Seeing Red Today

I’m not feeling so great today, so I’m not sure I’ll be out and about.

If I do make the scene, I would have to wear this red dress I made and wore to a party last year where I met actress Tippi Hendren.

She was very cool, BTW, and she told me about Alfred Hitchcock’s unhealthy obsession with her.

Today is the day to wear red because it’s  way to stare down a killer. The name of this murderer is heart disease.  Every year almost a half a million women die from it. Find out what you can do to prevent it.

Oh, I guess I love the dress so much I wore it to another party where Shepard Fairey was the DJ He’s the artist who created the “Hope” poster for President Obama.

Call me Shepard if you want to do a poster with my red dress.

 

Happy Meal | Los Angeles | Griddle Cafe

If you want to go to the Griddle Cafe, you don’t need your iPhone app.

You don’t need your GPS.

All you need to do is follow the hungry line gathered nearby in front of the Directors Guild of America.

My favorite fellow foodie and I did. After a 40-minute wait we sat down at the counter to eat at one of Lala’s most famous breakfast joints.

On The Menu:

The Griddle Cafe serves  pancakes bigger than Lady Gaga’s shoulder pads.

Where else would you find flapjacks complete with  everything from Oreo cookies to pumpkin pie filling?

Normally you order three 12 inch pancakes that are an inch thick. My suggestion, get a single pancake. We did that with the Banana Nana, which we split.

We both ordered omelets. I went for the cheesy My Soul. My FFF went for the Baked Potato, yes, eggs stuffed with hash browns.

The most popular dish on the counter was the Red Velvet pancake. I heard raves, including from a North Carolina native who grew up on Red Velvet cake.

I saw a lot of food go to waste, but not that particular pancake.

When it comes to what was on my plate, it was all good, fresh and tasty. It just was not spectacular.

It’s like when you see a movie or play with a famous star. The actor makes all the right moves and says all the right things–but there’s no magic.

There is magic at Hash a Go Go in San Diego. The way things stack up for me, ounce for ounce, the San Diego breakfast place is better.

Amuse Bouche:

There were two teams that were well represented at the cafe. The NBA and the AMW.

There were at least three ballers in the house. I’m not into sports so I don’t know their names, but I know their faces.

As for the AMWs, the actors, models, whatevers, they were also in full effect. That’s logical considering the proximity of the DGA, Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Hills.

This spot is also popular with celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee and Megan Fox.

My FFF said the last time he was here he sat across from Jeff Goldblum. But honestly, I’m more into grazing than star gazing.

Ambiance:

The exposed brick is charming. Ditto, the counters filled with every condiment you could think of using.

The crammed quarters, not so much. It’s noisy and that could be the reason the waiter served me an avocado, even though I said I did not want one included with my order. They’ve been known to make me hurl.

In spite of that, overall service from our waiter was good, although he had a compatriot who was snarling.

Perhaps because the conditions are so tight, he had trouble delivering his orders.

The cozy interior also meant my jacket was knocked off the back of my chair several times. In spite of it all, the diners were in good spirits, even after waiting 40-minutes.

The vibe is hip and lucky for me because I’ve never been the hippest person in the room, it’s also very friendly. My counter mates shared smiles and restaurant recommendations.

It was a solid meal with pretty good service. I give it four tines out of five.

 

Getting Your Glean On

As I child, I remember being taught the song, “Bringing in the Sheaves.“

Of course, It has a deeper meaning than just sowing and reaping.

It’s the song that was playing in my head when I heard about a group of gleaners in Lala that is making sure fresh food goes to those in need.

Have you ever wondered about all the fruit and vegetables  that go to waste on vines and trees in your neighborhood? Food Forward is doing something about it. What’s on your plate?

 

My Low-Fat Two Ingredient Low Fat Muffins vs Weight Watchers

The price was right at 59 cents for Weight Watchers Carrot Creme Cake. I wanted to see how it stacks up to my Two Ingredient Low-Fat Muffins. Plus, I thought it would be great for bento.

Carrot Creme Cake

• Tiny Portions: I put the dime in the pic for a reason. The portions are tiny, about the size of a candy,  especially when you consider it’ll put you back 90 calories.

• Lotsa Sugar: While there are lotsa photos of carrots all over the package, the number one ingredient is SUGAR! Carrots come in six on the list, after water.

Two Ingredient Low Fat  Muffin

• The bananas in the recipe are rich in potassium. Studies have shown potassium lowers the risk of heart disease.
• All of the other optional ingredients I list are good for you as well, including the carrots and almonds.
• I’ve already either shared or eaten up my muffins so I can’t compare them , but I will say mine are about four times as big as the Weight Watcher’s versions.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Weight Watchers has helped a plenty of dieters lose weight. You just may want to wait on getting the Carrot Creme Cake.

