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Pumpkin Soup/ Stew for a chilly night!
Pumpkin Soup/ Stew for a chilly night! This soup is easy to make, but is time consuming, hence it is great to do on a day you are working out of your home or just want to take time off from the hustle and bustle of your daily activity. Ingredients: · 2 cups of dried navy beans · 2 bay leaves · Three sprigs of Thyme · One large onion ( I always use sweet onions with all my recipes) · 2 sugar pumpkins (washed & dried) see picture · ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil ( I always use cold pressed extra virgin olive oil from Trader Joe’s or cold pressed extra virgin calamata olive oil also from TJ’s) · 2-3 cups of Chicken stock · Salt & pepper · About one pound of Potatoes (ideally fingerling potatoes, or new potatoes, or Yukon gold or red potatoes will do as well) · Two carrots & about 2 cups of fresh or frozen peas ( if you do not want to chop substitute about 10 ounces of frozen peas & carrots) · 3 table spoon of unsalted butter · 2 cups of milk ( I always use 2 percent milk, if you like 1% or whole milk use to what you like best) · 1-2 stalks of celery · ¼ cup of all purpose flower · Three to four sprigs of fresh sage · 1 or 2 teaspoon of whole pepper corns preferably white · Turkey sausage or any other kind or sausage ( I like chicken sausages that are a bit spicy again depends on your taste) · White or brown mushrooms chopped in not too small pieces (the thicker the cut the better the flavor) The Beans: This soup needs a bit of planning. The night or two before you plan to make this soup, in cold water re-hydrate the navy beans or if you want to skip this step get canned navy beans (not quite the same if you want my opinion) Then drain the beans and in new fresh water boil the beans until done (30-45 min) do not add salt or any seasoning, otherwise the beans will need 1.5hrs of cooking to become soft. (Salt and seasoning make the beans tougher, hence the longer period to soften) Once done you can refrigerate the beans in the liquid for a day or two. The Pumpkin: · Using a sharp knife or a keyhole saw (I used my sashimi knife) to cut the top of the Pumpkin off and save (the hat) · Using a metal spoon clean insides out( If you like save pumpkin seeds and do a Toasted Pumpkin seed treat see enclosed recipe(http://actvra.in/nCy) · Rub each pumpkin with Oil and add a bit of salt and pepper · Place parchment paper on pan and then place the pumpkin right side up with hat on and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degree temperature · Remove top and cool on wire rack completely · Flip the pumpkin upside down and bake for another 20 minutes at 350 degree temperature. The Soup/Stew: · In a large stock pot melt the butter ( like making rue) · Sauté onions, carrots, celery and potatoes · Sauté sausage · add thyme & sage Soften vegetables for...
read moreWhat do you do with your Pumpkin Seeds! I Toast Them for a delicious snack
What do you do with your Pumpkin Seeds? I toast them for a delicious snack and have an easy Thanksgiving Treat! Don’t throw away the Pumpkin Seeds. Here is an easy recipe to have a snack that most people will enjoy. 1. Using a spoon scoop out the insides and the seeds from the Pumpkin. 2. Separate the seeds from the stringy insides. 3. Quickly rinse the seeds and then place the seeds in a boiling salt water (the more salt you add the saltier the seeds will be) 4. Simmer for about 10 minutes. 5. Spread about a couple of table spoons of olive oil on the bottom of a roasting pan. 6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees 7. Bake for about 10-20 minutes to your taste on the top rack 8. Let it cool and serve to your friends Some people crack them open and eat the insides. Personally I think it is a lot of work, just eat it whole is my recommendation. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations. ...
