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Leena Eats…and Reviews: Sweet Square Dessert Bars

Leena Eats...and Reviews: Sweet Square Dessert Bars

Look what came in the mail!

If you would like to know more about my reviewing policy on Leena Eats, check it out here. Meet Sweet Square Dessert Bars, an internet bakery started by Samantha Page and Camilla Yates in Los Angeles, CA. You can check them out yourself here online. Not all treats are created round is their philosophy, and they wanted me to give their dessert bars a try. They hooked a sister up with a shipment of four different dessert bars. I am receiving no money for this review, the food was free, and Samantha and Camilla are fully aware that I am not a foodwhore who gives automatic good reviews for free food. Pinky swear. Read the rest of this entry »

Details on Bobby and Leena’s Chunkstravaganza Dinner

Details on Bobby and Leenas Chunkstravaganza Dinner

These bitches had a birfday, and boy did they EAT!

Last week, the world celebrated two important events: the birthdays of myself and Mr. Bobby Lincoln of Chicken ‘N Waffles fame. If you were cool enough to listen to our podcast, you most likely drooled over the incredibly unhealthy but delicious meal we made. I thought you might enjoy reading about the dirty details and recipes we used, so enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »

Gastro Fridays: Birthday Traditions

Gastro Fridays: Birthday Traditions
Me at my last birthday in Australia, getting ready to take down some Ethiopian food.

When most people think about birthdays, images of cake drowning in frosting come to mind, topped with sprinkles/fudge/glowing candles. After all, if there is any food that is synonymous with birthdays, especially in the U.S., it is the cake (in full and cup-sized forms). When I think about birthdays, I picture a fat slice of focaccia bread shoved full of Italian cold cuts. Happy Birthday to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Leena Eats: Tank Noodle-What the Pho are you talking about?

Leena Eats: Tank Noodle What the Pho are you talking about?
My breakfast of champions: pork cutlet, fried shrimp, Vietnamese sausage, rice, fried egg!

Part of the fun of eating in an Asian restaurant is not knowing what the hell you are eating. And let’s be honest, sometimes, it is best you DON’T know what that mysterious cube of jiggly purple-ness is. All you need to know is it tastes delicious and is cheaper than a date at McDonald’s. Read the rest of this entry »

Leena Cooks: Chocolate Muffins with Passionfruit Caramel

Leena Cooks: Chocolate Muffins with Passionfruit Caramel
No muffin tops here! At least until we eat this muffin…then, no promises.

As promised, this is the first annual Monday of Leena Eats, where I will be talking about what I have been cooking lately. I was looking for a quick dessert to bake for a casual dinner party with friends, and I really wanted it to be chocolate, even though the only chocolate I had in the house was organic cocoa powder. That is when I happened upon Alton Brown’s chocolate muffin recipe from his book, I’m Just Here For More Food. All cocoa powder! Score! Read the rest of this entry »

Leena Eats: Change

This week, I turn 28, and I’ve already decided, this is going to be a year for change. I want to focus on eating locally and seasonally whenever possible, not just when it is convenient or after I read Michael Pollan’s latest article. I want to eat healthier and force myself to workout 5 days a week, and not let it fall to the wayside when silly things like “winter” or “sleeping in” get in the way. Finally, I want this website to see some changes. After a lot of soul-searching and a few bacon sandwiches, I’ve made a major decision–Leena Eats This Blog is going to have scheduled, weekly blogs. I’ve avoided this before now for many reasons, namely laziness and a life that thrives on chaos. But the bacon got me thinking, and I really think it is time for my little food blog grow up a bit, take its first shot of liquor, and along with, its first shot at responsibility. Starting this week, you can expect three weekly blogs. Mondays will be Leena Cooks, where I (duh) talk about what I’ve been cooking lately and perhaps throw in a recipe or two (but no promises–this is not a recipe blog!). Wednesdays will be Leena Eats, where I talk about restaurants I’ve eaten at lately. You could call it a restaurant review, but since I only visit most restaurants once before writing a review, by a food critic’s standards, it is not a proper review. But it is freaking funny! Fridays will be Gastro Fridays, where I will put my master degree to good use and ponder the world’s great gastronomic questions and ideas. Be warned–it’s about to get chunky up in here. In between, you can expect to see more Chicken ‘n Waffles food podcasts, and as Chicago slowly starts the thaw, more travel posts as well. Thanks for sticking with me this long, and I hope you enjoy my changes! ~LTG!

Best. Husband. Ever.

Best. Husband. Ever.
Nothing is hotter than a man that makes you pad thai. FROM SCRATCH.

