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.
fusion
This January, I dedicated a post to a fallen foodie friend in which I mentioned I still dream about her. Last weekend while I sat reclined in my bed against my fluffy pillows, I found satisfaction in knowing I finally finished posting a new recipe for Shrimp Wontons with Coconut Tom Yum Sauce. My former LA roommate, fellow Bruin, & friend Gabriela sat next to me in her pajamas, looking through New York’s live SnapChats. It was Gaby’s first time in Boston & we were planning our next foodie destinations. Without a story to write, I decided to put off writing a blog to accompany the recipe, hit the lights, & went to bed. I dreamt that Gaby & I were riding the MBTA throughout Boston except the T was an outdoors roller coaster. When we got off at our destination, we were greeted by Kim, my friend who passed away more than a year ago. It took me a moment to register that she’s no longer with us, which meant I was dreaming so I quickly hugged her & we were off on some adventures at what seemed like a strange amusement park. I awoke to a foggy recollection of the warmth of her embrace, the smoothness of her skin, & the echo of her laughter in my head.
These shrimp wontons are special because they were inspired by 7 Seas Restaurant, which hosted one of Kim’s memorials. I ate a lot of things that day I can’t remember, but those wontons were unforgettable & it made me wish Kim could still be around to taste it. Josh, Vy, & I inhaled this place of delicious shrimp wontons, but I was determined to remake the recipe. 7 Seas is now closed, but if I can revive one thing about that place, it’s those wontons. This recipe is also dedicated to Annie Kim Pham, who loved her shellfish, wontons, & cheese. It’s funny that even after her passing, we still find ourselves meeting at places with good food. Although she couldn’t be there physically with us, we were there because of her. I wish the circumstances of trying these wontons for the first time were different though.
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This Ma Belle Vie is a little different from others because I’m combining it with Georgina’s A Day in the Life Linkup. Well, to be honest, it’s really not that different. I captured photos from morning until night, however I couldn’t exactly document what happened after we returned to the hotel because that Hand Grenade knocked me out. I hadn’t felt that horrible in a long time, so lesson learned: don’t take on an entire Hand Grenade if you can barely handle more than 5 shots of hard liquor.
On February 19th, Josh attended the 56th Annual Convention of the International Studies held in New Orleans & flew me out for our 2 Year Anniversary. It was my first time in Louisiana & also my first time in New Orleans aka The Big Easy. This city has experienced a lot of tragedy & hardship in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina drowned 80% of the city, due to a major engineering mishap: the levees designed to protect the city against major hurricanes failed. Thousands of people were displaced, lost their homes, lives, businesses, & many were trapped in their own homes when the waters rushed in. Since then, the city has slowly, but surely recuperated. Tourism is very much alive & Mardi Gras is still a much celebrated event. Our trip to NOLA was a week after Mardi Gras, so most of the city still looked like the day after a frat party, but I chose not to photograph the trash. I don’t want to depict the city’s disheveled appearance, hoping to highlight the wonderful mixing of various cultures, food, & architecture. New Orleans is appropriately named America’s most unique city & while it might be a far cry from Paris, Amsterdam, London, or Bern, it is still such a worthy visit. There is no other city in all of the US like it & the culture & food is phenomenal. It’s a perfect blend of Southern comfort, Caribbean & Spanish flavors, & most notably, French influence. NOLA is a pescetarian’s dream come true: seafood for days. It’s also a great hub for meat eaters & veggie lovers alike.
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My mother has a stellar memory bank for numbers & fun stories, so she’d often tell us her hilarious childhood stories as she drove us to school. However, not all the stories she told were her own; many of them were ours. One childhood story my mom frequently told was how I used to sing lullabies to my baby brother, but with silly lyrics that were reflective of my language acquisition at that age such as phrases on mowing the grass. A story my mom still loves to tell is how Toddler Tiffany used to absolutely love squatting down in the snow, grabbing a handful of it, & just eating it like it were a doughnut. I may have been born in the spring, but I swear my ethos/spirit animal is a beluga whale. Sad news for Adult Tiffany: there’s no snow in Southern California for me to eat. Adult Tiffany prefers winter over summer. Adult Tiffany thinks speaking in third person is really lame, but for some reason, is still doing it.
So, what about all of those summer recipes you keep posting then, you ask? Listen, you can’t fault me for capitalizing on the season, its fresh fruits, & great recipe inspirations that come with it. Just because I’m bad with heat, doesn’t mean I don’t love the recipes of the season! Now that I’m back from my holiday, I’m posting two new recipes. Since California is experiencing the worst drought in the history of recorded droughts, it’s not exactly wise for us to be participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS, however you can still do something to help spread the word & donate to the cause. You can dump pool water on yourself while you’re in a pool or ice water while you’re standing over an area of your garden that needs watering. What else can you do? Well, shoot, just make some ice pops or an iced tea, social media that thing, & head on over to ALSA.org to donate! No offense to the guy who came up with the challenge, but I’d rather do something useful with ice than to let it go to waste. Tired of ice pops & iced tea recipes, you say? How about sangria with boba instead?
With my love for boba & Two Buck Chuck, why not combine the two with some fresh fruit & juice for a delicious original concoction for your next Sunday Brunch? So, how do you trick your tastebuds into thinking you’re on a tropical holiday you ask? Well, follow the simple steps below. (Remember to hover over the images for captions.)
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Huckleberry’s Pastrami Sandwich. |
Well, this is embarrassing! My last post said this upcoming post would center around my trip to the Bahamas with Josh & my family, but I can’t upload the video onto my Vimeo account because I reached my quota this week, so I’ll just have to wait until Saturday for it to refresh. Regardless, the next post will absolutely be an explosion of pictures from the Bahamas that your eyes will be beached out for the day. Hopefully you enjoy this picture food dump post. If it makes you hungry, mission accomplished.
Remember how I dabble in gardening & making terrariums? No? Well, I do, so I made an instructional video on how to make beach themed terrariums except filming with one hand & trying to plant with the other produced deplorable results. What do you do with a bunch of movie clips on how to make terrariums that are poorly focused, unstable, & nearly nauseating to watch due to the amount of instability? Why, you throw them into Lightroom, edit the heck out of the colors, slap on some downtempo song, & boom, you’ve got yourself something semi-watchable.
Beach Themed Terrariums
Beach Themed Terrariums from Tiffany Bee on Vimeo.