Bobby’s cousins are so sweet. I’m going to miss them a lot. On our last night in California (Monday, November 9th) we went out together to Blue Mango (our favorite restaurant) in Santa Clara. Blue Mango is a Thai restaurant and they have a separate vegetarian menu (I haven’t used it in a while). We shared a bunch of dishes…

Appetizer: Heavenly Stuffed Wings – de-boned chicken wings stuffed with ground chicken, silver noodle, cilantro, water chestnut and black mushroom. They came with this great sweet dipping sauce. This was kind of scary at first (fried! processed! breaded!) but the deliciousness made up for it.

For dinner we shared 4 dishes. The Blue Mango Fried Rice – a big house special: chicken fried rice topped with sweet garlic pork.

The Green Curry – eggplant, bamboo, and bell pepper are soaked in coconut milk, with a hint of basil (cannot be mild).

Mushroom Mountain, as usual – soft tofu, baby corn, bamboo, straw mushroom, and bean sprout stir-fried with a bit of green curry paste. Sesame seed are sprinkled on for a beautiful finish.

And Basil Chili Chicken, also as usual – with bell pepper and onion.

After dinner we went out for dessert (frozen yogurt) at Golden Spoon – pumpkin pie and chocolate flavors. The toppings were raspberries, mango (not ripe, unfortunately), and crushed brownie bits.

Blue Mango never disappoints. And neither does Golden Spoon. If you ever get a chance, go there! (I’m talking about the Blue Mango on Stevens Creek – I hear the other one is not so good.)

Now that I’m in NJ I don’t have Blue Mango. But I do have Edo Sushi! Bobby, Julia, and I all went out for dinner tonight. I love this place. Edo Sushi is a Japanese and Chinese restaurant on Route 31 in the same shopping center as Pennington Market. It’s about a 10 minute walk from my parents’ house.

First is the tea… (unlimited and free – my two favorite qualities). Notice my cool NY key chain – it’s kind of vintage because it has the twin towers on it. I think I got it back in middle school.

I got chicken and broccoli with the sauce on the side (brown sauce).

The other pictures didn’t come out, but Julia got veggies and tofu with the sauce on the side (also brown sauce). Bobby got the Dragon vs. Phoenix – chicken, shrimp, and veggies stir-fried with yet another brown sauce. He also got a big pot of rice.

We finished everything. The check came with pineapple cubes and fortune cookies. Yum! I love Edo’s.

This dinner was nice after my indulgent afternoon… My parents gave me a massage + facial combo for my birthday and I finally used it. I went to Sydney Albert Salon Spa in Princeton. I’d highly recommend this place – I’ve been going there for years and I’ve always loved everything. Their haircuts are amazing, the facials are fantastic, and the massage was wonderful. Bobby also got a massage and he loved it.

While we were getting pampered, our Relocube arrived. Now we have to unpack it. I’m going into the city tomorrow, but when I get home I think we’re going to try to start sorting through all of our stuff. It’ll be a big project.

What’s your favorite restaurant?

A few of my favorite bloggers have recently committed to getting back on track. Caitlin declared the whole month of November as a time to get back on track; Angela is doing it for the first week of November, starting today (the 2nd). I’m feeling it too: I haven’t been doing that much yoga, I haven’t been walking as much as I like to, and, to be perfectly honest, I’ve been eating a lot of crap. I haven’t been practicing mindfulness either, and I find myself munching through the day instead of eating proper meals.

This challenge might be hard for a few reasons – 1) Bobby and I are driving across the country next week; 2) the holidays and lots of decadent foods are coming up; 3) due to the move, I don’t know what my new routine will be (we’re moving to Manhattan btw). But I’m going to try. I’m synthesizing their goals and mine, and this is what I came up with. I’m going to try to do this for as long as I can. These aren’t arbitrary; these goals are what my ideal lifestyle would be so I want to keep up with them.

1. Go to bed early (by 11:30pm) and get 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
2. Cut out artificial sweeteners. I’ve been on a diet coke kick recently and it’s time to stop.
3. More veggies, less fruit.
4. More cooked foods, fewer raw.
5. Lots of water and tea.
6. Cook and plan more (or at least eat out at cheap-yet-healthy places).
7. Sit down for every meal.
8. Do something relaxing for 30 minutes every day (yoga, a bath, these exercises).
9. 30+ minutes of cardio each day (walking, running, yoga).
10. Give myself credit. Even if I don’t do all of these things perfectly, I’m going to give myself credit for the attempts and partial successes.

