Category: food

Dove

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

A little Dove chocolate told me to enjoy the small things in life.

This is a stage in my life that I need the small things.

With the stress of school, sports, and a social life, it’s the little moments that make it all worth it.

They happen here and there, but today for instance it rained.

The rain brings me great happiness. It cleanses the ground, but it makes everything clean and new.

Flowers bloom, and otherwise dusty hills become rolling green hills.

This is the entrance into spring that we have been waiting for.

The past few weeks have brought a lot of stress to an already stressful life.

One would think that having a single mother with multiple incurable diseases would cause stress.

Having her go to the hospital unexpectedly would seem to cause stress, but that is my life.

This is who I am, this is how my family works.

I can accept that my mother is sick and I can find happiness in the fact that she always comes home, although sometimes not without a fight, she has managed to make it back every time.

On this Easter Sunday I ask you to consider this.

I don’t care what your beliefs are, or if you don’t believe, but there is something on this Earth and beyond that has kept my mother here.

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The Better Food.

eternity1030Leave a comment

Recently, one of my American friends asked me about my perspective of the food differences between Chinese and American food. Well, it’s hard to say which is better but there are lots of differences. But since I am a Chinese, I would of course prefer mine.

Gourmets will like Chinese food more than American food even by only looking at the it. Chinese chefs put a lot of efforts to make their food look beautiful. Since the ancient times, Chinese people have considered food as an individual type of art. Food is usually made colorfully and sometimes is made into the shape of animals, such as a dragon or a phoenix. Great dishes do not only have taste, but also have gorgeous embellishments. On the other hand, American food also has its own style of appearance. For both casual dining and fine dining, American food is often layed in the plates in a simple and clear way. Food eaters do not usually get a large amount of embellishments other than small pieces of fruits or vegetables.

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What was that song?

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

The other day at our morning meeting I was approached by my teacher Mr. Alvarez who is also known to you readers as “The Brown Guy.”

He said, “Keaton I need to talk to you after the meeting,”

Immediately I thought oh crap what have I done now, but I hadn’t done anything.

It was a proposition, an idea that could change the face of the Ojai Valley School. It is nothing as substantial as the newly founded Mac N Cheeseburger, might I add AMAAAAAAZIIIIING, but that is beside the point.

It had bacon on it

Back on topic.

Mr. A wanted to perform a song with myself and John aka backinphilly.

He can play alto sax and the song had alto sax in it, but he didn’t know what the song was called.

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Oh, They Don’t Grow On Trees!

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Someone asked me “Hey, do you know where do pineapples grow?” I said “Of course I do, they grow on pineapple trees!” He laughed at my response and said “No! They grow on parent plants that look like pines on the ground!” For the 18 years I have lived, this is the first time I got to know, “Oh, they don’t grow on trees!”

The origin of the fruit is from the area between Southern Brazil and Paraguay. After the natives of Brazil and Paraguay spread the fruit, pineapples reached the Caribbean eventually. In 1493, Columbus found out about pineapple and then the Spanish also spread pineapple into Philippines and Hawaii.

Pineapples are called pineapples because the body of a pineapple on its parent plant looks like a huge pine cone. People got confused with the pine cones and the fruit, as a result, the name of pineapple has been created.

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Lantern Festival.

eternity10302 Comments

Tomorrow is the Chinese Lantern Festival, which is also regarded as the last day of Chinese new year, and also my favorite Chinese Festival.

It is the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao.

When I was young, the only thing I did on this special day was wait for my uncle, because he would visit me and bring me a lantern. I love lanterns! Each year I got a different one, and they usually depend on the theme of the year, such as the Chinese Zodiac.

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Sleepless San Francisco.

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Last week for our English 11 Honors class, Mrs. Wilson asked us to write a personal essay about the site we wanna live. And all of the sudden San Francisco came out of my mind. I’ve been there only once, but I just couldn’t help myself thinking about it all the time. I want to live there.

Sleepless San Francisco

There is a place that I would love to leave my heart there without hesitation. My sleepless San Francisco would be the dream I want to keep even when I am awake.

Located on a peninsula between the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean, San Francisco has its own definition of city – compact, busy, but scenic and comfortable as well. I would first arrive into San Francisco from the north via the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, the place for a good start. I would be the first one to watch the born of sun, and enjoy the amazement of the golden sunshine.

Then my journey would start. When there came the noisy bells, the yellow cable cars would be on their way heading to me. I would choose to stand on the edge of the car and hold on to the handrail. “Ding-dong, ding-dong” – as the car drove, my hair would swing with the wind and the views would greet me as I passed by. Built on several hills, the roads are steep but also well-organized in a grid. The most exciting moment would be the downhill part, where I could experience a gentle roller-coaster.

