I actually haven't gotten a chance to try it, so the picture is from online. :P I would like to share this Summer Tomato Soup from BAZAAR August, 2013 issue, as promised, before summer passes by. ;) But I think I am gonna try it some time when I get a chance to go get groceries. It doesn't seem to be too hard.
[Ingredients] - 7 medium heirloom tomatoes (a mix of varieties is nice) - 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil - 5 garlic cloves, sliced - A handful of fresh basil leaves - 3 tbsp. Maldon sea salt - Garlic
[Cookware] - Medium pot OR deep pan that has a lid and large enough to hold the tomatoes
[Procedures]
1. Halve the tomatoes through the stems, and cut out the cores and any hard pale bits.
2. Use your fingers to push out the juice and seeds; strain through a sieve over a bowl.
3. Mashing to extract as much liquid as possible, and discard the solids.
4. Set the liquid aside.
5. Combine 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic in a medium pot or a deep pan that has a lid and is large enough to hold the tomatoes comfortably.
6. Set over medium-high heat.
7. Once the garlic begins to sizzle, stir for a minute or two, until it's a light golden color and fragrant.
8. Add the tomatoes and the strained juice, along with 5 basil leaves and 1 tablespoon of sea salt.
9. Stir.
10. After a minute add 1/4 cup water.
11. Turn heat to low and cover.
12. Peek inside the pot after 5 minutes, and when the tomatoes are swimming in their own juice, remove the lid and adjust heat to a gentle simmer.
13. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes so that they release more juice, until the liquid has thickened.
14. Turn off heat and add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil, basil leaves, and 2 tablespoons of sea salt.
15. Blend, working in batches if necessary, until the mixture is very smooth and has a creamy texture.
16. Pour it back in the pot, stir, and add a bit more sea salt if you like.
[Overview]
Restaurant Name: Wendy's http://www.wendys.com/en-us/Home
Cuisine Type: American; Fast food
Price Level: $$$$$
Quantity: Medium to Large (depends)
Date of Visit: Friday. June 28th, 2013
Time of Visit: Dinner time
Hours of Operation: Not exactly sure. I think it's open late, but might change depending on different locations.
Others: ☞ Drive-In service
Recommend Items: Berry Almond Chicken Salad
This isn't my first time trying this salad. I had it last year. I think this is a summer-only salad (so make sure you have it before they stop serving again). I had to admit that I loved it. I am not a big salad eater. Like I wouldn't order salad as my main dish when I go to restaurants. But when there's salad comes as side dishes, I would eat it. Most of the salad that I've tried didn't leave too much impression on my mind, except Wendy's Berry Almond Chicken Salad, the Salad in raspberry dressing at Weber's Restaurant in Ann Arbor, and the Caesar salad at Costco. This time I got it at somewhere near Ohio turnpike as my dinner on the way back to Ann Arbor. Wendy's has over 6,000 locations worldwide so it's highly convenient. Compared with lots of other fast food chain restaurants, I think Wendy's somehow tastes healthier. It is also one of the reasons why I choose to visit occasionally even on Ann Arbor campus.
Here's a little description from Wendy's website about the Berry Almond Chicken Salad. The salad is made from eleven types of freshly chopped field greens topped with plump blueberries, sweet California strawberries, almonds roasted with sea salt, shaved Asiago cheese, and a warm grilled chicken breast for a powerful punch of dietary fiber, calcium, and antioxidant-rich nutrients. It comes with Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, made with acai berry juice. Very fancy description. But I think it's very true. They give lots of fruit and chicken. The full-size Berry Almond Chicken Salad is between $6 and $7. Not really that cheap as many people would think since it supposed to be a cheaper fast food chain restaurant. But believe me, I think it really worth the price. And the full-size salad is only 460 calories. I ate it as dinner and I felt really full and satisfied.
