Chocolate Salon Anniversary

Two years ago today, Andy and I got married!! At our wedding, we had the one thing I would say I was kind-of "bridezilla" about: I wanted, no, I needed, to have the Chocolate and Coffee Divas (from San Luis Obispo) do a full-on, giant spread of chocolately goodness, with every imaginable item that you could dip into the dark or white chocolate fountains that we had there. It was fabulous and I LOVED it! I hope our guests enjoyed it as much as we did!

So, it is only right that we celebrated today by going to the 4th Annual Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon this afternoon. We "forced" our friends Michael and April to go with us and the feasting began! When we walked into the convention center, the smell of delicious chocolate came over us and we started in! There were around 20 vendors, all of them offering samples of their goodies, ranging anywhere from truffles, to chocolate bars, to gourmet ding dongs... oh yeah... gourmet ding dongs. I'll get to that in a minute. In the meantime, enjoy a little chocolate porn.




Wait a minute.. did you say "gourmet ding dong"? Yes, my friend, I did say those delightful words. So, I can't take credit for finding these gems. I wish I could. But, no, Andy overheard the vendor saying "red velvet gourmet ding dong" and he had his wallet out right away. The woman was kind enough to cut the ding dong into four pieces and then we all went to town on the thing. Imagine the moistest red velvet cake, with about an inch of the most amazing vanilla buttercream I have ever had in my life, wedged right in the middle. This buttercream was so damn good, it had the consistency of cheesecake. In fact, we thought it was cheesecake until the executive chef asked us how we liked his buttercream! Whaaa??? Yeah, man, your buttercream is CRAZY good!! Oh! I almost forgot: this whole cake was dipped in dark chocolate!! COME ON!! At one point, I looked over at Michael and he was staring off into space, as if he was having some kind of religious experience or something. Yeah, it was pretty much like that.


Oh, and after we were finished with this chocolate salon, we managed to partake in a dinner of Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. What a fabulous day!!!

The Dan Dan Truck!!

I think I may have a problem. I'm a little obsessed with food trucks. There's just something about them. The old school idea of the "Roach Coach", how they really don't look that safe or good, and are sometimes located in some shady-like places... that's a little exciting to me. Especially when I find some good ones, just because they aren't the high-class, frou frou restaurants that you would think would produce that kind of food.
Today I went to the Dan Dan Truck, where they were serving lunch right here in Irvine, CA. There were about 8 trucks located in this spot today and the Dan Dan Truck and the Dos Chinos Truck had the longest lines of glassy eyed foodies. I promptly threw myself in the Dan Dan line, which serves a small variety of Korean fusion fare. They do tacos, burritos, kimchi quesadillas (which I wanted, but was too stuffed to order after I ate), a bulgogi burger, and their "Dan Dan" sliders, which is what ordered: short ribs, spicy asian slaw, and spicy sauce, all stuffed in between soft Hawaiian rolls. Some of you may be wondering: But, Mary, you actually ate animal flesh?? Okay, yes, I did. And momentarily I was sad for the cow that gave it's life to produce my lunch. Then, after I bit into the sandwich, I promptly thanked that little cow for it's tasty parts. My Crohns will be pissed at me later, I'm sure of it. Call it Karma. But, I digress...

DELICIOUS!!! I mean, if that photo doesn't excite you, even just slightly, then we need to talk. I'm gonna try and hunt them down again for lunch or dinner in the near future and try that kimchi quesadillla... maybe I'll make it through the giant line at the Foodie Fest this Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

Crepes Bonaparte Food Truck!!

I'm a bit of a crepe snob. I'll admit it. I can't help it, though. I had a high school French teacher that actually made us learn how to make them (in class, I might add) and then she graded us on how they tasted and if they were thin enough! No kidding! So, when my food truck obsession became slightly heightened this afternoon, and I found out that the Crepes Bonaparte Truck was just a mere 10-minute drive to Santa Ana, CA today, I hopped in the car and cussed out every idiot on the I-5, just so I could taste the goodies on this truck.
If you live under a rock (or just don't watch the Food Network), Crepes Bonaparte has made quite a name for itself lately. It is one of the trucks on The Great Food Truck Race and haven't done too badly for themselves in the competition so far. Their menu consists of both Breakfast Crepes, Savory Crepes, Dessert Crepes, and Traditional Crepes (both savory and sweet). I have to admit that when I walked up to the truck, for whatever reason, I became a little overwhelmed by what to order. Seriously, everything sounded good. Well, and I was hungry.

