Cold Food recap

…and now since my husband is home from training today on Tuesday, August 2nd, I feel like I have breathing room again. I felt like it all month was a cycle was a triathlon of dealing with my physical health, mental health, and caring for my young child and two dogs all month. Plus I’m still on a probation period at my job so I am determined to perform well.

Cheese around the World

*Note: I thought I posted my Strawberries recap on May 31st, but I must have forgotten to publish it. **

I decided to use June to explore cheese. If I am stump on what to make for any meal, I would eat grilled cheese sandwiches. If it’s grilled cheese for breakfast, I’d add an egg. If it’s grilled cheese for lunch or dinner, add a side of soup or salad. I’d make a charcuterie board a meal. There’s no designated charcuterie board really. It’s more like a plate of cheese, crackers, cured meats, and fruits — it’s the easiest work lunch to pack like adult Lunchables.

Eat Around the World: Strawberries

Anything with strawberries are hit and miss with me. I like fresh strawberries, but I am not a fan of strawberry flavor such as strawberry ice cream, strawberry candy, strawberry milk, etc. because the flavor tends to come off as artificial. I ask “did they really use strawberries?”

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.

Salads recap

I thought doing a post on salad should be a fun twist on a common New Year’s Resolution, losing weight. Instead of the focus being “to lose weight,” it could be to eat more salad or more vegetables. The challenge was looking for salads that use cold-weather vegetables or grains.

Salads around the world

January’s theme will be Salads. This will be a real challenge for me because when I make salads, I think of fresh vegetables at peak seasons — usually during warmer months. Like these…

Psst…Don’t tell them there are vegetables in this dish!

Happy Weekend Coffee Share! I made some nachos, but here’s the twist: the cheese is plant-based. Breaking down the cheese sauce ingredients it’s potatoes, butternut squash, onions, garlic, nutritional yeast, and other spices.

Eat around the World: Food you would bring to a feast

Happy November 1st! This time of the year is my favorite time of the year food-wise. It’s a time where I go through a kitchen experiment kick from October to December. I get to experiment with different recipes I’ve been eye-balling all year around. I don’t know why I wait until the end of the year to play in the kitchen. I guess maybe I have a reason to make different dishes at the end of the year — we have Halloween, Thanksgiving with family, Thanksgiving with friends, Thanksgiving at work, tree trimming party at work, White Elephant Party, New Year’s Eve party with friends, etc. Side note: Now because I have a food series on my blog, I think I’ll get to play with food all year around.

Candy around the world (A Virtual trick-or-treat!)

This month’s theme for “Eat Around the World” will be candy. I chose candy because it’s October and I immediately think of trick-or-treating. It’s an annual Halloween tradition in the U.S. where children in costumes go around the neighborhood ringing door-to-door saying “trick-or-treat” asking for treats. Usually treats come in the form of candy. One year I received a toothbrush and another year I receive an apple — those homes quickly became the least popular places to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood.

Cold dishes for a hot August (Eat around the World)

As I write this post on the last day of August, the weather finally cooled down. In the beginning of the month, I thought about all the thing I would make with tomatoes like a savory tart, curry, and pasta sauce. But it was way, way, way too hot to make any of those all month long. But it gave me a chance to play with cold dishes. I’ve noticed I’ve been eating less ice cream too. For years every time the weather was so hot, I would end my day with ice cream. I love ice cream, but with a job where I spend most of my day in a desk, I would enjoy this indulgence once in a while. With all these cold dishes I’ve been making, I can reach for something much healthier.

Tomatoes around the world

The ingredient of August will be tomatoes!!! I apologize for the late post. My writing has been slow lately. My husband is out of town for two weeks. When he left for training, my daughter was sick for a good part of the week and now I’m fighting the sniffles. I am so thankful I have my parents living near by where they could watch her while I went to work though the commute was twice as long. I’m surprised I was able to even squeeze in some writing this past week.

Anyway, I chose tomatoes for August because I want some excuse to make some good gazpacho. The gazpacho I’ve attempted to make in the past has tasted somewhat off…maybe there was too much bread or maybe it was too acidic. Maybe I have not found the right gazpacho recipe. I’m still willing to look around because people rave so much about gazpacho. Plus it’s appropriate for the summer time because it’s too darn hot for ramen, pho, and chicken noodle soup.