. random eats #9 .

Summer is finally here!

That means Korean barbecue…

Tofu and veggies for me, of course heh.

…smoothie bowls…

…pickling fresh veggies…

…and acos!

This jackfruit taco was from the Hot For Food blog and it is BOMB.

Got my ingredients prepped and everything was ready in 20 minutes. I used Trader Joe’s canned green chiles because I was too lazy to roast my own poblano peppers and Mission corn tortillas because they were what I had on hand.

And do take the time to make the adobo cashew cream sauce! I gobbled up three in no time 🙂

 

. random eats #8 .

Hello! I’ve comfortably settled back at home where I could relax all day long~

Although I don’t have much photos for what I ate during my time here so far (not because I was lazy or anything…), I decided to post something before my trip to Europe. I think my brain hasn’t fully processed the fact that I’m leaving this Saturday, because I feel way too relaxed.

On to the real content.

It was pretty chilly the past week, so I turned to the comforts of a hot bowl of oats.

I added sugar cookie PB and a raw apple for a nice crunch.

Or I bake it in the oven. This was almost the same combo except with tahini instead of PB. Also, look how cute this mini cast iron is!

I’ve been making my lunches consist of just one huge salad. This time I added baked falafels, tomato, cucumber slices and cilantro drizzled with tahini dressing and side of babaganoush and hummus.

Falafels have to be one of my favorite foods. I don’t mind the baked ones like here, but I have to say that fried falafels take the win.

Another salad that consisted of the same base of spring mix, cucumbers and tomato, except with the addition of a pesto pasta salad. I bought the same Ancient Grains POW brand of dried pasta, only in the black bean version this time. Tbh I really bought it just for the color, but I ended up really digging the stuff.

I didn’t really care to take pictures of my dinners, because they always consist of the usual Korean food that my mom prepares, but perhaps I should give you guys a peek next time…

This is pretty random, but I’ve been wanting to mention my aroma diffuser for a while. I saw one in MUJI, and I immediately decided I needed one. The price tag at MUJI made my eyes roll to the back of my head, but luckily I found a cheaper alternative at Amazon.

The essential oil is from MUJI though, and my room now smells amazing. I actually think this will make a great Mother’s Day gift.

Speaking of which, I have a pancake recipe coming up— just in time for Mother’s Day! Unfortunately, I won’t be able to prepare a brunch this year, since we will already be in Zurich by Sunday.

I made it breakfast-in-bed style, but we’re too much of clean freaks to actually enjoy it that way. My mom ended up taking this back downstairs to the kitchen table to eat this.

Look forward to the next recipe and a veggie eatery! Have a good day~

 

. i’m not dead (yet) + random eats #7 .

Phew, how long has it been?! I actually lost track of the last time I wrote on here with the loads of deadlines looming over my head in addition to finals week.

With that being said, I was able to take a breather during a mini road trip to Cape Cod! My friend randomly decided it was time to check this off her bucket list, so off we went to see the sunset at the beach…

The wind was wild, y’all.

As for my eats, I’ve been eating the usual plant-based goodness :).

Lazy burrito bowl made with black beans sauteed with tomatoes and taco seasoning, tempeh and green peppers (same spices), lettuce, guac, salsa and cilantro rice.

For some reason, it didn’t occur to me then that the rice was supposed to go on the bottom.

More excited about the avocados in the back.

This is just the prep ingredients for my sammie, but it looked so pretty that I had to snap a shot! Courtesy of Iggy’s bread.

The classic.

As humble and strange as this sounds, one of my all time wishes was to know and socialize with the kitchen/cleaning staff. Sadly, I was too awkward to do that prior to college (I still am tbh), but finally…I was able to hold a long conversation with the woman at the vegan/vegetarian section of the dining hall. I really enjoyed the conversation, which started from how great farmer’s market tomatoes were to how kids nowadays don’t conserve energy (I’m a grandpa on the inside).

Anyways, she packed me this giant stack of vegan cookies that were there. I’ve been going through them one by one— all day, er’rday. Don’t worry, I balance it out with other nourishing foods, and a cookie will not kill me.  Plus, it’s nourishing my mind ;).

