Carl's Birthday Weekend

It has been a tradition that we greet our birthdays at exactly 12 midnight... It doesn't matter what it takes, it has to happen! Before the strike of midnight, we had some visitors to celebrate the tradition. But when it was just the two of us again... it was time to bring out the surprise. While Carl was at work, I baked some banana cupcakes and kept them inside the oven (a place Carl never checks). After dinner, Carl was commissioned to stay inside the workroom while I worked my magic in the kitchen... and so Carl's birthday weekend started with this:

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
topped with semi-sweet chocolate shavings

On the morning of his birthday, we had a BIG BREAKFAST! Carl and I seldom eat breakfast together because he usually packs his breakfast and eating breakfast too early gives me tummy problems, so on most days we have brunch hahaha! But this is CARL's day - and its got to be special!

Birthday Breakfast: Garlic Rice, Bacon, Spam,
and Mushroom Frittata with Cheese and Scallions

If there is one food Carl is willing to travel for, it's a warm serving of Jollibee Spaghetti and Crispy Fried Chicken. Believe me when I say that I have never seen him crave so much for something! But then again, the closest place to get this favorite is a 6-hour drive away from home - in Las Vegas! If it was a weekend, I bet Carl would just pick up the keys and we'll drive to Vegas! So I made my version of Jolly Spaghetti (complete with sweet sauce and hotdogs!) and crispy fried chicken for his birthday lunch!

Birthday Baon: Home-made Jolly Spaghetti Meal :)
PS. It was served on a serving platter we got from Jollibee

For weeks, we have been planning on watching the last installment of the Harry Potter series, and where to have dinner after the movie. Again, we can not say this enough - we are seafood lovers! But we live in a place that is no way close to a coast, and we've never found any good place to satisfy our seafood cravings. So in the end - Carl requested I make dinner myself! And so we bought tilapia and some shrimp from the store - and prepared one awesome seafood dinner!

Birthday Dinner: Garlic Shrimp, Fried Tilapia, Corn on the Cob,
Tomato & Mango Salad, and UNLIMITED Rice

...and we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after...
it was a great culmination to an amazing series!

Saturday was gym day, and laundry day, and most importantly TEMPLE DAY! Since the Provo Temple was closed for maintenance, we went to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple and grabbed a burger from Carl's Jr. on our way home...

Sunday was Carl's birthday party... It wasn't a big party - just friends and family... the biggest thing about Carl's party was his CAKE - his BART SIMPSON birthday cake. You see, Carl loves me so much he thinks I can do anything in the kitchen - including baking and decorating molded/sculpted cakes! So high his expectations hahaha!!! So anyway, I went ahead and bought a molded pan from eBay because Wilton has discontinued the Bart Simpson cake pan forever ago. I baked the cake on Sunday morning, cooked the rest of the menu while the cake was baking and cooling, and when everything was cooked, I started frosting the cake (which took forever I ended up missing church).

Happy Birthday Cake!!!

At the end of the day, everyone was full, and everyone was happy - especially Carl. Our friends even brought food!!! We ate and laughed and talked stories... and it was an amazing birthday weekend! Carl definitely had a blast!

HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY, MY LOVE!

Father's Day Date

For our Father's Day Date - Carl and I went to dinner at Bombay House here in Provo. Initially, we wanted to eat at Joe's but it was going to be quite a drive... and so we decided that since we have not tried Indian cuisine yet, we'll give it a shot this time. So we went and Carl had the Chicken Tikka Masala which is a popular chicken dish made of breast meat barbecued in tandoor oven, then cooked with bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cream, and spices. I had the Tezpur Pineapple Shrimp which was one of their new menu items. It was a shrimp dish cooked with pineapple, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, coconut cream, and spices. For dessert, we had their homemade mango ice cream!

