Author: Valerie Bustos

Hi! My name is Valerie! People usually know me for 3 things, baking, mental health advocating and my blue hair :) I've been a baker for over a decade so I can help guide you into the baking world! Cannot wait to share everything I'm passionate about!

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Business Food & Beverage

B&J’s Drive In

Ramon and I took an adventure down to a Saticoy, to see a historical landmark of theirs that is B&J’s Drive In. This drive-in has been in Saticoy forever, but it didn’t earn its name until about 60 years ago. The Jenkins family were the long time owners but it is now owned by Alfredo M. We got to sit down and have an in-depth interview with him that you can watch above ^ He talks about how he came to own B&J’s, restaurant struggles, what he hopes for their future and more! Here’s the food we tried during our visit!

Corn Burritos

Rating —-> Ramon: 7 Valerie: 7.5

These burritos are county famous, they are definitely something that helped put B&J’s on the map! They are a crispy, salty, cheesy treat. The bean filling adds a level of protein that helps make you full off of these alone!

Old Fashioned Combo

Rating —> Ramon: 9.9 Valerie: 9.9

This one was definitely both of our favorites. This burger was packed to the nines with 2 patties, an onion ring, bacon and other traditional burger toppings. Even though it sounds like a lot, it melded together beautifully. Everything complimented each other, it’s definitely big enough that you can share between 2 people!

Lemon Pepper Wings

Rating —> Ramon: 8 Valerie: 7.5

The wings were crispy and tangy from the lemon pepper sauce. Such a chill food to share among with friends. Would’ve loved to have more of a peppery kick to them, more on the mild side.

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Chili Cheese Fries

Rating —> Ramon: 8.5 Valerie: 9

These chili cheese fries were very honestly the bomb.com. They are super cheesy, crispy and savory! The crinkle fries have nice ridges to hold the chili so you can get everything in one bite. Everyone I know that knows B&J’s always recommends!

B&J’s is a welcoming family friendly environment! They have annual toy drives and cruise and chill days. They make the Saticoy community proud and continue to carry on the legacy that is B&J’s. Such a variety of food and very affordable. Such an amazing experience! Thank You Alfredo for giving us your time and resources, we wish you the very best of luck!

Categories
Food & Beverage

Worms in the Mud Cookie Cups

How 6 kids have changed the path of my life and how I’m changing Theirs

Go to RECIPE

When I was 11 years old I found out I was gonna be a Tia. Taking on this title I thought it was gonna be full of thoughtless fun, dressing the baby up in cute clothes, playing with toys and occasionally making a bottle and it was for a little while. I began to realize that my love for this one child, and soon to be others, goes so beyond what I could even grasp and I had a chance to help guide them to a better life than I had. So during my high school years I sacrificed my youth and helped raise them and it is an experience that holds so much gratitude and turmoil but I would never give it up. I took on the responsibility of healing the generational trauma of the past to give them a fighting chance to build something new. I now have 4 nieces and 2 nephews, that’s right about a decade later there are now 6 kids ranging from 9-3 years old, running around at almost all times. It’s always a party with them, sometimes I’m trying to decide if it’s a party I want to be invited to or not (ha ha).

In society it has been the standard to believe children aren’t people, that they don’t have feelings or wants of their own or that they’re not entitled to those because they’re children. I believe society is entering a transition period and reevaluating the vital role kids play because they are the future, Why would we not emphasize their importance? I was not raised to be in touch with my needs or wants, I was raised with the main focus of sacrifice and how important it was to sacrifice anything and everything as long as it helped your family make it in the end. Learning how to sacrifice has been one of the best and worse lessons in my life, learning anything without balance is bound to lead to disproportion. I do know the importance of sacrifice and it is something I will never underestimate, but now I am integrating the importance of saying no and not always prioritizing others over myself. The winding road of never ending sacrifice leads to burnout, resentment and emptiness. Sometimes never ending sacrifice is key for survival but when you’re able to get out of it and move into autonomy over sacrifice it can lead to beautiful healing.

