Third Annual CVL Care Package Swap

when i got lindsay’s email last month announcing her annual care package swap, i immediately signed up. this is the third year lindsay has hosted a care package swap on her blog “Cook. Vegan. Lover.” i participated in her first one and really enjoyed the experience. being a shopping addict, i love any excuse to buy new things (whether for myself or someone else) and it’s a great opportunity to try out new products.

this year i got paired up with shannon from killer bunnies inc.

i told her about my love of hello kitty (if you couldn’t tell :D), pumpkins and peanut butter. and she really delivered!

lots of carefully packaged goodies….what could they be? 🙂

i love everything i received!

a hello kitty plushie dressed up as a jack-o-lantern! so cute!

brighton quickly claimed her as his own!

🙂

yumm

i really enjoyed the post-it notes on some of the products…i got to learn a few things about shannon and my package felt even more personalized!

i immediately used the maple butter to make frosting for some carrot cake cupcakes. this was a couple big spoonfuls of maple buttaaa, a stick of butter, and powdered sugar. the result was amazing! i may have injected some cupcakes with the maple butter as well 🙂

thank you so much shannon!

and everyone go check out her blog…she has lots of DEEEELICIOUS pictures and recipes!

a year in food: cereal milk soft serve

what: cereal milk softserve
when: june 2010
where: momofuku milk bar in nyc

the deets: another genius momofuku creation! this cereal milk soft serve encrusted in cornflakes is completely unique. i always imagined momofuku milk bar’s cereal milk would taste overwhemingly sweet- kind of like the milk that would be leftover from a sugary frosted kid’s cereal but instead it’s made with corn flakes and is quite salty! i mean, of course the taste is a balance of salty and sweet which is a combination i love but i was very and continually surprised by the flavor! each bite is so familiar (i mean…we’ve all had cereal milk!) but so unique. this treat is a must try…i still find myself craving it every so often.

a year in food: momofuku shiitake bun

what: shiitake steamed buns
when: june 2010
where: momofuku noodle bar in nyc

the deets: steamed buns or baos stuffed with shiitake mushrooms…delicious! the mushrooms were so flavorful…while these buns are traditionally made with pork- it was not missed at all! i don’t think i can say anything about david chang’s momofuku or his famous steamed buns that hasn’t already been said. all you really need to know is pure genius! definitely stop by the noodle bar next time you’re in NYC…OR if you’re all the way on the other coast like i am, i will share my attempt to recreate this at home in a future post.

a year in food: buckwheat crepe

what: “norwegian” buckwheat crepe
when: may 2010
where: la brioche lyonnaise in montreal

the deets: buckwheat crepe with smoked salmon, pesto, and cheese. cus you can’t visit montreal (second largest french speaking city in the world!) without trying a crepe.

did you know buckwheat is not a grain, but a shrub? check out this informative article on buckwheat (and crepes!)

a year in food: fondant chocolat

what: fondant chocolat
when: may 2010
where: juliette et chocolat in montreal

the deets: fondant chocolat or molten chocolate cake is hard to mess up.  but this one was just dreamy…i’d even go as far as to say one of the best i’ve ever had. and how do you top a decadent chocolate cake filled (and overflowing!) with gooey melted chocolate? by pairing it with vanilla ice cream of course! 🙂 let me tell ya, this dessert was enjoyed on a totally awkward pseudo date, but man was it worth it for his suggestion to stop into juliette et chocolat.

juliette et chocolat is a must visit when you’re in montreal. the cafe is adorable, smells divine, and has several locations throughout montreal. they serve lunch (savory crepes, salads, etc) and more importantly insanely delicious chocolate desserts!

oh! and did i mention they also have a salted caramel version?! note to self: book flight to montreal NOW.

a year in food: frozen macarons!

what: macarons givres
when: may 2010
where: dr.frost in montreal

the deets: macaron ice cream sandwiches. a little heavy handed with the day-glo food dye but still insanely good.

a year in food: italian poutine in montreal!

what: italian poutine
when: may 2010
where: mamma’s pizzeria in montreal

the deets: french fries smothered in marinara and topped with cheese curds. DEEELICIOUS! i knew i absolutely had to eat poutine while visiting montreal, but it was a struggle to find a vegetarian poutine. i found a couple places that served vegan poutine…but dammit…i wanted the cheese curds! so in the end i opted to try this “italian poutine” where the traditional gravy was replaced with marinara.

a year in food!

hi strangers!

