Green Urban Farm Girl

Kitchen Sink Banana Bread

2007-12-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

My Holiday Baking this year has been pretty lack luster. It consisted of baking a couple loaves of orange cranberry bread, though I didn't have cranberries so I substituted mixed berries, and a single loaf of my Kitchen Sink Bread (so named because I put everything in it but the kitchen sink). It's a big favorite in my family, especially by Jeff who I once watched eat almost an entire load in the span of about 30 minutes.

Here's the recipe which I adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" and from which I got the adding coconut to keep it moist.

Kitchen Sink Banana Bread

1 stick butter (plus more to grease pan)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cupped chopped pecans
1/2 grated shredded coconut
1 cup chopped fruit (apples and pears work well)

Preheat oven to 350, grease 9x5 loaf pan.

Mix together dry ingredients. Cream butter and mix in eggs, bananas and vanilla. Stir into dry mixture but do not overmix. Gently stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 45 to 60 min until center is pretty set. Cool for 15 min, then remove from pan. Store by wrapping in wax paper. The bread will be moist and delicious!

Enjoy! Merry Christmas. We're heading to the in-laws for a few days where I imagine I won't be getting much posting or cooking done, but tune back in because in January we're going VEGAN for one month. Hooray!

Should I Be Concerned?

2007-12-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Bryan and I went over to have dinner at Mae Ploy. This was in his fortune cookie:

In case it's a little hard to read, it says "you are going to have a new love affair". I don't know, I think it's a little awkward to put that in a cookie.

It's all about the Crumble Topping

2007-12-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

I had to make sure it wasn't poisonous.

About a week or two ago I made what a cookbook described as a tamale pie. Essentially it was a casserole of all things mexican: black beans, red peppers, tomatoes, etc., covered in a layer of what was supposed to be tamale but which ended up being more like cornbread. (that's the last time that I listen to a cookbook and buy corn meal when I know it should be masa) Nonetheless, it was tasty, but it left me with a pint of buttermilk. Yesterday was officially the expiration date of said buttermilk, and not wanting to waste it, I headed to my Williams Sonoma Muffin cookbook. Initially I thought I'd make some Vanilla Pear muffins, but soon realized I was out of the requisite pecans. I did have a pint of fresh raspberries that were about to die in the fridge if I didn't eat them soon. I tracked down a blackberry recipe that called for 2 cups of berries (I only had one) so I hit the freezer and pulled out a bag of TJ's frozen mixed berries.

The result? Bryan swears they must be really bad for you, given how good they taste. I claim that while technically probably not GOOD for you, I'm not sure I believe they're BAD for you either. You decide.

MIXED BERRY MUFFINS

Topping
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Muffins
2 Cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinammon
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg, beaten
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh berries + 1 cup frozen mixed berries

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter.

Make topping by combining sugar, flour and zest. Then mix in melted butter and stir until crumbly.

Just-Barely-Mixed Batter

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients for muffins. Make a well in the center and add wet ingredients (but not berries). Mix together with a scraper. Make sure you just barely mix it all together, do NOT over-stir. Batter should be clumpy.

Add berries and barely combine.

Scoop into muffin tin.

Add crumble topping evenly amongst muffin tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are slightly golden on top and springy. If your oven is as prone to hot spots as mine is, make sure to rotate the muffins halfway through the baking process.

Let cool 15 minutes on a rack. Unmold the muffins and dive in.

After I mixed in the berries the batter turned an intense purple color. I was surprised that the muffins, once finished baking, weren't the same purple color. Somehow they had returned to their dough-color in the oven. Magic. Or chemistry. Or both.

Gratinéed Mustard Creamed Onions

2007-12-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

It's not Thanksgiving if there aren't boiled onions. For years my mom has been making them, and I have to admit, I'm only a recent believer. I didn't really get the point of onions and bechamel sauce until my taste buds and I grew up. This year, I thought I'd try a new recipe to put a spin on the classic. The result: one of my favorite dishes from the entire experience.

Gratinéed Mustard Creamed Onions

2 lb white pearl onions
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cup whole milk
3 Tbsp Sherry
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Equipment: 2 Qt shallow gratin (2 inches deep)

Cook onions in a large heavy pot of boiling salted water, until just tender. 25 min. REserve 1 cup of cooking water, then drain and when cooled, peel. DON'T be like me and always forget and peel the onions before you cook them. Their centers will pop out and you'll feel silly.

Melt butter in dry pot over medium heat. Add flour and stir 2 min. Whisk in reserved cooking water, milk, sherry and cook until thickened, whisking. 8min. Whisk in nutmeg, mustards and 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Add onions to sauce and simmer 5 min.

Preheat broiler.

Transfer creamed onions to baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Broil 4 to 5 inches away from heat until top is golden and bubbly. 3 min. ENJOY!!!

Cranberry Sauce with Port and Tangerine

2007-12-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

I am normally not a huge fan of cranberry sauce, again because it tends to be overly sweet. I'll add a tiny dollop to my Thanksgiving plate, but it's not really something I go out of my way for. This recipe, however, may make me change that.

The port gives the sauce depth and the tangerines give it a kick. It's not too sweet but it still complements Turkey (at least that's what they told me) and other savories nicely.

Cranberry Sauce with Port and Tangerine

1 bag fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar (scant)
1/2 cup Ruby Port
3 strips tangerine zest
1/3 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice

Bring cranberries, sugar, port and zest to a simmer in a heave saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst (12 min). Remove from heat and stir in juice. Cool completely.

This recipe came from the November 07 issue of Gourmet in the section called 'Bringing Fancy Back', which I'm all about.

Bourbon-Walnut Sweet Potato Mash

2007-12-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

I have this thing that happens when people say they don't like a particular kind of food. I take it as a challenge. I'm convinced that it's not the ingredient's fault so much as it is the preparations the person has had, that have made him decide he doesn't like a certain food. For once, I'm not talking about my better half. In fact, this time I'm talking about another member of my family, who claims that she's not a big fan of sweet potatoes. Now, she started to become a convert a couple of years ago when Alison first made her sweet potato cheesecake, but still, I wanted to convert her to a side dish she'd like. Her biggest complaint? Too cloying. How to fix this? Less sugar, more flavor.

So it was with some excitement that I stumbled across the following recipe in the pages of Bon Appétit's Thanksgiving issue.

Bourbon-Walnut Sweet Potato Mash

4 lbs red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup (scant) maple syrup
3 Tbsp bourbon
1 1/2 tsp ground cinammon
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Roast potatoes on rimmed baking sheet until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool slightly. Scoop flesh into large bowl; discard skins. Mash hot potatoes until course puree forms.
Heat cream and butter in a small pan over low heat until butter melts. Gradually stir hot mixture into hot potatoes. Stir in syrup, bourbon and spices. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle nuts over top and serve.

The result? Sweet Potato convert. This recipe is fabulous because it has kick and flavor without being overly sweet. Also, it smells like pumpkin pie and the walnuts set off the bourbon and maple syrup perfectly. I made these a day ahead without adding the walnuts, then reheated and added the nuts at the last minute.

Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew

2007-12-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

The Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew was the centerpiece of the Vegetarian portion of our Thanksgiving, which comprises about half of our family. The recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, but I made a couple of adjustments to get to the final product. I was a little nervous that this was going to be all flair and not very tasty, but actually it was really quite delicious and satisfying. I would make this again for any kind of Fall dinner party. Serve with a rice pilaf to soak up the sauce.

The original recipe called for one large baking pumpkin, but of course, none of the four stores we visited had any and the best I could find were actually in the floral department. Using three smaller pumpkins worked out well though because I was able to make one stew without mushrooms for those who don't dig the fungus.

Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew

1 fennel bulb with fronds
2 medium parsnips (1/2 pound total), peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound celery root (sometimes called celeriac; 1/2 of 1 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
14 small shallots (about 1 pound), peeled and left whole, plus 1/2 cup chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 2 red bell peppers
1 (8- to 9-lb) pumpkin (preferably cheese, pie, or Sweet Meat variety)
Roasted-vegetable and wine sauce, heated
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved
1 package dried chanterelle mushrooms, resuscitated
1/2 pound seitan (seasoned wheat gluten), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon chopped thyme, divided
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Roast root vegetables (day before):
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1 tablespoon and reserve, then discard stalks and remaining fronds. Halve bulb lengthwise, then core and cut lengthwise into 1-inch wedges.

Toss fennel wedges, parsnips, celery root, carrots, and whole shallots with 2 tablespoons oil, teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 17- by 12-inch shallow baking pan until coated, then roast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and almost tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove vegetables from oven. Leave oven on.

Prepare peppers and pumpkins while vegetables roast:
Roast peppers on racks of gas burners over high heat, turning with tongs, until skins are blistered, 5 to 8 minutes.

Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Peel peppers and discard stems and seeds. Cut peppers lengthwise into 1-inch strips.

Remove top of pumpkins by cutting a circle (6 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out and discard seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; do not discard top), then sprinkle flesh with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Put pumpkins in a large roasting pan.

Stuff and roast pumpkins:
Pour 1/2 cup sauce into each pumpkin and cover with top, then brush all over with remaining tablespoon oil. Roast 1/2 hour.

While pumpkins roast, heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté chopped shallots until softened. Add mushrooms and sauté until they are browned and begin to give off liquid, about 8 minutes. Add wheat gluten and 1/2 teaspoon thyme, then stir in 1 1/2 cups more sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and fold in roasted root vegetables and peppers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

After pumpkins have roasted 1/2 hour, spoon vegetable filling into it, then cover with top. Roast until pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork, vegetables are tender, and filling is hot, about 30 minutes more. Transfer pumpkin to a platter using 2 sturdy metal spatulas.

Stir together fennel fronds, parsley, zest, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and sprinkle half of it over filling. Stir remainder into remaining sauce and serve sauce on the side. Serve with Rice Pilaf to soak up sauce.

Roasted-Vegetable and Wine Sauce

1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise
5 carrots, quartered
1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
2 red bell peppers, quartered
1 pound plum tomatoes, halved
1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb quartered
2 large onions, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup boiling water
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (1 cup)
1 (4-inch) piece celery
4 parsley stems
1 large thyme sprig
8 black peppercorns
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 cup dry red wine
4 quart water
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil; 1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Roast vegetables:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Wash leek halves and pat dry.

Toss leek, carrots, garlic, bell peppers, plum tomatoes, fennel, and onions with oil, then spread in a 17- by 14-inch roasting pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until well browned and tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Soak porcini and make bouquet garni while vegetables roast:
Pour boiling water over porcini in a bowl and soak until softened, 10 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap celery, parsley stems, thyme sprig, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with string.

Lift out porcini, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl, and rinse to remove any grit. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into another bowl.

Make stock:
Transfer roasted vegetables to a 6- to 8-quart pot and add wine to roasting pan, then deglaze pan by boiling, scraping up brown bits, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine to vegetables in pot along with water (4 quarts), porcini and soaking liquid, bouquet garni, sun-dried tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, until stock is reduced to about 6 cups, about 2 hours. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing firmly on and then discarding solids.

Make sauce:
Melt butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour, then cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add stock in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Thanksgiving Roundup

2007-12-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

I officially have the entire weekend off. No SAT lessons or driving to San Diego to film for Stonefield. Just me and a keyboard all weekend. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited by the prospect. I've walked Mel (which was lame because the Rangers were out handing out tickets for dogs off leash so Mel didn't get to do any of the running around she desperately needed after being cooped up in the house yesterday on account of the rain), made my pot of coffee and I'm chomping at the bit.

So to begin...a bit of Thanksgiving roundup. This year was a Moser Thanksgiving year - it'll be a Kramer Christmas - so I headed down to SD Tuesday night bearing far more recipes than were really necessary. It's all Alison's fault. I had emailed her a list of dishes that we could make, expecting her to cull it down to a reasonable number for 10 people, but instead she responded with something along the lines of: that all sounds great! Seriously people, I need saving from myself, otherwise when it comes to the Holidays I will cook until I drop. It's like a sickness. But a rather delicious one.

Brussels Sprouts, Onions, Peas and Sweet Potatoes....Heaven? I think so

THANKSGIVING WITH THE MOSERS

Appetizers
Goat Cheese Crostini w/Grapefruit and Black Pepper Marmalade
Crudite with Mom's dill dip

Main Course
Turkey Breast (prepared by the CBTS Mosers - a funny story in an of itself, but one I won't get into)
Cashew Nut Loaf (a Moser vegetarian classic)
Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew

Sides and Sauces
Hazelnut, Sage and Mushroom Stuffing
Plain Jane Mashed Potatoes
Bourbon-Walnut Sweet Potato Mash
Gratinéed Mustard Creamed Onions
Brussels Sprouts Hash w/Caramelized Shallots
Green Peas
Rice Pilaf
Cranberry Sauce with Port and Tangerines
Roasted Vegetable Wine Sauce
Portobello Mushroom Gravy

Salad
Butter Lettuce and Arugula with Gorgonzola, Pears and Candied Pecans

Dessert
Roasted Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Maple Cream
Apple Pie

For the record - that's 18 dishes for 10 people. Overkill? Perhaps. But look at how happy those people are:

Ready...Set...EAT

Thanks to Alison and her quick thinking with the camera, I actually have pictures of the event. I'm going to post some of my favorite recipes in separate posts today and tomorrow. They're all worth hanging on to for future Holiday events.

