last weekend, i went shopping at costco alone on empty stomach... bad idea! tried bunch samples and bought bunch of them. i also went by the cooked food section and couldn't resist picking up a rotisserie chicken. actually the chicken was probably the cheapest thing i bought, only $6, everything else was like at least $10 each.

the chicken was pipping hot, we decided to eat it as soon as i got home. of course we couldn't finish it all. next two days we ended up eating out with friends, so the chicken was left untouched. tuesday, i used some of the chicken as pizza topping. wednesday, i made chicken alfredo. thursday, chicken masala. still some left, but we are eating out tomorrow. maybe this weekend we can have chicken salad or sandwich. if a tiny chicken last us a week, i wonder how long a turkey would last.

they didn't have fuzhou fish ball at the castro chinese grocery store or at 99 ranch. so today i decided to make my own, called my mom for the recipe, bought fish and ground pork, spent 2 hours this afternoon messing around. the filling turned out great, the actual fish part not as good as i would like, i think i put in too much starch. i will post a more detailed thing on flog if it turns out better next time.
fuzhou fish ball, is bigger than normal fish ball, usually about 1 inch in diameter, and has pork filling inside. rough list of ingredients:
outside: white fish fillet + potato starch + water + salt (2 part fish, 1 part starch)
filling: ground pork + low sodium soy sauce + oyster sauce + scallion + butter (butter is my extra ingredient)

i always get confused which coffee has milk, which has chocolate, and often end up ordering the wrong thing.

espresso: steam pressed dark coffee, 1 shot = 1 cup of coffee

Concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing very hot, but not boiling, water under high pressure through coffee that has been ground to a consistency between extremely fine and powder -- wikipedia

The classic, dark Italian coffee is the perfect pick-me-up and the ideal after-dinner coffee. A good espresso is the Rolls Royce of coffee and has a pure, rich flavour and irresistible smoky aroma. Espresso is a superb dark after-dinner coffee, but may be enjoyed at any time of day. -- justaboutcoffee.com

latte: espresso + steamed milk, top with small amount of foam

Outside Italy, a latte is prepared with approximately one third espresso and two-thirds steamed milk, with a layer of foamed milk approximately one quarter inch thick on the top. The drink is very similar to a cappuccino. -- wikipedia

A Caffe Latte is a single shot of espresso with steamed milk. The milk is steamed, not frothed to produce a smooth texture. There is no frothed milk in this drink. A latte is the perfect coffee for those who like a milky coffee that still has plenty of flavour. It is the ideal breakfast coffee but is great any time of day. -- justaboutcoffee.com

Espresso with steamed milk and in some shops, a small cap of foam. It has less foam than a cappuccino. -- namastecafe.com

Espresso with hot milk and a small head of dense froth, usually served in a glass. -- cremamagazine.com.au

cappuccino: espresso + milk + foam, sprinkled with chocolate powder

An Italian coffee-based drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and milk foam. A cappuccino is traditionally served in a ceramic cup. -- wikipedia

One-third coffee, one-third milk and one-third foam - the classic recipe for a coffee that is great to drink at breakfast or anytime of day. It's an unwritten rule you order your cappuccino before your meal. -- justaboutcoffee.com

A shot of espresso with the remainder being 50% steamed milk and 50% milk foam/froth. An alternative description is 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, 1/3 foamed milk. Many places use more steamed milk and less froth. "Cappuccino is essentially a latte topped with milk FOAM." -- namastecafe.com

A shot of espresso with densely frothed milk poured into it and dusted with chocolate powder. -- cremamagazine.com.au

mocha: cappuccino/latte + chocolate syrup or hot cocoa, top with whipped cream

An American invention. Like a latte it is typically one third espresso and two thirds steamed milk, but a shot of chocolate is added. Typically the chocolate is in the form of an Italian syrup, although less sophisticated vending systems use instant chocolate powder. Whipped cream, dustings of cocoa and marshmallows may also be added on top for flavour and decoration. -- wikipeida

Contrary to cappuccinos, cafe mochas do not contain the well known milk froth on top, usually whipped cream and a dusting of either cinnamon or cocoa powder.

