Avocado and Camembert

December 24, 2013

I am an absolute fiend for avocados. You probably know that by now. I literally can't get enough of them. Apparently they were my favorite food when I first started eating solid foods as a baby, and I might like them even better now. It doesn't hurt that I live in California, where avocados are inexpensive and plentiful, year round. The one year I lived in Denver I literally mourned for avocados every day. Now that I'm back home in sunny L.A., I eat a half an avocado almost every day. Yes, they are full of fat. But it's good fat. Really good fat. Avocados are delicious in salads, and on omelets and so many other ways, but the easiest thing is to mash them up and spread them on toast. Even better if you use a crusty bread and add a slice of soft camembert cheese first. Then a dash of pink Himalayan salt, and voila! - instant breakfast. It's so delicious I can hardly stand it.

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

The Best Carrot Cake

December 4, 2013

I have a confession to make: I really don't like cake. If I were re-doing my wedding, I would have pie instead of cake. Cake just isn't my thing. But this cake is an exception. In fact, as far as the actual CAKE goes, it's the best I've ever tasted. And you really can't go wrong with cream cheese frosting now, can you?

I made this recently as a double-tiered cake (cut the recipe in half) since the triple-tiered cake is just SO MUCH CAKE… but if you have lots of people you can share it with, go for the whole thing. It really is prettiest with three tiers, anyway!

Carrot Cake

For a bit of extra oomph!, set aside the 1 c. golden raisins in a bowl and cover with dark rum. Let soak overnight, or even just a couple hours before assembling the cake!

4 eggs, well beaten 1 c. packed brown sugar 1 c. white sugar 1-1/2 c. vegetable oil 2 c. unbleached flour 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. cinnamon 1-1/2 tsp. nutmeg 3 c. finely grated carrots 1 c. flaked coconut 1-8 oz. can crushed pineapple 1 c. golden raisins 1 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 325. Oil three 8" cake pans. Set out 1/2 c. butter, and an 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese to soften (for frosting). Put pineapple in sieve to drain (and raisins if you soaked them in rum). Beat eggs in large bowl. Add sugars and beat till light and fluffy. Add oil and mix well with whisk. Add the dry ingredients and beat till smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients and divide batter equally into oiled layer pans. Bake for 40 minuges or until knife comes out clean when inserted in center of cake. Cool slightly and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting 1/2 c. butter 8 oz. cream cheese 1 lb. box powdered sugar 3 tsp. vanilla

Mix together till smooth with a hand blender. Frost between layers and on top. Toast some coconut to sprinkle on top for garnish!

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.Recipe adapted from a family recipe.

Gazpacho

July 31, 2013

Is there anything more refreshing at the close of a hot summer day than a big bowl of chilled gazpacho? I think not. I have vivid memories of playing at the lake in my grandparent's backyard ALL DAY LONG as a child, and then running up to the patio in my bathing suit, sunburnt and blissfully happy, for a cold bowl of gazpacho. It was always made with the most incredible fresh produce that my mum and grandmother had purchased at a roadside stand outside of Cleveland. Now I find that sun-ripened Californian produce is even better than the produce I remember eating as a child. Next time you're at the farmer's market, why not pick up some of summer's most delicious bounty and turn it into a batch of yummy veggie soup?

GAZPACHO

Rub the raw edge of a cut clove of garlic on the interior of a glass bowl to release the oils. Add the following vegetables:

6 or more large ripe tomatoes, skinned and crushed 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely chopped kernels from 2 cobs of corn 1 cup each minced red, yellow and green bell pepper, corn, onion, celery (and 1/2 cup or more of any other seasonal vegetables)

Pour over the veggies: 2 cups fresh tomato juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Season to taste with tabasco, worcestershire and horseradish sauces, salt and pepper. Chill thoroughly and serve with garnish of chopped parsley, chives or scallions, or avocado slices.

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

Tea Time | Watermelon Mint Tea

July 19, 2013

I've never considered myself an "iced tea drinker," but that is changing. I guess I always equated iced tea with that nasty stuff they serve at restaurants-- it tastes like Lipton and has been so over-brewed that the flavor is more bitter and bedraggled than anything else. Or I would think of iced tea being that "sweet tea" they serve in the South-- so cloyingly sweet that my majorly sweet "sweet tooth" just wants to gag. But all that has changed. Sometimes someone has to put something new in front of us to try, and that is exactly what happened for me. I received a package on my birthday from my husband's aunt. She's a kindred spirit-- she used to live in France and we have many common interests. She also happens to be superb at choosing gifts. One of my favorite gifts I ever received was from her - a silver cuff bracelet with a Jane Austen quote etched onto it: "Teach us... that we may feel the importance of every day, of every hour, as it passes." Anyway, this year she sent me a box full of teas from The Republic of Tea. I'll be sharing about each of these teas, but since it's 80 degrees out today and I don't have central air conditioning, a post about my new favorite iced tea seems appropriate.

This is the Watermelon Mint tea and honestly, it's like all the best things about summer all summed up in a single sip. You FEEL the sun beating down on you, but a cool breeze tickles the back of your neck, you taste that wonderful flavor of watermelon and know that there is no place you'd rather be than right where you are, right now, in this moment. The mint adds a refereshing aftertaste and suddenly you feel 10 degrees cooler than you did a moment ago. Really. It's like magic. If this is iced tea, I'm sold!

