C A R O L I N E | V E R O N I C A

Busy Season

I'm really sorry for the lack of post. I've been, still am and will be very busy working until the end of tax season....

Right after I got back from our "mini vacation" in L.A. and Vegas on Jan 1st, I constantly work 12 hours /more from monday to friday and also 'have to' work on saturdays....

I've been planning to post our vacation story but didn't have the energy to write when I am at home...

The first week was tough because I was sleep deprived everyday....it took me about 1 1/2 - 2 hours from home to office, and that's just one way...on the other side, I'm lucky that I don't have to drive because I carpool with rico, who's very supportive and willing to follow my "busy season" schedule, hee hee... =)

I decided to take a break from blogging until end of April...and will post many stories when I get back....

Thanks for visiting and please come back again in May.... =)

Posted by Caroline on Jan 20, 2007 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Thanksgiving

What a nice thanksgiving dinner we had on Thursday =)

It started on Wednesday night; Rico and I were on our way home from work and the traffic was pretty heavy due to people travelling back home to South. So, we decided to have dinner in Pleasanton and catch a movie right after.

We saw Casino Royale. I am not a hard core James Bond fan but this film is amazing. Totally mind-blowing. And I love it. I'm just gonna stop right here just in case some of you haven't seen it =P

So, we got home around 10.30-ish and I prepared a bit for the big cooking day. Fanny and I agreed to make traditional Indonesian food for the thanksgiving dinner.

She made Nasi Kuning (yellow coconut rice) with Rendang (spicy beef with coconut), Perkedel (fried mashed potatoes), Ayam bumbu rujak (spicy grilled chicken).

I made Gudeg (Green Jackfruit Stew with hardboiled Eggs), Sambal goreng Krecek (spicy pork rind), and Lontong Cap Gomeh but I only made Lontong (rice cake), Kare daging (beef curry), Sambel goreng rebung, tahu and udang ( spicy coconut soup with bamboo shoot, fried tofu and shrimp).

On Thursday morning, I woke up around 9am, had breakfast and started cooking until 4.30pm. It took me quite some time to make the food because I cook by myself and made everything from scratch. Plus, my kitchen is rather small, so I had to keep washing the bowls and pans I used to create more space. =P

The food definitely worth the effort and the time.

 

We had dinner around 7 pm. The food were great; fanny thought my sambel goreng krecek was too spicy for her taste...but I like it that way....=) her nasi kuning was yummy, plus she put telur asin (salted egg duck)...my fave ;P

 

After dinner, our friend Martin dropped by, along with his 4 friends who visited from L.A. Luckily we cooked in XXXL portions so there were enough food for everyone, plus more =D

 

While Martin and the gang had dinner, we already started with our yummy desserts. Fanny made sauteed banana brandy topped with vanilla almond ice cream. While I made Roti Prata Manis, which is very similar to Terang Bulan / Martabak Manis (grilled indian bread with condensed milk, sesame seeds, shredded cheese and chocolate).

At that point I was already too full and ready to sleep =P

But of course the night is not complete until we played poker for 1-2 hours before we went home. The end result? The ladies (fanny and I) had the most of the chips. Yeeha =P

 

Posted by Caroline on Nov 26, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Work....

I'm back!!!! =P

Sorry for the lack of post. I started working 6 weeks ago and things have been really hectic because of the long commute, plus I was still trying to find the right balance for work and family schedule...

But here I am now =)

So...I went to New Jersey for training for one week, about a month ago.

It was the longest time that Rico and I spent time apart from each other ever since we got married. I missed him so much but I survived because I was very busy during the training. It started at 7.30 am and finished at 5.30 pm, every single day. Overall, it was a fun experience because I met new people and learn new stuff as well. 

Th hotel we're staying is about 5 minutes away from our firm's headquarter in New Jersey. So, we had a chance to visit there. We also went to our New York Office, which is about 40 minutes from the headquarter.

I went to NY twice during my one-week-stay. The first one was on Sunday, the next day after we arrived. We spent the whole day to go sightseeing to Central Park, Ground Zero, Times Square, and Madison Square Garden. 

I went to East Coast twice before, both during Christmas, so this time was a different experience because it's Fall season, and I love how the leaves turned yellow and red and the weather is perfect, not too cold and not too hot either. It's just georgeous. 

I also spent quite some time in Central Park to do 'people watching' and enjoyed the ambience. It was lovely.

