fried

Frying food is fun.. and dangerous.. I often wonder who were these food pioneers that came up with these things like frying or even weirder sour dough.. when did it cross that distant ancestors mind that heating up a bunch of fat till it's stupid hot and tossing food in it sounded like a good idea.. Who every you were.. thank you..

 look at the bubbly action.. don't i scream "i will jump out and burn you any second!!"

oui oui all the way home

I wrote earlier about a panini like crepe served at the twisted crepe.. meh was the review because I've had way better crepes.. behold way better crepes.  Way better crepes can be found in Anchorage, Alaska of all places at a little shop on the corner of 1st and G called 302 G st or JoJo to GoGo (I'm uncertain on  the name of this establishment because if you go there you'll see it's kinda confusing).. Anyway, what does that say about Anchorage?  Better yet, what does that say about the twisted crepe in Asheville, NC?  Hmmm..

i would like the most caloric breakfast please..

When choosing my going out to eat food treats I don't hold back and try to pick the healthy options this is partly because long ago I realized I do not go out to eat for healthy.. but, also I acknowledge that the offering of healthy restaurant food is mostly an advertising myth.

nice package

Levitating a strawberry in plastic wrap on a melon takes skill.. serious skill.. 

 

how do they do it???

Eh?!..

Readers Choice:  English O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

French  Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux, Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux! Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. Et ta valeur, de foi trempée, Protégera nos foyers et nos droits. Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Yes.. sometimes when I travel I really wish I were Canadian..  Why? Because who hates Canadians?? Nobody.. well, probably almost nobody..  The closest I've come to Canadian citizenship is when once upon a time long, long ago found myself dating a Quebecois boy and sometimes when that desire for Canadian citizenship comes up I question why I ever left him.  He was sweet, but distance can be evil at times.  I did keep a few things from that relationship other than a lot of French Canadian curse words (which are hilarious to learn and implement into your vocabulary) I also gained 15lbs from a new found  love of poutine  and maple syrup in any form I could get a hold of it, especially in coffee or booze.    

 
i don't freshen breath but i am a delightfully, wickedly, sweet morsel of maple heaven and you may buy me at your nearest world market for giving sweet maple kisses, xo

i'm confused

I never really imagined a time in my life where I would ask this question..  Why is there an Indian restaurant in my ice cream shop??  While I will say the food was good and affordable the reality is still a little weird.  I will definitely be visiting again, the atmosphere, price, quality, service time, friendliness and quantity are spot on for a funky hole in the wall eating establishment.  The food is good.. (not the most amazing Indian I've come across)  but good for a small town.. the mango lassi kicks every mango lassi's ass out of the water.  It wasn't the normal cloying thick stuff a lot places try to pass off as lassi. it was light  and frothy with a touch of cardamom and other spices blended with ice so it had a milkshake quality about it.. big hearts.. I will be stocking a supply of lactaide in the car for impulse lassi consumption.  

who needs teeth

My mother raised me on the belief that we need vitamins.. While in my heart I feel like we can't possibly need vitamins if we are healthy, eating a healthy, varied diet and properly absorbing the nutrients from said diet..

F'bomb!!

Ok..  After what feels like an eternity of job hunting my resume finally gets past the first stage and I get an interview and I even do good at the interview.. in fact I'm a sparkling beacon of employable smart cookie type person..  Somehow magically, I'm even offered a job upon completion of the interview.. I am on my way to being a lady with and income again, sweet!!.. then we hit the glitch.  It's one of those paranoid companies that do drug test, no I do not do drugs, I'm clean as a whistle in that aspect of my life.. while I may divulge in junk food and an occasional evening cocktail or three, the realm of illegal substances has not been of any interest to me.. 

don't judge me

It was a crisp fall night, I was restless and needed to escape all walled in areas. Time likes to play tricks when people don't pay attention...

covets

This is only vaguely related to food.. I found a t-shirt designed by the creator of an internet comic I'm addicted to.. After much thought it was decided that I should probably own this t-shirt. 

I'm sooo alive!!!!!

