"Awash" - Los Angeles

 

I love to cook.

I love to open the fridge and wonder what ingredients I'm going to use for the next meal, I love picking the spices that will add flavor and colors to my gourmet concoctions, I love cooking with wine because it gives me an excuse to drink it during the process, I love creating new recipes and try them on some of my most daring friends, I love the surprised look on my guests' faces when they walk in the apartment and smell the delicious particles of goodness emanating from the stove and I love not having to wonder if the restaurant I'm in should be featured in the "Kitchen Nightmares" Series....However I do get lazy at times (or courageous) and after a long day of inhaling THC, I didn't feel like peeling, cutting and stirring....so we headed out to one of my favorite comfort food restaurant in Los Angeles: "Awash"

http://losangeles.menupages.com/restaurants/awash/

When I was first invited to go to this restaurant, I was a little apprehensive and I wasn't sure what "Ethiopian" food, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. The restaurant can be a little hard to spot the first time you go there but with the help of your favorite GPS system is shouldn't be too difficult. The dining room is fairly small and has little decoration but the incredible service, the outstanding food and the smile on the friendly waitress make up for it. I pretended to look at the menu because I always get the same thing when I go there but staring at the different food items on the menu is not only mouth watering but it's also inspiring. We ordered their "Vegetarian combo" (A staple dish of this Ethiopian restaurant) that includes split pea, lentils, spinash, potatoes and other goodies and we added a side of "Zilzil Tibbs" (long strips of prime tender beef seared over hot charcoal grill seasoned with garlic, black pepper and purified butter) which is one of their most delicious meat item. After adding a beer to the order, I made my way to the bathroom to wash my hands because if you didn't know this already, you eat everything with your hands in an Ethiopian restaurant (with the help of some Ethiopian bread called "Injera").

The sizzling meat came to our table a few minutes later and we devoured this entire meal in only a few minutes.

This is the perfect place to come with a few friends and share a few dishes with a few drinks.

Dear French Bakery

Dear French Bakery,

You never know how much you miss someone until they're gone....and I miss you.

You were there when I was a child, tempting me with your displays full of colorful candies and salivating chocolate croissants. I remember your crunchy baguettes waiting for me after school next to the jar of Nutella. I remember the sound of the slicing machine cutting up the loaf of bread previously picked by the gorgeous cashier. I remember staring at the rows of Kinder Eggs on the counter, wondering which one I would buy when I saved enough money to purchase one.

You were there when I was a teenager, helping me learn about life by offering me one of my first job as a cashier. You rescued me from my first hungover mornings with your fluffy croissants and strong espressos.
You fed me cheap and decent lunches with your savory sandwiches, allowing me to save money to buy important things like basketball cards and CDs.

You've been there throughout my adult life, luring me into your store with your  homemade desserts. You've comforted me during the rainy days with your tasty quiches. You've saved me from dehydration during the sunny days.  You've indulged my munchies with your filling pastries and you've managed to make my belly look a lot bigger than it's supposed to. 

You've helped me through my tough times and enhanced some of my good times. You've seen me grow up and become a man. Sometimes you're closed, but you've never been the jealous type and you never held a grudge against me for going to another bakery.

I can't wait to see you again next time I go to France and hope you will continue to surprise me with delicious creative treats.

Sincerely,

Me.

Sustainable Fish: Arctic Char

About a year ago I learned a little it about fish sustainability at one of the dive club meetings I attended. To sum it up, we're eating too much seafood and the entire world is over fishing. I was torn. The scuba diver side of me was sad because not only do I enjoy seeing sea life underwater but I also enjoy taking pictures of these sea creatures. However the gourmet stoner in me didn't want to stop eating fish. This dilemma came to an end when we were all given "Seafood Watch Pocket Guides" that will help us choose ocean-friendly seafood wherever we live or travel. My hippies side quickly became hopeful again.

You can find a "Seafood Watch Pocket Guide" for your region on this link:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx

At the end of the lecture, the speaker introduced us to some sustainable fish that most of us had never heard of before and actually cooked it so we could give it a try. This tender and moist fish was called "Arctic Char"

Trader Joe's carries some frozen arctic char that never disappoints and I always buy some for the lazy evenings where I don't feel like cooking a whole lot but I also have no desire to eat junky delivery food.

I took the fish out of the freezer three hours before the diner which in stoner hours is.....a loooong time!
I marinated it with olive oil, lemon, dill and black pepper. A few hours later I cooked some gluten-free pasta and made a side of eggplant and mushrooms. I then threw the fish in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes (more or less depending on the size of the fish). 


Once the fish was cooked I topped it with some grated cucumber mixed with sour cream. All my personas were happy that night.

Stack of Eggplant, Chayote and Tomato slices

Sometimes I pretend I'm on a cooking show where I try to come up with something good an creative. Yesterday was one of these days.

I had bought a lot of vegetables at the grocery store because I am trying to eat a little healthier these days and I decided to use them for my homemade appetizer. 

I cut an eggplant in thin slices and seared them in a pan with olive oil until they were a little softer but not quite cooked all the way. In the meantime I peeled a Chayote and let it cook in boiling water for about fifteen minutes. Once it was almost cooked, I cut the chayote in thin slices and finished with slicing the tomtato.

in a separate bowl I mixed some olive oil, sour cream, chives, salt and black pepper. I then stacked all the ingredients on top of each other alternating eggplant, chayote and tomatoes while adding a thin layer of the sour cream mix on top of each sliced vegetable. I topped it all with a slice of Mozzarella and threw it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes and finished by broiling it at 425 degrees for 3-4 minutes.

It was delicious and full of good vitamins.

 

Bagel Party

There is nothing like an easy but colorful and tasty breakfast to start the day on the right foot. After rolling a morning spliff by the sun, we threw two bagels in the toaster and waited a few minutes for the bagels to become golden. We proceeded to smoke the joint during our wait and sipped on our coffee while cutting up the delicious toppings. We covered our bagels with cream cheese, wild smoked salmon, avocado, cherry tomatoes and red onions. We added a splash of lemon, some salt and pepper and I poured myself some rosé wine before biting into this giant savory treat. It took us less than five minutes to put it all together not including the dish washing time, but I'm not quite sure how long my it takes for my dishwasher to wash the dishes

So if you have a freezer and a knife, cut yourselves a few bagels and throw them in there for emergency snacks. Sometimes it's just about having a few ingredients for our stony stomach to be happy. 

Grilled Feta

There are times when the will to cook is overpowered by the lack of motivation....especially after a few joints. Our primal stoner instinct tells us to pick up the phone and call the closest pizza place for delivery, but as long as you have a few ingredients in your fridge you can make something good and somewhat healthy in less than five minutes (which can be less than the amount of time spent on the phone with the person taking the order).

After watching Hell's kitchen on TV, I got hungry and decided to cook during the commercial break. I grabbed a big firm tomato from the fridge and cut it up in slices, I then grabbed the big block of Feta cheese that I had bought a day earlier and sliced it in the middle. I covered the tomatoes with the two thin halves of feta cheese, drizzled some olive oil on top, added salt, black pepper, basil and thyme and threw it in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes (which is usually about two commercial breaks later). I resumed watching TV and 15 minutes dumber, I got up from the couch and turned the oven to "broil" for three more minutes. when the cheese is a little grilled at the top take it out and enjoy this easy dish with some fresh bread or some naan. Make sure you don't leave it too long though, or the yummy sauce at the bottom of the dish will be all gone.