Mammoth

Sophs (aka Beebs), Paige (aka Paigey-Poo), Evan (aka EVANNNNN), my mom (aka Raji/Madge), my Aunt Tracy (aka Tray), and my dad (aka Fahv) went to Mammoth two weekends ago to see the Aspens, do some light hiking, lots of cuddling and comfort eating. (Also, do NOT see the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street, its painfully awful.)

We're a ridiculous family, but I love us.

The Fig House Presents Bitches Brew

This past Saturday was our annual Halloween Party. We had such amazing people over, old and new and new-old. Although the house still looks a bit tattered (ugh my OCD), the housemates and I have had such a good time rehashing all the gory details :)

We had a great sound system, a burlesque dancer (which I missed - damn), and our signature cocktail - Rosemary's Baby (rum, ginger beer, pear nectar, rosemary). I also managed to stay up past 10:30, which is a feat in itself.

Thank you all for coming!

xx

Rosemary Bacon and Sweet Potato Pizza & Fried Brussels

Sorry I've been MIA. I ruined my comp. Let's not talk about it.

BUT I have been cooking up a storm recently.

Last week, I made my signature pizza and then a successful remake of my favorite dish from the Herm, fried brussels.

THE PIZZA:

Roast sweet potatoes:
Oven at 400.
wash, peel, slice sweet potatoes.
place on greased cookie sheet with a bit of olive oil, sea salt and pepper.
Roast until soft. Put aside.

Caramelize onions:
One tablespoon olive oil, one tablespoon butter
Two medium red onions, sliced.
Melt the butter and oil on medium, add sliced onions. Turn down heat. Cook on low until onions are caramelized. Put aside.

Rosemary bacon:
Put bacon (6+ slices) and a few sprigs of rosemary in pan. Crisp bacon. Drain and put aside.

Preheat over to 450:
Spread out Trader Joes Herbed Pizza Crust on greased cookie sheet, nice and thin.
- The trick is to let the dough rest at room temp for at least an hour.
Dribble a bit of olive oil on crust.
Grate gruyere over crust
Sprinkle on crumbled bacon, caramelized onions, and some sweet potatoes.

Bake until cheese is bubbly. Voila!


THE BRUSSELS:
Ingredients:
Brussels, halved.
Veggie oil.
Truffle Cheese (from Trader Joes - Best Thing Ever)
Salt and fresh Lemon Juice.

Heat up oil until when you place brussels in, they sort of sizzle.
Put heat on medium.
Fry sprouts until golden brown.
Drain oil.
Salt.
Add grated cheese.
Squirt on lemon juice.
Inhale.

And then Annie read Aline's and my tarot cards. So legit. Also, I'm supposed to find the love of my life soon.

xoxo

Confusion.

Last week was a bit stressful for me. Not in a stressful deadline-y kind of way, but in "a lots of stuff going on and full social life, not enough sleep, one beer too many, and no exercise" kind of way. Champagne problems I know. That and the massive amount of work I managed to eek out from my fried brain and aching fingertips was rather impressive... until Friday hit. I was told about a new case at work that hopefully I will be working on. However, the details and evidence that I went through on Friday was particularly brutal and horrifying. To the point that I cancelled all plans and hid out at Jacy's, enjoying Lagunitas, Dominos (with In n Out spread???), and bridal TV shows. Mind you, I've been limiting my dairy, gluten and alcohol intake to one day a week, so my body almost revolted in displeasure. A great night though.

Saturday was similar. After a walk with Soph and coffee with Annie, I drove down to the OC to hole up on my mom's couch and watch reruns of television. I didn't want to think, read, think, etc. I just lazed about like a slug and appreciated the privileged life I live. Which meant by Sunday, I needed action. I drove back to the Fig House - started laundry, cleaned my room, went on a hike with Jenaba, and then volunteered with my friend Kelsey at Artisanal LA.

Kelsey is working for a television network that just launched by Participant Media (i.e. Food Inc), called Pivot. It features edgy material aimed at millennials and is available through most cable providers. Super cool stuff.

Anyway, Artisanal LA was amazing. We only had time to peruse one of the floors, which had everything from coffee (i.e. Handsome and Coava) to coconut bacon to vegan chocolates to Japanese beef demonstrations and hemp tshirts. I loved it and would have spent far too much money if I hadn't been volunteering.