As I sit here and type this I’m currently surrounded by 3/6 kids and I watch them and soak in their interactions and am filled with so much gratitude and some fear for the future. I can only hope that I am able to be a person for them that I never had. I hope that I help guide them towards something new and better while leaving them laced with our family culture that came before us but may not serve us anymore. So I leave you with my hope and a very kid friendly recipe 🙂

Worms in the Mud Cookie Cups

Cookie Cup

>1 cup of Butter (softened)

>1 1/2 cup of Sugar

>1 Egg

>2 tsp of Vanilla Extract

>2 3/4 cups of AP Flour

>2 tsp of Baking Powder

>1 tsp of Salt

Filling

>Store Bought Chocolate Pudding Cups

>Crushed Oreos

>Gummy Worms

Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a cupcake pan. Put your softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat till creamed together. Slowly incorporate the egg and vanilla extract, then set aside. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt, give a quick mix to combine. Put your mixer on the slowest setting and add half the flour mixture. Once incorporated add the other half of the mixture and put the mixer on a higher setting, it should come together as a dough. If too sticky add a tbsp of flour at a time until it comes together. Take 2 tbsp of dough and press into each cupcake slot. Bake for about 13 minutes or until golden brown. As the Cookie Cups bake prep your Oreos, separate the filling from the cookie and put the cookies into a small sandwich bag. Proceed to crush them in the bag until they are crumbs, resembling dirt. Once your cookie cups have come out of the oven and cooled for 10 mins or longer, press a circular indentation in the middle, you can do this by using a tsp or tbsp. Add the pudding in the middle of the cup, then the Oreo crumbs and then the gummy worms. Ta-Da! You have some Worms in the Mud Cookie Cups!

Categories
Food & Beverage

Banana Cream Pie Cookies

A story about grief and how baking can help you move into a chapter of anew

Go to RECIPE

On February 28th, 2017 the longest 2 weeks of my life came to it’s peak. My Grandpa, Steven Rodriguez had died. Contrary to popular belief sometimes death takes a long time, involves a lot of people and there is a lot of sacrifice. Some people asked me what is the consolation prize I received from this experience? There has to be something you get after having such a loss. You get grief, your “consolation prize” is having to relearn how to live your life without that vital person. You learn how to make all the emotions coexist at once. I can tell you from my experience you will never forget this person, you may start to forget little details but you will never forget the core of them, you will never forget what made them them. Overall you do start having to slowly piece together what life will be like now and how you will continue to honor this person in your life. Baking was my vital key to keep my life afloat during this time and allows me to continue to honor my Grandpa, even 7 years later.

Baking has been my life for over a decade. Not to brag but I would say I’ve gotten very talented at it. I still have so much more to learn though! That’s what sold me on the baking world, things are always changing, you will never stop learning how to do something! Another thing about baking is routine, even though the ingredients may change the process is almost always the same. This is how baking comes in as a coping skill, when our brains are overloaded with emotion we need something that doesn’t take much thought/effort and can bring a level of comfort. Baking can serve as that purpose, you have a pretty straightforward process and get something delicious and comforting after. Not every baking endeavor has to be this long drawn out process that has extraordinary results. You can throw a couple ingredients in a bowl, put it on a cookie sheet, bake it and end up with something delicious and comforting.

So does baking solve all my problems and take away all my grief? No! But it gives me a creative outlet to let my feelings out and a special way to honor my loved ones. Food is something that connects us all, why not have it help you bring some healing. My Grandpa was funny, smart, loving and sometimes a hardass. But overall he was a diehard for a slice of banana cream pie, I’ve made it so many times and so many different ways. So my brain got to thinking and this is what I came up with! I hope you enjoy! 🙂

Banana Cream Pie Cookies

>1 box of yellow cake cake mix

>1 packet of banana cream pudding mix 

>1/2 cup of banana 

>1/4-1/2 cup of oil 

>1 graham cracker crust pie shell 

>Whipped Cream 

>Sliced Almonds (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350F. Into a bowl crumble up a graham cracker crust pie shell and set aside. In a separate bowl mix together your cake mix, pudding mix, 1/4 cup of oil to start and banana. Mix until incorporated into dough, if too dry add 1/4 cup more oil. Then mix in your crumbled up graham cracker crust pie shell. Take 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls and add to cookie sheet, give a little two finger press down. Bake for around 16 minutes, or until golden brown on the sides. Let cool for 10 minutes then add your whipped cream and slivered almonds. Enjoy!