When I worked in the Valley, I spent quite a few lunches at Hugo’s Tacos.

Source

Their horchata was sweet and refreshing, and their grilled chicken and fish tacos never disappoint. But there’s one star of the show– one thing that only Hugo’s has to offer that makes the trip from any part of town worth it: Honey Chipotle Salsa.

It’s sweet, it’s spicy, it takes any taco/burrito/nachos and turns it into the most wonderful thing you’ve ever eaten.

Now that I live in the Valley, I try to get to Hugo’s as often as possible. But a few weeks ago, Mike decided to try our hands at our very own grilled fish tacos WITH HONEY CHIPOTLE SALSA.

First order of business: take lewd photos of ginger at the grocery store. Be slightly embarrassed.

Step 2: Grow up and make tacos.

Mike brushed some tilapia with olive oil and sprinkled each side with Nature’s Seasoning (I talked him out of the extra seasoning salt that’s in the background).

While he grilled upstairs (and I took no photographs since I was downstairs), I chopped up chipotle peppers. It got messy.

I mixed in the rest of the recipe and nuked it (I know, real fancy), and that was it!

We didn’t want to make guacamole, but we also didn’t want to just slice up an avocado, so we went with avocado cream. Just a little salt, some nonfat Greek yogurt, and lime juice were all the avocados needed.

We realized that we had a lot of honey chipotle salsa and avocado cream left over, but we hadn’t bought any tortilla chips. So we tore up some leftover tortillas, sprayed them with oil, sprinkled a little salt on top, and baked them for a few minutes.

Life –> lemons –> tortilla chips, or something like that.

Fish, avocado cream, salsa, lettuce. That’s it. And it’s heaven.

I had two and some chips + dip. Mike had six, because he’s an animal.

I didn’t invent the individual recipes (and probably couldn’t have– turns out there’s quite a few things in honey chipotle salsa that I wouldn’t be able to peg on taste alone), I just put them all together. So here is where you can find everything:

The recipe for the honey chipotle salsa can be found here.

The recipe for the avocado cream can be found here.

For tips on how to grill tilapia, click here.

This weekend, we’re either spending a day at the beach or spending a day exploring a new neighborhood in LA. It’s cold as hell outside, so I’m guessing whatever we do is going to involve wearing pants.

Speaking of cold, gloomy weather, enjoy my favorite stay-indoors song. Grab some coffee or hot tea and cozy up on the couch while you’re at it.

Oh, hi there.

It’s me, the one who never writes in the blog she has.

I guess my excuse could be that the average workday lately is in the 11-12 hour range.

Or that when I have free time, it’s spent with friends, Mike, and/or doing fun things around the city.

Or that when I bake or cook things, I usually do it in such a frenzy that I f0rget to take pictures.  I promise you– they all came out delicious.

But today I’m back with something sweet. Something that I had for breakfast and loved so much that I had to have more.

Biscotti.

But first, my Sunday.

Mike and I had a slow, cozy day following his birthday party/housewarming party we had thrown. There are no pictures– I had too much fun and am terrible at taking photos at events– but it was filled with great friends and good food (can I call it good if I made it? Sure… why not).

We got up, walked to breakfast where I had a delicious latte and a piece of cranberry walnut biscotti, then we walked back and vegged out until about 4pm.

It took about 2 hours of talking about hiking before we actually got up to hike. But we got there. Eventually.

Dakota came, too.

Griffith Park was pretty crowded because of the nice weather, but we got lucky with the trail we chose. Pretty, green, and mostly empty.

The Griffith Observatory was a few miles away, and the line for their parking lot was probably just as long.

And just in case we forgot we were in the middle of the city, over to our right was a reminder.

Cars, cars, cars. So many cars.

#selfiesunday #whataterriblehashtag #ihatemyselfforevendoingthat #LOLZmyfaceisroughlooking

After hiking, sushi-ing, and another visit to Lazytown, Population: 2 (House of Cards! Kevin Spacey! Politics!), I got around to making biscotti.

Searching on my phone (getting my laptop would have required me to get up from the couch, which was not an option), I found a good recipe and modified it so that it required no grocery store trip (back to Lazytown…).

PS… please see the below common search terms for “biscotti.” Apparently biscotti is both a delicious coffee accoutrement and a brand of little girls’ dresses.

In case I didn’t mention it in my last post, I’m now the proud owner of one of these fancy ass things…

It makes baking a heck of a lot easier. Cream butter and sugar for 900 minutes? SURE! Mix vigorously? GOT IT!

