The Altruist's Cookbook

We're Moving!!!!!!

2010-09-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to announce that we are packing this gluten-free show up and taking it on the road over to Wordpress. I will leave this blog "as-is" for the time being but be sure to come to the new site or you will miss all the fun!!!!!

~The Altruist's Cookbook Team
Kattus Petasatus and Allison Wonderland etc...

Food Truck Cluster #$@&!

2010-09-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the first OC Foodie Fest, or as I shall now call it, Food Truck Cluster

You-Know-What. The parking lot of the Honda Center became a swarm of enthusiastic eaters as 49 food trucks filled bellies and emptied pockets.

I printed the list of trucks the day before the event, checked out their menus online and

highlighted which ones I needed to devour and which I could wait on. My gameplan worked, arriving just before the gates opened, and I was able to hit several trucks before the

hour-long lines started.

The good:

The pamphlet handed out to everyone listed all the trucks by name, noted their cuisine type, and if they had vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. It was a nice touch and saved those with special diets the frustration of waiting in a line to ask a truck what they could offer. With so many options, I could only hit a few before I was broke,

stuffed, and sunburned. So here’s what I hit:

Nom Nom Truck

A super long line kept me away from this truck most of the day, but after they ran out of pork it dwindled down and I braved the wait. Everything from their lime green truck, with anime

character mascot, to the name of the truck is borderline twee, but their food makes up for the over-the-top cuteness. As I sunk my teeth into their tofu Bahn Mi, I could see why they keep destroying the other teams on The Great Food Truck Race. The baguette was soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The veggies were fresh and crispy, marinated carrots with daikon radish, cilantro, cucumbers, and sliced fresh jalapenos. I skipped the mayonnaise and was afraid it would leave the sandwich dry and lacking flavor, but I didn’t miss the evil stuff at all. They use fried tofu, which is brown and wrinkly and has a chewy texture, instead of the boring white packages tofu most stores sell in blo

cks. They also serve their chicken, pork and tofu in tacos for gluten-free dudes and dudettes!

http://nomnomtruck.com/

Get Shaved

Hawaiian shaved ice is nothing like the sad snow cones from the continental US. It’s light and fluffy, just like real snow, which is pretty amazing coming from a state that’s so damn hot. I had a small, which is a generous serving size, at a modest $3 price. I had POG (shout out to anyone who played POGS in the 90’s!), coconut and watermelon. The list of flavors was long but I liked all three, so I’m sure you can’t go wrong. As happy as this vendor made me, I would be willing to get shaved any day of the week.
http://www.getshavedice.com/

Vizzi Truck

This truck has a ton of style, from flat-screen monitors to a sweet-ass paint job, and luckily a ton of substance too. I had a chickpea slider, a tiny but powerfully flavored garbanzo patty with chimichurri in place of the dairy-based crème sauce. It was served with spicy fig popcorn, a combo I was hesitant to like but loved when I tried. They definitely have the “visionary” cuisine they’re aiming for.http://www.vizzitruck.com/

Frysmith

I’ve been lusting after Frysmith for almost a year but their vegan chili-cheese fries have eluded me. No longer! Even at their “reduced” size I couldn’t finish this hot mess of fried potatoes covered in love. The vegan chili was spicy, beany, but not fake-meaty, which was fine with me. They topped it with Daiya vegan cheese, which isn’t perfect or exactly like real cheese but still keeps me alive.

http://www.eatfrysmith.com/

Other trucks in attendance I would recommend, from past experiences but didn't try at the fest:

Seabirds

Crepes Bonaparte
Dos Chinos

The Lime Truck

The meh:
Calbi Fusion Tacos
I applaud taco trucks for at least trying to serve something to vegetarians and vegans. Really, thank you for not ignoring us. But if you’re going to serve tofu, please do a little more than cut open a pack, scoop it out of water, and heat it up. You don’t do that to meat, and tofu is 98% flavorless. Making something hot and topping it with overly sweet “secret sauce” is not “cooking.” So if you want to cook like a grown up, please try using “seasoning.” I'm also sick of the term fusion. K thanks bye.
If you must: http://calbi.com/

The bad:

