A Post- New Year's Guilt Detox Lunch

From my few previous posts you might notice I was more than a little gluttonous over the past few weeks at home. This week I found myself having to get back into the routine of grocery shopping, endlessly hilighting course readers, and cooking for myself. Of course, cooking for myself (and others) isn't an issue, in fact it's my favorite thing to do. I've just gotten out of the habit of it lately but I'm happily slipping right back into cook mode. Yesterday afternoon after 4 hours of feminist studies and history lectures, I surprisingly found myself craving something light, not something heavy or warm like I usually do.

Om nom nom.

I remembered watching an episode of Nigella Feasts recently that made me smile as Nigella just threw together a breakfast that was a little carb heavy, but that's the thing about Nigella- she doesn't care. Her theory is if you're going to do it- go for it. If you want bread, don't get a  low carb or gluten free version (unless of course you suffer from celiac disease) because those aren't really bread. If you want bread, go to your local bakery and pick up a loaf of crusty italian, or fluffy french; but if you're gonna do it, do it right. Everything in moderation, she says. And that's exactly how I feel. Sometimes I get grief about my eating habits. "You're making French toast? That's so fattening." Yeah, it's not the healthiest, but for the rest of the week chances are I'll have oatmeal, yogurt and granola, or eggs for breakfast. We all deserve to treat ourselves and we should treat ourselves because if we don't, we're going to overindulge regularly to compensate for being forbidden. Banning ourselves from something and then overindulging is a lose-lose. Let yourself eat what you want, just be smart. If you have that baguette with breakfast, have a salad with garbanzo beans and avocado for lunch and a grain at dinner. It's simple as that. Moderation and variety is key.

Wow, so off topic. Anyhoo, I was feeling a little bit guilty this week because I'd been eating a lot of "bad" foods and not a lot of greens-- very very bad for a vegetarian. The last thing I want is to become a "bread and cheese vegetarian" or become anemic. But I thought of Nigella's episode and put together a light little lunch with protein, fiber, good fats, vitamins and minerals, and carbs. Peeeerfection.

Cracked Wheat Sourdough, garbanzos, avocado, salad.

I rinsed and drained a half a can of Trader Joe's organic garbanzo beans and mashed them up. Then I added about a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of lemon juice, a little garlic salt and pepper. I lightly mashed up half an avocado with a little lemon juice (for flavor, and to keep the avo from browing) and salt and pepper. I toasted a piece and a half of cracked wheat sourdough bread (buy this next time you need bread, it's delicious and so flavorful so it keeps you fuller longer I think) and I made a little salad of mixed greens and cucumber with some honey dijon balsamic vinaigrette. Word to the wise: always make your own salad dressing if you've got the stuff. Bottled dressings taste funky, are filled with bad fats, and they just aren't good. Take equal parts balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard and mix with 2 parts olive oil, a dash of honey and some salt and pepper. Or switch out the balsamic for lemon juice and skip the honey. It's so easy and so flavorful and sooo much better than store bought.

I meant for this post to be short, just about my light and refreshing lunch, but I got a little carried away. I hope you try and enjoy this lunch, it's effortless and fool proof.

Umami: The Fifth Taste

Sweet, savory, sour, and bitter. These are typically our four main tastes. So what the hell is umami you ask? Literally translated from it's Japanese meaning, it is "deliciousness." The obnoxiously arrogant Alton Brown described it as the taste we get when we eat glutamate. It's supposed to be an intense experience that your taste buds will thank you for.When trying to explain this to friend recently, I made the mistake of saying "it's the taste of MSG..." Whoops. Anyway, explaining what umami is is not an easy task. However, if you find yourself craving a burger in Los Angeles, head over to Umami Burger and I'm sure any of the friendly wait staff would gladly explain it to you. The trendy spot where you can sit and muddle in the delicious simplicity of America's most historically famous food arrived on the scene about a year ago if my memory serves me correctly. They quickly expanded and now have 4 locations (Los Feliz, Hollywood, La Brea, and Santa Monica) with a Studio City location in the making. The quick expansion of a place with a culty following reminds me of a certain froyo chain that over-expanded and now has several failing locations closing. Well, thank god for sophisticated palates because Umami Burger will continue to thrive -  I guarantee it.

The interesting thing about Umami Burger is that the menu is so minimal. There are 7 or 8 burgers to choose from, all with a theme. Some are made with beef, some with turkey, one with pork, and then there's my little angel- the Earth Burger. But don't be fooled, it's no whimpy run of the mill veggie burger. It's a patty made of mushroom, edamamde, and beets topped with a white soy aioli, cipollini onions, roasted tomatoes, butter lettuce, and a truffled ricotta all piled on a hearty brioche-type bun. Good god in heaven, this thing is amazing. Get yourself this and a side of sweet potato fries innocently dashed with cinnamon sugar and you're all set. Oh, don't forget to order an Umami ketchup (a housemade variety with truffle oil) and a side of dijon mustard (which if you didn't know is very potent and will clear your sinuses! My lunch dates Sara and Michael and I know this from first hand experience) to dabble your burger in, you wont regret it. I promise you.

