Monthly Archives: November 2008

Pacifica Pier

So one of our friends has been telling us about crabbing off of Pacifica Pier so he planned a trip this weekend and we decided to check it out. We went out there at 10:30pm expecting high tide at 1:30am where the catch would be better.

He brought all the equipment we needed while we just brought some snacks. The crab net has two hoops with netting and then a really long rope. They zip tied some raw turkey necks to the bottom of the net to attract the crabs.

You throw the net in like a big frisbee:

Then you wait…

Something to ponder while we waited…

Our first catch was an inch wide crab which we had to throw back.

It was cold and windy. The waves were crashing hard against the pier. At times the pier shook like we were in the middle of an earthquake. But in the picture, it looks so peaceful.

Luckily our friend had a portable heater which some of us crowded around for warmth.

Another catch was this 3-4″ crab missing one claw. Apparently you have to throw back crabs with only one claw and if they’re smaller than about 5″.

The last catch was another small 1″ crab which had to go back. Ron got a free crabbing net out of it though. Another group had called it quits because their net got caught around one of the pillars. After the waves crashed around it and Ron playing with the rope, it got free with the little crab on it.

We called it quits at 4:30am as the water wasn’t calming down and we weren’t having much luck. We got back around 5am and went right to sleep.

My sleep schedule is a bit out of wack now. We just came back from a shopping spree at Costco and now we’re all stocked again with food.

Plus I got myself some more Philz Coffee. I bought a 1/2 lb of their Jacob’s Wonderbar Brew and a 1/2 lb of their new dark roast Red Sea. Can’t wait to try it out… guess it’ll be tomorrow for work…

Day After Thanksgiving Shopping

So I wasn’t brave enough to do the full Black Friday shopping after our experience two years ago. We went with Ron’s family to the Gilroy Outlets at midnight and waited in line outside in the cold to get into Banana Republic. The whole outlet mall was packed and it was very hard to find parking. We weren’t dressed warmly enough and we weren’t expecting as many people as there were. Just not an overall good shopping experience.

So instead I just went to Mervyn’s nearby our apartment to check out their going out of business sale. I was lucky as there was still plenty of parking but it was a bit sad going through the store and seeing everything was 50% off and that their last day will be December 23rd, they won’t even make it through Christmas. If you’re looking for extremely cheap items, I would say they’re not quite there yet but if you’re looking for items at a reasonable price and good selection then it’s still a good time to shop.

Thanksgiving

Ah, a good eating weekend.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Ron’s parents’ home in Millbrae. My family came and also some of our “homeless” friends so we had a pretty big group.

Ron did quite a bit of the food preparation on Thanksgiving day but thank goodness Ron’s mom did most of the grocery shopping the few days before.

He prepared ribs and a beef roast.

Our friends brought over the turkey fryer. It took about an hour to cook our ~15 lb turkey.

While the cooking was still being done, we just hung out and play Wii. We got the new game Raving Rabbids TV Party. It’s a pretty fun game but your arms would be very tired after playing for too long.

Our beef roast.

Our Coca-Cola spicy ribs.

Our deep fried turkey. Yummy and juicy!

Pork tempura.

Marinated cucumbers. One of Ron’s mom’s best dishes.

I prepared these lemon tarts for dessert. I used Splenda to make the crust and part of the lemon cream. The Splenda gave the crust a very dry texture so I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.

Our big dinner party ready to eat!

After dinner Texas Hold’em game.

Enjoying a cup of tea after a big meal.

I miss living in a home to host a Thanksgiving but at least it’s good our parents will let us use their homes 🙂

Can’t wait to use my turkey bones to make porridge!

Thanksgiving Potluck

So I’ve been baking quite a bit lately. I borrowed this great cookbook from my friends that’s written by the owner of Tartine Bakery in SF. I’ve never been there but their recipes are very good.

So far I’ve made pumpkin tea cake and shortbread. I also baked this chocolate madeleines from the October Martha Stewart Living magazine along with Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats.

So at work we had the pharmacy dept Thanksgiving potluck and I said I would bring “finger foods” so I didn’t really know what to make. I didn’t just want to make a dessert so decided on something savory and something sweet.

These are the sesame cheese onion mini muffins. Not quite salty enough since I substituted the recommended cheddar cheese for smoked gouda instead, less intense flavors.

Then I also decided to make mango buttermilk scones. These tasted really good right out of the oven when the bottoms and sides were still really crispy. I think they taste better microwaved a bit or else toasted again lightly. I substituted mangoes for currants in this recipe.

We had a lot of food today: Honey Baked ham, mac ‘n’ cheese, pear candied walnut salad, fried rice, fried chicken legs, veggie platter with spinach dip, pumpkin pie, flan, etc… so stuffed but so yummy!

Can’t wait for Thanksgiving with the family on Thursday… looking forward to a 4-day weekend!