Then we had a very hearty italian dinner at Tony's DiNapoli. The food was extraordinary, the dessert was heaven, I love the cannoli and tiramisu. Will definitely eat there again when I have a chance to go to the city.

The second trip to NY was on Friday, the night of my last day of training. We had so much fun that night; went there by train and arrived at the Penn Station. Then walked for few blocks to the Empire State building and watch the beautiful NCY lights. Had a good Korean dinner. We then walked around Times Square. It was about 1 am when our shuttle arrived to bring us back to the hotel, but the city was still alive.

Fast forward, 6 weeks later, I survived my first few weeks of work and I'm still learning everyday. Overall, my new job is great, I love what I do and the people I work with. Hopefully it stays the same after I go through my first busy season...whoooo ;P

I will try to keep you guys posted...and in the meanwhile, enjoy the pictures I took from my trip... :)

 

Empire State Building

 

NYC lights from Empire State Building

 

Times Square at midnight

 

 

 

Central Park

 

 

 

 

 

World Largest Macy's

 Ground Zero

 Statue of Liberty from NYC

Posted by Caroline on Oct 21, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

BBQ

I just realized that I've been writing about our friends, Fanny and Sentot, quite often in this blog, especially in the past few weeks. =)

When we met last time we came up with what we're going to do together this weekend. So, on Saturday evening, Rico, his parents & sister, and I had BBQ dinner at Fanny and Sentot's house. They also invited Martin and Bogi (Sentot's friend whom we just met yesterday).

Fanny made the meanest Chicken Satay; they were extremely delicious. She made the peanut sauce by grinding roasted peanuts with roasted red bell peppers, and later added the sweet soy sauce, chopped thai chilli and onion...yummm... I really think the composition of the peanut sauce is perfect...=P....

I myself made the lontong (boiled rice in banana leaf) to accompany the Satay, Bakso (Meatballs Soup), I made the regular one, with telur puyuh or quail egg inside and also with fried tofu, and I also made Baikut Goreng (Fried Spare Ribs) with a homemade sweet and sour sauce...

While sentot and bogi grilled the marinated chicken satay, martin and i helped ate pieces of the satay that fell from the sticks. In fact, my hand actually moved was faster than sentot's that he didn't get any. hee..hee... =P                          

 

Chicken Satay                                                        Baikut Goreng (Fried Spare Ribs)

 

Bakso (Meatball Soup with Tofu)

 

   

Dessert (very sweet grapes & watermelon)

 

 last people leaving a.k.a. stomach stretcher

p.s. i wonder whether fanny and martin were slow eaters -or- just love food too much? j.k. =P

 

We played poker (again) after dinner. Romana (rico's sister) joined us for the first time and she won on the first round. Beginner's luck? maybe. But I lost big time, owe her and rico each 60 chips and it officially made me "the loser" =P

I won on the second round, though. And, on our very last game, some of them (sentot, bogi and rico) challenged me, made an all-in move by betting their leftover chips.

the result?

they lost.

against ME

and yes, I had everyone's chips.

=D

It's about midnight when we decided to watch the HK dvd that Sentot bought from our trips in L.A. last week. it's an action / drama movie with Jackie Chan as the protagonist star; a good movie with outstanding martial arts & stunts.

Finally we left around 2.30 a.m., by that time rico's parent and romana were already went back home hours ago. rico and i were the last people leaving. Martin and Bogi stayed at Sentot's place, each slept on different room, "per request". I do believe Martin was and still is traumatized with his experience sleeping with Sentot while in L.A. last week. ahem. =P

well, last night was a perfect saturday night; good food. good friends. and plenty of laughter =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Caroline on Oct 1, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

cooking, baking, & exercise...(kind of)

In the past couple of months I've probably been going to the gym less than 10 times =P, but fanny, sentot, rico and i have been swimming together for two times already this week...

It's always fun to exercise together with friends b/c it doesn't feel like a chore...I'm not the kind of person who enjoy exercising, but I always feel better after I did it, plus I sleep well right after..hehehe...but the process of exercise is so boring, I always look at my watch when I run on a treadmill, hoping that time would go by faster... =P

So, last night fanny and i were talking about taking a pilate class together; I have never tried it before & I'm curious about it b/c fanny swears by it...she loves it so much...

