Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Hot Lunch Time!

Today was the start of my first real week at school. So I hopped on my bike, went to class, and then went home to eat hot lunch before another class.
On the Road Again
Tank top (American Eagle), High-waisted shorts (TopShop), Moccasins (Minnetonka), Studded cuff (gift from mom), Necklace (Free People)
I love hot lunches.  They make an ok day so much better.  Today, I made cilantro-lime rice with spinach and breaded chicken.  It was delicious.
Mmmmm food.
When I say breaded, I mean tortilla'd.  Tortilla crumbs make my life so awesome because I can still enjoy staples from my upbringing like kotlet schabowy risk-free.  And that's always a good thing.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Friday, August 24, 2012

21st Birthday: Gluten-Free Vegan Style!

Over the summer, two of my friends semi-spontaneously asked me to attend their 21st birthdays.  Me, being the derp I am, totally forgets when these events actually are to occur and do not have the foresight to look into buying a present.   But everyone loves home-made things, so of course I decided to be all kitchy and bake cakes.  I got semi-good at making letters, but not having proper lettering equipment does not help.  Never the less, here are the two creations that happened.
Raspberry-filled chocolate cake with chocolate syrup and vegan icing.

Cinnabun cake with non-vegan frosting and semi-sweet chocolate chips. (Good thing I'm not actually vegan, because then I feel like too many people would call bs).

My hair staying up after a morning of swimming.
You're wondering why there's no actual outfit attached to this.  Well, I wanted to showcase my hair.  Whenever I go to a concert, I like doing some kind of an updo because, let's face it, you don't want your hair in your face and then your bangs getting all groady because of sweating.  Plus, I swam during one of the birthdays and needed my hair to look nice for the evening.

How do I achieve this?  I use about 5-10 bobby pins (not kidding, my hair is really thick) and then Bumble and Bumble Classic Hairspray after applying copious amounts of Bumble and Bumble Tonic Spray.  I know these are pricey, but I don't style my hair too often, so it's okay to splurge a little bit.  I mean, if you're only going to do it once every so often, make it count, right?

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Monday, August 20, 2012

Renaissance Fare

I have been into fantasy and medieval things like Lord of the Rings and King Arthur for as long as I can remember (see also why I am a terrible blogger who watched such movies instead of writing the promised blog post).  It's just so mystical and the fashions are gorgeous.  So I was super excited when the vague plans to go to the Sterling Renaissance Festival became a concrete trip.  Andrew, Andrea, Jil, Steve, Marissa and I got into Jil's buggy and went for a what-should-have-been 1.5 hour drive to the fair.  It was set up in forest-y area where people rode decorated horses and dressed up in period pieces.
Look at this horse, this horse is amazing
Medieval royal fair has generally been associated with rich meals, while peasants have been generally associated with slop.  Well, I associate more with the peasants than with royalty (I am a rather simple girl, to be quite honest).  So, knowing about out-dated norms that exposed ankles were scandalous, as were pants, I decided to opt for a maxi skirt.
Hat (bought at the fair), shirt (Urban Outfitters), skirt (PacSun), purse (Urban Outfitters), glasses (Urban Outfitters)
Now for the food?  Of course, being the meat eater that I tend to be, I got a massive turkey leg, and, given the spice-lover that I tend to be, I got the thing slathered in hot sauce.
Is it the size of my face?  I think so.
Sheesh, I don't think I've ever ate a piece of meat that good.  I looked up online some fact about it and apparently it is a 1000 calories and you need to walk 5 and a half hours to burn that off.  Well, good thing that that's how long we were at the fair and the duration of afterwards shenanigans.  Plus, I really hate all this talk about how festival food is totally bad for you (it is, oh, it definitely is) but at the same time, how often do people actually attend these things?  I eat pretty clean most of my life and if I want to enjoy a day out with my friends, I should be able to eat whatever I please.  That is my rant.

Overall, the festival was so much fun.  Highlights included swinging a swords, watching a joust, and witnessing the Highland Games.  I can't wait to do it again next year.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Friday, August 17, 2012

Sorry guys!

Ack, sorry I  haven't posted in almost a week.  I've been super busy between work and a Journey concert and stuff with friends, but I promise a super awesome post about Renaissance fare food!  I will have to create a schedule for posting anyway due to the fact that school is starting soon.  So, Sundays and Thursdays are when I will post.
Me crying chibi anime tears because I am a bad blogger
Other random things about my life.  Uh...I've been having awesome times with friends involving cooking and living alone at home and eating food outside of home.  I made a really yummy stir fry (which, due to the remarkable number of times I almost type it like this, will now be known as stiry fries) with kielbasa, rice, tomatoes, a chili, and onion.  My boyfriend has been finally taking into account that I'm at his house a lot and now has wheat-free granola.  Unfortunately for the boy, he accidentally bought chocolate soy milk.  That was a fun bit of gastro-intestinal horror.  As was jalapenos and buffalo chicken chunks in nachos.  Yummy, but guys should bring Pepto.  Why men?  Women don't poop.  Ever.  I am super classy, obviously.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Chinese Food Pt. 4: Meals Served in Fruit

