airport food

Airport food
The plan was to get drunk before getting on my flight but I forgot how expensive airport anything is. I made a comment about it and got a dirty look from the waiter, but you know what, like if my Bud Light costs more than the minimum wage, something is wrong.

I've eaten a lot since I've been home. Yesterday I gained 5 lbs in the course of the day. I will post all my home food when I get back to New York. Blogging in New York distracts me from my unemployment, but at home, I can look at mountains and let my parents be nice to me, so whatever about my blog for the few days that I'm home. Washington is great.

cleaning out my fridge

Scrambled eggs with spinach and onion with toast and jam
This was my breakfast and now I gotta go to the airport!

I'm going back to Seattle today! Just for a week, but a week is long enough for food to go bad, so I spent most of yesterday and the day before trying to eat my way through the fridge. I think I got most of it...the only things left are cheese and condiments, and I think that will last. It's exciting because that means I can go buy lots of new food. It's like getting a new wardrobe, except this is way better.

weekend of food

I tried this ramen place in Midtown called Totto Ramen with Dylan. The wait on a Saturday night was so long, but definitely worth it.

Totto chicken paitan ramen
"These straight homemade noodles are cooked al dente style in a whole chicken and premium soy sauce based soup topped with scallion, onion, char siu pork, and a nori."

I haven't had very much (non-instant) ramen, but the place I liked the most is Minca. Now, I think I have a new favorite place. Actually, no, I don't necessarily like one place more than the other because the ramen is made differently and I like each place for what it is. The ramen I like at Minca is made with a pork and chicken broth and has more toppings. This ramen from Totto is made with an all chicken broth. It's not as salty and is a little bit simpler, but tastes richer and heartier, I think. It might also be because it was really cold outside.

A piece of really fatty char siu pork

Pomme frite with Vietnamese pineapple mayo and the 3 free sauces they give you
These french fries are obviously just an excuse to eat globs of mayo and not feel guilty.

Octopus balls from Otayaku
This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've had these, and I love them. I don't think I could eat much more than 2 or 3 though. But then again, I haven't really tried to.

Dough Donuts

Best donuts I've ever ever had!!!
Clockwise: chocolate w/ cocoa nibs, hibiscus, dulce de leche, blood orange, plain, something with cocoa nibs, cafe au lait, berry glaze, cheesecake with graham cracker crumbles, nutella cream

pies n thighs

Chicken n waffles

My chicken biscuit with homefries

Close up shot of the buttery, hot sauce drenched inside of my biscuit!!
The biscuits are so good and sweet, which goes well with the spicy chicken. I ate all that butter

today

Grilled chicken salad with cucumbers, tomato, avocado, croutons, egg and balsamic dressing. I only remembered after I had eaten everything, but eating chicken and eggs together is strange. I felt sort of weird after that, but flavor wise, I like it.

Roast beef sandwich with brie, mustard, and caramelized onions on oatmeal bread. I also had a little bit of tomato soup to go with it. I have been trying different cheeses on my roast beef sandwiches and I think I like brie on it the most but only if there are bell peppers. Otherwise, I think I prefer bleu cheese. It gives everything a nice kick.

Nom Wah Tea Parlor

The past few days I have been on this intestinal cleanse/detoxifying kick because I haven't been feeling great. But I haven't taken it that seriously because 1. I don't actually know what that means and 2. I'm not that committed and can't be bothered to make the effort. So mostly this means I've been drinking lots of Yogi teas like Ginger for digestion or "Detox" and "Get Regular" (guess what kind of tea that is!!) and taking acidophilous. And actually I have been feeling pretty good and not wanting to eat cheese or things that usually make me feel bad. My day yesterday started out nice and healthy. But then I went to Chinatown because I wanted to wander around and get to know Lower Manhattan better...

And I got dim sum at Nom Wah Tea Parlor and today I don't feel so great again. But that place is great, hot, and cheap! It's sort of in a tricky place to find, but if I can find it, anybody can find it. And that's saying something because somebody once told me I couldn't crawl out of a wet paper bag even if I tried.

Stick rice with Chinese sausage

Turnip cakes, one of my favorite things to order

Shrimp shu mai

Steamed pork bun

It was worth the mild discomfort today, but man, Chinese food is oily. Maybe if I grew up eating it more, I would be used to it, but sometimes it's too much. My dad can't even eat too much of it anymore. But I also think that he has tricked himself into believing that he's actually Korean.

Damascus and my dinner

The inside of my whole wheat spinach & feta pie from Damascus in Cobble Hill.
Cool ring borrowed from and made by my pal Jeremy.

Ooo, this picture looks so fake. I gotta learn not to go overboard with any of those "effects" on Camera+ but it's sort of fun and everything looks bad in my kitchen's sickly yellow lighting anyway. Salmon and lots of spinach with chick peas, pretty boring.

inside/outside

I started using my Camera + app on my iPhone in hopes that it would make my crappy phone pictures look a little better, but I think it just looks like I don't know how to use Photoshop very well. But maybe not? Oh well, I hope these still make you hungry.

The inside of my omelete (1 egg), which has the left over stuffing that didn't fit into the pepper I made a few days ago. It has corn, black beans, zucchini, and tomato, plus a little mozzarella and avocado.

