Chez Panisse

This morning I did a quick work out in the lovely fellas apartment gym.  It was so nice to use a gym again!  I wish I lived in an apartment building that had a gym!  Then we headed to Oakland for the lovely fella’s dentist appointment.  The appointment was a quick check up (took literally 5 minutes), then we had a quick lunch in Emeryville.

We had a few hours to kill before out dinner at Chez Panisse!  So we went to every Marshall’s in the Bay Area looking for these red pumps that I’m dying to get.  Every place has them, none in my size!  Breaking my heart!

On to Chez Panisse… Chez Panisse is Alice Waters’ restaurant in Berkeley.  In the four years I lived in Berkeley I never went because it’s a bit pricey.  We went to the Cafe (as opposed to the restaurant downstairs).  The menu changes daily so we didn’t know what to expect when we got there.  According to the menu, their “produce, meat, poultry, and fish come from farms, ranches, and fisheries guided by principles of sustainability,” which is an added bonus!

We arrived and were served some bread to enjoy with our wine.  Very tasty!

I started with the “Baked Andante Dairy goat cheese with garden lettuces.”  Oh goodness… this was DELICIOUS!  This may have been my favorite thing all evening.

The lovely fella got the “Sunchoke and celery with white truffle oil.”  This was very delicious as well.  Nice and creamy.

For my entree, I got the “Fried butternut squash bondas with Indian spices, chickpeas, cauliflower, and mint raita.”  This was a fantastic flavor combination.  The mint raita made everything especially delicious.

The lovely fella got the “Soul Food Farm coq au vin with pancetta, chanterelle mushrooms,
and hand-cut noodles.”  I tried some of the mushrooms and noodles.  This was OUTSTANDING!  If I ate meat, I would definitely order this!

For dessert, we shared the “Hachiya persimmon pudding with bourbon cream,” along with some coffee.  This was the perfect end to the meal, not too heavy and not too sweet but oh so good!

Chez Panisse was everything I expected it to be and more!  I swear I’ve been talking about this place for year!  Thanks lovely fella for taking me 🙂  (He’s a Chez Panisse veteran.  He’s been with his familia many times!)

Tomorrow we’re going to San Francisco to meet up with some friends and hopefully enjoy the city and the day!

Have a great night!

Balance Out the Sweet

I woke up this morning to find a package had been delivered for me!

My friend Sara sent me biscotti she made!  It’s absolutely delicious!  Chocolate cherry with nutty goodness!  I had to have a piece with my coffee!  Soo good!  Thanks, mam!

I can never get my biscotti to taste that good.  Must be her Italian-ness that makes it so good!

My banana bread was also ready so I had to try a piece of that too to make sure it was edible.

Not bad. I’ve made better.  (I’m kind of a tough judge when it comes to my own baking/cooking)

To balance out all that sugar, I had a green monster for breakfast (or really kind of second breakfast since I ate so many things this morning haha). I enjoyed this while watching Beyonce Revealed on E!  Thank you E! for feeding by obsession!

I’m going to the Bay Area tonight!  Woo!  I can’t wait!

Shopping, Chinese and Bananas

I’ve been a bum all day long.  I’m going to confess that I’ve been re-watching season 2 of True Blood because I finished the Sookie Stackhouse series.  Apparently I can’t get enough… or maybe I’m just super bored…

After watching about 4 episodes and admiring Alexander Skarsgard, my mom and I went shopping.  I got a cami and a sparkly sweater!

Then we met up with my Dad for some Chinese food.  We have gone to this place since I was a little girl.  All the people in the restaurant know my parents, and every time I go they all ooh and ahh at how old I am.  It’s kind of funny.

Then I came home and started on Banana Bread!  My mom doesn’t really like sweets but she loves banana bread.  So I figured I would make some.  At the grocery store, I found one of those giant bags of overripe bananas, which was perfect!

I decided to use the recipe on the side of the bag.  I’ve found that recipes on the sides of boxes/bags/containers are usually good.  Tried and true, I guess.

