What comes to mind when you think of Santa Barbara? Is it the beaches with sunshine glistening on the waves of the ocean? Perhaps the famous wine trail from the movie Sideways comes to mind and the luscious and velvety smooth Pinot Noir wines that Miles (Paul Giamatti) speaks so highly of. Or maybe you’re like me and you picture a classic California coastal town with beautiful Spanish architecture lining its streets. Everything here seems to slow down and for a moment you feel like you’re back in time, maybe the 1950’s or 60’s. I don’t know but it's easy to picture glamorous Hollywood sta ..read more

Photography by Eddie Sanchez From an outsider’s perspective, Los Angeles seems to be obsessed with healthy eating. We’re portrayed as eaters that only chow down heaping bowls of raw kale and flavorless nutritious food but that’s not the case at all. While California cuisine and our LA lifestyle promotes health and well being, that doesn’t negate the fact that we want food that’s as flavorful and delicious, as it is healthy. One of those places that embodies that ethos is Grilliant! Grilliant is a healthy place to eat with an emphasis on delicious Mediterranean and Middle Easter ..read more

Close your eyes and imagine a magical place that is everything you can want in a holiday getaway. You enter a beautiful historic Victorian building and are greeted by a two-story tall Christmas tree that's decorated as if it came out of a storybook.  As you exit the foyer, pass the hot chocolate stands, you hum along to the tune of Let It Snow that is playing in the background. You see a crowd gather, looking up, and you notice that artificial snow is beginning to fall. There's a cool chill in the air causing the palm trees to sway and you tighten that scarf ..read more

  Using only 3 ingredients (not including water), this is the the way we make handmade melt-in-your-mouth flour tortillas at home! The key ingredient is lard - the way grandparents used to make them! But you can always substitute it for butter or vegetable shortening.  INGREDIENTS: * 2 heaping cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling * 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt * 5 Tablespoons (2.5 ounces) manteca (lard), melted * 5 ounces of hot water METHOD: 1. Pour flour in the mixer bowl and affix paddle attachment. Mix at low speed then slowly add lard in a thin ..read more

Ask anyone in my family and they all have their own opinions when making chilaquiles. My sweet but assertive Tia will probably say something along the lines of “Those are almost chilaquiles,” after critiquing someone else’s version. My personal favorite way of making them is with a spicy salsa roja, soy chorizo (yes, it’s vegetarian friendly) and plenty of queso fresco. SERVINGS:4 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES Ingredients RED CHILE SAUCE 4 dried ancho chiles 1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, drained 1/2 medium red onion chopped 5 garlic cloves slic ..read more

We all have our favorite dishes during Thanksgiving and for my family, the dish we look forward to the most each year is my mother’s Guatemalan Picado. This recipe has been in our family for years and has replaced our traditional Thanksgiving Day stuffing since I can remember. It starts with shredded pork seasoned in adobo and garlic salt and blends flavors with diced carrots, celery, onions, leaks, bell pepper, and calls for diced potatoes and garbanzo beans instead of bread crumbs as the “filler” for stuffing. It’s comfort food at its best. SERVINGS:8-10 PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES COOK TIME ..read more

This is a sponsored post. It’s your 103rd Monday working from home. You struggle to crawl out of bed because you were up all night contemplating about work thanks to the Sunday scaries. You hear a sound, the coffee maker is going - a sigh of relief as you praise yourself for setting the automatic brew feature last night. As the dark roast coffee aroma fills the room you suddenly remember that you have a high profile Zoom call in five minutes. Panic overtakes your current sloth situation and you run to the bathroom to try your best at looking “presentable.” It’s 8:59 am and you rus ..read more

 In partnership with McCormick® This year you’ve accomplished something big! Congratulations! I know you didn’t really mean for it to happen but while being at home rehearsing your Renegade on TikTok and pretending to be present on Zoom work calls, you were finally able to learn how to cook for yourself and cook well may I add. That’s huge!  So what now? You’ve mastered those desserts and main dishes but have you overlooked side dishes? Let’s be honest, it really isn’t a meal without sides. And while you may have that enchilada casserole ready to serve or that carne asada reci ..read more

YOUR NEW FAVORITE SPAGHETTI RECIPE!  Spaghetti all'Amatriciana Ingredients: •2 tablespoons: olive oil •2 ounces of diced guanciale or pancetta •1/2 red onion, small dice •4 cloves garlic, sliced •1/2 teaspoons of hot red pepper flakes  •1 cup of crushed tomatoes (preferrably San Marzano)  •1/4 lb of spaghetti or bucatini  •1/4 cup grated of Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese  •1 ounce of butter  Method: In a sauté pan render the pancetta in olive oil. Add the onions and continue to cook until the onions are soft. Add the pepper flakes and garlic and c ..read more

Photography by Eddie Sanchez When a city's official motto is, "Harboring the Good Life," thoughts of an amazing oceanside getaway in a beautiful locale immediately come to mind. Picture a place with unique shops and interesting restaurants, on a latern-lined street complete with a trolly cruising by. The "Good Life" means leaving your cares back at home while you relax in a world-class resort, watching the most beautiful sunset over the ocean. This is Dana Point and everything about it is good. That's why when we were invited to explore Dana Point and share our experience, it was n ..read more