JUICE SERVED HERE!

Hello LA Locals!

Every now and then I try to convince my husband that we really, really, really need a juicer. It's right after the begging and pleading that I remember most of my concoctions never really taste that good. Definitely not as good as a fresh cold-pressed juice.

So in lieu of one of those nights that every part of me wishes I had a juicer to whip up an amazing healthy zinger, I thought I'd give a shout-out to the most amazing new juicery that opened in Los Angeles.

Juice Served Here (check out the rad article in Refinery 29's 30 under 30 here) Has opened in WEHO with additional stores to come. The best part, aside from the chic aesthetic, is that they deliver too!

So if you're feeling the need to kick in a health kick or just want to change up your normal routine, give these juices a try. Your body will love you for it!

TACO-LICIOUS!

SWEET POTATO CHICKEN CHILI

I'm a new recipe addict. Any new foodie photograph or tasty trend and I'm the first to give it a try. My husband, however,  isn't very adventurous when trying new foods. Unless I can convince him that what I'm making is actually good for him. Luckily (for us both) I stumbled upon a new chicken chili recipe that has tons of nutritious goodies and side of jalapeños on top - I just couldn't pass it up.

healthy chicken chili recipe

1.5 lbs chicken breast

2 cups chicken broth

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeños, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp chili powder

pinch of salt

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

28 oz. fire roasted tomatoes, undrained

14 oz. black beans, drained

3 tbsp ground flaxmeal

Cook the chicken in a slow cooker for 3 hours, shred once cooled and put in the fridge until ready to use. (I like to cook my chicken in the slow cooker with some minced garlic, simple and tasty.) 

Put the olive oil in a dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and jalapeños and saute until tender. Add the chili powder, salt and sweet potatoes. Saute until the potatoes are lightly browned.

Add the fire roasted tomatoes and chicken broth. Stir the mixture and cover for 45 minutes. You don't have to stir it but I like to, to make sure potatoes don't stick to the bottom of the pot. After 45 minutes, uncover and add the shredded chicken, black beans and flaxmeal. Stir and turn off heat. 

Season with your favorite chili toppings (mine are sour cream and extra jalapeños) and enjoy!

FALL FLORALS

CARAMELIZED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WEDGES WITH A SAGE HAZELNUT PESTO

caramelized butternut squash wedges with a sage hazelnut pesto

2 butternut squashes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped finely

4-5 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted

1/3 cup crumbled ricotta salata

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and place a rack in the lowest slot in the oven. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper. Peel the butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut each squash in half widthwise, right where the slender part curves out to the bulge. Cut each quarter into about 1-inch wedges and place in a bowl. Toss the squash with olive oil, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Place in a single layer on the baking sheets. Roast for 10-15 minutes until caramelized. Remove from the oven and flip each pice over. Then bake for another 10-15 minutes until caramelized on the other side.

While the squash is roasting, make the pesto: warm 2 tablespoons olive oil and sage in a small pan over very low heat, just until the oil bubbles. Then add the garlic and let heat for about two minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into a small bowl. Place the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor and process to a fine crumble. Alternatively, you can chop by hand our grind with a mortar and pestle. Add to the bowl containing the oil, sage, and garlic. Add the cheese to the bowl, along with 1-2 more tablespoons of olive oil, and stir until combined. Salt to taste. Once the squash is roasted, place in a large bowl and toss carefully with the pesto. Serve warm!

CHOCOLATE CAKE.

Although I've continued to cook and often photographed my sessions in preparation for posting, I've been quite terrible about actually posting what I've been making now that school has started again! I do feel bad for not sharing, but I think you might forgive me after trying this recipe. It may be the best I've ever posted! For my birthday a couple of years ago, some friends and I went to a coffee shop near campus that has these HUGE, amazing cakes. Until then, I wasn't a huge fan of chocolate cake, but for some reason that night I decided I wanted the most chocolatey cake I could find. So, we split a "Chocolate Lovers" slice which had a layer of fudge filling and white chocolate cream frosting. It was absolutely amazing! It was so rich and moist- literally my ideal cake. So, of course I tried to recreate it the next time I baked a cake. But I failed! I don't know if it was because it actually wasn't that good or if I just had extremely high expectations, but I was actually quite upset! I tried a couple more times throughout the next year or so, only to be disappointed with each attempt. All of a sudden this summer I had the craving once again for this delicious cake and decided it was time to try to make it again myself. And oh my goodness was it a success! I've tweaked the frosting a bit to include goat cheese because I have an obsession that I can't slake, but besides that, the cake is almost identical to the one I fell in love with at the coffee shop!

favorite chocolate cake

1 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup freshly brewed, hot coffee

Chocolate filling, recipe to follow

Goat cheese frosting, recipe to follow

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two 8" round cake pans. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients while beating on low with a mixer. Then stir in the hot coffee and mix until well combined. The batter will be very thin! But this will make the cake nice and moist. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans before removing. Place one layer, flat side up, on a serving platter and pour the chocolate filling on top. Spread evenly with a spatula and place the second layer on top, rounded side up. Frost with the goat cheese frosting. Try not to eat it all in one sitting (speaking from experience...)! It also tastes (and keeps) best refrigerated! 

chocolate filling

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1/8 cup milk

Add the chocolate chips and milk to a saucepan over very low heat. Melt the chocolate chips and stir often to avoid burning. Once the milk has been evenly incorporated and the mixture has thickened to a consistency (about five minutes) similar to cold syrup, it's ready to be poured over the first layer of cake.  The filling will likely be absorbed by the porous cake, but that is just fine!

goat cheese frosting

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

1/3 cup goat cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups powdered sugar

Beat the butter with a mixer for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the goat cheese and beat for another 2-3 minutes. Add the salt, vanilla, cinnamon and mix to combine. Now add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating between each addition. After the last cup has been added, beat the frosting for another 2-3 minutes until very light and fluffy. Proceed to frost your cake!