Key: In addition to my daily recipes, re-blogs, food thoughts and information I am going to start weaving in regular bits on food, which will be categorized as such:

What the… Is a section on interesting and cool things in the food world that I encounter that I want to start integrating into my life and yours.

EdIbLe LoS aNgElEs Is a section dedicated to restaurants in LA that are great, or specific dishes that come from LA restaurants that you definitely need to try.

Fatty’s & Co. on Colorado St. in Eagle Rock is my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles right now.  It has an insanely friendly staff, exceptional food and the ambiance is lovely.  The food is vegetarian and vegan but I promise it is not lacking the satisfying factor.  They have unique seasonal cocktails and reasonably priced wines as well. Last time I was there it took just about 20 minutes to receive our food and the wait staff felt so badly about the delay that they brought over free champagne and trail mix. They really want to make you feel good about selecting their restaurant.  Fatty’s & Co. is not inexpensive, so save it up for a special occasion night, but definitely DEFINITELY go!

http://www.fattyscafe.com/

Scene: It is 12:12 am, you ate dinner at 6:30 pm, you skyped your cousin, you finished your laundry, perhaps went to work, paid some bills, put your kids to bed, played with your dog (whatever)…NOW you are hungry.  Great, it’s bedtime in 2 minutes and now you are hungry.  If you eat now chances are you are going to have a stomach ache that will either wake you up in the middle of the night, or you’ll wake up full and feeling sick. Neither of these sounds very appealing.  SO WHAT’S A GIRL/BOY TO DO?

Basically nothing.  Most research suggests that rice crackers are a good bedtime snack, well DUH they’re so boring they would put anyone to sleep. Let’s be realistic… 1% of the population says, “I’m hungry, I could really go for a rice cake!”

So, here are some snacks I recommend.

1. A small fruit salad with flax seed sprinkled on top

2. A small bowl of a very low sugar cereal with some almond milk and bananas

3. An egg white with a little piece of toast or tortilla

4. A little fresh food stalker style popped popcorn

Homemade Kettle Corn

1/4 c popcorn kernels

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp soy butter

2 tsp agave

salt

In a large pot heat the oil. Once the oil is hot add the popcorn kernels and butter and put a lid on the pot.  Once you hear activity in the pot hold it just above the stove and shake it until the popping becomes infrequent.  Remove the popcorn from the heat and add the agave, salt to taste.

This serving size will not be judged…

(picture borrowed from 101 cookbooks)

This “noodle” is crunchy, tasteless, odorless and colorless yet wildly intriguing.  It is made of nothing but kelp, a salt extract and water.  It has virtually no calories, no dairy, no wheat…nothing, it is straight up kelp.

I went out for lunch today and got a stir-fry over these crazy little kelp noodles and was disappointed with the dish but joyous with the prospect of creating something delicious with this strange textured new friend.

Perhaps some of you out there are shocked that I have never encountered the kelp noodle, and perhaps rightly so… but better late than never, no?

So, I am going to start playing with kelp noodles. I think first I am going to re-create a fried rice dish with kelp noodles.  Any other kelp noodle ideas?!?

http://www.kelpnoodles.com/

Gluten/Dairy Free Macaroons

1 bag unsweetened coconut

1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp agave

1 bag vegan chocolate

Mix the coconut, egg white, vanilla and agave together.  Shape the mixture into little mountains and bake in the oven at 350 degrees on a well-greased baking sheet for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown.  Let the macaroons cool.  On the stove heat up the chocolate chips until they are soupy, then drizzle the chocolate over the macaroons. MMMMMMM.

Serves 4

What? Why would this post have such a long title? Well, I am guessing some of you feel that if you are going to take the time to make such a dish, you should soak and cook the beans yourself, which can be a daunting task.  Then you feel guilty about buying canned beans because you might as well just buy the hummus at this point, right? Nopppers. That pre made hummus should be sent to the hummus police for identity theft; preservatives, too much olive oil, not enough lemon, too salty OR how about when there is milk or cheese in the ingredients list, how did that sneak in there?!?! There are so many things to go wrong.  It’s very easy to make hummus in a cuisinart or a mini-chopper. If you don’t have a mini you should go buy one, they cost about $25 and they are spectacular!

Roasted Vegetable Hummus

3 cans organic garbanzo beans

1 bell pepper

1 eggplant

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp tahini

1 lemon

olive oil

salt

Slice the eggplant and bell pepper thinly and roast them in the oven (at 350 degrees) on a baking sheet until they are soft.  Put the three cans of garbanzo beans in the cuisinart (without the water from the can) with the pepper, eggplant, garlic, tahini, 1 tbsp of olive oil, a dash of salt, and the juice of half the lemon.  If your cuisinart is too small for all the deliciousness then do it in batches.  If the hummus is really thick and not blending keep adding olive oil until it is smooth and creamy.  Depending on your tastes you may want to add more salt or lemon juice.

Serves 6

10 tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of basil

dried oregano

olive oil

1/2 c goat cheese (optional)

2-3 long, thin baguettes

salt and pepper to taste

This really could not get much easier… Dice the tomatoes, garlic and 10 basil leaves.  Add a pinch of oregano, some salt and pepper, and a splash of olive oil.  Taste it. Is it good? Not exciting enough? Throw in some more basil, oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil until its just right! Slice up the bread and toast the pieces in the oven. Remove them when they are warm and just a little crisp.  Depending on how you want to serve the bruschetta either pre-plate the tomatoes on the bread and add a sprinkle of goat cheese or keep everything separate and let people serve themselves!

Serves 4

Look at my dad dish up that bruschetta like a pro!