Seriously though, I still have 5 left.

Leftover arugula got blended into pesto. It was a simple recipe on the back of the package of arugula (thanks TJ’s!) that I adapted by adding sun-dried tomatoes and nutritional yeast.

I also have to clean out my fridge before I move out (in just a few days!), so someone please help me finish my jar of mayonnaise and tub of butter.

I was lucky to walk into an event happening in one of my dining halls, where the theme was “Educate Your Plate” and the whole place was filled with plant-based menus. The lighting was dim (“to set the ambiance”) so the picture is really crummy, but my plate included: quinoa stuffed poblano peppers with avocado, mushroom tacos wrapped with steamed greens, avocado hummus with pita, green beans, small sample of kombucha and various grilled fruits. The small plate in the corner was also full of roasted root vegetables with some chimichurri sauce. Needless to say, I was happily stuffed by the end of the night.

They also had a plant-your-own herb station! I was torn between basil and mint…heck I wanted them all! But we were limited to one, so I stuck with mint.

Cute froggy for finishing touch.

I feel like I should have written something longer and more entertaining to make up for my long absence. I’ll be sure to come back with more exciting posts once I’m home and able to test recipes!

And I completely forgot to mention this earlier in the year: I’m going to Switzerland and Germany this summer! WOOHOOO! Although it’s only for 2 weeks, I’ll be sure to snap some lovely pics!

Off to finish studying for my other exams~

. random eats #6: cooking all day .

Just another random post of my eats on Sunday. I was in my room most of the time, so I got the chance to cook! I miss having a kitchen, and using my mini camping stove lessens the pain of not having any direct heat to cook with.

I woke up a little later than usual (9-ish?) and for some reason I decided to eat pasta. I just used  leftover “mac-n-cheez” sauce made with butternut squash, potatoes, and spices. Maybe it’s the addition of bell peppers (bad idea) or not enough nutritional yeast, but I didn’t get that cheesy flavor. It didn’t matter, because I never liked mac-n’-cheese anyways. It was still super creamy and filling though, especially with the lentil penne.

As a post-workout meal I enjoyed a huge bed of fried rice. I just love looking at this photo because of all the colors~ It was actually half veggies, half rice. I’ll probably post a recipe for this :).

For dinner, I got a little lazier. I just cooked off tempeh marinated in gochujang sauce on quinoa and roasted asparagus.

And to end off sweet, I had a little portion of Nature’s Path Blueberry Flax cereal and some plain soy milk. I know some people think it’s unreasonable to call cereal dessert, but please— I can eat cereal anytime, any day. And I find it so enjoyable that it can be dessert if I want it to be.

I was shocked that I hit my protein goal so easily today (78 grams)! I’m a girl of small frame, so this is the high-end, but I’ve been trying to eat more protein since I workout more often. My goal is to hit 20 grams per meal (more or less), so hopefully I can keep up with this!

. random eats #5 + coloring book .

Phew. It feels like it’s been forever since I posted. I wish to say that I have many things to catch up on here, but tbh nothing really happened except just piles of work and exams. I do have some random shots of some of the food I ate…which I know is starting to get repetitive. To be fair, humans are creatures of habit.

I bought a coloring book on sale at the spur of the moment, and I’ve made little to no progress. I wasn’t aware of what I was getting myself into, especially when I found out that I’m supposed to draw in my own patterns.  As you can see, I started coloring some parts of the elephant before I knew this fact, so some parts will be lacking details. Let me just tell you this: DO NOT PURCHASE IF YOU HAVE LITTLE PATIENCE. This is so. effin. tedious.

I started the patterns with my Muji Pen, but I didn’t like the consistency(?).

…hence why I bought a new drawing pen from Pilot. This one is less ink-y and has a felt tip, so the ink distribution is much more even.

The size of the two pens, just in case you guys care (probably not).

I’ve also become a pro at packing food from the dining hall. I was already frugal, but college really intensified it:

Black bean burrito with side salad of lettuce, sweet potatoes, quinoa salad, guacamole and purple cabbage.Roasted sweet potatoes, coconut curry tempeh, pickled onions, steamed squash on a bed of rice.

