Seattle Food

Here are some of the foods we had in Seattle. I would say majority of the foods below are restaurants selected by H’s cousin. Shoutout to her for taking the week off to take us around town.

Austin food

The last of my Texas trip recap, some of the foods I ate around Austin.

The Salty Donut (2000 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704)

These are the best donuts I’ve had in a long time. They are also very expensive donuts — around $4-$5 per donut making them premium donuts. The star-shaped donut is a churro donut stuffed with dulce de leche cream. The white cream donut is the horchata donut. The chocolate donut is Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake.

March’s Eat Around the World theme is…Green!

St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17th and I thought it would be fun to explore some green foods without the green food coloring — I’m looking at you McDonald’s Shamrock shake. When I think of green, I think of green tea and matcha. I want to do a green food theme because I want to introduce my daughter to more green food like spinach and cucumbers. I think she likes spinach when I make saag because it’s stewed, but not when it’s raw like in a salad. I suspect it’s because she can’t chew raw spinach because does not have teeth to cut it just yet. That’s fine, I can do some creative workarounds.

Eat around the World: Ring-shaped food (recap)

I think I was just being funny when I decided February’s theme would be around foods shaped like rings. Valentine’s Day is in February, so there are engagement rings. And the Olympics happened this month, so there are the Olympic rings. I think I was just being goofy at the time. But I have to say, I had a lot of fun than I expected exploring this shape. I did have bagels, but I did not find any true ring-shaped ones. Or maybe these bagels were so big, it was no longer ring-like. I did not get a chance to make any ring-shaped food since my donut mold was in a box as my kitchen cabinet had to stay empty for the majority of the month.

Be the Healthy Food Hero at any feast!

When it comes to feasts, there’s always going to be rich (read: unhealthy) food. When we’ve done Friendsgiving (Thanksgiving with friends), even with planning on who is going to bring what, there’s always bound to be at least five different desserts on the table.

Ice cream around the world (and June recap)

Wow, it’s July already!

I had a lot of fun sharing some celebration themed treats in June. I shared my treats celebrating my wedding, the middle of the week (hump day), and when my husband’s first Father’s Day. I even made a cake with layers. I saved some cake scraps from the matcha cake and made some cake truffles. It’s very simple: break the cake scraps into crumbs, mix it with a little bit of leftover frosting, roll it in a ball, and freeze. After it’s set, melt some chocolate and roll the truffles in chocolate. It’s incredibly rich. I should have added toppings like almond or coconut shreds or white chocolate chips for better presentation. Also, I should learn how to temper chocolate for a shinier, smoother finish.

Thank you Liz from One Million Photographs for sharing your dish celebrating the welcoming of summer with a crab dinner from Pike’s Place.

Anyways for the theme Ice Cream — my favorite dessert! I eat it frequently because it’s so darn hot where I live in the summertime I’ve had some ice cream kicks on my blog sharing some of the interesting ice cream flavors we have all around Los Angeles. Here are a few I’ve had:

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From left to right: White rose and Espresso from Saffron and Rose, Matcha and Mozzarella from Kiddos Creamery, and Ferrero Rocher and and Pistachio gelato from Amarinyo.

I look forward to also using my ice cream maker. This month should not be too hot to make ice cream.

What kind of ice cream flavors or textures can we find in your part of the world? Participating in “Eat around the the World” is easy! You can either comment here to submit your entry or pingback to this post. Cooking skills are not required to participate! You can also use the tag, “Eat Around the World.” Deadline to participate is July 31st.

The August theme is already set for Tomatoes. I look forward to playing with that theme in seeking out tomato themed dishes and making some myself. I would love expand my use of tomatoes beyond putting on a salad or a sandwich. September is still TBD so I decided to make a poll (viewable on browser not on the WordPress reader app for some reason).

“Eat around the World“ is a monthly writing/photography challenge where I invite people to share a dish around a theme, ingredient, or technique. July’s theme is ice cream. All themes are open to interpretation. Cooking skills are not required to participate.

“Eat around the world” — a new blog challenge

I’ve spent a good part of the pandemic watching YouTube videos. My favorite videos are ones that involve food. It could be a recipe video, a food journey in a particular destination, a food challenge, cooking techniques, restaurant review, etc. I enjoy watching them all!

I’ve been entertaining the idea of having people share how their part of the world would eat something…it could be a particular dish (pizza), feature a particular ingredient (tomatoes), or use a cooking tool (cast iron skillet, cheese grater). It combines my love for food and travel. You don’t have to be a home cook to participate. You can share a dish from a place you dine at too

I plan to kick off my first prompt on June 1st. I am thinking the theme could be wedding cakes around the world…or some treat one would eat at weddings. I chose a wedding theme because June is peak season for weddings. I am inviting everyone to participate all June long.

Anyways I thought it would be a fun idea. I can’t wait to kick it off on June 1st!

Also…any tips of hosting blogging challenges? Comment below!

Five Things Friday: Get some rest

What a week.

If I wasn’t pregnant, a beer would sound good. But instead sparkling water is fine.

We’ve had lots of donations this week at the hospital. I anticipate next week will be the same.

What have I been up to? What have I been enjoying?

1. Some Good News – I’ve been following Some Good News with John Krasinski. It’s a good spin. So far my favorite is when they featured the Hamilton cast.
2. Walk at Home by Leslie Sansone – Do you spend a lot of time sitting on the couch, sitting in front of a computer, or laying bed? This YouTube channel will re-invigorate you to move more.
3. Ordering take out – So a new ritual I’ve been doing on Fridays is ordering takeout at a restaurant in downtown LA. I am taking advantage of no traffic. Also, I don’t have to drive and meet my husband at home and go drive elsewhere for a night out. Instead I pick up takeout and bring it home. I guess I can count it towards my new restaurant count even though we are not dining in.
4. Re-reading Ready Player One. I was compelled to re-read it because I wonder if COVID-19 created the setting for Ready Player One. It takes place in the 2040s — not too far from now. The world escapes the real world for the virtual world.
5. New FitBit! After having a busted FitBit Charge HR for a year, I finally bought a new FitBit!

Podnah’s Pit BBQ, Portland (OR)

Address:
Podnah’s Pit BBQ
​1625 NE Killingsworth St
Portland, OR 97211

Morning Iced Coffee – Farm Table, Van Nuys

Address:
6209 Van Nuys Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 91401

The Halal Guys, Glendale

Beef and Chicken combo sandwich

I’ve been to Halal Guys a couple times for lunch. Between the plate and the sandwich, I prefer the sandwich.

Warning: The red hot sauce is tear-pooling spicy.  Please use at your own risk.

Address:

The Halal Guys
201 N Brand Blvd
Glendale, CA 91203