I Got Nominated Again :)

I feel the love. 

I've been nominated again for a Liebster Award from the awesome Yen of Green House on Top of the Hill... Thanks to the award, I found out she's a SoCal girl :) GIRL COME HOME!

Since I did one before, and if you forgot or want read about me, click here.

But being cool me (har har), I'm gonna answer Yen's questions, because I just love to.

1. What is your current top 5 favorite songs at the moment?
Gosh, this is hard. But let's say... Fix You - Coldplay; Oath - Cher Lloyd; Home - Phillip Phillips; The A Team - Ed Sheeran; In My Place - Coldplay
2. Why did you start a blog?
Hahaha... I love to express my feelings. I'm not good with verbal words, but good in writing them out. I'd rather make a long ass note and give it to the person and leave instead of talking in person. I think it's the fear of me facing the actual moment and emotions that might happen. Anyways, I love ranting and sharing my thoughts, so I've been blogging since 2001, back in the xanga days.
3. If you cook, what is your favorite go to dish to make?
I would say Pasta. Easy!
4. What is your favorite holiday and why?
New Years... Starting over again. Starting my diet over again. Starting new feelings and emotions again. PARTAAAAAAAY
5. What foods do you hate and why?
I hate ginger. They just taste nasty in my mouth. And raw onions. GROSS. 
6. If you could have any profession in the world, what would you want to be?
A Baker. I love creating food. I can spend hours in the kitchen. Now if only I have a new mixer and a bigger kitchen, and have no debts, then we're talkin ;)
7. List 5 weird habits you have.

• When I'm excited/nervous/stressed, I rub my face, a lot. I think it's the eczema.
• I talk to myself like I'm talking to a BFF, all the time
• I could zone out for like 10 minutes straight
• I can stare at my face in front of the mirror, looking for unwanted hair/zit, for 1 hour. True story.
• I crack my knuckles, neck and back every morning.

8. Coffee or Tea?
I'm a Coffee Person at work. But when I'm out and about, Ice Tea. Yum.
9. Current book you're reading?
Baked; Flour Water Salt Yeast; Mainly Baking Books hahahaha
10. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
I'll be 33 by then... I would love to be married by then, hopefully being in school or finishing Pastry School. And work part time at a favorite hospital.
11. Do you like the city/town you're currently living in?
Currently I live in Rancho Cucamonga, California. I've been here for the past 11 years. I've seen it grown from a quite suburbs to a pretty prestigious and busy one. It's one of the best areas in the Inland Empire. Pretty cool. Most of my family (from both sides) are a drive away and it's awesome. NOW, let's talk about my boyfriend's area. Newport Beach. Well, pretty much Orange County. I have a secret place in my heart for that place. It's special.

Thanks Yen :)))))))

Rima

Me, Myself & I

Time to get to know me better via,


1. What is your favorite season?

Spring. Why? Flowers. Pretty weather. Green trees. Blue skies and White fluffy flowers. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect weather for a pair of shorts, flip-flops and your favorite t-shirt, with a nice ice coffee latte in one hand while walking your dog. AND, it's my birthday season. Haha... 

2. Talk about a moment that changed your life.

This may sound UBER CHEESY, but probably the day that Rob asked if he can kiss me. It was very random. Back of my head, I was like, "uh this can be awkward but hell, why not? I've been single for a long time and I may lose my kissing skills." We were in his car, he was dropping me off from the beach where we spent the afternoon with our youth group. I tagged along with him because my house was on the way. Funny thing was we spent the whole afternoon catching up with our lives (we've been friends for awhile, via church, and he left our church cuz he was seeing someone outside our church... then he broke up and came back to our church, since most of his family go to our church). Then that sorta sweet yet awkward moment happen. Funny thing was we both said that kiss was just a kiss and we both hope that it won't turn our friendship into awkwardness. I dance with Chimmy that night in my room. Then the next day, we had our first date, watching Iron Man. From there on, the rest was history. My life wouldn't be the same without him. Now you can throw cheese at me.

3. If you could be any crayola crayon color, what would you be and why?

Turquoise Blue! Just because it's my favorite color. It reminds me of mermaids.

4. Describe yourself as a superhero: Superpower? Name? Sidekick?

I would be Moonlight Lady. My superpower would be invisibility and being able to time travel. My sidekick would be a small fluffy bunny who sits on top of my shoulder, but will transfer into a mean bear when we need to fight.

5. If you had all the money in the world and could only shop at 3 stores, where would you shop?

Anthropologie. Target. Homegoods.

