The Monthly Gram: July 2013

Hello all! It is close to the end of July, which means a lot of monthly-themed posts :D. I had to compact a lot of my pictures this month so that it didn't overwhelm this post, although even with the combining there are still a lot of pics! It seems like all I did this month was eat and drink lol. I promise you this isn't the only thing that I do, but yeah, I do love taking pics of my diet. I need to crack down on eating healthy though. I am getting a little poofy around the middle ^^;

Some masks that Jason gave to me. He orders a whole bunch from Amazon at great prices! It's better than buying singles at the store though :)

(left) My first time at Taste Tea near Ala Moana! This is the milk tea with the bubbles. I don't like bubbles, but the person taking my order didn't want to listen to me that I only wanted the tea. That was a bit annoying.
(top right) This is from a coffee shop in Kailua called Chadlous. It's my favorite place to get bubble drinks even though I really don't eat the bubbles. I like this place because of the flavors they offer. My two top flavors are passion fruit, which is pictured above, and guava.
(bottom right) San Pellegrino's Blood Orange Soda is da bomb. It is the perfect summer drink and also refreshing. I like to wait for them to go on sale at Costco hehe.

(left) Mapo Tofu at Gomatei in Ala Moana. This is the first time in how many years that I didn't order a tantan ramen. It was good, but I think I'll stick to my usual next time ;)
(top right) I've been loving my veggies more than usual, so I ordered a Primavera angel hair pasta from Auntie Pasto's.
(bottom right) Some summer nights can be warm over here so zaru soba from Matsugen hits the spot! They make their soba from scratch and thus I can't eat the dried kind found in stores anymore. I've been spoiled rotten :3

(top) Chinese Chicken Salad from Cafe Laufer in Kaimuki
(bottom) A mixed salad consisting of romaine, spinach, carrots, red onions, cucumber, grape tomatoes, korean watercress, and red cabbage.

My cousin's rabbit Pierre. He's so adorable <3

I've been craving shave ice literally for this entire month. My favorite spot is Ailana's near Ala Moana. This combination is li hing mui, melona, and lilikoi with condensed milk and ice cream at the bottom.

Cactus in Kailua is a great spot for Mexican and the only thing that I really like is their rolled quesadillas! This is just a veggie quesadilla. You can add roasted veggies or a meat, but to me, it's perfect as it is. Also, you get to choose a side dish for free! I also tried their frozen sangria and it was pretty nice. Strong, but nice!

I've been going to my friend's band's (Broke Aesthetic) performances for a while and this month was his last time performing since he's going to Japan for JET. I'm going to miss him terribly, but I'm so glad that I've gotten to know him throughout the years. He's a great guy and I'm really happy that he's finally going to be able to do JET. I don't know if he'll read this post but if he does, I just want to say that I'm not the best when it comes to making friends with guys. Heck, I just feel awkward lol! But to be honest, you are one of the few guy friends that I have that I truly feel like we're friends and that I'm comfortable with. I hope you find everything that you're looking for and don't forget to keep on drumming!

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

In the Kitchen: Pasta Risotto with Peas & Pancetta

Hello all! 

One thing about me is that I'm quite rubbish at cooking. So for me to be able to cook something not only edible but tasty is quite the feat! While I'm not good at cooking, I'm always interested in looking at random recipes in the newspapers. The recipe that I'm going to share with you today is pasta risotto with peas and pancetta. I found this recipe in the USA Weekend insert in Sunday's newspaper.

I believe this recipe is out of Nigella Lawson's Nigellissima cook book. She is a British cook and I remember I used to enjoy watching her cooking segments early in the morning on the Travel channel when I was either in intermediate or high school. This is a super easy meal to make. I kind of liken it to fried rice!

Ingredients

2 Tbs. garlic-flavored oil (alt. cook a peeled garlic clove in oil until golden brown and discard the clove)

6 ounces cubed pancetta (alt. thick-cut bacon)

1 1/4 cups frozen petite peas

8 ounces orzo pasta

2 1/2 cups boiling water

Salt, to taste

1 Tb. soft butter

2 Tbs. grated Parmesan

Pepper, to taste

Once the oil is hot, cook the pancetta until it's crisp and bronzed (I used thick-cut bacon instead) and add peas. Stir the peas around for a minute or so until the frozen look leaves them. Add the orzo pasta and mix in with the pancetta and peas. Pour in the boiling water and turn down the heat to let it simmer. Every now and then, mix to avoid pasta sticking to the pan. Add more water if necessary. After 10 minutes, add butter and Parmesan and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Then serve! Here is the finished product:

It's quite fun to make and quite delicious. I would like to look for an alternative meat besides bacon just because I'd like to make it even more healthy! If you have any suggestions, leave a comment down below!

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN