Mozza Balls

I just gave a mock dissertation yesterday and so today was one of those days where I just wanted to not go to school and rest, which is exactly what I did. Comfort foods are perfect for lazy days, such as today, so I created my variation on cheese sticks. Mozzarella isn't my all time favorite of cheeses, but I don't know what other cheese you would use for cheese sticks. =/

I suppose you could buy super organic mozzarella cheese that comes in that ball in the water, but as I was saying, today was a lazy day. So string cheese it was! I used string cheese from Cowpals, cuz the cows on the packaging looked so cute! I want to be their pal! jk~ -_-

I used 4 string cheese sticks (two for my sister and two for myself) and cut them into bite size bits. Hence the name Mozza BALLS. =)


I set up an assembly line of 2 tbsp flour, 1 egg beaten, and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs with 1 tbsp dried oregano. I really like the woodsy flavor oregano gives to foods. Also, I thought the oregano matched the herby marinara sauce. (Well, I used a store bought can of marinara sauce and I assumed they used herbs such as oregano in their sauce. But it's just an assumption, or as my PI would like to say "hypothesis"!)

Dredge your balls into flour, egg, breadcrumb mixture. In that order. Or else.


Line up your beautifully covered balls and freeze for about 15 minutes. I think freezing really makes the cheese absorb all the flavors and also they come out crispier when you fry. So, yes, please freeze them.


Time to fry! Pour in olive oil into your pan so that it comes up about 1/2 inch. I used olive oil because, to me, olive oil is synonymous with Italian food, but you can also use canola, grapeseed, or whatever oil you have on hand. Although, I don't think coconut oil is a good idea...

Make sure your oil is hot before placing the balls in. I don't have a oil temperature gauge, so I couldn't tell you how hot the oil should be but you should be able to see little bubbles in the oil and that's how you know. The balls should spend 1-2 minutes in the oil on each side.


When they are done, they should come out a perfect golden color with the cheese oozing from sides.


Enjoy these cheesy balls of perfection with whatever sauce you like!

goodbye!

welcome to the magical world of Mr. Strange and Mr. Norrell

Who? Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell!

What? The revival of magic!

Where? London

When? 19th century

How? And that is where the essence of the book lies!

However, reader beware! This lovely book spans 800 pages! That's right. Eight HUNDRED pages. But don't let that scare you away! It's a brilliant read~

When I first saw this book hit the shelves of my local borders, I was immediately drawn to it by its title and illustrations. When I read the synopsis, I was hooked! However, I put the book back down because it looked like a bible! Fate had my reach for this book again, when my tutor students wanted to read a more contemporary novel. I immediately thought of this book because of it's Harry Potter-esque storyline. [Warning: Harry Potter and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are very different magicians]. In any case, I'm very glad I did!

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell are two magicians who have dedicated their lives to magic. There is beauty and danger when one becomes too involved in their art. This is a concept that I can most readily attest to. I know that sometimes I can get so incredibly absorbed in my work that I forget that there is another world out there. It is a fine line between dedication to your science and becoming a slave to it.

So...go out and get some brunch!

I went to Rialto Cafe in Fullerton because when I was reading, Jonathan Strange was walking along the rialto in Venice. So imagine my surprise when I saw a cafe called Rialto Cafe? I just had to go!

It was such a cute cafe and downtown fullerton has such a homey feel. But the sidewalks were so small, I thought cars were going to run over us!

I got a veggie burger...for brunch...yes I'm strange...[no pun intended. hehe!]

Live and Learn

It is 4 o' clock in the afternoon and I am in the library where I SHOULD be writing my thesis paper. Unfortunately, my brain is doing everything it can to distract my mind which is how I stumbled upon the trailer for Eat, Pray, Love.

I think the movie already came out? Well, I could be wrong. But I read the book a couple years ago when it first grazed the "bestsellers" shelf at Borders. Actually, my friend bought it for me because I don't like to buy "self-help" books (it makes me incredibly self conscious...don't ask me why). In any case, I'm glad I got the book. It was good.

As you probably already know, it is about a woman whose NYC life falls apart and hence goes on a journey throughout the world and re-discovers herself. I have to admit, I, at first, did not like the premise of this book. The main character (Liz Gilbert) and I are very different people. I just felt like she was running away from her problems. And I'm a very Type-A person; always trying to fix things and what not. Run away from my problems? Never! I'm a fighter!

