The Farmer's Market

I woke up at the wee early hours of 7 this sunny Saturday morning and decided to go to the farmer's market, which is quite literally a 2 second walk from my Irvine apartment.
I love how it's within walking distance! I really feel like my doing my part at staying green! So with my reusable Whole Foods canvas bag, a sun dress, sunglasses, and sandals; I headed out the door ready to start my morning right.
Going to the farmer's market makes me feel healthier, happier, and like I kicked off my Saturday morning in a productive way. I promised myself that I would be a regular there. It would absolutely be a shame if I let these years in college pass by without frequenting the market since most people would kill to live as close as I do to one.
One thing I did regret not doing was bringing my camera so I could post up some pictures of the market itself. But since I did promise myself to frequent the market, I'm not too horribly let down but the absence of my camera. There will always be next weekend! It's not a huge market like the one in San Francisco's Ferry Building. But it's a nice small town farmer's market that has a nice variety of fruits, veggies, flowers, live music, fresh seafood, tamales, hummus, breads, coffees, cakes, cookies, and even odds and ends like photos, dresses, scarves, etc.
It probably sounds cliche, but I love the feeling of knowing where your food comes from, and knowing that's it's not mass produced and genetically tampered with. The vendors are extremely friendly and will let you sample almost all of the products that they're trying to sell you. And almost 99% of the time, what they're trying to sell you is delicious and hard to turn down.
So as I headed home with what looks to be a sack of fresh produce. I'm ready to make some breakfast with the great stuff that I bought, and head out to the pool to read and enjoy the rest of my day!

Bacon Wrapped Hotdogs

Last night my friends and I went out to a bar in Santa Ana, CA, called Proof. And guess what?! They had bacon wrapped hot dogs topped with ketchup, mustard, mayo, onions and peppers in the back patio. They were made fresh on an outdoor cook top. My friends and I stood out in the rain huddled together while we endulged in our heart attack filled bun. What other bar is going to provide you with such great midnight food?
I guess this is the start of my realization that you can share great food with anyone.

As long as there are bacon wrapped hot dogs at Proof, I'll be there.

I Have Discovered Irish Butter!

So I've stumbled upon what I consider a great find, IRISH BUTTER! Okay, so some of you out there may be Irish Butter spreading regulars, but humor me and let me bask in the glory of my delicious find.

How I discovered it:

So my foodie bestie, who I suppose shall not be named but knows who she is, introduced me to a fellow food blogger, Molly Wizenberg and her wonderful writings in the Orangette. So my foodie bestie told me about one of Molly's recommendations: sliced raddishes, butter, and salt, on bread. Seems kind of out of the ordinary right? Questionable even. But trust me it's really good. Anyways, I went on a hunt for really great European butter that SMELLS extremely rich and is as yellow as an egg yolk, boderline orange, I would venture to say.

When I went to my local grocery store, I was determined to buy butter that I had never bought before. (I'm big on bread and butter...so I know it sounds strange that I would go butter hunting, but trust me it was worth the ridiculousness). And I walked over to the butter section and found this gold foil wrapped butter and, well, it being gold, caught my eye.

"Irish butter?"

Yes, and I do mean imported from Ireland! Let me tell you, it's great! The butter flavor really shines through, it's rich, it's creamy, and it's IRISH!

Heart Food

I'm the first one to tell you that food is my everything, aside from my family and my really close friends of course. But what do you eat when your heart is broken into a million pieces? And everything you see or would want to eat, if you had an appetite, is something you want to share with the heart breaker? I call this category of food: Heart Food. The kind of food that any foodie would jump at the chance to eat, but your heart is too broken and your appetite to small to try it. Heart Food is the kind of food you would want to share with the significant other that you used to share all types of food experiences with, but now, you fly solo and...well...here's my heart food story:

Just yesterday I came across a Korean BBQ burrito. Yes, ladies and gents, a KOREAN BBQ BURRITO! I was so excited to try it! It was a new item that the restaurant by day Korean bar by night, Haru Izakaya in Tustin, Ca, was trying to promote. The item leaped out of the little hand written "specials" neon yellow note card that was placed inside the menu. I was overcome by joy when I saw that there was something on that menu that I had not tried before.