So, after staring at the menu forever, I just asked the guy taking the orders what his favorites were. They were having a special (one savory crepe and one sweet crepe) for $8. He suggested the Caprese Crepe (chicken, mozzarella, tomato, and pesto) and the Fruity Dee-Lite Crepe (strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream). Right on, my friend! Bust those out!
Here's one of the thins I love about food trucks: gourmet food served to you in just around 5 minutes after ordering. Brilliant! They gave me my crepes and I actually took them back to my car, thinking I was going to take them home and enjoy them in them in the comfort of my air conditioned apartment. I opened the first container and thought I was crazy if I was going to wait another ten minutes to bust into that thing. I actually got out of my car, walked back to the food truck, and ate them both (well, half of each one) right there at the side of the truck. I think that made them happy. I know it made me happy!
This Caprese Crepe was the bomb! (I know it's not 1999 anymore, so I shouldn't be allowed to say that, but you know what I mean). I was surprised to see that it was shredded chicken, which was perfect in that crepe. I asked if the pesto was homemade (because it tasted like it was) and of course, it was. Very, very good!


Next: that fruit crepe. Umm.... I could have eaten about 5 of those damn things. SOOO good!!! The whipped cream on it was super rich and perfect with the tartness of the strawberries. As good as that crepe was, I was a little upset when I saw that I missed the Spicy Apple Bottoms Crepe, which is cooked cinnamon apples, caramel, and whipped cream. Next time, my friends. Next time.


So, here's the million dollar question for the self-proclaimed Crepe Snob: how was the actual crepe? The bread-y part? It was very good - not traditional in terms of the thin-ness of a French crepe - but very tasty. The savory crepe tasted like a regular crepe, but the sweet crepe tasted like it had cinnamon in the batter. All in all, I wasn't complaining. And, here's another thing I love about food trucks: they usually don't wuss out on the amount of food they give you. you asked for it, you get it! The portions were huge for the price of the crepe. And, let's not forget the taste!!
So if you happen to be near the Crepes Bonaparte Truck, check it out!! Oh, and if you love Nutella, you're in luck, they have giant jars lining the inside of the truck. Just in case they run out. Which I hope never happens while I'm in line. Bon appetite!!
http://crepesbonaparte.com/

Gourmet Greek Food Truck? Yes, please!

Yesterday evening...
Me: "Wanna go to California Adventure tomorrow night"?
Andy: "Uhh.. not really. Why"?
Me: "A Greek Food Truck will be there"
Andy: "We'll be there after work"

Tonight we hit up Louks: A Greek Gourmet Truck. It was pleasantly located right inside California Adventure, in Anaheim, CA this evening. Andy is a huge Greek food fan. I think he still has dreams of his year, studied abroad, in Australia, where he swears to me he had some of the best Greek and Lebanese food known to man. So, it wasn't too difficult to get him inside California Adventure, on a incredibly busy Thursday night, to partake in some tasty Greek goodness.
Louk's has just a few things on their menu, which makes me happy. Usually, this is a sign of a few things cooked really, really well. This was certainly the case at Louk's. Andy had the falafel (homemade falafel, I might add) that had cucumber, red onion, lettuce, tomato, tzatziki sauce, and french fries. Yes, my friends, I said fries. I had the beef gyro (yes, I ate meat and it was good) with red onion, tomato, tzatziki sauce and those incredibly happy french fries. Let me just take a moment to express the happiness that we experienced this evening. It was awesome! The guy who made everything had asked Andy to honestly tell him what he thought of the falafel (since Andy had asked first if it was homemade). He was super happy when we told him that it was some of the best Greek food we had enjoyed in a really long time. It was superb, really. I'm not even a really big fan of tzatziki sauce, but I took that gyro down like it was nobody's business. I'll have this picture in my dreams later... (sorry for the crappy quality of picture.. it was taken with my camera phone in dim light). Do notice those french fries.


