Salmon Poke Bowl, Avocado and Scallions

 

This past semester, I read Haruki Murakami’s book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” while training for the Philadelphia half marathon. The book opens up in Hawaii, as the author reflects on his island summer runs. He describes his feelings, the weather, the landscapes, the routes… painting colorful pictures in his reader’s mind. I found Murakami’s writing to be incredibly motivating and inspiring. Surely, any reader will feel an urge to drop the book, go for a long long run, and never give up. While that thought certainly crossed my mind, his book also made me want to finally try my hands at Poke (though that could also be the influence of Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown”, which includes a great episode in Hawaii)!

Meyer Lemon Lentil Salad with English Peas, Prosciutto, Soft Boiled Egg

A couple weeks ago, I met up with my brother in San Francisco for the weekend. I had been meaning to visit SF for a very long time and the city fell nothing short of my expectations. Not surprisingly, I instantly fell in love with the place, its architecture, diversity, dynamism, and of course its food. In short, everything about SF was incredible (except the steep prices)!

“Fried Quinoa” with Soy Marinated Pan-Seared Tofu

As mentioned in my previous post, these past few months have been full of culinary discoveries and experiments for me. Not only have I tried new recipes in Mexico and while traveling across the US, but I also experimented a lot from the comfort of my own kitchen. Most notably, I owe my biggest discovery of them all to one of my roommates, who recently became a vegetarian. Indeed, this eye-opening experience came straight from my stove, to the greatest pleasure of my taste buds. If you haven’t guessed by now, I am talking about tofu! I know… that ecstatic comment probably didn’t make you think about that ingredient. Let me guess, when I say tofu you picture a white block of watery, flavorless, rubbery “stuff”, correct? 

Breakfast Burrito Bowl of Champions

Hola! Once again, I am back from a long hiatus… Truth is I recently got back from Mexico, and then there was St Patrick’s Day, and then I ran a half-marathon, and overall I’ve just had so many pre-graduation things to do that my blog has been slipping through the cracks of my schedule. But all good things come to those who wait and so I finally picked up the slack and took a 30 minute break today to share this post with you.

Pan-Fried Giant Butter Beans, Mushrooms and Spinach

Hello everyone and happy belated Valentine’s day! These past few weeks have been a little crazy for me (more details to come in future posts), but I should be back to a regular posting schedule this week. Yay!

The “Food” section on the New York Times has to be one of my favorite free-time reads. I read it all: the recipes, the restaurant reviews, the random opinion pieces… you name it, I probably read it! Not only is it well-written, but it can also be surprisingly interesting. I mean, I’ve learned about so many random things ranging from traditions and ingredients, all the way to chefs and hottest trends. Most recently, I stumbled upon a fun little article about Marcella Hazan’s favorite beans. I told you… random. But I still read it!