[Check in this weekend for my round-up of my favorite food blogging of the week.]

One of these things is not like the others!

Yesterday I ate vegan and the only thing I really missed was cheese!

Throughout college and for years afterwards, I ate totally vegetarian. A bite of chicken didn’t enter my mouth for years. And while I’m not a huge meat-eater nowadays, I love fish and dairy, especially cheese. Also, I’m not really used to micro-managing what I eat, so scanning labels for even a hint of dairy wasn’t a natural fit for me. My main food concern, on a normal day, is to eat organic ingredients as much as possible and to avoid artificial ingredients, such as colorings and preservatives. I mainly shop at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

Yesterday, the day I decided to eat vegan, I was on the run all day, driving to work and appointments with hardly any time in between. Here’s what I put together for my day for vegan sustenance:

Breakfast – Red Bull and Kashi’s Autumn Wheat in a plastic baggie – I know it’s not good to eat on the go, but it was either this or starvation and with a long day ahead of me, I had to go the dry cereal route. I love Autumn Wheat, though, because it’s shredded wheat sweetened just a tad - crunchy and filling.

Lunch – Whole Foods Salad Bar – I love eating at Whole Foods. It’s the one of the few places where you can grab a quick and healthy meal to go. I wish they had a drive-thru! Yesterday, my first inclination was to grab some of their arugula salad with pine nuts and parmesan. But, no cheese for me on Vegan Day. So instead, I created a little bed of spinach and red leaf lettuce on which I put some Multigrain Tabouli (Japonica rice, brown rice, wheatberries, cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, and spices) and Golden Beet Couscous (Shallots, Beets, Israeli Couscous, and Spinach). It’s healthy, chewy, and delicious. I grabbed a bottled water and a vegan bar of dark chocolate that really scared me but turned out to be pretty tasty. My sister-in-law Lydia informed me that all dark chocolate is vegan. I never though about that…! Is that true?

I ate my lunch in the car while listening to Dr. Laura! I actually kind of like that solitary time. Is that weird?

When I got home a few hours later, I only had a moment to grab a quick snack of cranberry juice and brown rice cakes sweetened with buttery caramel. It was actually pretty delicious and satisfying. In fact, I might go have some now!

Dinner - A couple more hours of work and then my friend Amanda came over to watch our favorite show – America’s Next Top Model. I cobbled together a vegan salad culled from two Cooking Light recipes – Fruited Israeli Couscous and Citrus Couscous Salad. Basically, I liked the idea of the flavors in the Citrus salad, but I wanted to make it with Israeli Couscous, which I’d never cooked with before. The salad turned out fruity and satisfying, but the next day I didn’t like the way the Israeli couscous looked – more clumpy and solidified. I would definitely make this salad again some day, but I would stick with the traditional couscous, due to the consistency factor for leftovers.

Here’s the vegan recipe for Citrus Couscous Salad:

2 cups fresh orange juice
½ cup water
1 t salt
1 (10-ounce) package whole-wheat couscous (about 1 2/3 cups)
½ cup dried apricots, sliced
½ cup dried currants
2 T red wine vinegar
1 cup chopped seeded cucumber
¾ cup chopped green onions
½ cup coarsely chopped pistachios
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 T extra virgin olive oil

1. Bring 1.5 cups orange juice, water, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Place couscous in a large bowl.
2. Combine ½ cup orange juice, apricots, currants, and vinegar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Drain and discard cooking liquid.
3. Add apricot mixture, cucumber, and remaining ingredients to couscous, tossing to combine.

Makes 8 1-cup servings
Source: Cooking Light Magazine

So to sum up my day of living veganly, I actually enjoyed it and I felt rather healthy and satisfied. I’ve been wanting to take it easy on the cheese and crackers lately and I very rarely eat meat at home, so I guess I’m already more than halfway there.

Thanks, Amanda, for coming over and watching Top Model with me!