So, after a delicious meal, we contemplated some dessert, but we just couldn't do it. Such wusses! We walked around California Adventure, stood in line forever to play Toy Story Mania, and then as we walked out past the truck, we looked at each other, with a knowing look in each others' eyes. Yep. We're going back for dessert.

They make a mini Greek doughnut ball called a loukomade. Little fried doughy sugary nom noms, if you will. Then they take it a step further and top it with any of the following: nutella, nutella & bananas, powdered sugar, strawberry sauce, or honey. We opted for the nutella/banana combo. A little sad when he told us they were out of bananas, but not for long.. he told us he does a nutella/honey combo that he doesn't have on the regular menu. "Would we like that instead?" Are you serious? We would love to have something on the secret, only-in-the-know menu! He proceeded to drown our fried goodies in nutella and some delicious honey. Holy. Crap. My picture doesn't do it justice. Let me just say, at that moment, the happiest place on earth was not across the park. It was at a little table, where myself and and my husband were devouring our amazing dessert. Check these out:


If you are anywhere near this food truck, you gotta go. It's fantastic. Will we stalk it again? Absolutely. Here's the website to make it that much easier for us to get our fix:
http://www.loukstogo.com/index.html

Oh yeah, and they're gonna be at the OC Foodie Fest. What a coincidence.. so will we :)

Seven Deadly Sins

I realize I just posted something just last night, but I had to share this! This package just arrived in my mail and I actually giggled out loud when I opened it up. :) Check these out: spice grinders with The Seven Deadly Sins as their theme! So, most of you know that I'm obsessed with both food and world religions (it was a Catholic Pope - Gregory the Great - who named seven offensives and wicked passions, way back in the 6th century), so this was like a no-brainer for me to own! Plus, the spice combinations that are in these individual grinders are just divine! And, of course, after smelling them all, "Gluttony" would be my favorite mix: Butterscotch and Vanilla! Again, it smells heavenly. Making it quite ironic that it's a deadly sin... ;)
Oh, the fun I am going to have using these...

Cooking with Williams & Sonoma

Many of you know how much I l.o.v.e. LOVE Williams and Sonoma. I'm like a kid in a candy store whenever I'm in that place. I will literally spend well over an hour going through the store, figuring out what I could possibly create with all of the delightful appliances and goodies they have in there. Hell, we even registered for our wedding there and I probably own about a million of the little pineapple molds that they attach to gift packages - I LOVE it! :)
Williams and Sonoma just started this series of Cookbook Classes, where you spend a couple of hours at one of their stores, and learn a few different cooking techniques, all while the chef creates a few dishes from the new cookbook you just received that evening. Somehow, the email announcing these new classes got lost in my inbox, but luckily my friend Tiffany was keen enough to find it and send it my way. :) We have both been meaning to take their Sunday technique classes, but just haven't had the time to attend one. Now we really wanted to attend this cookbook class! And, they were offering a really awesome cookbook: Coooking with Food from Farmer's Markets.
That night the chef was making an aruluga salad with chopped nuts, goat cheese, and homemade dressing. For the main dish there was pork tenderloin with a rhubarb chutney, and roasted potatoes with rosemary, garlic, and bay leaf. For dessert he made a strawberry ice cream with creme fraiche. Everything was absolutely delicious! I didn't eat the pork, but the chutney was amazing! And, that salad was so damn good, that Tiffany and I are on a mission to find homemade goat cheese that tastes as awesome as that cheese did that night. All in all, we learned some cool techniques, ate some great food, and proceeded to shop our little hearts out with the 10% discount they offered us for the night. We had a fantastic evening and we are really looking forward to the next class we can take - it's gonna be Rick Bayless' new cookbook - oh yeah, baby!
Here was the set up we arrived to, at our place setting:

Here is Chef Jonathan cooking away and showing us cool techniques:

This was the result of all the preparation and cooking. We had already eaten the salad, and it looked so damn good (and it was) that we forgot to take a picture of it :)

Our awesomely delicious dessert. It wasn't completely frozen since he didn't start it early enough, but it was like soft-serve and still yummy as ever!