Thank you, Aunt Glenda!

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

Hollandaise Sauce

March 14, 2013

Best Blender Hollandaise

3 egg yolks dash of salt dash of cayenne 2+ tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice one stick of butter

Put all the ingredients except for the butter into your blender and blend for a couple of seconds until they are combined. Then melt your butter in the microwave just until it is fully melted. Take the small cover off of the hole in your blender lid, and with the blender blades running, slowly pour the melted butter into the blender in a thin stream. The hollandaise will fly back up at you during this process, so I find it's best to hold a piece of paper towel over the hole with my left hand, just leaving enough space to pour the butter in with my right hand. As soon as the butter has been incorporated, taste-test to see if you need to add more salt, cayenne or lemon juice. Voila!

Image | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

Tea Time | Soho Tea

March 8, 2013

When I was attending the International Tea Festival here in Los Angeles last fall, I spent some time discussing teas with Emeric Harney at the Harney & Sons festival booth. Emeric runs the Harney & Sons shop on Broome Street in New York City, and he's responsible for blending the new Soho tea. I tried it for the first time at the festival and purchased it on the spot. Now I'm waiting for a shipment to arrive with a POUND of Soho tea because that's how much I love it. How could you possibly go wrong with adding chocolate and coconut flavors to black tea? The description from Harney says "This blend embodies the flavors of some of Soho's best sweet shops." As if I needed convincing!

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

Avocado Breakfast

March 7, 2013

We have had no shortage of avocados lately as our "neighborhood" avocado tree is producing more than we can possibly consume. But I still try to eat as many as possible, partially because I L-O-V-E avocados and partially because I don't want the neighborhood racoons and skunks to get them! Sliced avocado on toasted English muffins with poached eggs on top is one of the most simple and delicious breakfasts around.

Images | Floral Design | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

Tea Time | English Breakfast Tea

March 1, 2013

I don't know that there is much to say about English Breakfast Tea. It's a classic. Everyone loves it, right? I didn't become a serious tea-drinker until my first summer studying in London in my late teens. Each morning, I would join my fellow Shakespeare students in the breakfast room and a server would rush over with a hot pot of English Breakfast and a little caddy of toast. It became such a ritual, that to this day (over a decade later), I have trouble getting on with my day if I don't start it off with a cup of black tea. This particular English Breakfast, from Harney and Sons, is inspired by the same tea that the British began drinking regularly in the early 1800's- it's a Chinese black tea that is best enjoyed with a tiny bit of sugar and creamer.

Images | Floral Design | Styling by Lauryl Lane. Votes for Women teapot and teacup from the Newport Preservation Society.

Breakfast at Los Feliz Cafe

February 28, 2013

Although I am always up for lemon ricotta pancakes or beignets with Madagascar vanilla dipping cream, occasionally I'll find myself in the mood for a solid, no-muss, no-fuss breakfast. Los Feliz Cafe is the perfect destination when that sort of craving hits: good coffee, eggs cooked perfectly any way you want them, traditional pancakes or french toast, crispy bacon or savory sausage. A meal that will stick with you even if you're about to spend the day at Disneyland.

Los Feliz Cafe 3207 Los Feliz Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90039 -323-661-2355

Images by Lauryl Lane.

Tea Time | Laduree Othello Tea

February 15, 2013

When my dear friend Erin returned from a recent trip to Europe, she brought me this Othello Tea from Laduree in Paris. Now the Laduree on the Champs-Élysées was where I had my first French macaron the summer following my high school graduation, and to this day I define myself as someone who has been to Laduree-- so that's the backstory. I was certainly primed to love this tea, but OH MY it blew me away. Let me just share the ingredient list: India black tea, ginger, pink berries, cinnamon, cardamom. This is a spicy, full-bodied tea that I literally want to drink all day, every day. I can't get enough. I'm obsessed.

Images | Floral Design | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

Tea Time | Winter White Tea

January 25, 2013

White tea is rather a new thing for me. I'd tasted it before, but didn't really know anything about it until the recent tea sommelier workshop I attended. In fact, I didn't even know that the names of teas (like wines) are derived from their country or region of origin. White tea (or Bai-cha), by the by, comes from China. It's good. Really good. This particular blend from Harney & Sons combines mutan white tea with bergamot, giving it a light and citrusy flavor. There are few things in life less pleasurable than pouring hot tea into a beautiful vintage teacup and sitting down to enjoy it. And this ruffly camellia bloom seems like the perfect floral version of this soft and luxurious tea.

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.

Christmas Brunch

January 8, 2013

This morning I consumed the last of the holiday apricot rolls (our family's traditional christmas pastry), and reminisced about Christmas morning. Christmas morn has always been one of my favorite moments of the year, since I was quite young. When I was growing up, my family always slept in and then gathered in the kitchen to prepare ourselves a grand Christmas brunch. Not until we'd all eaten did we congregate in the living room to read Christmas stories, open presents and dig through stockings. Today, my husband and I continue that tradition. We sleep in as late as we can, and then we make ourselves a scrumptious morning feast. Many people tell me that Christmas morning is chaotic for them as kids and adults alike get up early and rush to see what Santa delivered. But not so for my family, and I am so grateful that I was raised in a family where the emphasis was on having fun and spending time together instead of on material things. It sort of puts everything into perspective to take some time to just enjoy being with the ones you love on such a special holiday.

Images | Styling by Lauryl Lane.