Berry Almond Chicken Salad
I just love the taste and how they blend everything together. I use only one package of the dressing and I think it's enough. The fruits are sweet rather than bitter and the grilled chicken breast is so tender and juicy. I hate when grilled chicken is dry... Lots of other places have this kind of problem sometimes. I highly recommend this salad. It helps with lazy dieting cause you don't actually feel that you are really dieting by having this salad as a meal. You will most likely feel full and satisfied for its quality and quantify. I'll definitely go back and order this salad many more times! Whether you like salad or not, just give it a try! Bon appéitit!! ^_^ Thanks for reading! -Mira*
Started from a few months ago, I got addicted to this drink called VITA Coco Coconut Water (椰子水). The first time that I got introduced was by a friend of mine. She said both her friends and her really liked it, so I decided to give it a try. I am not really a big beverage consumer but I really enjoyed this drink. I think it would be ideal for me to share a little bit of my thought with you guys in the hot summer day.
First of all, I think this Coconut Water is very quenching, as they claimed-"hydrate naturally." And they said that it's never from concentrate. This makes me feel really great to drink it frequently. The drink does taste like real coconut somehow. Of course the real one is better, but it IS close to the real coconut water taste. For your reference, I've had real coconut water (those kinds that you stick straws in directly) for many times.
It looks like they have many different flavors, such as Pineapple and Orange. I've tried, I think, perhaps one or two other kinds. But it turned out to be that I still like the original flavor the best. Their website has all the flavors that they produce. VITA Coco If you are interested, just hit the link.
4-pack VITA Coco Coconut Water
I think this is absolutely a great summer drink. It tastes even nicer when it's cold and when you drink it during the hot days. Price-wise, in 7-11 it is somewhere below $4. Not cheap. Think about it as real coconut (to go version), then I believe that you'll feel alright. I've also discovered with Mr. M that they have 4-pack at Wal-Mart and it's way cheaper (See the picture above). I think it's 5 or 6 dollars for the 4-pack (maybe even lower). Yup. This is just a short post for this Coconut Water that I've been addicted to. Enjoy the drink and cool yourself down! ^_^
Yesterday night I was feeling a little bit sick so I went to bed quite early. I've been having nightmares the whole night so it really wasn't a good sleep. I got up earlier than usual this morning and saw my BAZAAR magazine that I picked up in my mailbox yesterday afternoon. I decided to study later and was reading my magazine and eating breakfast. I discovered two things that I thought were interesting and would like to share. This is the first one.
I know that so far I've been only written restaurant reviews, but honestly I have always have strong passions lie in fashion. But anyway, the topics that I am going to talk about are not exactly about fashion. Let's just go straight to the topic... I think most of you from the U.S. should know about this magazine since it's pretty popular. However, I saw it the other day that I have some readers from different countries. So here's a brief description that I found online about this magazine.
Harper’s Bazaar is an American women's fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst
and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for
"women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture." Aimed at members of the upper-middle and upper classes, Bazaar assembles photographers, artists, designers and writers to deliver a "sophisticated" perspective into the world of fashion, beauty and popular culture on a monthly basis.
In most cases, the fashion pieces that they talk about in this magazine are thousands of dollars. As I am still a student, I can't afford it most of the time. But my own philosophy is 喜歡不一定要擁有 (You don't necessary need to have it even if you like it). I am pleased by looking at those beautiful pieces. They are just like art.
Same cover photo as mine for this issue. But in a better quality.
What I would like to share with everyone today is the Must Lists on this BAZZAR issue. Must-See Movies, Must-Visit Exhibition, and Summer Reads.
{Must-See Movies}
1st Course:
Austenland (奧斯汀莊園) [2013]
Director: Jerusha Hess
Stars: Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Seymour
Movie Type: Comedy, Romance
PG 13; 97 minutes
A Pride and Prejudice-obsessed woman (Keri Russell) visits a Jane Austen-themed retreat in search of her own Mr. Darcy.
珍海斯Jane Haynes (Starred by Keri Russell) 是一名年約三十的單身女子，
一切看似都相當平凡正常的她，其實有個小秘密，
就是她非常迷戀BBC【傲慢與偏見】影集中柯林佛斯 Colin Firth 飾演的達西 Mr. Darcy，
她認為最完美的男人只存在於虛構的小說中，
於是她決定花光的畢生的積蓄，前往「Austenland 奧斯汀莊園」，
在那裡，才能滿足她對18世紀男子的幻想...。
Austenland is actually a novel adapted by Shannon Hale. So if any of you is interested, you can check it out.