This morning, after dropping rico's dad at work, I arrived at the gym exactly 5 minutes before the class started at 10 a.m., met Fanny at the parking lot and we went to the class together...unfortunately, the pilate instructor got into an accident and one of her foot is on a cast...so, the Pilate class is replaced by a Yoga class, taught by different instructor....what a bummer, I thought...but I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this Yoga class...I stretched quite a lot of muscle in my upper and lower body..and it felt so relaxing afterward....so, I bought a yoga mat today because I want to go to this class regularly...wish me luck you guys =P

Oh, this afternoon I made Tonkatsu...which is a Japanese Crisp Pork Cutlet...I read the recipe here and thought...wow..it's pretty simple to make...hehehe..so, after grocery shopping at Albertson I made this for dinner.....I fried all the meat and just pop them on the oven before eating to make it crispy again....plus I also made the sauce from scratch, which is also very simple, as long as you have the ingredients (like mustard and worcestershire sauce) ready at home....

Then, I bake some banana bread and muffins for fanny, who likes it so much...I ran out of nuts so I didn't put any on it....I went to her house after I took shower and then we went button shopping at Michaels, since she will help alter some of my working shirts...hehehe...=) I'm so excited to start working in less than 2 weeks.... =D

well...that's about my "productive" activity for the day....hopefully i can keep it (the exercise part) up =D

 

 

Posted by Caroline on Sep 28, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

L.A. trip........

Wow...what a trip we had last weekend  we had way too much fun there...

It started on Friday night, we were suppose to drive with Martin, who works in SF but lives in Benicia, at around 7 pm....unfortunately, he got stuck in traffic that we finally left our home in Tracy at around 10.30 pm...the traffic was due to a small accident, but it created a 2.5 hour delay...I still don't understand why people have to drive extra slowly nearby accident site & have to peek around...I mean, once the police / paramedics arrived it means that the injured has been taken care of, right?...well, anyway...

We arrived at a che and cucu's house around 3 a.m. and everyone, and I mean everyone, were still awake waiting for us... =D even ling and chien wait until we came safely before they headed to their home =) thanks guys...

Then, we just went to sleep...the girls (cucu, fanny and moi) slept on the master bedroom, while the boys slept on the other two rooms; rico with a che and martin with sentot...I honestly didn't know what happened that night but the boys were "extremely" wild the day after.....hahaha...

we woke up around noon and had brunch together... -> look at me and rico..we haven't even had shower yet...hihi...

 

 

 

The food?....hmmm....they were good =) cucu made Soto Betawi (Spicy Coconut Beef Soup), Chien made his infamous Bakmoy (chicken and tofu cubes marinated with brown sauce) along with a very spicy sambel kecap ( Spicy chilli with sweet soy sauce), while I bring Ayam Goreng Saus Inggris (Fried Chicken with Worcestershire sauce)...

  

 

  

 

We headed to a Karaoke place after lunch....everybody got curious with Rico's voice after I told them that Rico sings while taking shower, every single day... =D... oh boy, were we surprised that we have quite a few talented singers among us...

Cucu - Mariah Carey sound-alike                      Sentot - Frank Sinatra sound-alike

 

 

Chien - Bon Jovi sound-alike                 Rico and Sentot - having way too much fun with each other

 

                                                                      

  

 

After 3 hours there we went to a DVD store because Sentot wanted to buy some Asian DVD...of course soon enough, we got hungry again...hehehe...Chien bought us Bakpao (steamed bread filled with bbq pork) and Taro Bread from a nearby bakery =)....and in just less than 1 hour we were having dinner at a shabu-shabu restaurant to celebrate A che and Chien's belated Bday =)

  

 

The Birthday Boys with the spouses: Ache&Cucu...Chien&Ling

 

 

 

The food were extremely great, we were all really enjoying it =) the spice balances the smell of the meat...in fact, the meat didn't smell at all...plus, most of the food are spicy, which I LUV =D

Funny thing is, some of us ordered plum juice after we overheard that it was really good and it's one of the popular drink there...I don't particularly love the taste, but it's fine with me...but, I still remember the look on Fanny's face when she tried it....hahahaha....she looked like a little girl forced to drink a medicine... =P

 

 

  

 

Once we got home, we were playing "Pictionary", where we divided the team to a Boy Team and a Girl Team....soon enough it became a very competitive game, we won the first round but after losing to the boys for two times we decided it's time for a Poker =) my shining star was with me the whole night because I won next to A che...after more than 4-5 hours playing, we decided it's time to sleep at around 5.30 am...hihihi...

