Quick "whatcha got in your pantry" salad

This is a quick healthy salad packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and nutrition galore!   What I especially love about it is that you can easily substitute many of the items with what you may have in your pantry at any given time.  Also, fresh garlic will punch up the flavor but I opted for powdered since I've got class after lunch today and will be breathing around other people!  So, here's my version of the pantry salad... let me know what different combinations you try and how they turn out!

-1 can Eden organic chickpeas
-1 Tbsp yellow mustard
-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
-handful finely chopped cilantro
-1/4 cup purple cabbage shredded thinly
-1/4 cup cauliflower chopped into bite-sized pieces
-1/2 tsp curry powder
-1/3 tsp garlic powder
-handful of dried mulberries (one of the few dried fruits that are low in sugar at about 2g per 1/4 cup serving AND help regulate blood sugar!)
-sea salt to taste

My latest (mostly) vegan adventures in the City of Lost Angels

Restaurant:  Gjelina (Venice)
Ordered:  Crab salad (not vegan), Pomodoro and Mixed Mushroom pizzas
Opinion:  VERRRRYYY IMPRESSED.  First off, a friend had been telling me about this place... how it's THEE place to be, long lines, difficulty getting seated, etc.  This description... to me? Not appealing!  After months of hearing about Gjelina, I finally relented.  Luckily, we went at an off time and were seated straightaway.  We sat in the lovely courtyard underneath pretty umbrellas with birds a-chirpin' and iced teas a-sparklin' under the sun.  
We ordered the salad special to start.  A good chunk of beautiful snowy crab lightly dressed in a tangy yogurt dressing atop the crispest endive I have ever laid these lips upon.  I didn't like endive until I had it here.  When it's fresh, it is INCREDIBLE.  Until that moment, my endive experience could have been summed up in two words: stale and bland.  I really want to know who their brilliant purveyors are.  I want to know badly.  The folks at Gjelina clearly take great pride in the ingredients they use.
Now, for the pizza.  They are known for it, and I can totally understand why!  Super thin wisp of a crust, with charred bubbles of dough and a light sprinkling of super fresh ingredients you can count on one hand.  Accompanying the pizza is a pretty little plate that looks like a painter's palette with dried oregano, chili flakes and parmesan cheese.  While the crust is very thin, it's got a substantial crispy chewiness going on.  The tomato topping is slightly sweet and perfectly balanced.  It's hard to believe that bread, tomato and a couple of herbs can taste so heavenly.  The mixed mushroom rosemary pizza was delicious too... same beautiful crust, only this time with woodsy, earthy flavors and really good olive oil.  The pomodoro, to me, was the standout between the two.  Please go and try it.   Please. It's relatively simple for vegans to eat well here, although this is by no means a vegan restaurant.  The prices are reasonable, the location chill (especially outside), and the ingredients fresh and local.  I think I'm in love.

Restaurant:  True Food Kitchen (Santa Monica)

Ordered:  Vegan Pizza

Opinion:   I reallyreallyreally LIKE this place.  let me tell you why...

1- soothing, modern ambience... i don't feel like i'm in a mall at all
2- warm, knowledgeable and honest service
3- yummy food.  While the ingredients in the vegan pizza are kind of odd (jalapenos and broccoli), I found the pizza to be very tasty with a good garlicky tomato sauce and thin crisp crust.  While it wasn't quite up to Gjelina standards, I find myself craving it now and again.  Not an easy feat for True Food to have accomplished considering I had just been to Gjelina.
4- there's a little napkin dispenser right next to the bathroom door so you don't have to worry about touching a dirty door handle after you've just washed your hands.

** That last bit was what made me truly fall in love with the place... it's all in the details!

Restaurant:  Seed Kitchen (Venice)

