Food Hearts Me

12.07 - Triple Threat

2011-12-07T10:34:00.002-06:00

I haven't written in awhile and not much has changed really . . . except for the fact that I've gained nearly 10 lbs. in the last five months. I know I've been indulgent and I know I need to eat better and start working out and all that-- but every time I think about it, I get depressed and turn to bad, bad food. Darn my emotional eating.

This morning was a low point. I went to the doctor for a regular check-up, and I was horrified to find out how much I weighed. I tried to attribute it to the sweater I'm wearing, but it's actually fairly light. *sigh* So to make myself "feel better," I bought this:

Please take a moment to truly appreciate the three degrees of fatness.

07.15 - Friday Obsession

2011-07-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

Every Friday for the past seven Fridays-- without fail-- temptation on wheels has arrived at my door. Well, not exactly my door, but more like my office building's door. And not quite in front of it, but about twenty or so feet away. Anyway, that's besides the point. The point is that it comes every Friday. And every Friday, I give in . . .

to this:

Ah, the beloved mac and cheese truck has finally descended upon Chicago. And it just so happens to know where I work. It is physically and emotionally impossible for me to ignore its presence, so I have very gladly welcomed it with open arms (a.k.a. bought container upon container . . . upon container).

This-- the chorizo, pepper jack, and cojita mac and cheese-- is just one of the many varieties that has won me over:

Other varieties include an original cheddar; cheddar with hot dogs; Italian sausage, mozzarella, and giardiniera; blue cheese, bacon, and mushroom; truffle with one-year aged cheddar; and sun-dried tomato with smoked gouda. I love this truck because, while plain ol' mac and cheese will probably never get old for me, they are always coming up with these deliciously surprising combinations. I'm really looking forward to the day they roll up and offer me an amazing lobster mac and cheese concoction. That'll be the best Friday in the history of all Fridays for sure. I can't wait.

Eatery Info: The Southern Mac & Cheese Truck, locations vary, Chicago, IL

07.13 - Lovin' Me Some Ballpark Eats

2011-07-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

Our building likes to throw these big, elaborate tenant-appreciation lunches in the summer. Last summer, we had a luau. This summer (today, to be exact), we had a ballpark-themed party.

There was so much good food, I made myself sick by indulging in all of it. Italian sausage, hot dogs, stuffed pizza, popcorn, cracker jacks, freshly-squeezed lemonade, peanuts, chips, ice cream. And it wasn't all served buffet-style either. They actually had hot dog carts and popcorn carts and even those guys that walk around with boxes strapped around their necks, shouting, "Peanuts! Cracker Jacks!"

Quite an enjoyable lunch, I'd have to say. And I even managed to smuggle two pieces of stuffed pizza back to my desk for lunch tomorrow. Score.

06.09 - Wiri Wiri Wir(d) Tomato

2011-06-09T11:56:00.004-05:00

My coworker was kind enough to offer me her tupperware of food for lunch yesterday because she had a craving for some greasy American food and wanted to go out and buy something instead. She had cooked fettuccine and chicken together in some Guyanese spices, and on the side was a single cherry tomato. She and I generally have the same taste, so I knew I would enjoy this.

I ate the pasta and chicken quickly-- and when I was almost near the end, I happily popped the cherry tomato in my mouth. As I bit down, I was horrified to discover that this tomato was unlike any other tomato I've ever tried. It filled my mouth with FIRE.

I spit it out immediately and quickly made eye contact with my generous coworker. "What is this?" I yelled out weakly. She looked at me with horror and realized what was going on. "I forgot!" she said, "I forgot to tell you that I put a pepper in there!" By this time, my eyes were watering like crazy and I felt like I couldn't breathe (partly from panic, partly from the heat). I knew I shouldn't drink water and I had hardly any food left in sight, so I didn't know what to do. She said, "Suck on some sugar! It will cut the heat!" I immediately found a few packets of raw sugar in my drawer and started pouring those crystals into my mouth as fast as I possibly could. Between the packets of sugar, I drank ice water which was a wonderful albeit temporary solution-- but finally, after a little while, the pain slowly began to subside.

I later learned that the cherry tomato in the tupperware was actually a wiri wiri pepper, a pepper widely used in Guyanese cooking that is also called a cherry pepper. That harmless looking little pepper is deceptively hot and actually has about 150,000 Scoville heat units (SHU). SHU indicates the amount of capsaicin (heat) in peppers. I read all about the SHU in different peppers yesterday, and found that the wiri wiri is up there with the best of them. Never again will I assume . . .

06.02 - Magic Vending Machine?

2011-06-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

I had a mid-afternoon craving for Cheetos, so I decided to go down to the breakroom and get a bag from the vending machine. I brought a dollar with me and was delighted to find that it would cost only 80 cents.

I put the dollar in and typed in the corresponding numbers for that beloved orange bag. I watched the spiral move the bag to the front and . . . nothing. The top of the bag was stuck. I shoved the vending machine in slight frustration and, suddenly, the spirals moved a second bag to the front . . . but only to get the top of that one stuck on the top of the first bag. Once again, I shoved the machine in greater frustration. And, surprisingly again, the spiral moved a third bag to the front . . . only to get this one stuck with the other two. I shoved the machine again, but this time nothing happened, and the machine beeped to remind me that I still had a dollar in the machine.

I typed in the corresponding numbers yet again only to get this message: MAKE ANOTHER SELECTION. I was indignant. No way was I going to make another selection! I wanted my Cheetos! I tried again. Same message. And again. Same message. Finally I decided to just eject my money-- only to have the machine give me four quarters and an extra 20 cents. I figured that was a nice way to make up for my difficulty and decided to try one last time. I put the coins in, typed in the numbers, and unfortunately got the same message. Fed up, I ejected my money, looked one last time at the tempting row of Cheetos, gave the machine one last shove . . . and out came all three bags.

I'm not quite sure what to make of all that . . . but I'm about to finish the second bag now.

04.20 - Love Conquers All

2011-04-20T11:18:00.001-05:00

Sometime last week, a coworker received a gift of Girl Scout cookies from a vendor. I was so excited that I tore open a box and helped myself to several. So this week, I told myself that I needed to get my own boxes. I went onto the Girl Scouts website to see where they were having sales-- only to find out that the last sale within 40 miles had happened on April 1. Needless to say, I was crushed. I forgot that there was a short time frame to obtain those cookies and I had obviously missed it. I nearly went into hysterics and began walking around the office, asking my coworkers if they knew where I could get these beloved cookies.

After pestering several people and searching like crazy online, I finally decided to call the Girl Scouts of Chicago main office. When the operator answered, my voice was quivering as I sheepishly asked her whether there were any cookie sales still going on. She told me that there weren't . . . . . . BUT that I could come down to the office to purchase them there and that the cookies would be available till the end of the month. I think my voice cracked a little as I thanked her and immediately plotted my visit.

Fast forward to today-- I am the proud owner of eight boxes of cookies! I walked through wind, rain, and cold to get to their office yesterday, had to obtain a pass from building security, and finally entered Girl Scouts paradise. The office has a little gift shop that is chock-full of pretty shirts and patches and vests and stickers and all kinds of adorable GS memorabilia. Looking around, I actually felt a pang of sadness that I had never been a Brownie or Girl Scout. So to make myself feel better . . . I bought myself an "honorary" patch to go along with my cookies. :)

"I" thinks it's sad that I'm so obsessed with GS cookies, but the heart wants what the heart wants. :)

Eatery Info: Girl Scouts of Chicago, 222 S. Riverside Plaza, #2120, Chicago, IL 60606

04.06 - Weeknight Dinner Spot

2011-04-06T11:39:00.001-05:00

"I" and I had a delicious dinner the other night all for about $10. Where, you ask?

Costco, I say.

1 chicken bake, 1 carne asada bake, a Vienna Beef hot dog + drink special, and 3 scoops of gelato. Yum.

And we weren't even there to shop. We drove there just to eat. I am not ashamed.

03.31 - Pitiful Child

2011-03-31T16:03:00.001-05:00

My mom works nearby, so I decided to walk over and visit her for lunch. We had a nice time talking and sharing coffee and a blueberry scone. As I was just about to leave, she handed me a small baggie of sauteed green beens and half of an orange (not a whole one, but a dried-out half).

How exactly am I supposed to interpret that . . .?

03.24 - Bread Lover

2011-03-24T14:08:00.050-05:00

I've realized that one of my biggest weaknesses is bread. It's nearly impossible for me to walk by a bakery and not want to stop in for some fresh rolls or loaves of bread. I get so happy when restaurants serve free bread before a meal. Even walking by Subway in the morning gets me all riled up. Sad, I know. What confuses me, though, is where this love originated. I mean, I was raised on rice, for goodness sake. I was the girl who went to school with dried pieces of rice stuck to her shirt sleeves. Don't get me wrong-- I love the smell of freshly made rice steam wafting through the air as much as any asian, but for some reason, it doesn't make me as excited as the smell of freshly baked bread. I mean, put fresh bread together with salty butter, and it's over.

With that said, there was a whole tray of pumpernickel, sesame seed, and whole grain rolls randomly sitting in the kitchen yesterday with a bowl of individual butter packets right next to it. I nearly had a heart attack, I was so happy. As stealthily as I could, I smuggled five rolls into a paper napkin, stuffed six packets of butter into my pocket, and walked excitedly back to my desk. Near the end of it, my desk looked like this:

That was my lunch yesterday, and I have to say it was pretty darn wonderful.

The only one thing that ruined it, though, was realizing that my coworker had clearly witnessed me squishing pieces upon pieces of bread into those insufferably small butter packets. :\

03.22 - Incredible Fruits and Veggies

2011-03-22T11:15:00.001-05:00

In the past two months, I've really tried to incorporate more fruits and veggies into mine and I's at-home meals. Before, I would eat fruits and veggies about 1-3 times a week. Now I have fruits and veggies about 1-3 times a day. That's certainly a significant change, but I never thought it would make that much of difference until I started dropping pounds like crazy without once setting foot in a gym. Now, I'm 12 pounds lighter than I was two months ago.

Everywhere I go, people comment about how much weight I've lost or how saggy my pants are-- and when they ask what happened, I just shrug and say, "I eat a lot of fruits and veggies." Ha. It's strange, right? I've always heard that fruits and veggies are good for you, but I never realized how good.

But now I know firsthand that:

- they're rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals
- they make you feel just as full as, if not more than, the fatty stuff
- they give you a high amount of energy with significantly fewer calories
- they make you go to the bathroom daily (as opposed to once or twice a week...)
- they help prevent and reduce the risk of diseases
- and they increase weight loss by 3x in those who simply eat low-fat foods

My favorites as of late are:

- spinach
- romaine lettuce
- mustard or collard greens
- kale
- broccoli
- green beans
- red and yellow peppers
- tomatoes
- oranges
- blueberries
- pomegranates

Now that I have the fruits and veggies down, all I need to do is start working out again. While losing weight is great, being flabby and bony is not. :\ Here goes . . .

03.16 - Pretty Petite Treats

2011-03-16T15:35:00.006-05:00

Starbucks had a "Tribute Days" promotion from March 10-12 to ring in their 40th year. With any drink purchased between 2 to 5 p.m., you would get a petite dessert of your choice. The choices were: birthday cake pop, carrot mini cupcake, lemon sweet square, peanut butter mini cupcake, red velvet whoopie pie, rocky road cake pop, salted caramel sweet square, and tiramisu cake pop.

I had my tastebuds set on the red velvet whoopie pie. Unfortunately, when I made it out to a Starbucks on March 12th at 4:50 p.m. and put in an order for two drinks, all that was left were a few of the cupcakes. The Starbucks associate threw two of those babies in a bag and handed them over to me, and while they were quite yummy, my craving for the whoopie pie remained.

So I decided to make a Starbucks whoopie pie run earlier today-- and I was happy not only to find that there were plenty of petite treats available but also that they pack them in adorable little boxes! They must have held out on those during Tribute Days, but who could blame them. I carried my pretty, precious cargo back to the office and sat at my desk, savoring my red velvet whoopie pie with small bites. It was delicious-- soft, moist, packed with flavor, and generously filled with whipped cream cheese frosting. Mmm mmm good. I just wish they didn't come so small. Under 200 calories blue blundred blalories.

Next visit: salted caramel sweet square

03.04 - BOGO Chipotle

2011-03-04T12:56:00.003-06:00

I like Chipotle. There's just something about that freshly grilled chicken or steak (or, every now and then, that flavorful spicy shredded barbacoa) mixed together with cilantro-lime rice, melty cheese, a dash of black beans, a handful of romaine, and pico de gallo all lovingly held together by a warm, subtly salty, chewy flour tortilla. Yum.

So imagine my excitement when I walked into the break room last Friday and found a buy one-get one Chipotle coupon on the kitchen counter. I immediately dragged my coworkers to get some for lunch that day, and we saved $12. I went again on Sunday after church with a bunch of friends, and the ten of us together saved $30. Two of my cousins went last week, and they saved a combined $12. Another two of my friends went this week, and they saved $6. My brother went yesterday and saved $6. And I had Chipotle with my mom for lunch today, and we saved an additional $6. So, all in all, throughout this past week, I am pleased to say that my family, friends, and I saved $72.

