Sebastian and I needed a foodie adventure this past weekend…and we decided on Long Beach, an area neither one of us know too much about. So Sebastian started with restaurant.com, as they have some great coupon deals. We checked out restaurant sites and deals and ended up deciding on a place called Kavikas. It looked nice, had a yummy sounding menu, and we were able to pay $3.00 for a $25 coupon towards our meals from restaurant.com. Off we went…

This area of Long Beach was the touristy area. Convention center, The Queen Mary, and lots of places to shop and eat. We sat outside at Kavikas and got to take in the view. Sebastian got his “James Bond” martini, while I went for a cocktail with the fabulous Veev liquor. It was hard to choose from the menu…everything looked so good! We started with an Ahi tuna appetizer, then went for the two meals below….an Ahi tuna plate with veggies, rice, and greens, and some lobster and shrimp ravioli in a sake-butter sauce.

They were both delicious…and as you can see below I was actually about to lick the plate. Literally.

When we looked at the desert menu the first thing on it was Santa’s favorite…milk and cookies! Have you ever seen that on a desert menu in a restaurant before? We hadn’t. We didn’t get it however…because the chocolate lava cake was calling.

To top off the dining experience, we hadn’t yet decided what to do with the rest of our day down there. We found out that by ordering a couple of sustainable seafood items on the menu, we could get two free tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific! So there ya go…we were able to save $25 on our great meal, as well as get two free tickets over to the aquarium (which would have been $24.95 each!).

This day had two thumbs up…so if you’re ever in the mood to eat great seafood and then hop on over to the Aquaruim of the Pacific, we’d recommend Kavikas

Sebastian decided to do a google search to find a new restaurant for us to try.
So he did a search with “weird, crazy, whacky” or some words like that for
Los Angeles. Where we ended up from that search was a little place called
The Gardens of Taxco.

First thing we noticed going in was that the place was pretty small, and rather dark! Low lighting but a cool atmosphere. There was some natural light that came in through the pretty stained glass windows…

When it came to the food…first…you sit down at your table and there is a bowl of pickled vegetables and a chips and salsa waiting for you. Next, there are no printed menus. There is one man who shows up at your table and in a really loud voice explains the menu choices and takes your order. He was pretty funny too…especially when he says that they have the “best mole sauce in Tooooowwwwwwnnnnnnn….” What was even funnier was that each time he went through his speech at another table you got to hear it all over again.

When you choose your food, you only choose your main course. Either beef, chicken or fish, and then he explains the offerings for each. Sebastian got shrimp in the mole sauce, and I got salmon in a lime-cilantro cream sauce (Both yummy). However, there is more. We knew we would get an appetizer and dessert as well, but that is set. What we actually got was THREE appetizers, mini ceviche, burrito, and soup (and so you know, since Sebastian doesn’t eat meat, they did substitute the chicken burrito for a spinach one, and the meat soup for veggie). The dessert was bananas in cream.

It was hard to get some nice pics of the food since it was so dark, but here’s a quick view!

It was a fun dining experience, and all the food was delicious. You might think this was expensive…and you’d be wrong! For both of our several course meals, Sebastian’s beer, and my margarita, it was under $70. A yum yum dining out adventure indeed!

I had a flash of cooking inspiration the other night. I wanted to make stuffed peppers, but didn’t want to do the same old rice and stuff thing. I came up with a combination of tastes that I didn’t know if it would work or not. Stuffed peppers… quinoa… red lentils… portobello mushrooms. I googled for recipes, found a few, but nothing that really made me go WOW, so I decided to experiment on my own. These came out YUMMY, but bear with me as to the recipe below, because I am guessing on amounts of things from the mistakes I made

Quinoa, Red Lentil, and Portobello Mushroom Stuffed Peppers

2 green onions
2 portobello stuffing mushrooms
1 8 oz can diced tomatoes
6 green peppers
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup quinoa
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cups veggie broth

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut the tops off the peppers, clean out the seeds, and set the bottoms in a baking dish that has been dribbled with olive oil.

