Foodventure Fridays

Going to start this blogging again.  Fresh and new.  We'll see how long I can last with it.

1 week to go...

Omagah.... I think I'm about to fail my diet!!!  Yoga and gym today and Sunday for sure... and mebbe another cleanse.  Man....

Things like this deter me from my goal...

Green tea Hotteok, Korean sweet rice pancakes, filled with cinnamon sugar and nuts.. 

My morning project.

Making Lemons into Coffee Creations...

I'm sure you're wondering how well the master cleanse worked for me.  Well.... I lost 8.8lbs.  But things like

These kept getting in my way from losing the full 15lbs I could have lost on a cleanse.  Plus ending a day and half earlier than I planned.  But despite all that, losing 8.8lbs is quite remarkable.  Then gaining only .8lbs afterwards, I'm amazed.  However I still have 7lbs before the end of Feb.  Otherwise March is going to be a very sad sad month for me.  My passive aggressiveness might even come out.  Hahhaa.... ah.. but "all for my own benefit" of course.  OMAGAH!!  I only have 1 week and a half left.  Jungshin chaleuh (wake up).  TT_TT

There has been a lot of stuff going on that distract my focus right now, like coffee projects I'm working on...

Started like this..

Then I tested it with these and found it would be lopsided
if one pourover was off...

So Marty helped me modify it to be more stable...

Final result after a day of making it and a day of polishing it.

I learned and made a holder for my pourover toppers.  It's was quite fun.  The place I went to is called About the Coffee over by KU Med area.  My espresso machine repair man opened a store front for all the home coffee lovers in the city.  It's quite the destination for those hip coffee people.  I always feel quite an outsider from the baristas and roasters and coffee loving fools.  My knowledge of the culture is very limited.  I don't have a beard or tatts and I can't keep a hat on me all day without feeling too confined, having to fling it off and show off my bad hat hair.  Hahhaha.... but I sure like a good cup.

Last but not least.... I'm obsessed with this Korean Drama.  The Best K-DRAMA  It's such a great show that I watch it, then anxiously wait for the recap gets posted on my favorite K-Drama blog, dramabeans.  I've done that with pretty much most dramas I watch, but especially this one.  K-Dramas are such crack, I can't live a normal life anymore.  When cafe is slow or pretty much anytime I can get online, I'm watching one.  Current ones I'm watching are:

History of a Salaryman (favorite!!)
Wild Romance
Kimchi (Fermentation) Family 
Bachelor's Vegetable Store

And I'm always looking at filler dramas to watch waiting for the next episodes of the ones I'm currently watching.  It's a deadly cycle of addiction.  Last year was when I started after almost a 10 year hiatus from korean pop culture.  Since then, I've probably seen almost all the dramas from those past 10 years.  Hahahaha.... I get stuck into things pretty easily.  And when I get sad a storyline is over, a new one comes and takes it's place in my heart (or just replace that addiction with another.)

Haven't loved a cast since... 

This group... Miss you JiSung!

Master Febse

Sad to say, instead of a food entry, which I have much to catch up on, this is my first in many foodless entries.

This is the beginning of my bet to lose 15lbs in the month of February.  If not my life will be over in the month of March, when WangJang will take over the process and turn into drill sergeant wj.  Scawie.

I decided to start out with the Master Cleanse for the first 10 days.  This might end up reaching my goal very fast.... or not...  But it will help me shrink my stomach.  It expanded over the holiday-birthdays-KC Restaurant Week--season.  Much weight and inches were gained, but a delight and happiness also were gained.  Hahhaha...

SO... this is what it's about... http://themastercleanse.org/

The Master Cleanse is such a simple program.

• First, squeeze Fresh Lemon Juice, then add Rich Maple Syrup, and Cayenne Pepper into Pure Water. Drink a minimum of six to twelve glasses throughout the day whenever one is hungry. For the Lemonade diet recipe with exact measurements, scroll down this page.
• Take a laxative, morning and evening; or instead of the morning laxative, you can do the Salt Water Flush. Every day of The Master Cleanse that you overcome the psychological need to eat, you feel a growing sense of control that motivates you to complete the process. The Master Cleanse is by far my favorite of the Detox Diet Recipes.

