Michael's Mexican Candy Hot Wings

Mexican candy. I never liked it too much but my daughter was addicted to it as a child. Saladaritos, hot mango chili suckers with worms in the middle, anything that was so tart upon first lick and then super lip burning hot and then sweet and chewy. Tonight, my brother went out of the box and concocted a chicken wing creation that made me rethink the value of a three-flavor bite that leaves the face tingling while the body burns with sweat. Not too bad, just a slow simmering delivered prior to a nice skin flush. At first bite it's sweet, then spicy, then carmelized crunchy through diced chunks of crispy jalapeno and garlic, and then the meat, succulent and moist. Good job brother, I will be making this healthy, candy dish many times in my future. But for now, I will just continue to go raid the fridge over the course of the next hour, reveling in the way they taste when cold as well.

Michael's Mexican Candy Hot Wings

Package of chicken wings

1/4 c. Frank's Hot Sauce

1/4 c. A second cayenne based hot sauce

5 garlic

5 jalapenos

Brown sugar

Take about twelve chicken wings, put in a bag. Pour in the Frank's hot sauce and the cayenne based hot sauce. Dice the jalapenos and the garlic. Throw it in the bag. Shake shake shake it. Heat oven to 400 degrees and place wings on a shallow pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over the wings and place the pan in the oven for ten minutes. Take out, flip the wings and sprinkle more brown sugar over the top and bake for ten more minutes till carmelized. Enjoy!

Meditating With Mahi Mahi

There are some foods in life that are enhanced by the environment in which they are eaten. Fish and chips is one of these meals. On a recent trip to Dana Point with good fiends, we happened upon the marina that reminded us all of a place stuck back in time; a more innocent time when men walked down to the docks in the morning to throw a line in the sea, sitting for hours waiting for a bite but there for the meditative experience of staring out into the deep blue more than for the hope of actually catching anything. The marina was dotted with restaurants with names like Jolly Rogers and Proud Mary's where the hard wood floors were darkened with age and many layers of hardened wax; the smells of brine embedded deeply into the plush vinyl booths and old patterned wallpapers. Places where the sound of silverware clinking and bar glass being swooshed across thick wood mingled with the sounds of patrons eating eggs benedict breakfasts and waiting for whale watching cruises or their sailors to come in from the sea. We opted to dine al fresco at the Wind and Sea grill, pulling our plastic outdoor chairs close together in the cool air to enjoy rock salted bloody marys and mahi mahi fish and chips. Doused with copious amounts of tangy malt vinegar, lemon and salt, and a perfectly thin and crispy beer batter, we enjoyed our own fruits of the sea while reading the names of the sailboats in the dock and watching groups of people head off upon the water hoping to catch some of the light tailwinds coming in that day under a sky streaked with grey clouds. Belly content, we sat there for hours contemplating the water-a therapeutic escape from the everyday, where stratas of blues over the horizon washed every stress and care away.

Post Burn Fuel

We brought trail mix, pistachios, almonds, coconut water, and wine.

We also brought plenty of whiskey for our canteens that we would sip periodically through the harsh and cold evenings. Just one or two sips would cure our frigid bones for the evening, going quite nicely with the fire that burned in various places across the stark desert. I learned that whiskey was the drink of choice on the playa for this reason. Everywhere we would go and flash our canteens, people would ask, "Is that whiskey?" and we were expected to share a drink. It was like the calling card of friendship for the burn.

We subsisted on a gallon and a half of water a day, fed each morning into the camelbacks that dressed our shoulders.

There was no produce nor anything else that needed refrigeration. We were down to bare minimum during this exercise in radical self survival.

The only sustenance we could count on were the daily offerings from other camps in this gift economy, camps that offered chorizo burritos on a Monday morning, or pancakes at center camp, or the three vegetarian meals a day that were made with love by the Hare Krishnas where we were staying.

The vegetarian meals were iffy at best. Because we had no clocks or technology or cell phones, we depended on the good old sun to relate the time of the day, which meant arriving at the meal tent for breakfast, lunch or dinner hoping we weren't too late to dip our recycled spoons into curried rices, sweet potato and spinach mashes, and other meals that tasted good but all blurred together under the heat.

It didn't matter though, that our food was slim pickings or unpredictable, because we were on another planet where food was just the fuel to let you go back on the playa, bicycle wheels whipping the dust and icy yellow light, until your thighs burnt so bad you were forced to go back to the tent to lie down and recuperate for the evening ahead. An evening that would consist of walking the landscape at night, gallons of water disappearing and food nowhere near the mind.

After we left, food was heavy on the mind. My camp mate Sonia told us about an Indian food taco truck that was usually parked at the exit to Burning Man and sure enough, there it was offering wraps and other goodies to a crowd with a big portion of attendees in the healthful eating genre. Cars were lined up to get an order of richness back in the world of the hungry.

