Archive
for May, 2014
Silver Lake: Globally-Inspired Granola from Granola Mama’s Handmade
May 13 2014
Some granola lovers long for the perfect, trusty blend—that one granola with an ideal texture, spice combination and sweetness level—that they can turn to any time their yogurt needs topping. Others, like me, crave variety and maybe even a touch of exoticism when it comes to the baked grain. To both types, I present Granola Mama’s Handmade. Made in a home kitchen in Silver Lake, Granola Mama’s is a fantastic gourmet line inspired by global flavors, from Portland to Vienna.
I first sampled this scrumptious granola at last year’s Artisanal L.A., which is where many home kitchen brands—now possible thanks to California’s it-was-about-time-already Cottage Food Law—make their first impressions on L.A. foodies. Granola Mama’s owner Wendy Osmundson made her mark with an intriguing variety of flavors that aim to capture the essence of the placs they’re named after. One of my favorites to eat by the handful is the insanely addictive Paris Blend, covered in 70% dark chocolate, carmelized organic evaporated cane juice sugar, butter and sea salt with hazelnuts and freeze-dried raspberry mix ins. Freeze-dried fruit is one of the savviest elements of the granola, adding an unexpected texture that veers from the usual chewy dried fruit. It really works in the Hanalei Blend, which includes sweet freeze-dried pineapple chunks along with coconut chips and macadamia nuts.
But it’s not all about the sweet stuff—interestingly, savory flavors also make an appearance in Granola Mama’s concoctions. While still lightly sweet, the Bangkok Blend includes basil, mint, cilantro, lime juice and Thai chiles while the Milan Blend adds sage and white pepper to the mix. Chocolate and chili lovers can get their fix from the Oaxaca Blend, made with dried chiles, Mexican chocolate, pepitas, peanuts and almonds, a combination that lends nice contrast to fruit smoothies.
Granola Mama’s is available on the Granola Mama website and Good Eggs, where you can find lots of great local products. You can also buy the well-designed bags of granola locally at The LA County Store in Silver Lake, Earth Flow Urban Design Works in Highland Park, at the Los Feliz Farmers’ Market, and the Altadena Farmers’ Market (starting in July).
-Valentina
Historic Filipino Town: Ooey, Gooey Fun at the Mac and Cheeze Takedown
May 07 2014
By Jennifer Li
There are certain foods that, upon mere mention, will incite vehement, impassioned discussion: Coney dog versus Dodger Dog; Father’s Office Burger versus Umami; New York Slice vs. Chicago Deep Dish. With countless variants, add-ins and treatments, Mac and Cheese is definitely a dish that inspires debate. What better way to tackle the topic than to hold a competition, wherein dozens of home cooks proffer up their version of the best Mac and Cheese? Enter, The Takedowns.
Matt Timms, creator of The Takedowns, has been hosting food fights across the nation since his first Chili Takedown in 2003. Featuring amateur chefs, past Takedowns have included meatballs, bacon, ice cream, hot sauce, cookies and tofu battles from Brooklyn to San Francisco. This most recent Takedown at the Bootleg Theater in Historic Filipino Town is Timms’ second appearance in Los Angeles, the first being the Avocado Takedown. The panel of judges included Eastside Food Bites, along with The Glutster and MegaMAC.
Twenty-five cooks entered the Mac and Cheeze Takedown, lining up their aluminum trays on Bunsen burners. Stakes were high, as evidenced by the number of profusely sweaty entrants. One contestant jokingly offered a bribe in the form of homemade bourbon while admist the commotion and hurried preparation of his station, another nervous contender dropped an entire tray of mac—splat!—and it was lost irretrievably to the floor. Thankfully, he brought a backup (photo above).
Javier Cabral, a.k.a. The Glutster, urged us judges to take only one modest mouthful of each entry, no matter how delicious or alluring that second bite might seem. With over 25 delicious entries (with the exception of one bland, rubbery recipe) to try, and a finalist round that would require us to retry 6, this was sound advice. Some were more creative than most, such as the mac and cheese with Chinese sausage and leeks or the shrimp mac and cheese served with a side of moist, perfectly Southern red velvet cake. The gentleman that dropped his creation on the floor offered a top-notch noodle, with a decadent, perfectly broiled cheese crust.
After tasting all that mac and cheese, we had a very tough decision ahead of us, and so we headed to the bar to deliberate over the winners and losers. In addition to bragging rights and mac and cheese pride, champions would receive Cuisinart food processors to add to their cache of kitchen supplies.
Here are the results:
Third Place went to a completely unique concoction: apple mac and cheesecake, made with cream cheese, chèvre, spiced apples and homemade caramel sauce topped with graham cracker crumbs. Dessert macaroni is a pretty weird concept, but it worked. In the very best way, it tasted like the soggy bottom of the apple pie after it has been drowned a la mode.
Because sometimes mac and cheese demands Velveeta, the 2nd prize went to a Tex-Mex, Smoked Pancetta and Jalapeno Mac and Cheese. The uniform texture of this cheese sauce was spiked with the complicated flavors of smoked, cured meat and warming spice.
The top prize went to the unctuous, gooey, sharp and creamy Amber Ale, six-cheese mac with a chipotle crust. The inclusion of beer highlighted the satisfying sharpness I like in a mac and cheese, and the thick, creamy texture of the sauce clung to each and every al dente penne.
In addition to wholesome fun, this mac and cheese matchup pushed the envelope and sparked novel ideas, evolving into brand new flavors and inventive cuisine. If you are interested in entering the next Takedown here in LA, Timms is planning on hosting a Cookie Takedown, where the question will surely be: crunchy or chewy?
Jennifer is a staff writer for Eastside Food Bites. Learn more about her on our Contributor’s page.
