past makings: baking, camping, simple dishes, + embellished creations

a typical lunch:  flash-fried cheese ravioli (store-bought), jicama + cucumber slices; spring salad mix, craisins, feta + poppy seed dressing 

 i love food.  but taste is paramount.  period.  being a pescetarian (a lacto-ovo vegetarian who eats fish) is not a 'palate handicap,' some might say.  i'm a firm believer that if it doesn't taste right, i downright refuse to eat it.  i don't think that taste should be sacrificed to attempting healthier food habits.  when i was 11 years old, i told my parents i wanted to be a vegetarian after reading a book about how animals are processed in meat factories.  i can't for the life of me, remember the name of the book, but it totally grossed me out.  being a 1st-generation Filipino-American, my declaration of a such a change in diet shocked my parents, who's daily meals consisted of at least a fish or meat entree.  (we grew-up in a Seventh-day Adventist home, so there were no shellfish or pork products in our kitchen.)  but Mom & Dad wanted to be supportive of my dietary choice, so they accommodated me by making my meals differently than the rest of the family's.  shortly thereafter, my meals came to be known as 'her food' or 'that's your sister's food' (to my brothers).
since then, i have been an on-and-off vegetarian.  since 2006, i've been a pescetarian.  my so-called weakness is sushi, so fish is a common ingredient in my diet.  once my husband, M, and i decide to start having children, i'm going to have to reconsider my eating habits and may need to take fish out entirely.  there are possible mercury levels found in tuna and salmon, that disrupt the neurological development of a fetus.  baby vs. sushi.  in this case, baby wins.  but that's not now, so i eat as much fish as i possibly can or want.
from exposing my parents to vegetarianism and vegetarian cooking, they've chosen a similar diet now:  Mom is also a pescetarian while Dad has recently become a vegan (e.g., no dairy, no eggs, no fish, or meat products).  veganism is a toughie for me, but i've learned some tasty recipes that doesn't include any dairy or eggs.
after returning from Nepal in 2005, i've found a renewed love for cooking...and cooking a lot.  i've always had a knack for cooking since i was a kid, but i really sucked at baking.  in boarding school, i dreaded the Home Ec. portion of baking.  i swear, i almost flunked the class because i couldn't bake a cake from scratch.  'give me Betty Crocker just-add-water mix any day', i would say.

banana muffins with sugar crumble top (autumn, 2010)

banana-walnut bread (autumn, 2010)

when i met my husband in 2009, i learned that he loved baked goods, especially homemade apple pie.  after several heart-wrenching attempts (and garbage bins of dough failures), i finally made the perfect homemade apple pie.  just in time for our family's ThanksGivinG potluck!  after that first pie, i fell in-love with baking.  i became a baking monster.  literally.  i've included just a couple of my baking creations from the past.

blueberry muffins (spring 2011)

camP cooKing

when M + i go camping, one of the major things included is are sturdy Coleman camp gas stove and a steady supply of fresh and nonperishable products to turn a simple camp meal into a gourmet camp meal.  some of our typical camp meals are the following:

• vegetarian spaghetti sauce with noodles (with sauteed squash + zucchini)
• pancakes, the store-bought just-add-water mix
• vegetarian and real hot dogs (pan-cooked or over a live fire)
• s'mores (Hershey chocolate bars, graham crackers, + vanilla-flavored large marshmallows)
• PB + J sandwiches
• Hungry Jack mashed potatoes
• steamed corn + peas



making dinner: steamed corn-on-the-cob, vegetarian hot dogs (4th of July, 2011)

• lots and lots of fresh salads

we've typically celebrated the JuLy 4th holiday by camping and just because we're camping, doesn't mean we leave our palates at home.  i prefer to bring a smaller portion of our kitchen to our campsite, wherever that may be.  the past few holidays we've camped, we've found ourselves in our favorite campsite, LofT MounTain campgrounds, in the Shenandoah VaLLey Nat'l Forest in VirgiNia.

making camp salads (4th of July, 2011)

camp salad:  romaine lettuce, baby carrots, strawberries, sliced mozzarella sticks + crushed peppercorns

EmBellisHed CreaTions

upon our engagement during ThanksGivinG weekend (late Nov. 2010), i started thinking of ways to creatively announce it.  in a bridal magazine, i saw a picture of 'Facebook cookies' done by a company, as party favors for an engagement party.  i took that idea and attempted to make our own.  after several hapless attempts and frustration with coloring and frosting consistency, i finally made the following cookies to hand-out to friends.  we hired a pastry shop in FreDeriCk, MaryLand, to make the 'Facebook cookies' as party favors for our wedding reception guests in MarCh 2011.

homemade 'Facebook' cookies (winter 2011)

wedding reception favors, made by local pastry shop (spring, 2011). pic taken by ferryhuangphotography.

my brother + sis-in-law recently announced their pregnancy and i think this would be an awesome way to make party favors for their baby shower.  what do you think?