Carefree Gourmet

Pasadena Novel Cafe

Pam and I dined at the Novel Cafe this week for lunch.  I had been their twice for breakfast on my own, enjoying organic coffee and granola.  They have a nice menu – variety, wholesome, organic & fresh.  They have five locations.  We dined at the one in Pasadena, CA.  The restaurant itself is a really nice environment.  Great lighting fixtures, fun upholstered chairs, snapshots of guests on the walls.  They have a large bar area and great selection of organic coffees and teas decorate another wall.  They also have an outdoor covered patio area right in front.  I was a little too uncomfortable to dine outside (which is usually my first choice) but the 100+ degree weather was taking it’s toll.  So we “settled” for a window seat!

The Novel California Burger

Pam ordered the Novel California Burger with french fries.  It was a beauty!  I real burger (not some skinny, scrawny, frozen patty) that must have been 1/3 of a pound.  It was served on a gourmet onion bun (nothing like you get at the grocery store, it was truly a great bun) but you could have ordered wheat or sesame too.  It was loaded with cheese, tomato, avocado, lettuce, grilled onions, pickles, bacon, and mayonnaise.  It usually comes with mustard too, but Pam declined.  It was so tall and beautiful when it was served, we weren’t sure how Pam was going to eat it!  However….. she managed!  The french fries were thin – the way I like them.  I probably could have used a little more cooking as I like mine crispier.  But they were still tasty!  She enjoyed a glass of strawberry lemonade with her burger.  I liked it – it was still tart!

Sante Fe Chicken Salad

I ordered the Sante Fe Salad.  It consisted of organic romaine lettuce, black beans, corn (which I declined), homemade pico de gallo, guacamole, grilled chicken and balsamic vinaigrette.  It came separated like a cob salad did in the 90’s with a few corn tortilla strips on the top.  The lettuce was fresh and green!  I don’t like restaurants that serve you the romain hearts…. who wants to eat white water?  I want my greens!  I got great greens!  The guacamole was fresh, not packaged. The chicken was tender.  However, my overall impression as that it lacked flavor and I definitely would have liked it tossed.  I don’t understand why they had to separate all of the toppings into sections on top of the lettuce.  It doesn’t give you the opportunity to enjoy the melding of all of the flavors.  I also think a different dressing would have made a big difference.  I enjoyed a glass of iced tea.  BTW, they will brew any of their hot tea and make it iced too!  I thought that was very COOL indeed!

Three Layer Chocolate Cake

We ended our meal with a piece of 3 lay chocolate cake. It came straight from the refrigerated area with some funky decor (little whip cream spurts with a red grape poked in it).  The plate was drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce.  Overall, I didn’t care much for the cake.  It actually left an odd taste in my mouth.  If I am going to splurge on cake I want a GREAT tasting, moist cake with decadent chocolate and dark chocolate!  Rich!

Will we be back?  Yep!  Gotta try something else on the menu.  Pam also wants to try their carrot cake, but I bet they won’t be able to come close to matching her family recipe!

Ground Bison

As I continue to try out recipes from Living Beyond Organic: Nutritional Knowledge Redefined, I am experimenting with suggested food item replacements.  For example, last week I used duck eggs instead of chicken eggs.  No taste difference and according to Christina Avaness, a significant health difference.

Also recommended is that you switch out beef for bison.  I made Christina’s Bison Tacaritos which were excellent!  I also made the Quick-Fried Beans.  They turned out good too.  But back to the bison.  I purchased my ground bison at Whole Foods.   They sell it pre-packaged in the butcher section.  I really like how the bison cooked.  It separated into crumbles very easily and has little fat.

I was in the mood for chile the other day… I know, it was 106 degrees, I guess I am simply a chile lover.  Tastes great anytime!  So I pulled out my bison and whipped up a batch.  Tasted great!

The Suprising Power Of Family Meals by Miriam Weinstein

Pam and I interviewed author Miriam Weinstein, author of  The Suprising Power of Family Meals on our radio show Carefree Food Bytes on July 17th (if you missed it, it was archived and quite an interesting interview!)  What was once simply a regular part of life, the family dinner in America, is disappearing to the detriment of our children.  What is most important is the ritual of getting together as a family on a consistent basis.  Parents stay better connected with their children and children learn language skills, manners, develop self confidence and in studies that Weinstein covers in her book demonstrate that children are likely to do better in school, stay away from drug and alcohol use, and show lower teen pregnancy.  Also, children learn to COOK!

Pam and I are continually surprised to come across so many young adults that have limited or no experience cooking.  They are intimidated with the kitchen and preparing foods.  Pam and I learned to cook from our mothers and older sisters.  We had a rythum in the kitchen working together.  We learned, laughed, licked the beaters of cookie dough, sampled new recipes….and prepared many a meal together for ourselves and guests that taught us so much and created so many fond memories.