Both impressive and shocking. Impressive because that's a lot of free Chipotle, and shocking because one burrito contains about 800-1200 calories. :\ Still, free Chipotle doesn't happen often, and I do have to say it was fun while it lasted. The promo ends today. If you want to get yours before it's over, visit http://www.facebook.com/americasnextgreatrestaurant?v=app_10442206389 and watch the 90-second video for this new reality restaurant show that's coming out. Then print the coupon and eat your poor heart out. :)

02.23 - Awkward Neighbors

2011-02-23T17:01:00.001-06:00

We moved into a fancy new "green" office building last year, and it consists of large floor-to-ceiling windows, offices walled in glass so everyone can see what you're doing, automatic shut-off lights, and cubicles with windows. Cubicles with windows, you ask?

Yes, offices walled in glass and cubicles with windows (see pictures below):

Anyway, I guess they're unique little additions. The only problem is that when I look out my window, I'm staring directly into another lady's office. And when this lady sits at her desk and looks straight ahead, she looks out her glass wall and directly into my cubicle. *sigh*

It wouldn't be that awkward except for the fact that I eat a lot. And I'm not as neat about it as I should be. Today, she had quite a show. Throughout the day, I had a piece of herb bread, an orange, a bar of chocolate, rice with chicken and broccoli, half of a ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of crunchy kettle chips, and half of a chocolate chip cookie.

Even though it's absolutely not her fault, I've come to really dislike her presence as my neighbor. I delight when she's off for the day and I get irritated when I look over and make eye contact with her. *sigh* Sometimes a girl just wants to eat in peace, you know what I'm saying? :\

01.18 - Strange Occurrence

2011-01-18T15:56:00.001-06:00

For lunch today, I brought in a baggie containing two pieces of fried chicken and another baggie that was about 1/3 full of macaroni and cheese. Both these baggies sat inside a plastic grocery bag that was tied at the top, which I placed inside the communal fridge this morning.

When I went back to the fridge to take out my lunch just now, I found only one piece of fried chicken and half of the original amount of mac and cheese. I stared at the two baggies in my hands, assured myself that I was not going crazy, and then started giggling.

Someone was actually hungry/crazy/wrong enough to take half my lunch from both baggies, to place them back inside the plastic grocery bag, to tie the bag, and to put it back where it belonged. Sooo weird.

12.28 - Chinese Food Christmas

2010-12-28T13:07:00.002-06:00

I've heard of many people who go out for Chinese food on Christmas day, especially if they don't celebrate Christmas or if they just don't feel like eating at home that day. Never have I actually partaken in this kind of tradition. Until this year.

For Christmas Day, "I," his family, and I randomly found ourselves at a new Chinese restaurant that was promoting a buy one-get one lobster special. With the purchase of three entrees, we could get one lobster for the price of $5.99 and get an additional one for free. Pretty awesome, right? So we ended up ordering six entrees and getting four lobsters (sauteed in a nice ginger sauce) that evening.

Extremely satisfying and unique Christmas dinner, I would have to say. :)

12.06 - Distant Memory

2010-12-06T16:28:00.000-06:00

I haven't thought about this in years (and I probably repressed the memory because it was too difficult to go without), but I used to work for a company that treated all its employees to lunch every day of the week. Granted we only had 10 employees and it was a sly tactic to keep everyone in the building at all times, but it was still a pretty awesome perk.

One person was in charge of ordering-- and every morning, she'd pass around the chosen menu for the day and each person would write down what they wanted on the accompanying sheet of paper. The order was usually placed at 11 a.m., and we'd all be eating and sitting pretty around noon. We could eat from any restaurant we wanted as long as we had the menu for it, they could deliver to us, and we didn't go too crazy.

I got over 300 free lunches from that job. Oh man, I'm feeling envious of my former self. Ha. No wonder I gained so much weight back then.

11.19 - Killer Sandwich

2010-11-19T16:09:00.000-06:00

If someone wanted to kill me, all they'd have to do is put poison-laced food on my desk while I was away and then wait for me to come back and consume it. It's a sure-fire way to get rid of me. Sad, but true.

The reason I say this is because I came back to my desk right now to find half of a suspicious-looking sandwich sitting inside a baggie with a descriptive label included. Never seen anything like it before. The label tells me everything I need to know: what kind of sandwich it is, what's in the sandwich, and where the sandwich was made. But one thing it does not tell me is who the sandwich is from. Critical information . . . yet irrelevant because I ate it anyway.

*shrug*

11.08 - Cooking Catastrophes

2010-11-08T15:59:00.003-06:00

When I cook, it's usually because I've gotten excited about something. And when I'm excited about something, I usually go overboard. And when I go overboard, I never give myself the amount of time that's required. And when I don't have enough time, I'm frantically trying to get to the finish line. And when I'm frantic, I'm clumsy. And when I'm clumsy, nothing ever comes out quite right.

Best examples of above:

- The time I decided an hour or two before my family Christmas party that I wanted to bake sugar cookies for my cousins' children (about ten of them). I busted out a cookie cookbook I had gotten as a gift, and I dove right in. I finished with 20 minutes to spare . . . only to taste one and realize that the cookies were rock hard and sweeter than any normal cookie should be. What went wrong, you ask? I was too in a rush to realize that the cookbook was written in the metric system (or to listen to the voice in the back of my head telling me that the measurements were so obviously off). *sigh* I still bagged those cookies up and gave them out as gifts. Is that wrong?

- The time my cousin was coming to visit for the holidays and had mentioned this cut of beef that was popular in the West coast. I wanted to surprise him with it, so I took a special trip to the butcher shop and bought a few pounds of said cut of beef. I started cooking about two hours prior to leaving for the family party at another relative's house. By the end of the second hour (as my parents were yelling for me to hurry up and get in the car), I realized that the meat was absolutely not tender enough and still needed at least an hour more of cooking (despite what the recipe had told me). I had no choice but to pack up the beef and bring it anyway. Ha. As appetizing as it looked, no one could even chew it. *sigh* My dad brought it all back home and did his best to salvage it for the next day's dinner.

- The time I decided to make a Korean dish for I's birthday last year. Of course I started too late, and of course I was struggling to finish it up till the moment he came over. In my hecticness, I zealously poured in too much gochujang (hot pepper paste). When I realized what I had done, it was too late to start over and I had to make do with what I already had. By the time I was done, it looked great and I personally think it tasted great, but normal taste buds seemed to stop working after the first three seconds because there was so much heat. "I" very graciously ate as much as he could, but even this dish exceeded his spiciness limit. *sigh*

Note to self: Give yourself time, woman. You struggle. Really.

11.03 - Leftover Halloween Candy . . .

2010-11-03T16:07:00.001-05:00

is so bad for you. A few people have brought their leftover candy to work this week, and I have successfully devoured a significant portion of it. Six mini Snickers bar, two fun-size Snickers bar, one pack of M&Ms, three Hershey's peppermint kisses, eight Hershey's almond kisses, two mini Hershey's dark chocolate bars, and three mini Twix bars.

Coworkers, please, hide your candy bowls!

In other news, how cute is my blurry pumpkin goddaughter?

11.01 - My Caramel Apple

2010-11-01T14:36:00.009-05:00

I had the perfect dessert for lunch today: a caramel apple.

I got it at our work Halloween gathering on Friday and was so excited to have it today. I went to our breakroom/kitchen just now to cut it up into bite-size pieces-- and as I took it out of the plastic container, the apple slid off the stick . . . and rolled out onto the floor . . . in view of two of my coworkers. My back was to my coworkers, so I immediately picked it up and wondered if they had seen what happened. Suddenly one of them said, "Ji, you have the best thing I've seen in this kitchen so far. So healthy for you and so bad for you all at the same time." I slowly turned around and smiled in agreement, trying to read their faces. Had they seen?? Did it really matter??

I turned back around, holding the apple in my hands and pretending to examine it, and waited until they finally left. Then I quickly cut it up, brought the gooey pieces back to my desk, and ate every bite. A little office kitchen floor never hurt anyone . . .

10.12 - The Trucks are Rolling In

2010-10-12T16:26:00.002-05:00

I love New York for its food-- especially for its mobile food. I mean, some of the tastiest (and cheapest) food I've ever had there have come from a truck. But I always thought the truck thing was a NY thing . . . until trucks started popping up in LA and Atlanta. And, honestly, I've become really envious of LA because some of their trucks sound amazing.

This is just a sampling:
- Korean/Mexican fusion taco truck
- shaved ice truck
- grilled cheese truck
- Indian food truck
- sushi truck
- Philly food truck
- Filipino food truck
- crepe truck
- chicken and waffles truck
- dumpling truck
- Greek food truck
- smoked bbq truck
- and the list goes on and on . . .

Sadly, Chicago has been very slow at getting into the truck scene because our laws aren't as easy to work around as other cities' laws. As of right now, if you want to serve food from a truck, it has to be pre-made and pre-packaged (such as the Flirty Cupcake truck). But, honestly, cupcakes are just not going to cut it.

Fortunately, there are a whole bunch of Chicago restauranteurs and foodies alike who are demanding a change. Several restaurants already have food truck plans in the works and are just anxiously awaiting the city ordinance that permits trucks with onboard cooking equipment.

My belly, too, is anxiously awaiting. :}

10.07 - Cookie Radar!

2010-10-07T14:05:00.001-05:00

It's so bad, but we have this really good bakery/cafe just around the corner from work . . . and I just found out they actually have a cookie radar on their website. Oh my, what a magnificent idea! You can either check the site or sign up for alerts to find out when your favorite variety (or all of them really) have just come out of the oven.

So, at this moment, I'm waiting for the semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie alert. Their last batch came out a little less than an hour ago-- but I'm sorry, I would like mine fresh out of the oven, please. Haha. Mmm . . . coooookies.

Eatery Info: Specialty's Cafe & Bakery, 191 N Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606

10.05 - For (Excessive) Love of BBQ

2010-10-05T13:23:00.002-05:00

I attended a work conference last week in Kansas City, and the first thing I did upon my arrival was get burnt ends and ribs at my favorite KC barbecue place. I guess I could've attended some of the conference sessions to feed my brain . . . but, honestly, I really just wanted to feed my belly. I mean, the last time I had been in KCity was nearly four years ago, and that magnificent barbecue had been on my mind since then. Needless to say, it was a wonderful meal. And I went back to the hotel a very happy woman.

. . . until I ran into my boss and he asked me if I had attended any sessions. *sigh*

I sheepishly told him that I had not . . . and that I had been busy doing something else, desperately hoping he wouldn't smell the strong scent of hickory wood all over me. He didn't seem at all happy, but oh well. If that wasn't bad enough, the boss ended up wanting me to have dinner with him and some other colleagues at the same exact place. :\ While I do love my Jack Stack, I just couldn't do two rounds of it within four hours. But I couldn't very well reject my boss's invitation after being such a slacker employee, so I sucked it up and agreed to go along.

As the four of us sat down at a table, Brian (oh, Brian . . . my dear waiter from earlier that day who must have some crazy visual memorization skills because I looked completely different the second time around) took a double take as he passed me, smiled, and said, "Welcome back!" Within seconds, all (wide) eyes were on me, and I very quickly raised the menu to cover my face.

Epic fail. :\

09.22 - Sushi Mania

2010-09-22T15:41:00.006-05:00

"I" and I had some friends over the other day for a little sushi making extravaganza. People brought over soo many great fillings, it was almost a bit overwhelming (in the most delightful sense, haha).

Fillings
- salmon
- tuna
- white tuna
- fluke
- smoked salmon
- shrimp tempura
- imitation crab meat
- jalapenos
- scallions
- cream cheese
- cucumbers
- avocados
- spicy wormy things of which I can't remember the Korean name
- tobiko (flying fish roe)
- cilantro

Most of us were newbies, but everyone really went all out on their creations. Some a little too "out." Haha. I have to say, though, that this experience tops going to the sushi buffet. Yummy, messy, and fun. ;)

Our spread (pre-destruction)

JJ's random concotion with galbi jjim and those spicy wormy things (ha)

RC's delicious concoction with Alaskan wild salmon, jalapenos, and cream cheese (mmm...cream cheese)

08.13 - Malodorous Fridge

2010-08-13T15:07:00.003-05:00

The communal office refrigerator started giving off a rancid smell at the beginning of this week. By Wednesday, I couldn't take it, and I immediately sniffed out an open container of blue cheese which went right into the trash. Um, come on people, either cover your blue cheese or throw it out. Bleh.

