vanilla bean and star anise kumquat marmalade... so delicious!

either i have the most amazing friends or the littlest things make me happy! :)

earlier this week, i received a package from houston texas. it was a box of kumquats that my dear friend picked from her family's front yard and sent me; oh, how incredibly lucky to be able to grow such interesting little fruits! i've never had these before!

i can only begin to imagine what would be in my own garden if i lived in a climate where it was warm year round! 'til then, thank the universe for the great people i've been fortunate enough to befriend and call kindred spirits! i like to believe "your vibe attracts your tribe!" and when you find your tribe, love them hard!

using rice wine, pure honey, vanilla bean and star anise... i made a delicious kumquat marmalade. think: subtle notes of amazing flavors paired together on a citrus dancefloor! not to mention, the sweet fragrance that filled the air in the process! mmm. #happygirl

...and because the essential oils-rich peel is as edible as the fruit itself, it all stayed in and was just an added bonus that all the health benefits were concentrated even further during the cooking process! not to mention, the peels also served as all natural pectin for the marmalade and it all came together perfectly!

yeah, i'm kind of a cooking nerd too, haha. it's sorta ridiculous how excited i can get at the thought of playing with a new ingredient and learning all about it! you know what they say, "you are what you eat!" so make sure it's nothing easy, fake or cheap! ;D

i only love sleep because it's a time machine to breakfast! sure makes for another perfect companion to buttered toast and bagels..! a tangy and refreshing kumquat strawberry lemonade doesn't hurt either. if i close my eyes, i'd almost believe it were summer in wisconsin this early morning! bon apetit.

banana blossoms, whaaat!?

i love food too much to settle for mediocrity out of convenience... and that's where my passion for cooking and experimenting really developed. living in smalltown us of a, the ethnic food scene (notably my favorite!) is definitely lacking among a sea of more conservative and/or less diverse restaurants when you consider the landscape of my life! don't get me wrong, we have some amazing places with fresh new chefs among us moving away from the traditional, but my focus right now is mainly on the lack of a quality southeast asian spread in central and northcentral wisconsin!





i hate to admit this, but during my tenure in the big[ger] city i seldom cooked, if at all. and it was because authentic and quality cuisine across the board was available everywhere! from fine dining establishments to food trucks and hidden gems of mom&pop shops, there were always the joints that consistently lived up to their reputation and hype! in addition, there was always what seemed to be a new up and coming spot that offered cool little twists on traditional dishes and flavors too which were also a favorite passtime i regularly looked forward to exploring and enjoying.

the smell and nostalgia of asian marts and supermarkets are within some of my earliest childhood memories... fruits and vegetables that came imported fresh from asia were always readily available and considered staple ingredients for me growing up so i just assumed it was for everyone. little did i know what i thought to be common were actually "exotic" to the average person.

today, i bring you banana blossoms. another thing i'd not realized until recently was the amount of care and time we take in prepping these "exotic" vegetables for consumption! for instance, preparing these florets is no joke! you have to literally take out the stamen inside each piece before it goes in a bath of lime-aciduated water to keep it from browning... and it's quite time-consuming. no wonder they're not popular in menu item dishes... but i sure am glad i was raised with the knowledge and palate to be able to incorporate and appreciate them - heck, even experiment with them in various dishes like i did here - for my own satisfaction! :) yummm.

my wisconsin winter wonderland!

...there's never really such a thing as bad weather in northcentral wisconsin :) just different types of GREAT weather to embrace! we've had a pretty mild winter so far this year, so it's only natural to take advantage of the hoodie-appropriate temperatures - here, it's anything above zero degrees farenheit, lols - and enjoy the cool crisp air under the bright blue skies! yes, today was definitely a treat considering it has been nothing short of a gloomy season!

snowshoeing, just another way to get outdoors and inhale! i am truly blessed to be surrounded by such awesomeness year round. there's just something so humbling about the untouched wilderness that pulls at my spirit! :) it's not lucky people who are grateful, but grateful people who are lucky. om.