Between My Headphones: Une Americaine a... Petite Tokyo?!?!

I met Rena & EDB in Little Tokyo for lunch & a bit of shopping. I stayed after they left & hit my favorite Market. Just my itunes on my iphone & I... oh & of course the FABULOUS Rupa & The April Fishes. She was born in San Francisco & is a first generation American of Indian (dot not feather) descent. 

She grew up in both San Fran & the South of France (can you feel my insane jealousy?) She became a Dr like a good first gen girl, but her love for music kicked her love for medicine's butt! She sings in English, French, Spanish & Hindi... brilliant! 

I listened to the whole album while I shopped & danced my way down aisle by aisle the entire time, can't imagine what the employees thought of me, but I did notice there were a lot of hand over mouth covered giggles every time I looked.

Worth Repeating "Une Americaine a Paris" from her debut album Extraordinary Rendition ♥

Brain Food/Ab Work: What's Shakin' Bacon?

FOr those that truly believe bacon makes EVERY THING better!♥


see more pwn and owned pictures

Between My Headphones: Fool for Beats, My April Fools Playlist

This one was hard to recommend which songs were Worth Repeating because I repeated so many so I'm just going to recommend three... OH this is so hard, should've known I would run to this when I admitted I repeat songs... UGH!

All I Need: Radiohead
The Racing Rats: The Editors
When I'm Down: Chris Cornell
1, 2, 3: Camille
Heaven: Lamb
Oceania: Björk
Ground Zero: Chris Cornell
Lunatico: Gotan Project
Messenger: Blonde Redhead
Smoke & Mirrors: RJD2
The Quest: Bryn Christopher
Hide and Seek: Imogen Heap
Bisounours: CocoRosie
The White Flash (ft Thom Yorke): Modeselektor
I Know: Josh Ralph
Dirty (Live): The Ettes
In a Manner of Speaking (Tuxedomoon): Nouvelle Vague
Hasta Ayer: Marc Anthony
Distractions: Zero 7
Help!: Tina Turner
Trust In Me: Susheela Raman
Miss Perfumado: Cesaria Evora
Secret: The Pierces
Shine Through It: Terrence Howard
Change: Max Lugavere
So What?: Pink
Midsummer Night Blues: Waldeck
Leave Me Alone (ft Natalie Imbruglia): Portishead
Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Dub): Waldeck
Memories: Waldeck
Get Up... Carmen: Waldeck
Why Did We Fire the Gun?: Waldeck
Blossom Dearie - Just One Of Those Things: Brazilian Girls Remix
Those Were The Days: Dolly Parton

Oceania: Bjork one of my favorite videos of ALL time!


The White Flash (ft Thom Yorke) Modeselektor

The Quest: Bryn Christopher


OK OK I LIED you HAVE to hear this one too... so sick!
Bisonours: Cocorosie

TERRIBLE: My Front Door

You would think I was waiting for the Modern day version of the Milk Man... oh well at least I'm getting all my antioxidants... take that Dr. Oz!♥

Cooked: Langostino Quesadillas with Sweet Corn Salsa

SO... if you read yesterday about my non existent blind date with... I shall call him "Dutch Boy" I had to cancel because he wanted to go dutch last minute a mere 2 hours before our date on the day of my beloved weekly Taco Tuesday run remember I mentioned I would stay home & make Langostino Quesadillas instead? I like to take certain situations in my life & draw inspiration for new recipes. Usually on Taco Tuesdays at my FAVORITE Mexican spot Isla I would order Ahi Tuna Tacos & Lobster Tacos.

In the Ahi Tuna they use a creamy sauce & in the Lobster it's spiced with Latin spices, lime juice, scallions & onions... I figured why not combine the two & make my own but as a Quesadilla. I didn't have Lobster or Ahi Tuna so I used my favorite Trader Joe's Langostino Tails. They only sell this seasonally so trust me by the end of Spring my freezer is stocked! They're pre-cleaned & pre-cooked & TJ's REALLY knows how to spoil a Single Cook.... ♥ them for that!

