And so I sit here…

It’s 3:02AM EST time and I’m sitting here watching tv marathons and movies on iTunes and Netflix.  I just finished off a bowl of homemade nachos and guacamole and I’m about to go warm up some more spicy pulled pork I made earlier.  Has this become my life?  This could be the wine talking, or the wandering mind thinking… but this is definitely not where I thought I would be… a year ago, two, three, five, ten? What has happened?

It’s funny how things work. Weight gain made me sad. But I gained weight cuz I’ve been happy. But the weight gain makes me not want to move… so while I eat less, I move less. I’m still not happy with my body. But that could just be my eating disorder talking.  Always in recovery, never fully recovered.

You guys have been with me through so many ups and downs and yet you remain loyal.  So much gratitude.  Love, lust, heartbreaks. Breakdowns and highs. Parties and mournings.

The past year I have been basically mostly living in Taiwan and I’ve forgotten my love for cooking, almost.  I stopped caring a lot about things I used to be so passionate about and I have no real explanation for it… but it’s recently sparked up again.

I cooked duck the other day. And today I had a pulled pork burrito/taco night with pomegranate guacamole, spicy mango pico de gallo with roasted garlic and corn and an extremely spicy salsa verde… along with some yummy gooey blue corn chip nachos.  I started to feel alive again.  I started a cooking idea journal/notebook again…. mainly b/c I was planning to cook for C on his birthday… and while things got in the way, I still got MAD IDEAS to play on.

SO…. I have ideas of doing supper parties.  [And have talked with a chef friend or two about doing pop ups] – I want to, once I move out, host supper/dinner parties, first once a month, and then possibly once a week.  People can BYOB and tell me their diets…. or just leave it up to me.  Hopefully soon after team, up with chefs and cool wine people.

I have so many ambitions and ideas… I want to write, I want to travel, I want to cook, I want to go back to school…. and I want to film it all. I have a secret thing about wanting to be in front of a camera.

So maybe this is how this blog is evolving.  It went from food diary to healthy eating and recipes to eating out and traveling extravagantly …. and then just personal…. me finding my inner peace…. healing and now this.  My lifestyle. Ever evolving.

This blog is now: Finding the real Miss Tiffie.

Please join me in my journey.

Can you believe it’s February? 2017?

I have so many posts, “almost finished” on here…. I promise to post my New Years Eve dinner post tonight, but life has just been flying past me.

Swoooooshhhhhh….

I feel like this website needs a makeover, do-over, something.  It’s become more of a lifestyle blog than a food blog, although food still is my main love :]  But hey, the older you get, the more life gets in your way.  You grow, evolve… changes.

I’m trying this “healthy” approach to my snacking and randomly missing meals with RXBars and ProteinWorld smoothies… but hell, sometimes I just want my bag of chips to munch on.  My body doesn’t do too well with salty food, so I constantly crave it.  Ahhh, the irony.

2017 has been interesting. I was back in the States before Xmas 2016 but so much drama and blah blah blah… oh and BLAH!… Thankfully I’ve had great people to be there with me and for me [as me for them] during the times.  Love is in the air.  I love you my friends/family.

Anyways just wanna put it out there, I shall be blogging more, cooking more [hopefully]  and I hope I haven’t lost a ton of you….  especially since I’ve been back and forth from Asia and America so much – still figuring out where I wanna end up living at for a “time” or just stick with traveling everywhere :] OK… time to finish my plan for tomorrow’s menu and my NYE Dinner blog post that’s long overdue.

xo always,

I’m back bitches!!!!!!!!

Tiffie

PS. Patriots are DA FUGGING CHAMPIONS……AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This year’s superbowl was unforgettable and epic. Tom Brady for life <3 You know what else was on fire? The wings I made for Superbowl Sunday. Scotch bonnet, garlic, shallots, pineapple, etc…. FIRE <3 Fire like Brady was!!!!! Holla!

 

Vegetarian No Meat Burgers!!!… and other yummies from the past few days!