My Golden Compass

2007-11-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of the His Dark Materials series (aka Harry Potter for grown ups) so I've been eagerly awaiting the release of the movie even though I realize it can't possibly live up to the books. Even so, I discovered today that I have my own daemon matched to my personality. What do you think? Is it a fit?

dog at wounded knee

2007-11-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

Happiness is a blur

Mel came in from sitting in the sun and I noticed a gash in her flank. I assume it's somehow an injury from chasing squirrels in the yard - or maybe it's from sneaking into the neighbor's yard. Either way, she was bleeding all over my new carpet.

Fortunately it's modular (thanks mom) so after a quick wash, it was good as new. She, on the other hand, was still oozing.

Poor, wrapped dog

So I wrapped her up in gauze and an ace bandage. Good as new for hours and no more blood on the carpet.

The amazing thing? She didn't even try to take it off. That either shows she's a good dog or an extremely lazy one.

Greetings from a Leper Colony

2007-11-28T13:06:00.001-08:00

Fine. Technically, I'm not at a Leper Colony. I'm home, nowhere near Hawaii. But check out this postcard from the Ginny files:

There are several things I love about this postcard. At first glance my eye is drawn not to the view but to the people on the overlook. Those are some seriously high-riding red short shorts. Not to mention the sweet mini-afro. So the question is, why would you sell a postcard that involved people other than the purchasers. It's one thing to want a picture of yourself at the top of an overlook, but a picture of complete strangers? Perhaps the idea is that if you're too lazy to hike up there yourself, you can live vicariously through these two anonymous people. Of course, it's designed to be sent to someone else, so maybe the idea is that you can trick the recipient into believing that you too made the hike.

The second brilliant aspect of this postcard is the description on the back:

"LEPER COLONY, HAWAII...far below this lookout lies world-famous Kalaupapa Leper Settlement on the Island of Molokai. Here, while helping to care for the unfortunate victims, Father Damien contracted leprosy and died of the disease April 15, 1889."

So, exactly who's Father Damien? And is this one postcard just a single example of a line of postcards dedicated to his life? It seems like such an odd fact to point out about the colony. So then I googled Father Damien and it turns out that he's the patron saint of Hawaii because of his work with the lepers.

So there's your little ironic moment turned history lesson for the day.

Silverlake Wine

2007-11-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned before how awesome this shop is? It's by far the best wine-buying experience you'll have. Everyone in there knows a ton about wine and as soon as you walk in they actually offer to help you find something without being the least bit snobby. My kind of shop.

So yesterday Alison and I headed over for their Sunday wine and paired appetizer tasting. They had a fellow who's a cheese expert bring in a selection of raw cheeses to pair with four different wines. The most interesting part, in my mind, was his assertion that when pairing wine and cheese you don't actually want balance. Strong acidic wines call for strong salty cheeses. And fruity wines call for fruity cheese.

After two hours of tasting and chatting, we left the store with six bottles of wine for our Thanksgiving feast! If you're ever over here on the eastside and need a bottle of wine - HEAD to SILVERLAKE WINE on Glendale. Trust me, you'll thank me.

Mercury Just Went Retro

2007-11-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

Retrograde of course, which is infinitely worse than anything that bespeaks bell bottoms.

Case in point: Thursday night. I come home from working in an office all day (already not the top of my list of things I enjoy) and decide to make a delicious-sounding recipe of curried squash stew on Quinoa. I even had my camera all ready to take pictures. So I spend the hour chopping and dicing and I make the stew...and it's honest to God the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. I have no idea what went wrong with the recipe, but let me tell you it went bad in a major way.

So Fine. I can deal. Gonna drown my sorrows with some TV on the Internet and eat a fried egg sandwich. And I could not, for the life of me, fry an egg. I realized, as I was scraping the second batch of destroyed eggs into the trash can, that I'd recently used the pan to attempt some ill-fates hash browns and had clearly destroyed the perfect seasoning I'd developed in the pan.

Eventually I was able to cobble together a pathetic-looking egg sandwich, and sit down to the internet. Desperate to numb my brain, I clicked on the internet icon, only to discover the internet running at about 1/8 it's usual speed and completely unable to play any kind of video.

So Mercury has gone Retro on us. I'm expecting to butt my head against similar annoyances until the end of January, when it gets back to normal.

Rebuilding San Diego - AGAIN

2007-11-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

San Diego keeps burning down and the Moser clan keeps building it back up.

Some background:

The 2003 Cedar Fire wiped out several communities in San Diego, the most important of which, at least in terms of Moser involvement, was Scripps Ranch. My parents got involved to help organize a community of tract-home owners to jointly hire a builder to rebuild the houses at much lower cost than a custom builder. Enter Stonefield Development. Stonefield is actually a custom and one-of-a-kind builder who took on the project and rebuilt 81 homes in Scripps Ranch. The project completed a year or two ago. There were block parties to celebrate the return of everyone home.

After the Last Rebuild

Fast forward to the October fires of 2007. That 100 year fire that happened in 2003? Turns out it was more of a 4 year fire. This current one knocked out a lot of homes in the Rancho Bernardo / Escondido areas of San Diego. My parents and Stonefield are out there again, trying to organize a group rebuild project.

To that end, I've spent the last couple of weekends in San Diego helping photograph and film the completed houses from last time around and the Stonefield informational meetings.

Currently, I'm keeping myself busy typing this because I'm waiting for my turn on the new fancy mac. I'm trying to cut down the 2+ hour meeting from last weekend into a couple of 5 min highlight clips that we can post on the Stonefield website. Bryan has the day off so he's busy cutting our movie.

We Kramers are as busy trying to save the world through existential entertainment as we Mosers are trying to rebuild what has been destroyed. I think the Mosers may win in the greater doing of good, but that's just because our final cut isn't finished yet.

Belated Halloween (or it's been a month since I last posted!)

2007-11-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

This is yet another photo from the Ginny files. I'm not sure what those two on the couch are dressed as (not to mention the masked dark figure to their left) but I'm pretty sure they're not sheep.

So it's been over a month since I last posted. I'm finding I'm tired of restarting this blog but life keeps getting in my way, which is altogether frustrating. I'd list off the myriad of things I have going on, some of which pay, some of which - not so much, but I'm tired of listing off all those things as well.

Mostly what I'm tired of, however, is the lack of writing I've been doing lately. I'm frustrated because I feel like the thing I like to do best has seen the least amount of effort and time on my part. Stupid rent...always getting in the way of art.

So here I am. Back again. This time groveling.

I was talking with a writer the other day, and we said how easily life gets in the way of writing, and how important it is to force yourself to write a bit everyday. These are, of course, not new sentiments, nor are they new to me. But these days I'm thinking of grad school in a year or two, and finding that when I'm sitting around, my head tends to go to thinking about writing more. I've got another novel sitting on the brain, peculating, if you will, but I don't want to get started until I've at least retained an agent for the last book. (and by the way, not to toot my own horn or anything, but that book is being looked at by a couple of people who seem pretty responsive, so keep your fingers crossed for me)

Anyway (not "Anyways" because I know that drives Alison to distraction) my point in all of this is though my garden is overgrown with weeds - in a major way, it's bad news and I'm terrified for the next time my landlord decides to pop in, as she is want to do - and though I haven't been spending much time working out recipes in the kitchen, I am going to write every day, even if it's just a post like this which talks about having nothing to write about. So bear with me. My inspiration will come back, even if I have to force it kicking and screaming.

In the meantime, I'm considering starting up a second blog that is more review (of books and movies and culture) oriented and less casual here's-a-picture-of-my-dog like this one. Because lord knows that if I don't have material for one blog I should clearly start writing two. Am I the only one whose brain works like this? Anyone else out there feel like their reaction to being busy is to take on more work?

Don't worry. I'm not contagious.

Thought of the Day

2007-10-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Larry Mantel's show today and he had a guest on that quoted a leading progressive Democrat as saying (and I'm paraphrasing)

We are as far from the New Deal today as the New Deal was from the Civil War. FDR did not look back to Lincoln for guidance and nor should we look to FDR for how to shape our future.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

The Happiness of Fish

2007-10-02T11:40:00.001-07:00

When I was in college, and longing for a dog, I got a fish. It was one of those multi-colored, iridescent fighting fish that will bash it's head against the walls of it's tank if you so much as place a mirror in front of it. Sometimes, when I'm reading coverage of the war, I think of that fish...

But this is not that story, nor is it an explanation for why it's been a month (!) since my last post (though I will say for the record that the SAT takes place this Saturday, that Presence still needs sound to be divided into takes, that I started working in an office part time, that Art of Tea needs posts and editing, and on and on).

This is the story of the fish I had in college. It was named by Jeff and it's name was Chinese. I can't remember now - but Jeff, if you read this, would you please remind me. So he names the fish a word that means "the happiness of fish". This term is from a Chinese proverb that I recently rediscovered in a Coetze book about animal rights.

The Happiness of Fish

Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu had strolled on to the bridge over the Hao, when the former ovserved, "See hoe the minnows are darting about! That is the pleasure of fishes."
"You not being a fish yourself," said Hui Tzu, "how can you possibly know in what consists the pleasures of fishes."
"And you not being I," retorted Chuang Tzu, "how can you know that I do not know?"
"If I, not being you, can not know what you know," urged Hui Tzu, "it follows that you, not being a fish, cannot know in what consists the pleasure of fishes."
"Let us go back," said Chuang Tzu, "to you original questions. You asked me how I knew in what consists the pleasure of fishes. You very questions shows that you know I knew. I knew it from my own feelings on the bridge."

Let that be your wisdom from the east for the day.

I'm Moving to Idaho

2007-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Seriously. I was listening to Weekend America today while driving to a student's house, and there was a story about this one town in Idaho that normally has lows of 35F this time of year. 35 DEGREES!!! Last night we couldn't even sleep upstairs in our bedroom it was so hot. Mel moves about 1 foot every 30 minutes to find a new patch of cool concrete. It's pathetic. I hate global warming. It's all humid and sticky - NOT the SoCal weather I've grown up in.

Anyway...it's been crazy this week. Maria's Pirates and Ninjas show opened last night and I was at the theater all day yesterday helping to paint the floor and make the programs. Plus, my first blog is up at Art of Tea (I explain biodynamics!) and there's about a six hour window every day that it's just simply too hot to work.

But here's my latest addition to the online collection of Ginny Larsen photos:

I love it. It speaks for itself. I'm going to go stick my head in the freezer.

Tea Time!

2007-08-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

Don't you love a job that comes with swag?

So much tea, so little time.

In an effort to do more writing work and less (what would you call it? random?) work, I've just gotten a gig as a blog editor for the ART OF TEA - a purveyor of fine loose-leaf teas. These are the good thing, the real deal, the brew a cup using a really fun straining tea pot kind of tea.

Upon meeting the owner of the company (and being hired), I was given an assortment of tea samples to whet my creative appetite for writing about teas. Reading their material I realized just how very little I actually know about tea. But it's all organic and fair trade and all that good stuff, so I can get behind the company. Plus, knowledge is gained through online trips to the LA Public Library where books can be sent to your local branch.

Also no one ever accused me of not having an opinion just because I didn't know much about the subject.

Do you love samples as much as I do?
No, it's not possible.

So. I love tea. I'm not completely converted from coffee, but I'm working on it.

In a week or so you'll be able to read my writings about tea over at www.artoftea.com/wordpress - don't go there yet! Or do, but don't expect to read any of my writing. I just got the gig. I need all this new found tea knowledge to steep for a few days before I write about it. But soon...very soon.

Halibut in the Ultimate Kitchen

2007-08-20T21:08:00.001-07:00

How fabulous is this kitchen?

I love everything about it. I could bake a pie in this kitchen. I have no idea who the people in the photo are, but they're living the good life...that's for sure.

I went down to San Diego over the weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday while my brothers are still in town (well, one technically lives in town). I made my favorite it's-so-easy-yet-seems-really-impressive meal.

Macadamia Nut Encrusted Halibut with Curry Sauce and Mango Chutney

Dredge Halibut Fillets through flour, egg and processed macadamia nuts. Drizzle with melted butter and bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 min or until nuts start to brown.

