fantasy land

today is a gloomy day. its the type of day where you curl up in your pjs, find a good book and don't leave your couch or bed. today is the best type of day for daydreaming and escaping into a fantasy land that only you will and can understand. besides all that good stuff, the best thing about days like today are grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. even though i like to cook, i hate making grilled cheese sammies. this is for one reason only: my mom makes them better then me, its like she whips up my own little grilled cheese fantasy land and i can live there every.single.bite. i take. i used to honestly wonder why this was but then i caught her in action and found the secret weapon: butter. not pam spray. real butter and she doesnt skimp out on it either. it makes the bread so yummy and moist with just the right amount of crispness. we usually use just the old fashioned campbells tomato soup and throw in a can water. its not the most amazing culinary experience but i really cant complain. my mom used to get really annoyed with me because she thought i was being lazy by asking her to make me it but there is just something about food... it always taste better when someone else makes it for you. probably because you dont realize what went into it so you can eat mildly guilt free. while i was in portland, which is gorgeous btw, we stumbled upon this diner, the blueplate lunch counter. in fact it was featured on DINERS, DRIVE INS AND DIVES! the boyfriend opted for their famous sliders and i went with.... GRILLED CHEESE AND TOMATO SOUP! omg. just imagine portland weather, gloomy like today, sitting in a back corner with the love of your life (puke, i know) and getting this delicious tomato soup and yummy grilled cheese. it was brilliant and simple and so well executed... especially followed up with a banana and peanut butter shake! i mean campbells is great and all but nothing can beat fresh tomato chunky soup. i wish i was in portland right now because i would wait in any line for a taste of that heavenly tomatoe and cheese goodness. however, a plane flight is a tad bit out of my unemployed budget. good thing i have a mom who loves me... MOM!!!!!!! IM HUNGRY!!!!

find me here: http://www.eatatblueplate.com/ : Portland, OR

i call it love

i have never been to ireland. in fact, i have never been anywhere besides all 50 states, mexico and canada. driving around for a month every summer was a high light of my childhood. we spent countless hours watching quality films like grease and pretty women. we made our own dried meat (aka beef jerky) and sprawled out all over the motor home floor. sometimes there would be 8 or 9 of us in there, driving across the U.S., rocking out to some oldies since that and kost 103.5 was the only thing my mom listened to. the best part about traveling in the rv (read: massive tour bus), was spending quality time with family and friends. we drove to alaska and that was before people even realized that it was not really an island. just imagine how much fun we had. actually, you cant imagine it. its unimaginable. honestly, i dont even believe the stories when i tell them or when we all retell them at family events. it was the glory years, although the mackprangs werent always so fond of it because they lacked the amenities that we had... like air conditioning. i imagine that being brutal but thaddeus pulled through with homemade ice cream and his mom always sent her homemade cookies. plus, terry would guide us through the day with little history blurbs on his walkie talkie thingie. the best part though, besides the endless quality time together, was the food. deep fried turkey, thad cream, rabbit, spaghetti, gorelosh, clamming for homemade clam chowder and endless amounts of butter. i could, and probably will, write an entire post dedicated to butter. my dad loves it, my uncle loves and my mom loves it. lets not be fooled though. they love the real stuff, none of that margarine around here. my uncle jaime came over once and saw me cooking with margarine. he took it and threw it away and told me that if he put that tub in the garage and came back a year later it would look exactly the same. my uncle jamie is not a man you disagree with so i smiled and cooked with butter and havent looked back. my dad however is the man in the kitchen. he is simply brilliant but he doesnt do fufu stuff. he does quality home cookin. i mean the man is a legend in the kitchen. he could whip up easter brunch for 30 people in under an hour... who does that?! some people call it blue collar food, i call it love. tonight i had shepherds pie. it reminded me of my dad. just a bunch of great stuff all piled into one pan and topped with some PHENOMENAL mashed potatoes. i mean, it was heaven in a bowl, or thats how i imagine heaven. but what really made it special was i couldn't stop thinking of my dad and all his brilliance. granted i am the princess of ham so i grew up on great food but my dad has a way in the kitchen. he can make cat food taste good. in fact, in my 2 year stint as a vegetarian he used to pour beef broth in my vegetables and all over my fake meat. if thats not love, i dont know what is.

where to find me: http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/ : Mission Viejo, CA.

motivated monday

diet, diet, diet. these are the words i think of when its sunday night and i have reflected on all things i have consumed in the past 72 hours that are considered to be the weekend. i am always amazing at this whole diet thing until around 4pm on monday night when someone offers to go to dinner and i have no self control. however, i feel today might be different. today i have decided to give these miserable mondays a new name: motivated mondays. i have also decided to post small bites on monday to get me and other blog followers in a healthy mood and to realize that good things CAN come in small packages and maybe diets arent so bad. my niece, noodle or kayla as some people call her, asked me what a diet was yesterday. i responded with "its when grown ups want to loose weight so they eat healthy and less food." she responded "i guess i diet all the time then". i thought about that and then thought to myself, "i wish all kids in america ate healthy." maybe it will be the little noodles life mission. considering my sister doesnt feed her anything terrible and refuses to cook with salt, she might be a nutritionist. there is a first for everything in every family. anyways, motivated mondays may feature small things that are tasty or in some cases, not so tasty. i guess it depends what kind of mood i am in. today, i am in a not so tasty small bites mood. as all of you should know, i am ADDICTED to starbucks. i choose starbucks for two reasons: 1. you get free drinks after you purchase x amount. 2. they have a feature online that gives you money on auto refill. i love this because mine refills magically via my mamasita. im spoiled, i know. anyway, starbucks usually doesnt disappoint me but yesterday they did. i have been wanting to try their red velvet whoopie pie. its part of their petites promotion to cater to all of the starving women in orange county. well, i was sad but i also do not prefer sweets so i think my opinion on this is biased. there was just way too much frosting and not enough cake. i was very sad because i really wanted to be petite. oh well, life will go on and i will continue to search for other small bites to satisfy my small bite diet.

