Some places just fall off my radar. It’s not that I have anything against them, but I just get busy hopping about and plain forget. Then, before I know it, it’s been ages since I last visited, say, San Diego, which is ridiculous since it’s only a short jaunt away.
Continue Reading: Getaway: San Diego →
I’ve got Champagne problems.
You know what those are, right? Don’t worry, I didn’t either. It’s a term my friend, Ella, introduced to my vocab not that long ago. It’s those problems of the privileged that we should be so lucky to have. Like say when one of your polo horses has fallen ill or when you can’t take the private helicopter to lunch because it’s been grounded for maintenance.
Continue Reading: Spring Green Pasta with Saffron Cream Sauce →
It has come to my attention that I have an addiction. This week mocha-cacao nib meringues have peppered every nook and cranny of my kitchen and I’ve snagged one (or three) nearly every time I’ve passed by — like a toll whose receipt is a buzzing sugar high.
It wouldn’t be that big of a surprise except that I don’t have a big sweet tooth and meringues have never really been my thing. But they’re definitely my mother’s thing. She is an equal-opportunity sweet lover but has a special place for meringues, white cake, macaroons, and all things coconut. So, this mother’s day, I’m sweetening up Mom’s day with this Mocha-Cacao Nib Meringue Smash.
Continue Reading: Mocha-Cacao Nib Meringue Smash →
I’d like to dedicate this recipe to my youngest brother.
He’s on a mission to start cooking. I know so because he paused momentarily from inhaling his food at the Thai restaurant we were at the other day and told me. This may not sound earth-shattering, but then you haven’t met my youngest brother. He’s seriously talented, has a great career, and is really good at throwing amazing parties (side note: if you ever meet him, definitely finagle an to invite one of his parties), but he hasn’t spent much time in the kitchen.
But the lack of cooking skills, well, it’s not his fault. We cook a lot in my family, but he somehow missed that boat. Likely because when he was younger, I had my own budding cooking ambitions and was too busy using him as my human guinea pig — forcing him to taste my latest macaroni-and-cheese or cheesecake concoction — to teach him to cook. So, now, when he says he wants to cook, I listen. We’re starting out with this recipe because this is precisely what he was stuffing in his face back at that Thai restaurant.
Continue Reading: Pretty. Easy. Thai-Style Lettuce Wraps →
It’s like clockwork — without fail every time I buy some buttermilk, say for a marinade, some waffles, pancakes, or dressing, I find myself buying more than I need. Most people get annoyed with leftover buttermilk because it’s yet another ingredient that sits around unused until its expiration date has come and gone.
Continue Reading: Strawberry, Rose Water, and Cardamom Lassi with Pistachios →
You remember “the files are in the computer” scene out of Zoolander, right? (If not, now is the time to run off and get googling.) I recently witnessed the food-world equivalent of that when serving these spice-brined walnuts.
Continue Reading: Orange, Bay, and Spice-Brined Walnut Recipe →
I’ve been doing a bit of spring cleaning around these parts. First up was the redesign of the site and then, to freshen things up further, I decided to take a few new portrait photos. Bonnie Tsang was my photographer of choice because she does a beautiful job shooting natural, lifestyle, almost editorial shots that I find positively dreamy.
But it really was more organic than any other photo shoot I’ve been on as there was no posing and we had a very loose plan. Basically, Bonnie and I met in Silverlake, spent the day perusing the area (list of shops we stopped in below), and the result is a snapshot of our afternoon chronicled in her gorgeous style. You’ll see plenty of her work on the site and elsewhere as I ready for my fast-approaching cookbook launch, but I thought I’d give you a few sneak peeks in the meantime.
Continue Reading: Photo Shoot // Picture Perfect with Bonnie Tsang →
April has been a month of celebrations — which have been exciting but tiring, to say the least. In the last 30 days, I’ve hopped north and south and east and west all in the name of baby announcements, birthdays, showers, music festivals, and weddings. Throughout it all, I’ve come across some top tunes, tasty treats, great reads, and other fabulous finds that I wanted to share with you. Here are my ten favorite finds from the last month:
Continue Reading: Monthly Mood Board: April 2012 →
Bryant Terry is an inspiration for all of us to take action.
The food activist, eco-chef, and author is doing more than his part to help make a more just, healthy, and sustainable food system. I first came across Bryant’s work when I moved to the Bay Area and he had just published first book, Grub. As I got more involved in the local food scene, I noticed his book popped up seemingly everywhere I turned. Reading that book was a big piece of my personal journey to become a more conscientious cook and a more eco-friendly eater and I’ve followed his work ever since. Though I don’t personally eat a vegan diet, I find that recipes like Bryant’s make eating meatless all that much easier and delicious.
He is this month’s TasteMaker because we can all learn something from where he’s been and the work he’s doing. He’s now splitting his time to spend more time with his daughter and she has become his muse for his work as you can tell from his interview below. Here’s a bit about Bryant and his latest project, but be sure to also check out his new web series, Urban Organic, and his latest book from which he generously shared this recipe for Chewy Lemon-Coconut Cookies with Lemon Icing.
Continue Reading: TasteMakers: Bryant Terry →
After reading Bryant Terry’s TasteMaker interview, you’re probably curious to try one of his recipes. He was generous enough to share these Chewy Lemon-Coconut Cookies with Lemon Icing, which is one of his favorite easy recipes from his latest book, The Inspired Vegan.
As with all the recipes in The Inspired Vegan, Bryant has a suggested soundtrack and literary accompaniment to further bridge his belief that food should be experienced as part of our whole lives and not just in a vacuum. With this recipe and pairings he’s got me yearning for some Aretha on the turntable, a cup of tea, and a few of these cookies for my afternoon pick me up.
Continue Reading: Chewy Lemon-Coconut Cookies with Lemon Icing →