After all the hands-free mixing happened, I made a log.

A biscotti log.

The log baked. The log was sliced. The log crumbs were eaten.

I sliced the biscotti diagonally and placed them flat on the pan to bake some more.

15 minutes later… golden, dense, and hard-until-dunked little logs of deliciousness.

Here’s the recipe, but I’ll include my version below anyway. There really weren’t that many changes.

Giant Blueberry Almond Biscotti

adapted from Giada’s recipe, but it’s not very different

makes 7-10 huge pieces, and 1 was enough for my entire breakfast

• 2 c flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/2 c or 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c slivered almonds
• 2/3 c dried blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking pan with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a larger bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in eggs and add flour mixture after. Mix until just blended. Add almonds and blueberries.
3. Form the dough into a log. The recipe suggests 3 inches wide, but I made mine a little wider so the biscotti would be bigger– about 5 inches.
4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden. I think my oven may be calibrated a bit too hot, because mine was done in about 30 minutes, even though the log was thicker (let’s try to say log as many times as possible, shall we?). Allow to cool.
5. Using a serrated knife (large one is probably best, like a bread knife), cut the biscotti diagonally down the LOG. The recipe suggests 1/2″ to 3/4″. But mine are an inch thick. Dealwithit.
6. Place them back on the pan (don’t even bother using new parchment paper) sliced-side-down and bake for another 15 minutes at the same temperature.

You can do something fancy like dip them in chocolate once they’ve cooled, but I don’t like my biscotti overly-sweet.

It goes together well with my bitter coffee mug.

And on a Debbie Downer note, I honestly can’t wait for today to be over. Dakota kept me up all night with what I fear might be kennel cough. I just want a couch, a cuddle, and another episode of House of Cards.

HAPPY MONDAY OR WHATEVER.

I was talking to one of my co-workers about food (because what else do I know how to talk about?), and we got on the subject of fritattas.

“It’s like breakfast Velcro,” he said, “you can throw whatever you want at it.”

So on Sunday morning, I rummaged through my fridge and freezer to see what I could throw onto the Velcro.

Almost a whole onion, sun-dried tomatoes, frozen spinach, chicken apple sausage, and one potato? Yep, that’ll work.

You should probably use a cast iron skillet for your fritatta. There might be some way to partially cook it in a cake pan on a stove, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. Cast iron skillets are great, because you can cook on the stove and transfer directly to an oven.

I bought this enamel cast iron skillet a couple weeks ago, and it’s so pretty that I keep it out on a shelf for display. Enamel cookware is something I’ve wanted for a while, but it’s usually out of my price range. I happened upon this guy looking for a cheap rug at Big Lots, and the $25 price tag was well worth it.

To start out the stove portion of things, saute some onions. Raw onions don’t do well in breakfast Velcro. Put some garlic in there, too, while you’re at it.

Then throw in EVERYTHING ELSE.

It’s time for the Velcro.

If you don’t have a sleeve for the handle, throw an oven mitt onto it so you don’t forget that YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TOUCH THE HANDLE OF A CAST IRON SKILLET* (don’t use it to lift the skillet though– put your hands in the mitts and lift it like that).

After the bottom of the fritatta has solidified, it can go into the oven so the cast iron skillet can work its magic and make you a big, fluffy frittata. You should also put some cheese on it before you put it in the oven. Parmesan, at the very least.

Fluffy, cheesy, delicious Velcro.

Fritatta, aka Breakfast Velcro

serves 4-5

• 8 eggs, beaten
• half onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• various produce/meat (tomatoes, par-boiled potatoes, spinach, deli meat, leftover cooked chicken, veggie burger crumbles, kale, etc.)
• 1/3 c shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
• 1 T parmesan
• 1 T olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9-inch cast iron skillet, saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. If any meat is raw, cook it now.
2. Throw in rest of ingredients, allowing any frozen items to defrost. Add eggs.
3. Cook eggs until the bottom has solified, about 5 minutes.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake in oven until the center has solidified, about 10-15 minutes (closer to 15 for me).

In other news, I’ve been kind of lazy in the workout department. I used to make it a point to be active at least 4 times a week, and I’ve probably done less than that in the last two weeks. I decided to get back in the swing of things on Sunday, and it felt great and then terrible. There was huffing, there was puffing, and then there was a walk break.

