HOW TO MAKE EGGS

Note to self: iPods take grainy, sad images of food. Must use the boyfriend's iPhone... Or my own camera... Or the boyfriend's iPhone.

But anyway, I'm learning how to make poached eggs. Why? Because Evan loves poached eggs.

Me? I like them fried, sunny side-up, with a splash of soy sauce on top and a crusty French baguette to smoosh in the yolk and soy sauce mixture. And yes, you read that right: I like my eggs with soy sauce. I ate my poached eggs with soy sauce (and pretzel bread) tonight.

Do you know how to poach eggs? Deb's awesome tutorial helped me out massively, because Evan most definitely said, "Oh, you just drop an egg into boiling water." Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

How do you like your eggs?

WHAT JUMBACO?

Have you seen the ads for the Jumbaco? Jack-in-the-Box's Jumbo Jack and two tacos deal? Have you tried it?

I have, and I didn't even have the whole thing. I took a bite of Evan's Jumbaco! It is so much food - and thus such a steal, but thus really, really unhealthy. (Luckily, for you, there's not a soapbox in sight.)

So instead of getting a Jumbaco again on Monday night, Evan and I went out in search of a better taco. We found El Paladar Oaxaqueno, supposedly the best taco truck on the Westside (source).

SQUASH THAT IDEA

Apparently, I should have blogged this recipe yesterday when LA was rainy and cold and dreary. Today, it was 70 and sunny. Damn, the weather outsmarts me again!

But it's definitely still winter in the northern hemisphere, if not in California, and this recipe is just perfect for the colder months, especially since it can be summed up in two easy steps:

But seriously, here's the recipe for you!

WINDING DOWN THE WEEK

Yup, that's a cheesy quinoa cake... all the way from a little soiree last week. Not sure where this week went! And it's only going to get busier the way my calendar's looking.

So here's what caught my attention this week:

• Made soup Tuesday night (the delicious recipe to come), and there's one last bowl from that batch in my fridge. Looking at my schedule next week, I should head to my Pinterest for some soup recipes that can last all week long.
• There's always dineLA, though! Fogo de Chao looks like it's in my future.
• Jo wrote about plane picnics, so there's a plane and a picnic in my future.
• Found out that kiddies like to eat colorfully. 
• Which obviously led me to Danny Brooks' very grown-up foodie photog blog. Already salivating.
• Coffee Snobs. 'Nuff said.

What's new in your life?

THREE PIES, THREE DAYS

How was your weekend?

Mine was awesome. See evidence above. Gotta love and cherish these three-day weekends when I can get my foodie on.

So which pizza was best?

OH FUDGE

You know what? I made fudge again, and again I forgot to take pics.

But hey, today, you get a lovely illustration of fudge (inspired by Erin Jang) AND the crappy photos AND the recipe.

WEEKEND WANDERINGS

 [ photo by Evan, editing by me ]

How was everyone's weekend?

Sure, I curled up with Tina Fey's Bossypants for part of it. (Yes, Max, if you're reading this, I stole your autographed copy of her book and read it in less than 24 hours.) But oh, the sunshine called to me, and I found myself on a quick little stroll through Malibu.

Perfect weekend, especially with these foodie finds:

• 800° opened in Westwood this past week to good reviews.
• And pretty soon there will be a Five Guys near it! Love that my college campus is getting some life in it (just as I'm about to leave it).
• If you think that I'm eating out too much, I might give this veggie pho recipe a try. (Yes, it's blasphemy to my Vietnamese side, but my mom's never coughing up her pho recipe, so I gotta start somewhere else.)
• I'm also making Asian lettuce wraps for tomorrow's New Hampshire primary. Am I secretly supporting Huntsman? Yes.
• Oh, and as long as we've hit on my foodie and my politico sides, let's not forget my arty side. Erin Jang started a food sketch project for 2012. So, so pretty! 

For those of you wondering about my New Year's resolutions, I have been good about drinking water every morning, cooking proteins (pork, beef and salmon so far), and eating from different cultures (Korean and Filipino). I have been okay with the others, or haven't had the opportunity to pursue them yet. Sadness.

BACON HOT DOG BITES

Did I promise a fudge recipe? Yes, I did. Then I saw the photos, which had all been taken on Instagram. Now I love Instagram, and it's a great quick fix, but it's not perfect. (Heck, look at the evidence above. I had my camera at my place, but not at my friend's place. Whoops.)

I said, Mmmm, NO. Plus, I have to make another batch this week, though, so there may be hope that I'll share this easy fudge recipe after all.

Instead, I hopped on over to the other side of the taste bud spectrum: salty, savory, delicious bacon hot dog bites with just a touch of sweetness in the form of brown sugar. Perfect for our first conference game win (basketball).

I JUST CAME TO SAY HELLO, 2012

[ photo and text by me ]

Back in LA. Back in my kitchen!

I'm currently living off of homemade fudge and dark green salads (tossed w freshly grated parm and balsamic vinagrette, a total oldie but a goodie), with the occasional good graces of my friends.

Tonight's dinner was a bit of an Asian feast. We had dishes from the Phillipines, Vietnam and Korea! Oh, and of course, I made beer mac-n-cheese too. The recipe is slowly being perfected, but you know what has been perfected in my kitchen?

Homemade fudge. Promise, the recipe's coming. (Especially since I've gotta make another batch to bribe teachers for letters of rec.) (And especially since my family's demanded it.)