LA CAUSA is a local non-profit organization in ELA that works to re-empower youth that have been pushed out of the traditional educational system and provides them with knowledge, training, and hands on preparation in becoming agents of change in their community!  LA CAUSA has now opened a sub-division called “PALOMA” – (People’s Affordable Local Organic Market Alterations)….

It’s a great program that is reaching out to local corner markets to increase the percentage of healthy food/produce  available in stock and by doing so decreasing the amount of junk food in store.  They are transforming the East Los Angeles Food Desert into a Food Oasis one store at a time.

The first store to under-go the make-over is Edith’s Market located at 498 South Ford Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90022, which is positioned directly across the street from Humphreys Elementary School.  

Since this store is central for many kids in the community, LA CAUSA/PALOMA thought it would be clever to teach the children at the elementary school how to incorporate some of the new produce available to them into their diets.  This is where I come in…. it was my pleasure to take part in this program and give the children a salad making demonstration along with samples.  KALE SALAD that is.  I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction I received from the majority (95%) of the schoolchildren.  They asked for second and third servings of kale salad!  SCHOOL AGED KIDS EATING KALE!  Some of their parents were on hand to witness the demo and were shocked by their kids reactions, which prompted them to find out more about the leafy green.  Here are a few pictures from the event along with the kale salad recipe!  Try it on your kid today, there’s a huge chance he or she will love it. 

Ingredients for kale salad:

1 – medium sized bundle of Kale (chopped)

1 – red onion (thinly sliced)

1 – cup sliced almonds

1 – cup dried cranberries

Ingredients for salad dressing:

2 – medium sized lemons (Juiced)

1 1/2 – tablespoons honey

1 – teaspoon minced garlic

2 – tablespoons olive oil

1 – tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 – teaspoon soy sauce

In a large mixing bowl add chopped kale.  Set to the side. In a medium sized bowl add all ingredients for salad dressing and mix well. Then pour salad dressing on top of kale and allow it to sit in dressing for an hour to two hours. Then add in onion, almonds, and cranberries. Mix well and serve! Enjoy!

Here are some wretched facts about the ELA community and why these programs are important: 

• – In East Los Angeles you are more likely to find  a fast food chain than a market with fresh produce.
• – There’s 3.6 markets per 100,000 residents in East Los Angeles compared to 12.5 markets in West Los Angeles.
• – The diabetes rate in our community is skyrocketing and with a teenage obesity rate in East Los Angeles being 19.6% it’s only going to become an epidemic.

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. This is my way of taking pride in my community and it’s fantastic progress! The recipe and opinions are my own. 🙂                  

All photos taken by: Mando Lopez

Ingredients for peanut butter and jam cookies:

1 1/2 – cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 – cup butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 – cups sugar

1/2 – cup dark brown sugar (packed)

2 – eggs

1 – cup flour

1/4 – cup almond meal

1 – teaspoon baking powder

1/2 – cup jam (I use strawberry or fig….use the flavor of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

In a mixer bowl add peanut butter and butter and mix to completely combine. Then add sugar and dark brown sugar and mix on medium speed for 4 to 6 minutes or until smooth.  Add in one egg at a time till incorporated.

In a small bowl add flour, almond meal, and baking powder. Give it a good stir to ensure all powders are combined.

Add flour mixture  to butter mixture and mix just till combined.

Line cookie sheet with baking mat or wax paper.

Using a tablespoon measure out a dough and drop into your hand an d roll each piece into a ball. Place each ball at least two inches apart.

Then gently press your thumb into the center of each cookie ball to create your dent to fill with jam.

Fill each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes or until golden.  Let cool on cookie sheet for 8 minutes, then remove and place on rack for extra cooling. Makes 50 cookies.  Happy Holidays!

I get it now…..  I know why my family took every approach to getting me to eat better when I was a young kid.  I was such a picky eater in those early years.  Anything that was offered was typically met with “I don’t like that” or my favorite “yuck.”  I lived with a house full of adults, I was an only child with a circus of elders trying to please my every food whim.  It came as no surprise when the doctor said I was lacking protein and potassium.  Dr. KnowItAll also mentioned the best remedy for this was milk* and maybe a banana for some extra potassium.  My Mom came home and told my Grandfather, my Uncle Luke (my Mom’s twin), and Uncle Robert what was now the focus of my diet.  Their wheels started turning…. How in the world were they going to get me (the picky eater) to drink more milk or eat a banana?  My Uncle Luke  who use to take me to my ballet lessons on the back of his Harley Davidson represented fun and adventure in my life at that time.  He had wild long hair and a pretty tough looking exterior but treated me with kid gloves and was the most gentle giant I had ever met.  He came up with a fun drink called “Banana Wacky.”  I walked into the kitchen and there he was putting all the ingredients in the blender… I asked what he was making, when he told me the name, I was intrigued.  It worked, and from that point on I opened up my mouth more often to foods I use to think were yucky.

All photos taken by: Mando Lopez

Please let the Master of the Glass Half Full know about my Uncle Luke’s Banana Wacky on his FaceBook page by clicking here. Or Tweet him on Twitter by clicking here! I heart the Master of The Glass Half Full…. He’s as dreamy as a glass of Banana Wacky! 🙂

Ingredients for banana wacky:

1 – banana

1 – tablespoon sliced almonds

2 – tablespoons Ovaltine

1 – cup whole milk

1 – cup ice cubes

a small pinch of cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a blender and power it up on high. Blend till all ingredients combine.  Pour into a tall glass and have a WACKY time!

*Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. Recipe, story, and opinions are my own!