The food was really good!!! The only weird thing about our date was everything we ordered had the same color profile - ORANGE. Other than that - we enjoyed our food. Carl actually really enjoyed the "spicy" food this time (compared to his very spicy Thai meal at Baan Rao) because he requested for "mild" instead going all the way spicy. 

One thing we realized though - is that as much as we really enjoyed the taste and the quality of Indian food, we are not used to generously SPICED dishes. Maybe it will take some getting used to :)

I wanted to post pictures but they're all in Carl's phone... All in all though, it was an awesome Father's Day Date!

Happy Father's Day Carl... and Papa, and Daddy!

a lovely valentine

"Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred moments so dear

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year

"In daylights, in sunsets

In midnights, in cups of coffee,

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife,

In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, a year in a life

"How about love...

Measure in love...

Seasons of love..."

February 14th, 2011 - Our 5th Valentine's Day

Carl and I have many special days of love... the day we became a couple (May 15th 2006), the day we became a couple forever (August 9th 2008), and of course - Valentine's Day.

This year, we had our Valentine's date early (for practical reasons such as avoiding too many people and very long lines) - and we had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack in Sandy. Carl and I love seafood, and as much as we wanted to dine somewhere in Park City, we wouldn't trade good seafood with (expensive) fancy ambience. It was so worth it... the tunes of "eat at joe's" kept playing on Carl's head!

On V-day itself, I prepared a sort of fancy dinner for us at home... and we surprised each other with our gifts. Carl brought home a beautiful bouquet and chocolate truffles, and he also gave me a very very comfy pair of PJs and a framed plaque that says "I always keep falling in love with you!" My gift for him was a chrome watch from Fossil which I think he really liked.

We had a beautiful dinner in candle light and every time I'd bring out the next course, Carl would say, "wag na muna kasi matatapos na ang dinner pag kinain na natin." Yup - he didn't want it to end!

Valentine's Dinner Menu

Appetizer
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Baked Porcinis stuffed with crabs and cream cheese and topped with parmigiano reggiano
Salad
Baby Spinach and Cranberries with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Fresh baby spinach, dried cranberries, and almond served with tangy raspberry vinaigrette
Soup
Cheesy Broccoli Soup
Entree`
Tapas and Scallops
Beef tapas and pan-seared scallops served with greens and Spanish rice

Dessert
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It was our longest dinner so far, and one of the best we've had!

Happy Valentines day everyone - Keep spreading the love!

a glimpse of Fall

We better start savoring the beautiful colors of fall before they're gone and replaced by white powdery snow!

Here's a couple of things that happened this Fall

October 2010 General Conference with Wonderful Friends from Southern California

BYU Homecoming Weekend 2010

Halloween at the Bybees

Thanksgiving with the Dixons in Brigham City

Time went by so fast, and its almost the end of the year... and so its time to put up that CHRISTMAS TREE!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

i was in the mood (and more enthusiastic than most days) to cook

as you all know, i love to cook... but even though i love cooking, some days are just plain and boring in the kitchen. but last night, i was so psyched and overly enthusiastic that i decided i will make our weekend meals more interesting...

so...

last night became BURGER NIGHT...

last night i made Mushroom Burgers with Potato Fries, and instead of serving it with pickles i made Mango-Cucumber salad.

Ingredients: 1 mango (i like it when it's not quite ripe), peeled and cut into cubes; 1 cucumber, cut into cubes; 2 tomatoes, seeds removed and cut into cubes; 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped; 1/2 cup green onions, juice of 2 limes, salt and pepper. Combine all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. CHILL before serving!

Carl was ecstatic - and I think I heard him say "This is the best burger I ever ate!" He was actually watching a re-run of Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and they were featuring the 'best burgers"... so I hope my burger was really good and he wasn't just having a hang over what he just watched. :) Sorry we didn't get the chance to take a photo of my burger and fries... i guess you've already figured out why...

It was quite time consuming to create our Burger Night, because I made my own beef patties and cut my own fries... but I guess that's what makes home-cooked feasts really yummy - all the love and the time that goes into the food!