As I drove home to the desert the next morning, my gut was aching for Indian food but as I suspected there were only signs along the highway for the usual fast food restaurants, offering puffy fats and chemical tastes, and my week had somehow made me averse to even the smell emanating from these places. Then, like a mirage an Indian food restaurant arose on the side of the highway in Sacramento and I quickly took a turn when I saw the banner exclaiming "Wraps to Go". Piryani with extra vegetables, curry sauce and a sweet mango lassi later and I was on a new food mission back home.

Rosh Hashana Challah Manna

On the Jewish New Year I honor my Jewish tribe with a toast via a piece of moist, raisin studded challah bread, drizzled with honey, chewy and slightly sweet. Jewish fare is another in a long string of my cultural favorites that begins in the Mediterraean with lamb, feta and dolmadas, whips through India with eye watering samosas, tamarind, paneers and rice puddings, then leans to the Persian with coriander (it's American cousin being cilantro) and chick peas, buttery pomegranate piled, scented, burnt rices and then the middle eastern falafels, tangy lemony cous cous and hummus dipped into with pita tears (as in rips not drops of sadness).

This year I tore and drizzled and savored the bread chunks with my best friend Lisa.

L'Chaim! to all my Jewish friends who have sustained me with your warts and all wisdoms, your simplicity, foods, sensuality, mysticism, adherence and discipline, I love you all!

Everything in the Kitchen Soup

An eight hour drive on Thursday brought me to the blissful, sunny wine country of Napa, so pronounced by a beautiful big wooden sign right before the left hand driveway I was told to drive into, behind the big white wall, to the Lub property. The Lubs, a family of Russian descent, were graciously providing me with three nights of lodging as we all met for the first time to travel to Burning Man together. My twin and male best friend Charles, who is in love with the daughter Lub, was the conduit who brought me here but I immediately fell in love with the vibes of the place and the people who occupied it.

I was first greeted by 21-year-old Nick Lub, with sparkling kind eyes, reddish hair and an extreme passion for brewing his own beers out of rich homegrown hops. He gave me a tour of the property that included various barns and sheds set up as art studios here and there to be used for his graffiti paintings, his mother Gaye's wood and paint female assemblages and his sister Sonia's elegant and sexy feather earrings that fall from your ears, onto your bosom, splaying silky threads of color.

Then he regaled us with a beer tasting that lasted into the wee hours.

The next day we set about setting up a mock camp: hours of building and placing our tents, tarps, chairs, shade structures and supplies so that we would not run into any actual problems once we hit the real playa that is unforgiving with no room for error. Nick fixed bicycle tires and tubes. Gaye Lub cooked dinner for us all to enjoy together after the labor.

Gaye described her pureed butternut bliss as "everything in the kitchen sink soup". Basically she had simmered a pot of vegetables from the garden including squashes and carrots with butter and coconut milk until everything was soft and tender. Then she pureed it and let it stay warm until we were done with our Burning Man prep. Served in bowls with fresh parmesan cheese alongside freshly cut cantaloupe slices, tangy olive bread, a wedge of mimolette cheese and red wine from a neighboring winery, it was the perfect simple belly warming meal. Can't go wrong on a cool night after a long day by offering soul-soothing soup, a hunk of cheese, sliced fruit and bread. Manna!

When I told Mama Lub how much I loved to read and write about food, she insisted I start to read a book immediately as she grabbed it from her shelf. "Tender at the Bone" by Ruth Reichl, part one of a three book series about the author's experience growing up at the table with a slapstick cook mother and family of food lore. I snuck away with my last glass of red to my fluffy Napa farnhouse bed with the red mandala looking down upon me from the window tapestry, and sunk into the perfectly witty and addictive book. Heaven...

My Ophelia Sister's Salade Orgasme!

Maybe it's because Cat is French with a sylph-like demeanor, always clad in black with an olive-skinned face framed by a muscular, swath of jet black hair, that makes me pay extra attention to the things she eats.

Maybe it's the pre-cooking fun we always have at the grocery store, holding hands like ten-year-old girls, dancing through the aisles, disturbing the refrigerated produce displays, tripping on kiwis and juggling red peppers that makes her salads taste so damn good. Anything made with passion and fun is sure to be infused with the personality of its creator.

Or maybe it's the fact that twice in this lifetime, the first was two years ago, she's managed to create a salad that sent me reeling and made me declare it was the best one I had ever tasted yet!

Recently, she topped it off again, and this one I have no doubt, should be called Salade Orgasme. A table full of moist, roasted chicken and pomegranate-blood orange martinis went largely untouched as three dinner guests and myself ate three servings a piece of this delectable, sinful, taste-bud tweaking, extraordinary bowl of goodness.

"The secret lies in the mix of odd ingredients that you wouldn't normally think go well together," explains Cat, our salad sylph.

And I wholeheartedly agree, including the odd little Filberts that were new to me-tiny hazelnut tasting round nuts that provide a tantalizing crunch!

My adaptation goes like this.

