February 10th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
by george (Food)
Never in a million years would I have imagined myself writing about peanut butter cookies! But today, here I am – about to share with you my new found addiction to Uncle Eddie’s VEGAN (!) peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Growing up in Hong Kong and England, we were never exposed to peanut butter sweets, let alone peanut butter cookies. When I moved to America, I didn’t understand why people were so addicted to Reese’s, Butterfinger, or peanut butter coated in any type of chocolate. It pretty much grossed me out. The taste to me seemed very fake – probably because I wasn’t used to it.
But last week, my friend Melissa and I met up for coffee and she turned me onto these cookies. She and I shared one and as I took a bite, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, absolutely delighted! It was so delicious! The peanut flavor wasn’t over-powering and even though they are vegan, you wouldn’t think so! The chocolate chips were super chocolatey and the texture of the cookie itself was very pleasing. After each bite, I wanted another. Since then, I looked up their website and noticed the “Retail” portion of their site wasn’t updated yet. So I got pretty sad and realized the only way for me to get these cookies was to go back to where Melissa and I met or order them through Amazon — until I stumbled across them at Whole Foods. I wasn’t even looking for cookies! But as I walked into the store there was a display of all of the Uncle Eddie’s baked goods. Someone knew I was coming! Anyway, I grabbed a bag and I’m going to indulge later today with a lovely cup of steaming hot tea. Can’t wait!
(Yes – this logo is super lo res – this is also what it looks like on their website.)
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October 19th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
by brad (Baby, Food, Max, Pictures)
I’ve been anxious to give Max something other than milk or formula for a while now, but George and our doctor wanted to wait until he was 6 months old. I did sneak a grain of rice and later a tiny piece of bread into his mouth, but for the most part they got their way. Lately Max has been very curious about our food and drink, so last night George finally relented – time for rice cereal!
George made the cereal very runny, the idea being that his little stomach couldn’t handle too much at first. I tried a bit on my finger and thought it tasted awfully sweet. “That’s made with breast milk you know,” George informed me. Ah.
Anyway, what did Max think? At first he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with food entering his mouth via something other than a nipple. Mostly it dribbled out while he tried his usual sucking motion. Still, some made its way to the back of his mouth and he got a little taste.
He loved it! It was like a light went on in his head and he suddenly realized what this strange substance in the bowl was for. He was very excited and immediately wanted more.
Unsatisfied with the speed of our spooning, he took matters into his own hands. He grabbed the bowl, gnawing at the edge.
It took a bit of convincing, but he stopped sucking on the bowl long enough to try the spoon again. Of course, he maintained a firm grip on the bowl just in case.
This kid clearly likes rice cereal.
I’d say he got about 20% into his mouth, and the rest was on his clothes, hands, high chair, and on the floor. Still, a promising start!
The full gallery is here.
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August 16th, 2009 at 9:04 am
by george (Food)
A few weeks ago, we were up in Bend, Oregon visiting Brad’s parents. It’s always relaxing going up there and there is always plenty of time to eat and plenty of time to cook. Mimi and Todd have an amazing kitchen and this time, I decided to make banana muffins. Following is a recipe from Mimi’s collection. I added pecans and chocolate chips – just because I could!
- 3oz butter
- 1 1/8 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 ripe bananas (mashed)
- 1 1/3 cup flour
- ½ tsp. soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup buttermilk
Pecans optional / Chocolate chips optional.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and bananas into butter mixture. Combine dry ingredients. Add alternately with the buttermilk into mixture. Can add nuts and chips if desired.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. You can also made this as a loaf: 40-45 minutes, but the muffins come out more evenly cooked than bread.
You can also top with “crisp topping” if desired (which I did of course!)
- 1 stick (4 oz) butter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup white sugar
- Pinch salt
Cut softened butter into 8 pieces and mix in with dry ingredients until it is well integrated. Keep in the freezer until ready to use.