If you have low to no tolerance to caffeine like me, choosing tea is a slightly mellower alternative to the heart palpitating that results from having a cup of joe.  I posted a while back about my favorite coffee shops I've encountered in my travels.  I recently got to revisit the Dripalator, located in Black Mountain, not to be confused with the Dripalator in Asheville.  I still say Black Mountain Dripalator is way better than the hipster alternative.  Maybe that biased comes from the fact that the Black Mountain Dripalator carries matte.  Matte is a tea that can be described as earthy.  But being completely honest it really just tastes like what I would imagine really delicious dirt strained with hot water would taste like.   Matte, when I'm feeling like indulging in caffeine and not quite up for the full impact of coffee still has quite a punch. 

a few of my favorite things

As the temperature drops the thick long forgotten winter layers come out and so begins the season of soup.. Admittedly there are cold soups like gazpacho and watermelon. for hot summer days. But they don't really count..

Holy Crepe!

Twisted Crepe.. While I have to say I've had way better crepes, this place isn't bad, the service is friendly and the kitchen is quick.  Although the crepes taste and feel more like a panini sandwich that's stuffed to the max and grilled.. it's really not bad when you've got a hankering for a crepe sandwich like creation and you're in the neighborhood of Haywood St in Asheville.

quick like a bunny

While I sometimes splurge and love to cook epic meals that take hours to prepare I mostly depend on daily quickies that are simple and sometimes college-esque (i.e. raid the mostly empty fridge and find inspiration from randomness).  Tonight's creation was a little Mediterranean number....

size matters.. but sometimes it's just scary

Holy GMO batman.. I refuse to believe that science didn't play a part in creating these monstrosities... One day people will reflect on the size of their veggies and fruits like the modern day small drinks of McDonald's that were once considered a medium sized drink... I just want to say.. Welcome to America.. we like it big..

do you like my clever disguise

I do sometimes like to lie to myself about my indulgences..  Yogurt is healthy right? It's full of probiotics and  dairy, and a healthy dose of sugar...  Fruit is healthy too, right??? it's on the outdated pyramid that was once a wheel  and has recently become a plate which looks a lot like a simon says..  It even stayed on the wheel through all these decades of change.. It must be good for you...

how to speak southern

The tiny neglected garden in the backyard has produced some mighty tall mustard greens that have been asking for consumption... I decided if we were making greens we may as well go southern-ish all the way... 

no entry, no key

Gnocchi, sounds like no-ki or nyo-ki not g-no-chi and if you can say nyo you should pat yourself on the back it's tricky.  Gnocchi is an easy to make pasta that doesn't require more kitchen gadgets than even the most barren kitchen.  Seriously, not including the heating elements of this dish gnocchi could be made using a fork and a counter top or if you're feeling really primal you could probably do it all with your hands you just might not have fun playing hot potato in real life.  

i hearts avocados

Chipotle Cholula and avocado... Need I say more?

so free

Gluten free for some is just the latest dietary trend, for others it is a necessity to maintain a pain/allergy free digestive experience.  My friend Julie is of the latter type with the addition of some other allergies like yeast and dairy so I have been exploring allergy free options for her (this only happens when she visits, I like my allergens otherwise).

hot girls

Hanging out at one of the many delicious Kaladi Bros coffee shops (Kaladi's; best coffee in AK hands down) with a few friends conversing about coffee while drinking teas, nothing spectacular or philosophical just normal enjoyable chatter.. I am only writing about the experience to share one snippet of the conversation.  It made us laugh because it's so perfectly true.  To clarify one of the group is a Spaniard with a very good vocabulary and very good, clear English conversing skills.

intolerance-smolerance

My Asian descendant tummy does not love dairy, my American tongue does.  It's a war that I am not always prepared for with enzyme supplements (yes, Amazon is my favorite shop ever) when a delicious dairy treat attacks from nowhere and demands to be consumed.  I know some would say just give up dairy entirely.. I say that is for people far braver than I.  For I have many times in my life attempted to like some kind of nicotine addict made the switch to soy, coconut milk or even the pricey hemp milk unfortunately it doesn't substitute well enough for my liking, the cheeses don't taste or feel like cheese should and the mouth feel and sweetness of soy/coconut/hemp/almond etc.. is all wrong for cereal and absolutely doesn't work for chowders.  Besides they are all so processed that I'm not sure they can/'t be all that good for you either.

noses, lips, assholes and other things

Hot dogs!! What else could I be talking about? While I know that hot dogs (I learned recently from the back of the Sriracha bottle it's perro calientes in Spanish but I've also heard salchicha works too) aren't actually made of the aforementioned animal parts it is a funny myth to perpetuate.

i'm a chubby lover

Yes, I am proud to say I'm a chubby lover.  I discovered this while visiting my yoga friend Camellia who recently moved to Raleigh, NC and graciously let me crash at her place even though she had been there for about two days.  Yelp (a fantastically helpful internet tool) led us to Chubby Tacos.

oh honey!!