Then today, one of my coworkers offered to share her food from home with me so she told me where to find it in the fridge. When I went in there, it still smelled pretty bad. So as I was sniffing around for the remaining culprit, I came across a tupperware wrapped in a plastic bag. I picked it up and looked at it closely because, honestly, it looked like a very familiar piece of tupperware. Upon opening the bag and slowing prying off the tupperware lid, I was horrified to find Mom's pancit (Filipino noodles) all covered in mold. Umm...yeah. I have no idea how long that was in there, but it smelled (and looked) pretty horrible.

Bad, bad, hypocritical me. Whoever smelt it, sure as heck dealt it. :\

07.26 - Up Close and Personal with the Pizza Delivery Guy

2010-07-26T10:52:00.003-05:00

In a last-minute moment of inspiration, I invited some people over the other day for some post-worship service fellowship. So I called a pizza place to get in my order as soon as possible, and I got home just in time to let the delivery guy in. When he handed me the receipt, I handed him my credit card, and he gave me a perplexed look. The realization hit me that the guy I had placed my phone order with had never asked me how I would be paying for it and I didn't bother to ask since I had been so flustered. So there we stood, both unsure of what to do.

Me: I don't have cash.
Pizza Delivery Guy (PDG): *crazy, wide eyes*
Me: Umm . . . (turns to look at a few friends who were there with me)
Friends: (frantically begin taking out their wallets, pulling out singles and fives)
Me: (sigh, shaking my head at them) It won't be enough. (looks at PDG) I'm sorry, I don't have cash.
PDG: *shrugs, but maintains his position*
Me: Umm . . . there's a Walgreens down the street! I can go to the ATM and get some cash!
PDG: *nods*

Long story short, I had planned on driving to Walgreens on my own, but PDG looked so uncertain and perplexed (found out he had just moved here from Bulgaria which would explain his curt manner) and I wasn't really thinking straight, so I somehow ended up in the passenger seat of his car and the poor guy drove me to Walgreens and back home.

Yep . . . just another day.

07.01 - Flirty Cupcake Truck

2010-07-01T12:10:00.001-05:00

So "I" bought me four cupcakes the other day. From a truck! Sitting right outside of his office!

Yes, Chicago, a cupcake truck has come to our city. How exciting! Not quite as mouthwatering as, say, NYC's taco or middle eastern trucks, but it's quite a nice addition. I mean, who doesn't love a moist cupcake topped with delicious frosting?

The cupcakes I had were quite good, but unfortunately quite small and pretty pricey. Still, cupcakes out of a truck are pretty hard to resist. It's definitely an ice cream truck for grown-ups. I just wish they sold tacos at the same time . . .

Eatery Info: Flirty Cupcakes on Wheels, "the intersection of oooh and aaah", Chicago, IL

06.29 - How wrong is it . . .

2010-06-29T15:50:00.000-05:00

. . . to buy two Boston Creme donuts (one for myself and one for my coworker friend), to place one on her desk while she's away, to consume my own donut with delight, to realize that my donut was darn good, and to then take her donut away without her even knowing it?

I mean hypothetically, of course. How wrong is that really?

06.10 - The People are Hungry

2010-06-10T15:52:00.005-05:00

So Jimmy John's had this Customer Appreciation Sale today from 11-3. They were selling their regular 8" subs for $1 instead of the five or whatever dollars they usually cost. I wasn't really hungry until 2 o'clock and I wanted to wait for the crowd to die down, so a coworker and I finally made it over there around 2:30.

The crowd surely had not died down. We stood in a line that was out the door and down the block, but Jimmy John's workers were taking our orders and giving us these order sheets so at least it made us feel like we were getting somewhere. By 2:45, we were within a few feet of the store. By 2:55, we had just stepped in the store. By 3:00, we were right behind another person at the counter . . . and then they announced, "It's 3 o'clock! The sale is over! We're out of bread!"

Before I knew it, my sweet 40-something year old Guyanese coworker C started mouthing off big time. "That is just ruddddee!" she said loudly. "All these people waited in line with the assumption that they would get a sandwich, and now you're just telling them to leave?! That is sooo inconsiderate!!" At this point, I'm trying to pull her quietly out of the store. "I am never buying a sandwich here again!" she yelled (though she has never set foot into a Jimmy John's before and has no idea what their sandwiches even taste like-- haha). As we were making our way out past the crowd, a lady asked C what was going on and C told her the sale was over. The lady had these wild eyes and she said with vehemence, "Oh nooooo. The sale is NOT over!!"

Haha. Oh man. I wish we had stuck around to see if a riot ensued. Instead we walked hungrily back to the office, and I got to listen to C rant and rave about how "the people are hungry! The people have been standing out there and they're hungggrry!!" Haha. *shrug* Oh well.

05.27 - Best Meal EVER

2010-05-27T10:05:00.003-05:00

The perfect surf & turf combo does exist. It is comprised of the most tender, flavorful bone-in filet mignon and a ginormous helping of succulent, sweet Alaskan king crab legs. *drooling* I have no words.

Eatery Info: Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab Restaurant, 60 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

05.24 - My Lifelong Struggle

2010-05-24T14:48:00.002-05:00

I'll admit it, I've always been rather clumsy. But it's generally just dropped crumbs or a little bit of spilled coffee here and there. Nothing major, nothing to stress about. That is until recent months . . .

Several months ago, while "I" and I were in California and on the way to visit my cousins one morning, we decided to stop by Jamba Juice for a Power size (30 oz.) smoothie. I offered to drive and we soon headed back onto the highway. While maintaining a nice steady speed, I picked up the large drink and brought the straw to my mouth . . . only to have the lid pop off and the entire 30 ounces of cold, fruity liquid slide onto my lap. *sigh* I drove for a miserable 20 more minutes before we got to an exit and found a Walmart to get a dry pair of replacement jeans. :\

Last week, I was out to dinner with some of the LP boys and we were all having a nice time with our delicious food and yummy beverages. My beverage of choice was strawberry lemonade. As I was sliding the large 22 oz. glass closer to me, the entire thing (ice, strawberries, sugarly lemonade and all) spilled onto my lap. Needless to say, I had an uncomfortable walk back to their house, and I ended up borrowing light-colored boy jeans that made me look straight out of the '80s for the rest of the night. *sigh*

After these two episodes, I'm terribly afraid that this mishap will follow me all the days of my life . . . :\

05.19 - Changing it Up

2010-05-19T09:14:00.002-05:00

I wanted some oatmeal this morning, but I didn't want the same old plain oatmeal with brown sugar. So I cooked the oatmeal with hot coffee, then I threw in some brown sugar. That may seem a little strange but it's pretty darn good, I'd have to say. Not only does it make for a yummy breakfast, but I get a slight pick-me-up as well. Good job, me. :}

05.05 - Eat with Your Head, Not with Your Eyes

2010-05-05T13:08:00.004-05:00

"I" and I had a huge sushi craving the other day, so we decided to eat at an all-you-can-eat place we had heard good things about. They had a nice, wide selection, so we were hyped up when we got there.

For our first round, we chose five different rolls and four pieces of sushi-- altogether over 30 pieces. All of it was quite good (except for one bad decision on my part) and we stuffed our faces. With only five pieces left on the platter, we went ahead and placed our round two order. We chose two rolls and 12 pieces of sushi, and only at the last minute took off one of the rolls.

You know . . . we should've just stopped at round one. I have no idea what we were thinking. :\ When the second platter finally came out, both of us were already full beyond limit. The problem we faced, though, was that this place charges for uneaten food. Any normal person (with any lick of common sense and no qualms about spending money) would've just paid extra for the food on the plate-- but we don't have that luxury, and since we got ourselves into that predicament, we were gonna get ourselves out of it.

So "I" was my lookout and I was his, and with as much strength (and stealth) as possible . . . we ate every single piece of fish (and threw all the rice into a napkin conveniently placed in my jacket pocket). Despite letting out a few hysterical giggles here and there, I am pleased to say we did not raise any suspicion. By the end of it, we were both so close to being sick that it was scary . . . but we cheered each other on and made it through. Ha. After we left, I was hit by a food coma so hard I didn't wake up for two hours. Never again . . .

04.27 - Funny People

2010-04-27T10:17:00.002-05:00

I went on a business trip this past weekend and, since I had to work through my Sunday evening, I decided to treat myself to room service around 9:30 p.m. I wanted some comfort food, so I decided on the crab mac and five cheese along with some chamomile tea. The in-room dining service lady on the phone was quite amusing, almost like an overly involved aunt. Our convo went something like this:

Me: Hi, I'd like to order the crab mac and five cheese.
Lady: Ooh. Have you had that before?
Me: No, but I'm craving something comforting.
Lady: Oh, it's good, you'll enjoy that.
Me: Great, can I also have chamomile tea, please?
Lady: Wait a minute, are you trying to get to sleep?
Me: Well, eventually, yeah.
Lady: Well, the tea will definitely help with that. But the mac and cheese is too heavy.
Me: Well, I think I'll be okay.
Lady: Are you sure about that? If you're the only one eating, that'll be too much. You're not going to be able to sleep.
Me: Actually, I tend to sleep after eating heavy food.
Lady: Oh, you do!? Well then, okay. That's interesting that you can sleep after eating something so heavy. If I had that at 9:30 in the evening, I'd be up all night.

Ha. What a struggle it was to order room service with that lady. I eventually did get my food, and while it was good, it wasn't as cheesy as I would have wanted. Oh well.

In other news, I was out to dinner last night with "I," and I stopped dead in my tracks and started laughing when I saw the sign below. He couldn't quite understand it at first, but when I busted out with a thick Spanish accent and said it aloud, he was amused. Haha.

04.05 - Dinner Unexpected

2010-04-08T10:36:00.017-05:00

This past Friday night, I found myself wandering around near Clark and Fullerton. I was just enjoying the nice weather and walking leisurely to my next destination when I spotted an eatery with its doors wide open, exposing a very clean, stark interior. It was a salad place and I hadn't had dinner yet and, alas, I have been trying to incorporate fruits and vegetables into my diet. So I purposefully walked in and asked the guy behind the counter for recommendations. He gave me a few and then very apologetically admitted that it's hard to say what his favorite is because he's more of a steak guy.

Steak?! Did someone say steak? Though I thoroughly enjoyed my big mama of a farmer's salad, my stomach felt empty and airy after consuming it all . . . and I simply craved a cheeseburger. I planned on swinging by Five Guys on the way and told my newfound friend just that, but he suggested I try the meat bakery next door. Yes, a meat bakery. An eatery that looks exactly like a bakery and serves food that looks exactly like cupcakes and other pastries but all of which is actually made of meat. Oh man . . . I ran over there with a quickness and bought myself a spaghetti and meatball cupcake.

So there you have it. A big healthy salad followed by a meat cupcake. Who would've thunk it?

Eatery Info: Lettuce Mix, 2468 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614
Meatloaf Bakery, 2464 North Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614

03.26 - The Health Assessment

2010-03-26T11:26:00.002-05:00

My company is all about health and wellness these days, so we get to take part in this wellness program that involves a health screening, health seminars and activities, etc. etc.

My BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels were all pretty good-- but when they assessed my exercise regimen and nutrition intake, they were quite concerned. On the scale from "at risk" to "excellent," I was near "at risk" in both areas. I couldn't help but giggle.

But on a serious note (*sigh*), I need to incorporate four more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and I have to partake in 30 minutes of physical activity three days a week. Argh. Here goes . . .

03.25 - My Reputation Precedes Me

2010-03-25T09:00:00.053-05:00

My friend Q and I went to visit our buddy N in Minneapolis last weekend. Usually, when we three girls get together, it becomes an all-out eating fest.

Upon my arrival, N greeted me with a frozen family-size package of bean and cheese burritos (a past love of mine), of which I helped myself to two. After that, the weekend was a barrage of ketchup chips and fancy Asian/Latin American fusion dishes and brownie tres leches and Squirt cans and frozen custard and cheesy broccoli omelettes and Italian puff pastries and mushroom/chicken lasagna . . . *pausing for a breath*

It was all wonderful, of course. The only downside was that N must have told her fiance that I tend to eat in large quantities (a.k.a. till there is no morsel left). He literally kept insisting I finish whatever food was left over. *sigh* What? There's 3/4 of a plate of marinated pork with plaintains left? Oh, Ji will eat it. What? No one wants to finish off the 13" x 19" dish of lasagna? Let's leave that for Ji.

Haha. Please make it stop! I understand that I used to be a human garbage disposal. But...maybe not so much anymore. *weak smile* My stomach is no longer what it used to be. It's shrinking...shrinking...

03.05 - Bread Smuggler

2010-03-05T15:32:00.001-06:00

Have you ever been to a restaurant where they placed a basket full of surprisingly fresh, delicious, toasty bread on the table but you either didn't want to get full on bread or didn't want to OD on unnecessary carbs? Well, I faced that same predicament at lunchtime. So instead of completely forfeiting on the bread, I threw it into my purse for a later time.

Fast forward two and a half hours, and I am at my desk at work chomping away on a significantly sized loaf of bread. Best afternoon snack ever.