I woke up around 10.30 am by the sound of Martin on the top of the roof fixing up something...hehehe...(he works in construction and is very good at it =)

so after having late breakfast and chatting and more chatting...., it's time to go back home....but first we headed to have some traditional Indonesian food for lunch nearby Ache and Cucu's house....I'm so jealous with the people who lives there because they have so many choices in terms of Indonesian Food...here, in the bay area, I have yet to find Indonesian restaurant nearly as good as in L.A....

of course, fanny, rico, and i ordered way too many food....it's not like we can go there once a week, right? so it's understandable... =P & the food were very good indeed =) rico had nasi bungkus (traditional indonesian rice with spicy beef, chicken, egg, and spicy liver) and nasi empal (fried marinated beef) while i ordered mie medan (noodle with bbq pork) and bakwan goreng (giant fried meatballs)and es tape (fermented cassava with ice and syrup)...

   

   

 

all and all, we truly enjoyed our mini-vacation in L.A....hopefully the TRACYan can meet the LAmongan again...pretty soon... ^_^ wink...wink...

 

Posted by Caroline on Sep 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Allergy

On the way back from Albertson two days ago, I suddenly got a bad case of allergy...my body got pink and swollen and itchy...

the bad thing was the next day I had to spend the whole day going out....in the afternoon, I was meeting my friend from college for lunch because she'll go back to HK for good this weekend...in the evening, I went to a BBQ and watch the A's game with my future employer and co-workers....YIKES...so, I drank Benadryl every 4 hours, hoping that it reduced the itch and swelling...can you imagine if I had to scratch my body so often in front of these people? oh....the horror... =D

Luckily, the medicine worked for a while, but, right after I got home last night, it got worse and I couldn't sleep too well....this morning I switch the medicine and drank claritin instead of benadryl...and it works like magic... =) I slept almost the whole day today and feel much better now...

I'm so relieved that I'm doing better because Rico and I was planning to go to L.A. this weekend...hehehehe...we're going to have eight-some sleepover, playing poker and just hang around with our friends =)

I already made Nastar (Indonesian Cookies filled with Pineapple Jam) few days ago and will make Spiku (Indonesian Layer Cake) for the Birthday Boys (Chien and A che) tomorrow... =)

I'm so excited with this trip, cause it might be my last trip before I start working within 2 weeks =D I will post our trip in L.A. once we get back here...in the mean while, have a great and safe weekend you guys...

 

Posted by Caroline on Sep 21, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Surprise

I've received a nice surprise from Yamei yesterday, she made my and rico's favorite traditional chinese food....yummm...apparently she audited a company nearby rico's office, so during lunch time she went to rico's office to deliver the food =)

yamei is actually very busy during weekdays because she works full time and has to commute from santa clara to whatever city the company she audits located...while her own office is in oakland...then at home she still has to take care of mumu (her lil daughter)...so, it's very nice of her to make time to cook for us =D

last monday i happened to bake chocolate chips muffins and brownies for mumu...it's been a while since I saw her...so, we miss each other very much...=)...yamei told me over the phone last week that mumu ate 1 & 1/2 muffins for her breakfast that she had stomach ache...(the muffins are big) hehehe....and that mumu ate all the muffins and yamei only ate 1 piece...hahaha....

about the food that yamei made.....I really love the imitation meat with mushroom, while rico loves the marinated meat....one time we went crab catching nearby golden gate bridge and afterward we had lunch picnic....that's when she made these two delicious cold dishes that rico and I really like =) looks like yamei remembers...=P

 

 

 

 

Posted by Caroline on Sep 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Poker Night

Our new friends, sentot and fanny, invited us for dinner last saturday. They also invited their friends from Pleasanton and Benicia, a couple with a cute 8-month-old baby and a guy the same age as us...my lil brother stayed at our house over the weekend, so he went with us...too bad romana (rico's sister) was "busy" so she couldn't join us...well, maybe next time

dinner was yummy, although it was a bit late as Fanny fell asleep and woke up about 1 hour before the intended dinner...hahahaha...but, it was ok, we can understand it because she will become a mommy soon, her body changes so much and she must feel tired all the time...

Fanny made vegetable sour soup (sayur asem), chilli (sambel ulek), fried meatballs (bakwan goreng), fried salted fish (ikan asin goreng), tempeh, and seasoned chicken drumstick (ayam goreng kuning). Everyone ate the panada (bread filled with spicy tuna) I made for snack while they were playing cards before dinner at 8.30pm....the banana nuts muffin I made were untouched because we're so full....but everyone had a chance to bring some home..hehehe....