Depending upon where you are, ordering a 'mocha' might get you a 'latte' or a cappuccino with chocolate syrup or hot cocoa. -- namastecafe.com

Espresso, hot chocolate and steamed milk served in a glass. -- cremamagazine.com.au

cafe au lait: latte made with dark coffee

French coffee drink. In many American coffeehouses, a café au lait is simply a latte with strong drip brewed or French pressed coffee substituted for espresso, though a French roast or similarly dark coffee may be the base of the beverage. -- wikipedia

Coffee and heated milk in latte proportions, but using 'regular' coffee (a.k.a. "American filter coffee") instead of espresso. The 'regular' coffee should be brewed 'double strength' to better reflect the heavier brew ratio used by Europeans (in some places double or triple the dose used by Americans). -- namastecafe.com

macchiato: espresso with small amount of milk/foam

Caffè macchiato /Espresso macchiato, an espresso with a teaspoon of milk in it and a small "spot" of foam on top of the crema traditionally to show the beverage has milk in it. -- wikipeida

Some say this is espresso with about a half inch of milk foam (no steamed milk). But some strongly disagree. -- namastecafe.com

Espresso with a dash of milk added. Some cafes will use a dash of foam; others a dash of milk and froth, or even just a splash of cold milk. -- cremamagazine.com.au

latte macchiato: opposite of espresso macchiato

Steamed milk served in a glass with ½ shot of espresso or less poured through it, leaving a 'spot' of crèma to indicate this is not a caffè latte, but a latte macchiato. -- wikipidea

iced cappuccino: cappuccino over crushed ice

A single or double shot of espresso over crushed ice with an once or two of cold milk and milk froth. -- namastecafe.com

iced espresso: espresso over crushed ice, top with whipped cream

Usually a double shot of espresso over crushed ice, possibly with whipped cream. -- namastecafe.com

http://www.justaboutcoffee.com/index.php?file=types
http://www.namastecafe.com/coffee_names.htm
http://www.cremamagazine.com.au/page/types_of_coffee.html

Found this among the comments to a digg post about fast food.

I don't know if anyone cares but here are a few tidbits from working at McDonalds:

- Any breakfasts with round-eggs are actually eggs. They are cracked into a circular cookie-cutter platter.
- Any breakfasts with folded-eggs are "egg product". Not saying it's not real egg but it comes from a carton, not a shell
- Chicken McGrills and Crispy Chicken are NEVER ordered - insist they make you a fresh one. This is a common request and you'll be told it might take 5 minutes (crispy) to 7 minutes (mcgrill)
- 1/4 pound meat is rarely ordered outside of lunch hour, ask for it fresh if you are going in at odd hours
- Bacon sits out forever if it's not at breakfast, order it fresh.
- If you are on the go and HATE ketchup packets (like me), request a sunday lid (essentially a little cup) and a medium drink top. Fill the lid with ketchup, turn the drink top upside down and it forms a perfect seal.
- Speaking of sunday lids, request some mac sauce or mayo in them as well. Very common requests.
- Ask for fries with no salt if you prefer. They will make a new batch for you and give them to you unsalted.
- I have no idea why but many people order "big mac cheese burgers". I've never tried it, looks disgusting but by all means if you are high and want to be creative...
- If you see a cashier run into the back quickly, ask if they were helping with the food. It's unbelievable the amount of cashiers (mostly the cross-trained ones) who will handle the dirtiest money on the planet and then run in back to help finish up a few burgers during a rush. That's sick. Request a new one.

If I think of more I'll add.

