This Sheep Is Hungry!

Black Cat Bakery

2011-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Can't say I was ever a big fan of Mani's, although I was rather surprised that they had closed. Black Cat suddenly sprung up in its place, I read the reviews on Yelp and decided it was a must-try. After my usual Saturday morning cardio kickboxing class (also a must try at LA Fitness @ 9:45 on Wilshire), it was time to make my way over for the Black Cat! From the moment I walked in, I knew (or at least hoped) that I'd love it. The staff is friendly, the decor is warm, and the pastries look like those stop-you-in-your-tracks-and-break-you-down type. I ended up ordering their Bi Bim Bap farro dish and one bite in, I'm already fantasizing of my next visit. Definitely not your traditional Korean dish, but the combination of the vegetables (mushrooms, swiss chard, tomatoes and asparagus) with fresh burrata, a sunny side up egg and farro is brilliant. The one downside? They're only open from 8-4 daily.

519 S Fairfax
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323)932-1500

A Black and Blue Pie

2011-03-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling uninspired and a 'lil blue lately, probably because I haven't had much "me" time. But this morning I woke up to the sound of light rain, a bit hopeful for what's to come. Not that there are any grand plans, or an event taking place; just a quiet moment before the cup 'o joe. Today was the day I'd get back in touch with myself and concentrate on what I think I've lost over the past year or so. That passion and zest I used to hold closer to my heart, so what a better way than to bake my way through this transition? So, off I went to my weekly trip to Trader Joe's, not sure of what I'd be making but I did have a craving for pie. Thought the blackberries and blueberries were quite fitting for curing the blues. I took my time with this pie, an all day event. I started with the crust, after a wonderful soak in the hot tub with the rain coming down. Inspired. My cat, Kisa, loves to sit on a mini ladder in the kitchen watching the action.Not having found the perfect crust recipe yet, I tried a new one that used apple cider vinegar. In the past my crusts were good, but never that flakey perfection I've been trying to crack. So I took my time with it, used the food processor but only pulsed it about 10 times, and kneaded the rest by hand.Next I made a batch of freshly whipped cream. In my opinion, this beats the heaviness you get with ice cream and I like being able to control the sweetness. I tend to not likes things too sweet and usually lessen the amount of sugar significantly. My favorite ingredient to add to cream? Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste, that I got a Surfas or you can also buy it online at Amazon. There's nothing like those delicious specs of vanilla to make your Sunday a little better. The pie was compiled, put into the oven and just like life, it came out a bit messy. To be honest, more like pie soup. Crust was amazing, buttery and flakey. However the berries took a beating, maybe they just represent what I've gone through in the past year or so. But I suppose life is never just based on aesthetics, it's what's on the inside that counts. And let me tell you, this pie was delicious.

Culver City Farmer's Market

2009-08-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Although I've perused the Culver City Farmer's Market in the past, it was always quick trips; not really being able to take in the sights (funky people), sounds (homeless musicians) or taste (too many to list). Today was the first day it really felt like summer and it was the perfect day to explore the market. To be honest, I was really craving Carmela's Ice Cream but they were no where to be found! If you are ever lucky enough to run into them, there are two flavors you should try - cucumber (it may not sound appealing but it was clean, fresh and sweet) and the salted caramel. Oh my! Anyway, the produce today looked and smelled as if we hit that first perfect day of summer so I ended up buying a few heirloom tomatoes, white peaches, strawberries and even a mango-flavored nectarine (still a mystery). And tonight I came home and made myself a really simple Insalata Caprese. Although I almost ate the tomato alone. It was hands down, the best and sweetest tomato I've ever had.

June Anti-Gloom

2009-06-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

June has felt like fall this year...a bit cold and overcast, but I have to say I kind of like it probably because I don't feel ready for summer yet. This morning was perfect. Clean, crisp sheets to lounge around in with a cool morning breeze sweeping through the room; the kind of morning that you don't ever want to leave. After a warm cup of coffee, I looked in the fridge and realized I had a bunch of blueberries and raspberries feeling neglected wondering if they would ever have any use in this life. So I decided to whip up a batch of muffins. It was a new recipe that I hadn't tried yet, simple and to the point. No fussy ingredients that I needed to leave my house for (i.e. buttermilk or sour cream) which was key on a morning like today. The result? Buttery, moist on the inside and slightly crisp on top. Quite a delightful Sunday morning start.

What?! It's been a year?

2009-06-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you're counting sheep. Yes, it's been over a year since the last post and my excuse? Primarily a wedding. Last November, Monte and Marlene tied the knot in Hawaii and although the planning is over it was nice to kick it into cruise control for a bit, to just relax and soak in the normalcy of life. No details to worry about, colors to pick or family drama. Also took a trip to Italy (post to come soon). But I'm back, this year is about now and I'm looking forward to it (even if I am starting in June).

For Goodness Cake!

2008-06-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Happenstance. Thanks to Miki, Daryl and I got a catering gig through one of her co-workers who also happens to be an event planner. The event was for a girl's 13th birthday party, with a budget hefty enough to challenge a small wedding. The theme was New York (my favorite city!) and we were tasked to bake mini cheesecakes, raspberry tarts and mini black & white cookies for 50 guests. We tried to keep everything classic New York but it was a bit challenging since we enjoy experimenting with our own unique twists. Our specific direction for the cheesecakes were to make them appear that they were baked individually. Puzzling. There was no way we had enough of a budget to purchase 50 mini-springform pans. Instead we baked two ginormous (biggest we've seen) cheesecakes and used a cake cutter to create the minis. The raspberry tarts were probably my favorite, we did a pistachio crust with a light (think fluffy) creme fraiche filling - we didn't want them too heavy because of the cheesecakes. Finally after 2.5 days of baking, decorating and washing dishes we happily boxed the goods and off they went! Sigh. It was nice living out my dream for week.

Milk Money

2008-05-26T11:51:00.001-07:00

Daryl and I are both enjoying an unexpected "vacation" so we decided to pretend like we were Whitney and LC from "The Hills." Go ahead, laugh all you want. In true Hills fashion, we headed to Milk on Beverly to spend the Milk Money Daryl received on his recent birthday. With so many sweets to choose from, we had a difficult decision on how to quench our (ahem) vacation woes. We ended up getting gelato sandwiched between french macaroon cookies and a blueberry danish. This was no ordinary danish, it had a cake-like consistency on the inside similar to a blueberry muffin and surrounded by a perfectly crisp pastry crust. I guess not so Hills like after all...wouldn't they just get a salad?

MILK
7290 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.939.6455

Finally, I wasn't left behind!

2007-10-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, she finally remembered to take me to New York City; her favorite city in the world. We took an exhausting red eye and sat in front of an obnoxious woman who claimed she had "bad knees" therefore needed to stretch (kick) me every 10 minutes of the 5 hour flight. Not only did she make the flight physically uncomfortable but she also had two (yes that's 2) cats with her. To make matters worse, she strikes up an extremely loud conversation with her aisle-mates; a photographer and a model-Page Six columnist-Puma fashion designer (yeah, no joke). Their loud conversation then turned into a ridiculous photo session (with the model and two cats of course!); it was flashing, directing madness! Now, that's a red eye.

Happy Birthday Mari!

