Figaro love

I love it.

Figaro

 

My new favorite part of LA is Los Feliz, a part of town with tons of cool bars and nice restaurants. One of them is Figaro on North Vermont ave. It's like a little part of France in the middle of LA. I love everything from the wobbly tables on the sidewalk where you can hang out for hours with your friends, to the bloody mary and the lovely bistro feel.

Crayfish party

When we had our friends Micke & Liz over from Sweden we decided to have a crayfish party. We were supposed to sit outside by the pool, but when the food was ready it was already starting to get dark, so we decided to stay inside. It was a little bit earlier than the usual crayfish season in Sweden, but we managed to find all the stuff that you need for a good crayfish party. Crayfish together with Västerbottenpaj, Janssons frestelse and snaps, of course, is a perfect combo. For dessert we had pavlova with chocolate, whipped cream and berries. If you're ever throwing a crayfish party, drinking songs are a must!

Texas no bean chili

I am a big fan of chili. I'm always keen to try out a new recipe, so when I found this recipe at a Swedish blog called Elsies päron, I knew I had to try it. Since then, I've it saved in my recipe folder (which is way to big and not organized in any way), and it's just been waiting for me to give it a go. So, I finally did it. It's a really delicious, flavorful and easy chili to make. The prep time is not more than about half an hour and after that you just let it cook, for about 4 hours. Next time I think I am going to make a bigger batch and put some in the freezer.

While it cooks you can do something else. Take a run, clean the house, or why not play some poker with your dog?

Serve with bread, salad, rice, nachos or whatever you feel like. We had the chili with warm nachos with a little cheese on top.

Guisados

Mexican food is a must here in LA, and it's always fun to try out new places. This past Saturday we found our way to Guisados, which is a little Mexican joint in Echo Park. We had a couple of tacos and ice cold beer at their patio, which was heaven on a crazy hot day like Saturday.

My favorite was Bistek en salsa roja (steak with salsa roja). 

Acai bowl

A couple of days ago I decided to finally try this recipe that I found a while back. It's been unusually hot in California these last couple of days so a refreshing and delicious Acai bowl is the perfect snack to beat the heat. We had it for breakfast, but it will also do well as a substitute for ice cream, or as an afternoon snack. Whatever you like!

So, what is Acai? It is a berry from the Amazon rainforest, and it contains a lot of good stuff, such as iron, omega fatty acids, and it has higher antioxidant levels than blueberries! 

I used this recipe and it turned out very delicious. Next time I think I will add a little lemon juice. Feel free to play around with it and use your favorite frozen fruit. We had it with sliced banana, granola and cocoa nibs, and I can really, really recommend to serve it with cocoa nibs. It gave it a bit of chocolaty taste which I like.

Tacos

 

One of many things I love about LA is the food culture. I loved tacos when I lived in Sweden, but I never really had authentic Mexican food until I moved to LA.
I must say, I was rather sceptical when my husband insisted on me trying the korean tacos that the Kogi truck has to offer. Korean tacos? Really?
But I was wrong. Their tacos are delicious, and a really fun alternative to the traditional taco that you can find in every corner of LA. My favorite Kogi taco is the one with spicy pork. It's definitely worth a try.

A place to brunch

Here are some pictures from a couple of weeks ago when we had some friends visiting. We went to (yes, I have mentioned this place a couple of times) our neighbor Milo&Olive for Sunday breakfast. Their coffee and the food is well worth the wait. It's a tiny place with only 2 or 3 big tables that you share with fellow customers. It's well worth a visit if you're in Santa Monica!

Lemon Poppy

Last weekend we drove up to The Valley for an errand and realized we hadn't had breakfast yet. Since we're not very familiar with the best eats around there, I simply used the Yelp app on my phone to find a good place nearby. We decided to go to Lemon Poppy kitchen in Atwater village. Driving there I was beginning to doubt that we had the right address, but then I saw a small sign in the corner of a drive in mall. We had Cow with us and it was warm outside so we decided to sit at a small table in the sun.
Their coffee is from Handsome coffee roasters in Downtown LA. I had an iced coffee which was really good, and Mattias liked his coffee too, which is unusual when you just order a regular coffee at a breakfast place. I really wanted to try their buttermilk biscuit with jam but unfortunately they were sold out. It was so ironic to see someone at every table enjoying every bite of their biscuit, it almost felt like a conspiracy. I guess they really must be good!
For breakfast I had the Placinta breakfast, which was delicious. I especially like the eggs with the swiss chard. Mattias had the basic breakfast and it was also delicious. Over all, their food really tastes homemade with fresh and healthy ingredients.
If you're around that neighborhood and looking for a good breakfast or lunch, you should definitely try this hidden gem!

A perfect day

I'm sorry for my absence, it's been kind of crazy busy lately and during the week there hasn't been a lot going on, except work of course. But last Saturday was a really good day, so I thought I'd share that with you!
We were looking after Mr Knuckles a couple of weeks ago, and he makes everything a little bit better. Just look at him!

My husband is a great cook and he usually makes breakfast for us on the weekends, but he isn't a big fan of breakfasts that are on the sweet side, like pancakes or french toast, but I love it. So I was really happy when I woke up and he was making french toast for breakfast.

After having breakfast we went to Prism gallery in West Hollywood to check out the Mario Testino exhibit. I am a big fan of his photography, and I can highly recommend the exhibit.

Then we went hiking in Runyon Canyon. I love hiking! It's a fun way to work out, especially if you're with a friend, and it's so nice to be out in the nature. I never get tired of the beautiful view.

We walked around Beverly blvd for a bit, stopped for lunch at a cafe. It was getting chilly so Knuckles thought it was best to put a jacket on.

We weren't ready to go home yet, so we decided to go to Downtown since we hardly ever go there and it's supposed to be a up and coming neighborhood with a lot of new bars and restaurants. We went to The Artisan house which is a bar/restaurant with a market where you can get cheese, wine, baked goods etc. We sat in the bar and had a cocktail (mine was really delicious with gin, grapefruit and lavender syrup if I remember correctly), and then we went home, cooked dinner and watched a movie.

Oscars dinner

Last week we went to a friend's house to watch Oscars, and watch Mattias cook us dinner. I contributed with dessert, but I made it the night before so I could watch the show in the sofa with some bubbly.
For starters he made shrimp tacos with cilantro, onions and guacamole.

 

The main course was seabass, cooked in aluminium foil with garlic, lemon, rosemary and thyme. Served with gnocchi with basil and cherry tomatoes. Delicious.

For dessert we had cheesecake with a coconut meringue topping. Jamie Oliver's recipe which you can find here.