Lazy Person Breakfast

When I wake up, I am usually the most useless person ever. I love nothing more than just laying in bed watching Netflix and reading until lunch time. But generally lazing around makes me pretty hungry, and when I'm hungry I want something that I can whip up easily. Now, this recipe isn't from a website or cookbook but I promise that this is a no-fail, tasty, healthy, breakfast that you can make in five minutes or less.

Take a slice of bread. Any kind of bread, and toast it. I used sourdough simply because it was what was in the house.

Next, halve an avocado.

To make it easier to spread the avocado on the toast, I sliced my avocado. Note the attractive shell.

Spread your avocado like butter.

Sprinkle some sea salt and black pepper for taste.

Mmmmm

I paired my avocado and toast with grape fruit. Here is a photo of my breakfast!

After making and eating this, I was able to crawl back into bed happy, satisfied, and ready to fall back asleep or continue my efforts in watching every episode of Law & Order SVU ever.

More posts soon! It's been a crazy busy week. I'm off to Arizona on Friday so expect the posts to come to be about all the Mexican food that I will be enjoying. Keep your eyes peeled!

Until then, I leave you with this photo of the crown braid that I made in my hair yesterday.

Fabulous!

Pineapple Kale Strawberry Smoothie

Since I have an abundance of kale in my house, I have been trying to find some interesting, delicious, and new ways to incorporate it into my food. So far I've used it in salads and burrito bowls, I've roasted it in the oven, and I've used it to make some very colorful pasta. What I really wanted to do was use it in a smoothie. Ever since I read that recipe on refinery 29 I haven't been able to get the idea of a kale smoothie out of my head. Unfortunately, today when I looked in my refrigerator I discovered that I was lacking in certain ingredients (seriously who has coconut oil lying around?) And after deciding to save the r29 smoothie for another day, I went hunting for a different kale smoothie recipe. This recipe was from a raw food site (http://rawfoodist.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/pineapple-kale-smoothie/) that I happened to find and it was not only but delicious but left me feeling incredibly healthy and content.

What I liked about this smoothie was that it didn't call for ice. I don't like my smoothies to be too icy!

I had pre-sliced pineapple

It called for two cups of kale.

Looking pretty in the blender

The recipe said that if I wanted to add sweetness, I could use apples. I like my smoothies to be sweet. So I did.

First I used the "food chop" option on my blender to make sure that my smoothie would be nice and smooth (no one likes the awkward chunky pieces).

Then I just blended.

I must admit, I sampled it and immediately thought "this could use some strawberries". So I quickly chopped some up and added them to my smoothie.

I love the colors.

The finished result! I added a strawberry garnish just for pizazz.

The smoothie was frothy and green and luscious. It was a little tart, wonderfully sweet, and highly refreshing for a pick me up in between meals.

Check back tomorrow for another post and happy weekend!

Brent's Delicatessen

Brent's Deli is the best deli in Los Angeles. It's also probably the best deli in California. I know there are those of you faithful to Nate N' Al's, but let's be honest, Brent's has got it all: the atmosphere, the patrons, the menu, the halva... I am a big deli person. I enjoy the experience of being brought a plate of kosher dill and bright green new pickles to start off my meal. I like fresh, hot, rye bread and everything bagel chips. I like matzo balls and kreplach in my soup. I like having the option of a knish and koogle or a pastrami sandwich (the best pastrami sandwich in town might I add). To me, this is comfort food at its finest. This is the food of my childhood. My own mother always made koogle for our Yom Kippur feast and I can't even begin to count the relatives who have made for me their secret matzo ball soup and/or gefilte fish recipe. Every time I go to Brent's, or any deli really, it's a big piece of my culture and a little piece of home.

Now if you aren't Jewish like me, (or even if you are) Brent's has amazing breakfasts and sky high sandwiches as well as hamburgers and salads. Their desserts taste as good as they look too.

So on Saturday, my family took my grandparents here for dinner. This is what I ordered!

A giant bowl of kreplach soup (which I shared with everyone at the table it was so huge). Kreplach is basically a giant dumpling. The outside is this thick chewy delicious noodle and the inside is ground beef. The broth was insane. I basically crave this soup all the time.

This is a brisket sandwich. I got a half sandwich/soup deal going on as you can tell. This brisket can almost compete with my cousin's...Almost ; ) The potato salad was perfect by the way. 

If you like black and white cookies (which I do) then they are to die for at Brent's. My sister and I however, shared a raspberry hamentashen (see row two, the triangular cookie next to the one covered in rainbow sprinkles). Basically you're supposed to eat them for Purim but my sister and I like to eat them all year round. 

