Presley's Pantry

With summer creeping it’s way into our weather…  I thought it would be the perfect time to start my salad series.  Once a week I will be posting salads I make for my family in the hot months, when all you want is something fresh, delicious, and light.  Let’s start with Coleslaw.  I’m on a constant hunt for yummy coleslaw, and to be honest, rarely do I come across a good one.  Usually it doesn’t have enough crunch or it’s drenched in something tasteless.  You know the old saying, “If you want something done, do it yourself.”           SWEET.  CRUNCHY.  TANGY.  MINE.

Ingredients for slaw:

2 – cups red cabbage (thinly sliced)

1 – cup grated carrot

1 – cup grated green apple

1/2 – cup dried cranberries

3/4 – cup blue cheese dressing (I use Bob’s Big Boy)

1/2 – cup coarsely chopped almonds

In a large bowl, mix together cabbage, carrot, green apple, and cranberries.

Then add in the blue cheese dressing, and mix to distribute evenly.

Lastly add chopped almonds, and mix well.

Serve this coleslaw as a side at your next bar-b-que, or just eat it all on it’s own!

Mmmmmm!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I decided to post this guacamole recipe along with  flour tortilla chips.  This is the snack my family serves at every gathering.  Traditionally guacamole is served with corn tortilla chips, but oh my word it taste like heaven with flour.  Who doesn’t love a flour tortilla stuffed with avocado?  This is the perfect way for every one to enjoy this yummy combo.  Believe me it’s well worth the short time it takes to make the chips.  You’ll be lovestruck and so will your guests!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 – tablespoons minced jalapeno

5 – ripe Avocados from Mexico (cut in half)

1/4 – cup torn cilantro leaves

1 – teaspoon salt

1/2 – teaspoon black pepper

3/4 – cup chopped tomatoes

2/3 – cup chopped onion

1/2 – teaspoon chili flakes

1 – lime (juiced) (optional)

1 – cup vegetable oil

5 – flour tortillas (cut into 1 inch width long strips)

First start with the jalapenos, cut in half, discard stem and deseed. Mince.

Then chop tomato and onion and set to the side.

In a big mixing bowl add minced jalapeno, and avocado halves mash with a masher. Then add salt and black pepper and mix in with spoon.

Then add cilantro leaves, and mix in with spoon.

Now add chopped tomatoes and chopped onion. Mix in with spoon.

Lastly add chili flakes, and (optional) squeeze lime over top.  Then mix with spoon. You have yum yum guacamole!

Let’s make the chips!

Slice flour tortilla into 1 inch width long strips.

In a large frying pan, over a high flame add vegetable oil and allow to get hot.  Then add strips and let fry on each side for 30 seconds or until golden brown.

Take out of oil and let drain on a paper towel lined plate. Salt to taste.

Dip your warm chip into the guacamole and you are all good to GO!

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY: NICOLE PRESLEY

FELIZ!!!!!

* For the margarita please refer to my “Lime–Orange POW POW Margarita” recipe posted on March 21st.

I thoroughly enjoy the food at Forage.  Every time I dine there, I leave with the most satisfied feeling.  I’m not stuffed, I’m just perfectly content.  Plus I LOVE the whole story behind the restaurant and how they invite local gardeners to bring home-grown produce into Forage, and if they find it fit they will add it to a salad or build a dish around it for the next day… and in exchange the gardener walks away with something tasty from their daily specials.  How brilliant is that?

Forage touches my palate the way it craves to be touched.  It tells me the person preparing the food is a wonder in the kitchen.  That person must adore their job, because the final result is perfect.  What makes Forage stand out and sparkle more than majority of places is…. usually this caliber of food is served solely in upscale restaurants, and at Forage it’s being served more in a cafeteria setting, which sets ease to the place.  Anyone who appreciates delicious food can come to Forage  and sit down next to a family, or two friends chatting away, and not have to worry about the kind of shoes their wearing or if their hair is combed perfectly in order to take pleasure in a great meal.  LOVE IT!

What we ate:

My friend A-dre had the bacon carmelized onion gruyere cheese quiche (pictured above), wild arugula salad with radish shallot lemon vinaigrette and the strawberry basil lemonade.  She didn’t leave a crumb behind.  That’s a statement in itself.  Here’s A-dre quenching her thirst.

