Sunday night stuffed peppers

I stuffed myself like a pepper this weekend with fried chicken and pork products so I felt like I needed to use beef tonight. And, last week Sandi told me that she made stuffed peppers so the thought had been percolating in my head. I added some healthy components and paired it with roasted asparagus (hon's fav) for a winning Sunday feast!

Jess' Stuffed Peppers:

Cut off the tops of four peppers. De-seed and rinse out the inside. Place in a square baking dish and cover with Saran. Microwave for three min on high.

Brown 8% lean hamburger in a pan with a touch of evoo, garlic salt and Lawry's seasoned salt.

In a big bowl, grab a few handfuls of spinach, pour a bit of veggie broth on it to moisten, and sprinkle garlic salt. Microwave for 1 min.

Microwave 1 serving of pre-made chicken rice and 1 serving of brown rice. Dump into the spinach bowl and add the browned beef and mix together. Season to taste and add a handful of a four cheese blend. Mix thoroughly.

Stuff mixture into the four peppers, top with more cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Voilà!




Yuumm! I ate a whole one myself.

chicken soup for my sick soul

So as mentioned previously, I'm sick. (mentally, yes, a little bit, but we won't get into that now) Physically. I've been fighting a head cold, sinuses, congestion, sore throat and head aches for a week plus now. It totally sucks since it's not bad enough to have to call in from work, nor was I actually able to last week since my entire department was out of office. It's just a nagging, lingering annoyance. My dear friend Jessica offered to bring me her miracle chicken soup which she makes regularly for HVSGF who tends to take ill every now and then. But seeing that I'm an hour by car from her, I declined the generous offer and took that as inspiration to whip up my own batch. Was mine a miracle soup? Well, that remains to be seen as still I'm mildly ill and hopped up on vitamins, Nyquil, Thera-flu, and Claritin as current moment...

I've often attempted to master a basic soup. Because as Top Chef says, "The mark of good chef is if he/she can make a good soup." But every time I go at it, I start strong, but then flounder and fail. I think my downfall is when I begin to season the broth, I begin to reach for things like soy sauce, green onion, fish sauce or dashi. And thereby making the concoction too Asiany. Or I get too overworked and decide not to boil in the vegetables, but rather serve them sliced raw or I remove the meat and shred it on the side. And although it looks pretty to serve the vegetable and meats separately with the soup broth ladled over them, I end up robbing the broth of all the flavah (side note: I've had a few success, but nothing that I'm able to do consistently. It's like a chicke-pho, that I'll try again and post about soon.)

Anyhow. Chicken soup

1) Brown sliced chicken breast fillets with bit of salt and pepper
2) Add chopped onions and celery.
3) Continue to saute over medium heat and add diced carrots, cilantro and fresh basil
4) Add chicken stock (low sodium for heath and as not to be sick and dehydrated!) Bring to boil and simmer.
5) Add salt and pepper as needed. Don't forget to skim the fat!
6) Oven roast corn on the cob and grape tomatoes (a tip from Jessica! The Queen of Oven Roasting Veggies) and add to the soup.
7) Remove chicken. Dice and return to soup.
8) Add a thick or large pasta (like rigatoni. small pastas will get soggy faster). Tip - you can add the pasta straight to the soup. The starch on the pasta will help to thicken the broth. You can also add the pasta right after the soup is removed from the heat so it doesn't get over cooked and remains aldente.
9) Serve ladled over fresh spinach and topped with chopped basil and cilantro. (had to add that fresh vegetable touch in!)

And I had to give in to something Asiany at one serving... to make the soup more hearty, just add duk (Korean rice cakes)!


Update: perhaps I can call it miracle soup as I think I'm 99% healed! Rach, if you need some soup, I'm happy to bring you some!

omg she almost died!

Image via bravotv.com

So I know that recapping Rachel Zoe is Jessica's thing, but not to spoil her recap, I have to talk about one little thing from last night... She almost died!

Oh, mah GOD. In the last 5 minutes of Monday's episode, that ended in a cliff hanging "to be continued...", Rach was stricken down by some kind of nausea and illness that they tried to blame on "general exhaustion" or a "chronic imbalance". Ok. I was thinking that maybe she had just seen some killer "shoeties" or ahmazing vintage Chanel? Or something else so bananas that it nearly made her die? I guess we won't know for sure until next week.