Greek festivals - I've gone to a few.. at each of them I would say I've eaten my weight in all food things that are Greek.  From loukoumades, dolmades, baklava, gyros, moussaka and a bunch of other barely pronounceable names.. all delicious....

Ameri-sized

America is pretty great I love finding food that's as big as my face.  Driving the Parks Highway between Fairbanks and Nenana there exists a restaurant called Monderosa. It's a funky little restaurant that has old school "rustic" Alaskan appeal. The building itself is made of large dark stained logs and when I stepped inside I noticed two things simultaneously 1) it's really dank dark, 2) it reeks of smoke because the server/cook/bartender has been puffing away as the lone person there.  

breakfast of champions

No I'm not writing about Wheaties or the Kurt Vonnegut book which is pretty good but not my favorite Vonnegut book, which is currently Cat's Cradle.

40 and beyond

I've hit my 40th post and it's not even been a year yet.. I didn't know I had it in me to write so much.  I've never been fond of writing.  I just really like food.  I've really surprised myself at how much I'm enjoying this too.  I love sharing my food experiences despite the blurry pictures.  Big hugs and lots of love to all my friends that have given me encouragement in my writings and many thanks to any random readers out there.

skinny-dippin

What do you do when you have a 7 avocados and they're all ripe?  There are many, many dishes that I use avocados in but only one of them is not a dessert and is capable of killing off a good quantity of avocados; guacamole.  That decided Eddie and I had Latin dip night followed by Biutiful a very striking, touching all around great movie I would recommend watching it..  just know that it's a little sad, very real, a bit dark, subtitled unless you speak Spain Spanish (Spanish with a lisp) and for lack of a bigger vocabulary beautiful.

converting

I sometimes think about joining different churches because their food festival fundraisers are so good.  I like to imagine that eventually I would make friends with the members of the congregation which translates into the idea that I could potentially get invited to their homes for dinner because that is the ultimate goal for any friendship I make, an invite to a food gathering of some sort.  But then I think about the weekends of being trapped inside a small building faking my beliefs just so I can occasionally get invites to yummy dinners and it doesn't sit well.  

going vampire?

I will eat almost anything well maybe anything that isn't wiggling still (but I won't judge the people who do).  I have to admit though I wasn't always like this, I the omnivore was at one time a self proclaimed herbivore.  Yes, I went through a ten year stint with varying degrees of vegetarianism from pescetarian to straight up vegan.  I enjoyed it and I think that letting your body take a break from meat consumption is a smart thing to do every once in a while as meat is harder to digest and giving your body a break every once in a while is a good thing it's like a digestive vacation.

dye, dye, die...

I will try to refrain from just posting a link but I found this article too interesting to not pass along.  It sorta makes me wish I could become a European for safer food regulations and just plain better food.. except for maybe Asian food I would miss good Asian food immensely.  

not your mother's ovaltine

I love Ovaltine hot or cold. The vitamin enriched chocolate comfort drink is not that bad for you (other than the loaded with sugar part, terrible dyes and maybe some other things I try not to think about) but it is completely worth the sugar bomb as it is a time machine in a cup that takes me back to youth when sweet Flintstones vitamins were an encouraged thing to devour.. and yes in memory I guiltily still love more than normal vitamins but I may have suplimented my Flintstones with adult gummy vitamins (I recently discovered they use aspartame in Flintstones, it was a sad day for my future children).

retro pizza

Nostalgia, I went to Sir Pizza for nostalgias sake.  I didn't remember the pizza as being good, I didn't remember it beyond just a fun lunch out with my family when I was too young to have developed my eccentric food love tastebuds.

crackeriffic

My current favorite cracker - Kavli.  It's a non-presumptuous cracker that you can top with almost any topping and it will go well.