Since Brent's is my favorite west coast deli, I'm going to have to go with Carnegie as my favorite back east. I have yet to find my favorite deli in Chicago! I hear Manny's is pretty great. I'll have to go see for myself. Keep your eyes peeled for my next post!

Mediterranean Nachos

So it's been two days, and I promise there will be a post on Brent's deli! But I just had to share this fabulous recipe for nachos that my mother found out of an ad from Ralph's Market. I personally love nachos, but they aren't exactly the healthiest thing for you. These nachos however are made with pita chips and are covered in hummus and vegetables making this recipe a healthier way to snack on an old favorite. We had family over this Father's Day weekend and we made this as an appetizer for everyone. It was a huge success! This recipe is suitable for people of all ages. My family is the proof! Our table consisted of people ages 14 to 86 and they ate this up.

So here is the recipe! For my friends in the Midwest, Ralph's is like our Jewel.

I put all the pita chips in a glass baking pan.

We used two kinds of hummus, roasted red pepper and original (I freaking LOVE hummus)

My mom's lovely hands dabbing hummus on the chips.

This is about how much hummus you should use. You can add more or less depending on your preference.

We topped ours with chopped olives, zucchini, and tomatoes because it has a very Mediterranean feel to it. But if you wanted to you could top it with any vegetable of your choice making this an excellent recipe for picky eaters as you can tailor it to your liking.

Zucchini

Tomatoes

Olives

We topped our nachos with mozzarella but feel free to top it with any kind of cheese you want!

Unfortunately my family consumed these nachos before I could take a picture of the finished result! I can assure you that they were crispy and cheesy, and the vegetables and hummus gave it a really fresh update that made these nachos a perfectly unique appetizer for a perfectly unique family.

I will post again tomorrow! I swear! I blame summer. Keep your eyes peeled for my next post on deli food, home made hummus, and a new kale recipe!

Turkey Vegetable Quesadillas

So usually when I think of quesadillas I think of tortillas and cheese with maybe some seasoned chicken and a confetti of chopped peppers but these quesadillas are not that. In fact when describing these quesadillas to my boyfriend, he said that they did not sound like quesadillas at all. Well people who read my blog, I would like to assure you that as the recipe states, these are in fact quesadillas and they are actually good for you. I found this recipe through foodnetwork.com's "Healthy Eats"(http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2009/11/27/5-ingredients-leftover-turkey-quesadillas/). I had just come from the most intense yoga session ever and was starving. Naturally I wanted something Mexican but I was also craving something really green. I knew that a lot could be done to a quesadilla to trick it out and make it healthy and still keep those Mexican flavors that I love so much (LA girl right here). There wasn't a ton of prep and it cooked quickly so luckily I wasn't starving for long!

What was cool about this recipe was that it was basically a "dump every vegetable in your fridge in this quesadilla" quesadilla. The author of the recipe used broccoli and parsnips but talked about how she had made this before with spinach and mushrooms and green beans. Don't think that putting all of those things in a quesadilla is weird! I have a friend who likes to put tomatoes and lettuce in hers (and only that). Well I didn't have parsnips or green beans but I did have spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms!

Literally the only prep that I had to do.

Okay so I had to cook the broccoli and mushrooms and spinach too. Just until the broccoli was really green and the mushrooms were soft.

Then I seasoned the vegetables. I basically just shook a little of each over them. Wasn't so sure about the cumin at first because I'm not the hugest fan but it was worth it.

Your tortilla will get warmer a lot faster if you let the pan rest on the heated stove for a little before putting the tortilla on it by the way.

I like for my quesadillas to be extra cheesy. Put as much cheese as you like.

I usually only make vegetarian things for myself at home, but this time I decided to follow the recipe totally and put turkey on my quesadilla. It gave it a lot more substance and a panini like quality!

Then I put my seasoned vegetables on top. See how the cheese is all melty? Mmmm

Put another tortilla on that baby and flip it over. Pretty right?

Okay so cutting it was a little difficult but this is the finished result!

Oh my gosh it was delicious.

Basically I had like two bites before I made my mom try it. Yes, it was that good. The paprika and cumin gave it a really nice flavor that without it would have made the quesadilla bland. So even if you aren't too keen on cumin, (because I know I'm not) it really makes the dish. The cheese was all melty on the broccoli and the mushrooms and spinach gave it substance and a really warm earthy flavor. I would make this again because it's a sneaky way to get protein (turkey), and vegetables into your diet simultaneously. Plus it was so easy to make that I know when I go back to school in the fall I will be making this quesadilla and versions of this quesadilla all the time.

