Electric Karma Leftovers

Getting to dinner last night was a saga and a half due to crazed holiday shoppers and inadequate parking, but I finally sat down to eat at Electric Karma, an Indian restaurant I had been curious about for a while. I ordered mattar paneer and rice, which were pretty good (this place is on a street that has a lot of places with the hip factor, but not necessarily with great food)!

I'm definitely going back to Electric Karma with Charles to try some of my favorites like chicken korma, naan and mango lassis. The leftovers made for a very late lunch today, which I inhaled before heading out for a couple errands. Now, I need to finish packing. My shuttle pick-up time is obscenely early tomorrow. Happy holidays!

Electric Karma
8222 W 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 653-2121

Dim Sum at Sea Harbor

I love dim sum, but rarely go because of the drive to Monterey Park and its neighboring areas where a lot of the good spots are located. But, before Charles took off for his Christmas visit home, we got our act together and made it out to Sea Harbor. We ate a good deal, but didn't stuff ourselves silly (I'm not that familiar with the Chinese names, so some of the description might be inaccurate):

Har Cheung Fun (ahrimp in rice noodles)

Shrimp and pork dumplings

Spareribs with black beans

Gai lan (Chinese broccoli)


We had a few other things, but I was too lazy/eager to eat, so didn't snap photos of all. Our table, however, was in a side room that was freezing! I really felt like the AC was on. I had my winter coat, though, so it was okay, but a bit bracing for a leisurely Sunday meal! I'd definitely come back for the food, but would just hope to get seated in the main (and warm) dining room.

Sea Harbor
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 288-3939

Quick Lunch at Mishima

I ducked into Mishima today and ordered a tanin-don, which basically means beef bowl. They offer all kinds -- shrimp tempura, pork katsu, curry... the list goes on. I usually get a bowl and udon set, but those always send me straight into a food coma and I still had some errands to run (plus, I've got plans to have sushi tonight!), so I kept the ordering to a minimum. The tanin-don also came with miso soup, which was very warm and didn't taste like it was from a packet.

I love Mishima, though their parking lot can be a headache at peak hours. But, today I was in early around noon, so there were several open spots. It looked like a couple of the other shops went out of business, so maybe parking is a bit easier these days.

Mishima
8474 W 3rd St # 108
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-0181

Pomegranates Demystified

Considering how cold the house is, a warm breakfast would have been better. But, I couldn't ignore my pomegranate that had been resigned to the fridge all week. I had never opened one of these beauties before, but Jaden's post was very helpful and yielded excellent results (although my hands were freezing)!

And voila, Greek yogurt with honey and a healthy sprinkle of pomegranate seeds. So refreshing and pretty! I also think this unusual fruit would make a gorgeous addition to holiday fruit salads or even a greens salad with a good quality cheese.

Panko Zucchini Sticks

I am on a quest to use up my panko crumbs and thought zucchini would be a good veggie to coat and fry. I got carried away and threw the following into the panko crumbs: salt, pepper, grated parm cheese, Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning and shichimi powder from my udon takeout. Of course, in the end result, not much of these flavors came through by the time the sticks came out of the pan.

Still, for a light lunch/snack, they came out good enough. There was an odd aftertaste to the breading though, which I couldn't quite place; maybe they were just stale? I opened the bag quite a while ago. I have another zucchini in the fridge, but I will probably do a quick saute instead as the zucchini sticks required more mess than they were worth. Also, I think zucchini is at its best when it's cooked simply, no?

Kiss My Bundt

A couple amazing things happened to me on Saturday while running an errand:

1. I found a parking meter on Third Street.

2. I had no change, but there was still 30 min left on the meter.

3. I parked right in front of Kiss My Bundt.

My destination was a denim store, but of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to pop into Kiss My Bundt, which I first heard about through Tannaz. Here are the mini bundts I picked up:

Lemon Drop, Carrot Cake and Red Velvet



They had been slammed that morning, so were temporarily out of chocolate cakes. Next time, I'd love to try their Chocolate with Buttercream Frosting or Cookies and Cream. Since carting these babies home, I've only tried the Red Velvet so far (the Lemon Drop has been reserved for Charles).

Kiss My Bundt's Red Velvet is quite good and not too sweet and I liked the mini size. But, for those with bigger dessert needs, they also offer a bigger Baby Bundt size as well as the traditional large cake. I never considered bundt cakes for celebrations before, but now I think I will! I leave you with an excerpt from My Big Fat Greek Wedding when John Corbett's mom brings dessert to the Portokalos home:

Maria Portokalos: What is it?
Harriet Miller: It's a bundt.
Maria: A bun?
Harriet: A bundT.
Maria: A Bondt?
Harriet: BUNDT BUUNDT!!

Kiss My Bundt
8104 W. 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-0559

Store-Bought Udon

I was so tired tonight that I did not want to cook dinner and certainly did not want to wash any dishes. So, I picked up this udon to go for $5.55 at the Asian takeout bar at Whole Foods. It probably cost the store 20 cents to make (if that), but I wanted udon and this dinner was great to eat while watching Fringe. The broth was surprisingly flavorful and spinach is something I adore in Asian soups. Definitely better than the instant udon with broth power packets! Oy, I need to take some Tylenol Allergy now.

Sausage and Fennel Penne

I love the combination of Italian sausage and fennel for a pasta sauce; it's rich, hearty and the fennel gives it a bit of texture and a good punch of flavor. I'm pretty I was first introduced to using fennel in pasta by Rachael Ray (one of her bazillion pasta episodes, but no complaints here!).

I like fennel a lot (I prefer it cooked more than raw), but it has a slight licorice taste, so some may not be as enthralled (but, try it before writing it off as nature's deranged version of Good & Plenty). I thought this pasta dish would make a tasty workweek supper that I could submit to Presto Pasta Nights! I missed last week's roundup, so was determined to make it this time around. This week, it's hosted by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.

Best of all, I made enough sauce for lunch tomorrow and another dinner later this week. And with just half a pound of sausage!

Pear Epiphany Dinner

I didn't feel in the mood for an actual meal tonight, so just picked up truffle pate, Parrano cheese, Comice pear (my first time eating this variety and I love it a lot) and crackers. I wish to become more knowledgeable about cheese, but I knew I wanted a salty cheese to offset the richness of the pate. And the flavors worked nicely! I need to go back to Whole Foods and pick up more pears, I'm pretty sure I've just picked up a new habit.