3. Dice up mushrooms. Dice up the tops of 3 of the peppers. Set aside.

4. In a large saucepan or skillet, saute green onion, salt, and pepper in olive oil for a couple minutes.
5. Add veggie broth and bring to a boil
6. Add tomatoes, lentils, and quinoa and simmer for 20 minutes
7. Add diced green peppers and mushrooms, stir and simmer for 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

8. Turn off the heat and add 1/2 of the parmesan cheese
9. Spoon into the peppers, and sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top.

10. Bake for 20 minutes uncovered or until tender/done.

bon appetit!
~Charlene

Well, with a name like Maguire, most people figure out that I have Irish roots. Helps if it’s spelled right though…far too often it’s assumed “Macguire,” or “McGuire,” or “McGwire.” Yep…I’ve heard it all. It’s MAGUIRE kids.

I have relatives on both sides of my family who like to dabble in genealogy. On my dad’s side, an aunt of mine found a distant relative on their trip to Ireland a few years back…a priest. On my mom’s side a lot of the Irish seems to go back to Nova Scotia. Had I known this about 20 years ago, my trip up to Cape Breton island at that time might have been a little different.

My grandmother on my dad’s side always made Irish soda bread. I’ve never been a really big fan personally…just too damn plain for me! I also don’t like caraway.

But…for those of you who have a taste for it, this recipe goes all the way back to a great grandmother. Thanks to my cousin Andrea for the recipe. Enjoy!

Nana’s Irish Soda Bread

4 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
2 heaping rounded tablespoons shortening (not butter)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup dark raisins
2 teaspoons caraway seeds (if you like)

1. Combine raisins in a small bowl, cover with warm water for 15 minutes to 1/2 hour to plump them up.

2. Sift and blend flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.

3. Add shortening to flour mixture and blend with hands until mixture resembles a coarse crumbly meal.

4. Measure out buttermilk into a small bowl, and take out 3 Tablespoons. Put this into another bowl and add the soda to this small amount, mix well, and add to remaining buttermilk.

5. Add buttermilk/soda mixture to flour all at once and combine well (with hands).

6. Add raisins which have been well drained

7. Turn out onto a board and knead 12-15 times. Do not over knead or it will be tough.

8. Form dough into a round dome shape and cut across in the top. You can brush with a beaten egg mixed wtih a little buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar, if you like.

9. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes in a greased 12×12 square pan or the equivalent. When done, turn out onto a rack and allow to cool.

Tastes best still warm, with a little butter and a nice cup of tea.

Well…I’m at home today…and in the mood for treating myself to a good lunch. Oh look at that…I have everything I need to make a white wine risotto with peas and mushrooms! A vegetarian version even!  First things first…I need a little wine to sip…and I happened to pick up a Sauvingnon Blanc from South Africa at Albertsons yesterday on my way home called “Sebeka.” It has a cheeta on the front and a cheeta print cork even. I may not know my way around wines as well as Sebastian, but I do pretty good at my random “under $10″ finds

Now…onto chopping and stirring. I even happened to have some super fresh parsley thanks to a bunch that a friend of mine gave me from her garden yesterday.

The recipe, for those who wish to try…

White Wine Risotto with Peas and Mushrooms
vegetarian style (or vegan if you don’t use the cheese)

3 1/2 cups veggie broth (made with 3 1/2 cups water and one big tablespoon of “Better than Bouillon” no chicken base)
3 Tablespoons Earth Balance (next to the butter at Trader Joes!)

1 cup chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan (or more if you’re a cheesaholic…)
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover the broth and keep it warm over low heat. Melt the butter (earth balance) in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until transclucent. Stir in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the rice and cook for about 2 minutes until the rice is toasted. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of hot broth; simmer medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Repeat  adding 3/4 cup of hot broth until it’s all gone, stirring often. When the rice is simmering and the mixture is creamy, stir in the peas, mushrooms, parsley, and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto into bowls and enjoy! (extra parmesan cheese if you’re like me……..)

Not bad for a Friday lunch at home…shared with my neighbor even!

I love my own cooking