Hello, My Name is Brenda and I am finally a senior this semester (yea me!). FINALLY! I am taking this class because I really like to eat and wanted to learn about the many different cultures of food especially in Los Angles. I prefer to prepare my own meals, but when I can’t, one of my go to staple foods is Panda Express. I have never experienced authentic Asian cuisine, but that is on my short list since taking this class.  I love any type of comfort food really because while I am eating either what I have prepared myself or eating take out, it just seems to make me happy. For me, food is like a good therapy session without not having to make an appointment.

Hello everyone, my name is Valerie. Most people call me Val for short. I plan on graduating in Spring 2021.

I would have to say that despite my love for food, acai bowls would have to be my favorite! An acai bowl consists of a smoothie-like textured base and is topped off with granola or coconut flakes, honey and fruit. They make a great breakfast choice or snack. Not to mention, they are high in antioxidants and fiber. Healthy and tasty? Say less. I enjoy putting a variety of toppings such as strawberries, bananas, blueberries and sometimes even mango. There’s this place called Amazebowls in L.A. that sells delicious acai bowls that I recommend everyone to go try.                                                                                     

Hello Everyone, 

My name is Jaquie! I will be graduating in May ‘20, at the end of this semester.  I am a Psychology major and plan to move on to Grad School after I graduate, fingers crossed!

It is really difficult to choose a favorite food as I love a lot of different foods but if I really have to choose, I’d say meatballs are my favorite. If a dish has any type of meatballs in it, I would probably love it! My food selfie is actually a picture of a meatball piadina  from California Pizza Kitchen. It is sooooo good I can’t even describe it. Trust me on this one you NEED to try it. The flavors just blend so well together, it is like a little folded slice of heaven. It has some spinach in it so I’d like to believe that counts as if I am just eating a cheesy salad (a girl can dream). Actually, I have a funny story about my beautiful little piadina here. I went to CPK about two weeks ago with my best friend after a long long time of not going and, of course,  ordered that voluptuous piadina to eat. I only ate half and saved the rest for lunch the next day. When I sat down to have lunch in the dining room the next day my family decided to join me. As I was eating, and continuously went on and on about how good it was, I did not notice I was being targeted. I was just about to take my last bite. I had the last piece on my fork making its way into my mouth, when suddenly I saw my 65-year-old aunt lunge at me at full speed. She was like The Flash! She moved so quickly, if you blinked you would have missed it.  I’m almost positive I saw her do a back-flip as she came up to me and took the last piece off the fork and devoured it. I was left in shock. I had no idea what had just happened as it had never happened before. My aunt simply looked at me as she continued chewing and said, “I wasn’t going to miss out.” Needless to say, I will be bringing home two piadinas’ from now on.

Hello, my name is Robyn and I am a Global Studies major. I am currently enrolled as a fulltime student and considered a Junior in class standing. I plan to graduate in Spring 2020. On a cold winter night, my friend and I in Dublin, Ireland stumbled upon a place called Loops and Coffee. It was a cold breezy night that our heads were covered with hats, our necks were covered with scarfs, and our hands bundled into our pockets. We walked through the city center after a long day of touring the city, so, in hopes of finding a warm place after spending the entire day in cold, gloomy weather; We stopped by a donut shop. We can see many warm donuts on display glistening under the bright lights. We both basked in the beauty of the donuts and went inside to order. We came right on time, I had gotten the last red velvet donut and a glass of hot chocolate.

I still think of my red velvet donut and hot chocolate because it was my favorite food while studying abroad. It was one of the best donuts I have ever had. It reminded me of home because of the overt sweetness associated with American sweets. It distracted me from the thousands of miles separating me from my family; and even knowing how sweet the donut was with the hot chocolate they, however, complimented each other. The hot chocolate was creamy and rich while the donut was warm with a soft bite. They both cured my sweet tooth. I often tell my friend how we have to go back to Dublin for just one donut and a hot chocolate.

My name is Ann-Marie and I am in my senior year at CSUDH. I will be graduating in May of this year. I can honestly say I do not have a favorite food because I love all types of food from so many different counties of origin such as Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Middle eastern, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Salvadorian, Mexican, and American. I enjoy trying new and different foods whenever I can. But no matter what I can always be found eating tacos. There are so many different types of tacos from hard to soft, various meats and toppings. Tacos are great because they are a finger food, filling, have many variations, and can be purchased or homemade easily. The food selfie that I am posting is from a lunch date with my husband at a hole in the wall place called, El Taco Man, in El Monte. We both work near by and once in a while meet there for lunch. We usually share our meals because of me… I have a hard time choosing what I want to eat. So here we ordered three items from the menu. First was 4 tacos of aside meat with some onion and cilantro toppings and red salsa and lemons. We also ordered 3 potato tacos that are topped with cabbage and queso fresco. Lastly, we ordered a torta (Mexican sandwhich) of asada that comes layered with refried beans, lettuce, and tomato. We shared all three, they were so satisfying and delicious. I know that not everyone is into sharing their food but it’s really great to share because you can enjoy different items and don’t have to stick to just one.

Hi, class!

My name is Crystal but some people call me “Cris” for short (I guess saying a name with 2 syllables is too much work?). I am currently a senior at CSUDH as an American Studies major. My last semester is Fall 2020. I am very excited to finally finish school as it has been a long journey for me. I’ve always worked at least two jobs and dealt with some health issues so I’ve had to take many “breaks”, some longer than others so this has prolonged my graduation date. For that reason, I am forever grateful for the IDS program as it fits my needs as a working adult. One thing I’ve learned though is we each go through our own journey and going at our own pace is A-ok! After all, life is a marathon, not a race, yet I know it can often feel that way sometimes. But really, who are we racing against and where is the finish line? Where is this ticking time bomb that if we don’t finish things in x amount of time it will suddenly go off and the world will end? The road to graduation can sometimes be challenging so with that being said, congratulations to everyone in this class for going to school, whether you’re graduating this semester or next year or the year after that. The point is, you each took the first step in obtaining an education and you will get there soon. It is happening already!

