Chewy Chocolate Chip and Raisin Cookies

                                    

                My Brother's Awesome Cookies

My brother makes these tasty stellar chocolate chip and raisin cookies. They were not too sweet, soft, and chewy. He did not tell me the exact recipe, but he did share some secrets, which I am willing to share.

1.) He used 1/3 gluten-free flour and 2/3 all-purpose flour.

2.) He used pure vanilla beans instead of imitation vanilla extract.

3.) He added some maple syrup.

4.) He used vegetable oil instead of butter.

5.) He does not fully bake the cookies.

Interestingly, his creative substitutions and unique additions yielded to some delicious cookies that differ that different than most chocolate chip cookies recipes. 

Christmas Day Sushi

Look what I found on my camera!!! Sushi!!!  Apparently, the thing to do on Christmas is go to the movies---I didn't know that. I blame this on coming from an Asian household and not going out much. To celebrate the fact that I learned that people go to the movies on Christmas, some of my friends and I went to see a movie on Christmas day. After the movies, we ate at Ruby's Buffet on Columbus Blvd. Since I love sushi and trying things, I took one of every kind of sushi they had. Please disregard the stuff crab shell. That's not sushi. The sushi tasted good. I wouldn't say it was extraordinary, but I don't really know what constitutes excellent sushi. However, I believe I had better tasting sushi before. Oh yeah, the stuff crab shell was not good at all. I don't think I like the texture or the seasoning. If I had to rate Ruby's Buffet based on its sushi and stuff crab, I would give it a 7 stars out of 10 stars. 

Foods Consumed in New York

                                          Mexican Styled Grilled Corn from Cafe Habana

I went to New York a couple of weeks ago to visit a friend. While I was in town, I had to get a Mexican corn at Cafe Habana which I saw on a youtube video. I just had to. Coming from an Asian household and from Philadelphia, I never had Mexican styled corn. Hence, I was so excited for this piece of corn. The corn did not disappoint me. It was grilled to perfection. The corns that my aunt ever grill would constantly get stuck in between the big gaps between my teeth, but not this Mexican style corn. The texture was great and it had a crunch to it. The mayo, cheese, cayenne pepper, and lime complimented the corn. It was so delicious. The calories in this so call snack or side was most likely high, but I didn't care. I just ate away the corn and smothered the topping content on my mouth as I walked to the park with my friends. I shall try to make this Mexican style corn when corn is in season and on sale in Philadelphia. I will tell you guys how it goes...just wait!

                                                                   Chicken Over Rice

I wanted to try the chicken and rice from the Hala Chicken cart around 53rd Street, but the vendor doesn't open until 7:00PM. Sadly, I was unable to try it so I settle for a chicken over rice from a food cart around Union Square Park. Let me tell you... it was bland. The young gentlemen who prepare the food was really nice and kept asking if I wanted more hot sauce. I regret not telling him to squirt the whole bottle in my lunch box. Oh well, at least it was not dry like the lamb over rice my friend bought:) 

  Chocolate Cake

Although the above looks like a fancy chocolate cake, it wasn't. It also wasn't technically from New York it. My friend lived in Jersey City so we out to lounge near her apartment for the evening. The cake was from Powerhouse Lounge in Jersey City. You are probably thinking why did I take a picture of a cake and where the pictures of the drinks. After all, I am at a lounge. Sorry, I don't really drink:( So I hope you enjoy the picture of the cake. Overall, the cake was very rich and moist. I wish they gave me the cake with ice cream instead of whipped cream. I am not really fond of whipped cream.