Month: May 2015

Never- Repeat NEVER Take Movie Advice from Teen-Aged Boys

Say you have teenagers, and you used to teach Junior and Senior High kids, and you enjoy talking with them about their interests… Stay with me on this, it will make sense. If you take movie AND television show tips from them, BEWARE. It just might consume all of your free time.

Back in January I posted about how a friend of The Boy was excited for me to see the new TV show “Agents of SHIELD.” Like a dope, I started watching it. Little did I know how addicting it would be, and that I would be scrambling to watch the other movies and shows that slot into this multi-layered universe.

image from IMDB.com, click to link
image from IMDB.com, click to link
another image straight from IMDB.com
another image straight from IMDB.com

I am trying to catch up on the Marvel Universe. Trying furiously. I am trying NICK FURY-ously to catch up before I see the latest: “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Tonight The Husband and I watched “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” It was great!! Tomorrow I will try to cram in “Iron Man 3.”

And I still want to watch “Agents of Shield” season two. And Agent Carter. and Daredevil. And all the Fantastic Four stuff. And whatever else a know-it-all 14-year-old boy tells me to watch because their dad saved all the original comic books so they are our walking encyclopedia about the Marvel universe, so we do what he says and try to cut him off before he can tell me any spoilers. Because I am completely hooked on what adolescent boys tell me I should watch.

At least his family is generous to loan me all the movies, Thanks Beth and Al! Or should I curse you? The jury is still out on this… I am kissing my free time goodbye, that is for sure.

How Do I Like My Mother’s Day? With Two Pies.

It is Mother’s Day today, and along with sleeping in and French Toast and Bacon made by the Husband for brunch, we tried two different pies for dinner. Julian Pie Company‘s Chicken Pot Pie and Claim Jumper’s Peach Pie. I can’t think of a better gift for me the mom than to cook for me and make an easy bake, easy clean-up dinner.

Julian Pie Co. Chicken Pot Pie- pure yum.
Julian Pie Co. Chicken Pot Pie- pure yum.

The pot pie was FABULOUS. All four of us decided that every time we go past the Julian Pie Company and pick up an apple pie, that the dinner pie WILL be bought, too. The whole family liked this dinner- the crust was super tender and flakey, the vegetable to meat to gravy ratios were all in great balance, and the flavor of the whole pie was delicious.

Better than "Meh"
Better than “Meh”

The Claim Jumper Lattice Peach Pie was just what you would expect from a frozen pie, but on the better side of average. I had no expectations from this freezer section selection, but honestly? The crust was flaky and crisp and even though the filling was really sweet, it wasn’t bad- not a home made fresh peach pie by a long shot, but not the usual sub-standard grocery store ilk.

So, there you have it. Cook for your moms, clean up your dishes, and the next time you want a really good but still ready made pie for dessert for Mother’s Day, get to the store before they sell out of all the Julian Pie Company Apple Pies.

Taste Testing Korean Snacks with a Couple of Ringers! (Part TWO)

Part Two of our taste-testing extravaganza focused on the sweet treats and drinks while the K-pop was playing in the background…
IMG_6528Banana Kick- Can you imagine your basic cheese puffs, with NO cheese or powder, but with banana flavor instead? Comments included “Holy crap, it’s a banana cheese puff!” and “ Weird, but cool; tastes less banana-y than they smell.” We dug these things.

IMG_6525Corn Silk Tea- Joseph was so happy that we didn’t like this as much as he did. This was clearly one of his favorite home foods. Corn Silk Tea is a very mild tea that, very oddly, I thought tasted like tea plus the milk left over from a bowl of Cap’n Crunch. Yeah, I know, like I said- odd… but not in a bad way. I can totally see why this would be a favorite if you grew up drinking it- kind of like how most other world cultures can’t stand our root beer, but we Americans LOVE it.

IMG_6537Custard Cream Cakes- Joseph and The Boyfriend said that these are Korean Twinkies. Honestly, the comparison is a bit insulting. These are WAY better than Twinkies.

