Hi! I live here now!
Hey guys! I’ve landed in California and am currently setting up the homestead with the hubby and Nugget the cat (who, btw, freaking LOVED the roadtrip). Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Cooks: Culinary School Reunion
Homemade jelly doughnuts, a lot of mess, and a little liquor–the makings for a proper culinary school reunion!
I don’t mean to brag, but back in culinary school, my friends and I were the shit. We were smart, could handle a knife and were creative to boot. We knew how to nick bacon from the cafeteria, who to partner with for a bread baking project, and just how much we could joke around in class before the chef would kick one of us out. Oh yeah, we were THOSE annoying kids. The ones who knew everything, thought every last dish they made was kick-ass, and the ones who cracked loud jokes in class. But most important, we all were really good cooks who loved food…and we had no problem drinking the boxed wine in the school produce cooler. Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Eats: SF–Day three, part three: Japanese Sweets and The Slanted Door
Cari and I played hooky during BlogHer Food ’09 for a bit and stumbled upon a Japanese sweet shop…
Japanese Sweet Shop in downtown SF.
Sweets that look delicious and most likely filled with sweet bean paste.
Gastro Fridays: Food Photo
I was driving through my old neighborhood in Chicago, just minding my own business, and saw this gent with a tamale and elotes-selling street cart traveling down the street like he was a car. It made my heart melt. I love Elotes!
Driving behind my friendly neighborhood Elotes cart man.
~LTG!
Leena Eats: SF–Day three, part two: BlogHer Food Conference
Rolling up to the conference with my food blog bitches: myself, Amanda and Cari! We know. We look hot.
Not many photos from day three, as I was busy conferencing, networking, eating Pixy Sticks and slowly but surely, getting the worse flu of my life. BlogHerFood was a giant conference held in San Francisco for food bloggers from around the country. The conference had three different tracks of interest to pick classes from, a visual track focusing on food photography, a vocation track focusing on food blogging as a career, and a values track focusing on the ethics and politics of food. You could hop back and forth between tracks, which is pretty much what I did. Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Travels:SF Day Three Urban Hike with Becks n Posh!
The bright-eyed and bushy-tailed food bloggers on the hike: Nikki, myself, Alice, Sam and Alana.
On day three of my San Fran trip, I was planning on attending the BlogHerFood conference. Then around 11pm the night before, I read a tweet from one of my favorite food bloggers, Sam from Becks and Posh, about an pre-conference urban hike through the city at 6 a.m. Being the hardcore lady I am (READ: CRAZY!!!) and eager to meet Sam and other food bloggers, I decided to participate (and my husband even joined along). I can honestly say it was one of the most kick-ass things I have ever done on a trip. I had some great conversations with fellow food bloggers and writers and got an up close and personal view of the city I would soon be calling home at sunrise. To see the exact route we walked, check out this post by Sam. In addition to Sam, I was lucky enough to meet Nikki from Art and Lemons, Alice from Alice Q. Foodie, and Alana from Kitchen Parade. These ladies rock. So lucky to hike with them! But on to the photos… Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Eats: SF, day two, part two–Dinner @ Fish & Farm!
*********************************************************** This is the second part of my second day in San Francisco. To read about day one, go here. To read part one of my second day, go here. *********************************************************** For dinner, we hit up Fish & Farm, a relatively new restaurant in the city (opened June 2009 near the Civic Center/ Tenderloin, according to Yelp) that focuses on sourcing local, sustainable seafood and artisan meats in a upscale yet casual atmosphere. FYI, this restaurant was named to have the best burger in the entire city. Reason enough to dine here. Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Eats: SF, day two, part one- Berkeley Bowl and SF sights
If this doesn’t get you hungry, I don’t like you.
Two food lovers on the loose—lookout, Berkeley Bowl!!
On day two in San Francisco, we went apartment and sight seeing around the East Bay. One of our first food-related stops was the Berkeley Bowl, a giant grocery store with tons of selection, ethnic foods and other yumminess. Lucky for me, I had my partner in food crime Cari to stake out the joint. (By the way, you can check out Cari’s blog and her take on our SF food trip here.) Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Eats: SF, day one- Chouchou
French onion soup @ Chouchou (USD $7). Like a warm hug from a bucket full of kittens.
Back in September, I had the joy of visiting San Francisco for the second time in my life. A good friend from grad school lives in the area, so she picked out a cute little spot to meet up and eat some food, Chouchou French Bistro in the Forest Hill neighborhood of the city. Just a slip of a restaurant, Chouchou was set up with romantic mood lighting and a live music duet in the corner of the restaurant. It was a slightly chilly evening in SF, and a fog was rolling over the hill the little bistro sat atop of. If you are anything like me, you know this is the perfect get chunky weather, so I had to go for my favorite starter of all time, a mother-freaking delicious bowl of French onion soup, covered in gooey, melty and slightly crisp Swiss cheese. Ain’t no messing around here, cuz when that winter chunk hits, you just gotta ride it each cheese-filled bite at a time. That’s just how I roll, you know. Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Eats: WTF is up?!
Yum.
Hello, dear readers! So much is happening in Leenaland right now, but I wanted to take a moment and get you up to speed. So much was/is/will be happening over the past (and next) two months, I’ve been trying my best to document it all. And you know, keep up with my regular bacon-eating regiments. Read the rest of this entry »
Leena Eats: Food Porn
Ahoy there! I am in the midst of finishing a research paper and wrapping up my life before moving to San Francisco this week. I am so tired, I tried throw away some Pixy Stick wrappers…on my cat. She is still licking out the leftover dust. So I thought I would tantalize you with a bit of food porn. Read the rest of this entry »
Gastro Fridays: More cans
A little photo update on my pretty canning collection for ’09.
I think I might like to can a bit.
Recent additions include a spicy apple cranberry chutney, cranberry sauce w/ port, pickled jalapenos made with peppers my parents grew and my five-spice ketchup.
I’m like an old cat lady, only with cans.
I also got some killer organic heirloom hot peppers from Jennifer, my Harvest Moon CSA lady. Hot pepper jelly, anyone?
You are totally checking out my cans. Nice, huh?
It is official. I may never need to buy another condiment again. Ever. Happy friday! ~LTG! ******************************* Other related articles I found on the Internets: NY Times article This article makes me feel less like a senior citizen and more like a part of the “modern renaissance of handcrafted food.” Damn straight, bitches. Lula Cafe has all canned goods thrown away Time Out Chicago Article The saddest story I have ever heard. And I heart Lula so much. Civil Eats “The Art of Canning” post A great how-to guide for novices.