Nana Queens failed just as badly as they did on the Great Food Truck Race, losing the first challenge and being the first truck sent home. Their line was 1.5+ hours long, then customers waited a rumored 45 minutes after paying to get their food. 45 minutes for chicken wings and pre-made banana Nilla wafer pudding? There’s a Hooters within walking distance, and that would have saved customers some time.
This vegan was glad she didn’t wait for that BS. My mom tried the pudding and said it was so gross that she needed to drink water to get the overly rich, sickeningly sweet taste out of her mouth.
I don’t know why you’d want to click this. http://nanaqueens.vpweb.com/

The ugly:

The shortage of trashcans, seating and shade. Every time I needed to throw out a napkin or plate, I had to wander a bit. The only recycle bin was provided by the Seabirds Truck, since the organizers did not place separate bins which was truly disappointing. Standing in line my ankles were barraged with trash blown around the asphalt like tumbleweeds in the desert. I was able to sit down only once. Most of the food was easy enough to eat standing, but my feet were very sore at the end of the day. Only the shaded VIP area ($50 ticket price, compared to $12 for regular tickets) had a tent with plenty of seating. Hopefully next year they just have one price and offer shade and seats to everyone.

And lastly:
A shout-out to http://www.roaminghunger.com/ for the free tickets. If you’re like me, your twitter feed has devolved into a mess of trucks, people, and stupid funny stuff and you need a better way to keep tabs on your fave mobile eateries. Their site helps organize food trucks by city, type of food, and has a blog with upcoming events.

My Cup Runneth Over If Properly Filled

2010-08-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

My dear readers,

I am very sad to announce that I will not be seeing you at the OC Foodie Fest tomorrow... a family emergency has come up and needs my energy. So this post is intended to tide you over until a guest poster can catch everyone up on the yumminess of the Food Truck Blitzkrieg!

These are from Cafe Metropol in Los Angeles and it is a very fun excusrion to make. They bring in really amazing jazz groups to perform and they have fancy cups. I'm happy with that! I would say that their salads are puny and overpriced (tons of lettuce and a few slivers of meat on an entree salad...) but otherwise, a good value and tasty food.

This is a delightful cup of coffee from Cafe Metropol in LA.

Sweet Potater Fries, also courtesy of Cafe Metropol.

I don't know where this is from, but I am such a food geek that I'm sharing it anyway!

Whiskey!!!! from Branigan's in Fullerton!!!

Mwah!!!!!!
~Kattus

Seabirds Food Truck Review

2010-08-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

A vegan and a wheat-intolerant foodie walk into a bar. No, it’s not the setup for a joke, it’s an average night out for Kattus Petasatus and myself. As if being lactose intolerant, vegan, and attempting to eat mostly organic weren’t enough of a challenge, try having a good friend who is allergic to wheat and soy. Miss Petasatus can’t eat at my favorite restaurant, Native Foods. I can probably eat a salad at hers. Strangely enough, we manage to make it work. Cooking each other dinner has become an adventure. But eating out is another story.

Allison Wonderland, left, and Kattus Petasatus sample the goods.

Yet I confidently brought her with me to Bootlegger’s last weekend to have dinner at the Seabirds Truck (http://www.seabirdstruck.com/), knowing we could sufficiently stuff ourselves before watching several episodes True Blood. A relative newcomer, this truck has stolen my heart and that of many other Orange County food truck groupies. Their entire menu is vegan, and gluten free items are clearly labeled. Seabirds also sources local produce and recently added magical water to their production. No really, magical water. They use Aquae A.M.O.R.E. Alkaline water, which is “charged with sound vibrations at 528 Hz- the LOVE frequency.” It could be a load of hippie hoo-haw, but I loooove this truck so apparently it works.

