Happy Birthday, Banana

This is not really food related, but I just wanted to wish Anna, banana, a very happy birthday! And of course since we are twins, it means it's my birthday too!

I can't even tell you how special it is to have a twin: you have a built-in friend, someone who knows you better than anyone else and someone who can (usually) relate to what you are going through. To many happy birthday celebrations

This is not really food related, but I just wanted to wish Anna, banana, a very happy birthday! And of course since we are twins, it means it's my birthday too!

I can't even tell you how special it is to have a twin: you have a built-in friend, someone who knows you better than anyone else and someone who can (usually) relate to what you are going through. To many happy birthday celebrations

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Lunch at Louisiana Kitchen

Last week Julia emailed to see if I'd want to join her for brunch at Louisiana Kitchen in Bethesda. Guess what I said!? It's been ages since I've seen Julia, and I was looking forward to catching up with her. She offered to come and pick me up (score!!), head out to the Dupont Farmers Market and then have lunch. I was game!

I don't like to wake up early on a weekend, especially after going salsa

Last week Julia emailed to see if I'd want to join her for brunch at Louisiana Kitchen in Bethesda. Guess what I said!? It's been ages since I've seen Julia, and I was looking forward to catching up with her. She offered to come and pick me up (score!!), head out to the Dupont Farmers Market and then have lunch. I was game!

I don't like to wake up early on a weekend, especially after going salsa

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Can you eat blue corn tortilla chips for breakfast? Yes, you can!

No one is perfect, right? Sometimes the best ideas don't work out as you hoped they would. But life goes on. Don't worry, nothing major has happened; I just like to be a bit dramatic sometimes: welcome to my world!

A few weekends ago I was staring at my somewhat empty refrigerator and trying to figure out what to make for breakfast that would be satisfying, relatively fast and would be good as

No one is perfect, right? Sometimes the best ideas don't work out as you hoped they would. But life goes on. Don't worry, nothing major has happened; I just like to be a bit dramatic sometimes: welcome to my world!

A few weekends ago I was staring at my somewhat empty refrigerator and trying to figure out what to make for breakfast that would be satisfying, relatively fast and would be good as

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Dinner at Urbana in DC

Last Thursday while some were drinking green beer and celebrating St. Patrick's Day, I had a pleasure of dining at Urbana. In the past, I've visited Urbana for both brunch and dinner, but this was my first time to try the food prepared by Urbana's new chef John Critchley.
Because this was a media dinner, we had our own private room, but there are really no bad tables at Urbana. The bar, lounge

Last Thursday while some were drinking green beer and celebrating St. Patrick's Day, I had a pleasure of dining at Urbana. In the past, I've visited Urbana for both brunch and dinner, but this was my first time to try the food prepared by Urbana's new chef John Critchley.
Because this was a media dinner, we had our own private room, but there are really no bad tables at Urbana. The bar, lounge

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What to do with leftover pie crust? Apple and Dulche de Leche mini tarts

Remember when I made a Bacon & Spinach Tart? Instead of making my own pie crust, I simply purchased rolled pie crust dough from my grocery store. I used one of the pie crusts for the tart and had one left over and sitting in my refrigerator. I wasn't sure what to do with it until my friend Cecilia from One Vanilla Bean gave me a jar of Dulce De Leche.

For some reason I decided to make hand pies

Remember when I made a Bacon & Spinach Tart? Instead of making my own pie crust, I simply purchased rolled pie crust dough from my grocery store. I used one of the pie crusts for the tart and had one left over and sitting in my refrigerator. I wasn't sure what to do with it until my friend Cecilia from One Vanilla Bean gave me a jar of Dulce De Leche.

For some reason I decided to make hand pies

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What are Hamentashen? Purim cookies with fig and apricot jams.

Tomorrow is Purim. What's Purim? It's a Jewish holiday celebrating the victory of Jewish people from Haman. Haman planned to kill all the Jews, but his plan was stopped by Mordechai and Queen Esther. You can find more information here, but being more of a cultural Jew, what I care most about when it comes to this holiday are hamentashen!

What are hamentashen? They are triangular shaped cookies (

Tomorrow is Purim. What's Purim? It's a Jewish holiday celebrating the victory of Jewish people from Haman. Haman planned to kill all the Jews, but his plan was stopped by Mordechai and Queen Esther. You can find more information here, but being more of a cultural Jew, what I care most about when it comes to this holiday are hamentashen!

