tonight julie, me, and mom went out to this italian restaurant by our house. it was pretty busy and when we ate, we could see why. we ordered grilled calamari as an appetizer and it was tasty. there were about 6 thick calamari tubes, with a tomato and pepper flake juice. it was a good starter. i ordered the fettucine carbonara: fresh pasta with sweet green peas, proscuitto, and lots of mushrooms in a buttery and creamy white sauce. YUM. julie had rigatoni with pot roast, which was in a red tomato sauce. people who know me know that i don't like sour tomato sauce, but this sauce had just the right acidity, seasonings, and the pasta was just right. the pot roast was tender and well-seasoned.
mom had the linguine with white wine clam sauce. that's always a fave with all of us. you could smell the garlic, wine, and italian herbs in the sauce. the whole dinner was just delicious. i would definitely go back there again...maybe when i get my first paycheck.

the only thing that i didn't like was the lighting. there wasn't any. yeah, i understand ambiance and mood, but there was only one candle at our table and it was not sufficient. there were ceiling lights, which i imagine could be turned on to facilitate menu reading, but not so much that it kills the mood. and it wasn't helping that some wind was coming from god-knows-where and making our candle-and JUST our candle-flicker like crazy. it was a tad annoying.

sorry, did not think to bring a camera as i didn't think i was going to blog about this.

so lately, i've been trying to get my hands on taiwanese pineapple cakes. apparently they are very popular there and are often used as gifts. after having one, i can see why. they are delicate, just sweet enough, and oh-so-yummy.

honestly, i'm not a big pineapple fan so i kinda put off eating it. but it was just sitting there on the counter, this little lone yellow package, with a picture of a pineapple on it and chinese writing. i forgot to ask my mom what the words were, though.

here's a pic of homemade ones. and no i did not make these.



i think i was put off by the thought of pineapple jelly, because i had a bad experience with jelly candy when i was small. but this was different.

these are so good that a friend is trying to bribe me, telling me it's the last one and trying to get something in return. jerk.

the person who brought them into the museum incidentally is the same person i have a *crush* on. hehe
i don't like him, i just think he's a cutie pie. he's got a nice smile, tall, and nice.

side note: what's with all these taiwanese people that i keep meeting?

anyway, if y'all got the hookup for these tasty cakes, holla~

one good thing about having my sister back is her ability to cook or put something edible together that actually looks good. also, she's got me into eating different cheeses, which i already liked, but getting me to try different varieties. for example, smoked gouda, mild vs. sharp cheddar, feta, herbed brie......so many kinds. i told her about this wine place where they do different flights, like the spanish and italian ones. pair up spanish/italian cheeses and meats with wines from different regions. really good if you just wanna chill out, listen to some music, and talk.

i have to post a picture of the breakfast sandwich my sister made me one morning: her version of the egg mcmuffin. hers had smoked gouda, alfalfa sprouts, and tomatoes, along with the egg and english muffin. it was really good.

and she even made her own cheese spread. not sure if she used neufchatel or cream cheese, but she also added chopped green onions and sprouts. *sprouts were a part of many recipes cuz she bought a whole bag and wanted to use them up before they rotted.*

ugh. this post is useless without pictures. coming soon!

EDIT: here are the pictures!!! sorry took so long, but as the post title says.....