Instead, just take a few moments to bake up your own tasty low-fat treat.

What’s on your plate.  Is  it bringing you inner bling?

 

Starring in Your Own Life Recipe | Two Ingredient Low-Fat Banana Muffins

There were the days I spent too many bucks going to  Starbucks so I could order low-fat muffins to go along with my chocolat chaud.

Now I make the muffins myself. I’ve done the from scratch thing and highly recommend it because you control what goes in your mouth.  Sorry purists, I don’t always have the time or inclination. That’s why I loved Hungry Girl’s recipe for low-fat chocolate muffins.

It inspired the recipe below. I always look for ways to use bananas to reduce the amount of fat I use in baking, so I thought, why not do the same for the concept of  two-ingredient muffins? Plus, for my money, bananas are more plentiful and inexpensive than pumpkin puree.

They are also perfect for bento. See my breakfast bento below.

Starring in Your Own Life Two Ingredient Low-Fat Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

Spice Cake Mix

3 medium bananas

Optional | Select No More Than Two

handful of shredded carrots

handful of raisins

handful of oatmeal

handful of almonds

How to Make It

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Use a fork or potato masher to mash up your bananas. For an even smoother mix, whip out your food processor. I like to do a mix of smooth and a rougher texture.
2. Dump the cake mix into banana mash up. If you have a some extra bits of banana bits, that’s cool.  Take care not to over mix. This mixture will not be as “liquidy” as cakes you normally make.
3. Pour the mix into a muffin pan that  you have already prepped with cooking spray.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until they are done. There are a couple of ways I test for that. Take care because all of them involve a very hot oven.  Use either  toothpick or knife  to  stick in the middle of the muffin. If it comes out clean, you are all clear. You can also jiggle the pan. If the batter still jiggles, keep it in the oven. This also serves as a reminder that you need to workout.

copyright nozizwe 2010

• If you like your sweets sweet, wait for your bananas to ripen.The riper the banana, the sweeter the muffin.
• If you goop on the butter you’ve defeated your purpose. However I did enjoy a muffin with low fat cream cheese.

• Instead of using cooking spray you can also use cupcake liners.
• These muffins  freeze really well.  Thaw them for lunchtime. I did for the bento below.
• Stock up on the cake mixes when you see sales. I bought a bunch for 99 cents.

What’s on your plate? Is it bringing you inner bling?

 

Bento Snack

I closed out the day with a sammie a la bento.

It’s a  light meal, but then again, I had so much to eat this past weekend that I had to balance things out.

The Food

• whole wheat bread
• turkey leftovers with ranch dressing and paprika
• carrots

The Equipment

• I used a mandoline I’ve had for years to the slice the carrots.
• A Japanese cookie cutter created the flowers for the sammies.

How’d I Do?

• The portions were really small.
• I did eat the bread that surrounded the flower. I did not have five colors.
• A bed of lettuce would have been at least one welcome addition.
  

 

Bento for Lunch | Stars Get in My Rice

Yesterday I went all bento as I continue my quest for a 25 inch waist.

Lunch was based on ready-made curry from a Japanese market.

I was raised on curry, African style. I love it. I love Indian curry and I love Japanese curry.

This curry came in a pouch with instructions in Japanese. Translation: Put the bag in boiling water for five minutes.

It was a coupla bucks and it was delicious. It’s even better than curry I used to drool over at a  Japanese restaurant in Beverly Hills.

The label said it contained potatoes and  carrots but I decided to add my own carrots. Good move, because the veggies were miniscule.  You can see their tiny heads peeking out of the sauce.

No worries. It was all about the sauce. However next time I will add even more carrots.

I would love to master my own curry. Especially since the pre-fab curry is fattier than it needs to be. Having said that, my bento calories add up to about 400 calories of deliciousness.

The Food

• Pre-packaged curry
• Carrots
• Thai rice

The Equipment

• My trusty steamer. I’ve been using steamers to prep my food for years and it’s perfect for rice making for bento. I also steamed the carrots.
• I used a Japanese mold for the rice. The label says it’s a cherry blossom. I say it’s a star. I was worried that the mold would not work because I was not working with sticky rice.  Thanks to tips from lunchinabox, my first time using a rice mold turned out just fine.
• The molds are also great for portion control. The two stars equal about a half cup. The package included a heart mold as well which will come in handy for the Valentine’s season.

