this is what's up

truffles.
equal parts:
-honey (or agave)
-almond/peanut butter
-cocoa powder

ok, a little extra cocoa powder.
put mix in fridge. then, after some time, roll.
in: coconut, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, and cacao nibs

keep in fridge. devour.

restaurant review - urban solace. and my visit to san diego

1. I got the quinoa burger at Urban Solace in San Diego. No bun, cheese, or fries of course.. so I got sautéed mushrooms, half of an avocado, and a side of greens instead. That's how I usually replace everything on the menu. It's getting easier! Anyway, it was delicious, and I'd recommend that beautiful restaurant to anyone :)

2. What was I doing in San Diego? Visiting my cousin! And, I decided.. that I like it there.

3. For dinner later that night, we made:
- Roasted butternut squash: oven! 350. Cut squash into pieces, top generously with cinnamon and honey. 45 mintues.
-Monkfish: oven! 350. cubed. marinated in lemon juice and olive oil. sprinkled with red pepper and other spicy things. 20 minutes.
-Roasted veggies: oven! 350. Brussels sprouts, zucchini, mushrooms, and onion. Tossed in evoo, with salt, pepper, and herbs. 45 minutes.

4. Taking the Pacific Surfliner Amtrak back to LA. A beautiful, beautiful train ride.

'twas a sweet, rare day of leftovers

I was in LA for the holidays, and my siblings were in town too (this is rare). The three of us were at home (also rare) so I whipped up a little lunch. And we all ate the same thing (rare) together, in a row on the couch.

We had some leftover cedar smoked salmon on a bed of lettuce with leftover some brown rice and sautéed onions. :) Yum.

more pumpkin oatmeal cookies

I think I made 6 batches of these cookies in the two weeks over the holidays. Everyone loved them. They look different from the very first batch I made, because I didn't grind the oats into a fine powder in my coffee grinder. Instead I just chopped them up in a food processor.. and they turned out much better.

hello? am i still there? yep.

Sorry for the lack of posts, so prepare for a little flood here. Lately, I've been traveling, and cooking a lot of dishes that I've already posted. And, I don't feel the same pride after "creating" a "new" dish, that I used to. Now, it's just cooking. It's still fun and delicious, of course, but it's become... normal. Nothing to "blog" about.

So what, I take whatever is fresh and in season, and I use some olive oil or schmaltz, heat it up in my iron skillet, sauté the veggies with a little salt and whichever spices I feel like, and maybe I add a little homemade broth to steam them too. Big deal.

BIG DEAL? It's delicious. And when I look back, not even a whole two years ago, it's such a huge change in my life, that it deserves some recognition. I'm patting myself on the back, publicly. I know :) Thanks for reading my blog. Hope it's been as enjoyable for you to read as it has been for me to create.


Photo: Sautéed maitake mushroom, onion, and spinach.