What are hamentashen? They are triangular shaped cookies (

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Ted's Bulletin in Washington DC

There are so many restaurants in DC area. Being an avid Twitter user, having many food-loving friends, and receiving countless PR pitches, I hear about the latest greatest restaurants all the time. And when I do, the hype and praise gets to me. And I form high expectations. That's just how I am {regardless of whether it comes to restaurants, dates, movies, books, etc.}.

The latest buzz has been

There are so many restaurants in DC area. Being an avid Twitter user, having many food-loving friends, and receiving countless PR pitches, I hear about the latest greatest restaurants all the time. And when I do, the hype and praise gets to me. And I form high expectations. That's just how I am {regardless of whether it comes to restaurants, dates, movies, books, etc.}.

The latest buzz has been

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Recipe for Russian Stuffed Cabbage (Golubtsi)

Sit down and get comfortable, because this is going to be a longer than usual introduction.

Let me start by saying that I'm pretty handy. Maybe it comes from being brought up by two engineers and living with a grandmother who was capable of using a hammer. But ever since I was little, I was fine building things, changing light bulbs, etc. Not surprisingly, when I moved into my new condominium,

Sit down and get comfortable, because this is going to be a longer than usual introduction.

Let me start by saying that I'm pretty handy. Maybe it comes from being brought up by two engineers and living with a grandmother who was capable of using a hammer. But ever since I was little, I was fine building things, changing light bulbs, etc. Not surprisingly, when I moved into my new condominium,

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Bacon & Spinach Tart from Nick Malgieri's bake!

This past weekend my friend Laetitia invited me to her condo for a Rose wine tasting. Of course I said yes. But then I began feeling under the weather, not to mention that Sunday, the day of the tasting, was a non-stop rainy day. It reminded me of Seattle. I could barely see anything out of my window.


But I was looking forward to learning more about Rose wines, hanging out with friends and

This past weekend my friend Laetitia invited me to her condo for a Rose wine tasting. Of course I said yes. But then I began feeling under the weather, not to mention that Sunday, the day of the tasting, was a non-stop rainy day. It reminded me of Seattle. I could barely see anything out of my window.


But I was looking forward to learning more about Rose wines, hanging out with friends and

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Lunch at Cava Mezze in DC

This past Saturday I happened to be at Eastern Market neighborhood with Russell and Dave (aka @DCBrit and @MrsDCBrit). We were there to visit Pound Coffee, but unfortunately there was no food (I might write more on that later). We needed food! After walking around for a bit, we decided to get lunch at Cava.

The restaurant is decorated with dark wood, family photographs and pretty silverware. Yes

This past Saturday I happened to be at Eastern Market neighborhood with Russell and Dave (aka @DCBrit and @MrsDCBrit). We were there to visit Pound Coffee, but unfortunately there was no food (I might write more on that later). We needed food! After walking around for a bit, we decided to get lunch at Cava.

The restaurant is decorated with dark wood, family photographs and pretty silverware. Yes

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Love tea? Try a tea tasting at Zen Tara Tea

I'm sure you've all heard of wine tastings and afternoon teas. I've been to both and am quite a fan. But I've never attended a tea tasting...that is not until Nicole let me know that Zen Tara Tea in Bethesda, MD holds such events at its store. We both bought tickets and attended their Tea as Dessert this past Sunday.

So what's a tea tasting like? This particular tea tasting was held in a little

I'm sure you've all heard of wine tastings and afternoon teas. I've been to both and am quite a fan. But I've never attended a tea tasting...that is not until Nicole let me know that Zen Tara Tea in Bethesda, MD holds such events at its store. We both bought tickets and attended their Tea as Dessert this past Sunday.

So what's a tea tasting like? This particular tea tasting was held in a little

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What on Earth is Puerto Rican Lasagna?

Right around the time I was planning my trip to Puerto Rico, Stacey Viera mentioned Puerto Rican lasagna to me. What on Earth is Puerto Rican lasagna!? Well, it's a combination of sweet plantains, ground beef, olives, raisins, onions and peppers. I absolutely love sweet plantains, so my interest was definitely piqued.

Once in Puerto Rico, I mentioned this dish to my friend Laura, but

Right around the time I was planning my trip to Puerto Rico, Stacey Viera mentioned Puerto Rican lasagna to me. What on Earth is Puerto Rican lasagna!? Well, it's a combination of sweet plantains, ground beef, olives, raisins, onions and peppers. I absolutely love sweet plantains, so my interest was definitely piqued.

Once in Puerto Rico, I mentioned this dish to my friend Laura, but

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