i was walking on hollywood blvd. when i heard the news....

hollywood~february 28, 2011

casa vieja in los angeles

por favor, ven a salvarnos!

mr. brainwash's "storm troopers"

tgif

an afternoon cup of tea...

and a slice of warm kona banana nut bread

they'rrreee heeere!!!

key limes in february!

homemade spicy shrimp tamales with roasted tomatillo sauce

Ingredients for Sauce

1 lb tomatillos, husked

1 med. size white onion, peeled, cut in half

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 med size anaheim green chiles, stems removed

1 small jalapeno chile

1 small serrano chile (only use half)

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cilantro

Ingredients for Masa

2 c. prepared masa

6 oz goat cheese, set at room temp

1 bag dried cornhusks, cleaned and soaked (use the medium size)

cheese cloth or cloth to cover tamales in steamer

Ingredients for Shrimp

2 lbs jumbo shrimp, shelled and cleaned

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon coriander

salt and pepper, to taste

2 T olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400*

Place tomatillos, onion, garlic, and green chiles, jalapeno and serrano on a roasting pan and bake for 15 mins. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, and cilantro. Pulse the mixture until combined but still chunky. You can add a little water to the mixture if is too thick. Reserve half the sauce to serve over the shrimp with the tamales.

In a large bowl, add the masa and remaining half of the tomatillo sauce. Mix well until the masa is green. Fold in the softened goat cheese.

Place the cornhusks on a sheet pan covered by a damp towel. Lay the husk flat on a cutting board or flat surface with the smooth side up and the narrow end facing you. Spread a 1/2” layer of the masa mixture over the surface of the husk with a tablespoon leaving a 1/2” margin on the sides. Fold the narrow end of the husk up to the center then fold both sides together to enclose the filling. Then fold the wide top closed.

Stand the tamales up in a large steamer with the top end up. Make sure the bottom of the pot has 2” of water. The water should not touch the tamales. Lay a damp cloth/cheese cloth over the tamales and cover with lid. Keep the water at a low boil, checking periodically to make sure the water doesn't boil away. Steam the tamales for 2 hours.

When the tamales are done, in a large bowl, mix together cumin, chili powder, cayenne, coriander, salt, and pepper and coat shrimp. Heat oil in a large pan and cook the shrimp for 5 mins until pink. You do not want to cook shrimp ahead of time nor overcook shrimp.

To serve, unfold the tamales on a plate, top with the spicy shrimp and spoon the heated remaining reserved tomatillo sauce over the top.

Optional: top with sour cream and chopped cilantro. 

warm toffee mini cakes with dates and warm toffee sauce

(left) topped with vanilla ice cream, (right) topped with cream

English Toffee Sauce

1 1/2 c heavy cream

1  1/2 sticks + 1 T butter, cut into 1/2” cubes

1 1/2 c dark brown sugar

3/4 c maple syrup

Directions

In a large heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the cream, butter, brown sugar and maple syrup. Bring to a boil over high heat, whisking frequently. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat. Blend the mixture using an immersion blender until thickened and emulsified. Alternatively, the mixture can be blended in batches using a standard blender (be careful as the mixture is very hot). This makes 4 cups of sauce.

Toffee Cake Ingredients and Topping

2 T butter, plus extra for buttering the ramekins

cane sugar for dusting the ramekins

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 c plus 2 T boiling water

3/4 c plus 2 1/2 teaspoons  flour

pinch salt

3/8 teaspoon baking powder

1 c plus 1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

3/4 c coarsely chopped dates

Hot Prepared Toffee Sauce

Optional: whipped mascarpone cream, heavy cream or ice cream

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 6 (6-ounce) ramekins with butter, and lightly dust with sugar.

In a saucepan, whisk the baking soda into the boiling water.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.

In another large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla on med-low until fully mixed. To the butter mixture, add the egg and beat until fully combined. On low speed, slowly and gently add the dry ingredients, scraping the bowl to make sure the batter is mixed. On low speed, slowly stream the hot water into the batter. Add the dates and continue mixing over low speed until the batter thickens. This makes about 2 cups batter.

Divide the batter between the 6 prepared ramekins.

Bake until the cakes are a dark, caramel color, about 45 minutes.

While still warm, turn ramekins upside down on serving plates and remove cakes. Pour hot toffee sauce over cakes.

Optional: whipped marscapone cream, heavy cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream over cakes.

full moon "banksy" sighting

vidal sassoon:the movie

"how one man changed the world with a pair of scissors"

an interesting and remarkable life story of vidal sassoon with q&a afterwards.

handsome, soft spoken and physically fit for a man at the age of 83!

homemade raspberry scones

now who's making the coffee?

found: banksy's "crayola shooter"

a valentine's midnight treat

lemongrass snowball cookies i made...just for you!

happy saint valentines day!

...now come and get your love!
                                                  with love from prickly

eric nakamura:giant robot scion xb

This is a famicon (original nintendo) video game inspired car designed by Eric Nakamura. 

This car has only been driven on the road once!

pop doors doors make individual game sounds 
and wheels of tires look like video game buttons

rear folds down and projector emits another 
video game simultaneous with front of car

projector headlight

handheld video controllers and upholstry to match video game color schemes 

shinya kimura's "spike" motorcycle and "modeater"

"the motorcycle represents in its form barbarianism, vulnerability and ephemeral beauty"

Custom motorcycle engineer from old town Tokyo, Shinya Kimura, builds custom bikes from post motorcycle  parts. He does not draw and relies only on the images in his head to create functional art entirely by hand. To see this masterpiece in person is more than a work of art, but one person's passion for the freedom it brings. 

"modeater...i like anything mod and eat scraps
of metal too. i usually live in the deep sea"

gasp!...did ken just call you "plastic", barbie?

don't listen to him, barbie...

he says that to all the other dolls!

tura luna pascual yamaguchi (july 10, 1935~february 4, 2011)

RIP Tura Satana

don't do it, barbie!!!!