California Eats: Amara Chocolate & Coffee

One of the most romantic places that I have ever been to has to be Amara in Pasadena. My Husband and I stumbled upon this place through Yelp when we were searching for a spot to end the night. We wanted something sweet. When its Yelp reviews mentioned authentic Spanish churros, we knew we hit gold.

The Place: This quaint little storefront is a hidden gem. We walked through the crowded streets, down a bar filled alley way, and made our way to the backside of Old Town Pasadena. It was late and most of the neighboring stores were closed, leaving most of the hustle and bustle to the main streets. Lucky for us, there were no people in the tiny shop that night. However, even if there were, it looks as though this place has a capacity of 20 people MAX. The small chocolate shop is perfect for snuggling and close elbow to elbow conversation. Cue the soft lighting and Spanish music and you got yourself the perfect date place.

The Menu: Variety isn't necessary in a place like this. A few choices of chocolate drinks and truffles and a decision of how many churros you can handle is all it takes. There are a few exotic coffees you can try, but really, this place is known for its chocolate.

The Eats: Churros and chocolate. Need I say more? I could leave it at that, really I could, but I'll go on. I consider myself a Churro fanatic, never leaving an amusement park or fair without covering my lips with cinnamon sugar. Oh, the joy. But, this is the real thing. Piping hot dough with long grooves nestling the cinnamon and sugar, a perfect vehicle for the Venezuelan dipping chocolate. I could eat either one by itself, but they are a perfect combination in your mouth. We also ordered a Venezuelan Hot Chocolate because we couldn't resist the smell when we walked in.

The man behind the counter was so nice. Since we were his last customers of the night, he gave us free champagne truffles. They packed a punch and Hubby and I both agreed that the alcohol was the star of that show.

My husband and I couldn't get enough of their churros and hot chocolate everything. We sat together at a tiny table and fed each other bites of Spanish treats and chocolate kisses. When you go to place where the atmosphere is just as sweet as the chocolate dipped churros, you know you found a great dessert spot. 



Asian Supermarket Sweep

Did anyone else watch that show, Supermarket Sweep? (Not Asian Supermarket Sweep) Seriously, the best show ever! Don't act like you don't remember those gold wrapped hams.

A few weeks ago, my parents went on vacation to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea. I was very jealous. They went to the Philippines because that's their homeland, Vietnam because my Uncle works there, and Korea because that's where my brother was born and they haven't been back since. Ahh, the life of an Army family. Even though I couldn't go, my mom and dad promised to bring me lots of goodies! They DID NOT disappoint!

First up in my bag o' goodies were some real deal chopsticks from Vietnam, these adorable chocolate lollipops, and the coolest toolsknown to man! I will be showing this off in a future post. You won't want to miss it! It makes something that is awesome!

And of course, my parents couldn't forget all the cooking presents!

My mom couldn't find a Korean cookbook that was in English, so she brought me these recipe cards she found at the market. Now all I need is a Korean friend who will traslate. Anyone?

She did find a Filipino and Vietnamese cookbook. I will be making and eating lots of Vietnamese spring rolls this year.

And last but not least, they bought me this BEAUTIFUL apron from Korea to add to my apron collection. It is made to look like a Traditional Korean Wedding Dress. Isn't it gorgeous? I don't even want to cook in it.

..via..

My parents also took a massive amount of food pictures for me! I will be posting those soon,  so we can all take an imaginary trip to Asia.

In the meantime, you can take your own trip to Asia by visiting your local Asian market. Now, don't be shy or bashful. I know it can be quite intimidating to roam around a market that is literally quite foreign to some you, but be brave and see what's in there!

There are aisles and aisles of new and exciting things to try...

Dumplings and tofu? CHECK.

Delicious sweets? CHECK.

Tea choices galore? CHECK.

Instant Curry for when you're in a hurry? Yuppers!

Loads of cute snacks? HELLOOOOO Kitty!

But take heed because there are some unusual items that you might not see at your local Trader Joe's.