Kelsey and I then caught up at Mohawk Bend. Whenever I see her, I am just so in awe of how vibrant and ambitious she is. Such an inspiration.


Afterward, I finished those pesky weekend chores and snuggled Sophie till she bit me. (She had a spa day at Soak with Lennie and Jenaba and came back quite perturbed with how wonderful she smelled and the shortness of her paw-nails.)

I also watched AHS: Coven. Loved some of the historical throwbacks, the New Orleans/voodoo stuff and of course, the Salem folklore. But as a history buff, especially on the Salem trials, I'm a little nervous about their rendering. Also, Emma Roberts kind of annoys me. Kathy Bates though is superb (duh) and I can't wait to see what she does with the show.

So now to the confusion bit. I think my body is confused with what its doing. I've been feeling fatigued in the mornings, which is generally NOT me. I bounce out of bed like a groundhog. (Someone once described me like that.) This is despite limiting my coffee intake to one drink a day and also staying away from gluten and dairy and heavy meals after 6pm. The one thing could be my sleeping pattern was terrible last week and I wasn't exercising as much I generally do. Plus, the Dominos could still be in my system (damn you cheesy breadsticks!).

Thus, this week I am focusing on regular sleeping hours and exercising.. Despite seeing Gravity tonight, maybe the Peach Kings tomorrow. And I'm working on sticking to the gluten-free vegan stuff this week.


Today, I had vanilla quinoa porridge (not a looker, but great taste) and then a vegan chicken wrap. Go me. I'm perfecting my quinoa recipe, but I'll post it once I like it ;)


Okay, back to work.

Ciao.

Lavender Shortbread

This chilly weather is making me happy. And when I am happy (or stressed or hungry or tired) I like to bake. So last night, with my housemates' unwavering support, I whipped up a batch of simple lavender shortbread cookies. Then fresh out of the oven, Annie, Sophie and I ate them with vanilla ice cream.

Yay for autumn.

Currently, I'm at work. Which would be distressing with the amount of work I have, but I love the beach on a cloudy day, especially when enjoyed with a cup of chai.

Hope everyone has a lovely day!

xx

Lavender Shortbread adapted from Gale Gand on FoodNetwork
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cool unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dried or fresh lavender flowers

Directions: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter until soft in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add 1/4 cup sugar and mix until incorporated. Stir together the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix at low speed just until the ingredients are almost incorporated, then add the lavender, and mix until the dough starts to come together. Flour a work surface, turn the dough onto it, and knead it 5 to 10 times, to bring the dough together and smooth it out. Annie and I then rolled pieces of dough into small balls and pressed them down on a greased baking sheet. We baked for ten mins then rotated and then baked for another ten mins. Enjoy with ice cream!

One Eyed Gypsy and Pie Hole

One Eyed Gypsy
901 E. First
Los Angeles, CA
The Arts District

Pie Hole
714 Traction
Los Angeles, CA
The Arts District

There were a couple of questionable things I did yesterday. We won't get into all of them, but the major one was not having coffee until 6pm and then checking my student loans, so you can only imagine my dire mental state by the time 9pm rolled around. (Let's not even talk about my misfired screenshot #foreveralone).

Jackie, Evan and I checked out One Eyed Gypsy in the Arts District last night. I had actually never been, despite the fact it fits my 1920s/Dustbowl/speakeasy/hipster/decaying decadence thing that I love a la Villians and 4100. (Also interesting, Dana Hollister  is the visionary behind all those places' designs. Hopefully, she's available to do my house in 65 years when I've paid off my student loans.)


Really I went for the deep fried oreos, but ended up with the Piaget - a grapefruit/rosewater concoction of my dreams. It might be my favorite cocktail ever - the fruit, the tart, the floral undertones - so drinkable. Dangerously so.


Evan had the Monserrat - a chai spiced vodka. It was such a comforting combination of flavors - black tea, cinnamon, cardamom. Super autumnal.

Jackie went with the clowns cup - a refreshing cucumber lime thing. During Happy Hour, its only $6(!).

Long story short, we're going back like all the time.

After, Jackie and I were meandering through the Arts District and we drove by Pie Hole and saw the light on. If you follow my blog, you know that Pie Hole is one of my favorite places in Los Angeles, or maybe even the world. Their sea salt chocolate crostata makes my life worth living on rough days. Like when I get parking tickets. Anywho, Jackie and I were like WE HAVE TO GO. We found a lucky parking spot and flounced over like lambs in a spring meadow. We walk in and are quickly rejected because it is 10:17 and they closed at 10. We must have looked like our souls were decimated because Ariel (my new hero/messiah/role model) saw our faces fall and said one minute. SHE CAME BACK WITH THE LAST SLICE OF CROSTATA.