I like to walk around the dining hall and mix up different sides to make one harmonious meal hehe.

For breakfast: chocolate PB chia seed pudding topped with cacao nibs and shredded coconut.

This one was a complete failure; I tried making a pasta dish with leftover cauliflower soup , but I realized that I didn’t have any thickeners like cornstarch to help the soup cling on to the noodles better. All I had on hand was coconut flour, which left that characteristic coarse texture of coconut flour in the sauce. The taste wasn’t too bad…but learn from my mistakes folks.

Afternoon snack of toast with PB, apple slices, hemp hearts.

If anyone else gets excited over bread, we can be great friends. Here in Boston, we have a a favorite local called Iggy’s bread. They’re an artisan bakery located in Cambridge that specializes in cultured dough. I have yet to go to the actual shop; for now, I’ll just have to stick to their products sold at Whole Foods.

I purchased the ‘small’ Francese bread, which is essentially their plain sourdough. I was actually so excited that I immediately started slicing the loaf once I got home.

Seriously guys, if you’re here in MA, please try this. This bread is your dreams come true. See that chewy crust and soft interior? mhmmm.

This bread is so addictive. It has the tang and airy-ness of real good sourdough.

I also ate ramen, pimped up with some veggies and tofu cubes to help fill me up. Pot holder courtesy of my school assignment.

This is the Koyo ramen in tofu miso flavor. Koyo uses organic wheat for their noodles, and they bake them rather than the traditional frying method. I also like the fact that they don’t use any artificial flavors, MSGs, fillers, etc. It kind of makes it…(do I dare say it)…healthy?!

Nah, jk. There’s still a lot of sodium like a lot of other packaged foods. However, this is certainly a better alternative if you have ramen cravings. 🙂

I’ve also finally got around to trying spirulina powder. I was really slow to catch up on the hype, and I never really bothered to purchase it myself. However, I wanted to boost my smoothies up with a little more protein, so I’ve been adding it here and there.

I was actually afraid this stuff will taste bitter or too earthy (can we just mention that ‘earthy’ is a bit of an understatement to describe hemp protein powder?). But I ended liking it. It kinda tastes like cucumber juice. wut.

And finally, one of my meals consisted of a to-go container filled with brown rice and tofu and broccoli stir-fry. Of course, I sprinkled ‘nooch’, sesame seeds, and sriracha, cuz we fancy like that.

Time to dig in! Have a wonderful week and ’til next time~

. random eats #4 .

A good mish-mash of what I ate for the past couple of weeks…

Garbanzo loaf with a side of mixed greens. This is one of the surprisingly good (and one of my favorite) dishes from my campus dining hall. I believe it’s ground garbanzo beans, with flour and spices, baked in marinara sauce.

I bought a tub of Nancy’s cultured soy yogurt from Whole Foods. For those who are used to dairy yogurt, it’s not an exact replica. With that being said, it’s tartness/tanginess makes it one of the closest substitute for the traditional stuff.

A veggie patty from b.good when my parents came to pick me up.

For spring break, I went back to Venetia, PA to relax and take a break from the usual school schedule. With a kitchen available and a cooking mom, I ended up stuffing myself with way too much good food. No regrets though.

I posted the recipe for this five-spice pulled jackfruit a few days ago. It was my first time trying jackfruit, and I like it! In fact, I had both servings…

If you noticed the poor quality of the photos, it’s because I left my good camera back in Boston during spring break. So instead these shots are from my phone…which has shattered camera lens. Ughhh.

Anyways, this banana bread was something my mom and I enjoyed in the course of three days. I intially tried to look for recipes online but then got overwhelmed by the sheer amount of them. So I just winged my own version and hoped for the worst. It wasn’t so bad! Maybe a little too much banana/too little flour made it a bit more dense than I would have liked, but I think I can post the recipe after a little tweaking it here and there.

My mom and I also went out for a late lunch at a newly opened First Watch Cafe after a short shopping spree. The place sells only breakfast and lunch and therefore closes earlier than other restaurants. We got there just before closing time, but the kind lady seated us. The interior is really cute and rustic with chalkboards and whatnot.