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July 13th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
by george (Food)
Yup. It’s true! I LOVE dessert. I LOVE pastries. I LOVE ice cream. I LOVE everything sweet. It makes me happy! My little sister reminded me of a fun summertime dessert which is so easy to make and uses the delicious fruits that summer brings.
Eaton Mess:
It’s basically meringue (home-made or store bought – I got mine from Viktor Benés since making meringue while taking care of an 11 week old is out of the question), cut up strawberries and very lightly whipped cream. Smash up the meringues into bite size pieces, cut up very sweet strawberries into bite sized pieces, lightly whip some heavy cream with a little sugar to taste, mix all together. That’s it! It’s so easy and delicious. I’m enjoying a bowl right now!
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March 27th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
by george (Food, LA Life)
Continuing on my quest to find the perfect chocolate croissant, I stopped at Amandine this morning on my way to work. O. M. G. Look at this beauty:
At first glance, this croissant had the same shape as Belwood and Le Pain Quotidien, but it was much larger. Although it was larger, it’s wasn’t heavy. I took my first bite and it was flaky flaky flaky! Super light but buttery, all at the same time. And look at the underside!
The chocolate ran through the center from end to end and had a dark sweet flavor. This by far out ranked all the others I’ve tried so far. I think it might even be unfair to compare it to Starbucks and Le Pain Quotidien. I definitely recomend this bakery! They had a bunch of other pastries and cakes in their display which I’ll have to go back and try – including a slice of orange loaf.
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March 20th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
by george (Food, LA Life)
Every Friday for the past 4 weeks, I’ve treated myself to a chocolate croissant. The first week was merely a craving and the subsequent weeks just felt like a fun way to start the weekend.
Week one, I stopped at Belwood Bakery in Brentwood. Their chocolate croissant (1 – see below) is the usual rectangular shape and their chocolate ran wide and through the center. It was flaky, the chocolate was delicious and I was very pleased.
Week two, I stopped at Bristol Farms in El Segundo. Their chocolate croissant (2) was on the large side and was a straightened crescent shape. Delicious dark chocolate ran through the center and the top had a glaze and a drizzle of chocolate all over it.
Week three, I encountered a few obstacles. The first 3 places I stopped at had all run out. When I got to work, I decided that I was OK without having one, but then I kept thinking about it… I called 4 places – all sold out! So I tried my luck with Starbucks. Lucky for me the lady I spoke to put one aside and I went to pick it up. The shape was odd – more like a danish (3). A square with two of the four opposite corners folded in. Chocolate ran through the center and I was surprised by the taste. It was light and pleasant.
This morning I went to Le Pain Quotidien. Like the Belwood Bakery, it was the normal rectangular chocolate croissant shape (4). It reminded me of the ones I used to have when I was a kid with thin chocolate peeking out on one side of the croissant. Although flaky and light, I got halfway through and there was no more chocolate! Did they forget to fill it, or is this just normal for them? I was quite disappointed. Although, at the end of my treat, there was a little chocolate on the other side making up for the empty center.
So far, the front runner is Bristol Farms. Belwood, Starbucks and then Le Pain Quotidien in last place. There are a few places I still want to try including Amadine on Wilshire. Anyone know of a good place to get a chocolate croissant?
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February 18th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
by george (Food)
I really want to try this place. It’s the same people who work at Rustic Canyon which I really enjoyed. I’m drawn to Huckleberry because 1) their menu looks delicious, 2) it’s close to home and 3) I’m a sucker for pastries. Not only do their pastries look good, they offer lunch too. I think they’re opening this week, so I’ll probably wait a month or so before trying, or just step in for a coffee and a treat.
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February 11th, 2009 at 10:02 am
by george (Food)
And I really miss it. Driving to work today I was thinking of treating myself to a nice cold glass of fresh squeezed lemonade this afternoon. Unfortunately, it’s not worth the awful heartburn associated with it. So, I’ll just look at this photo and dream of sipping a nice tall glass (or two) this summer.