But the funniest part of it all is that she was what Brad called "fashionably nauseous" as he offered her a clutch to barf in. Rach was wearing a Louis Vuitton Jacket, Brian Atwood cork shoes, DSquared sunglasses, and later we see her holding her white Birkin as a barf bag in Tay's car and then lying fully bejeweled in a plush rob with fur thrown over her on bed dressed in designer pillows and sheets. Now that's how one should be sick.

I too nearly died when Tay and Brad kept saying that she's going to die. And then when they tried to make light of the situation by saying "Rach, don't die. Because we'll have to dress everyone for the funeral. Everyone is going to need outfits."

Rach, as someone who was also just sick and nearly died, I have a little advise: (perhaps in exchange for some styling tips later? or not.) Just try your best to push through it. It's really not that bad. Sure there are moments of discomfort, but you get to curl up in bed, knock yourself out with drugs, and then when you wake up, you're 5 pounds lighter!

ugh, i'm sick... Or I was.

This is my first-aid kit. An array of cold and flu fighters that I keep on hand and hadn't had to reach for in years... and yes, the drugs inside were a little past expiration. But I think they may have been ok still since they seem to be working and I'm not dead!

Congestion, headache, sore throat. I don't think it's the Swine Flu, but I've been calling it the "London Flu". That's because my illness is due to the British gal in my office who came into work sick, 2 days in a row. Both days she was only in for like an hour and had to go home. But it was long enough for her to infect me and others in the office. (I'm SO NOT bitter...) I'm a total germaphobe in the office; wiping and spraying things with lysol constantly and using a variety of hand sanitizes at all times. But alas, my efforts were for not. sigh. So I'd like to make a general shout-out to everyone out there: If EVER you're sick, STAY HOME! Don't go into work!!!

I've not been able to exercise, which has been nice. But I'm a little scared that I'll fall out of shape and get doughy since I've tried to keep up a 2-3x a week routine. Although, my appetite and craving for sweets have totally gone down. And that coupled with my eliminating of dairy from my diet (cuz of the mucus) has had a fun little side effect: my stomach is totally flat!

Deconstructing the RZP: So is she rexy or not?

In this very special episode of the Rachel Zoe project, Tay alienates herself even further from the group, Rachel gets very nervous about modeling herself, Rachel gets hurt feelings by people calling her "pin thin", and we see her reunited with Nicole Richie at the Byron & Tracey salon opening.

When Rach is not fretting about her modeling for Marie Claire, she is fretting about being called too skinny. She tries on several dresses that either have an open front or open back (neither of which are good because you can see her ribcage or her spine) but then claims that she can't just wear a normal full-front and full-back dress because it is "summer". She's upset that people would make such judgments about her, despite the fact that hello, she is one giant clavicle! But she just dances around the elephant in the room. Here's a friendly piece of advice from me to you, Rach: Just tell us about it. Tell us you're naturally skinny (though this is doubtful given that old college "modeling" picture). Tell us that you work out incessantly, or you subsist on one meal a day, or that you use some kind of diet pill so that you can stay sample size skinny. Tell us that working in this business (which is based only on looks) has taken a toll on your self-esteem and you've forgotten what a "normal" size is. The reason why people are obsessed about your weight is because you clearly have an issue with it. So just address these issues and we can all move on.

I speak out of love. Rach's style is spot on - loose caftan dresses, long wavy hair, sequins and glam; I am a big fan of all of it. And her passion and excitement for what she does is contagious. I get excited about fashion because she's so excited and I've taken to repeating her signature catch phrases of ah-mah-zing, I die! and bah-nah-nas. Bottom line is that I love her, I love her style, I think she seems like a sweet (if somewhat ditzy and simple) person, but I just want to know: Why is she so skinny?

feeling a little greek

As I'm sure you've noted, I cook a lot of Asian food. A lot. I love it but I too tire of it after a while. So the other day I craving something different and was determined NOT to go the market again. (especially since I had just been a few days prior and tend to err... over buy when I'm there) So in digging through my fridge, I found inspiration in the grape tomatoes and the Persian cucumbers that I had on hand.

