LA Day Three.

 After one croissant, two headaches, two baths, two writing sessions, three cups of black decaf coffee and four hours of watching the Kardashians, I am finally sitting back in my pajamas enjoying a home-cooked meal. It's 2345 and jetlag has been haunting me in the middle of the day and waking me in the still of the night, but I feel like after just three short days in Los Angeles, I'm starting to settle in to the groove of city life. Driving is getting a little easier, streets are looking slightly more familiar and I've got this really clichéd sense of renewed independence. I feel like such a grown up!

I finished my session at about 7pm tonight and decided to make a stop over at The Grove on the way home. Never in my entire life have I been so happy to be at a mall (and if you know me, you'll know that I DESPISE shopping. In fact, I dislike it to the point of suffering multiple psychosomatic symptoms every time I walk into a department store. I swear, I go home with a fever and aching joints at least 8 out of 10 times)...Anyway, back to why I like The Grove. The beautiful white buildings are all structured around this gigantic fountain and the cobbled, tree-lined streets are consistently filled with the sound of festive, jazzy music (i.e Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr.), and IT'S NOT EVEN CHRISTMAS, YOU GUYS! I had to stop myself from skipping with glee between Topshop and Abercrombie & Fitch. So, um, yeah, basically, it was a good time. My only purchase was a really nice scarf from Anthropologie, and that was purely because it was freaking freezing outside.

P.S Note the previously referenced gold head in the above picture. Creepy, right?

P.P.S My favourite boots from Seed are getting a serious workout. I love the quilting and the hardware around the heel, it all feels very Chanel. I need to find an outlet and stock up on Converse whilst I'm here too...

P.P.P.S I made soft tacos for dinner in my tiny kitchen (which happens to be devoid of tea towels, dishwashing liquid, utensils and standard appliances) (Note to self: must invest in aforementioned ASAP). They were delicious. Very simple: sauté an onion, sliced mushrooms and chicken in a splash of olive oil. Add a little taco seasoning and cracked pepper. Make a salad of cucumber, shaved radish, coriander and lemon juice. Dress with a touch of salt. Serve with warm brown rice and sliced avocado on a corn tortilla.

P.P.P.P.S I'm off to write in Calabasas tomorrow with a man that's written for Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross. One word: boss. 

I'm done with the post-scripts.

xx ELB

Edible.

A few weeks ago I snuck into my sister's bedroom, rummaged through her shelves and found a book to cuddle up with on a particularly grey day. Countless glistening pastries, succulent pieces of meat, cute bearded men in aprons, one quirky roof-top garden and a caravan of mexican-y goodness later, and I was completely and utterly in love (and also very hungry). Edible Selby is one of, if not THE single most delicious book I have ever read. If you're stuck on a Christmas gift for a food-lover/photography-lover/just-about-any-kind-of-lover, may I suggest this beautiful compilation of pictures and stories by Todd Selby. Just try not to read it on an empty stomach, or if you suffer from acute wanderlust (guilty on both counts) or it's goodness may hurt a little.

E

x

All images are excerpts from Edible Selby.

You can beat an egg but you can't beat a root.

A root vegetable, that is. Gosh.

Minds out of the gutter please...

I am one of those pain-in-the-arse people who always posts food on instagram, but instead of apologising for it (I'm not sorry I make people hungry a lot more often than they possibly should be), I like to exacerbate the "problem" by posting recipes every now and again. 

Today I made a delicious, healthy silverbeet and sweet potato pie. I looks a little shabby but it tasted ahmazing.

Ingredients:

1-2 sheets PUFF PASTRY (I used gluten-free...hence the dodgy patching job half-way across the pie) (also depends on the size of your dish, so best of luck trying to figure out the logistics. Hah!)

1 bunch SILVERBEET, shredded (include a bit of stalk in there too, just for it's healthy goodness)

1 ONION, finely sliced

2 cloves GARLIC, crushed

1 cup low-fat RICOTTA

0.5 of a SWEET POTATO, sliced thinly

4TBSP PINE NUTS

Fresh ROSEMARY, SAGE, MINT, diced finely (roughly 1tbsp) (you can really use any herbs)

S&P

OLIVE OIL

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Layer sweet potato around the base of your dish. Place in the oven to begin cooking process.

Meanwhile, sautee onion + garlic + herbs in a little olive oil.

Add silverbeet and sweat down until soft and wilted.

Stir through pinenuts + ricotta.

Season with S&P

-

Remove pie dish from the oven and rest on a heat-proof mat.

Spread silverbeet mixture over the sweet-potato evenly.

Cover with puff pastry and brush the top with a little melted butter or milk.

Bake until pastry is golden...(I'd be lying if I knew how long this bit takes, as I wasn't watching a clock)

Enjoy!

x

E