Overdue Post

Being on vacation doesn't give me as much time as I like to update, but it does provide some fun pictures to share.  These were all from the LA area.

 My first time having Japanese crepes, and they were very different than I thought.  Very good, too!  Their crepe shell is crispy and slightly sweet, and it's folded into a flat triangular cone.

She had a strawberry and kiwi with vanilla icecream.

Mine was tuna with corn and lettuce.  I also had a jasmine green milk tea with tinytiny tapioca pearls.

Adorable taiyaki!  The one I tried had peanut butter in the middle.  I'm going to have to find a place around here in KC that sells these, because I'm already craving another.

Okonomiyaki!!!!

 

It's my theory that nobody looks attractive while eating noodles...

Especially myself.

Afterward we went to seek dessert in the same shopping area and ended up at a cute Japanese patisserie.

 The desserts were all so cute, it was difficult to choose.

What we ended up getting.  The chocolate one was raspberry flavored, very smooth and rich, with a raspberry filling. 

Vanilla vodka with cranberry juice... it's always my fallback when they "don't have mint" for a mojito.

LA was also my first experience with food trucks!

We waited in line well over two hours in the hot sun.

But the burritos were well worth it!  Dani is especially excited.

Eating a good, solid meal at conventions is difficult, especially when you're running around trying to see everything you can.  But somehow we managed not to starve and had a great time.

Betty Crocker Warm Delights

Have you guys had these microwave miracles?  When I'm lazy but craving something warm and delicious, these are one of my favourite treats.  They're also insanely simple to make, even college students could figure it out!

Voila!  An individual sized chocolate cake in minutes!

With chocolate fudge sauce nomnomnom.

But then I accidentally the whole cake :(

Product Review: Dry Soda

This is going to sound treacherous to most people, but I hate drinking soda.  Health concerns aside, it's mostly a taste thing.  I hate how sickly syrupy it is, I hate HFCS, I hate Sodium Benzoate, the crazy amount of carbonation, and I especially hate all those artificial diet sweeteners.

However I've recently been discovering a few exceptions that have me reconsidering my stance on soda.  There are plenty of sugar cane, agave, and now stevia sweetened sodas available out there which I've been sampling and for the most part have enjoyed them more than their HFCS counterparts.  I'm not really sure how I feel about the HFCS debate, but I know I don't like how it makes my tongue feel.  (is that weird?  anybody else feel that way?)

Today at the grocery store I discovered Dry Soda which advertises itself as less sweet.  This may be a downside for some, but it's actually a huge selling point for me because I'm not a fan of overly sugary drinks.  It also only has 4 ingredients, which is the shortest ingredients list I've seen in awhile.  No stupid food coloring, preservatives, and whatever random crap they put in food.  The soda comes in 7 flavors: lavender (I'm obsessed), lemongrass, juniper, rhubarb, blood orange (they didn't have this in stock), vanilla bean, and cucumber.  I wasn't upset at the lack of a cola, root beer, or cream soda, but I was hoping for a grape or apple.  Alas.

This has quickly jumped to my favorite brand of soda and I'm hoping I'll be able to find it back home.  It probably won't appeal to most, but it's definitely worth trying if you're looking for something less sugary and with more natural flavors.

Chicken Pot Pie

Spread of the ingredients used (the red pepper didn't end up in the pie)
Pictured above: Celery, carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, basil, turkey gravy, pie shell.
Not pictured: Chicken, sunflower seeds, lactose-free milk, butter, nutritional yeast

Cooking the chicken mm.

Boiling sweet potatoes... you don't really want to bring them to a steady boil though.  Afterward, drain the water, add a bit of milk and butter and mashmashmash.

Basil before I massacred it.  (In hindsight I probably should have added a lot more)

Veggies and chicken (in gravy) cooking on the stove.  Garlic, basil, salt & pepper added.

In the premade spelt pie shell with nutritional yeast and sunflower seeds on top. 

Mashed sweet potatoes spread on top.

Right now it's baking in the oven.  It better hurry up because I'm so very hungry.

It was delicious and I'm ashamed to say I ate an entire 1/4 of it.

Ramen

My sister and I were running about town all day so when we both realized how hungry we were, she took me to a restaurant called Toshi's ramen. I got the miso wakame at her suggestion and it turned out to be a great choice.

Ramen in a miso broth with bamboo shoots, seaweed, chives, corn, and sesame seeds with marinated pork.  It was SO MUCH FOOD but somehow I managed to power through most of it except all the broth.  

Scrambled Eggs

Yesterday I departed San Diego and flew out to visit my sister for a week in Eugene, OR.  At the airport I ate an overpriced $8 chicken sandwich that was dry and bland :(  Writing this reminds me that half of it is still in my travel bag and should be disposed of ASAP ew.

Anyway, being with my sister means less eating out at delicious but expensive restaurants I can barely afford and more making food at home.  We went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's yesterday after I arrived.  I've heard a lot of people raving about how awesome TJ is but we're only just having one built in the KC area so it was my first time in one. 

This morning we ate scrambled eggs and chocolate croissants.  The eggs had freshly chopped basil, garlic, and pepperjack cheese.  It was flavourful without being too overpowering.  At home my father likes to make scrambled eggs with coconut oil which is also amazing.  The croissants were light and flaky and the chocolate was subtle and not too sweet.  Overall is was a nice filling breakfast without being heavy.

Wedding Food

My sister's wedding took place in a lovely restaurant, so all the catering and food was done on site.  You'll notice in the pictures that there is no cake, for there was no cake.  Everything was quite delicious though.

Spring rolls

Tempura veggies: broccoli, carrots, and onion.

Tiny creme brulee shots with a raspberry on top <3

Not sure what this was, but it tasted a bit like a turtle with the caramel and nuts.

Salmon nachos.  These were the best.  Unfortunately they kept disappearing as soon as they were brought out, so I only got one.

Artichoke heart bruschetta.  Nomnom.

Right now I'm in the process of making jello shots and playing video games, so that's all for now!