Tagged with: IMBB # 19 + Vegan

I wish I lived next door to Doughboys, so that I could eat there every weekend morning. But, next time I put on my tight pair of jeans, I’ll be glad that I live a good 100 miles away from this creative little breakfast joint!

We waded through the throngs outside the restaurant and put our name in with the hostess who told us it would be a 35-45 minute wait. That was fine with us, so we walked around 3rd Street, perusing the boutiques and checking out the Sunday morning scene.

To understand Doughboys, I think you just have to check out their breakfast menu.

It’s not a typical NY-style deli, but it’s not a standard hoighty-toity bakery either. It’s kind of hippie and granola-y, but yet it’s sophisticated and at the same time rooted in Southern home cooking.. It’s hard to explain. They use ingredients that I rarely come across in breakfast food, such as figs, polenta, kalamata olives, flax seed, mascarpone cheese, and pennette pasta. Their selection is overwhelming and the portions run beyond generous. But even though I knew I was ordering way too much food, I didn’t hold back because there were a few things I just had to try – even if it meant leftovers.

Hot Creamy Polenta with mission figs, dates, roasted pinenuts, and honey - $5.95 – With the all the fig talk I’ve seen on food blogs lately, I had to order this fascinating dish. While the polenta itself was extremely bland and required salt, the bites with dates were explosive and tasty. If I made this at home, I would put more of all the goodies and proportionally less of the polenta.

3-egg frittata with potatoes, portabello mushrooms, and asiago cheese, served with toasted sourdough walnut bread - $6.95 – I piled bitefuls of the frittata onto the walnut bread. The crispy bites with cheese were the highlights. The eggs turned a little brownish from the mushrooms. But the flavor was all there and yummy.

Here’s what my sister Amy and our friend Jaime ordered:

Scrapple with dirty eggs – Pan-fried grits and shredded pork with spiced eggs, carmelized onions, and potatoes. - $7.95 – My sister was happy as could be eating her favorite Doughboys dish and taking leftovers home for later.

Breakfast Sandwich and potatoes with bacon, cheese, and onions – $7.75 plus a side of potatoes - The sandwich has two slices of pan de mie, buttered and grilled with thick bacon, tomatoes, cheese, and fried eggs. Amy and Jaime picked and bickered over bacon pieces in the potatoes.

Listen to what my sister’s boyfriend Marcel usually orders at Doughboys:

P B C & B B - $7.75 – Two slices of pan de mie bread, chunky peanut butter, bittersweet chocolate, and banana. The whole sandwich is then dipped in egg batter, grilled, and served with homemade raspberry and vanilla bean dipping syrup. I think I gained 3 pounds (and much vicarious happiness) just typing these ingredients right now. I don’t think I’ll be able to resist that dish next time. Amy said Marcel makes a version of this sandwich at home on his George Foreman grill. Wowsa!

If you want to stuff yourself to the point where you feel like a living, breathing doughboy (or doughgirl!), this is just the place for you!

Doughboys Bakery
8136 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323.651.4202

I would have bet you a hundred dollars that I wouldn’t have liked this cookie very much.

But obviously, I should have trusted chef Nadia from my Voila! Del Mar cooking class to be able to get a choco-holic like me to ask for seconds of a cookie completely devoid of chocolate. I never would have thought it possible.

Baked in a tart pan and hand-broken to serve, the cookie was the perfect degree of crunchy, nutty richness, dusted with powdered sugar. As I’ve said before, I don’t drink coffee but this cookie almost made me want to start because I imagine the two would go so well together.

I think this is a fantastic recipe to have in your repertoire because it’s made with ingredients that you almost always have on hand. It’s also a great dessert for last-minute guests.

Don’t miss the rest of Nadia’s recipes from my cooking class with her.