Jerk Jackfruit taco, left, Tofu taco, right. Avocado taco, gone.
We could barely snap a photo of my tacos before I inhaled them. The Tofu taco with barbecue sauce was a bit over salted but the sauce had a nice homemade, smoky taste. The Jerk Jackfruit taco was a complex but ridiculously tasty mixture of the starchy fibers of the Asian fruit mixed with a spicy sweet jerk spice rub. It was also gluten free! My hands-down favorite, the Beer Battered Avocado taco. A wedge of avo, deep fried but not overcooked and mushy, is layered with shredded cabbage and a creamy tequila-jalapeño sauce. I could easily eat ten of those tacos, bathe in the tequila-jalapeño sauce and call it a night. Miss Petasatus had a burrito bowl (gluten and soy free of course) and sweet potato fries with a side of ketchup and Seabird sauce, a vegan thousand island dressing.

Then we headed inside Bootlegger’s (http://www.bootleggersbrewery.com/) to wash it down. Mr. Petasatus and I tried the Nitro Black Phoenix. I’m not sure what the “Nitro” meant but it was creamier than the regular version of the chocolate chipotle coffee stout. I think that means they charge it with sound vibrations. Try saying chocolate chipotle coffee stout five times after drinking a few pints of it. Since Miss Petasatus can’t drink beer she settled for more sweet potato fries. You can’t go wrong with more sweet potato fries.

On our way out I bought a vegan cupcake from the Seabirds Truck. At $3.75 it was a gamble and actually cost more than my half pint at Bootlegger’s. Made by Luscious Organic Desserts (http://www.lusciousorganicdesserts.com/), and are vegan and refined-sugar free. Their website also boasts gluten-free fare, so hopefully Seabirds starts carrying those as well. I ate my chocolate peppermint cupcake during our True Blood marathon (team Eric!). It was moist and had the perfect level of sweetness, the two most important factors in cupcakery.

I hope you all enjoyed my guest blog. Love me or throw rotten tomatoes in the comments, please.

Farmer's Market

2010-08-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Dear reader,

I am such a fortunate girl. I'm not trying to brag but how can I help it? I live in a city with 2 Farmer's Markets. What could be better? If only my work schedule allowed for attending both!!!

Please see below for the treasures that I was hunting at the Thursday Night Market in Fullerton.

Apples!

This fruit looks like it is radioactive, but I assure you it is just my marginal photography skills at work.

I wish I were eating these right now.

Cherry heirloom tomtoms.

I'll get you, my shallot, and your complex taste too!

These beautiful peppers had it comin'.

Then I arranged the rest of my loot on the dining room table!!!

Happiness = Mayur

2010-07-31T12:56:00.000-07:00

One of my family's favorite spots to gather for awesome cuisine is Mayur in Newport Beach. We gathered there recently to welcome my little sister back from her 1st year of college, and stuffed our fat little faces to the brim! The flavors are amazing there, everything except for a few items are naturally gluten-free (so I don't have to annoy my family by ordering this on the side, or that without such and such.) The ambiance is delightful, and we always have a good laugh about the reflection of a statue horse's posterior in the mirror above our favorite table. See, this place has everything: great food, built-in trashy jokes, wonderful service, and even a little bit of parking. Check it out!!!

1st Course - Onion Fritters

2nd Course - Mulligatawny Soup

3rd Course - Everything!!!! But this is Palak Paneer and Baigan Bhartha.

4th Course - Pistachio Ice Cream with Edible Silver on top, whoa!!!!!

Fighting Ferociously for an inFormed Fullerton

2010-07-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

Hey readers!
We just got a little press over at Friends for Fullertons Future. If you want to keep up with the latest carpet callouts and commentary on civic goings-on, this is THE place for you.

http://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2010/foodies-of-fullerton-arise-you-have-nothing-to-lose-but-your-waistlines/

It will keep you constantly informed, slightly irate, and very amused. What cracks me up about it is their ginormous readership. (I have it on good information that it is bigger than the subscription base of the Fullerton News Tribune.) See, fellow Fullertonians, what a tech savvy bunch we are!

So visit their site and represent!
~Kattus

Fullerton Tea Battle

2010-07-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Attention Fullertonians!

As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of Fullerton, CA. I live there, I was born there, I moved away to find better places to live and then moved right back because it IS the greatest place to live (at least for my purposes.) That being said, I like to support local, non-chain, Fullerton establishments. One example of that is the Veronese, an adorable tea house/garden on Commonwealth. It offers tons of interesting teas, snacks, meals, etc... as well as cute cozy spots to sit. I like it there, buuuuuuut, I am starting to consider them over priced and under delivering, when compared with.........

