LUSH-US: By Request Pics of My Bar

Asombrosa Tequila in Silver, Anejo & my favorite Rose!

Must get a bigger bar, check those puppies out on the floor

Rose *swoon*

Between My Headphones: My Champagne Taste & Your Beer Bottle Pocket

Timing is EVERYTHING! This classic Eartha Kitt song came on while I was writing, definitely worth repeating & I'm on the third play now. So funny! Hope all my gold diggers enjoy this! One of my FAVORITE Divas live in one of my favorite places on the planet, Australia, she is greatly missed, one of a kind!

TERRIBLE: George Bush is RUINING my sex life!

Yes you heard that right! George Bush & the jacked up economic situation he has left us in is ruining my sex life! SO my "blind" date aka a random I met on the internet because (A) I work in a bar on the weekends (B) I can't afford to go out & meet Men & really meeting Men in LA at the bars & clubs is just ASKING for trouble. 

There was a billboard on La Brea 2 blocks from my house that said & I quote "HERPES... 1 in 4" EVERY TIME I'd be in a social circle with 3 other people I'm like... OOH! Somebody here has a social disease & it's NOT me! You know those circles I'm talking about, especially if you're out with one of your girlfriends & the both of you are talking to two guys & you know she's clean, it's like Russian Roulette which one of us is taking the disease ridden bastard home... ahhhhhhhh, no thank you.

Anywho... he sends me a text message after I shaved my legs, after I washed my AFRO, after I missed my spin class & AFTER I made a pedicure appointment "is it alrite if we go Dutch? Saving money for NYC". NOW I am not a gold digger & I understand that money is tight for everyone, this is not why I'm getting my panties in a wad. 

This Man I have never met asks me out but wants me to drive all the way out to Venice where he lives, grab drinks at a place that he picked & said "first 4 Margaritas on me", mind you & I now I have to pay "Dutch"?!?! Where in the hell did that term "going Dutch" come from anyway? I've never met a European Man that made a Woman pay... ok now I'm getting off subject, SO perturbed!

Maybe I'm just annoyed he replied "alrite" instead of alright... he's 35! I replied to him "Normally I don't mind paying Dutch but unfortunately I can't afford it right now, want to grab coffee when you come back from NYC?" Do you think he answered? Hells NO! 

If you are a Man & reading this TRUST ME we get it... we understand, but the game has changed! Women were raised if a Man asks he takes care of it, hell I'm friends with & related to a plethora of you & you all say "if a Man asks, he takes care of it", allow me to enlighten you, this does not at all mean financially. 

Be a Man & be more creative, just take care of it. He lives in Venice we could have walked on the Beach & just talked, I get thirsty I buy my own damn bottle of water or find a water fountain period the end. How dare he? Doesn't he know today is the 31st?!?!? Rent is due tomorrow, this has to be an April's Fools joke.

I know the truth was all in the text... and as much as I LOATHE text messages, the truth really was in the text. First off a Gentleman would have called. Secondly he said "4 {flipping} Margaritas"... Homeboy wanted me to have some of that liquid courage to get me all loosy goosy & when I offered for coffee he would have accepted. 

I know what you're thinking that I should have texted him back, well I DID an hour after I had not heard from him. I asked "so is coffee cool?" he replied "yeah" I said "cool, enjoy NYC" instead of replying hey let's just do coffee now he replied "Thx". 

Oh well... just wanted to vent & yet again blame George Bush for something ELSE! Luckily I have a full bar at my place so I'm already 2 Margaritas into the 4 I was expecting as I write this, maybe I'll make drunken Langostino Quesadillas for dinner... ODELAY!

Life hands you lemons? Squirt it in your refreshing Margarita!

My FAVORITE tequila & what I've made my Margaritas with, I ♥ how wonderfully phallic it is!

How We Do: It's Tuesday! Do YOU know that means....