Cornmeal and Almond Giant Cookie
(Sbrisolona)
Courtesy of Nadia Frigeri
Serves 6

½ cup yellow cornmeal
¾ cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1 t baking powder
Pinch of salt
8 T unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 t vanilla
Grated rind of lemon
1 cup almonds, finely chopped or ground
Powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, combine cornmeal with flour and salt. Mix to blend. Add butter, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, lemon rind, and almonds.
3. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch tart pan or springform pan. Transfer mixture into pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Nadia’s Notes

• Use a food processor to grind the almonds and sugar up separately so that they are very, very fine.
• You could also use hazelnuts instead of the almonds and/or orange zest instead of lemon so as to vary the flavors.
• After you put the mixture into the pan, you can refrigerate it until it’s time to bake. It should be served immediately.

[Blog Programming Note: I’m taking a break today from my series of reports on my L.A. food adventures of the past weekend. But, I won’t forget to tell you about Doughboys…]

Luna Park is a weird little place. They offer valet parking, but their prices border on cheap in light of the high quality. Epicurious.com calls it one of the best budget spots in L.A. The crowd and décor are decidedly funky and modern, but the menu highlights such tongue-in-cheek retro classics as fondue appetizers and s’more desserts. I couldn’t quite figure the place out, but I really liked it.

We dined at 9 p.m. on Saturday night, thanks to a quick and easy reservation made the day before through Open Table. We waited for one drink’s time at the bar – just a Malibu & Coke and Vodka Tonics for our party of three (myself, sister Amy, and friend Jaime). We loved how the drinks were garnished with silly little plastic animals. And it gave us something to play with all night!

Once seated, I got a chance to check out their intriguing large-scale artwork. Canvases with bizarrely indescribable creatures demanded my attention. I wish I’d caught the artist’s name. And next time, I’d love to get one of their cozy booths framed with velvety curtains. Can you make a special reservation for one of those? Anyone know?

My next cocktail was phenomenal - Hangar One Raspberry Lime Rickey with Fresh Raspberries and a Splash of Soda. Overflowing with fresh, crushed raspberries, I’d never drunk anything quite like it and I’ve had a ton of cocktails in my time!

Since I’d felt sick all day after accidentally ingesting a sleeping pill that I thought was a Tylenol (don’t ask!) I was starving and ready to throw any hint of moderation out the window. First up was Warm Goat Cheese Fondue with Grilled Bread and Sliced Apples, which was tangy and satisfying. We also began our meal with Grilled Artichoke with Lemon Aioli, grilled to perfection and full of flavor.

Next, I ordered the most mega-creamy, crazy-indulgent entrée I’ve ordered at a restaurant in at least ten years - Oven Baked Macaroni & Cheese and Broccoli with or without Neuske Smoked Ham. I know many people would disagree with my omission of the ham, but the dish was rich and dreamy enough vegetarian-style. I enjoyed every moment of this dish, especially the crunchy pasta shells coated with bread crumbs and freshly grated parmesan. The other cheeses were gruyere, white cheddar, and cream cheese. Holy crap it was good!

For some reason, I didn’t even mind that Jaime and Amy picked at my mac ‘n’ cheese quite a bit. I know it was irresistible!

As for my dining partners, they enjoyed the Grilled Flat Iron Steak with French Fries and Salsa Verde and a green salad. Everyone was happy, but sadly too full to try the Make Your Own S’more: Molten Marshmallow and Bittersweet Chocolate, House Made Graham Cookies. Believe me – we regretted this decision severely the next day. I guess there’s always next time!

As for the bill, I actually had to leave before it came, so I don’t know the total. I will try and get that information soon and add it in.

Thanks to the Chowhound crew for discussing this restaurant and bringing it to my attention. It was a great night – interesting food done well in a fun atmosphere. I hope to be back some day!

Luna Park
672 S. La Brea (near Wilshire)
Los Angeles, CA 90036
tel: 323.934.2110

The next report will be on Doughboys for breakfast!

