In an e-mail from my good friend Mahealani:

“I just wanted to tell you that your blog made me chuckle since you were talking about weight gain and your previous entries were all about food.”

Heck, it’s no secret. I live to eat. And just for you, Mahealani, here’s another foodie post.

Dinner tonight: Chicken soup. With mizuna (goes great with ANY soup!), daikon, carrots, celery and chicken. I’ve also started eating more brown rice, since I thought I ought to be getting more fiber and whole grains in my diet.

Great for chilly nights like this one to warm the body and the soul!

It all started with a tweet by Mitchell that said: “Dreamhost says I owe $388.05 from 11/20/08″

This piqued my interest as I just noticed a bill receipt from Dreamhost in my InBox this morning. When I opened the message, imagine my surprise when I discovered that Dreamhost had just charged me $526.54. What the…?! The worst part is that it’s not billed to my credit card, it’s billed to my debit card — which is tied to my checking account. Never again. I’ve been with Dreamhost for YEARS and never have they made a billing error, especially not of this magnitude, so I figured it would be safe. As soon as this fiasco is cleared up and the money refunded to my account, I will promptly remove the auto-bill.

The worst part of it all was the moments before the Twitterverse came to the rescue and pointed me to the Dreamhost status page and the Dreamhost blog which both explained, in great detail, what the heck happened. This massive billing faux pas was the result of a big, fat finger according to the blog. Prior to that, I was beginning to think that Dreamhost was going out of business and running off with my money. (Sorry, I’m cynical.)

I was later to find out, it was an error to the tune of $7.5 million. I suppose that would be enough to run away with to some faraway, foreign land for a very long time.

There are a lot of not-so-happy Dreamhost customers out there right now. I’m sure the 1149 comments on the Dreamhost status blog is just a small representation of the mountain of angry hate mail awaiting Josh Jones, who is apparently the cause of this huge billing debacle. I kind of feel sorry for the guy.

This whole episode taught me a few things: 1) Twitter has once again proved to be a very useful tool for information (and comfort!) during a time of need, 2) never put an auto-bill on your debit card, because you never know if you might be the victim of a billing error or outright fraud (read: disgruntled employee in Accounting, perhaps?), and 3) never mess with your customers’ money, because most of them won’t take it lightly.

I wonder how many folks have decided to take their business elsewhere because of this blunder? As for me, it crossed my mind for a fleeting moment, but then I realized how much trouble it would be to move all of my domains somewhere else and I reconsidered. Dreamhost has served me well all of these years, they deserve a second chance. Right?

[tags]Dreamhost, web host, billing, error, Twitter[/tags]

I have been feeling pretty hefty lately, so I stepped on the bathroom scale today. Lo and behold, since I started the meds for my IVF FET (in vitro fertilization, frozen embryo transfer) on December 8, I have gained five pounds.

holidays + hormones + no exercise = weight gain

I was cautioned not to get “overheated” during the process, so I stopped training in karate except to assist with the white belts. And, I stopped walking altogether. How quickly the pounds come on — and how hard they are to lose. Oh, the irony.

Perhaps when I pick up a fresh supply of Progesterone at the doc’s tomorrow, I’ll ask if I can safely go walking without jeopardizing the Snowflakes. It’s a precarious endeavor, I tell you.

Miso soup, rice, and salad

I could literally live off miso soup, rice, and salad if I had to. It’s easy on my tummy and makes me feel warm and comfy. It’s the kind of food that I was raised on, as a picky child with particular tastes, it was the one constant that Mom could count on that I would never refuse.

Some things never change. I still love miso soup.

Miso Soup
(Champuru Style)

NOTE: All measurements are approximate according to my eyeball
3 c. water
1/2 packet of hon dashi
3 Tbsp. white miso
1 egg, scrambled
1/2 block firm tofu (or 1 block silken tofu), cut in small blocks
mizuna, coarsely chopped (optional)
wakame (optional)
green onions, chopped (optional)
aburage, sliced (optional)

In a pot, heat water to a boil and add hon dashi. In a separate bowl, take a few tablespoons of soup stock and dissolve miso. Add to hot water and lower heat. Add scrambled egg. (Or if you wish to have a whole egg, do not scramble and let boil in soup until firm.) Add tofu and/or optional ingredients last. (If adding mizuna, use both stems and leaves. I add this last so it doesn’t overcook and become too wilted. Usually if I use mizuna, I don’t add green onions.) Don’t let your soup boil after you have added the miso. Serve and be cozy!

