Bought a Nespresso machine

Nespresso makes a few different models – I got the Citiz model in the silver chrome colour.

Ta-da. I love it because it’s so tiny and slim – which is a must in my overcrowded kitchen. The platform can be folded up, so that I can get coffee directly into bigger mugs.

What’s special about Nespresso is that the machine makes espressos from these capsules, which carry precompacted espresso powder. There’s no mess and fuss about grinding coffee beans or compacting it into the machine – you just toss in one of these capsules and get fresh espresso within 30 seconds or less. Above is a sample set of capsules that comes with the machine.

You insert a capsule into the hole at the top of the machine and press one of the two buttons (for short or long espressos).

In goes the capsule…

and out comes the espresso

look at that crema s2

Delicious. Most espressos taste pretty good to me – I’m not particularly fussy when it comes to espressos or wine…but some people don’t like espressos from this machine because it tastes artificial. I really can’t tell the difference…tastes awesome to me. lol But I do suggest you taste one before you invest in a machine, if you’re wondering. They’re really good with giving out samples at William Sonoma or at the Nespresso cafe at Queen and Yonge.

I was a little worried about getting metal/plastic taste from the capsules, but apparently these capsules are coated with some oil inside so that the espresso doesn’t touch the capsule directly. Believe it or not, but that’s good enough explanation for me.

After you’ve squeezed all the sweet juices out of the espresso capsule, it drops down into a box within the machine. You just empty this and you’re DONE. So simple.

One thing I don’t like in a espresso is the sourness of less roasted espresso beans – I don’t even like the citrus flavour they put in sometimes. There are more than 10 different flavours, so you can really find one that fits your taste. They give you a written description of each capsule, but that was kind of meaningless to me…you have to try it to know if you like it.

The titles of the espresso is written on the top of each capsule and they are also colour coordinated so that you won’t get confused.

I’ve been using Nespresso for about two weeks now and I LOVE IT. I don’t have to run to a cafe every time I crave iced americano. Brewed coffee is easy to make at home, but if you try to ice it, it gets too diluted. I love to have my coffee iced, even during the winter, so this machine really rocks for me.

I think they have a special package deal for a milk frother jug and the machine together. I don’t particularly like milk in my coffee, so I passed on the deal but the milk frother looked pretty awesome too.

I really insist you go try one today

Can’t believe it’s 2011 already.

I’ve come a long way in my graduate program, and finally completed our first computer artwork!

Title: Motility of Shigella using actin polymerization

Media: Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Illustrator CS5

The program is really not demanding too much of my time yet, but I’m still going to use it as an excuse for not updating my blog too regularly.

More pictures coming up soon =)

Almost halfway through my first year of graduate school, the traditional art part of the program is finally complete.

The line art component came natually to me, but carbon dust was hell =( Thanks to alot of help from Dave, my classmates and Cheryl unni, I’ve pulled together this…

One thing I’ve learned. You give your carbon dust 120% of what you got, because the scanner is gonna reduce its quality to 110%, then illustrator will reduce it to 100%.

Then we had to pull together a final piece using both methods.

…In my defense, we had like four days to do this entire project.

I really should start signing my work, but I don’t have a half decent looking signature…will gladly take suggestions

Well I’m glad that’s done…Now to endless vectorful nights of illustrator and mindless scratching of the tablet in photoshop.

The weather has been awfully depressing for the last couple of days in Toronto. 

Rainy & chilly at night, humid & warm during the day.

I wanted to make a special treat to lift up the mood, so I dug up a recipe for “Oven-baked spicy seafood & rice cake in butternut squash.” Long name for a rather simple dish =)

Thanks to Halloween, or autumn, there are plenty of assorted pumpkins in any grocery store these days. Some are rather scary looking and inedible, but butternut squash is very sweet and tasty – filled with nutrients too.

Here’s what we had for dinner.

Inside, it’s filled with seafood, vegetables, rice cakes, and topped with mozzarella cheese.

It takes really long to cook the pumpkin, so I just popped it in the microwave for 10 minutes. Then you can carve the top off really easily, and scoop away the seeds & fillings.

The seafood and veggies (anything you like, really) are cooked separately, with spicy & sweet korean sauce. You could substitute with tomato sauce, and make it a more italian dish. Fill up the pumpkin with the seafood mix and sprinkle lots of mozzarella cheese on top, and broil it in the oven just until the cheese melts.

Not so bad, right?

It’s pretty loud outside because of nuit blanche right now, I don’t get why people need to get drunk for art exhibits. I’m too old to wait in line in the freezing cold so…staying indoors tonight.