Greek Tuna with Mediterranean salsa served with a cucumber tomato salad

1) Marinate tuna steaks in olive oil, thyme, fresh chopped basil, cilantro and garlic, pepper, and a dash of salt. 15-30 minutes.
2) Pan fry the steaks in a little bit of olive oil while basting them with the remaining marinade (note: only baste the raw side before flipping. salmonella is no one's friend!)
3) Top steaks with salsa. (Salsa: combine chopped cilantro and onions (purple if you've got em) with a light drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.)
4) Toss cut diced Persian cucumbers and tomatoes with balsamic vinegar (add cubes of cheese.... I'm off dairy at the moment due to illness) and serve on the side.

easy-peas-opolis!

Party in the USA

Did I tell you guys that I am totally loving Miley's "Party in the USA"? Perfect summer jam. But you know what I love even more? This "Party in the USA" music video that I found on YouTube; mostly because it is clear that everyone in it had a blast making it (including the little wiener dog). I literally watched it five times in a row, smiling the whole time.




Many MANY years ago, Jason and I and some other friends went to Maui and one night, because we were bored and had had a bottle of pineapple wine, we made a video spoof of "My Best Friend's Wedding," which was ultimately unwatchable (and before the days of YouTube), but we had the best time making it. I think we laughed until we cried and then we laughed some more. It is still one of my all time favorite moments ever. I miss the gang...I hope we can all get together soon!

Deconstructing the RZP: Wherein I disgress and harangue about leather jackets, among other things

RZP Season 2, Episode 3.

Oh Tay. I know that all of your bitching and moaning is really just wrongly-placed insecurity over not being the only "styling assistant" in Rach's newly growing business. But you know what happens when you grumble too much? Brad gets put in charge of dressing Annie for the Oscars, including getting her changed into the surprise performance piece, and he totally kills it! He shuts it down!

Not to mention, although Tay had to help Rach pull the outfits for Liv's wardrobe, Brad was the one that got to be there when Liv came to try everything on. Because he's not such a Debbie Downer. And Rach's clients all seem to love to work with him. Did you hear how he says that he's "partied with Liv" on several occasions? Has Tay ever "partied with Liv"? And, what is Liv doing out partying? Doesn't she have a son she's supposed to be raising?

Aside from saying that every girl should have a killer pair of red heels (check), Rach also gives us this bon mot about how essential a leather jacket is: “Throw a leather jacket over a ballgown. Throw it over a romper. Throw it over anything and everything. It’s the quickest way to get that edgy, cool, I-didn’t-try-too-hard look.” Now, I can see what she's saying (conceptually), but I don't think I will be taking this piece of advice to heart because I am just not a leather jacket girl. Even those new shrunken ones that are more like bomber jackets.

Don't leather jackets remind you of the '90s? I remember my first year in Philly, everyone was wearing those ugly leather jackets in the winter that looked something like an unfortunate combination of a blazer and a peacoat.


(Maxwell Spense Leather Blazer from Wilson's Leather.)

These days, the leather jackets are cuter, I admit.


(Jacket from ShopBop, Mike and Chris "Janus" leather jacket.) (Also, as a side note, my mom would DIE for me to have this model's hair.)

But, I dunno, there is still something...icky to me about wearing an entire jacket made out of leather. If you get even just a little hot (or go to some restaurant with a pervasive food smell), can you just imagine what that thing would smell like?? It is a good thing I live in LA where it rarely is cold enough to justify leather so I can continue to ignore this fashion trend.

However, because I am full of contradiction, I am totally digging the trend of the leather (looking) legging, notably Sass & Bide's Black Rats.


From Net-A-Porter, which notes, "Pair these ruched wet-look leggings with a tunic or oversized tee for a directional day-to-evening style. Shown here with a McQ blazer, a Rick Owens Lilies top, Christian Louboutin shoes, a Philippe Audibert bracelet and a Chloé clutch."

This leggings-and-a-boyfriend-blazer-with-cuffed-sleeves look is ubiquitous now. Am I too short to pull it off? Also, I don't know about the whole wearing blazers outside of work thing. I mean, I have to wear a suit most days, and the last thing I want to wear "out" is part of a work suit (or at least something that looks like it is part of my work suit). I also feel like girls that wear blazers out to social events look like they take themselves too seriously. True? What do you think?

ANYWAY, back to the liquid leggings. Currently, ShopBop is selling grey "Black Rats" for $176. But! Last weekend I found a pair of shiny leather-esque leggings at Target for $12.99! (They also had lace leggings and side zipper leggings!)



