Journeys in Japan: Part 2

The first day that we were in Japan, we decided to wander around the town of Yokosuka. A military town, I didn't expect a whole lot of activity but was shocked to see a huge festival happening in the streets. And just like festivals in America, Japanese street festival = carts and tents filled with delicious food and eventful games.

This was a great way for us to get a taste of Japan's rich culture. We were able to hear typical music, see traditional dress, and taste unique foods that I had never heard of or seen in my life.



I didn't prepare my stomach before making my way over to the festival, so I left the place really stuffed. This is just a sample of what I put into my blissful belly:


Yakitori is the Japanese version of kabobs. Instead of the typical skewered meats we put on a stick, Yakitori uses all parts of a chicken (skin, liver, thighs, etc.). It has a great honey glaze on it, so it's quite different in taste than the normal kabob. Just imagine the glaze of a Honey Baked Ham on small pieces of chicken. When you walk up to a cart to order one, they're freshly made, so they're hot and delicious. The chicken is not overcooked and is extremely succulent. I personally thought the chicken skin yakitori was a little scary because I never eat chicken skin, but I'm sure it tasted excellent.

Tacoyaki was something my brother was talking about right when we discovered the carnival. It is fried squid drizzled with mayonnaise, a condiment that the Japanese are absolutely in love with (they come in huge vats and squeeze bottles there). Putting the nutrition facts behind you, this is the best mollusk I've ever had in my life. I think those who are fearful of squid would even find Tacoyaki enjoyable. The lightly fried batter and mayonnaise mask any fishy taste that you might expect.

The dessert bananas were everywhere. I passed by at least 4 different carts with it, so I couldn't resist any longer; my near-exploding belly decided that it had to make room for the chocolate-covered fruit. They offered two kinds: one covered in milk chocolate and sprinkles and the other with white chocolate and sprinkes. I opted for the milk chocolate and hate to say that I was a bit disappointed. While passing by these carts, I imagined the banana treat to be a somewhat cold treat. I reasoned this because the chocolate wasn't melting off the sticks of banana. However, the banana was room temperature and nothing better than something I could have made at home. It definitely wasn't worth the 300 yen they sold it for.

The wax lollipops were a hit with children at the festival. My mom ended up buying one, but I didn't actually taste it. It looked very much like normal lollipops that we have in the States and I didn't wanted to waste my tastebuds on something so American. The novelty of these candies were the fact that they were put in little disks made out of ice cream cones. The disks are filled with wax-looking hard candy that is liquid before it hardens and locks in the lollipop. Cute? Yes. Absolutely scrumptious? Probably not.

I think the day at the festival was probably one of the most exciting days that I had while in Japan. It was a wave of culture in a couple of hours and I got to taste, hear, and see so many things that I had never before experienced. I wish Japan were like that everyday.

Food Journeys in Japan: Part 1

Right at the beginning of summer, my family and I made our first trip to Japan. Not know any words other than Konichiwa, Moshi Moshi, and Arigatou, I knew we were going to be pretty handicapped. This was my first time being in a country where I didn't speak the language, and it was definitely a learning experience. The most valuable takeaway: Food is universal. Despite not knowing how to communicate, we were still able to discover great foods. All you need to do is point and use lots of hand gestures!

The first meal that I had was at the airport. Being the foodie that I am, the first thing that came to mind when I got off the plane was filling my belly. What was outside of the airport was of little importance at that moment. We walked around for a while to see what kind of foods the airport offered and I was pleasantly surprised. Every restaurant had a visual menu displayed in their window. Every single item that they offered was for show. This made things especially easy for the language-impaired. I knew what I would order and how much I was going to pay before I even went in. I don't know how any passerby could walk by without stopping, admiring, and drooling. I'm sure the other people in the airport could tell that I was a foreigner with all the excited squeals I made as I excitedly pointed to each and every item in the window like I had never seen food before.

After pulling my eyeballs away from the myriad of windows displays, we stumbled upon a small little restaurant that served homestyle food. Before we landed in Japan, I told myself that I wanted to eat authentic Japanese food, and I figured a place like this was the place to go. Although this restaurant did not have the massive window menu of lifesize foods, they offered a paper menu with images of each item. I scanned through them and found one that sounded appealing - blown rice topped with salmon roe, seaweed, fish, parsley, and these exciting little crunchy, crispy things.