I opted for something savory and got myself the veggie burger with a side of dressed greens. That’s two veggie burger in one week folks. The patty is made with brown rice, Peppadew peppers, onions, carrots and mushrooms. I actually preferred this patty over the b.good patty. It was served with fresh avocado, organic mixed greens, tomato and red onion on a brioche bun (probably not vegan).

I’m going to have to come back and try their breakfast menu, which kept calling to me. The price is mid-range, and it’s a great place for meet-ups and mom-daughter dates 🙂

First Watch – Bridgeville

160 Millers Run Rd. #400, Bridgeville, PA 15017

www.firstwatch.com

7 am – 2:30 pm (Mon.-Sun.)

I’m disappointed at myself for not taking more pics of more deliciousness my mom cooked for me. The only one I got is this kimbap that we made towards the end of my stay. I veganized it, using Whole Food’s veggie dogs and the Vegan Egg by Follow Your Heart. I also added strips of marinated tofu and other goodies that commonly go in kimbaps (blanched spinach, sauteed carrots, pickled daikon).

Dining hall food back at the campus in Boston. The tofu stir-fry was actually pretty good (a bit too salty) but I had to eat plain tofu and sweet potatoes on the side to cut the super spiciness of the fresh jalapenos I added. They look so innocent in this picture, but they practically burned my tongue while I was eating. I kept eating them though…that’s the addictive property of capsaicin hehe.

A custom pizza made at Blaze Pizza with a side of leftover kale salad from Cafe Crossing. The store is veg*an friendly, with lots of cool veggie topping options. Plus, they serve Daiya cheese! I’m not a huge fan of their shredded cheeses though, so I asked them to sprinkle only half of the pie with it. The rest of the pizza was topped with kalamata olives, fresh basil, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, sauteed onions, and roasted zucchini. Yumm.

I have more time to cook breakfast in the weekends, so I like to make myself a hearty bowl of oatmeal. I opted for a savory version this time, rather than my usual sweet varieties. This one was about 1/2 cup of dry oats cooked in Not Chik’n broth and nutritional yeast. Then I topped it off with crispy tofu, some more nutritional yeast, hemp hearts and sriracha. Oh, and I added some gim (roasted laver) and umeboshi as garnish. Satisfying my inner Asian.

Pretty bomb if I may say so myself.

As a snack, I had a soft serve of frozen ‘naners, mangoes and pineapples. I could’ve put this in a bowl and made it more presentable. But I could just save myself of one more dish to clean.

And finally, I cooked a one-pot pasta meal for dinner. A recipe I found online used lentil pasta, claiming that it makes the dish creamy. Luckily, I had a box of Ancient Grains Green Lentil Pasta laying around (go figures), so I tested if the trick actually works. I’m happy to say that it totally works! I’m guessing the high starch content of these pasta noodles thickens up the cooking liquid.

I actually didn’t have a lot of the ingredients listed on the recipe, so I went ahead and added what I had on hand. I even added some cauliflower puree to make the sauce extra creamier…mmmm. In the end, the ingredients were completely different, but delicious nonetheless.

Can you tell I’m adding hemp seeds to everything? I find it’s an easy way to add high-quality protein to just about any meal.

Well that wraps up this random eats! Now off to do some work…

. week’s eats #3 .

More like 2 weeks of eats, but I only have enough photos to make up one.

On we go~

Nostalgic banana milk veganized 🙂 I remember downing a single pack of that stuff back when I was in Korea.

Ack! So messy! But we all know almond butter + dates = heaven.

Lays baked chips, because potatoes are vegetables. Gotta get my 5 servings a day.

I also made some kimchi fried rice topped with gim. I was too tired to make it look presentable, but it still tasted amazing. Plus I’m obsessed with anything kimchi (I wonder why hehe).

Last week had a couple of cold, rainy days, perfect for a comforting bowl of soup and toast! Here, we have smashed chickpea salad on sprouted Ezekiel bread and Imagine organic sweet pea soup.

Also, have you guys tried the new Daiya greek yogurt alternatives? Dairy-free, soy-free powered by pea protein! I saw them out on the refrigerated section of Star Market, and my curiosity lead me to spend $2.50 on this tiny cup.

