Thai Bliss Curry Soup, a raw vegan take on the flavors of Thailand.

Scratch Bar & Kitchen, Chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and wife Margarita Kallas-Lee’s main tasting menu restaurant, just so happens to be in Encino. You may not even notice it hiding within a mini mall of sorts along Ventura Boulevard. Recently refreshed with an interior layout remodel, Scratch is like no other place you’ve ever dined at before.

Pappardelle pasta is one of those Italian names that makes me want to say it like I’m an Italian.

Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s cook, Marguerite, used carrots grown in the Monet home garden within many of the dishes served at the artist’s dining table. Since discovering the cookbook Monet’s Palate, I made a recent jaunt to my local farmers’ market, gathering handfuls of carrots to make this soup.

It’s a hot summer day. The sky is brilliant blue and birds are singing. July heat. I’m drinking a lot of coconut water mixed with sparkling soda and a squeeze of lime while planting in my garden, hands in the soil. The kids will be home from camp later (and they are always hungry!). I’m too hot (and lazy) to cook anything up tonight. The backyard patio is the place to dine on nights like this, with a big bowl of cold sesame noodles for everyone to share.

Chinese noodles are symbolic of a long life during the Lunar New Year celebration. This inspired me to make garlic noodles with some fresh Asian veggies. I used Melissa’s brand fresh Chinese noodles and Asian vegetables to make this special recipe. I love a rich, creamy sesame sauce mingled with lots of finely chopped garlic sticking to the long noodles. I want it gingery, garlicky and loaded with flavor. 

It is winter here in California. We have perfectly warm and sunny beach days that make people in colder climates jealous. As the last week of December goes by, a day of heat changes into crisp cool weather and back again. Then a spell of wind comes along and brings out the sparkle in everything.