What’s on your plate? Is it bringing you inner bling?

 

My First Bento Breakfast

This is my first bento breakfast.

The Food

• cantaloupe
• banana
• oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon

The Equipment

I used a star cookie cutter, get it I’m the author of Starring in Your Own Life, for the cantaloupe.

I used a flower shape for the banana.

The star cutter was already in my inventory because I love to bake. The flower cookie cutter was a find, for under two bucks, at a Japanese market in San Diego. Details to follow about that shopping trip. You can get the cutters at any place that sells baked goods.

The bento is actually a storage box from Crate and Barrel. Eventually I want a two or three-tiered bento.

How’d I Do?

I could have had more colors. You are supposed to have five for every meal. But overall I’m happy.

What’s on your plate? Is it bringing you inner bling?

 

Happy Meal | San Diego | Hash a Go Go

Hash a Go Go has been one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego for years and my last visit this past weekend was no disappointment. The out-of-towner who treated me to breakfast, the meal Hash is famous for, was equally impressed.

Our meal was a tour de fork of over-sized deliciousness.

The portions are unbelievably generous. You could feed a family of four for a year from one plate.

The food is Midwest wholesome·mixed with touches of Le Cordon Bleu. It turns out the chef owner is from Indiana.

What do I mean? Hash a Go Go specializes in breakfast and  the dish we ordered was Eggs Benedict with fried chicken with the intention of splitting it. We needed to swap out the bacon because we don’t eat bacon. One of our options was pheasant sausage which I found out is clean vs unclean meat. Who knew?

Amuse Bouche

The staff is also a tasty combination. With all the black clothing and colorful tats, they look as if they’re rolling in the NYC in Soho or the Meatpacking district. Yet they are extremely friendly and they scrambled (pun intended) to provide everything we requested. They too may be future actors-models-musicians. But they are not the Bitter Bettys or Bills you find in LaLa. No le-tude here. Or should I call it LA-tude.

Prices

Breakfast runs from about $8 to $17, with most meals going for $11-$13. I strongly suggest that you share your entree. The two of you are still likely to end up with leftovers.

With the generous portions it was sad to see so many plates that returned to the kitchen only half eaten. I’m not ashamed to say that I left with a doggie bag.

Hash a Gogo also serves lunch and dinner, which I’ve never tried. That’s because for me and for Hash a Go Go,  breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

What’s on your plate?

 

Happy Meal | San Diego | Mama’s Bakery & Lebanese Deli

Anabel Vidrio’s Facebook pages are always stuffed with mouth-watering images and stories about her trips to ethnic restaurants. And that’s why she’s one of my inspirations when it comes to blogging so much about food.

So when she invited me to lunch during a quick trip to San Diego, of course I had to bite.

For extra spice she invited along her super sassy sister Brenda.

The place she chose was Mama’s Bakery and Lebanese Deli in North Park.

How did she know that I’m a sucker for ethnic Ma and Pa?  My favorite restaurant in the world is Al Diwan in Paris. Mama’s is a kind of an Al Diwan West.

Both places feature very casual dining.

Al Diwan is located in the rather fancy George V neighborhood just of the Champs Elysees. Mama’s surroundings are less tony, but the food turned out to be tasty too.

While the menu features everything from stuffed grape leaves to fava and garbanzo bean soup, all three of us ordered wraps. They were all priced at around six bucks a pop.

Anabel went for the eggplant, Brenda, kafta.  I selected the garlic chicken.

Really Good Baked Goods

The flatbread used to make the wraps is baked on the premises. Aha! That’s the benefit of attaching a bakery to a deli. The bread is uniquely chewy, a healthy combination of half whole wheat and half white flour. I know from my own baking escapades that it’s difficult to go 100 percent whole wheat.

Before we could dig in, Anabel and I both had to take photos.  If you don’t take a photo of a great meal and put it on the Internet, does it really exist?

My wrap was very fresh. I must say my favorite ingredient was the Middle Eastern pickles and I don’t like regular pickles. It was only during this meal that I realized that I’ve had the pickles before at Al Diwan.

Amuse Bouche

The portions are very generous. You can easily share one of the wraps. Brenda was going to share a piece with me. Not wanting to be greedy, I told her to give me a bite of what she had leftover. Next time I’ll be greedy.

As I mentioned, this is very casual dining, nothing fancy but everything cheerful.

If you are new to Middle Eastern food, you are sure to have questions.  Expect to get them cheerfully answered. I’ve been eating it for years and I still have questions.

I’ve got a couple of questions now.

What next Anabel?

And what’s on your plate?