Today I tried something new… while I had a beef burger…. oh so yummy, I tried out a special recipe for my mom and her vegetarian friend…. no-meat burgers for them using Beyond Meat product! I prefer Yves non-meats but couldn’t find any at Whole Foods today :[ Bummer.

For 2 Burger Patties:
1 bag of Beyond Beef Beefy Crumbles

1/4-1/2 onion
A few cloves of garlic
Paprika
Salt
Black Pepper
Dried Basil (fresh is probably better and if so, minced)
2 eggs
flour

I first sautéed the minced onion and garlic til caramelized and starting to be transparent and browned slightly. I mixed it with the beefy crumbles. Added S&P, paprika, dried basil and perhaps a few more secret ingredients. I added two eggs and a few pinches of flour to help it bind better – I probably should have added more flour since it was a little too wet. And I grilled them.

For toppings I sautéed onions and mushrooms. Topped the patties with cheese as they were about to be done cooking and put a lid on the pan to melt the cheese. I added a few slices of rings of red onion, sliced tomatoes and some avocado. Some other options (which I put on my beef burger) were jalapeños and cilantro.

And to make the dinner even better.. some kale chips… just kale… drizzled in evoo, s&p I added cayenne pepper… or whatever flavorings you want :]

BTW, this was my BEEF burger haha

Sorry, being “healthy”… even tho the burger was rare *MAD COW DISEASE* haha but I ate my in lettuce wrap….”sort of” ok some of it with fork and knife….

More stuff I made this weekend..

Vegetarian Soup… there’s kale, corn, leeks, mushrooms, onion etc etc… topped with some cheese and cilantro and a “garlic bread” croissant

There were more veggies but I don’t remember

And our pre-Masquerade Harvard Ball dinner

Duck Confit with Leek/Mushroom Risotto and Spicy Broccoli

Just used a tiny bit of white truffle butter, topped with parm and scallions in the risotto, had fresh white truffles.. but forgot to top it… duck confit cooked in lots of duck fat for awhile so super crispy… and then just steamed broccoli with hot pepper flakes :]

Homemade Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffles 1D & 5SOS Concert

It all started with me marinating chicken legs, thighs and breasts in buttermilk, onion, garlic, paprika, cayenne, thai chilies, rosemary and a ton more things…  the next day L came over and first he decided to Lion King Didi…

and yes… I sang the song…

Since the buttermilk marinade was wet enough we didn’t use egg but used a mixture of corn starch, wheat flour and whole wheat panko also mixed with spices like cayenne and paprika.

Deep fried in hot oil while we had some beers to pre-game for the concert

After frying the chicken, we dipped some pickles in the cornstarch and made fried pickle chips

Hot sauce and maple syrup over whole wheat waffles and pickle chips!!!!

And of course with some good beer…

After a shot of tequila, off to the 5 Seconds of Summer and One Direction concert!

I drew on my arm…

L let me write on his arm (even tho his fav 1D is Niall)

I LOVE 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER

Since it was all kids, alcohol lines were short!!!!  After beers we decided on margaritas… double fisting!!!

1D Pride

Everyone was doing it so L made me do a picture with a heart.

Such an amazing concert!!!!!

鹅肉郎海鲜 for Goose and Seafood

After the amazing day and night at the spa… and a super fun day visiting the cultural center and island for biking and coffee… we finally id what we wanted to do.

Eat. Goose.

So off to 鹅肉郎海鲜… one of my uncle’s favorite places in Yilan.

GOOSE…. we ended up ordering two geese of this and another whole goose to go.

Yummy Greens

DELIIIIICOUS noodles <3 Tender, with chew and just perfection.

Spicy Clams with Basil

Fish Soup

Fried Fish <3

Squid with Ginger

I was so full I was up at 2, 3 in the morning and still FULL and bloated. SOOOOO freaking good.. if you’re ever in the area  YOU BEST GO. YEAH BOIIIII….  Uncle even got me beers to go with the food haha…. he knows me too well….

