Bonjour!
I am currently in Paris after a great semester in Prague. There was absolutely no reason to upload photos of food in Prague as I had one of the world's smallest kitchens (only a non-working hotplate and fridge).. as well, I was too busy enjoying the surroundings!
As I begin my 3 week or so travel across Europe I find myself in Paris. I have always wanted to go here as it seems every other child growing up went at some point in time. It completely has lived up to my expectations and more.

In short: I love Paris already.
I arrived 3 days ago and stayed with my friend Patrick the first night in his dorms as he studies here. We set out to grab a quick bite to eat (as it seems Parisians hate breakfast..or at least the ones i am used to) and head out to see some attractions.
We saw the Tour Eiffel.. it was impressive but not as cool as I had pictured it to be. Its very large and metal-y looking. I chose to not go up to the top.

Next we went to see a Salvador Dalí exhibit in the Centre Pompidou. Super neat museum with a decent view from the top. The exhibit itself was also thought provoking.. Salvador was on a totally different planet it seems. I forgot to take photos while in the Centre of the art but, to sum it up: normal humans would need take acid to get on his level.

We grabbed some lunch at one of the thousands of Brasseries. We went all in and ordered french onion soup and a black pepper sauce steak with frites (potato wedge type things) on the side. delicious.

We walked from Champs-Élysées to the Louvre. We did not go in as we on a mission to explore. It was massive..hard to describe the size but, its one of the biggest buildings i have ever seen.

Later on, we met up with some of Patrick's friends and went out for some Belgian mussels and beer. Outrageously tasty. Thick dark beer. Perfect. We then went out to find a bar to have a follow up beer at. I am not sure where it was but it had a happy hour pint and was on the notorious Rue Mouffetard. Lots of fun!

The following day Patrick left to go back home so I went out in search of my next host. I am currently with them now near the Maraîchers metro stop. I was lucky enough to meet a french man as a roommate when in Prague and he offered for me to stay with his sister Chloe and her family. The man (I am unsure whether just a boyfriend or a husband) works as firefighter/paramedic so I am staying above a fire station! Enormously gracious hosts who cooked up some traditional french cuisine for me yesterday for dinner..Again, as with everything here, scrumptious crepes. I also tried for the first time a sit down shower. I am told this is not typical in Paris but, either way.. strange as there is no curtains so you must be precise with your spray.

Yesterday I went out to the Louvre and actually spent some time going through it. It is incomprehensibly large. I did not take many photos but, it had some very interesting art in it. I personally enjoyed just the room decor. The Mona Lisa was small and surrounded by people so I skipped it. The painting opposite was more interesting anyways.

This was how I started my day today. My god I love French bakeries. Butter has never served a purpose so well as this one. It seems that there is a bakery every 5 meters which means self-control has be in the plenty.

Next, I followed up with a delicious ham, cheese, tomato and clearly a ton of butter crepe. Total heaven. I had read up about the place online the night before: Crep Story near the Centre Pompidou. Great service, a strong coffee, and a typical Parisian street to look upon.

After the meal, I set out find Les Catacombes. It is located directly beside the metro Denfert-Rochereau exit. It is about 2k of walking underground in a dark and wet stone passage-way. There is close to 6 million bodies down there (bones I mean) and its absolutely insane. All piled neatly making up the walls of the ossuary. A little bit creepy and fascinating at the same time.

I traveled to MontMartre after to Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. Very nice view from the top of the mountain and a beautiful basilica. I managed to come at the right time and sat through at hour long service, complete with organs, singing and all that holy stuff. As this is a hot tourist attraction, there was a Christmas market beside it (similar to the ones in Prague but just more expensive and less meat). On the way down I saw a few tourists being swindled by gypsies. I guess it pays to tell them off as soon as they approach you.

I then went to the Canal Saint-Martin to look around. Very peaceful but, I think this is a spot that needs sunlight and warm weather to be fully enjoyed.

I quickly metro'd down to Saint-Germain-des-Prés to find Ladurée in search of the "best Parisian macarons." They are fairly expensive but after trying one, I understand why. I do not understand why I have not found and eaten these before. Unreal. I bought 8 for my hosts as I was told these were a favorite.

Finally after returning home, I went off in search of dinner. A quick 15 minute walk north and I find a great French cafe/Brasserie Café Le Gambetta. I had the salmon with a pint (happy hour). Very very tasty. The place had fun electronic music and a good vibe among the clients. I practiced my french more than I ever had. Its still a little weird eating by yourself though. Something I need to try and get used to as it should not be a problem to enjoy your own company.

Anyways, I am here for another 5 days (with a different host) and will likely try and find some time to do another update.

A song to brighten your day!

No food this time. Instead an amazing song that my sister recommended. The song is by a few producers under the names of JJ Flores & Steve Smooth Feat. Colette. The song is called "Stay." Definitely check it out if you're a fan of dance music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTi2JOl9-hs

Ribbed for extra deliciousness

Back again! I made some fantastic pork ribs tonight. These had to be shared!

Ive never prepared ribs myself but, have seen snippets of family members and the like cook them. I had heard this past summer from a coworker that you should always boil the ribs first then bake/BBQ them. This coworker also mentioned that the most important part is to boil them with some Dr Pepper or Coke. Kind of a weird idea. I decided to go with it anyways! Here is the meat..all $7 odd dollars worth of it. Thank Zeus for sale meat!

 They look alright.. i was expecting more fat for pork.

 Washed the excess blood off them and tossed them in a pot.

 Huy came in to drink/help with the ordeal.

 May as well add the full can.