Saute 2 TBSP red curry paste for a minute and add a can of coconut milk and 2 TBSP dissolved sugar. Let cook down or add a little dissolved corn starch to thicken.

Plate so that fish sits atop sauce and is drizzled with mango chutney. Serve with Jasmine rice and steamed broccolini. Enjoy!

Sound and Sight

2007-08-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

If you aren't already listening to Radio Lab, you should be. Right now. You're reading this, which means you clearly have time to kill. Go to their website right now. You will thank me. That's all I'm going to say on this matter.

This is another good photo from the Ginny vault.

The only identifying information on the back reads: "Clown Face on the Cake. Halloween Cookies and Ice Cream. Black Cat and Moon Favors." This, then is an example of the eccentric framing I mentioned in my last post. It's not an image of children eyeing their cake with anticipation. No. It's a picture of a cake. That there are children behind it, subsequently getting their heads cut off, is of no matter to the woman behind the lens. This is a photo of a cake with a clown face. It's very cakeness appears to glow in recognition of it's rightful place center stage.

You've got to respect an image like that.

What's Up?

2007-08-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

When my great aunt passed away last year, she left behind photo albums filled with snapshots of her life throughout the past almost century. We spent time after her service going through the photos and trying to figure out whose dad was which little kid in each shot. People claimed their favorite pictures of themselves as little kids, or of their parents when they were little. What was left, however, says a lot about who my aunt was as a person and as a photographer. The remaining photos are often bizarre either in subject matter or framing. I don't know who most of the people are who inhabit this other prior world, but I've placed many of them on my wall. My plan is to post some of my favorites on days when I don't have anything better to blog about.

This one is one of my absolute favorites:

I think we decided that these are guys she worked with in an office in the SF Valley when she lived here until the mid-80s. Can you get any better than them? From their postures to their clothes, to the weird smirk on their faces... It's like a decade in a photo. You can hear them asking 'what's up?' in that tone that suggests they know what's up and if you're lucky, they'll share their secret knowledge with you.

My Brain is Melting

2007-08-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

One of the hazards of living in a cool loft/converted carriage house is the lack of literal coolness come summertime. While it's true that our place is probably cooler than other non-air-conditioned buildings in the city, given the nature of its design (let's hear it for cross-ventilation - yeah!), it still hurts. And you can't stop me from whining. But I promise this will be the only post in which I do so.

I tried to work on cutting the movie today. I couldn't even focus my eyes on the screen. Even writing this is making me cranky because the battery is hot and it makes my wrist sweat. Sigh. I bet Hemingway never had trouble with sweating wrists when he wrote. Or if he did, he probably just called for his Cuban butler to bring him another Mojito. Maybe I should start writing about bullfights.

Or get an air conditioner like people keep suggesting to me. Only here's the thing: how's a girl supposed to stay all righteous about the environment when she's using extra power to keep her wrists cool. She can't, and therein lies the rub. So with air unconditioned I write this. Don't be expecting any recipes anytime soon...as I'm barely willing to turn on the stove to make iced tea.

Pirates and Ninjas

2007-08-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Like Macaroni and Cheese, Fred and Ginger, Salt and Pepper; Pirates and Ninjas exist as one of the fundamental pairings of the human condition. This is an existential truth. Just ask Becket. Or come to the Pirates and Ninjas: An Extravagant Adventure, and see for yourself.

Pirates and Ninjas
An Extravagant Adventure
Three Short Plays and One fascinating Art Gallery
Fridays & Saturdays, Aug 31-Sept 22 @8:30pm
Theater of Note 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd
Reservations: 866-219-4944
www.myspace.com/pirates_and_ninjas

August Afternoons

2007-08-10T14:40:00.001-07:00

The arbor in front of our door is covered with grape vines, creating a nice shady spot for an afternoon glass of wine. Our old neighbors used to comment that we looked like the epitome of Napa when they'd come out and find us sitting there, sipping, and reading Harper'. So civilized. I think about wineries sometimes and of the million things that I'd like to learn how to do. Like make good wine. Or good beer. But then I look at my grape vine and notice that the leaves are blotched with red spots that I have yet to identify (granted I have still not taken a sample to the nursery and just asked them). And my grapes! They are truly pathetic.

The Grapes of Wrath

Nothing at all like the dense clusters of giant globes I keep finding at the farmer's market.

At least my lime tree is producing. The happy green spheres found their way into a giant batch of guacamole last night. (Want my secret recipe? I'm embarrassed to share it. Avocados. Chopped Tomato. Purple Onion - not too much- lime juice and garlic salt. Pace Salsa. All to taste. Pathetic I know. Especially from someone always railing against corporate food. Sometimes I'll lose the salsa, but it's never as good.)

These babies are just waiting to be turned into margaritas.

So my little arbor area is producing nicely, or not as the case may be. Melba doesn't care. She's just happy to have a spot to lie in the sun and then a spot to lie in the shade. And sometimes, especially after a long bout of chewing her squirrel, she's happy to have a place to lie inside.

It's hard to be the dog, but even harder to be her toy.

Back in the Kitchen (Eggplant Stacks)

2007-08-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

I am on a quest. It's a quest of grand proportions and one I've been on for quite a while: Get Bryan to like eggplant.

Already, I've won the curry battle and, more recently, the asparagus war. The latter was won primarily by first hiding it in lasagna and later roasting it with olive oil. But eggplant? That's another matter altogether.

In an effort towards full disclosure, my cooking is not what has led Bryan to consider eggplant as a reasonable source of nutrition. That award goes to The East Side Italian Deli by way of Maria, who brought over their amazing Eggplant Parmesan sandwiches the other day. Fantastic! And now Bryan's hooked on them. So I decided to make my own eggplant meal the other night. Here's how it went:

Ashley's Eggplant Stacks of Fun

Ingredients

2 Globe eggplants
Panko Bread Crumbs
Several Eggs & Flour
Olive Oil
Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil
Cherry Tomatoes

Slice the eggplants, dredge the slices in flour, egg and then panko. Heat Olive Oil and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown. Set aside to drain....

...making sure to avoid the growing pile of folded laundry that threatens to take over your table.

Slice the mozzarella (and I highly recommend always using fresh if possible) and shred the basil. Now stack slices of eggplant with a slice of cheese in between each as well as some basil and salt. Halve the cherry tomatoes and toss around stacks with basil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and tomatoes have softened.

Serve to a husband, now thoroughly converted to eggplant eating. Here's an example of one:

I HIGHLY Recommend...

2007-08-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

Market Restaurant+Bar in Del Mar. It's on Via De Los Valles right across from the polo fields (I recognize that some of my readers might argue that it's across from the Soccer fields - but either way it's kitty corner from Mary's Tack and Feed). I'd been reading about it everywhere lately and convinced my family that it would be an ideal place for us to celebrate a very belated Father's Day. What with a brother whose in Asia as much as he is on the east coast, it's rare for us to all be together, and this may be the first visit I've seen him in a decade when he didn't constantly have his nose in a book written in a language I couldn't even begin to understand.

So we went. The food is fabulous and local. It's all Chino's produce and sustainable meats. The drinks were fab, the music a tad weird, but the food was really the star. Nothing too fussy but definitely gourmet and definitely some of the best restaurant food I've had. So it's well worth all the buzz. And if you happen to be in SD for the races before they end at labor day, it's well worth a drive over. So thanks mom and dad, for taking you kids out to such a lovely meal!

Plus..they have a good website http://www.marketdelmar.com/

More Wrap Up

2007-07-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

This is me on set.

I have to say I'm surprised, though I'm not sure why, that it's taking so long to wrap up this project. I'm still finishing up paperwork everyday. I think that at this point it's less about being in slow motion and more about just not realizing how much wrap I had. I spent the afternoon trying to clean up the side patio. Much to my surprise, I discovered a science experiment in the freezer of the unplugged refrigerator that's been sitting out there since easter. During the shoot we'd placed a bunch of bread in the freezer. It was turned on then. Now it was turned off. The mold was unbelievable.

So I didn't quite get through everything out there but I did make a dent.

The other day Bryan and I went with Alison to see a screening of a documentary her friend had cut. It was awesome. It's called the First Saturday in May - about the Kentucky Derby of course. It's not released yet, but it will be soon, I'm sure. And when it is you should rent it. Trust me. Or check out their website www.thefirstsaturdayinmay.com

That's it for now.

Thanks Mom

2007-07-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

My mom came and fed the crew while we were shooting. The fact that we made it through the shoot is largely due to her tuna sandwiches. She kept the crew happy even in the middle of the night way past her usual bedtime. Our DP had his daily gallon of fresh home-brewed iced tea because of her, not to mention the hours she spent shopping and lugging groceries. So while Greg proved himself to be a good brother on set (You are too Jeff - you just happened to be on a different continent at the time) Mom proved to be the best mom ever. And dad proved to be the best dad with his dadness throughout.

That's why my family is awesome. Because even when we don't ask for it - they come and help. But that's no surprise. They are Mosers afterall.

Happiness is...

2007-07-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

A bone to chew on.

Mel is happy to be back to her routine of hiking in the morning, napping in the afternoon and the occasional ride-around in the car.

I'm back to weeding the garden, and am making slow but steady progress. My tomatoes are coming in nicely. I think a few of them may be ready in the next few days (I've been saying that for a week).

I've been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Anyone reading this who has heard of this will say "finally!" because it came out last December and made a splash in places where books on where our food comes from (IOWA CORN) make splashes. By that I mean NPR. Anyway the book is as good as everyone claims it is. What's nice about it is that it's a fairly even look at the different choices one could make in selecting dinner. It's not shock journalism that just lists the atrocities of factory farming in America (of which there are tons) though he does describe some of what goes on. Just enough to make one question their choices, or so I hope. At the very least it's reaffirmed my vegetarian (plus a couple of specific kinds of fish) ethical stance.

If you haven't read it, you should. And since there's a good change that if you're reading this blog you're either a friend or, even more likely, a family member, I'll happily lend it to you. It makes me want to go start my organic farm/winery in Oregon like RIGHT NOW. But I suppose I should finish the movie with Bryan and sell my book first. Sigh. I hate it when practical consideration get in the way of dreams.

Slow Motion

2007-07-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm moving in slow motion these days. I think it has something to do with the movie and the fact that I had to so much in such a short amount of time that comparatively I now feel like a slug. Or maybe it's that I didn't have my typical crash-and-burn get-sick-and-stay-in-bed-for-three-days after a big job; instead I've been cruising along at about 40% capacity for the past couple of weeks. During the shoot I had all these big plans about my garden after we wrapped, but now I'm lucky to get a post up. And here's the current state of the garden:

Now this doesn't mean that I'm not going out there today to weed. Because I am. I had it all pulled together, but the thing about two months of neglect is that the grasses start to take over. But there's some there there.

Like these squash. They're just now entering the world. And the green tomatoes are starting to turn red. They're all just begging to be tied to their stakes.

And while there aren't any strawberries, my strawberry plant has gone nuts in my absence.

There are runners all over the path.

And so it is this that makes me take a deep breath and even in my 40% state, head out into the garden to week in the sun. Because sometimes all you need is a little dirt to make it ok to be moving in slow motion. It's not like the plants are in a big rush. And there's something beautiful and perfect about that.

I think the saying should not be stop and smell the roses, but rather, stop and weed the squash bed.

I'm Back!

2007-07-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

I know you all missed me terribly. And I also realize that it's been a good solid while since I've posted. In my defense, I did warn you that I was going on movie-making sabbatical. And went I did. And now I've returned to the land of blogging most days. My garden is overrun with grass and tomatoes, my files are bursting with recipes-to-try and the Lotus Festival is just next weekend. I had to come back!

So here's a recap of what you missed in my life over the past few months:

Bryan and I shot a feature film. No one died or got hurt so it was a major success. Now we're moving into post after I finish wrapping this week.

That's pretty much it, as making the movie put the rest of my life on hold.

There are a ton of pictures from the shoot, but here are a few that happened to end up on my computer. I'll post more in the future.

all hail the almighty blackberry - this is what I looked like for most of the shoot

Mel - aka Set Dog, playing with the crew

Greg lounging around on set (this may be the only picture like this because he was normally running around being pretty much the greatest brother/transpo captain/everything assistant the world has ever known

Our expressions pretty much say it all. I hadn't slept in week. Bryan was in heaven. Go figure.

This is my Melba Toast impression. It's how she looked for most of the shoot. I'm actually hiding from the crew and sleeping in the back of Greg's car while they all shoot our gun shot effects. Of course we were in the parking structure of a hospital, so I figured if something went wrong they'd know where to go.

Ah shooting. From bum fights to dinner in the stinky LA river...it's amazing we all lived to shoot another day.

Hiatus

2007-04-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am back from Washington DC, and have been for weeks. The movie is overwhelming all other aspects of my life, especially blogging. So I'm taking a hiatus until we're finished shooting (end of June), that way I won't feel guilty for not writing daily. Sorry...do come back. I promise I'll have lots of fun recipes and garden pix then.

