No crazy musings here, folks. Just a classic case of “Girl meets peas. Girl cooks peas”.

I’m punishing myself…so instead of extending this for 4 glorious recipe posts which would buy me a Get-Out-of-Food-Photography-While-You-Cook card, I am including all the recipes you need to put on a fabulous fete. You’re welcome.

Just before we left for Costa Rica, my best friend gave me a food challenge: To prepare a meal based on local ingredients using only the equipment available at our disposal.

Why on Earth is Dhale blogging while she’s on vacation?!?!

Eggplant is to berries as Superman is to Clark Kent. Catch my drift?

I was a late bloomer. The California roll was my idea of sushi. Meanwhile, all my trendy friends ordered sashimi. I was determined not to let some squishy, raw fish bring me down. I wanted to be cool and look at me now!

Talk about culture shock. It was only his second week away from his motherland, a place that boasts over 3,000 varieties of cheese. At the high-pitched sound of a beeeeeeeeeeep, a tiny bowl of gooey flourescent orange food emerged from the microwave. Welcome to AM-ER-ICAAAA!

Risotto is to osso bucco as Robin is to Batman. The ultimate sidekick. This traditional Italian grain with its creamy texture, is such a delicious accompaniment to the meatiness of the braised veal shanks.

Growing up in a Filipino home, tilapia was a staple on the dinner table.  It was always simply broiled, served with jasmine rice and vegetables.  Tilapia was always something you could find at the Asian markets and it didn’t occur to me until in recent years, the versatility of this fish.

I have an affinity for tomatoes. I’m sure you’ve picked up on that by now. A recipe hailing from the beautiful French Basque country, this tomato-based dish holds a special place in my heart…

As I expand my knowledge on Asian dishes and explore a variety of ingredients, I still can’t help but revert back to one of my “tried and true” vegetable side dishes. But to compensate for my sequacious decision, I opted to braise them instead of my usual steaming method.

Inspired by our phenomenal dinner at Ippudo NY, I couldn’t wait to recreate our experience. Sadly, this young, culinary Jedi will have to settle for the simplest of the dishes. Pork belly swimming in savory pork broth, you will have to wait…

The original Thanksgiving Day feast did not have milk, cheese, bread or butter so I’m guessing they didn’t have pancetta either. Lucky for us, we can easily find these ingredients to spice up the holiday stuffing. Pancetta, I am thankful for you!!!

Reminiscing about the blaring music from the oompa band and overflowing steins as the entire bier haus congregation cheers in unison. Prost! The good times in Munich…