The Dream Job

My friend, Andy Windak, used to work in the visual effects department at an animation studio, creating elaborate backgrounds and removing visible wires.  All the while, he fostered an intense passion for cooking.






Towards the end of last year, the studio decided to take on a major renovation project, part of which included building an in-house kitchen and dining area; and it was obvious who they should put in charge of this new venture.






Andy is journaling about the process of building up his studio's kitchen at his website, http://windattack.com/. Check it out!

Chapter 1: Dream Job

Chapter 2: Unexpected Adventures and Fiascos

Eat Real

Today we had the opportunity to visit EatReal Fest in Culver City, CA - A whole festival dedicated to healthy, sustainable, locally grown foods, beers, and wines. A really enjoyable day out! Within the building of Helm's bakery, the parking lot, and side street, you'll find a vast array of food trucks, tents, and tables, DIY areas, demostrations, and live music. So, if you're in the LA area, be sure to check it out tomorrow!

(Indoor) Picnic Birthday Party!

My baby is 1! We through her a big birthday party in her grandma & grandpa’s backayard with a picnic style lunch. Simple munchies to start – tortilla chips, salsa, pita chips, veggies and hummus. An assortment of salads: simple green, potato, and pasta. For the main event, we catered wraps, because I am not super mom and had to farm out some of the work. It’s good to admit when we’re not perfect. Dessert: Blondies (because she got her daddy’s hair. If my genes had been stronger we would’ve had brownies), made by my fantastic-best-friend-since-4^th-grade, Ariel, fruit salad, and a home-made and –decorated birthday cake. It was the largest party I’ve ever organized and hosted. And it was fantastic!

And now for the recipes:

A mega batch of Picnic Potato Salad (I used 9 lbs of potatoes, so 6 times that recipe!)

Pasta Salad (my mother-in-law’s recipe):

1 package of pasta (we used rotini)

Chopped celery, green onion, red pepper, zucchini and broccoli (wing it, keep chopping until it looks like a good amount!)

For the dressing, we mixed together red wine vinegar and olive oil (I wish I could remember the amounts, but I don't! I'm sure you could wing it and figure it out to taste), plus 1/2 tsp of oregano, basil and garlic powder. Salt & pepper to taste and add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. It tastes best after at least a night in the fridge.

Kid’s pasta salad:

Frozen Mediterrenean Veggie blend from Whole Foods (zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, onion, green bean..) steamed, chopped into baby-sized bits, mixed with orzo, topped with a splash of orzo and a sprinkle of dried basil and oregano.

Fruit salad (a bit of everything that looked good at the market - strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, grapes, and peaches)

Blondies (recipe from Smitten Kitten, with chocolate chips added because chocolate chips are delicious)

Birthday Cake (Lemony Vanilla variation of the basic vanilla cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes take over the World, multiplied by 8, with vanilla buttercream from the same book, covered with Wilton fondant) 

Finished product

Being enjoyed by one of our little guests

Thankful for Martha

Right before Thanksgiving, I had rewatched an old Martha Stewart clip show special of some of her Thanksgiving tidbits. One that made me rush for a pen and paper was her turkey basting. Sure, this is a little late for Thanksgiving, but if you're like my family, this is just in time for your Christmas turkey.

1. In a small pot, bring 3 sticks of butter and 1 bottle of dry wine to a small boil.
2. After cleaning, stuffing, and prepping your turkey, cover it with 4 layers of 100% cotton cheesecloth.
   
3. With a baster, pour some of the butter/wine mix over the turkey. Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.
   
4. Baste again, and change the temperature to 350 degrees. Baste every 30 minutes.
   
5. About 1 hour before the turkey reaches 180 degrees, remove the cheesecloth and baste one last time. (This was a bit annoying, but well worth it!)

This made for a very savory and beautifully browned bird.

Besides the turkey, we had a plethora of side dishes:

Green beans, covered with the basting mix and slivered almonds

Sweet potato casserole

Butternut squash and sweet potato soup

Harvest salad (mixed greens, chopped apples, dried cranberries, pecans, crumbled gorgonzola, and raspberry vinaigrette)

Mashed potatoes

Glazed carrots

Harvest stuffing (stuffing mix, chopped apples, walnuts)

Fresh bread rolls from the farmer's market

And, of course, a tofurkey for me!

Yummy Mummy Meals

I hope in the name of all that is good in this world that by the time anyone reads this I will have my baby in my arms and no time to cook. In preparation for this trying time in my life, I have prepared what I like to call "Yummy Mummy Meals." Over the past few weeks, my freezer and pantry been filling up with easy-to-reheat and easy-to-cook meals and ingredients.