Once my shopping hiatus ends (and the trend is totally played out) I can buy these leggings and rock them all over town!

feel like chinese

I was feeling like Chinese food the other day... I think it was because I walked past China Grille, the Panda Express knock-off in the mall food court. And they were making that delectable crispy orange chicken that I crave every now and then... It's SO good, but you just know it's going to clog an artery.

So rather than give in to my nose, I attempted to create healthier versions of some Chinese lunch-counter specials. But there was no way I was going to try making orange chicken. Some things are best left untouched.

Marinated beef stir fried with mustard cabbage and bok choi

1. Cube beef and marinate over night with green onions, soy sauce, bourbon, sugar, milk
2. The next day, heat oil and add garlic and lightly saute chopped bok choi and mustard cabbage with a dash of garlic salt
3. Remove cooked greens and strain. Set aside
4. In same pot, heat oil and add marinated meat (strained from sauce) and brown until edges are slightly crisp.
5. Add strained greens and stir fry together added garlic chili sauce, julienned ginger, and oyster sauce to taste.

Spicy eggplant

1. Wash and slice Asian eggplant and fresh garlic
2. Saute garlic and add eggplant (prior to this step, if you chose, saute ground beef or pork in oil)
3. Add season packet of sauce-concentrate
4. Stir fry and mix well

Dishes are best eaten together to balance the flavors. Enjoy!

avec eric

Hurray! How much do we amour Eric Ripert? and how much to I want to eat at Le Bernardin? A lot and a lot! Now, thanks for PBS, we can all get get a little bit closer to THE Master Chef.

Avec Eric is the new TV show described here by the master himself":

Over the last few months I have been traveling quite a bit while taping a television show called, 'Avec Eric' which will air on public television in the fall of this year. During these travels, I visited locations where food and tradition come together to create really special dining experiences. The show will take you with me to the source of some of my culinary inspiration and then back with me to my restaurant and my home kitchen to see how that inspiration turns into a recipe.

Really, the whole idea behind 'Avec Eric' is to encourage you to 'cook from life' Learn more about our first episode: BIG FLAVOR

Yes, it's nothing overly original. But love it! I love being encouraged to cooking from life, love how his site aveceric.com is written in his voice (ghost-written? well, maybe.), love his food, love that he's friends with Anthony Bourdain, love how he's not an ass (or at least doesn't seem like one) like certain other douche bag chefs who's restaurant I did not have a good experience at.

The show is supposed to start airing this weekend... but I will sadly not be able to see it here in the OC. According to the city by city station guide on the site, it's supposed to play here on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but on the TV listing and on the KCET listing it is no where to be found... grr!

So, what-up PBS OC? When are we getting Avec Eric? You know it's better than Antique's Roadshow.

Easy end-of-summer dessert

Sour cream angel food cake, fresh strawberries, and a couple spoonfuls of brown sugar. Not the healthiest of desserts, but a fresh and welcome change from my regular scoop of Haagen Daaz Caramel Cone.

is summer over?

Although fall is my favorite season, I'm not quite ready to say good bye to summer. But the other day, I went the Halloween Preview at Rogers Gardens, this beautiful garden store/botanical garden in Newport, and the fall decor, mountains of pumpkins and the 85 degree weather kinda made me ready for the cooler days of fall.

Well, there are only a few more hours of Labor Day left...

Deconstructing the RZP: Mismanagement Rules

Season 2, Episode 2.

The main thing I learned in this episode is that fashion designers seem to be cookoo crazy pants. DVF calling her collection of eskimo-outfits "nomand friends"? Ummm, huh? And Armani seemed out of touch and senile. When Rach asked him who he designs for, he said not an actress in particular, but "a person with an allure." Oookkaay, Georgio.

BTW, Tay needs to just deal already. Yes, the organization is mismanaged. Yes, there is no communication and Rach neglected to tell you at some point that you didn't actually need to pull all those dresses and accessories for the Jen Garner shoot because it would only be beauty shots. And yes, there is no room for job growth and you are under-appreciated. But seriously? You knew all this already and yet you continue to work there, continue to grumble and whine to everyone BUT Rach herself (Joey, Brad), and she does nothing to help her situation. Has she told Rach she doesn't want to style anymore? Or does she just want to continue to play the martyr every chance she gets?