So my awesome mood was carried over through today, and for dinner tonight i made Bacon-Wrapped Scallops with Honey-Lime Sauce, Garlic Roasted Asparagus, and (Fake-out) Java Rice.

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops: Wrap each scallop with a strip of bacon (secure it with toothpick if you want), season with salt and pepper, and sear both sides in butter, then continue cooking in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Honey-Lime Sauce: Whisk together 2 tbsp honey, juice of 3 limes, 1 tbsp. pineapple juice, 2 tbsp. water. and 2 tbsp. sugar. Cook over medium heat and stir until thick. Serve drizzled over scallops!

Garlic-Roasted Asparagus: Cut the tough ends of the asparagus, wash and pat dry, then arrange in a baking sheet. Mix coarsely chopped garlic, scallop/bacon grease, and salt and pepper together and drizzle over asparagus. Broil in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

(Fake-out) Java Rice: Saute onion, garlic, and chopped ham in butter. Add cooked rice, ketchup and soy sauce. Season with pepper. Cook until fluffy. Serve warm.

I am a HUGE scallop fan, and today Carl said, "Ok lets go grab some of your scallops from Costco!" When he said that, my eyes just went 5 times bigger than normal!!! Ha Ha Ha! (I am literally laughing at myself right now, because I didn't care if Costco's scallops were not really the ideal kind that I'd prefer, I just want some scallops, period).

I just have to say that we had a really hearty dinner. Try it sometimes, food doesn't have to fancy. Its the effort that matters most :)

"FRESH" discovery

Carl and I just had dinner at Cafe Zupas in Draper. They serve gourmet soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts. Carl and I like to eat, but we like doing so not because we're gluttons but because we just have a passion for food - Carl likes good food and I like to cook. So anyway, we did enjoy our lovely dinner at Zupas. Who wouldn't enjoy a dinner out without spending a dime?

Yes, we spent zero dollars at Zupas! Carl used his frequent buyer points card (he had two) in exchange for our meal. If you want to know how Carl earned his points, ask Carl :) We really enjoyed our food. Carl had Lobster Bisque and Boston Crab Melt Panini while I had Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo and Shanghai Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing. For dessert, we had Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries.

Boston Crab Melt

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

Anyway, we highly recommend Zupas. They only operate in Utah and they have seven locations in the state. They have really good soups and fresh greens for their salads! Eat healthy, Dine at Zupas!!!!

the latest dish :)

We were kind of slow with blogging this month, and we have really good reasons... which means, there's a lot to share on this post. The stories do pile up... so its time to dish them out.

Carl's been pretty serious studying for his his PMP certification.Its a credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to certified individuals in the project management field. Carl started working for the LDS Church as an IT Project Coordinator in March, and being a certified PMP will surely add to his working knowledge in the field. He spent a lot of hours studying, sometimes until he'd "hit the wall" - meaning he's had information overload and will soon crash down. It all paid off though because he passed the exam when he took it on the 21st. Carl is now a certified Project Management Professional... in fact, the first thing he did after passing the exam was order business cards with his name printed as Carl Lorenz M. Canlas, PMP.

Carl's STUDY WALL

On the other hand, I have been pre-occupied as well. Aside from studying for the TOEFL (which BYU is requiring me to take before they reconsider my application for graduate school...I took the test on the 22nd), I've been spending at least 25 hours each week at the LDS Employment Resource Services in Riverton as a Service Missionary. It is a wonderful opportunity to come to work everyday and be of help to our brothers and sisters in their efforts to become more self reliant. With my current "non-eligible to work" status due to the stipulations of my visa, I realized (with a lot of Carl's help) that if I can not work even when I would have been offered one, I will do my best to help others find something for themselves. So every week from Monday to Thursday, I go to the Riverton Office Building wearing my missionary badge and doing the Lord's work.

