Nom Nomsss

Welcome to the adventures of a food fanatic illustrator. pictures, recipes, food illustration, random food confessions this blog has it all. haha Bon Appetit <3

[nomnomsss]

Sweet On You: Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Surprise!

This week I decided to make a yummy surprise for my good friend Cathy and my nephew's graduation. Both of them love their coconut/chocolate flavors so why not put it into a cupcake. I also wanted to try making my favorite whipped cream frosting, which i prefer because of its light sweetened flavor and fluffiness. Of course since i have yet to get a new electric mixer ... i am now developing a bakers arm ... ONE BUFF ARM haha  anyways i was also craving peanut butter cookies, i haven't actually made them before it was a fun cookie to make. I think the only thing i'd do differently is instead of rolling the dough in sugar before baking... i'd sprinkle flakes of salt. I've very much into sweet in salty snacks on occasion.

[nomnomsss]

Sweet On You: Strawberry Blush Cheesecake

This week I decided to make a strawberry cheesecake. Strawberries were on sale so i grabbed a couple boxes unfortunately/fortunately for me they didnt last very long... berries get eaten up quickly at my house. But it just didn't seem right to call it a strawberry cheesecake, it was more like a blush on top of a porcelain white cheesecake that completed the flavor. This time I made everything from skratch ... taking inspiration from different recipes and adding more or less depending on what i thought it needed. As usually i kinda cook with my gut ... haha whatever sounds good together ended up being made together and my tummy is happy all the same. haha anyways... here is a list of the ingredients i used.

Crust:

melted butter

graham cracker crumbs

chopped pecans

brown sugar

Filling:

cream cheese

vanilla extract

eggs

sugar

lemon zest

lemon juice

Topping:

sour cream

sugar

vanilla extract

Strawberry topping:

sliced strawberries

sugar

water

[nomnomsss]

The Plate: Chicken Veggie Stir Fry with Brown Rice & Barley

to continue my spa day with my mum I made this delicious stir fry covered with flavor and fresh peppers. The brown rice & barley mix is really filling and a healthy alternative to plain ole white rice. of course you can still punched it up with some hot sauce! yumm. Some the seasonings I used was ground pepper/garlic/salt/cayenne pepper/pico de gallo powder. you can mix it up any way you like i've just been on a spicy food kick these days.

[nomnomsss]

The Plate: BBQ Pork Chop with Garlic Roasted Mash Potatoes

Couple nights ago I tried out this marinated BBQ Pork Chop from fresh and easy. Definitely not bad at all, though it could use a kick. (definitely on a spicy food thing right now) To make it my own I tried out roasting garlic for the first time. just chop of the top of the whole bunch seasoned it with kosher salt and pepper then drizzled it with olive oil. Just cover it with foil and let it bake in the oven for 30 minutes... it smells heavenly to a garlic fanatic! let me tell you... i was already drooling over this and i haven't even made the mash potatoes yet. the mash potatoes were a simple recipe. Peel, cut, boil. add some butter and some milk mash it all together PRESTO! it's done.... then i popped out the roasted garlic flower and added it into the mix. HEAVENNNNN. oh yeah... i made a side salad so i wouldn't feel guilty eating this decadent meal.  but it topped it off and left a fresh feeling . cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms, Italian dressing yummm.

[nomnomsss]

Sweet On You: How'd You Like Them Apples - Apple Pie

Today we went apple picking down in Julian, CA @ Raven Hill Orchards. It was so much fun!! So many different kinds of apples to choose from and we were welcomed to eat as many as we wanted while we put some in our baskets to take home. Afterwards we came home and i was on a mission to bake my first apple pie ever! All day in the sun and a series of windy roads later... i was in a post punk mood. Baking pies can really get your aggression out especially since i dont have access to an electric mixer right now haha I also ended up adding more spices and zest just to give it an extra kick.

i used a recipe for pie crust off Pioneer Woman of course :) and worked from another recipe for old fashioned apple pie by my other favorite chef The Barefoot Contessa.