Off to DC

2007-03-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

I leave tonight for Washington DC. And no I'm not planning a protest, though I ought to get some protesting in while I'm there...

actually I'm going to gather public domain footage from the National Archives. See you all on the flip side!

Joining the Club

2007-02-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hey friends. There's this new fun recipe website - from what I can tell it's like the myspace for foodies and in an effort to kick start their site, they're giving away $6000 for a kitchen makeover. You know you want in on that. Click HERE to join!

You didn't want to work...

2007-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

...did you?

Mel begins her blockade of my desk

The Presence of Mange

2007-02-22T19:40:00.001-08:00

So two things happened today, I wrote the first post for Presence (our movie) and I took Melba to the vet to get a shot and dipped for her mange. We think it's the minor localized kind that'll get wiped out by a couple of treatments. She's scared of the vet, but otherwise seems fine. I think it's more the rain that's making her mopey than anything else.

You can check out the Presence Post by clicking here.

The Real Vacation in Laguna Beach

2007-02-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

A magnificent sunset

For Christmas, the Kramer's gave Bryan and me a night in a hotel in Laguna Beach. We took this much needed vacation Monday night. It was completely fabulous.

This is how Bryan enjoys his vacations

I think that Susan is on to us. First of all, she understands that we don't ever stop working. We both have day jobs (though mine are somewhat fluid) and then we have our film/writing work. I really truly take maybe a day or two off a month. Bryan's the same way. Susan tried once before to give us a weekend away. We used the money instead to buy an enlarger and set up a dark room. This time the gift came through a travel agency. Smart mom.

A room with a view

On Monday, after stopping at Fashion Island to see BREACH (which is good, but not as good as SHATTERED GLASS, which is awesome) we headed to the hotel. This was our view.

We stayed at the Beach and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach and it is literally on the sand.

Beneath my feet

We pretty much turned into jello as soon as we got there. We watched the sunset, had a drink and sat on our balcony.

Our beach from our balcony

I can't think of a better way to spend an evening than watching the tide roll in, ordering room service and watching movies on the TV (that may have been Bryan's favorite part). At night the hotel lit the surf so you could see it crash seemingly directly below your feet.

The next morning we had breakfast at their restaurant down just above the sand and went for a walk.

It's all about the sandcastle building.

Then it was back to the real world far too soon. Next time, we'll stay two nights.

Hi Bryan!

Boxes, Boxes Everywhere...

2007-02-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

...and not a thing to pack.

Okay, so that's not actually very accurate. In fact there were thousands of things to pack. I have a new appreciation for the work David and Kevin (and once upon a time, Bryan) do. Packing up other people's things is hard work!

Basically what happened was that I spent Monday and Tuesday helping Kevin and his crew pack up this little garage behind a house in the Crenshaw area that was literally filled with the largest collection of black literature and cultural artifacts on the West Coast. That element of it was cool. The bummer was that the room we were packing looked like this:
And that was after we spent a day packing. Before we started you couldn't see past that pile in the middle. The first day they had a hard time even getting the door open.

It was actually really interesting because as I'd pack old newspapers and magazines I'd come across some incredible photographs or an original manuscript from a slave. Really incredible documents.

By the end of Day 2 the front room looked like this:

(in the background is the room from the upper picture). They still had at least two and maybe three more days to go. The deal was that they had recently acquired a space to house this collection in a permanent organized way. But because the mold and silverfish were so bad in this old space, all of the books and papers have to first be frozen to kill everything. So Kevin and his guys had to literally double plastic bag every individual box (and by the end we were figuring that it would be about 500 boxes).

This is me, Kevin and his crew at the end of a LONG day.

I think I'm going to stick with writing and producing and leave the moving to the people with stronger backs.

Much Better

2007-02-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Rain, Rain...

2007-02-11T10:37:00.000-08:00

Mel doesn't like it when water falls from the sky. It makes her anxious, like someone wants to give her a bath.

As for me, I love it. It makes me actually want to stay indoors and do my work (yes, even on a Sunday). The call of the garden is not so great when it's cold and rainy outside. I might actually get some coverage written today, if I can keep myself from procrastinating by blogging.

I've started sending out my manuscript. So far the tally is 1 publisher, 2 agents and 2 agent query rejections. Not bad odds thus far. We'll see how it goes.

Lunchtime!

2007-02-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

Today I glanced out the window and noticed these two little birds feasting on last season's figs. I'm glad someone is getting some use out of those old figs before I prune the tree. It makes me think my procrastination is really a form of bird-love. Maybe that's so.

Spring in February?

2007-02-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

Today began simply with Bryan and I deciding to go out for breakfast. We haven't done this in a while because, well, it's just not that hard to make an omelet. But Eva had recently told us that Phillipe's (home of the French Dip sandwich that we can't eat) serves a mean breakfast and, even better, coffee that costs 9 cents. All it took was us discussing going out to breakfast for Melba to play opossum.

Mel Plays Dead

We eventually did make it out of the house and into a day that's turned out to be 87 degrees. What's up global warming!?!

So that led me out into the garden that I've been ignoring because it's been so cold.

And Weeded And Weeded...

Today I weeded. And weeded. And weeded.

Go Artichoke Baby! Go!

The good news is that the artichoke plant we planted last February is going strong. I think I need to feed it though, because I'm not seeing any flowers yet.

Tomorrow I'm going to plant some lettuce and spring veggies in my veggie patch. I have to say I'm looking forward to it.

I'm also going to start sending out my query letter to lit agents...so if any of you have a friend in the biz that's looking for teen mystery series...

I'll keep you posted on the garden.

If You Give A Guest a Chair...

2007-02-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

...they're going to need another.

It's funny because it wasn't even his fault. All he did was sit down and the chair shattered underneath him. The unavoidable diet jokes were bandied about, but in truth he's a fairly slim guy. It could have happened to anyone. Now we're down to 5 of the 20 year old chairs I grew up with. Sigh. I don't know what I'm going to do the next time I have a dinner party for more than five people.

Thank goodness the food, at least, was good.

Escarole & Walnut Pizza

2007-01-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

Last night a couple of couples came over for dinner and to talk about doing effects for our movie. I figured that since it was Friday night and I wanted to keep it casual, so I decided to make it another pizza night. Sick of pizza recipes yet? Well I did a couple of my standards and then added the Escarole and Walnut Pizza. I think it's my new favorite. Here's the recipe:

ESCAROLE & WALNUT PIZZA

Ingredients
1 recipe pizza dough
4 walnuts, chopped coarsely
Walnut oil
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 small red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small head Escarole, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
S&P
Balsamic vinegar to taste
pinch of chili flakes
5 oz Fontina cheese, grated

While the dough rises, preheat oven to 350. Toss the walnuts in a splash of walnut oil and roast for about 5 min.

Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and saute onions for 3-4 min until softened. Stir in garlic, escarole, salt and cover. Reduce heat and let cook down for a few minutes. Adjust salt and add vinegar, chili and pepper.

Preheat oven to 500 and warm pizza stone for 20 min.

Shape dough, place on parchment paper and cut around dough. Brush with olive oil. Distribute most Fontina, cover with escarole, walnuts and the rest of the cheese.

Bake for 12 min until the edges are nicely browned.

Enjoy!

All the News...

2007-01-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

I have been writing...just not here. Sorry. I know I haven't been very good about blogging this week. A lot of other things have been going on, I'll try to list them in order of importance.

1) We finally (FINALLY!) got enough commitments from investors to move forward with our feature film project. It's called PRESENCE. I just paid our attorney his retainer and he's drawing up the official paperwork as I write this. Needless to say, after about three years of working towards this, Bryan and I are pretty excited. This leads me to tell anyone who's interested that we'll begin blogging about our filmmaking experience. Last summer I planned to do this on our Drifter Pictures blog. The same first blog is still there. This will be updated soon.

2) I'm finally (FINALLY!) almost finished with my novel. I've been working on it since last summer and last weekend my mom came to LA to spend a couple of days editing it with me. She was incredibly helpful and I have one final polish to do, probably this weekend, before I start sending it out to agents and publishers. I know most writers would take longer on their polish but the fact is I don't sweat the small stuff. I like to move forward, and besides, it's a teen mystery novel, not exactly Graham Greene material.

3) I am an official SAT tutor. I can teach you how to take the SATs, and how to improve your score. It's taken a bit of prep time to do this, but now I'm just waiting to be assigned my first students.

4) Our neighbors are moving to Austin. While I'm sad to see Polly and Charlie go because I like them a lot, this will mean that Mel now has the backyard. She is thrilled. We had kept her somewhat confined before because we share a yard with the front house and Polly was allergic to dogs, but now, the landlord is telling all the potential tenants that Mel has free reign in the yard. It's nice when landlords are cool like that. We've really lucked out with this place.

5) I haven't been cooking or gardening lately (see #'s 1, 2 & 3) so I've been lacking in the material for this site. Things are beginning to feel like they're settling down, and finishing my novel will help, so I'm sure I'll be returning to these, or at least to cooking, very very soon.

In the indomitable spirit of the NY Times: That's all the News that's Fit to Print.

Spinach Lasagna

2007-01-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

As promised, here's my recipe for Spinach Lasagna. By my I really mean our recipe (mine, mom's and, oh yeah, Deborah Madison, from whom we cribbed this).

I'm going to explain this in the order in which I usually make it (which is rare because it does take some time). These amounts work in my mom's big lasagna pan, I'd halve most of it for a smaller pan. Also, I made an obscene amount of pasta dough thinking I'd have a ton extra. Because I made this without the benefit of a pasta machine (I had stolen my mom's years ago so now hers lives in LA), so the noodles were divinely thick. I hand rolled them out. You probably wouldn't need to make this much dough if you were using a machine.

In Order:
TOMATO SAUCE
I have to admit that mine is different every time I make it. Basically I use whatever veggies are in the fridge and about to turn on me (I've made it with fennel and zucchini and all sorts of crazy things) For a recipe like this though it would go something like:

Olive Oil
2 leeks, cleaned and diced
1 carrot, diced
1 purple or yellow onion
Some garlic cloves crushed
1 celery stalk, diced
1 LARGE can of diced tomatoes
A cup-ish of red wine
Splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar
maybe some sugar
2-6 fresh tomatoes (depending on what's on hand) - I don't bother to peel and seed these, I just toss them in the processor and process them for a few pulses
Herbs: basil, bay lead, oregano, a twig of fresh thyme if possible, salt, pepper etc.

So it's pretty basic: Heat the olive oil. Saute the veggies (up to the canned tom's) until they're soft. Add the canned tomatoes, fresh tom's, wine, vinegar, sugar, and herbs and let simmer until it thickens. Sometimes I'll also add veggie broth and then let that cook down. For this lasagna, I made all of this the night before I assembled it and let it just sit on the cold stove overnight. (This is what I then processed a few days later to make the pizza sauce)

Next step: I make the Pasta dough (I quadrupled this recipe, but for a small dish I'd just double it)

EGG PASTA DOUGH

1 cup all-purpose flour (I'm not going to preach about this anymore, but seriously, BUY ORGANIC STONE-GROUND FLOUR - it will taste better)
Salt
1 large egg
1 tsp olive oil
some water, maybe

You know the drill. Mound the flour, make a well. Beat egg & oil in well, gradually incorporating the surrounding flour. Get all the flour mixed in and then add a few drops of water if it needs to be brought together.

Kneed for 10 minutes. Cover and let rest for at least 1 hour.

While the dough is resting, I move on:

SPINACH FILLING

The key with this is really the lemon zest. It makes the dish divine. DO NOT LEAVE IT OUT...otherwise you'll end up with just your average, if tasty, lasagna.

2-3 bunches of spinach, thoroughly washed (you can substitute frozen or baby, but it won't be as good)
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
Salt, pepper, nutmeg
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup Parmesan
Parsley
2 tsp lemon zest

Chop spinach. Saute onions & garlic in oil. Add spinach and salt. Cook until wilted; move to a bowl and combine with cheeses, eggs, parley and lemon zest. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

CHEESE

Grate 8-16 oz of mozzarella cheese. We always use regular, though the recipe suggests fresh, which I will be trying next time.

Now I make the sauce for the bottom and top of the lasagna:

BECHAMEL SAUCE

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
Salt, pepper and nutmeg

Melt butter and add the flour. Cook over low for 2 - 3 minutes to get rid of the starchy flavor of flour. Stir constantly. Scald the milk in a separate pan and then and stir it into the butter combo. Whisk away! Season and cook on low for 15 min, occasionally stirring until thickened.

ROLL OUT YOUR DOUGH and cook the pieces in boiling water. Don't leave them in a heap, they'll stick. Rinse in cold water and stretch out over kitchen towels.

