Surf & Shred
One of my passions in life is food. While people eat to live, I live to eat. Here are some examples of how I like to indulge: (clockwise starting from the top left)
Food Festivals…What’s not to like? (Top Left)
An event that I was really looking forward to attending this summer was the Eat Real Festival in Oakland. It’s a festival dedicated to food and wine. There was a multitude of food trucks around Jack London Square that served everything from French, Spanish, American, Indian, Filipino, Korean, and many, many more. I went with a large group of food lovers who turned into pro-food festival visitors very quickly. We each picked a cuisine, ordered multiple orders, and then met at our designated meeting spot to share and review our findings. This was an efficient way to taste as many dishes as we could in a short period of time.
My favorite was this treasure (top left): Argentinian Empanadas. Despite how full I was from the entire list of food I had just eaten, I had to try one. Boy was I happy I did. This had an almost flakey croissant-like shell, yet was solid enough to hold the scrumptious mushroom filling intact.
My first cooking lesson: Savory Chicken and Cheese Crepes, Ratatouille, and a Spinach Side salad. (Top Right)
Confession: I’m a recipe gal. For some reason, I don’t trust my measurements fully enough to go “commando” or without one. My Chef friend agreed to give me a lesson on food I hadn’t made before and without following a recipe.
For more detailed info on how we made this meal click here
Cooking on my own: A Turning Point (Bottom Right)
Lamb used to be one of those dishes I stayed away from. Prior to this meal, the lamb I tried was below satisfactory. The reason I decided to give it another go was because I was in the middle of a food revolution. Every day, I was cooking something new and tasty and it gave me courage to try more new things. Also, at the time, I was hearing influx of people tell me that “Lamb is so delicious”. I figured if there are people who love it, there must be something good about it.
I purchased the lamb at one of my favorite stores. I’m a true carnivore and if you saw the meat counter at this place, you would understand.
At first bite, I immediately fell in love. I couldn’t believe this had been missing from my food rotation my whole life. The fresh flavors of lemon and garlic complemented the richness of the lamb perfectly. I served it with lemon green beans, a nice bottle of wine, and built a fire to set the mood. This has got to be one of my favorite dinners to date and definitely a culinary turning point for me.
Dining out – Try something new! (Bottom Left)
When money, company, and time permits, I try to make dining out experiences as exotic as possible. I’ve told myself time and time again to try cuisines or dishes I’ve never had. One recent fare I added to my food resume is Ethiopian. The pictured dish is from Café Colucci, located in North Oakland/Berkeley area. It is a casual restaurant with Ethiopian décor and a friendly staff.
We ordered a variety of meat and veggies that were served on a plate with Injera, which is sourdough flat bread. Injera is also served rolled up in baskets, delivered to your table, and intended to be used as a utensil. Traditionally, you take a piece with your right hand, “pinch” your meat and veggies, and hand feed it to yourself. It’s so much fun to eat with your hands.
The dinner was filling and full of new textures and flavors. We also got to treat ourselves with some sweet and locally made Ethiopian Honey Wine. This is definitely a place I would visit again, but not before experiencing a few more new places :)
Stay tuned as I continue to find more ways, cuisines, and dishes to suit my love obsession for food.
