Second Floor

Doing some boring GenEd homework can be pretty rough. Doing boring GenEd homework on the jazz floor - sooo much better. First of all, listening to the guy (well it's jazz so I'm assuming it's a guy) down the hall jam out on sax in his poorly soundproofed practice room reminds me how freeing the genre can be. (Ohh baby, now he's got a set with him. Music-gasm - aka music orgasm, the overwhelming pleasure one achieves while listening to incredible and passionate music. Damn.)
Circling back, interesting people hang out here. And by interesting, I mean the most creative and diverse menagerie of twenty-somethings from every ethnicity and sexual orientation.  Yes, I went there. Because it's true. There's a guy wearing pants twice as tight as mine.
Can't wait for someone to finish up in their practice room so I can go use it...

 

On a foodie note, I finally visited the crepe truck parked right outside the music building. It boasts #1 ratings in Philadelphia for street/food-truck cuisine. I got one of their "savory" varieties with all the veggies, grilled chicken, melted cheese, jalapeños, taziki, and Sriracha hot sauce. All wrapped up in a delightfully but not overpoweringly eggy crepe exterior. Mmmmmmmm. On your next visit to Philly, or particularly Temple University, a trip to the Creperie is a must.  (sadly I cannot take credit for these photos. a big thank you to whoever did)

Birthdays

Korean Style Chopsticks

So I may have taped Korean-style chopsticks all over my room mate's walls for her birthday...

As part of my cultural education here on the global floor, I learned that Koreans do not use the same type of silly wood chopsticks as the rest of their Asian neighbors. Instead, they use a shorter, stainless steel version. 
I have 2 Korean room mates in my apartment. Both from Seoul, both from traditional Korean families. As I had mentioned in a previous post, there is a lot of cross-cultural education going on in our little hole in the wall that we call home. Getting to the point here, one of my room mates remembered to bring her chopsticks from Korea, one forgot. Over Korean dinner one night, these funny little chopsticks came into conversation and how much the girls here missed their utensils from back home. Sounds funny, yes. But what if someone told you that instead of eating with a soup spoon you had to use a ladle? So for her birthday, I found 10 sets of Korean chopsticks on Amazon and taped them all over her walls. There was a lot of excited clapping and laughter :)

That is all for now, and I leave you with some popular Korean music (even though American tunes are most common there)

C.N. Blue - I'm a Loner (that's the translation)

Daily Dose of Food Porn

Tofu with orange glace, breaded and curried fried polenta.

Let the Groove Get in - Justin Timberlake

Eating on a College-Sized budget...easier than you think.

Enjoyed this delicious menagerie of Italy with a side of Jazz like Affair in Havana - Dexter Gordon. You should do the same.

For those of you who are college students, will be shortly, or even parents of those students, listen up. What are you paying for your meal plan? At Temple U, the average meal plan will cost you about $1,400 on top of your tuition and housing per semester. Not per year, no. Semester.
So I got thinking to myself, how much do I even eat? I'm a pretty petite person, so unless I have friends over I don't need to make much for myself. The only advantages of the meal plan are that you a. don't have to cook and b. can eat as much as you want. Freshman 15 anyone? No thanks. I don't care how late the gym is open if you just ate four hot dogs, fries, a slice of pizza, ice cream, and a salad to round it out. 
My plan: How much would I pay per semester in food (as in groceries) without a meal plan? First of all, I'm a pretty competent cook. Second, I'm a girl. If I'm going to go for dinner somewhere nice I probably won't be the one paying. Call me old fashioned, I just think it's polite for the man to pay. 
So, each month when the credit card bill comes in the mail, I simply record how much I spend in food purchases. At the end of the semester we'll see how it measures up against the traditional college-eating style.
Stereotypical as it may be, I love grocery shopping. Not only is it exciting to plan and make a meal, but it's also a nice slice of time I can just zone out between the rows of organic oranges and freshly harvested asparagus (though asparagus is heading out of season at the moment). Bliss. Saturday morning however, was not the typical shopping experience at the local Fresh Grocer. As many Philadelphians know, Saturday is market day. Italian style. 
Upon our arrival to the bustling street (South 9th) we had quite a problematic time deciding where to start. Ohh but I had my list. Fresh berries, blueberries a box for a dollar, a huge bag of basil surely picked earlier that morning was only a buck and some change. This my dear friends, is where the budget shopper needs to go. Well, until you get to the meat and cheese shops where the bulk of my grocery shopping took place. The butchers here are legit. Really. I thought I was back in the old country - even felt a little peculiar speaking English. The best place in the whole market is actually a little indoor joint that only sells about 100 kinds of cheese (at least), and cured meats, olives, preserves, and oils to accompany each flavor.  To fully live up my mini-vacation I had to buy some unpitted olives (so much better than their nasty counterparts with everything taken out of them but salt), cured meats, a few different kinds of cheese, a bottle of good balsamic infused with raspberries, and of course a loaf of freshly baked bread. 
As any cook or friend knows, food can only be properly enjoyed in the company of good people. Because I couldn't quite justify going all-out on a dinner just for myself, my best friend and I surprised her boyfriend with a gourmet meal to feed a small army.  Needless to say, I now have copious amounts of gourmet leftovers in my fridge. Not complaining.

Amazing food, great music, and the best of friends. Making TU classy one dinner at a time.

Fried Rice that even my Korean roomie LOVES

Today I received the ultimate reassurance in my cooking skills.  My Korean room mate loves my fried rice. Win.

She wants the recipe, but in all honesty I just threw some of her leftover rice in a pan and went from there. (Don't tell!)
Here's a basic summary of what's in it.

• Salmon (4oz?) that was marinated in soy sauce, Sriracha, and curry powder
• A cup of so of leftover jasmine rice
• Half a bag of frozen Asian mix veggies
• Coconut oil (so it didn't stick to the pan)

Cooked the salmon to about medium rare, set aside. Threw the veggies in the pan with the rest of the marinade the fish was in to make sure they had some flavor, added the salmon back in with the rice, some more coconut oil, and cooked until the salmon was all done! Added more soy sauce/curry/Sriracha as needed. Hello dinner for the week!

For best results, add some love and listen to some Snarky Puppy while you cook :) Bon Appétit, Enjoy, Guten Appetit, 즐겨 (korean for "enjoy")