Christmas Goodies.

(**My page is currently under a little construction because I was sick of the pictures being so small so I've been messing around with the layout! Love the pictures bigger though, everything looks so much yummier.)

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday! I had a lot of fun with my family and cousins in Whistler located in Canada. It was filled with snowboarding, eating, crazy toddlers and watching Despicable Me three times. I wouldn't have asked for a better Christmas! It's definitely my favorite holiday and I love all the decorations, festivities and spirit that goes along with the holiday.

Before I talk about Whistler, I wanted to post the Christmas goodies from work and homemade chocolate covered pretzels we made on Christmas. I'm definitely going to miss working at the Bakery. Though I hated waking up early, I liked getting breads and desserts ready that I knew were going to be enjoyed by people at the satellite stores, parties, conferences, lunches/dinners, etc. Plus, I learned a lot.


Just a few iced sugar cookies made by my supervisor.


The cookies I decorated. Unfortunately because of the quantity of cookies that have to be made everyday, the Bakeshop uses frozen, already made dough. But I got to put Xmas sprinkles and decos on them.


If you look closely, you can spot some of the cute candy cane decos.


Green sprinkles with tree decos.


Goodbye Bakery!


Chocolate covered pretzel time! So easy to make with just a few ingredients.




Yum. They are quite addicting and enjoyable for adults and children.

A Whistler post coming soon...

Farewell Purdue!

I am now a graduate of Purdue University. This is something so weird to say after 4.5 years. I had the best time of my life at Purdue and the ultimate college experience. I wouldn't change anything in the world for it. I've learned so much in school and life, made the best of friends that I will have for the rest of my life and ate things I've never eaten before! Being a West Coast girl, I discovered a whole different array of cuisine coming to the Midwest. I explored the dining courts like Christopher Columbus discovering the New World. I tried everything, most I have never heard of. This includes: biscuits and gravy, chicken and dumplings, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, etc. While some of these may not just be Midwestern food, it all is intertwined in the "comfort" food area. I am happy to have discovered these new foods.

While on the subject of college experience, eating at the Triple XXX restaurant in West Lafayette is the ultimate Purdue food experience. Whether sober or drunk, eating at the Triple XXX is eating at a Purdue institution. It even has been featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives! But it was popular even before being featured on the show. Generations and generations of Purdue students have come to eat here and it's great to eat at a historical and renowned restaurant. Triple XXX is especially known for its chopped steak and root beer. So their burgers are especially juicy and flavorful because of how fresh the meat is. They even have a burger with peanut butter that I will talk about later. The burgers are named after famous Purdue football players, and their walls are decked out in their pictures.

I'm a bigger fan of their breakfast. One especially called the Drew Brees Special...aka also the biggest meal on the menu :). It comes with either chopped steak or chicken fried steak, two eggs, potatoes with gravy and two biscuits. This is what I get every time and probably where my double chin came from, but totally worth it. Triple XXX is a special place for my boyfriend and I. We eat there a few times a month and we have had great memories eating there. So before I left, we wanted to eat there one last time.


The famous landmark.


Inside




The one and only Drew Brees Special. I get hashbrowns, two eggs over easy and the chopped steak.


Biscuits. I LOVE them. I think they are split in half and then put on the griddle for a crispy top.


One giant meal...that I can devour.


The boyfriend's meal: the Duane Purvis aka the Peanut Butter Burger.


Look at that peanut butter!


Guy Fieri with the owners. And Curtis Painter on top.

Does an addiction to Triple XXX mean going there three times in four days? Maybe.

Miscellaneous Thanksgiving Break.

Here are a few shots of some miscellaneous goodies I got to eat while I was at home for Thanksgiving Break. Nothing too much, but thought I should share with my lack of updates. Graduation is slowly approaching (2 weeks!) and depression is setting in. I'm trying to spend as much time with my friends, boyfriend and living the college life before I go back home.

Pre-Thanksgiving lunch. Sushi from Whole Foods. Might have been a day old though...

Shrimp and avocado + crab and avocado (not shown)

Summer rolls. Definitely a day old. The rice wrapping was hard/stale which is a bummer because these are one of my favorites.

Hot pot night with the fam. Reminds me of a night in Beijing! Hot pot is basically a pot of boiling water where you add vegetables and meats that cook in the water and then you have your own mix of spices and flavors that you dip your food into.

Mushroom shoots.

Tofu.

Can't go a night without vegetables in this family.





A little breakfast for dinner. Leftover sausage from Thanksgiving with eggs, spinach and leeks.

Can't have breakfast without potatoes.

Lemon and honey water for my horrible cough.

Last meal: roasted chicken, gnocchi and spinach.