guacamole with corn chips

I make guacamole quite often because it's so easy and cheap! I like to snack on avocados sliced in half with sprinkles of sugar, but when the avocado is too ripe, guacamole is perfect. My brothers always steal some when I make it, but I usually make only one large avocado's worth since it can turn brown fast [no preservatives!], and I like to keep them craving for more.

Ingredients:
- one avocado
- one tomato
- one onion
- one lime
- cilantro
- black pepper and sea salt

I buy sweet onions, tomatoes, limes, and chips at the store. The avocados are fresh from my parent's garden. For one avocado, I make a very small serving of guacamole, the perfect snack for one. Only use a small slice or so of onion, chopped finely. I don't like too much onion in my guac, but you can add more to your liking! I also only use about 1/4 of the tomato and 1/3 of the lime. You can save the ingredients for more guac later upon request!  Sprinkle some black pepper and sea salt accordingly for an extra kick, and add the avocados. I usually halve the avocado, and cut it into chunks, and mash it with a fork into the mix. Eva Longoria says that she adds cilantro into it as well. I never thought about that, and I LOVE cilantro! Just a handful of the leaves chopped somewhat well makes the perfect addition to a simple recipe. Enjoy!

istanbul, turkey

Istanbul, also known as Constantinople, is located at the very northwest corner of Turkey. The Bosphorus river flows through Istanbul, separating the Asian side from the European side. It is the only metropolis city that is on two continents. The blends of Asian and European culture are very apparent along with Middle Eastern influence, so the city is a huge melting pot of culture, diversity, and fun. My favorite part, of course, is the food. A few of my favorite dishes here are lentil soup, kofte, kebabs, gyros, apple tea, fresh mint tea, salep winter time [hot yogurt drink], ayran [cold yogurt drink], garlic yogurt, and Turkish coffee! 

Here is a video of a dish called testi kebap. It's lamb or other meats cooked in a clay pot with tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. Quite delicious and very filling!! Oh, and the waiter calls me Lady Rambo when he found out that I am Vietnamese. Apparently, the only correlation to Vietnam he could think of is Rambo. I happily played along and by the end of the night, that was my adopted name.

 

Raki is not my friend. I'm pretty open minded about food and drink. I like a lot of different flavors and if the locals love it, I'll try it...most of the time I love it. Here,  I can definitely say that raki is vile. Guess which glass is mine and which is Kat's.

Mint tea in Turkey is just all kinds of happiness. Apple tea as well. I'll have to take a pic of it later. It comes in a tea glass like Turkish tea. Mint here is crushed and just boiled with hot water. Simple, subtle, perfect.

New shades! We are eating at Dervish, one of the most famous places to eat right in front of Sultanamet. They serve gyros to go, but we sat in to enjoy the view, and try another lentil soup!

ayran

lentil soup

kofte with fries

garlic yogurt

We got roped into looking at some carpets. The random guy at Blue Mosque offered to give us a free tour if we looked at some of his carpet selections. We managed to not fall into temptation and buy the three thousand dollar majestic rug...but not without lying to them that we had husbands that would kill us if we bought it.

The red one is my favorite and the blue one is Kat's

Taksim Square is where a lot of demonstrations and bomb threats take place. It's a metropolis hub, and much more busy than Sultanamet area where we are staying. However, with the recent scare, we decided to only take a tram and metro to have dinner at Taksim and then go back to our cute area! Taksim is very chaotic and busy, but the restaurants and street food are aplenty. We tried to look for Gani Gani, a restaurant with sit on the floor cross-legged style dinners, but to no avail. It's a locals joint and there are no street names [or any that i could find], so we ended up finding a really cute place that serves kebabs and mixed meat with the best yogurt sauce, then walked the whole length of Taksim promenade. I found a Gloria Jeans Coffee so i bought a $5 cafe [blehhhh on the price], and walked the rest of the way back to the metro and tram.

Salep winter time is hot salep, or hot yogurt drink. They add cinnamon to it, and i just love love it. Kat thinks it's too sweet but I always finish mine and want more! Below is the best salad we've had in Turkey yet. A gigantic medley of cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, hummus, yogurt, and chili sauce. So healthy and delicious.

a lovely evening here...

Our waiters were ALL cute and we had the best time at this restaurant. Spent double what we planned, but well worth it for the entertainment. These two guitarists are fantastic. The guy on the right looks like Nicolas Cage, and his buddy can sing a mean Cat Stevens. Here they are, doing Wild World. Happiness.

Stand By Me

brasov, romania

We spent two nights in Brasov eating and taking pictures. Just a small fun town by Bran castle with an old square and pretty buildings. Again, the fall colors everywhere. This awesome car was on the way up to the Brasov sign. I thought it was the coolest car ever.

zara sweater, topshop black pants/tights, H&M neck fur, H&M booties

Brasov is smaller than Bucharest, and a fantastic old town. Reiner talked about the Black Church in the square, but we only saw the outside façade the night before. Kat and I went inside the next day and I thought it was a beautiful and simple church. The church is called something else, but everyone refers to it as the Black Church after it endured a fire in the early 20s, which covered it in soot. It’s more grey now, with bullet holes still marking parts of its history on the outside, and the most fantastic organ on the inside. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, but the organ inside the church is 4000 pipes, all in working order, and I wished it was Sunday so I could attend mass to hear it. The pews in the church all face the alter, but the back rest is engineered to reverse so that the laity can turn around and face the organ in the back during concert times. How ingenious is that????

I’ve also developed an addiction this past week to this Hungarian pastry. It’s a gigantic pastry, about a foot in length, hollow on the inside, and caramelized on the outside. The bakers will sprinkle powdered sugar, nuts, or whatever flavor you ask for a measly 10 lei [$3 US]. I bought one with caramelized sugar, took it home and munched on it all night. I left a large chunk in the kitchen but it disappeared by morning. I hope someone appreciated it just as much as I did.

red square

h&m organic russian coat, h&m booties, topshop tights, bag from laos, the limited scarf

We found this sushi place by the Kremlin and couldn't resist. It's been too long since I've had sushi, so we splurged [kind of], and got a giant boat of sashimi, rolls, and some Vietnamese spring rolls. We also got two double mojitos, the best I've had since the states. Happiness.

I saw this display in the Red Square at GUM, the gigantic department store flanking St Basil's Cathedral. It houses a ton of big names, and I think this display belongs to Cartier.

eating in beijing, china