SPINACH, CHEESE AND TOMATO LASAGNA

I always butter the pan just in case. Then spread half of the bechamel over the bottom of the pan. Follow with a layer of noodles. Now some tomato sauce and a layer of cheese. Now the Spinach. Then noodles. Now a layer of spinach filling. Noodles. Tomato sauce and cheese. Noodles. Filling. Noodles. On top should be Bechamel and some extra cheese. Maybe even a grating of Parmesan.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, covered with tin foil, and then another 25 with the foil off. (this is what the recipe says, but we find it takes twice that time. Also I baked mine for 20 minutes with foil - to cook the eggs then let it come to room temp and froze it for a couple of days. We let it sit out for a day before we reheated it, leaving the tin off to brown the top)

Good times. Great Lasagna.

I should go into advertising.

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! and the SATs

2007-01-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

Ok I'm back. Sorry for the delay in getting more of these recipes up online. I've been studying for the SATs.

SATs!?!?! you exclaim, upon reading this. You're no high school Junior! What are you doing?!?!

Well, let me tell you. I just got a job tutoring for the SATs. I did this back when I was in college but it didn't pay well enough to balance out the cost of gas to get to students' houses. Now, however, the folks I used to work for have formed a new company that only hires experienced SAT tutors and pays them about 3xs the going rate. So it's a no-brainer. I'm in.

I spent the weekend in training and was supposed to go in and do a pretend lesson with my trainer to determine my pay rate, but he's sick and so here I am, posting recipes.

I last posted about the Enchiladas I made on Christmas Night, so that brings us to the day after Christmas. Another full day of entertaining, Christmas Post was a day filled with lunch with Kristie and her new husband and stepdaughter, and then dinner with the Reynolds (my mom's side of the family). So we'll do lunch today. I figured that as there was a seven-year-old coming, the safest and most fun thing would be pizza. So pizza it was.

First of all, if you remember from before, I posted a recipe for Grape and Gorgonzola Pizza that I adapted from Gourmet magazine. I'm a huge, huge fan of this recipe, though it's not really the kind of thing you want to eat more than one or two slices. I thought a plain cheese would be safe, as would a veggie pizza. Because there were 10 of us I made an additional pesto pizza.

Here's the breakdown:

For the Dough (I quadrupled this recipe)
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour mixed with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cups warm water (105-115F)
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp olive oil

Pizza stone and parchment paper are ideal!

Make Dough: Stir together yeast, 1 Tbsp flour and 1/4 cup warm water and let stand until mixture appears creamy on surface, 5 min. (If mixture isn't creamy get new yeast)
Whisk salt into 1 1/4 cups flour in a large bowl, then add yeast mixture, oil and remaining 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in enough flour (1/4 to 1/2 cup) for dough to begin to peel away from side of bowl. (this dough may be stickier than others you're used to)

The dough also rises

Knead dough on a floured work surface with floured hands, adding flour as necceassary but as little as possible, until dough is smooth, about 8 - 10 minutes. Form dough into a tight ball and dust with flour. GENEROUSLY dust the inside of a bowl with flour, place dough in bowl, cover with a damp towell and let rise in a draft free place until doubled in bulk about 1 1/2 hours.

Shape Dough and Make Topping: At least 45 minutes before baking pizza, put pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500F. Don't punch down dough. You want to work it as little as possible at this point. Gently stretch it out into a circular shape and place on a parchment lined pizza peel. Cut the parchment so that there is about an inch extra around the dough. Now top!

For the Toppings

Pizza Sauce
I made this myself from scratch by using my basic tomato sauce recipe leftovers from the lasagna. I'll post that recipe tomorrow along with the lasagna recipe. For now, suffice it to say that I processed the sauce until it was smooth.

Cheese Pizza
I used Fontina, Mozarrella and some Parmesan on this pizza, along with the sauce.

Veggie Pizza
This had a similar blend of cheeses over sauce, but then I also added sliced mini bell peppers, purple onions, marinated artichoke hearts, thinly sliced tomatoes, and some goat cheese.

Pesto Pizza
I'm embarrassed to say that I used pre-made pesto sauce from a plastic container from Jimbos. I just didn't have time to make mine from scratch. Over the pesto I used whatever cheese I had leftover and that pizza was finished.

The key was really the order in which these were served as I could only cook one at a time. Cheese came out first, in case any young ones were starving, then the veggie, grape and gorgonzola and finally the pesto. The pesto was really my extra one, but even that got almost completely consumed. What was leftover became appetizers for dinner.

It was the kind of cooking day that had the first group of people leave at the exact same time the next group arrived. Intense. No one ever said Christmas was meant to be restful. If it was, we'd all go to spas.

Tomorrow....more recipes.

Black Bean Enchiladas for Christmas Dinner

2007-01-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas afternoon Bryan's parents and siblings came down to the house. I planned to do something easy. Ha! Perhaps I should have tried making something I had made before, but no, I only believe in experimenting on guests, especially if they're family.

I actually made the black bean chili that was to be the filling for the enchiladas the day before. I adapted the recipe from the one in Greens (leaving out the parts where I roast chilies to make my own chili powder). Once completed on Christmas Eve morning, I let it sit in the pot all day and night, since there was no meat in it, it was just fine. Here's the recipe:

Black Bean Chili

2 cups black beans soaked overnight (this is a really important step, I've screwed up this dish a couple of times before because I didn't soak the beans overnight)
1 bay leaf
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp dried oregano
4 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
2 Tbsp red pepper (chili) flakes
3 Tbsp veg oil
3 medium yellow onions diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
salt
1 large can diced tomatoes, with juice

Sort beans from stones, rinse well, cover and let soak overnight. Next day, drain, cover with fresh water by an inch and bring to a boil with the bay leaf. Lower heat and let beans simmer while you prepare the rest.

Heat the oil in a skillet, and saute onions over medium heat until they are soft. Add garlic, herbs and spices and cook 5 min. Add tomatoes and juice. Simmer everything for 15 min, then add mixture to the beans and, if necessary, enough water so the beans are covered by 1 inch. Continue to cook the beans for an hour or so, keeping an eye on the water level.

When the beans are cooked taste and add salt and cilantro. Eat, use or let sit.

So once I had this chili, It was going to be easy to make black bean enchiladas, just add tortillas and cheese right? Wrong. I decided I'd be tricky and make up my own sauce for the enchiladas because I'm generally not a huge fan of enchilada sauce. Here's my secret recipe:

Ashley's Secret Enchilada Sauce

3 bell peppers (orange and yellow) roughly chopped
2 leeks, washed and chopped
4 tbsp butter
1 cup white wine
2 Tbsp sugar

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add bell pepper and leeks and saute for 5 min until they soften. Add wine and sugar and let cook down for 10 min until they turn a little syrup-y. Scrape into Food Processor or blender. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.

That's it. Then to make the enchiladas (which in truth didn't really hold together that well because I didn't steam the tortillas first) cover the bottom of a baking pan with some sauce. Dredge a corn tortilla in the sauce. Place some chili and cheese (Monterrey jack worked nicely) in the tortilla and roll so that seam is at the bottom. Continue until pan is full. Cover with sauce and more cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 min or until the cheese is melty.

Serve hot!

Christmas Morning Menu

2007-01-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

After having spent all of Christmas Eve Eve shopping and cooking and then Christmas Eve cooking, I came down Christmas morning and fixed everyone breakfast. Mom will tell you that I woke up and came downstairs with a recipe in my hand. She's not lying. It's like a sickness.

CHRISTMAS MORNING MENU
Bagels with Cream Cheese and Tomatoes
Arugula, Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata
Potato and Onion Cakes (Martha Stewart)

The bagels with cream cheese and tomatoes are obvious so I can't even create a recipe. As for the frittata, I think it would have been better with fresh tomatoes, but the sun-dried were tasty anyway. There were 7 of us so I beat 15 eggs with a dash of cream, a handful of chopped arugula, a cup of shredded Fontina (or Monterey Jack, I can't remember now) and a couple of Tablespoons of chopped S-D Tomatoes. I heated Butter in a pan until the foam subsided, added egg mixture, lowered heat, covered and let sit for about 15min. Because it was so big, I didn't bother with flipping it, but set it under the broiler instead. This was served with hot sauce.

POTATO AND ONION CAKES
These are divine. I got the recipe from Martha's magazine.

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for tin
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Red Wine vinegar
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 small red onion sliced into rounds
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, coarsely grated
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400F. Generously butter a muffin tin. Sprinkle each cup with salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp sugar. Drizzle each cup with 1/2 tsp each vinegar. Put a rosemary sprig in each cup and cover with an onion round (I ended up with quite a few outer onion rings as the rings you use should be the size of bottom of the cup). Set aside.

Toss potatoes with chopped rosemary and egg yolk, season with salt and pepper. Divide among cups. Dot with butter.

Bake until potatoes are tender and well browned, about 30 min. Remove and let cool 5 min. Run a knife around the edge of each cup, invert and serve.

These are so much better than has browns because the sugar and vinegar caramelizes the onions perfectly. They have a ton of flavor and not nearly the butter of a normal side of breakfast potatoes. So good. I wish I had a picture. But there you are. I didn't take any over Christmas.

Jan 2: The Inauguration of the Bar-B-Q and other News on the Food Front

2007-01-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

I can think of no better way to spend an evening in January than barbecuing, if just for the fact that we live in a place where barbecuing in January is no big deal. Take that places that snow.

Go Baby Go!

Anyway, Greg gave us a fab new barbecue for Christmas (he had witnessed first hand the sad state our previous barbecue had fallen into - in our defense we did find the thing on the side of the house when we moved in and I spent a long day trying in vein to clean it up) and we thought it was high time we broke it in. After all the carbs and cheese that made up Christmas Eve, Christmas and Christmas Post, we were in need of some good ol' fashioned grilled fish. A trip to the downtown seafood market found us picking up some great halibut steaks and scallops for tomorrow (I just discovered I like them thanks to Xinyu).

By the way, the downtown seafood market is way better than Santa Monica Seafood, if just because it brings out a much wider cross section of clientele. Instead of being filled with bourgie Westsiders, this is filled with the real folk who work in the warehouses, live on the streets or are in business suits from working in the high rises downtown. Infinitely better and much more our speed. But I digress.

So now we have a working barbecue and until it starts raining again, we'll be using it regularly. But on to the aforementioned recipes from Christmas. I'll start in chronological order as best I can over the next few days.

Christmas Eve Dinner Menu
Pamplemousse Cocktail (Gourmet Magazine)
Roasted Asparagus (me)
Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese (Well Fed blog)
Leek and Mustard Pie (Greens)
Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce (Gourmet Magazine, I think)

Pamplemousse Cocktail
(makes 6)
7 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons honey
1 1/2 cups vodka
3/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
18 fresh mint leaves

Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. *can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated

Combine pom mixture, vodka, grapefruit & lime juice and mint leaves in a large pitcher. Fill with ice. Stir. Strain drink into Martini glasses. Serve!

Roasted Asparagus
I tossed asparagus with olive oil and garlic salt, placed in a roasting pan and set in an oven set to 450. We tossed the asparagus several times during the 15-20 min they cooked. It was served on lettuce and halved pear tomatoes tossed in champagne vinaigrette. Easy.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese
This recipe is on Grant's blog called Well Fed. You should read this blog for really tasty things. I've liked everything I've cooked from it. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE RECIPE.

Leek and Mustard Pie
Here's the thing about this recipe. It calls for tart dough, the recipe for which includes Crisco. We didn't have any Crisco and besides it full of trans fat which is, as we all know, as evil as eggs and meat once were but now maybe aren't. At any rate, I searched google for butter pie crust and made up a recipe. I can't even tell you because I also screwed it up but suffice it to say it involved butter, flour, salt, sugar and some ice water. The filling's the thing:

5 cups leeks (1 lb, trimmed) cut into 1/4 inch rings
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine
salt
pepper
2 eggs
1 cup creme fraiche
3 Tbsp coarse ground mustard
6 oz Gruyere Cheese
(here the recipe calls for Chives, which I didn't until now notice, but I actually added some Rabini - only because I found it at the farmer's market and was excited because I'd once spent an entire morning trying to track it down for a recipe - I blanched, chopped and added it too)

Get your dough ready.
Wash the leeks well (cut in half to split and get all the hiding dirt out). Melt the butter, add the leeks and cook 2 min, stirring.
Add wine and salt, cover, reduce heat and cook slowly until tender. 15 min. Check halfway thru and add more wine if necessary. Season with pepper.
Beat the eggs and stir in creme fraiche, mustard, leeks and grated cheese (and maybe those greens)
Preheat oven to 375F. Pour custard into shell, smooth top and add the illusive chives.
Bake pie until top is firm and golden brown. (this takes about 45min - 1 hr or about the time it took me to take a quick shower and dry, but poorly style, my hair - hence the ponytail).
Let sit 5 min. Serve. Eat. Go back for seconds.

