Happy 2019!

Wow! I can’t believe I have had this blog for a FULL year! I didn’t think I could do it. It originally took a little bit of nudging from a friend to get it started and now here I am—just over a year later. Well, congrats to me for that!

How did you spend your holiday? I spent Christmas and New Year’s in Boston visiting my family. Originally, I wasn’t sure if I was going to visit my family for the holidays. But after my Tulum trip over Thanksgiving (when I quit my job, chopped off 6 inches of my hair, bought a ukelele), I booked a one way ticket to Boston and I am so glad that I did. It was really nice to get out of LA and see my family, even if it meant braving the cold winter. I got lots of play time with my little niece and nephew. I got to play the ukelele for them even though I don’t know how to play (anyone want to teach me?). My mom made some of my favorite Cambodian dishes, including noodle soup, hot pot, pineapple sweet and sour soup, and vermicelli noodles. I also cooked for my entire family Christmas Eve. I made tomato confit with spaghetti, garlic shrimp, scallops, and grilled eggplant. I think it was a success—at least, they didn’t tell me otherwise.

Even though I was in Boston for a relatively short time (though it kind of felt like a long time), I unexpectedly made a connection with someone new. Unfortunately, he lives in Boston. Why does this always happen to me? Sigh. I must love the East Coast boys. But I also love LA. That’s the problem. Why don’t I connect with anyone here? LA is big enough. Help!

While I had fun back in Boston, I am SO happy to be back home, in my own apartment, in my own bed. My body is not made for East Coast winters. My skin was so dry and irritated. My eczema acted up. I felt ugly. And I didn’t know how to dress cute in the cold. I didn’t bring any sexy clothes for dates. Plus, my mom’s place is not that comfortable. She doesn’t like me messing up her kitchen. She keeps the house cold. She wants me to wear a scarf in the house. But Mom, scarves are made for outside! Also, I felt guilty if I slept in too late or wanted to lounge on the couch all day. The first thing I did when I got home was take a hot shower, turned on my fireplace (because in LA, it’s just a flip of a switch), put on sweatpants, and ordered my usual dish at my favorite Thai restaurant. Then I slept all afternoon that first day and slept 10 hours that first night. It felt SO good. Now, I’m rested, adjusted, ready to face the world. It’s back to reality. What is on my to-do list for the new year? Finish my cookbook, find a new job in fashion, learn the ukelele, continue working out. So let’s go Davy!

Savory Cambodian Crepe

For as long as I can remember, I have had chronic allergies and difficulty breathing. As a child, I got sick often. As an adult, I still get sick often. Doctors could never identify the problem. I didn't have asthma. Allergy shots didn’t help. It wasn't a severe issue, just uncomfortable and inconvenient. 

When I was 9 years old, my mother, my sisters, and I ran away from my abusive father. We left California and found ourselves in a tiny studio apartment in the suburbs of Boston. We made ourselves a home with hand me down furniture. I shared a full size bed with my mother, while my 2 sisters slept together in the bed next to us. Every time we ran away from my father and moved into a new place, I had issues breathing. My nose often bled. The air was always too dry.  It was never quite right.

One night, I woke up complaining to my mother that I couldn't sleep because I couldn’t breathe. I may have also been sick. My mother led me out of bed and into the kitchen. I immediately resorted to what always soothed me when I couldn't breathe; I climbed onto a stool, stuck my head out of the kitchen window in the middle of a Boston winter. I distracted myself by watching my breath form clouds in the air as the snowflakes gently caressed my face. The cold air calmed me. 

As my head hung out of our kitchen window, my mother pulled out leftover banh chao from dinner earlier that night. She assembled two plates of the savory crepe, mixed it with fresh vegetables and herbs, and smothered it with sweet Cambodian fish sauce. She summoned me over to our dining table. Together we sat in silence, side by side, eating banh chao with our hands. Both of my sisters slept soundly in the open room next to us. 

My mother and I didn't speak. We just ate. In that dimly lit dining room, surrounded by darkness. In the middle of a cold, winter night. In that small studio apartment. Away from my father. And finally, I could breathe again.️

Shopping for Props

I decided that I needed to up my photo game for my food pics if I really want to elevate my cookbook.  This means that I needed props--different tabletop backgrounds, cute utensils, colored plates, spice bowls, and linen napkins.  Last week, I took a trip to all of the major bargain stores HomeGoods, TJMaxx, Marshalls, World Market, and even JoAnn's Fabric to look for props.  It took some time digging, but it was SO much fun!  If you love cooking like I do, you probably love kitchen gadgets and accessories.  I wanted everything!  I definitely had to stop myself from getting carried away.  Sometimes it was difficult to distinguish between what is necessary for the cookbook photos and what is just an indulgent purchase.  I found some great tabletop options using wooden serving trays, a slate cheese board, a marble cutting board, and a wooden photo collage board.  My favorite purchases were the wooden spice bowls from World Market shown on the homepage. What is your favorite kitchen accessory?