Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!

Well Rachel finally guilted me into posting....It's New Year's Eve with less than an hour to go until 2010.

When one talks New Years, the conversation quickly turns to resolutions. Well, I haven't quite come up with my resolution yet. Oh wait, I got! Write more on the blog! Yes, that's it.

So far, it has been a quiet night at home for me with most friends out of town or working. I've spent most of the evening in my new Snuggie and sipping on some champagne. Yum. I hate drinking alone but hey it's New Years so who cares, right?

Part of my reason for my lack of inspiration to post here is that on September 1st, 2009, I fell down some stairs at a restaurant and broke my foot in 7 places. Yes, you heard that right: SEVEN! I've since been unable to walk on my left foot. As you can imagine, that makes cooking quite the impossible task. I do try to cook occasionally because if I don't, my dad certainly won't but it just takes so much out of me to do tasks that were once so easy and taken for granted. Luckily, I have surgery next week and my screws come out...meaning I should be rejoining the walking and standing world soon. So until then, my cooking will continue to take place in my dreams!

Cheers! Happy New Year!! Here's to a FABULOUS 2010. Gosh, it has to be better than 2009 right?

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Apple Pie


I know that it's been a long time since I (or Ashley, uh hum) posted. Way back in July, I made an apple pie with Margaret. This was my first apple pie since I made my very first apple pie when I was 10 years old in England on my aunt's farm--so in other words, my only-second apple pie.

Of course, I do not have the recipe on hand, so I will have to get Margaret to post it. But I do want to say that it was delicious, especially with vanilla bean ice cream. A homemade pie just beats out anything store bought. And having it warm from the oven makes it so much more satisfying than a cold slice you get in a cafe. The dough was homemade too, although Margaret had made a batch beforehand, froze it, and then thawed it for this particular pie. (A nice idea.)

Anyway, enjoy the photo. Recipe to come soon!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Penguin's Frozen Yogurt

Hey! So this isn't Rachel, but her sis, Mariah. I just wanted to share with you all my favorite frozen yogurt shop! I like to think of myself as a fro yo connoisseur so to speak. If I was only allowed to eat one food for the rest of my life it would definitely be frozen yogurt, I would never get tired of it! I've tried every fro yo chain as well as many small family owned places. My favorite place in LA is Penguin's. The one I frequent is in La Canada but they have a couple others in the LA area. The reason why I love it sooo much is because it has the BEST kind of sugar free fro yo out there! It's so hard to find a sugar free option, let alone a tasty one! And its only a mere 8 calories an ounce!!! That means you could have a whole pint and it will only set you back 128 cals (if you do the correct math haha). The other reason I love this place is because their flavors actually taste like their descriptions! For example, the other day I got sugar free white cake batter and I could literally taste the flour in it haha! All the flavors are lovely and creamy. So if you're into the tart stuff this isnt the place for you. Penguin's also has great toppings.. an array of different fruits as well as yummy crushed cookie options, sprinkles, chopped candy bars, a variety of nuts, etc. Another great thing is they change all their flavors every 3 to 4 days so if you eat fro yo more than once a week (like me) you have lots of variety. In addition to fro yo, they also sell smoothies, parfaits, coffee, and ice cream. The prices are also relatively cheap compared to chains like Pinkberry and Yogurtland. The employees are also very nice and always smiling. The only downfall of this place (for some people) is that it's not self serve, which seems to be the new trend. However, I like the fact that it isn't self serve because I usually over load when I'm at a self serve shop and end up spending like $5 or $6 for just a regular size! So for myself (someone who doesn't have much self control when it comes to fro yo) a non self-serve place is best haha

Jeremy's Vegetarian Invention

Jeremy invented a new, quick dinner to make, and surprisingly, it's a vegetarian dish (gosh!). We wanted to make something easy, that wouldn't require a lot of dishes to wash afterward either. Here's the very basic recipe:

Rice
Salsa
Tofu
Egg(optional)
Vegetables (we used onions, shallots, and red bell peppers)

Start cooking the rice. Cut or dice the tofu however you like (I cut small rectangles) and whisk an egg in a bowl. You'll also want to prep the veggies by dicing them up. Add some olive oil to a pan (or a superduper cast iron skillet!). When it's hot, dip the tofu in the whisked egg--as you would bread for french toast--and fry it in the pan/skillet. Jeremy and I decided that we liked the tofu more soft than crispy, but cook it however you prefer. Once it's done, remove the tofu and keep it warm in the oven. (Just warm, don't bake it!) Then saute the diced onions, shallots, and red peppers. Once that's done, time to mix it all up. Add the rice, tofu, and vegetables to your plate and then pour salsa on top. Mix everything up and you have a tasty, and pretty healthy, meal.