I can't deal. So generous and lovely and perfect and great and delicious and life-changing. I had been craving Pie Hole for days and have been so crunched for time that I haven't had a chance to venture over. Very rarely do you get a place as popular as Pie Hole still having that sweet, familial service. I am just so impressed.

It was a surprising and lovely way to end the evening. And also indicates I need to program Pie Hole's schedule into my phone.

xx

Your Best Weekend Ever - LA Version

Dude, we aced it this weekend. The locations, the food, the people - all were a welcome break from the craziness of my work schedule. In between trafficking cases, the police brutality one and CEDAW petition, I was grateful for a busy, but relaxing weekend.

Locations Featured:

Blue Plate
1415 Montana, Santa Monica
Order the Breakfast Quesadilla and the Mac and Cheese Pancake (?)

Highland Cafe
5010 York Blvd., Highland Park
Order the hemp latte and chilaquiles.

The Greek
Griffith Park, Los Feliz
See the Lumineers - like omg.

Golden Road Brewing
5410 W. San Fernando, Glendale
Play cornhole and get the IPA.

El Caserio 
401 Silverlake Blvd.
Silver Lake
Order the Maduros con Queso and the Salchipapas (grilled plantains with burrata/sausage and potatos).

Caffe Vita
4432 W. Sunset Blvd
Silver Lake
Order the Iced Americano (duh) and get a cookie.

Silverlake Ramen
2927 W. Sunset Blvd., Silverlake
Order the Spicy Pork Belly Ramen and the Crispy Rice and Spicy Tuna Roll

Friday started off with wine, cookies from Sweet Lady Jane, and frozen yogurt from Yogurtland plus a lovely home-cooked meal by Christina. Sophie, Christina and I watched about 15 minutes of a horror movie before crashing and woke up for a walk on Montana and brunch at Blue Plate. 

We ordered the breakfast quesadilla and the mac and cheese pancake. Holy mother of god. First of all, I'm always disappointed by breakfast quesadillas - too much egg, too much cheese, too soggy, etc. But this actually might be the best one I've had. The mac and cheese pancake was interesting. It's actually a plain pancakes with spoonfuls of mac and cheese cooked into it, served with powdered sugar and syrup. The taste was good, the concept a bit disconcerting... it was a bit too much for me.

After that, Sophs and I headed home for a walk and then met Jacy at Highland Cafe for hemp lattes (my fave) and some work time. Evan and Ladi met us and tasted the delicacies that Highland Cafe has to offer. I went home and worked a bit more, took Soph on another walk and then had some delish Mexican food on York with Annie and her two friends, Hollis and James.


I picked Aline up for the Lumineers and we headed to the Greek. I heard amazing things about the show from Evan, who had gone the night before. I had purchased the tickets fan pre-sale, whatever that means, the seats were legit. Except we didn't have seats... we were in the pit. The show felt so intimate and of course, the venue is one of my favorites, so I was on a high. Until my gas light went on when we were stuck in the parking lot and I almost had a heart attack. But you know, so it goes.






Aline and I headed to Golden Road to meet up with Annie, Hollis and James again where I witnessed the epic stick throwing game. Literally throwing sticks. Like I can't. I have to go back - they have cornhole and giant jenga.
   
I was planning on like working on Sunday. That was a fail. I was quickly swept into a mimosa brunch at El Caserio in Silverlake, a place I had been meaning to try for their gorgeous patio. Minus the fact they were NOT dog-friendly (get with the times people) and a little bougie, the food was an interesting Latin American fusion and they were heavy on the champagne pours. We had a great group: Aline, Nora, Hollis, James, their friend Marsen, Jenaba, and Christina.






We hit up Caffe Vita for iced Americanos to get our heads on straight and then headed home to recharge. I napped for a bit and then met Evan for some life-giving Ramen at one of our favorite spots and we didn't have to wait that long - just about a half hour.



Exhausted, I came home and... worked. But for an epic weekend, pounding out some research wasn't so bad.

Now I want someone to come visit me so I can do it all over again.

Sophie was sleepy after our long weekend :)