But when I was almost at the end of my rope, I blared the song below. I highly recommend it as your “power-through” song.

Tomorrow I’m planning to wake up early to do some conditioning with a few moves inspired by Fitnessista’s Winter Shape-Up (I’m mildly obsessed with her blog in the non-creepiest way possible).

Hope your week had a great start, and I’ll catch you back here in a few days.

*Not that I did that or anything…

Carrie Bradshaw went through her share of men during Sex and the City‘s run. I couldn’t stand most of them. There was the Russian (so old! such a jerk!), Berger (the cranky hipster), and of course Big (don’t even get me started on how irritating it was to see her repeatedly revisit that disaster). But there was one guy I had always wished Carrie would end up with.

Aidan.

Aidan was kind, funny, HOT, and knew how to make some kick ass furniture.

And just as luck would have it, I happen to know someone else just like him. He also happens to live in the same apartment with me.

Mike undertook the task of building us a dining room set back in November. We’d seen a few sets we wanted, but nothing was under $500. So he looked up a few designs and came up with his own version.

The table would be comprised of three long planks that were stained dark. We wanted our apartment to look mostly modern with a few rustic accents, so a basic design would blend in best.

After building the frame and the tabletop, Mike used a rich mahogany stain that allowed the wood grain and imperfections to show through (liked that link, didn’t you?).

And rather than put a bunch of chairs around the table, we wanted benches along the long edges of the table and a single chair on each end.

So he made the benches, too.

The last parts left were the table legs and chairs for the ends. We decided to dismantle an inexpensive set I bought back in college and use the table legs and two of the chairs.

The chair cushions were old and had weird water marks on them, so I decided on what turned out to be the easiest and quickest way to make the chairs look brand new: staple on new fabric. I used an inexpensive pattern from Ikea.

Before…

… and after!

Here’s the finished product all together:

While Mike hones his carpentry skills and I occasionally staple things to other things, I’ve been whipping up some food now and then. And one of the more recent things I’ve made is something I started making right around when Mike and I began dating.

Spanish eggs!

Chop up some tomatoes, onions, and anything else you like (Mike loves mushrooms), let them get tender in a skillet, then crack a few eggs on top and let ‘em cook. Not much harder than that.

It’s much easier than getting a non-blurry photo on my phone, I can tell you that.

This last time, I used leeks instead of onions, mostly because that’s what I in my fridge. You can use anything from the onion family, really.

I ended up cooking the yolks until they were firm this time, but that was kind of on accident. A minute or so less, and the yolks would be perfectly runny.

Throwing some parmesan cheese on top right when you crack the eggs is also a good idea (when is cheese not a good idea?).

You can eat Spanish eggs on their own or over your favorite kind of toast. I prefer mine over whole wheat biscuits made using this recipe.

Spanish Eggs

serves two

• 4 eggs
• 2 1/2 c tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 c onions (leeks or shallots are also good)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 T olive oil
• salt + pepper to taste
• all of the parmesan cheese in the world
• optional: mushrooms, capers, ITALIAN SAUSAGE (I just thought of that one and now I want to make this again… right now)

1. Heat olive oil on medium heat and saute the garlic and onion until onions are clear. Add in tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low. Cook until tomatoes have basically turned to mush (5 minutes or so?). If you want to add optional mix-ins, do so now (unless it’s meat, and then you probably should’ve put it in around the onion-garlic stage).
2. Crack eggs gently over tomato/onion/garlic mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and cover. Cook until egg whites are solid but yolk is slightly runny (start checking after about 5 minutes).
3. Serve alone, over toast, or over your favorite biscuits. These are mine.

This weekend is going to be spent moving the last remnants of my old apartment out, so there probably won’t be time for cooking. But I’ve been told there is a surprise adventure in store for me on Sunday morning– to where, I have no idea.

If I don’t report back in a few days, call for help. Or send brownies. :shock:

Oh. Hey, guys. It’s been a while. Sorry about that.

If I gave you a photo of Dakota sleeping in my file drawer, can we call a truce?

Lately I’ve been… you guessed it. Busy.

But I have two resolutions to accomplish this year (and hopefully continue indefinitely). One of them is to floss more, and the other is to write more.

I started my resolutions back in December when I came up with them (I don’t believe in waiting until a certain date to start something when it’s better to start earlier), and I’ve done pretty well so far. I floss daily now rather than every couple of days like before (quit yo judging), and I’ve gotten into a groove with writing in some capacity almost every day. The ultimate goal is to do both daily.