When my two little flour wrapped Korean BBQ burritos came out it looked and smelled like, well, Korean BBQ with a...certain...je ne sais quoi aroma that made my mouth water. The cutest thing about these burritos was how the chef placed the sauce on the plate. He made a geisha out of Japanese mayo, terriyaki sauce, and rooster sauce or Sriracha sauce. The terriyaki was the round bobbed hair, the Japanese mayo the flawlessly white painted face, and the Sriracha was the eyes, the nose, the mouth, and the decorative hair pins in this saucy geisha's hair.

Everything about this burrito seemed ready for me to tear it apart in hunger and in excitement. But then I stopped. And everything just didn't seem right. I wanted to share this experience and this burrito with my former foodie love but he was no where insight. The burritos came pairs and I was flying solo from now on. It hit me like a freight train and I was instantaneously paralized in my chair. The familiar desire to share this burrito was a remider that I would have to enjoy this alone, or I guess in this particular loss of appetite case, not enjoy it.

I ate one of the burritos, not wanting to waste. And it was a phenomonally great late night meal item. I know I didn't enjoy it half as much as I should or would have if this wasn't "Heart Food".

I took my now solo burrito home in a foam doggy box and shoved it in my fridge wishing that I had the appetite and the company I wanted to appreciate this new food find with me.

It didn't cross my mind to take a picture of the burrito while I was there, but I did take one of the loney burrito that I had undesirably dragged home with me. Now cold and hard my burrito filled with bulgogi, slaw, Sriracha and possibly some other tasty bits that I could not identify and my now blended geisha face is a cold, lonely reminder that I can't even enjoy food that I know I would otherwise enjoy.

Funny how the people that don't normally eat a lot express their heartbreak by eating a gallon of ice cream in their fuzzy slippers and pajamas, clutching their favorite blanket on the couch and watching break up movies as they cry their eyes out.

For me, a foodie, heartbreak has an adverse effect. I have no desire to eat or to enjoy food. My love for great food is now clouded by the desire share my food and my experience with the former companion that shared the same love for food. And the constant reminder that I am now alone on this food find endeavor is something I don't know I can overcome...

Foodie hell = Trying to enjoy food alone

Now there's some food for thought.

The Oceanaire

Brian Malarky, the food was great!

Great food, great night, and most importantly great company! Best 21st Birthday EVER! =)

Alone

Eating alone is never fun. Well not for me at least. I also hate seeing other people eating alone. Eating is something that should be shared with someone close to you. Meal times are meant for you to stop, phone a friend, "Do you want to grab a bite to eat?", "Of course!"; the ideal answer. I'm not totally concerned with what I'm eating as long as I'm eating with someone, a friend, a family member, or a lover.
Yes, it's true that great food does put a smile on my face, but the company that shares the foodie experience with you totally matters. TOTALLY. I can enjoy fra grois alone of course, but why would I want to? I would much rather dish out $20+ on fra grois and someone to talk to about how much I love the flavor and texture and fra grois pairings.
I have to warn you though, I'm a talkative eater! If you're someone who likes to enjoy their meal in complete silence *cricket, cricket*, I am not the right companion for you. I like the conversation, ranging from, "What did you do today?" to "The gumbo you made is really great!" to "Mmm! I love the fried tofu!" to "Soy protien meat is not my favorite thing...", to "Wine?", "Dessert?"
It puts a smile on my face when the topic of dessert comes up after a meal. It means that the meal doesn't have to end nor does the company. Though sadly, half the time I fail at leaving room for the long desired dish of creme brulee or the warm chocolate lava cake. What I usually do is kick off the conversation my perusing the dessert section of any menu, and finding the one I want, tell my foodie buddy that I want to save room for dessert. Then what usually happens, is that I never have room! The curse that I like to call "my eyes are WAY bigger than my stomach" crosses my mind. I think the hardest part about loving food the way I do, is that it hurts to walk away from a place knowing you didn't get to try everything you wanted to try on the menu.
Even if when I cook a meal, it's always more fun to cook with someone. And STILL I think about dessert after! Sometimes my sweet tooth and my stomach take on a mind of their own! And sometimes, when they agree, the gym sees me more often!
So eat well, and eat happy, and most importantly NEVER EVER eat alone...
Eating for simple sustenance is not as enjoyable as eating for conversation or eating for savoring the moment, the food everything.
GO EAT WITH SOMEONE!