2007-10-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Mari's birthday at Cobras and Matadors Monday (October 15th) night. Wine flowed as we dined on delicious small plates and chatted in the candlelight. Romantico! And then there was cake. A princess cake! I knew this one of Mari's favorites, man was I nervous! Especially since I've never made one before and have only had this cake a couple of times. It's basically a couple layers of a genoise with raspberry and custard, encased in fresh whipped cream and marzipan. Of course I had to make a marzipan Humphrey (her adorable bulldog) which I've heard is now living in the freezer. Humphrey forever!!! And of course, after I had already assembled the cake, I realized I was supposed to mix some of the custard with whipped cream. Live and learn. But it didn't turn out so bad afterall and was actually easier then some of the french buttercream cakes I've done in the past. Happy Birthday Mari! Also a quick shout out to Megan (October 10th), Leila (October 13th) and Todd (October 19th). October babies rule!

GRUB

2007-09-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered Grub after searching on Yelp for a Los Angeles restaurant that serves a good bowl of tomato soup - a recent, but still unsatisfied, craving. I didn't make it to Grub for lunch but enjoyed an early Sunday morning breakfast there last week. It's in a completely random location and looks like a house serving breakfast on the corner. Actually it reminded me a lot of the Glenwood in Eugene, Oregon. The entire staff was friendly and welcoming, including the owners who took time to visit every table. Betty Fraser, one of the owners was on Season 2 of TOP CHEF. Unfortunately, I've never watched this season but am addicted to this Season's. Anyway, I struggled with deciding between the bacon, cheddar and tomato scramble and the Friggin' Amazin' French Toast...I went with the scramble. It was truly one of the better egg dishes I've had in Los Angeles, although I think it was mostly due to the bacon. Mmmmmm, this bacon was sweet and slightly salty. And the dish came with roasted potatoes that were seasoned to perfection. They didn't even need any additional salt or ketchup (which I ALWAYS tend to reach for). Grub has definitely made it to my list of favorites in Los Angeles. On my next visit, I'm ordering the Afterschool Special.

GO DUCKS!

2007-09-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Duck, Duck...Sheep!

2007-09-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

We had (a bit sporadically) decided to visit Eugene after watching ESPN commentary on how strong Oregon was looking this year. I typically don't like to believe the hype, especially since the Ducks have let me down in the past, but my mama wanted to take me to her old stomping grounds at the University of Oregon. We drove down from Portland along the Oregon coast, to take in all the beauty Oregon has to offer. After yet, another long drive, we arrived in Eugene which is a ghost town (typical of college towns) when school's not in session. However, Marlene was happily filled with nostalgia of her good 'ol college days. The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the garden at The Glenwood, it's also priced for students which sweetens the deal! Although Eugene was a ghost town when we arrived the night before, the town was suddenly filled with Duck fans everywhere! Exciting! We explored the campus and loaded up on Duck gear for the game, which we still didn't have tickets for. However, we luckily scored tickets right outside of Autzen stadium and had the opportunity to enjoy half of the game. Sadly, we had to jump in the car for the long haul up to Seattle. But of course we couldn't leave Eugene without having a slice of Track Town Pizza on game day! Some of the best pizza I've ever had...

The City of Roses

2007-09-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

After a long drive down from Vancouver, we were greeted at Portland with HOT summer weather. We checked into The Benson Hotel which I'd recommend to fellow travelers, mostly because they have free wine tastings and live jazz! Our first destination was Powell's (amazing) bookstore where I probably spent an hour in awe, especially in the cookbook section! We finally settled on dinner at the Thai Peacock where I enjoyed one of the most delicious vegetarian meals I've ever had. The next morning we walked to the Pearl Bakery where we engulfed scrumptious danishes which I highly recommend you try if you're in town. Dreamy. In order to burn off some of our mass cosumption, we walked around the trendy 23rd street (take advantage of no sales tax!) and drove up to the Rose Garden...I'm aware I'm glowing and in need of a tan, but check out the scenery behind me! Oregon is absolutely gorgeous in the summer! After stopping to smell the roses, we took a short drive to Beaverton to meet with brand new mommy, Kristen and little baby Audrey Cox! And ended the day catching up with one of my mama's old college friends, Heather. So fun!

Oh! Canada

2007-08-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

What is there to say about Canada? Ohhhh! Canada! Well, the ride up from Seattle was nice and easy. We stopped in Richmond for dim sum - thanks to cousins Tracy and Matt for the recommendation. And then we were off to the big city, or so we thought. Our directions told us to get off in the suburbs...I couldn't even see the city from the exit! We tried to laugh it off, but on the inside we were all worried. It seemed like an eternity, mostly because they were doing construction the ENTIRE way (no joke)!
Fortunately, once we arrived at our hotel we realized it was just a bridge away from the city. In my personal opinion, Vancouver is like a sleepy Sydney. A REALLY sleepy city. The people seemed to take awhile to warm up to, but once they opened up they were quite nice. The next day we drove up to Mount Whistler, again an extremely long (but breathtaking) drive thanks to construction. Talk about preparing for the 2010 Olympics! Golly gee. We finally made it to the top about 3 hours later and enjoyed Poutine - thanks to Sho's recommendation. It sounded pretty nasty, french fries with cheese curds and gravy. It looked nasty. But we loved it! Maybe because it was cold and we were hungry but they were awesome. Definitely a must have if you're visiting. We made our way back into the city and enjoyed our last meal at a Greek restaurant, Kalamata Greek Taverna. It was, quite possibly, the best Greek food I've ever had. I would go back just to eat there. Every bite was better than the last. And the Greek salad was simple - tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olive oil and feta, but that was by far, the best feta I've ever had. They also served gigantic pita bread, I believe they were whole wheat, warm, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I'll leave you with that thought...

Kalamata Greek Taverna
478 Broadway W
Vancouver, BC V5Y 1R3
604-872-7050

Sam The Little Man

2007-08-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sam clearly took a liking to me! Sam is hilarious and quite the entertainer. He gives out the "knukles" to greet you, absolutely LOVES Beckham...although I think it's mostly because he can say his name. Beck-em. Beck-em. Beck-em. His "please" comes out as "ssssssssssee" and he loves to dance! He must get that from his Aunty Marlene. As soon as he hears any type of music, his foot starts tapping and his head starts bobbing. It's quite the site to see. Beck-em. Check out some of his faces below...

Seattle

2007-08-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

After a long day of traveling, with a stop and delayed flight in Utah, this Sheep landed in Seattle. We started off visiting the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks to see the salmon ladder. Unfortunately, it was rather uneventful. I'm assuming the salmon (like humans) like to relax on Sundays because we didn't see one salmon make it up the ladder. Although, once we made it down to the viewing room (as you'll see in the first picture) a bunch of salmon were just enjoying the lazy Sunday summer morning. Sheepy!
We then drove over to Pike's Place and enjoyed the Summer Sunday market where we saw amazing chili wreaths, beautiful flower bouquets (cheap too!), tasted fresh peaches and of course enjoyed the famous Pike's Market. The flying seafood and singing fishermen were kind of scary. Moving onto one of my favorite finds in downtown Seattle were the pigs, my homies from the farm. There are a ton of pigs just hanging out on the sidewalks. They looked a bit lonely, so I found a brief summer fling (pictures not included) and also befriended the Money Pig, his fancy threads were made of pretty pennies and he took in the fabulous sheep vision before him with dollar bill eyes. We then took a walk down to Pioneer Square where I think I saw a bunch of my old relatives stacked on a pole? By this time we were pretty wiped out. It's a lot of action for a little thing like me. Off we went to meet the extended Arakaki family for dinner. We met at Ray's Boathouse Restaurant for an early munching session. I began with the Chilled Sungold Tomato Soup with dungeness crab. I moved onto the Grilled Southeast Alaskan Halibut as the main entree. And of course, I couldn't say no to dessert - Chilled Peaches & Cream. Everything was fantastic! As always, I enjoyed catching up with the Arakaki's, but I still didn't get enough quality time with the newest addition, Sam. Sam is the man!

