Celebrate the Good Times

As I alluded to in my last post, work is going very well right now. Which is such a welcome change from the previous few months. Working at a start-up has many, many advantages to it. We're flexible, we're innovative, our schedule and daily tasks are constantly changing so we're always on our toes. We're scrappy and we're risk takers. But it has a few downsides. Sometimes it's stressful. We are small, but our goals are big. That often translates into working loooong hours without much thanks (or compensation!). But that's okay. It's what I signed up for.

So yesterday I officially took a new position in work. It was a good day. A celebration of sorts was therefore necessary. And thanks to a bottle of wine I was gifted, I decided it was going to translate into a home cooked meal.

It was amazing. I haven't been cooking much, and getting back in the kitchen after a few weeks of snacking and "making do," it felt great. It also provided the perfect opportunity to try out SooFoo. I had picked this up, on impulse, at Whole Foods a few weeks ago and I've been wanting to try it since.

Soo Fooing Good

Check out the ingredient list: barley, black lentils, brown lentils, buckwheat, green lentils, long grain brown rice, oats, rye berries and wheat berries. Day-um! It cooks up like brown rice and if you visit the website, there are many great ways you can jazz it up. Next time I think I'll add some mushrooms and onions :) This time, I just cooked with some chicken stock for added flavor. Highly recommended.

And then there was the star of the show. Ribeye steaks. Cooked medium rare. Kind of on the rare side. Kind of delicious. I always get nervous grilling on my own, but I must say, I think I nailed it! You may refer to me here on out as the "Grill Master."

The path to my heart? Ribeyes...

I roasted up a few brussel sprouts and bam - dinner was served!

Success, I has it.

My friends and I gobbled it all up. I think SooFoo is going to become a staple of mine. It's nutritious, flavorful, and has a texture like rice/pilaf/cooked grain but a little crunchy too. I can't wait to make it again and experiment a little.

What's your favorite way to celebrate good news?

Case of the (Anti) Mondays

Yesterday was a good day. I've got to tell you ladies and gents, May has been a good month so far.

My baby turned a month older. (I know, but it's like the equivalent of a year for a dog! It's a big deal...)

Bunny Love

And I got a new position/promotion at work. I'm extremely happy about this (duh). And while I will probably be working a considerable amount more, I'll do so happily.

So when things are going swimmingly, it's nice to top off with a cocktail. Especially when work is within walking distance of one of my favorite restaurant/bars EVA.

Some may call it hipster heaven, but I don't care.  The food and drinks are amazing. The service, although slow at times (I'm looking at you - lunch!), is personable and above par. And the people watching? Priceless. 

Anything with mustard cannot be bad.

Mini-corn dogs? Don't mind if I do! There were lots of other bites, but I wasn't in picture mode. If you do go, you MUST order the mussels. They are heaven. Habanero-infused heaven. I'm dying just thinking of them. Also, if you order them you MUST allow the accompanying fries to soak up all the brothy buttery goodness in the bowl. I'm serious.

Here are a few snapshots of the interior. Seriously guys, this place is tragically hip. The inside is reminiscent of a cabin. With lots of books. Books everywhere, in fact.

A bibliophile's dream.

 I especially love the brick walls.

Demand (less)!

For a place that gets pretty crowded, it's amazing how intimate the atmosphere remains. I think it's one of those places that is equally appropriate for a romantic night out OR a large group. I'll take both :)

Shabu Shabu For the Win

Shabu Shabu is one of those cuisines I have wanted to try for a long time. There is actually a sushi place in La Jolla, right by my house that does it. Unfortunately, it is extremely expensive. So when the President of my company, George, said that he and his family do it at home for all his family parties/events my ears perked up instantly. Apparently, so did the rest of my co-workers...because our Quarterly Meeting was promptly scheduled to take place at his house. YESSS!

Fast forward a few weeks, and I'm on my way to the O.C. (I may or may not have been singing a certain theme song whilst traveling up the 5) for our quarterly meeting and SHABU SHABU! It was a beautiful day, and I loooove driving along the highway with the ocean on my left. So pretty.

The meeting was good. Lots of projections, goals and analysis. Feeling pumped about the next few months. But really, let's get to the heavy stuff.

Shabu Shabu!

George and his wife Alice went beyond anything I might have expected. They mean business. Seriously. They purchased their own meat slicer so that they could slice the steak to the appropriate thinness. These people do not mess around.

Take a look at the spread.

Just Another Friday Work Lunch...

Those silver pots? Individual burners and pots for everyone. Yes.  They have purchased not only their own industrial meat slicer, but they have an army of burners and pots.

For those of you not in the know, Shabu Shabu is Japanese cuisine made up of very thinly sliced beef (usually ribeye) that is dipped into boiling water that is flavored with veggies and other spices. A quick "swish swish" and you remove the now cooked beef, dip it into some ponzu sauce and voila! You can also do this with various fish and other meats. Veggies are good too.

Everyone had their own platter. From left to right: shrimp, fish balls and sliced ribeye.

It's sliced very thin. But don't be fooled - there is a lot of meat here!

Uncooked. But not for long...

The shrimp were ENORMOUS!

Veggies for our pots.

In the mix: mushrooms, corn, carrots, cabbage.

George was an excellent host. Walking around the table and instructing us all on how to proceed. He also filled our cups with cold sake :)

It's delicious AND fun to eat

George's kids, Justin and Serena joined in on the fun. These kids are experts! They wasted no time...

Ain't no thang. 

Me however, not so much....

I'm concentrating very hard here.

The meat cooks almost instantly. The shrimp I let stew for about two minutes/until it turned nice and pink.

Taking the plunge!

A "swish swish" later.

Into the ponzu! (Ponzu was flavored with green onions, tons of garlic and sesame sauce....drool)

We quenched our thirst with some chilled sake. The added raspberry was amazing! It took the bite off the sake and made it go down incredibly smooth. I think I'm going to steal this idea...

So refreshing

After we had filled out bellies with all the fixins',  George instructed us to save at least one piece of meat for the "soup." SO GLAD I DID. The soup is basically the broth that you have been cooking the meat in. I had left a fishball in the broth the entire time to give the broth a nice flavor. That, and some of the leftover veggies that I hadn't already eaten were added to the bowl. It was amazing.

Slurp!

The damage.

And as if we weren't spoiled enough. George whipped out the Vitamix and made us all fresh sorbet.

Strawberry, mango and pineapple.

I am happy to say that this was easily one of the best meals I have ever had. It was surprisingly incredibly light. It was not surprisingly incredibly satisfying.

I think I'm going to have to fork out the dolla bills (yo) and make my way to some Shabu Shabu in La Jolla afterall...

Happy team

Thank you George and Alice for spoiling us so! It was amazing!