The Austenland Novel
2nd Course:
Lovelace (A片女神:深喉嚨) [2013]
Director:Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Juno Temple
Movie Type: Biography, Drama
R; 92 minutes
A riveting biopic starring Amanda Seyfried as 1970s X-rated screen sensation Linda Lovelace. A look at the real-life drama and exploitation that followed the actress in the wake of Deep Throat's box-office success, the film reveals her troubled relationship with husband-manager Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard).
1972年琳達洛弗蕾絲 Linda
Lovelace(Starred by Amanda Seyfried)
憑藉小成本情色電影《深喉嚨 Deep Throat》打入市場，電影尺度大膽，提倡縱欲的行為，此片成為當年美國最聳動的話題電影，也是情色電影的開山祖師，讓她一舉成為好萊塢A級女星。本片描述琳達洛弗蕾絲成名的過程和糜爛的感情世界。
I really like Amanda Seyfried and think she is gorgeous (especially in the movie In Time). She also really looks like one of my friends from junior high school. Still surprised (and in the shock) that she filmed in this kind of movie... > <
3rd Course:
Closed Circuit (危險辯護(?)) [2013]
Director: Josh Crowley
Stars: Rebecca Hall, Eric Bana,
Ciarán Hinds
Movie Type: Crime, Drama, Mystery
R; 100 minutes
Martin (Starred by Eric Bana) and Claudia (Starred by Rebecca Hall) are lawyers -- and ex-lovers -- who find themselves
put at risk after they join the same criminal defense team for an international
terrorist's trial.
There really isn't that much information for this movie yet... apologize for that. But still hope that you guys can enjoy the trailer in below. :P
From Norman Hartnell gowns to sparkling 1980s sheaths, "Fashion Rules," at London's Kensington Palace, traces the evolution of royal style through the wardrobes of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and, of course, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The above picture is Diana, Princess of Wales. The dress that she wore was also in this exhibition. (References) Ahhh everything looks so pretty! Wish I could go! > _ < Whoever is at UK should definitely take a visit~ <3
{Summer Must Reads}
After Her
by Joyce Maynard
Tale of two California sisters and their plot to ensnare a killer known as the Sunset Strangler.
These Few Precious Days
by Christopher Andersen
Exploration of Jackie and Jack Kennedy's final year together and whether the Camelot couple was still in love.
Babayaga
by Toby Barlow
Story of spies, witches, and intrigue set in Cold War Paris.
Necessary Errors
by Caleb Crain
About youth, ambition, and self-invention in early-'90s Prague.
Crazy Rich
by Jerry Oppenheimer
Chronicle of fortune and fall in the Johnson & Johnson soap 'n' suds dynasty. (I really want to read this one!!)
Lookaway, Lookaway
by Wilton Barnhardt
Ramps through the debutante balls and country-club dramas of Southern high society.
Night Film
by Marisha Pessl
The hypnotic follow-up to her impressive debut, Special Topics in Calamity Physics.
Whew...finally finished this blog post. Hope you guys like it! ^_^ For anyone who has more interests in this issue of BAZAAR magazine, please purchase it on your own to see full details. :)
P.S. This blog post is purely for sharing purposes. Not intended for any copyright violation.
[Overview]
Restaurant Name: L'Albatros Brasserie + Bar
http://www.albatrosbrasserie.com/
Cuisine Type: French
Price Level: $$$$$
Quantity (Lunch): Medium to large
Date of Visit: Tuesday. June 25th, 2013
Time of Visit: Dinner time
Address: 11401 Bellflower Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106
Number: (216) 791-7880
Hours of Operation: Mon-Wed (11:30am-11pm); Thurs-Sat (11:30am-12pm); Sunday CLOSED
Others: ☞Full bar service ☞ Happy hour (food and drink)
Recommend Items: "French Toast" (Appetizer); Roasted Cod (Entree)
Sign at the front door of the restaurant
Every menoversary (Note: 每月的紀念日; monthly recurring date of a past event), Mr. M and I would pick a fancier restaurant to celebrate. Most of the time I picked it because he thinks I am better at it haha. I happened to be at Ohio this time so I did a lot of research especially because I am not familiar with the area. I found out about this restaurant called L'Albatros. It looks really well known and seems like they have delicious French cuisine. It's located in downtown Cleveland and inside the Case Western University. It took us about half an hour drive even if Mr. M lives in Cleveland. It was a little bit frustrating cause the weather got really bad on the way. It started to rain heavily and came with thunderstorm. At the moment, we just hoped that the food was worth it. Talking about the reservation... you definitely need to make a reservation. I strongly recommend it. We did it right in the morning but they were extremely full on a weekday. We managed to get a spot but we had to eat our dinner at 8pm (pretty late). So if you wish to have things go as you planned, definitely make an effort to call at least a couple days in advance. There is valet parking right outside of the restaurant and it's not free. According to Mr. M, I think it's about $3 or so. We didn't want to pay so we parked on the street. Still very close to the restaurant. Your choice.
