Baltimore Eats

I've recently come to the realization of a few things:

-  I enjoy posting about my own culinary adventures in the kitchen than of places that I've eaten. Maybe it's partially because I don't feel like I'm one to make judgements on 

- I am very tempted splurge for cable TV just so I can watch the Food Network...but then I might never leave the couch and be even more hungry than I already am...all the time.

- I am having an almost quarter life crisis about being in the wrong industry. But perhaps one day I really will make the switch from fashion to food. They both start with the same letter, right?

This burst of epiphanies occurred to me when I was visiting my cousin down in Baltimore for a few days this past week and did much watching of the Food Network and giving in to impulse food cravings based on commercials I saw on TV - even though I know how I am being marketed to, I actually enjoy falling for it sometimes.

The first meal I had was after I arrived Tuesday evening and she had ordered take-out from a Thai/Japanese place and I had picked up some Korean pancakes from the supermarket before taking the bus down. I must have been really hungry...because I missed to take a picture of the food. No worries though, the leftovers were captured the next day at lunch. But before I get to that, we must have the most important meal of the day...breakfast!

Breakfast was inspired by something I saw on one of the cooking competitions on TV years ago (I am starting to notice that my life seems to revolve around the tube...), and I had had a conversation with someone, maybe at WD-50 the other night (will post about that at a later date...I hope), about this dish. But enough of the background story, for lack of a better name to call it, I shall refer to it as pumped up toast. I know that there is an actual name for this dish, but I have no idea...oh wait, I just did a Google search, thank you Google & Wikipedia, it's called an "Egg in the basket." 

What it is, or at least what I did, was to cut out a piece of the bread in the shape of a circle, and throw it onto a pan of heated oil, fried both sides, then added the egg into where the piece was cut out. For the first piece, I had thought that the egg would cook through both sides and that I wouldn't have to flip the whole thing over, but the top of the egg didn't seem like it was going to be cooked any time soon, and the bottom of the bread was starting to burn. But by that point, I had already sprinkled it in parmesan cheese, which I used her nifty handy-dandy grater to grate (I want one btw). So, that one came out a little more messy than I would have liked. However, I did learn my lesson for the second one, and flipped the bread with the egg before adding on the cheese. Plated them with some blueberries and apple sauce I found in the fridge (and yes, I was trying to be fancy by using the term "plated"), and voila! Breakfast is served.

I want this grater, it has a measuring cup attached at the bottom!

Toast Preparation

First not-so-good attempt that I tried to cover up with cheese...but still tasty!

Learned my lesson the second time around

Final Product

We took a stroll in the nearby park after breakfast as it was a whopping 50-60 degrees out and sunny...on the first day of February??? Hello Global Warming, I see you have arrived.

Thought I'd share some photos of fun in the sun:

The pond from different angles

What not to do with a cannon...

Hiding...

The view from below

After our post-breakfast stroll...we had lunch. Lunch was leftovers from last night's dinner and Korean rice cakes with hot pepper sauce which I picked up at the grocery store along with the Korean pancakes (the bus stop was near K-town).

Preparation

Dukbokki!

Lunch!

After lunch I went to visit a friend of mine who worked a few blocks away, and on my way back, I had a lightbulb moment inspired by the many waffle commercials I had been seeing on TV, and stopped by Safeway to pick up the necessary ingredients for "Breakfast for Dinner" - Cinnamon Toast Waffles, Kefir, and Hash Browns.

We did take a bit more of a break this time between meals, and spent some time up on her rooftop catching the last few rays of the sun.

The View (and not the one with Whoopi Goldberg)

My attempt to see what all the fuss has been about...I never actually opened the book, but took a nap instead

Panorama Shot

In my opinion, breakfast for dinner is always a good idea - Almost Midnight Breakfast events in college were my favorite. Plus, we ate it while watching TV. I felt like an indulgent child...and I liked it! I also topped the waffles with Vanilla ice cream and bananas, and won my skeptical cousin over with the combination, though she still wasn't ready to buy into me eating waffles with ice cream for breakfast. 

Afterwards, we also indulged in our impulse craving for buttery popcorn (there must have been a commercial somewhere...), and my cousin indulged me in a Reeses treat, as I had asked her earlier that day if she had any chocolatey peanut butter treats after seeing a Reeses commercial - I'm not brand picky! Any sort of similar combination would have been sufficient for my craving.

Side & Aerial views of my breakfast for dinner

Sweet & Buttery treats!

She dropped me off the next morning in downtown Baltimore by the inner harbor on her way to work since my bus didn't leave until later in the afternoon. I took the morning hour to hang out at the Barnes & Noble Starbucks (which isn't really Starbucks so I couldn't use my giftcard!), and I thought I'd give the Sea Salt Caramel Mocha a try, because I've always been curious. However, I asked for no whipped cream...and I got whipped cream =(

Didn't feel like complaining, so I just dealt with it my own way:

How I deal...

B & N escalators

Fish that greeted me outside of B&N, and me alone...

I then went to check out the Baltimore Aquarium for a few hours, and I dare so I was probably more excited about some of the things than the little kids running around me.

I generally don't like jelly fish...but these were pretty cool looking

FLASH! just kidding

With some more time to kill, I took some scenic touristy shots before settling in for a quick lunch - never a good idea to get on a bus with an empty stomach.

I love playing tourist - something about not being responsible for knowing anything!

Oyster Po' Boy & a Bloody Mary

On my train ride home later that night, I felt kind of guilty for having indulged so much for the past few days, that I thought I got a salad with beets, onions, cheese, salsa & Balsamic Vinaigrette.

My attempt at being "healthy"