Here’s a photo of my plate.  Everything was perfectly seasoned, and had the right hints of spice.  So fresh and delicious.

Jidori chicken from the rotisserie, Gloria’s broccoli, and Citrus/Fennel market lettuce salad.

My plate when I left….I nearly licked it clean.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

FORAGE – 3823 w. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026   (323) 663-6885

Hours: Tuesday – Friday 11:30a.m. to 3:00p.m.  and 5:30p.m. to 9:30p.m.

Saturday: 11:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. and 5:30p.m. to 9:30p.m.

CLOSED: Sunday and Monday

This is the recipe my friends have been requesting since before I even started this blog. This is the one I turn to when I wanna overindulge.  This recipe has a way of making you feel like you just chatted with your oldest friend.  Pure comfort.  This is what I pull out of my hat when I’m feeling a celebration or my mood is just too happy for words to express…..  I’d much rather let my mac and cheese tap dance for me, and it does.

Through a friend, I was invited to an intimate dinner for a party of 7 at a strangers house, who happened to be a famous guitar player from one of my favorite bands as a teen.  I had no idea what was being prepared for the gathering, but I didn’t want to show up empty handed.  I know I could have easily picked up a bottle of wine, but I wanted to contribute to the meal.  I settled on mac and cheese…. I thought “how can you go wrong?”  Except I had never attempted to make it before that day.  I thought it over for a couple of minutes and wondered what I could do to make it a  step above scrumptious.  I decided to spruce mine up with some honey baked ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, and gruyere cheese.  Now for the topping….  I didn’t want to use regular bread crumbs, because they sometimes tend to get soggy, and I was really shooting for crunchy.  I flirted with the idea of using crumbled potato chips, but once panko crossed my mind it was a done deal.  The rest of the recipe came together quickly, and when we all sat down for dinner that night, my mac and cheese was given so much praise…  all I could do was smile and blush.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 – tablespoons olive oil

1 – pint cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

1 – tablespoon Lawry’s seasoning salt plus 1 teaspoon

1 – tablespoon black pepper plus 1 teaspoon

1 – pound pasta shells or macaroni (I use Barilla)

8 – ounces sliced mushrooms

2 – cups chopped ham (I use honey baked ham)

1/4 – cup chopped green onion (white part only)

1/4 – cup torn pieces of fresh basil

2 1/2 – cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 1/2 – cups shredded gruyere cheese

1 – teaspoon chili flakes

1 – stick butter plus extra to butter your baking dish.

1 – tablespoon minced garlic

1 – quart half and half

1 – tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 – cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 370 degrees fahrenheit.

In a large pot boil some water and cook pasta according to package.  Drain and set to the side.

In a frying pan, pour in olive oil over a medium high flame and allow oil to get really hot, then toss in cherry tomatoes with 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.  Saute on each side for 4 minutes.  Then take off flame and set to the side.

In a big bowl combine sauteed cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, ham, green onion, fresh basil, and cooked drained pasta.  Mix until all ingredients are combined.

Next add in both the cheddar cheese and the gruyere cheese.  Mix to distribute evenly.

Transfer pasta and cheese mixture to a 9 x 13 glass buttered baking dish.  Then sprinkle seasoning over the top with 1 tablespoon Lawry’s, 1 tablespoon black pepper, and chili flakes.

Making the cream is easy.  In a big pan, over a medium flame, add butter and melt down.

Then add garlic to melted butter, along with half and half, and spicy brown mustard. Mix well and make sure to really  mix the mustard in.

Bring butter/cream mixture to a slight boil. Then pull off flame and pour into your cheese and pasta mixture.

Then sprinkle the top with panko bread crumbs. Then gently press down on the top of the bread crumbs.

Place in the oven for 50 minutes, or until golden brown.

How you choose to eat it…. is up to you. If you’re like me you will dig into it the second it is out of the oven. Expect it to fall apart with crunchy bits all around.

But if you have the patience to wait for 30 minutes while it cools down…. then it should look like this.

Photos by Nicole Presley

Where’s my fork?

