I love a good vegetarian meal and even better - a vegan meal. There is just something about eating so clean, organic, and animal free that makes me feel good and healthy. Tonight I went to my favorite vegan restaurant in Los Angeles called Real Food Daily. This place is the best. It is the place to go for delicious vegan food. RFD goes so far beyond "alfalfa sprouts and a plate of mashed yeast"; their food is creative, inspired and delicious. From burritos to lasagna to chocolate pudding to beer and wine this place delivers on the "oh my goodness that is soooo good" front. 

www.realfood.com

http://www.facebook.com/RealFoodDaily

From RealFoodDaily website:

"Ann Gentry has spent the past twenty-five years striving to raise the standard of vegetarian cooking in this country. Ann is the creator, founder and operating owner of Real Food Daily, the only restaurant in the Los Angeles area that serves a 100 percent vegetarian (vegan) menu using foods grown exclusively with organic farming methods.Bon Appétit magazine declared “Ann Gentry, the creator of Real Food Daily has taken two different California trends – vegetarian foods, and the organic seasonal cooking popularized by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse – and come up with a cuisine that is as interesting and delicious as it is healthful.” 

Sometimes I visit Los Angeles...

Hsi Lai Temple

Dodger Stadium

Somewhere on a freeway...

Downtown Los Angeles

Heading for the Hills

Looking to the Valley

Rancho Palos Verdes

Autumn in New York

There are few things more delightful than living through the change of seasons in the Northeast.

Central Park

Charles Askegard Farewell Performance at NYCB

Steve Jobs

Apple Store, Upper West Side, NYC

Classic Campari

If you are not drinking Campari this summer, you should be. Campari is a bright red Italian liquor made from herbs and fruit. It is a perfect warm-weather liquor that can be mixed with anything from oranges to white wine. I like it with orange-flavoured sparkling water, a generous slice of fresh, juicy orange and topped with a sprig of mint. Delicious.

Coney Island

Trav'lin' Light

Anita O'Day. One of the foremost jazz singers of all time. She was the first woman to record for Verve, enough said. This woman's voice is incredible. I wish I had a pile of money so I could run out and scoop up every single one of her albums - on vinyl.

If you have never listened to her and are a fan of excellent jazz vocals - go out and get one of her albums immediately!! I am currently obsessed with 'Live in Tokyo 1963'. Heavenly.

The French Chef

Recently I spent a few Saturday hours watching episodes of The French Chef. Julia Child was such a unique cook/chef/tv personality and overall entertainer. Now, I am a bit of a sap but...I literally laughed and cried watching these shows. I laughed because she is hilarious. The episode 'To Roast a Chicken' is classic Julia Child with her naming and playing with the chickens as she is explaining how to roast each one. And then I was bit teary-eyed in the episode where she makes a classic bouillabaisse. This seafood stew is filled with every sea creature one can find and served with crusty bread. Delicious. What I loved about this episode is the passion and pure love and joy that emanates from Julia as she discusses the many types of fish one can put into the bouillabaisse. There is a moment where she presents a drawing of a particular fish so the audience knows what to look for. It was a great little moment. Her passion for food is contagious. Julia Child is a classic example of finding what you love and making it your work and reaping the benefits from doing just that.

To Roast a Chicken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohiUbQyDhk

A Look Back

A few favorite photos from past journeys.

 St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Yanahurco Ranch, Ecuador

 Jaipur, India

 Great Wall, China Dubrovnik, Croatia Mumbai, India

 Forbidden City, Beijing Bay of Plenty, New Zealand Stockholm, Sweden

Edamame 'Hummus'

EDAMAME HUMMUS

*This recipe has been adapted from an adapted recipe from an adapted recipe...there are many variations but this is the one I make. It is delicious.

1 bag frozen, shelled edamame (about 3 cups)

3 tablespoons tahini sauce (prepared; both Trader Joes and Whole Foods will have this as I am sure other good markets will as well)

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup water

1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil (extra virgin)

drizzling of sun-dried tomato oil (the oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes)

salt and pepper to taste

6 sun-dried tomatoes for a generous garnish

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large, covered pot. Add frozen edamame and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain into a colander. Let the beans cool for 10 minutes.