Before: topped with frozen berries and Kashi nuggets.

After. Nom nom.

I never really like flavored yogurts to begin with, and many non-dairy companies use a ton of sweeteners to mask the lack of tanginess and flavor that characterize dairy yogurt. Despite this one being on the extremely sweet side, I have to say that the texture was almost spot on. Nice, thick and creamy. One thing I didn’t like about So Delicious’ coyo is their heavy use of starches/gums to thicken the mixture. Daiya’s have none of that; they do contain thickeners, but it’s more subtle without creating slimy-ness (perhaps the coconut cream’s doing?).

I’ve been skipping breakfast in the mornings these days, so it’s nice when I have the chance to sit down and enjoy a chocolate green smoothie bowl.

Or I mash my meals into one brunch/lupper(?). Usually it’s from Cafe Crossing, and I’m pretty sure the ladies working there wonder how I go there almost every day. This time I got the Chimichurri bowl without feta cheese. So. freaking. hearty.

That’s it for this week’s eats. Sorry for it being so short and for me not posting for a while. I’ve been pretty busy with midterms and papers, buttttttt I know I’ll eventually come back to this blog. It’s where we procrastinate, right? And procrastination is the bane of my existence that will never go away.

Have a good long weekend to those who have President’s Day off!

. week’s eats #2 + veggie kale wraps .

There’s something about seeing other people’s food that is so satisfying. For me, I like to take inspiration from other’s ‘What I Ate’ and incorporate some of those ideas into my own meals. Someone does the genius work for you = less effort and more deliciousness. My food is pretty lackluster, but I hope there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

I combined some of last week’s eats, since I didn’t get a chance to post them up.

Chocolate oats topped with frozen berries, chopped dark chocolate bar and almond butter.

Melty, melty~

(is it just me, or do you also want to wipe off that smidgen of almond butter on the side?? :O)

Didn’t have any nut milks on hand, so I just used these single packs my school provides. I don’t use them everyday since they are a bit too sugary, yet they’re too convenient to nix from my life.

A create-your-own sandwich from Café  Crossing: baked tofu, avocado, pumpkin hummus, tomato, kale/spinach between a good hunk of bread. They call it a baguette, but it felt more like a hybrid of a ciabatta and hoagie roll (= ciagie/hoabatta).

Tbh, I’m not 100% sure if the “baguette” is vegan— it may have some honey in it. If you are vegan, make sure to ask the staff before ordering.

Eating with a nice view of a cute little man…split in half.

More chocolate oatmeal, blended with protein powder and coffee.

If all those carbs scared you, here’s some greens to heal your eyes.

A.k.a. “Kind of hungry, kind of not but I just bought a bunch of dinosaur kale” wraps.

Yep, I threw in a random things from the fridge, wrapped them in giant kale leaves, and shoved it in my mouth. So technically, this doesn’t even count as a recipe but more of an inspo for your next meals. 🙂

Kale Veggie Wrap (serves 1)

Ingredients:

2 large lacinato kale leaves, stalks trimmed
3 TBSP hummus
2 TBSP sun-dried tomatoes in oil
Veggies of choice (I used julliened carrots)
Protein of choice (I used IKEA vegetable balls)

1. Wash the kale and pat dry.
2. Spread hummus and lay fillings of your choice on top. I added a drizzle of sriracha.
3. Roll starting from the stalk-y side. So scaly—like dinosaurs?
4. Slice in half and serve. (otherwise it looks like rolled-up rabbit food if you leave it as-is.)

I can imagine this with falafel inside too! mmmmmm.

Reached the final moments of my PB jar. It didn’t end up as overnight oats though.

Instead I made some peanut dressing for my leftover kale. I didn’t measure, but I put approx. a 1:1 ratio of everything (PB, tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, maple syrup).

I also hit the bottom of my bag of tea leaves. I’ve been reducing my caffeine from coffee and replacing it with occasional tea. A generous friend gave these leaves a while back, and I’ve been savoring each cup to the last drop.

Cool mug from Korea. It’s perfect for single servings.