IT'S TACO TUESDAYS!!! Today's the day I don't cook, I barely eat all day to save ALL my calories to have all the Tacos, Beans, Rice & Margaritas my little ♥ desires! Fridays are for Amateurs in my clique it's ALL about Taco Tuesdays! Tonight I won't be meeting with the Usual Suspects, I actually have a blind date... my first since I started putting together the show (yikes, I started this in MAY!) Well, here's hoping it goes well & he's not a twerp! I would loathe to waste a Tequila buzz on a crappy date WHE-PAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Ahi Tuna Tacos

Bar on Fire!

Can't WAIT!♥♥♥♥

Brain Food/Ab Work

This commercial KILLS me "gweens... we doin' bidness here" hahahahaha... he already has no patience with Women! hahahaha!♥♥♥

Baked: Monday Morning with EDB

Went over to ♥EDB's♥ to make waffles with the leftover batter I had with Lulu... once again it's always a magical day with the enchanting EDB. She made these wonderfully light & flavorful Almond Meringue Cookies. We watched The View, tore up the waffles & noshed on her lovely, lovely cookies. I coined the day Almond Joy! 

The almond flavor in both the waffles & cookies were such a fantastic way to start the week. Her "cookies" I swear were these tiny edible clouds from Heaven! They were so airy, I would just pop these treats into my mouth & allow them to dissolve... I'm surprised I don't know what my brain looks like my eyes rolled back so many times in sweet, sweet ecstasy... holy monkey nuts I'm a TERRIBLY CORNY writer! hahahahahaha!

We LAUGHED our butts off... as usual & had a rousing conversation about Zac Efron & what a terrible Actor he is & his upcoming film "17 Again" She said it's a male version of Freaky Friday & out of NO where I pulled 2 old 80's films out my butt. One with Kirk Cameron & Dudley Moore, "Like Father, Like Son' & the other with Fred Savage & Judge Reinhold "Vice Versa"... we SCREAMED with laughter & imdb'd the films. 

She found a double feature DVD of BOTH of them on Amazon.com & THAT"S IT... it was a wrap! She bought them (can't WAIT for them to get here). Amazon suggested 18 Again & I yelled "WITH CHARLIE SCHLATTER?!?!?" she gave me one look & LOST IT... she then took my "Black card" away from me & tore it up! Fanfreakingtastic morning! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I enjoy this spot!

Say it FAST isn't her shirt "SOFA KING COOL?" *snort* I know she is!

♥Pinky♥

Heavenly *swoon*

Brain Food/Ab Work: 3:12 of My Life I Will NEVER Get Back...

BUT I can't get this DUMB song out of my head! Probably because I have to waddle my spreading behind to the gym♥

Who's Yo Mama: Breaking in the Waffle Maker

After all that spice, Lulu & I needed something Sugary & Nice. We decided to bust out the new Hello Kitty Waffle Maker. I used whole wheat flour, egg whites, brown sugar, butter, almond extract & RICE MILK! SO flipping FANTASTIC! These were my first waffles. I am never scared of making an impromptu recipe. I used measurements for flour, egg & sugar from a Williams Sonoma Casual Entertaining Cookbook but modified everything to my specific taste & what I had available. I didn't have whole milk but rice milk, didn't have enriched flour, just whole wheat. I added almond & vanilla extracts & I must say this is a KEEPER! Next time I will swap brown sugar for agave & butter for Smart Start & these will be completely GUILT FREE... Lulu & I almost died right then & there! ♥

Batter UP!

Kitty & friends

♥ 


My plate♥

♥Lulu's♥

Cooked: Spicy Thai Beef Salad

After a glorious nap while watching WALL-E Lulu♥ & I were ready to chow down! I made us Spicy Thai Beef Salad. I bought a wonderful pre-thinly sliced Ribeye for $2 in Little Tokyo. I didn't have any Thai chili peppers so to keep with my Chino-Latino theme marinated the meat & added chipotle & habanero sauce. The dressing I used Sriracha & cilantro... it was num num NUMMERS & Lulu was very impressed. After talking over how we can make it better she suggested using cabbage instead & I TOTALLY agree! 