There’s nothing better than lending your time.  I found that out the fun way.  A friend of mine heads the organization “LA CAUSA” and was informing me of all the wonderful things they are doing to redirect the entire community.  They have formed a program called “Green the east side initiative- sustainable communities in East Los Angeles.”  They are making glorious strides in the east LA vicinity.  Having their hands in everything green,  from installing solar paneling into homes around the area to converting a local liquor store into a organic vegetable marketplace.  How inspiring!  I am thrilled over the moon that this positive movement is finally happening in my neck of the woods.  My next question was “how can I help?”  Collectively we thought it would be nice to introduce a small lesson of healthy snacking to the youth, in honor of Earth day.  I decided spring rolls would be my first presentation.  Compact, full of veggies, easy to make and flavorful.  Turns out the students loved the delicious rolls and were also honored by a visit from Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D.

What a superb day!

Ingredients for Shrimp Spring Rolls:

12 – rice wrappers

3 – cups hot water

24 – cooked shrimp (cleaned, peeled, and cut length wise in half)

6 – large romaine lettuce leaves (cut down the middle)

1 – large portobello mushroom (sliced into 12 pieces)

1 – red bell pepper (sliced into 24 pieces)

1 – carrot (julienne into 36 pieces)

1 – cup red cabbage (sliced very thin)

1/2 – cup chopped peanuts

1/2 – cup fresh cilantro leaves

Pour hot water in a large pan, then add 1 rice wrapper. Allow to soak on each side for 5 seconds, or until it is soft and pliable.

Then pull out of water and spread on to work surface. In the middle place 4 shrimp halves.

Then add 1 lettuce leaf, 1 piece of sliced mushroom, 2 strips of bell pepper, 3 strips of carrot, a very small handful of red cabbage, a teaspoon of chopped peanuts, and a few leaves of cilantro.

Fold top and bottom of rice wrapper, then fold the sides totally covering the filling. Roll like a burrito. Eat immediately.

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce:

1 – tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 – tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)

1 – tablespoon Mizkan rice vinegar

1 – teaspoon chili garlic sauce

1 – teaspoon soy sauce

In a small bowl add sugar, lime juice and rice vinegar. Stir until sugar dissolves.

Then add chili garlic sauce and soy sauce.

Give it a good stir. Perfect companion to the shrimp spring roll!

Here are a handful of photos taken during the demonstration.

Making the dipping sauce and introducing the portobello mushroom for the first time to some of the youth, who had no idea what it was.

Hands on and ready to sink their teeth into the shrimp spring rolls!

Healthy and colorful… beautiful if you ask me!

Some of the students along with counselor Gabe, myself, Robert Zardeneta and Senator Hernandez.

*LA CAUSA is currently looking for low income home owners in East Los Angeles who are interested in solar paneling. Please contact Robert Zardeneta for more information on the requirements: Robert@lacausainc.org

I thought of it as a place of discovery, Negra and Charro’s house.  Both Negra (her real name is Thomasa) and Charro (his real name was Jesus) were close family friends, that treated me as if I were their blood related grand daughter.  It was nice for me to adopt some extra grandparents at the tender age of 6.  They lived at the very top of the hill overlooking all of City Terrace.  The fact that they lived on a hill meant there were plenty of stairs involved.  You’d go downstairs to enter the front of the house, but upstairs to enter the back.  This is the place were I first ate a fig off a tree.  I also discovered if you pour salt on a snail it’ll fizz, thanks to the boys that lived next door.  I saw beautiful rainbows in their backyard sooo many times.  I think the sun just had a way of setting there perfectly.  They always had Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches in their freezer.  I couldn’t remember the word “Neapolitan” when I was a kid and would always call them “Napoleon” ice cream sandwiches instead.  It would make them chuckle, but no one was in a rush to correct me.

Charro had two chihuahuas named “JJ” and “Charlotta.”  Charlotta was a mean white plump gal who would bite peoples ankles and growl if anyone came 5 feet from Charro.  JJ on the other hand was a black little scrawny dog who would wag his tail and look for any signs of affection.  Charro wore RED socks everyday of his life.  Each time I entered their home for a visit, he would shout my arrival by saying in a loud voice that was fit for an announcer “It’s not EVERYDAY, that the most beautiful girl in EAST LA, comes to visit me. CHARRO!”  Even though I had a big frizzy afro, chicken legs and gapped buck teeth.  I looked like a premature baby bird that had fallen out of the nest early.  Needless to say, he really had a way of building my confidence.