Ordered:  Mediterranean Burger, Indian Chickpea Curry, Almond Jam cookie

Opinion:   This place was clearly modeled after M Cafe.  From the similar packaging right down to its macrobiotic inclinations.  Fine with me, just not nearly as thought out or good (and I don't think M Cafe is anything to write home about).  Me and a pal ordered a couple of dishes and shared.  The iced barley tea is a MUST TRY.  It's all roasted nutty goodness, and perfectly refreshing on a hot summer day.  Somewhat similar to kukicha, only better!  I thought the food was alright.  Not at all memorable.  I enjoyed it, because I was hungry and because there was an aioli slathered all over the burger that was reminiscent of Thousand Island dressing.  Put Thousand Island on a foot and I'll eat it and say "Mmmmm".  OK, gross.  But that gives you an idea of how much I love it!  The bean and grain burger tasted fine, nothing special.  It was falling apart and seemed homemade... like when I attempted veggie burgers at home and wondered what restaurants do to make the burgers stick.  Guess the chef at Seed is wondering too.  The Indian Chickpea Curry was good.  I found it flavorful and satisfying, but not memorable.  The veggies were overcooked.  My friend was much less forgiving, saying the entire meal felt like something one might whip up at home with leftovers.  The more I think about it, the more I tend to agree.  For dessert, I had the flourless cookie made of almonds and sweetened with brown rice syrup.  I found it to be dense, chewy and wholly satisfying.  My friend?  Not so much.  He thought it tasted stale and "didn't get the point".  For me, the highlights of this meal were the cookie and the barley tea.  Even my discerning pal liked the barley tea... it's THAT GOOD.

Reviews on Four Cafe in Eagle Rock and Cafe Gratitude Larchmont coming up... keep your eyes peeled!!!

Herbed Fruit Salad

This is the perfect summer salad.  Experiment at home with the fruits you have... that's how I came up with this cool, refreshing treat.  Perfect for dessert, a light breakfast (you can add nuts, granola, nut cream to make it a parfait) or paired with a savory lunch!

-half a mini watermelon

-half ripe white peach or nectarine
-handful small-medium strawberries thinly sliced top to bottom

-1 large Persian cucumber

-4 large mint leaves 

-half cap-full vanilla extract (preferably rum based)

Use a mini melon scooper for the watermelon

Cut peach into bite sized squares

Cut cucumber into half moon pieces

Roll up mint leaves and chiffonade 

Splash in vanilla, lightly toss and chill for 1 hour before serving

* Serves 3-4 (or 1, in my case... tee hee!)

Oh-so-refreshing seasonal kanten!!!

I first discovered the wonders of kanten at Real Food Daily in West Hollywood. It's a vegan version of jell-o, with consistencies ranging from harder than jell-o to applesauce-ish to custard-like.  I prefer the latter and it's taken me some practice to perfect just the right texture.  Now that I have, I am sharing it with you, my lovely readers!

Instead of animal-based gelatin (made from the hooves, bones, tissue, organs and some intestines of animals),  substitute agar agar (a seaweed based gelatin substitute).  To achieve the right consistency, I add one key ingredient: kuzu (Japanese wild arrowroot starch).  I haven't tried this with regular arrowroot, but I have a hunch it will work.  Do let me know how it turns out if you try this substitution!

Use your organic fruits of choice (I am especially enjoying pear/ strawberry at the moment) and enjoy this deliciously simple treat!!!


1.5 cups fruit diced into 1/8" pieces
3 cups unfiltered fresh pressed apple juice
Pinch sea salt
2 Tbsp agar agar flakes
3 Tbsp kuzu


Arrange diced fruit in a bowl.  Bring your apple juice, salt and agar to a light boil, frequently stirring to dissolve agar... about 5-8 minutes.  Dilute your kuzu in a bit of water, and  as soon as you remove apple juice mixture from heat, stir in your kuzu.  Add liquid mixture over fruit and let cool.  Refrigerate and then enjoy topped with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top and/ or chopped nuts and/ or fresh mint... DOUZO MESHIAGARE!!!

Fall (SoCal Style) Shake... YUM.

With fall just around the corner (September 22nd to be exact!), and L.A. weather still reaching triple digits.... I figured I'd do a fall inspired shake.  Warm, hearty ingredients... in the form of a refreshingly creamy milkshake!!!

1.5 frozen bananas
1 Tbsp unsweetened carob powder
2 small dates
1-1.5 cups Pacific Natural unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Dash of liquid bourbon vanilla extract
Pinch of nutmeg
1 Tbsp almond hazelnut butter (or nut butter of your choice)


Blend and top with chopped almonds and/ or hazelnuts and enjoy underneath a cozy A/C vent!!!

Chocolate Tangerine Pot de crème with salted caramelized Pistachios...YUMMY!!!

I don't recall who first told me about this, but imagine if you will, a dessert made with avocado.  Personally, nothing of the sort had ever crossed my mind, and since I try to limit my soy intake whenever possible... I filed it away in my memory bank and decided I'd give it a test run on a dinner guest tonight.  OK, the "guest" is just Jose....tee hee!  