02.24 - Mac and Dessert

2010-02-24T17:01:00.008-06:00

The brother and I decided to go out for some late-night dessert yesterday evening. We ordered so much chocolate that I knew I wouldn't be able to take it (I have a sweet limit), so I requested an accompaniment of macaroni and cheese. I thought nothing of it until one of the waitresses actually stopped dead in her tracks as she passed by our table. She gave me a funny look and said,"Macaroni and cheese with dessert, huh?" My guess is that she thought the combination was either disgustingly indulgent or unbelievably brilliant. I smiled sweetly and proceeded to shove a forkful of chocolate souffle followed by a spoonful of mac and cheese into my mouth. Haha, mmm.

Eatery Info: Hot Chocolate, 1747 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

02.08 - Baby Cake

2010-02-08T10:54:00.001-06:00

Went to a baby shower this past weekend. A very good time was had. :)

While there, I realized that a beautiful cake with a baby on top is soooo adorable! But, on that same note, a beautiful cake with a baby on top is very (very) disturbing to eat. Haha. I think all the guests were a tad bit traumatized. It was a delicious cake, though . . . ;)

01.25 - Post-Baby Celebration

2010-01-25T10:30:00.007-06:00

My cousin D and his wife's baby girl finally arrived last night after a much awaited nine months. I, along with the rest of D's immediate family, were so anxious that we practically stared at our phones till we finally got the OK to come to the hospital. "Baby I" was absolutely itty bitty and precious, and her siblings automatically fell in love with her.

So we celebrated with Italian beef sandwiches, dipped and smothered with sweet/hot peppers. ;) My cousin S had gotten overly excited (about her new niece or the celebratory food of choice, I'm not sure) and brought over 10 sandwiches from their family's fave local place. It was a good evening.

Poor Baby I. Imagine being only four hours old and enveloped by the smell of hot, delicious Italian beef and savory peppers. That little girl is gonna have food love issues when she grows up . . . ;)

01.21 - Fabulous Fondue

2010-01-21T16:16:00.004-06:00

I (the initial, not me) got me a nifty little fondue cooking pot for Christmas, and I've been dying to break it in for the past month. We finally got to it this past weekend-- and it was quite delightful. I'm not sure what I enjoyed most-- pouring an entire beer into the pot (as the recipe called for); grating 8 ounces each of sharp cheddar and swiss; or dipping squares upon squares of fresh, grainy bread into the perfectly melty, gooey cheese. Mmm. Good stuff. I can't wait to try a chocolate recipe.

Here are some shots. I apologize in advance for the crazy filipino newspaper articles. *sheepish look*

01.14 - Bad Fiancee

2010-01-14T13:43:00.002-06:00

I have this coworker who recently got married, and she always tells me about how she and her husband are trying to eat better and how he does the cooking and tries to incorporate more vegetables into their diet, bla bla bla.

I, on the other hand, feed my fiance chocolate chip cookies, Cinnabons, cream puffs, cheesy breakfast casseroles, slices of deep dish pizza, Dibs, potato chips, fried chicken, burritos, and who knows what else. :\

I am a thoughtlessly gluttonous woman. *sigh*

01.11 - Frozen Pizza Hearts Me

2010-01-11T16:28:00.004-06:00

So a few months ago a writer for the RedEye, a free daily paper put out by the Chicago Tribune, randomly contacted me on a food review site. She noticed that I wrote a lot of reviews, particularly on Chicago's delicious pizza (ha), and wanted to know if I ate a lot of frozen pizza. Despite my initial embarassment, I told her that I did, in fact, partake in the occasional frozen pizza (especially recently).

Fast forward two months. Her article on frozen pizza came out this past Saturday, and the first sentence starts with my name. While I'd normally be excited at being mentioned in a cover story food article, I'm not as excited at being depicted as the penny saving, pure Chicago pizza betraying, frozen pizza lover. Haha. Oh well. I'm not gonna lie-- when I want cheesy, comforting pizza and I can't afford the fancy pizzas of the city, humble but tasty ol' DiGiorno or Tombstone does the trick. ;)

Here's a look at (and a short excerpt from) the article:

01.04 - Happy, Healthy New Year

2010-01-04T10:57:00.005-06:00

Though I’m not exactly the healthiest piggie* in the pen, I am quite drawn to foods known for their antioxidant qualities. Foods such as:

Tomatoes for its lycopene
Red wine for its polyphenols and resveratrol
Dark chocolate for its flavonoids
Green tea for its catechins
Blueberries for its vitamins C and E, anthocyanins, and phenolics

I really don’t even know what all those fancy word antioxidants do, but if they help reduce cholesterol, improve immune function, and work to lower the risk of cancer or other diseases, then I’m all for it. Ha. I didn’t realize just how much I’m into this stuff until this past weekend when my church conference car pool crew stopped by a travel rest area and I bought dark chocolate covered pretzels and a bottled dark chocolate frappuccino (yes, they make them now!) in a single bound. Mmm, delicious and healthy. ;) If only cheese had antioxidants . . . then I’d be set for life.

*Speaking of piggies, a friend gave this cute lamp to me for Christmas. Hmm. Does it come with a hidden message? ;)

12.23 - Christmas Present to Myself

2009-12-23T12:03:00.005-06:00

I don't usually buy myself anything at Christmastime-- but this time around, I wanted to give myself something I had been wanting for a very very long time. Kansas City BBQ!

I went to a work conference in Kansas City, MO about three years back and I fell so much in love with their bbq that I had dinner at the same restaurant two nights in a row (the two days I stayed there-- ha). If I had stayed there longer, we all know what would have happened.

Anyway, after thinking about it for the past few years, I finally decided to order myself some good ol' KC barbecue. I didn't go overboard and get one of the $200 packs that serves 6-8 people. Instead, I restrained myself and chose the featured holiday item that serves 2-3 and was on sale for $50. It came last week, and I was screaming and dancing around like I had just won the lottery.

It came in a beautiful styrofoam cooler with their logo stamped into it, and the bags of food were surrounded by dry ice (which I burnt myself on, of course). Sadly, the cooler was misleading because the food was quite lacking compared to the picture below. *sigh* Oh well. It still fulfilled my craving, and it was absolutely delicious. Not as delicious as if I was sitting in a Jack Stack restaurant, but good enough. :}

So, in summary, I got myself Kansas City bbq for Christmas because:

it's got the best smoked flavor
the sauce is wonderfully tangy and not too sweet (just how I like it)
it's known for its "burnt ends," which are the ends of the brisket and are the most unbelievably moist and delicious pieces of bbq ever!! (haha)

I hope you all have a joyful and blessed Christmas full of yummies galore! ;)

12.18 - Kindred Spirits

2009-12-18T13:58:00.005-06:00

My giving, earth-loving coworker just walked over to me right now, holding a lone Popeye's drumstick wrapped up in a thin napkin, and shoved it in my face. Please keep in mind that I am at my desk, surrounded by a computer, office supplies, and important papers. I am not at a kitchen table, cafeteria counter, or picnic bench.

I gave her a crazy look and said, "No thank you, I'm not hungry." She then proceeded to give me an even crazier look back, told me she got it from the mailroom downstairs, and said, "Take it!" *sigh*

So I took the drumstick, imagined her taking a piece of chicken from one of our mailroom coworkers, walking all around the office with it and even on the elevator just to bring it over to me . . . and I proceeded to eat it quickly at my desk before anyone else could see me. :\ This is what I get for becoming kindred food-loving spirits with someone at work.

12.09 - Popcorn Points

2009-12-09T15:57:00.006-06:00

First, I love specialty popcorn places-- particularly Garrett or Nuts on Clark in Chicago. I especially love them at Christmastime.

Second, the older women at work like to take advantage of the fact that I'm "young and energetic" by asking me to go on popcorn runs for them when it's freezing outside. *sigh* They know I'll do it in a heartbeat.

Third, someone openly called the (ahem) office popcorn fairy "anal" for putting out designated scoops. What up? It's all about flavor protection and sanitation, thank you very much.

Fourth, cheese popcorn is so absolutely delicious it's almost frightening. Caramel ain't a bad runner-up either.

12.02 - Big Problem

2009-12-02T13:27:00.003-06:00

I can't watch the Food Network without wanting whatever is on.

Last night they were featuring plain, old-fashioned potato chips. I don't even like potato chips. But just moments ago, I ate a bag. Now I want to buy a 5 lb. bag of spuds and fry up my own potato chips at home. :\

The image below doesn't help. When I click on it and the image is all up in my face, I secretly wish I was in a giant vat of potato chips. *sigh*

11.30 - Gobble, Gobble

2009-11-30T14:12:00.026-06:00

This Thanksgiving went quite well. I decided to make only a few simple sides and the father decided to deep fry the turkey. Though it wasn’t as flavorful as I would have liked, the turkey was quite tender. In case you think the picture below looks weird, it's because there's a chicken thrown in there. My dad is all about abundance. Ha.

Anyway, the turkey was great because it also made for some really delicious (and absolutely unhealthy) after-Thanskgiving turkey sandwiches the next day. ;) The grilled sammies below include: mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cheddar cheese, turkey, and chihuahua cheese. Ha.

Speaking of unhealthy, this past four-day eating fest has only added to my very sad physical status. I have gained nearly ten pounds from the time I gave up on the South Beach Diet (around the end of August) till now. *heavy sigh* I have exceeded my max weight ever (!!!), and now it’s time to sound the alarms. I’m not sure where the weight gain is coming from—possibly due to the colder weather, age, stress/comfort eating, the late-night munchies, or a combination of all of the above—but it really has to stop. No more excessive gobble gobbling for me. :\

11.10 - The Walking Sandwich

2009-11-10T14:22:00.003-06:00

There is a sandwich walking the streets of downtown, passing out flyers in hopes that people will visit its fine employer, Subway.

I can't look at the walking sandwich without wanting to laugh. I can't believe Subway is seriously making a sandwich walk around. Will that really make people want to eat there? I have my doubts.

I can't even look the thing in the eye. Weirdly, the sandwich has huge eyes and a big smiley face mouth, a thick accent, and a red cape . . .

11.09 - Chipotle: In Two Parts

2009-11-09T13:51:00.006-06:00

Part One
Last night, I got hit with a sick craving for some Chipotle. I don’t know why, but the lime rice + cheese + grilled chicken combination always gets me. Anyway, it was late on a Sunday night so, obviously, there weren’t any Chipotles open anywhere. Unfortunately, it was one of those cravings that takes hold of you and will not let go. So, I did the only thing I could do: I imagined myself up a Chipotle chicken burrito with extra cheese and mild salsa, and I proceeded to dig in. I (not me, but the other I) was a witness to this all and he was really amused by me at first, especially when I ripped off some of the "tortilla" and fed it to him (like I would do in real life). After watching me take a few too many bites, though, I’s eyes started getting wider and growing more concerned. He finally said, “It’s OK if you’re joking, but . . . if you’re being serious . . . then I'd be scared, and I might have to take you to a psychiatrist.” He said he wouldn’t know what he'd do if I started getting really skinny but insisted that I ate a lot of Chipotle. Haha. I was quite amused. And a bit insulted by the psychiatrist thing. :\

exactly what I had in my head . . .

Part Two
I had to have Chipotle for lunch today. It was imperative. The only problem, though, is that I work right in the Loop, and lunch time is absolute chaos—especially when it comes to yummy places that business men in button-up shirts frequent (e.g. Chipotle, Subway, Cosi, Panera, etc.). So I started racking my brain. How could I eat my desired burrito at my desired lunch time without having to wait in a line that goes out the door? After much contemplation, I went onto the Chipotle website and found out that you can order in advance! So I did. I clicked here, I clicked there. Then at lunchtime, I walked over to Chipotle, walked triumphantly past the 30+ people in line, and went right up to the cash register. Within minutes, I had my burritos in hand and was out the door. Brilliant. I love Chipotle carryout. It makes me happy, and they even personalize your food for you (which was a pleasant surprise). Super brilliant. ;) I really hope this online ordering thing doesn't get out . . .

our burritos have name tags (aww)

11.05 - Angel Wings

2009-11-05T13:35:00.002-06:00

Who would even think about stuffing a chicken wing?! Genius Thai people, that's who.

I thought the delightful little chicken wing, fried in a large vat of oil, was good enough on its own . . . but imagine it stuffed with noodles, mushrooms, and ground pork/shrimp/chicken! Yeah, it doesn't even sound possible, but it is.

No wonder they're called "angel wings." I have no other words.

Eatery Info: My Thai, 555 W Madison St, Chicago, IL 60661

10.22 - My Idol

2009-10-22T13:17:00.009-05:00

So I'm sitting there in a Dominick's cafe, sipping on some bottled iced tea, minding my own business when . . . lo and behold, I see something that makes me want to laugh and cry and laugh a little more.

At the table next to me, a small, quiet Asian lady sits eating her lunch. But not just any lunch. She's eating a whole rotisserie chicken! And she's determinedly going at it with her fork, paying no attention to anyone around her. My gosh, I was so full of joy and amusement at the sight. Such gusto, such courage. I would've hugged her were I not a fairly sane individual.