Author Miriam Weinstein

So start this ritual again if it is missing in your home.  Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect.  If one family member can’t make it, still have the dinner.  Create consistency.  Create an opportunity to share with your family over a meal.  Whether that meal be made from scratch, a comibination or a pizza delivered.  Just do it!  The rewards are endless…

Quiche

I whipped up The Ulitmate Quiche, from the book Living Beyond Organic by Christina Avaness,  for dinner last night and served to Pam and her family.  It is a simple recipe and fast to make.  Here are the ingredients (duck eggs, goat’s Gouda cheese, heavy cream, red potato, leek, red onion, Pecorino Romano, thyme, oregano, RealSalt, cayenne pepper, and artichoke hearts).

I had to run up to Christina Avaness’s home to get the duck eggs, luckily she had a couple she could share as she was awaiting a shipment to come in.  I also picked up some of her fabulous Papua New Guinea coffee, which I am sipping while I write this blog.  You can order both to be shipped to your home from LBOrganic.com.

The quiche came out beautifully.  I have never had one brown so perfectly on the top.  The consistency was perfect!  Now I used sheep’s cheese and my quiche turned out salty.  I don’t know that it was necessarily the fact that it was sheep’s cheese because last week at the farmer’s market I got a great sheep’s cheese that wasn’t salty at all.   The lesson learned here is that you want to taste the cheese before you purchase it.  At Whole Foods or any cheese store (or the farmers market even) they will give you samples.  Try it!!!

I will make this quiche again with different cheese and let you know how it turns out!

Author Christina Avaness

Pam and I had the joy of interviewing Christina Avaness, author of Living Beyond Organic on our radio show, Carefree Food Bytes last Friday, July 10th.  Christina is a student of the anceint practice of Rapheolgy and a self coined Food Alchemist.  (To understand the difference, it is best to listen to the archived show).  What I enjoyed about Christina’s recommended lifestyle, because that is what it is a lifestyle not a diet, is that it is doable!  I don’t feel deprived.  I do, however, need to think more about what I am eating, shop carefully and dine out smarter!  For example, eating out at a typical Mexican restaurant may not be a choice anymore…. but there are great Mexican food (like black beans instead of pinto beans) alternatives!

I have made two dishes out of Christina’s book, the EZ Yam Pie and the Bison Tacarito.  Both were excellent!  In fact, I served the EZ Yam Pie to my book club and everyone insisted on the recipe!  The bison tacos were great!  I didn’t tell  my guests what they were eating until after they told me how wonderful they were – I didn’t want to have there taste buds clouded with doubt before they tried it.

I got the bison at Whole Foods.   This is where the shopping may take you a little more time to do than you may be used to.  Christina has a website lborganic.com where she sells quite a few products that may be difficult to find (like duck eggs, even whole foods doesn’t have these; but your farmers market may).  Many of the items in her book, however can be found at a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods and many of them are pantry staples so you are only purchasing them once in awhile.

Living Beyond Organic

Her book is focused on foods identifyed as Super Enzyme Foods.  From an except in her book, “Enzymes possess life energy and have dual capabilities, functioning both chemically and biologically.  Enzymes are the super energy that makes all digestive processes and bodily functions possible.” Eating foods high in super enzymes, according to Christina, will heal our bodies.  She has a 21 day challenge.  I thought to start it this past weekend, but fell off the wagon, so to speak with some bad choices… like eating at a favorite Mexican Restaurant last night.  However, Christina did say that making small but significant changes are effective.  And so off to Whole Foods I will go today for Sucanat, brown rice syrup, organic heavy whipping cream etc.  And tonight I am going to try out a new recipe and share it with Pam and her family.  Hopefully I will get some great feedback!  Since Pam and I were just on the Donna Seebo radio show on Monday talking about quiche, I am inspired to make The Ultimate Quiche!  Need to call Christina for some duck eggs……

Andrea & Pam Enjoying Martini's

Pam and I are authors of Carefree Gourmet Buffets, Dazzling Desserts, Bountiful Brunch, Tea Anytime, Brazilian BBQ, Casual Cajun, and Classy Cocktails for up to 20 Guests.  Whew, that was long!  We are also the hosts of Carefree Food Bytes, a radio show broadcast on Voice America’s Health and Wellness channel.  Why?  Because we love food, love to entertain, teach, share, learn, explore and experience all aspects of food.

This blog is the search for the meaning of food in Los Angeles in the 21st century. We are all constantly bombarded with food trends and fads, latest “medical” hypes and marketing strategies all striving to get our food dollar. Pam and I live in the capital of the fast food world – where it all began – southern California.

This is our journey to find real food and to bring it home to our families for evening meals and gatherings were we entertain friends. We will feature real food and recipes, how to navigate markets and restaurants when selecting foods, feature special guests that base their lifestyles on real food, identify any “quick” foods that may indeed be OK to consume – working women need help out there!, and finally, discuss some of the health issues we face today in a society that rewards eating cheap, poor nutritional food-like products on the run.

Join us as we navigate the world of food and feel free to share you thoughts with us!