Where I've Been..

Or eating.. I've been a lazy blogger and lazy cook as well.

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery



Coconut Cream Cake



Bacon, Corn, Cheddar & Chive Frittata



Garlic Belachan w. a Side of Long Beans



Steamed Pork Ribs w. Black Bean Sauce



Buttermilk Biscuits



Roasted Vegetable Soup



Basil Butter Shrimp



Maryland Blue Crabs



Serenity

Labor Day Weekend

For those who know me well, there's always an occasion to eat well. My waistline and cholesterol will pay for it one day but there's nothing like a holiday weekend to put all diets and reservations aside to dive right into good food. There isn't many photos since I was too busy stuffing myself. From potlucks to BBQ to eating out, the last summer weekend brought nothing but constant itis.

Friday night's dinner and Sunday's brunch. Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup w. Short Ribs adapted from here.



Thank you Mel & Mary for hosting a wonderful BBQ. I came late and probably missed a lot of stuff but being me, I managed to sample everything that was left on the table - except for the corn which looked like a heap of cheesy goodness!



Here was my contribution. Potato Salad w. Pea, Proscuitto & Dill adapted from here. I didn't add the lemon juice. Something about adding acids to dairy gives me the heeby jeebies but I'm sure it's totally fine to do so with this recipe. This is an upgrade from my usually blah yet tasty potato salad but the occasion called for it.



Cheers to good food and even better company. The weekend wouldn't be complete without an awesome combination of the two.

The BFs Dish

This is a dish my boyfriend recommended. His father made it at home so we tried it previously as I looooove lettuce wraps. They feel and taste so clean and I find it fun to create your own wraps with various toppings/sauces. It's like a mini buffet for me. We didn't use as many add ons as the previous time - I think I went overboard. Only soy sauce with chili padi and fried onions for me. I could eat them shits like onion rings .. mmm.

Lettuce Wraps with Ground Pork and Soy Beans.

3 Pork Fried Rice

It's another one of those nights where you open your fridge and see what you can make for dinner according to availability. I had a bunch of frozen ready-to-eat meats & veggies for those days I'm not for home for dinner. This way my dear BF would always have something quick for dinner. There's Chinese sausage, frozen dumplings, peas, corn, home made roast pork, etc. Unfortunately he usually reaches for the instant noodles or a $5 sub from Subways.

3 Pork Fried Rice w. Salt Pork, Roast Pork & Chinese Sausage, Shredded Carrots, Peas & Egg



After Dinner Watermelon Martinis - I should just stick to cooking - bleh!



Stole this from Feisty

How the Omnivore's 100 Works:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Optional: Post a comment at Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

My Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin - I'm on the fence about trying this one..
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor - This sounds like something I SHOULD'VE tried already. Seafood & Cheese? I disappoint myself!
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I Love Eggplant!

Not really.. I actually detest the damn thing. We received eggplant in our CSA box a couple weeks ago and I attempted to grill it on my grill pan. Olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes.. it turned out pretty good. Just not for me yuck! So we found eggplant in the CSA box again last week and so for dinner during the week I tried dishing it up Asian style with ground pork and some sauce. Wow, eggplant never tasted SO good. It wasn't mushy at all and packed great flavor courtesy of soy sauce, chinese rice wine, and chicken broth. Will mostly make this again if I'm in the mood.

Fish Flavored Eggplant adapted from here - though there was nothing fishy about this dish.



Pan Grilled Salmon

Maine Lobster Festival 2008

The girls and I went on our "Annual" Girls' Maine Roadtrip for the Maine Lobster Festival. It was the second consecutive year but they're already thinking about 2009. I love the escape from the city. No, we didn't party in our hotel room, play dress up or go to the bars and stumble around New England like intoxicated college students but we did massive shopping, eating, and sleeping (yes ,my kind of vacation). I was aghast after calculating how much I'd spent that weekend that the huge majority of my funds went to food. My biggest souvenirs were some live lobsters for the BF, a table lamp and a much bigger waistline.

Some pictures from the Girls' Maine Roadtrip 2008 a couple weeks ago.

Come to momma.. one of the many that weekend.



Cappy's Chowder House - Second time eating here. The only things I really liked here are the clam chowder and the potent drinks! Nothing like a buzz at noon. Photo is of the bakery side on the side street.



Our second night in Maine we dined at Francine Bistro in Camden for dinner. Lovely, cozy place that changes their menu daily depending on what is locally available . With only 4 apps and 4 entrees on the menu we ordered one of each. Our dinner was very meat heavy but extremely good. A nice break from all the seafood we ate for lunch. Sorry no photos.

On our last night we decided to try Lily Bistro a fabulous new place on Main St. in Rockland per the recommendation of the sweet storekeeper at G.F. Mac Gregors. I don't recall all the names of the dishes except mine. Another enjoyable dinner.

Duck in some kind of orange sauce



Pork Steak with Fried Green Tomatoes



Pan Fried Red Fish (?) on Ratatouille - The fish looked like a red snapper which I love. The Ratatouille was a replacement for the Lobster Mashed Potatoes that ran out. Boo.



They seated us in the downstairs dining area since the upstairs was packed. The owner repeatedly apologized for not being able to provide us seating upstairs. Why no one would want to sit down here - I don't know. Though it looks like a dungeon in the photo, it was alot more charming than the rowdy upstairs. Behind the photographer was an entire wall custom made to hold bottles of wines. We were alone so it was also like private dining!







Lobster Roll dredged in butter from Red's Eats



Til next year..

Quick & Easy

I'm going through this tired funk so dishes had to be quick and simple. made enough for us to eat for dinner the next day so I wouldn't have to cook again. Instead I got a much needed nap.

Tomato & Egg Stir Fry, Pork & Green Peppers w. Black Bean Sauce and Stir Fried Shrimp w. Garlic & Butter. All served with warm rice.