Thanks for sharing the fun evening with me, Tiffany! And for taking all the pictures, too! Looking forward to the next one!

Summer Homemade Desserts

I love the end of Spring/beginning of Summer fruit! Of course, I love to just snack on them, but I also enjoy making tasty desserts with them, as well. And who doesn't love a great homemade dessert?? Today I purchased a huge amount of cherries (because they came from Costco) and there is no way Andy and I were going to be able to eat them all, without them spoiling fast, so I decided to make a dessert with them - why not?! :) I found this Sour Cherry Crumb Cake recipe (from Martha Stewart, of course) and that sounded perfect for my new purchase! Oh, and they are kick ass good!


Last Thursday, I received the most beautiful strawberries in my CSA delivery and I knew exactly what I wanted to make with them: Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. Also from Martha Stewart, I think these were even better than the Crumb Cake above, but they are both really good. Imagine a strawberry cookie married a strawberry biscuit and they had babies. Delicious, delectable babies. That is what these taste like. I would have taken a picture for you, but they mysteriously disappeared before that could happen...

Here are the two recipes for you! Enjoy!! We know we did! :D

Sour Cherry Crumb Cake
for the topping
4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for dish
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dish
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

for the cake
1 1/2 flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
About one cup of fresh sour cherries, pitted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish, and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
2. Make the topping: Stir together butter, flour, sugars, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Make the cake: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. With a mixer, cream butter and sugar in another bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add buttermilk and flour mixture. Beat until combined. Pour into prepared dish. Dot top with cherries and sprinkle with crumb topping.
4. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.


Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about two cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in the strawberry mixture.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool.

Mt. Olive Farm

Just a few days ago, my mom and I went to this organic food farm, that we have been meaning to see for some time now. The name of the place is Mt. Olive Farm and it is located in Paso Robles, CA. They use their own earthworm casting, use their own compost, farm everything, and have free-range chickens and cows. They also have a petting zoo, which I found slightly bizarre, considering they are into raising free-range animals, but keep some caged up for people to touch all the time. Anyways...
We originally ran into them at the Farmer's Market in San Luis Obispo, where we loved their vegetables and they were exceptionally friendly. I really wanted to see the place, mostly because I love a great vegetable farm, and I was interested to see how "free-range" their animals really are. I asked to see where their animals were located, but was quickly told that the public is not allowed to go into those areas. I'm sure they thought I was a member of PETA and would set their animals free, but I only would have done that if I saw that they weren't really in good conditions, as they claim. :) I tried to go up the road as far as I was allowed, but couldn't see any roaming animals. I wish they would be willing to give monitored tours to those who are willing to see the animals. Hey - if you have nothing to hide, then let's see 'em!
We were also really surprised to see that they have a whole space where they sell products that they make from all of their produce. Really beautiful, yummy products. We purchased a few things: strawberry juice, olive oil, salad dressing, etc. I also picked up some bok choy because I have a special love of baby bok choy, and it made me very excited to see they had some. :)
We had a really nice afternoon, running around the beautiful farms and vineyards in Paso Robles, and it was especially nice to spend it with my mommy. :)
Here is the main store:

Some of their olive oil (we bought some with balsamic vinegar in it):

The beautiful area where this farm was located:

Artichoke plants! I want one SO bad, but I need a nice big backyard first :)

Here's an attempt at a picture of the produce in the tented house:

One of the pretty herb gardens:

