Spicy Shrimp & Broccoli.

I found a recipe for Spicy Shrimp & Broccoli online. 

It looked yummy and I wanted to try it at home. 

The site is listed at the bottom of this post.

Shrimp is my favorite Protein and I am proud! 

I am always looking for new ways to cook Shrimp. 

I always tell people Not to do this but I'm going to do it anyway… 

I am not in love with this set of pictures but I really wanted to post them. I am working on finding the best lighting in my kitchen, and well, finding the best lighting anywhere in and around my apartment. I don't always cook when there is still nice natural light, so I am in the process of figuring out the best alternative. I white balanced in my kitchen but was still not satisfied. It's a work in progress…

The recipe is simple & yummy. It calls for Shrimp, Broccoli, Cumin, Coriander, 

Chili Flakes, Salt & Pepper, Olive Oil and a Lemon.

I baked the Broccoli for 20 min on 450˚ and it was nicely browned.

The shrimp is baked for 10 minutes with a flip half way.

I had never baked shrimp until this recipe. 

I prefer shrimp a little on the firmer side so now I know, 10 min at 450˚done!

I was satisfied with this dish but I have to say that I think I squeezed too much 

Lemon Juice on it which kind of ruined it for me. The Lemon Zest that was 

mixed with the Shrimp added a perfect amount of Lemon flavor. 

The recipe that I read says that the Lemon Juice is a must, 

but I could have done without it :)

Overall, Yum. 

Healthy and Tastey!

Click for Recipe!

Randoms.

I haven't updated in a bit 

So I'm going to post some random pictures I've taken that I like.

I took this in Shanghai.

Pot Luck BBQ in Los Angeles. I don't like mushrooms, but I love this Photo!

A Bar in New Orleans, I love it there!

This is from a little shop at a the Spier Vineyard in Stellenbosch, South Africa. 

What a beautiful place!

Another Vineyard in South Africa... Not sure of the name, but it's amazing.

Any direction you look is more beautiful than the last. 

And there are tons of Vineyards.... Amazing :)

My friend's cousin is a Chef in South Africa & these are some of his delicious dishes.

Yummy!

Strawberry Shake from a super cute Tea Garden Restaurant!

Australia or Cheesecake Factory?

I think these Thai Lettuce Wraps look like the Sydney Opera House. 

Haha... What do you think?

More photos to come...

Tea Bags.

I really love the little quotes on these Celestial Seasonings Tea Bags....

Everyday at work I have a cup of tea just so that I can read these quotes :)

It was entertaining to try and find places in the offices to put the quotes.

This is one of my favorite quotes~!

Fortunes.

Oh Blog, how I've missed you!  Busy week, but I do have pictures to add! 

I've run into a lot of fortunes this week 

(I wish that meant money ha) so here they are….

I was looking for some type of spicy Asian soup to help cure my cold (I didn't have any of Mom's chicken noodle soup) so I looked up some Pho places, but honestly I don't really know what to expect from pho because I've never had it…  So I decided on Hot and Sour Soup instead. Now this is a first for me because I've never liked the smell of it haha, but I decided to go ahead and give it a try. 

I ordered from The Palace on Hillhurst which is really cute! I haven't been to a Chinese restaurant in a really long time, it kind of reminded me of when I was a kid. It seemed like family sort of place. All the employees were extremely nice and friendly! As I waited for my take-out, I stared at the fish tank, Chinese restaurant-style, while listening a lady play the Chinese harp on a little stage :)

To be honest I did not like the soup that much, it was a bit thick for my taste and I'm not a big fan of mushrooms, plus I wish it had been a bit more spicy. Aside from the soup, I would definitely go back there. (I ordered vegetable steamed dumplings and they wer tasty!) Anyway the picture above was my fortune.

In addition to the spicy soup I have been drinking a lot of Tea (at work) 

and Celestial Seasonings tea bags have little quotes on them, which I like.

I am trying to photograph one tea bag quote a day, in different settings. Fun.

Shrimp Fajitas

I'm really enjoying this whole Blog thing... I am loving taking pictures, editing them, posting them, I learn something new every day. It's really challenging and fun!

I got take out from Mexico City on Hillhurst and I ordered Shrimp Fajitas to go...

The shrimp didn't have much flavor.... For me that wasn't too much of an issue because shrimp is my favorite protein. 

Side note: I still don't really understand why shrimp is Ever served with the tail on. It's one thing if you are eating with your hands and peeling the whole shrimp (Baltimore style, mmm Old Bay Seasoning!) but say, for example, you're in a fancy Italian restaurant and your fancy pasta dish has fancy shrimp in it.... I think it's really annoying to have to cut the tail off. It's not the classiest thing in the world to pick up the shrimp by the tail, take a bite, discard the tail and lick your fingers... so naturally that's what I want to do!! haha, but I wouldn't have to think about it if Shrimp wasn't served with the tail on! Some people argue that it looks nicer with the tail... nah you can keep it!

I brought my fajitas home excited to take pictures... But first I had to take the food out of separate containers (there were a bunch!) and arrange it as best I could for a photograph. I'm pretty pleased with how easily I plated it. I think I learned a thing or two from waitressing! Then I was sort of struggling for good lighting because there was no where in my apartment with nice natural light. I went to my back yard which was better, but I still had to add a little bounce to try and grab some more light. I'm not in love with this round of photos, just in like.

So back to the food... the fajita part wasn't too flavorful. The guacamole and salsas saved it. It also wasn't hot by the time I ate it, but that was my fault considering I took the time to take pictures. The flour tortillas were a little thick for my taste, but hey, at least I had the option of flour instead of corn.

Sushi

My roommate and I just had lunch at Koda Sushi on Sunset 

Koda Sushi & Sake, 3719 Sunset Blvd. At N. Hobart Blvd.

(the address is the same number as the house I grew up in! Fun fact, sort of, ha).

The Sushi is pretty good and really cheap!

They have a daily Happy Hour from noon to 7pm 

with a pretty large selection of Starters, Salads, 

Beer & Sake, Sushi and Dessert is just $4.

I've only ever had the California Roll, and I enjoyed it. 
My roommate had an Albacore Roll, which she said was just alright.

She said that the Crispy Rice Cakes were amazing!