----------------------------------------------------

So sorry I didn't post yesterday even though I said I would! I was busy I swear. I did however manage to make vegan brownies with one of my oldest and favorite friends. Did you know that you can substitute one egg for one banana?

That is lovely Jenny making our brownies extra chocolate-y

Tonight I am going to my favorite deli in California, Brent's. We aren't even going to the schleppy one in Northridge but to the nice one in Westlake! So I will definitely be blogging about that tomorrow! Keep your eyes peeled and happy almost Father's Day!

Vegetarian Burrito Bowl

The problem with moving from Chicago to LA is that the closest Qdoba to me is in Manhattan Beach. That is not close. Some people might say that Chipotle is basically the same thing, but those people are wrong. Chipotle's burrito bowl does not compare to the wonder that is a Qdoba burrito bowl, (what do I usually get? a vegetarian burrito bowl with extra veggies :] ) and after a long yoga session this morning I was craving Qdoba like no other. I looked online for a duplicate Qdoba recipe, but all I found was this Chipotle one (http://iowagirleats.com/2009/09/15/4-step-homemade-chipotle-burrito-bowl/). So I tailored it to my liking (and also to what was in our house). I have a ton of pictures so...try to follow along!

Cook your rice first!

I used black beans because a. the recipe called for it and b. refried beans are icky

It also called for a splash of chicken broth

And a dash of all of these

The recipe called for me to make my own pico de gallo. I didn't have tomatoes. But I did have mango salsa! It actually gave my burrito bowl a really nice zest.

I made it more pico de gallo-y with some chopped red onion.

My pico de gallo inspired mango salsa-mix. The recipe did not call for Sriracha, but I love spiciness (especially in my Mexican food) and it went perfectly with the dish.

My mixed up salsa thing.

I decided that since I had no green or yellow pepper to add to my bowl, (the sauteed peppers in the Qdoba bowl are delish) I would use kale! My whole family has been making fun of me for being so kale obsessed this week but honestly kale is awesome. It's great in salad, pasta, soup, even in rice! Every time I munch on kale I can feel myself getting healthier. I still want to try that kale smoothie from refinery29, (refer to my post K is for Kale)! Add a little lime, salt, and butter to your rice and you're all set!

This is the foundation of my bowl.

beans

salsa/pico

My friends Katie, Allie, and Kayla have all asked me to do something with avocados! Since I could practically live off avocados, this is probably the most wonderful thing that anyone could ask of me. So I sliced some avocado on top of my bowl.

Now I am out of avocados. I must go to the store and buy a gazillion more.

We were also out of shredded cheese, (guys I seriously have to go grocery shopping) so I broke apart some Havarti that I found in our cheese drawer. Honestly, I would have preferred shredded so for anyone making this at home, and as a mental note to myself for next time, use shredded cheese. Then I topped it with sour cream and voila! My vegetarian burrito bowl!

The recipe itself uses chicken but I just took that part out. You could use chicken if you wanted to. You could use beef or pork if you really wanted to get fancy. I gave some to my dad as a whole bowl was too much for me. He said that he liked this dish best because it was really flavorful and very well balanced spicy/sweet/savory wise. He even enjoyed the kale. He asked for more but I had already eaten it...oops...

I would make this again! I would probably make this tomorrow if I went grocery shopping in time! This meal is not only delicious but healthy! Rice and beans make a complete protein, avocado and kale are super foods that support healthy skin, hair, and nail growth and give your body a ton of vitamins. My only finishing notes are:

1. Use shredded cheese!
2. Cilantro (which I was out of) is a key ingredient in Mexican food and probably would have made this dish even better.
3. Next time I think I'd like to try to make the pico de gallo that went with the recipe (even though mine was pretty amazing)

This was probably the most complicated and time consuming meal that I have made. Considering that I couldn't even make toast my freshman year of college because I would get bored waiting for the toaster to pop up, I am pretty proud of myself. I hope that you are enjoying reading my blog random people from America, Bangladesh, Canada, the UK, and Georgia, (blog stats don't lie) because I have really been enjoying making these recipes and taking photos and talking about them with you all! In the future I really look forward to making cool things, (hummus? chocolate ice cubes?) and I hope you guys continue to read along and enjoy.

I will leave you (until tomorrow) with this lovely picture of my dog Lenny, out for a walk today.