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce
I didn't really follow the recipe very closely here so I'll improvise this. Basically I took about 1/4 cup of balsamic and red wine vinegar (I ran out of balsamic, hence the addition of the red wine vinegar) and reduced them with a little bit of butter for about 5 min. Once the vinegar was thick and syrup-y I whisked in about 1/2 stick of butter. This was the sauce drizzled on the fish and in the container beside them.

For the fish I washed, dried, salted and peppered the fillets, heated a bit of olive oil and pan fried them for about 3 min each side. Then I served them with the sauce on a warmed platter.

See how hard that was?

THE END.
OF RECIPES.
FOR TODAY.

Check back tomorrow for Christmas breakfast - or as I like to call it BreakFEAST!

Happy New Year!!!

2007-01-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

I think 2007 is going to be the year.

Stay tuned for all the holiday recipes from the cooking-fest that was Christmas. I'm a little exhausted at the moment, but you better believe some sweet (and savory) recipes are coming your way.

Thanks for reading in 2006.

Ice Skates and Chocolate Fountains

2006-12-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today Bryan and I went to the holiday skating party for the company for which I read and write coverage.

Now when I get an invitation for a Holiday skating party I'm thinking maybe 50 people and a table of decent booze. In fact it was a winter wonderland, but sadly, a dry one. It was held at the Culver City Ice Rink and the last time we were there was to film Patrick to prove to Marty in Canada that he could ice skate so we could cast him in our movie. But I digress...

We entered what was a huge party and worked our way around the ring, past the Santa and giant penguins who were taking pictures with little kids, past Lady Santa who gave us quarters for the video games and into the tent in the back where all the real action was at. We quickly realized that this was not the kind of party that was going to serve us wine. About 1/4 of the attendees were under 15. Instead of booze there were 2, count them 2, chocolate fountains, a huge buffet and enough arts and crafts to keep even the most industrious artist busy for hours. In truth if we'd had kids with us it would have been heaven. Chocolaty heaven. But being as we are and as Bryan had just come off a shift that started at 6am, we were a little too dazed to really partake.

Beyond that I don't really trust chocolate fountains. I'm down for some hot chocolate fondue, but the chocolate in those fountains isn't really hot, and it doesn't harden on the things you dip on it. I am wary of whatever chemical they add to keep it pumping. It seems a little gross to me. I tasted it. It was a little gross.

Anyway, Bryan and I decided to try our feet at ice skating. It's been a good 10 years for me and he claimed 15 years since he'd skated. For the record, I am still awesome. For the record, Bryan...not so much. Who'd have thought there would ever be a sports-like activity at which I would excel over Bryan. Not me, that's for sure.

I wanted to take pictures, but I knew I'd break my camera if I took it on the ice and so it ended up in a locker with my purse for the duration of the party.

I will say one last thing to the people who will be at Christmas Eve: The people whose adjectives sent me to the dictionary will get a really fun prize come Christmas Eve night. And that's all I'll say about that.

I Knew I Shouldn't Trust Amazon

2006-12-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

Remember how I said I was finished with Christmas shopping? Well Amazon decided to spite me and claim that it would have to wait until after Christmas to deliver several of my gifts. Fie. That's what I get for trying to avoid the malls.

Back to shopping I go.

Craig's (In)Famous Holiday Party

2006-12-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday was Craig's Holiday party; a party he holds each year with great success. Those of us who know him from back at SC figure we've been coming to this party for the past seven years. I had said nine until it was pointed out to me that nine years ago I was still in high school. I think in my heart I've always been at this party.

Last year was Bryan's first year at the party and as you can see, he's taken to it like a duck to water.

Bryan, Tim and Craig's friend from Arkansas

Without a doubt, the most impressive thing about this party is the spread that Craig puts out. The man spends at least 24 hours cooking in preparation for his shindig.

Tell me that doesn't look tasty, even as a Vegetarian I appreciate it

And you can tell. How? One turkey, one ham, one salmon, stuffing, bacon-wrapped asparagus, spinach dip, veggie gratin, salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, cranberry sauce and four, count them, four desserts. Heaven.

Side-tastic!

I counted about 22 people at this year's party. Some were new girlfriends, some have been around since the beginning. We had out annual gift exchange in during which numbers are drawn and one can either open a present or steal a present from someone else. Three possessions of a gift equal keeps forever. The quality of the gifts has significantly increased over the years. This year we ended up with a dartboard. I'm psyched.

Ethan prepares the tazer

Good foods, friends and wine is all well and good, but the highlight of the evening was when most had left and Ethan busted out his tazer. It's not a police one, it's the kind that requires a couple of 9volt batteries. Bryan insisted that it be tested on him. It was. Then it found its way to me. It was tested on Bryan a couple more times for comedic effect.

Bryan after being shocked; his heart's still beating

Mostly I think it was the equivalent of a really bad static shock. He didn't seem too fazed by it. Good times.

Christmas Shopping

2006-12-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

I have officially finished my Christmas shopping today. If that doesn't qualify me as deserving of a nice glass of wine, I don't know what does.

I will say this, there is a definite theme to the gifts I've bought this year and no it's not "things you can get at Amazon" though I'll be expecting those boxes to arrive presently. It has much more to do with NPR than anything else.

And that's all I'll say about that matter. I know some of my readers are expecting gifts, fortunately there aren't very many of you (readers that is). You won't be disappointed.

I've also come up with a Christmas Eve menu, but I'm waiting for approval from powers greater than myself. You better believe it will be a tasty feast.

The Skateboarding Dog of Venice Beach

2006-12-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Bryan, Mel and I took a drive down Topanga Canyon, which ended in us eating lunch in our old stomping ground of Venice Beach. If Mel were a kid we'd probably have told her we wanted to show her where we used to live. We may have told her that anyway.

At any rate, as we were enjoying some winter sun, we noticed a bull dog with a special talent.

This guy was just cruising along with his owner, dodging tourists and barking at anyone who might get in the way of his board.

A couple of times he got stuck in the grass, but help was on the way.

Though his owner helped him out this time, another time I watched as he managed to flip the board on it's side and carry it out of the grass under his leg, in a manner that was surprisingly similar to the way surfers carry their boards.

Fortunately he was soon able to rejoin his pack.

You've got to love Venice.

Don't Tell Me you didn't see this coming

2006-12-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

I mean, the sun moved. And I was in the shower.

Now If I could just get that present out of the way...

Thanksgiving at the Buckley's

2006-12-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here are my promised photos of Thanksgiving at the Buckley's home up in Mill Valley. First of all, to say that they live in Mill Valley is a little bit of an untruthitude, it's more like they live on top of Mill Valley. Once you drive through the cute little town, you drive up, and up until you arrive at this:

A view from the house.

which is not a bad backdrop for a Thanksgiving feast. Those roofs at the bottom of the frame are their house. That blip that's really light in the distance, is San Francisco. It's much prettier in person. I attended this Thanksgiving about four years ago and afterwards someone asked me if their house had a view. I said I wasn't sure. I'm assuming either I was overwhelmed by Thanksgiving at a (then) new boyfriend's family home, or the city was fogged in. Either way, I missed something really spectacular.

Throughout the day people arrive and gather on the upper lawn terrace outside the house.

FOLLOW THAT TOY!

In this photo above, everyone is looking at a remote control UFO spinning thing that Susan brought and which required a great deal of concentration to keep out of trees.

It works like this...

I recall one Christmas a similar device arrived at our house and I think lasted a full 10 minutes before it came to find its home on the roof.

Bryan as pre-feast athlete.

Much silliness and eating ensued.

A more realistic action shot - M'lu and Grand B diving in to Peter's tasty Abalone

And the next morning we climbed up that big hill behind the pool that winds up and up...

If only it weren't WAY TOO COLD for a nice dip.

and took in the view. This is what Bryan thought of it:

We're thinking of making this Bryan's directing headshot.

Is it just me or does he make this same face in every photo I take of him?

The Sun is so Nice...

2006-11-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

especially after someone has made you take a bath.

If I just had a pillow, this nap would be complete.

Road Trip Down Memory Highway

2006-11-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in awhile. This is not because I haven't wanted to nor that I haven't had material. I've been to Las Vegas and San Francisco, logging at least 1400 miles in the past week, and I've been trying to put together a solid schedule and budget for our new movie. So I've been a little busy. And I continue to be busy, and so I am not using this post to show you pictures of Thanksgiving, though they are fun. You'll have to wait for those.

Instead, for this post I am stealing the work of our friend Kevin Obsatz, who just posted an interview of Bryan and I on his website. Check it out...

HOCKEY MOVIE

In May he came to LA and interviewed a bunch of us kids who went to film school with him. The idea is that he's going to periodically interview us about what's going on and thus create a sort of film school version of the 7UP series.

As you will see in this video, apparently I talk a lot. My memory of the interview was not that I took over, though it's not beyond the realm of reasonable belief that I did.

Enjoy our story of how not to shoot a movie in Canada.

The Life and Times of a Spoiled Dog

2006-11-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

I was sick all last week so I have little to report which is why I'm devoting this post to Mel. Lately Mel's taken to trying to make friends with the Chihuahuas next door. There are at least six of them. They aren't buying her bids for friendship. Mostly they just get freaked out when they see her and bark a lot. Every day this week she's tried again. Her refusal to give up is impressive. Maybe with enough time she'll win their favor just like the Democratic Party did last week. I can only hope for her.

I want to hold your ha-a-a-and....

For a long time Mel was afraid of the stuffed octopus we'd bought for her before we picked her up at the vet's office. Recently she got over this fear and has spent a significant amount of time playing with it. She's scared of squeaky toys, though, and so every time she'd cause it to squeak, she'd then have to run away from it and then attack it. When she realized she could bring it to me and I'd hang onto a leg and we could use it for tug-o-war it was really only a matter of time until all the legs were pulled off. I helped with the first. She did the rest by herself.

The aftermath
(that's the squeaker on the right)

Now I feel guilty for helping her destroy the toy she's come to love.

Who me?

Maybe the Path Wasn't Built That Well Afterall

2006-11-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

I guess I should have piled more soil on the side of the brick path. The Halloween party did a number on it. That will be the next chore in the garden - fix the path, again.

Remember when I said that the freesias were beginning to bloom. I lied. They're actually paper whites. But they are in bloom. And how.

The Happiest Place on Earth

2006-11-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Bryan and I work up around 7:30 and decided to be spontaneous. He's been having a craving for Disneyland for the past few months and his repeated enteritis that we visit finally got into my head as well. We dropped Mel off at Wagville (also known as Puppy Disneyland) and headed to the Magical Kingdom.

Goofy may have been too busy for a photo op, but Tigger was ready

Though neither of us had been for a good 10 years, we didn't buy into this whole California Adventure Land nonsense. We wanted traditional Disneyland, and for the most part that's what we got. We were happy to see Star Tours has not been updated, but approved thoroughly of the new Space Mountain.

And I was finally ready to appreciate this ride instead of mock it

Sadly, It's a Small World and the Matterhorn were both closed for seasonal maintenance.

As per usual, most of the pictures we took were of us being sad at life's little disappointments.

Here's a breakdown of what I thought of the "new" Disneyland:

1. The addition of animatronic Johnny Depp to Pirates is completely unnecessary, and the change in music in the Pirate village scene makes the ride less fun.

2. I don't understand the Haunted Mansion as Nightmare Before Christmas, but I think I like it. Does it go back to be regularly haunted during other parts of the year?

3. Splash Mountain is still awesome, especially if there is a big guy in front of you to absorb most of the splash.

4. A weekday in November is the perfect time to go to Disneyland to avoid crowds - the longest we waited was 20min for Indiana Jones.

5. Indiana Jones is lame (the ride, not the franchise).

6. I don't understand the moral behind Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Why do we end up in hell after being sentenced for riding too wildly? Are we to assume that Mr. Toad gets killed, because I don't remember that in Wind in the Willows.

7. Most of the rides are surprisingly scary. A little girl riding behind us on Snow White told her mother she didn't want to go on any more of these scary rides, and I had to agree that Snow White ends on an unnecessarily scary note.

8. The Swiss Family Robinson Tree House is better as the Tarzan Treehouse.

9. DON'T BE TRICKED by Innoventions. It's a live infomercial for HP products. Don't be sucked in by it's appealing spinning room!

10. Honey I Shrunk the Audience was way better as Captain Eo (so says Bry, I wouldn't know having missed the Michael Jackson hit entirely in my youth)

11. Big Thunder Mountain is the perfect roller coaster.

12. Though the park may stay open until midnight, one really only needs about 6 hours at Disneyland to get your fix.

T-I-double g-er

Overall, a surprisingly fun time, but as I said this morning, if someone were to tell me I could get into Disneyland today for free, I'd probably pass.