The Next Journey

2007-08-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving sunny Los Angeles in two days and traveling north to Seattle, Vancouver and Oregon. So many things to see!!! Stay tuned!

Pinkberry

2007-08-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Pinkberry was (perhaps still is) all the craze in Los Angeles. People love it, people hate it. My old co-worker lived on the street of the original Pinkberry, and if that means nothing to you, you need to read this LA Times article. I have another friend who simply refuses to even try Pinkberry because she's afraid of getting addicted and having to stand in the notorious long lines. However, when I first discovered Pinkberry there were no lines. I was lucky, I know. And really, it's nothing new to me either. I grew up in Hawaii on a product that tastes similiar called, Yami Yogurt. I love Yami so I was pretty ecstatic when I found Pinkberry. However, I truly thought I was the only one who enjoyed the natural yogurt flavor. Who gets natural?! Most of my friends prefer vanilla or chocolate not natural! Well, I can confidently say I am no longer alone in my enjoyment of natural flavored yogurt (or whatever it is, who cares really?). I've been meaning to write this post forever but then there was Pinkberry drama after Pinkberry drama, exhausting. Anyway, tonight I went to one their imposters for dinner. Yes, I wrote dinner. And yes, I wrote imposter. The imposters mostly tastes the same (except for Cantaloop, not so good sorry!). And the imposters have all of the same toppings and the same white cardboard cup. Can't they atleast get a different colored cup? So anyway, here are a few of my favorite imposters (notice how all the websites look similiar too)....

Kiwiberri
Yogotango (they have a strange tomato flavor I'm slightly and I mean slightly intrigued by)
Bare Naked Yogurt (Century City food court)

And there's also Red Mango which I haven't been too but it's supposedly the "real" originial. Ha! No, really it was Yami Yogurt! Ugh. This is what happens when you grow up on an island.

Oh and although I occasionally enjoy the nude yogurt (sans toppings), my favorite toppings are mango, blueberries, kiwi, captain crunch, mochi balls and cocoa pebbles. Not all at once and also pending how bad my sweet tooth is fighting for control.

August Birthdays

2007-08-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

When I think of August I think of Birthday season. With that said, a quick shout out to Lauren (August 4th), Monte and Lynn (August 6th)! Happy Birthday to all! We celebrated Monte's birthday this year at the old school (think Korean style Denny's), Dong Il Jang. The waitresses are decked out in awesome brown and white uniforms, there are booths for families, a big party room where you sit on the floor and even a little koi pond to greet you at the entrence. The tables have built-in bbq grills and service tends to be fast and furious. We discovered this restaurant about a month ago, and I read that if you get the Roast Gui you get the "leftover" kim chee fried rice. I've been there several times but we always ordered the Bulgogi instead. Since we had a big party this time, I FINALLY got to order the Roast Gui. And unfortunately, I'd recommend sticking to the Bulgogi. The Roast Gui isn't marinated and the meat is a little tougher. And although the fried rice at the end was tasty, it wasn't worth giving up the thin slices of marinated beef that melts in your mouth. We also ordered the Kalbi and pork which were both hits. As you'll see Baby Noah graced us with his presence and he obviously did NOT take a liking to me. Sad day. Don't worry Noah, you'll learn to love me!

Dong Il Jang Restaurant
3455 W 8TH St
Los Angeles, CA 90005-2517

YUMMY!!!

2007-07-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

I Was Forgotten!

2007-07-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is the very first trip since I was adopted that I was forgotten...it was a very sad Thursday morning. However, my mom took pictures and promised to take me to New York next time. We'll start with the good then move to the ugly. She arrived in NYC Thursday evening and met friends (old and new) at a Tapas restaurant, Pipa in the Flatiron District to celebrate Renee's birthday. It was absolutely packed with people and the photos from its Citysearch review didn't do it much justice. Prior to the trip we were trying to figure out what this place was about, since its website goes to some sort of random carpet site. Anyway, Bryan explained that you can buy the chandeliers in the restaurant (all gorgeous!) and the chocolate shop, (also listed on the carpet site) Chocolat Michel Cluizel, apparently gave away $2 Million worth in chocolate. Hmmmm. Anyway, Pipa is Spanish slang to have a good time. And a good time, they had indeed! Celebrating with loads of sangria, chorizo, stuffed dates, calamari, shrimp and paella. A great time, great company and a Happy Birthday for Renee! The next day, mom took her mom out for a walk around town. They visited Chinatown, shopped in SoHo and discovered the wonders of Dean & Deluca! Fay went crazy and they had to hold each other back from gluttony. They settled for a snack - two ginormous scallops and one even bigger crab cake. That night they joined for a girls night Indian feast at Yuva. Where they dinned on roasted lamb, chicken korma, saag paneer, naan and some sort of grilled chicken. Everything was delicious and healthy! It was the perfect start to a Friday evening in New York city. After dinner they caught a cab uptown for the "First Friday" event at the Guggenheim Museum. This was the first time she visited any Guggenheim, and as beautiful as it was there were two not so great things about it. It was so crowed that you could barely walk anywhere on the floor. And she was wearing heels (stupid!) and in so much pain from walking around...not to mention she got her heel stuck in floor grates (that must've been pretty awesome, too bad I wasn't there to witness it myself). The girls all seemed to think they were living a fabulous night in New York right out of Sex and The City. I'm going to skip Saturday events for the next posting after this, as it's too important. On Sunday they packed their bags and headed to Joe's Shanghai for soup dumplings. What exactly is a soup dumpling? Well, they are delightful little gems of dumplings containing soup. Definitely worth it if you're looking for something different! Now comes the ugly...so we headed to JFK airport to catch our flights. Marlene boarded the plane only to sit on the JFK runway for 1.5 hours, not moving. Yes, that's right not moving. But to make things worse, she was also in the last row next to the fabulous bathrooms and squeezed into a seat overflowing with Italian newlyweds (quite irritating as they made everyone around change seats). She arrived in Los Angeles only to find that her luggage looked like it was mauled by coyotes on a wild rampage which was then kidnapped by some sort of mad robot with a hate for plastic. And finally, 3 hours after she landed she made it home...thanks to the extremely slow Lot B busses and retarded parking lot pay system at LAX. Delta sort of blows too. Keep that in mind next time you fly. Sadly, they also forgot about serving snacks to those lucky people sitting next to the bathrooms.

Salty Pies

2007-07-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have a "day job" and one of the owners of this company is French. I've always loved French, in fact I took French in college but truly sucked at it, because I always wanted to answer in Japanese (the first language I learned). Anyway, I was speaking to Val, the French lady, and she told me she absolutely adores "salty pies" - or to the rest of us, the quiche. We looked up quiche recipes (in French) together and I realized the quiche recipes didn't use eggs, which is what I thought a quiche was. A little puzzled, and a lot intrigued by these eggless salty pies, I decided to search for a recipe that sounded good to me. I didn't search long because I found a fabulous recipe (again) in that French cookbook I purchased. This recipe is called "Tartelette Au Saumon Fume, Poireaux, Et Citron" and translates to Smoked Salmon, Leek and Lemon Tartlettes. The recipe is actually for 6 mini tarts but I decided to go big (ummm, I didn't have the tartlette pans). I've made it a couple of times but today, I created one especially for Ogy...my hilariously fun co-worker who can't eat much, but loves these salty pies (she grew up in France too).

