A Play Date BORDERing on Perfect

Credit for this play date idea goes to my mama friend, L. She is expert on all things downtown, as far as I'm concerned. And she is the one who introduced me to this fun eating/playing combo at The Border Grill and Bonaventure Hotel - both on Figueroa, connected by a fun little bridge that our kids love to race across to see who wins.

Usually first up is a meal at Border Grill. Happy Hour is pretty hard to beat - excellent options for grown-ups and kids alike, wait staff and management are delightful, and parking is validated (or, if you're feeling really adventurous, take the Metro - up the cool factor with the kids). Can't go wrong with kids bean and cheese tacos, poblano quesadillas & chopped salad for parents, and creative cocktails (with or w/o alcohol) like minty lime cooler or pomegranate lemonade.

Once our little ones have filled their tummies, run around and charmed the employees, gotten multiple tours of the kitchen, and used bathrooms where "you don't have to press the button for the soap, it just comes out automatically," we say our goodbyes, zip up a quick escalator (or elevator) and over the bridge that spans Figueroa, and land on the grassy area at the base of Bonaventure Hotel.

There the kids run their fannies off, plop down on their backs to take in impressive glass pneumatic-tube-like elevators that glide up and down (verrry Blade Runner-esque) the hotel's shiny exterior, and chat with the guys washing sidewalks with their super cool, ginormous water machines until they're almost too out of breath to talk.

Last but not least, we and our tuckered tikes mosey into the hotel and hop onto the elevators, which could be a ride at Disneyland for all they care. We go up and down a few times - as much as my motion sick stomach can take - and it is utterly thrilling. Honestly, the views are pretty awesome. On a clear day, you could definitely see the ocean.

Give this a whirl some day. You won't be disappointed!

Question: What's For Dinner? Answer: Veggie Lasagna!

ingredients

A friend suggested that I share on this blog my meal ideas. Not wanting to disappoint, and also thinking it might be helpful to parents, I decided to oblige.

The first thing I want to write about is a delectable vegetarian lasagna recipe that I whipped up this evening with rice noodles I found at Whole Foods this afternoon. They were on the shelf, practically jumping up and begging, no, challenging me, to make my veggie lasagna with them. I couldn't resist.

So, here goes. I tend to improvise when I cook, so I don't have exact measurements. Shouldn't be too hard to follow, though, and successfully replicate.

Main ingredients are shown in the photo above. I didn't necessarily use everything but you can see all that goes into producing the final product:

1 tub of ricotta cheese

1 box of no-boil rice lasagna noodles

1 package of small-medium-sized organic zucchini

1 small organic yellow onion

1 package of organic mushrooms

1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese

2.5 jars of organic tomato basil pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit then prep ingredients. First, chop a few cloves of garlic, the small onion, and saute in a frying pan over medium-low heat with some olive oil, Then, slice each zucchini in half, length-wise and chop into half-moon shapes. Add zucchini to garlic-onion mixture once that is translucent. Note: I sauteed the mushrooms separately in a pan with olive oil and salt because I knew someone I was going to feed didn't like mushrooms, so I only put them in half of the lasagna. But they can go right in with the zucchini and garlic-onion mixture.

Once the stove-top ingredients are cooked to perfection (slightly firm, not mushy), start laying the sauce and noodles into a rectangular pan. Sauce goes in first, then a layer of noodles. On top of that, put another layer of sauce, veggies, crumbled ricotta, light layer of salt and pepper, few shavings of mozzarella, and more noodles to top it off. Repeat last step and cover with the rest of the mozzarella. Pop into oven on middle rack for 30 minutes uncovered, then take out, cover with aluminum foil, and put back in for another 30 minutes.

And here you have the end result. Super tasty! Served with a salad, it's the perfect meal for a family. Enjoy!

final product plated with simple salad

perfect accompaniment 

Eating on the go - Los Feliz TONIGHT

Never been to this before but have been wanting to try it. Apparently, every Monday night in the parking lot of Our Mother of Good Counsel Catholic church (2060 N. Vermont Avenue) in Los Feliz, there is a gourmet food truck event from 5:30 to 9 pm. It's called DinDinAGoGo. Check out their Twitter feed for more info.

L & C's Favorite Thursday Afternoon Outing with the Kids

Pretty much every Thursday afternoon/early evening, we take our kids on the gold line (exit at Mission) to the South Pasadena Farmers' Market for play, people-watching, and mouth-watering morsels. Adding the train ride to the market enhances the experience in a few ways. 1): It eliminates the hassle of finding parking in South Pasadena. 2): The kids totally dig it. 3): It's kind of a green thing to do, and that's always positive.

For info on the market, go here: South Pas Farmers' Market.

For LA Metro Gold Line, click here.

And now for some taste-bud-tempting photos of our dinner and dessert . . .

~ C

veggie & cheese pupusa (plus all the
delectable toppings)

caramel corn - INsane!

peanut butter cookie (the best ever!) -
from Homeboy bakery booth

lavender creme brulee - from Nicole's Gourmet,
around the corner from South Pas Farmers' Market