Lobsterfest 2013

Every year around this time, tons and tons of Maine Lobsters are flown into Southern California for an event known as Lobsterfest. It's been at the same location: Port O' Call Village, Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro for years. And for the past 6 years, I've been attending this event where lobster lovers (and non-lobster lovers) unite together to eat and celebrate the beloved lobster.

Though it isn't as cheap as enjoying it in Maine, it is still worth it for us Southern Californians who can't get enough of lobster. And I'm definitely one of them!

I save and wait all year for this event because you know I won't be just buying one lobster! Gotta take advantage of the deals. One day I'll make it to the east coast to sample and love.

Here are some pictures from last night - taken on my friends phone! Sorry for the quality. I need to bust out my camera and utilize it!

Until next time, Lobsterfest!

My World Cup Update

No such luck for tickets yet. They haven't updated the individual matches. The qualifier games are going on right now so I'm hoping by October they'll update the matches. I still can't decide if I should wait for the individual matches or just select the teams I want to see. It'll be more expensive going through the selecting teams route. Good thing I have plenty of time to figure out what I want to do before the first random draw!

World Cup 2014

Two days until I send in an application that will hopefully bring me one step closer to one of my biggest dreams! Vive fútbol! ❤️⚽

Feel the love: World Cup 2014

Happy 4th!

To celebrate the fourth, I'm making my Blue Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Burgers. Mainly because I'm running everyday now for my current job and I have been CRAVING a good burger bad for days now. And normally, when it comes to my cravings, I have to give in because it just doesn't go away! And I would never deprive myself of eating good comfort food. :)

Once in a while, I'm all about simple and don't feel the need to add odd ingredients to everything I make, according to my friends. The faster it's put together, the quicker I get to eat!  It's only FOUR ingredients. No salt added and no salt needed. Satisfies the craving of a burger, who doesn't love bacon and blue cheese together, and my love of garlic. All put together to make an all around filling and craving-satisfied meal.

All you need is:

1 lb of ground beef (or chicken, lamb, your preference)
Garlic powder/Granulated Garlic
1/2 cup blue cheese
4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine cheese and bacon; set aside. Mix the meat and garlic together. Split meat into four sections and shape into rounds. Hollow out each ball and stuff in the cheese-bacon mixture. Close off and flatten with the palms of your hands. Heat skillet or get the grill going and cook burgers for 3-5 minutes on each side. Serve with avocado and keep it simple or add any of your favorite toppings on a hamburger bun.

My mouth is watering now.

Summer 2014

Now with the official date set for the World Cup 2014 tickets, I have my eyes set on Brazil next summer...

    

Now what to do or where to go until then!

The best thing I ever ate in....

Argentina


Carne Asada from a street parilla. The smell made me get off the bus while the bus driver was making his way back on the bus to get the show on the road. I begged for two more minutes and he just smiled! He knew. That's how good the smell was and how much I had to have it.



Of course I have to have my flan and te con leche



Dulce de leche is another must in Argentina



Mate. Mate. Mate. When someone offers you their mate, you better not say no!


And you can't go to Argentina and not eat their beef.
Brazil


Pumpkin Bean Soup. So hearty.


Pirarucu a Baiana. Years later and I still remember its taste.
Honestly, I preferred Northern Brazil. I felt I could really dig into the Brazilian culture up north. Southern Brazil is lovely of course, but I felt like I was really eating food made from someone's heart.

And of course...


Have açaí any way that you can.

Ecuador


Camarones al ajillo. Yesss.

The Galápagos Islands
Jugo de tomate arbol. No picture sadly, but introduced to the tree tomato on the islands. Surprisingly sweet and quite enjoyable to drink.



Very fond of the fresh albacore tuna steaks.

Chile


Machas a la Parmesana


Patagonian Lamb


Harina Tostada (Toasted Corn) Gelato

Colombia
Not making a decision yet due to not enough exploration. Next time!

Honduras


Spent most of my time near the Caribbean so I really just appreciated the fresh seafood.

Panama
Pretty much all of Central America, I just appreciated the seafood the most.




Costa Rica




Shrimp and Fried Red Snapper.


Agua de coco fresca

Curaçao
(Not pictured)A plate full of seafood. Fish. Shrimp. Scallop. Baby Octopus. Mussels. It went straight to my heart.

Mexico City
Have to dig a little deeper for my Mexico City pictures but pretty much everything I ate there was delicious. Mexican food hasn't tasted the same to me ever since.

Bolivia


Fried fish and Ispi with purple potato and corn


Sopa de mani. Really, all the food was wonderful and homey in Bolivia. Al paca was another treat.

Peru
Everything. Seriously one of the best cuisines in the world. Yes, I said it. Here's just a few dishes to drool over.


Lomo Saltado


Meat and potato on a stick. My choice was llama. Served with salsa.



Peruvian ceviche


Chicha Morada. I'm very fond of this drink and make it quite often now.

Egypt

Falafel. Fluffy and made to perfection.


Zalabiah




Really just loved the street fruit and corn.


You can't go to Egypt and not partake in drinking mint tea.

Turkey
Need more time to explore. Of course the food is amazing there.

Guatemala


It's just as simple as pollo asado, tortillas y cebolla. Made with love.
Food is just better when it is made with the heart.