Eat Thai til you Burst at 雲南小鎮 in Taipei

For just 469NT – like 16$ each – you can eat anything and everything off the menu til you burst… or you can order a la cart, at 雲南小鎮 ummmm…. obviously I’m gonna all you can eat DUH…. the hotel I stay at made me and my mama a reservation so we got a discount and got first priority. HOLLA.

This is literally right down the street from our hotel….. YUM.

Free soda/drinks and a small fruit.salad bar.

Papaya Salad.

Stir fried spicy Loofah… we got this twice.

Tiny Shrimp [虾皮] with Kong Xin Cai [空心菜] – Water Spinach…. which is basically a hollow stemmed spinach like chinese veg. One of my favorite greens ever… We actually ended up ordering this about 3x.

Red Curry Chicken…

I love Red Curry but for some reason it just didn’t hit it in the head… which doesn’t really matter… since all the other food was amazing…

Freshly steamed fish with cilantro, chilies, lemongrass, sweet and sour and just super super super fresh!!!!

Spicy Boiled Chicken

Spicy Eggplant

Thank you for finally giving me some authentic and delicious Thai food…. 

高雄五福扁食專賣店 Wu Fu Wontons

Mama and I were headed to Taichung to play and eat with my aunts and cousin but beforehand I was soooo hungry, even after breakfast – even though we were going there to eat lunch/afternoon tea and to help my aunt pick out a dress for her daughter’s wedding, we stopped by a famous small stall for some delicious small eats.

Spicy Seaweed Cold Dish

Braised Tofu [they usually give me this for free when I buy late night – in fact I think they gave it to me for free again even though I ate there :] Such sweethearts ]

Spicy Wontons, 红油抄手 [my favorite go to dish from this place]

We also got some greens….. yum to Asian veggies.. always more tender than the stuff you get in the States. Sigh.  I usually just get late night eats from here and eat it back at my room but it was nice to sit down and just experience the cute little store in person.  Cheap, quick and delicious – they offer TONS of small eats and offal.. I’m also a huge fan of their wonton soup.

Old school Chinese Food at 朝天鍋

Last time I was in Taiwan I left earlier than my parents… in that time they found this restaurant near where we stay, in Taipei, that had delicious old school chinese food….

So why not go for lunch?

Welcome to 朝天鍋

Sweet White Bitter Melon

A bit sweet for my liking.. I like a light flavored bitter melon!!!!

Pan Fried Spicy Crispy FRESH Bamboo

This was sooooo good…. almost didn’t taste like bamboo…a nice  crisp outside, not greasy at all, and a nice light spice/heat to it. AMAZE!!!

Delicious Garlicky Greens

You can ever go wrong with fresh sautéed garlicky asian greens….

Scallion Pancake

I love Taiwan style scallion pancake, fluffy, crispy, and tons of thick cut scallions… this and Jay Chou’s Rooftop’s scallion pancakes are my favorite so far.

Thick, crispy and toooooons of scallions

Braised Grass Carp Collar and Head

It tasted very dirt/lake fish…. I wasn’t a huge fan and was a bit lakey and dirt tasting for me.

Free Dessert… Red Bean with Barley in Taro Soup

Sweet, delicious and a great ending

Dim Sum at 新葡苑 – Cantonese Style

Was ridiculously hungry today… I slept in til super late…. so by the time I was up it was tea time….. which is usually between 2-4 in Taiwan… instead of going to one of my go-to places to eat… I decided to finally try out the Cantonese restaurant I’ve been wanting to try for awhile and just never went to… 新葡苑…. while the waitresses all had stinky faces and meh attitudes… the food was freshly made/steamed…. it took awhile for each dish to come out but it was definitely worth it. If you’re into small dishes and trying lots of different things, this is the place to go.  Don’t expect HUGE portions… but expect fresh, hot and yummy!

Delicious “health” tea.. which had goji, jujubes and lots of different asian herbs… naturally sweet and just delicious.

I’m hungry, please feed me…. waiting for the food was SOOOOOO frustrating because it WAS slow… but, like I said, it was worth it.