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September 12th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
by george (Food, LA Life)
Everyone knows I’m addicted to noodles. Any type of noodle. Ramen, udon, rice noodle, spagetti, somen, soba. You name it, I’ll eat it. But what I really love is a bowl of noodles in hot soup.
Some of my friends and I went to Mitsuwa in Torrance today because the Hokkaido Festival is taking place this weekend. We got there and were stuck in a hefty line, but we weren’t upset, we knew what was ahead was going to be worth it. The chefs and ingredients for the noodles are flown in from Japan, so it’s quite special to be able to eat this. I ordered the regular miso ramen, but others opted for the butter / corn miso ramen for an extra buck.
The broth was thick and tasty. The noodles were of the curly type – very typical of the Hokkaido region. And the pork was so soft, it just melted in my mouth. I had already taken a few mouthfuls before I took this picture, so it’s not as pretty as when they first presented it to me.
I also got some curry pan and a cream puff. As soon as I got back to the office, I devoured the cream puff. I’m saving the curry pan for tonight. Brad will enjoy it too!
I’m sure there will be an autumn festival, so I’ll report back after that.
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May 16th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
by george (Food, Travel)
A few weekends ago, Mum and Caroline flew into San Francisco from Hong Kong, and I flew up from LA. We stayed with Elizabeth for a beautiful long weekend in the city. One of the four days together, we drove to Napa for a day of wine tasting. Caroline had never experienced this, so it was a real treat for us to show her what it’s all about. Elizabeth and I planned the entire day, which included both wine and food.
We decided that starting the day with Champagne is a lot easier than a full bodied red wine. So, first stop – Schramsberg. Brad and I have been wine club members since 2006 and really love their sparkling wines. At Schramsberg they offer a tour of the wine cellar in conjunction with the tasting (reservations necessary). We sat in their newly renovated tasting room and tried 4 of their sparkling wines: Blanc de Blancs, J. Schram, Brut Rosé, and Reserve.
Next stop – Frank Family Vineyards. They’re currently under construction, but we were still able to have a few tastes and brought home a bottle of their 2004 Cabernet Sauvigon (no reservations needed here). We enjoyed this yummy wine with the roast dinner Elizabeth made on Saturday night.
We were now ready for lunch. We stopped at Dean & Deluca and picked up some picnic stuff and brought our lunch to V. Sattui. We sat under trees and sipped on their Muscat. Elizabeth doesn’t drink white wine, so Mum, Carol, and I had to do our part and drink up!
After lunch we had a longer ride in the car down to Étude (reservations necessary). We tried 6 of their delicious wines including a Pinot Gris, a Pinot Noirs, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. They were super informative and Caroline learned a lot – and brought home a lot! Between Mum and Caroline, they had 2 cases of wine and were able to safely check the boxes on their flight back home. I too ended up buying a mix and match case of these wines for Brad’s birthday. We had a bit of time between the last tasting and dinner, so we headed to downtown Napa and window shopped. We stopped at a bookstore that was going out of business and scored some great deals.
Elizabeth and I thought long and hard during the planning stages about where to have dinner. We decided on Julia’s Kitchen. Julia’s kitchen is named after the great Julia Child. The restaurant is located at COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and The Arts. Although we didn’t get to explore COPIA, its mission is really amazing. It’s a great place to learn and discover about food, wine and the arts.
Dinner was delicious. Elizabeth and I shared oysters on the half shell, Caroline had a seared Ahi salad, and Mum started with the mushroom soup. Elizabeth had the Don Watson Napa Valley Milk Fed Lamb for her entrée, I had the All Natural Berkshire Pork Chop, Caroline asked them to turn their lamb ravioli from an appetizer to an entrée, and Mum had the Liberty Duck a la Orange Duo. We finished the meal with a delicious chocolate tart with sage caramel; a malted milk “shot” accompanied the dessert.
The day in Napa was absolutely amazing as was the rest of the weekend, and it was a great time for the four of us to catch up. I miss them all already.
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