herbiehancock

there was a time when i would go over to dannon's house, peer into his cupboards, and ask "where's all your food?!" sure his cupboards would be packed full, but none of it looked like actual food to me - it was all just  ingredients . you see, my relationship with food has always been fairly nonexistent.  of course i ate and of course there are foods that i'm excited to eat, but i never saw food as an experience .  in my home, we all just took care of ourselves.  we ate whatever we needed to, whenever we needed to, and it wasn't a special event that we shared together.  to be honest, i'm perfectly happy with having grown up this way, because i could really care less about food {gasp!}.  i know this is one of those things which makes me a black sheep of blogland, but there it is.  often i feel like food is just this thing that i have to do during the day, and when it's over, i can get back to life.  what a bother!  if i could get all of my nut...

Ahh.... post graduation ennui - what better time to indulge in thoughtless drinking and mindless leisure? Unfortunately, I can't afford that kind of luxury (I probably don't want it anyway) and so it's off on series of bus stops, wet days, she's there, I say. There's still plenty of thoughtless drinking. But I'm on vacation. New bar, old tricks. After midnight in crime city . Drinking alone's no fun but somebody's gotta do it. Delta girls know how to get down. Rowan's performing a signature dance move that's sure to make her a star.  Antioch doesn't hide its classicism. Drink domestic or get the fuck out. Starting early. That's early in the day and early in life. Ratfink. Not sure why I never realized Brett is Crispin Glover. That's a compliment, by the way. Oh good. Blushing bride. This girl... The wedding singers. Mind is furry at this point. BEHOLD, the quest for the shuffleboard table of the covenant is consummate.  I shuffled .66...

every once in a while i'll see something amazing online and think "i must have that right now!" when that something just so happens to contain the words "easiest pie ever," and i just so happen to have all of the ingredients in my cupboard, i tend to make a dash for my kitchen whilst shouting "it's fate!"  that's precisely what happened yesterday when i saw  this  beauty on pinterest.   { the photo that inspired it all } i based my recipe on " the easiest blackberry pie ever " recipe, making a few of my own changes.  i didn't exactly have all of the ingredients, but the recipe really is so incredibly easy that i was inspired to make it work.  after a quick peek in my fridge, i decided to sub in strawberries for blackberries and phyllo dough for pie dough {which were what i had on hand}.  gather + berries of your choosing {i used blueberries & strawberries, fresh from the farmer's market} + pie dough or phyllo dough + 1 egg...

can we take a minute to talk about food trucks please? i'm not sure if you have them where you live, but here in los angeles they are all the rage.  you can find just about every type of food packed up in a clever truck, each with it's own unique twist. for example, there's a grilled cheese truck which offers a sandwich with caramelized cinnamon apples & candied walnuts mixed in the cheese.  oh heavens!   there are a whole bunch of food trucks on my "places to try in LA" list, but i've already discovered a few favorites.  at the top of my list is the amazing coolhaus ice cream sandwich truck . { it's so cute! } oh yes, tis the season for finding creative ways to stay cool, and you can be sure, once i get a job and have some spending money, that i'll be hopelessly devoted to this adorable truck.  coolhaus creates ice cream sandwiches on the spot according to your specifications.  you get to choose the type of ice cream AND the type of cookie o...

for our wedding, the mister made all the desserts himself, including hand rolling a few dozen cake pops! oh my yes, they were amazing.  at the time they weren't quite so popular, so it was a rather unique addition to our dessert menu.  now, you can find cake pops all over the place, even starbucks.  YUM!  recently i've been noticing all sorts of other variations of pops popping up. here are some of the treats-on-a-stick that i've found: clockwise from left:   macaroon pops ,  rice krispies treats pops , &  gingerbread house pops clockwise from bottom left:   oreo pops ,  pizza pops ,  smores pops ,  pie pops  {eee!}, &  cookie pops .  aren't these foods so much more fun on a stick?! oh! and this is what we'll have to do after eating all these delectable treats: { photo } i actually still have a whole bunch of sticks left over from our cake pops, which leaves me wondering, "what else can we put on a stick?..."...

have you ever had a tim tam?  i was first introduced to these treats way back in college, when i first met the mister.  his family is from australia, so it was essential that i liked certain beloved australian foods.  first came marmite {YUM!!}, then came lamingtons {OM NOM NOM!!}, and then... my life was changed forever! the stars aligned, kittens fell from heaven, my world - rocked ! that was a tim tam slam.  it might sound like a drug to you, and in many ways, it totally is.  i certainly crave it like crack, and it's best to have assistance when you take a hit.  i'm warning you now, things are going to be different after i show you this.  stop reading right now if you're content with the way things are, if you enjoy that boring desk job, or if your favorite color is beige.  seriously, just move on to the next blog in your reader. but! if you are ready to take the next step in life, by all means, draw open the curtain, and be exposed to the wond...

