I have never been so happy that it is finally Friday. This week was excruciatingly long, and with the start of school and all, traffic has taken a toll for the worst. I worked for 12 hours yesterday, finally getting off at 8:00PM just to get stuck in traffic for an entire hour! What are people doing on the road at that hour?!
Can you believe that summer is coming to an end? How is that even possible when it’s 97 degrees out?!
I know you’ve heard this so many times before but I’m going to have to say it too.
I’ve found THE BEST blueberry muffin recipe.
Joey Tribbiani from Friends was a crazy meatball sub lover, and as I was putting this sandwich together, I couldn’t help but think if Joey would approve of this sub. But once I took that first bite, I knew he’d be proud of me. After all, how can anyone resist a nicely toasted hoagie bun filled (Yes, filled! No skimping here guys! ) with super flavor-packed, tender meatballs sitting on a bed of homemade marinara and topped with melted mozzarella?!
This was a tough weekend for me. I felt so uninspired with everything - cooking, blogging, working, running… you name it. And on top of everything else, Jason had to work all weekend so I barely got to spend any time with him. Normally I wouldn’t be so upset about it but he’s leaving for San Francisco in 3 weeks and once he’s back up north, I probably won’t be seeing him for another month.
I am happy to say that I am finally fully recovered from my sickness. I thought I had the flu but I guess it was more serious than that because I had all the flu symptoms without the sneezing and coughing, which freaked the hell out of me so I went to the doctor to get everything checked out. The doctor ran all these blood tests and threw out all these scary words like “mononucleosis,” “tonsillitis,” and “streptococcus” only to have me wait for 48 hours to tell me that I don’t have mono. He then couldn’t even rule out the other two infections since the blood work didn’t come back in time (of course!) but he thinks I had tonsillitis. Yeah, going to the doctor = not fun.
So Jason and I went to Costa Rica a couple of years ago, and when we went, we took a couple of those disposable underwater cameras. We developed one of the cameras but saved the other one since there was still some film left to take more photos. But “saving it” really meant that it would be left in the back of the closet for over 2 years.
Thank you so much for all the get well wishes! You guys are the best. Seriously. You guys are so great that I’m even thinking about doing two giveaways in the coming weeks so stay tuned!
Now I’m definitely feeling a bit better but I’m still not fully recovered. I did take a day off of work yesterday and “relaxed” at home - “relaxed” meaning tidying up the house and cooking a bit here and there. Jason couldn’t seem to understand why I just couldn’t “chill.” My response: “Well, the toilet was gross! I couldn’t leave it like that!”
So I was really looking forward to cooking up a storm this weekend since I took last week off but on Saturday morning, after a hard-core spin class, I started feeling really faint. I figured it was just a rough workout but throughout the day, I started having throbbing headaches and entire-body muscle aches. I was pretty much feeling miserable every second of the day.
Ever since Jason moved back home, I’ve been making a lot of burgers, sliders and hot dogs, the complete opposite of my healthy-vegetarian-quinoa routine. Now I’ve gained about 5-10 pounds with this drastic change in diet, which has been a bit of a struggle because I work my butt off at the gym and spin class 6x week but in the end, I guess I can’t complain too much since I get to indulge in these amazing pork belly sliders.
When it comes to lunch at work, I never order out. I always bring leftovers from home but most of my coworkers order from the cafe in our building everyday. Their food is somewhat decent but they overcharge way too much. And I can’t seem to justify paying $10 for lunch for myself when I can make it so much better right at home. That’s not to say that I’m a better cook than them but when I make it myself, I know exactly what ingredients are going into this dish, and I can control the fat and salt content.
During the weekend, I took a tiny break from cooking and blogging, which was very much needed.
See, I first started food blogging to keep a record of all my recipes and to share my love for food but over time, it began to feel like work. It started to feel like a second job, and I’ve constantly been stressed planning a menu, chasing the sun for natural lighting, thinking of new ways to use food props and checking google analytics to see if my viewership went up or down. It felt like too much for me to handle, and this blog was all about having fun and doing something that I love.
Pesto is seriously one of my favorite things ever. It is so easy to make, it’s incredibly versatile, and it pretty much tastes amazing in and on anything and everything.
Like for this pasta dish here, I tossed the pesto in some simple ingredients like sun dried tomatoes, roasted asparagus and mozzarella cubes, finishing it off with a fried egg, and it was seriously one of the best weeknight meals ever! It’s so simple and easy to whip up, and my most favorite thing about it is that some of the pesto gets stuck in the crevices of the shell pasta. AH-MAZING, right? Plus, this tastes just as good, if not better, as work leftovers since the mozzarella cubes gets all melted/ooey-gooey in between the pasta. Mmmmmm.
I seriously cannot stand deep-frying stuff. It gets extremely costly since I’m using up bottles and bottles of peanut oil, the floors get splattered on with oil and then I feel so incredibly greasy from head to toe until my next shower. To sum up, it’s greasy and gross. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like deep fried foods. I love it! French fries, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, corn dogs… you name it. But sometimes you just need those special recipes that require an oven but produce deep-fried quality, like this one right here.
Need a sure way to beat the summer heat? Then these strawberries and cream popsicles are a must! Head on over to The Lovely Pantry where I’m guest posting these lovelies!
Guys, something major happened over the weekend. No, I’m not engaged. No, I’m not pregnant. Okay, deep breath…
I finally tried Biscoff Spread.
Yeah, I told you it was big.
Now I have to admit, it took me so long to finally try this amazingness because I’ve always been a late adopter. I was way behind in the converse “chuck” fashion, the skinny jeans era, and using Nutella on anything and everything, just to name a few. But in the end, I always try it at some point. That’s what happened with this Biscoff Spread. And then I got mad at myself for waiting so long because this spread is freaking amazing. I think I might even like it more than Nutella.
Summer has officially hit, actually it hit like 3 weeks ago, with its scorching hot 90+ degree F weather so for this week’s installment of #SundaySupper, we are beating the summer heat by bringing you recipes that can be prepared quickly and without the use of an oven. That being said, I bring you a quick and easy coleslaw with a secret ingredient: granny smith apples. I was definitely a bit skeptical about the apples but it actually brought such a nice, refreshing tartness to the slaw that was very well balanced with the lemony-poppy-seed dressing. Plus, it’s such a nice twist on boring old, traditional coleslaw. Best of all, it serves as the perfect side dish to almost anything!
I’m a HUGE, no wait, actually, I’m the BIGGEST, cake person ever. If I could, I’d eat cake for breakfast, lunch, dinner and as a midnight snack. But, because I don’t look like anything close to Heidi Klum and my metabolism moves at a snail pace, I could only eat cake once in a blue moon. And even when I do, I have to do portion control.
But I’ll let you in on a little secret. Portion control = sucks.
Making chinese food at home is one of my absolute favorite things to do, mainly because it’s so much cheaper, tastes so much better and you also don’t have any skimped ingredients! It’s also quick and easy, making it a perfect weeknight meal.
Now you should know that Jason hates all kinds of Chinese food because it’s too greasy but when I put this on the table, he devoured it so quickly and he didn’t even leave a single rice grain on his plate!
Yeah, it’s just that good. Fresh pineapples, a perfect balance of sweetness, sourness and plenty of flavor. Plus, you have the Sriracha for extra spiciness!