There is a bar. The picture only shows half of it.
The outside appearance of the restaurant is not as obvious, but there is a sign so it shouldn't be too hard to find. When we walked in, on the right side was the kitchen. You can pretty much see everything through the transparent window. Inside the restaurant, it is somehow separated into two different sides. At first, the waiter was gonna take us to the table. But we asked if we could switch to the booth. He told us there is only one kind of smaller booth left. We still decided to sit there, though I do think the table is kind of small. Just felt like the table couldn't fit everything easily. Our waiter was an Asian-looking dude. He was pretty good. He helped us decide one of the entree dishes that I was debating of. We ordered "French Toast" and Onion Soup Gratinee as appetizers, Roasted Cod and Cassoulet for our main dishes, and Chocolate Napoleon and Meyer Lemon Tart for desserts. For your reference, we ended up paying about $90. The entrees are all around $20-30 for dinner. I believe that it's relatively cheap when compared with other higher-end restaurants and/or French restaurant.
Table is a little small...
The first thing came to our table was the bread. Different from most of the restaurants that usually bring up a basket to each table, they have a person who's holding a huge basket of bread and distributing it to each table. The bread person gave us 2 or 3 pieces each time. Bread was tasty and the olive oil was great as well. Mr. M ate 6-8 pieces because he helped me and also because he was too starving LOL. After the bread, our appetizers came. At first when I was reading the reviews, I was really doubting that the "French Toast" would be that special (and cost around $9?). I still decided to get it because there was overwhelmingly positive reviews about it. And I am totally not disappointed but more than satisfied! There was only one thicker piece of toast but the sauce and ingredient that came with were simply amazing. I am not gonna lie that this is my favorite dish of this meal. If any of you ever decided to dine at L'Albatros, definitely give it a try. The Onion Soup Gratinee is just the French onion soup. I don't have much past experiences about French onion soup, but I think this soup is way too thick. And we both agreed that it could be more soup-like rather than food-like. They put too much beef in there and we were getting sick of it after half bowl. I think it's a slightly above average dish.
Bread with Olive Oil
"French Toast"
Onion Soup Gratinee
So what's next? Now time to talk about our main entrees... We had Cassoulet and Roasted Cod. I bet some of you would be questions about what is Cassoulet-becasue I was. I picked it at the beginning because there were so many people recommended it online. Basically Cassoulet comes with lamb, dunk confit, and sausages. And yeah, how can I forget that braised white beans. I remembered that (I think...) the lamb tasted great. But I somehow felt like I also tasted some pork....Maybe I think too much?? Not sure. :/ The duck confit was okay and the sausages were above average. I am not particularly satisfying with this dish because I am neither a bean eater nor a sausage fan and this dish is not within my expectation. To be frankly, Mr. M eats everything. He didn't enjoy this dish as much as well. We were a little bit disappointed...but-still didn't want to give up. For the Roasted Cod, it was pretty good but definitely not like "oh I tasted heaven" that kind of feeling. We ate about half of the cod because we were getting too full. I ate the leftover cod for my lunch the next day and it actually surprised me! It tasted much more delicious on my second try! I wasn't sure what was going on. But the sauce is really special. I don't know how to describe it, but the fish (cod) is really tender. I think I would recommend this dish without a doubt.
