Status Change...Pending

Hello Interwebs,

I apologize for my absence. It's been almost a month since my last post. I've been crunched at work by day and house hunting on nights and weekends, obsessively checking RedFin and visiting open houses. I didn't make it through the Whole 30 - I did about a Half 30. But I continue to eat about 85% paleo, with a few exceptions like my birthday dumpling crawl of the San Gabriel Valley! We hit up 3 tasty places and I will say that by far my favorites were the giant meat pies at Beijing Pie House in Monterey Park. They were almost like British or Aussie meat pies, but when you bite into them they are filled with delicious savory broth. Yummmmm.

But enough about food! and on to an update on house hunting. The market in LA has been crazy. I started looking in mid-February, after coming back from Boston and realizing that the Game of Thrones prophecy, "Winter Is Coming", was not a metaphor but a real life disaster in my hometown. I was never going back. My first 2 weekends house hunting I saw a few really cute places, but I still wasn't sure about exactly what I wanted. Then as the weeks progressed, fewer and fewer houses came on the market, and they became smaller yet more expensive. Every house seemed to end up at least $50K over the list price. My realtor told me that the common strategy is to list low to get more people in the door and start these crazy bidding wars. (I know this is a good strategy because that's how I sold my Cambridge condo. Karma is a bitch). So I had to adjust my thinking - either go with a smaller place without all the "must haves" that I wanted, or go way out of my budget and eat dog food for the next 10 years. And not the fancy organic kind Puppy gets. I made a few offers but got quickly outbid, and in one case was beat by some Mr./Ms. Moneybags with bags full of cash.

I started to give up hope. Maybe it wasn't my time. Maybe it was a sign I shouldn't put down roots in LA. There are earthquakes! drought! Kardashians! Going through RedFin listings was starting to feel like reading OKCupid dating profiles - taking the fun out of a major life choice and making it kind of sad and creepy. Every day my RedFin updates read "Status Change - Sold" or "Pending", and had very few new properties. Finally, I thought, "If I don't see something this weekend, I give up. I'll rent for a few more years till I get my own bags full of cash."

Ah, me of little faith. Last week, I found a listing that looked potentially promising, or potentially disappointing. The pictures were terrible, there was no staging, and it was a 2BR with a "bonus room off the master bedroom." I had already seen a few places where the "bonus room" was in fact the 2nd bedroom, and would have been barely big enough for a hobbit. But it was in a great location and it had a red door - and I'm a sucker for colorful front doors!

I went to the open house, and the listing agent never showed up. But my brilliant agent encouraged me to go back and we went to take a look the next day. I walked in skeptically, not wanting to be disappointed. But after just a minute, I knew. This was The House. This was The One. It had a good amount of space, great location, built-ins in every closet, a detached garage to convert someday, and character! So many of the houses I saw were cookie cutter flips which looked slick but sterile, often with terrible fixture or decor choices. The kitchen and bath weren't great, but they weren't unlivable, and I knew it could make it my own.

Actually, I know I can make it my own. Because the day after we saw it and put a bid in, my offer was accepted! On my birthday! It was the best present I could get. And it was well within my budget with room to spare for renovations. So you know what that means? This blog is about to Blow. Up. With some home renovations. Who's ready to do a little light demo?

Although I shouldn't get ahead of myself. The home inspection could reveal major problems that aren't worth dealing with. So it's not in the bag. But if I do want it, flaws and all, it's mine.

And the best part of my week was seeing my RedFin notification today featuring My house - Pending!

Mucho thanks to Heather D, my fabulous agent!!! We still have a ways to go, but she has been an amazing guide through this process. Check her out at her blog, The Good Life LA. She's also got a great post about where to find the best pastrami sandwiches in LA!

Roasted Romanesco and Salmon and Paleo Aeoli

I've now completed 2 weeks of the Whole 30. It's been pretty good, except anytime I have to eat out. I had Korean food a few times and pretty sure I had some soy sauce, but I'm not going to beat myself over that. I haven't been posting all my meals, but this week I did make Nom Nom Paleo's kalua pork, paleo mayo, and a few thrown together dishes like this one...

Roasted Romanesco & Salmon with Paleo Aeoli

I love romanesco! It's like a broccoli and a cauliflower married and had an alien baby. It looks weird but is so tasty. You can eat it raw or steamed. Or roasted - which works for pretty much any vegetable you don't recognize.

1 head romanesco, chopped into pieces
1 tbsp avocado oil
1 salmon filet
lemon slices
a few sprigs of dill
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450. Toss the romanesco in oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Clean the salmon and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place dill and lemon slices on top of the fish. Roast in the oven for 10-15 miutes. Easy and done!

