94 posts tagged “qotd”

How will you use technology or the Internet to help you plan and prepare this year’s Thanksgiving feast?
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Ooh, good question, Vox. I have been thinking much about the feast this year, because it's the first time that I'll host my family. I'm quite excited to cook for them, and to not have to travel on Thanksgiving weekend. Yay!

I'm keeping the menu traditional. I mean, it's hard to improve upon things you know everyone likes. And we don't eat cranberry sauce and turkey much year-round, so I don't think it's a bad thing having the same menu every year.

As far as technology, there's not a ton I do to pull it in for Thanksgiving. I don't even have a digital thermometer. ;-)  However, I do use Cook's Illustrated online quite a bit (thanks to Aquanetta).  The team at Cook's Illustrated doesn't necessarily use a lot of technology, but they are very scientific.

If you want a guaranteed-to-please recipe, Cook's Illustrated is the place to go. The idea behind it is that they take a recipe, try it 100 or so different ways with slight variations, each time testing with a tasting panel, and they tell you the exact best way to cook it. And to top it off, the editor is a chemist, so he explains why these methods work best. It is, by far, the most reliable source of recipes -- and I've read a lot  of cookbooks and cooking magazines.

Here's my Thanksgiving menu. All the recipes are from Cook's Illustrated except where noted otherwise.

Roast turkey (brined, stuffed with an herb paste)
Gravey
Mashed potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Roasted brussels sprouts with bartlett pears (Body+Soul magazine)
Green beans with toasted walnuts and roquefort cheese (Body+Soul magazine)
Creamed spinach
Pumpkin pie (Libby's recipe)
Pecan pie (from a Thanksgiving cookbook I have, forgot the name, but it's great. My pecan pie secret is to include chopped pecans in the filling, as well as a layer of halved pecans on the top for looks)

The fam is bringing rolls, candied yams, stuffing and butternut squash soup. Yum!

Btw, Cook's Illustrated also tests cooking equipment - someone put together their list on Amazon as a shared list if you want to find any equipment. Geez, I sound like a commercial!

What is it about your favorite local small business that keeps you coming back again and again?
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My favorite small business in San Diego is In And Out Transportation. For the same price as a taxi, In And Out will send a town car to bring me to/from the airport. All the drivers are exceedingly nice. Eric is probably my favorite; he is always telling me interesting stories about Egypt. He arrives to pick you up 10 minutes early "so you're not stressed" -- but he doesn't mind waiting outside if you're not ready. He always insists on getting my luggage and opening the door, and even reminds me that the tip is already included in the price.

When they pick you up from the airport, they drive right up to baggage claim, so you don't even have to cross the street to the taxi area. When you're stressed from all the travel, you feel instantly relieved on seeing the car waiting for you, and getting into the nice, clean, cushy, air-conditioned town car. Ahhhh. I highly recommend them if you need a ride; let them know Tracey sent you. It is so much nicer than what you're often stuck with in a taxi (dirty seats, smoky, rude drivers, etc.)

Runner-up #1 for my favorite neighborhood business is Kim's Alterations on Coast Highway in Encinitas. I'm a shortie, so I need a lot of clothes tailored. Kim does great, and is always super nice. She's also open pretty late so it's easy to pick up and drop off. She has recently teamed up with someone who offers waxing -- yes, as in leg/bikini/eyebrow waxing -- in her store. It's weird, but I guess it cuts their costs and I don't really care. The Vietnamese are very entrepreneurial people!

And finally, Runner Up #2 is Seaside Cleaners - my dry-cleaning place. It's conveniently located next to my grocery store. But most importantly, they are always glad to have my business, they run an eco-friendly business, and they have a nice loyalty program.

What do your Vox tags say about you? (Add tags to the end of your Vox blog address, and have a look.)
Submitted by Jack Yan.

A lot of my tags are based on cities or food... which makes sense; I love travel and food!

Blog wordle

What's something you would splurge on this year to improve your future?
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I am "splurging" on my dental implants and bone graft. I worked up my budget on Mint.com yesterday, and I realized that I'm using around two years' worth of savings on these damn teeth. I know it's for the best, but it's really depressing. Especially since my car seems to be turning into a tin can these days and I'm really drooling for a new car. But that's probably off for at least another year and a half. :-(  Besides having nice teeth, the bright side is that this didn't happen when I was broke, which was basically my life up to a couple years ago... then there's no way I could have gotten the work done then.