I’m not quite sure what I would like to be known for in this class but I always hope to leave a positive impression on others. As I’ve once read a quote from Maya Angelou:

“At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”

I like this quote because I tend to say and do many silly, and sometimes embarrassing, things so I’m glad people will forget that for the most part (I hope). As for how I make people feel, it is my mission to achieve world peace by making others smile just like tacos make me smile.

Tacos are an extremely popular Mexican dish enjoyed by people of different cultures. It consists of a small round bread called a tortilla and is filled with diced meat. There are many toppings that can be added to a taco such as cilantro, onions, lemon, radish, and red or green salsa (choosing which salsa to add is the hardest part when making a taco).

Homemade.

From attending family parties with a taquero (and crying when I’d get there late as I missed out on those tacos) and going to the infamous King Taco Restaurant in East Los Angeles at 3 am with friends, tacos have played a significant role in my life. It has become part of my lifestyle especially since I live in Los Angeles where almost every corner has a taco stand. One of my greatest memories with tacos has been when I use to live in the dorms at another college and would make tacos with my floormates. Tacos really brought us all together as a family and having them homemade was the best since we often got sick of eating out (or having cup noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

I once attempted to make my own tacos and was nervous about it since I really don’t know how to make food. I decided to just go for it so I got in my car and drove to Whole Foods. I picked up some small gluten-free tortillas, “vegan” ground beef, onion, cilantro, and some already made salsa. I seasoned the vegan “beef” with pepper and topped it off with some lemon. Although these were not the “traditional” tacos, they were just as good as street tacos and were very beginner-friendly! Making these tacos have been one of my greatest achievements in life.

Good evening everyone, my name is Veronica or Vee for short.  This is my very first semester at CSUDH after finishing my AA degree at Los Angeles Pierce College.  I have to admit, going thru Pierce’s PACE program was intense, demanding, yet rapidly rewarding.  Can’t wait to be able to say the same about this program in two years or less, when I find myself surrounded by some of you as we each take our turns to walk proudly across that stage celebrating our hard earned accomplishments.  That evening like every other festivity our family celebrates will end at non other than our all time favorite dinning location California’s well known In-N-Out

Now you cant call yourself a Southern Californian if you have not at the very least tried or like me, love the In-N-Out’s cheeseburger and animal style fries… Mmmm the delicious fresh fries that are never too salty or too bland, topped with melting Tillamook Cheddar Cheese their special sauce and grilled onions for those that like to give their food an extra spicy kick ask them add some yellow peppers and you will find the peppers sliced on top of your fries.  Be ready with your drink tho because you never know when those peppers are mild or too hot to handle.  Now let’s not forget about their juicy hamburger patties which I find the raw onion giving it a better taste to my burger than the grilled onions that my sisters always chose for theirs and although I have always been a traditional buns on my burger kind of girl I can’t deny that the protein style (lettuce wrapped) is just as tasty and keto friendly too.

Many will say, “this is just another burger place” the truth is, it is in fact “just another burger place” but for me this iconic burger place, smell, and taste is also tied to a set of parents that would share one meal so that they could afford to buy each of their 5 children a meal each and listen to us talk and enjoy our delicious burgers. Til this day none of my siblings can eat In-N-Out without bringing our parents with us or making sure we take them each a meal.  Family that what this Burger is all about!

Hello! My name is Barbara and I am a senior at CSUDH.  This should be my last semester at CSUDH and should graduate this May.  The one thing I could never eat enough of is Dulce de Leche.  I love it on all of my desserts.  I have been eating Dulce De Leche since before I was born.  It is heavenly and silky and makes me so happy when I eat it.

Hello everyone, my name is Alejandra but people call me Ale. This is my second semester here at DH and I transferred from Santa Monica College. I am a first generation student and the oldest of four. My parents were born in El Salvador but I was born and raised in Los Angeles. Hopefully I will graduate soon if life does not get in the way like it has been but I am determined to get my bachelors and maybe move on to get my masters.

I have many favorite foods that I can say is better than another. I love every food and it depends what mood i’m in to have that day. Being on a diet has always been difficult for me since I am always thinking about food more than anything.

I would say one of my favorite side dishes is Kimchi. I am absolutely obsessed with it and the best kimchi I have ever tasted has been my mother in laws. I would like for her to teach me someday but it is a several day process. I love the fermented vinegary taste it has that compliments the meat I eat it with. I love the crunch of the Napa cabbage and how it’s the perfect level of spiciness. I also love that the longer you have it, the better it tastes. My addiction to kimchi sometimes gets out of control when I go to Korean Barbecue and I bring my own jar sometimes so I do not bother the waiters to keep bringing me some. Even my mother in law is shocked by how quickly I eat the many pounds of kimchi she has given me.

Hello, my name is Silvia Delgadillo and my major is IDS (Cultural Pluralism). I am happy to say that this is my last semester, hoping to graduate this May. One of favorite deserts is ice cream from Fair Oaks Pharmacy located in S. Pasadena, CA. They have cones to sundaes and my favorite flavored sundae is vanilla and chocolate ice cream with whip cream topped with chocolate syrup. The ice cream is frozen, rich and creamy with so much sweetness, it is so yummy. They are huge as you can see and is perfect for you and your family to enjoy. They have a variety of flavored ice cream with a variety of topping as well.  This place is a must have!