Falling in Bliss with these Foods

My friends and food continue to endlessly inspire and amaze me every year. The last 2-3 years, through dining experiences in school and with my loved ones, I’ve realized that there are a lot of food and beverages out there that I find complete happiness, comfort and most of all love in.

Last year was mussels, cold brew, lobster, and so much more. This year is a little different and I’d like to show you the foods I’ve been falling into bliss with:

plates of salmon sushi1. Salmon (Sashimi + Smoked Salmon)

I used to think that sashimi or even the idea of smoked salmon was disgusting. However, my boyfriend is the biggest salmon lover that I know and he has told me good salmon should never taste fishy. Last year, I started eating salmon rolls, spicy crunch salmon roll, and I loved it! Now onto smoked salmon, a friend brought smoked salmon with cream cheese rolled inside and I thought it was insanely good. Now every once in a while I do cook with smoked salmon or make smoked salmon crackers.dishes and drinks with mango2. Mango

I used to be allergic to mango, but somehow it disappeared and once in a while I still get an itchy throat if I eat too much. I started eating a lot of mango last year and now I love mango sago, mango smoothie, in sushi, in salads, and so much more.

food dishes containing avocado

3. Avocado

Based on a study that was read to my restaurant management class over the summer, avocado toast is one of the hottest food trends. I never really liked avocado before until I discovered guacamole. I enjoy eating avocado very much especially avocado toast and nothing make it taste better than a fried egg.

French onion soup

4. French Onion soup

French onion soup brings back memories of my dining room and culinary class that I took here at City Tech. I remember from the way it’s served, the type of bowl, and down to the type of broth and much more. This year I learned that my boyfriend loves French Onion soup and 90% of the time he will order it if we’re eating at an American or French restaurant, even at diners. I wanted to know exactly why he was so fascinated with this soup and  so we shared a bowl recently and it was great. First off, it smells insanely good and melted cheese make a lot of things taste better. When this soup is done right, it can really make you happy and full!

a bottle of Vita Coco coconut water

5. Vita Coco

My sister and mom have been drinking Vita Coco for more than a year now and they said it’s very refreshing and keeps you hydrated. This summer, I gave it a shot and I love it. It’s better than a lot of drinks I’ve had so far. I’ve tried pineapple and passion fruit and it’s excellent.

prosciutto on toast

6. Prosciutto

Last, but not least there’s another special food that I love and have ate, but never took it upon myself to cook or make food with it at home. Last summer and this year, I was exposed a lot to prosciutto and I loved it. I recently had one from Piccoli Trattoria. They had an amazing prosciutto with fig jam and on toasted bread. It was a good balance of salty and sweet.

So these are the six food items that I have fell in love with this year  and I am excited to see what I may try with the rest of this year and every year to come. I am excited to see what is next that will fascinate me.

What foods have you tried this year that you love or enjoy?

How About Kill-Free Meat?

three raw steaks on a cutting boards

Image by: barış can

Have you ever wondered about how that hamburger you’re eating was created?  Or about the type of cows used? How about what those cows consumed before being used as meat for the production of that single hamburger? Do you care how animals are slaughtered and how the meat is distributed? How about the living conditions of the animals before they’re slaughtered for consumption?

Well, you may be surprised; it is always a risk to eat or prepare a meal with any type of meat in it. The quality of it may seem certain but some risks go unnoticed, such as, specific bacteria that can cause harmful viruses like E. coli et cetera. Scientists have created a revolutionary solution for this by creating a kill-free meat variety, which will create different types of meat while excluding the reality of slaughtering animals for our consumption.

A company by the name of Memphis Meats has created an entire business based off of kill-free meats. This is done by them manufacturing meat in a laboratory as they utilize the animal cells by feeding them with oxygen and a slew of specific nutrients (i.e. sugar and minerals) in order to ‘grow’ meat. The duration in which it takes to harvest the meat can range from nine to twenty-one days before it is ready to be used. They believe this practice is more sustainable in significantly reducing the death of animals for human consumption.

Memphis Meats has claimed that the kill-free meat will still cost the same, average amount of regularly consumed meats. And taste testers have said that the cultured meat tastes delicious and taste just like meat from an actual animal. The cultured meat is supposedly more sustainable than animal meats, even organics ones, as it eliminates the entire slaughtering process by ‘creating’ the meat.

The whole idea sounds nice but would you be okay with consuming laboratory-made meat? It sounds very similar to the Mondo Burger from Good Burger (a great and hilarious movie, I would suggest you watch it if you haven’t already) where they used chemicals to make the burgers bigger and more appealing while adding an addictive quality to it.

Comment below with your own opinions for this progression in the meat world for the future.