Toss a big box of dark green artisanal lettuce, one half cup of filberts, one diced yellow bell pepper, one diced red bell pepper, one sliced avocado, a bunch of whole cilantro (stalk and all), a half cup of feta cheese, a half cup of plump blueberries together and top with your favorite balsamic vinegar infusion!

Hilarious Gnudity in the Duplay Kitchen!

Charlotte Duplay is one of my favorite foodie friends and muses and a few nights ago she invited me over to share a meal created from her latest box of bounty from the Inland Empire CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). This group is great: a collective of farmers who pile their fresh fruits and vegetables together every few weeks and deliver them to certain stops in cities where all of their healthy-eating subscribers pick up treasure boxes full of food, never knowing exactly what delights they will discover inside. When I arrived to Charlotte's home, I was greeted with a lush still life that included tomatillos, red onions, avocado, cherry tomatoes, grapefruit, zucchini, leeks, yellow snap beans, cantaloupes, fennel, swiss chard, white carrots, and russian arugula!

A beautiful slate of roasted tomatoes was set upon the counter waiting for its starring role in a creative new form of bruschetta. As Charlotte, assembled the dish she explained the recipe. Take a bunch of cherry tomatoes, halve them, and roast them in an oven on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, sprinkled with honey, rosemary, thyme and olive oil until they shrivel and pop. Then cut up slices of a crispy, baguette and toast the bread in the oven. Spread ricotta cheese on the toasted bread and then top with the tomatoes. Add an additional drizzle of honey and top with basil. This appetizer was incredibly sweet and with the lightness of ricotta cheese, felt less sinful with every rich bite.

After the bruschetta was done, we went about preparing the special dish that Charlotte was trying for the first time: Gnudi. Sounds like gnocchi and is similar but is made usually from a blend of spinach, ricotta and flour and then piped through a pastry bag into a pot of boiling water in thick, inch long, noodle-like forms. This is when all hilarity ensued.

Whenever I go to meals at Charlotte's, we have a little assistant in the kitchen-Charlotte's cheeky monkey daughter Camilla. Armed with blue rubber boots, the perfect summer sundress and her tiny mitts in enormous potholders, she followed us around the kitchen as we cooked, even stepping in to help once in a while. This time, Camilla, who I hadn't seen in about five months, was extremely chatty and excited, she had grown into quite the personality and I noticed that the kitchen became much more slapstick than normal now that we had a little miniature addition to our preparations. In the past, she would just sit and stare at us from her baby chairs, but suddenly she was underneath our feet, chasing the dog, and providing a sense of comedy to Charlotte's normally smooth processes. The fact that she had just started potty training was a central point of the cooking as she would continue to tell me in finger pointing and demonstrations that she was now a big girl who could go to the bathroom. At one point, she presented me with her toilet bucket in which she had just dumped a "big girl gift", very pleased with her new found talent. I guess the fact that her big girl gift had all the same textures and shapes of the aforementioned gnudi we were trying to prepare was our first subliminal sign of things to come.

Cooking something for the first time is always a hit or miss, especially when one is also attempting to substitute ingredients. It started well: we blended the blanched russian arugula and swiss chard greens and ricotta together and then added small amounts of flour to the whole mix. Maybe there wasn't enough flour, or maybe we should have stuck with spinach for some textural depth reasoning, or maybe Camilla sitting at the blender and pressing the blend button too much caused the texture to lose its integrity, or maybe it was the fact that we didn't end up kneading the dough enough in consideration of time (at this rate we wouldn't be eating close to any dinner hour!) but whatever it was, by the time we piped the gnudi into the boiling water and waited for it to float to the top well done, we were most likely already doomed. Green pickle like forms rose to the top of the pot which we strained and set into a dish on the side. Realizing that it looked more like mush than pasta portions, we then started to add more flour to the dough hoping it would help it stick together. We persevered making the gnudi until the final batch was done but Charlotte snuck on a pot of wheat spiral pasta just in case the gnudi was going to end in disaster. She heated up a homemade pasta sauce made from chopped tomatoes simmered with onions and a whole stick of butter and we finally converged around the table.

The funny thing is that once we piled our gnudi into our bowls and topped it with the butter rich tomato sauce and a sprinking of parmesan cheese, it actually tasted really good. Aside from the bizarre way it looked, we actually all really enjoyed it. I would definitely be up for making this recipe again under better conditions, it could actually become a favorite. I didn't even have to eat the Plan B pasta!

For dessert, we were served warm grilled peach halves accompanied by a dollop of homemade peach ice cream. The perfect sweet and innocent end to a belly-laughter filled authentic evening!

The morning after my wonderful meal with the Duplay family, Charlotte wrote me this note: "Food blogs that recall the disasters in the kitchen are very entertaining - think of Julie and Julia. If you do end up blogging about last night's unique meal please tell the truth!"

So I did. I am looking for the next time I get to get gnudi in the kitchen with Charlotte!

Avocado, Strawberry and Organic White Cheddar - My Version of Eat, Pray, Love!