I added some diced Jalapeno's, Sriracha, (you know I ♥ doing my Chino Latino thang) cream cheese, lime juice, Adobo & a pinch of Chipotle for a bit of smokiness. Unfortunately I ran out of Cilantro & Tomato so I used a cilantro base in a jar & Pace Picante Salsa.... this was still on FIRE so flippin' good.
The Star Studded Cast:

Adding Cream Cheese to the Mix:

Diced Jalapenos

Ready for the pan

Before

During

After

YUM!





This isn't the first time I've created a recipe due to an unfortunate communication gap between myself & a Man. I dated a guy once that made a terrible comment, sorry "joke" (his words)... about African American's oh I'm sorry "Darky's" affinity for Fried Chicken & Watermelon, I was livid but instead of reading him the riot act I came up with a Lobster version of a Cuban classic, Empanizado (Chicken Fried Steak) I bought a Lobster tail pounded the hell out of it (probably was pretending it was his face) breaded it in ground Club Crackers, so buttery, fried it up & then made it Milanesa Style by adding Tomato sauce & Mozzarella.

Ran out of plastic wrap so I used my Little Mermaid sandwich bags.. kind of ironic, huh? ZUT ALORS! I kept singing "Les Poissons" from the Little Mermaid♥


Lobster Empanizado (Chicken Fried Lobster):


Lobster Milanesa:


I remembered an AWESOME episode of Tyler's Ultimate where my home slice, Tyler Florence, made this wonderful Watermelon Gazpacho so I made that also with Watermelon skewers. It had Watermelon, cucumbers, onions, tomato & cilantro... super easy & all fresh ingredients. No cooking what so ever & all I needed was a blender... FAB! I friggin' LOVE that man! Just Gordon, Anthony & Tyler is all I need, my trinity... A-MEN.

Did I mention it was a SUPER hot day in June? So cool, so crisp so sweet, it really helped cool me off both physically & emotionally! I just remember eating them both & thinking this is great culinary revenge, I remember thinking "TAKE THAT you ignorant dirtbag!" Oh no, NOT Tyler, he's a dream... the dirtbag I dated! *snort*

Tyler's mouth watering Watermelon Gazpacho

I need a better camera!


On a more positive note some of my best dishes have also been inspired by some amazing Men! My Currant Glazed Lamb for Max, Carlos' Stuffed Cornish Game Hens, Chris P's Squid Ink & Angel Hair Pasta, Kenny's Shrimp Toast, my brother Andrew inspired a Prosciutto, Pork Belly & Arugula Pizza... oh the list goes on & on.

I ♥ drawing inspiration from the day to day of my life, I believe when you do that there is a lesser chance of screwing a new recipe up, especially when you are inspired by a person. You take your time, you think of the best & even worst things about them & you end up combining things together you normally wouldn't have & oh... when you ♥ a person it's a whole other ballgame.

A bit of spice, sweet, bitter, lot's of wine or beer, sauce, onions (I get a little verklempt when tears build up as I use an onion in a recipe inspired by someone) & all my heart... I can't sing, I can't draw I really don't have a creative way to express myself to another except for the fact that I can cook & there is no greater gift I can think of than that!

To watch the look on a person's face when they take that first bite & you know the entire time you they were in your heart & on your mind while you were making it is INCREDIBLE I can't thank my ♥Grandmother♥ enough for this legacy, I miss her SO much♥

Brain Food/Ab Work: Sizzlin'

I've been yipping & yapping away on this thing for 10 days & just realized there are a bunch of you who haven't even seen the sizzle reel for my show... DUH! I did add a link to my you tube channel I hoped people would just click on that, but that's not fair.

So since I was foolish to think that, for April Fools will be a double feature of my Sizzle Reel for Single Serving & the promo for this blog & my website directed by the incomparable Mike Kallio, who happens to be a FANTASIC Horror film maker.. HA! I'm going to hell for surrounding him in so much dayum pink! I am REALLY enjoying my time here blogging & I can't thank you all enough for all the support & thank you Mikey for helping me make my dream come true ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Please watch in High Quality (HQ)


Promo:

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!♥