The best part about baking at home:

The house is starting to smell like banana goodness!

The rest of the night I’m packing!  Tomorrow I’m headed up to the Yay Bay Area to spend a week with the lovely fella.  I can’t wait!

Have a great night!

Birthday Celebration!

I intended to make a recipe last night!  However, it was my friend Talia’s birthday today so a few of us went out celebrate her birthday along with my friend Jessica’s whose birthday was the 24th!

We went to a cute Mexican/Salvadorean restaurant called Gloria’s where I had a delicious pupusa with beans and plantains (as if I haven’t had enough fiber today…more beans… lord help me!).  It was delicious!

I also got them a cake (because what good foodie friend wouldn’t!?).  Sadly the bakery section of the grocery store was closed at 9:00pm so I had to write Happy Birthday on the cake myself.  I got creative using a zip lock bag instead of a piping bag and some strawberry jam instead of icing (hard to do since jam is chunky!)…It kind of worked…

The cake was completed with a Bratz candle…

Happy Birthday Talia and Jessica!!

In other news…

Anna, Suzanne and Gina passed on the beautiful blogger award to me!  I’m so excited!  Thanks ladies I think you’re all fabulous too (am I allowed to nominate you too!?!?  Probably not right?  I would though!!)

So I am to post 7 random things about me and nominate 7 other lovely bloggers.

Here it goes….

1. I’m 5’3″ (or maybe 5’2.5″… I think the nurse lied at my last doctor visit…) but I wear a size 9 shoe!  Makes no sense!

2. I love red wine!  I learned to love it in Argentina, where I volunteered at a school for a few months.  I’m by no means a connoisseur.  I just love it all!

3.  I’m not a huge music fan (go ahead… gasp away…).  I like rap/hip hop music, but I really only listen to music while I exercise and occasionally while I cook so I like it to be upbeat.  The exception to this rule is Cat Stevens, whom I love with all my heart.

4. I’ve wanted a pet pig for as long as I can remember.  One day I will have one!

5.  Beyonce is my idol.  I wish I could shake it like her!  Also, I want her butt!

6.  I would love to be a cardio kickboxing instructor but not sure how to go about doing so.  I think I would teach a great class!

7.  Taylor Lautner (aka Jacob from Twilight/New Moon) went to my rival high school… many years after I graduated… but may or may not still live in my hometown… who knows?

My beautiful blogger nominees are:

Betsy, Erin, VeggieGirl, Betty, Coco, Lauren and Karin

Have a fantastic day!

Lunch & The Biggest Gift Basket in the History of Mankind

As promised, I lounged around all morning.  Around 12:30, I started getting hungry and started formulating a wonderful creation in my head.  I really wanted vegetables so the star of my lunch was broccoli!

I started with some steamed broccoli and plain quinoa

Then I topped it with black beans and a dollop of sour cream.  Sorry about the bean overload on this blog but…

This was DIVINE! As I was eating the last bite I thought some hot sauce would have made this even better.  Oh well, next time!

Dessert came in the form of this gift basket. Before going to work my dad broke open this puppy…

I ate the whole thing!

Just kidding!  I made some tea (Peet’s Winter Solstice Tea!! Sooooo good!)

and enjoyed a few Godiva Dark Chocolate covered pretzels.  Yum!!

Luckily a lot of the things in the basket don’t look that good.  But these pretzels are pretty delicious!  Back to my book and maybe some Food Network (I ❤ Giada and Ina!).

Tonight I’m making another recipe for my December Recipe Challenge!  Have a great afternoon!

Food Buzz 24, 24, 24: 12 hungry guests + 12 course meal = 24 great things!

I was so excited when Food Buzz chose me to be part of their 24, 24, 24 this month!  So for my meal, I decided to make a 12 course vegetarian meal inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas!  I invited a bunch of friends over and as soon as I got back to Los Angeles on Thursday I started preparing.

