Comfort Food: Mom's Style

Some days are just comfort food days. And comfort food usually comes from one's childhood, right? My mother can't really cook. Yet, the foods she'd make us kids will always count as comfort food to me! My brother and I spent some time remembering a few of our favorite childhood mom-dishes listed below.  Happy birthday to our favorite "costco cook"!

• Lap cheong rice. Chinese sausage cut up and placed in with the rice cooker while it cookes. Most delicious - we'd always try to just eat the sausage though!

• Sourdough bread and brie. I remember we'd always get the fresh baked baguettes and eat the warm, soft middle like mice on the way home!
• Teriyaki sauce baked chicken thighs/drumsticks. The crispy skin is always the best. Yoshida sauce, I think?
• Tuna fish and apple sandwiches. Little bits of apples cut up and mixed in with the tuna. So refreshing! (A close second was mac & cheese & a bag of frozen peas cooked in, yum!)

• Popcorn and hot chocolate during movie nights. Hot chocolate including both marshmellows AND whip cream. So spoiled, we were (and still are)!
• Lo han chai on rice. I survived on this in college, too!

• Chicken hearts microwaved in soy sauce.  This one's a little bizarre, I suppose, but there's nothing like standing around the microwave hoping the gizzards won't blow up and make a mess. 
• Mom's famous chinese chicken salad. With packs of dried top ramen for crunch!

Even without being a gourmet chef, Penga-Mom did an excellent job raising kids that love food and will eat just about anything. Anything except maybe pigs feet in black vinegar. Still can't do that one, sorry! 

Telephone Pictionary

Okay, I have to share one of my favorite (free!) party games. It's called Telephone Pictionary, and it's hilarious without the awkwardness of having to draw while everyone stares at you like in regular Pictionary. Hopefully this makes a shred of sense, Youtube it if it doesn't!

This works best for large groups of people - I like 8 to 10, but however many you can find!

You don't have to be good at drawing either, stick figures are fine!

1) Everyone gets a stack of papers equal to the number of players. If you don't have a (non-sticky) notepad, printer paper torn or cut into eighths works well.

2) Each player numbers their sheets 1 - n (n = number of papers). Write small and in the a corner.

3) Each person writes a phrase/word they'd like drawn on the #1 sheet. Here's an example:

4) After everyone's written their phrase, they pass their entire stack of paper to the right.  The recipient reads the phrase, then moves paper #1 to the bottom of the that stack. Now each person draws their interpretation of the phrase on paper #2. (You may set a time limit if people take too long to finish drawing!)

5) After drawing, everyone then passes their current stack to the right again.  The new recipients look at the picture and move it to the bottom of the stack.  They then write what they think the original phrase was on paper #3. See where this is going? Telephone!

6) Repeat steps 4 & 5 again and again until the stacks of paper make it back to their original owners.  One by one, each person walks through their stack, showing everyone how much (or how little) the original phrase changed! Here's a few more from this particular stack:

See how it doesn't match the original phrase at all? It can get pretty hilarious when the drawings are really random! 

This game is awesome because no one's sitting around waiting for their turn. Everyone is actively participating at the same time. 

Here's one that stayed a little closer to the original!

With family/friend get-togethers coming up for the holidays, this is a great game to play if you need some entertainment!

Just My Two Cents

I'm sure you've all heard by now - Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm and plans to bring Star Wars Episodes 7, 8, 9 (and possibly more) to the screen, the first by 2015.

After the initial force disturbance shock and images of Star Wars High School Musical parading cruelly around my mind, I calmed down and thought about what it meant to me as a fan.  I mean, when Episode 1 came out I was beyond ecstatic - anything for more Star Wars.  I skipped school for the first time to stand in line for the midnight show, and the watched it a total of 11 times in the theater.

But now? I'm kind of dreading the new movies. Not necessarily because Disney will be behind them - I'm sure some things will be better even, like the writing. I'm sure they can find a better script writer..."you torment my soul", anyone?

What I dread is the movies themselves. The plot. The characters.  Because it'll be Episode 7. POST original trilogy. POST something that was perfect, ending just as it did.

Besides, there's already extensive storylines written out for the happens after, in the form of expanded universe (EU) books and comics.  I'm worried they will dump the EU altogether, as it looks like it's headed that way. Will Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and Ben (Solo and Skywalker kids) still exist? What about Mara Jade! If she doesn't play a part in the story, I can't even imagine. Will they recast Han, Leia and Luke? And if they keep the EU, can they even do it justice? Is it better to leave the EU alone, left for joy of the nerdy folks and not the mainstream? Will Disney continue to make novels and comics? There's so many unknowns.

Reading my favorite series back in Jr High

Also, with Disney's love for the campy and familiar, I wouldn't be surprised if they resurrect Vader and Yoda simply for the chance for further marketing. I hope they don't beat a dead horse jedi.

"Reading is good, but don't you ever try to branch out a bit, daughter?"

So basically, due to my attachment to the characters and novels in the EU, I'm currently hedging towards the dark-sided opinion of this announcement.

Vacation? I'd rather be in a galaxy far, far away.

However, I'm sure as the movie draws closer and more details are released, my excitement will grow once again like it did over a decade ago.  A fan is a fan, afterall. Good or bad. Jar Jar or no Jar Jar.

(Just please, please keep Leia out of the Disney princess line-up? That'd be weird.)