I'm pretty fond of Sunday lunch. Whether it's for the company (typically my family and my boyfriend after the morning church service), the opportunity to go out and eat something you've craved the entire week, or the satisfying Sunday afternoon nap that ensues, the tradition in itself is not something I like to miss and I'm actually glad to go home every weekend just to enjoy it.

I also derive some pleasure from eating at the fanciest new fusion restaurant to the coziest whole-in-the-wall establishment in my Sunday best. I even think I become much more tolerable around a table full of food. I can smile and joke with my mother whose terrible driving habits had me carsick and irritable only a few minutes before.

That happened to be the case during this Sunday lunch as well. Once the food was on the table and the smell wafted in through my nose, nothing could bother me. The fact that I'm only home now for two days in the week is also a good motivator to be on my best behavior...and of course the fact that my mother does pay the bill.



Soon Du Bu Chigae, Korean soft tofu soup with oysters and dungeness crab. A little hot to eat on day when the temperature is 80+, but regardless it really hit the spot.

...buy it! As of last week, I've been living on campus at Dominican University and although the location is gorgeous and the food is catered by Bon Appetit (not to be confused with the magazine), I miss being able to bake or create food of my own. So to comfort me on my first weekend home my mother brought me goodies from Panera, one of my favorite destinations for baked goods and delicious breads. Panera is actually the origin of my love for scones, the once notorious "dry" biscuit has caught the interest of many gourmet bakeries around the United States who have restored the intended delicate, flaky texture to the misunderstood scone.

But this time my mom decided to change my usual order and I can't say I regret that she did. The Mini Pineapple Bundt Cake was so moist and flavorful that it was difficult to force myself to only eat half of it at one time like I normally do. Now I'm definitely more open to expanding my range of tastes and I can't wait to discover new irresistible goodies.

Another exciting addition to my weekend is my new camera that finally arrived last Friday! My Fujifulm Finepix s8100fd is everything I could have ever dreamed it could be and I haven't been able to put it down since it got here. I'll be taking it to school with me and I'll be sure to post pictures of my beautiful campus and more importantly by gorgeous dorm, the Meadowlands Mansion.

Unfortunately, for now I won't be doing much baking but I will take my camera with me whenever I can to photograph my culinary escapades outside of my own kitchen.