In Full Bloom

2007-06-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago I drove by Posh on Pico and noticed that they, sadly, closed their doors. When Bloom Cafe opened I was a little skeptical, however I kept hearing good things about it. So on Sunday afternoon I met Miki, Melanie and Baby Noah for a lunch date and was pleasantly surprised. First of all they had fresh coconut juice on the menu (love for Miki and I!). As I learned recently, coconut juice is loaded with electrolytes and contains more potassium than a banana plus it's low in calories and of course, all natural! It just makes me happy. Google the benefits of coconut juice then find some coconuts and make yourself happy. Good times.

Anyway, after analyzing the menu and wanting everything, I decided to order the Fresh California Mozzarella & Tapenade Tartine. It was amazing and perfectly seasoned. Melanie ordered the Fish Tacos and Miki got Huevos Rancheros (see pic)...as the waiters were walking by serving this dish, we watched in awe. I had one bite and it was delicious. We then discussed how Earl and Ivan would both enjoy this dish.

Melanie also got a lemonade, but the French waiter brought a mint lemonade instead (which she didn't want so I gulped it up instead). It's probably not for everyone or for anyone that likes their lemonade sweet. But I loved it, refreshing and a bit tart. Perfect and somewhat similiar to the crazy green drink (have no clue what it's called probably because it's in Hebrew, but everyone at my work place loves it) they serve at Aroma Cafe in Encino. Oh, and I can't end without including a picture of Baby Noah. He's filling out and has the most adorable belly that screams "gotta love me!"

Bloom Cafe
http://www.go2bloom.com/
5544 W Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
323.934.6900
P.S. They are organic AND green (meaning environmentally friendly)!

Canneles - A Crazy Confection!

2007-06-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Last week I visited my favorite cafe in Pasadena, EuroPane. As I ordered my usual chicken salad sandwich, I (of course) couldn't help myself from eying the desserts...I noticed a familiar treat, canneles, that I've been wanting to try but haven't seen at any of the other bakeries I've recently visited. I first saw a picture of canneles in the new cookbook I purchased and have been thinking about making EXCEPT you need to purchase these crazy pans and find some beeswax, which intrigued me even more. Once I bit into these scrumptious tiny things, I was in love. Heaven for me really. They are crisp on the outside, from the beeswax and no they don't taste waxy at all...the middle contains a fluffy custard, with an almost cake-like consistency but softer. Sort of like a custard cloud? Okay, I can't find the words but they are phenomenal! One day soon I will find these ridiculously priced pans (perhaps I need to go back to France?) and beeswax. Will keep you all updated, but in the meantime try to find some and enjoy!

Oxnard Strawberry Festival

2007-05-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we all drove up to Oxnard, CA (about an hour north of Los Angeles) to help support PabloSurf.com at the annual Strawberry Festival. It's massive is all I can say...although it made me happy so many people (rumor has it that 65,000 people attended) came to celebrate one of my favorite succulent fruits! They have everything from Strawberry Pizza to Strawberry Nachos and in all seriousness, I've never had such sweet strawberries in my life! These strawberries, as you can see, are very photogenic but they taste even better. Such sweet memories. Anyway, the festival also has food booths from all over town, a major dilemma for us because we can't ever decide where or what to eat. There's BBQ smoke in the air, people munching on corn, candied almonds, thai food and strawberries everywhere. We finally settled on BBQ from a local shop in Ventura, one of our favorites, CJ's BBQ. These guys are from Wharton, Texas so we know they know what they're doing. Good stuff!

CJ's BBQ
480 S. Victoria Ave, Oxnard
Phone: 805-815-3024

http://www.strawberry-fest.org/

Tart Au Chevre Avec Des Poires

2007-05-19T11:44:00.001-07:00

Otherwise know as a Goat Cheese Tart with Pears. The other week while browsing on Amazon.com I spontaneously purchased (and perhaps overpaid although I think this is rather hard find) cookbook, The American Boulangerie: French Pastries and Breads for the Home Kitchen by Pascal Rigo. So far I've made Madeleines, which came out beautifully (I forgot to take a pictures) and last week I tried a goat chese tart. It was actually quite simple. The tart is similar to a cheesecake, but lighter in texture as it uses a mixture of goat cheese and cream chesse. The recipe also calls for huckleberries (which I couldn't find) so I used fresh cranberries instead and sprinkled some sugar on them to tone down the tartness.

4 oz firmly packed goat cheese, at room temperature
6 oz. firmly packed cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 C + 4 t. sugar
2 t. heavy whipping cream
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. freshly grated orange zest (I used lemon)
1 extra large egg, separated
9-inch Pate Sucree tart shell
1 Anjou pear, quartered, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 C fresh huckleberries

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine goat cheese and cream cheese on medium speed until free of lumps. Add 1/4 C. sugar and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the heavy cream, vanilla and orange zest. Increase to medium speed and continue to mix for 1 minute, scraping down the sides. Add the egg yolk and beat until completely incorporated. Set aside.

2. In a clean bowl, whip the egg white until foamy. Incrase speed to high and gradually add the 4 t. sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks (firm and shiny). Gently fold the whipped egg white into the cheese mixture. Transfer the cheese mixture into the tart shell. Evenly space the pear slices around the edge of the tart and decorate with huckleberries.

3. Bake for 25 mintues or until the surface looks dry and filling is slightly puffed.

Noah Augustus Priddy

2007-04-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

Whoooohooooooo! He has arrived!!! Baby Noah made his way out into the big world on Friday, April 27th. Isn't he adorable? I'm anxiously awaiting our meals together...

Spring Flings!

2007-04-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy past couple of weeks and this Sheep has some shout-outs! Grandma and Mama came out for a visit to rock the house! Grandma was asked to give a speech at the Japanese National Museum and impressed everyone with her energy, charm and wisdom (naturally, of course!). Watch out for the Kawakami collection coming our way in 2009! Kudos to my mom for sticking it out, she's one patient (and wonderful) woman. And Justin one of my old-time pals from "the Moore St. experience" drove all the way from San Diego and Monte's mom who came out all the way from Houston to see Grandma Kawakami. Thank you!!! Also celebrating a ton of birthdays lately, onward with the shout-outs! Happy Birthday Adam! One of my very first friends from my homeland, New Zealand. It was so nice to be reunited with the "originals" - Adam, Grace and Michael. We sure ate a lot of garlic that night at The Stinking Rose...I smelled for two days after that dinner. I seriously started wondering how the chefs deal? Do they wear gloves? Does anyone know? Whenever I cook with one clove of garlic my hooves smell for a good day. Next up was Miki! We went to The Boulevard in WeHo where we shoveled-in (that's Anzai term for eating) mini hamburgers, wine and most importantly CAKE! Mari went all out and made not one, but two cakes...both extremely tasty, yet different. I was focused on getting as much cake into my belly as possible. You ever have that feeling where you're not sure if you will ever be able to experience this tastiness again? Yup, that was me. I was out of control but you can't blame me because first there was Monte's favorite chocolate/toffee cake and then there was the annual lemon curd with cream cheese frosting fabulousness. In fact I'm dreaming about it now. Daryl was up next, where we celebrated at Eleven, also in WeHo. We were mostly entertained by our waiter, strike-a-pose Jonathan, who we had to get in the picture with us! However, one of my favorite moments of the evening was FINALLY getting to witness Miki's tricycle. Yes, she rides a tricycle, which I'm in full support of, as it is helping our earth situation but really, wouldn't it be easier to ride a bicycle? Daryl, you still love her, flashing light and all right? Watch out for the tricycleladyinweho.com blog coming soon! And if anyone captures an action-shot please let me know! Finally, to my baby brother Bryce and my mom. Happy Birthday to both of you! I still remember the day Bryce was born and how we celebrated my mom's birthday in the hospital with a Baskin-Robbin's ice cream cake (notice how I remember the food?!). I miss you both and hope to see you soon!

