Archive for August 2010

Twenty-Nine and Never Better

Birthday watch

My birthday month officially comes to a close August 31.

Ben tried to cut it off Sunday, but secretly in my mind, it lasts until tomorrow if not beyond that.

I’ve had a fabulous birthday and am working on a post re-capping the weekend.

We went to New Orleans for the Saints pre-season game against the Chargers Friday night, and were planning on going to Ship Island off the Gulf Coast on Saturday. Sadly, due to the rain, ferry trips to the island were canceled and we didn’t go. Not wanting to waste a day in New Orleans, we headed to the National World War II museum instead, which was a perfect rainy day activity.

Thankfully, the bed and breakfast we had made a reservation at on the coast allowed us to re-schedule. I get to extended my birthday trip to another weekend for a second try!

In lieu of the re-cap post, I’m going to shock my mom and boast about what I did this morning.

On top of the birthday trip, Ben got me a Timex Sport Ironman watch from Target. I haven’t worn a watch in years, but wanted one for running to keep better time and track distance.

This Monday, in the dawn of my 29th year, I got up at 6:30 a.m. (that’s right, in the morning) and ran three miles.

Oscar the Grouch

Why is this of any importance?

Ask nearly anyone and they could probably tell you what a great morning person I am. It takes great strength to tear myself out from under the covers at 7:30 a.m. and get to work at 8 a.m. Ben routinely calls me Oscar (the grouch) and tells me to go back to my can, haha.

Between entertaining the idea of a 15k or half marathon, and the physical side effects of regularly indulging in good eats, getting my butt out of bed before 7 a.m. to sweat a bit isn’t going to hurt me.

Twenty nine is going to be my best year ever! Well, for five days and counting.

Birthday Camera

Sad broken Canon

Please excuse the fuzzy photo.

To get a picture of my current camera, I had to take a photo with my cell phone. It’s very sad. The photo and my camera.

This camera has been somewhat of a headache. I will never again buy electronics from eBay (lesson learned). It was a fairly decent deal and arrived promptly, but upon inspection I found out the previous owner switched out the battery and not long after the zoom lens stopped working.

Through the Canon website I filled out a form, sent the camera in, and they fixed the lens problem. But the cost made my deal not such a great deal anymore.

Now, as shown above, there is a quarter-size blank spot on the screen. It just appeared one day, maybe the Southern moisture got inside? I’m not sure. I didn’t spill anything, drop it, or throw it in a pool so it’s a mystery to me.

Besides the technical hiccups, it’s difficult to get good food photos in restaurants with this puppy. Some of it could be operator error, but I’ve played with all my settings and the flash would overtake the photo, or no flash would produce crazy out of focus images.

I am a photo lovin’ girl, so this will not do!

Since it’s my birthday, I’m going to save my pennies and purchase a new camera; no eBay this time (another year older, another year wiser). I’m trying to decide between a Canon PowerShotG11 and Canon Rebel XS.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or own either of these two models?

Ding How Asian Bistro

Shrimp in lobster sauce

Since my initial attempt at writing about Ding How Asian Bistro, I’ve been back for two more visits, which makes for a total of three.

On every occasion I’ve had the same waitress (there only seem to be 1 or 2), and she knows what I want to drink (ice water with lemon) and my soup preference (hot and sour).

Now, truth be told, this is the first Chinese food restaurant I’ve eaten at since I moved here a little over a year ago. But I would bet anyone that it’s the best Chinese food Jackson has to offer.

I heard about Ding How from one of my friends at work; he is very selective and particular when it comes to food. Like I said, I hadn’t eaten Chinese food out for quite awhile, the time was right, and so one day we made the trek up to Ridgeland during our work lunch hour.

Ding How occupies a space that was previously a sports bar, nestled in a small strip of shops off of Old Canton Road. There is one large main dining room, a waiting area and a bar decorated with classic Asian decorations such as paper umbrellas and bamboo.

We sat down and I tore into the menu which encompasses a variety of ethnicities such as Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Korean. I was most amused by the entree category labels: dishes from the sky, dishes from the land, dishes from the sea, and weight management.