Scallop Scampi happiness

As most of you know, I have been feeling pretty yucky the past couple of weeks. I caught some wierd cold bug about a week and a half ago, and I thought I was getting better last Saturday. Then, on Sunday, I started to feel bad all over again, except it was much worse this time. Yesterday was especially un-fun. I woke up this morning feeling marginally better, and once I showered and got going, I did actually feel much better by this afternoon. The downside to all of this sickness, is that my poor husband is stuck either fending for himself (for food) or he goes out and gets something for the both of us (which is especially sweet of him). On a side note, he got me a particularly yummy veggie sandwich from the Blizzard cafeteria last night, which was very nice of him (and Blizzard, to let him do that).
So, tonight for dinner, I decided to make something for us that I just love: scallops! They are nature's little sea gems. I could truly eat them everyday. Tonight I made scallop scampi...delicious!! There was also some broccoli and artichokes on the side, but here is the recipe for the scampi, in case you wanted to throw some together. It is really a shrimp scampi recipe, but there is a way to make it with just (or add) scallops to it, as well. Just a little extra work involved - but worth it! :) AND, this is not the healthiest meal around, but damn it's good.
And, if you were wondering, it made me feel a bit better, as well. :)

Shrimp Scampi
jumbo or extra-large shrimp, 1 1/2 lbs.
all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup
sea salt and pepper
olive oil, 2 tablespoons, plus more as needed
unsalted butter, 12 tablespoons
garlic, 3 cloves, minced
dry white wine, 1/4 cup
finely grated lemon zest, from 1 lemon
fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons
fresh flat-leaf parsely, 2 tablespoons finely chopped
Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tail segment intact. In a shallow bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
In a large, nonreactive frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Toss half of the shrimp in the flour mixture to coat evenly, shaking off the excess. Add to the hot oil and cook, turning occasionally, until opaque throughout when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining shrimp, adding more oil as needed.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the garlic together in the pan, stirring frequently, until the garlic softens and is fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and the lemon zest and juice and bring to boil over high heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to very low. One tablespoons at a time, whiskk in the remaining 10 tablespoons butter, letting each addition soften into a creamy emulsion before adding more.
Return the shrimp to the sauce and mix to coat well. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a warm serving dish and sprinkle with the parsely.
Small bay scallops will cook in about the same amount of time as the shrimp. If you opt for large sea scallops, sear them in an ovenproof frying pan over high heat for about 1 minute on each side, then slip the browned scallops, still in the pan, into a preheated 400 degree oven and cook until barley opaque throughout, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate, cover to keep warm, and proceed with the recipe to make the sauce.

Bunny Soup! (No bunnies harmed)

Today Andy and I had a pretty big lunch, so soup was the perfect idea for dinner. AND I had a ginormous bunch of carrots, so carrot soup it was tonight! Really super easy to make and it was quite delicious! Here is the recipe, in case you would like to enjoy for yourself - this would even make an excellent starter to a bigger meal. Ours was served with fresh baked bread, which makes sense...to a Portuguese girl! :)

Morrocan Carrot Soup
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped white onion
1 pound large carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 2 minutes. Mix in carrots. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove soup from heat. Puree in blender until smooth. Return to same pan. Whisk in honey, lemon juice, and allspice. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cumin.

"It's a veggie..it's a veggie..."

Who would have thought?... No more meat for me... well, that's not because I don't like meat. Pig is a magical animal. Seriously. But, after many years of trying to figure out what makes the Crohn's Disease not be a raging beast, I believe I found the answer some months ago. Unfortunately, for me, that means no red meat, pork, or chicken. Which is somewhat okay, since I'm not a fan of birds, and I don't think anyone should live on red meat. But, the pig... what a sad day for me.
Okay, enough of my crying. Living in California, and even more so, Orange County, it is exceptionally easy to eat well as a vegetarian (or pescatarian, as I do also eat fish). I've also found that it is easier on my system to eat foods that don't have pestcides or chemicals attached, which is also fairly easy to acheive over here.
After thinking about it for a couple of months, I decided to join a Community Supported Agriculture share. I joined Fresh Farm to You and I received my first delivery today. It is fantastic! I started off with the smaller box, and we'll see how that works for us. It's nice to know that there is no way I would have been able to get all of these fruits and veggies at the grocery store for the exceptionally small amount that I payed, and everything is very fresh. Here is all of what showed up at my doorstep this morning:


A few weeks ago, the hippy bug hit me and I decided to plant a few things that I enjoy. I've got a crazy bunch of chives and a huge basil plant enjoying it's spot on my table outside. I also have a bean plant growing nicely. It's kinda cute (for a bean plant).


