Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Peter has become obsessed with vietnamese iced coffee! He loves it. He has tried every iced coffee that he can get his hands on recently. So today I tried making him some myself!

We went to Lee's Sandwiches to pick up this coffee filter that is traditionally use to make Vietnamese coffee. It was only $3.50! I think that's a pretty good deal. 

I put about 1 tablespoon of coffee grounds into the filter to make about 4 ounces of coffee. I think that was a good ratio, but next time I might run it through the filter an extra time to make it really strong. 

I put about 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk into the glass and filtered the coffee directly into it.

I stirred it up and then poured it over ice.

Peter liked it so I think it was a success!

Juice Detox Day 3

For breakfast today we had our Detox Special, for lunch we had our Beyond Detox, and for dinner we had the Dreamy Detox. Between breakfast and lunch we had to drink the whole H2O detox, which is a liter of water mixed in with a little fruit juice. So we had to make and drink five juices today! It felt like non-stop drinking!

Juice Master's Detox Special

H2O Detox

Beyond Detox

Dreamy Detox

We both felt pretty bad today. I feel like I have a really bad cold, which I think I might actually have at this point. Peter feels like his allergies are a lot worse than usual. By the end of the day we wanted to eat something so badly. I just went to bed early so that I could wake up and eat breakfast. 

I'm proud that we accomplished all three days of this juice detox though! That being said, I don't think we will ever do a detox for this long again. I feel like depriving ourselves just made us want to eat unhealthy foods even more, now that we can. We will keep juicing along with eating foods though and I think we could replace a lunch or breakfast with juices and smoothies in the future. I will definitely be taking off a few days from juices and smoothies though. The thought of drinking one right now is incredibly unappealing.

Juice Detox Day 2

Our second day also had a late start again because Peter had to work really late into the night. I had my hot water with lemon and breakfast smoothie around 10 am and Peter had his around 11:30 am. 

The Super Detox Smoothie wasn't very sweet, in fact it was a little sour. That might just be because the berries aren't in season. I didn't mind though because all of the other juice have been so sweet that I'm ready for a new flavor.

Dreamy Detox

We made lunch at 1:30 pm. Lunch was the Dreamy Detox juice. I thought this one would be gross, but it just tasted like lemonade with ginger in it. I couldn't really even taste the celery, which is good because I hate celery. It was also much more like juice than the other juices have been. There was no avocado in it. This was much more like what we thought we would be having the entire time.

H2O Detox

We felt hungry around 4 pm and that is when we made our H2O Detox or "linner". We definitely felt hungrier today than yesterday, but never felt starving.

Beyond Detox

We made dinner around 7 pm. Peter didn't feel hungry, but I did. He started eating later in the day so I think that's why. I kept his portion in the fridge and drank mine.

As far as detox symptoms go, I felt like I was having some sinus issues last night and today. I read online that that's normal and I did have a sinus infection that I had to get antibiotics for a little under a year ago. So I was thinking that maybe my body was still getting rid of toxins from that time. Peter has felt completely normal, lucky for him! We still feel like this detox is pretty easy to do. As long as you keep yourself busy, then you don't feel hungry or think about food. I miss eating as an activity, but I don't feel like I need to eat to feel full.

Juice Detox Day 1

Reading up on our juice recipes for the next 3 days

We felt so full today! We were so surprised! We could barely fit all of the juice into the day. We had plenty of energy all day and felt pretty much the same as normal. I felt a little shaky before lunch, but I think that was because of the sugar.

Juice Master's Detox Special

The first two juices of the day were the Juice Master's Detox Special and they were very filling. It made two full glasses for each of us. We had to drink half of it and then wait until we were hungry again to drink the rest. The Detox Special was thicker than juice and much more like a smoothie than a juice. I thought it tasted really good! I was expecting to not enjoy andy of the juices, but it was actually yummy. I just had to ignore the taste of the bell pepper. The avocado made it very creamy, but didn't change the flavor.

We had our breakfast at 10 am and made lunch at 3 pm. Once, again we couldn't finish the whole juice at once. We even cut the amount of avocado in half to make it not as filling. I made my "linner" at 6:30 pm because I knew I needed to fit so much more liquid into the day, even thought I wasn't hungry. Linner is like a snack between lunch and dinner. I had to modify mine because I am allergic to pineapple. So I used an orange and 5 strawberries instead. I chose the orange because I thought it would have a lot of juice and be similar to pineapple juice and I chose the strawberries because they have many of the same vitamins and minerals as pineapple.

H2O Detox

The H2O Detox tasted like watered down juice, which is essentially what it is. It was easier to get down than the Detox Special because it wasn't as thick.

Beyond Detox

We made our last juice around 9 pm. For dinner we had the Beyond Detox juice. It was also fairly thick, because of the avocado, and sweet. We couldn't really taste the spinach.

So far it seems to us that this is definitely do-able for anyone. If you are hesitant to try this detox because you think you will be starving, then don't worry! You will be full all day, at least for day 1...

Juice Master 3 Day Detox

This month I moved back in with my parents. Tauri got a new job in Ridgecrest, which is about 3 hours away, so she had to move out there. I'm really glad to be back here because I get to save up some money and work on Les Petites Sweets with my mom. It's also really nice to have my own bathroom (my brother moved to Portland, Oregon the same day I moved back in) and a washer and dryer again.

