A 79th B-day, Homemade Cake, and Citrus Orgy

Happy 79th Birthday, dear and lovely Grandma! I wonder whether or not I'll be back home next year...

*interruption by the realization that I must go knead my dough*

Wow, here I am seriously considering whether or not to partake in "Senior Ditch Day - YOLO" tomorrow. Me, being the "good girl" and never having had done anything "YOLO"-inspired ever, wonders how exactly to carry this out. Do I have to call in sick? Do I come to school for a couple of minutes to turn in whatever is due?  But would that actually defeat the purpose? I laugh at myself.

Well, I can justify my ditching tomorrow with the reason being that I need to catch up with my schoolwork. That makes perfect sense right? I have no insidious and rebellious motivation behind "ditching." I might not even be technically "ditching," but simply taking an extra day to do schoolwork, which I would be doing anyways if I were at school sans passing periods, commute, etc. So this would actually be a more efficient alternative to going to school, right?

Ahem, now, anyways, back to the post. Senioritis has many benefits, and I actually attribute my recent mood of introspection and general happiness to it (as well as the creating the time to bake, etc). First of all, although we started the day a bit late because I stayed up pretty late/early (midnight creativity strikes again!) painting my grandma's birthday card. Although we arrived near our reservation time at 12 at Gourmet Village, no one was there, but they all trickled in over the course of the hour. When they arrive, my family remarked on how different I looked--more grown-up (did you do something with your eyebrows?), making me beam, "I am an adult." Laughing, I greeted my family, although sadly sans three of my UC-attending cousins. 

Little cousin shows off his towering height!
Well, as towering as a  5-year-old can be...

Cider + pretty-sure-it's-illegal soup, anyone?

Lobster noodles, squishy noodles. Same difference.

Most beautiful 79-year-old ever.

Peking Duck Sandwich, a delicious classic.

The catfish greets you. 

Some sort of lettuce wrap with diced vegetables and duck?

With crisped rice vermicelli noodles--love that!

Catfish deconstructed?

Big smiles all around!

Feeding little cousin a chocolate leaf while he gives a peace sign
and his mother gives him some remark.

My cakes--sliced! The top cake is a "Happy Mother's Day" cake topped with
chocolate-dipped strawberries and red frosting. Sliced is the toasted coconut
 cake, which, sadly, ended up far too dense.

I thought the food orgy was over after we all left the restaurant, but apparently not. My father decided to spontaneously pay a visit to my grandfather in Milpitas, and the warm weather definitely made it enjoyable. And maybe the bountiful amount of citrus fruits and flowers did too?

Ok, so I'm being a little vain in the car, but
hey, the qi pao is so pretty, and this is the first opportunity I've had to wear it in a year!

Driving on the highway is something that probably won't occur frequently next year...

I was pretty surprised at the dark background
that was the result of a late afternoon shade
over the rosebush!

This is that > rosebush.

My mother and grandfather enjoying a small talk.

Dad is taking a nap in Milpitas.

Young leaves of the lemon tree make for a
refreshing Burmese-style salad

This lilypad-esque leaves do too!

Another patch of tiny flowers peeks
through the ground.

My uncle worked tirelessly to pick
garbage-bag-full quantities of fruits for us!

All sizes of oranges are visible, and I
saw quite a few mutant ones.

Oranges make mom smile.

Apparently my fascination encompasses
 every little thing.

The sun is so bright. Those miniature petals
 that were falling everywhere turned out to
be bugs upon closer inspection...

I wish these sort of trees grew in our backyard!
 I'm so jealous!

And these, too.

Thick-rinded, not too sweet--just the way I enjoyed them.

And presently, I'm preparing to bake of batch of these. And my parents are currently up because they want to spend some more time with me, something they regret that they didn't do with my brother...

Oh man, what a Saturday...

My Saturday was so chock full of different things that it deserves its own post.