Place edamame, tahini sauce, water, lemon juice,and olive oil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Blend the ingredients in the food processor for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides, and check consistency. This is where I start adding salt and pepper and the sun-dried tomato oil to taste. Keep blending and tasting until the hummus is creamy and you are not able to see any chunks.

Garnish with slivers of sun-dried tomatoes. Serve with pita chips, crackers, crusty bread or vegetables. Seriously, this goes with anything.

Serve immediately or refrigerate in a covered container for up to two days before serving.

New Food Finds

Recently I had the pleasure of roaming the city with a few food-loving colleagues. There is something to be said for a sit-down lunch during the endless days of television production. So, on those days when the cameras aren't rolling, it is a delight to take some time and actually sit down to a meal. This may seem like a given, sitting, but when you're used to eating standing up, or sitting on a dirty floor, perhaps in a van or even squatting down next to a curb somewhere, sitting in an actual chair in a restaurant can make you feel like a human being again.

VESELKA

144 2nd Ave, New York, NY

veselka.com

An East Village classic, Veselka has been holding court on the corner of 9th and 2nd Ave for over 50 years. They are open all the time, they deliver, and they serve what they term "Ukranian Soul Food". Their menu consists of classic Ukranian dishes such as borscht, pierogi, bigos and goulash. I had the Lentil Salad that was honestly one of the best I've had; warm letils, tangy feta, and crispy vegetables. One day I'm going for the pierogis, I swear. The ultimate comfort food.

MUD

307 E 9th St, New York, NY

themudtruck.com

Another little East Village gem, MUD serves the best coffee. Seriously. They also have The Mud Truck which roams around the city but can most times be found at Astor Place and Sheridan Square. Its big. Its orange. It smells divine. If you follow Mud on twitter you will always know where to find them: http://twitter.com/mudpeople

DINER Restaurant

85 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY

dinernyc.com

Diner Restaurant sits on a quiet block just a few steps away from the Williamsburg Bridge. The menu is filled withe seasonal, simple ingredients, and hearty stews. I had a delicious kale soup filled with shaved Parmesean and a warm baguette on the side. A perfect little lunch.

BECO

45 Richardson St, Brooklyn, NY

becobar.com

This is a terrific Brasilian restaurant and bar in Williamsburg. Everything on their menu looks delicious. And the smells wafting out from the tiny open kitchen are seriously intoxicating. No kidding. They make this amazing dish of sauteed collard greens with garlic (couve) that is so simple yet so good. And because its a Brasilian joint of course there are some amazing steak dishes. My friend had a filet minion sandwich that nearly made me drool just looking at it. But, as I am not much of a meat eater these days, I opted for the Cuscuz c/capers e salmao defumado: couscous in mild curry with bell pepper, carrots, raisins, capers & smoked salmon. Ridiculously good. Obrigado, Beco!

Oh, how I love the Coffee Bean. This is my favorite go-to place for good, organic coffee and teas. I'm partial to a soy-latte, sometimes iced, and the Zen green tea. So comforting. Why am I devoting an entire post to this little coffee house? Because there isn't one in New York! Granted, there are better coffee shops in New York, but the Coffee Bean is just one of those LA places that I always need to go to straight away when I return from a trip or, like now, when I've been gone for so many months. It just makes me happy. 

One of my most favorite places that I have traveled to is Bariloche, Argentina. Located in the Patagonia region of South America this is a stunning part of the world. The Andes mountains, deep lakes, thick forests of tress, meandering rivers...Gorgeous. I found it to be very similar to British Columbia in that way. This intense, palpable sense of nature and life all around you. Now, I am not the most outdoorsy of gals, but I fell in love with this place. The food, the people, the scenery, the way of life. It was hard to leave.  

                             The Andes

My time in Bariloche was brief, only a few days, but it had a profound influence on me. I think about this place so often and have many little things in my home that keep me reminded of my time there. What made it most special for me were the people I met there. I had the pleasure of staying at a ranch outside Bariloche that was brimming with life. The ranch was owned and maintained by a family that was so kind and generous to me and the people I was with. They cooked our meals, made sure we were always happy, and left bottles of Malbec at night for us to drink before bed. It doesn't get much better than that.  

I loved being in Bariloche and at this very special ranch. I will never forget that family. 

 Sunrise, Fortin Chacabuco

Our cabin: the site of many good times.

 One of many lunches, served to me by the most handsome cowboy. 

The traditional, classic mate.