I added a few extra servings of cinnamon/nutmeg in the filling. The orange and lemon zest/juice really livened up the flavors and i added a teaspoon of vanilla just because it felt right. haha oh and i also added some crushed up pecans to the already sweet and earthy topping. It worked well with the oatmeal and brown sugar... when it was all done and smelling fantastic i added a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. heaveeeeeeen.

[nomnomsss]

Nom Nom Review: OC BBQ BONANZA

this was my first time at this 3 day bbq bonanza... oh my it was finger lickin' good! $5 dollar admission fee was reasonable considering it came with a 2 dollar discount for you to use at which ever booth you wished. i went with my family so the 5 of us lined up in different lines. Johnson's was the longest but worth waiting for the sauce was nothing short of delicious! and Tennessee ribs were nice and tender. Howling Coyote gave us more for our buck, ribs, brisket and pulled pork also very tasty! It was hot and smokey... i felt like a cowgirl for the day. Too bad they didn't serve any cornbread to go with the chili... i was kinda looking forward to that haha otherwise it was definitely worth checking out... you know if you aren't counting calories or worried about your cholesterol haha

[nomnomsss]

The Plate: Not Your Ordinary Breakfast Burrito

HUGE fan of garlic & grilled onions. If you haven't already noticed that by now. I made a yummy scrambled egg omelet, cooked up some bacon and topped it off with some home made spicy guacamole! sprinkled some cheese and topped it off with my favorite hot sauce! mmm mmm goood.

[nomnomsss]

The Plate: Lemon Shrimp Pasta with Grilled Veggies

I did another variation of the shrimp pasta I made a while back. This time I made sure to include grilled egg plant, zucchini, and yellow squash (my new favorite!) mmm for an even lighter meal, try using angel hair pasta! it'll cook faster too.

[nomnomsss]

Sweet On You: Hand Picked Blueberry Cheesecake

mmm mmm mmm On my way to see The Avenue of the Giants in Humbolt County we stopped to go berry picking just out of Santa Barbra. We had a bunch of blueberries left over so i decided to make a blueberry cheesecake out of it. First time ever! And the result was quite decadent. The cheesecake was rich and creamy and not too sweet because I knew the reduced blueberry sauce would be just enough. BIG WIN in my family... this cheese cake didn't last nearly as long as i thought it would.

[nomnomsss]

The Plate: Hearty Meat & Veggie Lasagna

I've been channeling my inner housewife as of late & i can't say anyone is complaining about it haha. I made this yummy lasagna inspired by Pioneer Woman's Recipe: Vegetable Lasagna. Though i added a few more ingredients to mine.

Orange Bell Peppers (my favorite!)

Mushrooms

Onions

Garlic (i pretty much put in everything haha)

tomatoes

yellow squash

zucchini

eggplant

mozzarella slices

ricotta cheese

grated parmesan cheese

ground beef

salt & pepper

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Nom Nom Review: Bossa Nova - Brazillian Cusine - LA

OMG. let me just start off by saying... the first time i had this place i was dying because i didn't have my camera with me. This was one of the best meals i've had in forever! ... the plates are big and enough to share or not share with 3 people. haha We had the Charbroiled Chicken Cacciatore - charboiled chicken, grilled veggies, mashpotatoes & an awesome lemon butter sauce. droooool. definitely hands down wins my omnomnomnom rating. Everything i've tried so far is yummy and enough to share! from the basket bread, soft and addicting, Sunset Pasta (not pictured) creamy alfredo, chicken, mushroom and asparagus, to their pitcher of Sangria! yummmmmmm! probably one of my favorite places now! GO GO GO!