Yes, people stare when they see me having lunch with Carl.

___

Leisure wise, Carl and I have been pretty absorbed into other stuff too!

We've become fans of Dancing with the Stars Season 10...and we both think Evan Lysacek is really good. Though we now know that he lost to Nicole Scherzinger, I still like him a lot!

Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya's Paso Doble is our ultimate favorite routine

Of course, its NBA Playoffs time! Carl and I are hard core Laker fans - because Carl thinks they are amazing, and I love Kobe Bryant. We were so ecstatic when they defeated Utah Jazz, and we didn't care if we now live in Jazz town. (Thanks to Louie Liad for hosting Game 4). We are now hoping they beat the crap out of Phoenix Suns.

Oh, and because Carl is now a certified PMP, he took me to Outback Stakehouse for dinner on the 22nd. We were so full - fuller than when we ate at Makinochaya in Honolulu or Hokkaido in Long Beach (and those two are buffets). Their Blooming Onion is way better than fries, and their signature steak melts in your mouth. The best thing about dining at Outback that night was we only paid half of our bill. Carl received a $25 Outback gift card from work... because he's been so good with his job!

Did I mention we can have a free Blooming Onion on our next visit?

A couple of other fun stuff, we enjoyed a couple of fun Mario Wii games with Micah and Shey when they invited us over for lunch last Saturday... and Micah taught me a really cool African board game similar to the Filipino Sungka. Also, Carl and I are TRYING to be SEMI-VEGETARIANS...that is, less meat diet. Speaking of "vegetarians," we've purchased our tickets for Twilight Saga: Eclipse which opens in theaters on June 30th... and like Carl promised, we'll be watching Eclipse - IMAX!

_____

We've been tremendously blessed by our Heavenly Father. We've literally seen the Lord's hands in our daily challenges. A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Jordan River Temple to feel closer to God's presence and offered Him our deepest love and appreciation for all that He has done for us. It also feels good to attend the temple with Carl because, even though I attend the Salt Lake City temple almost every Thursday by myself, spending a quiet moment together in the Celestial room is whole different spiritual experience.

This Week's Recipe

Announcement!!! Announcement!!! This is CARL!

Some of you, our dear friends, know that my wife is awesome in the kitchen! If you've ever been to our apartment in TVA when we were still in BYU-Hawaii, you've probably tasted some of her delicious labor of love!

In line with sharing, JV has added a page in our blog where she weekly features what she's done special in the kitchen. By just clicking on each featured food's name, you will be directed to a site where she posts some of her recipes.

This week's featured recipe is her version of LUMPIANG SHANGHAI. Check it out!

By the way, each featured recipe is posted on our blog for a week, and then she replaces it with a different one the week after. So you probably should visit her food blog too!

HALEIWA FUN

Carl and I had been busy bees for the past couple of weeks, as you might have noticed in our previous blogs. We both decided we needed a breather - after his busy SIFE schedule and before finals hit us on our necks.

Since I have been working in Wahiawa, I get the chance to see the north shore practically everyday on my way to work. And I realized we haven't gone there for a date since we've met! So I suggested that we go to Haleiwa for a Saturday afternoon date....

We took the bus towards Northshore at around 2:oopm.

ALOHA THE BUS! - Carl waiting for the Bus 55-Kaneohe Circle Island

We got to Haleiwa at like fifteen till 3. We knew we wanted to eat at Haleiwa Joe's - but we weren't really hungry yet!!! So we went on a stroll. Carl has been fascinated with surfing lately (he actually enrolled on a surfing class for spring), so we dropped by Surf and Sea and he checked out on surfboards.

I seriously thought he wasgonna take surfing lessons on the spot!

I have been telling Carl about this really narrow bridge in Haleiwa. The bridge is really narrow - no two cars driving on opposite directions could pass the bridge at the same time. I didn't quite get why Carl wanted to take a picture on that bridge, but i took his picture anyway! LOL!