Because we’re moving, I’m trying to use up the groceries we have and I don’t plan on buying more. This week I’ll be eating out a lot but I’m not too worried about that; I love eating out and I can always find something healthy on the menu. The only thing that worries me about eating out is the money issue. I wish I was less frugal

The other issue I might have is that this weekend is the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival. I plan on eating well, but I doubt that I’m going to get much sleep because two of my favorite bloggers are coming to stay with me and we’re all going together. I am so excited to meet them.

Some of the yummy dishes I plan on making and eating during this November challenge are…

a healthy Thanksgiving meal, like last year’s

fresh delicious salads

lots of squash fries…

this fun Indian mushroom recipe

… and lots more. You should check out my recipes page for more inspiration. This bread recipe was one of the first things I ever posted (December 2007).

Anyway, back to the “back on track” plan. Today has been a good day so far. I did a yoga class this morning at my studio and I went to bed early last night (crashed on the couch at 9:30pm). I wanted to go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner, but Bobby has band practice… so maybe not.

And now this post is getting epic. Happy November! Are you challenging yourself this month?

I have never been a coffee person. I do not own a coffee machine, and I never saw the appeal of choking down the dark chestnut colored concoction anyway. I thought it was bitter. Tea always won out. Until now. Until Starbucks VIA. Disclaimer: Starbucks did not ask me to write this, I just happen to love it and I want to share my new find .

Bobby tried VIA last week in some kind of taste test, and he said it was really good. He’s not really a coffee person, so I thought he might be on to something. I picked up a pack of 12 instant coffees in the Columbia flavor. I think it was $9.95 for the pack? That’s a decent price for coffee that tastes great, in my opinion. It’s less than $1 a cup. It’s simple to make; you just pour hot water over the coffee and stir. They have another flavor, the Italian Roast, which is stronger.

To offset my new bad habit (coffee), I went for an old healthy classic: a macrobiotic breakfast. This oat bran was cooked with flax seeds, a little bit of unsweetened shredded coconut (not macrobiotic), soy and rice protein powder, and a dash of sea salt. I froze it for about 10-15 minutes before eating. I also made miso soup with water, seaweed, and miso.

On today’s list of things to do is a walk to clear my head (airlines suck and make me pissed), some moving prep (I’ve already sold our dresser and night stands), and kabocha. I haven’t had kabocha in a while and I miss it. Bobby is at his computer class all day so I’m on my own.

What are you up to this weekend?

I made these on Saturday night, right before Bobby and I went out to dinner with the cousins. They are perfect for breakfast, dessert, or even a snack. They’re fairly healthy, but they are really flavorful and delicious. I had them for breakfast 2 days in a row. You could veganize them by using an egg substitute.

I say this about a lot of things, but you *must* make these. You will not be disappointed!

Goji Nut Biscotti

Ingredients (makes ~12 small biscotti)

• 1 cup oat bran
• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats (instant) (can sub with flour or oat bran)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 dashes of salt
• 1 teaspoon spice (cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup sweetener (I used Trader Joe’s stevia)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup goji berries
• 1/4 chopped nuts of choice (see notes below)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Soak the goji berries in hot water.
3. Mix together the oat bran, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat this pretty well.
5. Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Drain the berries and add them, and then add the nuts. The dough should be dry enough so that you can work with it. If it’s not, add a bit more oat bran (or don’t add all of the egg mixture).
6. Spray a cooking pan with non-stick spray and shape the dough into a long log shape, about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch high. You can top with extra nuts or oats. Bake this for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the log from the oven and reduce heat to 300F. Cut the log into pieces and bake them on one side for 15 minutes. Take them out, turn them over, and bake them for another 15 minutes. If they are still not hard, turn them again and cook for 10 more minutes.
8. Enjoy dipped in coffee, tea, peanut butter, or plain.

For the nuts I used these things I found in the Asian grocery store called “olive kernels” (seen above). I recognize the flavor, but I have no idea what they really are, or if maybe they have another name. The nut is definitely used in a Christmas cookie that I have every year, but I cannot remember which cookie and I have been unable to find out anything online.

Help! Do you know what these nuts might be?