So, that's what I've been up to lately, in the food world. I'm excited to use all of my new weekly produce to create some delicious-ness and share it with all of you! P.S. Bacon still tastes good.

Girlie Brunch!!

Myself and some of my girlfriends have been talking about doing a homemade brunch together, for such a long time, and this past Sunday, we finally all had the time to do just that. Everybody brought a dish (or two) and we shared all of our culinary goodness with each other. This was such a fun day and we definetly need to do this more often.
Here is the table I set for all of us:

Lots and lots of wonderful food and bellinis, of course!

So, before I show you all of the excellent food that we devoured, I must say that I feel LAME for not having a picture of Jessica's quiche, but let me tell you - it was DELICIOUS!! It was cheesy, bacon-y goodness!! I think I may have forgotten to take a photo because I was so damn excited to cut into it!
The following picture is of Tiffany's mini donuts with vanilla glaze and sprinkles, which were tasty AND cute!! If you are interested, she bought the mold from Sur La Table, and I'm sure I will need to go get one soon :)

This is my peaches and raspberries in homemade almond syrup. Mmmmmm!!

These are Tiffany's Lemon Blossoms. Oh my goodness - these were GOOOOD!!! Moist and lemony and sugary... right now I'm wishing I had some of them in my kitchen (or in my mouth)!

The pictures just keep getting better and better! Here are Jamie's outrageously yummy orange-almond cinnamon buns and scone-like biscuits. I can't even begin to tell you how many of these I ate, but it is probably criminal. Oh, and she brought along some strawberry jam and homemade clotted cream to go along with these little babies. Delightful!!!

The next two dishes are from my kitchen: roasted asparagus with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and potato au gratin (made with gruyere, leeks, and heavy cream). Both were tasty, and like the rest of the food, practically demolished. And, here is where I feel lame again, but you can kinda see a little bit of Jess' quiche in the background. I guess that just means she'll have to make it again so I can take a righteous picture of it! :D


All in all, it was such a wonderful day, and a great way to celebrate our friendship! Let's do it again!!

Simple, but delicious

This evening I made one of my favorite dishes to both make and eat - garlic chili shrimp and green beans. SO easy to make, plus I get to use my wok, which is always a joy for me. I found the most amazing fresh green beans at Whole Foods today, and of course, I purchased my shrimp from them, as well. As a side note, if you have a Whole Foods near you, and you have never been to it, you must go. It is my favorite place to buy my food, even though it is a little bit more expensive than the grocery store. The fruit and veggies are almost all organic and the fish is totally fresh. In fact, whenever I buy fish, I just go that day to buy it, simply because it would be no good if I froze it then used it later. Plus, the fish dudes know me by name now and give me extra fish, but don't typically charge me. That, and they like when I wear big earrings.
To make this, start with a hot oiled wok, throw in the seasoned green beans and get them to a point of almost cooked. I like my green beans with some snap, so mine were probably a little less cooked than most people like them. At that point, throw in the shrimp (seasoned, of course) and once those are almost cooked through, add a whole bunch of minced garlic, chili sauce (to your liking), a tiny bit of vinegar, an equal amount of sugar, and maybe some red chili flakes if you want it really spicy. The other cheater-option is to add some Thai-style chili sauce that comes in a jar. I've used that when I don't have much time, and it tastes just as good. Once your shrimp is all cooked, you're good to go!
So there it is - my shrimp dish, which was served with some long grain rice, and it made for a couple of very happy campers this evening. :)

Amen to that!

