Decision.

I have made a decision.

A minor one.

But a decision all the same.

Due to my limited availability of food preparation.

And even better, I only get half.

Along with the unending pull of homework.

And due dates.

And eventually exams.

My light reading.

And, of course.

The call of the wild.

The social lure!

My dorm's prison window.

And so, due to these factors and a few more.

I have realized that posting about my own cooking ventures would be few and far between.

But there is the entire edible aspect of Austin left to explore!

Therefore, my little Lumix and I will look like dorks together.

Snapping  my feeble attempts at food photography.

Food porn, if you will.

This decision gives me plenty to ponder and post.

And taste.

But when I do actually cook, don't you worry.

It will be on here, just for you to feast your little eyes on a real dormcooked meal ;)

College.

I have been absent from posting.

Not without good reasoning, though.

I have officially moved into college!!

My room!!

I love it so far.

My roommate, Marianna, is wonderful.

We had never met before this weekend, so I was pretty nervous about that!

Everything is pretty great, though.

Besides the nasty dorm lighting!

But, there is a TON of extra storage space.

Way more than I was expecting.

The only place I could've used more is my closet.

My wonderful wardrobe looks kinda squished.

While my room is quite homey, I've also been exploring plenty.

I rode all the way to third street from 21st where my dorm is.

Because that's where I'll be taking ballet classes this year.

Which is of the utmost importance!

It was also exciting because I got to ride my brand spankin new bike!

Big roads=scary!

Along with dance, I have been exploring campus.

Finding classes, important buildings, food, etc.

The cafeteria thing is still a work in progress for my little palate ;)

The good news is that I have my coffee in my room.

My life source.

Because who knows, I might just die without my caffeine!

All in all, I have been incredibly busy.

Not only with exploration and settling in, but also with this chemistry assessment I have to take.

I have to learn modules in order to improve my pathetic score.

And they are teeeeeedious.

It is not my favorite, but necessary for classes.

Which hopefully will go well, seeing as they start tomorrow.

Wish me luck!!

Mango Salsa.

Mango is my second favorite fruit.

My first being raspberry.

But the magic of the mango is that it is so versatile.

It can be used in pretty much any savory or sweet dish!

Such as my delectable mango salsa

This salsa was simple.

Just a combination of tomato, onion, jalapeno, and red pepper.

And, of course, mango!

We served it as an accompaniment to salmon.

My favorite fish!

Just a night of favorites, all around.

No one grills salmon like my daddy, though.

He is the master.

Just being able to accompany his dish was an honor ;)

This delicious salsa isn't limited to fishy wonder, either.

Chips, salads, etc!!

Or, just a spoon and a tortilla.

If you wanna be like me!

Hors d'oeuvres

On our final day in Quebec, my mother, father, aunt, and I explored Old Montreal.

Hit a beautiful museum.

Pointe-a-Calliere

Roamed the streets and saw some sights.

Rue St. Jaques

Enjoyed one of my final legal drinks...

Goodbye, legal drinking age!

And sampled an incredible appetizer trio.

Not quite like Chili's, right?

This delicious trio consisted of a goat cream with duck and apple.

A pate with a mousse.

And an avocado and grapefruit salad with smoked salmon.

As my last taste of authentic French food, I felt like this was beyond appropriate.

My meal was a salmon carpaccio...which I devoured too quickly to snap a picture of!

All in all, it was a wonderful last day, filled with sights, sips, and savoring!

ATTENTION.

We interrupt this French week with an important announcement.

Mexican!!!

Mexican Crostini, to be exact.

I got free bread from work, so I had to put my baguette to use.

The only problem was that my dad was making fajitas.

So I had to get creative.

And these little babies were the outcome!

Perfectly fresh.

Perfectly tasty.

Perfectly summer!

Michelle's Mexican Crostini

• 1/2 Avocado
• 1/2 Mango
• 2 Small Jalapenos
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Salsa
• 1/2 Baguette

Look at me. Bein all organized and stuff.

1. Slice the baguette into about 1 cm slices. Toast them either in the oven, or have your wonderful daddy toast them on the grill =)
2. Dice all of the veggies and the mango, and  separate them.
3. Once baguette slices are toasted, put a dab of salsa on each. Then carefully top with the diced avocado, mango, and jalapeno.

Ta Da!

PS. We'll be back to Quebec with my next post!!