After dinner we played some texas hold 'em....right from the start, fanny and sentot dominated the game, and all of us owe "chips" from them to keep playing,...it was a back to back winning for them...hahaha....we played until 3 am in the morning, can u believe that?....luckily we live 5 minutes from their house....hehehe....

It was a fun night....I hope we can continue to have poker night every weekend...

the last people who left the dining table...due to eating way too much

 

 

 

 

Posted by Caroline on Sep 11, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

New Friends

I was buying a suit at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton about a month ago and needed to shorten the sleeves when the Manager handed me a business card of its preferred tailor. I was curious when I read the name on the card; hmm…could this person be an Indonesian?

Few weeks after I called this person and I was right, she’s an Indonesian. She and her husband are the same age as Rico and the good thing was they live in Tracy too, about 5 minutes driving from our house. yippee…

We met few times and found out so many similarities / dissimilarities between us…border OCD anyone? hihihi… =P just kidding…

Fanny loves cooking like I do and we had lunch together at my home 2 weeks ago. She made delicious sop buntut (oxtail soup), I cooked sambel goreng tempeh (stir-fry tempeh) and Rico's mom happened to make Dabu2 Ikan (menado's chilli sauce over Deep Fried Fish)....and we had kue sus (choux pastry) for dessert, which I bake in the morning...

 Here's Fanny and Joe, a.k.a Sentot, who was childhood friend-turn-couple. They're friends since they were an 8 year-old, can you believe that?

So during the Labor Day weekend, their friends from L.A. came to visit..two couples, also about the same age as us...we had a blast going out with them, it felt like we already knew each other for so long as we share similar joke and taste over food =)

the girls....................................... the guys..............................................

 Rico and I were so happy to get to know these nice people and to have a chance to build new friendship... and we were hoping to meet them again in L.A. at the end of this month...

 Overall, we truly enjoy our Labor Day weekend...and i hope you guys too

xoxo

Lin

 

 

 

 

Posted by Caroline on Sep 5, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Saying good bye is hard

My mom and Siu Fang went back to Indonesia on Friday night, after staying here for 2 months. It was very sad but I was hoping secretly that we’ll see each other again, sometime soon…

 

Posted by Caroline on Sep 5, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Moving

I was helping my little brother moved to San Francisco yesterday. it was quite a day =P

I love his new apartment, it's on the 11th floor and has a georgeous view, very airy and bright with many big windows. I don't like the small kitchen, by the way, it's way too small for me =P, but very practical for my brother since he lives alone.

It's a one bedroom with private balcony and spacious living room with chimney. The storage is heaven. 2 large built-in book cases (1 in bedroom, 1 in living room). 3 closets (1 of which is a walk-in closet) and 1 shoe storage.

LIVING ROOM                                 DINING ROOM                                   BEDROOM

 

 

I'm not sure whether I can survive living in SF, though. I'm more of a country-side girl, I love living in quieter neighbourhood with spacious space.

In fact, there are 3 things I hate about SF. First, the parking sucks. it's hard to find one and if you can find it, it's very expensive. Second, many of the people who drive there are full of anger and always seems to be in rush. honking is a necessity. Third, some neighbourhood are quite scary and I'm pretty sure that you won't see me walking around by myself there...

BUT... there are things I love about SF too, it's quite a lot actually =) The FOOD is number one on my list. So many good restaurants with fairly cheap price. The weather is always cool. The shopping, both clothes and grocery. The accessability, you don't have to have car to go around the city because it offers so many public transportation from bus, muni, bart, cable car, taxi, etc...it's very convenient indeed, although if you live there and need to buy grocery you might still need car if you don't want to carry lots of bags by yourself.

There's always pro and con for everything. While there are so many good things about living in SF, I still prefer to live somewhere just close enough from it so that I can still go there once in a while. How about you guys? Which one do you prefer, living in a big city or a quieter area? Let me know... =D

Posted by Caroline on Aug 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Happy News

Google has improved greatly this past couple of days. He finally ate his first "real" food yesterday and seems to be stronger =) Today, he can sit and stand (with a little help)

My mil has been sleep deprived for few days because she slept with google every night, and everyone has been patiently taking care of google to make sure he feels comfortable, including his Doctor & Nurses, in fact the Doctor was very pleased with his improvement. 