taste the crunchy

During the early-ish hours for unemployed me (10am) I was hanging out with some friends when I heard my friend Mo eating his breakfast.  This is approximately the ensuing conversation

getting dressed

Salad dressing is so stinking expensive, making your own is not and it's a simple quick thing you can toss together to make your salad 100 times better.  Taking the time to make a salad 100 times better is definitely worth it and really only takes an average of about five to a maximum of 15 minutes and it sounds fancy when serving guest.  

just a little curious

I'm not really a soda drinker.. It's mostly because I have a thing against drinking my calories, but also because I love my teeth.  I do love fizzy water, aka soda water.. But I have to admit I got pretty excited when I saw these sodas at the grocery store.. the flavors sound enticing, and I really love trying new things, or at least new to me new things and they're supposed to be "dry" sodas.. which seems to entail that there is less sugar than the average soda (which will probably still be sweeter than I like).

fused

With the accessibility of different groceries, traveling and knowledge of world cuisine and the interaction between different cultures that has been happening for several centuries I'm not sure if there truly is something that can be considered pure local cuisine anymore.  With the odd exception of a handful of remote areas out there like Alaskan villages where they still eat muktuk and drink seal oil.  Even these remote places in the world people at least have knowledge that there's a world of different foods out there even if they never get to experience it.  

double rainbow - what does it mean

When I first started to learn how to cook I created many plates of beige.  Being a self taught cook nobody told me that when you make white rice/mashed potatoes/noodles, halibut/chicken/tofu and some veggie like zucchini/corn/squash/cabbage/cauliflower then put it on a white plate you'd end up with a large visually unappetizing plate of white (no matter how tasty it actually is, it looks unbelievably bland).  After many more plates of beige than I'd like to admit coming out of my kitchen I eventually made a vow that I would think about making colorful food not just tasty food.  

thiever-ing

Yes, I am known to be that person that walks off with the pen from the counter and not realize it till later when I'm wondering why I have a pen in my hand/pocket.  I'm really glad that places started attaching flowers/spoons/whatever to their pens because it's reduced the number of pens I end up collecting in my car/house/pocket that I really don't need.

true love

I never had a list of qualities I want in a man that I date beyond the fact that I'd like him to have a sense of humor but I have recently discovered a new requirement to win my love.  He must learn to bake or already know how to make what Carlyle called Basque cake.

that is some comfortable food

Have I said how fantastic it is having roommates who love to cook and socialize?  Who else would be okay with having a midnight fish fry on a weeknight (no it didn't happen on a Sunday I just post slowly)?  

i can be healthy sometimes

Grapefruit - a great way to start the day.  Apparently it's a tricky thing as it can be not so good for you and good for you at the same time.  The reason it could potentially be bad for you is that grapefruit juice can't be consumed while on certain medication. 

say cheese

I have always had an obsessive love for cooking and eating.  I love trying to cook with any exciting ingredients that I come across but I also love making the simple comfort foods and I'm not too proud to indulge myself with absolute junk.  

the math made me do it

Scenario: You offer to make dinner for your mother and she offers up the ingredient lobster with the catch that one smallish tail is supposed to feed three. hmm sounds like a grade school math problem if only she were taking the train.

travel tummy

In an attempt to figure out where to go and what to do next with my life I've been on a personal exodus trying to decide where and what that will be by visiting friends and family in towns across the US.  Some out of curiosity some out of memories of previous vacations and some just because.

properly buzzed

Coffee is a beautiful thing, goes great with sweet treats and gives a nice boost of energy to help with the waking up for non-morning people and times when you need to pull an all nighter.  Those of you that know me really well know that I can't consume caffeine unless I get the wild urge to feel like having my heart explode out of my chest.  I tend to drink herbal teas more often than anything else but I do love a good coffee (usually decaf which oddly still has caffeine) with a sweet baked treat.  

asian market surprise

Asian markets are a wonderland of things I will probably never be able to fully explore. Over the years I have learned some of their hidden secrets and I have grown fond of the pungent stench of seafood, exotic fruits, spices and strange, strange sauces.

the internet

The internet is a vast amount of data that can lead you somewhere interesting or absolutely nowhere.  It is an amazing time suck of information and fun.  While I was looking for the web address for Fat Daddy's I came across one of the popular restaurant review sites Urbanspoon.