Note: Jeremy and I used a lot of salsa, cause it was good. Real good. Also, I'm still rethinking about how I cooked the tofu. Keeping it the oven kept it warm, but might have dried it out a bit. I think next time I might cook the vegetables and tofu in the skillet together.

Try it and let us know how it turns out!

Saturday, July 11, 2009


you are looking at one of my favorite things to treat myself with:
Cherry Cokes from Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, CA

they are just the best...made the old-fashioned way with coke and cherry syrup and shaved ice!!

Friday, July 10, 2009

LA fare

So I know it's been forever since I put up a post. But I did move, take two work trips, have a job interview, go to LA, and am now looking for jobs on top of currently still working. I think that's fair, right?

Anyway, as I mentioned, I was back in good ol' Glendale for the Fourth of July weekend. I ate out for almost every meal. So I thought I'd give a little update on the places I ate and things I tried. I'd been to most of these restaurants before, but in case anyone hasn't, here's a little info.

Friday: Dinner - Blue Fish - Montrose
Mary and I headed to Blue Fish in Montrose for some yummy sushi. I thought the food was great, but the waiters DEFINITELY pushy. Don't come here anywhere near to closing time, cause they will rush the heck out of you (as well as confuse you in the process). But in terms of sushi, we tried new rolls. One was the Thai Shrimp roll, which was delicious.. It's basically like having Thai food in sushi form. The peanut butter inside was so good. We also had the Marilyn Mon-roll (hehe), which is basically a bunch of spicy fish--albacore, scallop, and something else, with pinkish sauce. I have no clue why it's called the Marilyn Mon-roll, except for maybe the pink sauce? We also had edameme for an appetizer and strawberry and coffee mochi for dessert. I highly recommend the latter.

Saturday: Lunch - Amici - Glendale Americana
For Fourth of July lunch we tried Amici, a new Italian restaurant at the Glendale Americana. We sat outside which I liked, and I thought the food here was great too. The waiters were the real deal--authentic Italian accents and lots of "appa fourth of july-ah." I had a salad with shrimp and blood orange, interesting combo but very good. I also had some mushroom pizza, and tried a bit of Ashley's "Amici" pizza. (I think that's what it was, right Ash?) Ashley's was interesting, but it didn't have any tomato sauce, so I think the mushroom pizza was the winner in my book. Both were Neopolitan-style, very thin crust with fresh ingredients.

Sunday: Lunch - Blue Fish (Again) - Montrose
So my cousin Melissa was in the mood for sushi, so I ended up going back to Blue Fish with her, my sister, and my dad. There's not really a need to post about this restaurant again, but just wanted to say that the Samurai roll was also good. And again, the waiters were very pushy because we came at the tail end of lunch time. So basically, only go right during the middle of the their business hours!

Sunday: Dinner - Frida's - Glendale Americana
Back at the Americana for dinner, my mom, sister, aunt, and I went to Frida's, a sort of upscale Mexican restaurant. They had a large Marachi band, which I thought was really good. (Apparently when my sister went with my dad a time before, my dad's song request was "a short one." Nice.) I ended up going with the soft fish tacos, which were made with tilapia and had pinapple in the salsa. It was definitely good, although, Mariah's dinner looked better. She started with a soup, which was basically vegetables, chicken, and a little rice. And then she had the ceviche-- I think she had the one with shrimp and avocado. I tried it and it was good. Oh I also got Sangria there, and they give you this HUGE drinking glass. I could feel a buzz coming on after only drinking half. They add vodka and a couple fruit juices. I prefer just wine and one juice, but if you'd like a large drink, I'd recommend it.

Okay, well I could discuss places I got drinks, dessert, and breakfast on Monday, but I'm running out of time, and I think this post is long enough! Enjoy. :)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

my lunch is missing something

Rachel and I have been friends since freshman year of high school where we attended Mayfield Senior School, an all-girls school in Pasadena, CA. In fact, (and I may be wrong here....) my earliest memory of Rachel is having lunch together on our school's terrace. Over our four years there, our group of friends owned that lunch spot on the terrace. Nobody else dared to sit there!