叉燒酥 which is basically.. .Char Siu Sou…. Flakey Buttery Pastry with Char Siu Pork inside…. this was the only thing I wasn’t really into… I’m not into Char Siu… and I thought the outside was too buttery for a savory dish…

Squid Ink Dumplings… this was amazing… Seafood innards and just the most delicious thin squid ink wrapper… NOM NOM NOM

Boy Choy and Mushroom, Veggie Dumplings. This was actually my favorite of the meal.

Leek Pan Fried er… bun/thing.. uhhh yumminess?!… needed  more leek/onion taste.. but the skin was crispy and delicious… the filling needed a little more ooomph

Fried Shrimp Roll… we actually ordered a steamed one but they got it wrong and gave us this instead… so we kept it, ate it and re-ordered what we wanted. I’m not a huge fried food fan, so good but not a favorite.  But that’s just personal preference.

Pork Ribs.  Sadly, while it was good, there was little meat and mostly bone :[ Sad. I LOOOOOOVE Pork Ribs at dim sum…. they need to give more, and actually give ribs WITH meat.

Chicken Feet. My favorite Dim Sum item.  It wasn’t greasy like a lot of other places.. had a nice black bean taste to it… not spicy  and just yummy. I can eat tons and tons of chicken feet for ages.

Trotters…. aka Pigs Feet… the same thing as with the Pork Ribs… a lot of bone, not a lot of meat… but I did get some good skin.. and some meat.. so it wasn’t too sad… it was a bit too sweet for my taste and it was on a bed of boiled peanuts.  I did love the addition of cilantro… I LOVE CILANTRO… it really enhanced the flavor of the pork feet…. just wish there was more meat/skin to it than just bone.

This is the steamed vegetarian tofu skin roll that they got the order wrong of before…. I had a better pic but I’m too lazy to re-upload.  This always reminds me of my dad cuz it’s his favorite dim sum dish :]

燒賣, Shu Mai… of course… it’s so typical but I love this shizz… 

After a nice walk…. I went to my fav place for boozy coffee drinks… Cafe Kitchen… got a Rum Coffee and a Jameson Whiskey Coffee… 

YAYAYAYAYAYAY… I’m a LUSH

Me after my lovely massage :]

EVA Hello Kitty from LAX to Taipei!!!!!….

For once I had a plane ride at 6pm instead of 6am….  so off I go…. Boston to LA….

I’m excited for the warmer weather…. so tank top it is

Got a yummy Chicken Marinara with Green Beans over Rice meal… Salad, Roll, Butter, the works… had some nuts too…. MMM, nuts… (I may have already snacked and had a few glasses of free booze at the VIP Airlines Lounge earlier…)

LA!!!!… Beautiful view…

Sat in the VIP lounge and ate tons of food include this self made “Asian Salad” with Champagne….  I took some of the “Asian Salad with Wonton Strips” And added some Teriyaki Chicken to it… why not?!… a lot of the other stuff didn’t look too appealing except for Korean Ramen and Japanese Noodles… all which was consumed (duh)

WAIT “Why is this a Hello Kitty ticket?????”

HOLY CRAP!!! We’re on the EVA HELLO KITTY PLANE!!!!

Life is now… complete!!!!

Scallops

Sea Bass? It was freaking CHILEAN SEA BASS!!!! SOOOOO good… and of course more and more booze…

And los of veg…

Dessert was fruits and a yummy mousse cake, some tea… and more wine :]

Midnight snack while watching FROZEN was a Turkey Sandwich… which, I have to say was greasy and pretty gross….. sorry EVA… I didn’t like it, maybe I would’ve more if there was a Hello Kitty face on it…

Breakfast Time…

Coffee….

Congee…. with 1000 yr egg, fried tofu with fish ball…. shredded dried pork, Fermented Spicy Tofu, pickles… and then some…

And fruits <3

Oh hello…. Taiwan beer… I’m definitely back in Taiwan

WEEEEEEEEE 5am and ready to party

Yes we’re back in Taiwan