To eat it, you pour the soup from the teapot (upper right hand corner of the tray) into the bowl and make a soupy rice mixture. The soup tasted like a basic seaweed soup and added the right amount of saltiness. The order came with pickled vegetables, seaweed, and tofu. After eating everything on the tray, I was pleased with our food selection. I had never seen anything like this in America whereas many of the items in the window displays were more typical Japanese fare that the States offers. During the rest of the trip, I was only able to eat this one more time, but if I had the chance to go back, it would definitely be near the top of the food list.

Considering that this was consumed within my first hour of landing in Japan, I knew I had lots to look forward to. More to come in the next post!

Dim Sum Delight

In my travels in China, we made a point to eat a lot of dim sum. Although Houston has some pretty good dim sum varieties, there are many items that aren't offered here in the States.

The first dim sum item worth mentioning is low sa bao, a steamed white bun with a runny, yolk-like filling. I've had a version in America that has a solid filling, but the uniqueness of this treat is the liquid-form of the egg-yolk center. It gets messy sometimes, but it's absolutely delicious and worth the mess.

The second item I'd like to feature is a Portuguese tart (poa taht). Similar to an egg custard tart, the top of this is torched like a creme brulee. When it's freshly torched, the top is extra crispy and the pastry is the perfect flakiness. Although I haven't had this tart in the south, the egg custard tart is sold in every dim sum restaurant I've ever been to.

This item is a very traditional dim sum food, but I decided to talk about it because I had never seen a restaurant go to the extreme and shape it into a fish! This turnip cake was not fried like it normally is, but was steamed. I personally like fried versions better, but the presentation was definitely interesting and worth mentioning.

If you're completely unfamiliar with the concept of dim sum, it's a Cantonese brunch tradition. In a literal translation, it means "to order to your heart's desire". At a genuine dim sum restaurant, a menu with about 40 items are listed for you to select from. Because portions are small, you typically order multiple items - or as many as your 'heart desires'. Once you are done with your selections, your waiter/ress collects your 'checklist' and brings your food out as it is completed.

At the dim sum restaurants I've dined at in the States, they typically push a heated cart around with already prepared items. Each cart will feature multiple items, but the items typically have something in common. For example, one cart might be all desserts, another might be all fried, the other might be steamed, one might have all buns, etc.

Most major cities have a Chinatown and I'm almost certain will have at least one dim sum restaurant. As more and more people begin to appreciate Asian cuisines, these types of restaurants have and will continue to thrive. Each time I go, I see more and more white American families taking a stab (with their two-handed chopstick techniques) at dim sum. I have yet to meet one person who does not enjoy dim sum, and I doubt that I ever will. With the vast variety of food offered, strong flavors, and rich culture the dining experience offers, I can't imagine it being anything less than an enjoyable experience.

Food in the Far East - Dragonfruit

I recently came back on a two-week vacation to China and Japan, so the next few posts that I write will be dedicated to the delicious foods I had while abroad.


The first feature is dragonfruit. Interestingly like a kiwi, this fruit is a juicy, almost flavorless treat. The reason I compare it to a kiwi is the texture of the 'meat' and the seeds speckled throughout.

If you take notice to the outside of the fruit, you will notice that it looks like it has appendages. If you use your imagination, the appendages look a bit like fire. I think this is why Chinese people call it "fire dragon fruit".


The first time I ate this a couple years back, I was utterly confused at how I was supposed to attack this odd animal of a fruit. Peeling it was impossible, as the skin was spongy and extremely thick. Biting straight into it definitely wasn't an option, especially since the outside was highly contaminated with Macau's filthy air. But I wasn't about to let something between me and this fruit (hardly anything ever presents a barrier between me and food), so I decided to use my highly-skilled hands and perform surgery on this little sucker. Using a knife, I carved the dragonfruit in half to find what you see above. Don't be too scared of the seeds inside. I promise they're not bugs!

To get the meat out, I used a spoon to carve little craters out of the fruit. With each spoonful came a lot juice (and a lot of seeds!) The seeds are edible, but aren't as annoying as kiwi seeds. I find kiwi seeds to be kind of waxy and irritating to the tongue. Besides a little crunch, the dragonfruit seeds did not disturb my mouth's sweet moments savoring this fruit.

After having this fruit in China, I make sure that I eat some each time that I go back. They're really cheap overseas, but I've seen them in Houston for as much as $4. I haven't purchased one in the States before, so I can't say whether or not they're as delicious as they are in Asia. But if you're interested in trying one, I would recommend going to an Asian-mart. They're worth a try!