For those of you who visit my blog often, let me apologize for my absence.  You see, everyone in my household has caught a nasty bug that has us all sniffling, sneezing and now coughing.  I was the first one to bring the germs in the house.  Yikes!  Then while my Mom was visiting she caught it, next Mando got slammed by it, and lastly my little angel Maxie joined the ranks of the sickos.  It truly is a sorry sight…. I’ve never seen so many moco filled tissue papers stacked in the bin.  In short…. I’ve been ill and couldn’t muster up the energy to blog.  Sorry.  Tonight I decided I am DONE being sick and I’m gonna make sure my family gets better as well.  To ensure this happens, I made a pot of spicy tortilla soup to knock it right out of us!  We are all feeling better already….. seriously.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for tortilla soup:

1 1/2 – tablespoons olive oil

3 – small carrots (peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)

1 – large onion (thinly sliced)

1 – stalk of celery (cut into tiny pieces)

2 to 3 – chipotle chiles in adobo sauce ( cut into thin slices)

9 – cups of chicken broth

1 – teaspoon black pepper

1 – teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt

3 – Idaho potatoes (peeled, and sliced into 1 inch pieces)

2 – large zucchini (cut into 1 inch pieces)

1 – cup corn kernels

3 – cups chopped turkey (cooked)

2 – cups black beans (cooked and rinsed well)

Garnish:

limes

cilantro

queso fesco

avocado

tortilla chips or strips

In a large pot over a medium high flame, add olive oil and allow to get hot.  Add carrots and saute in oil for 5 minutes, mixing every so often.

Add onions to carrots and continue to saute for 4 to 6 minutes, then add in celery and chipotle. Mix well and saute for another 3 minutes or until onion is limp and chipotle chile is completely mixed into veggie mixture.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Once broth is boiling add in potatoes and cover pot with lid.  Let potatoes boil for 5 minutes, then add in the zucchini to the soup and let boil for 10 minutes, don’t forget to cover the pot with the lid.  Lastly add in corn, turkey, and black beans allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Place soup in a bowl and garnish with fresh lime juice, cilantro, a few chunks of queso fresco, avocado and broken corn tortilla chips. ENJOY!!!!!

 *Remember this soup can be enjoyed any time, it is not only a cold chaser  🙂

I got invited to a Thanksgiving cooking class over at the Simple Gourmet in Redondo Beach a few weeks ago, and even though I consider myself a Thanksgiving pro….  I figured “Why not? I might learn a thing or two!”  Guess what, I did.  These ladies cooked traditional dishes with a splash of pizazz.  Here is one of dishes that I couldn’t get enough of….. literally the whole room was fighting for them.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for Yukon Potato Gratin with Parmesan-Rosemary Bechamel:

5 to 6 – lbs. yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/2 -inch thick (with skins still on)

3 – tablespoons butter

3 – tablespoons flour

3 – cups whole milk

1 -tablespoon chopped rosemary

1 – garlic clove, grated

1/2 – cup grated parmesan cheese (plus more for sprinkling on top)

salt and pepper as needed

Place the cut potatoes in a large pot of cold water over high heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Drain immediately and place in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Heat sauce over medium heat. Add butter. When melted, add the flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly. Whisk in milk and rosemary.  Cook, whisking often, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a couple minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in parmesan.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.  Toss the potatoes with the sauce and dump into a 9×13 inch casserole dish.

Sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese and place into the oven.

 Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.  Remove and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are my own. Recipe by Simple Gourmet.

If you are one of the hard working people of the black friday frenzy who will be behind a counter or opening the doors to a retail conglomerate, and think you may need an extra boost of energy…. then Seattle’s Best Coffee will be your new BFF.  *All you have to do is go to the Seattle’s Best Coffee facebook page and like it.  Then fill out your name and address and wait for your coffee sample to arrive at your doorstep. This offer ends Nov.27th! Yay, FREE COFFEE!!!!!

* The first 100,000 people to participate will receive a free coffee sample that brews a 10 cup pot of coffee. Samples will be available starting now through Nov.27th, 2011 at 11:59p.m. Pacific Time.

Disclosure: This is not a compensated post. I did receive a complimentary sample of coffee. Regardless, these are my own opinions.

It shatters my heart when my little boy puts my hand on the door knob to signal that he wants to head outside on a wet day.  I’m stumped because there is only so long that T.V. and toys will keep him occupied inside before he longs for the fresh air on his face and a few laps around the front yard.  I say “Sorry sweetie, you can’t go outside today, it’s raining and it’s super cold out.”

Now mind you, he’s only two years old, and doesn’t see my reasoning clearly.  I think to myself  “I’ll whip up a nice batch of hot chocolate for us to enjoy while we play with another puzzle or read a book, just like my Mom use to do with me.”  Not only will it make up for the fact that he can’t have his day in the sun, but it’s a positive experience for me and my boy.  Rain gifts us another opportunity to bond on many levels.  Milk makes our delicious hot chocolate the best thing to drink on a cold day.  For these two things…..  I am a thankful Momma.

The Master Of The Glass Half Full will surely love this rainy day custom I have passed down to my son.  I think I’ll share it with him over on his facebook page or tweet him a message so he could know all the wonderful memories milk is bringing me and my family.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

Ingredients for Mexican hot chocolate:

3 – cups water

1 – stick of cinnamon

2 – disks of mexican chocolate ( I use Ibarra)

2 – cups milk

1/4 – cup mini marshmallows (optional)

In a sauce pan add water and cinnamon over a medium flame.

Bring to a boil. Then add chocolate disks and allow to melt in water.

Stir to assure all chocolate dissolves.  This will take a few minutes. Once chocolate is completely dissolved, remove cinnamon stick from water chocolate mixture.

Lastly add in  milk and give a good stir.

Serve hot in a cup and top with marshmallows. Enjoy the cold day with your delicious hot chocolate!

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.