 Filled the rest with water and turned the heat up!

 Getting warmer..

 Warmer..

 Now we are getting somewhere! looks disgusting: a sign that the dr.pepper must be working it's magic.

 Flipped the meat around and splashed the shit out of my hand. Fml

 Not sure how long to leave it in here. Went with an hour.

 Time to get saucy! I started with some Tropicana, maple syrup, and pepper.

 This my platoon of ingredients. I can never make the same sauce twice as the fridge is always changing inventory. I found some dijon, General Tao, Franks Original, Sweet and Tangy (whatever the hell that is), Oyster sauce, Ketchup (the key ingredient in any sauce!), Hoisin sauce, Lime syrup, brown sugar, and Red pepper and tomato soup (for reals).

 I added more things: Sriracha sauce (as if I would not add this), soya sauce, thyme, flour (it was too thin at first), and something else which escapes my mind right now. Very delicious.

 Covered the meat and put them in the oven with aluminum foil covering. 325C for an 1 & 1/2 hours

 Christmas morning.

 Fall off the bone tender and the perfect sauce to accompany.

 Rib porn.

 My only regret is not making more.

Holy shit. These are life changing. Well, not really but, they're definitely a step in the right direction! Time wise these are really easy as 90% of the time you are waiting for them to boil/bake. Not much else to add as the pictures show how mouth-watering they were. Cannot wait to pull these out in class and see the look on the faces around me (life is about making others jealous about what you have cooked..sharing too i guess)
More music as I find a few new songs every day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9RM1YjTJx0

This is a remix of an old song by Radiohead: Everything in its right place. The original is amazing but this adds just a little more 'je ne sais quoi', ya know?

I suck at updating but here are some delicious protein bars

Okay, So its been awhile and I have been cooking lots however, I am plagued daily with the biggest epidemic to hit humans: laziness (also, i've had a shit load of homework/things to do). So, what better way to restart the passion of knowing absolutely nothing about what you're making and just hoping for the best than make some delicious and super healthy protein/energy bars! I have had numerous bought protein bars in my brief lifetime and truthfully they all taste like horrible. Its more of a punishment to eat a protein bar than an actual enjoyable snack. There are always that crunchy shit that is tough to chew and always has 9 pounds of chocolate to mask the awful flavor of ass they somehow manage to put in. EITHER WAY, these badboys have nothing in common with their awkward cousins except a large quantity of whey protein and a tendency to fill you up for a few hours (library-study-times dream come true). So, in the fashion of most of my creations, i had zero clue how to really start.. i knew that you could make some sort of granola bar with oats and the like. I also knew that most protein bars have flavors like peanut butter or chocolate or fruit.. so why not mix all of those together? I went and bought some ingredients.

Here I have:

Almond milk, Tropicana with pulp, Clic honey with honeycomb, Apple cherry butter, rolled oats, almond butter, currants, flax seeds, blanched almond slivers, pure dark chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and most importantly, 60gram protein Quick Mass whey protein (chocolate flavor).

(note: you can seriously add anything that comes to mind with these.. the first time I made them i added full on cranberry cereal)

 Here are the previous protein bars I made. They turned out well but, I knew they could be mightier.

 Start with a heap of oats. I guessed an amount as you can add more later if you get a little cheap on them.

 Next I added 3 servings of protein powder. This is sort of a lie as I added more later..

 Threw in my bag of flax seeds. Not sure why but everything in the media tells me these are good for you. I'll trust them.

 Bag of blanched almonds: check!

 Life does not get much better than chocolate chips..keep this in mind!

 Dried cranberries to add some chewy tartness.

 Currants, why not?

 Hell yes i just added that almond butter. Im addicted to this stuff.

 Apple cherry butter is super versatile!

 Drip-dropin' some honey to make this bar satisfy any sweet tooth

 I added some Tropicana and started mixing..Way too damn dry. Added some almond milk next.

 Getting there..turned out too wet for my like. Did what any educated man would do in such a situation: more protein!

 Looks a little better.. not quite there yet though.

 Roommate Huy goes in for the face dive.

 My god you are handsome.

 More protein powder.. 99% consistency I was looking for..

 Add one more heap of protein. Perfect.. my arm is outrageously sore from that mixing. Its hard to tell but this is essentially cement.

 Pyrex lined with some aluminum foil (all out of wax paper in this household)

 Poured or rather fought to get it from the bowl to my pyrex.

 Pressed the shit out of it with the back of a spoon.

 Ready to be thrown in the Freezer/fridge. This is the beauty of it being so damn thick. Hardens very quickly!

 20 mins in the freezer, its ready to be cut.

Aluminum foil comes off no problem.

 What a masterpiece.

 Knife can hardly get through it! This is a 10/10 in my books.

 "You're a monkey Derek! You're a monkey!" -Zoolander

 I should be paid for this.

I seriously recommend everyone to try this out. only follow the basic premise and figure it out on your own. It took me maybe all of 10 minutes. If its too wet, more protein. Too dry, more milk/juice. Im super excited already for my next batch as i plan on getting a little crazy in the bulk ingredients aisles. Also, these are gluten free/can be vegan friendly with different chocolate. Best part of all of this is that there is a SHITLOAD of protein in these. 4 scoops of this protein means 80 grams in the protein alone..not even counting the other nuts/ingredients. Definitely a healthy choice.

My sister asked for music as usual but asked for a song by someone named Boddhi Satva (not the usual top 40 hits she has asked for in the past..Sorry Pe, I know you're back on the proper wagon now!). Turns out this producer makes some super cool music. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WomBO_sp43Q