Provo City is home to Brigham Young University where the gateway of the university states, “the world is our campus”. Historical Downtown Provo supports this idea of a worldwide culture through its diversity of restaurants. Even walking along Provo Center Street and up University Avenue you will see a number of restaurants representing different parts of the world. There’s a restaurant serving foods native to Peru next door to a Salvadorian restaurant and Japanese steakhouse. Neighborhood sandwich shops surround Italian, Indian, Chinese and Mexican restaurants. There are gelato cafes, pizzerias, hamburger and BBQ grills, a Korean restaurant down the street from a hot pot shop; a mocktail lounge for non-alcoholic drinkers, and a new farm to table restaurant supporting local and seasonal harvest. Provo city has often been nicknamed “the bubble” but this seemingly small minded town boasts a surprisingly widespread food culture enjoyed by every nationality.

Learn more about downtown Provo here.

While on vacation this month at Walt Disney World, we were lucky enough to be there during the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival that takes places once a year.  While Epcot is already a great place to sample international food, between September 25- November 8th Epcot offers a wider sampling of international flavors that don’t disappoint.

Many countries are represented at the festival, and there are authentic samplings of the food of their land. Each country has a well thought out menu of food and wine to sample.  Along with the amazing food, there are seminars and demonstrations to attend and even an eat to the beat concert series [En Vogue was performing when were were there].

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ribs from Wright’s BBQ in Vidor, TX

Aaah, Texas. Known for ten gallon hats, texas longhorns, cowboys n’ cowgirls, bluebell, the Alamo and melt in your mouth Bar-b-que.  Even in Utah restaurants boast that they serve Texas Bar-b-que but nothing beats the orginal.  Texas has four types of BBQ, one for each quadrant of the state.  There’s East Texas, an “extension of traditional southern BBQ” where they slow smoke pork over hickory wood and pair it with a thick and sweet tomato based sauce. Central Texas where beef brisket is smoking over native oak and pecan woods, and served sans sauce but alongside saltines, pickles, and onions. Lockhart, the BBQ capital of Texas, is found in this region. West Texas is where they do “cowboy style” BBQ; beef, goat, and mutton smoked over mesquite wood. The last region is Southern Texas and I’m sure you can guess what style they herald, side by side to the Mexican border. Barbacoa reigns king here along with true Tex-Mex cuisine. (more…)

I’m leaving this morning on a road trip - up to the Oregon coast with a dip down into Northern California to see the redwoods. Along with all the preparations that go into getting ready for such a long road trip, I also like to prepare snacks to take along with us. Instead of buying 3-day old, stale doughnuts at the gas station, wouldn’t you rather have some delicious (and more nutritious!) homemade trail mix to munch on? And it’s a lot cheaper than the junk food at the gas station! Make some sweet and make some savory to satisfy everyone in your car. (more…)

So what’s in Fairfield, California, you ask? Well this everyday city peppered with public schools, city parks, a number of friendly neighborhoods, and of course a Wal-Mart; is also home to the worldwide headquarters of U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s favorite candy - Jelly Belly jellybeans. (more…)

If you want fresh locally grown produce, but you don’t have the time or space to plant your own garden, a local farm is a great alternative.  And, there is just something about picking your own produce.  Not only do you know that it is as fresh as it can be, but you are also supporting local farms.

We recently headed out to Day Farms in Layton, Utah to pick our own strawberries for just $1.50/lb (or a bulk rate of $1 if you buy 10 lbs or more!)

It was a lot of fun to get out there and pick our own strawberries, and it is a nice way to educate yourself and your children on how produce comes from the farm to your table.

Day Farms offers fresh produce from April to October.

Asparagus season just ended, and strawberries will be available to pick on your own in June (only a little time left!) and again in August.

Next, there will be sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, watermelon, and cantaloupe, just to name a few.  Some produce you can pick, and some they sell already picked.

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Lately I have been obsessed with all things “cupcake”.  And since I had read about several places to get cupcakes in Utah Valley that I had never been to, I decided it was time to go cupcake-ing through the valley to see what I could find. (more…)

Porterhouse Steak with Blue Cheese Butter from Serious Eats

Grilled Skirt Steak from Steamy Kitchen

Steak and Artichoke Mixed Grill from Sara’s Kitchen

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri from Ezra Pound Cake

Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Bell Pepper Salsa from Simply Recipes

Do  you like fresh foods and low prices?  Then you should check out the Sunflower Farmers Market!  I can’t believe it took me so long to visit this store!  (more…)

Anywhere in the Caribbean is worth the trip, but if you’ve never been to Puerto Rico, you haven’t seen the best of the best. It’s a beautiful island with incredible people, scenery, food and of course, fabulous beaches. Ponce, Rincon, El Yunque, and La Fortaleza are only a few of the places you should be sure to visit. Don’t forget to keep your eyes open to spot a coqui frog.

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