Channa Masala + Kale Salad (Almosttttt Vegan)

So I had a relaxing weekend at home... working... and getting my car repaired. Apparently, having brake pads are like important or something. Whatever, now I'm poor. So in making dinner for Grant, Scott, Brooke, Ivana, Chris and Issac, I essentially had to raid my mom's pantry and MacGyver something delicious and healthy. With contributions of an avocado, two blood oranges, feta and naan, plus my stolen goods and mom's amazing recipes, I made Channa Masala and a grapefruit kale salad.

Channa Masala:
(ingredients: onion, green chile, garlic, chile powder, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, garbanzo beans, potatoes, tomatoes.)


Chop up one onion, three cloves of garlic, two quarter sized pieces of ginger and a green chile. Sautee until translucent in three tablespoons of veggie oil.

I added two chopped potatoes to make a little extra as well as three chopped tomatoes (vine ripened please).

Add 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric, 3/4 chile powder.

Throw in three cans of rinsed garbanzo beans.

Add a cup of water.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for a half hour. Add some salt.

Serve with warm naan.

Kale Salad:
(ingredients: avocado, balsamic, grapefruit, blood orange, lemons, olive oil, salt, pepper, kale, feta)

Massage juice of lemons in a few bunches of kale.

Segment up some blood oranges and grapefruit. Throw into salad.

Mash up avo with EVOO and balsamic, salt, pepper and vinegar (vegan creamy dressing, mofos)

Throw on salad with some feta (if you want some cheese or just add a little extra salt instead)

Serve.

Lavender Lemon Cakes with Chocolate and Whipped Cream

To be honest, this was close to be a complete fail until Ellie and Ivana showed up. I found some fresh lavender on a walk yesterday and rushed home to bake something. Minor issue: we barely have any baking supplies. I improvised a random recipe for shortbread cookies, but they ended up being too puffy - more like little cakes. So then I was sad and about to trash them, but the girls were like just frost them with something. Boom. Genius. And deliciousness was born.

Lavender-Lemon Cakes:
1 stick softened butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon, zest
1 tbsp of chopped lavender

- beat up. roll into cookies. place on greased cookie sheet.
- bake at 325 for 20 mins.
- cool
- top with nutella/cocoa almond spread and whipped cream.
- boom

A Night on the Ace

My best friend, confidante, savior, etc, Rob Chua, came into town this weekend for a conference and thank god, because I needed his chill vibe for my last two days of spring break.


After a couple of hiccups, we met up Saturday afternoon and hit up Red Lion Tavern for a pitcher (The Dunkle) and pretzels before heading to the Upstairs Bar at the Ace Hotel. (Pro tip #1: the elevator up is in the back of the restaurant, LA Chapter; otherwise you have to wait in the main lobby for someone with a keycard.)



The roof is gorgeous and separated into three parts: patio with awnings, candles, tapestries, etc.; the bar area by the main elevators with tattooed, bearded mixologists; and the the pool area. (Pro tip #2: this is where they play music, but its hella breezy so bring a cardigan.)

Rob and I got IPAs (duh) and the girls got a variety of of drinks. (Pro tip #3: the well cocktails are double-digits, so you might as well get a fancy one. ya know?)

Between Ellie, Jacy, Hannah, Lauren, Becky and I, Rob had his hands full :)


We then hit up Veronica's apartment, played some Beyonce and Grant met us. We checked out Spring Street Bar and then LA Cafe for some late night eats. (omg the lobster grilled cheese).

It was lovely to bring some of my closest friends from three parts of my life together (Fullerton, Santa Cruz, and the Boise crew), and I appreciate so much the warmth and kindness they show each other.

Yesterday deserves its own blog post, so I'll hold off on that update.

xoxo

Bootlegger's and Besties

Jacy and I went to my mom's for the last two days, which meant utter gluttony - mimosas, pate, fresh bread, cheeses galore, figs, dates... just for starters. Then we had a beautiful roast chicken and watched American Idol and it was great. And Lauren came over and it made my day even better. How did I get such amazing friends and such an amazing mom and aunt? Like I literally can't even start to rationalize how I deserve such wonderful people in my life.

After stressing my mom out with work and demanding crepes, Jacy and I met Lauren for beer flights and pizza from Two Saucy Broads and Bootlegger's. Lauren like the Golden Chaos, Jacy liked the Mountain Meadow and I liked the Rustic Rye. We got the Firecrackers from TSB - bread, cheese, jalapeño, siracha and chili flakes with ranch. Yum. And then we played Jenga. Seriously such a wonderful afternoon.

Jacy and I just headed back to LA and are preparing for a trip to Villains Tavern and for work tomorrow :)

More updates to come but can I just say that I am so happy right now?

Girls Night In - The Recipe Edition

In retrospect, yesterday was a great day. I attended a phenomenal symposium put on by the LA County Bar Association and heard from experts on everything from lactation accommodation to how to work with transgender clients. After, Jacy and Ellie came over for dinner. It has been forever since we've hung out together, just us,without any pressure to go out. So I decided to try some new (and old) flavor combinations for dins.

