Improv | Leena Eats

Gastro Friday: Leena’s Care Package from Oz

A care package from Oz that is almost entirely edible. My friends know me too well!

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might remember that I had the pleasure of living in Australia for a year and a half while earning my Masters in gastronomy. I made a few mates while living down under, and every now and then, they spoil me with bits of Australia.

Case in point: the package sent by Andrew and Mel, some of our favorite people living in Australia. Come peep my Aussie food porn and learn a bit about Australian cuisine!

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February 5th, 2010
Posted in Gastro Fridays, Improv, Leena Lives Life, Leena Travels, The Gastronomical Leena | 2 Comments »

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 »

November 9th, 2009
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life, Leena Travels | 1 Comment »

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 »

November 5th, 2009
Posted in Berkeley, Improv, Leena Eats, Leena Lives Life, Leena Travels | 2 Comments »

Why People Don’t 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 »

March 31st, 2009
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life | 2 Comments »

Hey, Snow? We need to talk…

My Aha! moment of the day: cars really AREN’T meant to drive on snow. Oprah would be proud.

Dear Snow, SCREW YOU. I’m sorry. Maybe that was too blunt. Let me try again. I hate you more than that Rachel Ray FHM photo shoot. No, that is still not quite right… I hope you turn yellow and melt a slow, painful, smelly death. There we go. Read the rest of this entry »

March 31st, 2009
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life | 8 Comments »

My International Goodbye to Australia

Oh Australia. You and your fried chicken snacks have captured my heart.

On my last day in Adelaide, I was sitting in a taxi on my way home from the Central Markets, taking in my last views of Victoria Square, King Williams street, and downtown Adelaide…and that is when I heard the Japanese love jam rocking on the radio and my enthusiastic Indian cab driver singing along. I say “love jam” because the words “love song” were simply not strong enough to describe this tune. These were clearly Japanese people in love and jamming like their lives depended on it. It was intense. It was a fricking love jam. Read the rest of this entry »

June 20th, 2008
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life, Leena Travels | 4 Comments »

Leena eats the Great Ocean Road (grab a snack, it’s a long one!)

How I spent my summer vacation.

?I dropped my pills.? ?I can?t find my phone.? ?There is corn muffin in my belly button.? It was the first five minutes of our Great Ocean Road trip and I already sounded like a senior citizen. All I could do was hope someone packed the adult diapers, because I had also just drank 42 ounces of water. This was going to be one crazy trip. Woop woop. Read the rest of this entry »

June 18th, 2008
Posted in A Leena-made food tour, Improv, Leena Lives Life, Leena Travels | 6 Comments »

To one year of wedded bliss…

You can tell a lot about a person by how they eat their artichoke. Take this plate for example.

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January 11th, 2008
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life | 16 Comments »

Nugget of the Week!

Like a good Aussie, Nugget killed this liter of Ribena by herself.

~LTG

January 11th, 2008
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life | 2 Comments »

The man can cook!

First off, let me just say sorrysorrysorrysorry for being a shitty blogger and not posting for while. I blame it all on a 3,000 word paper on the myth of national cuisine that whooped my tan ass to Chicago and back. But I?m back?large and in charge! I happen to have a kick ass partner. He understands that after a long day at work, I barely have time to do my homework, write essays, and write my blog, much less make dinner. But I do. Because I also kick ass. But he kicks ass too, and has been making dinner officially one night a week in an attempt to learn how to cook foods that are healthy for me and to give me a night or two off a week. He also is the best damn mise en place-r I have even met (that?s French for he cuts my veggies so I don?t have to!). Read the rest of this entry »

January 11th, 2008
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life | 4 Comments »

A little Nugget of love

I would like to officially introduce everyone to my little bundle of joy and scratching, Nugget (as in Chicken Nuggets). She?s 9 weeks old, adorable, and frequently ends up strangling herself in our vertical blinds. Yup. We picked a bright one! Read the rest of this entry »

January 11th, 2008
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life | 4 Comments »

The beer of roots, nay, gods.

It?s funny how little you think of the small things that make you happy until you move out of the country. For me, obviously, its food and drinks. Therefore when I finally hunted down this little gem, I was pretty freaking stoked. Like just won the lottery sort of stoked. It was THAT good. I?ve seen it before, but most cans of American soda that aren?t typically sold over here sell for like, $5 -6 each. These, thankfully, were a bit more affordable.. Nothing is better than a frothy root beer poured over ice (preferably crushed), or better yet, with some ice cream!

My partner in chunk Lynsi once created a root beer hollandaise in culinary school I?ve been thinking about a lot lately. Now, thanks to a random Asian store in Adelaide, this dream may actually become a reality. I dig the beer of roots. ~LTG

January 11th, 2008
Posted in Improv, Leena Lives Life, Leena Travels | 3 Comments »

Leena Eats, Gourmet Communication ... Food, Travel, Gastronomy