Time flies...

When the weekend arrives, it'd dawn on me that another week has passed. (I can't believe it is already mid-May!) These short breaks allow me to pause the hustle, breathe a twist of fresh air and reflect on life. :) Restaurant-hunting is one of my favorite activity and here are some places for you to check out if you're around the LA area...

Malibu Yogurt & Ice Cream ~ Location: Malibu Colony Plaza- Pacific Coast Fwy @ Webb Way

A Garlic Restaurant~ The Stinking Rose!!!

we smell "garlic-ky" :p

Their famous garlic reslish: the waiter said that it is a blend of fresh garlic, cilantro, vinegar and oilve oil.

OOKA~ A fancy Japanese restaurant at Riverside Plaza...Happy Birthday!!! Yay, I'm a year wiser... ;p

Eating Bibimbap in a Food Court in Orange County...

and it is located beside Paris Baguette: 5307 Beach Blvd, #108, Buena Park, CA 90621. Paris Baguette is awesome, serving a wide variety of french and asian breads, and BINGSU! Their green tea, yogurt and red bean flavors look very tempting~ too bad we were in a rush and couldn't indulge in them. Next time... :p

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Remember the last post?

With the extra whipped cream left from the Anniversary cake, K. made 3 types of cupcakes~

Caramel- chocolate swirl cupcake topped with heath crunch

Fresh strawberry vanilla cupcake

Lemon juice infused into freshly whipped cream on vanilla cupcakes.

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"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Thank God for all His promises! I'm blissfully basking in His love. :)

2- tier Heart-shaped Anniversary cake

for Pastor Randy Roberts~ Senior Pastor of Loma Linda University Church

I received a call requesting LLUBMC Nutritional Services to cater the cake for them the next day. It was last minute but we readily accepted their order.

Flavor: Fresh Strawberry Cake with Freshly whipped vanilla-infused cream

Fresh flowers were rinsed in water before use.

Did you know that Pam is sprayed onto the flowers to give it a shiny look?

after smoothing it with cream, and decorating with flowers, the words "Happy Anniversary Pastor Randy and Anita!" comes next.

Transporting them in huge containers before the final 2-tier assemble.

K doing the finishing touches...

Final product~ lovely :)
*edit: What was made with the extra whipped cream...cupcakes!

Pictures...

I just hired a PM cook and she is excellent! She made this fruit salad today....

a mixture of apples, oranges, strawberries, marsmallows, whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes, walnuts.....

strawberry "flower"

Orange cake

lemon bars

pecan bar

My new gadget:

I am clueless when it comes to electronic gadgets. However, at the recommendation of some friends, I decided to get this Canon Powershot SD 870 camera. It takes sharp clear pictures and I absolutely love it's compactness. :) It's small enough to fit comfortably in my purse and is able to produce great quality pictures. All the photos I post from now onwards will be from this Canon camera. (I will miss my old Minolta camera..it had camptured all my memorable moments for the last several years. )

Today, we had Purchasing meeting at LLUMC. I love these meetings because we get to sample tons of food! It was chips, energy bars and drinks day.

At the last meeting, we had to sample more than 30 variety of ice cream flavors from various brands like Häagen-Dazs and Dreyers. It was my first time indulging on ice cream big time!

After sampling all these items, the committee takes a vote on whether the Nutritional Services Department should bring them into the cafeterias. If the majority of the people feel that it is a good product, the item will be brought in and sold to customers or patients. However, if the items are not moving well, they will be discontinued.

That's a brief glimpse into the Purchasing meetings conducted at LLUMC. I love my job and am excited to learn new things everyday. There are challenging times but it is a rewarding experience. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! :)

Italian Bistro event

We did an "Italian Bistro" theme catering event for the Doctor's Appreciation Day on March 31st.

Menu:
Pasta bar -
*Tiger-stripped butternut squash Ravioli with Applejack Sauce
*Spaghetti - regular
*Fettucini - whole wheat

Sauces -
*alfredo sauce
*marinara with meatballs

Vegetable -
*garlic asparagus with lemon zest

Gourmet Salad - Olive Garden style
*Italian dressing on the side (oil & vinegar)
*Caesar dressing on the side (creamy)

*Garlic herb breadsticks
*small bottles of sparkling Martinelli's
*water in carafes with ice and slices of lemon
*parmesan cheese & red peppers packets/bowls
*salt & pepper shakers - on each of the 8 tables

*Cheesecake bars - assortment

raspberry swirl

vanilla

pecan

Prepared To-go boxes for busy doctors

I'm glad the event went well and smooth. It is a real compliment to know that the doctors were raving about the food- even a few days after the event! :D

We gave platters of strawberries and brownies for one of the parties this week...