read moreThanksgiving Dining at Shanghai Red’s in Marina Del Rey, CA
Thanksgiving Dining at Shanghai Red’s in Marina Del Rey, CA Again if you do not want to shop, prepare and cook for a week before Thanksgiving Day. Then a great alternative is the Thanksgiving Day Feast with complimentary champagne at Shanghai Red’s. Thursday November 24th from 10:00am to 8pm you can enjoy roast turkey, mashed potatoes, candied yams, stuffing and pumpkin pie. Their version of the traditional holiday buffet features a carving station with roast prime rib, leg of lamb and roasted ham. Then there is the sushi station and not to forget the variety of hot entrees including chicken, baked salmon, pork loin, lasagna, Korean short ribs, seafood past and much more. Naturally they also have crab legs, mussels on ice, poached salmon. I cannot even list nor remember all they have to offer. I strongly encourage you to make reservations today. (310.823.4522) the price is very reasonable for adults $37.95 and for children 12 and under $15.95 Shanghai Red’s is at 13813 Fiji Way, Marina Del Rey, CA, 902929 http://www.shanghairedsrestaurant.com/shanghai_reds/aboutus.aspx If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreThanksgiving Dining in Marina Del Rey, CA
Thanksgiving Dining in Marina Del Rey, CA There are many great places to eat and feast very inexpensively without having to go shopping, and prepping and cooking all week before Thanksgiving. If I may recommend one way to celebrate Thanksgiving, is by going to a holiday buffet. I will highlight a few for you to choose from in upcoming blog posts. The first one is The Warehouse Restaurant. I chose this as my first to mention, since the restaurant was one of the first businesses in the Marina, they opened in 1969. Most of the buildings materials you see are exactly as they were way back. There are old wine and whiskey barrels, shipping crates, fishing nets and weathered lumber to mention a few. There are old photos on the walls to enjoy, besides just good eating. Check out the link to the Restaurant as well that I have enclosed. (http://mdrwarehouse.com/ ) The Warehouse will celebrate Thanksgiving with a holiday buffet I prefer calling a feast, on Thanksgiving day on Thursday, November 24th from noon to 8 pm. Price for adults is $29.95 and $14.95 for children under the age of 12. Reservation is highly recommended and encouraged. (310.823.5451) Just to give you an idea the menu will include hand-carved turkey, prime rib, pork loin, Virginia ham and leg of lamb along with all your favorite traditional accompaniments and side dishes. Now if you are a seafood lover like me then you can enjoy a couple of fresh fish plus the chilled seafood bar of peel ’n eat shrimp and crab legs to name a few. Now I know everyone loves dessert. They will have pumpkin, pecan and apple pies and carrot cake and brownies to name a few and much more. Now if for some reason you cannot make it this Thanksgiving, than plan for a Sunday Brunch one of these days in addition to what I mentioned above they had wide selection of breakfast foods such as omelets, pancake and waffle bar, other eggs of the breakfast variety and potatoes and blintzes and much more. Enjoy the Polynesian/Island theme of the restaurant with its spectacular Marina views as well. The Warehouse is located at 4499 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA and be prepared for a treat. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations. ...
read moreDid you know that Thanksgiving the National Holiday was created for one reason: to give the country an economic boost?
Did you know that Thanksgiving the National Holliday was created for one reason: to give the country an economic boost? The holiday has been attributed to the 1621 celebration at Plymouth, Massachusetts by most people. They claim that this was started, when they had a feast and thanksgiving was offered for a good harvest. Later the tradition continued. Interestingly according to historical documents initially the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the colonists, the Wampanoag native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. Of course as in everything now days there is controversy as to when the first Thanksgiving celebration was in the United States. Saint Augustine Florida claims the date of September 8, 1565, Plymouth, MA claims 1621, Commonwealth of Virginia claims 1607 and I could go on and on. If you have parents and grandparents who remember, ask them and you will be surprised to find out, that it was not until December 26, 1941 is when the Thanksgiving Day was changed to the fourth Thursday in November. The reason was to give the country an economic boost and making Thanksgiving a national holiday on the fourth Thursday in November. Now with that said, I cannot understand for the life of me why many business particularly Grocery Stores, Retail Stores and other Department Stores ignore this major Holiday and start decorating for Christmas before the Thanksgiving Holiday. I would love to understand this, particularly in tough economic times the Grocery Stores and other Retail Stores could enjoy an the benefit of an economic boost. Especially when you look at the amount of food that is generally prepared on this Holiday. Source of the dinner image http://www.divinedinnerparty.com/thanksgiving-dinner-ideas.html If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations. ...
read moreDo you know the difference between Non-Recurring and Recurring Closing Costs?
Do you know the difference between Non-Recurring and Recurring Closing Costs? There are some buyers and sellers have no idea what Closing Costs are hence I figured I would share here. Non-Recurring Closing Costs are: Recurring Closing Costs are: Lender Origination Fees Prepaid Interest Appraisal Prorated/Prepaid Property Taxes Credit Report Fire/Hazard Insurance Tax Service Up-Front Mortgage Insurance Title Insurance Premium & Fees Prorated Home Owner Association Dues Escrow Fees Recording Fees Realtor Commissions Lenders have allowed agents and sellers to provide credit towards the buyers’ closing costs. There used to be a rule of thumb if a buyer put down 20% toward the mortgage than the credit would be limited to 6% or the actual closing costs of the purchase price. IF the buyer was putting less than 20% down than the rule used to be that the Credit was limited to the actual closing costs or 3% of the purchase price. Previously credits were limited to the Non-recurring closing costs only. Now most lenders have loosened this requirement to both Non-Recurring and Recurring Closing Costs. This will again help first time buyers who are on the border of having enough money to put down for a home, but not enough to handle the additional closing costs. Hope this clears it up, should you have additional questions please get in touch with me, or ask away in the comments. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations. ...
read moreGreat News! Congress passed a compromise bill to reinstate the FHA loan limit to $729,750
Great News! Congress passed a compromise bill to reinstate the FHA loan limit to $729,750. This limit is important to high-cost areas, such as Los Angeles and Orange counties. This increase is expected to become law and will be in effect for all FHA loans funding through 12/312013. Keep in mind the unfortunately only affects the FHA loans. The good news is if you are a buyer in the $700,000-$900,000 price range now you are not shut out in the ability to purchase a home. session of Congress tonight. (Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP At this time the conforming limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans remains at $625,500. Why the politicians did not include this in the same move is beyond me. I am just grateful that every little bit will help on moving the market forward. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations....
read moreMalibu Celebrates Veterans Day on 11-11-11 at 11:00am!