But, other than the hanging ducks and rather unique butcher and seafood section, you're good to go! And if all else fails, ask one of your asian friends to take you! I will gladly go with anyone who asks, but only if you buy me some Hello Kitty Crackers.

On my last trip, I loaded up with all these goodies for under $40. That's a steal if you ask me!

Delicious Filipino bakery items.

Some sauces, seaweed snack, ramen, falafel mix, and a $5 steamer!

Dried mango, green tea, and macadamia nuts.

If you ever go to an Asian market, you wont regret it. You will find lots of yummy treats and interesting knicknacks. And for all your girly girls out there, their makeup is top notch! Take a chance and go to one. Trust me, I'm Asian.

Some of my Asian recipes

Pad Thai and Pineapple Fried Rice

In a hurry Chicken Curry

Lemon Herbed Chicken Curry

Soy Glazed Salmon

Dim Sum Dumplings

Filipino Lumpia (Eggrolls) and Pancit (chow mein)

The Vacation of Champions

Belated Merry Christmas, readers! I hope you had a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends, and lots of yummy food.

I am on Winter Vacation and loving every second of it. I have been busy with baking, cooking, and spending time with my family.

Blogging has always been in the back of my head, but truth be told, I really wanted to take a break and just ENJOY life. I heard a comedian once say that if Jesus Christ appeared out of the sky, we would all be on our phones trying to take a picture, or tweeting it, or Facebooking it instead of enjoying and experiencing that joyous occasion. So, instead of living through my camera, cooking with my camera, and eating through my camera, I decided that I wanted to fully enjoy my Christmas through these brown eyes of mine. And that I have been.....

However, I have been Instagraming a bit in lieu of blogging. So if you have Instagram... add me (missjoanna17). I will definitely add you because I LOVE looking at pictures of random things through different types of lenses.

So, here is my break in a nutshell thus far....

I won The Avid Appetite's blog giveaway! I received her yummy treats and just like that....everything was in my tummy!

I also cooked and baked a TON! And just like that.... everything was in my tummy!

Christmas Empanadas

And of course, there were presents. Amazing presents. My family knows me so well.

This vacation is delicious!

• How was your Christmas? Tell me what you got! I'm nosey like that.

 

Teacher Talk Tuesday: Gift Ideas for Students

My favorite time of the year is coming up fast.... Christmas vacation! In just 3 days, hundred of frazzled and burnt out teachers will be enjoying 2-3 weeks off. Yes, I know it is annoying to hear this if you are not a teacher and I apologize for the bragging, but I AM WORKED to the bone. I am ready.

Besides that joyous occasion, there is another event that I am very fond of and that is gift giving. I love rewarding my students for all of the hard work they have been doing and giving them a little Christmas present. Most students don't expect it and it's fun to watch their surprised faces when they see a gift waiting for them at their seat. This year is no exception. This is quite possibly one of the best classes I've ever had so I wanted to reward them with something fun.

Instead of having a regular hum drum party with chips and cupcakes, I decided to give them some options, and since this class is in the morning, I gave them breakfast options. By unanimous decision, a Smoothie Party was in order. I dig it. So, I bought myself an early Christmas present...which in turn is a gift for my students as well. Double Whammy!

In addition to providing all the smoothie fix-ins, I found some great cups for them to keep! I plan on writing their names on it. I know they'll love it!

I plan on taking off the lids and adding these cute straws I found!

Add a candy cane, wrap it all in some cellophane and you got yourselves a winner! I'll post the finished product asap!

Here are some other super cute ideas!

How about some Grinch Pills

Or some Snowman Poop

Jazzing up a chocolate bar looks easy!

These are just too adorable!

In years passed, I've also given little goodie bags with Christmas candies and other little trinkets which the kids enjoy. When I worked in high school, I brought cookies for them to decorate and believe it or not, they liked it a lot! Just giving anyone Christmas treats is enough to turn them into a giddy 3 year old. I love it!

