I am pretty sure you could say that I am obsessed with tacos. Anytime my husband asks where I want to eat I always say tacos. Tacos, tacos and more tacos please. When we lived in Oakland our staple was Cholita Linda. Oh boy I miss that place. It was in walking distance and had some of the most delicious tacos. Now down here in LA, we are huge fans of Loqui, where they make their own tortillas.
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Have you ever thought about the first person that dared eat an oyster? Or what about that first person who tried a mushroom and prayed that it wasn’t poisonous? I am not sure why but I think a lot about these people. Probably because I spend a lot of time prepping food and thoughts like these just pop into my head. Like why do we eat arugula but eating dandelion greens (until recently) has been avoided? Or who thought that if you blanch stinging nettles, which literally sting you when you pick them, they would be the most delicious pizza topping? This burning question is especially relevant when it comes to artichokes. Have you ever seen an artichoke plant? They are scary pre-historic bushes and if the artichoke is not picked in time it turns into this crazy gorgeous purple blossom that looks like it could eat you ( a la the man-eating plant in Little Shops of Horrors). Also the plant is so tough that people literally can make furniture out if it. So who in the world was the crazy person to dig deep inside that prickly center and figure out there was deliciousness in there? How did they know if you steam the center and then douse it with butter and serve with a lemon aioli that tastiness awaits? Who? Who? I need to know!
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Japan is high on my lists of places to travel. Between the food, the culture and their love of gorgeous paper products, I might be in heaven. But in all honestly, I want to travel there for the food. The Japanese take their food very seriously. And what better way to experience a culture than through its food culture. There is so much more to Japanese food than sushi – there is yakatori, shabu shabu, traditional soba noodles and of course ramen. We have a well know ramen restaurant in Oakland called Ramen Shop. There here is always a line so I decided to come up with my own ramen recipe. Since ramen is traditionally egg noodles in some sort of delicious salty broth, I thought I would create my own ramen so I can eat it whenever I want and dream of my future trip to Japan.
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Chicken pot pie is my ultimate comfort food. It is one of those foods I have eaten my entire life and never seem to get sick of or grow out of. When I was younger I used to love chicken pot pie that was topped with big fluffy biscuits – not homemade biscuits but the kind that comes in a tube – you know the Pillsbury Grand biscuits? Amazing. This chicken pot pie is slightly more elevated but just as good, I promise.
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Sorry for my absence around these parts the past couple weeks. This past summer was busy! Great busy but still busy. We just got back from an amazing trip to Italy - more on that trip in a future post once I round-up all my photos. But first the important things, like pasta. I have been dreaming of pasta these days. I proved to myself in Italy I could eat pasta everyday and all day – I can’t help myself. Instead of hearty pasta with meat sauce I have been craving easy one-dish pastas that take advantage of the simple summer season and all of its fresh flavors. And yes I still consider it summertime, especially with the 90 degree heat that is hitting the Bay Area. So until the weather changes, it is still summer! In celebration of summer and all of the produce that is at its peak right now, this summertime pasta is just that – a bowl of pasta goodness that is filled with garlic, tomatoes, basil and of course, Parmesan cheese.
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Do you have any New Year's resolutions or intentions?I had the best of intentions to eat really clean the month of January. In theory I wanted to avoid gluten, dairy and alcohol. Sadly I couldn't even make it a week! My lack of willpower is seriously lame. I have already had a couple delicious cocktails as well as a delicious pizza from a local pizza shop. I am ok with it partly because it was worth it and also in general I try to eat pretty healthy all year-long. (but still I could have gone longer than a week!). Since I am surrounded by food all day, I think I am hyper aware about what I eat, because if I didn't I would be eating brownies and cupcakes all day (although that would be tasty, the end result would be bad).
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I recently cooked dinner for 25 people. All by myself. I know, I am crazy and I may have lost my mind in thinking I could do it alone. But amazingly I did it and survived - with only one minor slice to my finger.
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