Would you rather have more brains, more beauty, or more bravery?

Good question, Vox. I would like to have more bravery. I think I'm brave in some ways -- for example, after having moved cross-country a couple times, I think I could face leaving everyone I know to re-make a life somewhere else if I had to, or if an undeniable job opportunity came my way. However, I'd like to be more brave in a couple areas:

• Physical - Sports like surfing and skiing are tough for me because I'm afraid of falling. If I had started as a kid, I'm sure I'd really enjoy these now. But ever since I was in a bad bike-meets-car accident 15 years ago, I err on the overly cautious side. And it's a purely instinctual fear... so it's really hard to overcome.
• Risk-taking - I'd like to be unafraid of failure. That would come in really handy for owning my own business some day.
  

What's one thing you can't say no to?

I'm a Taurus. There's more than one thing:

1. Prosciutto
2. Gelato
3. Spicy Mayan chocolate from Chuao
4. Iced mocha, chai latte, or a good capuccino
5. An heirloom tomato. Especially with some good buffalo mozzarella.
6. Yogurtworld
7. The Sugar & Spice drink from Market restaurant
8. Having friends over for dinner or a beach day
9. My honey's puppy dog eyes
   

Why do you love your body?
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What a funny question. "I love my body because...."

No, but seriously, when I was young, I spent a lot of time focusing on what I don't have (boobs, a cute pointy nose, height, etc.). But I've reached a few realizations between the age of 12 and 30:

1 - The way people react to you is based more on how you view your own attractiveness, then on how perfect you look. When you're feeling confident, you feel good in your own skin, you stand up straight and smile, you give off an aura of good-lookingness. You can be tall, short, fat, thin, brunette, blonde -- there's a Janie for every Johnnie and a Johnnie for every Janie as my friend would say. Even after coming to this logical realization, it took me years before I could really emotionally believe this and put it into practice. But as I grew up, I slowly built up my confidence. And now I can walk down the street giving off the "hot mammajamma" vibe.

2 - I like looking different. Some of the things that I didn't like about myself as a kid are the things that set me apart. I'm Asian and I have freckles... that's pretty cool, right? (However, I will admit to plucking my Irish unibrow.. I'm not altogether un-vain).

3 - When it really comes down to it, I'm healthy. And that makes all the other stuff a heck of a lot less important. You get to realizing this when you or someone you love has some kind of major illness.

From the design to the features, what should the perfect kid-friendly laptop include? What would you leave out?
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The perfect kid laptop would probably be way more sophisticated than the adult laptops, because we all know that kids would be able to figure it out a lot faster. Maybe it would come with software to create your own cartoons, edit movies, create music mash-ups, and make multimedia art, so that kids would be motivated to become power-users while using programs they enjoy.

How has technology impacted the quality time you spend with your family?
Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow.

I'm going to use this QoTD as an opportunity to talk about one of my pet peeves.

I have some friends who mess around with their iPhone while we're supposed to be hanging out and interacting. This is annoying, and it makes me want to leave. I'm ok with things like quickly checking a text message. But I don't check email, create playlists and surf the Internet while we're hanging out, and I expect the same courtesy from my friends. :-)  I want to toss that iPhone out the window!!

What vacations would you most like to take in the next five years?
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Hawaii.  Almost everyone I know has been there, but I haven't. I'd love to meet some other hapas and enjoy all the nature. Maybe for my honeymoon (assuming I get one of those in the next five years).

Vietnam. I've been once, but really want to go again soon. I went to Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Saigon and Can Tho.  Vietnam is an incredibly diverse country, both in terms of ecology and the people. I'd like to visit Sapa, which is along the northern border of Vietnam, Da Lat (a very colonial city where a lot of coffee and chocolate is grown), and Phu Quoc, a quirky and beachy little island off the southern coast. 

Brazil. The honey is Brazilian, so I'd love to check out the culture first-hand. Rio beaches, here I come! 

South Africa. I'm not sure I'll get there within five years, but this is my dream vacation. It looks like South Africa has everything - city life, dramatic cliffs, beautiful beaches, safaris, not to mention an amazing cultural heritage.

Right now, I'm enjoying my stay-cation before I start the new job Monday, which is also pretty darned nice.