We also strolled by Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park. We had fun watching people fishing and paddling on their long boards. It was a really pretty view of the boat harbor. It was also fun watching children run to and from the dock.

And then finally, we were hungry!!! We headed to Haleiwa Joe's and we were ready to CHOW!!! Our early dinner was awesome! We also picked seats in the patio area overlooking the boat harbor.

Seriously - plating alone had us feeling full already! . Carl really went crazy on the fries. They were super crispy on the outside but super soft inside - like they were gonna melt on our tongue! LOL! My salad had the best caesar dressing so far - I super love tangy caesar dressing! The dijon in the dressing really made it pop!!!




Carl and I decided we would eat something NOT SHRIMP this time - because we figured shrimp stuff is easily available anytime compared to other specialty seafood dinners. So he had something CRAB and I had something SCALLOPS. Carl picked Joe's Tempura Crab Rolls. He debated with himself wether he'd have the crab rolls or the Thai Fried Calamari. But I guess he was intrigued how crab rolls in tempura would look like. When the crab rolls came out, he was thinking and eating all at the same time - how did they roll this stuff in nori with tempura?It was so fun watching him eat and think at the same time! When I tried it though - what really stood out to me was the wasabi ranch!

Joe's Tempura Crab Roll

I would have to confess that I've never had scallops before - and having them at Haleiwa Joe's was an amazing first time. I had Grilled Scallops on Cilantro-Lime Greens. Even though I haven't had scallops prior to this date, I know that cooking scallops is pretty challenging. Over cooked scallops end up being too tough and undercooked ones would taste really slimy. But these scallops that I had were perfectly grilled. The meat is tender and would kind of bounce back when you press them against the plate (meaning its not too soft and not too t ough). The green slaw was a hit - it had the perfect hint of lemon and lime, really complementing the fishy-salty taste of the scallops.

Grilled Scallops on Cilantro-Lime Greens

Of course any trip to Haleiwa wouldn't be complete without dropping by Mr. Matsumoto's Shaved Ice! YES - we did stand in the usual very long line, but it was well worth it - AS ALWAYS!

Carl and I really had fun that day - especially when we've been so tied up to so many things lately. It was a well deserved break!

WHAT MATTERS MOST ON VALENTINES DAY

I have always thought of Valentines Day to be the most romantic day of the year. Well, when I was still that idealistic young girl... I thought it should be like that... until Valentines Day 2005. I didn't have a date and I didn't even try to make plans for myself - like celebrate my singleness at that time. By the spur of the moment, my good friend Kizzy and I decided we would walk up and down Session Road in Baguio City and count how many people are holding on to V-DAY ESSENTIALS, namely: roses, chocolates, gift, and a DATE. We saw some friends and some familiar faces and we had a lot of fun. That valentine night I learned that the big deal about valentines is spending it with the one you love, no matter how or where or what you do about the occasion. I love Kizzy - she's one of my best girlfriends. And most of all - I learned to love myself!

FAST FORWARD TO VALENTINES DAY 2009

This is Carl and mine's first valentines day as a married couple. I made a plan and I know he did too. I planned for a gorgeous pancake breakfast with strawberry syrup. I know Carl is always amazed by what I prepare on the table, so this time I thought I'd include him in the preparation... I was starting to prep the pancake ingredients when he asked me to go for a morning walk first...then we'll make pancakes when we get back... I said ok, and headed to our door...

Then this was what happened next...

I've been playing around with my camera lately...
Here's one!

The pancake idea failed. I got really frustrated because I wanted to shape them like hearts but the batter was too soupy. It was probably the milk's fault - instead of 3/4 cup I put 1 cup. I tried to "repair" my pancake batter by adding more flour - tadah! NO MORE FLOUR! I tried my luck and added cake mix to substitute the flour. It was already ten o'clock. As I attempted my third pancake, Carl told me we had to be ready by 11:ooam because Jasmine and Scott are driving us to town. I gave him THE LOOK - I felt like, there I was trying so hard to make heartshaped pancakes for valentines brunch...and there he was telling me to drop all my plans because we have to work with his sister and future brother-in-law's schedule. I was furious inside. I gave up on my pancakes... I poured the batter down the drain...I was upset. I opened the TV and watched Ace of Cakes on Food Network.