So far we have:
Two Baked Zitis, cut into individual servings

One batch of Banana Muffins

One batch of Bakery-Style Berry Muffins from Vegan Brunch

One batch of Corn Muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking.


One batch of jam-filled bran muffins (some raspberry, some strawberry), also from The Joy of Vegan Baking.

One batch of Blueberry Pancakes with added flax for added yumminess

One batch of Cinnamon Rolls (although they're kind of sad, because the yeast didn't do it's thing... pretty sure I accidentally killed it)

Ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookie dough (Is it possible I've never blogged about my famous chocolate chip cookies? I'll rectify that soon enough, but suffice it to say, I made a big ol' batch of dough, rolled it into cookie-sized balls and froze said balls. Plan is to pop a few in the oven when I'm in the mood for a cookie.)

Tons of veggie broth (My "recipe": 1-2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks all roughly chopped, 2-4 cloves of garlic, dill and any other spices that seem good at the moment with as much water as my biggest pot can hold. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for at least an hour.)

A variety of cooked beans

Homemade pizza dough (I currently have enough for 4 pizzas)

Lentil Soup

Pita bread, tortillas & bagels (store-bought)

Three pints of my grandma's delicious veggie soup.



And my pantry is filled with pasta, dried beans, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, cous cous, rice, flour and all the usual suspects.

Matt & May's Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

Matt and I had a non-traditional Thanksgiving at our house, starting at 10 in the morning when my parents unexpectedly showed up! Matt made my family some gorgeous omelets and a frittata that I unfortunately forgot to photograph . My mom brought a family favorite: zucchini au gratin...

And my little sister brought some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies she'd made.


After they left, friends started trickling in and Matt made a bunch of food to nosh, including a tomato bruschetta

hummus, black bean dip, toasted pita and roasted chickpeas and soybeans

squash soup

and foccaccia with homemade marinara sauce (which I almost forgot to photograph so that's why there's only two left!!)


It was a day full of good food. Hope yours was too!

Thanksgiving Meal

Sick of Thanksgiving leftovers yet? Too bad!

Here was the meal at Helby & Joe's:

Our meal consisted of: 21 lb Turkey Tofurky Corn on the cob Stuffing (courtesy of Trader Joe's) Glazed carrots (recipe coming soon!) Mashed potatoes Marsala gravy Salad (courtesy of Steph) Italian bread Green beans with walnuts

Our desserts: Pumpkin bread Apple turnovers (courtesy of Steph) Joe's chocolate mousse pie Our drinks: Joe's T-Giving spritzer (White zinf & sprite) Sparkling Apple cranberry juice Pinot Grigio Chianti

Oktoberfest!

This past weekend, I attended an Oktoberfest celebration at the Alpine Village in Torrance, CA. Much Spaten was drunk... Much oom-pah music was played...

All under one huge tent...

The food was appropriately vulgar and excessive, in that uniquely festive sort of way...

Here is some video (not shot by me) from this year's festivities. Enjoy!

End of Summer Picnic

This Labor Day weekend, we had the joy of experiencing John Williams conducting the LA Philharmonic to his own movie compositions. Fantastic concert:

The lovely thing about the Bowl is that you are allowed to bring in your own food, plus there are several picnic grounds in the area, which we took full advantage of. Food bloggers Steph and Helby documented the occasion:

Helby's meal:
BBQ tofu sandwich on garden-herb bread and stuffed peppers (Yves ground meat, orzo, mexican-mix cheese; I was out of tomatoes!).


Steph's meal:
Raw Corn Salad, which a friend made for me recently and I had to steal
from him because it was too delicious. Raw corn, halved cherry
tomatoes, red onion and avocado with olive oil, lime juice, salt and
pepper. Picnic Pasta Salad, with a few adjustments – different kind of pasta, because it was just too cute, plus some blanched broccoli florets. And for dessert, another batch of Peanut Butter Cookies.

Scenes from a Farmers Market

Helby and I have gotten into the habit of picking up as much of our food as we can from the Farmers Market in Culver City every Tuesday. The fruits and vegetables tend to be fresher. And, of course, it's always good to support local businesses and vendors. If you have a farmers market near you, I recommend checking it out.

Here in Culver City, they close off one block of Main Street and set up their tents.

Local musicians add to the atmosphere.

Here's Helby buying a fresh-made veggie crepe:

And here's what roughly $17.50 worth of farmers market goods looks like (NOTE: $4 was spent on the honey alone. That's a premium product):