Peter and I are focusing on getting back into working out regularly. I live really close to the gym we joined and we have the time to go so we don't have any excuses not to! So to kickstart being super healthy we are going to do a juice detox! The one we have chosen in Jason Vale's Juice Master 3 day detox. I bought his recipe book and I'm excited to start. I hope we can make it!

We went shopping today for all of the fruits and veggies that we are going to need for the next 3 days. But first, we tried out some fresh juice and a smoothie at Nekter Juice Bar.

We tried "The Cure" which is a fresh juice.

And the Berry Banana Burst smoothie.

I really liked the smoothie. It tasted like the inside of a Nutrigrain bar. And the juice was good too. It was sweet, but you could also taste the greens in it. 

I'l be back tomorrow with the results of our first day of juicing!

CPK's Kung Pao Spaghetti Copycat Recipe

Peter and I love CPK's Kung Pao Spaghetti so when we found a recipe for it I had to make it. It is spicy, sweet, and delicious! The sauce is really versatile. You can add in any meats or veggies that you like. You can even make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Peter usually has it with shrimp, but I think I would like it with chicken too. 

First things first, we had to gather our ingredients.

I found this thick spaghetti to use instead of regular spaghetti because I like a hearty pasta. I think it makes it more like the one at CPK because they use thick pasta too. 

Peter, being the wonderful person that he is, chopped the garlic for me. 

It is really important to make sure that the pasta is cooked al dente because nobody likes mushy, soggy pasta. That is one thing that we really enjoy about CPK: their pasta is always al dente.

To make the sauce I mixed together the chicken broth, cornstarch, soy sauce, sherry, red chili paste, sugar, red wine vinegar, and sesame oil. The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 3/4 cup soy sauce. The sauce had way too much sesame oil for our taste so to make it taste more like the one at CPK I adjusted the amounts of these ingredients below. It was also too spicy for me so I think the next time I make it I will use less of the chili paste.

The next thing to do is saute the garlic in the oil for about 30-60 seconds.

And add the sauce mixture to the pan with the garlic. If using peanuts (we didn't, but next time will) this is when you would add them.

This is where we started getting excited to eat! Bring the sauce to a boil and then let it cook for about 3-4 minutes.

When it is thickened and darker pour the sauce over the cooked pasta. If you want to add chicken, shrimp, or veggies now is the time. If not, then add the sauce about a third at a time because you might not need to use it all. 

Yum!

You can add the green onions to the cooked sauce or top your pasta with them like we did.

CPK's Kung Pao Spaghetti Copycat Recipe:
1 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons red chili paste with garlic (I would use less, about 1 Tbsp, if you don't like spicy foods, but definitely not eliminate it all together as it would change the taste of the final product)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (can substitute for vegetable, canola, olive, whatever your favorite oil is)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced

Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving this year I made a pumpkin pie out of the pumpkins that Peter and I bought for Halloween. I thought this recipe was really good! Everyone loved the pie. My grandma even liked it and she doesn't like pumpkin pie.

The first thing I had to do was peel the writing off of the pumpkins because I wasn't sure how the ink would do in the oven. It probably isn't healthy to eat pumpkin cooked with sharpie drawings on it.

Then, I chopped, seeded, and baked the pumpkin halves until they were soft and mushy. The best way to do it is to wrap them in foil so they steam in the oven. 

This is my mixing bowl with the butter, whipping cream, brown sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. I used a full cup of brown sugar, a full cup of whipping cream, and 1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cinnamon. I wanted to be able to really taste the spices. 

The pie crust I used was the same one that my mom and I use for our business. 

My pie pre-baking...

And post-baking!

It was pretty sweet so if you would like it not too sweet I would recommend adding half of the brown sugar and then tasting and adjusting after it is mixed. 

Decorating Pumpkins!

Today Peter and I bought and decorated pumpkins!

We went to Trader Joe's to get them because there wasn't a pumpkin patch that was close to my apartment this year :( But we did find sugar pie pumpkins there! So I'm going to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

We also saw these little guys which I think are so cute! So I picked 2 out to decorate with. 

Peter had to get my pumpkin for me because I couldn't reach it.

These are the ones we came home with. We picked 2 sugar pie pumpkins so that I could use them to make pumpkin pie after Halloween, as well as the mini pumpkins. We weren't planning on carving them because I didn't want the mess and Peter wanted to draw on them.

Our masterpieces! Mine is on the left and Peter's is on the right. Mine is more traditional, whereas Peter's is a cat. 

He also drew all the way around his haha. Another fluffy cat and a chubby squirrel. 

CPK with Friends

On Friday, Peter and I went to CPK with some friends for dinner. We hadn't seen them in over a month!

We drove up to Cerritos to meet Nick, Chelsea, and William.

Our original plan was to go to one of our favorite Thai places, Panvimarn, but the wait was 1 hour and 30 minutes! So we decided to wait only 20 minutes at CPK.

Chelsea and I started off with Caribbean Sunset Sangria and the boys had beers. It was in a really big glass! It had a couple a fresh pineapple slices, along with granny smith apple and blueberries, so I thought I might have a allergic reaction. I don't think I did; at least my throat didn't hurt or swell up. 

Peter and I shared Kung Pao Spaghetti, as usual...

and Asparagus and Spinach with Penne. This dish wasn't as good as usual. It was really plain.