THE LAST LADY DATE OF THE YEAR

last post of 2017! what better way to end this year than with my ladies. man, lady dates are good for the sooouuul! earlier in the week, i went out with my sister and my museum buddy to spend the day downtown. first up was yayoi kusama’s exhibit at the broad. somehow by the luck of the draw we got tickets to this amazing exhibition… 4 months of anticipation and we finally were able to see yayoi’s amazing work.

after the museum we walked over to the grand central market to eat ALL the yummy food. we ate at the sari sari store where courtney and i reconnected with our filipino side. it was the second best adobo i’ve ever had…first being my grandma’s and nothing can ever top that. dessert was served at valerie’s where dana and i shared a coffee crunch cake with honeycomb all over the icing and we nearly died. it was the best last lady date of 2017!

on our way to the grand central market, we stumbled upon the angels flight railway and hopped on. this is where we cried when we had to walk up all the stairs on our way back to our car. good times…good times.

ALMOND BUTTER ACAI BOWL

ingredients:

• 1 packet of frozen acai mix
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 2 bananas- 1 for topping
• 2 tablespoons of almond butter
• 2 cups of frozen strawberries, blueberries and kale
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• granola
• fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries for topping

there really isn’t much to this recipe. run hot water over the frozen acai packet and then squeeze into the blender. add in the frozen berries, kale, banana, almond milk and honey. once blended, i taste to see if it needs more of anything. this time around i added some fresh strawberries to the mix for more sweetness.i think i would skip the blueberry topping next time. it’s not their fault, i just don’t like little balls in my food. it took some time for me to even like the idea of boba….

HABANERO PEACH JAM

my love for habanero peach jam all began after i had visited my friend in italy. she had made a batch before i arrived and it’s ALL I COULD EAT while i was there. i had to make this jam when i got back to the states. i attempted the recipe three times before having any success… yeah, it’s THAT good aaaannnddd i’m not a quitter. during one of those attempts i fell asleep (jet lag) while letting the jam sit so i’ll take responsibility for that but the other two attempts i’ll just blame mercury being in retrograde. this time around, i brought in the big guns… my sister and she didn’t disappoint! we made a successful batch of habanero peach jam! you can get the full recipe here.

ingredients:

• 4 1/2 pint jars
• 1 lb 5 oz peeled and pitted peaches
• 2 habanero peppers
• 1 lb 5 oz sugar
• 1 lemon

peel and slice your peaches over a bowl to catch the juices. weigh the peaches, then weigh the sugar to the same amount. finely mince the habanero peppers, seeds and all. (wear gloves! especially if you wear contacts, i made that mistake the first time, you live and you learn right?!)put the peaches, sugar, habanero peppers and lemon juice in a large heavy bottomed pot. stir to combine everything and mash the peaches a bit with a large wooden spoon or potato masher. let sit for an hour.

bring the mixture to a boil. boil for approximately 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently. it will foam up for most of the time and eventually when the jam is nearly ready, the foam will die down. check to see if jam is ready by dropping a small amount on a very cold plate. when it is ready it will jell as it cools on the plate. when you are satisfied with the jelling, ladle the hot jam into clean jars, almost filling to the top. screw on the lids, but not too tightly and immediately set the jars upside down. let the jars cool and then turn them right side up, refrigerate and enjoy!

SUNDAY FUNDAY

 sometimes the best plans are the ones you didn’t actually plan for. on sunday a friend asked if i wanted to go to the 14th factory before it leaves los angeles for good. i spend a lot of my weekends in orange county visiting my parents (and their dogs) so she was shocked when i actually said yes. look at me being spontaneous!

on our way to the museum, gps couldn’t get a word in edgewise (we like to talk… a lot) and we passed the museum on our first go but once we turned back around we snagged a spot right in front! the parking gods must have been looking out for us and my excitement about this is 100% warranted because in los angeles, if you find a spot on the street where you don’t have to walk a mile to your destination, that’s considered a blessing. we both took it as a sign that our last minute plans were meant to be…and so began kenzie and dana’s DAY. OF. FUN!

after the museum we went to salazar’s for lunch. our stars really were aligned because we found ANOTHER amazing spot right in front. i’m not kidding, i felt like i needed to test my luck and buy a lottery ticket.