“The Lemonade diet has successfully and consistently demonstrated its eliminating and building ability.” Stanley Burroughs.

” The following program has been tested and approved since 1940 in all sections of the world as the most successful of any diet of its type. As an originator of this superior diet, I humbly and yet proudly offer it to you, confidant that you will receive vigorous good health from its use.

This diet will prove that no one needs to live with his diseases. Lifetime freedom from disease can become a reality.”  Stanley Burroughs - Author of the book The Master Cleanser.





Pretty simple cleanse, I did it a few years ago to help with a stomach ache I couldn't get rid of.  It wasn't anything serious, but cleansing helped a lot.  Then I went back to my cycle of food abuse.  I will recommend to anyone for a good flush of all the junk you accumulate from bad foods that we eat daily.

Worse thing, right now, is the lack of caffeine.... I had this dull headache all day because I didn't drink coffee.  Oh the irony...

But I did had to cheat for work, took a lick of this...

Just because I changed mayonnaise and needed to taste if this is still okay with real mayo added.

But I think also subconsciously I really want to eat, I keep over toasting... 

Hahhaa...  And to top that off, I had this leftover.

Saving it for tomorrow's chicken salad.  But it kept staring me down.

Overall, so far so good.  On my fifth batch of lemonade mix... but it's tolerable.  

Boogaloo in the Bodegoo

I know my one fan is very sad I'm not updating my posts as faithfully as I did when I first started.  But I'm not gone forever so here I am back updating on the fabulous eats we had in treat.

This week was all kinds of bar foods.  Too unhealthy and too much.  But you gotta love it.  Fox N Hound twice in one week!  BWW not on  a Tuesday.  Being out and about makes me want to stay out.  But need to go into a hermit life.  Had a chest and head cold all week, but continued on my playing ways.  At least I didn't drink.  That would've caused havoc on my health.  And my soul during Holy Week.  Soon, though, lent will be over and I will be back to my dollar menu at McD's and going to try out the hot dogs at Sonic and grab some Wendy's spicy nuggets and Jr. Whopper at Burger King.  And ESPECIALLY some ice cream.  Any drive thru.  No more bar foods and fancy happy hours.  Hahhaa... just kidding.

I say though, Fox and Hound has some good bar foods.  Very consistent and good.  Especially their wings and pretzels..  BWW of course has good wings, but mainly it's about their sauce.  Their wings can be too small, this week it was pretty good sized.  But my favorite there is the mini corn dogs with their honey mustard.  YUM!  I was hoping they'd have their happy hour at night, but the bartender said it was only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Sad... half off their nachos and mini dogs was great.  But like I said, we were there not on a Tuesday but a Wednesday.  Random.

But Friday was worth a blog entry.  Hahah... We went to Sullivan's and then to La Bodega South.  Coming from some good prayer time for Good Friday service, we were going to go to La Bodega, but the wait was 2 hours long... So we waited.  At Sullivan's.  The steak house.  But I was so hungry, I progressed my dinner.  Starting with some crab artichoke dip, blue cheese chips, sliced steak, and gnocchi.  Okay, so just the gnocchi and chips I ordered, the rest were others that I tasted.  All were great.  Prices from $8-10.  Kinda high for appetizers, but having a small sliced steak on some spinach for $10 is a good price.  The chips were amazing though.  Good blue cheese, Maytag, I think.  Blue cheese is one of the cheeses you have to have a good one to appreciate it.  Otherwise, there's a lot of pungency going on that you won't like if you're not used to it.  The dip was too salty, I guess crab and artichoke are two very salty things that didn't die down in a dip.  This was the first time at Sullivan's, not a bad experience.  I don't think I would go here regularly though.  Their Thursdays are $5 martini nights, and I hear all the hot divorcees of Leawood/OP are out for.  I'm too Shawnee for that.  Hahha...