Hellooo, it’s been so long since my last entry =)

I’ve been off to Korea for a month and a bit, then I had alot of work relating to a research paper I’ve been asked to illustrate for.

I have been making alot of new jewellery too; those will be updated shortly =)

I’ve been craving red velvet cake so dearly for a while, and the only good one around town is the $5 cupcake at Mb & Co. on Yorkville, which is rather pricey =S

So here’s my attempt – it was rather good!

tres tres rouge, non?

The rich red colour of red velvet cake originates from the colour created when cocoa powder was mixed with vinegar. These days, its only mimiced by red food colouring…but it’s still delicious nontheless!

There’s really not that much food colouring that goes in, as you can see from the batch before baking

then it turns bright red after 25 mins in the oven

Yay =) I was a bit worried because the recipe doesn’t call for whipped egg whites or baking powder, but it turned out so fluffy! Must be the baking soda + buttermilk combo.

I’ve mixed and matched several different recipes, but mainly followed along with this one from joyofbaking:

http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCupcakes.html

The frosting with the mascapone cheese was so yummy, but I think you can substitute with cream cheese…I love mascapone cheese though =) I only frosted half the batch cause I wasn’t sure how people would like the sweet cheesy frosting.

It’s really not too hard to make as long as you’re willing to shop for the ingredients, and I’ve sent them off to a couple friends and they’ve all said they were delicious! So try a batch today =)

Yum I’m drooling over the pictures again…Sweet desserts are my weakness. lol

Also, My family got a year old maltese! she’s such a cutie, altho not very potty trained =S Sadly I had to leave her in Korea, and now I’m chasing after every single tiny dogs around town..lol beware

Her name is Mandoo, which means dumpling in Korean. It was the name the original owner gave her, and I think it suits her the best lol

Anyway, check back later for more jewellery!

Photo credits to Colette Leung.

To celebrate our graduation, my friends and I went to Varadero, Cuba for a week.

Long story short, there was alot of alcohol, chicken and potatoes, relaxing, heat and humidity.

Here are my ten favourite things about Cuba:

1. The booooooze

There was so much alcohol everywhere we went…Being Korean, I can’t have enough of it 

2. The resort

I can’t speak so much for the other hotels, but the resort we stayed at was Superb! The staff was friendly, the rooms were super tidy and it was so beautiful everywhere.

3. The beaches

Beaches! That’s what we go to Cuba for, right?

They were clean, blue-green, and very salty.

4. The architecture

There were not many buildings in Varadero other than the hotels, but we saw some beautiful buildings when we went out to Havana.

5. All-you-can-eat restaurant service

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that the food was good. I had chicken and potatoes every meal at the hotel because that was the only thing that tasted like anything. But having lived by myself for so long, I’ll miss the prepared food and dishwashing free days.

6. Cool cars

Cars in Cuba look awesome. period.

7. The booze

oh wait…did I mention this already?

lol. it deserves repeat.

8. All the cute/interesting animals

All these animals walk in the streets of Cuba, everywhere.

It was kinda interesting since the only animals we come across in Toronto are pigeons…

9. Cheap lobsters

It wasn’t the best lobster I’ve ever had, but I love lobsters and it was the price of chicken in Toronto.

10. The people

The people in the streets were rather hard to adjust to but the hotel staff, the tour guides and servers at restaurants were very friendly and helpful. We are paying for the service, yes, but these are the people who can completely change the vacation so I’m really greatful that I met alot of wonderful people.

And good friends make it unforgettable 

What the @(*$^(!&#@^ is wrong with the weather?

I was so sure that it was summer, and now this… You need to take out your parka if you walk outside late at night =S.

Yesterday I walked to Guu, which is some amazing Japanese bar that I’ve been hearing good things about. I almost froze to death… plus the wait was over an hour. People, don’t go on Friday or Saturday evenings…ended up going to Just Desserts for a martini instead.

Anyway, before the weather became like this, I went on a culinary adventure to a Ethiopian restaurant on Yonge, near Wellesley.

The lights are quite..interesting inside. Dim, yet very strong red, blue, and yellow lights cast colourful shadows on the food. Not really sure why, it’s not such an appetizing colour…

Other than the fact that it was Ethiopian food, the reason why this was an adventure was because…

There are NO CUTLERY…I’ve heard about this place that allows you to eat with your hands right in downtown toronto and kinda doubted it, but really, no spoon, no fork, no nothing. I think it said that they won’t give you cutlery even if you ask for it on the menu.

We ordered some random food on the menu, and the server probably read the confused looks on our faces. She asked us if it was our first time, and suggested some dishes for us. lol.

Here is the result…

It was kinda like a sampler plate of all the popular items in the menu. The dish is really really huge.