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Peppermint

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

I’ve a great, and unquenchable love for peppermint.

As a kid, I’d always grab the green and black swirly dinner mints at restaurants, a classmate having told me the red and white ones would make my eyes bleed.

But one fateful night, I accidentally ate one and thus, I was introduced to the wonderful world that is peppermint.

It became quite a problem around Christmas.

My mom would always buy twelve or twenty-four packs of candy canes to hang on the tree.

I believe my sisters were rather peeved when I ate most of them before we could decorate each year.

When I was seven, I got a candy cane corn snake.

And guess what I named her…

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The Happiest Place on Earth

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

So, much like a fellow writer, I too took a trip to Disneyland this past weekend.

It has been about a year since I had been to Disneyland, and I was glad I got the chance to go.

We left Ojai early in the morning in the pouring rain.

When we got to Disneyland it was cloudy, but not quite cold enough to wear a jacket around so I ended up carrying mine most of the day.

I spent the whole day hoping it would get cold so that I could put on my jacket and stop holding it.

So when we got the park I was with two very close friends of mine, Sarah and Cameron.

We took this trip to celebrate Sarah’s mother’s birthday.

When we got the the park her parents split off from us and another friend met us at the park.

We walked around for a bit and then Gavin, Sarah’s brother, met us to surprise his mom for her birthday.

The surprise ended up working perfectly.

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Random Disney Trip

backinphillyLeave a comment

As I write this, we are about to leave for a day long trip to Disney. These past couple days away from school have been filled with excitement, heartbreak but most of all, FOOD!

Yesterday we found a place in La Jolla that advertises the sale of a cheesesteak. Before yesterday, the only place I was getting cheesesteaks from in this town was Jersey Mike’s and Philly station. Both of which are somewhat subpar.

Yesterday, the restaurant had the ingredients that we were waiting for.

Amoroso’s rolls? Check!

Provolone and Cheez Whiz? Check!

Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer? Check!

Every thing was falling into place. That was until we found out that the cheesesteaks were made with roast beef.

Now I’m not going to sit here and pretend to have any idea what kind of meat goes into a classic Philly cheesesteak, but it ain’t roast beef. Something about the taste just wasn’t right. We quickly recognized that the meat ruined the sandwich.

But I wanna mention one massive heartbreak from today. The Eagles, once again, lost.

At this point, I’m not surprised. I’m just annoyed and pissed off. I’m disappointed. It was hard to watch my team fall so pathetically. But I digress. We move on. That’s the Philly way.

Well, hopefully Mickey Mouse and all that crap will help me feel better. I’m going to spend tomorrow in Disneyland with my family and my girlfriend.

I hope nothing goes wrong. What could possibly, right?

Kentfield

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

I was born in San Francisco, CA., but I grew up in a little town about 30 minutes outside of the city. Kentfield, the little town that absolutely no one has heard of.

Kentfield borders Ross, which is another – slightly bigger – town in Marin. Our street in particular connected, beginning at a market in Kentfield, and ending at the Ross school. Kent Ave., if anyone lives near there.

As a family, we knew every inch of that street. So often we would climb on our bikes and go to the park, where we would sit, play with the dogs, or climb the play structure. That’s where I first learned to ride a bike without training wheels.

Another of our favorite destinations was Marche aux Fleurs, a small French restaurant situated comfortably in a petite plaza, with a deck looking out. We went there so many times, that I got tired of spaghetti with butter and parmesan.

Who knew you could ever get tired of that?

One time at Christmas, we went for dinner, and I ordered a steak. I can’t remember what cut it was, or what delectable sauce they listed on the menu, but my god it was good. Every time we went back I would ask the owner about it. Sadly, it was a one time thing.

Then there was Woodlands Market. If you are ever in Marin, please please please make sure you go there. You will never find a better place to shop for food, I promise you.

Woodlands was also my favorite deli. Every so often we would go get a sandwich. I would immediately unwrap it, looking for the square of chocolate enclosed in the parchment paper.

On Saturday mornings, my brothers and I would plead with my dad, begging him to treat us to a breakfast of mickey mouse pancakes at the nearby Willie’s Cafe.

I hold so many memories from growing up in Kentfield. Some small, others more significant to me. I haven’t been back since we moved away, and over time I have lost the desire to. I want that small California town to remain exactly as remember it, not as the disappointment it may be if we were to visit.