Comfort Foods

So, I love to cook.

The challenge now is finding the time to actually get in the kitchen to do it! Between work, events, social activities...LIFE in general, it is difficult to put cooking on my priority list. By the time I make the hour drive home I am ready to grab dinner and move on to the next item on my agenda for the night.

However, when I do have the opportunity to try a new recipe, (and EAT it afterward, of course), I definitely take it!

I especially like to cook with the people I love. The following pictures are of meals I have recently cooked with friends or family. Cooked with LOVE, meals made and enjoyed at home in good company give me such a sense of comfort. There really is something relaxing and mildly therapeutic about preparing the food that is capable of providing your energy and nutrition for your LIFE. It is also one of the best chances to take time to connect and catch up with a fellow chef...working together to prepare food you are going to enjoy TOGETHER is such a precious experience to me. Certain cooking experiments have resulted in some of the best belly laughs, inside jokes, enjoyable afternoons, sincere talks, dinners I never wanted to end, and many lasting memories...I cherish these times! Not to mention, they have also provided some great pictures and some GOOD EATING!

ENJOY!!

Honey wheat flatbreads with ricotta & mozzerella cheeses, marinara, and baby spinach. These delicious and healthy pizzas were cooked with Jordan.

Frying up some huge homemade hush puppies at our Fish Fry. Seriously, though...I think next time we might not need to form them as big as softballs!
My best friend, Elizabeth, and I somehow got the duty of going outside in the cold New Year's Eve air to man the fryer. We took one for the team...all for the food :)


THANKSGIVING DINNER is always a family affair. Mom, Julie, and I combined efforts, like always. This year, I came up with a recipe for cornbread dressing...homemade buttermilk cornbread from scratch, boiled eggs, onions...
Last year, I experimented with roasted chestnuts in a French bread dressing that was incredible!

This is a recipe shared with me by a dear friend. Oatmeal is definitely my "comfort food"...warm, hearty, filling...I love it!

Variations on this dish are endless, and I love coming up with new ideas. This recipe includes vanilla soymilk, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, cinnamon, flaxseed, and applesauce.

This was a meal that my mom prepared this fall. Curried butternut squash and garlic collard greens. YUM!

Despite her claims, I think she is one of the best cooks in the world. But maybe I'm a bit partial??...It isn't that she makes anything "fancy" or "gourmet" on a daily basis. However, Sumalee's cooking is consistently tasty and HEALTHY. Her Asian background, (lots of seafood, fresh vegetables, tofu, foods with very few preservatives), mixed with a habit of using olive oil and plenty of GARLIC attributes to the light fare that I am used to from our home kitchen.

On that note...it's time for a snack...

A Few Recent Bites...

So, now that we've been formally introduced, I think it only appropriate to share some of my most recent food experience photos. These are just a few from the past two weeks in the wonderful life that I lead. Don't get the wrong idea, though...there is so much more to my life than food. It's just that I happen to take a lot of pictures...and eat a lot of interesting foods...

My salad design at Whole Foods. Complete with grilled eggplant, kale, tofu, hummus, portabellos, tempeh, etc.

"Hello Cupcake" is a new cupcake boutique in my hometown.

Let's just say that these treats "Had me at Hello".

(Flavors included but were not limited to: Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Mint, Caramel Turtle, Vanilla Vanilla, Snickerdoodle, Triple Chocolate)

My sister's request for her birthday dinner...

Can you tell she's a Southern girl at heart?

Cheddar Cheese Grits, Biscuits, Homemade Gravy, and Baked Chicken.

Another birthday celebration for my sister with friends.

-Paula Deen's Asparagus Sandwiches on Pumpernickel with Provolone

-Homemade French Onion Soup

-Brussel Sprouts with Toasted Almonds

Homemade Vanilla Bundt Cake with Chocolate Pistachio Ganache

NOSHVILLE = A Nashville Establishment
-Avocado, Provolone, Tomato omelette with fresh fruit
-H&H Deli Everything Bagel
-Monte Cristo extravaganza
Don't worry...this wasn't ALL mine!

Inspiration

I was just inspired by a dear friend of mine to start a food blog...so, here I am. After seeing all of my ridiculous pictures and realizing how truly crazy I am about the things I eat, he finally approached me about my quirky obsession.

A little background on me: I am Chinese, Italian, Thai, Irish, and Cherokee. I put them in that order because the first three place extreme importance on cuisine and EATING in general. The last two ethnicities are not so much focused on pleasing their stomachs. I think their addition to my genetic make-up may balance things out and keep me from being a glutton. :)

My other passion, (besides food), is TRAVEL! Therefore, I LOVE the opportunity to try new food while I am jet-setting...the best of both! I have been to Thailand, China, France, Spain, Canada, and so many different places in the U.S., but I have yet to satiate my desire to keep going and keep TASTING!!

Luckily, I have found friends who share the "foodie" mindset...they are sometimes the only ones who understand why I research restaurants before dining at them, why I pull out the camera before the server has time to place my meal on the table, how I could spend hours in Whole Foods just reading labels, or why I am a "food snob" to particular edibles that are simply not fashionable to my specific tastes. Just because I won't eat Chicken McNuggets does not make me a "snob". I have nothing against fast food...give me Sonic burger and I will take you up on it! I am just trying to make my case so that all of the Mickey D's fans out there do not tune me out...just give me a chance...

So, there. My first posting. Why anyone would be interested in ME, I find very curious. But here goes nothing...