Eddie Erdmans Fine Art Photography

I am a very lucky girl to have such great roommates and neighbors.  Got invited over to Carlyle's who had decided to make meat pies after Delicious Dave generously donated some roasted beefy goodness that was leftover from one of his yummy catering gigs.  

playing dress-up

I think there is nothing wrong with using the good box mixes.  I took cake decorating as a fun elective and the teacher said she used cake mix always because it was consistent at the way it turned out and she claimed that people liked them because it is such a familiar taste

mas huevos rancheros por favor

My roommates are the best!!  I have chanced upon the perfect roommates for me and am very grateful.  How can you not love roommates and neighbors who not only love food but are all creative, interesting, well traveled and social (yes, I have had unsocial roommates it's weird)??

gingers have souls

I like to tweak recipes whenever I cook.. I don't follow exact directions/measurements very well at all.  Maybe it has something to do with my disdain for authority, maybe it has something to do with enjoying creative freedom in cooking.  

a special kind of person

Durian, I have yet to decide how I feel about you durian.  There are so many words that can be used to describe this bizarre fruit that is considered by some to be the king of fruits.  Deadly is one as one of these giant spiked ripe fruits falling from a tree has been known to kill unsuspecting passerby's.  Horrifyingly pungent is another.

clab or claims

Hello Dim Sum you are my favorite brunch ever.  There is no dim sum place in my current Alaskan hometown unless you count a little Chinese/Korean restaurant Charlie's Bakery that has a small selection of the dumplings available on the menu.

yummy squared

Modern day vegetarians have so much fun.  Practically every type of food you love as a meat-atarian is available in a happy faceless veggie form, corn dogs that are maybe better than the real thing, burgers, bacon-esq stuff, cheese-ish items, egg like substances... you name it.

getting lost never tasted so good

I do not always pay attention to directions well.  This means sometimes I get lost, and get to places a lot later than I really want to. Should I pay attention more and not miss those merge right to continue on I-whatever I'm on?  Probably.  If I did that though I wouldn't get to stumble onto places like Fat Daddy's BBQ in Bedford, VA.. a good 20 miles from the road that I was supposed to be on.  Worth it?  Absolutely.  I would say one of the better BBQ sandwiches I've come across in the south so far. 

say that five times fast

Chili chocolate, cherry oatmeal cookies... good for breakfast or any other time.

no justice

Tragedy, my need to get a real camera or a better phone is coming to a head.  I tried but unfortunately I could not capture the mouthwatering masterpiece that my roommate Eddie and I prepared tonight.  I hope that my words can do it some amount of justice.  

lovable

Valentines fun -  While I'm not completely into the whole Valentines day concept I will admit that I do appreciate the chocolate and I love any excuse to go out to for food, drinks and fun with people I care about.  

foodie friends are the best of friends

It is so nice to be home even though there is a mountain of things I've been avoiding while on "sabbatical".. Even though I still don't know what I'm up to or what's next.. I can say that I have missed my friends terribly and it is so very nice having a kitchen again.  I have missed having a stove, pots and pans, a refrigerator of my own, cabinets full of spices and other goodies.  I've even missed the mountain of dishes that get created when cooking.

heart healthy in my dreams

Sunny Point Cafe in Asheville, NC I would be happy to start every day with the perfection that is Sunny Point Cafe's maple glazed donut.  This would probably lead me to an early death but at least I would go with a smile on my face.  Real maple cream +  fresh donut perfection = happiness (math is so easy).  

raw food - it shouldn't taste good it's too good for me

During my yoga teacher training I was lucky to be hosted by Cyndi an amazing woman who happened to also be a vegan raw foodist.   While I did have a ten year stint in vegetarianism long ago and far away during my teens (two reasons, I read Upton Sinclair's the The Jungle and maybe a minor way to rebel from a serious hunter family).

i'm not that kind of truffle..

So much chocolate so little time.. I make a fairly valiant effort to shop in every chocolate store I come across in my travels.  Next to shiny things made of precious metals it is one of my favorite things to give and one of my favorite things to receive.

pizza.. i could live on pizza..

I love pizza..  If I had to give up all other foods in the world I honestly could as long as I had pizza.  The closest I've come to enacting this idea was probably in college where I ate it at least a few times a week.

i like to start the day with chocolate

For my first post I decided to pull out one of my favorite savory chocolate encounters of 2010.  During a trip to Utah visiting friends I was taken to the Red Iguana a popular local Mexican restaurant known for it's selection of delectable moles.