Getting Ready for a Priddy Baby!

2007-03-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we officially began preparing for Baby Priddy. So far, we know Baby Priddy is a boy and the proud parents are still trying to pick a name...apparently Dave just doesn't want to give in to Justin Priddy or Timberlake Priddy. Humph.

The Manzai's (Miki & Mari) put together a wonderful Baby Shower for Melanie, where we enjoyed delicious quiche, asparagus, fruits, ginger scones and sparkling wine. We played games, bashed the OC and watched Melanie unwrap presents - revealing that their son will be some sort of jock with some really sparkly gold shoes. We can't wait!

In preparation for the Priddy Baby Shower, I volunteered to make the cake and put those decorating skills to use. I baked a four-egg cake (thank you Joy of Cooking - that book rocks!), whipped up a batch of milk chocolate mousse and chocolate buttercream frosting. This was definitely easier than the last cake I made, and only created half the mess I did the last time. I began with creating my little gumpaste friends the night before and quickly fell in love with Eleanor the Elephant. Isn't she adorable? I am so sheepy when it comes to love. Sigh. Even though Eleanor wasn't quite the attention queen I thought she would be, Larry the Lazy Lion was the one everyone was fighting over, with Marvin the Monkey in a close second (I think it's because he was made of chocolate instead of gumpaste and someone just wanted his head). Anyway, Melanie took our friends home and tucked them away for freezer hibernation as we all anticipate the newest addition to the family!

BLD (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)

2007-03-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

These pictures are actually extremely old as I've been meaning to post this forever, however we frequent this place so often it doesn't really matter. BLD is fairly new (less than a year old - I think) and we often enjoy weekend brunches there. But mostly we (or maybe someone more than others, wink) just go there to admire the waitstaff...one in particular. Hmmmmm, charming. Sometimes we even request tables in his section. Enough said. Anyway, BLD was opened by the same team that opened Grace down the street, and the owners happen to be siblings of one of our favorite Anusara yoga teachers, Tiffany Fraser. We've also seen a few celebrity sitings - David Schwimmer (Friends), Victor Garber (Alias) and a few other familiar faces. Anyway, onto the heart of the subject...the food! I haven't had dinner or lunch there yet but have enjoyed many fritattas, "eggs as you like them" (my favorite), french toast and even a bruleed grapefruit! All of which have been excellent. And you've got to get the cream cheese and chive biscuit! Plus the service is always friendly. Definitely try it out if you've driven by wondering what BLD is about (ah hem, other than that diirty Colin video. Yeah that's right, you know what I'm talking about)

BLD
7450 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Mmmm, FIBER! Not just for tree huggers although I do love trees!

2007-02-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

For the past 3 weeks I've been on a quest to create the perfect bran muffin. Most people I know wouldn't choose a bran muffin over a fatty blueberry muffin, but after a few additional (unwanted) LB's and encouragement from a co-worker I became obsessed with the bran. First I tried a pineapple bran with dried cranberries which my co-worker renamed, "Happy Cakes" (a good sign that I'm heading in the right direction). Second, I baked banana bran raisin muffins which were probably the closest recipe to the standard bran muffin. This week I tried a banana bran with fresh blueberry recipe which was my personal favorite. I started with a recipe on a blog I recently discovered: http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/
How could I go wrong with a blog featuring my fellow fluffy friends?!

Happy Birthday Miwa!!!

2007-01-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a Miwa-Extravaganza! Her friends don't just throw one surprise party...but two (2)! Which only reveals what a great friend this girl is. This is exactly why we call her THE MIWA, not just Miwa, that would be for the common folks. On Saturday we took over the entire bar at Bodega De Cordova and Sunday we gathered for a more intimate dinner at Blair's in Silverlake, all thanks to her sneaky-sneaky friends Gracie and Robyn.

Since I just finished my cake decorating class I felt it was time to unleash my beginner skills and attempt Miwa's birthday cake. I decided to try all new recipes (probably not the smartest idea) and baked a yellow cake with a berry-custard filling and Italian buttercream frosting. All went well until the frosting, which took three tries to perfect. First the thermometer died on me, which burnt the first batch. The second batch crystallized, again thanks to the thermometer, and finally I got smart and went with the good 'ol eyeball test. Luckily I had made penguins and the cherry blossoms the night before so I had enough time to decorate. All in all, the cake turned out okay and it did make Miwa smile which is all that matters.

Back to the food (of course!) Blair's was the perfect place for dinner. We enjoyed truffle mac & cheese, short ribs, risotto, sea bass and a ton of other tasty concoctions. The wait staff was attentive and helped pull off the surprise flawlessly. Happy Birthday Miwa!

Blair's
2903 Rowena Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Happy New Year!

2007-01-20T00:31:00.000-08:00

I'm bringing SHEEPY BACK and am truly looking forward to 2007! But sadly, my cake decorating class is coming to an end. I was unsure of how I felt about the class at first (mostly because I struggled so much) but have come to enjoy this new hobby and am excited about challenging myself to see what else I can create. I think I've been watching too many episodes of Ace of Cakes (I love that show! Thanks for the tip Julie). As I got fired up, I decided to made a buttermilk cake, filled with chocolate custard and frosted with Italian Buttercream. I had enough cake for a big 6" and two 3" cakes (although i had no one to eat them). Throughout this course I've developed a whole new appreciation for cake but I struggle with the fact that pastry chefs spends hours, sometimes days working on a piece of art only to be destroyed and eaten. Hmmmm. I guess I just need to let go and enjoy both the beauty and taste. I absolutely love creating cakes, eating them too, but mostly I just enjoy creating them. In fact I'm staying up way past my bedtime tonight to not only write this post but was working on gumpaste adornments for my final cake tomorrow. Who knew gumpaste birds could be so cute? I think a sheep cake may be in the near future...

Beard Papa

2006-12-30T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm intrigued by its name alone. Who names a cream puffery "Beard Papa"? I remember first hearing about it through friends in Hawaii; sharing stories about people who would line up (potentially for hours) to purchase these cream puffs and everyday, they would sell out. However, that's the way Hawaii works...their trends are fast and furious. So when I heard they were opening in Los Angeles I told myself I needed to see what the hype's about. However, they placed Beard Papa in a shopping center right smack in the crazy heart of Hollywood (mainly built for tourists), so of course it's taken me over a year to get over there even if it's less than 5 miles away. Anyway, last night I finally stepped hoove in the puffery and we were pleasantly greeted with no lines and a smiling puffette ready to take the order. As they were packaging the puffs, I noticed that their business card read "Healthy and Delightful" - what?! Delightful sure, but healthy? Interesting. The shell was light and crisp, the custard contained real vanilla beans. Delish. Since they're healthy I guess I can eat more! And please check out their story online, it's pure awesomeness!!! Those Japanese sure seem happy! I want to meet the bearded man who smokes puffs out of his cigar.