Besides opening a student checking account, my day was spent pretty much entirely in the kitchen, where most of my "accomplishments" are carried out. With lots of school-related assignments (which I yet again neglect on Saturday), as well as room-cleaning, to do, I opted to instead bake 2 cakes for my grandmother's 79th birthday celebration tomorrow at a Chinese restaurant. And that task certainly took longer than expected.

This shows the wonderful crust of one of my layers
 of coconut cake I baked Friday night.

Both layers domed a bit and fell, I discovered Saturday morning.
My mother thought it was supposed to be a high-rising sponge
 cake and that the cake thusly failed. I assured her that this was
how the cake was supposed to be.

My mom made wonton wrappers yet again,
 using just her typical pasta noodle recipe.

Melted chocolate is painted onto mint leaves.

The leaves are peeled off after a moment in the fridge, revealing
a textured pattern--a chocolate leaf, basically.

Potstickers are being cooked on double-duty
by my dad.

Look at where they stuck to the pot! My dad
 proudly holds up a perfectly crisped one.

One batch that we made today yielded
 about 40 pieces. Guess where they all are now?

This is the top of my egg-white vanilla frosting.
 A first time for me!

The frosting is remarkably white. It's a shame that
 it's going to be smothered in toasted coconut.
Actually, no it isn't.

Aerial view of the coconut cake in its final stages of completion.

A close-up because the icing is peeking through!

Sorry, the cake is cam-whoring again.

The leftover icing makes for failed
mushroom-top-esque meringues. So sad.

Oh man, this cake actually looks very amateur.
But oh well, at least it'll taste great!

Single-layered "healthy" chocolate cake topped with
 chocolate-dippedstrawberries with red Betty Crocker icing.
 Oh boy, did my mother and I, as well as my dad, have such
 an ordeal with the store-bought red icing. Never EVER again.
Let's just say I hope the partially-hydrogenated "mother's" and
"day" freezes before morning...

And my teacher just wrote as his Appreciation Post #16: "Last year, I also met some incredible juniors who still hold a place in my heart. Victoria, I want to say thank you for keeping me true to my career. When I first met you, I didn't know how profound an impact you would have on my teaching style and my dedication to the job, but since meeting you, you have not only made me a better teacher, but you also made a better person. Because of you, I remember to be compassionate, I remember to be forthcoming in what I do, and I remember to pour my heart into everything I do, just like you do. I will definitely miss your smiling face and optimism after you graduate this year, but I will definitely remember the kind of teacher and person I should be when I think of you."

Although this was extremely touching, I could not help but feel as if it were a bit impersonal, maybe because it is a bit vague? I'd like to know how I have had such a profound impact on him--simply because of my being assiduous? Nonetheless, it is still a post that warms my heart to no end, since this teacher gifted me an early graduation present as well a couple of days ago...

A Week of Sweet and Savory

These past few days, I've discovered a few things about myself: I really love my friends and my mood is really dependent upon my stress levels. Given no immediate homework due, I am more attentive and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. A lot.

My bread flour starter is is kickingly energetic everyday!

During my healthy weekdays, I tend to eat on the lighter side.
Here, I am enjoying some carrot soup with some
sourdough french toast.

Ain't she a beaut'? Too bad she's really dense.

This loaf of sourdough marks the beginning of my
 late-night kitchen experiments, much to my mom's dismay...

Indian-style goat curry is made by mom to
accompany the bread I've been on a roll in baking.

Which view looks more appetizing?

Whole wheat sourdough focaccia I made for
my classmates--served fresh!

Anyways, this week has been busy--but a happy sort of busy. Finishing an AP Calculus mock exam, among preparing for AP testing, and making loads of food make an ideal week. And I'd better not forget the amazing and hilarious friends that I've been spending an increasing amount of time with this week. 

I can't believe it--only 3 more weeks until my senior year is complete. Why is AP testing during the peak of senioritis--the end of the school year??