Finally we headed over to the Bodega, but our table was still not available. But the whole place was open and free to roam about.  They set out tables everywhere and it was still pretty crowded at like 9:30pm.  We didn't get to sit until 10pm which was exactly 2  hours from when we started.  Just the last 10 minutes was kind of a b* to wait though.  Finally sat, same table as last time I was there, other than the time in the glass box room.  About nine of us and we ordered about 14 small plates.  This I thought was a lot considering I just ate an appetizer to my appetizers right before.  But we could've maybe gone without 2 dishes.  Pigs! I say, I always eat with pigs!  Hahhaa... Good to get a full feel of their tapas menu.  The solomollio, I think, was the one  that I thought was fabulous last time I ate it, and was excited the head orderer ordered it.  Though I can't pronounce it.  But does have a blue cheese.  The elotes there was really good too.. hard to shared though.. I just slice off the corn kernels instead and eat it like cheesy corn.  Soo good.. had to eat off the rest on cobb.  A slight variance from mexican corn because they don't used queso fresca.  But whatever cheese they use, was really good.  Love the meatballs and especially the sauce they come in.  Must make sure there's bread to soak it up.  And the potatoes is always a must.  I'm always looking for the small crispy ones.  Sangria looked pretty good, and mojitos... mm... mojitos... they brought the recipe from the old re:Verse days.  Sad that it's been replaced by a pizza/wine bar on the Plaza.  Almost all the spanish/mexican  inspired places are gone there.  Hopefully the new tenants of MiCocina can hurry and open their contemporary mexican restarant.  Plaza lost a lot of flava.

There were many more dishes, but I can't recall most of it.. and always a not faithful picture documenter.  It was good though.  La Bodega is one of the best places for tapas.  Avenues Bistro was our original plan because Friday and Saturday nights they have a late happy hour menu.  Which, last time we went, was soo good.  But, being me and the other constant mediator in our group, agreed on La Bodega as a happy middle between Avenues and Capital Grille bar.  It did not disappoint, as usual, and the wait was not that bad because it was just a little wait after the other half of our group arrived around 9:30pm.  

Tha-tha-tha's all folk.

Ali Baba and the 4 Thieves

Finally got to check out Aladdin's Cafe.  We used to go there a lot when it was Cafe Rumi.  Ironic name for the smallest restaurant ever.  Haha...  Anyways, LOVED the food at Cafe Rumi.  Still get it every once in a while when my mom brings it from Sprint.  One of the old owners still has a stand in the canteen there.  Very good.  But not the full menu of items it used to have at the restaurant.

It was a chaotic turn of events going to eat dinner, I was dead set on just staying home, but after many twists and turns in the day, I did eventually go out to meet my friends there.  I would've been so sad if they went without me anyways.  Perfect day in KC too.  Light breeze, warm temperatures.  Aladdin's is situated in what looks like an old house.  The seating area outside seems like it's the old driveway, with the garage door closed.  The inside first floor is split between the kitchen and a few tables, and the upstairs is small quaint dining area.  Like I said, one of the smallest restaurants.  But we sat outside so you don't feel as cramped.

I would say the food still stands tall with the change of ownership.  BUT, I think Rumi's still had a better menu and food, just small differences, it might just be the memories more than the food.  But the food was still kick-ass.  The kifta was soo good and juicy.  Hummus was smooth and creamy with this really good jalepeno puree.  Pita was inside with a light toast on outside.  The greek salad was made with this housemade dressing, that I think they use cilantro pureed in it too.  It reminded me of this India-n inspired marinade that my Tabagan/Trinidadian friend made me once.  I feel like there's onions, lemons, cilantro mixed in there.  So good.  And a very unique dressing.

They still have rice pudding too!  So good..  but I missed the pistachio they used to add to the top.  Not to be nitpicky.  Stating opinions always make you sound that way.  Hahha.. Still good and sweet.  Wished I had this spoon at the end though.... I could scrape the last bit of it if I did.

Rubber Baby Spoon

Two fer One Tuesdays...

Wow... everyone has this special.  Two for one tacos, pad thai, burgers... the last of which WangJang and I had yesterday at Westport Fleamarket.  So yummy!  No pictures though.  Gotta love cheap burgers and cheap beer.   $2 Magic Hat...

My evaluation of the Fleamarket is that it has some of the best burgers... and not so good fries.  But yesterday the fries were really good... Burger was great.  Topping bar still a little sketch though.  Hahaha... Can't get everything, I guess.