Creamy Vegan Jalapeño Grits.

This dish was a delicious surprise inspired by my caterer friend Camille who makes a jalapeño grits with cheese. Being a lactose intolerant cook, I'm always looking for a replacement recipe. I used Daiya mozzarella shreds for this because it melts so well. 

I started with grapeseed oil in a hot pan. Fry diced fresh jalapeño and chopped garlic until the jalapeño is a little charred. Then add the dry grits and toast them a bit. They'll start to smell like toasty tortillas. Then gradually add water, stirring  constantly to avoid lumps. I added water until the grits became a creamy pudding and the texture was gritty.  Once your grits are creamy add salt, pepper, and daiya mozzerella shreds. 

This is rich and yet light. I ate way too much of this. 

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Proof- foofy pastries and killer coffee

Don't you love typing a huge wit laden blog post or email only to have it disappear as soon as you quickly check an email or take a photo? Take 2:

I found myself in Atwater Village today hungry and uncaffinated. I usually hit Bon Vivant or Kaldi on Glendale blvd just east of the 5fwy. But for today I thought I would finally try Proof, open for a while now but with hours that I do not tend to be in the area. 

As soon as I walked in the smell of coffee wrapped me up in it's promise of roasted chemical relief. A small number of pastries stared at me, no single one saying "girl you know I'm the one." So of course I settles on two- pain au raisin and almond croissant, my go-to choice. 

I knew that any establishment that smells like this must have perfect regular coffee. I save espresso for places that I don't trust to make a good cuppa. I was right, the coffee was that perfect brew, not too Britney and bitter and not to fruity sour. You might say Goldielocks picked the right mug today. As for the pastries, you raisin was a hit. Flaky but not the kind of flaky that ends up all over my shirt, almond croissant is probably deep within my cleavage. The raisins were sweet and plump. Win. Not enough almond in my almond croissant though. I like to know I'm eating almonds. I want a thick creamy layer of almond between buttery pockets of pastry. Sorry guys but no go on that one. Too dry and not enough punch for the $4 ticket price. In fact my only criticism is that all this cost me $10. An that's not even a prepared barista drink. Next time I'm just having the coffee. 

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Biscuits and gravy sausage muffins!

I am sitting here on a soundstage taking a break. I've been here since 6:30am and have only Cheeto puffs and a cup of coffee keeping the acid in my stomach company. So my mind turns to food. What do I wish I was eating this very minute? Biscuits and gravy. Lord how I love gravy. Once I tried to change my Facebook relationship status to "in a relationship with Mushroom Gravy." Sadly it wouldn't let me. 

These biscuits and gravy with sausage are so easy it's stupid. Take Pillsbury grands and line a greased muffin tin. Then add chopped up Lil Smokies and a dollop of white gravy. I used instant gravy because when you are cooking for ravenous crews there isn't time for whisking up the perfect gravy. Bake until the edges on the biscuits are golden. Get ready to eat too many of these bad boys. 

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