Malibu Celebrates Veterans Day on 11-11-11 at 11:00am! If you want to show your appreciation to those who served our country and would like to pay tribute to those who risked their lives to fight for our freedom, should attend this event. As General Mac Arthur said to the Corps of Cadets at West Point on May 12, 1962 in accepting the Thayer Award: DUTY< HONOR< COUNTRY – those three hallowed words reverently dictate What you ought to be, What you can be, and What you will be. I have lived with these words and I wish more people would do the same, business people, politicians and citizens of our great country. So please join the Malibu Chamber of Commerce and Pepperdine University in honoring those who have served and are serving our country. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations. ...
read moreThe Century City Condominium Market Report for the Month of October 2011
The Century City Condominium Market Report for the Month of October 2011 The Global Economic volatility continues and Europe’s problems are visiting every part of the world. The roller coaster ride of will China bail out Europe or not and will Greece take the offer of saving their as well as the rest of the Global economies or will they turn it down? It was a busy month for all. Hence if you are an investor would you want to invest in Europe and specifically Greece? The answer is clear to me, if you are an investor you need to do your homework, since there is a very fertile ground right now for the Bernie Madoff’s style Ponzi schemes. Once you do your Homework, the answer will be clear and you will discover that this is a good time to buy Real Estate in the greater Los Angeles area. Investors need to look at fixed assets such as homes, condominiums and investment land vs. the pie in the sky profits offered by “free lunch” and or “free dinner” seminars Rental Demand is an all time high, since many of the regular buyers are sitting on the sidelines instead of taking advantage of the lower prices, all time low interest rates and nervous sellers. Therefore it is clear to me that it does not matter if you buy a single-family home or a condominium for the purpose of renting out you will do well. Hence it does not matter if you are a small or a large investor the opportunities are out there. Once you read in the Media Portals that this is the way to go you missed out on the best window of opportunity. As long as there is such a large percent of buyers sitting on the fence Rental demand will be high and as we all know “supply & demand” side economics will assure you a good return on your investment. Now with that said let’s look at how the Condominium activity turned out for the month of October in Century City, CA. There were 310 Active listings for sale in the Westwood/Century City inventory. There were 20 properties in Back-up Status which was 25% increase from the previous month. There were 2 Condominiums on Hold Status (generally an indication of Short Sales) there were 19 Pending waiting to close. This was a 62% drop from the previous month. Interestingly with numbers like this I would anticipate a huge drop in the Sold category. Ironically that was not the case instead the Sold numbers increased from the previous month. September there were 29 Sold Condominiums and for the month of October there were 35 Sold Condominiums which translates to a moderate increase. This to me is a very interesting number, with all the turbulence occurring there is still a steady activity of sales occurring in the Century City/Westwood Condominium sales. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com...
read moreThe Playa Vista Condominium Market Report for the Month of October 2011
The Playa Vista Condominium Market Report for the Month of October 2011 The Global Economic volatility continues and Europe’s problems are visiting every part of the world. The roller coaster ride of will China bail out Europe or not and will Greece take the offer of saving their as well as the rest of the Global economies or will they turn it down? It was a busy month for all. Hence if you are an investor would you want to invest in Europe and specifically Greece? The answer is clear to me, if you are an investor you need to do your homework, since there is a very fertile ground right now for the Bernie Madoff’s style Ponzi schemes. Once you do your Homework, the answer will be clear and you will discover that this is a good time to buy Real Estate in the greater Los Angeles area. Investors need to look at fixed assets such as homes, condominiums and investment land vs. the pie in the sky profits offered by “free lunch” and or “free dinner” seminars Rental Demand is an all time high, since many of the regular buyers are sitting on the sidelines instead of taking advantage of the lower prices, all time low interest rates and nervous sellers. Therefore it is clear to me that it does not matter if you buy a single-family home or a condominium for the purpose of renting out you will do well. Hence it does not matter if you are a small or a large investor the opportunities are out there. Once you read in the Media Portals that this is the way to go you missed out on the best window of opportunity. As long as there is such a large percent of buyers sitting on the fence Rental demand will be high and as we all know “supply & demand” side economics will assure you a good return on your investment. Now with that said let’s look at how the Condominium activity turned out for the month of October in Playa Vista, CA. There were 36 Active listings which was an increase of 8.3% from the previous month’s inventory. There were 8 properties in Back-up Status which was 33% drop from the previous month. There was 1 on Hold Status (generally an indication of Short Sales) there were 2 Pending waiting to close. This was a 78% drop from the previous month. Interestingly with numbers like this I would anticipate a huge drop in the Sold category. Ironically that was not the case instead the Sold numbers increased from the previous month. September there were 4 Sold Condominiums and for the month of October there were 10 Sold Condominiums which translates to a huge decrease. This to me is a very interesting number, with all the turbulence occurring there is still a steady activity of sales occurring in the Playa Vista Condominium sales. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites...
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