Crimson Mussels

The past two nights, Frank and I have been enjoying mussels. We enjoy seafood and we got these mussels for a great deal.  Frank made mussels the first night with a white sauce.  The white sauce is a blend of garlic, onions, butter, white wine and seasonings.  Mussels are often served with a white sauce accompanied with toasted bread.

Frank's Drunken Mussels

I made the mussels with a red sauce.  I have only seen this once at Gilt Bar.  It was delicious, so I wanted to make something similar. I am quite fond of the red sauce.  Here's my Crimson Mussel recipe.

Sheila's Crimson Mussels

Crimson Mussels Print         

Yields: 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb mussels

6 oz tomato paste

12 oz water

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tomato, diced

1 tbsp cooking oil

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

2 tbsp heavy cream

Cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Clean mussels very well and set aside.

2. In a medium sized pot on medium heat, add cooking oil, minced garlic, tomato paste, water, diced tomatoes, and seasoning (salt, pepper, and paprika). Mix well.

3. Add heavy cream and incorporate.  Let come to a boil. 

4. Once boiled, add mussels and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro or parsley and serve with bread. 

Begyle Brewery

I had an eventful weekend. Frank and I checked out the Begyle Brew Tour.  Their tap room just recently opened a couple months ago and is one of the newer local craft brewers around.  We had a good time learning about their history and taking a tour of their brewery.  They are located in Ravenswood and their platform is all about community.

Our 13oz tulip glasses to sample the beers

1st pour, the porter

My first pour, pale ale, No Erase?

Flannel Pajamas in these barrel to infused whiskey/bourbon flavor into an American Stout, or was it the Imperial?

Being out in the midwest, there are so many craft breweries.  Next weekend, we are going to be touring Finch.

Yesterday, I woke up early to make my husband his oatmeal shake.  He had to go to work early so I rose much earlier than usual.

I decided to make some bread that way when he comes home for lunch, we'll have fresh honey oat bread.  Sadly, it took forever for my bread to proof and took much longer than expected.  In between all that, I watched a bunch of korean dramas and made some matcha macarons.  After making the bread, I made another batch of macarons; this time black lychee.

I was testing out a new recipes. I am not in love with the recipe and think it needs some tweaking.  It still turned out, but my shell could be better.  The frill came out pretty well though.  I will probably play around with some more recipes.  While I was making the buttercream, Frank was so funny and kept doing sit ups in preparation for his macaron consumption. His a darling to have around and loves getting in on the action while I am cooking/baking.

Pains

My back is killing me.  The lower portion!  It's really stiff and makes it hard to stand up.  I did some yoga yesterday.  I don't think that's what threw it out.  I think it was from being crushed and the fluctuating weather.

Saturday was very pleasant aside from the winds.  Sunday got really cold.  And today it continues to be a bit chilly.  I have had a productive Monday thus far.  Laundry check, cleaned the bathrooms check.

I am now in the process of applying for licensure in Illinois so I can start practicing out here.  I am just waiting to get some supporting documents back and then I can send out the application.

For now, I need to buckle down and plan Sophia's wedding.  And random things here and there.  Let's hope I can make some head way this week.

De-stressing

For the past few weeks, I been stressing.  Today, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

New and old

I tried a Kronut today from Uncle's Irving Bagels. They were at the South Pasadena Fatmer's Market. I didn't like it. Perhaps the glaze was too sweet for me. It tasted like a glazed chinese donut to me.

I got out of work early today which was pleasant. The traffic on Thursdays is usually so bad. While at work outside my window theses two guys got in a heated argument over a parking space. It was intense with a lot of yelling and cursing. So not classy. I should have taken a video because it looked so dumb how they were trying to start a fight, but it was all just words. At least throw some punches; it was all talk!

Later my bro, mom and I might go eat at this buffet place my mom has been raving about.

I have a couple of more days here in SoCal before I head back home. I hope to get some pizza from Zelo's, get some grub from In N Out, and lastly perhaps some bibingka and empanadas. Oh and ice cream from Fosselman's!