Candy around the world (A Virtual trick-or-treat!)

This month’s theme for “Eat Around the World” will be candy. I chose candy because it’s October and I immediately think of trick-or-treating. It’s an annual Halloween tradition in the U.S. where children in costumes go around the neighborhood ringing door-to-door saying “trick-or-treat” asking for treats. Usually treats come in the form of candy. One year I received a toothbrush and another year I receive an apple — those homes quickly became the least popular places to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood.

Apple Rose Tart

One of my signature dishes is this apple rose tart. I regret to admit I did not take a lot of photos of my finished apple rose tart nor did I track which recipes I’ve tried. I’ve served it as a warm pie fresh out of the oven and as a cold pie with fresh pastry cream as the base and fresh tart apples on top. There was no iteration I did not like.

I made this frequently because it was a dessert dish people always requested; my coworkers wanted this pie for an office gathering and my friends asked about this pie when they came over to my place. I guess there was a reason why I did not take or share photos of the pie. Everyone was asking to make this pie when I wanted to make other pies.

Apple cake with honey frosting and an oat walnut crumble

Happy Autumn! For the Apple theme for “Eat Around the World“, I made a cake! The occasion was me and my sister’s birthday. Of course it is very like me to make my own cake even if my friends and family have insisted they’ll get me a cake for my birthday.

I got this recipe from Fearless Fresh. My first thought was there’s fruit and oats — is it breakfast? I made a few modifications to this recipe:

Apples in salad

The last couple of weeks this month have been too hot for baking so I decided to explore some cold dishes using apples. The simplest way is to throw them in salad for that tart crunch.

Brussels sprouts with apples salad

Rectangle Art (PPAC #18)

I regret to have never taken an art history class in my life. I had to do some research and I would describe this style of art as Modern and De Stijl (“The Style” in Dutch). I guess 16 to 21 year old me feared I would have liked it so much I would consider majoring it. Then I would have to deal with my parents asking me “what kind of job would you get with an Art History degree (or any other humanities or fine arts concentration)?” 16 to 21 year me found this conversation agonizing and I avoided it every way I could.

These short work weeks feel accelerated

Where should I begin with this week’s Coffee Share?

This week at work has been a whirlwind. This week was Employee Appreciation Week. Everyday this week during lunch hour we had to set our department booth doing giveaways, outreach, etc. I’ve been on my feet all week at work. Though I had Monday off, these short work weeks feel accelerated. I know I need a vacation — even this vacation staying at home sleeping in and going to a local café for lunch.

Rocket or surfboard? (PPAC #17)

This past Monday was my day off from work as my employer observes Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Usually on my day off, I visit my husband at his work and we go out for lunch. I found this interesting piece of artwork on our way to lunch.

Is it a surfboard? It could be because we’re less than 3 miles away from Manhattan Beach. Maybe it’s a surfboard celebrating the surf culture.

Or is it a rocket? It could be. Aerospace is one of main industries in Los Angeles after all; particular in the South Bay LA area there is Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and SpaceX. Then there are few more aerospace companies scattered in the San Fernando area — but that will be for another time.

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Off Marine Ave and Hotel Dr.

PPAC #17

Just an observation

This morning I took my kid to the park for a mom’s meetup. I’ve been meaning to do one in my area but a lot the times these events happens during the weekday when I am at work. To be honest, I don’t have any mom friends I could easily reach out to. Majority of my friends don’t have kids.

La Brea Tar Pits (PPAC #16)

One of my favorite buildings in Los Angeles is the La Brea Tar Pit Museum. We took Lana out to learn about ancient animals that roamed Los Angeles. I wish I took more photos of this building. This building reminds me of those “green roof” buildings because the museum is part of the mound you’ll find at the park. It really makes me wish I took more photos of the whole park. Maybe I have them in my other camera! But in the meantime, here’s an aerial view from Alamy Stock Photos.

What a week, every week

Hello everyone! Welcome! I’m hosting a virtual trick-or-treat all month long. If you had trick-or-treaters coming to your house, what kind of candy would you give them? To start, I’m giving out a tamarind candy coated in chilli powder. It’s a popular Mexican candy and the taste is a mix of sweet, sour, and spicy.

What a week! I feel like I say this almost every week. My husband has been doing lots of overtime at work this week. I’ve been on overdrive at work pushing out new programs for the hospital.

Unsolicited advice: You’re doing it all wrong

This post has been sitting in my drafts for ages. As Lana approaches her first birthday, I’ll be releasing a few posts about motherhood. At first I thought to do a monthly recap, but I decided let’s wait because I have other posts too. I want to showcase my hobbies and other things on my mind. Then this post quickly grew more into this very stream-of-consciousness post with various topics around motherhood. But now after reviewing, I broke them down and made several smaller posts around motherhood. This post is more focused on receiving unsolicited advice.

Construction barriers as canvases (PPAC #15)

Reykjavik, Iceland has a lot of stunning public art, but this caught my eye because someone used a construction barrier as their canvas.

Pre-pandemic in LA, it seemed construction was going on all the time: new apartment building, new stores, reviving abandoned buildings, etc. I don’t recall seeing any art on any construction barrier — it would be nice there was. It would have made my work lunch walks more enjoyable than seeing blank eyesores. It’s like a pop-up art display or a temporary exhibit.

PPAC#15

Little free library

I’m happy to say that my work has a Little Free Library to serve the community. My department launched a mobile LFL where everyday from 11:30am-1:30pm we would bring up the library cart for our patients, visitors, and staff members to enjoy free books. We are major hub for receiving donations in the community where clothes is the most requested — we have patients who come with no spare clothes when they’re discharged. But we’ve had books sitting in our office for a long, long time. They’re hardly requested so we decided to do an LFL. And yes, we definitely do take book donations. Of course they’re be disinfected before they circulate in the LFL. The books we have to replenish the most are the children’s books because people are always looking for new books for their kids (or niece, nephew, grandchild, godchild, etc.).

Where’s Morty? PPAC #14

Found this mural off of Coldwater Canyon Ave and Roscoe Blvd at a Shell Gas Station. Maybe Morty is not far behind chasing his grandfather again.

I’m not sure if the show is available outside the U.S. but just in case, Rock and Morty is adult animated show. It centers around a family of four. Rick is the mom’s father who moves in with them. He’s eccentric and enjoys travelling to different multiverses with his grandson, Morty. The show is satiric and irreverent — something I do enjoy after a long stressful day at work.