11:30 and there was no sign of Jasmine and Scott - not even a call. I asked Carl if he wanted to eat lunch at home or still wait for our company. He said he was getting hungry...I made lunch. This wasn't in my plan - but I worked my magic though... I stared at the fridge for about two minutes - I took out some honey ham, a chicken thigh, bean sprouts, and chinese cabbage. I decided to make Ham & Chicken Wrap (without the cheese) and Garlic Bean Sprouts.

Here's us preparing for our Valentine Lunch

Finished Product!

We finally got a call from our company and they were picking us up at around 2:oopm. We got ready - but we didn't get ready for the appropriate activity. All these time we thought we heading straight to town. Little did we know that we were going to take a dip in the water first. TADAH - SURPRISE SURPRISE. You know me, I don't really like sudden twist. When Jasmine came with the "we're going to go swimming at Hukilau" announcement, I tried to be calm and just asked for extra five minutes to change into my swimming suit.

Here's a couple of pictures we had... We went swimming with Jasmine, Scott, Mike (Scott's brother), and April (our good friend)

The waves were awesome...

... and I must admit, this unplanned swimming activity swept some of my upset feelings away. The waves probably took them back to the sea! 

After that cool swim, I knew we were definitely going to town right after. We gave ourselves an hour to dry ourselves and get ready for our dinner dates. Jasmine and Scott made plans to see the Boyz II Men concert at Blaisdell in Honolulu...and Carl and I planned to be dropped off at our dinner destination, then meet up again by midnight. When they came to pick us up at our house, I wasn't ready yet. I got too caught up on choosing a dinner destination. Our choices were: Assaggio, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Tanaka of Tokyo, Tsukiji, Dave & Busters, Red Lobster, and Old Spaghetti Factory. We decided we wanted to dine at Red Lobster. When we got to the car, Jasmine told us we're all heading to Waipahu to eat at Max's! I looked at my husband...and he knew what to do. Besides, if we go all the way to the west side, they might miss the concert...So we headed to Honolulu and I started to daydream about Red Lobster.


We thought we'll be saved from the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG waiting lines at the restaurants. We were wrong. We couldn't afford to wait that long because Jasmine and Scott decided to eat with us and they can't be late for the concert. We gave up Red Lobster and drove to Ala Moana. Again, LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG waiting lines at Romano's, Assaggio, Ruby Tuesdays, and Bubba Gump. Jasmine was really hungry already - all she had for the day was a power bar. Carl and I had lunch so we were fine. As for Scott, maybe he was trying to skip meals intentionally.


So anyway...we ended up having dinner at Ala Moana's Makai Market. Yup, the food court. After going around twice, We tried Mama's Spaghetti House. I had Seafood Supreme with Caesar Salad and Carl had Bay Shrimp Pasta. (We still had the Red Lobster hangover...). It wasn't bad at all - we were full! And I really enjoyed my pasta because it had Capers. They were like green peas but smaller and more olive in color. When you bite them, they burst in your mouth and you get all the wonderful flavors of the sea! I swear - I probably told Carl how happy I was with the capers hundred times that night! Anyway, after dinner we took a stroll to Ward Cinemas. We watched the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic - and we had a blast!


So there...none of the things we really planned happened on Valentines Day. But so what? I was reminded of the lesson I learned four years ago - Spend the day with the one you love, it doesn't matter how, where or what you do about the occasion. And I learned something new... heart-shaped pancakes are not exclusive to Valentines Day breakfast because you can make anyday, Valentines Day!

Spread the Love!