Sashimi Snacks

We had a subletter who lives in NY, and occasionally comes to LA for jobs. She was in town for the fourth and was still here for a few days when I returned from the beach. The next day, I was greeted with Dasha's (Dah - Shh - a), Sashimi Snacks. Dasha, picked up a pound of Sashimi Grade Tuna from a farmer's Market, earlier in the week, and had just thawed it. The day before she had gone to a wonderful Scandinavian Market, where she picked up liver pate, Finnish Cheese, and a loaf of whole wheat Scandinavian Pumpernickel. These simple Sashimi Snacks, are made with Toasted pieces of that pumpernickel, a healthy cut of Tuna, a dollop of Wasabi Mayonaisse, I believe from Trader Joe's, and Fresh Dill on top. In case you haven't used it yet, fresh Dill, is leaps and bounds tastier than dried dill. What a difference fresh herbs make. The Wasabi Mayo, helped to fuse this Asian-Scandinavian-American Snack into one. I hope you can get some Sashimi Grade Tuna soon and experiment with it's rich flavor.

Beach Rewind -Lobster Tail and Baked Vegetable Medley

Oh the beach, what a fantastic wonderful, salty, sandy food-filled fun vacation spot. I had a fantastic time and am already looking forward to the week at the beach next year. Although the beach trip was filled with delicious food opportunities, I didn't have a way to upload photos or blog while I was gone. So, I will present you now with my Beach Trip Rewind, where I will go backwards through my trip starting with my last night in North Carolina, post-beach. (I actually have a story to share about Air Tran and all its glory, but that will have to wait until I am ready). My girlfriend decided that with Lobster Tail being on sale at Harris Teeter, that they would make a fine start for a post-beach meal. After picking up two, we went home and she made this fantastic meal. She started by cutting up the vegetables from the farmer's market, Tomatoes, Onions, and Green Peppers, adding in some Harris Teeter vegetables, Squash and Brocolli, and then tossing them with Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, and Basil, then placing them on aluminum foiled pan (greased). Then she baked them at 350 for I think about 20 minutes.
Once she got those started it was onto the Boiled Lobster Tail and Lemon Butter.
Bring water to boil, add Lobster Tails, cook 1 minute per ounce.
Add 3TBS of butter and 1 TBS of Lemon Juice together, and either heat slowly on stove or in microwave until melted.

Remove vegetables from oven.

Cut open Lobster Tail, and remove meat. Serve, with Lemon Butter for dipping.
Boy am I glad that my girlfriend can cook. It was a delicious meal, and was capped with a wonderful dessert. Which I will blog about next. Until then, get out to Harris Teeter, and eat up these lobster tails.

The Beach and Green Gas

Every year, my girlfriend and her family and I all take a trip to some exotic beach locale. Last year it was Carolina Beach, NC and this year we are making our way to North Topsail Island, NC. The best part about the whole trip is the food (well other than the good times lounging around the beach). The last dinner usually includes a giant Seafood Buffet from one of the better Seafood restaurants that we have heard about all week from beach goers and random tourists we run into. North Topsail is known for its Dr. Root Beer's Hall of Foam, a local landmark I will be sure to visit. I am super excited to review the places we go as I am a more dedicated blogger this year. Hopefully somebody will have a camera, so that I may bring back evidence of the goodness. I still have a few weeks before I head out for the beach, so I can continue finding delicious meals here in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, back in California, apparently somebody decided it would be a good idea to start charging over $5.00 a gallon for gas as this news article shows. However, I found a little gem in Los Angeles. I have been there a time or two before and just filled up there today. The station on Robertson and Olympic in Los Angeles, always seems to charge a few cents to dimes less per gallon than the other stations in the city. As a bonus, it is a completely green gas station. The gas station is made with recycled materials, and LED lights. The structure contains tin and steel to reflect the lights where it needs to go. In the bathroom there is a bamboo wall, a recycled wood wall, and a slab of granite or stone where the water from the sink just gravitates towards the trough style drain. There are even two different buttons for the toilet, one for a large amount of water, and the other for smaller amounts. The ground is partially made with recycled glass bottles, and they also have recycled material postcards with information about the station that contain wildflower seeds, so all it takes is a little soak and watering and you have fresh compost and wildflowers sprouting. Find out more about this sweet place to fill-up at BP's TheGreenCurve.com
I plan on hitting it up whenever I am near the West Coast. From the Atlantic to the Pacific I am sure there are plenty of Green restaurants in between, if you find any good ones be sure to let me know about them at thefoodmonsterblog@gmail.com

Enjoy and happy travelling!
-The Food Monster