Roasted Cod
Cassoulet
Finally get to the desserts... wheww... such a long meal lol. Both the Chocolate Napoleon and the Meyer Lemon Tart are above average desserts! We both liked them, but not loved them to be honest. It's not like that kind of desserts that we would drive 30 minutes under the rain for. I would still recommend to order if you visit this place. The Chocolate Napoleon looks aesthetically appealing! It goes well with the raspberry and the crunchy part (sorry I don't know what's it called XD). The Lemon Tart was great. I tasted some egg-like stuff and I think it's called meringue? And Mr. M thought he tasted something like cinnamon? We had a lot of leftover. I think the service was really good for packing. The boxes are also not just random boxes but in their own design!
Chocolate Napoleon
Meyer Lemon Tart
We were too full and had a lot leftover.
The ambiance is great. A little noisy but it might be because our seats were close to the bar. We wish we were sitting in a different area because the decoration is nicer than where we were at. If we ever return here, I would like to try the Seared Sea Scallops because I ended up taking the waiter's advice and ordered the Roasted Cod. But cod was a great choice so I wasn't regretting at all. I would recommend the dress code to be at least casual chic. I just think it would be more appropriate for this kind of restaurant even if they didn't specially said it. It's also a great place to celebrate special occasions. Hope every of you enjoy the food at this restaurant if you ever choose to take a visit. Bon appéitit!! ^_^
[Overview]
Restaurant Name: SONIC http://www.sonicdrivein.com/
Cuisine Type: American; Fast food
Price Level: $$$$$
Quantity: Medium
Date of Visit: Monday. June 24th, 2013
Time of Visit: Dinner time
Address: 5836 Mayfield Rd Cleveland, OH 44124
Number: (440) 995-1600
Hours of Operation: Not exactly sure. I think it's open late, but might change depending on different locations.
Others: ☞Fancy Drive-In
Recommend Items: Chicken Strip Sandwich
To be honest, I am not a big fan of fast food. I can still eat it occasionally but I cannot eat it in every meal and every single day. I went to SONIC at the Mayfield Heights location in Ohio with Mr. M one day when he got out of work. SONIC is one of the chain fast food restaurants in the U.S. and there are over 3,500 locations. This is actually my first time. Recently I've been dieting so I was a little bit concerned about my calorie consumption. I checked their online menu and decided to order the Chicken Strip Sandwich and a kids-size orange slush. The Chicken Strip Sandwich is 420 calories. When I was reading their menu online, I realize that they have a huge selection of food and drinks. I was really tempted to get their shake because it seems to be one of their most famous items. But I decided to control myself since I'm dieting... (the shakes have ridiculously high calories :X) Mr. M ordered the Bacon Cheese Toaster and it came with a big package of tots (kinda like the hash browns 薯餅 in smaller bite size) and a soft drink.
Right now let me talk about each item that we ordered. First, the Chicken Strip Sandwich is absolutely tasty. It's in the every day deal menu, priced somewhere below $1.50 (really cheap!!). It is huge (compared with such as McDonalds) and really filling). The Chicken is really crispy and goes well with the Mayonnaise and lettuce. Mr. M tried mine as well and he said he should have ordered the same thing as me and he wants to order it if we ever come again. You can tell that he is not that into his own order of the Bacon Cheese Toaster. His order was actually recommended by one of the people who worked there. I tried a bit of his order and it was too much bacon and too greasy for me. My orange slush was okay. I don't have much to say haha. But the tots tasted really good. We were actually surprised that it didn't come with fries but tots instead. It tasted really similar to the hash browns and we both love hash browns. P.S.(Sorry I only took the pictures of my food cuz I forgot afterwards XD But good news is that their website has pretty much all the photos for their food.)
Relatively nicer wrapper for the food!
The tasty Chicken Strip Sandwich!
Kids size Orange Slush
The service was standard and food was ready in a really short period of time. The waitress(?) delivered our food on skater, which was kinda fun. I think they do that to all the customers (including drive-in). She was also really nice and came back asked us again to see if the food was okay. The dining area is super casual and there were quite a few kids. Dining groups are mostly family with kids (at least the day when we visited). The drive-in facility outside is very cool though we've never tried to go at SONIC. I'll put a picture in below so that you guys can have a look. When we passed by this place another day at late night, the restaurant looks pretty nice from the outside because of the light.
The Drive-in look! Found it online.
The outside of the restaurant. Should be identical anywhere.
We might come back, but probably not as frequent since we are concerning about the calories. But I still think it's a good place to take kids to as a quick dining option! Bon appéitit!!
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