oh so tasty: frozen yogurt with fruit toppings

who else is addicted to frozen yogurt?! it’s one of my favorite snacks, but grabbing to too often does add up…so now i would like to share some good news: until Dec. 11, print out & bring this coupon for a buy-one-get-one-free deal. woohoo!

…with vanilla ice cream! it was soo yummy, i ate the whole thing all by myself. here are the before & after photos:

before: the cake was all warm & melty inside, and the vanilla ice cream nice and cold

chocolate lava cake

after: it looks like a big mushed up melted mess now, but oh so yummy. i think i may have had a lil too much

chocolate lava cake...after i inhaled it

lookie what i got to try - blueberry beer!

i’m usually not a fan of beer, but this one tasted like blueberries, yum. and the bottle is awfully cute…

it’s dineLA restaurant week ! a great opportunity to check out restaurants in the los angeles area for a discount, and possibly find new favorites i had lunch at vinoteque on melrose yesterday and was pleased with the delicious food. it’s a cute lil place with both garden and indoor seating. my dear friend and i sat outside, right next to an herb garden! the service was attentive, although a bit slow in bringing out each course. we each ordered something different so we could share. everything tasted amazing, and i especially loved the mascarpone panna cotta. i would definitely go again!

and now, i present to you the delicious food!

appetizers:

lamb meatballs

melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi!

entrees:

pork belly blt sandwich (with breaded halibut, yum!)

salmon with spinach and sunchoke sauce

us bears really like fish, and both the halibut in the sammich and salmon were mighty yummy

desserts:

strawberry mascarpone panna cotta, nom nom nom!

pineapple carpaccio (the melting blobs on top are mango and raspberry sorbet!)

yummy! 3 kinds of chocolate from ikea: hazelnut, milk, and dark

i love going to ikea to browse furniture and home goods, and what makes a visit to ikea even better is the fact that they sell food to satisfy my munchies after i’ve spent hours walking around the huge warehouse. i usually always grab a hot dog and soda, but on my most recent visit i spotted chocolate! i am a little bear that LOVES chocolate. so i bought one of each: hazelnut, milk, and dark chocolates. yummy!

do you guys like going to ikea, and do you ever buy food there? if so, what are your favorites?

what should I do with this kabocha?

a few days ago, i received a kabocha squash (a Japansese version of winder squash), and i had no idea what to do with it. thank goodness for the internet! i googled and found many recipes for preparing this tasty and nutritious squash/pumpkin, and chose to go with a simmered kabocha recipe found on champuru.net . i didn’t have all the proper ingredients on hand so i made a few substitutions, but my simmered kabocha came out nicely, if i do say so myself!

ingredients:

1 lb kabocha
3/4 cup dashi stock (i substituted with chicken broth)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. wash and scrub the entire kabocha well because we will leave the skin on. carefully cut the kabocha into 1-inch cubes…this may take you awhile since the uncooked kabocha is pretty hard and tough to cut through.

kabocha is tough to cut!

removing the seeds

2. Place all ingredients except kabocha into a pan and bring to a boil. Add kabocha to pan.

gently stirring the simmering kabocha

3. Lower heat and simmer until liquid is nearly gone.

4. And it’s done!

my finished kabocha!

yummy mini bran muffin for me!

here’s how i made my pie (adapted from joyofbaking):

me frolicking in granny smith apples before they were peeled, cored, and cut into slices for pie making!

you will need:

two 9-inch pie crusts (either made from scratch or store bought)

about 8 medium sized apples

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbs. lemon juice

1 tbs. plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 tbs. unsalted butter

peel, core, and slice apples, then place them into a large bowl. add sugar, salt, cinnamon, and lemon juice, and mix well. let apples sit & macerate for about 2 hours (so all the water will drain out). save the juices because we will use it later. after 2 hours, preheat oven to 450º F.  let your pie crust pastry sit out at room temperature. pour apple juices into a microwaveable cup along with the butter and microwave on high for 6 or 7 minutes (or until it’s syrupy and caramelized). prepare pie for baking by placing bottom pie crust in pan. Mix the apples with the cornstarch, then add syrup mixture. Fill the bottom crust with apples, and top with the other half of pie crust by rolling it gently over the apples like i’m doing below. don’t forget to slit the top crust so the pie can vent while baking.

rolling the top crust over the pie & getting it ready to go into the oven

if you want, you can glaze the top crust with some milk and sprinkle with sugar to get it to bake to a lovely golden brown color. don’t forget to cover the edges of your pie with foil to keep it from burning! you can take the foil off for the last 10 -15 minutes of baking. Bake your apple pie at 450º for 10 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350º F and continue baking for another 30 – 40 minutes.

the finished product! a nice slice of flaky, warm homemade apple pie. just the right amount of tartness!

there’s nothing quite like a fresh baked pie…what are some of your favorite recipes for baked goods?

Here are the 10 most dangerous foods to eat while driving. I must admit that coffee and soda are some of my favorite to have on the road with me, but can see how eating ribs and wings while driving can be problematic. What are some of your favorite snacks to have with you on the road?