Avignon Markets

Hello everyone!

On our last day in Avignon, we dropped by the markets of Avignon before heading out to Aix-en-Provence!

Les Halles is a covered market that is open from Tuesday-Sunday, but on this particular day, there was even an outdoor flea market happening at the same time right next to it! It was basically a farmers market lover's dream come true.  ;)

BeiPu Old Town in Taiwan!

Hello everyone!

Our Taiwan adventure was... so incredible!  It's been about 2 weeks since I've gotten back, and as I was going through the photos today trying to decide what to document in this blog, I realized just how glad I am that David and I are such shutter-bugs.  Of course, I remember most of what happened during our trip, but the little things get fuzzier and forgotten soon after the trip, and it was so nice to be able to see and remember so many things from the photos!

It was a pretty short trip, well shorter than we would have liked, but it was packed full almost every day we were there.  The first day, we went to visit BeiPu Old Town; a town famous for its 'one-bite bun'!  Apparently, each town has at least one temple, and since I had never been to one before, we decided to stop by this one which was located at the center of the town.

Such a beautiful photo of David and Mama

and.. of course, the odd one about to lose her hat to the wind haha

and then we walked inside to experience the Taiwanese Motherly Sky Temple!

It was actually surprisingly crowded, and we got to observe many different people worshiping in their own way  =)

In front of so many wishes

After leaving the temple, we joined in with the flood of people strolling around the market.

I was so surprised the market was so busy! It was a weekday, and during the afternoon, so...  maybe the kids and the parents were on break?  maybe they were also tourists like us?  Either way, it was fun to see so many people engaging the sellers at all of the different stalls  =)

I didn't know what most of the stalls were selling, but as soon as I realized that this stall was selling fruit (guava), I ran straight over with more confidence than I had shown all day wandering around the market haha.  This was still an adventure for me though, because I had never had guava before, and it was interesting!

oh, and look!  I was so happy to see this stall!  Peaches!  one of my favorite fruits!  and let me tell you what, I am in LOVE with the fruit in Taiwan.  It's just so much better than the ones we find in the states, and this was of no exception!  sweetest, juiciest peaches ever!  ok, so that was a lot of exclamation points, but it deserved it  =)  I'm salivating just thinking about how yummy these were..  ;)

All of the stall vendors seemed to be a bit confused about my nationality, and we (David and his mom) had 'where is she from?' conversation with what seemed like every one of the sellers  haha.  I guess I don't look Taiwanese?  =p

Anyway, we moved along to look at more stalls, and we found this one who had his pet rabbit keeping him company!  Don't worry, he wasn't selling the bunny  ;)  he was pretty darn adorable, but seemed like he really hated the heat.. poor guy..

One thing I noticed a lot during our trip in Taiwan was that there are dogs everywhere!!  Dogs who have owners like this cute little thing were numerous, but also seemingly stray ones were also everywhere as well...  

As we strolled some more, we actually came upon vendors selling two of the few Chinese dishes I knew!  the chong-tze, or rice wrapped in bamboo leaf, was a favorite of ours in Houston for a couple of weeks, and we would go to 99 Ranch every weekend to get some.

and the ball-tze, or the one bite bun, was popular between us as well, but this one was different than the ones from Ranch...  I have to say, the ones we tried in Taiwan were soooo much better than the ones we had at Ranch ;)  haha

I feel like 90% of our time in Taiwan was spent eating, much like our time in Korea, haha, so after walking around a little bit, we went to try some Haka (native people of Taiwan) food items.

It seems that this is how you order food at almost every restaurants in Taiwan, so I had no idea what was being ordered, but I was content to just sit back and enjoy whatever came out  =)  

Food adventure is the best kind of adventure!  =)  and it definitely was an adventure for me seeing as I had no idea what any of these were  haha  but we tried a little of everything, and it was so much fun! I'm sorry I can't tell you what they were though  haha  you'll just have to enjoy through the pictures! ;)

So many noodle dishes!  so much yumminess  =)  

It was such a fun first excursion in Taiwan with amazing company, and I can't wait to share the rest with you soon!  =)

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

--Janny

I love shopping!! for groceries!