Paleo Aeoli
While my fish and veggies were roasting, I thought I'd try Nom Nom's paleo mayo. I've tried to make aeoli in the past but could never get it to work because I didn't have a food processor. Little did I know I could just use my immersion blender. This was so easy and tasty. It was a good substitute for the usual yogurt dill sauce I use when I make salmon. I must admit - the one thing I'm really missingg these days is dairy.

1 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
couple sprigs of dill

Throw it all in the immersion blender cup and blend. Simple!

Broiled Whole Mackerel with Crispy Ginger, Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spring Onions

I've never understand when people say, "I don't like fish that's too fishy." Isn't that the point? I love fishy fish. Especially a nice broiled mackerel. Mackerel is flavorful, high in the good omegas, cheap, and still sustainable if you care about that kind of thing. It's pretty popular in Korean cuisine, and when I Googled recipes there were a lot of British recipes as well. I'll throw my hat in the ring with the recipe I came up with tonight for Whole 30 Day 12. The crispy aromatics were a nice textural contrast to the oily fish, and the white balsamic vinegar was a nice substitute for rice vinegar.

If you're squeamish about handling whole fish like I am, close your eyes :)  It's well worth the ickiness. Or you could use mackerel fillets. But cooking a whole fish is so much more hard core!

Ingredients:

1 whole mackerel, cleaned and gutted

2-3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

1" piece of ginger, julienned

1 green spring onion

handful of cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp coconut aminos 

1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (available at Trader Joe's)

1 tsp coconut oil

Cut slits in the mackerel. Allegedly this helps prevent the skin from exploding; I think it just looks good. Sprinkle the mackerel with freshly ground black pepper. Place on a baking sheet (with parchment paper if you hate scrubbing pans). Broil in the oven for 10-12 minutes, flipping over half way through. You'll know the fish is done when it feels firm to the touch. You'll also be able to see the white flaky meat in those slits you cut.

While the fish is broiling, fry the garlic, ginger, and white bulb of the onion in the coconut oil. Add the cherry tomatoes and continue to cook till they blister and split a bit. Add the coconut aminos, white balsamic vinegar, and the green stems of the onions. 

When the fish is done, drain some of the oil from the pan. Mackerel is very oily and you don't want to overdo it with the grease. Pour the prepared sauce over the fish and dig in.

Silver Lake Saturdays - Whole 30 Day 10 - Butternut Squash, Parsnip, Leek, Cauliflower "Gratin"

Today was my favorite kind of day. A sunny Silver Lake Saturday when I don't have to do anything, but do just the things I feel like doing. Which today was going to workout at the Silver Lake Reservoir with LA Beach Fit, a trip to the Silver Lake farmers market, a tasty new recipe, and cruising the Sunset Strip with Puppy.

I haven't been to the market (or workout) for a few weeks because I was sick and it's been "cold" (50s-60s). So I think I went a little crazy. In addition to the usual bounty of fruits and vegetables, I stocked up on local sustainable fish, Greek treats (olive spread, garlic spread, and sundried tomatoes), and some cute non-edibles.

Silver Lake Market

Foxy Tote Bag by Berdoo T-shirt

Fun dog print on a couch by Upcycled

After my shopping spree, I went home and threw together this delicious Whole 30 friendly roasted veggie "gratin".

Butternut Squash, Parsnip, Leek "Gratin" with Cauliflower Bechamel

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed in 1" pieces

1 large parsnip, sliced in rounds about 1/2" thick

1 leek, sliced in rounds (cleaned well)

1 tbsp Whole 30 friendly cooking fat (ghee, coconut oil, etc.)

1/2 head cauliflower florets

1/2 cup coconut milk, or other Whole 30 friendly "milk"

1 garlic clove

3 eggs

salt and pepper

other herbs as desired

This is basically the same cauliflower bechamel sauce that I used in my Paleo Moussaka - I love it that much!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss your chopped up squash, parsnips, and leeks in coconut oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Roast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes as you prepare the cauliflower bechamel gratin sauce.

Add cauliflower, coconut milk, garlic, salt and pepper in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender. Add the eggs being careful not to let them cook in the hot sauce. It'll look kind of runny and lame - not like a real creamy, rich, non-Whole 30 bechamel sauce at all. But don't worry - the eggs somehow magically make it puff up into deliciousness.

Take out your half roasted veggies and pour the cauliflower bechamel over them. Pop back in the oven for another 25 minutes. You're done!

You could use pretty much any root vegetables for the roasting, I just had this on hand from my farm box and trip to the market. You might also want to add some greens like kale or swiss chard, just be careful to discard some of the water that will be released as they cook or you'll get a watery mess.

