Sunny Sundays at the Durham Food Truck Rodeo

Hi everyone~!

Sunday was such a gorgeous day~! How did you spend your day? 

I was at the Durham Central Park for the Food Truck Rodeo last weekend. There was beautiful weather, good company, and of course great food~!!

I'm such a big foodie that I love going to the food truck rodeos to try different foods. My favorite trucks were there such as The Humble Pig, Chez Moi Bakery, and my new favorite truck is Bang Bang Banh Mi~!!

Bang Bang Banh Mi food truck serves Vietnamese cuisine that is gluten-free~!  I was a bit hesitant at the sound and words of "gluten-free" but none-the-less, I wanted a banh mi sandwich so I tried it. Can I say that I loved it~!  I ordered the Spicy Chili Beef Banh Mi and it was super yummy. The spices reminded me of eating Dwae Ji Bul Go Gi, which is Korean Spicy Pork.  The meat was sweet and spicy and nicely charred. The sandwich also had grated carrots, sliced jalapenos, cilantro and I topped it off with one of my favorite hot sauces, Sriracha~!

Man, oh man~ was it yummy~!! My mouth is watering at thought and sight of the photo, ^^

For dessert, I visited my friend, the owner of the Chez Moi Bakery food truck. I love her rum cake~! Her rum cake was the first that I tried over a year ago and I have been a fan ever since.   I got the opportunity to ride in, I mean sit in my very first food truck and I was kind of really excited.^^  Yes, I know it sounds cheesy to get excited over sitting in a food truck but I did. We were chit chatting about the cakes with her other regular customers and I said "you had me at rum cake~!" but when my friend gave me the sticker with her logo later on that afternoon, I saw that the motto was "you had me at cake".  We chuckled about it because I didn't realize that was her motto.
I had the pleasure of introducing my friend Shay to her rum cake and told her that "it's sex in a to-go bowl~!"  It was a very funny conversation and you had to be there.

The owner of Chez Moi bakery introduced me to the owner of Sweet Traditions, a cupcake food truck and bakery.  He was so very kind to let me have a cupcake after my visit.  I chose a Chai flavored cupcake because I didn't want pumpkin or peanut butter.  I liked the flavor of the butter cream and the cake was "can't get any moist than this cupcake~!"  He he.  I mean the cake was perfectly moist.

Here are some photos from my visits.

Oh, by the way, I am finished with my list for Thanksgiving dinner and there are 11 items on there not including the gravy. I'll be posting photos of the prep and the final presentation. Comment or e-mail me if you would like any recipes.

Have a great week~! Eat, Talk, Dream FOOD~!

The Banh Mi 

Rum cake

Chai cupcake. 

These three photos were taken by me. 

This photo was taken by my friend Shay. ^^

Fall Days

TGIF ~!

The beautiful fall weather is upon us and the leaves are ever changing their clothes of green to beautiful reds and oranges. 

Today was a wonderful day for a long awaited birthday visit from my best friend and her daughters. I had the pleasure of making some simple, yet yummy food for the girls. Last week I asked my niece what she would like for me to make her when she came to visit. She said that she wants fried rice. 

I made a simple fried rice with potatoes, onions, and red bell peppers. I also made my version of a Waldorf chicken salad minus the nuts. I figured the girls wouldn't be fond of biting into crunchy walnuts. You can't complete a meal with out dessert~! I made an apple crostata. The buttery, flaky crust with cinnamony apples. It was a perfect ending to the meal. The girls were hesitant to try the apple crostata because it's something they haven't tried before. Once they had a bite, they were hooked~!  The girls finished their piece. I was so glad my girls loved their lunch. It was a wonderful birthday present just to be able to spend time with them. 

Here is a photo of the apple crostata I made today. 

Until next time. 

Comfort Food for My Soul

What is considered comfort food? 

Is it the rich and fattening spoonful of mac and cheese? Is it the baked lasagna?

Anything these days is considered comfort food. People interuse soul food as comfort food. It isn't the case all the time. 

Comfort food is what makes you smile. It's food that makes your heart skip a beat and shriek at the smell and sight of it. It's food that brings you, your mouth, and your body at peace..more like pleasure. 

For me, comfort food reminds me of the times with my family and loved ones. 

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy a nice, piping hot, baked mac and cheese every once in a while. That warm full belly gives me undeniable pleasure. It's only you're comfort food if it lends you a shoulder. Hehe :) 

Let's not forget the holidays are coming up. This is a good excuse to get together with your loved ones and have some delicious comfort food. 

I'm thinking about making a beautiful roasted chicken or maybe a roulade of turkey. Add some yummy sides like sweet potato casserole and roasted garlic and herb potatoes with some homemade apple turnovers and you're set~! 

My mouth is watering~! ^^

See you soon~!

I'll be sure to post up lots of photos and recipes for the meal coming up ~!

Hunger is motivation

Do you ever notice that you are starving from eating so little or nothing at all? This is when hunger makes you motivated. You're motivated to go in search of that something to satisfy your craving. I went to satisfy my hunger last night. The idea of having hot, deep-fried empanadas. Who could resist? Not me. I had an order and I devoured each and every bite. The salty, flaky bites of golden crust with ground beef. Yum~ I needed an ice cold beer with it. Unfortunately, it was from a food truck and they didn't sell beer. I started my critiquing after I ate all of it. I could find so much wrong with it but at the same time it filled my craving so I let it slide. Food trucks are like a nice pair of black stilettos. They are all the same yet they're so different. The food is either good or disappointing. Sometimes, I just want to give you my critical opinion even if you don't care. Sometimes, I have to fib a little. Honestly, the empanadas did not meet my expectations. I had the best empanadas in Brazil and nothing compares. 

Time to go in search of something else to feed my hunger. Food motivates me and I hope it motivates you~! ^.~

Eat, Talk, and Dream FOOD

My motto is "Eat, Talk, and Dream FOOD".

As long as I can remember, food has been a focal point in my life.  This blog is a journal of my food adventures and also to share my favorite recipes and techniques.

I hope to post updates on a regular basis. 

So please keep in touch~!!