Random: I started playing volleyball with my friends, but I’m clearly not so skilled with the sport. My arms ended up bruised after practice with my suite-mate, but her’s were completely fine. This goes on to prove how much of a wimp I am haha.

Welp that’s all for the past week. Plank hopes everyone had a great CNY last Saturday!

. week’s eats .

This is going to be a sweet & short post of my meals this week. Not that I remembered to take a picture of all my food… :s

I usually make myself a smoothie or even just take a piece of fruit as a portable snack before my 8 a.m. class.

Maybe it’s due to the lack of chewing action, but smoothies tend to leave me hungry 2-3 hours after drinking, and that’s with hemp seeds, nut butters, and all other goodies…

. mocha smoothie made w. leftover oatmeal .

One exception is oatmeal. There’s something about adding oats that sticks to your ribs and tides you over ’til your next meal. Plus, it makes the smoothie super creamy and thick— almost like pudding!

. remember when adding oats was unheard of ?

Random, but cool chairs at the Science-Engineering Complex. I like how people get to have their own mini private space, but at the same time it is a bit isolating and anti-social…

. me reading in my own little cubby .

Because the science-engineering complex I have morning classes in is near Cafe Crossing, I sometimes drop by and get lunch when I’m in a crunch for time to eat at the dining halls.

 

. avo toast …quite trendy, NEU .

An avocado toast and coffee for breakfast and a veggie sandwich for later. Sadly, I couldn’t get a photo of the sandwich because I was too busy trying to eat discretely during my lecture. I’ll post a review of Cafe Crossing next time 🙂

On days I do have time to eat at the dining hall:

. half-eaten bowl of brown rice congee w. seared tofu .

Such a comforting bowl of warm goodness for those chilly afternoons~

. tamarind sweet potatoes and steamed squash .

I could eat a bowl of these sweet potatoes. They were so.freaking.good; in fact I smuggled some back to my dorm for those sweet and salty cravings.

Didn’t feel like eating an actual dinner, so I ended the day with not one, but two nanners and a big spoon of PB (aka best snack ever).

. get yo’ hand off my smoothie .

Today’s meal schedule was a bit wonky— despite my usual green smoothie before heading out, I was hungry by 10:30 a.m. I thought about just holding in my hunger, but I didn’t want risk the embarrassment of my stomach growling (loudly) during class. So I went to Rebecca’s Cafe (another cafe I have yet to review!) and grabbed a wrap.

I should stop feeding my coffee addiction. I can’t help but love the aromatic and toasty taste of black coffee. It’s also a nice palate cleanser after your meals.

 

For dinner, I just put together a small plate of whatever random things I had in my fridge, because I wasn’t that hungry.

. IKEA veggie balls, tamarind sweet potatoes, kimchi, umeboshi .

Those IKEA balls are pretty good, though this poorly-lit photo doesn’t do it justice.Oh and if you’re unfamiliar with umeboshi, they’re pickled Japanese plums! They have an acquired taste that not everyone will love, but they go so well with bland foods (like rice) imo. If you’re into sour things and that funk from fermented foods, give umeboshi a try!

That’s all I have to share for now. Time for the weekend! woohoo!!

 

. first week of classes + “field trip” .

This post is lonnggg overdue. I blame it mostly on school for a) giving me too much work to do and thus b) make my life too boring to blog. Honestly, this was one of the longest week I’ve been through. I don’t know if it was from the disarray of being thrown back into a schedule or of trying to get my life together, but all these events seriously hit me hard. But I’m sure I’ll get back in the groove once the weeks roll by. It is great to see my friends again, nonetheless. 😀

We don’t even have a floor kitchen here, meaning I have to secretly build my own kitchen in my own room. I think I’ve managed somewhat…

. toaster, Crock-Pot, kettle, blender .

Especially excited to use this baby once I came back to my dorm.

. Breville Boss To Go .

I really, really, really missed my smoothes last semester, so I asked for a small personal blender on my birthday. I’m pretty satisfied with it so far; it blends everything smoothly and the portable cup and lid makes it perfect for on-the-go.

Before the first day of classes, I hit my local Whole Foods to buy some spinach for that boost of greens in my smoothies. Turns out, organic green kale were on sale, and I went with that instead along with a carton of coconut water. Washing and drying these were a pain in the butt since I don’t have a colander.