Beard Papa
http://www.muginohousa.com/
6801 Hollywood Blvd, #153
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-462-6100

Lucky Strike

2006-12-29T22:21:00.000-08:00

Although maybe not so lucky?
It was Melanie's birthday today so we went to celebrate at Lucky Strike at Hollywood & Highland. Check me out on the alley, pretty sheepy, huh? I started strong but slowly lost my beginner's luck. Besides, it's a lot more challenging to bowl with hooves. But it was good times nontheless. Because of my size, my friends thought it would be hilarious if they stuffed me into a 14 lb ball. Not so funny as I could see parts of my body I never envisioned seeing. Ugh. Anyway, we enjoyed many tasty treats including cheese fries, nachos and baked brie. Oh, and watch out for super crabby waitresses (snappy!). All in all it was a memmorable evening and Anzai's, next time you're going down!!!

Happy Birthday Melanie!!!

Lucky Strike
http://www.bowlluckystrike.com/
6801 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Cake Decorating

2006-11-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

Although I'd like to think that my baking is tasty, I'm not good at making things look pretty, so I decided to purchase a birthday present for myself. I enrolled in cake decorating classes at Epicurean with Suzanne Griswold. It was a tough first class, only endorsing my non-existent talent of Martha Stewart like qualities, I left frustrated and feeling a bit defeated. However, this past weekend was a much better experience. How can you not enjoy yourself with a broken icing bag with frosting spewing from places they shouldn't? I looked phenomenal! Icing in my fur, icing in my ears, icing stuck between my hooves - icing everywhere! When I returned home from class yesterday, I decided to try to put my skills to the test and actually decorate a cake instead of decorating a plastic food tray (which is what we do in class). Food is definitely not as exciting when you can't eat it. I baked a sponge cake with a raspberry filling and whipped up a batch of cream cheese frosting. Today I decorated - as you can clearly see my mad basket weaving skills (and such) with such great clarity. Ha. Okay, I know I have a long way to go, and obviously haven't mastered my coloring techniques but it's not too bad for my first try. In fact, it could possibly rival the cakes at Ralphs or Vons, although it'll be a long journey to get to the level of Sweet Lady Jane but I'm looking forward to it!

Epicurean School of Culinary Arts
http://epicureanschool.com/
8500 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 659-5990

Happy Birthday Megan!!!

2006-10-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late in posting this...but we celebrated Megan's 29th (uhhhh, I mean 25th) birthday on October 10th at Three on Fourth. Am I a lucky sheep or what? Check me out with all the ladies!!! Dinner was fabulous as we listened to stories of canned corn, reminisced about Oregon and shared our juicy office gossip.

Three on Fourth
1432 Fourth St
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.395.6765

Cupcakes

2006-10-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

It was no Sprinkles (and I'm not a fan of Sprinkles - although I think they've been better lately for some reason, is that cause Oprah bought it?). We were on our way back to our hotel when we found this Cupcake shop, named "Cupcakes on Pitt." We were excited. We oooooohed and ahhhhhhed. We were surprised by how many flavors they had. But then we realized the cupcakes were either vanilla or chocolate based with just a flavored frosting. Interesting, but not. Although it did come in its own little container which was handy until the taxi driver shoved our luggae on it. Sad death of a cupcake...
Cupcakes on Pitt
Shop 2, 323 Pitt St
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9264 464

Indian Food

2006-10-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Tasty!!! Again, I forgot to grab the card for this restaurant - mainly because I was too drunk to remember. I am still not a lush! But the food I remember...it was fantastic. Can you believe how much we ate? They couldn't even fit all the dishes on the table - so they placed one on the chair. Ha! Hilarious. Have you ever eaten off of a chair? Still...it was TASTY.

Port Douglas and Bill Clinton?

2006-10-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Port Douglas, the home of Steve Irwin...who sadly died only a couple days after we left. This was one of my favorite spots on our trip. It's a beautiful little town that reminded me a bit of a city in Orange County - maybe Laguna Beachish. We had a couple of great meals including one at the Jade Inn, and we picked this restaurant mainly because Bill Clinton ate there and figured if it was good enough for Bill it would be okay with us.

Jade Inn
39 Macrossan St.
Port Douglas, QLD 4877

We also enjoyed the best fish & chips I've had at some restaurant I unfortunately never got a card for. Fish & chips with some VB hits the spot! Would love to have some right now. Ugh! Anyway, check out my (fried, of course) dessert! If you're going to eat a banana this is the way to do it!

Cafe Thailand

2006-10-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Cafe Thailand is one of the best meals I've had in Australia. It was one of those lazy vacation days where you didn't plan anything and just kind of wondered the streets when we stumbled upon it. We were basically the only two people in the restaurant. Anyway, I had my usual Pad Thai and Monte ordered his favorite, Green Curry. We were both pleasantly surprised! Mmmmm, mmmm, goodness! After our meal we got gelato (of course!) and walked down to their shopping center and found Target. But it's "Target." not "Target" - does is matter that it has a period after the name? I was so excited thinking of all the interesting Australia products I could buy but it turned out to be more like really bad JC Penny's instead of Target. Oh well, at least my lunch was good!

Cafe Thailand
Shop 7/93
Corner Aplin Street and The Esplanade
Carins 4870
Phone: 40412624

The Red Ochre

2006-10-14T18:45:00.001-07:00

We were enjoying a few beers at the local pub and the bartender suggested that we go to the Red Ochre Grill to try some real Australian mean (aka roos, emus and crocs). The thought of it made me naueous, these are afterall some of my friends. However, Monte and Miki were up for the adventure so I agreed to tag along. We couldn't even get a table without a reservation (which is odd in Carins because everything is pretty low-key unlike LA LA land), so we made a reservation for a couple nights later. We were looking forward to it since they had awards prominently displayed and it was always a full house. Ha! This place is sneaky-sneaky! We were sadly disappointed in our experience. Monte and Miki shared some craziness - emu pate, crocodile wontons and kangaroo with horseradish. I only wish I had a picture of their faces once they started chewing! Anyway, our suggestion is to stay with the norm. I devoured my 3 tiny pieces of salmon and udon noodles which actually wasn't bad (except of the exaggerated price). Basically, it was a lot of overpriced fou-fou strangeness. We were all still hungry and were contemplating McDonald's on the way back to the hotel (if that says anything), instead we got cheap massages from the Chinese at the night market.

Red Ochre Grill,
43 Shields Street,Cairns,
North QLD

Carins

2006-10-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

After a couple of days in Sydney we made our way north to Carins - no one really seems to know where this is when I tell them, but we came here to see The Great Barrier Reef. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm just like Hawaii! And there's tons of Japanese tourists here too (again, just like Hawaii)! My favorite memories of Carins are the "Tuna Towers," gelato and BORIS!!! I miss you BORIS!!!

Friendship Garden

2006-10-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

How can one go wrong at the "Chinese Garden of Friendship" in Darling Harbour? It's beautiful, serene and contains a lot of interesting rock formations (see Aunty Miki's picture). You can walk the garden at your own pace and can even purchase tasty treats that you'll receive at the end of the garden tour.

http://www.chinesegarden.com.au/

Victoria Bitter - Nothing Better!

2006-09-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

After our long day we topped the afternoon off with a few sips of tasty goodness at the Oyster Bar.
Ahhhhh my first Australian beer. VB. I love the VB!!!
Can you believe my brother Bryce, who doesn't even drink, asked me to bring some VB back for him? To Bryce - Good On You Mate!
And Dave - bleh for asking for Toohey's New!