There is a private daffodil garden located at Running Springs (near Big Bear) that is only open for 3 weeks a year during spring. Check out this site if you'd like to go: http://www.geocities.com/thedaffodilgarden/info.htm

Favorite pictures of the week~ with little Zoei and Jayce!
Happy Birthday, Jayce! :)

God bless and have a beautiful week!

Pizza day

First of all, I want to apologize to those who knew my http://www.cherrykitchen.org/ domain and thought that I had "disappeaered" when nothing came up. Apparently, it wasn't directed to the http://www.sakurambokitchen.blogspot.com/ domain. I didn't know about this glitch until yesterday and am glad that yahoo fixed the problem immediately. So it's back to normal now. Either domains will lead you to my blog. I still haven't had the chance to create a website without using blogspot. ;p

For Dr. Paul's seminar today, we had a wide variety of mini pizzas!

Ideas:

Sauce: BBQ, marinara, veganaise

Toppings: diced pineapples, olives, various colored peppers, onions, diced chicken, cubed roast beef, cilatnro ( for the BBQ sauce one), diced mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, shredded mozerella cheese, bits of sundried tomatoes, basil leaves, fresh mozerella cheese, veggie meat, Italian herbs for sprinkling...etc...

Directions: On the base of the crust, add the sauce, followed by shredded cheese, various toppings and finally, cheese again.

Enjoy and serve warm!~

Updates: Easter, RD day, Tropical event

Happy Easter!

Pictures of "Easter cookies"- something that we gave to patients at LLUBMC: Sugar cookies, layered with rainbow icing, topped with coconut shavings and jelly beans.

Easter egg- cake with raspberry puree in the middle, covered with white or dark chocolate...

Something special for the Friday night party since it was Good Friday..

Semi-homemade: Store-bought strawberry Angel food cake, topped with strawberry preserves, followed by coconut shavings and strawberries

Cakes waiting to be delivered...

Something that LLUMC put on the patient trays for Easter...


International R.D day fell on March 10, 2008
One of the activities we did--constructing a gingerbread house to demonstrate team work! Presenting...the administrative dietitian's"Pink bunny chalet"

Communication is vital- see the white man talking to the other person looking out of the window?

On St Patrick day, we had (green) cookies; green tinted chocolate and green sprinkles on the cookies...

TROPICAL -THEME CATERING EVENT AT LLUBMC-

Amrita and I had been planning for this Social work luncheon event for several weeks and I am glad that everything went well and smooth. Most importantly, everyone loved the food! Of course, I couldn't have done it without my faithful helpers. :)

Table setting-

Wantons and spring rolls with sweet chili sauce

Center piece on the table:

What these items were turned into-

Vegetable kabobs infused with teriyaki sauce!

Orange sesame gourmet salad topped with crispy noodles and oriental dressing:

Chicken and beef skewers: chicken satay and BBQ beef flavored, with peanut satay sauce-

Sticky rice mixed with cilantro and peas, lighten with lemon juice and zest.

Double-dipper tofu sticks:

Directions on how to make it: Add 1 cup of buttermilk and 3 eggs into a bowl. Beat the mixture well. Slice 1 box of tofu into rectangular cubes. Dip the firm tofu into corn starch before dipping into the buttermilk-egg mixture. Once that is done, repeat what was just done ( that's why it is called "double-dipper!). Finally, coat the outer layer with bread crumbs. ( Use the Asian tempura bread crumbs, and spice it up by adding 1 tsp garlic and onion powder). Pierce a bamboo skewer into the tofu before deep frying it.

The dessert table

Luscious molten lava chocolate cake:

Tropical fruit trifle: layers of sponge cake, mangoes, strawberries, whipped cream and tapioca pudding...

Drinks: Pina colada with pina colada rimmer:

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On a personal note... The"Glory of Easter" play at Crystal Cathedral was phenomenal. Although pictures undeniably speak a thousand words, this play cannot be captured on photos or video. It is something you have to personally experience to really comprehend the real meaning of Easter and enjoy the play...

@Camp cedar Falls: Beautiful snow and company :)