. another bunch in the back waiting to be washed -_- .

Worry not. After freezing half, a whole lot made it into my:

smoothies

. vanilla protein smoothie .

. kale, apple, orange & celery .

and salads.

. massaged kale salad: EVOO, OJ, salt, red pepper flakes & apple slices .

This was surprisingly good. I didn’t have a lemon so I just used the juice of half an orange for acidity and sweetness.

I drank a lot more of this kale, but I don’t have any photos :(. I need to get in the habit of taking more pics, but I don’t want to lug my (kinda) bulky camera around with me everywhere. It doesn’t help that I shattered my phone camera, making it hard to focus on objects and giving the pics black specks on the corners.

Moving on to a new subject, look at this new science-engineering center our school built! (this was taken with my phone, hence the specks). I have my first lecture here at 8 am. Despite dreading the 15 minute walk to get here, I admit the lecture halls are quite impressive. Luxurious red seats with wide pull-up desks.

. so tall… so spiral-y .

Reminds me of the Korean MBC broadcasting center hehe.

Now some random eats:

. salad with a side of chem .

. mocha oatmeal topped w. banana coins, almond butter, cacao nibs & coconut .

Which was eaten with this tiny, cute spoon.

. snacking on a tangelo .

. morning muesli bun w. almond butter & green smoothie .

If you guys can find these buns, do get them! You can freeze them for longer storage, and it tastes amazing toasted. Slightly crispy on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside~

Unfortunately, I don’t have many food pics because I eat at my school’s dining hall. Hence, most my meals look like this:

. sweet potatoes all day, every day .

Some of the dishes are at best mediocre in taste, but there’s a decent selection of veg options.

Last weekend, my friend L and I went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History to complete a biology assignment. The assignment itself is due way later, but we figured it’d be convenient to get it out of the way at the beginning of the semester when we’re not boggled down by other class work.

Get ready to be blasted by photos.

I could stare at these rocks all day. Now if I can get a hold of one…

. would NOT want to see a bee this big in real life .

The (dead) animals:

Small egg cushioned in luxury. This is how I feel when I sleep on a big bed.

. guess again, ’cause it’s not a shell (answer: whale ear) .

. I wish I could ride this like Marlin and Dory .

The recently dead animals:

. jk, this one’s plastic .

. attack of the hummingbirds .

. this little guy is too cute; honestly sad to see him in taxidermy state .

. wut .

I had mixed feelings about the taxidermy. It was sad to see a bunch of animals stuffed and displayed in a glass case, yet I learned a lot on different species from the galleries. Plus, we would have little record of extinct species if it were not for these museums. I personally enjoyed the experience (L has other opinions), since I’m interested in all this science/ecology stuff. The whole place is pretty small, but it has a lot packed into it. I definitely recommend visiting if you have a chance. (Plus, Sundays 9am-12pm & Wednesdays 3pm-5pm are free for Massachusetts residents!)

Museum of Natural History

26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

http://hmnh.harvard.edu/

 

L and I spent a total of 4 hours circling around the building to answer questions related to the exhibits, which drained our energy and left us hangry. After a quick trip to H-mart for ingredients, we headed back to my dorm to assemble dinner: vegan bibimbap and some other banchans. I just microwaved instant rice packs and added pre-made bibimbap vegetables along with vegan kimchi, gochujang sauce and toasted gim (seaweed).

I was so busy stuffing my face with food that I forgot to take pictures until half-way through.

. this bibimbap was demolished .

. pan fried tofu w. soy dipping sauce (두부 부침) . dat lone jalapeno in da back .

We were literally stuffed after this meal. Not to say there wasn’t room for dessert…not photoed here, but we enjoyed So Delicious ice cream after our feast.

That wraps up today’s long post. I technically cheated by adding tons of photos from the museum, but we all like visuals, no?

Oh, and say hello to Plank! Also a birthday gift from my parents (I asked for it haha).

. doing some martial arts .

I’m plenty entertained by making him do new poses every day. Look forward to seeing him from time to time here 🙂

May your week be productive!