IMG_6538Matdongsan- One of the snacks that the boys were most excited to eat and have us try. To quote them: “Tastes like Korea.” I thought these were really good, peanut butter cookie meets cracker-y wafer-ish treat stick.

IMG_65572% by Lotte (Peach Flavored)– Oh, man! This was great! 2% is a non-carbonated soft drink that is not overwhelmingly sweet. We all liked it. “Ooo, right in the Childhood,” was The Boyfriend’s comment. We totally should have gotten more of this in different flavors. Get this- you can buy Lotte’s 2% Peach from Amazon, if you are so inclined.

IMG_6541Jolly Pong- almost exactly the same thing as the American honey puffed wheat cereal Sugar Crisps (now called Golden Crisp to not sound so sugar laden) or Honey Smacks (does that cereal even exist any more) . But more delicate. Really good!

We still have the frozen treat to try, and another aloe flavored soft drink, some various ramen and a couple more sweet snacks to try… Looks like Joseph will have to ask for an extension on his student Visa? We can hope. Have a great summer with your family, Joseph, and we wish you all the luck in the world when you start university next fall. New York doesn’t know how lucky it is to be getting you, I hope you take Manhattan by storm! We should make Willy do this with Chinese snacks next year, shouldn’t we- maybe between the Fall play’s Saturday performances? Ha, look out, Willy, you are next!

All Hail The Nutty Irishman!

Oh man, where has this drink been the last 27 years of my life?!? Went to The Company Pub and Kitchen for wings and found a fabulous cocktail instead.

Photo from Food.com Click pic for link and recipe!
Photo from Food.com
Click pic for link and recipe!

It is unseasonably cold in The Great Southland tonight, and I went with our server’s suggestion to try this hot coffee-based drink- yea for great suggestions! The Nutty Irishman has a coffee base, hazelnut liqueur, and my all-time favorite, Bailey’s Irish Cream. Perfect. I really loved how a gal at the table next to us was delighted that I went with her favorite drink.

The basic recipe is-

That’s it- serve with whipped cream, if you like. I loved this drink.

Taste Testing Korean Snacks with a Couple of Ringers! (Part One)

The Girl attends a school with kids from all corners of the globe. Actually, pretty much all schools in the greater Southern California area fit this description. For tonight’s new adventure, tasting Korean snack foods, we conscripted two great kids (I can call 18-year-olds “kids” since I have 30 years on them).IMG_6519 (1)

  • Joseph, from South Korea, classmate and friend of The Girl for several years, our native expert
  • The Boyfriend, who lived in Asia for four years, and totally on board with steering us toward his favorites

I bought five packages of snacks last week. It took the boys all of TWO seconds to take me up on my offer to drive back to our local H Mart to make sure we covered all of their favorites. Now we were up to over twenty, savory and sweet- not counting the soft drinks and ice cream the boys were excited for us to try.

The Summaries
The kids were fried after Week #1 of A.P. Exams, so we kept K-Pop going on Pandora and snacked away for three hours and came up with the following:

IMG_6527“Shrimp Crackers” from the boys: “Aaaaahhh!!! What did they do to our favorite childhood snack?!? Wait! By the 3rd bite it is starting to taste right.” We newbies thought they were pretty good.

IMG_6530“O!Karto” Italian Gratin flavor… we dug ’em. The favorite of The Boyfriend. good!

IMG_6532“Crab Chips” Meh. Unanimous. Tasted better than they smelled.

IMG_6534“Onion Rings” Like wheat based Funyons. Good, but not as good as King Funyuns.

IMG_6536“Tako Snacks” Thought I would slip octopus flavored chips past my son. The Boy resisted. Although they tasted better than they smelled, all these rated was another “meh.”

IMG_6539“Gg-Ggol-Corn” Joseph says this is his best attempt at Anglo spelling of Korean… A whole lot like Bugles, but WAY less salty. Very good!

Next post- Sweet snacks and beverages!! Holy cow, this was fun!