It was hard to get used to the spices, they are quite strong. I guess you could grow an appetite for them. But it’s definitely not for everyone. If you tried and loved Indonesian food, you could give this a try.

It comes with these sheets of…forget what it’s called. You rip off pieces of this and use it to pick up the food. We observed and learned while waiting for the food to come.

Like Zis! yea…doesn’t look very appetizing with that light…

The taste? Well the bread thing looks chewy and tasty like crepe, right? Well it’s not. It doesn’t have much of a taste, it tastes like it’s empty of nutrients or ingredients. And It was steamed, so it kinda has no texture to it as well.

But…it’s worth an experience – eating something other than fries with your fingers. You always see it on tv, right. To warn you, earing with your fingers is one thing – but watching someone else scrape things off the plate with their hands is another lol. I wouldn’t take your honey here for your first date 

Wow it ended up being a very long story…

I was gonna post about a new nail polish shade, but I guess it’ll wait until next time.

Good luck to anyone still wrapping up exams =D!

Summer weather is finally here in Toronto!

I’ve been having fun with nautical summer themes on my nails to get me in spirit =)

Navy stripes that you can see everywhere, on everything these days.

They’ve been a great complement to the marine looks I’ve been sporting these days.

I used thin french tips to make the pattern and painted over it with navy, but if you are doing these on someone else’s hands or if you have really sturdy left hand, you could probably use a thin nail pen to draw on the stripes and save some time.

Here are the colours I used

Sally Hanson complete salon manicure in 410 lavender cloud (which is basically white) and Revlon nail polish in 791 midnight affair.

I wore this deep light blue shade when I went to Varadero, which really popped against the white sand

I added the anchor with Swarovski crystals just to add some sparkle =)

I think one of my favourite things about summer is that you’re much more able to accesorize your outfits.

Throw on some casual shorts, a plain t-shirt and do something crazy with your nails or throw on some statement-making jewellery, and get outside!

The weather’s gone craaaazy

it was so cold today =( I put away alot of my winter boots…and now I regret it.

I was so tired after a day of walking around in the feels-like-negative-five degrees weather all day, but Barm brought me a box of colourful macarons from Moroco chocolat which totally lifted my spirits =)

I’ve always wanted to try macarons, and never really got a chance to try a proper one.

I love how it comes in such lovely pastel colours.

I tried to open one in half, but the shell is so crunchy and delicate that it kinda shattered..there’s a really sweet and creamy filling inside.

By the look of the tiny black dots, I’m assuming this one is vanilla bean.

It’s too sweet to notice subtle flavours like vanilla.

The lime one was definitely sweet and tangy like lime.

I think most people in North America are more familiar with macaroons, which are the chewy coconut cookie/candy things that the “two-bite” company makes.

I didn’t know, but taking out a “o” in macaroon gives you this cute and colourful treat macaron. It’s even sweeter than macaroons, so I would only offer this to people with a sweet tooth, but when you’re craving sugar, or a boost in energy, this is the perfect pick-me-up that’s light yet devil-sweet.

Moroco chocolat is on Yorkville st., they specialize in chocolate desserts but I think they have a pretty big macaron selection as well. If you’re in the mood for something sugary, I suggest you give it a try 

The things that you need to avoid the most when you’re trying to lose weight:

carbs, bad fat, sugar.

Fat and sugar I try to avoid, but carbs is one thing that I crave too much…

Once in a while, I need to have my pasta.

These days, I’m totally into alio e olio, which is a reaaally simple to make and delicious dish. All that goes in it is olive oil, minced garlic, and pepper flakes.

Here’s three very easy steps to prepare it!

First, boil lotsa water in a pot and add salt to bring the boiling temp up. Add any type of pasta you like. I like to use fettucini for alio e olio, I dunno why.

Pasta takes around 8 minutes in boiling water to cook. Remember to boil lots of water so that putting the pasta in doesn’t bring down the temperature of the water.

After 5 minutes, start on the oil.

Add olive oil, a spoon of minced garlic, and a bit of chili pepper flake (if you don’t like spicy food, skip the chili pepper).

Cook it for the 3 minutes left while the pasta boils at medium temperature.

Don’t forget that you’re cooking with olive oil – the temperature shouldn’t be too high. The temperature should be just high enough for the oil to bubble around the garlic.

After the pasta is done, drain it and add it into the oil.

Coat the pasta well with oil.

That’s it! How simple is that.

Sprinkle it generously with Parmesan cheese. The cheese is the only thing that will season the sauce, so add as much as you want, to your liking.

It’s good to make when you don’t really have any ingredients at home…but it’s pretty tasty too!

Bon appetite =)