The other night I bought ripe avocados, plump red strawberries, organic New Zealand sharp white cheddar and chunky sourdough artisan bread inspired by a rush of grilled cheese recipes I have seen lately on the food blog scene involving cheese and fruits. Slicing up all the ingredients thinly and making the traditional buttered bread grilled cheese sandwich in a pan with this filling, I was super happy with the results. The mellowness of the cheese combined with the smooth texture of the avocado and the sweet strawberry accents that turned glistening and juicy when heated created such a  comfort food sensation in the mouth, inspiring me to put this sandwich on my regulars list. My picky daughter who doesn't like melted cheese, her boyfriend who doesn't eat many fruits and vegetables, and my brother who has sophisticated tastes, all came for seconds. Pleasing an entire assortments of palates isn't easy but this one sure did!

Even the next day, the same ingredients translated into a chunky, rich and pleasing cold sandwich. And then the following day, to utilize the leftovers, just chopping the bits into a bowl, and drizzled with honey, made a quick and easy summer lunchtime salad!

Hinkle's Asian Artistry

Last night I was invited to the home of my friends Michael and Tatiana Hinkle for a meal and a tour of Michael's fantastic art studio. Michael's been on a serious health kick for a month to enhance his lean-dom and gain mucho muscle so he's been experimenting with healthy food recipes. A master cook, he's come up with some really delicious recipes to go along with his new regimen, so good in fact that it doesn't even feel like the taste buds are skimping with the lack of sugars and fats. Last night's meal was Asian-inspired and so good and fresh that I had to share it here. The Ahi appetizer was so simple, spicy and good that I will be recreating it often. The Chunky Veggie Lemongrass Soup takes a little more preparation but once the smells hit the nostrils over a supreme bowl of this amazing dish, it becomes evident that the labor of love is entirely worth it. 

AHI CHILE CARPACCIO

1lb Yellow Fin tuna (Ahi)
4 serrano peppers
3 stalks of celery
1 tbsp cilantro
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
juice of one lemon
dash salt & pepper

Combine sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Slice tuna into small bite size squares, slice peppers and celery into small pieces. Place small pieces of pepper and celery on each piece.  

Pour the oil, lemon, soy sauce mixture over the tuna pieces. Place small cilantro leaf on each piece. 

Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes....and serve.

apr. 5 servings.

CHUNKY VEGGY LEMONGRASS WITH CHICKEN

1 package CHICKEN breast (boneless, fat trimmed)
2 Jalapenos (remove seeds) - diced
2 cups Cauliflower – chopped to small pieces
2 cups Broccoli – chopped to small pieces
2 cup Napa Cabbage – chopped in to pieces
1 yellow or orange Bell Pepper – chopped to small pieces
3 cups Spinach
1 large Onion (any) - diced
1 sprig of Rosemary – diced
2 tbsp Cilantro – diced
2-3 lemons
1 Avocado (ripe)
1 tbsp dry seasonings (like Grillmates, or something with coarse pepper and salt etc.)
1 tsp chili powder
4 tbsp lemongrass paste (from supermarket)
½ tsp chili paste (same section as lemongrass) – serious heat adjust as needed.
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups water
Salt & pepper
Olive Oil cooking spray (no calories, no nothing!)
-----------------
Preheat grill to medium – if using charcoal plan ahead to allow for the time.

Slice chicken into 4 oz pieces (apr. size of a deck of cards) into large bowl, sprinkle dry seasonings, some rosemary, chili powder, 1 lemon juice, 1 tbls of lemongrass paste, and combine together. Let sit for 10 -15 min while preparing the vegetables. Put on grill until charbroiled – apr. 8 minutes turning once. Remove from grill.  Shred or chop the chicken into small dice like sizes (I prefer the shredded, but they are hot from the grill!). Place in a bowl.

Coat a large deep pan with olive oil cooking spray. Heat to medium/high and put in the onions and jalapenos, olive oil and cook for 2 minutes until onions are transparent. Add lemongrass paste, chili paste, and fold into the onions.  Add the broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, cabbage, and 3-4 cups of water (*add three and see if you need the extra.) Sprinkle dry seasonings to taste, rosemary and a little bit of the cilantro. Cook 3 minutes, add the chicken and cover. Turn off stove and prepare to plate in bowls with lemon wedges and cilantro sprinkled on top.

Sometimes I add a little diced ripe avocado for another great texture and some good fat…
 

The Kids Are All Right!