Sorry Ice Cream

3 years ago, a new wave of insanity hit California. The wave came in frozen, creamy form, and the result - thousands of parking tickets.

Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt store, opened in January 2005. Its success spurred openings in California and New York faster than Britney Spears could come up with ways to shock the nation with her ridiculous antics. However, like Britney, Pinkberry and frozen yogurt have stuck around to many's surprise. Over the past 3 years, Pinkberry has successfully opened 50 stores and I'm sure they have more to come.

Although I'm not sure if Pinkberry was the first to start this craze, many other entrepreneurs saw the popularity of Pinkberry's delicious fro-yo and saw it as a great investment opportunity. These investors were very clever for trying to capitalize on the fad, but I really think they could have worked on the names of their stores. The most ridiculous ones that I have heard of are: Berri Good, Dietberry, and Yogurberry. Maybe they think that success of the store is contingent on whether or not the word 'berry' is in the name of the store...who knows.

But where did Pinkberry come from? As much as loyal Pinkberry-goers like to believe, frozen yogurt is not a new thing. In fact, the first national frozen yogurt chain in America, TCBY (This Can't Be Yogurt), was formed in 1981. Frozen yogurt entered a slump in the cool, creamy dessert market for a while, and then a store called Red Mango entered the arena.

Red Mango may be responsible for the revival of frozen yogurt. The first location opened in 2002 in Korea, and this is where Pinkberry founders got the idea to open a similar store in the states. I earlier picked on other frozen yogurt locations, so I have to be fair and poke fun at Pinkberry as well. Not only did Pinkberry borrow the idea of frozen yogurt from Red Mango, but they borrowed a more subtle version of the name. Red shifted to pink and mango shrank to berry. Clever.

So what pulled Americans out of the frozen yogurt slump in 2005? The heavy emphasis on health benefits? The colorful fruit and cereal toppings that dress the frozen dessert? Or its fresh, tart taste? All of these things were probably responsible for the resurrection of frozen yogurt, but I would say that its unique taste is what got everyone addicted to "crackberry". Unlike the traditional fro-yo you get at TCBY, this frozen yogurt is so tart it's almost sour. Just imagine eating plain Dannon or Yoplait yogurt in an icy form. Some really like it, but I know of others who can't stand the less-sweet alternative to ice cream.

I had my first experience of this new type of frozen yogurt last fall at Swirll in Houston's West U area. I was initially drawn in by the modern, hip design of the store, and was even more intrigued when I saw nutritional facts displaying the low number of calories this treat packed. The next thing my eyes were drawn to was the topping bar. Half of the toppings were fruits and the other half were fun toppings ranging from sunflower seeds, granola, and Fruity Pebbles. I was sold when I saw the colorful cereal as a potential topping. Who knew that I wasn't the only wacko around who liked cereal on top of their ice cream?

I was definitely taken by surprise when I took my first bite of the creamy concoction. I was not expecting such a tart taste, but my tastebuds slowly learned that I wasn't eating ice cream. Ever since that first experience, I've been hooked. Each time I'm in Houston, I make a special trip to satisfy my fro-yo craving.

The owner, who opened his first location in West U during the summer of 2007, has since opened 2 more locations - one in River Oaks and the other in Post Oak by the Galleria. In August of 2008, he will be opening another location in Austin, right by UT's campus on "the Drag" (thank goodness!)

If you haven't had the opportunity to give frozen yogurt a try, I highly recommend finding a location near you. With its extreme popularity, I wouldn't imagine it to be very difficult to find a frozen yogurt store in most large cities.

Get on the bandwagon before this trend ends. You never know, you might miss your opportunity and another frozen dessert akin to frozen yogurt might take it off the radar like Jamie Lynn did to Britney. Do it. Your mouth will be glad you did.

History of Wars in Food

I thought this was extremely creative. Enjoy!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e-yldqNkGfo

Moist Carrot Cake

I am a proud owner of a ridiculously cute bunny rabbit, who gets a carrot every morning and sometimes a second during the day if he's lucky or does something extraordinarily cute (which is often). With all this feeding and my family's use of carrots in our cuisine, a quarter of the bottom drawer in our refrigerator is dedicated to carrots. While rummaging through the refrigerator for a healthy snack, I noticed 2 bags of carrots instead of the usual 1, so I decided to be adventurous and make my own carrot soup.

