Pandagrub:Halloween Edition

This week on pandagrub we are going to be celebrating Halloween! The panda that we are using is a new panda. He is from China. We are going to show him how to celebrate Halloween.

 The panda in the picture above is named Professor Zhang. We named him this because of his professorial clothing. Professor Zhang is sitting with the ingredients that we are using to make caramel candies. The ingredients are vanilla, light corn syrup, heavy cream, and unsalted butter.

 Professor Zhang is melting the butter in a saucepan.  After the butter melts, just add the remaining ingredients while stirring continuously on medium heat.  (Sorry -- I forgot to take pictures of this step!)

 Now that we have finished making the caramel we are going to let it cool. Professor Zhang is pouring the caramel into a nine-inch pan.  And that's basically it!  It's so easy!  (And sooooo gooooood!)

 Now that the caramel has cooled,we are going to cut it into pieces. Make sure not to cool the caramel for too long or it will become too hard and impossible to cut. If you cool the caramel too long, you can melt it a little by putting in the oven. Don't put the caramel in the oven for too long or the caramel will melt.

We wrapped the caramel in wax paper squares. It took us a while to wrap them all but it was worth it because now they look like "real" candies. 

All of Professor Zhang's hard work has paid off! Now he gets to eat all of the caramels!  For Halloween, we are going to teach him how to trick or treat.  His costume will be...... you guessed it... a professorial panda!!!  For the full recipe for the caramels, click here.

I brought my candies to school and gymnastics and shared them with my friends and coaches.  Everyone said that they were delicious!

This year for Halloween, my best friend Maya and I are going to be peanut butter and jelly. Maya  is going to be peanut butter, and I am going to be jelly. We made our costumes together with things we found around the house.  We used cardboard, felt, aluminum foil, and lots and lots of glue.  What are you going to be for Halloween?  Are you making your costume?  Send us your photos!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Pandagrub: Pumpkin Painting Edition

This week on pandagrub we are going to be painting pumpkins!

I am going to show some ways to decorate your pumpkin without taking the guts out and making a mess.

Can you guess what I am going to do with my pumpkin? I am going to make a panda pumpkin!

 Can you tell Flatty and the pumpkin apart?

 Professor Shang painted pi on her pumpkin. So now it's pumpkin "pi"!

Here are some other ways to decorate your pumpkins. I made a Hello Kitty pumpkin,two glitter pumpkins,and I drew a design on the last one. I made all of these pumpkins without making a mess! For last year's Halloween edition I made twix bars and dressed up all the pandas. For the full information about last year's Halloween edition click here.Last year I dressed up as Cup of Noodles. Stay tuned for this year's Halloween edition! 

Restaurant Review:Umami Burger

This week on pandagrub we are going to be doing a restaurant review of Umami Burger. Umami Burger has locations in Anaheim, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles,Thousand Oaks,Costa Mesa, Hermosa Beach,Studio City, Santa Monica, Hollywood,La Brea,and Cahuenga.

I went to the Umami Burger in Hermosa Beach.

The panda in the picture above is named Oreo. Oreo is sitting with the burger that my dad ordered. My dad ordered the Ahi Tuna burger.He thought that the burger tasted like a healthy fish and chips. He especially enjoyed the sauce that was on the tuna. Inside his burger was ahi tuna,avocado,daikon sprouts,pickled ginger, and wasabi flakes.

 Oreo is now sitting with my brother's burger. My brother ordered the Umami Burger. He said that it was the best burger he ever had! He thought this because the meat was super juicy and tender and he also liked that the parmesan cheese was crispy. His burger contained shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions,roasted tomatoes,parmesan crisp, and umami ketchup.

Now Oreo is sitting with my burger, the Cali Burger. I also thought that this was the best burger that I  ever have eaten. I loved this burger because it was juicy and the bun was toasted to perfection. My burger consisted of butter lettuce,roasted tomatoes, house spread,american cheese,and caramelized onions.

Umami Burger even brands their burgers! I  will definitely go to Umami Burger again, next time I will try the Umami Burger. For the full information about Umami Burger click here.