Soy Beans and Dumplings

This Friday, I invited my friend Maria over to do...well nothing. Between her schedule and mine, we both needed a little RnR, and I thought "why not do it together?" However, even a night in needs a good dinner, so after work on Friday, I headed over to the Asian variety across the street.

I love ethnic food stores. Every trip is different, and you discover so many new flavors and spices. Though I love all the sauces, dips, noodles and rice, my favorite part is the snack foods.

Pork and Veggie Dumplings and Edamame, sans shell. Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized that I had forgotten the chili sauce at the Asian. What good is fresh when there is no bite to contrast it? In a moment of genius, I spied (in my near-empty fridge) a jar of my aunt's hot pepper jelly. I swiftly chucked it in the nuker and added it to my soy.

Fluffy pillows of sweet pork and fresh veg

Edamame...buttery beans

The final product!

For my sweet tooth, I had to get some dessert. I chose some Peanut Mochi. These things come in all kinds of cool and unusual flavors like red bean and brown sugar, and are wrapped in a graham crumb-like coating. What's not to like? Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan of these. With an odd, jelly-like texture, it was like tempting me with a bad knock off of Reese peanut butter cups. I don't usually use symbols to express my thoughts, but in this case the sad face " :( " doesn't even come close. On the bright side, at least my dins was fantastic!

Peanut Mochi...aka, heartbreak