Being that we were there during the work week, I took advantage of the great lunch deal. For $5.25 plus tax you get to make three choices: an entree (from a limited list), hot and sour soup or egg drop soup, and steamed or fried rice. I chose shrimp in lobster sauce, hot and sour soup, and steamed rice.

One of my friends also got the lunch deal and ordered the beef and broccoli, egg drop soup and fried rice. My other friend deviated from the special and instead he got chicken and vegetables, steamed rice, egg drop soup, and salad with ginger dressing.

To start the meal we got an order of egg rolls with shrimp, vegetable egg rolls, and gyoza. The egg roll wrappers were more like spring rolls, very light and crispy. The gyoza were overcooked and bordering on mushy.

Traditionally my soup of choice is wonton, but not for a $3 up charge. Luckily, settling for the hot and sour soup was a pleasant surprise. A savory thick broth was full of egg, mushrooms, pieces of pork, and firm tofu. It was delicious!

In no time our entrees were delivered, and I received a square plate with about seven beautiful shrimps and sauteed cabbage in a pale sauce, and a cup of perfectly steamed rice. The shrimp were sweet, plump and cooked just right (not too long). Half way through I was fairly full, but it was so good that I polished off my plate.

Both of my friend’s entree selections looked so good, I knew exactly what I wanted for next time. Since this first visit, I have been back twice, once more for lunch and then dinner with Ben. Everything I’ve had has been great; the crab rangoon, beef and broccoli, seaweed salad, salad with ginger dressing, Ding How happy family, and Sichuan beef with five spices. One menu insert features more authentic Chinese dishes (chicken feet, intestine, whole fish) and dim sum which is served strictly on Saturdays and Sundays.

The food at Ding How is fresh, flavorful, and carefully constructed. Some Chinese food tends to be overwrought with gloppy sauces, limp vegetables, oily meat and bland rice, but none of those characteristics exist at Ding How. I can’t stop talking about it, I haven’t gotten tired of it and I keep urging people to go there.

Ding How Asian Bistro
6955 Old Canton Road, Suite C
Ridgeland, MS 39157
Phone 601-9561717
www.dinghowasianbistro.com

My Mom’s Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treat

Ahhh, just the way my momma used to make em’!

Growing up, the standard Rice Krispie treat recipe my mom used included peanut butter instead of marshmallows. Until I reached middle school, I thought the peanut butter kind were the original version.

It was a funny realization, like learning the movie Dirty Dancing was full of adult situations, and the lyrics in the Hey Ya! Outkast song was shake it like a Polaroid picture (not, shake it like a corduroy pager – what I sang for the longest time).

I don’t discriminate and can consume ridiculous amounts of either kind. It’s dangerous to have a whole pan sitting around in our apartment, beckoning to me. They are addictive, gooey and a sweet reminder of my childhood.

A few weeks ago, we took dinner to friends in celebration of them having their first baby. They got homemade lasagna, garlic bread, salad and Rice Krispie treats – the peanut butter version of course.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients
2 c. corn syrup
1 c. granulated sugar
10 oz. Rice Krispies
1 – 12 oz. jar of smooth peanut butter

Directions
In a large stock pot heat the syrup and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Add the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Then fold in the cereal. Pour mixture on a buttered cookie sheet and pat down to desired thickness. (I made mine about a 1/2″ thick.)

For a print-friendly version, click the Print & PDF button below. For more recipes check out my Recipe page.

36 Hours in New Orleans

New Orleans is easily one of my most favorite cities.

It’s close by and full of history, super loyal locals with Brooklyn-esque accents, home of the Saints, a menagerie of music, and wonderful food. These two articles featuring the Crescent City were recently posted on Serious Eats:

• 36 Hours in New Orleans: Where to Eat
• 36 Hours in New Orleans: The Budget Edition

The budget edition mentions some good spots.

The d.b.a is Ben’s favorite hang-out, and I took down a gigantic Parasol’s po’boy the last time we were there. He likes to remind me that I ate the whole thing, and a bag of chips, and a bloody mary. And to that I say, heck yes I did, and I’ll do it again next time too.