Outside

The inside of my sandwich: roast beef, bleu cheese, red onions, mustard on sunflower seed bread

Outside and the rest of the avocado from this morning

baked sweet potato fries

These are so easy to make, just cut them up fry shaped, toss them in some olive oil and salt, and bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. That sort of gross looking green blob is my attempt at making a pesto-mayo dip, and it tasted great.

I had sort of a boring lunch today. Actually, no, it was good, but I've eaten it like 5 times this week. But I wanted to pack a lunch and eat outside since it was so beautiful today. It's another turkey, brie and cranberry sandwich, but this time with avocado too. I like adding the cranberry because the tartness compliments the brie nicely. And the spicy mustard is nice too. I can't wait to make this sandwich with Thanksgiving leftovers. I also had an apple cider from the farmers market in Union Square and it was really good, a little sweet and a little tart. I wish I had gotten it hot instead though.

chinatown food

Soup dumplings from Joe's Ginger (or Shanghai...not really sure, same thing though). I don't know why this picture is so orange and glowing

BBQ Pork Bahn Mi from Bahn Mi Saigon
I wish that the fillings were put in a little differently so I could get a bite of everything at once, but instead they're stacked vertically so when you eat the sandwich like normal person, you get a bite of all vegetables and a bite of all meat. But it all tastes so good that it's not really that big of an issue.

green dinner

Raw kale, spinach, avocado w/ olive oil, salt, and lemon juice

I really want to love kale a lot, but it just isn't happening. I like it enough and I like to cook with it sometimes, but I'm not crazy about it. I prefer it cooked instead of raw.

Turkey, brie, cranberry and mustard on sunflower seed bread

lunch

Bell pepper stuffed with black beans, corn, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes with 1/4 an avocado and some crackers. That blob is Frank's hot sauce, not ketchup, but I would rather have had tabasco sauce.

I only ate half of this pepper, it was so huge. I never really know how to eat a whole stuffed pepper, it's much easier when it's just a half. Next time I would like to make it more of a 4 layer dip inside the pepper instead...like black beans, guacamole, tomatoes, and cheese. Maybe even a little sour cream!

mitoushi in cobble hill

I was walking around Atlantic Ave. in Cobble Hill yesterday, and passed by this sushi place. The menu said that the rolls (standard ones like California or spicy tuna) were $2.95. I didn't try it because I thought sushi that cheap would be gross. Ugh, but I think David has turned me into a sushi addict because I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I went back today after getting some groceries, and it was totally worth it. The fish is fresh and delicious. The rice fell apart a little to easily, but I paid $6.95 for this lunch special so I'm not going to complain.

Salad with ginger dressing. I think they must keep their lettuce in ice water or something, it's so crispy and cold. Also, how obvious is it that I used a "special effects" option on Camera+ app?

5 pieces of sushi and a California roll
I don't know what all the types of fish are. Please tell me if you do.

kale pasta round 2

I wanted to give my kale another chance. This time I had a lot of left over butternut squash soup and I wasn't really in the mood for more soup. So instead, I used it as a sort of sauce, which was a great idea. It was very creamy and the sweetness was a nice balance to the kale, which I enjoyed much more this time. My only mistake was that I added a bit too much salt, whoops.

court street bagels

Whole wheat sesame bagel with tofu cream cheese and tomato

So I am not a bagel expert but now that I'm in bagel city, I think that I know a little bit more about them. My ultimate bagel, I think, has a nice crust that has a little bit of a crunch to it and the inside is soft and moist, but not too fluffy, and a little chewy but not too dense. Then it would have cream cheese and lox piled on top, but I my stomach can't too much cream cheese and I can't really pay for lox these days. This bagel is good, but not the best. It had a nice crunch but was a little too moist on the inside, like it was almost soggy, which sounds gross but it wasn't that extreme. I just can't think of a better word. Also, this place puts way too much cream cheese on a bagel. But the tofu cream cheese is good. It's obviously not as great as the real thing (and it's not even healthier ha) but it comes close enough. There is something a little bit off about the texture though, its just a little grainy or something, but it doesn't bother me.

tuna favorite combo whatever

Yesterday I made a tuna sandwich combining different elements of some tuna sandwiches I have loved. Tuna with pickles, for some crunch, with avocado for creaminess to replace too much mayo, mustard for a kick, and eggs because...I like them. It adds a fun texture. It sounds like too many ingredients, but it was really not and I liked it a lot.

fall food

Pasta with kale and mushrooms sauteed in garlic, plus Parmesan cheese. This was good, but a little bit boring, I think probably because it was mostly just kale and pasta. Next time I'll chop up the kale some more, add butternut squash instead of mushrooms, and maybe some sausage.

I guess kale is a really fall food, but I'm not THAT into it. I really like it, but I don't get all the hype over kale. Sometimes I wonder if it's one of those foods people have tricked themselves into loving because it's healthy. I mean, I do that all the time when I'm eating carrots and wishing they were actually Cheetos. Not really, because I really like carrots, but you know. I'm not a jerk.

Egg in a basket/toad in a hole/egg in a hole in my toast with 1/4 an avocado

honey turkey, brie, spinach, honey mustard on oatmeal bread + 1/2 a honey crisp apple

I feel so wholesome after eating this today...like I should go out into my non-existent yard and swing in my tire swing and scrape my knee and come back inside for a cold glass of milk. It reminds me of something my mom would make for me in 3rd grade, but not really because my mom is Korean and I had after school snacks like rice wrapped with nori and spicy cucumbers.