HOMEMADE IS BEST BY IKEA

Summary of the new IKEA baking book "Hembakat är Bäst" in bulletpoint form:

• Photographer: Carl Kleiner / Agent Bauer
• Stylist: Evelina Bratell
• 140 page coffee-table baking book
• Inspired by high fashion & japanese minimalism
•  to tone down the actual cake and put the ingredients in focus
• The recipes are presented as graphic still-life portraits on a warm and colourful stage.
• 30 classic swedish baking recipes everything from small biscuits to large cakes. Enjoy.

 I think this first one is a PRINCESS CAKE! like the ones sold @ the IKEA cafeteria!

I wonder if it is in english AND swedish... UGH I hope so. I love the deconstruction and reconstruction. You can appreciate the ingredients and then see how they come together as a dessert. It's simplicity in its design makes baking look so easy... I actually want to put in the time and start baking! 

BEFORE & AFTER @ THE GRIDDLE CAFE

"The Yellow Brick Road" pancakes. Can you tell which was when? and we continued to eat the leftovers the next two days! haha

EGG IN A CUP

Here is another recipe for "eggs in a cup" .. cup of bacon that is! this looks very easy and very delicious.

yum!

MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY.. OF YOUR LIFE

I cannot wait to try out this recipe from smitten kitchen. It combines two of my most beloved foods: pizza and breakfast. 

 There is also this restaurant called Little Dom's in Los Feliz that was featured on the Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate for their breakfast pizza! only served till 2 and with a looong wait probably. Here it is:

From Little Dom's Yelp page

1/2 a cup of love

I realized, i can and will put up recipes to try out here!!

I SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM

Summer is officially over and it is 103 degrees outside. to beat the heat here are some ice cream places i've been to recently:


LAKE STREET CREAMERY - tried lake street creamery yesterday finally! we tried a scoop of  the doughnut flavor which should've been made into an ice cream float, but that's what next time is for and their 5 o'clock shadow special called the don draper (yes, from mad men) which was described as bourbon, vanilla, smoke, and caramel. it doesn't sound appealing at all and it wasn't.hahaha, but i love mad men so much i paid $4.00 for it, gagged, then threw it away. hahahaha oh well.

cute waffle bowls and wooden spoons

i just noticed they had their own trash cans matching their truck!

some of the menu

  

and because of their don draper flavor, they went on a visit to the set of MAD MEN!

SCOOPS - heard about this place a lot and was excited to finally try it! they had many different combinations of flavors! alex & i had 4 scoops, 4 different flavors which is really "2 SCOOPS" on their menu. "1 SCOOP" is really two regular scoops. can't remember, but trying to research, the exact flavors we tried but it went something like this: passion fruit blueberry, banana bread something, maple beer batter i think, red wine and lychee, apricot and ugh  you get the picture. there were so many odd pairings, i think we sampled about everything and the girl who was helping us was friendly and had lots of patience, haha. the flavors are all unusual but surprisingly good, refreshing, and yummy!

 

 

 

here's a portrait by a favorite photographer ye rin mok of owner Tai Kim on the left..  i think

other places to try again and for the first time:
pazzo gelato
milk again
lake street again
scoops again

UMAMI BURGER: THE 5TH TASTE

the carnitas burger, tasted just like a pork taco.. in a form of a burger! it had, from what i remember, tortilla crispy strips, homemade juicy pork carnitas, jalapeño sour cream, & with some help of the internet, guajillo sauce (which i think is red sauce)

this is the SoCal burger & a truffle burger, i can't remember what was in it though :/ gotta go again and try it once more! and then one more time after that.

this is the umamix6 burger! look at that Parmesan crisp, the caramelized onions, & that cute little ketchup infused bun to top it all off.

it may not look like it is very filling but it is

here is a really good article and look into umami oh and just remembered that a new one a little closer to me will open up very soon!

PS father's office's only burger on the menu is just as good. there are two locations 1. santa monica, 2. culver city.

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE

today is the OFFICIAL start of summer!

Here are the breakfast burritos at rose cafe in corona del mar. one of the things i miss from orange county.

this had potato, egg, ham, cheese, jalapenos, fiesta burrito, i think?

and this right here is what i got the vegetarian burrito... and i added sausage! sautéed spinach, mushrooms, avocado, cheese, and potatoes. i've gone 4 times after this and have gotten the same thing! the burritos also come with a sort of marinara sauce/salsa that pairs perfect!