Drumroll please!!!!!

Tranquil Tea Lounge

Check out the gooey gorgeous presentation on the trio of Modern French Macarons!

It isn't as cozy, but the service is amazing, the tea is delicious, and the menu has less typos! All the things that make me happy are there (see below for tea and macarons) and they understand what I mean when I say "gluten free." I'm in love. I had a pot of the Carnaval tea blend, which is sweet, mellow and delicious.... and was constantly being refilled for free!!!! (FYI, said free refilling does NOT happen at the Veronese.)

By the way, neither of the establishments in question paid me to review them... in fact, I paid them! So I feel no regrets in saying that, as a consumer, when I want to blow money out my ears on tea and cookies, I'll probably go to Tranquil Tea Lounge.

So check it out. It is on Wilshire, just west of Harbor.
~Kattus

Kitchen Garden

2010-07-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

Dearly beloved,
Continuing the theme of staying fabulous whilst budgeting, I would like to recommend that you try to grow some plants! I have spent my whole life killing plants, leaving behind a gruesome trail of green goo. But with a few simple tricks to remind myself, I'm actually keeping some plants alive. And believe you me, there is NOTHING as awesome to add to a meal than something you have harvested from your own hard work... especially if it wasn't hard.

Lesson one was to keep the plants in the window by the sink. Then I remember to water and sun them!

Lesson two is to turn them (in their super cute containers) so that they get even sunning.

Lesson three is to prune them occassionally and to make up recipes to use them in!!!

And voila!

My gnome, Henry, in his favorite mater plant. Below: you can see the lovely mint forest inhabited by a GIGANTIC faux butterfly!

Entertaining Tip

2010-07-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Dear reader,
I wanted to take a moment to share with you my top tip for relaxed but elegant entertaining.
Never have too many matching items! If your dishes, silverware, napkins, table runner, apron and hair bow all match you look like you were vomited up by a Barbie Dreamhouse. (Of course, if that is your look, go for it.)

Here is what I like to do... I like to keep my color scheme in mind and yet keep things moving all the time. My color scheme for my patio is kelly green, geranium red, and glossy white, with bamboo wood. My color scheme inside is also bright with neutrals, but very few of the same colors. Soooo I go with lots of glass and silver (silver plate usually) on my table tope so that it works outside and in.

Below is a classic example. The table runner is actually a vintage calendar from a Chinese restaurant, the tableware is all glass, all fairly classic lines, and when thrown together for an impromptu dinner party looks pretty darn swanky!

Never have too many matching items, but do have fresh blackberried and homemade limecello from a fancy friend!!!

Vivre les Crepes

2010-07-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Mes amis!!!

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the land of gourmet food trucks, namely the exquisite glory of the "Crepes Bonaparte" catering truck. It docked in Fullerton at "Bootleggers" (not creating gluten-free beer YET but working on it!!!) and served up a gorgeous assortment of les crepes fantastiques!

For all you wheat eaters out there, you will enjoy the experience.
But all you lucky duck gluten/wheat free eaters will LOVE this... I mean, what's not to love... these are crepes after all!

This is a gluten-free crepe filled with Nutella! Yum. This wasn't one that I ordered, but I showed up as part of the Fullerton Gluten-Free Enclave and one of my girls ordered it.

Vegan wheat eater approaches truck with caution... is NOT dissapointed!

This is a very satisfied diner, about to stuff her face with 2 gluten-free crepes, one savory and one sweet.
(Close up on savory, below...)

This is a strawberry and ham (I know, sounds wierd, but just imagine it as an unfried & fresh Montecristo crepe).
As a sidenote - this was my 3RD CREPE!!!! OMG!

Now! This is your task... sign up for their facebook updates and follow them everywhere! For all you gluten-freers, be sure to ask them to use a separate griddle and utensils. They are not fully informed about gluten-free cooking (despite my email that I sent them recently) but they are very very nice and very accomodating. All the fillings were fresh and delicious, and the gluten-free crepes had the taste of a regular crepe. They were a little crispier than normal ones, but hey, you get to eat a crepe, for real.

