Euro Adventures: a food gallery

Brace yourselves for a big entry. I’ve been hopping around Europe, and I’ve been saving up photos for the last month or so. So without further adieu, the Eurotrip!

Going Dutch: an Amsterdam food gallery

It was recently pointed out to me that I’ve been slacking on the food blogging lately, so I’m here to get you all caught up on my recent eats. As some of you may already know, I left home after a month and spent July studying abroad in Amsterdam. My class was fantastic, and I learned a lot about how the Dutch cultural background and attitudes translate into concrete social policies. My classmates hailed from all corners of the United States, from Oregon to Indiana, New York to Montana. When I wasn’t in class, I spent time with my new friends exploring the city by bike, and falling in love with its canals, museums, parks, and culture.

Needless to say, in the three weeks I was there I also got a fair amount of eating done, and it was nothing short of delightful. The dorm we stayed in not only had huge single rooms and windows overlooking a canal, but kitchens in every section, so I was able to prepare my own food a lot of the time. My meals were mostly pretty simple, though, so I didn’t photograph many of them. This entry is another gallery, in chronological order, including some traditional Dutch food, some things I made, and a bunch of stuff that I just thought was interesting. This is also my first entry with photos from my brand new fancy camera! Hope you enjoy!

Tea Eggs

This is a quick one, but I felt like it deserved its own entry. I've had this recipe for a while, but didn't get around to trying it until my last week at home. Prep was quick, and my tea eggs came out flavorful and really pretty, so I think it's definitely a keeper.

Big Island Eats: a food gallery

Going to college in Virginia has given me a new appreciation for all things Hawaii. I think this is the case with a lot of people, but one of the things I always miss most about home is the food. This summer I decided to document the things I ate on the Big Island, and this entry is basically a shameless gallery of deliciousness, peppered with recommendations. Enjoy!

On one of my first mornings home, I realized there were fifteen different types of fruit in my kitchen. 

Aunty Sara

My neighbor Aunty Sara has lived next door to us since we first moved into our house almost twenty years ago. She was an activist in the '60s, has travelled all over the world, and is involved in a lot of things in our little Waimea community, so she always has a good story or a useful insight to share. As kids, my sister and I spent a lot of time at her house. I love it there. It's full of unfussy but beautiful things, collected on her many adventures, and accented with her own art. Last summer I got to hang out with her a fair amount while I was home. Some days I just went over to talk, and she had us over for dinner a couple of times, which was awesome. Aunty Sara is an amazing cook, and she's really into eating local and organic, so everything she makes is fresh and delicious, and often contains ingredients from her own garden.


She was really enthusiastic when I told her I was starting a food blog this summer, so I thought it would be fun to invite her over to make a guest appearance. I'm out of the country right now (more on that later), but during my last week home, on my mom's day off the three of us made:


stuffed peppers

avocado and pumpkin salad (vegan)

green salad (vegan)

and a watermelon mint drink (vegan)

Cooking with Sister

My sister and I sometimes have flashes of culinary ambition that prompt us to pull out the big guns. We like to scour the internet for recipes, and cook things we've never even heard of, let alone eaten. Yuki is studying in Germany this summer, so our time at home only overlapped by about two weeks, but we managed to get some cooking time in between our smoothie guzzling and beach outings.

While she was here, highlights included:

quinoa patties 

and sweet potato spinach balls



Yuki has been trying to cut down on meat recently, so apparently while I was away this semester, my house was all about salads and occasionally some fish. While salads are awesome, and we are masterful salad creators (more on that later), there are so many other creative options as far as vegetarian cuisine, and I feel like we omnivores tend to forget that a lot. Both of the recipes in this entry are vegetarian, and the sweet potato balls even qualify as vegan. So whether you're feeding people with special dietary needs, or you're like me and just dig veg food, these are a fun and easy way to add some variety to your repertoire.

Oregon

So far, summer's been treating me well. One of my best friends goes to the University of Oregon, and it was her birthday recently, so on my way home from Virginia I got to stop in Eugene for a long weekend and hang out. It was sunny and beautiful (which I guess is pretty unusual), so we were outside a lot, and over the course of my visit, I got to eat at a bunch of different places. I was really impressed with the food around the university. All the places I went were pretty decently priced, and overall pretty health-conscious. I saw a lot of vegetarian and vegan options, and stuff made with ingredients I don't see very often in Virginia--hello, avocados!

Welcome!

Hi world, I'm Sachi, and I like to eat! I'm starting this blog so I can document and share my fooding adventures at home, at school, and worldwide. I have a busy summer planned, and subsequent entries will probably include things like restaurant recommendations, cooking experiments, and lots and lots of photos so you can enjoy vicariously my tasty lifestyle.