I just realized that I haven't blogged in forever! So, even though I haven't had any exceptionally special food, that I felt like sharing, I am going to share parts from an article in my recent Bon Appetite magazine.
Somebody wrote in to one of the Restaurant Editors, Andrew Knowlton, and they asked him if he had any pet peeves when dining at restaurants. His list of annoying items follows. And, to be honest, I have to agree with him on these, especially the "removing of plates"... it always bugged me and I wondered if anyone else ever felt the same. Now I know at least someone else does! :) Enjoy!!
Oh - and I should mention - these are his words, not mine. So, please don't sue me, man.
1. No one greets you as you arrive or say thanks as you leave. Both are equally important (just because a restaurant has taken your money doesn't mean its responsibilities are over).
2. Waiters who say one of three things: "Hello, my name is X, and I'll be your waiter tonight", "Have you dined with us before"?, and "Everything on the menu is great".
3. Removal of one single piece of cutlery or plate before everyone at the table has finished eating. It's disruptive and rude.
4. Offering up freshly ground pepper, grated cheese, or anything else before I've even had time to taste it. How am I supposed to know if it needs pepper? Isn't that what chefs and kitchens are for?
5. Dirty tables going uncleaned. (And on a cleaning side note: Restaurants should never, ever start mopping or dragging trash through the dining room until every customer is gone. Period.)

Para o amor de minha familia...

This evening I made one of my most favorite dishes in the world: feijoada. This dish is a stew of beans with pork (and sometimes beef). It is considered the "national" dish of Brasil, but was brought to South America by the Portuguese. It was considered a "luxury" dish of the African slaves on Brazilian colonial farms, seeing as it was prepared with relatively cheap ingredients (beans, rice, collard greens, farofa) and leftovers from salted pork and meat production. Over time, it became a favorite dish of everyone in the country and now it's found nearly everywhere over there. In Brasil, it is made with black beans, but in Portugal, it is made with either white beans or kidney beans, depending on the part of Portugal you are in.
This is one of those meals that is truly a labor of love. It takes all day to make correctly, but once it's finished, it is just divine. This dish reminds me of being about eight years old, and watching my paternal great-grandmother cook it in my grandmother's kitchen. She spent all day stirring, watching, tasting, adding the correct amount of seasoning. Every time I smell or taste the dish, it takes me right back to that kitchen, where you just knew she was putting all of her heart into making it for her family. It just doesn't get much better than that.
It is typically served with white rice, and maybe some greens, fried bananas, sliced oranges, and another coarse roasted cassava flour called farofa. Tonight I just made it with rice and a side of spicy carrots, mostly because I was too tired to fry bananas. But I did add some bread to the mix, which, let's face it - it just isn't Portuguese unless you're eating it with a piece of bread in your left hand.
And, in case you were wondering: yes - it was well worth the wait of the slow, all day cooking. I'm pretty sure my grandmother would be proud.

Brisket and Fried Pickles

Mmmm... BBQ... so good!! It isn't too hard to find many BBQ places, but it does seem to be a little more difficult to find really great BBQ. One of our favorite places is The Beach Pit BBQ in Tustin, California. There are three other locations, as well: Costa Mesa, CA., Orange, CA., and they have a little place at the Angels' Stadium (located in Anaheim, CA.)
The restaurant was founded by baseball player Tim DeCinces back in 2005 and includes a large Southern BBQ menu, with some lighter salads and wraps, if you prefer. They have their own BBQ sauce, which you can get in mild or spicy - both are pretty damn good.
We went last night with a big group of friends and the food just kept coming to the table! We had everything from wedge salads to fried pickles and everything in between. Last night, they had a special, which was a grilled cheese sandwich with pulled pork added to the sandwich. My husband had to try one! We actually ended up getting another one by accident, but the server was cool and just let us keep it. So, we split up the two sandwiches and everyone had a try. It was really, really good. See, I'm not much of a grilled cheese fan, so I thought it was alright, but my husband loved it, and everyone else seemed to think it was pretty awesome, as well. Check this bad dog out! Oh, and let me apologize now for the not-so-great quality of the pictures. I took them with my phone, so they aren't perfect, but you get the idea, at least. :)

Here is Jessica's wedge salad - it looked gooooood!!

One of Andy's favorite things to get - the sliders!

And, here was my delightful meal - my beef brisket sandwich with sweet potato fries and fried pickles. Yummy!!

So go check out The Beach Pit - you won't be disappointed. Oh - and be sure to get some dessert: Banana Pudding otherwise known as "Crack in a Cup". Enjoy!!

