Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Salad Season II

Grilled Japanese eggplant on a bed of gingered black lentils. Dressed with thyme, lemon juice, walnut oil and chopped walnuts    
Black & Blue, Broiled Steak Salad 
Filet mignon, avocado, marinated red onion and mushroom, steamed purple potatoes, carrots, 
black lentils, blue cheese crumbles on a bed of mixed greens. 
Lightly dressed with a fresh herb (thyme, rosemary) and red wine vinaigrette 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

It's Salad Season!

 Lobster, black quinoa, 
avocado, early girl tomatoes and marinated red onion in a pomegranate vinaigrette 

Black bean, avocado, 
quinoa, artichoke hearts, roasted corn, grape tomato with Lime cilantro vinaigrette 




more salads here



Om Chef downtown L.A. enlightened omnivore clients will find all ingredients for these salads cleaned and chopped in labeled glass containers conveniently located in their refrigerator...making this dish qualify as 'fast food' the enlightened omnivore way

Asian Flavored Lobster Soup in Under 20 min

Begin with chicken stock preferably fresh homemade, or if you are short on time use Swansons low sodium chicken broth. Heat chicken stock with minced fresh garlic, ginger and fresh chili pepper to taste.While stock is heating up prep your veggies. Shown is a simple mix of thinly sliced crimini and shiitake mushroom, carrot, fresh lotus root,  fingerling potatoes, green onion and cilantro, and a couple of smallish lobster tails. Add spuds first, cook 5-6 minutes, add carrot, cook additional 2 minutes, add mushrooms, cook 2 minutes, add remaining ingredients cover and remove from heat. Finish soup with a splash of nam pla (fish sauce), and/or a little fresh lime juice.
Lobster was on hand for this dish, but most any seafood,  chicken and/or tofu would work just as well.
Soup allows for tremendous creativity, simply varying a few key seasoning ingredients can change it completely.  Replacing the cilantro, ginger, nam pla and lime juice with fennel, a little white wine, a pinch of saffron, fresh thyme, a swirl of EVOO and a strip of orange peel turns it into a heavenly Mediterranean soup needing nothing more than a baguette and someone to enjoy it with.....the fresh lotus root works beautifully in the Mediterranean version

Asian soups are an Om Chef favorite, I love the myriad of dried ingredients available, including dried lily buds,  shrimp, oysters, scallops, wood ear, black fungus, jujube, seaweeds, jellyfish, and  multiple kinds of fungi to name a few.

Om Chef downtown L.A. enlightened omnivore clients will find all ingredients for this dish cleaned and chopped in labeled glass containers conveniently located in their refrigerator...making this dish qualify as 'fast food' the enlightened omnivore way

Buffalo Cornish Hens

Cornish hens marinated in Franks hot sauce overnight and roasted at 500 for 15 minutes.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Oba Sushi Pasadena

Oba Sushi

Simply phenomenal sushi and outstanding service!

Miso eggplant, seaweed salad, cold spinach, udon noodles, broiled mushrooms, tamago sushi, cucumber roll and chilled fresh tofu are a few of the vegan options, and every one of them is executed beautifully.


Just off the 110 fwy. or the Fillmore stop if using the Gold Line train, exceptional sushi and free wifi
Oba 
181 east glenarm street, pasadena, ca 91105   •   626-799-8543

Friday, June 18, 2010

L.A. Lakers Fans, Excessive Sugar and Car Fires

While cooking for a couple of Lakers fans near the Staples Center in Downtown L.A. I was able to capture some much more fiery events...



Just minutes after the Lakers victory, fans began running in the streets, screaming, and banging on parked cars.... After an hour or so the excitement had escalated to the point of setting things on fire, such as this cab
....and attemting to upend other cars, such as this yellow cab mini van. They failed to flip the van over, possibly because sugar gives only temporary energy, and what they really needed for the endeavor was protein....
The Verve energy drinks passed out to fans after the victory, like all energy drinks, are nothing more than high sugar and caffeine concoctions....


Clearly, these Laker fans had indulged in too many sugary beverages, resulting in a false sense of strength, incredibly poor judgement, and for the fans that turned arsonist, and the ones that decided to wander onto the freeway while on foot, absolute and complete stupidity.

Eat well, think well!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

L.A. Funghi, the Magic of Mushrooms

Porcini, Chanterelle Morels, Wood Ear, 
Blue Foot, Black Trumpet, Shiitake,  St.George, or Butter Bolete...............L.A. Funghi's got them!


Chef Dirk Hermann developed his passion for food and madness for mushrooms as a young boy growing up in the Bavarian Alps. Dirk's parents where restauranters who frequently traded with wild mushroom hunters for meals, and the light to dark, sweet to bitter, famous Bavarian beers. Dirk continued this tradition as a chef and restaurant owner in his homeland as well as the US. 

Dirk is known as the 'L.A. Funghi', and his remarkable assortment of mushrooms can be found at the Sunday Hollywood Farmers Market, and other local farmers markets.....
For LA Funghi locations, recipes and the medicinal qualities of mushrooms go to Dirk's site
L.A. Funghi.com 
One of the simplest mushroom techniques of all, stuffed...
..and they can be stuffed with most anything.
 Above is a simple mix of walnuts, spinach, basil, mushroom stems, and feta cheese, 
and quickly broiled for 10-15 minutes. 

'Kinda Like a Chef' blog has an ultra simple recipe for olive oil fried mushrooms using L.A. Funghi's mixed mushroom basket here

Love mushrooms? Love beer?   Check out wild mushroom hunter and home brewer, Damon's 'Life with Beer' blog, for   Chanterelle Belgium Ale

Friday, June 4, 2010

In Season Now and Available at Downtown L.A. Farmers Markets


    • Apricots
    • Artichokes
    • Bing cherries
    • Blueberries
    • English Peas
    • Fava Beans
    • Squash Blossoms
    • Summer Squash
    • White Peaches
    • Yellow Nectarines
    Downtown Los Angeles Farmers Markets:

    Wednesday 11a.m. - 2p.m

    Pershing Square
    532 S. Olive St.
    Red Line stop: Pershing Square
    Caravan Book store, a bibliophiles little bit of bliss, and the beautiful, historic Biltmore Hotel, 
    are one block over on Grand


    Thursdays 9 a.m. - 2p.m.

    7th & Fig   
    735 S Figueroa St
    Plenty of parking across the street
    Red Line stop: 7th and Metro, 
    Fridays 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
    Bank of America Plaza   

    333 S Hope St


    Red Line: Pershing Square stop
    Across W. 5th St. (and up the stairs/escalator) from downtowns famous Los Angeles Public library. The Library grounds are home to Cafe Pinot, an elegant indulgence,
    or across W. 5th. is Mendocino Farms, an excellent and affordable choice for ultra fresh sandwiches, and open till 7p.m. for the really passionate sandwich aficionados