Day 28: Serendipity Books by Stephen Cosgrove

I was told that as a child of two, I would sit on my Uncle's lap and read the LA Times with him. And growing up, my mom and I would read the Serendipity Books by Stephen Cosgrove - full of fantastic creatures, colorful illustrations, and wonderful lessons to take away.

It's no wonder that I love reading, became an English major in college, and have an affinity for the word and all things Serendipity.

The Serendipity series I had read and collected from the early 1980s were first published in Los Angeles, and can still be found online through Amazon and a variety of other sites.

Today, I pulled them out and started reading some of my favorite stories with my nephew in the first grade. I helped him with some of the more difficult words, but the morals at the end of the stories were easy enough for him to understand. I was so happy to share my love of my reading with him and can only hope that he'll enjoy reading just as much as his Auntie.


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Day 27: Berry Tres Leche Cake

A few weeks back, Bret Thompson had his Got Milk? Open House to showcase some cool summer treats.

It was a nice reunion of sorts, with close friends and my online food blogging family. I chatted with the lovely MaxMillion whom I met through LA Foodblogging, caught up with Oishii Eats and her brother, finally got to meet LA/OC Foodie, rubbed elbows with Pleasure Palate, and got a chance to say hello to Mikey Hates Everything just before heading out.

Just above is a photo of Mikey's robot dude friends and Eddie Lin from Deep End Dining posing right in front of Milk.

My favorite milky dish was Thompson's version of tres leche cake with berries. Not too sweet nor heavy, this little treat is quite refreshing. I gobbled mine up as quickly as they came out of the kitchen.

Here is JT with her plate... notice the fork just waiting to jump in!

As part of the joint collaboration between Bret Thompson's Milk shop and the Got Milk? crew, everyone got a copy of his savory and sweet recipes on CD - which is now online for everyone at gotmilk.com.

So I tried the Berry Tres Leche Cake recipe for myself and here's the end result:



Sponge Cake [serves 8+]
+ 6 eggs
+ 8 oz granulated sugar
+ 8 oz pastry flour
+ 2 5/8 oz unsalted butter, melted
+ 1 tsp vanilla extract

- In mixer with whisk, beat eggs and sugar until thick ribbon stage.
- Sift pastry flour into egg-sugar, mix and fold.
- Add vanilla extract and butter, and fold until just mixed.
- Pour mix into a buttered 12" x 16" rectangle cake pan.
- Knock mold or pan against table to eliminate air bubbles, if needed.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 min or til done.
- To test, insert toothpick into cake. If clean, cake is done.

Soaking Liquid
+ 2 c sweetened condensed milk
+ 2 c evaporated milk
+ 1 c whole milk
+ 1 c heavy cream
+ 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
+ 1⁄2 c blueberries
+ 1 recipe sponge cake (see above)
+ 1 c raspberries (for decoration)
+ 1 c strawberries (for decoration)
+ 1 c blackberries (for decoration)
+ whipped cream to taste

- Whisk together three milks, heavy cream and vanilla.
- Place blueberries in blender w/1 cup of soaking liquid and blend on high for one minute.
- Strain blueberry infused soaking liquid into the rest of the soaking liquid. Set aside in refrigerator.
- Once sponge cake is done, bring to room temperature.
- Carefully remove the cake from pan and place on cutting board.
- Using a sharp knife, cut browned side parts off of the cake.
- Place cake in serving container and pour soaking liquid into the container.
- Using a piping bag, top cake with whipped cream.
- Decorate with berries. Chill and serve.
- Cake will hold up to 2 days.

The cake didn't turn the bluish hue as in the original cake, but had some speckles of blueberries after being strained. Next time, I'd blend all berries to get more berry flavor and color into the soaking liquid. But in the end, my tres leche cake with berries was still quite delicious for my family and a definite keeper for warm summers in LA.


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An LA Find & My Weeks in Review

It's amazing to me how summer vacations were so often taken for granted as a youth. I'd wile away the days with episodes of "All My Children" and reruns of old classics like "I Dream of Genie" and "I Love Lucy" without a care in the world.

Sometimes, there were week-long camps to keep me occupied or the dreary mornings of summer school that filled my days. Or I worked. Except for the time I traveled to the UK and studied at Cambridge.

So as this school year is coming to an end, it's nice to self-reflect and share how these past two weeks as a teacher has meant to me. Teaching an upper division class has been a great experience, and each student has helped me learn a little more about myself and the subject. And as many of them go off to colleges and universities across the country, two of them to my alma maters - USC and MSU, I give them all well wishes and advice that I hope will help them in this next chapter in life. Even as I type on this Saturday morning, I hope to help with a few last things at school.

These days, it's so much more meaningful to have summer vacations. And more than ever, I look forward to them with anticipation and hope to make the most of the time I have to myself.

Last week, MS and I tried out the small training archery range at Rancho Park. Every Saturday morning at 11am, Angelinos can come out to learn a little bit of the sport with a safety class and some hands-on practice. There's no charge for this activity, which is an added bonus.

It's not for the wee little ones, and the recommended age for youngsters is about 8 years old. It takes quite a bit of upper body strength to hold up and shoot the bow and arrow properly.

This mid-city range is nothing in comparison to the size of the archery range in Pasadena by the Rose Bowl, (which also holds Saturday morning safety classes). But it's quite a nice offering for the City of Los Angeles and for those interested in learning something new and old at the same time.

Olympic Youth Archery Range at Rancho Park
Near 20th Century Fox Studios
street: 2551 Motor Ave Los Angeles, CA 90064

Rancho Park is located at the southwest corner of Motor and Pico in West LA. The archery range is at the back of the park. Safety classes every Saturday at 11am.


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Terroni LA

Terroni LA is not the kind of place for MS. He absolutely loves the tart flavors of aged balsamic vinegar and needs to douse his bread, pizzas, and sandwiches with this dark Italian beauty.

I, on the other hand, like the yin yang balance that it brings to my olive oil and bread.

So when I asked for a side of balsamic vinegar from our dark haired server, this was the surprising reply I received:

We do not give out balsamic vinegar with our bread. The olive oil is expensive and the balsamic vinegar would ruin the flavor of the olive oil.

Or in other words...

I spit on you. And I spit on your request, you ignorant American fool who knows nothing about real Italian food.

But I have to admit - the food was fresh and delicious. Yes, the olive oil had a nice flavor (although it left a little bitter taste after the reprimand I got from our waitress), and my Homemade Gnocci alla Simi [16.00] made with tomato sauce and a dollop of ricotta cheese was the right amount of tenderness and creaminess.

One of my lunch partners was not so lucky. She ordered an Italian sausage sandwich and asked for a side of tomato sauce. And unfortunately, our server made the same kind of rejection:

The sausage sandwich is the way it is and should not have any sauce with it. We do not give sides of sauce.

Or in other words...

I spit on you. And I spit on your request, you ignorant American fool who knows nothing about real Italian food.

In any case, I ate the entire plate and although I was full, I went against my better judgment and ordered dessert.



With a berry sauce and fresh fruit, the Panna Cotta [7.00] was milky smooth and refreshing. But after gobbling the whole thing up, my lactose intolerant body started acting up and I knew I was in trouble.

For an Italian meal out on the town without any extras, substitutions or anything other than what you see on the menu, this corner restaurant is a good choice. But if you're on the west side, stick with my favorite without any kind of pretentiousness - Pomodoro Trattoria.

Terroni - "traditional southern italian food"
street: 7605 Beverly Blvd | Los Angeles, CA | 90036
tel: 1.323.954.0300