On the menu:
Beer-battered eggplant fries with honey-mustard dipping sauce
Bite-sized caprese salad
Quinoa salad with parmesean, sautéed brussels and balsamic glazed roasted carrots


Beer-battered eggplant fries with honey-mustard dipping sauce



(Ingredients: eggplant, flour, beer, thyme, dijon, honey, veggie oil, seasoning)

Take one eggplant, peeled, quartered and then sliced, and then sprinkle with a bit of salt to get the excess water out.

Heat a sauce pan with about half-inch of oil (we're shallow-frying)

Mix flour and beer in a bowl with whatever herbage, seasoning you like. I did thyme and pepper. Just add enough beer to make the batter like a pancake batter consistency, kind of thick.

Dip the eggplant in the batter and fry a few slices at a time. Make sure the oil is hot, bc the eggplant can absorb a lot of oil. I actually found the eggplant cooked incredibly fast - just cook until a darker caramelly brown. Drain on napkins

Mix equal parts dijon and honey in a dipping bowl.

Put on platter. Inhale.

*These were a hit. Apparently Jacy doesn't even like eggplant, but she loved these. They had a crunchy outside and a wonderful, light consistency on the inside.

Bite-sized caprese salad

(Ingredients: small heirloom tomatoes, baby mozzarella balls, fresh basil leaves, seasoning, lemon juice, toothpicks)

*This is a fun twist on a classic appetizer inspired by Anthony

Cut small heirloom tomatoes in half. Stick on toothpick.
Take a leaf or half leave of basil, fold up Stick on toothpick.
Cut mozzarella ball in half. Stick on fork,
Make a billion.
Drizzle with good olive oil, balsamic, and some lemon juice.
Pepper. Salt.

Quinoa salad with parmesean, sautéed brussels and balsamic glazed roasted carrots
(Ingredients: quinoa, carrots, balsamic, honey, chili flake, brussels, olive oil, dijon, seasoning, grated parm, shredded brussels).

Make the carrots: grab a handful of carrots, rinse, then quarter. You want evenly cut pieces. Put in bowl, then toss with a dressing made of balsamic, honey, chili flakes, salt, olive oil and pepper. Roast in oven at 425 degrees until soft (about 25 mins).

Make quinoa: I use red quinoa. Place 1 c. quinoa in pot with 1.75 c. water. Drizzle a bit of olive oil, pepper, salt, and any other seasonings you like (i.e cayenne, italian, etc.) Bring to a boil uncovered. Turn down, simmer with lid. Cook for 12-14 mins. Fluff with fork.

Make the brussels Sautee brussels (half-package) in pan with olive oil until golden brown. Throw in the quinoa.

Throw carrots in quinoa along with a handful of grated parm.

Put salad on plate, drizzle with the same dressing as you used for the carrots. Feel free to add a little mustard here or whatever other flavors you like.



After all of this, I promptly fell asleep on the couch and my phone was hijacked by these three lovely creatures. I then crawled into my comfy bed, warmed up by Sophie, and listened to the rain all night. A very satisfactory night.

I Woke Up Like Dis.

It's a bit crushing when your day starts off superbly well (i.e. a sunrise trail run, breakfast with your housemate and then an inspiring Skype conversation) and then the day sort of blahs out. Like nothing actually bad, just a few awkward snippets hiccup in, and then you're feeling insecure and pathetic.


That was my day yesterday. Of course, it was nothing that some burrata and an early night couldn't fix, but this morning (aka 5:30am) I woke up with the distinct desire to get it together. Yoga. Kale and ginger juice. Three research assignments. Three strongly worded emails. Laundry. Personal statement drafting. And hopefully a hike before class. Boom.

That's all a bit a vague. It will suffice to say that I am missing the structure of being overwhelmingly busy on other peoples' schedules. Prioritizing things on my own is lovely on a good day but allows too much wallowing on a rough one.

Anyway, a few photos from last night and this morning:

Dinners for 12 Strangers!

I've written about being ridiculously proud of being a Bruin sporadically in the past. One of the best activities I have participated in has been Dinners for 12 Strangers. I haven't missed a dinner since 2007, have attended a Dinner in London and have had the opportunity to host my own the last two years with Anthony.


A Dinner for 12 Strangers is essentially a smattering of 12 individuals: students, alumni, faculty, grad students, etc. Someone signs up to host (i.e. me) and then invitations are sent out to students and others who would like to participate/eat home-cooked food. We had such a wonderfully energetic and fun group of students last night and Anthony and I planned and executed a rather delicious menu:

• Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese
• Caprese salad 
• Quinoa Salad with roasted Brussels and sweet potatoes with a honey-lemon dressing
• Cheese plate with brie, pecorino, prosciutto, salami and grapes
• Various flatbreads with mozzarella and herbed goat cheese, andouille sausage, caramelized onions and thyme mushrooms with pesto and a vodka cream sauce
• Lemon Bars
• Chocolate and Vanilla Macarons 

This event allows students to interact with alumni, young and old, and become a part of the broader UCLA network. In addition, it allows psychotically enthusiastic alumni like myself to keep in touch with my youth. (Dude, I felt so old.) And I had guinea pigs for my new recipes (i.e. the quinoa salad.)

I had an amazing time and I hope the attendees did as well :)

GO BRUINS
P.S. How great is my sorority squat in that first photo? Be jealous.