Dessert | Left Coast Contessa

This Valentine’s Day I felt the overwhelming urge to sear something. I decided to make a variation on a recipe I saw in Real Simple. I started by cooking my favorite arborio rice in white wine.

Then I got ready to sear my scallops. I bought large size New England scallops (<3 Boston) and defrosted then. I put a large dollop of olive oil in the pan and turned the heat up to medium/high. I made sure to season the scallops with sea salt and pepper before cooking them. I placed them in the pan and let them cook on one side for 4 minutes.

I flipped them after 4 minutes.

After another four minutes I transferred the scallops from the pan onto a plate. The rice had also finished so I transferred it as well. I covered the whole thing with foil so it would stay warm. Then I wiped out the pan. I put a smaller dollop of olive oil into the pan and added snow peas, salt, pepper, and orange zest. I cooked them for about 3 mins.

Holy yumm did it turn out good. I had a slight fear that it would be over salted but that did not happen.

I decided to declare yesterday an “off day” from my commitment to health. Saturday night was Barristers Ball and I woke up the next morning voraciously craving a bagel and cream cheese. Normally when I eat healthy I keep with it until I give myself an off day. One off day spirals into a week and before I know it I’m back where I started. I let myself have the bagel and it was so good. It was the perfect splurge. I went home and relaxed most of the day. I did manage to go on a great run. It was practically 80 degrees and sunny here in LA yesterday and I got into a groove and went over three miles on hills. It felt great and completely kicked my hang over. Overall, eating a bagel was great, but the energy I felt from my run was better.

After my scallops I had a canolli from Whole Foods. It wasn’t as good as a canolli from Mike’s in the North End, but it was still pretty delicious. Happy belated valentines day everyone!

With the second week of second semester drawing to a close, I think all of us 1L’s are a bit on edge. Whose bright idea was it to have grades, summer job stress, new classes, and new memos all happen in the same two weeks!? It was Satan, wasn’t it?

Needless to say my stress was only compounded when I realized I’d missed the deadline on an ungraded research assignment by one hour and there was the potential to dock points from my next graded memo. It sent me over the edge for a short time. But finally I got off the pity pot and went to the place where dreams come true: Yogurtland!!

the promise land

Yogurtland is this amazing yogurt shop in So Cal. Unlike Pinkberry and Red Mango there are flavors beyond “tart”. Also, the yogurt is self serve style so you can load up on as many flavors and toppings as you want! Finally the price is determined by weight. So, in a nut shell, one can load up on millions of yummy flavors (literally filling the cup to the top) and only pay $4.38. That is less than the price of a small at Pinkberry with toppings.

one of my favorite flavors!

Instant Mood Boost!

chocolate, coconut, and pistachio

I always try to get pistachio, chocolate, and coconut flavored yogurt. Then I load up the toppings. There is one side that is mostly fruit and other healthy toppings and the other side has everything delicious like chocolate chips, moochi, cookie dough bits, and syrups. Unlike a health conscious trip to Pinkberry or Red Mango, the temptation towards the “bad” toppings at Yogurtland is more than I can handle. I get always get moochi, dark chocolate chips, yogurt chips, grapes and chocolate syrup.