I’m Gina, I am returning to CSUDH after taking a break  from school . My plan is to graduate within the next two years. I am a huge animal lover and have dreams of owning a pet pig,  but right now I have two dogs and two cats. I am also a big fan of music and have played drums in a few garage bands for fun.

I love a variety of foods so it’s hard for me to pick a favorite. Growing up, I loved my mother’s cooking but I also loved splurging on things like pizza, charbroiled burgers and pretty much anything fried. They are comfort foods that are fast, affordable and just plain delicious. Those foods also remind me of being young and sharing a meal with friends after a night out.

Another thing I love is going to new retauraunts and trying new things.  I’ve recently switched to a vegan diet and thought I wouldn’t be able to have all the food I always enjoyed. My selfie is of a few items my friends and I shared at a vegan festival. The change in diet has defiantly been an adjustment but I am having fun trying all my favorite foods in a whole new way.

“Carnitas” Burrito, Tempeh Ribs, Fried “Chicken” and Colliflower Buffalo Wings

I am a Junior and this is my first course at CSUDH. It has taken a long time and a lot of hard work to get here.  My goal is to eventually earn a Master’s Degree. I work full time for Restaurant Deport/Jetro doing Field Marketing and Demographic studies. I’ve been in the food service industry for over 20 years. I have traveled extensively in the U.S. and throughout Europe and have been exposed to a lot of diverse and unique cuisines. Eating out is expensive and not always healthy, so I make it a priority to make my breakfast and lunch a few times a week. When I do eat out, I try to lunch for under $6.00. It’s not a lot of money but I have found many hidden gems (mom & pop restaurants) that fit my taste and budget. My favorite cuisines are Indian, Greek, Israeli, Mexican, Cuban, Thai, and just about anything that is savory and spicy. Oh, and bread!!!!! I LOVE BREAD.

My “healthy” lunch

My name is Sinnetti Piper, I’m a senior this year. I’m 45 years old for 7 more days, my birthday is next Monday January 29th. I’m very excited about graduation and looking forward to having my degree. I’m married with two children. I enjoy cooking but haven’t done much of it since being in school the last few years. One of my favorite foods is salmon. It’s a food that my children also enjoy and the first food that both my son and daughter learned to cook. I love baked salmon, because there are many ways to flavor and season baked salmon, also it doesn’t take long to cook. When salmon is baked correctly it melts in your mouth, also salmon is a meaty fish so it’s very filling. I’m an empty nester because both my children are away at college, so my husband and I eat out a lot. When I dine out I regularly order salmon. I went to Morton’s Steakhouse for the first time with my husband last night and I ordered honey glazed salmon. I must say I make a much better honey glazed salmon, but I enjoyed spending my prebirthday dinner with my husband. I also had a red velvet cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes but I’ll save that for another post. I think I’m going to enjoy this class, because taking pictures of food is something I’ve never done and frankly always made fun of my daughter when she would do it, now its my turn. This is going to be an experience for me.

Birthday Cupcake from Heirloom Bakery

I’m Dr. Perez, an assistant professor at CSUDH. My majors were in English for my BA, MA and PhD. I finished my PhD in 2011 at USC.

My food selfie is one I took of my birthday cupcake from Heirloom Bakery in South Pasadena. It’s a homemade (well, cafe-made), grown-up version of a Hostess Cupcake. It was excellent.

My favorite food, at least for today and coming out of the holiday season are tamales. I seriously love tamales and not only because they are delicious (which they are) but because of their indigenous roots in the Americas and their associations for me with home, family and the Christmas holidays. Unwrapping a tamale, hot from the steamer and almost burning my fingers is a joy. I like all kinds of tamales, sweet and savory, wrapped in corn or banana leaves, meat or vegetarian. That said, when faced with a variety of tamale choices, my first pick is almost always red pork. There’s something about the sweetness of the corn, the meatiness of the pork and the spiciness of the red chile that makes my mouth water.

This is the second time I’ve taught this class and am looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Welcome to our IDS 330: Food and Culture blog. This is where our more formal public writing for the course will occur. You should have received an invitation to join the blog. This invitation was (or will be) sent to your Toro Mail address. If you haven’t received an invitation to the blog by Monday, January 27, please email me.

As soon as possible, but by no later than midnight on Friday, January 31, follow the instructions on the posting on WordPress video (see Blackboard for video link) and make your first post. Your post should include your name (can be your first name only or a nickname, for the sake of privacy) something you want to be known by in the class, when you plan to graduate, an image of one of your food selfies (you can also use it in Slack) and a rich, detailed description of a favorite food.

Be friendly. Respond to other people’s intros and enjoy getting to know each other.

I’ve posted my intro here to be a sample.