Animal Planet

2006-09-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

My first stop in Sydney was the Taronga Zoo. We caught the ferry over from Circular Quay to Mosman and took the "Sky Safari" where you get an incredible overview of the entire zoo before entering. The first thing you see upon entering our my new friends - the Koalas! They are cute, cuddly and smell of citrus...uhhhh, kind of. Unfortunately, the only picture I got of my new friends were of their backsides. (Until I met my Boris - more on him later) I like big butts and I cannot lie! After the cuddling, we roughed it up exploring the roam-free-Australian-animal ranch containing kangaroos and one very lonely emu. I admit, I was a bit nervous about a roo getting kung fu on me but felt better once I saw Aunty Miki running away from the bird. Ha. She was much more interested in the platypus (cute but poisonious) and the wombats - however the only wombat I saw was fat, lazy and nasty. Ughh. My seond favorite is the Meerkat, mostly because they're hilarious to watch. They stand around looking like they're waiting for a volcano to erupt (really for predators) but I guess they didn't realize they're at the zoo yet. After making my travel buddies watch Meerkat Manor, I guess the zoo Meerkats must be pretty damn bored. Loads of other animals just showed us their backsides (like the koala picture) which was frustrating. Why do all the animals decide to sleep while I'm visiting? Shouldn't they be hungry?

Taronga Zoo
http://www.zoo.nsw.gov.au/

Was I the Thunder Down Under?

2006-09-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

After a total of 15 hours on an airplane (with a stop in Hawaii) I finally arrived in Sydney. A sheep is not meant to be still for that long without constant grazing. However, I sucked it up since I was excited to be (somewhat) close to my homeland - New Zealand where my mom adopted me. Plus I was anxious to visit my old friends - the Emu's and make new friends - the Koala's!!!

La Brea Bakery

2006-08-09T22:41:00.000-07:00

I love bakeries - the smell, the presentation and of course the tasty goodness that awaits. To me entering a bakery is similar to getting a hug from an old friend. Bakeries are nostalgic and comforting...sigh.

A co-worker of mine has been raving about some scone she gets at La Brea Bakery...and I'm thinking, how good can a scone be? So one morning after my 6:30 yoga session (this sheep is built TUFF but remains flexible) I decided to stop by the bakery and try one out for myself. There are two different scones I've tried - the dried fruit scone and the blueberry scone (as seen in the picture). If you enjoy rough and tough scones (think fiber) you should definitely try the dried fruit. And if you're more of the fluffy type - get the blueberry and warm that bad boy in the oven prior to consumption; the outer layer will become crisp and the inside will remain moist. Mmmmm.

La Brea Bakery
www.labreabakery.com

Taste

2006-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite sheep-friendly friends that I love to dine with are Daryl & Miki. After a lot of confusion on the dinner location (Miki almost got on a bus to Santa Monica), we ended up at Taste. Miki is entertaining on her own, but with a pre-dinner cocktail in her tiny frame, she was quite the one-woman-show that night. Daryl and I were happily entertained.
Although we showed up sans a reservation, the host sat us quickly, al fresco style,and we sat facing this awesome Asian guy with a mohawk and headband. Too bad he wasn't Hawk from "So You Think You Can Dance." We ordered the following apetizers: ahi tuna tartare (with mint, avocado and spicy mayonaise), green salad and calamari with a lime aioli. We also enjoyed (just one) main entree - orecchiette pasta with spicy Italian sausage & rapini. It was the perfect place to dine with friends in the middle of a busy work week. The portions were good and all of the dishes complimented each other nicely. Plus there was no Hollywood attitude served up in this lovely little restaurant.

www.ilovetaste.com
8454 melrose avenue
west hollywood, ca 90069

Crazy for Kolaches!

2006-07-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmm, as I took in the scent, I could hardly wait to pop one into my mouth! I was introduced to kolaches on my first visit to Texas about 2 years ago, which my boyfriend told me was similar to a Hawaiian favorite of mine - the manapua. Is it similar? Yes, but only to the baked manapua (as you can see from the pictures), sort of.
However, my favorite type of manapua is steamed so it's hard for me to choose which product I like better. It's funny how similar Hawaii and Texas are...okay, you might need to stretch your imagination a bit, but there are certain similarities. Based on my personal experience, Texans have their own special spirit about them, they are welcoming and friendly folks kind of like the "aloha spirit" but with a Texas accent. They spend a lot of time with the family - I miss that about home, I don't see this as much in Los Angeles (or maybe it's because my family is so far away). It's hot and humid, no explanation needed for that. They enjoy simple family-style dishes (Texas-sized of course) and if you're from Hawaii, you know what I'm talking about. We both have placeable accents. Anyway, back to Kolaches. They are doughy rolls, stuffed with a filling such as sausage and cheese, spinich, egg and cheese, fruits, etc. And the Kolache shops close in the early afternoon just like a lot of the dim sum shops in Hawaii. If you're in Texas, check them out!

http://www.kolachefactory.com/

Gosh Darn GOODE BBQ

2006-07-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

My mamma always told me everything's bigger in Texas but this is ridiculous. I need to post bigger pictures just so my readers can find me. But I like it, because it makes me look petite. I arrived in Houston ready to take on the town. My first stop after a good night's rest at my pimp palace was breakfast at Goode BBQ. I like vacations, it might be the only time it's acceptable to have Texas BBQ as your first meal of the day. Goode's resembles everything I envisioned in a classic Texas BBQ joint. Deer heads proudly posted, long picnic benches, ice cold beer burried in ice (keep in mind this is pre-noon) and lots and lots of slow-cooked meat. I ordered a combo po boy, beef brisket and turkey sausage, on jalapeno bread. Just reminiscing about this meal is making my mouth water.

5109 Kirby Dr
Houston, Texas 77098
713-522-2530 - Phone
http://www.goodecompany.com/

Super Sheepy in Houston, Texas Baby!

2006-07-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

I was HOT in Houston, Texas. On fire really. The sheep in Texas didn't know what they were missing. Check me out in my pimp palace overlooking the city skyline.

La Maison du Pain

2006-07-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Wonderful flaky goodness! I first heard about this house of bread through one of my clients, and since it's located fairly close to me I thought I'd try it out. My first purchase included a cinnamon roll and a ginormous square bread (no idea what it's called). At first glance, I was unsure about the cinnamon roll. I'm guilty of indulging in the occasional Cinnabun and love its gooey fatty madness. However, this cinnamon roll at La Maison I now crave; it's light, flaky and flavorful. Delightful! The square-bread-thing was also fantastic - not too sweet with a great texture that's lightly caramelized. Since my first purchase, I've returned numerous times usually buying things for client meetings and friends (all of whom have raved about the pastries). In addition to the flaky goodness, the owners always greet their customers with a friendly welcome.

La Maison du Pain
5373 Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 934-5858

I heart Kim Chee at ChoSun Galbee

2006-06-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Spicy!!! ChoSun Galbee is the place to be! My advice is to go hungry. We took our Texas guest for her first Korean BBQ meal and even if she didn't know how to use the two wooden sticks, she still gave it two thumbs up. Check me out in all the veggie madness!

Upon ordering, we were quickly served a tasty green salad, sprouts, KIM CHEE (my favorite), radishes, broccoli, potato salad, dried fish, seaweed, beef and probably some other things that I can’t recall at the moment. Then comes the stuff you actually order. We went with Tiger Shrimp and Bulgogi Beef (you might be able to see it sizzling behind my backside). I actually grew up with various Asian foods – Korean being at the top of my list. Although I think the Hawaiian-Korean food is a bit different from the authentic dishes. Such as meat jun – anyone here know of where I can find some? Anyway, on cold (yes, it gets cold sometimes in Hawaii) nights or when I was sick my mom would pick up Mun Doo soup. Since we were with a “mom” on this occasion, it felt appropriate to order the soul-warming soup from my childhood, along with my favorite chewy noodles Chap Chae. Too bad there's no noodle diet. Oh and you complete the ginormous meal with a delicious and sweet rice tea. Sigh.