With that said, though, her journey speaks volumes. It even resonated with me! For me, I feel that life is always about learning and growing, and hopefully becoming a better person. So, her "journey" to herself really struck a chord within me. So many times, I feel like we get stuck in our routine life and we forget that there is a world out there that doesn't care about our routines. We forget that we are but small pieces in this huge puzzle of life. We don't have to have thousands of dollars to go to Italy, India and/or Bali to find ourselves. Self discovery is an every day every life event. So stop and smell the roses! Be inspired! Life is truly magical~

When was the last time you marveled at something?

my small break from my busy summer

This summer has been pretty hectic for me. I have had so many projects and experiments that I barely had any time to play! It doesn't feel like summer to me at all, except for the weather which decides to cool down the minute I wear a skirt.

Anyways, I digress. I got to spend my day with my two lovely dancing queens! (They are both tango aficionados. They are so good at it that they compete!) Well, it's always such a joy to hang out with these two. We spent the good part of our afternoon just chatting and giggling at a cute little cafe in Sherman Oaks, called Watercress.

picture was taken from www.watercresscafe.com

as well as this one~ =)

I didn't/couldn't take any pictures at Watercress because we were too busy catching up and laughing. Everything in Sherman Oaks was cute to me. It had so many cute cafes and such and Watercress was one of them. The interior is small and gives off a cozy feeling. It s agreat place to go to for brunch with your girls. However, the service was eh~ Not rude but just eh~ I got the tomato, buffalo mozarella and basil panini but they forgot to add the tomatoes! And for a twenty something dollar tab, we put in $35 expecting to get change, but they thought we were just tipping them...A LOT... -_- But we didn't walk away angry because the ambiance was great and I think we were all just happy to see each other and spend the day together~

Then for dessert, Vivi and I went to Sweetharts which is run by Melissa Joan Hart (who was the star in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Now I really have to rave about this place. "Soooo cute!!!!" was all I kept saying at Sweetharts. It is the CUTEST ice cream parlor/bakery/candy shop.

I got the ice cream red velvet cupcake. Everything there is a bit on the pricey side, but everything was "soooo cute"!!!! It is a little girl's dream place! The decor kind of reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. I absolutely adored Sweetharts. All in all, I had a really cute day with my Cal cuties and that make me a very happy Janet~ =D

Vivi, one of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet!

Fairy Tales Do Come True!

A unicorn deer recently discovered in Italy! Who said unicorns were mythical creatures?

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

I tried sloppy joes for the first time at a church camp when I was in 6th grade. I didn't know what they were called or what they were but I knew I liked them because I asked for seconds! =) Fast forward 10+ years and I made a vegetarian version of sloppy joes, courtesy of Rachael Ray. In my honest opinion, although they were VERY good (even my meat-eating sister liked it!), they didn't hold up very well making it very messy and difficult to eat. But food is food right?

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes
serves 4
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (21-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 (15-ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lime
4 hamburger buns
salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped jalapenos, bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Cook until they are tender (7-8 minutes).
2. Fold in the black beans, cumin, coriander and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Stir in tomatoes, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and simmer the mixture for a few minutes.
4. Serve on hamburger buns with a side of dill pickles.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day passed, so this post is late in coming, but May is Mother's Month anyway and technically we should be celebrating our mothers everyday! Am I right? So I was in the middle of finals, which means I had no time to shop for a gift or do other chores around the house, so my sister and I threw a little dinner party for her. And by "little" I mean just our immediate family.

Flower Arrangements by the lovely Ms. Ann

Our family dinner part was cozy and charming. It felt like the perfect way to celebrate our mom. Speaking of my mom, she is the strongest, most brave person I have ever met. Yet, she is so tender, beautiful, and loving. She truly is my hero. I am the person I am today, because of her.

To celebrate her, I made baked tilapia and saffron rice adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Baked Tilapia with Onion and Lemon
serves 4
2 lemons, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
2 medium onions, sliced into thin rounds
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup dry white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1 tsp chopped thyme
salt and pepper for tasting
4 4-5 ounce tilapia fillets

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange lemons and onions in a baking dish. Add everything, except the fillets, and bake for 40 minutes, or until onions are soft and translucent.
2. Add the fillets and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.

Saffron Rice with Tomatoes and Oregano
serves 4
pinch of saffron
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup basmati rice
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and diced
pepper
6 sprigs of oregano

1. Fill a saucepan with cold water. Add saffron and salt and bring water to a boil. Stir in rice and cook until rice is tender. Cooking rice in this fashion is very similar to cooking pasta. Drain rice.
2. Place rice in a bowl. Add butter, tomatoes, oregano and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

I also served a side of greens with a lemon dressing. For dessert, we had strawberry and green tea mochi cakes!

A lovely Mother's Day celebration for my lovely mother.

I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day!