Anthropologie, because they're super expensive but I love their clothing and their kitchen wear. Their pajamas are sooo comfy. Target, because well duh Target. You have EVERYTHING in that store. Homegoods, because I just love finding good deals for my kitchen stuffs... Have all the money in the world and still getting good deals? Why not?

Join the link up. It's pretty fun. They do it monthly :)

moonbeams,

Rima

Reminiscing Wednesday

The first time I saw this movie, I was in love. In love with the cinematography, in love with the characters, in love with its colors, in love with its story line, in love with its soundtrack. 

There's this one particular scene that I love dearly. At one point in life, I wanted to reenact that scene with my boyfriend. I believe the first time I saw this movie, I was still with Jerk Boyfriend. So this could be between the year 2003 - 2005. I can't remember. All I remember was my feelings when I saw this movie for the first time. 

Prior to watching this movie, I've never had interest in it. One, it was in a foreign language. Two, why is the character on the poster so pale? Three, my parents seen it before me on HBO and thought it was weird because they didn't get it.

Being a hopelessly romantic girl, later on, I gave this movie a try. And I feel in love. I bought the DVD. The more I watch the movie, the more I feel in love with it. AND the more I get the story line. The story line makes more sense the more I watch it. I even purchased the soundtrack. I love listening to the soundtrack, especially when I'm driving or even baking. 

Hell, the movie made me learn how to make Creme Brûlée. 

Now you're wondering WTH movie I'm talking about.

Food Time: Chocolate Carrot Beet Pulp Bread (and Playing Nurse)

And I know you guys are thinking... JUICE PULP? You're not the only one. Mother thought the same thing... like, "Rima... Seriously?"

As you may know, I've been juicing lately... For the past 2 months, even though it's off and on. I love the way the juices (esp the Green Juice) make me feel. I feel rejuvenated and there's that boost of energy. What sucks is that I waste all the pulps, you know, where all the fibers are.

A couple of days ago, I took care of a Cancer patient. She had stage 4 Colon Cancer. What amazed me was her energy. She had this ball of vibrant energy that you rarely see in a stage 4 cancer patient. She had a percutaneous nephrostomy tube that we had to exchange because of the low output (it's a tube that is placed in the kidneys to drain urine because of obstructions that blocks the urine to your bladder). Her energy was contagious. As we were finishing up her procedure, my doctor gave her some good news... the output to her tube is low because her tumor is shrinking, thanks to her treatment. The look on her face was awe-ing. She was full smile and was so thankful to us and to God. 

Then I dropped her off to her room and we chit-chatted on the way. She said she juices. I told her the same. Homegirl said she juices and bakes the pulp because she doesn't like to see food go to waste. I've heard about this before but never attempted to do so. 

When I got home, I did some research and came up with this recipe. I made it this past Saturday with the thought of that patient I took care off. I drank the juice (it was Beet, Carrot, Apple and Cucumber) and saved the pulp to make this bread. 

Ms. Super Energy, this one is for you. Girl, the bread turned out super moist and yummy. Awesome for breakfast.

You don't need a mixer for this. Just a whisk, a spatula and some muscles. 

Chocolate Carrot Beet Pulp Bread

makes 1 bread. Yum.

What you need:

• 1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder
• 1 3/4 cups of All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp powdered Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 3/4 cups packed Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Apple Sauce
• 1 Ripe Banana, mashed
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup of Juice Pulp
• 1 cup of toasted nuts (I love Almonds) - optional

Heat Yo Oven @ 350F. Spray a 9x5x3 loaf pan with Baking Pam or do the old fashion way by greasing it with butter/margarine and dust with flour. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined, set aside. If your nuts are raw, toast them in the oven for 10 minutes and let it cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and oil. Add apple sauce and mashed banana and mix to combine. Then mix in the Juice Pulp until combined evenly.

Fold in the dry ingredients in to the wet one, do not overmix. Fold in 1/2 cup of the nuts (if using)

Pour in batter in to loaf pan and sprinkle the top with the rest of the 1/2 cup of nuts, if using.

Bake for at least 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Meanwhile take pictures of your dog posing, waiting to play with you.

Once out, let the bread cool in the pan on top of a cooling rack for 10 - 15 minutes. Reverse to let the bread out, cut and enjoy.

Definitely the texture is dense, let's say comparing with Banana Bread. The cool thing is that you can't taste the beet, carrots nor cucumber. They make the bread moist. Mm, gosh I love moist breads. 

Thanks to Ms. Super Energy for inspiring me to make this bread.

If you decide to give it a try, let me know. I'm curious how this bread would go if the pulps had like kale or spinach. Gah. Sounds gory though.