Except not. I just recently developed a taste for carrots, and I think it will be much longer before I can make myself swallow a bowl full of carrot puree.

With Easter coming up, my frequently-craving-sweets appetite, and a desire to burn the midnight oil, I decided to make carrot cake. Plus, my boyfriend's dad apparently loves the dessert, so it seemed like a great idea.

I got the recipe for the cake here, and the cream cheese frosting recipe from Williams Sonoma.

Ingredients

Cake

• 4 cups (about 5 large) carrots, peeled and grated
  
• 1 1/2 cups ground nuts (I used almonds)


• 2 cups flour


• 1 tbsp cinnamon


• 2 tsp baking soda


• 1 tsp salt


• 4 eggs


• 1 cup oil


• 1 cup granulated white sugar


• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar


• 1 tbsp vanilla
  

Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese


• 1 stick unsalted butter


• 2 cups confectioners' sugar


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1/4 tsp salt

Preparation

Cake

Cream sugar, eggs, and oil.

Add remaining cake ingredients and mix well.

Pour batter into greased 9x13 baking pan.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 28 minutes.

Frosting

Cream cream cheese.

Add butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat until combined well.

Notes/tips/recommendations

• Carrot cake recipes typically call for walnuts. My family eats lots of almonds at home for the health benefits, so I just used what we have laying around.
• I felt the frosting had too much vanilla. There was so much that I felt it was a little bitter. Also, it was not as thick as I would have liked. My advice is to be careful when creaming, because I think excessive creaming of the cream cheese will result in a runny frosting.
• To grate the carrots, I used a food processor. My food processor chopped the carrots into long shreds, and I just ran my knife through it a couple of times to make them smaller pieces.

Scratch Brownies

I have a crazy, ridiculous sweet tooth. Last night, my sweet tooth called for rich, decadent brownies. So, to appease my cravings, I turned to my overflowing pantry in search of a box of brownie mix. To my disappointment, I discovered that I used the last box of brownie mix the last weekend I was in town.

I realized that it was too late to run to the grocery store to pick up a box of mix, but I knew that I had to fix myself a sweet, chocolately dessert. In desperation, I began surfing the web for a recipe for a from-scratch brownie recipe. I looked through a couple, and found that most had shortening as an ingredient. I've made it a personal rule to never use shortening, so I had very few options. In the end, I found one recipe that was simple, required ingredients that my pantry already had, and did not require shortening.

I slightly modified the recipe and was pleased with the outcome. The brownies were a lot more cakey than I anticipated, but they still tasted delicious.


Ingredients

Brownie

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips


• 3/4 cup butter


• 1/2 tsp vanilla


• 3 eggs


• 1 cup flour


• 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 1/2 cup sugar

Frosting

• 1/2 tub Betty Crocker Whipped Milk Chocolate frosting


• 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Preparation

Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Stir to ensure all chips are all melted. Add eggs and vanilla.

Add all remaining dry ingredients to melted chocolate. Beat until mixture is consistent and smooth.

Spread into greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Microwave 1/2 tub of chocolate frosting for 45 seconds. Pour over brownies. Sprinkle with chopped almonds.

Notes/tips/recommendations

• I prefer using fresh chopped nuts rather than prechopped nuts. I find them a lot crunchier because you can control how big/small each nut is.


• These brownies are a lot cakier than other brownies. Don't expect fudgy brownies if you follow this recipe.

Homemade & Healthy Honey Granola

My dad recently changed his entire diet to lead a healthier lifestyle. We no longer eat pork or beef at home, and all snacks must be healthy. One snack that my dad has always loved eating is Quaker 100% natural granola, and for the past couple of years, we've purchased this item at Costco. Very recently, our local Costco has stopped selling this cereal, so my dad has gone through several different kinds of granola, but none of them seem to compare to Quaker's.

I was watching the Food Network one morning (my TV is permanently set on this channel) and saw Tyler Florence making homemade granola. This inspired me to make up my own recipe because granola is a great, healthy snack. I thought my dad would love this, especially since he no longer can find granola that he likes and he's always looking for something healthy to snack on while at the office.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Quaker oatmeal
  
• 1 cup almonds, roughly chopped
  
• 1 medium apple, finely sliced


• 1/2 cup Kretschmer wheat germ


• 1/2 cup raisins


• 1/2 cup Sue Bee honey


• 1/2 cup water


• 2 tbsp brown sugar
  
  

Preparation

Combine oatmeal, raisins, brown sugar, almonds, wheat germ, and apples (read note below) in large mixing bowl.