Note to Self: Go to grocery store for lunch one day, buy whole rotisserie chicken and large side of macaroni and cheese, proceed to eat it in public, pat big belly, enjoy life.

10.15 - Throwdown: LA vs.Chicago

2009-10-15T08:11:00.017-05:00

CATEGORY: Soondubu

Chicago: Eh
LA: In all my soondubu-eating years, I've never finished the whole thing (even in NY, which has some of the best). But I devoured this entire pot at Cho Dang Tofu House.

WINNER: LA!!
_____________________________________

CATEGORY: Fattie Burger & Fries

Chicago: Our choices are kind of limited-- there's Mickey D's, Burger King, Wendy's, White Castle, eh.

LA: Dude, In-N-Out uses the yummiest cheese, and they throw all this gunk on everything. Ha.

WINNER: LA!!
________________________

CATEGORY: Fruit Bubble Tea

Chicago: Joy Yee's has some of the freshest, most yummy fruit bubble tea ever. Everything tastes good!

LA: Really? Is Boba Loca JY's only competition? Man...talk about artificial and overly sweet. Bleh.

WINNER: CHICAGO!!
__________________________

CATEGORY: Pizza

Chicago: Please refer to last post. And the beautiful specimens above are from Lou Malnati's. Ah, such goodness.
LA: Yeah, of course there's thin crust and then there's deep dish, and that's kinda like comparing apples to oranges . . . but there's really no contest against Chicago-style pizza. Haha.

WINNER: CHICAGO!!
__________________________

In summary, I guess every city has some foods they're better at than others. The fun comes in trying to find the winners. And I certainly do like trying to find the winners. ;)

10.07 - E-mail to the Brother

2009-10-07T12:34:00.005-05:00

Me: Random thought, but . . . I seriously love Chicago-style pizza. Haha. If we didn't live here, I think we'd both have a void that only this pizza would fill. Sad to think we might never have known it had we lived in Boise or Charleston or something.
The Brother: weirdest most random e-mail ever.

Haha. I was so sure he would share in my Chicago-style pizza love, but he must be having an off day. Oh well. The sentiment remains. :}

10.06 - Post-Meal Ritual

2009-10-06T13:35:00.005-05:00

After I eat, I follow a ritual that I’ve been doing for years. I take out my mirror, I smile and look at my teeth, I take out whatever bits might be stuck in my teeth, I check to see if there are any crumbs on my face, and then I put on some lip gloss/balm. On the most part, this ritual is usually just check-up and rarely procedure.

So yesterday, after eating a scrumptious turkey sandwich with cheddar and romaine on toasted wheat bread, I proceeded to carry out my ritual in front of I. He was looking the other way as I opened my mirror. So I smiled and looked at my reflection and, with horror, noticed the bits of brown toast pieces and dark green lettuce pieces in practically every crevice imaginable. I shut my mouth quickly just as I lifted my eyes up and realized he had seen everything.

*sigh* Needless to say, there was a lot of laughter on his part and a lot of clean-up and horrification on mine. Bleh.

10.01 - Misconception

2009-10-01T11:57:00.004-05:00

So everyone around me is sick-- either with a bad cold or some sort of flu. I have a fairly good immune system, though, and I take vitamins and wash my hands all the time, so I haven't been too worried. I felt a little worried this morning, though, because my throat feels very very mildly sore, and I can't tell if it's a sign of sickness to come or if it's from the tea that burned my throat this morning. Anyway, just to be on the safe side, I took my bottle of water, poured a packet of superdy duper vitamin C mix into it, and shook it up. I did all this on my way to the bathroom, for the sake of convenience.

Minutes later, I walked out of the stall, bottle in hand, and headed to the sink. I ran into one of my older lady coworkers and after she smiled at me, her gaze shifted down to my bottle of yellow liquid. I have no idea why, but I felt like a deer caught in headlights. I'm pretty sure I looked it too. She quickly averted her eyes, finished up her hand-drying, and walked out. *sigh*

09.23 - Battle Microwave

2009-09-23T15:29:00.004-05:00

I never really experience the lunchtime “rush” in my workplace because I generally like to eat really late (around 2 or 3). Lately, though, I’ve been eating a lot earlier (around noon) and I’ve started bringing leftovers from home. So, of course, use of the microwave has become quite necessary.

All I have to say is that, around 11:55, it becomes an all-out war for the microwave. I was in there the other day heating up some pasta. After two minutes were up and the microwave beeped, I realized that the noodles were still a tad bit cool. So I popped my pasta back in the microwave just as a man ran in with his Tupperware. He looked peeved that I was still using the microwave, so he loudly left his Tupperware on the counter and walked out. Um . . . okay. Yesterday, I had just finished heating up some leftover pizza (and the dreaded microwave had just loudly announced to the world that it was no longer in use), when a lady ran in with her frozen dinner. I wasn’t sure if the pizza was quite hot enough yet, but she was already breathing down my neck before I could even take my plate out. Yuppp . . .

So anyway, today, I started heating up my food at 11:50. That’s right. I went in early! And . . . I popped the microwave door open right before it could start beeping! It was great. No one was waiting on me. No one ran in the second the microwave beeped. It was really wonderful. I felt so free . . .

09.17 - The Blues

2009-09-17T16:28:00.007-05:00

There's obviously something wrong if I've been eating carbs all day and all I want as soon as I get off work is a Chipotle chicken burrito and a Quarter Pounder w/cheese with a vanilla cone on the side. *sigh* I think I'm feeling the summer transition to fall blues. Wake me up when September ends . . .

09.16 - Tumultuous Tastebuds

2009-09-16T14:30:00.006-05:00

They've had a dandy ol' time this past week. The ordinary just won't cut it.

Hello, delicious block of lemony flaming cheese.

Best darn grilled octopus ever...

Happy little rice and feta stuffed tomato and pepper

Yummy, spicy, healthy vegan Korean food

09.11 - Healthy Pizza

2009-09-11T10:38:00.013-05:00

I and I decided to implement all we've learned from the South Beach Diet in the form of a "healthy" pizza. So we bought whole wheat pizza crust, some pizza sauce, mushrooms, turkey meatballs, shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese and some cilantro (his idea). While the crust was a bit sad as far as crusts go, the pizza was pretty good. Maybe it's because we poured on nearly 4 cups of cheese. Ha. I doubt there was anything healthy about what we ate. Oh well. We tried. ;)

Here's the pizza prior to additional cheese and 20 minutes of baking.

Here's the pizza fresh from the oven (mmm), prior to devouring.

Future pizza topping ideas include:
- egg broken on top
- mangoes
- chicken
- mac and cheese
- artichoke
- potato chips
- sun-dried tomatoes
- shrimp
- brie
- chihuahua cheese
- refried beans
- pesto
- turkey bacon

09.01 - South Beach Diet: On Hiatus

2009-09-01T14:52:00.009-05:00

I remember going to New York around Lent one year when I had given up meat . . . and it was excruciating for me. I was forced to eat dumplings without the filling, tacos without the taco meat, and boring breaded fish at a meat-laden Colombian place. *heavy sigh* It was pure torture, I tell you.

Anyway, I went back to NY this past weekend and I told myself that I would not allow myself to suffer in the same way. It was just plain nonsensical. So . . . despite all my hard work during Phase 1, I decided to take a bit of a hiatus from our beloved South Beach Diet.

I don't know why, but NY soon dubu always tastes absolutely amazing to me...

super mmm...

yummy plain/blueberry froyo

M& M wedding grub (I had the chicken wellington)

whoa whoa whoa...red velvet cheesecake... (*Homer drool*)

I love fruit tarts

So . . . as you can see, I completely disobeyed all that the South Beach Diet stands by. I was plain rebellious and disobedient and, honestly . . . *pout* . . . I loved it. *sigh*

I'm not sure what the future holds in terms of Phase 2 . . . :\

08.28 - Meal of a Lifetime

2009-08-28T02:00:00.006-05:00

A certain someone (who we shall henceforth refer to as I) took me out for dinner Thursday night-- and let's just say it was a meal of a lifetime . . . in many ways. Not only did I feel like a judge on Iron Chef (haha-- awesome!), but . . . I was completely taken by surprise in the most beautifully messy kind of way. :*}

Some highlights:

<3

08.19 - Mystery Solved

2009-08-19T08:52:00.007-05:00

For years, I prided myself on being able to eat anything and everything. I had friends who were allergic to seafood, some to peanuts, and other friends who were lactose intolerant. But not me. I could eat it all.

But one random evening years ago while on break at my first job, a coworker offered me some guacamole from Chipotle. After having only one guac-covered chip, my entire throat and stomach started burning. I drank water until the feeling subsided but I was so surprised by it. I wasn't allergic to anything in guacamole-- not avocados, onions, cilantro, chiles, nothing. I considered it a freak accident, but that tainted my desire for avocado for years to come.

And over the years, I've found that other random things will cause allergic reactions. After eating peaches in the summer, my lips start to blow up. After having soy lattes from Starbucks a handful of times, I realized that soy milk makes my throat incredibly itchy. After drinking wheatgrass juice, I want to gag and die at the same time. I have similar reactions with cherries, almonds, and (as I found out just yesterday) hazelnuts.

So after a bit of research yesterday and a little help from my friend Wikipedia, the mystery has finally been solved. I have OAS (a.k.a. oral allergy syndrome)!! It's actually quite fascinating, really. I'm allergic to pollen (i.e. my eyes get super itchy and I sneeze like a crazy person), therefore I'm allergic to contact with "pollen foods" (mainly when they're raw). So what are these pollen foods, you might ask? Well, there are different kinds of pollen! Alder, birch, grass, mugwort, and ragweed.

Here's an overview of the different pollens and the foods they're associated with:

Alder pollen: almonds, apples, celery, cherries, hazel nuts, peaches, pears, parsley
Birch pollen: almonds, apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, carrots, celery, cherries, chicory, coriander, fennel, fig, hazelnuts, kiwifruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat; and potentially walnuts
Grass pollen: fig, melons, tomatoes, oranges
Mugwort pollen: carrots, celery, coriander, fennel, parsley, peppers, sunflower
Ragweed pollen: banana, cantaloupe, cucumber, honeydew, watermelon, zucchini, echinacea, artichoke, dandelions, hibiscus or chamomile tea

So I've established that I'm only allergic to alder, a little birch, and a little mugwort. Coooool, huh? Haha. Sorry. I'm just excited to finally know what's going on. And to realize that the guacamole incident was no accident after all. Crazy . . .

08.17 - Phase One: FINISHED!!

2009-08-17T13:35:00.011-05:00

I FINALLY get to have brown rice and whole grain wheat bread! *long, content sigh* All is right with the world again.

So now begins Phase Two-- which pretty much means incorporating one serving of a "good" carb and one serving of a "good" fruit ONCE a day. As I move closer to my target weight and increase my physical activity, I can increase the carb and fruit servings per day. Oh man . . . it would be a dream to have as much fruit and starch as I want. Haha. Let's doooo this!

Phase One Recap:

I officially dislike cashews now. Having to snack on them nearly twice a day for the past two weeks was borderline excruciating.
Turkey chili is not bad. Not bad at all.
Regular sweet drinks have A LOT of sugar in them. Ya'll should stay away.
Vegetables are quite yummy. Particularly tomatoes, green beans, peppers, and mushrooms.
I cheated a little and had dark meat chicken and full-fat cheese a few times. Oops.
I missed mangoes with a passion. I probably thought about them every day.
I lost five pounds. Woohoo!

Phase Two Forecast:

Fruit rocks my world. Particularly mangoes! And I love finally being able to have low-fat fruit-flavored yogurt again.
Something as simple as toasted whole grain bread with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray is unbelievably delicious. I will have lots of this.
Time to work out. If I don't, I'm guaranteed to blow up and negate all I've suffered for.
I get to have whole wheat pasta, whole wheat stone ground pita, and bran sugar-free muffins!! Augghhh!! Is it sad that I'm excited?
After two torturous weeks, I'm finally feeling positive and motivated. I think I can tone up and knock off a few more pounds in no time.
I've done South Beach Phase 1 four times now, and I think this is the first and only time I'm actually attempting to do Phase 2. Normally I'll be so starved for carbs and sugar, I go crazy and nix everything. Props to my SB partner who motivates me by suffering with me and igniting my competitive nature. ;)

08.13 - The Klutz

2009-08-13T10:55:00.011-05:00

I don't know how I came to be this way, but I am a walking klutz-- especially when you put me in close proximity with food or drink. It's sad, but it's also something I've gotten so used to that nothing tends to surprise me anymore. And it's pretty much my reputation among friends and family. When I do something, there is no longer any shock. Only the rolling of eyes and exasperated sighs.