Hello everyone,

It's a well known fact that most girls like to shop, and I am of no exception.  Except the shopping that I get most excited about is groceries!  haha  Ok, so don't get me wrong, I like retail therapy just as much as any girl, but for some reason, I also really really love to go grocery shopping!  As I've found out, I'm not that odd, seeing as my roomy and my man both like to go grocery shopping so we have a grand old time visiting our local grocery store and Trader Joe's when we're together  haha  We especially enjoy the bakery and the bulk foods sections, and of course, the samples!!  

Anyway, local grocery chains are fine, but nothing beats shopping at farmer's markets! and we all know my obsession with the Pike Place Market in Seattle, but yesterday, mommy and I stumbled across this random farmer's market on the side of the road our way home!  I was driving, so of course, we pulled over to check it out  =)

haha pee wee avocados!

Look at this sight that greeted us!   Fresh fruits and veggies everywhere!!  and all locally grown!

the giant box of strawberries came home with us...  and some of the plums...

I was very tempted to get the rainier cherries too, but we had already gotten so many fruits that I resisted,, somehow..

What are Casaba melons, exactly?

Anyway, we (more like I) definitely plan on going back again and again!

And here we are, back home, trying out our purchases.  Though I absolutely LOVE fruits, and I would eat only fruits for meals if I could, strawberries are usually not my favorites because most store bought ones tend to be hit or miss, and if you miss, oh boy are they sour!  But these!  mmmm  They were SO good, so so juicy, and sweet!

And this morning, I did have just fruit for my breakfast  heh  =p

I love you farmer's market!  I shall be back soon!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

--Janny

Perfect summer recipe :: Stuffed Peppers!!

Hello everyone,

Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of all of the fresh produce that's coming out in the stores, or even better, at your nearest farmer's market!

When David was here (I know that was awhile ago, but I completely forgot about posting this recipe until now!) we took advantage of the fresh produce that was seriously over flowing at the farmer's market and whipped this up for the familia for dinner!

And though we already really like cooking together, having an awesome kitchen equipped with lots of marble counter space and an industrial grade gas stove made cooking sooo much more fun!  haha  oh the perks of cooking at home rather than at our dearly-loved-but-extremely-tiny-apartment...

It was so easy to put together, and a huge hit with the fam!

so here is the easy peasy, Roasted Stuffed Peppers recipe!!

Roasted Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

6 red bell peppers (or any other color of your choice)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
shredded cheddar and/or pepper jack cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs ginger, minced
1 Tbs Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 onion, diced
1.5 cup diced tomatoes
1.5 cup diced mushrooms
1.5 cup diced cauliflower
1 cup diced steak (you could substitute this with ground beef or you could leave this out completely for a vegetarian version!)

Let's Cook!

1. Wash your bell peppers thoroughly, both inside and out, by cutting the top portion of the pepper.  But make sure you keep the top part so that you can use it as a lid!

here they are, mostly unseeded!

2.  Preheat your oven at 350 degrees.

3.  Heat up your olive oil in a pan on medium heaet, and add the garlic, ginger, and the diced onions to cook.

4.  Once the onions take on the clear-esq look, add the chopped mushrooms, cauliflower, and tomatoes!  (oh, and don't forget to add your choice of meat during this step as well if you want a non-vegetarian version) You should only have to sautee them for about 10 minutes total.

5.  Now, it's time to make your pepper live up to its name!  Stuffing time!  I laid down a layer of the mixture above, then a spoon of spaghetti sauce, and then a layer of shredded cheese.  Repeat the process once more, and you should end up with a fully stuffed pepper!

6. Once your pepper is stuffed to the max, sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese, and attempt to put the 'lid' back on.

7.  pop them in the oven for 30-35 minutes, and you should end up with these beauties!

8.  Serve them to the hungrily awaiting familia!  and enjoy them with some salad and perhaps some bread!

I hope you enjoy!!
Thanks for stopping by!
--Janny