Google is very famous in the Vet's place because he's so adorable and a mellow little puppy.

While he's not totally cured, google seems to be on the road to recovery. Our prayer is finally answered; so, thanks for praying for google too =)

Posted by Caroline on Aug 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Google

It's been a tough couple of days for our family. Our 6-week-old puppy, Google, got hurt 2 days ago.

What happened was my mom-in-law was trying to pick up a phone when she fell on a chair, which fell on Google. My mil immediately gave CPR to him and then he was treated in an intensive care hospital that evening.

The Doctor said he had head trauma and it might take months to recover, but he could die anytime too...it's a 50-50 chance...

We bring Google home yesterday. He showed some movement and could respond to sound but still very weak. We're praying that he can recover. Please pray for him too...

 

Posted by Caroline on Aug 23, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Little Home

 On the way back from San Francisco on Friday we had dinner at a Thai Restaurant in Pleasanton, called Little Home. We went there couple of times already; the food is great and always consistent, and we all really enjoyed our dinner.

The place is very cozy with traditional Thai decor. Also, there's a cute little girl with a traditional Thai costume playing a harp while we're eating =)

We had Som Tam Thai (Papaya Salad), Koong Kra-Bong (Shrimp Egg Rolls), Pad Thai (Stir Fried Rice Noodle), and Seafood Fried Rice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the address if you ever want to visit =)

Little Home

4000 Pimlico Drive #106

Pleasanton, CA 94588

 

 

Posted by Caroline on Aug 20, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

What's cooking

 Tue, 8/15/06

6.40 a.m. woke up and prepared rico's breakfast (hot tea and  toasted bagel with cream cheese)

6.50 a.m. i slept again. rico took shower and went to work in hurry, but still managed to give me a quick kiss on the cheek

8.05 a.m. woke up, again, because my cellphone rang. It's yamei. she's on the way to work and we chit chat for a while. then I decided to wake up and check my email, etc...

Didn't do something productive today. I was and still am having a stomach cramp and not really in the mood to go to the gym.

Cooked something for dinner tonight. It's a spicy fried rice, cooked with chillies, shrimp paste, shallot, scrambled eggs and tomato, topped with fried salted anchovies.

 

I also made soup, it's a beef sausage soup with carrots and celery, cooked with chicken stock and onion.

In the middle of cooking, my two puppies got into fight.

Bon-Bon chase Google. Google ran to our bedroom and poo there. Yikes.

Had to clean up the carpet with antibacterial liquid, luckily it's clean now. Phew..

Both puppies are on detention now. google is inside the cage, bon-bon is tied. will release them once they got tired and sleepy, otherwise I have to keep separating them from killing each other

 

 

Posted by Caroline on Aug 15, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Durian Fruit

Last weekend we bought Durian from SF Supermarket in Sacramento. We were so happy to find the fresh one here because it has been a while since Rico and I ate it.

Some of you might not be familiar with Durian, so let me tell you about it: Durian is an exotic fruit from South Asia; it's big and has a thorny green skin. It is famous for its unique odor. Some people loves the smell while others said it stinks. The edible portions of the fruit are the custard like flesh and the seed (but you have to boil it first).

Durian can be a bit pricey here. The one we bought was quite small and it costs us $23, while we can get it for only $5 in Indonesia. But anyway, it worths every penny because they were so yummy.

Source: http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~durian/

 

Posted by Caroline on Aug 15, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hendrik's Burger

....It happened two days ago....

Hendrik: will you take a picture of my burger and post it on you blog?

Me: hmm, is that a frozen burger? i don't think so.

H: 'cmon, how come you only take mom's & siufang's? it's not fair....

Me: well, that's because they are real food with real recipes, not just some frozen meat...

H: please....(with puppy eyes)...

Me: okay.........

So, here it is....Hendrik's infamous "burger" (he did add some cheddar cheese, mayo, onion and ketchup...and it tasted quite juicy and flavorful)

Posted by Caroline on Aug 15, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Cast of Characters

 

Rico & Lin, the handyman & the sexy chef

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rico's parent (Albert & Henny)

 

My parent (Lita & Freddy)

 

My Auntie (Elizabeth)

 

 

Rico's Sister (Romana)

 

 

My Sister (Maria) & Her family

 

My Little Brother (Hendrik) & his gf, Siufang

 

 

Our Puppies (Bon-Bon & Google)

    

Posted by Caroline on Aug 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)