Mix honey and water. Pour into dry mixture. Mix thoroughly until all dry ingredients are evenly coated with honey mixture.

Spread into baking pan. Be sure to spread the mixture as thin as possible to ensure even toasting.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 1 hr 15 minutes. Turn frequently to avoid burning and for even toasting.

Notes/tips/recommendations

• Slice apples as thinly as possible. If you don't slice them thin enough, they will be soggy rather than crisp. You might want to use a very sharp knife to do this. This is how I sliced my apples:



• I put wheat germ in the granola because of the added health benefits. Wheat germ is high in vitamin E, which is good for your heart and immune system. I was originally going to add flax seeds, but we ran out, so I looked for the next best thing. When the wheat germ toasted, it added a nice little crunch.


• You can use maple syrup in this recipe if you please. Both are considered healthy sweeteners, but I didn't have any maple syrup at my house.

Cooking from Cans

I was assigned duty of dinner tonight, and I made an extremely simple Turkey Casserole. In fact, many of the ingredients from this recipe can come from cans. This is something good for feeding a lot of people when you don't have a whole lot of time to prepare or plan.


Ingredients

• 1 pkg whole wheat fusilli (or any other noodle you like)


• 2 10.5 oz cans of Cream of Mushroom


• 15 oz. can of whole kernel corn


• 1 medium red onion, diced


• 12 oz. canned white turkey in water, chopped


• 1/4 block of Velveeta, sliced


• Seasoned bread crumbs

Preparation

Boil the pasta until it is al dente. Strain in colander and place into large casserole dish.

Add diced red onions, whole kernel corn, turkey, and cream of mushroom soup. Stir until ingredients evenly mixed.

Top with Velveeta slices and seasoned bread crumbs.

Bake for 30 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Notes/tips/recommendations:

• Add a little green with broccoli florets. This will liven up the dish a whole lot. I was going to do this but my casserole dish was overflowing and I figured that the salad I made would give us enough vegetables.
• Throw in a can of pitted olives. Once again, I wanted to do this but my dish was too small so I just put the olives in the salad.
• Be sure not to overcook the pasta. Because you are putting this in the oven, it will continue to cook even after you remove it from the stove.
• You can opt not to use the bread crumbs. I just like the taste and look of them on my casseroles.
  

Guero's Taco Bar

Today, my brother, his girlfriend, our family friend, and I went down to South Congress to look at the shops. Before shopping, we decided to grab some lunch. We initially wanted to go to El Luna Y El Sol, but we arrived so late that they stopped serving lunch. So we drove down a little further and decided to eat at Guero's Taco Bar.


This restaurant is very Austin-y. I noticed that all the shops and restaurants on this part of Congress seemed a bit more eccentric than the other places around town. When we walked in the restaurant, my brother's girlfriend said "I like this place already!" There's a little fish pond/fountain right when you walk in, metal decorative bats hanging around the columns, and my favorite part - a 10 foot tall portrait of this woman:




We decided to start off with Guero Dip for our appetizer. The menu described it as a 5-layer dip, but I really couldn't find all 5 layers. I felt like i was just dipping my chips into refried beans and guacamole. I did, however, love how they had sliced jalapenos on top.



For my entree, I ordered migas because I woke up late and hadn't had breakfast yet. I've honestly only had migas once before today, but they were so delicious the first time I tried them that I decided to give them another try. To my disappointment, Guero's migas weren't what I expected. They came out like a pancake and looked burnt around the edges.


I don't think I'll be going back to Guero's anytime soon. The setting is fun, but the food did not meet my expectations. The next time I'm down on South Congress, I think I'll be visiting Home Slice Pizza.

Chez-Zee

I go to school in Austin 2.5 hours away from my hometown, and my brother and his girlfriend came up this weekend to visit his old college town. I always find it kind of weird that both my dad and brother went to the same school that I go to. Sometimes I think I was destined to come here. Whatever the reason for coming here, I'm glad that things turned out the way they did because I can't imagine being anywhere else.

