Weekly Wanderings {week 2}

What’s been up in the world of Allison since my last Weekly Wanderings post?

I got a haircut!

Normally I don’t get particularly excited about haircuts, but this time…

Son cut my hair.

Which just goes to show you I probably belong in the looney bin, because Son had never cut anyone’s hair before. Ever.

This happened totally on a whim – I was going to cut his hair, and spontaneously blurted out, “hey, you want to cut my hair too?” (In my defense, I *really* needed a haircut, and haven’t had the time or gumption to bother with making an appointment to have someone cut my hair.)

And heck, he actually did a pretty darn good job of it! I was worried I might have to wear my hair in a ponytail for a couple of months until it grew out again, but I’m actually really happy with how it turned out.

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You know how yogurt companies like to advertise that their yogurt tastes just like dessert, but they never really do and it’s just disappointment all around? Well, a week ago, my foodie aunt (who is waaay more of a foodie than I am – this lady knows what she’s talking about) introduced me to Noosa yogurt. “It tastes just like panna cotta – you have to try it!”

Now, I’m normally not a huge yogurt fan (see: disappointment, above), but when Auntie Lydia tells me I have to try something delicious, she’s never wrong. On our way home, we stopped by Whole Foods and picked up a raspberry Noosa. … and then went back to Whole Foods a few days later, to try out every other flavor they have.

Their lemon flavor tastes like lemon meringue pie. I didn’t think I’d love their coconut flavor, but Son took one bite and told me, “you’ll love this – it tastes just like those Girl Scout Cookies…” He wasn’t kidding, it tastes just like Samoas and is now my favorite flavor that I’ve tried so far.

If you feel like signing up for their newsletter, they’ll give you a coupon right now. Or, if you’re buying it at Whole Foods (I don’t know where else Noosa is sold), ask about the Noosa coupon in the Whole Foods coupon book when you’re checking out. 😀

(P.S. Noosa doesn’t know who I am, and I have not in any way been compensated for writing about them, I just really really love this yogurt!)

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By the way, store-bought tortillas are buttheads. They fool you by looking all nice and delicious, and then three bites into your taco they fall apart in your hands. Is it just me?

(On that note, I found this recipe for homemade flour tortillas this week, and really want to try it.)

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We visited Son’s family last weekend, and got to go to our favorite tofu soup place.

One of the reasons we love it is because in addition to the normal banchan, they also give you a bowl of edamame, and each person gets a yummy little fried fish to start off with.

I always have to get the bulgogi soon tofu, no spice thankyouverymuch. (I know I’m totally playing into the stereotype of the white girl who can’t handle spicy foods, but I can’t help it – without the spicy sauce they mix in, it tastes very much like miso soup! I can’t resist the comfort food.)

Son loves their octopus bibimbap, which he hasn’t been able to find anywhere else. It’s suuuuper spicy, so I generally don’t partake, but he adores it.

It was crazy windy that day. We came across two different fallen trees, and I had to go running across a parking lot to catch a random runaway shopping cart before it got blown into any cars. (Feel free to laugh at the mental image of me scampering across the Target parking lot, yelling, “come baaack!!!!” at the red plastic shopping cart. 😀 )

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The next day, the storm came to our part of LA.

(Heh. I say “storm”, but it was really just a blustery day with a bit of rain in the afternoon.)

Before it started raining, Son and I headed out to get a quick run in.

I found a hopscotch. Yes, I immediately set aside any semblance of dignity I have, and hopped the hopscotch.

He found a leaf.

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By the next morning, the storm had passed.

It left a pretty sunrise, which almost made up for having to attend a 7am meeting.

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We both had to go to the dentist this week, so we took it as an excellent excuse to head to our favorite Thai restaurant.

Tom yum noodle soup, pumpkin eggplant stir fry, and pad Thai.

And Son being a goofball.

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The best thing about having a good toaster oven? Cookies anytime! No waiting for the oven to preheat – twenty minutes, and I have warm, fresh, gooey chocolate chip cookies.

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It was my dad’s birthday this week! We picked up El Pollo Loco, which he loves, and spent the evening with him and my siblings.

Every year, for his birthday, I make my grandma’s hot milk cake. It’s his favorite.

However, I haven’t ever been able to complete the last step of broiling the top of the cake – the broiler in my apartment right now is missing parts so I can’t use it (plus broilers scare me. Am I the only one?)

But… with my awesome new toaster oven, I can now broil things! And it’s big enough to fit an 8×8 baking dish easily! And it has a glass window, so I can see if it’s about to burn, instead of having to open the broiler drawer every five seconds! This is all very exciting.

So what this means is this year, I made the best hot milk cake I’ve ever made. 😀

And then we played Cards Against Humanity (dad won), snacked on senbei, and stuck mochi ice cream on chopsticks to eat. (This is, obviously, the only right way to eat mochi ice cream. 😉 )

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Links I’ve loved lately:

I recently signed up for the Now I Know newsletter, and I’m loving it! Every day it’s something new, and it has always been interesting so far. A little something I look forward to every morning.

Hello, Matcha Cinnamon Rolls with Black Sesame Cinnamon Filling. If any of you ever decide to randomly show up at my place for breakfast, bring these, please and thank you. 😉

This Chocolate Tart with Blood Oranges makes me swoon.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Pancakes. WHAT.

These Baby Bloomin’ Onions are super cute, and remind me of the time a waiter at Outback Steakhouse sat down in my lap. In front of my grandparents. I didn’t even know him. I was SO EMBARRASSED. They all thought it was hilarious.

I want this no-knead cinnamon raisin english muffin bread for breakfast.

A little disappointed I didn’t know about these homemade cough drops before I got sick a few weeks ago. They sound amazing.

Son loves shumai, so I’m definitely going to have to make this shumai recipe sometime soon.

We don’t have Vietnamese food as much as we’d like, now that Son’s dad has stopped cooking. I didn’t realize how much I missed it, until I saw this Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew) recipe. Going to have to fix that soon!

You all can keep your deep dish. This is my kind of pizza.

I really want to try these pandan cupcakes with lychee buttercream. I’m pretty sure Son would love them.

Everyone and their mother has linked to this recipe for peach splits this week. But can we talk about that goma praline? I’ll happily skip everything else and just steal the praline out of all your bowls. 😀

I really want a slice of this pretty brown butter apple tart. The glossiness of the apricot jam! So good.

This Vietnamese caramelized pork belly pasta is SO happening in my kitchen soon. We’re normally not pasta people (I’m convinced Son can’t survive a day without a bowl of rice) but we would be all over this pasta.

I love black sesame pudding, and this version looks like a piece of art!

These Thai peanut sweet potato skins sound SO GOOD! I love sweet potatoes, but never know how to eat them, so this is perfect.

This fried cauliflower with dill yogurt sauce sounds like a super tasty way to get your veggies.

I just discovered the CommitStrip webcomic. This is my life in so many ways. (Heh.)

This chestnut montblanc tart is SO FREAKING PRETTY.

I really want these fried pork dumpling kimchi nachos to magically appear at my Super Bowl party.

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Weekly Wanderings posts may include affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Seriously, I am not kidding how excited I am about that toaster oven. 😀