Also, if you are a foodie in Orange County, you need to check this out too...
http://www.ocfoodiefest.com/

See you there!!!

Bon appetit!
Kattus

Yogurt Awesome!

2010-07-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

I have no true preference in the world of frozen yogurt. I like it all. As long as it is plain tart + fruit.

This happens to be a close up on my Yogurtland interaction and because I am a true food junkie/nerd I haaaaaaad to take a picture... or 2 (actually I took more, but these were the best.)

Enjoy!

PERFECT PANCAKESSSS

2010-07-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Best beloved,
Yes, it has truly happened. I made the perfect pancakes. They were gluten-free and a picky eating teenager didn't even know! Here is how it happened...

Recipe

3/4 C - Bob's Red Mill Pancake Mix
3/4 C - Bob's Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Mix
(because I ran out of pancake mix, by happy accident)
1 large egg
1 Tbl vegetable oil (I use Grapeseed Oil)
3/4 C milk (+ quite a lot more, you'll see)

Optional: 1/4 C coursely chopped dark chocolate!!!!

Directions

Whisk together the wet and dry ingredients and then add milk until your whisk gets unstuck. When it is the consistency of cake batter, you are ready to ladel it into a pan with hot melted butter and brown it up until they look like this!

The perfect pancakes in their natural habitat.

Once you cook them to the darkness that you like (watch them closely, they don't bubble on the side like regular pancakes) then kidnap them from the pan, add butter, butter, syrup, and butter for a truly sublime experience.

Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All my love,

Kattus

Bearnaise Revisited

2010-05-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

Dear reader,
As of last night, I think I have conquered the egg and butter sauce realm... I do not have any pictures, but, I think the end result will be inspiring enough that you will want to take your own. If you do, and send them to me, I will post them!

Be a good citizen and spread the fatty sauce obsession! Do this for optimum palate expansion and pleasure!

Ingredients for happiness/Hollandaise Sauce:
3 egg yolks, room temp
1 1/2 tblspoons room temp water
3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup cold butter cut into small cubes
salt & white pepper to taste
dash of parika for garnish

Directions for awesome-ness:
1) Bring an inch of water to boil in the bottom of your double boiler, reduce to simmer.
2) Off the heat, whisk your egg yolks and water in the top of the double boiler until its frothy.
3) Place the egg mixture in the top of the double boiler over the simmering water, whisk for 3/4 minutes until it thickens.
4) Continually whisking, slowly add the butter, lemon juice, salt & pepper.
5) Continue whisking until it is the thickness that you want to smother all over your.... well, probably everything, beginning with steak and asparagus and ending with vitamin pills.
6) Take off the heat and whisk to cool.
7) Eat it on everything!

(As an alternate, consider tarragon vinegar instead of lemon juice for a bearnaise!!! Fresh tarragon too!!!

Love and hugs ~ K

Happy Happy

2010-04-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to share two very special nuggets of happiness with you, best beloved.

I just saw "Addicted to Love" for the first time ever, thanks to Finski. I don't know how that escaped my previous notice, but it is going to stick with me for quite a while. In honor of Milky Way Man Mike, here is some information direct from the ~~horse's~~ goat's mouth.

http://www.faintinggoat.com/

The next happy happy is one of my alllllll time favorite anythings... it has made me laugh and smile every time I think about it, from the first time that I heard about it over 14 years ago.

You want to follow the link below this picture. Trust me.

http://www.freethegnomes.com/

I send you these thoughts with all my love.

Now do this immediately! Go get a cucumber, wash it, slice it into long thin strips. Douse it with balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle some course sea salt flakes on it.

Eat it.

You'll love it AND yourself.

True Altruism at Work in Schools

2010-04-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Although I usually try to investigate people and organizations that are busy making the world a better place, I get distracted by recipes for Béarnaise and by poison testing all the food being sampled at Costco… despite all this distraction I wanted to get down to brass tacks and share this wonderful organization because I am rarely moved by an organization as much as I am by this one. DonorsChoose.org is an organization that asks teachers to post their classrooms needs on this website. This information is then made available to people seeking to donate money for education. The money given is tallied and earmarked especially for the cause in question and when all the funds needed have been raised, DonorsChoose purchases the needed materials and sends them to the teacher. Voila!