Interesting tidbits in case i eat at McDonalds again, rarely eat fast food since i came to college, but crispy chicken is one of my usual, why is it not popular ?!?... Fries with out salt would be nice too.

mmm... fresh baked chocolate chip muffin
I didn't use to like muffin or cupcake or brownie. Brownie was too sweet, not sure why not muffin. Gotten alittle better on sweet now, but I still can't eat really sweet stuff or too much of it. Usually still prefer salty stuff over sweet stuff, like dried plum, beef jerky. Though Chinese beef jerkies are usually sweet, heh. Also veges, I used to hate white mushroom, spinach. Well I really liked spinach when I was kid, cuz my aunt told me it was good for me, as well as that fish for growing hair, and fish eyeball... But spinach leave a weird after taste in your mouth if not cooked right and cafeteria spinach just looks disgusting, so I avoid it for awhile. But its all ok again, I had fried spinach on my pasta the other night o.O. I still don't eat baby corn though, as well as cooked water chestnut. Resturant like to put them in Chinese stirfry dishes, but they are tasteless. I really don't understand why ppl cook water chestnut, it should be eaten fresh damn it! Though I guess you can't buy fresh water chestnut here :3 Oh ya giant eagle sells pigs feet now! hahaha Though you could always get them from Whoely's, along with couple assortment of internal organs. I like eatting them, but they usually take too much effort to prepare, so they go on the list of things to eat when I go back to New York. Almost forgot, fruits, they are my favorate food category, but actually there were alot of them that I refused to eat for waever reason, just like I refuse to play chess... Like papaya and kiwi, but my mom eventually got me to eat them last 2 winter breaks, and I love them though they are pretty pricy :) Oh papaya suppose to help your breast grow, but I think thats alittle too late for me XD I still refuse to eat dorian though, not cuz the smell, I dont think they are that bad. I wonder why ppl knows about lychee but not longyan, longyan is soooo much tastier than lychee. Oh ya yangme, but I doubt I will see that in the US any time soon, you don't even see them in China often. ::drools::
oh ya I should try out that new cupcake shop on murray before they go out of business.

since i first played cooking mama, i always thought wouldnt it be interesting if you actually try to make something from the game? its certainly possible, since all the recipes are real, but the problem is it doesnt give you any actual measurement of the ingredients, and alot of the steps are shorten or omitted, so its not so easy unless you already know what you are doing. but alas, someone actually did it!

http://passionatenonchalance.com/?cat=31
you have to click on each entry to see the receipes

maybe i will add some to flog as well, hm...

added 3 drink recipes to flog 2.0: pina colada, mudslide, hawaiian heart throb. they are pretty common, so there are plenty other versions on the web, but those are what jim and i came up with after some experimentation, our favorite drinks so far. sorry no pictures since my glass are color tinted and i don't usually garnish them, so aren't very photogenic. anyway enjoy :)

few weeks ago, i bought "1001 cocktails" during a random pass by at b&n. then i spent $150 last weekend on actual mixing ingridients, about half of which was alcoholic XD. made 4 so far:
fire ball - a friend made it, not actually cocktail, just a shot, pretty good
oasis - not sure if it was the gin or the mint or too much alcohol, dont like it
blue lagoon - really easy to make, pretty good
frozen strawberry daiquiri - good, but not sweet enough
also picked up a tiny bottle of godiva white chocolate liqueur - very yummy
i think i'm gonna try mediterranean next, if that still taste bad, then i will just avoid gin. also gonna try blue hawaiian and pina colada. besides the common stuff that i know are good, i'm basically going thru most of the blue color drinks in the book, gotta start somewhere right ^^;

There was an article about some butterfly speci that got dugged up on digg.com. Anyway, it reminded me of this weird chinese herb, 冬蟲夏草, literally means worm in the winter but grass in the summer. Wiki calles it Vegetable caterpillar and scientific name isCordyceps sinensis. This thing is truely freaky, it grows natively in tibet, like many other wonderful chinese herbs. So in the winter this worm eats this fungus, then the fungus slowly takes over the worm's body, and when the worm dies about summer time, it becomes the herb. I always thought it was called worm something bla bla cuz the herb happen to look like a worm, not that it actually was a worm. Makes me think twice before eating them now. >.<

NongShim's Saeng-Saeng Udon Noodle
Its the best tasting instant noodle ever, almost restaurant quality with out any additional ingrediant. The noodle comes with 3 small packets, soup base, spicy packet and dried adding packet. I ordered a small box for my bro from noodleson, their customer support is nice, use alternative shiping method I suggested. Check their noodle review blog!