California Dreaming and Sweet Potato Brownies...

I was in Los Angeles recently and on one of my jaunts I passed by this absolute stunner of a California Ranch...

I thought the curb appeal was so incredibly charming I just had to share....

set up from the curb... the corner lot and elevation helped create such drama.. and if you throw a pergola in any design I am pretty much on board...but that entry... can you hear my "oohs and aahs"?? Simply perfection in my book!

My dear friend Meg always plays "hostess with the mostess"...and wonderfully shares her home and her latest favorite foodie finds.... whenever I am in town...we were roommates 30 years ago and still pick up every time... just where we left off...don't you just love friendships that go the distance- even at a distance-like that? I don't think we have ever had even a disagreement in all those years... relationships like these are to be treasured!

Meg introduced me to a number of "yummies" but I became  obsessed with Aris Sheep Yogurt in the following flavors: Fig, Apricot and Raspberry...Raspberry being my favorite while I was in Cali...I had it every morning with Go Raw Sprouted Granola mixed in.. Aris Sheep Yogurt is a local brand that I am having trouble getting shipped to the Midwest (and I am trying!). Go Raw Products can be found in most health food stores. This combination is just delish! What I love about Sheep Yogurt is that you get all the flavor and probiotics without the bloat from dairy.

For now...this is what I am doing to recreate the yogurt...



Whole Foods sells...

I mix in a teaspoon or two Raspberry preserves... I am also using Fig jam too ...to re-create the Fig yogurt I loved from Aris Foods...

If you try this wonderful combo...let me know if you think it is a wonderful a treat as I do....


okay back to California's wonderful climate and my friend Meg...I am obsessed with bougainvillea as I have mentioned time and time again and Meg's house has a profusion of it...this mighty batch covers her pergola in her backyard....I enjoy visiting it almost as much as Meg...like her...it just gets better with age too!

Her succulents look pretty fantastic too...oh what I would do for that Cali climate!! Sometimes I ask myself why I left so many years ago.....

I have to share a clothing travel "incident" with a happy ending...

After arriving at Meg's my blue business dress for the upcoming meetings I had the next day needed to be ironed. I had only brought two dresses for a meeting filled agenda for a couple of days...I like to pack light!

This isn't my exact dress (because who knew that I needed a picture of it for this tale)...it's a "stand in" image I swiped from the internet...lol.

please notice the hemline...imagine as I took my first swipe with Meg's iron that I burnt the bottom of my dress so badly that it could not be salvaged...I just love this dress...I was also on a time crunch and didn't feel like shopping for business clothes....

I met my client/friend Luis the next day for lunch and I showed him the burnt remnants of my dress in the parking lot of the restaurant where we were dining...I told him I had an idea to replace the bottom of my dress with a band of fabric in another color...to create a color band effect...as a hopefully fashionable "save"...

the brilliant and well-dressed man recommended I hightail it to MOOD (of Project Runway fame...I didn't even know they had a LA store...I have only been to the one in NY)

which of course I did...I am surprised I'm still not there...for a creative gal like me...I hit PAY DIRT...it was all I could do to focus on saving my frock...oh the possibilities!!

I ran to a seamstress near Meg's house..presented my design, replacement fabric and the challenge to complete this entire assignment in 24 hours so I could leave for San Diego meetings the next day...and voila...here is my dress hack "save"!

I am at my tradeshow in the same dress the next day...I like it even better now than it was before and spent a lot less in $$ and probably time too...and had a lot more fun in the process!! I might just have to make MOOD a standing appointment on my trips to LA.

Speaking of hacks...I have a healthy hack on the traditional brownie recipe we all know and love...I made this one up in the search for satiation without the guilt....

These are the three ingredients...I take 6-8 good size sweet potatoes. Cook them as you would any bake potato

 for 30 min. at 350 degrees in the oven on a cookie sheet until they are tender...after they cool I peel away the skin and leave them on the cookie sheet while I prepare the chocolate. It is very important to use a high quality dark chocolate. First it is much healthier and secondly..the richness of the chocolate is actually what hides the taste of the vegetable...

I take 3 or 4 bars of Theo's 70 or 85 percent dark chocolate and pulverize it my food processor until they are fine pebbles. I then add the sweet potatoes and about 1/2 cup of egg whites...after everything is blended I spread into a glass baking dish or ramekins...sometimes I just use the ramekins to portion out the molten like consistency of the brownie when it is done as well. I back at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. You can't cut these brownies as you would the traditional kind...this is more of a warm chocolate mousse. I like to serve it with Coconut Ice Cream...trust me...my kids can't even tell it's the healthy version...

and now for a real sugar fix... Sugar Fixe  is home to a delightful assortment of fresh Macaron and specialty coffee drinks...it turns out Luis (California Luis of dress situation)...

 and his partner Christopher were visiting Chicago  so I took them to the

Lincoln Park location on Armitage for a quick taste...if you go try the Lychee Rose..it's my fave!

  

Okay.. these ramblings do

tie together...sweet friends, sweet foods and a sweet save of a dress make for a very sweet life...

La Dolce Vita!!

Happy Friday...

XO Emily