Moxie and Jiak Zhua

Moxie and her pet snake snoozing in the back seat.

Road trips make me schleepy...

Into the Green Mountains

Trivia of the day: Did you know that Vermont = vert mont (french) = Green Mountain?

We took a weekend trip to Vermont last weekend since it was DH's 30th birthday. It wasn't easy picking a place to go. Our destination had to be within a 2-3hr drive and our choices were limited since we wanted to take Moxie with us.

NYC - Been there done that
New Hampshire - Bleh, DH used to live there
Conneticut - Does anyone even vacation there?
Rhode Island - Been there
Lake George - No nice hotels and a little far
Berkshires - Not much to do in the spring?
Vermont - YAY

Eventually I settled on Vermont since it's only 2hrs from Boston and I found this cute little B&B (Four Columns Inn) that allows pets. Another bonus is that the inn has a nice restaurant run by an "award winning" chef (taken with a grain of salt hehe).

Our room:


Unfortunately for us, the weather didn't cooperate and it rained all weekend! Yeah DH and I never have much luck with weather. It rained on our wedding day too and it was in July. We had to axe plans to go hiking on the Long Trail which stretches from Massachusetts to Canada!

We spent all weekend eating and driving around. Vermont really does live up to its name. You can see the mountains from most towns and it's green green green everywhere you go! Something else strange about Vermont also was that it had running water everywhere! From impromtu waterfalls on the mountain walls, to gushing streams (looked like rapids to me!) alongside the road.



Instead of hiking, we visited a farm, got a massage, bought vermont cheddar, maple syrup, ate in a gourmet diner car, and went to the Ben and Jerry's factory! Not too shabby I suppose. More stories and photos to come!

My Latest Obsession

I am always obsessing over something. Weddings, jeans, baking, korean dramas, grad school. This time it's cooking! After several failed attempts at baking, I figured cooking might be easier :) Churned out 3 fun dishes in the past week.

1) Stuffed Shells - This didn't turn out too well. I forgot to season the turkey and add salt. Amateurish ... Oopsie :p



2) Mutter Tofu - My healthy variation of the indian dish Mutter Paneer. I substituted the tofu for paneer and used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I learned this from my old roomie and gal pal, A. It's surprisingly easy to make and very very tasty too (if I may say so myself lol). Spicey and great for a cold wet day.



The modified recipe here. It's pretty simple!

Mutter Tofu Recipe

Ingredients
- 1 package frozen peas
- 5 medium tomatos (chopped)
- 1 package tofu cubed
- 1 large yellow onion (diced)
- 5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

Spices
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 3 teaspoons garam masala (from indian grocer)
- 1.5 teaspoons tumeric (from indian grocer)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pinch cumin seads (from indian grocer)

Instructions
- Heat oil, throw in cumin seeds and wait for them to pop (this is the scary part!)
- Stir fry the garlic and onions till the onions are translucent
- Add the rest of the spices and stir till it is evenly distributed
- Add the tomatos and bring to a simmer (approx. 5 minutes)
- Add 3 cups water and bring to a simmer
- Add tofu and frozen peas
- Simmer for 20-30 minutes depending on how you want the consistency of the sauce

3) Our attempt at gourmet cooking over the weekend. Hubs helped out with this one. The milder flavor of the scallops went well with the tart green apples. We loved it and scarfed it down!

Recipe courtesy of La Tartine Gourmande. Seared scallops with green apple sauce and sugar snap peas:

Botched Hair Job

Speaking of highlights, I have a confession to make. I had chao ah lian hair for a month thanks to the stylist at Sasson Salon. You see I was desperate. The guy I usually go to was on vacation and my hair was in really bad shape. I mean wtf right? He's supposed to be at my beck and call!

Anyway, I told the new stylist that I wanted my existing highlights to be touched up. And that I wanted it SUBTLE. !*@(#@ Does this look subtle to you?? And how could hubs let me walk around like this?? *Cringes and dies*

I don't know how I convinced myself, but I lived with this Men's Egg look for a couple weeks. Then, one day I couldn't stand it anymore and being a soon-to-be poor student, fixed it myself with a package of L'oreal Feria in black cherry.

I think it turned out pretty good. Since I had highlights in already, the strands of hair picked up different tones so it looks like I still have highlights!

PS. It looks almost black in natural light. I am so HAPPY.

PPS. Thanks to matreshka also for the coloring tips! :D