Give me all your free stuff

So every year Allure magazine does this big free stuff blowout in August. As many of you know, I'm a total product junkie, so I will not pass up the chance to try new products. Send something to me and I will slather myself in it without a second thought. I'm not as serious about sweepstakes as some people - there are whole forums devoted to this stuff - but I managed to get quite a few entries in this time and had my best year yet. All I really do is set Outlook reminders and enter at the top of the hour, every hour each workday. I mostly half-ass it and forget about 50% of them, so imagine my surprise when packages started showing up at my place almost daily. Time to brag, because I raked in the following:

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream - $20
Garnier Fructis sleek and shine serum spray - $6
Nivea creme - $1
Color Club nail polish in In the Limelight - $8
Cerave lotion - $12
Big Sexy Hair Weatherproof spray (travel size) - $7
Clarin Shaping Facial Lift serum - $70
Zoya polish in Bevin - $8
iS Clinical Active serum - $78
Revlon lip butter in Candy Apple - $7
Sally Hansen polish in Pumice - $8
Maybelline eyeshadow in Turquoise Glass - $4
Wet n Wild Liquid Eyeliner in Turquoise - $3
Covergirl eyeshadows in Platina and Ice Princess - $8
Essie polish in Main Squeeze - $8
Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging treatment - $22
China Glaze polish in Pink Voltage - $5

That comes to a crazy value of about $275! All for taking the time to click a few buttons. I also won a few items that I thought were from this sweepstakes, but must be from other things so I left them out. Oh and I haven't gotten that Covergirl eyeshadow yet but I plan to nag them relentlessly until I do. Most lady magazines have giveaways going on all the time on their websites so if you have a few minutes, check them out (just make sure to uncheck any boxes for trial subscriptions or newsletters or any junk like that). And if you find out who wins the big stuff like $1000 purses tell them I'm jealous. I want to eBay that shit.

Rapunzel wanna be

This is probably only interesting to like, 3 of you but remember this post from awhile back? The first pic was taken about a year ago and my hair is continuing to grow nicely. It'd be even longer if I got regular trims and didn't wait until I have to chop off half an inch each time (sorry Sean!) I still wish it was fuller and thicker but I'm beginning to accept that I'll be a fine haired lady 'til I die. The biotin is definitely speeding the growth though and I'm pretty happy with how it's looking lately. I've been using a really lightweight shampoo and conditioner to give it body (Umberto Volume) and deep conditioning with argan oil overnight.

I actually took this photo to showoff my new lipcolor (Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti) but I thought my hair looked nice and decided it'd go well with this post. I wish I was smiling, but I just don't like you. Anyway, the moral of the story is take biotin!

A Facebook Tale in Two Parts

Minutes later...

Eastern Eating Excursions

After a mindblowing bowl of bibambap at Underbelly, I found myself a bit obsessed with expanding my experience with Asian food. I knew that I loved Thai food, liked Vietnamese, and disliked most Americanized Chinese, but had I ever even had Korean food? I realized that my foodie cred was about to suffer big time if I didn't start branching out. A tip from a friend sent me to H Mart, an awesome Asian market and a wonderful place to spend an hour on a Saturday. I wandered the aisles oohing and aaahing like a spaz, apologizing to Greg for my embarrassing enthusiasm. Not only did I pick up the pantry staples I need to make my favorite teriyaki salmon, I got a few odds and ends meant to broaden my cooking horizons, including a big tub of fermented black bean paste.

After researching recipes calling for said black bean paste, I settled on this one for Ma Po Tofu since I had most of the ingredients. Searching online has made it evident that everyone has their own spin on this dish, but there are a few common elements. A key ingredient is Sichuan peppercorns - an ingredient that the recipe I linked to is lacking actually - so I swung by Penzey's, picked some up and ground them as finely as I could. With that addition and a few substitutions, I ended up with a great meal that I was extremely proud of.

This dish is pretty flexible so play around with it using what you have in your pantry. Of the options the recipe provided I used ground beef instead of pork and sake instead of chicken stock. As far as the actual subsitutions, I used fish sauce in place of oyster sauce. While I did have tienmen jang (the fermented black bean paste) I didn't have tobanjan (the spicy chili bean paste) so I just added a hefty dose of sriracha to give it the necessary kick - no need to add any additional bean paste since it was plenty salty already. I suggest mixing the sauce ingredients in a bowl and giving it a taste. There's a lot of salt and umami going on so you're going to want to make sure things are balanced. It might call for a bit more sugar or another splash of sake. I highly recommend adding some ground Sichuan peppercorns since they are a key element in traditional Ma Po tofu and there's no real way to duplicate the numbing type of spiciness that they impart.

I really look forward to playing around some more with these new ingredients, and making it a point to use some already familiar ingredients more often. Did you know that you can peel and freeze fresh ginger, grate what you need then pop it back in the freezer? Lifechanging. I will definitely be making H Mart a semi-regular stop. I'm going to make some crazy seafood you guys. Hold on to your hats.