Take home, Sushi, & Steel cut Oats!
Food from Chai Thai Noodle Cafe (random visit)
There I ate the vegetarian papaya salad, Thai iced tea and Pad Prid King was ordered to-go. Here it is eaten at home with white rice. It wasn’t as flavorful as Champa Garden made it, but since they raised their prices and haven’t changed their staff (who are rude and apathetic-not kidding), this will do for now.
Lunch:
After having sushi at Sushi House the other day in Alameda, I realized that the sushi we make at home is wAy tastier. For one, we get exactly what we want with the right amount. No portion control here! 
Two, we get much more variety at home, which is much more satisfying. I think the biggest payoff though is not having to worry about how I look like when eating sushi. Some of the rolls are so huge that it makes me look like I have a baseball in my mouth. When I eat it at home, in our small dining area, there are no self images issues. haha.
The platter
Red bell pepper and mushroom roll
Avocado and a little bit of mayo roll
Pickled radish and mock meat roll
Veggie dogs (yellow mustard, ketchup (HFCS free), and sweet radish (also HFCS FREE), Lay’s potato chips (Trans fat Free) topped with Tapatio hot sauce. To wash it all down, I drank Hansen’s Pomegranate soda (HFCS free).
I’m elaborating on the HFCS because it was very difficult to find foods that had none of it. For instance, I had a strange craving for soda, but did not want to consume HFCS or artificial sweeteners (not sure how I feel about them yet). One day I finally found one without any of them. I’ve been introduced to this brand of soda from Valerie, but never knew that it was one of the better choices of soda out there. Now, I’m addicted 
Long cooks dinner! I wasn’t in the kitchen while he was cooking because I was watching the doggies in the living room, so I’m not sure what he did.
Stimulated beef, green bell peppers, cilantro and vegetarian fish sauce.
Japanese Curry. Long made it more soupy for me. <3
Apricots! I liked the orange one better because it was so much more sweet and a little tart. The yellow apricot was too ripe for me at the moment, but it was bland as well.
Breakfast on 7/7/09
Steel cut oatmeal (made with soy milk & water) topped with homemade blueberry/blackberry syrup. SOOOOOO GOOD!!!
I enjoyed the oatmeal with a cup of Iced Hazelnut Latte (made with decaf coffee and soy milk).
I know what you mean about the whole HFCS thing! It is everywhere!! woahh thats so cool they put bell pepper into the sushi! yum
Kailey
July 15, 2009
I can’t wait to try your version of oats! Also, are you and Long going to be around on Saturday in the early afternoon. I’ll be in SF for a day and would love to meet Lulla and say hi to Loomis, Dottie and Shabazzz.
valerie
July 15, 2009
I was just thinking about making sushi! Your combos look awesome… where do you get pickled radish?
Melissa
July 15, 2009
Hi,
My google alert for HFCS picked up your post. Try StopHFCS.com for an extensive
list of HFCS-free food and drink.
To your health.
Cynthia1770
July 15, 2009
Leng, your sushi looks so pretty
I can’t make mine look good at all! it TASTES fine but looks bleh!
good for you!
mariposagirl
July 15, 2009
Kailey:
It gets so tiring at times because HFCS is everywhere.
I try to avoid it and trans fat whenever I can, but it’s so difficult when you find that your once fave food has now switched to using the cheap stuff in production. Luckily, many of those items can be recreated at home.
The sushi platter you see in this post is sushi we made at home. You know, now that I think about it. I have never seen sushi houses put bell peppers on the menu in their vegetable rolls….interesting…
Valerie:
I think you’ll love steel cut oats as well. It’s so nutty and you can actually feel healthier eating it. haha. We don’t have any plans this Saturday. Please come by! You’ll love Lulla. She loves to play, but be prepared to be greeted with an untrained puppy. She still jumps on ppl and bites (very very hard).
Melissa:
Thanks! I love sushi. So simple, but so satisfying.
If you go to a well stocked pan Asian market, you should find the pickled radish (along with other pickled veggies) in the open freezer section or the canned/jar section. I found mine in the open freezer. Good luck!
Cynthia1770:
Thanks for the link! The HFCS Free list should help me out a lot.
Cindy:
It took me a while to make the sushi pretty. Trust me. Just takes time. I remember the first time I made it, the rice was too soggy or didn’t taste “right” and the roll was falling completely a part. haha. Not pretty, but still tasty. I found out later that the key to making them good and stay in tact is to
Cook the rice a little more dry than. For instance, the sushi rice that I use calls for 1 1/4 cup of water, but I use 3/4 cup of water instead.
I also cover my rolling mat w/ cling wrap to prevent sticking. Makes it so much easier.
I used to over stuff them with all sorts of stuff, but eventually realized that the slogan “less is more” is the theme in making sushi. Besides, eating sushi is fun, so the more pieces the better right?
I also use a really sharp knife/serrated knife to cut the rolls. This makes the difference between a really messy roll or a really neat and clean roll.
Leng
July 15, 2009
Mmm love your sushi platter! There never seem to be very many exciting vegetarian sushi options. Though there’s one restaurant here that has lots of awesome things. I should try making sushi at home! I’m scared I won’t be able to roll them up tightly enough though. My favourite way to eat a hot dog is just as you did it – mustard, ketchup and relish (the hot dog/sweet relish!) Mmm. I recently bought steel cut oats and have been trying out different ways of eating them (like different additions). Though I’ve gone back to cereal now that I’m working because the oats take too much time/attention in the morning for me!
Ashley
July 15, 2009
Ashley:
yeah, steel cut oats take so long to cook, but it’s so worth it. I’ve been trying to find the perfect consistency, so far I’ve finding out that I love it more and more with every bowl.
Let me know what you come up with! I’d love to try your variation and venture off from plain. Cereal is always a great breaky, but I’ve been in a cereal ritual many times. It’s like Old Faithful, never really lets you down.
I love guacamole! SOoo good. I don’t think I eat it enough either.
Leng
July 16, 2009