Hong Kong, which is a special region of China with its own laws and people, was one of my favorite places. It was the most westernized and beautifully laid out on a island with greenery a midst skyscrapers.  The nightlife was especially awesome, with certain areas just lined with bars and restaurants.  One restaurant we went to, you could actually watch as they prepared your food, which made me pretty excited.
He was making an egg-roll type thing except wrapped in greens instead of noodle sheets.
Now, I have never been a fan of mixing fruit with dinner items or meal items in general (don't ask, I'm just weird like that).  But the pictures of this fried rice with prawns inside a pineapple just looked so beautiful that I just had to try it.  Plus, I'm in a foreign land where I've been trying many new things, like various kinds of ice cream, duck feet, and regional drinks.  So I ate it.  And it was gloriously delicious.
Pineapple fried rice with prawns in a pineapple.
Since I was going out and doing some sight-seeing during the day, of course I wanted to look chic, but also comfortable.  Doubling up on slips is a great idea for this.  In addition, wearing muted colors compliments the brightness of the dish.
Along the Hong Kong skyline.  Purse (urbanoutfitters), dress and slip (free people), necklace (Chinatown, NYC)
And with that I conclude the 4-part series on China.  I will continue posting about twice a week, seeing as I have two entries backed up anyway.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Home-Made Pierogi: Working Food

Unfortunately, this idea was so spontaneous that I did not have the chance to use my camera, but I will use charming little illustrations from Pixlr to describe my meal and my clothes for this entry.

My friends and I got our weekly Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) box of vegetables and included were more onions and beets.  We have hard time getting through those, so we decided, "hey wouldn't it be a great idea to use them to make pierogi?"  And thus the idea was born.
Andrew, me and Steve all having an idea together.
Then we got down to business using a recipe from Celiac Teen.  There was so much work involved!  We had to saute some onions, mash some potatoes, soften some beets, and roll out some dough.  Now, with me, the thing about rolling out dough: I am horrible at it.  Every time, the dough would break, or it'd be too wet, so the rolling pin would get all soggy and sticky.  But after messing around with the tapioca starch, I got the perfect mix.  And after some boiling and pan-frying, the pierogi were born.
Potato, beet, and onion awaits inside!
So why do I entitle this entry working food?  Because it is the perfect food to eat after a work out, but a food that takes quite a bit of effort to make.  Thus, this outfit was born.
I like to work out in socks.  It helps me balance.  Tank top (Esprit), shorts (lululemon), gloves (Gold's Gym), and socks (unknown)
So the pierogi are delicious, I played with my kettlebell and then gave myself the nastiest bruise ever that night.  So, now I am attempting to not eat like a moron so that the house doesn't have a beluga whale living in it.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Chinese Food Pt. 3: Best Lazy Susan Dinner

Prior to our first night in Shanghai, we were horribly disappointed with the last too meals we had.  The last dinner place did not serve enough food fast enough and then when it finally came, it wasn't that great.  At the Beijing hotel, the food just wasn't delicious.

But then we arrive in Shanghai and had the most lavish set up on the lazy Susan ever.  Check it out.
Best dinner ever.
My favorite part were the rice noodles I piled on top.  The broth it was cooked in was absolutely perfect. In general though, Asian they manage to saute veggies in such a way that maintains the integrity of the crunchiness of the vegetable, like that pepper, for example.  So what do you wear?
Easy, breezy walking clothing! Bag (Urban Outfitters), tunic (Athropologie), hat (gift from my Twin), shoes (Toms), bracelet (found in my house)
We went to the Buddhist temple that day, which was absolute lovely but a bit too relaxing.  But I needed a cute walking outside to maximum comfort.  But also the subdued colors of the dress fade in with the rich colors that appear in the restaurants.  Plus, it'd be really hard to walk around the humid city in anything richer, so light and bright is the way to go.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Bombay Curry Pasta: East Meets West

Man, do I look awkward.
The last time I wore these pants, I was on the Great Wall of China.  They are from Free People and the top in the above picture is from Hot Topic and the bangle is from Lucky Brand.  The bottom outfit features a top from Ecote, the bracelet my mother bought me, pearls I bought in China the day before, and pink Converse I found in my house.
I am resting on a window on the Great Wall of China.  Don't hate.
So I decided to wear them again because of their epicness.  Also, because no matter how many times I wear them at work, everyone compliments me on them.  They are a very good ego-boost.  But this look is inspired by the rich patterns and textures of the east (or something like that).  Naturally, I wanted to pair it with the west and make a curry pasta with grilled chicken dish.
From the left: squash, onions, corn, bok choy on top of basil and green beans.  Next to it is veggie stock and corn penne.
I pureed the squash to make a type of sauce with onions and the basil stems.  The brown stuff is curry, coriander, and cinnamon (for extra flavor).
Here, I added the greens.
The finished product: now, featuring grilled chicken.
Um, wat.
On a super random note, this squirrel was trying really hard to get into a jar of peanut butter.  It ate through most of the lid before we scared it away.  Animals, man.

Keep it yummy,
Jo