Negra always had tassels all over the house, she made them all year for the local graduating class.  This is the same woman who would volunteer her time each election to the voting polls.  Never forgot a date of any sort… birthdays, anniversaries, etc…  She use to save her empty egg shells for me, that way once Easter came to town I would have dozens of confetti eggs.  She made flour tortillas everyday, she would rub the white pillowy dough with a handful of REX lard, then roll them out and put them on a comal to cook.  She made life more wonderful… especially in the food department.  She would put together a killer mac and cheese.  Breaded pork chops with a cabbage slaw.  Her chorizo refried beans were to die for.  It was in that house, high above the city, where I was introduced to meatloaf.  Negra made a basic loaf with very few veggies, and lots of ground beef.  Thinking back, I decided all these years later to make mine with turkey and a ton of healthy vegetables in remembrance of  all the lovely food they shared and the kindness Negra and Charro showered me with.

Meatloaf Ingredients:

2 1/2 – pounds ground turkey

2 – cups zucchini (cubed)

1/2 – cup green onion (sliced)

3/4 – cup red onion (diced)

1 – cup yellow bell pepper (cubed)

1/2 – cup Lindsay black olives (sliced)

3/4 – cup red cabbage (chopped)/ or substitute with grated carrot

2 – cups mushrooms (sliced)

2 – eggs

1 – cup bread crumbs

3/4 – cup dried cranberries

1 1/2 – teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt

1 – tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 – teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 – teaspoons dried basil/ or 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

3 – teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1 – tablespoon minced garlic

Optional – a pinch of crushed red chili flakes.

Preheat oven to 350 fahrenheit.

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients, then mix thoroughly by hand. Making sure all ingredients are combined.

Dividing meat mixture in half,  fill two 5 x 9 loaf pans.

Place in oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Then slice and serve.  To make this meal extra healthy… I like to serve mine on a bed of green salad with sliced pears.  Not to mention it taste good this way.

Eating LIGHT… never tasted so good!

Ginger lime tea is my GO-TO drink.  I love when there is a fresh pitcher made in my fridge, I know I’m giving my body something good.  In addition to it being refreshingly satisfying, it also serves many health benefits.  Feeling constipated?  Ginger lime tea is the answer.  Nauseous or morning sickness?  Ginger lime tea will fix that.  Got a bad cough or cold?  Ginger lime tea will knock it out of your system.  High cholesterol a problem?  Ginger lime tea will lower it.  Got an upset stomach?  Ginger lime tea will settle it out in no time.  It’s the miracle tea.  It really is.  Eating something greasy and want a drink that will cut through the unctuous bits?  Ginger lime tea is the best.  I can’t shout it out any louder.  I don’t know why it’s not being served in every household?  You want to impress your friends with something different?  Try ginger lime tea, it’s so right.  There’s nothing better for you and it’s sweet tangy spice makes any meal more memorable.  It cleanses your palate and quenches your thirst at the same time.  It could be enjoyed warm or cold over ice.  I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m way into ginger lime tea.  Once you try it, you will be too.

Ginger Lime Tea Ingredients:

1 – large piece of fresh ginger (the size of your hand or slightly bigger)

9 – cups water

1 1/2 – cups fresh lime juice (around 20 limes)

12 – ounces honey

With the side of a spoon, peel/scrape ginger clean.

Once ginger is completely peeled, cut ginger into 1/2 inch pieces.

In a pot over a medium high flame, add chopped ginger and water.

Bring to a rolling boil, and allow to boil for 3 minutes.  Then take off flame and set to the side.

Now to juice the limes.  Cut limes in half and extract all juice from lime into a bowl.  Either by hand or with a citrus press.

In a 12 cup pitcher, add honey and fresh lime juice.

Then take a rubber spatula and stir together well.  Until honey and lime become one.

Last step. Pour ginger water into the pitcher to meet up with the honey lime mixture. Turns out they really like eachother. 🙂  Then give it a good swirl!  It will be potent and strong.

Pour into several cups and share with friends.

Myself, Antonette, Marisela, and Tonantzin

Pour me some more! PLEASE!

🙂 For a ginger limeade spritzer: In a cup filled with ice, pour half ginger lime tea and half sparkling water.  Simply Revitalizing!

Ginger Lime Tea