the things they carried

Half of my family was moved here as the Vietnam war came to a close the family of eleven traveled for many days on a boat with nothing but a pack of saltine crackers to eat which they mostly fed to my youngest aunt.  That I know of they brought next to nothing that couldn't be carried easily in a very small sack from their homeland.  What I have inherited from them is their recipes which are a fusion of Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines which I have turned into my own American interpretation.

call me what you want

If you want to impress a girl (or at least this girl) and maybe keep her around, learning how to make breakfast is a good start (I'm not a morning person, it's my least favorite meal to make).   Because more than anything most girls really love feeling like they are worth an effort.  The breakfast can be complicated and time consuming or simple and quick, either way the message is made that you care enough to take the time to make something without expecting anything in return.  A good quote in reference to this from Madame de Staël: “The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man.”

paired up

Wine tasting is a big hobby of mine, it hasn't always been that way though.  Wine was very much an acquired taste for me.  I acquired it through  taking a few college classes and subjecting myself to a lot of tastings until I finally discovered I love wine.  Like many who have a sweet tooth I started out with the sweeter drinks.. As my tastebuds developed I discovered that the dry wines paired better with savory food and in the case of a good bottle paired with the right dish it could actually enhance the experience and compliment whatever was on the plate. 

jibber jabber

Some things are more important than jibber jabbering about food.  I am not very political and I promise I won't often talk about non-food topics.  Today however I feel it is important to raise the issue of SOPA (stop online piracy act).  Sure maybe I can respect an artist's need to earn their fair share from the wonderful things they create.  Sure I believe that copyright should be respected.. But, I kinda like pirates I mean Johny Depp did play an awesome pirate in that one movie..  Most importantly though what the heck would happen to YouTube (heartbreak, many bored people, tears and a gallon or ten cartons of ice cream later).  Really it's more than just YouTube that will be damaged by this.. it's so much information, and the freedom to access it.  My challenge to you is to read the bill in it's entirety and see if you can support each item 100% then and only then should it be passed.  It's so sad that there are many bills that by title alone you would guess it has to be a good idea, I would say it's similar to making a misleading headline.. but, in reality when you read the fine print like many contracts it's not as awesome as the headline suggests.  I don't know if they decided long ago that passing the multi-item bill was more efficient for time or just a sneaky way to have some good things and some horrific things pass all at once because the good outweighed the bad or maybe they realized that if there is too much crap to read and the title was catchy it would pass without questions..  I don't have these answers but I do know that I'm not a fan of SOPA..  

Sign me please.. <3's

a little too far

The dwindling remains of the bacon craze of 2009-2011 leaves us with the question can there be such a thing as too much bacon?  With 100's of products paying homage to the miracle that bacon is and the many incarnations of bacon flavored products.  Maybe bacon saturation hits when it comes to combining two classic salt laden processed meats.  Bacon taste + Spam..  Maybe I should try it, then knock it.. but I'm not sure my veins can handle that much sodium or if I should even bother to find the courage to nibble this food science trophy.  When I do though I'll be sure to write about it.  

 

it's one thing to accidentally grab the light spam.. it's another to grab the bacon spam.. 

24 hrs

24 hr diners are brilliant.  Where else can you go when the bars have stopped serving food.  Where else is open at 2 am and beyond that can you see anyone from young dolled up prom goers to older rough and tumbles who may have had one too many encounters with life's knock outs and don't forget the favorite drunk and surly need grease bomb to soak up whatever poison that has made them the inebriated mess that is often entirely too loud for that time in the a.m..  The wait staff can be anywhere from surly to sweet as pie but who cares if it's 2 am and I'm awake for whatever reason that is and all I know is I'm hungry and I don't want to cook.

juicy

I love pretty things that make my life easier.  I have fond memories of my family making fresh squeezed orange juice when I was younger  I remember them making it with a small glass juicer that involved slicing the orange in half and twisting the halved fruit on the juicer till all that was left was the hallowed out rind and sticky hands that smelled of oranges.  As an adult I have had a busy life with a strong desire to keep things simple and reduce the pack rat tendencies that I was raised with which means I have a lot less kitchen gadgetry than you would imagine a kitchenista should have.  

winning an argument

Ok.. so there's a big.. well.. maybe not epic big but it's a debate of some size out there in the wine world.. the debate is real cork, synthetic cork or twisty caps.