[nomnomsss]

Nom Nom Review: Baby Cakes Bakery (LA - Vegan)

Finally got myself up to the LA ART with a group of friends and they recommended this cute little bakery. From the vintage records & DYI decorations it had a feminine vibe mixed with a bit of rock n roll... I was super jazzed about this place already. I went straight for their cookie sandwiches... omg! the cookies were soft and the frosting filling wasn't too sweet at all. Almost perfect in my eyes! oh and did I mention these were VEGAN & GLUTAN FREE!!!!! ... YES!! NOM NOM DELICIOUSNESS! I will definately be visiting this place again. The staff was really friendly, I guess they first started off in NYC and this is 1 out of 3 locations I believe... there might be on in San Diego.... so watch out :)

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Nom Nom Review: Pie-ology

today the girls and I decided to try out this new pizzaria in Fullerton called Pie-ology. OH man did we come up on this one! $7.50 for a personal size (HUGE in comparison to everyone else's personal sized pizza) ... but back to what i was saying... it's a yummy thin crust pizza, with your choice of sauces & a smorgasbord of toppings you could ever want on your pizza. (basically build your perfect pizza!) ... you were given the variety of normal toppings as well as gourmet flavors: blue cheese, feta, artichokes... you name it!

its a brand new shop just opened: clean, small, friendly atmosphere and the pizza comes out FAST! but back to the pizza... i mine was a red sauce pizza, mozzarella, mushrooms, olives, green peppers, pepperoni, italian sausage, and diced garlic! ... mmmmm it was mouthwatering good. definitely a deal for those who love to pile on the toppings... this place gets my omnomnomnom award! big taste, small price.

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The Plate: Shrimp Fried Rice

looking for a quick meal... created this  yummy masterpiece today with assorted things i found in my fridge.

Ingredients

cooked rice

eggs

tofu

green onion

garlic

mushroom

baby bokchoy

carrots

shrimp

seasonings/soy sauce

Sauteed the garlic & onion, added the tofu, shrimp. Then put it aside for the time being, in the same pan i then sauteed the bokchoy, mushroom, carrots. seasoned with salt/pepper. then put that aside to scramble the egg and mix in the rice. haha i know it sounds like alot of different plates when they are all eventually going to be together. but trust its much better this way, i do this to avoid overcooking the veggies. when your all done you dump everything into the wok add your seasonings, soy sauce and its grub time!!! mmmmm

i warn you now... there is a high risk of food coma occurring but oh so worth it haha mmmm

[nomnomsss]

The Plate: Tonkatsu, Curry and Handroll

Today I tried making my first Japanese dish... I made Tonkatsu = breaded pork cutlet with some curry and handrolls = steamed rice wrapped in nori... you can put anything else you want in it... in this case i used some Japanese rice seasoning - katso fumi furikake mmm

it was pretty simple though i wish i made my own curry too! next time! ^_^

[nomnomsss]

Nom Nom Review: Long Boards Ice Cream (Fullerton Food Truck Round - Up Part 3)

For dessert we decided to try these awesome hand dipped ice cream. Basically the idea is  you choose the flavor ice cream + dark chocolate/milk chocolate dip + toppings to add on it. I got mango + milk chocolate + chocolate crispies mmm... the mango ice cream itself was good but the mango flavor could have been a bit stronger. My niece got chocolate + milk chocolate + pretzels ... mmm definitely a good combo sweet and salty! and my other niece simply got mint chip dipped in milk chocolate. classic. The ice cream was a decent size, just enough to keep you from feeling sick. ^_^

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Nom Nom Review: Tapa Boy Food Truck - Filipino Breakfast All Day! (Fullerton Food Truck Round Up Part 2)

Yes! finally got to try this truck out... i've been stalking it on twitter hoping it would come by my area. Love breakfast... Love filipino food ... already winning in my eyes. haha anyways, had to try out their Crispy Adobo Bowl (Adosilog) ...

Adobo - For my american's that means chicken Adobo (traditional filipino dish: soysauce/vinegar/bayleaf/peppercorn/chickenstew)

Sinangag - garlic fried rice

Itlog - egg

omg so yummmy! just like how my mom makes it. @_@ All the flavors melted together and it was like a home in a bowl. next time i definitely want to try out the Tapsilog - another popular filipino breakfast (sweet/savory beef with garlic rice and egg)

I also tried the New School Turon - which is basically banana eggroll with hazelnut filling mmm good but i definitely love the traditional one the best (banana jackfruit caramelized with brown sugar) mmmmm

oh and i love how the truck looks like a jeepney painted on... and it clearly states "filipino food on filipino time" ... does that mean i get my food an hour later? haha just kidding.