The Food Year in Pictures: 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Wednesday, January 16

And the rice isn't yet expired,

and it's an eat quick on the way to class kind of day.

Tuesday, January 15

Rice pudding is one of my all-time favorites.

I had just the right amount of rice left over from Sunday's dinner to make rice pudding for the treat for fhe yesterday.

And rice pudding sure makes a great breakfast.

Monday, January 14

I always loved the saltine toffee.

Then I gave up chocolate &

it was a joy that I denied myself for years.

But then today I decided to make it by melting peanut butter chips on top instead of chocolate chips. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, because it may have even been better than the chocolate kind. But it's been so many years since I've had chocolate, so I can't really know for sure. All I'm trying to say is that these were delicious.

Sunday, January 13

Today our branch was in charge of the Multi-Stake CES dinner.

We made Hawaiian haystacks.

But the real star of the meal was the cake.

Stacey made like 8 different bundt cakes.

They were not only delicious, but beautiful.

I officially have a new baking hero.

Saturday, January 12

Giant plate of meat.

It's a decent meal for $10.

The best thing about Longhorn Steakhouse is

the awesome roles & cinnamon butter.

The other best thing is that I can get my french fries as cheese fries.

Friday, January 11

I was looking forward all day to date night with Michael,

and luckily he agreed to Ole Tapas.

I'd eaten there once before & wasn't extremely impressed,

but I wanted tapas & didn't want to drive through the rain to Wilmington.

And the experience was immensely more delicious this time.

We were going to try to be brave & order

calamari with squid ink sauce,

but when the waiter told us it would dye our mouths black,

I opted out.

We chose calamari with artichoke.

I think it was a good choice.

My favorite of the 5 dishes we ordered was the

remolacha.

I think it's a beautiful word.

Remolacha.

It means beets.

I love beets.

We used to eat them when when we were little,

but then we somehow forgot about them for like 15 years.

I've just rediscovered how wonderful they are.

And fresh beets are so much more delicious than the canned ones we used to eat.

Especially when roasted and served with queso fresco, romaine & parsley oil.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Thursday, January 10

Sometimes the fridge gets so full that there isn't room to even think about putting anything else in there.

I hate it when that happens.

Wednesday, January 9

Why yes we do still have Halloween candy in the apartment.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Tuesday, January 8

Such a fantastic day.

I ventured into Philadelphia with Angela, Becca & Kellie

to see Les Miserables

at the Academy of Music

in the front row.

It was amazing.

That probably goes without saying.

Also amazing was the little cafe we went to before the show:

Tria - Washington Square West

The big three of the cafe are beer, wine & cheese.

Since the first 2 don't apply, we made sure to amply sample the third.

Our first course was a cheese tray.

That was difficult choice, since there were at least 15 cheese to pick from.

We settled for the Idiazabal cheese

made from Spanish sheep's milk.

(It was on the menu under the list of Approachable cheeses.)

I was most intrigues by the fact that the menu promised

"notes of rich toasted nuts and spice."

The cheese was served with crusty bread and delicious fig jam.

Next came appetizers,

which for me were the stars of the meal.

We ordered 2 bruschetta to share:

goat cheese with basil pesto &

pistachio herbed ricotta with lavender honey.

I was a bit worried about that second crostini,

because I don't enjoy the taste of lavender.

But this little bite was delicious.

Also delicious was a salad with

mission figs

gorgonzola

pine nuts

balsamic.

This was my first exposure to fresh figs.

I can't believe I've wasted so many years

only thinking of figs in terms of

newtons (not cookies).

The figs added a light sweetness & married perfectly with the

cheese & nuts.

The main course was a panini,

and though I so regret it,

It seems that I usually don't find anything especially complimentary

to say about panini when I order them out.

So the panini was just about what you'd expect a panini to be,

and then on to dessert.

It was a panna cotta with cranberry & blood orange.

The taste was incredibly clean.

It was a fantastic meal.

then off to the theatre.

Monday, January 7

So I was cleaning my room & I found a package that I'd tucked away in a corner from Lauralita.

Candy cigarettes always remind me of Laura.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Sunday, January 6

Today after church, the dinner was Cafe Rio themed.

Stacey tracked down the recipes for all the Cafe Rio staples,

including this awesome chicken.

Cafe Rio Recipes

We had chicken & barbacoa pork

& cilantro lime rice

& tomatillo dressing.

I made the black & pinto beans.

It was a delicious time had by all.

Saturday, January 5

I've been wanting to go Longwood Gardens

for Christmas for years.

And I finally got to go, on practically the last day of the season

with a wonderfully large group of friends

and a new camera.

Handmade snowflake in a kumquat tree.

See the tiny orange fruits?

I wanted so badly to pick one off the tree & taste it.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Friday, January 4

Since Rachel wasn't entirely impressed with Chesapeake Bakery,

we tried another cupcake shop

& brought Jeff along this time.

At SAS Cupcakes, the cupcakes are larger & very moist.

My favorite flavor is banana cream cheese.

But Rach still wasn't impressed with their chocolateness.

So apparently we have to try the cupcake places in Utah.

Thursday, January 3

Today, Rachel came up & had lunch with me at the Mexican place,

then we went to my new favorite bakery in North East

Chesapeake Bakery Company

This bakery has the most delicious peanut butter fudge I've ever encountered.

I don't enter the store without buying a slice of it.

Rach & I went on the bakery adventure to sample the cupcake fare.

This is the carrot cake cupcake.

Rachel got a peppermint hot cocoa cupcake.

She wanted a larger more substantive cupcake.

I don't mind the standard size,

and my carrot cake cupcake was good,

but it doesn't hold a candle to the

French toast cupcake

from the same bakery.

That is the best cupcake I've ever had.

Wednesday, January 2

Every single Christmas,

I get a jar of macadamia nuts in my stocking.

Without fail.

Santa's good like that.

And it's the only time all year that I eat them.

They taste like Christmas morning.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Tuesday, January 1

When people speak ill of fruitcake,
I feel bad that they don't understand the truth.

Because for my family,
fruitcake is not some hard inedible thing filled with weird red & green fruits.

Fruitcake is soft & gold & perfect.

In planning our Christmas festivities,
Momma asked what one dessert we would want.

For me, it has to be fruitcake.
It tastes like Christmas.
And it's the only time you can eat it.

Friday, January 18, 2013

The Food Year

So, 2012 was the good year.
I took a picture every day to document that good year.

Let's change things up in 2013.
Change just one letter actually.
g to f.
From the Good year to the Food year

So same concept this year.
A picture a day.
But this year, all my pictures will focus on one of my favorite things.
Food.