The Earth Burger in all it's glory.

Sweet Potato Fries, Michael's Finger, Skinny Fries, Umami Ketchup. 

I also admire Umami's modern, but retro feel. They serve old-time sodas from the time when they were called "pop." You know, the good ones like bubble up and crush in glass bottles. The desserts are another notable thing about Umami. Their support for local businesses is really admirable as they serve ice cream sandwiches from Milk, and other sweet treats from Cake Monkey which serves recreated and gourmet versions of classic junk food like ding dongs and hohos.

So from the bottom of my heart and the pit of my empty tummy, I strongly encourage you to go to and highly recommend that you put Umami at the top of your mental "must try this place" list that you know you have.

BLD

Brilliantly and Largely Delicious? Boss Latte Drinks? Yes, and yes. BLD - Breakfast Lunch and Dinner - is my new brunch locale in LA. Usually when out to breakfast or brunch, I frequent the pancakes, the french toasts, or the simple egg plates but I went on a whim and ordered Huevos Rancheros not even knowing if the beans were vegetarian. I never asked because they were too delicious to find out the answer...

In a wide but shallow bowl lay my perfect over medium eggs, my salsa fresca, my hunk of avocado, and my two crispy corn tortilla shells. Underneath it all sat a pool of whole beans, speckled with cotija. See below. Beware of subsequent enraging jealousy.

BLD's Huevos Rancheros

Another notable bad boy was the Blueberry Ricotta Pancake that has been featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I ever Ate. I'm not a huge fan of pancakes that are any thicker than 1/4 inch, other than my own chunky banana pancakes (recipe to come). These are the other exception. Despite their look, they are not doughy because of the ricotta, they're just thick... and insanely fluffy....and insanely good. Any griddle item you order at BLD comes with a personal-sized bottle of maple syrup shaped like a log cabin. We wanted to take ours home but we figured they probably get refilled. I question whether or not my latte was non-fat as I requested because it was so creamy. The foam was sweet and the drink was not bitter at all. A latte at it's finest.

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

Everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed our little New Years Day Brunch just as much as I did. We were stuffed, over-indulged, and all agreed it was a great start to 2011. The sun was even out, which was a rare sight this past winter in Los Angeles.

Satisfaction.

New Year's Resolution: Try lunch and diner at BLD.

Adventures in LA over Winter Break

It's always a struggle adjusting back into school mode when you're coming off your winter break high. Today was my second first day of school this year since winter quarter started today. Major buzz kill. I'm proud to admit that this break revolved around eating. Lots of money and five pounds later...

On December 30th I went to the Food Trucks that line up outside of LACMA to have lunch with my Aunt and cousins. My Aunt and the girls are always up for a foodie adventure, must run in the family. There was a gaggle of about 15 trucks lined up on Wilshire. It was slightly overwhelming. The most outlandish were probably The Lobsta Truck, which had a line outside of it before it opened, The Lardon Truck, and The Tasty Meat Truck which dawned the tagline "Eat my tasty meat!" None of us are really big meat eaters so we glided right passed these and wound up ordering from The Boba Truck, The Greenz on Wheelz Truck, and La Rue de Paris Truck, and one that I can't remember the name of... oops.

Wilshire Blvd. at Noon

The Greenz on Wheelz Truck

La Rue de Paris Truck

The Lobsta Truck- with lots of patrons.

Here's what we ordered

Greenz on Wheelz Mixed Veggie Sandwich

-A mixed veggie sandwich with Ortega Chiles, Jack Cheese, served with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Potato Wedges
-A grilled cheese with bacon

-A crepe with spinach, mozzarella, avocado and maybe pesto (?)

-A chicken Breast Panini

-A nutella Banana Crepe

-A crepe with Rasperry jam and whipped cream

-A cherry blossom boba (some of the most deliciously sticky tapioca pearls I've had)

-Pastrami french fries for my Uncle

And lunch wasn't over yet...
We went to Sweet E's Bake Shop on Robertson to get cake pops! We're quickly obsessing over cake pops because there as tasty as they are fun to eat. If you don't know, cake pops are cake that's chopped up and mixed with a little frosting so it's moist, then it's formed into a ball, put on a stick, chilled, and dipped in chocolate. What's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, YUM. We got a red velvet dipped in white chocolate, a dark chocolate dipped in white chocolate, a vanilla dipped in white chocolate, and a chocolate peppermint.