Filipino Comfort Food: Part 1

Taco Tuesday anyone?

pairs (very) well with coffee :)

Happy New Year friends! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of memories & love! I don't know about you, but I definitely took it real easy over the break. Ate tons of delicious (not healthy) food, laughed a bunch with my family, & binged watched all of the Lifetime Christmas movies. Now it's time to jump into 2022! Every year I make a list of resolutions, but never achieve all of them. I want this year to be better than the last & continue to work to be the best version of myself. My goals & resolutions for 2022 are much more realistic, attainable, & focus more on my overall well-being, emotional & mental, than just physical health. I spent my New Year's day being productive. I reflected on all of the blessings & lessons the past year taught me, deep-cleaned the house while catching up on my favorite podcasts (Bigger Pockets Money & Bigger Pockets Real Estate), finished reading Kisses and Croissants, a fun & flirty read about a girl pursuing her dreams as a ballerina in Paris, & my personal favorite, cooking! The holidays may be over, but you don't have to jump right into eating super-clean, protein-packed, low-carb, etc, etc, meals. It's called balance & I'm here to bring you a savory, flavorful, & healthy meal. Yup, I'm talking about pan-seared pork chops with a roasted cauliflower mash. Let's get started!

Happy first day of winter! I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season so far. Christmas is just 4 days away & my Guinness Pot Roast is a sure crowd pleaser & would make a great Christmas dinner! I love the bold flavor that is packed into this dish from fresh herbs & malty goodness from one of my favorite stouts. This dish is easy to prep & you can enjoy a pint while you cook.

Hi, it's me (again)! Back from my grad school hiatus. I always think I have so much time to do everything... grad school, working 2 jobs, & blog. Let's just say this term was rough . The past 2-3 months have made me re-evaluate my priorities. Let's just say I made some life changes. Nonetheless, after my finals, the first thing I did was pour myself a glass of wine & went to my happy place (yes, I am talking about the kitchen). If you don't remember from my older posts, I spent a few years living in San Diego. One of the areas I frequented was Temecula. Just a 30 minute drive north of San Diego is the wine country of Southern California! It is home to so many wineries & a few of my local favorites - Miramonte , Wilson Creek , and Ponte . If you are in the area, I highly recommend checking them out & if you live in the area join their wine club (I did & thoroughly enjoyed it)! You can't go wrong! Did I mention they're dog friendly? Part of this dish is actually inspired by one of the menu items on Miramonte's Flower Hill Bistro, the Fromage and Tomato. Every time my friends & I came for a wine tastings, or just to have some girl & wine time in the SoCal sunshine, we always ordered the Fromage and Tomato. So I'm bringing you a full meal inspired by my wine days - my slow roasted bruschetta, crispy brussels sprouts, & citrusy pesto pasta. Buon Appetito! Below are a few of my MANY visits to Temecula with friends & the pups! Notice that the first 4 photos are from Miramonte Winery and the last 2 from Wilson Creek Winery. Notice the empty board - we demolished that Fromage and Tomato every time!

Happy summer, friends! This week I'm telling you all about my Tower Garden ! It's my second year with it & this year has been more successful than the last. It took a little trial and error with store bought seedlings vs starting my own plants from seeds, but I can say this growing season has been bountiful!

I hope you got the title reference. If you didn't no fear, it's just my cheesy, "pun-ny" way of alluding to the super catchy song that's featured in Disturbia. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, feel free to use Dr. Google & look it up. (It's just milldly inappropriate) It's been a while... I know! I've been crazy busy & have so many unpublished recipes! I just wanna say I'm back & will do my best to be more consistent with posting on the blog! I'm sharing my Miso Honey Glazed Salmon & Sauteed Pak Choi with you this week! I realized I haven't made a seafood dish in such a long time! So here is something colorful to feast your eyes & tastebuds on. Salmon is my favorite type of fish. It's packed with protein, omega-3 fatty acids, & a ton of vitamins. I consider it a superfood. There are so many benefits from eating salmon like skin, hair, joint, & eye health. Load on up my friends! I'm pairing this fish with some homegrown pak choi. You read that right! I started my pak choi from seeds & they've grown up beautifully. Pak choi or bok choi is a type cabbage that is used in a lot of Asian dishes. It is a very nutrient-rich cruciferous vegetable packed with folate, vitamins a & c, calcium plus many many others. This leafy green is easy to incorporate into your every day diet. Even when cooked until wilted, the leaves will be tender & the stems provide a nice crunch.

If you haven't noticed already, I really love making egg cups for breakfast! They're easy to make in batches & a quick breakfast to eat before your go to work or post-workout. There are so many different varieties you can make & I can assure you that I'll be sharing all my recipes as I experiment! This egg cup is packed with flavor from dried herbs, crispy bacon, a muenster cheese "shell," & No Crumbs Left's marinated onions. I can't take credit for the marinated onion recipe, but they do not disappoint. Teri from No Crumbs Left was one of the first Whole 30 bloggers I followed. She has amazing cookbooks, all the "magic elixers," & beautifully photographed foods. I hope to have as much food art & creativity as her one day (check out her Instagram ). As always, stay nashful!