This morning, I walked into a crowded elevator and ran into my coworker. He was carrying a bunch of stuff including a tall, hot cup of coffee. He asked me if I could hold it for a second and I gladly obliged. But as my strong, manly hands gripped the cup, the top suddenly flew off and coffee went everywhere (mostly on my hands and the floor). All you could hear after that were the "ohhhh"s of everyone in the elevator. *sigh* The smell of coffee is both haunting and pleasing as I go about my day. :\

I spill food on the table or floor all the time. I drop silverware during 80% of all meals. I'm constantly dipping my sleeves into food. I've been known to break plasticware and chopsticks (both wooden and plastic!) and have them fly through the air. I've knocked over many a drink. I've dropped plates. I've splattered food on people. My side of the tablecloth is always the messiest. And I go through at least one Tide pen per month.

*sigh* Sad, sad.

08.10 - "What Are You Going to Eat?!!"

2009-08-10T09:29:00.012-05:00

I had lunch with my friend F on Saturday because we had been meaning to try out this Indian restaurant that had been featured on Check, Please! awhile back. Sadly, we made the plans before I realized that I wouldn't be able to have any of the rice or yummy bread. *sigh* Needless to say, it was quite a struggle. Here's the convo I had with the owner.

Me: Hi, would you be able to give us some recommendations?
Owner: (points to lunch menu) You should have special number one and special number three. That way, you both can share and taste a variety of things.
Me: (reads lunch menu and notices the excessive carb presence) Okay. You know, she (points to F) will probably have one of the specials, but I might just get something on the menu.
Owner: You don't want to try the specials?
Me: No, it's not that. It's just that I can't have rice or bread.
Owner: Oh, then you can have (points to picture on paper placemat) this donut here. It is very delicious.
Me: (laughs a little) No, I can't have donuts either. No rice, no bread, no donuts.
Owner: (eyes suddenly become wide) So what are you going to eat!?!?
Me: Umm (laughs nervously), something on the menu.
Owner: Like what!? (looks at me with wide, expectant eyes)
Me: I'll, uh, probably have one of the dishes-- like . . . umm . . . the homemade cheese and peas. I can eat that.
Owner: (looks at me incredulously) What?! That comes with rice!
Me: (nervous laugh) I know, but don't worry. She'll (points to F) eat it.
Owner: So you'll just eat the dish by itself!?
Me: Yeah! It'll be good.
Owner: (looks at me one last time, shakes his head, and walks away)

Ha. We eventually place our orders. F gets one of the specials and I opt for the mattar paneer (as previously mentioned). When the food comes out, everything looks really good, but the breads on F's plate seem a little sad. There is no nan, there is no cool thin, pizza-sized rolled-up thing that we saw on someone else's table, and there is no yummy looking fried bread that I saw on Check, Please! I really want F to taste all the yumminess I can't, so I quickly call the owner over.

Me: Hi. Sorry to bother you, but we wanted to order another type of bread.
Owner: (incredulous look) Bread?! But you cannot eat bread!!
Me: Yes, I know. (apologetic smile) It's not for me. It's for her.
Owner: (looks at F, shakes head a little, goes to find the menu, and comes back)
Me: There was this really big, thin rolled-up piece on someone else's table. What was that?
Owner: (thinks) Oh, that is a crepe. It is filled.
Me: (looks at F) Want that? (F shakes her head)
Owner: (walks over to F, points at menu) We also have this special fried bread. It is very delicious.
F: Okay. I'll have that.

The fried bread eventually comes out and it looks oily and delicious. F says it's really good, so I can't help but pop a piece of the fried bread into my mouth, chew it up a little . . . and then spit it back out. *heavy sigh* Ha. Yeaaaaahh . . .

Note to Self: Do not go to an Indian restaurant known for its delicious carb items while you are on South Beach Phase 1. You will not only struggle, but you will upset the owner as well.

Eatery Info: Udupi Palace, 2543 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60618

08.06 - Low Point

2009-08-06T14:47:00.007-05:00

I went to a dinner last night where I was surrounded by people eating warm, fresh bread and raving about it as if it was the most delicious thing in the world. I'm not going to lie-- it was torturous to sit there and hear them break the toasty bread apart, to smell the steam that was wafting up into the air, and to see the butter melt oh so nicely into the nooks and crannies of the bread. *sigh*

Today is a very hard day. I'm craving ice cream and bread and pizza and donuts and froyo and a sandwich and lasagna and cupcakes and flan (flan of all things!) and a hot dog and a burrito and fried rice and cinnamon rolls and . . . *sigh* . . . I'm going to eat my sugar-free Jell-O now. It's the only thing that can make me happy these days.

08.05 - Hate My Life

2009-08-05T13:30:00.004-05:00

Our office building is having a building-wide ice cream social as we speak. There are like three different ice cream varieties and two different sorbet varieties. They also have fancy cones, nuts, whipped cream, and other yummy toppings. *heavy sigh*

It felt good to walk in from lunch and right past the mingling, happy, ice cream-eating fatties without a second glance. But then I whimpered in the elevator a little.

08.03 - It Has Begun (Again)

2009-08-03T13:19:00.024-05:00

My brother looked at me the other day, paused for a bit, then said, "Dude, you're fat. And your arms are big." *sigh*

Yes, he and I generally like to insult each other and, yes, there have been many times when I've more than happily pointed out his weight gain, so this comment really shouldn't have bothered me. But, for some reason, I've recently started noticing extra chubbiness in my cheeks and extra sway in my arm flab . . . sooo yeaaaah. I am now on a mission! I must eat better and start going to the gym again!

So as I've done in the past when such a problem has arised, I am beginning the tried-and-true South Beach diet again. I hate this diet for the two-week Phase 1 (total elimination of carbs and sugars, including fruit!) but I love this diet because it's less about a quick fix and more about training yourself to eat "good" carbs and "good" fats with low glycemic index values. But yeah. Phase 1 stinks. It's unnatural to eliminate all carbs and sugar from your diet, but the purpose of this phase is to rid yourself of starch and sugar cravings, to stabilize your blood sugar, and pretty much to see immediate weight loss results. So once you make it through those two weeks, Phase 2 lets you reincorporate good carbs, low-sugar fruits, and other yummy things so I guess it's not too bad.

So yeah. I tried to make the most of my weekend before beginning these next two weeks of sheer torture and crankiness. :\

A's avocado-mango salad (yum!) courtesy of a Cook's Illustrated (woohoo) given by R

My "final" meal last night (I didn't take this picture, but it looked exactly like it...mmm)

07.29 - Love Tastes Good

2009-07-29T15:57:00.010-05:00

There's something about food that's prepared by people you know or are close to that makes the food taste so much better. A wise man once said that a home-cooked meal is better than going out to a restaurant because it's touched with love. So, ultimately, either he was trying to say that love makes food taste good or that it doesn't matter what the food tastes like because the love that went into it is what matters. Haha. Either way, I like that theory since a lot of the food I prepare at home tends to struggle a bit. *smirk* Anyway, I had a lot of good, loving food last week. :}

Here's just a little of it:

the dragon roll

the italian

07.21 - Chicken-off-the-Bone Kinda Girl

2009-07-21T14:10:00.012-05:00

I just had a sick craving for some rotisserie chicken. The kind that's flavorful and juicy and sorta falls off the bone. There's luckily a decent place nearby that I go to when such cravings arise. So anyway, now I'm here at my desk, cutting into my delicious chicken with a plastic knife and fork, chomping away as quietly and discreetly as possible . . . and the question suddenly comes to mind: to eat the cartilage or not?

Growing up, my brother and I pretty much learned our eating habits from our parents, which meant not wasting food and eating our chicken as thoroughly as possible (yes, that meant skin and cartilage were included). Eating every bit of the chicken till you get a completely clean bone is so rewarding. It's like you've done the chicken justice! :} But I've known many who find chicken-off-the-bone eating a bit disturbing. So how proper is it for me to be chompin' on chicken cartilage at work? I mean, it's bad enough that the delicious aroma is permeating the cubicle walls as my coworkers are trying to do their business. How much worse that my coworkers will be able to hear me crunching on something that can really only be the chicken's joint cartilage? Doesn't that go against in-office eating etiquette?

Anyway, contemplating and writing took too much time. Ha. I ended up just going for only some of the cartilage-- the softer pieces so I could crunch away quietly and not seem like a complete barbarian. *triumphant smile* Mmm, chicken off the bone is quite yummy.

07.17 - All in the Toppings

2009-07-17T15:59:00.009-05:00

My buddy JCK came to have lunch with me today and he wasn't feeling up for anything ethnic, so we settled on the tried and true burger. Ah, the burger. Such a boring food by itself. But with a little bit of square-shaped dairy product and other wondrous toppings, you have yourself one heck of a hearty and delicious sandwich.

We went to this pub by my work that's known for its burgers, and I love their menu because they have about 20 burgers will all sorts of toppings. I had trouble deciding on whether to get the mediterranean (feta and olives), the black and blue (blue cheese with cajun spices), or the total burger (sauteed mushrooms, choice of cheese, and bacon). I ended up with the total burger-- as did my buddy. Mmm, good stuff.

I am a sucker for burgers with unique or delicious toppings, but my favorite "normal" combination is cheddar cheese, bacon, and a fried egg on top. Oh man. When it comes to that, I have no self-control. Haha.

Eatery Info: Monk's Pub, 205 W. Lake Street, Chicago, IL 60606

07.15 - I Want Some-moah Food

2009-07-14T12:27:00.021-05:00

A bunch of Chicago & LA relatives and I headed to San Francisco/Oakland this past weekend for my cousin’s wedding, and we had a great time in the family bonding and eating departments. I was a little disappointed at not being able to eat more “Frisco” foods, though I was fairly content with all the airport, Denny’s, and wedding grub. Ha. Speaking of wedding grub, my cousin married a Samoan so they pretty much had this massive all-you-can-eat buffet at the reception. I wish I could say I was able to distinguish what was Filipino, Samoan, and whatever other cuisine they had there-- but all I remember was everything being really fattening and delicious. Ha.

My Stomach's Weekend Adventures:

my cousin S and I had a 3-hour flight delay at ORD (argh!)...so we made the most of it

breakfast the next morning-- after our long night, Denny's was enticing enough and close enough to our hotel

fried food extravaganza at the wedding buffet

no wedding is complete without Mr. Piggy

my second plate-- I was too busy eating to take a picture of my first

red velvet wedding cake-- so, apparently, it's Samoan custom to offer cake tiers as gifts to special guests (they had like a multi-level10-15 tier cake, but unfortunately, I was not one of those special guests)

post wedding cobbler and coffee-- our waiter looked like Matt Damon and he thought all my choices were like the best thing ever, haha-- my cousins were mad that I didn't care to get his number but, frankly, he was wayyy too excited about their special blend Columbian coffee

Denny's breakfast - Day 2 (there were about 15 of us, so it was the best option yet again)

This was my cousin S's order-- wheat pancakes, egg whites, turkey bacon, oatmeal. *heavy sigh* I have no idea how we get along so well.

And, lastly, here's the clam chowder bread bowl I had at SFO that I tried really hard to pretend I was having at Fisherman's Wharf instead.

07.08 - Take Me Out to the Ballgame (and Buy Me Food, Please)

2009-07-08T13:15:00.008-05:00

The boys (A, J, E) and I headed to Wrigley Field yesterday for the Cubs vs. Braves game. Our Cubbies ended up losing so it was quite disappointing (*sigh*) . . . but, on the plus side, the food was quite enjoyable. Instead of getting regular-sized hotdogs, we decided to be indulgent and opted for the footlong dogs instead. Ha. Best. Idea. Ever.

Our Ballpark Menu:
- footlong brat with everything but chili
- footlong hot dog with everything but onions
- footlong hot dog with only a few toppings that I can't remember
- two orders of nachos with cheese and an excessive amount of jalapenos
- fries and an extra container of warm cheese
- chicken tenders with more fries
- a few brewskies
- a bottle of water

yummy yummy in our tummies

close-up of my hot dog (and, yes, that is my hand...)

07.07 - Paddy Fatties

2009-07-07T09:00:00.001-05:00

My dear friend D and I had a craving for Irish food yesterday. Actually, this craving had been building up for about . . . 6 months or so. Ha. So we finally headed over to a pub and fulfilled our desires for all things yummy and Irish. ;) We had a full Irish breakfast (complete with rashers, pudding, baked beans, and soda bread) and of course corned beef & cabbage, and we topped it all off with some Irish cider and Irish red ale. I think our waitress thought we were having way too much fun with the Irish theme. Haha. Anyway, it was such a gorgeous summer day, so we were feeling quite full and content. Sadly, I did not bring my beloved new camera so, although I took some phone camera shots of our food, I refuse to put them up. But I did take this decent one while D and I were sitting at the pub window. Good stuff. :}

In other news, we decided to do a bit of shopping at the brand spankin' new Whole Foods on North Ave, and we ran into this gigantic hand sculpture on the way out. The second I looked at it, I felt comforted by its familiarity. And I realized . . . it was my hand, only blown-up, slighly more manly, and extra wrinkly. I'm not exaggerating either. I've had old lady hands since the young age of 2. Ha.

