We grew up with very different kinds of food — Phuong with a gazillion Vietnamese noodle soups (for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!), and Myke with southern American cuisine (and probably fast food). Today, our little family indulges ourselves in good food from different cultures. It has been a great privilege to live in very diverse cities where there is no shortage of different types of restaurants to try. However, what we love most is trying to make new dishes at home. Despite all the cravings for familiar and easy go-to meals, we constantly try to experiment — sometimes with recreating a restaurant menu item but most of the time with just trying a new recipe. Our food philosophy is simple: we eat everything; our meals are balanced with vegetables, grains, and proteins; and we don’t overeat. In 2017, we are attempting to document what we eat for several reasons. We are curious to see how much food we consume over time. We want to be conscious and mindful of the quality and budget of our meals. And we want to inspire others to cook by demonstrating how affordable it is to eat well. Here are some of the different dishes we made in January and a few fun facts:

• Chicken, olive, and lemon tagine
• Chicken karagee and arugula salad
• Arugula and parsley pesto with spaghetti
• Gojuchang pork with soba, tomatoes, scallion
• Burmese-inspired chicken braised in coconut milk and turmeric
• Bolognese and handmade tagliatelle
• Yakisoba stir fried soba noodles with pork, cabbage, and scallions
• Biscuits and egg sandwich
• Lion’s head pork meatballs with vermicelli and cabbage
• Shakshuka poached eggs in spicy tomato sauce and baguette
• Vietnamese caramelized pork spareribs
• Brazillian skirt steak and farro salad
• Adana kebabs
• Keftedes lamb meatballs with roasted cabbage
• Chicken tikka masala
• Simple pasta with baby tomatoes, anchovies, parsley, and arugula
• Vietnamese spring rolls with pork, crab, and shrimps
• Bún thang – a Vietnamese noodle soup with a chicken and shrimp broth, rice noodles, and lots of toppings