Kalua Pig & Cabbage

Kalua pig, or pork, literally meaning "to cook in an underground oven" or imu, sometimes misspelled as Kahlua (like the liqueur). One of the most famous and popular Hawaiian Luau food, almost ubiquitous when traveling around the Hawaiian islands, but so difficult to find here on the mainland. In fact, good Hawaiian food is hard to find in general.

I was looking back on some pictures from my most recent trip to the Big Island, and came upon some pictures I took of the Lau Lau's and Kalua Pig from one of my new island favorite: Kaaloa's Super Js. I remember how amazing the Lau Lau's and Kalua Pig & Cabbage were from there, how clear and warm the beaches and ocean was, and really wished I was back on the island. So this is an attempt at bringing home some of that island nostalgia.

Okay, enough ranting. On with the cooking. Because I don't have the luxury or the talent to make a proper imu or roast an entire pig, we're going to settle for slow cooker and a chunk of pork butt. I know, not the same, but it's the best I can do as a mainlander.

This recipe is actually very easy, surprisingly easy considering the end product. Trust me, you'll be amazed.

Arrowroot Beef Stew

Arrowroot, arrowhead, Chinese potato... you know 慈菇. These round tubers with pointy sprout at the tip. They have a texture of a potato, only crispier with a distinct tang that distinguishes it from the common potato. I remember having these when I was little and honestly didn't think I'd find them in the U.S. but here they are! So of course I'm going to cook them. Even if they are a bit of a pain in the ass to prep...

New Year New Recipes

Did I mention I'm really bad at updating my blogs? Because it's 2015 and I have not been keeping up with everything I should. So much to do, so little time, as the saying goes. Partly, I have all but abandoned cooking my own meals because I just couldn't find the time to do it with school, extracurricular, work, project, endlessthingsthatneedmyattention, etc... And boy, did it cost me. Eating out most of the time is expensive! Not to mention generally unhealthy. In the last few weeks or so, I've been trying to get back to home-cooking, partly because I miss having a decent home-made meal, and partly because my student-loan repayment kicked in and now I have to do some much needed budget trimming. :(

I have recently been documenting some of my recipes. They are nothing fancy, just some simple things. So since it's a new year, I will have some new recipes, as well as revisiting/revising some of my old ones... and to be honest it still kind of surprises me that these pages get a few hits every few days or so. People are actually reading this shit? Well thank you, and good for you.

On with it.

So it's 2014

Boy, have I neglected this tiny corner of the internet for a long time. In the blink of an eye, it's now 2014. And I'm about to graduate... Panic time.

So what happened in the interim from when I last left this blog to wither and now? Well, let's see, I finished my summer research and got it published, went to Oahu and Maui, managed to finish P3 year, survived for the most part grueling rotations, matched to a residency, and is due to graduate in 10 days...

I have a back log of photos going back to pretty much when I last updated this page, >1000 of which are from my last Hawaii trip. The other 1000 are of my cats and food... yeah, I need to get my life together.

Interestingly, even though I have neglected this piece of virtual real estate, the brave people of the interwebs have not. I was surprised to see there are some small trickle of page views on a more or less regular basis. Ironically, one of the most popular pages is personally one of my least favorite the recipe I had for Chinese Cucumber Salad. I had initially tossed it onto this page not expecting to generate traffic, but apparently it's a sought after item. That recipe needs serious updating. Maybe I will get to it after I deal with getting the rest of my life in order. If anyone ever tries my recipes please comment and give me some feedback.

I also have another trip to Hawaii in the works. I think I should be better at blogging about it this time but then again I say that every time.

Guns, Cameras, Food, and State Parks 3

After leisurely making our way back from East County, we decided to hit up Torrey Pines State Park. A short 10-15min drive away from our apartment, just north of the UCSD campus, lies the home of the endangered species of trees. A sunset hike doubled as test photo session for the Olympus OM-D E-M5 micro four thirds camera that arrived in the mail the day before.

Living in San Diego, we sometimes take for granted of what the city has to offer. We forget that while to us, this is simply where we study and work and toil away our youth, that this is also frequently the vacation destination of countless others. And then we remind ourselves to be grateful that we live in such a blessed place.

Torrey Pines is both a popular tourist destination and a local favorite. The state park with its sandy bluffs has multiple hiking trails, with at least one leading directly down to the beach below.

Guns, Cameras, Food, and State Parks 2

Ahhh, Himalayan Cuisine. Located on El Cajon Blvd in La Mesa, it was quite a treat after a morning of gun blasting. The restaurant is quaintly decorated, and service was pretty prompt. We ordered one lunch combo with some sort of vegetable curry and chicken curry. We also ordered some sort of kofta, and a momo thing, which was similar to dumplings.

Guns, Cameras, Food, and State Parks 1

Back in June, when summer vacation first started, boyfriend an I went on a relaxing day of shooting, Himalayan food, and hiking, which also doubled as photo-session/testing out my Olympus OMD-EM5. That said, it really deserves to be broken up in parts, otherwise I may end up with a long post (longer than I have the endurance to type up all at once).