sophia’s travel by night

last nite, we had frnds over 4 dinner. since we gotten ths package of ranch direct ground beef in freezer, i've been wanting to make the japanese style hamburger/rice dish. so, tks to the Just Hungry blog , i found the recipe as my base to cook & learn from. as i also hv The Complete Tante Marie's French Kitchen cookbook for ref, i modified the recipe just a bit. instead of ground pork, i used porc sausage as the book suggested. for someone like me who's very lite handed w/salt, it's a good thing. as for the onion, instead o typical yellow, i used the sweeter red. one thing regarding bread crumbs... i now realize why not the crust, if using real bread. the crust doesn't really blend into the patty unless u really crush it all up b4 adding the milk. as for the sauce, i hv the red wine & tonkatsu (to buy all the ingredients to mk ths will mk me end up w/more bottle n jars...so i just bought it), but didn't feel like buying ketchup also since i hv an open...

this is my new drawing... not sure wht to make of it yet. not sure if i even like wher it's going either. we'll c.

this weekend has been really fun. friday nite, after dinner, we saw Coroline in 3D at the theatre, they don't give u crappy cardboard blue/red glass anymore. sat, after a lazy morning, wnt into town to get my torch, had awesome cupcake at Saint Cupcakes , the creamcheese frosting was really yummy. it's nice to b offered mini cupcakes to buy instead of the large sized ones wher u get no chance to taste other flavors. the decor of the shop is quite nice too. for our late lunch, we wnt back to Half & Half, clam chowder & tuna melt, yum! after tht, we wnt home to get ready for our Beaux Arts Ball at the Portland Art Museum! i hv not dressed up in evening wear in such long time! today (sun) we wnt to the skate park for big brother event. i watched all these kids fly around so easily on skateboards. i learned the basic moves n had a go on it for a few rounds. it's fun! n realized tht i've now got better balance than i did as a kid. thinking back, i never really had be...

almost here 2 weeks. tried to reconnect with many old frnds, but just running out of time. driving to everyone from OC is tougher than i remembered. ther's way more cars than ever b4. my family being further south also doesn't help much. some ppl i just can't manage to meet up at all. too bad. overall tho, i had fun being home. even if the weather sucked big time. 40-50s most days/ nites. not much better than portland i must say. still, so cal does need the water. love ths time o the yr cuz o the dramatic cloud formations i wish ther's more time to c everyone n hang out but time to go back to the class i'm taking.

we made saber croquant last nite. but instead of waiting 12 hrs for it to set, we divided it up into 2 batches, 1 to cut up w/numbers cookie cutter, the other we waited til today to test wht the difference is. either way, it's all good. my tante marie's french kitchen cookbook is a great book even if it was published in 1962.

tues: sunny & warmest since i've been here. so yesterday, as i was walking in town, looking for Ken's artisan bakery (very good macaron too). i saw a homeless man asking for money for a sandwich. after i bought some things to eat at the bakery, i felt bad for the guy n so as i was shopping in Trader Joe's, i bought him a sandwich. leaving the place, he's no longer ther in the corner. instead, ther's another guy in front of TJ's w/a sign. then another homeless guy came by n they greeted ea/other n asked if it was ok to set up his sign.... i can't offer my sandwich to one n not the other. n well... just overwhelming. so i returned the sandwich to TJ's. it's a place we all fear to end up one day. homeless on the street. i feel very lucky to hv so much. i feel very insignificant to not being able to do much. ths thought sat on my mind for a bit. thought i'd share n get it out o my sys. onto other things.... along the way home, saw some interesti...

unwinding today fr/trip to whistler today. last monday morning we drove north to seattle, spending the day in seattle n t/nite @ ACE hotel. we walked thru pike street area, having fish n chips at the pike fish mkt. very fresh fish i must say. altho seattle is way colder than where i was. apparently being closer to sea means humid cold tht is bone chilling. saw a pair of great boots in the patagonia store, i think on return trip, if we stop by, i will buy it. better than an Ugg. in the early evening, we met up with Joseph & his frnds joe/betty at Rain sushi just a little outside downtown seattle. it was amazing food, very fresh, american woman sushi chef, how rare! altho the fish slices r way too american in size (huge). tuesday seattle to vancouver, then whistler. weather was rain/bits of snow. crossing border n to vancouver. can't locate the dim sum resto betty recommended. so we continued on to squamish for a bite at zephyr cafe. meeting up in whistler w/everyone at 6.30pm. ...