i can’t believe it’s been over a year since i’ve posted on this blog. i had my reasons for stepping away from this blog, but lately i’ve been missing it. i’ve attempted a few posts trying to summarize my last year but that was too overwhelming and obviously they never got published. so instead, i thought i’d start with a little series of my favorite meals from the last year until i get back into the blogging groove. this is perfect because i never quite stopped taking food pics and now i can share them!

in my last post, i mentioned i was off to montreal so that’s where i’ll start! i spent three weeks in montreal hanging out with my dear friend nars….it was a blast! the first place she took me when i arrived was commensal, this amaaahzing pay by the pound (er…gram in canada!) vegetarian buffet. this place was like the whole foods hot bar on crack. as a new-ish vegetarian at the time, my mind was blown by all the options.

okay, now i have to apologize about the pic. i ate at commensal twice. one was when i was hungry and one was more of a snackish meal…the above is obviously the snack. and of course i can’t find the pic of my actual dinner. lo siento! imagine a pic of couscous and tofu and sweet potato and salad and other deliciousness i can’t remember. i promise to do better next time!

champagne and puppies

happy sunday! this is my last weekend in cali and i’m so sad  about it! thankfully, i have a few exciting trips to look forward to once i return to boston…like montreal! yup, i’ll be in canada in about two weeks!

yesterday, i drove out to pasadena bright and early to have breakfast with my dear friend lacey. true to lush form, i chose the first restaurant that came out when i plugged “breakfast, bellinis, pasadena” into yelp. really, is there anything better than starting your day with champagne?

breakfast at russell’s was okay. i had eggs and wheat toast- not terribly exciting. but not a big deal cus there were bellinis which came with mini bottles of champagne. and come on, that’s just cute!

yum 🙂

lacey and i caught up and the bubbles definitely got to our heads cus we decided we neeeeeeded to go visit the humane society right away! we wanted to visit the doggies up for adoption! this was a dangerous decision since we are both a little obsessed with dogs and a visit to the humane society while a little tipsy has all the potential to either end in sobfest, or a car full of doggies. i managed to keep my pupternal instincts in check but my friend ended up submitting an application for a cute little terrier…we’ll see what happens!

anyhow…look at these little faces! aren’t they adorable?

all together now….”awwwwww”

❤

bap bap bap

hey hey girlies!

i’m soooo excited that this weekend is finally here! my mommy is coming back from korea! is it horrible that i’m most excited about seeing what she brought back for me? 😀

i was already informed that there are no clothes for me cus apparently everything they sell in the street markets come in one size which i’m assuming is extra extra teeny tiny small 😦 i’m planning on going to korea in the fall and i’m crazy scared. my people are so judgmental yo! at least this is totally motivating me to go to the gym everyday even though i am SOO sore! (i really need to learn how to properly stretch before exercising) 😦

ANYWAY.

i actually took pics of my meals today. well. not everything i ate. but it’s an improvement!

in the morning, i had a couple bites of taro soup before going to the gym. and then afterwards i found myself stopping (arghh!) at a tea shop where i got a passion fruit kumquat green tea with boba.

🙂

what a lame picture. you’ll have to trust me that kumquat green tea is super yummy! and the boba was soft and chewy and wonderful like it always is in the teashops in cali!

when i got home, i had a bagel with PB and blueberries! organic blueberries at H-mart are $.88 right now! stock up!

isn’t melty peanut butter so sexy? mmmm!and then for dinner, i had every non-korean’s favorite korean dish! bibimbap! i can’t tell you how many times someone has said…OH MY GOSH! you’re korean? i LOOOVE bibimbop! which i think is a hilarious…especially since

*confession* i don’t even like bibimbap! the name basically translates to mixed rice…and i’m not huge on rice to begin with…and i prefer to eat everything separately!

anyhow, i thought this meal would make a good picture so i ate it! plus, it’s probably healthier than anything else i would have chosen. i’m such a dedicated blogger!

so what we have is brown rice surrounded by zucchini, carrot, radish, tofu, some kinda sprouty veg, bulgogi (bbq beef), and bean sprouts. and a blob of red pepper paste.

isn’t it pretty?

then you mix it alll together until it looks like this:

except a “real” korean person woulda used like 5 bajillion times more red pepper paste than me and their rice would be RED. but i don’t like the paste…which is another reason why i don’t like bibimbap all that much 😛

well, there you have it! i updated 3 days in a row guys! GO ME! i will stop with the rambling posts soon once i’m settled into regular blogging again. i promise. thank you soo much to you girls who didn’t forget me!