't get to see them again until their wedding next summer. We left Polo there with his cousin Dito, a lab/shepherd mix. I don't think he missed us all week. On Wednesday, we flew to Albuquerque to spend Thanksgiving with my mom and in-laws.

Our 20lb. turkey

making the sweet potato casserole

After Thanksgiving dinner, we took part in a Yuen family tradition and sang karaoke with really old VHS karaoke tapes and really old songs. It was actually a lot of fun :) On Friday we went hiking in the mountains behind their home.

hiking around Sandia Mountains

Michael's parents fed us well while we were there. You know you're in an Asian family when you use Thanksgiving leftovers to make turkey fried rice.

We are incredibly thankful to have such an amazing family to visit and also a wonderful home to which we return. We have been very blessed this year and find things every day for which we thank God.

My cheesy quirk

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I love cheese. Okay, many people who know me know I love cheese. However, not many people know this. Though I love almost all cheeses, the one I eat the most is American cheese (so processed, so not good for me). It isn't because I like it the best; it's just cheap and easy. I don't know when it started, but as far back as I can remember, I've always had the habit of folding the cheese slice in half four times until I have a stack of sixteen tiny little processed cheese pieces. Then I eat them one at a time. It's weird, right?

Yum!

Autumn time fun

I have always enjoyed autumn. In Arizona, it meant the end of 100 degree days and 90 degree nights. In New York, it meant the brilliant colors of the changing trees in Central Park. It means Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the build up to Christmas. This year I celebrated the beginning of fall by an apple-picking trip with some friends. We went to Lynd farm, about 40 minutes east of Columbus, and picked Jonathon and Cortland apples.


And because one of the best parts about autumn is the great food, I made a roast turkey breast with stuffing and mashed potatoes for dinner earlier this week. Last night, I used some of the leftover turkey and the apples I had picked to make a turkey pot pie and an deep-dish caramel apple pie.

Mmmm! Coming soon: pumpkin soup

for Sara or Cheese Nips vs. Cheez It

I went to the store on the way home from work to pick up some snacks for my fellowship group. I wanted Cheez-Its but only saw Cheese Nips, so I grabbed them. Then at the check-out counter, I found the Cheez-Its. I was inspired to get them both and conduct a taste test. I remembered liking Cheese Nips growing up, but I've only eaten Cheez-Its for so long, I didn't know which was really better. It turns out that I prefer Cheese Nips, but I seem to be the only one. Everyone else picked the Cheez Its. Which do you prefer?