On a recent trip to Santa Barbara to visit my sister, I was thoroughly surprised and delighted to see how well my niece (aged 6) and nephew (aged 5) were eating. Every time they went into the fridge for a snack, they would choose ripe plump berries, oatmeal bars, string cheese, edamame or other fortifying bites. Upon dining with them at an Italian restaurant they chose shrimp and salads. I was thrilled to see my sister teaching them about food in good ways, and introducing their young taste buds to healthy things. I was further delighted later on, while at a party full of children, to notice the kids all eating the miniature beef sliders piled with grilled onions and whole ears of barbecued corn, rather than the tubs of chips that sat largely untouched. One of the parents, my friend Justine, told us that she has taught her kids to yell "Disgusting!" every time they see the golden arches of McDonalds. After spending a good deal of time this past year keeping tabs on superstar Chef Jamie Oliver as he has tried to infiltrate the American school cafeteria system to introduce healthy foods into the daily regimens of loved ones, I realized that eating well starts in the home and then trickles out into society. Nothing will change in the school cafeterias until the premature audiences that stock the lunch lines in their pigtails and scuffed up knees come to demand a higher quality of food. Parents today should feel personally responsible for stocking their cupboards wisely, teaching their kids how to make simple snacks and meals out of nutritious ingredients instead of relying on the prepackaged microwaveable meals that reek of convenience and complacency. When kids are taught to love a colorful bevy of fresh fruits and finger vegetable snacks, they come to rely on that as their sense of sweetness rather than candy and a mouth does not mature craving toxic sugars and overloaded fats. It's time for us all to think about the next generation of foodies, and to inspire, motivate, and create a natural tendency towards health and sustainability in the minds of the young.

Grilled Pizza - Dog Days of Summer

My talented friend Karen Riley, Director of S.C.R.A.P. Gallery, the Museum for the Environment, has come up with a clever and scrumptious idea in desert summer outdoor dining. After months of grilling to escape having an indoor douse of oven heat in the above 100 degree temps we are accustomed to, she and her husband Mitch have taken to experimenting with the grill using other foods and recipes typically confined to baking. Her most successful attempt yet has been using the grill to make pizza. Turning the traditional pie into a fire smoked and crispy concoction is brilliance at its best. The possibilities are really endless but my favorite version of hers so far is this beautiful one topped with pesto as a base sauce, then layered with ground chicken, pine nuts, garlic and daubs of fresh mozarella!

Build-Your-Own-Burrito

The burrito is one of life's greatest pleasures. Because of this, I have decided to start a series at Unorthodox Foodie dedicated to this wrapped food phenomena! A multitude of possibilities abound in outer shell; think corn, flour, spinach, pesto, sun dried tomato, and an assortment of other wraps! The fillings are equally diverse, bringing in any meal be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is one of the simplest meals to make and is a wonderful solution with any leftovers.

Today, I will focus on an accidental and newly discovered breakfast delight that takes less than ten minutes to make.

Fire Roasted Veggie and Black Bean Breakfast Burritos - Serves Two

Ingredients:

Five eggs

Tablespoon Milk

Salt and Pepper

1/3 Bag of Trader Joe's Frozen Fire Roasted Vegetables

2 Tablespoons Trader Joe's Non-Fat Black Bean Dip

Two Small Corn Tortillas

Two Tablespoons Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

Prepare the veggies according to directions on bag. Put in small bowl, cover to keep hot and set aside. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper for two minutes and then scramble over medium-high heat until done. Pour the veggies into the eggs and stir together loosely to combine. Toss with the grated cheddar cheese. Heat the tortillas directly on a high flame on the stove until they get hot and blacken around the edges. Spread a tablespoon of black bean dip on each hot tortilla and then divide the egg mixture up between the two. Roll and eat!

This savory breakfast will get you going on high speed in the morning!

Health Food Heaven at Natural Cafe

I am one of those people who actually love, ache for, and am addicted to the taste of health food cuisine. It started with Native Foods in the desert where I learned over a decade ago to go gaga for peanut sauce on brown rice and thick green veggies, the taste of nutty seared tempeh in things like burritos and curried bowls, and the satisfaction found in tahinis, hummus and Greek cheese whole wheat wraps. It's a taste I actually pine for: the slightly nutty, always grainy, sometimes sweet, choices in nutritious fare. Recently I discovered Natural Cafe in Goleta and Santa Barbara and have a new friend to go gaga over. 

My ritual goes like this. Arrive in Santa Barbara for business, get to my sister's house, throw my stuff in her guest room, and immediately leave for a trip down Hollister Street to that unassuming little corner cafe where my food lust currently resides. The place is tiny and cute. A refridgerated case even serves wine and beer. Periodicals about health and yoga and spiritual wealth abound on wooden cabinets while you wait for the food. Daily specials are abundant. The menu is rich with sandwiches, meat or veggie fare, salads, and specialties like Mexican enchiladas and yummy options in burgers. Every meal comes with crunchy chips and salsa. I have been three times in the past month and vow to try a different menu item each time I go there until the entire menu is exhausted.

My current faves. The teriyaki chicken sandwich which comes piled with a tangy, moist roasted chicken breast, melted cheese and abundant lettuce, tomato and sprouts on whole grain bread; and the equally tangy chicken ranchero quesadilla filled with spicy shredded chicken in a whole grain tortilla and served with a generous portion of sour cream and guacamole and a side salad with your choice of dressing - my fave being the tahini!

My taste buds are smarting just writing down the words!