ChoSunGalbee
http://chosungalbee.com/
3330 W. Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90019

How do you get rid of oatmeal?

2006-06-22T19:08:00.001-07:00

You make some cookies!!!

I am a baking sheep. Today I made traditional oatmeal raisin cookies. I'm thinking these cookies are still healthy since it contains oatmeal and raisins which really should make up for the 2 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar, right? Whatever. Cookies are made to bring smiles to faces. Just don't eat too many cookies at one time and everything should be fine. These cookies are buttery (obviously), crisp on the outside and moist where it counts. The only person who won't eat these cookies is The Miwa. But that's only cause raisins are scary. She gets her own separate batch of chocolate chip soon.

Golden Bird

2006-06-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

I am in love with Golden Bird. She's meaty, tan and packed full of goodness.

During a lengthy conversation about the best fried chicken eateries in Los Angeles, one of my co-workers recommended Golden Bird. Very golden indeed. Like winning the golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Okay, well not that golden but still a bit of a hidden treasure. I haven't found the exact address yet and the best directions I can give is to head east on Pico (pass La Brea) and it's tucked away in the Ralph's/Osh shopping center on the south side of the street. Not knowing it was there, I had stopped at Ralph's to pick up a few snacks to serve to our friends coming over to watch the Heat/Mavericks game...and there it was in all of its golden glory! Change of plans. So instead of the boring chips and salsa I was planning to purchase, I delivered fried chicken, collard greens, biscuits and potato salad. It was impressive. It was enjoyed with enthusiasm. It was really quite phenomenal. I found a golden ticket.

Posh Baby!

2006-06-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

If I were a Spice Sheep - I'd be Posh. Yeah!

After a recommendation from our friendly neighbor and many drive-by fantasies, I finally decided to try Posh on Pico. I was a bit reluctant after reading a few local Los Angeles food blogs, one of which posted a negative review stating that they were discriminated against...but I gave it a shot anyway. And I am glad I did! On Saturday morning, after a long and HOT hike up Runyon (in case you didn't notice my pudge hanging over the plate, this sheep's gotta exercise!), I met my old college roommate, Megan.

When we arrived at Posh, there was no line (waiting is overrated) AND there was easy street parking (no permit restrictions in site!). These two facts combined, at a good Los Angeles cafe, is almost unheard of so we were definitely off to a good start. After a lot of oooohing and aahhhhing at the menu - specifically for the Grilled Mojito Salmon with Caramelized Onions Sandwich and The Latina Cheeseburger - I decided on a somewhat basic breakfast item: Arepas (cheese and corn meal patties) which came with a mushroom and cheese omelet. A choice well made.

I left with a full stomach, but was still intrigued by that Latina Cheeseburger. The pudge is apparently permanent. Ughhhh! So after a painful but killer Bar Method class on Sunday I returned home to a hungry Monte who said,"Hamburger." So off we went. This time ordering, of course, The (turkey) Latina Cheeseburger. I believe it was one of the best burgers ever to reach my tastebuds. Bliss.

Posh
www.poshonpico.com
5542 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
323.931.4338

Happy Birthday Humphrey!!!

2006-06-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Humphrey's 4th birthday Saturday evening at Casa Anzai (a fine establishment). Although he wanted to eat me - I still love Humphrey! Isn't he handsome? Besides, how can you resist an English Bulldog in flashdance attire?

Unfortunately, when we arrived none of us got much love from Hump because he was REALLY into his brand new green frog thing (located under right pit in picture) which luckily he wanted to eat that more than me. So instead of going straight to work with butt massages (Humphrey's favorite!) we happily enjoyed food from his motherland. Beer, fish and chips! Fish was provided by:

Penguin Fish and Chips
5952 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035-2658
(323) 933-7661

We had a variety of fish to choose from - red snapper, catfish and sole (my favorite). I'm a novice at fish and chips but decided i liked it best with a little malt vinegar and tartar sauce (perhaps that's an English Pub faux pas but it was tasty to me!). Humphrey's mom also made a fabulous dessert spread including brownies, paw-shaped cookie bars, carrot cake and a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Cheers to Humphrey! Festive occassions at Casa Anzai rocks!

P.S. I am not a lush.

Happy Hour

2006-06-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Hour shouldn't be allowed in the office. Bad things happen.

The Cobbler Factory

2006-06-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

How can one go wrong at a factory where they crank out cobblers?! Good stuff. As we were driving down Colorado Ave., I stuck my head out the window to get that sexy wind-blown sheep look, when I was suddenly overwhelmed with a powerful buttery aroma which meant we had to be close to the Cobbler Factory. Exciting! We took a left on Catalina and strained to look for a big sign - you'd think a factory would be big right? Wrong! It's a tiny shop that is barely noticeable unless you're looking specifically for it. However, if you just follow your nose you'll easily find it. I'm trying to understand how neighbors deal with smelling such greatness everyday. Anyway, we were happily greated by the owner inside and contemplated the purchase for an entire 3 minutes. Peach. Blueberry. Peach. Blueberry. We finally decided on the Blueberry Cobbler. The owner wrapped it with love and provided a few serving tips - make it pretty and plop some ice cream on it. And that we did, except for the pretty part (no one was watching). In all honesty, I enjoyed the cobbler especially since it wasn't overly sweet but decided that I still prefer crisps over cobblers. That Cobbler Factory is one happy place and will definitely bring a smile to your face.

Cobbler Factory
33 N. Catalina Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91006
626-795-1005

EuroPane

2006-06-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

You'd think I wouldn't be able to eat the entire thing, but I shoveled it in like a gosh darn super sheep! Super sheep! I'm super sheepy...

EuroPane's a recommendation from a well-known tennis pro in Pasadena (thanks Ron!). My first experience was with my friend, Julie, when we decided to enjoy a quick lunch before heading back to the office. Walking into EuroPane, one might think it's just another sandwich shop. A fairly petite and low key space: coffee bar, small menu, packaged salads and a few mouth-watering pastries on display. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous taking Julie to EuroPane without trying it first since she's quite the foodie. However, we were VERY pleasantly surprised! Julie enjoyed the open-faced egg sandwich while I had the party-in-my-mouth chicken salad sandwich. Our tastebuds were so happy that we weren't able to talk until gobbling had been completed. I don't even like chicken salad and I only ordered it because I noticed it was made with yogurt (not mayo). The chicken was moist, the flavors blended just right and the bread is spectacular! You can choose from a variety (the usual suspects) of breads - but if you're getting the chicken go for the olive. Brilliant! I'm still trying to understand how a sandwich can taste so good. But the goodness didn't stop there! We were so impressed with our sandwiches, we also purchased a few of those mouth-watering pastries on display...deciding upon a chocolate tart, a lemon bar and an oatmeal cookie. Even more brilliance.

Today was a similar to-go visit, since I couldn't veer from the chicken salad sandwich on olive bread, I can't really report additional exciting news...EXCEPT they threw in a free cookie! Whooooooo!

A definite stop for lunch if you're ever in the area.

EuroPane Bakery
950 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
626-577-1828

Blogging is hard when you have hooves...

2006-06-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Pasadena was an exciting adventure.
In fact, it was so exciting (tasty actually) that Sheep started to blog.
Damn hooves. Sheep hired a typist.