tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29829665841751002822024-02-21T10:14:44.085-08:00living locally in los angelesThis site is for Angelenos who are searching for local vendors, local products and local ideas. The recipes posted here can be used in any city. These suggestions have all been tested by me and my partner. This is our process.Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16778898323011450110noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-84708434949523985612012-04-22T12:31:00.000-07:002012-04-22T12:31:35.320-07:00Insta...herbWas about to show off pictures of the newly planted summer garden and realized I should first give love to some of the herbs that have been growing throughout the spring.
MINT
OREGANO
SAGE
We are also growing rosemary (not pictured). In addition to these herb mainstays we have picked up some green shiso, which I am very excited about.
GREEN SHISO
Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-28517106165798773202011-06-01T10:41:00.000-07:002011-06-01T11:39:22.455-07:00It's a Yummy Cherry Mojito summer!Earlier this year we went to a friend's wedding in Puerto Rico. Upon our arrival, the hotel graciously offered Welcome Mojito's to kickoff our mini-vacation. Since we have been back in California, we can't stop making the homemade version. And it helps that we have a voracious amount of mint growing in our backyard.Last week's CSA from Auntie Em's kitchen sent some fresh, local cherries. HereMalikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-91811273798610711972010-07-12T08:25:00.000-07:002010-07-12T08:40:30.908-07:00Please vote!I am reaching out to anyone who is reading my blog these days. A restaurant in LA called Forage started a program a while back to have urban farmers give their harvest to the restaurant in exchange for a meal. The program was shutdown and now they are starting a group called The Homegrowers Circle. With the help of a grant, they are subsidizing the nominal certification fee so that those Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-10292765365635605472010-06-24T17:08:00.000-07:002010-06-24T17:11:52.162-07:00Enjoying last year's harvest...Here's a reminder to use your canned foods. I had tomato soup in my cabinets from last summer that I'd nearly forgotten about. It's especially helpful when you are famished and don't want to run out to the store, but also don't want to slave away in the kitchen for hours.I made a quick & delicious late lunch of tomato soup topped with fresh homegrown oregano along with a yummy arugula Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-24306715616479335132010-01-18T10:39:00.000-08:002010-01-18T10:58:45.081-08:00Upcycle Your SweatersI try to go through my closet at least once a month to weed out the clothes that I never wear because they are damaged or don't fit or just are not my style anymore. Normally I donate these items to Good Will or bring them to a clothes swap.Just found a great service, Reknit, that will take your old sweaters and turn them into something else. This month they are "reknitting" sweaters into Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-1198209569488736262009-12-12T05:13:00.000-08:002009-12-12T05:49:49.387-08:00Recycled OrnamentsIt's not often you find an easy and attractive recycled idea. Check out these instructions from Martha Stewart for making an ornament or decoration made out of holiday cards past. I like this idea a lot because you are actually doing something with all the cards people send you and not just throwing them in the blue bin or collecting dust around the house. I might consider this a tradition to Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-17756994105984365742009-12-06T18:51:00.000-08:002009-12-06T19:15:14.149-08:00Living Locally Spotlight In the NewsIf you have been keeping tabs on tv or on the newsstands lately, "living locally" has shown up in a few of my favorite places.Last week's episode of Top Chef focused on local produce & protein from Napa Valley, CA. The contestants were challenged to create a menu use only local ingredients, except for a bit of salt & pepper. Top Chef is a perfect venue to get the word out for living Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-15433716925567301352009-11-06T05:56:00.000-08:002009-11-06T06:50:44.699-08:00Local Autumn Dinner: Roasted Lemon-Herb Chicken with Sweet Potato FriesWe have a few staple meals in our household and one of them is definitely chicken. Donny's favorite. I found this great roast chicken recipe here from WFM. Use local