Keep Calm and Carry On: The Diary of Foodie and Gourmet

As mentioned in my meatball pos t, a few weeks ago, I had a fair amount of time on my hands, so I decided to make myself a nice dinner. I felt that I needed to amp up my vegetable consumption, so I decided to make one of my favorite dishes: ratatouille. My mom makes this a lot and we love eating it with pasta. Ratatouille is not only super yummy, but it's a great way to eat a lot of veggies -- something my mom always says when she makes it. Of course, everyone's ratatouille is different and you can use whatever vegetables strike your fancy!  I really enjoyed this dinner, and though it took a while, what with having to prep/clean/dry the veggies, it was well worth the wait. Healthy and delicious! What more could you ask for?! Ingredients:  - 1 medium size eggplant - 1 red pepper (or yellow) - 1 zucchini - 1 container cherry tomatoes  - 2 onions, chopped - salt, pepper, herbe de provence, garlic powder, to taste - 1 jar marinara sauce  Direct...

A few weeks ago, before my classes were in full swing, I had a bit of time on my hands, so I thought I'd make something real yummy, healthy, and filling. After staring at my pantry, fridge, and the internet for inspiration, I settled up ratatouille pasta with meatballs. Weirdly, I've never made my own meatballs, although I enjoy meeting them, so I was really excited for this new experience. I looked at a couple recipes, to get a sense of how people make meatballs, but in the end, I sort of just winged it and did my own thing. (You'll notice, I didn't put measurements of spices because I didn't measure --- I just went with gut instinct mostly).  I am delighted to report that not only were these meatballs very easy to make, they turned out really delicious! I may have to make another batch soon, some which I will eat now and then freeze the rest. So convenient to have!  Ingredients: - 1 package ground beef - 1 egg - about 3/4 breadcrumbs - parmesan ch...

A few weekends ago, I met a friend for brunch and I finally got the opportunity to go to Dishoom in Covent Garden. I read about Dishoom years ago and have been itching to try this place ever since! On the website, Dishoom is described as a "Bombay cafe" and after studying the menu, I quickly noticed that the dishes were different from what I've seen on other Indian restaurant menus. I met my friend, A, around noon at Dishoom. She warned me that because this place is so popular, the queue can be quite long. One time, she waited 2 hours! Lucky for us, the wait was quite short --- a mere 30 minutes or so. While we waited for a table to open, we found a spot at the bar and started to schmooze. I know A from college, and we probably haven't seen each other in about four years? (I graduated two years before her). She moved to London a year ago for work and loves it here! Since A has been to Dishoom before, I let her make some suggestions of dishes she liked. Everythi...

A few weekends ago, I decided to spend a gorgeous afternoon at the Globe Theater seeing Richard II . I am a fan of Shakespeare and I very much enjoy seeing his plays performed at the Globe Theater. When I first studied in London in 2009, I attended my first Globe production, which was As You Like It . It was phenomenal. I couldn't stop laughing and I was just blown away by the energy emanating from the actors. It was a really wonderful experience and from that moment on, I vowed to see as many productions here as I could. Two summers ago, when I was in London with my parents, I convinced them to see Titus Andronicus  at the Globe Theater. On this occasion, I bought seated tickets, rather that standing groundling tickets. Whereas As You Like It  is a comedy, Titus Andronicus  is a very dark tragedy. Although very violent and macabre, I loved this production of Titus Andronicus  and was delighted that my parents were able to experience theater at the Globe. (Neithe...

After walking around Westminster for a while, I finally made my way to the National Portrait Gallery, which is located sort of behind and off to the side of The National Gallery. Personally, this is one of my favorite museums in London and I've been here a couple times.  On this occasion, rather than check out the whole museum, which I've done a couple times, I had a purpose. On this particular visit, I wanted to go to the Audrey Hepburn photography exhibition. I love Audrey Hepburn (we share the same birthday) and I love photography, so this seemed like the perfect way to spend part of my afternoon. The National Portrait Gallery, like most museums in London, is free, however, I had to pay extra to visit the Audrey Hepburn exhibition. Lucky for me, I was able to use my student discount and for whatever reason, there was an additional minor discount because it was Thursday. I didn't question this. Tickets were timed entry. The exhibit was pretty sizable. Not huge...

About two weeks ago, before my classes started, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful London weather and do some exploring. I knew that I wanted to visit the National Portrait Gallery, but rather than go there directly, I thought I would sort of wander, take in the sites, and eventually end up there. At around 10 am, I left my flat in Southwark and casually strolled towards the National Portrait Gallery, located near Trafalgar Square. My walk took me about 45 minutes, but it was very pleasant.  Interesting drinks stand that I passed on my way to the bridge Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridge After crossing the Thames, I found myself at Charring Cross. Such a beautiful train station with really stunning architecture! It was still a bit early and the weather was so splendid, I decided to keep walking. I made my way to Trafalgar Square, a mere stones throw away from Charring Cross, walked down towards Westminster, and took lots of photographs of Parliament and Big...