My brother and I have a family friend who also went to UT and still lives in Austin, right next to campus. Everytime that my brother comes up here, he stays with this family friend. Last night when deciding where to eat, our family friend came up with Clay Pit because my brother, his girlfriend, and I had never visited the restaurant. I had heard lots of good things about it, and I love trying ethnic foods.

We decided to call to see if there was a long wait before we made the journey out there, and luckily we did because there was apparently a very long wait. Our friend then suggested Chez-Zee, a cute little Austin, American-fare bistro. We gave the restaurant a call and were surprised that there was no wait. We were getting pretty hungry, so we made a mad dash over.

If you're not from the Austin area or haven't been to Chez-Zee, it's a very cute restaurant. Right outside of the restaurant, there is a waiting area that is also a dining area. Tall, standing space heaters keep the area toasty and there's a lit fireplace, creating a warm and welcoming ambiance. On the tables, several games of Connect 4 are set on the tables for evenings with long waits.

When you walk in, there's an overwhelming amount of christmas lights lighting the dining area. Near the center of the dining room past the kitchen is a live pianist. I think the restaurant also decorates seasonally, because last night they had easter eggs hanging above our table. If I remember correctly, there was a halloween theme the last time I went.

The bread at this restaurant is AMAZING. It's a great sourdough with a tough crust and very soft center. But even more remarkable than the bread is this place's olive oil. I have never tasted olive oil with so many flavors! It has a smoky red pepper flavor, and with fresh cracked pepper and warm sourdough bread, your mouth is in heaven. Their olive oil is so good that you can buy it by the bottle from the restaurant.

I ordered the Tuscan Chicken Marinara. I have to say that I was a little disappointed with the dish. Not only was my food only mildly warm, but the chicken was a little tough and powdery, and the marinara sauce was thin and runny. I tried some of my friend's prime rib and it was succulent. They cooked it just the right amount and it felt like butter in your mouth. My brother's chicken fried steak was actually pretty good too. The batter was flaky and light, not like the dark batter that you'd regularly see on a cafeteria's chicken fried steak that's been fried in week-old oil.

Chez-Zee is known for its dessert. I think it has won "Best Dessert" a couple of times in Austin. All 4 of us were pretty stuffed, but we knew we couldn't walk away without trying one of their desserts, so we attempted to tackle the Crème Brûlée French Toast. This is a picture of the dessert from the website because I didn't think of taking a picture at the time. In fact, at this time last night, I hadn't decided to start the blog yet.

The french toast was pretty tasty. I found it very different from your regular french toasts because its density was more full than those that I've had in the past. The texture almost reminded me of an fritatta. After searching online, I was surprised to discover the recipe online at the website.

Reading the recipe helped me understand why its consistency was so much heavier than I had anticipated. The recipe calls for 6 egg yolks, which is more than your traditional french toast recipes.

The rum sauce drizzled on the toast and on the plate was a great complement to the bread. It wasn't too strong or too sweet; just the right flavor to leave a satisfying taste in your mouth.

Overall, this restaurant is pretty good. Although my entree wasn't fantabulous, the bread and dessert made up for it. Also, I'm a sucker for piano music, so it helped leave a positive impression in my mind. And who doesn't love christmas lights?

So if you're ever in Austin or are from Austin and want to show a friend around, I suggest this restaurant. It definitely represents local businesses around here very well. Remember to bring home a bottle of olive oil!

New Blogger

Welcome!

This is my first time to blog, so pardon me as I get used to this. I never thought I would create a blog because the thought of logging into the world wide web and permitting people access to my thoughts and life seemed a bit frightening. However, my roommate introduced me to food blogs, and I thought, "What a great idea!"

I have always been a huge foodie, and I find it difficult to share my passion for good eats with people other than my roommate, who can always be found surfing food-related websites. During a long stretch of studying, I can look over to her corner of the room, and about 1 out of 4 times, she can be found reading something about food. It's always relaxing to look over her shoulder and see what tasty treats she's looking at.

Anyways, after joining her on a couple food adventures on the web, I told myself that I was going to make one for myself. I have put it off for quite some time (probably about half a year) because I typically am busy with school and work, but since my spring break just started, I finally couldn't think of an excuse not to begin. So here it is - my first blog.

My goal with this blog is just like many other food blogs - share recipes, pictures, and thoughts about what I eat or create. I really have no idea what to expect out of this, but hopefully this 'project' will be as interesting for you as it is for me. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to leave them for me (hopefully I figure out how to check them! :P).

But until my first real post, keep your bellies happy!