Eatery Info: Paddy Long's, 1028 W Diversey Pkwy, Chicago, IL 60686
Eatery Info II: Whole Foods Market Lincoln Park, 1550 N Kingsbury, Chicago, IL 60642

07.06 - Wrong Expectations

2009-07-06T09:08:00.013-05:00

It's always an interesting experience when you expect something from your food . . . and it ends up being something completely different. I had two experiences like that this past week . . .

1) I had a sick taco craving after looking at taco pictures on a random food blog, so I went by a random Mexican place and ordered me some carnitas tacos. I know what carnitas are. I mean, I've had them before. It's pretty much just flavorful, tender, shredded pork. Right?! So imagine my surprise when my carnitas tacos had bits of chopped up intestines in them. Yeaahhhh . . . normally, I'd be a bit grossed out, but I didn't realize it until after taking a bite of the strangely chewy deliciousness. So I went right ahead and ate it all. Ha. Maybe I ordered wrong. *shrug* Oh well. It was darn good.

a deliciously chewy surprise

2) I was at a BBQ (as were most people this weekend) and our very kind hostess asked me if I wanted dessert. My ears perked up and I of course accepted. They had rocky road brownies so she asked if I wanted them plain or a la mode. I of course wanted them a la mode. Cold vanilla ice cream over warm chocolately brownie! Super yummy, right? That is until the hostess chose to go all out with the BBQ theme and decided to warm the brownies on the grill. Then you pretty much got chocolately brownie infused with grilled meat flavor. *nauseated look* I was so disturbed after one bite that I ate all the ice cream, threw the brownies away, and pretty much spent the rest of the night eating and drinking whatever I could to get rid of the grilled brownie flavor that I kept burping up. *shudder* Never again.

good for za meat, not so much for za brownie

06.30 - Breakfast Makes My World Go Round

2009-06-30T00:14:00.009-05:00

I know most people enjoy breakfast-- but, for some reason, it makes me exceptionally happy. If I could have breakfast three times a day, that would be awesome. And that's kind of what happened this past Sunday. I first went to breakfast all bright and early with three friends, and then I went to a brunch thing that pretty much lasted the entire day (so I got in at least three or four plates of yumminess). Ha. My love for breakfast is definitely sentimentally linked to my childhood. Breakfast was something we always ate and something I always enjoyed. It is definitely my happy food. :)

Anyway, in honor of my "happy" Sunday, here are some shots I took at breakfast with my fancy shmancy new Canon point-and-shoot. Mmm. Makes me hungry.

sassy eggs for sassy me (ha)

N's crabalicious Santa Barbara benedict

Q's huevos rancheros atop refried beans that kept calling my name

P's retro omelette because that's how Minnesotans do ;)

communal key lime french toast because shared food is love :]

Eatery Info: Over Easy, 4943 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

06.17 - The Altima

2009-06-17T13:22:00.010-05:00

The car I currently drive is nearly 14 years old and I refuse to spend any more money on repairing it. It started out as the family car and then became mine and my brother's shared car and eventually became just mine. It has been through everything with me-- high school, college, past college, church retreats, short weekend roadtrips, and even that stint I did in cell phone frequency testing (yeah, don't ask). It is scraped up, bruised up, and beaten up. In "dog years," my car is 98 years old. And it shows:

The cover of the middle console is permanently separated from its body-- so if you rest your elbow on it, it'll plop off
All the hubcaps are missing
The driver's side visor is no longer present-- I have to block the sun with Post-Its
The radio antenna is broken and bent
The passenger side mirror is cracked and held up with black duct tape
The heat and air conditioning only work on the highest level
The windshield wiper fluid reservoir is cracked so it can't hold fluid therefore I can't clean my windshield. I have to stop at gas stations a lot and I almost died one rainy, muddy day.
When I drive or even when I'm idle, it sounds like metal clashing against metal
When I brake, it sounds like metal being suffocated by metal
When it rains and I drive, metal is having an all-out war
When it rains, water seeps into the trunk and wets everything back there
The aroma of male volleyball players' feet is permanent and lasting
When I hit a pothole, the entire body of the car shakes in a way that makes me think it'll eventually fall off the frame
The locks are broken so when I lock the doors, I have to remember to leave at least one door unlocked or I won't be able to get in with a key
If I find that all the doors have been locked, I have to resort to climbing in through the trunk

So what does this have to do with food, you ask? A few times now in the past two weeks, I've gone through a fast food drive-thru-- and each time, the car will be so loud that I can't hear the person on the intercom. So . . . I've had to turn off the car. In a drive-thru. And then had to start it up again. So I could leave. *awkward, shifty eyes* Yeaaahh . . . But you know what? Even though Al is old and decrepit, he's been good to me and, no matter how embarrassing, I'll continue taking him through drive-thrus for as long as he chooses to live.

06.16 - What I Eat After An All-Nighter

2009-06-16T09:35:00.003-05:00

two sausage mcmuffins
two sausage burritos
a double quarter pounder with cheese

The first two bullets were in one sitting, when I hit my 22nd hour of being awake. The third bullet was when I hit my 42nd hour of being awake, right before I finally got to sleep. Ha. All-nighters mess with my head and are brutal on my arteries.

06.12 - Bad Daughter

2009-06-12T11:34:00.004-05:00

The mother has been in the hospital for a couple of days working out some stuff (don't worry) and I've been staying overnight with her. The hospital is pretty sweet because the window seat turns into a mini bed and there's this nice shower and they give you cool baby shampoo and, suprisingly, the food ain't bad either.

I'm horrible though because when the food tray comes, I forget that I'm not the patient and pretty much pounce on it. This morning she had to get a procedure done early so I helped myself to her spinach and feta omelette . . . and also took the liberty of circling some menu choices for the next few meals. It was hard for me to circle "fish" instead of "macaroni and cheese" and "vegetable lasagna" instead of "burger," but I got over myself and focused on what she would want. In that sense, I'm not too bad. Ha. But . . . I found out later on that, because I had eaten her breakfast . . . they had to order her another breakfast tray. *sheepish look* Dude, I didn't think she'd be back in time and I thought I was helping out by not wasting food! *sigh*

I am a sad excuse for a daughter.

05.28 - No More Food!! Pleassssse!!

2009-05-28T12:34:00.016-05:00

I think it has finally happened. I think my excessive love for food has somehow backfired because, lately, I would rather go without it but people are always forcing it on me. Why are they doing this!? Why are they making me eat so much?! Why have I gained so much weight in the last four days alone!?!

Monday brunch (rockin' chorizo burrito)

yummy cake (with random numbers on it)

Tuesday lunch (deliciously fancy, melty BLT)

wine, cheese, meat, crackers, posole, apricot brie dip...it's neverending...

Mexican!

Thai!

fancy shmancy cupcakes

And that was just SOME of it. There was A LOT I left out. So yeah. Please . . . no more food. I beg all those who know me. I don't want to eat anymore*. Food no longer hearts me. In fact, it's trying to make me excessively bloated. :\

*Check back with me in a few days. I might change my mind.

05.21 - Have I Lost It?

2009-05-21T14:54:00.013-05:00

I eat like a man. I realized this fact when I started eating lunch regularly with a work buddy who happens to be a man who likes to eat. Between the both of us, we ingested ridiculous quantities of fat. And it wasn’t like I ate half my sandwich and he’d eat his whole sandwich along with half of mine. I was sandwich for sandwich, pizza for pizza, burrito for burrito with this guy. Whatever he ate, I ate (and then some). We had a beautiful, symbiotic relationship of eating and sharing food, and my stomach grew very accustomed to it. That is...until he left. :\ And I started eating ramen alone...or sharing leftovers with my earth-smelling coworker.

I finally met up with my old fattie work buddy for lunch today and we went to one of our former stomping grounds, a pretty good deli nearby. My toasted soft salami sandwich was huge, and I even had a nice sized side of some mac and cheese to go with it, so I was quite excited.

But not for too long. :\ I had to split the sandwich up into four parts since it was so huge-- and after eating only one part, I already wanted to give up. *sigh* Only after some help from my buddy and some motivational self-talk on my part, I was finally able to force the rest of the sandwich and mac & cheese down. But it was a struggle. :( I felt so discouraged by the realization that I can't eat like I used to. Have I lost it for good? Without my eating ability, I am...merely ordinary.

Eatery Info: Eppy's Deli, 162 N Franklin St, Chicago, IL 60686

5.19 - Emotional Eater

2009-05-19T11:54:00.013-05:00

What I eat when I'm in a...

Normal mood: whatever is available, easily accessible, or feeds my craving

Bad mood: anything excessively artery-clogging

Good mood: something bougie, pretty, and delicious

eye and belly candy

Blah mood: anything with cheese-- preferably scrambled eggs

Restless mood: ice cream, cake, pie, or anything sweet

Tired mood: childhood comfort foods

Self-conscious mood: something healthy and depressing

wheat bun is stale, chicken is dry, broccoli is gas-inducing (*sigh*)

I have been fluctuating between the blah mood and the self-conscious mood the past few days. Blah because I'm generally, well, blah. Self-conscious because I have to fit into a bridesmaid dress in three weeks and things are looking bleak. Ah, how fickle my emotions, my eating habits. It's lunch time now and I'm thinking of going to Walgreens to buy another can of vienna sausages because the soft mystery meat comforts me. ;) I might also pick up two extra cans to replace the ones my coworker had stashed in her cupboard that somehow disappeared...

05.15 - Why I Disgust Myself...And You

2009-05-15T13:31:00.008-05:00

You might already know that I have little shame when it comes to what or how I eat. This morning, I brought homemade scrambled eggs to work and threw in some vienna sausages. These mini little sausages taste like a cross between hot dogs and Spam but they have a much smoother, softer quality. A bit disturbing, I know. Ha. When my brother and I were little, we used to get sooo excited when my dad brought cans of these home from the store. I love eating them hot out of the microwave. That's the best. Haha. I had forgotten about them until my earth-smelling coworker recently started bringing them to work. Mmm. Good stuff.

The reason I disgust myself, though, is because I've had three cans in just the past week. One sausage is roughly 4-5g of fat, there are seven in a can, and I eat them like candy. Ha.

once you get past how they look, they're not so bad :]

05.11 - Cheese? Please!

2009-05-11T12:03:00.006-05:00

My friend Q and I got some carryout on Saturday from a place that tries to use seasonal, local, and organic products. We decided to come here because we wanted to be “healthy” after both having worked out* earlier that day, but I couldn’t help being drawn to what was probably the fattiest thing on the menu: the macaroni and cheese. It was $12 though! That’s pretty pricey for macaroni and cheese with nothing else in it but cheese, so I sadly decided to pass on it. Q knew that it had already captured my heart, though, so she forced me to get it. Ha. I luf her.

Anyway, imagine my disappointment when we got home and this is what my mac and cheese looked like:

For $12, I guess I expected something that didn’t look like it was made from the contents of a store-bought box of mac and cheese—and a small box at that. I was so disappointed that I didn’t even want to taste it. I almost wanted us to drive back to the place and say, “Are you kidding me? Can’t you add even a nice garnish or something? Maybe a few pieces of lobster?” Needless to say, I had my first forkful with very low expectations.

All that changed, though, after a couple more forkfuls. And, eventually, the plain white box of boring looking macaroni and cheese had completely won me over by the time I got to the bottom. If I had been given the option to buy another $12 box at that very moment . . . I probably would’ve. *sheepish look, shrug*

Anyway, I hadn’t read the ingredients carefully when we ordered (because they had me at “cheese”), but I realize now the reasons for the price and sick yumminess:

Prairie Pure butterkase – nutty, sweet, buttery local artisan cow’s milk cheese
Gruyere – nutty, sweet, salty, hard Swiss cow’s milk cheese
Aged white cheddar – rich, smooth, full-bodied pasteurized cow’s milk cheese

Really good, special cheese makes me incredibly happy. I remember one time when I was at a work conference and there was a small local fair set up in the hotel. I stopped by this Amish farm's table and they had cheddar and butter cheese that could make a grown man cry. *long, reminiscent sigh* I'm almost certain my arteries despise me.

*completely negated

Eatery Info: Uncommon Ground, 1401 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60660

05.07 - I Wuv Me Some Wasabi

2009-05-07T16:04:00.006-05:00

Many years ago, I remember watching something on TV about wasabi. It talked about how wasabi is Japanese horseradish—of which the root is finely grated into a paste for use with sushi. They talked about how the wasabi commonly found in stores and restaurants is actually just dyed horseradish since real wasabi is expensive and perishable (and loses flavor when exposed to air!). Ever since then, there is not one time I’ve had sushi without looking at the wasabi and thinking to myself, “Sad. This isn’t real.” Haha.