The lettuce wilted a little from the hot meat & dressing... who am I fooling, it wilted A LOT! For the dressing I used sesame oil, fish sauce, tamari,lime juice, chopped ginger, green onions, schiracha, cilantro, minced garlic & minced shallots. For the salad I used cucumber, tomato, lettuce & scallions... it's Take-Out... IN! Can't thank my friend Lucas C. for introducing me to this wonderful, wonderful recipe! Great with a cold beer or Pinot Grigio GREAT meal in 20 minutes!♥

The Star Studded Cast: Dressing

Star Studded Cast: I marinated the meat

Star Studded Cast: Salad

Dressing

Cooking in Chili Oil... SPICY!

Pouring the dressing

Field Trippin': LBC... Lulu & Nunu's Good Vibrations ♥

Oh my GOODNESS where do I start? My FAB friend Lulu & I took a field trip to Long Beach. We got word on the streets from some dude I met on Craigslist... NO not that kinda Dude, GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER PERV, a "friend" I made when I was searching for my rice cooker & he thinks my HK kitchen obsession is HYSTERICAL... anywho he told me that a Hello Kitty/Chococat collector abandoned her apartment & everything had to go! The Landlord Chris was SUPER cool & when I asked if he could, he held a HK waffle maker for me until we arrived. Now I will say I LOVE the Kitty & Chococat but what Lulu & I walked into was INSANE!

Apparently the collector was a chain smoking stripper & a fugitive of the law with an extremely unhealthy affinity for all things Kawaii (Japanese for cute ie Sanrio & Pokeman, yes I'm multilingual *snort*) she lived in this teeny studio & Lulu & I wanted to pass out from the insanity, like we ♥ that stuff but CRAP... we know when to say when! Well I scored an authentic Coach purse, Coach wallet, long white Bebe jacket, pink cashmere scarf & my HK waffle maker for FORTY BUCKS!!! YAY me! On the drive there Lulu & I were discussing what we thought was an urban myth, the elusive Hello Kitty eh em..."massager" when I saw all the stripper stuff I joked to Chris "for sure this chick had the toys" he replied YES, she has 3 & ALL brand spanking new.... ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Lulu & I dropped another $30 & bought a goodie bag full of stickers, key covers, chatchkes & I got an HK & Lulu scooped the My Melody eh... em... "massager". Good Vibrations for all!

On a side note searched 20 minutes on youtube for Marky Mark's Good Vibrations... what a SPUNK! Why does he act like we NEVER knew he was Marky Mark?!?! If I ever see him I will yell at him "HEY Marky Mark... you're wickity wickity WHACK YO! Well there's no sound on this one but from my experience guys this fine should be seen & not heard anyways! What a TOOL!


All that Sanrio love had Lulu & I famished. Chris recommended this FAB Champagne Brunch at a place called Port O'Call. Omelettes & Waffles & Sushi... OH MY! It was phenomenal. There were separate stations for sushi, omelettes, carving, tortillas (with a real live woman rolling & making the tortillas herself... FIERCE!) & our fave the waffle station. Amazing how the trip started with waffles & we practically ate waffles all day! They had several items in the buffet like fried chicken, burger bar, tacos, Korean shortribs, Raw Bar, tons of desserts but for me the Beef Bourguignon & Garlic Mash were sick! I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it! I should be ashamed by showing you my plate, I have NO COOF (yes I said no coof, that's worse than no couth down South!) when it comes down to buffets EVERYTHING goes on my plate, hell it all gets mixed up in my stomach anyways! I ♥ Lulu & ♥ my new nickname she gave me "Nunu" I can't wait to have more adventures with her.

Raw Plate

Omelette & Sushi

Lulu actually thought to get a vegetable

My shameful, SHAMEFUL plate!

The waffles made me do the smarty pants dance!♥

Brain Food/Ab Work: Take time to celebrate more in your life!

I'm going today to EDB's, I'm making Lobster Ravioli & EDB's making Meringues & Macaroons... smarty pants dance, smarty pants dance Manouschka does the smarty pants dance ♥

Cooked: Paellissima Paella!

