Out & About: Good Morning Baltimore!

This time last year I said goodbye to a wonderful country and some beautiful people in South Korea. The friends I made there are some of the greatest people I've ever known and even though we're scattered all over the globe I think we do a pretty good job keeping in touch. In need of a summer trip (and a reunion) I booked a trip to visit my friend Jess in Baltimore, Maryland. We spent four days stuffing our faces and being tourists in both Baltimore and Washington D.C. Straight from the airport we headed to Trader Joe's! I picked up a fair amount of chocolate covered goodies and a jar of the famous Speculoos Cookie Butter (which unfortunately was taken from me at the airport). After a short rest, we headed to Matthew's Pizzeria for one of the best pizza's I've ever had - my mouth is watering just thinking of it. We spent the afternoon at the American Visionary Art Museum, which was awesome and then headed to meet Jess's parents for dinner at L.P. Steamers. Now, since March I've been following a vegetarian diet though sometimes eating seafood - which I guess technically makes me a pescetarian but who needs labels right!? Anyways, it didn't seem right to be in Baltimore without trying some of their infamous steamed crabs (with what else but Old Bay on top). At first I was kind of nervous cracking open their shells but I eventually got the hang of it and feasted 'till my heart's content! Our first day was made complete with italian ice and frozen custard from the Cow for dessert- I got frozen hot chocolate and coconut almond ice with chocolate custard on top. 

We spent the morning of the second day wandering around Hampden, and then heading to lunch at Papermoon Diner. They have any amazing menu but it's really the atmosphere that knocks this place out of the park. It is painted in bright, fun, colours and covered top to bottom with a large (and crazy) collection of toys, dolls and mannequins - seriously one of the coolest diner's I've ever been to. From here we headed to Fell's Point for a wander, a ghost tour, snow balls and Mexican food at Arco's. Mexican food is one of my all time favourites and this place did not disappoint - margaritas, guacamole and fish tacos left me beyond satisfied. 

Our third day was spent in the capital. Lunch was had at SundeVich - a seriously delicious sandwich shop that has sandwiches made with the flavours of different cities from all over the globe. I got the Zurich - a breakfast sandwich with egg, gruyere, apple compote and arugula on a baguette - again, my mouth is watering from the thought. After visiting the White House (and hoping to meet Bo) and Lincoln Memorial we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History and I got to see Julia Child's kitchen! I took way too many pictures of this enclosed space but hey, excitement took over. We then walked to the capital building, and rested until it was time for dinner. Jess's friend made a reservation for the three of us at Cava Mezze - a Mediterranean inspired tapas-style resturant. The food was fantastic, the best being the flaming cheese. 

Day four was more relaxed as we lazed around in the morning before meeting our friend Hannah for Korean food at Mandu. It may not have been the best Korean food of our lives (but honestly, how can you top the real deal) but it hit the spot and was a great ending to a food filled reunion.  

Because People Like to Say Salsa

Two well-known facts about me:  I love Seinfeld (hence the title taken from this episode) and I love fajitas. Craving mexican (and fajitas specifically), and having lots of cilantro in the fridge from a previous dinner, gave me the idea to try my hand at making fresh salsa. It seemed like a simple endeavour and fresh salsas always taste so much better than the jarred-last-forever-on-the-shelf varieties. The recipe I followed resulted in a delicious salsa that's left me trying to incorporate it in every meal.

Ingredients:

2 large tomatoes

1/3 spanish onion

1 jalapeno

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3/4 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp chili powder

juice of half a lime

Dice the tomatoes and the onion into small chunks. Remove the jalapeno seeds (I left some in for extra heat) and mince. On a large cutting board with a sharp knife, combine the tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and garlic, chopping it together until the pieces are as small as you like. Mix in a bowl with the sugar, salt, cumin, chili powder and lime juice. Store in an airtight container for one week. 

Perfect with chips, fajitas, black bean burgers or even scrambled eggs - salsa goes with everything. What makes it even better is being able to say "salsa" over and over again while you're making it...I can testify that I do indeed like to say salsa.