The truly wonderful idea present here is that the classrooms are truly the ones who benefit. There is no messy process to chip away at the funding, and no complicated process for the donor. One other wonderful part of this is that you can sort the project funding requests by the poverty of the area the school is in, by the size of the request, and a few other ways too. Marvelous! Please consider utilizing this source (my teacher readers) and please also consider donating via www.donorschoose.org.

2010-04-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Happy nearly end of April! In honor of slimming down for summer white, linen pantsuits, and clingy filmy dresses, I would like to introduce you to my friend and yours... Bearnaise Sauce.

Don't get saucy with me, Bearnaise!!!!

This is a photo of my steak with my bearnaise to go on my yummy veggies... mine mine mine mine!!!! I think you get the point. Bearnaise is this amazing and creamy main dish that is so often pushed to the side as a difficult-to-prepare condiment. Bizarre how people can misconstrue it! Anywho, you can rifle through Julia Child's or James Beard's cookbook for recipes, there are plenty of way to approach it, but I suggest (this is not a "clinical" suggestion) that you go here and try all the different ways you can find and just have a Bearnaise Craze month of it!

Follow each trial and taste testing of it with this salad...

Best Salad Ever

1 bag butter leaf greens or 1 head of butter lettuce washed and pulled to yummy bits

3 tablespoons quality olive oil

1 tablespoon fantastic balsamic
1 clove minced garlic

1 Tablespoon dried tarragon
2-3 grinds of salt and pepper

Put your greens in a bowl and salt, tarragon, and pepper them while dry.
In a jar or bowl, shake or whisk together the oil, vinegar, and garlic.

Pour over greens and toss.

Eat it with an entree smothered in Bearnaise, et voila!

Corona del Mar Chic-tastic

2010-03-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is not a picture of a marshmallow!
The sunshine is finally here! So grab your dorky zinc sunblock, paint a couple of war paint-esque stripes on your face and head down to the beach, specifically Corona del Mar. (Please don't block the driveways of residents, only jerk-faces do that...) Enjoy the sun, grab a ~~Starbucks~~ coffee, walk through other people's beach photos accidentally-on-purpose, and then wrap it up with a break from the sun at the decidedly non-dorky Zinc Cafe. I love their subtly vegetarian spin where omnivores don't even realize the lack of meat because everything sounds amazing, and is! Shop recklessly in their small but mighty gourmet shop (at the CDM location only) and then you too can be the freak taking a picture of your repast on their patio.
Yes, there is an item not pictured above because I ate it prior to the photo... the fresh made vanilla marshmallow. A gorgeous 3"x3" square of sugar, sugar, and sugar, sparkling vainly whilst sporting sugar crystal bling. Basically, their marshmallows make store bought marshmallows look like A) a complete waste of time, B) sad and lonely albino corks, and C) puny and overpriced jackassery. You have NOT had a marshmallow until you buy one and eat it at Zinc Cafe. Yes, their quiche is great (I remember it fondly from back in my gluten-eating days), their espresso is delish, and their wine tastings are epic, well, in the littlest way that something can be epic, but screw all that, eat the marshmallows!

Cupcake Note

2010-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I wish everyone and their families a very happy Saint Patrick's Day and as a token of my love I am giving you a gluten-free cupcake. Well, actually just a picture of it, but you can have one too if you follow my instructions. (below) And yes, I know it isn't green, boo hoo, go eat it anyway and suck it up.

You can acquire this beautiful red-velvet cupcake at Babycakes NYC in Los Angeles. Now very quickly, go and get in your car and after getting careful instructions (there is another similarly named bakery in La Quinada, be careful) go here and buy all that will fit in your car. GO NOW!

I wish I could eat this again right now!

2010-03-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my dream lunch!

This is a sandwich... and yes it really happened! This is an avocado, clover sprouts, pepper jack, mayonnaise, Spike (best blended, store bought, multi-purpose seasoning ever), and Dijon mustard sandwich on gluten free bread!!! TOASTED! Oh God, please let this sandwich stop looking at me and fall onto my desk as I type this! I will do anything! Naturally I am as excited about the avocado and cheese as all getup, but the combination of textures is the truly ridiculous goodness of said sandwich.