chicken breast or leg & thighs. Instead of buying lots of herbs at the store I picked a few handfuls of herbs from my garden, i.e. basil & parsley. The recipe is very easy, but it does call for overnight preparation. HomemadeMalikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-45134490382539555922009-10-01T17:25:00.000-07:002009-10-01T18:32:22.202-07:00Got Recycling?Today I was reminded of the little efforts we do to recycle. The milk bottle our household just emptied was made in 2007 and the new one I bought today is from 2008. Our favorite (featured) is Broguiere's from Montebello, CA. Plus, our market offers several brands & types of local CA bottled milks and whipping cream. A quick $1.50 refund at customer service for recycling each bottle makes it Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-64989978890483442042009-09-24T15:50:00.000-07:002009-09-24T16:50:02.136-07:00Let's all go to the movies!I saw Julie & Julia today. I liked it. Of course that is no real surprise. A) my Mom raved about the film and Meryl. Who doesn't love Meryl Streep? B) I like food and things about food and things about making food. And C) I am, I guess, what you call, A Blogger and that is what the co-main character does in her journey. She blogs. I found the film really inspiring and not just because 1 year Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-84464071755626926852009-08-31T16:01:00.000-07:002009-08-31T18:02:35.421-07:00Homemade KetchupHomemade ketchup is a tasty way to savour your tomatoes all year round. This recipe yields about 3 pints of ketchup. Feel free to multiply it for larger quantities. Other recipes use a food mill or food processor, but this blender ketchup recipe seems more accessible for the basic kitchen setup.Step 1: Grow tomatoes.Ingredients:8 lbs. of ripe tomatoes (1 pound is 3-5 medium sized tomatoes)1 Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-63149386976386311962009-08-23T12:00:00.000-07:002009-08-23T12:20:36.953-07:00Make Your Own Sundried TomatoesNo matter what size your home garden - from a few herbs to a dozen tomato plants - food preservation & storage is key to making use of your harvest. Donny and I have spent the last few weeks learning about canning, drying and freezing our delicious food. I look forward to sharing several recipes and ideas we've used.First on the list is an easy and delicious one - homegrown homemade Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-32640880700499261422009-08-19T09:53:00.000-07:002009-08-19T13:23:21.276-07:00I am an only child. A lot of people think that only children are spoiled or get what they want. That is a stereotype, but what is true is that parents do put a lot of energy into just the one kid. One of my pepper plants has an only child. I use this term for a small vegetable plant that only produces one piece of fruit. If you notice that your plant is putting all of its effort into just theMalikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-32594372678023689222009-07-26T08:21:00.000-07:002009-07-26T08:52:07.976-07:00Our rooftop garden is now an idea of the past. Once all of these tomatoes are harvested we will no longer farm on the roof. Landlord interference.We had a total of 6 tomato plants + 2 volunteers on the roof this summer.All photos courtesy of D.Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-459939351409066532009-07-16T13:45:00.001-07:002009-07-16T14:18:41.477-07:00RIP Julius Shulman 1910 - 2009Here is an excerpt from the LA Times obituary of legendary photgrapher Julius Shulman who passed away yesterday. In my opinion, Shulman made one of the greatest impacts on Los Angeles architecture and lifestyle (through photography, no less) to date:Julius Shulman, whose luminous photographs of homes and buildings brought fame to a number of mid-20th century Modernist architects and made him a Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-16034809672540012872009-07-16T07:31:00.000-07:002009-07-16T07:31:00.945-07:00Accidental WheatDonny and I planted some wheat grass seeds in a small pot. I thought it would be cool to make our own wheat grass like at Jamba Juice, but he just thought it would be good decoration. Either way, the wheat grass has grown quickly and plentiful. What we didn't expect is this:...actual wheat.Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-605129262081619982009-07-13T19:33:00.001-07:002009-07-16T07:57:05.137-07:00West Los Angeles Subway??It almost doesn't seem real that I am blogging about a subway in LA that would potentially get me from Venice to Downtown Los Angeles. The rumors of a "Subway to the Sea" have been floating around for the 9 years I've lived in LA and I'm sure they were around decades before that. The biggest rumor of the stalled planning is that Beverly Hills is against having a subway under their quiet little Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-60492974090263660062009-07-02T12:32:00.001-07:002009-07-02T13:48:35.297-07:00Local Pan-Fried Onion Dip RecipeThis Barefoot Contessa onion dip recipe has been a favorite of mine for a while now. I love to serve at parties and it will be a great snack for the 4th of July weekend. I am very excited to make this dish with our homegrown onions. For the next harvest we will probably store the onions or use for tomato sauce and salsa.Ingredients2 large yellow onions4 tablespoons unsalted butter1/4 cup Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-81701314081977618892009-06-18T06:03:00.000-07:002009-06-18T07:24:12.895-07:00If your coffee can't be local...can your coffeeshop?Something has gone terribly wrong in Venice. And it's called Intelligentsia Coffee. One of these "coffeebars" landed on Abbot Kinney this past Monday in the old Scentiments (flower shop) plot. Donny and I walked in there last weekend and were not sure if we were still in Venice; in that bad way.The coffee was good. And the pistachio scone was yummy. But the interior decoration and overall Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-76109993990700474642009-06-09T11:07:00.000-07:002009-06-09T11:18:50.328-07:00Disposable TechnologyFound pic on Gizmodo this morning. I think this is something we can all relate to and don't think about often enough.art by Kyle BeanMalikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-85793282219364792512009-06-05T16:03:00.000-07:002009-06-05T20:52:02.311-07:00Local Q&A: Canning et plusQ: So my girl and I wanna figure out the best, cheapest setup to can some vegetables over the summer. Mostly tomatoes, if that makes a difference. We don't have too big a garden. 10 tomato plants, 4 pepper plants, some beets and onions. We're not preparing for a zombie apocalypse. Just wanna avoid tossing what we don't eat fresh. Also, how are you?A: Canning is a lot of fun if you make a day or Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-24925591329378494332009-06-04T12:18:00.000-07:002009-06-04T12:45:53.449-07:00Local Aphid ResurgenceDonny checks the tomato plants every day. He waters them, makes sure the leaves are growing above the ladder rungs and if they're not he trains them to. He is also on the lookout for aphids. Last season we had a bountiful amount of fruit, but just as many leaves covered in the green slimy suckers. Aphids can not only prevent your fruit from growing, but it can quickly kill your plant. Next toMalikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-9883165355434969972009-06-03T11:38:00.000-07:002009-06-03T11:47:35.440-07:001st sign of Summer FlowersIn my mind the best kind of summer flowers are that which turn into tomatoes. In the past week almost all of our tomato plants in the rooftop garden have begun to produce fruits. I've seen maybe a half dozen of the tiniest tomatoes you could imagine. The rest of them are little flowers that almost look like marigolds. Any day now they will all be that gorgeous red color. It is very uplifting to Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-23170109472661037742009-06-02T15:27:00.001-07:002009-06-02T21:35:55.089-07:00Do you "Bike in Style"?Donny and I ride our bikes on the weekend almost exclusively. Getting dressed for riding bike is no different than figuring out what to wear to work or going out to a nice restaurant. There are times where we take 4 hour long rides to/fro Redondo Beach and on those occasions it makes sense to wear something in the neighborhood of my converse sneakers, comfy shorts and a tank top or t-shirt plus Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2982966584175100282.post-47350807049163909552009-05-30T10:15:00.000-07:002009-05-30T10:51:47.034-07:00Reminder: Reuse PackagingThe idea of local living is a constant struggle. Growing your own food is ideal, but of course there are types of foods and certain brands that you feel you just cannot live without - or maybe you can't get local. After a quick bike ride to Whole Foods this morning for some fair trade coffee we found one product, while not from So-Cal, inspires another aspect of local living - reusable Malikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11640330511598813141noreply@blogger.com0