Book Geeks and Big Chips

I have known my friend Gene since high school but it wasn't until we were both in our twenties and venturing into our careers as writers that we really started to bond over our mutual geeky passion for words. He's one of the only people I know who can sit with me for hours discussing literature and bizarre concepts like madness' proximity to genius. We also like to eat and our tastes tend to range towards the cuisines of the Middle East. My first ever authentic Greek meal was served to me by his teacher mother in their modest home strewn with papers, tomes, notes and writing utensils. We typically get together once a year for some kind of literary trek and this year it was to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA. After a wonderful day of pouring through book store racks and hearing Johnny Temple from Akashic Books enlighten us on the current state of affairs in publishing, we ventured to Westwood to Gene's favorite food pit stop Falafel King.

I am now a complete convert and find myself trying to think of reasons to drive to L.A. just to eat there. This is why. At the fast food style deli-esque counter, for $10, you order the platter that comes with three large falafels, salad or rice, warm pita bread, hearty amounts of hummus and two sides chosen from a bevy of sides like lentils, slaw or eggplant. Not only is the platter huge compared to the price but at Falafel King, you also get a smattering of their signature chips. Chips at a Falafel joint you ask? Yes, big crunchy batter fried hot chips that are not like American chips but are more like tempura battered chips in a bright orange color. You dip them in the tahini sauce and become instantly addicted. I never eat chips aside from these. Thank god there is not a Falafel King in the desert because those chips equal huge hips on someone like me. But knowing that they exist in a place I can visit once in a while is pure heaven.

Unfortunately, I found out two weeks ago, that you can buy a bag of the chips to go. Gene brought a bag back from a day trip and I devoured them whole.

Homestyle Outdoor Pizza Making with the Hubbards!

Last night I attended my brother in law's birthday party, hosted by the dynamic and dashing Hubbard couple who live in the Riviera section of Santa Barbara's most beautiful hillside area where every outdoor deck is located in front of the homes to maximize the view of the city and the sea below. The Hubbards, who own the beloved Italian Pottery Outlet on State Street, have a stand alone outdoor pizza oven on their deck, and invited us all over for a homestyle contemporary Italian feast. Tables were strewn with traditional red and white checkered paper tablecloths and the air above was strewn with festive red and white globes. All of the adults showed up armed with wine and food to accompany the centerpiece pizzas that were made in batches throughout the evening. Menage a Trois red wine from Trader's, Cuban cigars for the men,  and some upscale Patron, and we were good to go.

An amazing spread of prosciutto wrapped ham in a basket lined with salami and centered with various salty olives, a stilton and brie platter adorned with apples and walnuts, a black bean and cream cheese dip (made simply from Trader Joe's fat free black bean dip combined with a slab of cream cheese and microwaved and stirred till blended) and an insane hybrid avocado salad/guacamole dip set the stage for grazing while the pizzas cooked. 

 

 Rick Hubbard, who has mastered a light, thin crusted flaky dough for his outdoor pizzas, told me the secret to his pies was not only the light doughs, but also the use of quattro fromaggio in just a light smattering across the disks instead of the traditional "gummy" mozarella. He invited everyone to come and create their own pizza and the varieties that ensued were all tremendously delicious. Think pepperoni, cheese and kalamata olives, or a divine pesto, cashews and anchovies version. With four minutes in the super hot oven, the edges were perfect and crunchily blackened while the centers stayed virile enough to host the main ingredients. 

 

The true hit of the night was a pizza first spread with a rich fig jam as the foundation sauce, then sprinkled with the quattro fromaggio and then laid with thin slices of prosciutto. After cooking a hearty pile of fresh arugula was thrown across the top. This was my favorite, and one I will attempt to make on my own often. I even woke up this morning still craving the tang of the fig jam mixed with the creamy cheese and peppery arugula.

I would also be completely remiss if I didn't go back to the hybrid avocado salad/guacamole that was so good, I could simply eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of my life. Forget the chips, I could eat this with a spoon on its own. So creamy, sweet and delicious and healthy, I will be adding it to my palate's oeuvre often! Basically, you chop one red onion, a quarter of a red, green and yellow  bell pepper, one tomato, and a healthy portion of cilantro and throw it all in a bowl with frozen corn kernels and let sit a few hours. Then you add seven large diced avocados, the juice of four small limes, salt, pepper, and white wine vinegar to taste and mix it all together into a beautifully scented mash with chunks still evident. This is so good that today, not even 24 hours later, my sister is in the kitchen whipping up another batch for our dinner!

Summer Love's Summer of Love Feast

One of my favorite places to visit is the Hadley household in Pacific Beach where my lifelong friend and yoga momma Summer Love resides with her sustainable surfer and land planning husband Neil. I often spend weekends there in their cute beachside bungalow for some R&R and good eats. Summer is a master cook of the healthy variety and has inspired me to make good, wholesome food that tastes great on a regular basis.

