Not Quite Bubbe's Latkes

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2 Yukon Gold potatoes- grated 

2 Large Russet Potatoes- grated 

1 Yellow Onion- grated 

2 large eggs, beaten 

1/4 cup all purpose flour or matzo meal 

2 tsp. Kosher salt 

1/2 tsp. Black pepper

2 tbsp. Chopped chives 

3 tbsp. Chopped flatleaf parsley 

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

Vegetable oil for frying 


Directions:

In a large bowl, grate both the Yukon gold potatoes. Place the grated potatoes in a kitchen towel, and squeeze out the excess liquid. Return to bowl. 

Grate the yellow onion on top of the potatoes. In a small bowl, beat two eggs and add into the bowl with potatoes and onions. 

Into the bowl add: flour, salt, pepper, chives, parsley, and garlic powder. Stir until combined. Set aside and allow to sit for 5 minutes. 

In a large skillet, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil on a medium-high heat. Using a standard ice cream scoop, place balls of the latke batter into the pan. Take a spatula and press down the latkes to form a flat patty and allow them to cook for 3-5 minutes on the first side until a crust has formed and the latke is held together. 

Using a wooden spoon or an additional spatula, carefully flip the latkes over and allow to fry for an additional 3-5 minutes or until desired browning. Remove from pan and drain off on a cooling rack or onto a paper towel. 

Serve with your favorite toppings like sour cream, applesauce! 

Perfect Guacamole

Ready for Cinco De Mayo? Even in quarantine? Try my guac to make your day special!

Recipe

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2 Large Hass Avocados
1 Lime juiced
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 Roma tomato diced
1/2 of a Jalapeño finely diced and deseeded
2 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
1tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cut avocados in half, removing the skins and pit, place in a bowl. Add in lime juice, finely diced red onion, Roma tomato, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and pepper. Begin to smash with a fork or spoon, ensuring that all of the ingredients are incorporated and it is a slightly chunky texture, we don’t want this to be avocado soup…

Serve with chips, on toast, or as that special little something to spice up a taco, burrito, or tostada!

Fitness Farfalle

Pasta…most countries have some version of it. Stretchy, tender dough briskly boiled until it turns to the most fabulous chewy and creamy morsels of pasta. Getting picky eaters to have some veggies can be challenging, but this pasta is a great way to get them to have important protein and fresh veggies in a delicate butter sauce.

Recipe

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1 pound Bow tie (Farfalle) Pasta
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast diced
1/2 pound halved baby heirloom tomatoes
1/2 a large yellow onion diced
1/2 pound broccoli
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano

Sauce:
1 stick of salted butter
3 large cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

In a large dutch oven, bring water to a rolling boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook bow tie pasta for approximately 8 minutes or until just al dente. While the pasta is cooking cut broccoli into small florets and halve heirloom tomatoes. When the pasta is finished cooking, remove from the water without draining the water. Next, add the broccoli to the pasta water and blanch for 2 minutes before draining and shocking under cold water to stop the cooking.

In the same pan, add the diced onion to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, after one minute, add in chicken and brown. After two minutes, add a stick of butter, minced garlic, and oregano, cooking them to release the oils into the butter.

Take the broccoli and add that back to the chicken and the sauce. Add in the pasta and stir. Top with the shredded parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Pair with white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.

Marcona Almonds

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These are a simple and tasty treat to make to impress everyone at a cocktail party…just make sure no one is allergic. These Cocktail Marcona Almonds with Rosemary and Thyme are almost impossible to resist and go GREAT with a nice dry Chardonnay or a lemon drop martini. They’re sure to be a hit wherever you serve them.

Recipe

1lb. raw blanched almonds
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp. Fleur De Sel or Kosher Salt

Preheat your oven to 375°. Finely chop rosemary leaves and gently remove thyme from the stem, combining the chopped rosemary and thyme. On a cookie sheet, lay out the pound of almonds and coat in olive oil. Sprinkle the top with rosemary and thyme and place in the oven for 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Afterr 15 minutes, sprinkle the almonds with fleur de sel or kosher salt and toss before finishing the last 5 minutes in the oven.

*if you have a hard time finding blanched almonds, you can blanch your own. Just take a pot of boiling water and blanch the almonds for no more than 60 seconds, remove the skin, and let them cool before roasting.

Morning Banana Nut Muffins

I love making these muffins, if you are looking for a breakfast on the road or if you just want a nice muffin to make for a brunch or lunch! These are the muffins for you! They are chock full of lots of yummy granola and rich, nuts. They are a joy to make and even more of a joy to eat!

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Recipe 

Dry: 

3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour 
1/4 Cup Museli 
1/4 Cup Steel Cut Oatmeal 
1/4 Cup Vanilla Almond Granola 
1 tsp. Baking Powder 
1 tsp. Baking Soda 
1 tsp. Salt 
1 tsp. Cinnamon 
1/4 tsp. Ginger
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg 
1/2 Cup Sugar 
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar 

**If you don’t have muesli or granola, substitute it for 3/4 cup of oatmeal. If all you have is flour, simply use 1 1/2 cups of flour for the muffins, they will be just as delicious.** 

Wet:

3 Mashed Overripe Bananas 
1/3 Cup Melted Butter 
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 

Topping: 

1/4 Cup Chopped walnuts 
2 tbsp. Turbinado sugar 

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the wet ingredients. Once the wet ingredients are mixed together, fold in the dry ingredients and mix until combined, finishing off with a rubber spatula to ensure a homogenous mixture. 