Happy Haunting

2006-10-31T11:19:00.000-08:00

This is Chuck - your financial advisor - scary no?

The lack of a forensics team tearing up our yard tells us that that bone we found was in fact an animal bone. I think I'm glad. I think I'm really glad.

Pecan-Stuffed Mushrooms

2006-10-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

So Tasty!

I made this as an appetizer for a small dinner party Friday night. They were a huge hit so thanks to Martha for the recipe I adapted. This recipe serves 8.

Pecan-Stuffed Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS
24 cremini of baby bella mushrooms with stems (1 1/2 - 2 inch wide)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter + some for dish
1 minced garlic clove
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped oregano
4 oz (1 cup) pecans, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp back pepper
1/3 cup cream
2 Tbsp Parmesan

Preheat to 400. Trim ends of mushrooms stems and separate stems from caps, reserving them. Arrange caps in a buttered shallow baking dish.

Finely chop stems, then cook with garlic and oregano over moderate heat, stirring until lightly browned, 5min. Stir in pecans, S&P and cook stirring for 1 min. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat. Add Parmesan.

Filling? Filling.

Sprinkle inside of caps with salt then divide filling between caps. Bake until browned and caps are tender, 30min. Serve drizzled with pan juices.

(These can be assembled the day before and refrigerated. Bring to room temp before baking)

Everyone has Skeletons in their...Flower Bed?

2006-10-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

OK so I just finished giving a statement to the police. Seriously. Two patrolmen and two detectives just left my house. I wish I had thought to take pictures. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me go back to the beginning of this story.

As I've mentioned, I've been cleaning up the yard in anticipation of the big Halloween party on Tuesday. In the process of pulling all the weeds out of a particular flower bed on Polly's patio, I found some pots and bits of ceramics. There was also a jawbone of what I figured was a coyote or some animal. In one of the pots that was covered in weeds there was also a what turns out to be the bottom spinal bone. It's the piece that fits into the coccyx. I, of course, didn't know that then. I looked at it and thought - another creepy animal bone, I'll leave it for Polly in case she wants to add it to her decoration for the party - and then I immediately forgot all about it.

So this evening Charlie, Polly and her mom are all sitting on the patio and they call me down and ask me where I found this bone, which I tell them, and then Polly says that she's pretty sure it's human. We debate this for a minute and then Polly calls the police to let them know that we think we found a human bone.

A half hour later two patrolmen show up, look at it and say that they don't know but it could be human so they call it in.

Another half hour later two detectives show up. I tell them where I found it and they ask some questions about the house. The older one thought it was an animal but the younger wasn't sure so they booked it and bagged it as evidence.

I want to point out that the younger, female, detective was in fact wearing a low cut top under a stylish jacket with really cute slacks and boots with heals. Her hair was also done up in a loose curly style. I mention this only because she looked like she's walked off a CSI set and I had always found the outfits on that show to be unrealistic. Apparently I was wrong.

In the process of this, the older detective started chatting with us and we were talking about downtown and he mentioned that we should be extra careful for the next couple of nights because they'd just done a raid of skid row and when they do that people often wander to the outskirts of our neighborhood. I am thankful for Mel.

Then we started talking about OJ, and he said that he'd been partners with Mark Foreman. (!!!) Then he said that a lot of good came out of the trial because it was so embarrassing for the LAPD that they became the first police group to have their own forensics lab, even before the FBI. Also they started training their officers outside of the LAPD instead of doing everything internally. He said that now there's a whole new generation of officers and it's a very different and much better organization.

I think all of this (minus the info about Skid Row) is extremely comforting. And I'm glad I have Mel who always looks out the front doors looking tough.

We'll see if it turns out I dug up a human bone. What a weird Thursday night.

October Gardening - Part 2

2006-10-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

I've spent the past couple of afternoons in the garden trying to get it presentable for the Halloween party on Tuesday. I spent most of that time in the patio below us pruning back plants that had threatened to overtake the yard. Specifically I took about 60% out of the marigold bush, and all the lower branches of the Pomagranate Tree that had been threatening to grab anyone who walked near it. Under the Marigolds I discovered about a dozen really cool pots that had been completely hidden. I'm thinking of planting more flowers now on my deck.

Finally, my repaired path - once again, not as hard a job as I'd expected - not unlike the irrigation repair

Then this afternoon I turned my attention to that path we destroyed last spring. I pulled out all the bricks, leveled the dirt as best I knew how and added about 90lbs of sand to the top. When I replaced the bricks I came up about 10 short. I'm not quite sure how I managed that. I filled the gaps between bricks with potting soil and the plan is that I'm going to sew Sweet Alyssum seeds to fill in the spaces with sturdy little leaves and flowers.

Isn't it great when you know a party is about to happen in your yard/house so you finally get motivated to clean up the stuff you've been wanting to forever? After nearly breaking my ankle on the path yesterday and then being told that this was the path the band would use to get to the stage, I was extra motivated. There's nothing like the potential to hurt someone else to make you level your path.

Meanwhile the bulbs that I so carefully avoided in my weeding last week have started to bloom.

Fall's First Blooms

I now remember that they're freesias. And apparently yellow at that.

Also, I noticed today some new bulbs making their way to the light.

Isn't Nature Cool?

I'm pretty sure these are going to be daffodils, but I could be lying.

And finally, the lavender I bought last week is waiting patiently to be planted. I'm thinking next week, after the party, so they don't get trampled by the band.

Lovely Lavender - the last belle at the ball

Asparagus Lasagna

2006-10-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made my famous (in our house) asparagus lasagna. It's famous because Bryan swore he hated asparagus until he tried this. Now it's one of his favorite meals. It's also a really easy recipe.

Asparagus Lasagna

The Finished Meal

Ingredients

Lasagna Noodles (handmade or store bought)
3 1/2 cups non fat milk
1/3 cup flour
5 Tbsp Pesto (2 Tbsp pine nuts, 1/2 cup olive oil, 3 Cups basil leaves - processed - add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese)
3 cups part skim Mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 lbs asparagus - stems cut into 1/4 pieces, tops reserved
10 roma tomatoes - quartered and roasted for 20 min at 450

First, roast the tomatoes.

Roasted Tomatoes

The original recipe didn't call for tomatoes but I think they are good to add so that the dish has a little kick to it.

Whisking the White Sauce

Next make a white sauce by mixing the flour with 1/2 cup of milk over med heat until it dissolves. Slowly add the remaining milk and some salt. Whisk while bringing it to a boil to thicken. Remove from heat.

The Traditional Pesto

Take the pesto and add it to the white sauce to create a lovely light green sauce.

Whisking The Green Sauce

This will form the basic glue for the lasagna. Now saute the asparagus stems in some olive oil until tender, about 3 minutes. And add some garlic and salt to this.

Asparagus for us!

Now assemble! Oil your lasagna pan and add a layer of noodles. Follow this with 1/2 the asparagus, cover with green sauce and cheese. Repeat. To top it off place a layer of noodles, a layer of green sauce, asparagus tips, tomatoes and the final cup of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Let stand 10 - 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

October Gardening - Part 1

2006-10-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

This morning I ventured out to the nursery because I've discovered I'm much more motivated to clear weeds if I have fun new plants to put in their place. I decided to stretch a bit from my usual Sunset Nursery in Los Feliz so I drove to Pasadena and went to Burkard's.

Buckard's = disappointing

Burkard's is the kind of place that every gardening magazine mentions as the best nursery in Los Angeles. It's not. Well, that's not fair. It has an extensive selection, so much so that I ran into Amoeba's complex - too much selection. I'm sure if I were a professional landscaper I would love it. But I'm not, and I didn't. Also a lot of the plants seemed really stressed, like they hadn't been taken care of correctly. So I left and found a much smaller nursery in Pasadena called Bellefontaine. The guy working there was great and spent a lot of time telling me about the plants I was buying and making sure I had space for them. I do.

So today I cleared 3 beds and planted two of them, along with cleaning up some of the lower beds. The first one was filled with nasturciums, grass, two old zucchini plants and the beginning of some bulbs. Doing my best not to flatten the bulbs, which is tricky because man those suckers are delicate, I pulled out all the grass and left the nasturciums mostly intact.

Pretty in Orange

I covered the exposed bed with bark chips and filled in some snapdragons for color.

I swear this looked right when I took it

For some reason this picture looks sideways, but when I turn it, it looks just as weird. Sorry, but you get the idea.

I have not yet repaired the path. That's for another day.

How many times do I have to almost break my ankle before I fix this? A lot!

But if anyone knows a good way to get caked mud off the bricks, I'm all ears.

Bed #2 got a similar treatment in that the grass was removed and the bed covered in bark chips. In this case I left the lavender, sage and rosemary I planted in the early summer.

My herb and cutting garden

I was thinking I would make it all herbs, but then I didn't see many herbs that I thought were interesting so I filled in with poppies and more snapdragons (you'll see it's a theme). I'm thinking about adding some kind of low ground cover that flowers but would allow a rotating series of flowers to poke out of it.

Purple Solarum to hide tha gaps

To the left of the giant climbing rose that I have no great love for but my landlord does so I can't remove it, I planted a Solanum xanti 'Salmon Creek'. It will grow to about 2' and spread out about the same. The fellow at the nursery said it stays smaller than most Solanums so I'm hoping it'll just cover the ugly part of the wall that's now exposed. It's draught resistant, which is perfect because that little spot doesn't get hit very much by the sprinklers. Also the Flowers are way more purple than they look like they are here.

I then realized I was feeling light headed and figured it was from the physical work, until I realized that it was 3 o'clock and I hadn't eaten since an early breakfast. So I fixed that and got back to the garden. I replaced the petunias that were looking really leggy and sickly with three of the deep red snapdragons.

Snap, snap, snapdragon

Clearly I need to fill in the front of the container with something else. I'd like to have something that wants to spill down the front, or I'll turn it and have those be the low front and something else taller in the back. Any ideas?

Ready for veggies - or a party

Finally I decided that the way the sun works in the yard, it's really best if I only use the middle bed for vegetables. This is a little sad because it limits my veggie capacity but it also may help me to focus, so I'm not complaining. I pulled out the dead tomatoes, lettuce and peppers and cleared out all the weeds, even under the new growth of artichokes. I was so surprised when these came back, I was certain I'd killed them over the summer. It turns out they were just dormant. They're supposed to look dead, according to my friend at the nursery. He said most people drown them in the summer thinking they've not gotten enough water. Lucky for me my irrigation didn't work over the summer so most of the garden wasn't watered enough. No drowning here.

I'm waiting until after the Halloween party and Polly's decision of whether or not she's going to have a platform built on this bed for the band to play before I plant it with veggies.

Tomorrow my plan is to attack the bed under the fig tree and maybe plant one or two of the fern-leaf lavender plants I bought today there. I think they'll have enough sun if I plant them in the front of the bed, of course then the rest of the bed is blocked, so I'm still debating. They may go over in the bed by the peach tree.

Happy Birthday Bryan

2006-10-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

Today is Bryan's 27th birthday. Happy Birthday.

Bryan is not a big fan of having his picture taken at the computer - I have a ton of pictures exactly like this one

We ate sushi and saw LITTLE CHILDREN, which turns out to be a really excellent movie. It's not really about pedophilia the way it has been described, it's really about suburban desperation. It manages this perfect tonal balancing act between really funny and really tense. The narration is fantastic. I highly recommend you go see this movie in the theaters because my money is on it for best adapted screenplay at least. Plus, I don't know how anyone could market this movie correctly, so there's been little press and little attention. Go see it anyway. Seriously. It's really good.

October Garden - Before

2006-10-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

I noticed that Mel had found a nice spot in the sun this morning and went out to take a picture for the blog.

Mel has made a nice bed of weeds in the sun

While I was out standing in the garden I decided to check out the pathetic state of neglected affairs. Much to my surprise I found the artichoke plants had come back. During the summer they had died down to brown dead leaves with no sign of life.

The Great Artichoke Comeback!
(note the remaining dead one from last season)

I'm assuming it's the regular watering and cooling temperatures that have brought them back. The thing about fixing the irrigation is that now all the weeds are green. And that's mostly a good thing. At least it means the irrigation is working.

Now all my weeds are green

Polly is throwing a big Halloween party at her house (the front house) and is having a band play. She and I decided the only logical place for them to play would be on a platform over the garden. That means people are going to be in the garden. That means it's time for my fall cleanup/planting. So that picture above of all the green weeds, that's the before picture. Hopefully after this weekend there will be some after photos as well.

The nasturciums have taken over my squash patch, but that's okay because the squash didn't get enough water or sun and so didn't do very well anyway. I need a bigger yard, but that will come soon enough.

They always come back.

The limes are ripening much to my pleasure. I've been soaking the tree to bring it back from it's stressed out place of non-production.

