Heyyyyy girl heyyy. It’s been a minute, I’m very well aware. I wonder how many times I’m going to start my posts with some sort of apology & a haphazard explanation for my absence. Probably forever until the Zombie Apocalypse hits to be honest, but let’s hope it doesn’t get to that. But in case any of you need a safe haven for food, my house in California is stocked for the next 2 years for about 6 people. Shout out to my mom for being a hoarder. Why would anyone need 7 bottles of fish sauce? I don’t know, man, don’t question an Asian mother who finds a good sale. Not exactly down with the 2nd amendment though, so don’t come here thinking you’re going to find guns to defend yourselves. Plenty of great Global knives though. Should I invest in a katana? Maybe. Enough of my aside, let’s get to the point of this post. It’s Friday & I’m hanging out with my fam in California. Instead of working on things for my future, I’m editing pictures from months/years ago. When are you ever going to see my cousin’s wedding photos? I don’t know, check back in 3 years. For now, y’all can salivate over these photos of food my friends & I ate while we were in Montreal for my birthday this year! Pretty sure editing these photos just inspired me to plan another trip to Montreal next year when the Biodome is open.
Breakfast
Wow, Tiffany, a “pho pun”, how original. I know, right? Have I devolved into dad jokes? Never, because I’m too hilarious for that. I just had to, because I’m finally publishing my 100% vegan pho recipe. Told you I’d never forget you. I took a really long hiatus, but I’m present, I promise. I even added a bunch of new albums in the gallery – granted half of them are from last year. It’s been a busy year, get off my back, y’all!! I’ll get around to my European photos by the end of this month…I hope.. Anyway, back to the pho: whether you’re a meat eater or not, it’s a scrumptious recipe, so you can take your reservations & judgment & shove it right up your hairy nose holes. Pho is pronounced “fuh?” not “foe”. Source: I’m Vietnamese. There’s a question mark to indicate that you’re supposed to raise your voice as if you’re asking a question. In Vietnamese, pho has two question marks on the “O”, so trust me & lower your inquisitive eyebrow. If you’re an avid meat eater & think the idea of pho being vegan is absurd, you better swipe left right on out of here. Vietnam is known as one of the least religious countries in the world as its main “religion” aka folklore/cultural beliefs is heavily influenced by Taoism, Confucianism, & Buddhism. Many Buddhists are vegetarian/vegan, thus the meat-free versions of Vietnamese cuisine is 1 trillion times better than any quinoa kale salad you’ve ever had. There are lots of great vegetarian restaurants in Vietnam, so open your minddDdddD.
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One of the most physically annoying things about aging is not the wrinkles & fine lines visibly showing–get on those anti-aging serums, stay out of the sun, use sunblock, moisturize daily, get ahold of some Asian genes, etc–but that agonizing pain in the back of your mandible. You know the pain I’m talking about, right? That jerk wisdom tooth who’s popping up to say, “hey gurl, sup?” & your response is, “BYE FELICIA, DISAPPEAR.” That pain. Yeahhhh, so since I can only pop so many pills of Motrin before I destroy my liver & overdose, all my food choices have been solely categorized under, “can I feed this to a baby?” and “cannot feed to baby.” Thank goodness for my random craving for cháo (also known as congee or rice porridge) a few weeks ago because it’s so easy to make & I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also, it falls under the, “10/10 can feed this to a baby.” I mean, it’s not exactly healthy to be exclusively eating it because rice is not going to fulfill the essential vitamin spectrum for a healthy body, but look, my mouth hurts to chew so I’m going to choose to slurp on rice porridge. That’s where the versatility comes into play though! Dressing up porridge with your favorite ingredients will help you get over the general boringness that is porridge.
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It’s October, not St. Patrick’s Day, I know, but I couldn’t resist DAVIDsTEA’s limited edition Pumpkin Pie Matcha, which is what made my pancakes green. I bought 2.5 oz of it thinking that would be a good amount & after making these pancakes, I bought more the next day. I couldn’t resist. I’m that person who loves pumpkin, but to be fair, I love all squash! The shaming of people who love pumpkin flavored things has become so mainstream that it’s now trendy to bully someone who loves autumnal flavors. I can’t tell you how many times people come into work, ask about our pumpkin flavored teas, & then apologize for being that person. Stop apologizing!!! I don’t apologize for being obsessed with sushi or chocolate, why should you apologize for being obsessed with an orange seasonal squash?! Madness, I tell you. /pumpkin rant.
Let’s talk more about matcha because not everyone’s heard of it & let’s face it, green is the new black. That’s right all you black tea lovers, green tea is getting its righteous revival–& I’m not even referencing Selena Gomez’s new album, but there, now I’ve plugged it because it’s pop royalty. Green tea was actually the first tea to be discovered, but black tea was made popular by the British, especially since it fared the journey from China to the UK much better than green tea. Green tea has fantastic health benefits (antioxidants, longevity, antibacterial properties, etc) & although it has a significantly shorter shelf-life than black tea (1 year-ish vs. several years), it’s making its comeback. While black tea is the most popular tea and makes up about 80% of the sales in the West, matcha is changing the game. So imagine a whole pound of beautiful Japanese green tea that has been pulverized & that’s what matcha is: powdered green tea. It’s not artificially colored, it’s just that beautiful & green. Not only are you reaping all the benefits of green tea, but you are now actually consuming entire tea leaves. Amazing, right?
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In my previous post, I mentioned my distaste for purposefully dyed green items for the sake of St. Patrick’s Day. Just as I did last year with naturally vibrant & green vegetables, I present to you some recipes that are green because of their ingredients rather than glowing green because you walked down the “baking” aisle to grab dye. No dyed green beer here, folks, just deliciously healthy green recipes featuring, you guessed it from the title, matcha!
Never heard of it before? Let’s get y’all educated then! Matcha is a type of green tea from Japan & is one of the healthiest teas you can consume because you’re drinking the entire tea leaf. It was first made in China & brought over to Japan by a Chinese Buddhist monk named Eisai. After a hundred years of its introduction, matcha tea ceremonies became a pretty big deal in Japan. So, how is it made? After the tea leaf is plucked, the leaves are steamed & dried. It is sorted meticulously to yield all the best parts of the tea leaf called tencha. The tencha is then pulverized–with care of course–to become matcha, an ultra-fine powdered green tea, naturally green! So, instead of dying your cookies, pasta, or eggs green with propylene glycol, FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C Blue 1, & propylparaben, just add a little bit of matcha, baby!