NOTE: My family’s miso soup recipe is much milder than those at a Japanese restaurant. (I think they use red miso?) You can always adjust the amount of miso/hon dashi to suit your taste buds. Some people even add carrots, onions, fishcake, and other tasty bits to their soup. It’s all up to you!

[tags]food, recipe, Japanese cuisine, miso, soup, tofu, simple, home cooking, local, Hawaii[/tags]

Who knew 1/2 tablespoon would make such a huge difference?

I am a huge fan of spicy edibles. The spicier, the better. If it can make me sweat bullets, all the better. But, I do have limits, as I discovered last night, when half a tablespoon more nearly did me in.

My turkey chili recipe calls for 1-2 Tbsp of chili powder. But what the hey, why not 2-1/2 Tbsp? Can handle!

After all was said an done, the result was flaming fireballs emitting from my mouth and beads of sweat pouring down my face. It was so good, I took seconds. Hubby’s entire head was soaked by the time he was done with his bowl of chili. But a few minutes later, I felt simply awful — like I had eaten a handful of habaneros. Fiery embers burned in the pit of my stomach, my face was flushed and I was still sweating 15 minutes later. Surely, I thought, that second helping did me in and I was going to suffer a sleepless night of heartburn and agony.

After I emerged from the bathroom, Hubby looked at me and asked with genuine concern, “do you need to go to the emergency room?”

“No,” I muttered, feeling absolutely miserable as I flopped myself on a chair. Can you imagine? Showing up at the ER and telling them my reason for being there? “I ate a batch of chili that was too spicy. Now I think I’m dying.”

After dousing the flames in my tummy with generous amounts of water, I felt substantially better. I even managed to make it through the rest of the night without so much of a tummy ache or slight heartburn. Can handle!

The question being, will I ever make that recipe with a half a teaspoon more? Probably not. 2 Tbsp is good enough for me.

Here’s the recipe for my healthy turkey chili recipe, if you want to try it out. Will you make it with half a teaspoon more?

Easy & Tasty Turkey Chili (Champuru style)

Ingredients:
2 T. shortening
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground turkey
1-2 T. chili powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 cup shelled edamame (soybeans)*
1 can corn
1 chopped green bell pepper

Melt shortening. Add onions, garlic, and turkey; brown slightly. Add remaining ingredients. Cover, cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

*NOTE: I hate kidney beans, so I use edamame instead. If you prefer kidney beans, substitute with 1 can of kidney beans.

[tags]food, recipe, spicy, chili[/tags]

The taste of the hearty broth weighed heavily on my mind, its flavor lingering, I could almost taste it. On the last day of my vacation, I determined that we would savor one last meal at Yotteko-Ya before I became a slave to the grind once again. (Gee, I make going back to work sound like a death sentence, don’t I?) Whatever the case, who needs an excuse to go back for some tasty ramen?

Hubby ordered the Kim Chee Chahan ($7.25 USD). He let me have a sample, but he’s lucky that my ramen came shortly after or else I might have indulged in a few more spoonfuls. That was good tasty stuff, too.

But, if you go to Yotteko-Ya, you must try the ramen…

I ordered the Paitan Ramen again ($6.95 USD), but this time with a little twist: spicy soup (+$1.00) and extra noodles (+1.00). I thought the regular paitan broth was excellent, but with the added homemade red pepper and sesame oil, it was heavenly! The extra order of noodles were just a bit too much for me, but I finished it anyway. Thou shall not waste! Hubby had to roll me out of the restaurant after that heavy lunch, but it was worth it!

[tags]Yotteko-Ya, ramen, Japanese cuisine, food, Honolulu, Hawaii, McCully Shopping Center[/tags]