Hailing from Miami, I have been fortunate enough to have had some of the BEST Paella in the world! I especially ♥ how serious the Spaniards are about their national dish... conquistadors still those people! I've had so many different variations, nothing beats my girl Debbie LaCasa's mothers Paella Valenciana. My GOD that Woman is a beast in the kitchen. I've had some with Rabbit & all sorts of game some heavily influenced with seafood & even had one made with pasta! I have been making Paella for years in a cast iron french oven (I've named her Marilyn) & although I have NEVER had anyone complain about the flavor of my Paella, in fact there is plate licking involved, I have on more than one occasion been told my Paella isn't authentic, because I didn't use a Paella pan!!! 

Ok after the third time the hunt was ON to find a paella pan. Like I learned in the movie Boomerang "you have to coordinate". Originally I was looking for a aqua Dansk Paella pan, but REALLY wanted a Le Creuset one to keep with my cast iron obsession, unfortunately Le Creuset stopped making them a while ago. After a year I found an extremely rare vintage one & wouldn't you know it was in the aqua color I wanted (yes Jesus LOVES me) I named him Luke after Paul Newman's character in Cool Hand Luke. 

After a year of not making Paella I finally used this bad boy last night ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... don't like it, like my way better, less messy. It was like a Paella massacre on the stove & it required SO much more attention I was not accustomed to giving my recipe before. I don't know maybe I'll try it ONE more time, I'm not a quitter but the next time I have a Spaniard over that mops up their plate & has the audacity to say "it was AMAZING... buuuuuuuuuuuut that was not Paella" I'm afraid they & I have a "failure to communicate" & might end up with Luke being slapped in the back of their head!

Either way I will say it was hands down one of the best Paellas I have EVER made! The head on shrimp I got for $1.80 in Koreatown was stunning to look at & tasted so good. Trader Joe's seasonally brings back their Langostino tails... AH-MAY-ZING! This is the first time I have ever added it to "my" Paella I also didn't have any peas off hand & honestly am not a huge fan so I used Trader Joe's Soycatash... & I can't get over the the flavor it added to it & the surprise pieces of corn hidden in all the saffron rice was a nice touch. I also enjoyed the Soycatash had diced red peppers in it so that was less peppers I needed to dice. Speaking of peppers I also used Trader Joe's Melange A Trois frozen fajita peppers... it's BRILLIANT for Single cooks. 

You get 3 kinds of peppers, keep in your freezer so you won't be chucking peppers because you don't have any recipes that call for them & you can't beat that you are getting 3 capsicum flavors, already cut for less than $1.50... this makes me moist I tell ya (ew... I REALLY don't like that word). I made my own stock with chicken wings I grabbed from my neighbor & the chicken I had left over from my Au Gratin potatoes from the night before. 

I also used a fantastic seafood mix that had Crab, Octopus, Calamari, Clams & Mussels this was just PERFECT & I soaked the seafood in Chardonnay before cooking it & it REALLY made the seafood the star of the show. I was originally going to cook for my friend Dan & I but was SO excited about the deals I made, I made enough for My neighbor Keisha, her brother Matt, Dan had leftovers for himself & his roommate & I my girl Rena stopped by today for her taste. None of them Spaniard... damn! Must grab the Magic Eraser & tackle that stove *snort*♥

The Star Studded Cast:

Langostinos:

Seafood Mix

CAN'T BAH-LIEVE how cheap these skrimps were:

I will NEVER understand why people buy canned/box stock?!?! My house smelled like heaven!

Chicken & Chorizo


The Supporting Cast:

Aussie love for my HOT Aussie date ♥ ♥ ♥ finishing salt! This Aussie pink salt is ridiculous not because it's pink, but the delicate crunch & light iodine flavor is incredible AND it's PINK!!! The Paw Paw in the Olive Oil is to DIE for! I picked up the salt at Marshall's & the Olive Oil at Tuesday Morning, I can't stress enough going to close out stores (Ross, Marshalls, TJ Max, Tuesday Morning, Big Lots etc) stroll along their gourmet food section. Wonderful steals... I mean deals!

Platanos!





Messy Pan

Dan the MAN!♥

YUM!

Dan brought cookies, wine & "lollies" *swoon*

AND pretty flowers... his Mama did gooooooooood!♥

My dog Divi is a WHORE!