Here is what you need to complete the scene above and below:

1 custom placemat - (I used a House of KWID textile. I used the back, because I like it too.)

1 tacky "pecan" stained pedestal table.

1 sandwich plate from IKEA

1 tray from IKEA (shocking!)

Many lemons and oranges from my favorite produce delivery service,

Sweet N' Fresh. Tell them I sent you!

While you are ordering from them, order avocados, sprouts and a pear.

Go to Henry's or Sprout's or any other local "Health Food" or "Natural Foods" store and

seek out Udi bread. Or order it here!!!

Pull out your fancy Olive Oil Mayo, and ask someone else to borrow

their Grey Poupon and SPIKE it up!

Then take lots of pictures of your table... comme moi!

(Golly I hope my neighbors don't watch me on my lunch break, I must look insane. I mean it's not that crazy when I take pictures of my food at restaurants, right? Finski does it too... oh and McCool, thanks for the sammy inspiration, all I added was cheese to your truly perfect creation.)

Here is my favorite way to keep my table top pretty (no I don't dust it, silly!) I decorate it! With beautiful seasonal fruits and veggies.

And just in case you missed it... THIS IS MY SANDWICH!

Mardi Gras, quite a phat affair.

2010-03-02T01:07:00.000-08:00

It has been ages since my last post... what HAVE I been doing? Well, there were the holidays, no food there... right? So mostly I have been eating my way through Southern California, focusing on Orange County, baked goods, and for the purposes of this post, Cajun awesomeness!

Hooray for Dirty Rice, Etouffee, and Jambalaya! Here are some semi-pornographic close up on said items. May I recommend Emeril's recipes, but do double the spices, it is worth it. Also, I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour mix as the base for my roux, and holy GF cannoli, perfection (and nobody noticed!!!)

I think the trick with Etouffee - aside from having a really patient, handsome, talented, and competent man around to do ALL your chopping prep - is to wait to the very very very last minute to put in the shrimp/seafood whatever.

I seriously dislike overcooked seafood, and it really takes only 5 minutes to cook 4 pounds of fresh shrimp. Oh yes, I added an extra pound of shrimp. (Sorry, Emeril, but I'm in charge in my kitchen!) But as my brother-in-law from Looosiana says, that is the main part people eat anyway, everyone purposefully leaves the sauce behind (that takes an hour to make!!!) and eats the 5 minute shrimp.

Ah well. I just pour it over my head in the shower anyway... was that too much information?

This was dessert, a true Red Velvet Cake, non Gluten-Free, so I ate....

wait for it.......

Well.. yes. They aren't cake, but they were purdy.

(Purdy lame compared to cake!)

Till next time, and it WON'T be as long, I promise!

Ta ta!

(Speaking of which, go here and buy something for your mother!)

Fruit Butters and Sauces in Oak Glen

2009-10-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

Oh and, I sampled ALL of these! I purchased "Fig Spread" and "Sweet Potato Butter" which I intend to feature at a dinner party soon. Here is what I recomend for Fig Spread!

SWEET CHEESY AWESOMENESS, A Study on Fat and Sugar.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 block "Frying Cheese" (call your local Trader Joes, they'll know)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 HEAPING spoonful Oak Glen Fig Spread

Directions:
Put Olive Oil in your non-stick pan, place on medium heat and throw in the "Frying Cheese." Brown on both sides and turn onto a plate. Spread the "Fig Spread" on the hot cheese, sprinkle on the almonds and bury your face in the melty goodness... I mean, um, elegantly serve it up to your friends for a nice baked brie alternative on crackers or baguette slices, or eat it with a fork like I do, when I'm not interested in scraping cheese off my face.
~KP

Oak Glen Produce

2009-10-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

This is how much of a a food geek I am, I took pictures of produce up in Oak Glen, not people. Although you can see my friend's feet in the upper right hand corner. ;) I hope you enjoy my uncensored avocados.

Apples! Ripe for the pickin'.

2009-10-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

Apples! Ripe for the pickin'.