i discovered an amazing new site last month on lillian's gorgeous blog, unstitched .  the site is called your tea time  {created by the amazing sanctuary t tea shop}, and it showcases beautiful scenes of my favorite drink, tea.  what's better is the photos have been submitted by people from all over the world, and you can submit yours too!   i don't know about you, but i am a huge lover of tea {i'm even drinking some as i type this!}.  yes, there is the obvious benefit of gaining that extra boost of energy in the morning, but my true love of tea is based in the ritual.  there's just something so soothing and calming about taking the time to slowly sip tea.  i also love the thought of enjoying something straight from the earth, which was grown and harvested by farmers from the other side of the world.  it's a romantic notion to think about all the cultures who share tea in social/spiritual rituals, and that i can take part in those experiences fro...

lately, i've been experimenting with making smoothies!  aren't they an amazing way to eat all the healthy stuff you're supposed to, but which is hard to fit in with all of the cereal you eat?  no?  that's just me?  well, whatever the case, i have always been a huge lover of smoothies and i'm so excited to see so many posts about them in blogland.  i mean really, what's not to love?  they're a great way to get your vitamins, you can easily sneak in veggies and protein {hello greens & tofu!}, and they're pretty easy to modify for whatever kind of flavor you're going for.   recently, i've been making my own version of the green monster to go with my breakfasts in the mornings. i use... a ton of spinach a handful of almonds a couple dollops of yogurt about a cup of blueberries a few strawberries a few peaches about a half a banana apple juice sometimes i add red pepper, avocado, garbanzos, or raspberries. i try to make it extra thick {by using l...

i have recently discovered the BEST breakfast in the entire world.  seriously.   i am a vegetarian {although sometimes i eat turkey or salmon, so i guess i'm more of a bad-etarian... hypocrit-arian?...}. i hate beans, however, which means i have a really tough time finding healthy ways to get enough protein.  so i was extremely excited to find an easy-peasy recipe for a low calorie, high protein breakfast ~ protein pancakes! { this is not exactly what they look like, but i couldn't get a decent  photo of  mine  because i eat them too fast.  photo found here . } here's the recipe: 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese 1/2 cup egg whites a tablespoon of vanilla extract cinnamon combine all the ingredients, mix well, and cook as you would regular pancakes: pour about 1/4 cup of the mixture at a time into a frying pan over low heat, flip when the edges have set, remove when both sides are a nice golden brown. calories: 260g protein: 25g this m...

i made a ton of treats over the weekend to send out to all my nieces and nephews for christmas.  i kept saying i was baking, but i suppose the more accurate description is "melting chocolate and dipping a bunch of stuff into it."  i'm not sure if you're aware of this, but most of the things in your cupboard taste better smothered in chocolate, and they make awesome gifts for sweet-lovers in your family.  i made chocolate covered pretzels with different flavors - plain, espresso, & spiced {cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves}.  i also made peanut clusters and oreo truffles.  that's right, you heard me!  oreo truffles!  and if you're thinking to yourself right now, "why what's an oreo truffle and how do i make some of my own?"  well, you're in luck.  because i'm doing my first ever food recipe post.  cue the trumpets! oreo truffles are super easy to make, ridiculously delicious, and not even slightly healthy for you.  in fact, they're ...

Christina mentioned that she had fond memories of my top ramen cooking skills, something I honed out of destitution and desperation. I don't eat top ramen that often any more, at least the nissin/maruchan variety. My diet is still probably 60% percent noodles, though. Sandwiches being the other 37% of course. The other day in a rush between school and work I whipped up this remarkably good lunch out of spare parts lying around my kitchen. Borrowing heavily from something Dave Manzella made while camping last summer, I boiled spaghetti noodles and baked chicken with a bunch of garlic and onions. For a sauce I fried a bunch of garlic in olive oil, added a small tin of anchovies my bosses gave me for Christmas (hard times this year) and one bunch of kale chopped into 1 inch ribbons. That over the noodles with the chicken was the best thing I'd made in a while. Super simple and tasty. The anchovies make it nice and salty, but be careful because any more of them might have been too ...