brunching with the baby in the belly

i love my annie so very much. since college physics where we struggled together to research methods where we salivated together...annie is such a big part of my life. now annie has lil shrimp (it's current name until it has a gender and we can call it something else--although i doubt this poor kid will ever outgrow shrimp).
anywho, i will be driving up to see annie and the mini-bump tomorrow so i decided to make a brunch treat:
melt-in-your-mouth blueberry cake

2 eggs separated
1 c sugar plus 2 tbsp
1/2 c butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 c milk
1 1/2 c blueberries, dusted w/ flour
1 tsp cinnamon

1. heat over to 350F. spray 8" square pan with cooking spray.
2. in large bowl, beat egg whites at medium speed until foamy; beat in 1/4 c of the sugar. continue beating until stiff peaks form.
3. in another large bowl, beat butter, salt, vanilla, 3/4 c sugar and egg yolks until light and creamy.
4. in another bowl, sift together flour and powder. stir gradually into batter, alternating with milk. fold in egg whites and blueberries. spoon into pan. combine remaining 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon sprinkle over batter.
5. bake 50 min or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. cool cake in pan on wire rack.

i know i love it and i'm pretty sure that annie and shrimp will like it as well :) raise your juice, milk and/or coffee to shrimp because he was the reasoning we girls get to brunch tomorrow.

crest cafe

there are so many places to eat in hillcrest alone, not to mention in the greater san diego area, so how do you make the decision to try some new place? i love that groupons give me a reason to try new places--hence my trip to crest cafe last night with a work friend.
thursday are long(er) days, so i was hungry by the time we got there. but i was not starving. (just wanted to throw out that caveat--this praise was not just due to me being food-deprived)
that "diner smell" hits you when you enter--french fries and pancakes and coffee. i was sold already. the challenge was deciding between breakfast, lunch, or dinner. i decided on dinner so that i could have some wine and not feel like a weirdo. i wanted a burger--it seemed like the diner-appropriate choice--but they all looked good. so when tom (our server) came to take our order, i asked him what his favorite dishes were. he suggested the balboa burger and some other chicken plate. i went with the balboa burger. half-pound burger (woah) with bacon and cheddar cheese. this thing was monstrous. the fries were freshly-cut and the only criticism i had the entire night was that the fries needed a little bit of salt.
i boxed half of the burger to take home and was already making room for dessert. i was eyeballing the croissant bread pudding.  tom did me right on the burger so i asked him about his fav dessert. he said the croissant bread pudding. this was fate folks. i ordered, it came, i ate. this was de-to-the-lish! the serving size was monstrous (again) and i went home feeling way too full. but i will for sure be returning...
http://www.crestcafe.net/

happy chinese new year

year of the rabbit...i promise not to eat any rabbit this year :) come to think of it, i don't think i have ever eaten rabbit so we're on a pretty good track.

i took my little to p.f. changs--totally authentic chinese cuisine. in all honesty, she is 17 years old. she thinks jack in the box and the taco shop are good eats, so big chains are like fancy-pants. i forgot how good their cripsy green beans were--DELISH!!! i let her order and we started with the chicken wraps, followed by the lo mein and the beef broccoli. the kids eats her veggies (see first post) so i am way ok with ordering them. but once again, food associated with fond (and not-so-fond) memories of this kid and her angst. boyfriend issues times infinity. i think i will associate p.f. changs and chinese food with cheating high school boys and the girls who love them.