For J I chose Jalapeño, not because I like them all that much, but because of a memory. One year for the Super Bowl we thought it would be a good idea to make bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers as our appetizer. We bought a ton of jalapeños and started to clean them and taking out the seeds when about halfway through we realized it was very unwise to do that process without gloves on. Our hands were burning and the burning didn't go away for a few days. I will never forget how painful that was. Hopefully you don't have a story like me or a worse story. Enjoy!

I love hummus. It is something I totally would have never eaten back in my picky eater days but once I tried it I was hooked. I love it as a dip, spread and even salad dressing. I love all the different varieties but you can't beat good fresh hummus from a restaurant. I love hummus on a good gyro (see below). Do you enjoy hummus or are you one of those people that can't get past the texture? 

I love greek food and I really love gyros. It is said that the first gyros in America were made in Chicago. I remember in the 90s when Jack in the Box started selling gyros and the commercial was all about how to properly say the name. I say "year-ro" but some people say "Ji-ro" or "geer-ro". 

I made a video on my favorite illustrated books from my childhood. As a child I would look at the same books over and over and even when I look at them as an adult they give me a special feeling of comfort. I have saved most of these from my actual collection as a child but I did have to go and purchase some of these again because I lost them along the way. What are your favorite children's books from your childhood?

Growing up in California it was a common event to go out to a Mexican restaurant for special occasions. At the end of the meal, if it was a birthday celebration, the waiter or waitress would bring out a small flan with a candle on top. I always loved how flan looked very shiny and how it tasted. I only have flan when I am at a Mexican restaurant, I really should try to make it myself one day. People seem to love flan or hate it, I am guessing that is because of the texture. Apparently, flan was created during the Roman empire when chickens were being domesticated and there was an excess of eggs. The Romans started creating more egg based dishes and desserts and flan was born. The recipe was adopted in Spain and then brought to Mexico. Do you like flan? 

I loved egg rolls with a side of yellow mustard when I was growing up. I still really like them but I hardly ever have them. I feel like you can rarely go wrong when you order an egg roll from a restaurant and they are perfect freezer food.That crunch and the tanginess of the mustard is a great treat. I am, however, totally against the egg roll's cousin, the spring roll. I describe a spring roll as a bunch of veggies rolled up in a wet paper towel, yuck. I made the mistake of ordering a spring roll instead of an egg roll only once. 

I only crave a donut about once a year. When I crave a donut it always has to be a cake donut with frosting and sprinkles. When I think of having a donut from a donut shop I think of those small ma and pa shops. I used to get a donut every time my family had a garage sale. We would get up early and go get donuts. I would always request a cake style with frosting and sprinkles with a side of apple juice in those apple shaped jars. Wow, that sounds way too sweet to me now. While I was researching the donut I was going to illustrate I started to get that once a year craving, I need to find my perfect donut soon. What is your favorite type of donut?

I haven't met many cupcakes I didn't like. I picked a cupcake for the letter C because they are fun to draw and paint. Each cupcake has a unique design, shape and color combo. I think my favorite cupcakes come from Frosted Cupcakery. They have a carrot cake cupcake that is sooooooo good. Oh no, now I want one. Please enjoy my illustration of a cupcake, maybe while eating your favorite cupcake. Prints are for sale on my Buy Artwork page.

My next illustration in the Alphabet Food series is B is for Burger. Burgers came right to mind when I thought of what could stand for B. Of course someone already mentioned they are called Hamburgers so it should be an illustration for H, but I never say hamburger so it's burger, ok? I love all kinds of burgers. I like my burgers well done with lots of produce. When I was little all I ate when my family went out was a plain burger off the kids menu. I am glad to say I am much more adventurous with trying food now and I can't imagine eating just a plain burger anymore. Enjoy this illustration and I am sorry if you are instantly craving a burger now. 

*Prints of this illustration are posted on Society6, the link is on my Buy Artwork page.

I am going to be doing a series of watercolor food illustrations. For this series I chose to create one food item for every letter of the Alphabet. A is for Antipasto Salad. What is an antipasto salad? Well, antipasti means "before a meal", it is the first course for a traditional Italian meal. The traditional salad comes with cheese, meats, veggies in oil and other items like olives and artichokes. I chose the salad because whenever I hear someone mention this salad I think of the time my friend's husband thought we were joking with him when we asked him to order an antipasto salad. He thought he heard us ask for an anti-pasta salad. He kept asking when an anti-pasta salad was and why we would ever want that. We couldn't stop laughing long enough to explain.