Dishes served cold (Eat Around the World)

I think I am caught up on posts for the most part. Summertime in my section in LA gets unbearably hot. I try to limit my stove and oven use in the summer when it get really hot. I crave for cold dishes and the leftovers from the fridge and *shocker* not reheat them.

Cheese recap

I usually have a goal in mind of what I would like to make each month. This month I wanted to try to make ricotta cheese, but it’s been so hot this month. I was already looking forward to experimenting with cold dishes which is July’s food theme.

Strawberries around the World (recap)

I decided not to do a deadline. At some point I’d like to do a standing page on previous food themes so I can continue to update and share some recipes around that theme. After my Eggs post recap, I thought to myself, “I don’t want to stop sharing recipes about eggs.” A few days later, I made shakshuka. I have to admit, it was not the best shakshuka recipe but I will continue to find a good shakshuka recipe even if April is long over.

So rather than being bound by deadlines, I’ll continue to share some egg dishes just as I want to share some recipe wins around ice cream and festive dishes. But also I do enjoy recap posts because I get to reflect on the past month through food. Plus I think it is fun to focus and explore on a certain food or theme for a month.

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?”

Eat around the World: Eggs (recap)

Now back to the fun foodie post. Did you hear? I experienced a racist incident. I was so steamed I had to write about it.

I have to say, keeping a blog has saved me many, many times. It has helped me deal with difficult and dark moments. Rather than being drowned out by what everybody else thinks, I get write my own narrative and I find that empowering. In blog world, I kick ass.

Anyways, here egg dishes I got to try this month. Most of the egg dishes were chicken eggs. I was hoping to find some eggs bonda or maybe make some this month. I did not even get to make eggs bonda during my week off. I think I may have under estimated the free time I actually had during my week off.

Eat Around the World: Eggs

I must always have a carton of eggs in the fridge. After university, there was a time eggs was what I had with every meal. I went from co-operative living at university eating from the cafeteria every day for every meal to making every meal on my own on a tiny budget. It was always breakfast for dinner and I did not mind. As I am approaching my mid-30s, I continue to do breakfast for dinner. Since I don’t eat a lot of meat and needed enough protein to get through my pregnancy, I had to eat lots of eggs (plus the morning protein shake to give me that boost). Plus my kid needs protein and she prefers eggs and beans. She does not really go out of her way to eat meat. Very rarely does she reach out for chicken. I am happy to say that it saves me money because I would probably find the meat on the floor.

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.

Foods shaped like rings (Eat around the World)

Initially, I wanted February’s theme to be bagels because I like bagels. Instead, I thought maybe I should go a little broader and explore different types of ring-shaped food. This theme is so fitting for February because the Winter Olympics start this Friday. Also, this month is Valentine’s Day and I thought of engagement rings — cheesy, I know.

Eat around the World: Cookies!

Every year in November and December, I like to occupy the oven to bake cookies all season long. Up until a few days ago, rather than placing the focus on experimenting with different types of cookie recipes, I would try cookies from different bakeries around Los Angeles.

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.

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.