okay. i’ll stop talking about parking now and get to the good stuff…the food. i had the vegetable tacos with grilled cauliflower, carrots, roasted fennel and pickled ramps (my mouth is watering as i write this post) and dana had the chilaquiles. by the end of our meal, we were sat in our chairs trying to collect ourselves after graciously devouring our food. no regrets. 

being friends with dana is like a blessing and a curse…most of the time it’s a huge blessing but my god does this woman know her food! if we keep hanging out like this, i’m going to have to join a gym (which she’s been trying to get me to do since we met. sorry, but i don’t like sweating with strangers).

after lunch we went to wanderlust creamery (still debating if this one’s a blessing or a curse). famous for their artisanal flavors (sticky rice and mango, kinder bueno, ube malted crunch), we tasted almost every one they had, they even had flavors inspired by game of thr(c)ones. i couldn’t think of a better way to get me in the mood for sunday’s episode so i had the “dragon’s blood” and “winter is coming”.

THE MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM

last weekend, i went to the museum of ice cream – i have the sprinkles in my pants to prove it. upon our arrival, we were greeted with a bubble gum pink exterior and some bubble gum pink staff (ice cream “experts” as they described online). before we entered, the staff explained a little bit about the art and food inside and what exactly we were getting ourselves into. it felt more like a warning, as if they wanted to tell us what they had seen on the battlefield of ice cream but they couldn’t. they left us with a “HAVE A GOOD TIME!” and then we were off!

do you have any idea how hard it was for me to not sing “hollaback girl” by gwen stefani?this mochi changed my life. yes, i’m being overly dramatic but mint chocolate chip mochi is life changing. the staff gave each of us our mochi and explained how the mint was being grown from a cacao soil which meant that it was essentially being grown from chocolate (straight out of willy wonka or a whole foods store). i don’t think anyone cared that much about the mint process except for me… in that moment. i regret not asking for seconds but we’ve all seen oliver twist.

black cookie dough. it’s a thing and it’s amazing and the dude giving it out was hilarious. he made sure none of us had black in our teeth before heading to the next room. he’s a true friend.

like i said… i’m still finding sprinkles in my clothes.

 

 

EASTER TRADITION

it’s just not easter without pancakes and the lewis family. every year since i can remember, our families have gotten together for easter breakfast at the original house of pancakes. each year is the same; swedish pancakes, dutch babies, potato pancakes (we’re creatures of habit). after breakfast we power through the oncoming food coma and head home for some egg decorating, but this year we swapped out the eggs for a bunny cake and cupcakes (still nameless). i think traditions are something special and i cherish the fact that we still get together year after year. here’s to many more years of our easter tradition!

 

 

 

 

 

LUNCH TIME

i don’t know what’s more fun- photographing the food or eating it. happy lunching!!

• cucumber sandwich
• arugula, almond, cranberry salad
• cream cheese, apricot jam, walnuts and water crackers

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

for the past month i haven’t really spent a weekend at home- between traveling for the holidays and spending time in orange county, my poor bed started to wonder if i’d ever come back. this weekend i decided to stay in la to clean and reorganize my apartment because “new year, new me” is in full flux… yesterday morning, i did laundry, put new sheets on my bed, dusted my shelves and had a dance party because what else do you do when you clean?? and then-i got hungry. not really wanting to brave the sunday brunch hour, i decided to make something at home. so i pulled a cookbook off the bookshelf and made some chocolate chip banana bread. *warning* this banana bread is like crack, please bake responsibly-only if you are a strong and independent woman…i mean only if you are strong willed… yeah, will power.

ingredients: 1 1/3 cups light brown sugar-2 eggs-1 cup mashed banana-2 1/4 cups flour-1 teaspoon baking powder-1 teaspoon baking soda-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon-1 teaspoon ground ginger-1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted-semi sweet chocolate chips-

preheat oven to 325ºf. put the sugar and eggs in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until well incorporated. beat in the mashed banana.

add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger to the sugar mixture. mix it thoroughly until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the egg mixture. pour in the melted butter and beat until all the ingredients are well mixed.

pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth over with a palette knife. bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. let the cake cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

EAT YOUR HEART OUT

this may be my new favorite instagram account. created by isabella giancarlo.

THE GOOD STUFF.

lately i’ve been craving the good stuff; brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, etc. my sister and i have our go to place (simple things) when we want brussels sprouts and pie. it’s a weird combo i know, but this place is just so good like that. below i’ve posted some yummy dishes that i would like to try with all that good stuff in it.  (click the picture for the recipes)