Living in New York, I’ve had the chance to eat every single type of food. Some I liked, some I didn’t, some I don’t remember.
- Thai (pad thai, rice dishes, amazing beef soups with lemon juice and cilantro)
- Japanese & Korean (big fan of sushi, noodles, ramen soups, fried rice and seafood)
- Romanian & Balkan food in general (sorry, I stick to my homeland; soups aka ciorbe and anything my mother and grandmother cook)
- Italian (pastas, risotto)
- Spanish (tapas, great cheeses, hams, stews, and seafood)
- Sometimes, fancy French food, my aunt is great at it
- Peruvian (great stews, rice and beans, and chicken)
- Once in a while, Indian (chicken tikka masala, ras malai for dessert)
I also like smoked salmon on a French baguette, grilled chicken and fish, barbecues, steamed/boiled green vegetables with soy sauce and sesame oil, colorful fruits, fruit shakes, muesli, puree. Once in a while, I go for a filet mignon. NOT a big fan of dessert (except crepes) and Mexican, curry dishes, lasagna, fried or fatty foods, heavy meat.
That being said, I enjoy cooking very much, when inspiration comes. I hated soups when I was young, weren’t cool enough. Today I would eat them almost any time of the day and it is what I cook most. The food you grow up with is still the best in the world, I think. I can make garlic soup (attractive, no?), lentil soup with some smoked meat (yummy), chicken soup with a bit of sour cream, beef tangy vegetable soup with lemon juice and simple vegetable soup. Whoever tried my food liked it. Thank you mom and grandma for the apprenticeship! I experiment a lot, but with nothing that takes 5 hours to marinate and another 3 to cook, though.
Please see below some of my most successful/frequent dishes (lentil soup, salmon and rich chicken soup):