After spending a year studying abroad in Florence I have finally decided to set up a blog dedicated solely to food. It seems to be what I most often post about...overshadowing both my travels and my art. But it is something I do everyday. I eat. Whether it's out somewhere (be it in Paris or that tiny Indian restaurant down the street) or more likely I'll make something simple and at home from a recipe or from imagination...
I've spent the last month of my summer at home with my parents which has led to many many food adventures and mouthwatering meals. Just yesterday we went on a quest for Dim Sum in the San Gabriel Valley, and ended up at 888 Sea Food Restaurant in Rosemead. I used to be a Chinatown dim sum purist, but this place was amazing! I had all my old favorites--har gow, chicken bao, slippery noodles...seasame balls and egg custard tarts, along with a handful of new things I'd never had like sweet bbq pork buns, coconut pudding, and several kinds of steamed dumplings....
But I digress. This morning, my mom asked what I wanted to make for breakfast--crepes with ricotta filling, or ricotta pancakes. I found this ricotta pancake recipe online, and it came out wonderfully! We addes a little lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter, and served them with some of our lemoncurd. They were so light and fluffy. Perfect with fresh strawberries and turkey bacon.
Then this evening, my parents were having some friends over for dinner. Of course, I forgot to take pictures until everything was mostly gone, but this hordevores plate was perfect! Chunks of ripe cantaloupe wraped with some prosciutto and pierced with a toothpick for easy snackability, and figs sliced open and grilled on the grill pan for just a minute or two. Then topped with a small dollup of marscapone cheese and drizzled with balsamic reduction!
For dessert, we had a stone fruit and almond crostata adapted from this Martha recipe. My mom loves this one because you can pretty much subsitute any fruit and it's delicious (especially with some vanilla gelato!)
So that's all for now! I'm starting to move into my new apartment tomorrow. I have my trusty old volvo all packed up with my pots and pans. The kitchen will be my first room to conquer. The meals I create there will be much less gourmet and elaborate....but I'm a busy starving artist and I'll do my best!