The last time I visited, we had the most delectable meal inspired by the fresh bounty of BeWise veggies Summer had purchased that afternoon. Be Wise is a Ranch in the San Diego area that allows people to show up at various locations and purchase boxes of whatever fresh fare is currently available. Summer's box of the moment contained wild purple beets, crisp carrots and some citrus.

 

Roasted roots and a phenomenal summer salad ensued in the kitchen as I watched her handy craftsmanship over some glasses of chardonnay.

This was followed by my own private cooking class to learn how to make her heavenly stuffed organic chicken breasts.

The recipes below encompass the entire meal. Served with fine wine, beach air, and good friends with their eye on the tides patterns, made the meal everso more dear.

SUMMER LOVE'S SUMMER OF LOVE FEAST
Serves 4

Roasted Beets

Take two fresh purple skinned beets and chop into one inch cubes. Place on a metal sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in a toaster over at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until caramelized.

Heavenly Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Take four chicken breasts and slit three fourths of the way into the breasts sideways. Combine two diced shallots, one small chopped white onion, half a cup of diced gouda cheese, two tablespoons of Trader Joe's roasted red pepper tampenade, a dollop of crushed garlic, and two tablespoons of parmesan cheese into a mixture and stuff each breast's middle with equal amounts. Place a toothpick in the chicken breasts to hold the mixture in and back at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.

Summer Salad

Combine desired amounts of raddichio lettuce, chopped red pepper, sunflower seeds, feta cheese crumbles, chopped avocado, sprouts and beet greens. Serve tossed with desired amounts of Summer of Love dressing.

Summer of Love Dressing

Crush one small onion, one big shallot, and a clove of garlic together. Mix with half cup of balsamic vinegar, a tablespoon of maple syrup, two tablespoons of tahini, a heavy dash of coriander, a dash of thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

Cafe Luck with The Hamilton Co.

On a recent visit to Santa Barbara to meet with my clients, real estate professionals Josiah and Justine of The Hamilton Co. we decided to take our brainstorming to dinner at Cafe Luck downtown. Upon stepping into the authentic French bistro owned by LUCKY Jeans entrepreneur and local Gene Montesano (whose Lucky's Steakhouse has been satisfyingly feeding Montecito residents for years), I immediately knew the food was going to be good by the clinking of glasses and smiles of the patrons all sitting amid the dual wood paneled rooms. A short wait for my friends at the small, elegant bar inspired me to order my favorite cocktail-the negroni, which was served perfectly chilled in a glass tumbler with an orange twist by a genial bartender. I enjoyed myself reviewing the wall covered in cocktail napkins creatively drawn upon by guests that were neatly framed and turned sideways like diamonds.

The menu was equally impressive: a wide variety of unadorned and simple dishes featuring fruits of the sea, appetizer offerings that included octopus and ricotta dumplings and an entree menu fit to please any carnivore from braised lamb to filet au poivre to duck confit.

We started with two dozen creamy kumamoto oysters and I followed that with a beet and goat cheese salad. Typically I wish there was more goat cheese when I order this but at Cafe Luck my salad arrived with generous dottings of goat cheese shaped like tiny pears in the same fashion the beets were, like little presents lining the dish.

My entree of bouillabaisse was the simplest presentation of the dish I have ever seen. A medium sized boat shaped bowl arrived with a minimal amount of tangy tomato sauce topped with a hearty seared white fish, buttery fat prawns, and sweet green mussels accentuated by the anise flavor of al dente fennel strips across the top.

The Hamiltons, who despite the fact that they eat out constantly still both maintain the most fabulous physiques, ordered similar dishes of sliced steak in rich burgundy sauce served with the surprising and delightful addition of a round bone filled with sizzling marrow and a small spoon for which to enjoy with the dish! That creative twist put a perfect exclamation point on a great evening for me as I sat and listened to tales of the area while watching everyone else in the restaurant looking equally content. Summertime gloom wear garb of jeans and sweaters accompanied the fashionably chic. Comfortable and warm and simple, I will definitely go there again to try that bone marrow.

El Kasbah Cafe Rocking the Desert Dining Doldrums

The cuisine of Morocco has always been in my top ten but I have been hard pressed to find the food in the desert until now. Recently, my friend Bonnie treated me to dinner at the new Kasbah Café in the Smoketree Plaza (next to Native Foods), a place that touts itself as serving French Moroccan fare. I was so excited to discover this simple, bistro style place where you can indoors or outdoors and laze away a few hours over the freshest fare. 

 Family run, the hostess greeted us with a generous portion of hummus and pita in a basket and a small bowl of pickled slaw. After reviewing the menu, we decided to enjoy some shared appetizers tapas style. Another plate of fresh hummus and pita arrived along with our choices. My favorite was the Zaalouk, a delicious cooked salad made with eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and spices that arrived on a plate like a dip, ready to be spread upon pita or eaten straight from the spoon. Another dish made with al dente julienned carrots and zucchini, was served room temperature and alive with a pungent spike of turmeric sauce.  We spent an hour lolling away our time with little bites, savoring the many mixed flavors.

