Happy Holidays to you! May your season be filled with love and cheer, and have a happy New Year!

Holiday duck. Traditional.

My mom always told me not to waste food. It’s amazing how much food goes to waste in America. 34 million tons of food waste is produced in America, and only 3% of that is recovered. The rest goes to landfills, contributing to trash and the production of methane gas.

I’m sure their moms told them not to waste food either.

It’s not just to food thrown out, but the fact that all the resources that went into the production of it is wasted as well.

If you think how much energy, soil, and water goes into all the vegetables, fruits, and grains, it accounts for a lot. Tons of water goes into just plants, so went you think about watering and harvest all those plants for the consumption of animals, who later would be slaughtered for meat, it’s absolutely insane to even consider wasting food.

I may be sounding too drastic here, as I firmly believe in eating until you’re full, not when your plate is clean, but that comes into putting less on your plate (however, I am guilty for overeating many times). I just want people to be more aware that wasting food goes so much more than what is being thrown away.

Now, consider all the people that go hungry in America, let alone the world. If the food, instead of being wasted, goes to hungry mouths, then we can save a lot of money and lives. Less programs needed for the hungry because there’s less hungry people. More people focusing on other aspects of their lives such as work, getting an education, or anything else because they are no longer worried about food.

So, where did this come from?

Well, there are two things that have stuck with me.

I have a grape fruit tree where I live in San Jose. I remember one day as I returned home, I noticed how many grapefruits have fallen. Since I don’t really eat it, they just sit there on the floor, rotting. All this food can go to people who really need them, and even if I did eat them, there is no way I can eat a whole tree of grapefruit.

Another trigger happened yesterday actually. I was at the mall going some lat minute Christmas shopping (I know, crazy) and as I was trying to get my foursquare to load up an Express coupon, I decided to buy a pizza pretzel. While in line, they made new pizza pretzels, which got me excited as I will have fresh ones. However, they took the pizza pretzels just sitting there, and proceeded to toss it, or placed it somewhere under the counter away from customers. I presumed that they tossed it, and all I could think about was how many people would’ve loved to have those perfectly fine pretzels.

So for 2012, I will be adding something new to this website. I will not only record my food journeys, but also issues about food and food waste, as well as start organizing efforts to move food from being waste to becoming a meal.

The pictures were from a BBQ my roommate had in San Jose. I am so serious about saving food that after everyone left or fell asleep, I took the time to wrap and preserve all the food…

So it’s about time I posted some more things from San Jose, seeing as how I’ve been living here for a few months now. One weekend (I believe) I wanted to try something new. For the 10th largest city by population in America, there has to be some good eats around here, right?

With trusty ol’ yelp, I found this local pizza place. Cheap, easy, and delicious – the pizza.

This is actually attached to a liquor store, the back room of it.

Lots of variety in toppings, artichoke hearts included! With anything, you can get it by the slice or the pie.

At work.

Bacon and garlic pizza!

Linguica and dried-tomatoes. Linguica is a milder version of pepperoni.

BBQ Chicken, bacon, with pineapple

Their famous “Slice of Heaven” with bacon, dried tomatoes, basil. Their most popular pie, and definitely my favorite!

Bibo’s NY Pizza
601 Bird Ave
San Jose, CA 95125

I love fried chicken. I wish fried chicken skin clears your skin and helps you lose weight. That would be an ideal world to live in.

Pioneer Chicken is a chain establishment that use to have much more prominence. Nowadays, it’s more of a novelty, and alas, I discovered this delicious place after its prime. Better late than never, right? They still know how to fry a good bird.

This was the stop after I flew back into town. My brother picked me up from the airport and wanted to get food as he tired of always eating Chinese food at home. I use to think that, until I moved to San Jose, where there is a great lack of quality Chinese when compared to the 626.

But this post is about fried chicken, amazing comfort food.

Mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and biscuits!

Look at that skin? That figure slimming skin!

I’m not sure what they add to it, if anything at all, but the chicken here is crispy on the outside, yet retains all the moist meats and flavors inside. Biscuits were great too, not too hard, fluffy – and I usually don’t like the biscuits that come with the chicken anyways.

Pioneer Chicken
904 S Soto St
Los Angeles, CA 90023

I’ve been getting a little homesick being in San Jose now,  and one of the things I miss the most is the food. I’v been meaning to post this piece on Mama’s Lu for a while, and better late than never, I believe.

My parents always order a lot of food. Partly it is because they always take it back – food is never wasted in my house, but also due to how they grew up. They were less affluent then, and food was harder to come by. In a sense, this splurge on food is to show that they’ve made it in America. The aspect of never wasting food also stems from that beginning, but I digress.

These things are the best way to start a meal – sweet and sour soup, roasted peanuts, and cucumbers. Oolong tea, of course.

Sautead leafy seasonal vegetables. I believe the direct translation is “common vegetable” though I’m not quite sure what vegetable this is. It’s like spinach, but with a heartier stalk. This is actually one of my favorite dishes, though my mom tends to not order vegetables at restaurants, as she wonders what the point is since she could make it at home. I persist, and it makes me feel less guilty with the following dishes to come.