Holes in the wall and car washes

Huh??!! Where did you eat recently?? That's right - I'm back in Bakersfield for a couple of days, and you know what that means! No, I haven't seen any cows, but they have made a couple of appearances on my dinner table in the tastiest of forms!
Last night, my Dad and I went to "Hole In The Wall". Yep, we named this place, years and years ago, and it has stuck. The real name of this restaurant is Ching Yen and honestly, we didn't know it's real name for years. We just went there. And, one day, when we wanted to order some food to go, no one in the house knew the real name of the place, to find the phone number, in the phone book!
Ching Yen has existed in Bakersfield for over 20 years, and locally owned. They do not have servers or hosts - the family runs everything. Their kids (who I happened to go to high school with) serve the customers, and the mom is the hostess/server. The dad is in the back cooking with a couple of other guys, in their tiny little kitchen in the back. Ooh! Last night the dad came out from the kitchen (you NEVER see the dad) and went to each table, asking how the food was. Our answer: the food was GREAT (as always)! I thought about asking him to take a picture with me, but I would like to be able to come back, without a restraining order placed on me.


Of course, Dad and I ordered WAY too much food, which usually happens when we go there, because it is ALL good! So, Mary, do they put MSG in their food? HELL YES they do!! And that's what makes it amazing!! You certainly won't find any signs saying "No MSG" anywhere near this place. They probably put it in the water, for that matter! Our appetizers for the evening: potstickers and spring rolls. Then came the massive amount of deliciousness: garlic shrimp (which I practically ate the whole plate), vegetable beef, veggie chow mein, and veggie egg foo young. So, here's where I talk about how they make the BEST egg foo young EVER! I normally don't even like this dish. But, of course, due to the excessive amounts of crack and MSG they put into their food, along with the amazing brown sauce they drown it in, I will eat the whole damn plate, if given the opportunity. It is typically the first dish that gets annihilated at the table. Just amazing. Period.
Sorry for the slightly fuzzy picture of the appetizers. I was just so excited about digging into it, that I couldn't even take a decent pic. Oh well. Just know that it was delish.

Here is our lovely dinner. Oh - I should mention that we didn't have much of a doggy bag to take home afterwards.

Here is the perfect egg foo young dish. Look how shiny from all that MSG...


So, that was my foodie adventure last night. It was a good one, too. I was oh so happy when my dad agreed to today's lunch at the local car wash. Yep - you read that one right! The 34th Street Car Wash right here in good ol' Bakersfield. I know that there is a great debate about the best hamburger around and I have heard many thoughts and even tried many, if not all of them, that I have heard. Guess what? The BEST hamburger around is right in that town, right in the middle of that car wash. Once you have had one, you will be the winner of the great debate. Just ask my husband. He thought he had the greatest one ever at Firestone's, in San Luis Obispo (see earlier post). Yeah, okay, it's good, but not a car wash burger! And there is a place in Los Osos, Ca. that also makes a damn good one, but again, not this car wash burger! And, apparently, there is a place in Long Beach, Ca. that is supposed to be killer good, but I'm gonna still put my money on the car wash burger.
Well, okay, Miss Smarty Pants. What makes it so great then?? To start with, it is real sirloin hamburger (about a 1/2 a pound), that hasn't been frozen, that gets hand-formed after you place your order. Then it sits on a open grill, that has been slathered with the grease from the gods. We always get the Ortega Burger, so that means an ortega chili, whole green leaf lettuce, onions, tomato, 1000 island dressing, and here is the kicker: butter pickles. If you don't like butter pickles, then you can get over yourself, because it makes this burger. And, for just about $7, you get the giant burger, fries or onion rings, and a drink. Oh - and let's not forget the priceless surroundings of a Bakersfield car wash, where people are getting their lunch, their car washed, their shoes shined, and their hair cut all in the same place. It just doesn't get much better than that.
Here is a shot of the counter where you order your food. Surprisingly, I was able to get the picture without a bizillion people in line.

Here is my view of the car wash from where I was eating today. See?? What did I tell you about the view?!

At last, but not least, the heavenly burgers! DO be jealous.