find me here: http://www.starbucks.com/menu/catalog/product?food=petites#view_control=product

sexy=refried beans

so now that you know and understand my love for all things mexican, you need to know i am not the biggest fan of burritos. i dont know if i dont order the right thing or what but mine just never taste as good. im more of a taco girl i think. regardless, when it comes to burritos, if your going to eat one, make it 6ft long with two different types of meat, some quality refried beans and mexican rice. this is the best kind of burrito: nice, clean and simple. i think people try to overdue it these days and throw all sorts of stuff in them. getting back to the basics was the best call for what i encountered this weekend. i feel it was meant to be since i just talked about my love for margaritas and mexican food. i think it was fate that pablo and dan ordered this giant burrito as part of their celebration for taking some exam for smart engineers. im sure they passed it since they can build a coffee table out of concrete and i assume if you can do that, you can do anything. this thing, the burrito that is, was brilliant. it was HUGE and the hugeness didnt take away from the taste. in fact, i would say it was one of the best burritos i have ever had. the shredded beef was amazing. believe it or not, i try to be some what healthy so i never order refried beans and i feel as though i have been missing out. there is something special about refried beans. maybe it has something to do with them being slightly forbidden and dangerous. they are sexy and have a luster to them. they are the forbidden fruit. they are brilliant. this burrito never got soggy, it stayed in tact, it was basically genius. oh, another thing. you can totally get a workout if your feeling chunky monkey by lifting this thing like its a bar bell... hm, i think thats what the wight thing is called that those power muscle men use when lifting weights in their tank tops. well, while they are lifting weights, you can lift this. my arms were shaking its so heavy. i mean 6 lbs is intense. so, if you friends out there ever get a craving for something brilliant, find a 6ft long burrito and call it a day.

find me here: Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant- Fullerton, CA

salt lick

i have a weakness. its name is chips and salsa. i love them. some people love brownies, cakes, candy and chocolate. i on the other hand, love LOVE love chips and salsa. actually, when it comes to food, i love all things mexican. i love margaritas, mexican beer, enchiladas, tacos. you name it, i like it. its a simple love but what i enjoy the most about mexican fare is the SALT. i come from a family where i swear we have some sort of low something another because we all eat salt like a horse licks a salt lick. well, i am not sure if horses lick salt licks since i dont particularly fancy animals but i think they do. anyway, thats not the point. the point is: mexican food and salt. two of the greatest things EVER invented come together in this glorious matrimony: salt and tequila. thats right people, the freaking margarita. i love margaritas mostly because i can pretend i am a horsey and lick all of that yummy rock salt off the rim of the glass. in fact, i wish they would re-dip it in there half way through my margarita. that would be brilliant. margaritas are wonderful but most importantly, they are most wonderful in palm desert. i have had these dangerous "little" guys more then once. they always produce a good photo opp and some giggles. you cant go wrong with this beverage from this wonderful mexican place in the palm desert. actually, apparently you can go wrong. heidi couldnt handle it so she is now referred to as the "weakest link". i feel bad for her, i really do. some of us just cant hang when it comes to a beautiful union between an extra large glass, tequilla and salt. anyway, after a long day of tanning in the hott desert sun, you pull up and have some chips, salsa, salt and a nice :little: margarita with some lovely lady friends. you gossip, sip and relax. ahhh. speaking of tan, i need to work on mine.

find me here: Armandos Mexican Restaurant- Palm Desert, CA

baklava

i developed a love for baklava many many moons ago. it started when i was at edgewood. a small little private institute where i spent most of my life, k-7th grade to be exact. if any of you know a thing about private schools, you will understand that we basically had the same 20 people with us from kindergarten through the rest of the time there. on to the point, a girl named norma introduced me to baklava on her 10th birthday. well, i am not sure if it was exactly her 10th birthday, but it was her birthday so i think 10 sounds good. her mom made this yummy, gooey goodness every year and i never forgot about it, which is HUGE because i forget EVERYTHING. i stumbled upon a bakery that made fresh baklava while i was in pasadena a few years back. it was walking distance. it was dangerous. i fell in love. it ended. and then i found love again in mountain view. the most glorious thing about baklava is that it goes with everything. from wine to coffee, you cant go wrong. holy goodness. if you haven't had it, go get some. you wont regret it. your waist line might, but your stomach will love you forever.

find me here:http://www.netocaffe.com/ : Mountain View, CA

bloody happiness

as many of you know, i love all things involving eating, drinking and loving. mainly i love to eat and drink and i plan all of my vacations around the hottest, cheapest yelp places i can find. some people love art, i love food. i also love yummy drinks and one of the most interesting ones i have had came to me in chicago. it was a miserably hott day and i was in no way dressed for the humidity that was surrounding me. it actually suffocated me, i should sue the city of chicago for it. however, i went to eat some scrumptious and all too filling american bbq and stumbled upon a "meaty" bloody mary. just imagine a spicy bloody mary topped with a piece of pulled brisket, olive and pickle. now just imagine dunking that toothpick into the bloody and letting it absorb all that spicy goodness. then eat it. then drink it. oh.my.goodness. i swear it cant get better then that.... but it does because it was served with a sidecar of miller high life. i almost forgive chicago for making me sweat in all the wrong places...

find me here:http://www.thesmokedaddy.com/ : Chicago, IL