One of the most common resolutions I hear every year is some form of “get healthy”– be it go to the gym, eat less sweets, or eat more vegetables.

If you’re trying to eat more vegetables, the easiest way to introduce them into your diet is to get creative. And to try all different kinds.

Ever tried okra?

I’m from the South (well… central Florida, which is technically in the South), so okra is pretty easy to come by. The main gripe I hear from people is that okra is gross because it’s slimy, but that’s a problem with an easy remedy.

Chop ‘em and bake ‘em. The sliminess is all but gone.

Even after drying the okra out in the oven, they’re still not that sexy of a vegetable. So you have to dress them up a little.

I think they’d look great with red. Specifically… sun-dried tomatoes.

Maybe a little yellow, too, in the form of a sweet yellow onion.

Yes, I know this photo is terrible. It’s hard to focus on my phone when my fingers are covered in olive oil.

Then throw in your green buddies and saute them until they’re soft– about 5 minutes. Serve them with your favorite Southern dishes– like grits (recipe below) and some barbecued meat/meat substitute of your choosing.

Sexy Sun-Dried Tomato & Okra

serves 3, or 2 people who really, really like okra

• 3 c okra, chopped (ends removed)
• 1/4 c sundried tomatoes, julienned
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt + pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chopped okra on pan, seed sides up. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. In medium skillet, heat olive oil and saute the onions for a couple of minutes, then add in the sun-dried tomatoes and continue to saute until the onions are clear.
3. Toss the okra into the skillet and saute for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Goat Cheese + Leek Grits

(adapted from the recipe on the back of Bob’s Red Mill Polenta)

serves 4-5 (LEFTOVERS FOR DAYS!)

• 1 c Bob’s Red Mill Polenta
• 1 c low-sodium chicken broth (veggie works, too)
• 1/3 c goat cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 T butter
• 2/3 c leeks, rinsed and chopped (not sure how? click here)

1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and saute leeks until softened. Add chicken broth, 2 c water, and salt and bring to boil. Gradually stir in polenta and reduce heat to simmer.
2. Continue cooking on low for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in goat cheese, cover, and let sit for 2 minutes before serving.

Now, back to what I’ve been up to lately.

In October, I dressed up as Daria and paraded around West Hollywood.

In November, I visited my family in Tampa. My brother had to work on Thanksgiving, so Mia and I paid him a visit at his fire station. My mullet skirt came, too.

And in December, Mike and I began the process of moving in together. He moved a few things in, we painted, and he began building our dining room table (more to come on that later).

Most of the furniture will be coming from my apartment, which I’m leaving at the end of this month. In the meantime, Dakota rests upon what serves as the interim sofa in front of the interim entertainment center.

I’ll post more photos as more of the apartment comes along. This weekend we’ll be painting the currently-empty master bedroom and finishing up the dining room set.

Stay tuned… this time the next post will be coming much sooner.

This weekend, we skipped Pancake Saturday…

… for Mud Run Saturday.

Mike, my friend Alisa, and I participated in the Malibu Canyon Dirt Dash, which benefitted the Salvation Army’s summer camps.

There were multiple events: a 5k trail run, 10k trail run, kid’s fun run, and a 5k mud run. Never ones to pass up a chance to crawl through mud, we picked the last option.

Alisa and I before the race.

I’ve done three mud runs in the past, but this was the first that wasn’t put on by a for-profit company. The obstacles weren’t anything nearly as cool as the kinds I’ve done in other mud runs, and some weren’t very secure (I got pretty scraped up climbing over a tire-hay-wooden-plank combination that was on its last leg), but with all the up- and downhill, it was still a very challenging course.

And a very muddy one.

And a kind-of-scary flexing photo.

I’m not entirely sure what the hell was in that mud, but even after washing my hair twice and deep-conditioning it, there was a weird, rough feel to it after blow-drying it. I ended up scrapping everything and putting it up in a ponytail with a braid.

One of Mike’s co-workers was having a barbecue out by the beach, so after a cat nap and the world’s longest shower/hair disasterfest 2012, we headed out that way.

… but not before whipping up a Peach Upside-Down Cake from Use Real Butter.

I don’t like showing up to parties empty-handed, and I needed an excuse to try this recipe out. It was pretty damn delicious, and I’ll be making it again soon.

Not pictured: the scraped-up messes that were my shins and knees.

And now, I leave you with this. Have a great week!