These lunch hours together were some of the best times of high school. Our school didn't have a cafeteria or anything like that so we all brought our lunch from home. It was always exciting to see what everyone had packed in their lunch. Now fast forwarding to today, I'm sitting here in my windowless office at my new job in Culver City (still "working"....I promise!), eating my homemade lunch reminiscing about those old times. Lunch just has never been the same! Sure, the food I've packed is wholesome and delicious but I'm left yearning for more.

And I know just what is missing...that pinch of friendship!


the girls on graduation day....minus mary!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Dinner Party!

So I had this awesome dinner party on Tuesday night. We made vegetable curry with brown rice, plus some salad and two bottles of wine. Thanks to Margaret who not only helped with the shopping, but also took over the cooking. She really made the curry super delicious! Connie brought the rice, which was really tender for brown rice (she said she used a special rice cooker...hmm), as well as the Napa salad from Amanda's in Berkeley. And Jeremy, well, he washed the wine glasses and poured wine, haha. See these cute photos?

This one is with our mood lighting haha.

This one is with flash. Sorry Connie looks a little drunk. She wasn't though. Oh, and I cannot forget we had cherries, blackberries, and chocolate-hazelnut sorbet for dessert. So good? Margaret, what was the name of the ice cream brand? Anyway, I recommend a vegetable curry if anyone's looking for a good dinner. Even Jeremy, who loves meat, liked it. I'll end with a two more photos.
connie & margaret

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Perfect Sunday

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! My Sunday was awesome. I took my mom out to lunch at one of our favorite Sunday restaurants, Market City Cafe in Burbank, CA. They are an Italian cafe, serving pastas, paninis, pizzas, and tapas. On Sundays, the restaurant brings in a four-piece string quartet to play during Brunch from 11-3. So essentially, you get a free concert while you enjoy a great meal! It is quite a deal. The quartet takes requests and uses a HUGE book of sheet that includes everything including classical favorites, legendary movie scores, and popular music. My mom always requests music from her favorite musical, West Side Story.



The other reason I love this place is a litte random and out of the ordinary. They have the BEST ice tea. Seriously...it's the best I have ever had. The hot bread isn't bad either! Just look at the presentation.



We shared an appetizer of caprese and for my main course, I had my usual -- the lasagna. Lasagna isn't usually a favorite of mine but for some reason, I just love it here. They gave me such a huge portion that I got two very decent sized meals out of it!




The meal was amazing, complete with great company and music. I highly recommend the Market City Cafe if you are ever in Burbank of a Sunday afternoon. The prices are very reasonable and, hey, you get a free concert!

That's all for now,

ashley

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Curry?

So, I know we have very few followers in our early stages, but I was wondering does anyone know how to make a good curry? I have lots of bell peppers and potatoes, so I thought I would try to make some curry. Trouble is I've never done it before. I (surprisingly) turned to my old roomie, Stephanie, for some advice. This is what she said in an aim chat:

Um...you chop carrots and onions and potatoes and chicken
and then you throw in the instant curry stuff
with water I think
and voila
magic

but how do you get the curry consistency?

you just stir until it gets how you want it
or you could just copypaste the back of a instant curry box.
it's about the same level of informational depth

Oooooh
good idea

box might be better

So now my question is...does anyone know a good instant curry box to use? And what's your favorite veggies to throw in? Thanks! :)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Aha!

Have you ever been so hungry that you settled for a fast food meal purely based on convenience? Well, not so long ago, that used to be me. Even if after eating my cheap meal I felt full, I didn't feel happy or healthy. Since my "aha moment," I really pay attention to what I eat and I try to make the right choices. For me, this starts with removing temptation by having the right foods at home.

But wait! Does something sound strange? Isn't dieting much easier? Well, this is the main reason Rachel and I started this blog. We love food but HATE diets. It never works. To us, DIET is a forbidden four-letter word.

We're young and adventurous. So come along with us while we...cover your ears, mom!...play with our food! Let's have a party!

<3 ashley

p.s. My favorite food is cheese! What's yours??

Welcome!

As Ashley said, we're two friends who love food. And because we love food, we're trying to learn more about it--what to eat, how to cook, where to enjoy it. This blog is a place to share recipe ideas, cooking tips, restaurant suggestions, and any food woes as well. Sometimes we get sick of cooking the same thing over and over, and other times we need to know how exactly you're supposed to eat jicama (and if that's even the correct spelling), and sometimes we get desperate and need a really good pizza delivery place phone number right now!

We hope this blog can help you find some of those answers, and if not, we hope you at least enjoy a taste of a pinch of friendship. (That pun was intended.)

Thanks!
Rachel