Stir fried thick noodles with beef, bean sprouts, and green onions. I don’t usually like fried noodles unless it’s the wider variety. I remember eating this dish constantly as a kid. I was also a fat kid.

I don’t even know the name of this thing, but it’s kind of like a burrito and an egg roll put together. The wrap is fluffy, the insides stuffed with beef and cilantro, all fried and delicious. Two words that always work together.

Xiao long bao  - the king of dumplings. I would eat these steamed pork buns until I get sick or explode. Since it’s impossible to get sick on these, explosion is the only option. Burst of glory, juicy steamy, dipped in ginger and vinegar glory.

Even more dumplings (yes, we got two orders of the steamed pork buns, along with other dumplings. We order a lot of food.

When this came out, we were kind of surprised we got it. Another dish with beef and green onions. Delicious? Yes. Would go great with rice, but I was bursting at this point, riding the bliss.

Mama’s Lu
153 E Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91755

I didn’t hear about this place through word of mouth on online. How did I find out about this place? While I was driving by it in my process of discovering San Jose, I saw people run to this humble restaurant with long lines. I repeat. RUN.

Who runs for falafels?

Because of the high expectations of this place, I ordered too much food.

I ordered 3 additional falafel balls, because, you know, the sandwich is not enough.

Pita crisps – peppery, very very crispy, and overflowing.

The banana shake is hands-down the best thing ever. This is saying a lot because I don’t usually prefer sweet things, and I hardly drink shakes. This banana milk shake is amazing.

Bites taken of the falafel sandwich. I know, this looks more savage than anything. The falafel give it a nice crunch and this pita is holding a lot of falafel goodness. This is my attempt to take a few bites so you can see what it is inside, aka, fresh kill.

Stuffed meal.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to make of the meal, delicious as it was. I realized through this meal that my palate is not as well-versed in Middle Eastern cuisine, though the majority of those who patron this institution were not of Middle Eastern descent. I actually found it on the oily and salty side, however, it’s also coming from someone who just found out that falafels are vegetarian. Would I come back? Definitely. I want to try the falafel ball again and order one of their gyros. I may have been riding the excitement of the craze. Must re-observe the food.

Falafel’s Drive In
2301 Stevens Creek Blvd
San Jose, CA 95128

Himilayan cuisine tucked behind the busy street of Colorado in Pasadena. This place is a real find. Cheap lunch buffets with amazing food.

Steps to peace and love!

Plate number 1!

Beautiful beautiful naan bread.

What’s that meat in all that sauce? Goat meat. It has a stronger texture and gamy taste, but I enjoy gamy meats and this is no exception.

This roasted chicken repeats on our plates. It is that good. Chick peas are also a favorite.

I think this was my 3rd plate? I’m not quite sure, but I definitely overindulged myself. Truth be told, I think I would’ve been able to have another plate. Also, self-control. Three is a lucky number anyways, and dessert plates don’t count.

Tibet Nepal House
36 E Holly St
Pasadena, CA 91103

An unassuming pho restaurant, with nothing going for it except tradition…

And a kickin bowl of pho.

This is the Vietnamese coffee they serve, as well as this shrimp bread which I find hilarious just looking at.

I got the noodle soup with crab. I didn’t know it was a whole crab just tossed in there. Kind of looks like it’s just hanging out. The bowl was very delicious, as is the crab. Full pho flavors, and I appreciate the massive greens.

Beef pho. Strong staple.

This is fish paste wrapped around a sugar cane and sauteed. Verdict – approved.

Deep fried fish. My parents cannot live without.
Pho Nguyen Hoang
401 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776

The Mid-Autumn Festival this year falls on September 12th, where the moon is supposedly the brightest. It is a Chinese tradition on this night to eat moon cakes under the sky, watching the moon.

Full moon!

This is the moon cake my mom gave me when I was visiting last Labor Day. This is the only brand she buys.

First bite under the moon! Flash needed because of the darkness. Mine was red bean with an egg yolk.

Did you have a moon cake tonight? What kind of cake was yours?

I have been on the slow-carb diet for a while. The diet consists of proteins, legumes, and vegetables only for 6 days a week. I crave for Saturdays, my free days, and just consume unhuman amounts of food.

Mexican food is surprisingly condusive to this diet. Case-in-point, Taqueria Eduardo. I was studying at a Starbucks and needed a place to go. Found this place tucked in a corner, and found my slow-carb appropriate meal.

Love the pictures. Pinky up = class.

She is incredibly nice.

Carne asada plate, pinto beans, pico de gallo, guacamole. This is what I can eat for 6 days a week. Delicious? Yes, but I do miss my carbs.

Sorry, please take this away. No flour tortillas today. Sigh….

Great late Mexican food joint. Tucked away from main streets but doing very well. There are other Taqueria Eduardo’s in the area and they are known for their burritos. Alas, maybe next time… Tortillas = no bueno.
Taqueria Eduardo
255 Race St
San Jose, CA 95126