Lamb and Orange stew - Day 7

Yesterday was a leftovers day, and today I made new leftovers. I had lamb steaks in the freezer, and there's nothing better than a spiced lamb stew. I've made a few different versions in the past, my favorites using some type of dried fruit. I googled around and saw some versions using orange which I thought I was weird, but I got a ton of oranges in my farmshare so I thought I'd give it a try. Here's the recipe.

2 pounds of lamb meat, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tbsp paleo friendly fat (I used coconut oil)
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 chopped onion
3 celery stalks, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 cups stock (beef, chicken, or veggie)
1 blood orange

Mix the spices in a bowl, add lamb and toss to coat. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot, add lamb to pot and saute until brown on all sides. Work in batches so you don't crowd the pan. Remove the meat, add a smidge more oil, then saute onion, garlic, and ginger till onions are translucent. Add back in the meat, remaining vegetables, and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lamb is tender, about 45 minutes-hour. The longer you simmer, the more tender and flavorful the stew.

Zest the orange peel and set aside. Cut remaining peel and white pith from the oranges and coarsely chop remaining fruit. Add oranges and zest to the stew. Cover and smiier another 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I don't have a crockpot, otherwise I would recommend using one. I make a lot of soups and stews. Maybe I should get one!

Bubble, bubble, not too much toil or trouble for this tasty stew

Whole 30 Day 5

Today was Day 5 of the Whole 30 and I feel like I'm still going strong. If you like to cook, this is a great nutrition plan/food lifestyle/diet/whatever you want to call it. I hate using the word diet, because it implies total self-denial and misery. Maybe this is my "new-trition lifestyle"?

Today I got a delivery from my biweekly farmshare from FarmBox LA. I like FarmBox because you can get deliveries weekly or every other week, and they have a variety of sizes and add-ons. I get the basic fruit & veggie share, eggs, chicken, and a fish of the week. I've also tried their cheeses and even probiotic homemade dog food for Puppy. What a spoiled little boy. Plus, your goodies come in this super cute basket!

With today's harvest, I made a prosciutto wrapped rockfish with a lemon, dill, caper sauce. I also roasted some asparagus and French breakfast radishes. Asparagus and French breakfast radishes are SPRINGTIME vegetables. I'm already getting spring veggies! If I were back home in Boston, I'd still be getting kale, potatoes, and squash. And more kale. And more squash. Hooray for Cali!

And I'll also post my bestie's Whole 30 dinner of the day: Eggplant ricotta stacks from the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook. Five days into this culinary adventure and we are Nom Nom addicts. I highly recommend buying the cookbook. Even though you can find a lot of the recipes online, it's really cute in hard copy, and it's always good to support our Asian sistahs!

The other book I read to kick off the Whole 30 was "It Starts With Food" by Melissa & Dallas Hartwig. If you're interested in the "whys" of the Whole 30, it gives a good foundation in nutrition without being too technical or too cheesy.

That's it for Day 5!

Chawanmushi, Paleo Moussaka, and Material Girls

I love weekends because I can just cook up a storm. Eating paleo requires a good amount of work, but it is totally worth it. Plus there are so many great free recipes online that you're never at a loss for inspiration or guidance.

For breakfast, I made a Japanese chawanmushi - a savory egg custard filled with whatever meats or veggies you want. I won't post the recipe since Nom Nom Paleo does such a good step-by-step tutorial here. It seems a little complicated, but you're basically just boiling water, so no sweat. I filled mine with leftover roast chicken, portobello mushrooms, and kale. Somehow the kale all ended up at the bottom. The dish is already pretty paleo, except for substituting soy sauce with gluten-free coconut aminos.

For lunch, I just had leftover avocado chicken salad. But for dinner, I made my new favorite dish - paleo moussaka!! Moussaka is like a Greek shepherd's pie with eggplant, ground lamb or beef, a tomato sauce, and a bechemel sauce. I used this recipe from The Iron You and the cauliflower bechemel sauce she makes is amazing. I halved the recipe because I had only 1 eggplant, but I wish I had tripled the cauliflower sauce. It looks kind of thin and runny before you put it in the oven, but somehow it puffs into this fluffy, polenta-like consistency. And even though I used coconut milk, you really didn't notice the coconut flavor. Seriously it was so good! Nostimo! (That's "delicious", in Greek).

And since I had a Greek-themed dinner, I'd like to send a shout-out to my favorite Greek-American friend, Elaine Dimopoulos, who has a book, "Material Girls", coming out in May! They just released a trailer for her book (which I didn't even know was a thing) and I am so excited to throw her a fabulous LA book tour party. The book is amazing, so I highly recommend pre-ordering it now!