In an effort to make the time pass more quickly until my beloved husband returns from a business trip to Asia, I spent the weekend in Los Angeles with my little sister. Even though I attended U.C.L.A. I don’t know the city very well at all. I didn’t have a car while I was a student due to super-high parking fees and scarcity of street parking. It worked out fine at the time since everything a 20-year-old needs is on campus - pizza, Taco Bell, and endlessly-refilled sodas.

But, now I’m older, car-equipped, and an enthusiastic new food blogger. There’s no way I’d be satisfied with dorm food today. I ate like a queen this weekend and loved every calorie of it!

First stop – Matsuhisa. As you may have gathered, Nobu Matsuhisa is my favorite chef in the whole world. I’ve been to the Nobu in Las Vegas 5-6 times and the Nobu in Tokyo once and each evening has been one of the happiest food days of my life. This past Friday night, I finally got to experience the other half of my favorite chef’s culinary offerings to the world – Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills.

I always assumed that since the name was different, the menu would be a change from what I’m used to at Nobu. However, the choices were remarkably similar. I can’t decide whether that’s good or bad. On the one hand, I got to eat my favorite dishes. While on the other hand, I was looking forward to some new flavors and presentations that I haven’t experienced before.

Since my sister had to work that night – we missed you, Amy! – my friend Jaime and I stopped by the restaurant around 9 p.m. without reservations. We were the last people seated for the night, but the maitres d’ made us happy and comfortable as we waited, bringing us glasses of Pinot Noir.

Once inside, we ordered a bottle of mango sake which came in a beautiful serving pitcher with a little nook holding ice that kept our beverage cold without watering it down. We poured mango sake for each other into little 1-ounce sipping glasses. I’d never had fruity sake before, but it was delicious and the perfect accompaniment to some of the citrus-y flavors that Nobu highlights on his menu.

Jaime was gracious enough to let me choose most of our order, and I basically picked my normal Nobu faves. Here’s what we got:

• Sashimi Salad – Perfect tuna sashimi surrounds a mound of leafy mixed greens with just the right amount of tangy dressing

• Kobe Tataki Sashimi – I don’t think I’ve eaten anything tastier than Kobe Beef Sashimi. I wish everyone in the world could enjoy the pleasure of these tender-as-butter little cubes of heaven. Slightly seared, pink and juicy… see what heaven looks like:

• Shiitake Mushroom Tempura – Two pieces of crispy mushroom with a traditional tempura dipping sauce.

• Yellow Tail Jalapeno Sashimi – One of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, with good reason. Just the right amount of spicy kick with a tangy drizzling of sauce.

• Tuna Tataki with Cilantro Dressing – A mildly flavored, bright green dressing complements the tender textures of tuna. Next time, I’ll have to remember that this dish is pretty similar to the Sashimi Salad, so I don’t need to order both. That frees me up to try something new!

• Bento Box Dessert – An exquisitely rich dark chocolate treat served in a deep red and black bento box. Once the lid is removed, you just have to dig right into the piping hot cake and vanilla ice cream. The best!

The Damage: It was $205 for 2 people, including tax and tip. That included 2 glasses of Pinot Noir and the Mango Sake for 2 and all of the dishes mentioned.

I’m a San Diego girl, through-and-through. While I attended U.C.L.A. I never really understood how people could live in Los Angeles after college. But after the amazing culinary adventures I enjoyed this weekend in La-La-Land, my heart is warmed to this huge city whose restaurants almost certainly dwarf what’s available in San Diego. So, I’m glad I can visit my sister and enjoy the world-class restaurants the city offers.

My other big meals were at Luna Park and Doughboy’s. I’ll fill you in on those delicious experiences throughout the week.

I hope you ate well this weekend, too! Have a great week!

Matsuhisa

129 N. La Cienega
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310-659-9639

P.S. The path to the restrooms runs through the hectic kitchen rooms. Since Robert DeNiro is an investor in Nobu’s restaurants, the halls are lined with DeNiro’s movie posters.