Wandom Wednesday: Yum, Run, Snap

Yum
My week started of great! My buddy Christine invited me over to make cakepops in her brand new beautiful kitchen. How can a girl pass that up? We talked, we rolled, we laughed.... it was balls of fun. (Jokes involving balls are hard not to make here.... oh man working at a Middle School is really starting to take it's toll)

Hooray for Cute Anthro Aprons!

We made cute chocolate and white chocolate ones!

And we wrapped 'em all purdy for ourselves....seriously, we didn't plan on giving them to a single soul. These were just for us. Seriously.

Run

Speaking of fat.... I signed up for my next race. I've been itching to do it since my last one.

It's on November 13th and I'm super excited for it! I hope this'll put that fire under my bum to stay motivated to run.

Snap

Speaking of lazy. Next month will be Hubs and my ONE year wedding anniversary. We are so excited! I really thought I wouldn't be that bride that puts making their wedding album off and off and off until...whoa.. a whole year passed by. Yup... I really thought that I wouldn't be. Shame on me because our wedding photographers are AMAZING!

Go check out their blog! EPblog.

I will finish my wedding album.

I will finish my race.

I will finish those balls.

teehee

Part II: Stuffing My Face in Solvang

Contrary to popular belief, I did not go to Europe for the weekend. Unfortunately, I do not live the life of a rich person. It's ok... I am rich in love, life, and food. ::cue the strings:: I traveled 3 1/2 hours North to Solvang, California and I STUFFED my mouth hole with sweets of all kinds, meats of all kinds, and I threw in some vegetables  for good measure. Here are just a few things we did up in this little Danish town.

We arrived at our Hotel on Friday night. It was very simple and IKEA-ish, with a dash of a Hostel sort of feel. Sure, I wanted to slap myself for not booking a hotel, say, with amenities and a room a bit bigger so that doo-doo smells wouldn't attack the WHOLE hotel room when someone is in the toilet room, or a place that offers more than two pillows. But hey, it was decent enough for showering, sleeping, and other bed activities.

The best part of the hotel was that it came with complementary bikes...

We rode them with pride around the town, showing off our Danish filled guts.

And the other great thing about our Hotel was that it was a matter of steps to the best eatery in Solvang. That's not just my opinion, that's a FACT! Look it up on Wikipedia in about an hour.

Their Danish pancakes were LEGENDARY!! The service was impeccable, the line was out the door, the place was clean, and the bacon was thick as fruit leather. If those aren't true stamps to a good place, I don't know what to tell you.

After we ate the best meals of our lives, we moseyed on over to spend about a good hour in this odd spot.

This store reminded me of my childhood in Germany. I had a wonderful nostalgic feeling and I didn't want to leave. Good thing Hubby kept himself busy by finding the only pair of Boobie Stein glasses in the store.

And, the lady at the counter thought we were billionaires and kept trying to sell us one of these $500 clocks. She should've looked at our Hamlet Inn bikes.

The rest of the trip consisted of food... because that was my main goal after all...to gain a ridiculous amount of weight in my buttocks area.

    

 

I ate real food, too.

 Day two, we rode our bikes again. Do you think a few hours pedaling cancels out all this food?

Don't worry, I was in fact wearing shorts under my dress. I don't know how the Danes feel about Hello Kitty Chonies and I wasn't about to find out.

Back to the eats...

Chipmunk Cheeks courtesy of all the sweets....glorious glorious sweets. 

And lastly, I searched for my childhood fav, Weinershnizel. It was sadly a disappointment. Not as good as I remembered it. The little fat girl inside me wept. 

While in my food depression, Hubby enjoyed his AMAZING Chicken Fried Steak.

I gave him puppy dog eyes the WHOLE meal and all he gave me was a measly 4 bites! Can you believe that? And he vowed to be with me through good times and bad.... pshhh.... lies. (Love you, Hubs!)

It was the best birthday I've had all year. wait... yeah... best one.

• How was your weekend?