Fashion-wise, this episode was also a dud because we already know that Annie chooses the Armani Prive dress without a train the end. I mean, it is a nice dress, but agreed, the trains were a disaster.

I'm also wondering how there is only one dress for all different body sizes? The skinny model tries on the dress because Tay is too "big" for it, but then Annie looks actually "bigger" than Tay. So then how does Anne fit into the dress? Do they let it out at the last minute? Sew Anne into it the day of for the perfect fit? Questions for the RZP next season, I guess.

early street trend for spring 2010 - the snuggie?

and you thought that this couldn't get any better... just you wait!

So you know that we know that you secretly want one, but just don't want to admit it. A friend of ours is learning to sew and when asked what she'd like, Jessica exclaimed "A snuggie!" (but one with 4 arm holes so she and HVSGF can share one... note to you snuggie, product diversification!) The snuggie is brilliant for a lazy day of catching up on your full DVR. Or perfect for curling up on your couch on a chilly evening with cup of cocoa and Twilight. Well, maybe not right now as we are enjoying hopefully summer's last heat wave, but very soon you'll be googling it to see how to get one.

But it seems that the good people at snuggie want you to take comfort to the next level by wearing your snuggie out in public.

One of my favorite look-busy-at-work-by-reading-things-off-the-internet blogs, The Cut from NY Mag, posted today that they had received a fashion week invite from snuggie!

Amid the glitz and glamour of New York Fashion Week, Snuggie™ will host a runway show of its own, taking center stage to showcase the latest colors, fabrics and patterns. Celebrity host Ross “The Intern” Mathews will dish about the sexiest looks in blanket-wear and adult, kid and even canine models will hit the runway.

Image via nymag.com

Well, shoulders and nipped waists are in this fall... so I guess the trend continues next spring. Just roll of your couch and you're out the door. But don't forget to grab a belt and cinch it!

fat for fall

Image via the New York Times

So, naturally, right after I drop 10 pounds and get myself back in shape, the New York Times announces that the "pot belly is IN" in an article called "It's Hip to be Round"!!!

What?! Poppycock! Nonsense! What is this tomfoolery?! Have they finally lost it at the Times?

I call foul. I'd like to think that I was savvy enough to be ahead of the times since I hat a gut this past winter and spring and just got rid of it in time for summer. But I know that I'm no trend setter. How can such a thing be in?! Especially when we are constantly being beat over the head by teachers, parents and newscasters about healthy living, the benefits of exercise, commercials trying to end the raging epidemic of childhood obesity, McDonald's serving salads, Shape Magazine and Ruby!? Besides didn't the Times just write about how competitive dieting in the office place is the new betting bracket? (Which, btw that's so true since I know at least 4 people who've engaged in pound wars with co-worker or with groups of friends and have had success and fun at the same time...) Anyway, I say it's laziness and a couple of fat writers/editors trying to get us all to gain weight so they themselves feel better about their own rock solid guts!

Too pronounced to be blamed on the slouchy cut of a T-shirt, too modest in size to be termed a proper beer gut, developed too young to come under the heading of a paunch, the Ralph Kramden is everywhere to be seen lately...
What the trucker cap and wallet chain were to hipsters of a moment ago, the Kramden is to what my colleague Mike Albo refers to as the “coolios” of now. Leading with a belly is a male privilege of long standing, of course, a symbol of prosperity in most cultures and of freedom from anxieties about body image that have plagued women since Eve.
(ps- side note, people at the NYT, I am assuming that you not only have pot-bellies of your own, but are old since I had to google "Ralph Kramden" to figure out what you were saying in your old-speak.)

The author and the people he interviews ramble on to blame the economy for laying guys off and forcing them to eat chips and watch tv all day, they blame the hipster for creating an anti-fad, they blame Obama becuase he's fit and the hipster want to be what he's not so are lining-up for lobster rolls(huh? we didn't suddenly see a spike in college attendees with Bush or a sudden swell of faithful husbands with Clinton), and they blame the gays for making hard bodies the new "prissy". How about you blame yourselves for falling out of shape?

I can only conclude Mr. Times Writer (Guy Coocoo Trebay) that you probably have a mouth full of same lobster rolls that you note the hipsters are eating.

Sign me up for the Post.