There were plenty of opportunities for me to taste test along the way and I can safely say that this is one LUSCIOUS dessert.  I suggest the teeny tiny ramekins... this is some SERIOUSLY RICH stuff.  Flavor idea courtesy Pazzo, the pistachios my (ahem) brilliant twist!!!  I hope you love it as much as I do!  

Soy free & vegan.   Bon Appétit!!!

6 tangerines (all juiced except for 1/2)
zest of 1 medium orange

2 medium-large avocados

1 10 oz. package Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate chips

1.5 tsp liquid vanilla extract

small handful raw pistachios coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)

1 Tbsp brown rice syrup (or maple syrup)

pinch of coarse salt (ideally Himalayan Pink)

1- blend avocados together with a few tablespoons of the tangerine juice and 1 tsp vanilla, until you've achieved a smooth pudding-like consistency

2- melt chocolate chips in a double boiler, over low heat constantly stirring with a whisk.  add remaining juice to chocolate mixture and stir until relatively smooth.  add mixture to the avocado mix already in blender and blend together until all ingredients are incorporated and any remaining lumpiness is smoothed out.  taste along the way.  if it's not sweet enough for you, add a little maple syrup to your liking.

3- ladle into 2.5 oz. ramekins and set aside to cool.

4- coat pistachios with brown rice syrup (or maple), add 1/2 tsp vanilla and brulee with a torch (or caramelize over a stovetop with a little added water).  remove from heat and immediately add a pinch of coarse salt over pistachios and let cool.  

5- top the chocolate-filled ramekins with pistachios and tangerine supremes (skin/ membrane/ pith removed)

Chill for 3-4 hours before serving & enjoy same or next day.... Yummy yummm yummm!!!!


** Makes about ten 2.5 oz. ramekins

*** Note: I distributed these to friends and neigbors alike, and made each of them guess the secret ingredient... and not a single one of them could, so to those of you who are concerned about the avocado taste being overpowering-- don't be!  Props to these brave volunteers-- because telling me there's a secret ingredient in something is enough to make me not want to try it!  

Ice Ice Baby...

I hope I didn’t burst too many people’s bubbles when I first announced (in my last blog) that I am not perfect…haha!  And precisely for this reason, it is important to treat yourself every now and then.  But what do you do when your weekly treat snowballs into almost daily and when sugar is your (okay, my) heroin?  You cut out all simple carbohydrates COLD TURKEY for a few weeks (or longer), and then sloowwwly cycle them back in. So, this means…eat small meals often (2-4 hours depending on your activity level), always with a little protein.  This ensures that you’re satiated and that your blood sugar levels remain steady throughout the day, so you’re not tempted to eat something sweet because you’ve allowed yourself to become famished! This takes some planning, but it’s totally do-able and your body will thank you for it.  Nuts are a great on-the-go snack that you can pack in small Ziploc bags to munch on.  Just remember not to overdo the nuts.  A small handful should do the trick.   Small doses of nuts are high in good fats, but good fats are still fattening…so easy does it!   Also, include in your diet plenty of fresh, rainbow-colored vegetables of the non-starchy variety.  This way, you are getting all your nutrients in without the accompanying sugar rush that you get with starchy veggies and fruits!   Also, ladies who enjoy fragrances with a vanilla base can probably stand to lose the scents that smell like dessert for a little while.  I am one of those ladies.  Every time I spray on Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Extreme Vanilla, I start having visions of cake and ice cream.  Just a thought, do with it what you will…hehe!

Having said this, I promised my readership a June blog about sorbetto and espresso and well, a promise is a promise!  :-D    I’m no quitter!   So, sit back and enjoy my tips on the best places to catch some relief from the scorching summer days that are upon us!

I did, in fact, go off the deep end and have a scoop of the chocolate orange sorbetto at Pazzo…. before the week was up.  OOoohhh, it was GOOODDDD.  It was so lush and creamy!   Anyone who considers themselves the “gelato type”, in favor of a richer, more sinful dessert…should try this sorbetto.  You will forget that there is no cream/ egg/ milk to speak of in the ingredients list.  It is INCREDIBLE.  Incredibly edible. Sophisticated flavors of dark chocolate with a substantial orange flavor throughout.  It tastes very much like those chocolate candy sticks (orange candy dipped in dark chocolate) you might’ve turned your nose up at as a child, unless you were a child with a refined palate- I, for one, was not!   The only chocolate in my childhood vocabulary consisted of Hershey’s chocolate kisses and Cadbury eggs every Easter! 

Up next on the gelaterias-to-visit roster:  Scoops and Bulgarini.   Keep your eyes glued!

<3 <3 <3