All that changed the other day, though. I went to a restaurant . . . and they asked if we wanted fresh wasabi . . . and I noticed it would cost extra . . . and without a moment of hesitation, I said, “Yes, please!!” Haha. Dude, fresh wasabi rocks. I love how you can feel the flesh of the root on your tongue, and the burning sensation is so much fiercer than the fake version. Haha. I wuv it! The fish was darn good too. Mm mm mm.

hello, pretty green root

all quite yummy in my tummy

Eatery Info: South Coast Sushi, 1700 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60616

05.05 - Free Wings Tuesday

2009-05-05T22:18:00.003-05:00

Me: (walks into Wing Stop, takes a quick glance at the three guys sitting and eating, walks up to the counter) Hi, I’m picking up for Geo*.
Cashier Guy: Okay. That’ll be $13.99.
Sitting Guy 1: Don’t charge her.
Cashier Guy: Don’t charge her? (looks at Sitting Guys 1 and 2 who are behind me)
Me: (wondering what the heck they’re talking about)
Cashier: (shrugs) You don’t have to pay. (walks to kitchen to pack up chicken)
Me: (turns around with a bewildered expression, looks at the three sitting guys)
Sitting Guy 2: He says not to charge you, so we won’t charge you.
Me: Umm, that’s sweet but really not necessary. Please. Let me just pay.
Sitting Guy 2: Nah. Don’t worry about it. (smiles) So I bet guys are always trying to talk to you.
Me: Umm, not really. (awkward, shifty eyes)
Sitting Guy 2: Really? Well then, he’s single. (points to Sitting Guy 1)
Me: (laughs uncomfortably, turns back around in desperate desire for the chicken to be ready)
Sitting Guy 2: You have a guy, don’t you?
Me: (smiles apologetically) Mmhmmm.
Sitting Guy 2: Figures.
Me: So…umm…can I pay now, please?
Sitting Guy 2: (laughs) No, no! Don’t worry about it.
Me: (shifts feet uncomfortably)
Cashier Guy: Here you go. (hands me my bag of chicken)
Me: (whispers to Cashier Guy) Can I please pay you?
Cashier Guy: (shakes head) No, they told me not to charge you.
Me: (sighs and turns around to walk out)
Sitting Guy 2: Are you happy with your guy? I mean, are you sure you wanna pass up on my friend here?
Me: (laughs a little and nods) Well, if things change, I’ll be back.
Sitting Guy 2: (laughs) I like that answer. (looks over at Sitting Guys 1 and 3) Don’t you like that answer?
Me: (laughs) Good night. (runs out with a quickness, hops into the car, and speeds away)

*Geo (pronounced "Joe") is my bro and he was waiting in the car for me. He was quite delighted that we got our wings free and told me that it is imperative that I return to this particular location often. Haha. Whatever!

NOTE: The lemon pepper and garlic parmesan flavors are super yummy, but I most likely will not be enjoying them from this location. Ha. Awwwkward...

05.04 - Oldies and Newies

2009-05-04T15:20:00.008-05:00

I tried out a couple new places this past week-- both fine establishments with fine food. But you know what? It was the simple oldie that made me happiest. Seriously. There is nothing better than freakin' delicious, hot, late-night Korean food . . . and the memories to go along with it. Ha.

New Memories:
- Korean dramas bind people together
- Korean TV not so much
- unintentional stalking is fun . . .
- . . . except when you get caught up and kicked out :\
- squishing four people (one of which is male) into the back seat of a car is never a good idea

though a blurry picture, still adequate enough to make me salivate...

Eatery Info: Yeowoosai, 6248 N California Ave, Chicago, IL 60659

05.01 - Earth

2009-05-01T14:28:00.003-05:00

I used to have an old blog back in the day—and I wrote this classic post about one of my fave coworkers, a 45-year old woman from Guyana who is both the sweetest and most random woman I’ve ever known. I think this post was from April of ’07:

So there's this sweet lady at work who, one day, stuck a spoon into the soil of her desk plant and brought it up to her nose. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I like the smell of earth." I told her that I did too-- that I also liked the smell of paper and pencil lead, and that I even used to put them in my mouth. I told her that I had read somewhere that women with anemia get weird cravings-- called pica (an abnormal appetite or craving for substances that are not fit to eat, as chalk or clay, common in malnutrition, pregnancy, etc.). I told her that was probably why we both liked the smell of dirt, and she thought that was so interesting.

At that time, I didn't realize that she likes to smell "earth" daily. Yeeaahh. Almost every afternoon, she'll walk over to her potted plant, shove a spoon into the soil, and then bring it up to her nose. And, almost every afternoon, some random person will walk by and see her doing it. *sigh* That person will look at her all bewildered, and each time, she smiles and says, "I like to smell earth. Ji does too! We both like to smell earth!" And then that person will look at me with even greater bewilderment as I try my best to hide my face behind the computer monitor.

Now, it has become a daily ritual. She'll smell the soil from her potted plant, and then she'll come over to smell the soil from my potted plant (because, apparently, "[my] earth smells better"). And, I have no other choice but to smile, pick up the plant, bring it up to my nose, and have my share of earth as well. *laugh, shaking my head*

So, fast forward two years later—and she’s still an avid earth fan. Me? Not so much. Maybe I’m finally complete in the nutrient department. Anyway, this is the conversation we had about a half hour ago:

C: (calls over cubicle wall) Ji?
Me: Yeah?
C: (extremely serious voice) I have to ask you a question.
Me: Sure. What’s up?
C: There are two plants by the garbage can near the printers. Tony says they’re going to throw them away.
Me: Okay…
C: Should I go and get the earth?
Me: Umm…
C: I already went over there and the earth smelled real good.
Me: (laughing to myself) Well, if you like it then...umm, you should...
C: Yeah… (thinking hard) I don’t know…
Me: (laughing as I imagine her scooping soil into paper cups to keep at her desk)

Haha . . . I hope this isn't a glimpse into my future. ;)

04.29 - Notes to Self

2009-04-29T12:03:00.006-05:00

1. A Chicago-style hotdog makes you happy. Two make you even happier.

2. A burger patty stuffed with bacon, chorizo, and gouda not only sounds amazing but tastes amazing too. If all burger patties were stuffed with yummy things like this, the world would be a happier place.

3. Do NOT eat a whole mess of leftovers right before sleeping. Not only will you feel tired as heck the next morning (because your poor body was too busy trying to digest the junk you ate to let you sleep properly), but you WILL have very disturbing dreams about mosquito rats.

4. Mosquito rats do, in fact, look as bad as they sound. Pray they never revisit your dreams. *shudder*

Eatery Info I: Vienna Beef Factory Store, 2501 N. Damen St, Chicago, IL 60647
Eatery Info II: Rustik Restaurant, 2515 N California Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

04.20 - Hodgepodge Friday

2009-04-20T11:27:00.009-05:00

I love the creativity that arises when people are hanging out together and they don’t quite know what to eat—whether they should dine in at a restaurant, pick up carryout, or throw together whatever ingredients are available at home. Friday night, I was invading A & J’s place again and we ran into that exact dilemma and came up with a hodgepodge solution of A’s cooking and my random impulsive craving for Hawaiian bbq. While A threw together an aromatic onion, Spam, and chili stew for our macaroni (don't ask), J drove me to pick up our Hawaiian carryout order. Mmm. We had way too much food, but ‘twas a darn good meal. :]

I had been wearing heels all day, so I borrowed A's gold toes and flip flops. Haha. I didn't realize how abnormally large the flip flops were till I walked into a small, crowded restaurant and felt all eyes on my feet. Awkward...

This was our yummy spread. Mmm...

04.17 - My Stomach's a Battlefield

2009-04-17T15:43:00.002-05:00

This week, I had my “first” tastes of the following:

McD’s sausage burritos
ham omelette
beef and chicken kabobs
chef’s Italian salad (with salami)
skirt steak
braised short ribs
“black and blue” burger

It was all . . . really good, but it appears my stomach isn’t used to these deliciously foreign substances. The belly has felt really tight and heavy all week. Not surprisingly, I’ve been craving fresh fruits and vegetables like crazy because of it. I like imagining the fruit and veggie juices trying their best to break up the meat—like it’s a produce vs. meat battle. I had feta and spinach stuffed chicken (mmm) for lunch earlier, and I just now finished devouring a delicious but extremely overpriced orange from 7-Eleven. May the best man win . . .

04.14 - Undocumented Eating

2009-04-14T13:46:00.021-05:00

Looking through the pictures in my cell phone, I realize that I have a ton of random food shots that I never got around to posting. Either the picture didn’t come out too well or I didn’t really know what to write, but it still makes me a bit sad that I have all these undocumented eating memories. There are two particular pictures in my phone that I am quite fond of. It was a random Tuesday evening over the summer, I think, that a friend and I decided to check out one downtown restaurant’s utter bougieness and gorgeous view—and we were not disappointed.

we sat right up there in that protruding section-- looking out of the floor-to-ceiling windows into the horizon (seriously, where Lake Michigan met the sky)

this is what we had for dessert-- and you can't get any bougier than beautiful, edible "dirt" (really, you can't-- haha)

There's just something about eating with a beautiful view. It's perfect for the sappy romantic. Not so perfect for the wallet or for the friend who gets dragged along. ;)

Eatery Info: Nomi Restaurant, 800 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

04.13 - Meat is Not That All

2009-04-13T15:57:00.011-05:00

So I had a ton of meat yesterday: a hot dog, a few pieces of skirt steak, a chicken drumstick, and a piece of ham . . . and, honestly, it was just alright. I actually felt a little sick after eating it all. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet, but I've come to the initial conclusion that the best part of eating meat is having options. Other than that, "it's not that all." (<-- phrase coined by my fobbish but endearing aunt)

In other news, this weekend was very eventful. I don't think I really had any downtime, but I guess that's expected. The highlight of my weekend was probably Friday night when I decorated eggs and cookies with my godkids. Those brats tire me out, but gosh do I love them.

our carton of pretty easter eggs (one day, we're gonna be able to buy these in stores)

our chubby easter bunny cookie (don't hate-- there's just more to love)

my godson Tristin (in the striped shirt) with his best bud T.J. (who thinks sprinkle bottles are toys)

04.10 - Meatless Reflections

2009-04-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

As Lent nears its end, here are some random thoughts:

Apparently, I ate a lot more when meat was an option. Several coworkers have told me I lost weight. Weird considering my main form of sustenance has been carbs and cheese, but pretty nice as an added bonus.
Not being able to eat hotdogs at a campfire last weekend broke my heart a little. The vegan hotdog I had two days after was a sad, but decent, consolation prize.
It makes me feel so touched (and also so troublesome) when people cater to my meatlessness. I went to a dinner the other night and the hostess had set aside a bowl of spaghetti sauce with mushrooms (no ground beef) and a bowl of salad (no bacon bits) specifically for me. :\
Tuna salad still hasn't grown on me all that much.
Fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil are still my favorite non-meat combination.
Fresh fruit rocks. Especially grapefruit, strawberries, and grapes as of late.
I plan on limiting my meat consumption in the future. But only after I fulfill all my cravings next week (ha).
What is consumed is directly related to what is eliminated. *awkward, shifty eyes*

That is all. ;) Happy Easter.

04.06 - Eating is Overrated

2009-04-06T16:27:00.005-05:00

That's what I've started thinking more and more since this weekend. I went to a church retreat (which was really awesome) and I pretty much ate bread and cheese, a pancake, bread and cheese, salad, bread and cheese, a bit of pasta, a mini cheese pizza, salad, and more bread and cheese. I couldn't really eat anything more than that, but I actually didn't mind the simplicity. And today, I have no feelings of hunger whatsoever. I can't be depressed, because that usually leads to food. And I can't be happy, because that usually leads to food too. So I must be indifferent. Could it be possible that I'm no longer in love with food? :\ Scary thought. It must just be an off day.

03.31 - Gatorade Shmatorade Test

2009-03-31T13:11:00.022-05:00

I'm not one to post twice in a day, but this was a special circumstance (a.k.a. my dearest friend who happens to have Gatorade as a client wanted me to put this up). This is only a test.

03.31 - Triple J Evening

2009-03-31T12:10:00.004-05:00

I was graced with the presence of JCK and JTK last night as we went out for some $5 pizza. We had goat cheese pizza, mushroom pizza, and cheese-covered tater tots—and it was all quite yummy (cheese galore!) and super cheap. I love food specials. I hear this place has pretty darn good burgers as well, so I’ll have to be all about that in two weeks.

I felt bad, though, that the boys didn’t get some kind of meat topping on at least one of the pies but, apparently, a lot of people can go without meat. Haha. That’s news to me because, normally, every meal I have will include some form of meat. But this past month has really trained me to live without it. Of course there’s that initial pain in my heart at not being able to eat some delicious form of protein, but then I get past it. Like this past weekend, we had lunch after church and they were serving Popeye’s chicken. I love Popeye’s, but I sucked it up and said to myself, “What? All I can eat are mashed potatoes and salad? Awesome!” (Then I stuffed my face with oatmeal cookies and chocolate cake to make myself feel better.)

So yeah. This lifestyle isn’t half bad—and I hope to continue exercising even moderate independence from the beloved animal after Easter. :]

Eatery Info: Beer Bistro, 1061 W Madison, Chicago, IL 60607