Traditional entrees are offered like spicy lamb dishes, chicken adorned with hot yellow rubs, and others that are equally good, and I will definitely be spending many long hours here enjoying the family style sharing of authentic dishes.

I highly recommend that everyone try the Medieval Orange dessert. Not something I would ordinarily choose because my passions tend to run towards the dark chocolate for my sweets, I was thoroughly mystified by the concoction and my dinner mate (who’s taken advantage of the restaurant’s relative newness many times already) insisted that I try it. Glad I did. The “orange” was a round pile of what looked like a deepened rust-colored gelato. Upon asking, the proprietress told me that a whole blood orange is boiled in a pot with bay leaf and other Moroccan spices and then completely ground up, rind and all, into this lovely textural pulp that is formed into a ball and served cold. With a tangy caramel sauce on top and served next to a dollop of fresh vanilla bean ice cream, this was a sensory delight that I will order time and again throughout the long hot summer.

Bloody Marys and Bonding at Brophy's

I woke up at five a.m. today completely tired of the desert. I must be getting old because the same 103 heat that has never bothered me before, is suddenly becoming a cloying, irritating presence. I guess I wouldn't mind it if I could spend my days on the laptop outdoors in a swimsuit, jumping in the pool to cool off at my leisure, which was always possible before. But this year there is also an influx of flies and mosquitoes to our valley bowl that has created the incessant phenomena of polka dots all over my body from blood sucking bites. Scheduling all my meetings so that I don't have to leave the house but once a week, and when I do, making sure to ease into my fingers' first touch upon the steering wheel as to not completely sear off my fingerprints, and frequent afternoon naps to bypass the hours of four p.m. through 7 p.m. (which our local weather man has reported on Facebook today are our most torrid hours!) so that I can at least dose through my feelings of uselessness and re-garner some energy to finish my work in the evening....all of this creeping up on me at five a.m. as I gleefully packed for a business trip to Santa Barbara. For the first time ever, I couldn't wait to embrace the famous June beach city gloom.

After a long road trip that worked like a perfect sedative to my heat irritation, I met my friend Justine Hamilton at the famous Brophy Bros. Restaurant and Clam Bar in the Santa Barbara harbor. An overcast sky, the need to wear a sweater and a long skirt, the smell of ocean mist wafting off the waves, and a second floor seat on the wooden plank balcony directly overlooking the water, made everything suddenly better. Oh, and of course the addition of a spicy Bloody Mary.

Brophy's is known for its sustainable fish and the way they blacken their filets just right. My Chef's salad was served on a bed of lettuce: perfect bite sized chunks of cool salmon, crab, shrimp, julienned cheeses and pots of cocktail sauce and thousand island for dipping and a steaming basket of crevice-filled sourdough. Not only was the food fresh, healthy and simple...it was also priced right at ten to fifteen dollars for entrees filled generously with fruits of the ocean.

Content on the cocktails and tales of the boats docked nearby in the sea, we were picked up and escorted around the hills of Montecito by her husband to take in a little history of the paradise by the sea and all my desert angst vanished quickly away for the time being.

Time For Tequila!

I consider myself a loyal red wine drinker and for the most part I stick to that throughout the year. Passionate about syrahs and shiraz, and secondarily in love with bold cabs and rich zins, I don't teeter far from the probiotic-rich, dark grape trail in my choice of libations.

I am also a beer lover and value nothing better on a hot summer's day that a dark and hearty German cold one to wash down the heat on a lazy afternoon by the pool. But in considering calorie count and carbs, I find myself oftentimes looking for something else to fit the bill that won't be as warm as red wine. Problem is I don't like hard liquor much. The cloying sickly sweetness of whiskey always ends up following me around for days and the crisp, acerbic dryness of vodka makes me feel like I am drinking chemicals rather than cocktails.

On a recent trip to visit my friend Jacob I was re-introduced to the pleasures of tequila. Not the "pour in a shot glass and down like there's no tomorrow" variety of party hearty yesteryear, but the classic and sophisticated sipping kind that brings satisfying refreshment when served on a bed of cool ice with a minimal fruit adornment. While enjoying glasses of Don Julio with lime together on top of a Santa Monica hotel overlooking a June gloom, grey-streaked ocean, I remembered its subtle belly-warming qualities, and deemed it the perfect drink for my summertime.

Later, we enjoyed some Tres Generaciones Plata. It’s un-aged, crystal clear, and triple distilled and made from estate grown 100% blue agave--this time garnished with strawberry. Served with this simple, salad below, it would make the perfect simple summer dinner for two.

Tres Generaciones Salad

2 leaves of French lettuce

4 chopped mint leaves

1 avocado in small cubes

250 g/8 oz chop pineapple

4 raspberries

1 pomegranate, peeled and seeds separated

2 diced tangerine

15 g/2 tbsp diced fresh coriander

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

Sea salt

4 Spoons of Agave nectar

2 Spoons of olive oil

Directions

Mix all ingredients and serve!