I recently spent one of the most glorious final days of September eva eva, up in Oak Glen picking apples and geeking out over the beauty of nature. Pictured above you can see one of the apples in it's natural habitat before I relocated it (by twisting it off the tree, not pulling, I promise) to a gluten-free pie, chez moi, courtesy of my friend (baker extraordinaire) Finski.

Oak Glen, CA (Yucaipa/Redlands area) was burgeoning with juicy apples, salt-of-the-earth locals selling and sampling their produce. We hiked around through the apple orchard and drove through the quaint town. The touristy games and shopping areas left something to be desired, but we had an awesome lunch at Law's and some well earned beers at... wait for it... El Mexicano, and gorged on fruit butter in the first local market we could find... I don't think I have ever dropped so much money on apples in one sitting, or been so enamored with fruit! I highly recomend a trip up to Oak Glen, especially since coming home gives you a glorious view of the smog hovering over the LA basin! We were very satistfied by our mile high day!
~KP

Mr. Stox: Strongest Cocktails Ever!

2009-09-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last night I celebrated my birthday with my family at Mr. Stox in Anaheim. I'd never been before, but highly recommend it as a retrotastic fine dining eatery! At least I think I do... I know dinner was delicious, I sort of remember that... I remember ordering a Rusty Nail, commenting that it was the best one I'd ever had, and then we were out at valet going home. Oh yes, I also remember flashes of superb Kobi short ribs, a flourless chocolate cake (made with chocolate, eggs, sugar, and Cognac) and the restroom having a marble tissue box. That is all.

So here is my advice: go! Check out Mr. Stox... have your sugar-daddy or mamma take you there (just so you feel like you fit in) and do NOT order a cocktail, you will miss the entree and not appreciate your fabulous wine and champagne options. I'm really glad I took a picture of my dinner, because I sure don't recall any nuances from my fun night out. In fact, I think I was catty to my mother, which is not cool, considering especially that I wouldn't have a birthday to celebrate without her.

I have a whole slew of local (Southern California) good deed doers to research this weekend, and I plan to start sharing some of those soon, rather than posting pictures of every meal I ogle and devour.

Happy Food Thought of the Day: The Rusty Nail is a drink that has gone out of fashion, I'd like to take this moment to recommend it as a highly drinkable beverage, second only to its ingredients: Scotch (1.5oz) and Drambuie (.5oz) on the rocks.

Ciao for now! ~K

Ribs Anyone?

2009-09-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

I recently went out to eat at the Naples Rib Company, if you haven't been there you are SERIOUSLY missing out. The completely unassuming location and look of the place may not scream "Night on the Town" to you, that is until after you've been there. The menu is pretty simple... large slabs of various meat with all your classic BBQ sides, basically my favorite things aside from dessert. The wonderful thing is that they have a completely separate Gluten & Casein Free Menu complete with different sides, 12 entree options and even a kid's menu! Please note that I stole the picture of the slab of ribs above right off their website, I'd feel bad about it if I wasn't telling you to go there and stuff your face!

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Chip Pancakes

2009-09-16T00:27:00.000-07:00

Gluten-Free pancakes (can be made free of dairy/casein too) at the Original Pancake House in Anaheim, CA. These look like they'd kill me, but they saved my life in a low moment. Please note that not all Original Pancake House locations have gluten-free options, definitely call ahead. ~K

People Need a Little Happy

2009-09-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

I get absorbed into the stories presented in the media. If car accidents are reported on, I imagine all my loved ones in tragic accidents. If politicians are wicked, then so is everyone in a position of power. If hypocrisies are discovered, tragedies are soberly revealed, or animals are abused, I spend the rest of the week in a fog of distrust and emotional upheaval.

I have been called "overly-sensitive" and "thin-skinned," and this is definitely true. So I figure, if I can't handle the ugly truth about the world, it is my responsibility to insulate myself and get my happy on!

That being said, I want to share with the world some happy news and a few things that make me happy! I want everyone to feel the lasting glow of happies like the Peabody Ducks, or the existence of a website like Happy News.

Happy Food Thought of the Day - There are 789 "Creme Brulee" related recipes on Epicurious. God bless it!