Beat the Heat

Southern California has been experiencing a heat wave recently so there’s nothing worse than generating excess heat by cooking. I was meal prepping this past Sunday and the heat inside brought me back to the hot and humid New York summers. I was sweating up a storm. With that said, there are plenty of minimal cooking recipes out there to save you. Beat the heat with this California Roll Bowl!

California Dreamin’

The California Roll is a great basic sushi roll that most people have eaten at some point in their lives. It was mostly likely your introductory sushi roll, or if you’re a picky eater, it’s the only sushi roll you eat (no shade). I respect the California Roll for all that she is, but I decided to give her a little makeover and revamp her into a bowl!

This is essentially a deconstructed California Roll. We’ve got the sushi rice, crabmeat, cucumber, avocado, and nori! As previously mentioned, this recipe requires a minimal amount of cooking — the only thing you need to cook is your rice! You can easily make sushi rice by cooking short grain rice in a rice cooker and then mixing it with a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. For the crabmeat, I decided to use real lump crabmeat because I’m not the biggest fan of imitation crabmeat. I mixed it with a spicy mayo sauce to give it a teensy kick. I also decided to lightly pickle the cucumbers to give the dish a little more flavor and to cut through the creaminess of the spicy mayo.

The rice, crabmeat, and pickled cucumbers are the only components of the dish that you have to prepare. And when those three are good to go, you’re ready to assemble! There isn’t really a method to this — simply arrange all of the ingredients inside a bowl and you have your delicious California Roll Bowl!

Explore Southern California

As I’ve mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, Saturdays are usually an adventure day for my sister, her boyfriend, and I. We usually plan to venture somewhere outdoors and “naturey” where you can definitely get your 6 feet of space. You have no idea how much I look forward to Saturdays. They’ve brought me so much joy, excitement, and many memories to look back on.

I thought that since this is a California Roll Bowl post and I’ve been exploring Southern California, it would be fitting to share some of the places I’ve been to! Hopefully, this will give you some ideas of places you can explore during quarantine!

1. PCH

If you’ve read my Southwest Pasta Salad post, then you’d know that driving down PCH was one of the first quarantivities the three of us did together. Fortunately, we drove down PCH earlier in quarantine when there weren’t many cars on the road so it was smooth sailing. I know that traffic has started up again so I don’t know if it would be the best activity, but there’s nothing like driving along the ocean!

2. Underwood Family Farms

We went strawberry picking here back in May. It was my first time going to a farm to pick produce so it was new and exciting to bring home fruit that I picked off the vine myself. I’m not 100% sure what’s available to pick at this time, but you can find out more information on their website!

3. Mojave Desert (Kelso Sand Dunes + Amboy Crater)

I have so much to say about this destination but I don’t even know where to begin because it was a trip of a lifetime. We only went there for a day trip but the impact it made on my life is everlasting! If you live in L.A., this is definitely a trip you need to plan for because it’s quite far and there aren’t any restaurants nearby. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to get to the Kelso Sand Dunes from Burbank so I definitely recommend loading up on road trip snacks.

I’ve never been to any desert sand dune before so seeing the Kelso Sand Dunes was such a beautiful eye-opening experience. You do, however, have to walk through the sand for a while to get to the sand dune peaks where all you’re surrounded by is smooth sand. It’s an arduous and sweaty journey but completely worth it. We then drove to the Amboy Crater to stargaze and we went on the night of the new moon so it was completely dark except for the stars in the sky. It was so peaceful and surreal I didn’t want to leave. I highly, highly, recommend going here. And if you couldn’t tell already, this is, so far, the best trip.

4. Lacy Park

Picnics are all the rage right now, so why not explore new parks to picnic at? Lacy Park is a pretty big park located in San Marino. It’s quite busy, but the park has a vast amount of space that you’re sure to find a spot away from everyone else.

5. Mount Wilson

I think this hiking trail is moderate to intense — depending on your fitness level. I work out daily and this trail had me huffing and puffing. It’s a 14 mile loop and we only did part of it. It’s definitely doable hike, but be prepared to break a sweat!

6. Mulholland Scenic Overlook

If you’re looking to watch the sunset, this is a great place to go! It’s a stretch of road that has overlook stops along the way. You get a great view of the city with the beautiful gradient of colors behind it. This is a popular spot but it’s so peaceful!

7. Point Dume

This spot is really great if you’re looking for a scenic drive and view! We drove on Topanga Canyon Boulevard for a while to get to Point Dume and it was so scenic and beautiful. There’s a limited amount of parking spaces here so there’s a chance that you may have to wait for a space to open up. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait very long because someone happened to be leaving a few minutes after we arrived. It’s a short walk to get to the top of the cliff or overlook, and you get a beautiful view of the ocean and the beach below. We happened to see a pod of dolphins and seals on the day we went. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to see them too!

8. Point Mugu State Park

Driving on PCH was pretty “vibey” and fun but if you’re looking to actually drive right next to the ocean, drive to Point Mugu State Park. You’re literally right next to the ocean so you get a really beautiful view of it. We intended to hike the Scenic Overlook Trail but we somehow got confused by the signs and walked past it. We ended up walking further down a trail that lead us through the valleys of the mountains. This wasn’t that scenic but it’s mostly flat land so it’s great if you want to hike and have a conversation with someone because you won’t be huffing and puffing the whole time.

We eventually did make it to the Scenic Overlook Trail. It’s actually to the left of where the first checkpoint sign appears so make a note of that so you don’t make the same mistake! The peak of this hike was absolutely beautiful! The ocean was on one side and the mountains were on the other. I actually really enjoyed this trip and highly recommend it! And if you’re interested, you also have the option to camp there!

9. Abalone Cove Shoreline Park

This is another great place if you’re looking for a beautiful view of the ocean. You can head down to the beach, walk on the rocks, or walk through the short trails available. We decided to only walk through the trails, but one of the trails did allow us to walk along the coast of the beach! This is definitely a shorter trip — if you don’t intend to lounge at the beach — we only spent about 2 hours here!

West Coast Best Coast?

If you live in SoCal or are going to visit, I really hope this inspires you to explore! I actually really loved writing about these destinations and my experiences there. Hopefully, you enjoyed reading about them because I’d love to tell you about more fun places to go to (once I get more of them secured under my belt). And don’t forget! If you’re looking for an easy minimal cooking recipe, try this California Roll Bowl! It’s guaranteed to be sweat-free experience! Thanks for tuning in and please feel free to leave any recommendations of places to go to in SoCal in the comments section!

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