Yes, every weekend, you are sure to find events for the whole family. Whether it is a food festival, an art show, an outdoor movie, even something for your loving pet. To find more about their events, log on to http://www.ocgp.org/ and click on EVENTS tab.

Best of all, all the events are FREE, make sure you pre-register!

Don’t forget the Orange County Great park offer FREE hot air balloon ride!

Looking for a fun weekend with family and friends. Taste of Ladera is here.

For more details go to http://www.tasteofladera.com/wordpress/

This Vietnamese dish is usually made with catfish, marinated with Vietnamese spices, then fried with dill. You may serve it with rice vermicelli, mint leaves, julienne cucumber, and lettuce. Sauce is made with shrimp paste, pineapple, garlic, sugar, vinegar, and chili sauce.

Hi, I had tons of lemons from one of my best friends and decided to make these honey lemon jars to give away for Chinese New Year. All you have to do is wash your lemons well, slice your lemons, drop them in a clean jar, pour the honey on top of the lemon slices until it is filled to the top. Refrigerate, and you can keep this a long time in the fridge. I use this medley of honey lemons for my morning tea. It soothe your throat and body to wake you up to a calming state. But I have to say, this recipe was given to me by my other best friend in San Jose. Thanks Olivia, you are the best.

So if you have a neighbor who has a lemon tree, go for it….this is a great way to preserve your lemons.

Wake up to the soothing aroma of honey lemon!

Go to http://www.champagnebakery.com/ to get some of their Valentine’s Day sweet treats!

Tuxedos strawberries. Available in dark or milk chocolate!

Filled heart cookies filled with raspberry jam, dipped in sugar powder! Yum!

Try AnQi, in Costa Mesa, in the South Coast Plaza Shopping Center. This Vietnamese fusion bistro is the new hot spot in town. It serves delicate dishes, tapas style servings. I will go and try it soon myself. In the meantime, go on ahead and let me know what you think. I will be glad to post some of your pictures on my blog. Email them to me.

Since it is the heart of a hot shopping spot, you might even meet some of the Vietnamese singers from Paris By Night!

A few weekends ago, I decided to make some fried butter frog legs. My boys went to the restaurant one day, and ordered them as appetizers. We had about 6 pieces in our dish….Needless to say, I did not get my frog leg. So I decided to make them, and have some at home. Easy like pie. And delish like the restaurant. The only thing I wish was a stronger stove top to have a crunchier texture. It is an A on my list!

I also made periwinkles sauteed with coconut and basil leaves. It was the frozen kind, I couldn’t find the fresh version. Of course, it is nothing to compare to the fresh ones, but you gotta do with what you have! Periwinkles were drenched a tasty coconut sauce….yum. I am drooling as I am writing you this post, aren’t you?

Check out my pictures!

Banh Cuon is a Vietnamese thin rice crepe, filled with ground pork and black mushrooms. It is usually served with pork sausage (Cha Lua), steamed bean sprouts, fresh mint, cilantro, and julienne cucumbers. Sweet fish sauce accompany the dish. Sprinkle some dried fried shallots as well! Add some shrimp fried yams, and there you have it. I made mine simple without the shrimps yams. It was super good since I have no leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

I love Brazilian food. This restaurant is located in Irvine, by the John Wayne Airport. It is open table dinner style. This means you pay one price, you have a two sided card, green and red, green means it is a go, and servers dressed in gauchos can come and serve some juicy meats at your table. Turn the card to red to take a break and enjoy a sip of your favorite wine. On top of the open table dinner dishes, you also have a buffet spread that includes top hors d’oeuvres. Buffet includes smoked salmon, mozzarella cheese with tomato slice and basil leaf, salami and prosciutto, clams, mussels, Brazilian black bean soup, garlic mash potatoes, artichoke hearts, baby palms, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, the buffet items will fill your stomach on its own! Adults for dinner is $41 each. Visit their website for more details http://www.agoranow.com/

See my mouthwatering pictures!

Salami and smoked salmon! 

Our bottle of Hartford Zinfandel to start our dinner

The famous Agora card, one side is green and the other is red!

Green means “keep bringing me the food”, red means “stop, I need a break!”

Bryan waiting patiently as his server dressed in gauchos is trimming

a slice of leg of lamb! You can also see a banana

drenched in sweet sugar and sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon!

Up close and personal leg of lamb!

Some of the items here were from the buffet!, tabouleh, salami,

smoked salmon, hearts of palm, mozzarella cheese, capers

Beef Ribs!

We are cheering for our first lamb chops!

We finished my birthday celebration with Blood Orange sorbet.

It was so refreshing, and the true flavor of the blood orange.

Blowing my candle with a Brazilian Flan. Yum!