Hot damn, I hate winter. It has been a rough couple of weeks in the Trivedi-Grenier household. After living in Australia, we just don’t do winter. It has completely wrecked havoc on our workout schedule (sort of difficult to run a outside when the sidewalks are caked with ice and snow, especially when I am so likely to fall on my ass), we have both been sick more times in the past three months than we were the entire year and a half we lived in Australia, and frankly, I think the snow be makin’ people crazier than a one-armed hooker trying to hail a cab in a blizzard, YOU KNOW. But my husband? He generally rocks. He makes midnight pixy stick runs when I get a craving (and no, I am NOT pregnant. I just happen to enjoy sugary kid candy. Don’t judge. YOU like cheese in can.). He trades dishes with me at a restaurant when the adventurous dish I tried turns out to be crap. He sometimes even orders what I like in anticipation of this event. Cleaner of cat vomit, Leena vomit, cleaner of clothes, sewer of buttons, doer of dishes even when I ask him to cook…sigh. I am one lucky lady. So why the hell do I deserve a husband that actually wants to cook for me after an eight hour day at work/being sick/dealing with Chicago crazies? Read the rest of this entry »

Why People Don’t Always Suck

Why People Dont Always Suck
Don’t take candy from strangers! Unless you want to avoid ATM fees!

Dear Random Guy who bought me three Tootsie Roll Pops when I found out that 7-11 has a $2 minimum purchase fee on debit cards and I refused to buy $1.25 more in merchandise, Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity. You certainly didn’t look like you could afford to throw 75 cents to wind, and you were quite nice about the whole event, and for that, I thank you, good sir. Read the rest of this entry »

Leena Eats…Barely: The First Sick Post of 2009

Leena Eats...Barely: The First Sick Post of 2009

One earth shatteringly strong slip on the ice at a time, Chicago is killing me.

Hey there. What’s up. Good to see you. Apologies are in order for my absence this week. I am battling a weird cold/flu thingie (it leaves me in just enough pain so that I can work, but still be miserable) and the fifth snowstorm of the month, with temperatures hitting a breezy -10F tonight in Chicago. Me? I’ve been hiding under a giant, piping hot pot of homenade chicken soup with my cat Nugget, a good book, and of course, the remnants of my wicked cold/flu thingie. Read the rest of this entry »

Leena gets her gastropub on: The Bristol

Leena gets her gastropub on: The Bristol
Decent cider? CHECK!

If you know me at all, you know I’m a sucker for a good gastropub. Namely, The Hopleaf, which you might remember from such drunken posts as this one. Chicago seems to be having a gastropub boom with at least two new ones opening in the past year that I have visited. My heart belongs to The Hopleaf (and their frites…and aioli…and pork belly…), but just because I’m married doesn’t mean I can’t look, right? Damn straight. Bring on The Bristol. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting back to gastronomy

Getting back to gastronomy
This photo should not surprise you in the slightest. If it does, are you sure you are on the right blog?

******************************************************** So I was flipping back through the old blog, reflecting on my time spent in Australia getting my masters in gastronomy, and I realized something shocking–I’ve stopped regularly posting gastronomic entries! In Australia, I tried to post at least a few gastronomic ponderings a month! Of course, I am no longer taking grad school classes that inundate me with gastronomic questions and situations, nor have I read any of the last 768 emails I received from my food writing group that usually inspire me, the ASFS listserv (and I’m not lying. All 768 are chillin in my inbox, taunting me daily). What the hell, Leena? Can’t handle an international move back to eternal winter, creating a food communication career from scratch AND a few gastronomic musings a month? Nope. But let’s change that, shall we? ******************************************************* I wasn’t allowed to take home ec/cooking classes in high school. My guidance counselor told me that they were for people not planning on attending a four year college, so honors psychology and anthropology would be a better choice for my senior year class schedule. The general consensus among students was that people taking cooking classes in high school probably wouldn’t amount to anything. I was denied entrance into what could have been a life-changing class, but I was a tenacious little git, even back then, and was bound and determined to get food into any honors or elective class I was forced to take. Read the rest of this entry »

Lamb, Bam, Thank you Ma’am: Leena Eats NYE

Lamb, Bam, Thank you Maam: Leena Eats NYE
Nothing says Happy New Years like homemade smoked pork product.

NYE 2009– I came. I ate. I conquered. I’m still trying to get the perfect balance at my dinner parties, you know, the one were I don’t work too hard while the guests are here so I enjoy myself, but I also don’t drink so much that I forget the lamb is incinerating in the oven? Yeah, that would be nice. But generally speaking, as long as people have a good time and rave about my food (no pressure), I’m happy gal. Happy freaking New Years, people! Read the rest of this entry »

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