Lunch from Side Street Inn

We got treated to lunch at work last week "just because".  Nice yah!  The food came from Side Street Inn.  We had six choices to choose from.

This is the 3/4 pound hamburger steak with mushrooms and onions ($8.25).  I got to taste a little of Yosh's.  It was good.

Kalbi Chicken ($8.00).  I also got to taste a bit of this.  I liked it. 


Sweet Sour Spare Ribs ($7.75).  Some people said that the taste was good, but the meat was a bit tough.


Chinese Steamed Fish (Market Price).  I tasted a bite of CQ's.  I thought it was flavorful but texture-wise kinda mushy.


French Dip ($9.75).  Meat and fat . . . not my thing. And the bun was burnt.  Noreen said she shoulda eaten it when it was hot.


This is my Chinese Chicken Salad ($6.00).  It also came with wonton strips.  I don't know what I was expecting, but I was majorly disappointed.  Next time I'll get the hamburger steak or the kalbi chicken.

Coach Bag Giveaway Winner

And the winner is . . .










CONGRATULATIONS JASMYN!  Please e-mail your mailing address to me at JalnaA@aol.com.

Just One Cherry

I thought it was neat that this cherry had a leaf attached to the stem, so I put it on a white paper and took a shot.

Swap Meet - This Past Weekend

Wouldja believe I went to the swap meet on Saturday AND Sunday this past weekend!  Aiyaiyai!  And no, I do not have a crapload of stuff stored at my house . . . not yet.  Here are highlights.

Dunno why I'm so attracted to stories about addiction. I don't usually read books 'cause they put me to sleep, but I finished reading this one already.  It was 25 cents.


I bought this for $1.


I'd been wanting to expand my plant collection to more than just my one avocado plant so I bought this aloe for $1.  I also planted some green onions.  Funny yah.


Just when I thought I'd seen everything including a kitchen sink for sale at the swap meet, someone brings a jack hammer to sell.


And water coolers.




I happened to see my classmate selling stuff and I bought this walkie talkie from her.  She gave me a good deal and sold it to me for $2. 


Hair dryer!  Remember these?  My mom had a bonnet one that wrapped around your head.


These plastic cups were 50 cents a bag . . . not 50 cents for all, like both my sisters asked.  Sheese, I know it's the swap meet but . . . 50 cents for ALL?


Stainless steel spit!!  I wish you could see it for real.  It was beauuuutiful!


Only $2,200!


$3.50 for a habanero plant.


50 cents.  Good deal hah!


I bought these cucumbers for $3 something.


So nice.


This is what I made.


Geri told me that the ceramics class was having raku firing on Saturday so after the swap meet we went to visit.  I found my dragon plate.  Geri had glazed it for me.  Came out nice yah!  I couldn't take it home though 'cause teacher said that all the dragon stuff was gonna be displayed at Mark's Garage. 


Here's Geri's hand-drawn plate, way more befitting a Mark's Garage display than my rubber-stamped one.


There's a community garden in the parking lot by the class. Here are a couple flowers from the garden.

Coach Bag Giveaway

This giveaway is becoming my most popular one yet, with one hopeful who lives in Ukraine!  So, I feel I need to clarify to those who may not be regular readers of mine that this bag is a used (not new) bag that I found at the swap meet.  I've deemed in my "expert" opinion that it is an authentic Coach bag, but I could be wrong. 

Here are more photos for you to see.
















As I said in my previous post you can enter the drawing by leaving a comment here or by e-mailing me at JalnaA@aol.com.  Good luck!!

Authentic Coach Bag Giveaway

Remember last month when I bought a Coach coin purse for $5 at the swap meet?  Click here if you need to refresh your memory.  Okay, so I've been looking at Coach bags at the swap meet lately trying to identify real and fake bags. 

I saw this bag this past Saturday and determined with my all-knowing-can-identify-the-real-stuff expertise that it was authentic.  I thought it was a good deal for $20, so I bought it.




This morning, I decided to google the serial number that is in the bag . . . and now I'm confused.  How is it that the bag that I have in my possession right now is being offered on eBay and is in worse shape than the bag I have in my hand?

COACH BLACK #K3K-6351 SIGNATURE HOBO HANDBAG


UPDATE:  Ohhhhhhkay, so my coworker Michele just informed me that the serial number is not my bag's personal ID number but the number assigned to the bag's batch.  Yay!

Now, here's the deal.  I'm not gonna use the bag.  It's actually too small for me and I'm so rough on my stuff, I don't wanna bust it up.  Would you guys be interested in a giveaway?  Leave a comment here or email me at JalnaA@aol.com (don't forget the extra "A" or the other Jalna will get your email) and I'll put your name in a container for Wendell to draw.  I'll have the drawing next Sunday 7/29/2012 (my 34th wedding annivesary date btw).  ANYBODY is eligible . . . I not going juice.

UPDATE #2:  I searched "coach 6351" on eBay and got choke similar bags for sale:   http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=coach+6351 !

Landon's Panko-Crusted Rack of Lamb

I must admit . . . I don't eat lamb.  Landon made this tonight though, and it smelled really good.  I still couldn't bring myself to eat it.  But everybody else scarfed it so it must've been good.



Here's the best recipe I could get outta Lan.

First Landon drizzled some olive oil onto the lamb and rubbed in some thyme, rosemary, and Montreal steak seasoning. Then he handed the lamb over to Wendell who threw it onto the hibachi, covered it and let it sear for just a few minutes.

After the hibachi searing, Landon coated the lamb with some Dijon mustard. On top of the mustard coating, he put on another coat of an olive oil/panko/parsley paste.  He then baked the lamb in the oven at 415 degrees for 18 minutes. 

The sauce is just a few Rainier cherries sauteed in some Punahou Carnival mango chutney.

Landon's California Roll

I wanted to call this Landon's Crab Bomb 'cause it was da bomb, but he said to call it a California Roll.




Here's his "recipe".  Sorry, he doesn't know the amounts.

Imitation crab
Mayo
Tobiko
Cucumber tsukemono or cucumber kim chee
Sesame oil
Sriracha hot sauce
Shichimi togarashi
Avocado, chopped

Yummmm

Noreen provided the Baskin-Robbins vanilla ice cream, Runa the bananas and chocolate sprinkles, and I the rest.

And we ALL got to enjoy this yesterday at work!

Mercado de la Raza

My friend Rand had recommended that I check out Sakura-Ya on Beretania, but when I got there a few weeks ago they weren't open yet, so I visited Mercado de la Raza instead.  Sorry Rand, I'll try again another day.


These chips were da best tortilla chips . . . tastes like the kind you get in restaurants.   They were $4.50 a bag.


Owner Martha makes these.  This salsa was $5.00.  She said her "spicy" is not too spicy, but it was to me.  She also makes a "very spicy".


This guacamole was $5.50.


I mixed the spicy salsa and the mild guacamole together and it was juuuuust right for me.


Martha also makes this flan.  It was $2.50.  It's very smooth and ono.


I made the flan all nice and gave it to CQ like this . . . 'cause she is very into "presentation".

Bride

I love to photograph brides.  I believe they are my absolute favorite. 

So when I saw a bride approaching us while we were at the Hale Koa a few weeks ago, I started clicking away from the moment I first noticed her.


She seemed to be in a rush . . . like they were late for their reception or something.


I loved how she had pulled her skirt up so it appeared all fluffy around her.


And look at the fascinator in her hair! Doesn't it totally match her?  So pretty!


Here she goes . . . running past me . . .


Everybody seemed to be rushing . . . even the flower girl.


Okay . .  .  well . . . maybe not EVERY body . . .