Keeping in line with my December Recipe Challenge, this meal was entirely vegetarian and tried to include any many vegetables as possible, while still tasting delicious!  I tried out new recipes and made up a few of my own!

Here’s how the evening went:

Thanks to the help of my wonderful sister, I set up the table to reflect the holiday spirit! Complete with decorative menus!

Then after the guests arrived, the first two courses were standing appetizers wine we all mingled.

12 Drummers Drumming: Vegetarian Drumsticks


Talia obviously is one of those 12 drummers!

11 Pipers Piping: Cheesy Puff Pipes


Tim knows how to work that pipe!

Then we were ready to sit down to dinner…

10 Lords A-leaping:  Leaping Lentil Salad


I wore many hats… cook, waitress, eater…

9 Ladies Dancing: Flamenco Favas


8 Maids A-Milking: Creamy Artichoke Soup


7 Swans A-Swimming: Spaghetti Swimming in a Special Sauce


6 Geese A-Laying: Quiche

5 Golden Rings: Pineapple Ring Salad


4 Calling Birds: Cauliflower Gratin


3 French Hens: Savory Crepe



2 Turtle Doves: Turtle Clusters

Of course no meal is without at least one mishap!  My caramel turned out a little bit too hard…

We all had a good laugh 🙂  Still tasted good and if you broke a tooth, you were in a house full of dentists!

A Partridge in a Pear Tree: Pears in Red Wine

A 12 course meal for 12 people made entirely by me!  I can’t believe I pulled that off!  That was definitely the ultimate recipe challenge!

It was a ton of work but totally worth it!  Thanks Food Buzz for this great opportunity!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Groceries Galore

I love grocery stores.  I often to go the store just to walk around.  Yesterday I actually had a purpose.  So I spent the entire day running around grocery stores and it was great!

Stop #1: Vallarta, Latino grocery store.  Cheap produce!  Woo!  I missed these latino grocery stores! (There was an entire cooler filled with lard!  I should have taken a picture of it!)

Stop #2: Costco.  I fully intended on getting a frozen yogurt (I’m obsessed) but there were so many samples that I was sweeted out by the time I left!

Stop #3: Vons.  Few extra things I couldn’t find elsewhere…

Whilst at Vons I found this treat!

I love anything pumpkin flavored so I had to get it.  It was delicious as expected.

Today is another busy day!  Getting ready for my big event!  Woo!

Are you a fan of grocery stores? or do you like to get out quick?

The Lady Has Spoken

Liz has chosen her birthday cake of choice!

She chose the Red Velvet Cupakes submitted by Laura.  Laura is actually my sister so I won’t be sending her anything special (dont’ worry Laura, I’ll be sending you myself in a few days!).

Liz’s second choice however (which sadly I did not make today) was the Cinnamon Babka submitted by Gina so I’ll send her the something special I had planned to send the winner.  Gina, please e-mail me (foodologie00@gmail.com) your info so I can send you a treat!

Thanks to everyone for submitting recipes!  I think Liz enjoyed getting to choose!

On to the cupcakes… These were DELICIOUS!  You all seriously need to try this recipe.  They were divine!  The crushed candy cane on top adds a great crunch and isn’t chocolate and mint just the best combination?!?!

The party hasn’t started yet but my roommate and I tried one because we couldn’t resist had to make sure they were eatable.

I’ll be back with Ugly Sweater pictures!

Have a wonderful night!!

Purely Delicious

Did you know: Ice cream sundaes were invented in Ithaca, NY!

In honor of that, and the fact that my friend Sara quit her waitressing job, a few of us took a study/paper-writing break and went to Purity Ice Cream!

This place is like the ultimate sweet shop!

They also had Legos to play with!  So we reverted to 3 year old status…

Sara and I shared a Brownie Sundae with Goose Traks and Bulldog Crunch!  Mmm delicious!

Obviously we hated it…

On to a long night of paper writing!  Wish me luck!