Line 12 muffin tins with paper or grease and flour the pan. Using a standard ice cream scoop, spoon the muffin mixture into the muffin pan. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the chopped walnuts and turbinado sugar bake for 25-30 min.  

Enjoy! 

2020 Update

Hi everyone!

I am so beyond excited with how things have been going in 2020. This has been an interesting year already for so many people that I know, myself included. Although there are a lot of emotions going into 2020 from the impending election etc., I am really looking forward to the second round of ROARING 20s!

Recent Reflection:

I am trying a new wave of positivity in 2020. Recently, I have been reflecting on myself and although much of my humor is self-deprecating, I am making a new effort to allow myself those comedic releases while also ensuring that I have a positive core for myself. What the results have been in the last few days have been AMAZING! Of course, it’s not always the easiest thing to simply start and to be thrilled to be alive every day, but making the effort and allowing myself the process have shown me that with an active mind, you can change your perspective.

Of course, I am not trying to come to you from a place of “enlightenment” cause God knows, that’d be BULLSHIT! As much fun as it would be to pretend I spend my days sitting on a mountaintop meditating, I have still been having some struggles, I just have been noticing, or rather trying to notice the things that happen when I react a certain way.

What’s New in 2020?

So, like I said, I am so excited for so many things this year...that is to say, new ventures that I am embarking on.

I have chosen to use this platform as a place for two things: firstly, to let myself out and to say what I need to say (As John Mayer would advise) as well as to chronicle a personal journey that I am on.

As many of you know, I LOVE to cook, and even more than that, I LOVE to eat...While that is all well and good, it also causes problems for me in terms of the way I view my body, etc.

BUT, my love for cooking and the need to feel good while doing it is so strong that I am combining the two!

So this year, cooking, fitness, and healthy lifestyle choices are going to be integrated more into my daily life, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! I am going to be working off of Instagram, my website and YouTube to deliver you the whole story and to chronicle how things are going. As well as sharing some recipes with y’all as well as serving some quality lifestyle content to make the life you are currently living, the best life it can be!

Thanks for letting me use your ear as a way to keep myself accountable and for coming on this journey with me. I can’t wait to see where this takes us!

Lots of love and success!

Anthony :)

Borderline Mass Shooting and California Wildfires Response

Hey everyone, I have included the audio from the iCLU radio show yesterday, Friday, November 15th. I realized that I had not given what I would consider a proper response to the happenings of the week before. The Borderline Shooting and then the fires following it were unthinkably alarming and deeply troubling.

This is the audio for a show in which I talk about all of the things that happened to me, and the way I experienced that bit of time from hell. I was having a hard time to come up with words to even say when it comes to this topic because what happened was so incredibly vile and concerning on so many levels.

Furthermore, I would like to apologize for the way I pronounced the names of some of the victims, I was having a challenging time keeping my composure during the recording and as such was a bit of a mess when it came time to do that part. The mass shooting was something I never saw coming to our wonderful Thousand Oaks and I must confess, naively, most definitely never to friends of mine. It is, however a reality of what we are dealing with in the society we live in.

RESOURCES:

Free Crisis Hotline Numbers

If you think you or someone you love may be struggling with a mental health disorder, call one of these numbers to learn more about various mental health conditions and connect with valuable resources near you.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

If mental health difficulties are leading you to consider suicide or think about death often, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s national network of local crisis centers. This 24-hour hotline is available to anyone in crisis and provides free and confidential emotional support and crisis intervention.

Crisis Text Line: Text “home” to 741741

This unique hotline is available via text message to anyone experiencing mental health difficulties or an emotional crisis. Highly trained counselors offer support and guidance to calm you down and make sure you are safe.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

If you’re ready to seek professional treatment for your mental health condition, SAMHSA’s helpline and web-based behavioral health treatment services locator can help you find information about treatment providers, therapists counselors, support groups, and community resources in your area.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

The NAMI Helpline is available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST to answer your general questions about mental health issues and treatment options. You can get information on mental health services in your area and learn how to help a loved one find treatment.

Final Note: I do not own or have any rights related to the pictures on the screen, they are there to occupy the space during the radio episode. The links to the pictures are found below:

https://www.newsweek.com/woolsey-camp-hill-wildfires-forecast-news-when-will-fires-be-contained-1212916

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-thousand-oaks-shooting-updates-frantic-college-students-try-to-find-out-1541667743-htmlstory.html

http://www.tmz.com/2018/11/09/thousand-oaks-bar-shooting-reopen-police-investigation-borderline/

https://www.dailynews.com/2018/11/09/schools-in-ventura-and-los-angeles-counties-close-amid-woolsey-hill-fires/

http://citizensjournal.us/thousand-oaks-police-department-collects-cards-gifts-and-care-packages-for-borderline-shooting-victims/

https://www.dailynews.com/2018/11/13/thousand-oaks-strong-t-shirts-allow-community-to-rally-around-borderline-following-mass-shooting/

https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/california-wildfires-malibu-2018.html

First Cal Lutheran Improv Troupe Show 2018!

Last Thursday, we had the first improv show of the year at CLU. It was a TON of fun! We have an amazing ensemble cast and the most wonderful coach and mentor, Lisa Fredrickson! This is a clip of me from the end of the show playing the game, Dick Dancers, the object of the game is to make as many inappropriate jokes and pick up lines out of a category. The category was “the butcher.”