Lime Heaven

That's it for now. More adventures in beginner gardening will follow. I'm thinking lettuce. And lavender. Maybe some succulents by the back where the irrigation doesn't quite reach. Also more herbs for cooking.

Scouting for Angeles

2006-10-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Bryan 's most recent script, the one that it's looking like we'll go into preproduction on in January, is called Presence. It's about a guy running away from his (literal) demons as he follows a path along the LA River that relates to the river he followed as a young boy with his brother when they were running away and something happened to create the demons that now plague him.

Bryan Hearts Power Lines & Telephone Poles

After seeing the movie LA PLAYS ITSELF, which is a documentary about how Los Angeles is portrayed in movies and television, Bryan decided that he wants to make the film as geographically accurate as possible. So yesterday we went on a mini scout to find the beginning of the LA River. Actually we knew where it started but didn't want to follow the main canal into the valley so instead we headed up to the Angeles National Forest, where the Tujunga Wash begins. The Tujunga Wash eventually connects to the LA River at a golf course, which we thought might be cool.

Mel appreciates the view of the Tujunga Dam

At any rate, we drove into the mountains and found the Tujunga Dam, which is a big one and we were sad to see that the road that leads to the dam is blocked off and for official trucks only.

Bryan tries to convince us the power lines are cool, Mel's not buying it

Still, the drive was lovely and we stopped many times to check out drainage pipes and power lines. Bryan loves power lines. Mel loves sticking her head out the window.

Manzanita - my favorite Cal forest plant

I've haven't spent much time in the Angeles National Forest so it was fun to just drive around and check out campsites and get a sense of the mountains. Sometimes all you need is to get above the smog line and breath some fresh air and see some native plants to make you feel better about the world.

Mel sticks her tongue out at the camera - that's my girl!

Mel loved the drive, especially after we rolled down the windows for her to stick her head out so her ears could flap in the wind. When we'd stop she'd hop out and start sniffing, but she'd stay very close to us, like she wanted to make sure we weren't tricking her and trying to release her back into the wild. I think she was a little relieved when we got home. She certainly snored like she was content.

Roots reaching out for us as we drive by

It was cold up there; low 50s, but it was that perfect crisp and sunny weather that 's my favorite. After a few hours of driving up and down dirt roads we stopped at the Hidden Vally Cafe on the side of the road for a late lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and root beer. Never had it tasted better.

The Hidden Valley Cafe

We checked out a few more roads on our way home and then got caught behind some road construction. They were laying down new asphalt so one lane was completely blocked. By the time the cars coming the other direction had passed by us there were at least 30 cars behind us. We were excited to be the first car behind the official pilot car. It's the little things in life...

We'll follow you anywhere!

We may end up shooting some of the kids scenes in the forest instead of going to another state or to the desert. The thing about the Angeles National Forest is that it literally takes 15 minutes to get there from our house. We're also talking about possibly going camping at one of the sites next weekend. It was beautiful and empty and peaceful, and the PCT passed right by it. We'll see though, thus far our record of successful camping trips has been slightly pathetic. Maybe this park will turn it around.

When I got home I was reading the LA Weekly Best of LA edition and there was our trip, laid out in a map as one of the best mini road trips you can take within LA. I felt cool, because we figured it out without their help.

A Kramer Birthday

2006-10-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

Bryan and his dad David share the same birthday. David says that Susan was frosting his birthday cake when Bryan decided to come along.

Bryan and David ready to blow out their candles

In celebration my parents and brother came up for dinner with the Kramers.

The Ladies Ready Their Cameras

Technically their birthday is on the 20th but they'll be out of town so we did Sushi on the 15th instead.

Bryan mid-blow

Dad and Greg particularly appreaciated a break from the deck, though they have now finished the framing.

Greg dodges a popper

Happy Birthday Bryan and David!

Perhaps I've Given the Wrong Impression of Myself

2006-10-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

So the last time I posted, I wrote about fairly boring things like home made cayenne pepper and tamales from the farmer's market. WELL, I got a comment from someone who had read my profile and sympathized with my draw to the country. Then this person said this

Do you really love LA, or do you just like being near 'a scene?'

Perhaps one day you'll see that the farm is what mattered all along, and that the clubs were just an excuse to feel 'cool'.

Search yourself and you may find the answer.

So...Anyone who actually knows me, knows what an absurd thing this is to say to me. Therefore I fear that my profile must be misleading, but when I read it again, I noticed a distinct lack of mention of loving LA for it's "scene" or it's "clubs". And yet this is the response I get.

So then I went back to the comment and in the beginning the poster mentioned he/she was from New York (before moving to the beach). So now it makes sense. Clearly if I'm a young female living in Los Angeles, I must be:

A) an actress
B) so shallow that I would need to be near a club scene to feel cool
C) so stupid as to not know why I like a particular city
D) All of the above.

Am I insulted? No. I get that this goes with the territory of living in Los Angeles. I get that people actually believe that the movie CRASH is an accurate portrayal of how people in this city behave. And, not to reverse the stereotype or anything, but those from New York look down on us. I see that. I get it. We're NY LITE. But here's the thing: I AM NOTHING LIKE THE LA STEREOTYPE (with the exception of my car - that fits in solidly).

So to head off any future confusion about who I am, I'd like to break it down for the casual reader who doesn't know me at all:

26 Things about a 26-year-old Angelino

1) I am not an actress, nor could you pay me enough to get in front of the camera.

2) I am a writer/producer and have several scripts that I'd be happy to have an agent pitch all over town. (so I guess that stereotype fits too)

3) I DO NOT GO TO CLUBS. Ever. Period. End of Sentence.

4) I do occasionally go to bars where my friends' bands are playing. Often it's a little place like the Silverlake Lounge.

5) I don't drink chick drinks - I drink whisky. WITHOUT coke.

6) I have a dog but she doesn't fit into a purse. My dog could beat up your dog (unless you're Auna, in which case Bean wins, no contest)

7) I am not a scientologist nor do I condone their cult-like tactics.

8) I do go to a lot of theater. Some of it's good, some of it's terrible but I always try to see my friends' shows. (The last few have been good)

9) I do love going to Asskat at the UCB theater but I don' t think that makes me stupid - it's some of the best comedy around - thanks Eva!

10) I grew up on the beach in San Diego (it doesn't get more SoCal than that) but am a terrible surfer and a good swimmer. I used to live on Venice beach but the fact that it was usually too polluted to swim in just got depressing.

11) I often have big ideas that I don't always follow through on (i.e. running a farm in the country - what the hell do I know about running a farm? I can barely keep my tomatoes alive and most of my gardening thus far has been repairing things I've broken)

12) I like gourmet food and I cook better than most restaurants (that sounds like I'm boasting, but it's true - and I can cook a gourmet dish without it costing $40 a plate) which leads me to like living in a city where I can get an assortment of exotic ingredients within a 10 minute drive.

13) I hold grudges for an unreasonably long amount of time.

14) I rarely wear makeup and don't own any hot pants or short skirts.

15) I hike everyday (mostly).

16) I would rather wander around an art museum than eat at The Ivy.

17) I take Harper's (the mag full of essays, not Bazaar), the Atlantic Monthly, The New York Review of Books, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Garden Design, and Sunset Magazine. Note the lack of fashion magazines (and they still let me live in LA)

18) I don't have TV. I have a TV but all it's hooked up to is a DVD player, a non-region DVD player and a VHS player.

19) I would rather watch an old foreign film than a new action film.

20) I have never been to New York, but I have driven to the most norther town in the Yukon because I was told I could pan for gold and buy a sandwich with the flakes.

21) I rarely "feel cool" and going to clubs would be the last thing that would increase my cool factor.

22) I don't like Stadium Seating. I don't like having a headrest that hundreds and thousands of people have used before me. I think it's gross. I'd rather go to the New Beverly or the Vista or the American Cinemateque any day of the week than sit in stadium seating to see the latest blockbuster.

23) I am a pescetarian (until recently I was full vegetarian) and I buy local, because I refuse to support factory farming as it exists in this country.

24) I am not afraid of growing old. I am not afraid of much.

25) I hate the way my beautiful city and the creative people in it, are portrayed on TV and in most movies.

26) I have a husband who shares my love of good film, good music, good reading, good politics (if there is such a thing), good art, good food, the good life and a general desire to avoid the Sunset Strip at all cost. I am constantly amazed by him and how much my love for him grows (that may be the last gooey thing I'll write on this blog).

That's all the searching of myself I can do in one afternoon - as far as I can tell there's very little of me trying to be near a scene to feel cool. Or maybe the lady doth protest too much. Hard to say - I'll have to search myself for the answers (that was italicized to emphasize it was dripping with sarcasm).

It always amazes me how other people perceive those of us who live in LA. I often had a similar experience when we were in Canada. People think they know us because they read the tabloids and watch TV. That's not the real Los Angeles. The real LA is a lot better.

Cayenne and Tamales

2006-10-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Last night I finally ground up the cayenne peppers that have been floating around the house drying for the past few weeks.

Cayenne Pepper Bounty

The thing about those peppers is that even when you've washed your hands a few times the oil still manages to find places to hide so that when you rub your eyes later it burns. So that's my lesson learned today: wear gloves when making red pepper flakes.

Bryan was hungry when he got home from work late last night, but lucky for him I picked up a couple of tamales from the farmer's market.

Steaming Tamales

I couldn't resist trying a pineapple one and while I thought it was a little weird, he really liked it. But then again the man loves pineapple on his pizza too (as well as anchovies on anything but that's another story). The other was a regular corn tamale and it was very very tasty.

Echo Park Farmer's Market

2006-10-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Or as I like to call it...a sign the neighborhood has officially gentrified.

A Potato Stand at the Brand New EP Farmer's Market!

The truth is I could not be happier about this recent development in the 'hood. Really the only thing that's been missing to complete my experience of living in Echo Park is a farmer's market. Today, Friday 13th, was the official grand opening of the market. It'll be every Friday from 3 - 7, which is a great time to go get some freshly prepared tamales for dinner and some fruit and veggies for the weekend.

People Picking Produce

It's not a huge market, not even close to Santa Monica or Hollywood, but they've done a really nice job of getting a variety of vendors. There's several fruit stands, the farmers stands cover a broad spectrum that includes end of season peaches, new oranges, dried fruit and nuts, salads, sprouts, veggies and tomatoes.

Perfect Persimmons and Pomegranates

I got there at exactly three and because it was the first ever farmer's market in this location, a bunch of the stands were still setting up. The arts and crafts booths were some of the first to be open so the first purchase I made was for a set of hand made salad utensils. I was thrilled to finally find something to serve with as I've been making pathetic use out of a rice paddle and spoon.

My New Serving Pieces (and no more alliteration)

There was also some jewelry at the adjacent stand but none of it caught my eye. What did was this one table where a VERY pregnant woman was selling handmade baby t-shirts. They all had patches that were 33 record covers and were really fun. I bought one for Harper Lee Terrell who's about to turn one and lives in the front house.

Crybaby Clothing Stand

The only slightly disappointing thing was the lack of flowers. There was only one stand and their selection was limited and mostly dyed. I decided to make the best of it and picked up some of these purple thistles for some color in the kitchen.

At about 3:30 everyone had their act together and the smells of tamales, chicken and Bar-B-Q started wafting. I spent some time checking out the herb plants for sale and decided that next weekend I'm turning the garden bed that's closest to my front door into a serious herb garden.

Nothing in the world is better than hanging out around stands where the french baker sells his bread, pastries and pasta, and the dairyman sells his homemade and home-milked cheese, and the hippie couple sell sugar juice (isn't that just sugar water?) with a big sign that says it increases energy - duh - and they chop the sugar cane in front of you to make your drink.

The best thing about the market were all the people from the neighborhood wandering around oohing and ahing at how great it was that we finally had our own market. I, myself, couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face. It seemed fitting that the market take place in the parking lot adjacent to the corner where folks often sell churros and fruit. It was even more appropriate that this lady watched over us.

A Mural on the side of the building next to the market

It rained a little, and the vendors grew concerned, but when I left an hour later the place was rocking. People were eating dinner and buying all sorts of things. It would appear that not even rain or the fact that it's Friday the 13th could keep people away.

Mel couldn't come with me. No dogs allowed. This is the sad face that she made when I told her she'd have to stay home alone.

The saddest dog in the world

I'm sure we'll make it up to her. If only they sold bones at the market...

What Not to Do when Baking Bread (A Lesson Learned the Hard Way)

2006-10-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I decided to bake another batch of bread. This time though I thought I'd make a sun dried tomato and herb bread. I followed the same instructions as the last loaf and fermented the poolish overnight in the refrigerator. Yesterday I brought it to room temperature, added the other ingredients and kneaded it for 20 min. It rose. It rested. It proofed.

Then came the disaster. The book, which anyone who wants to learn how to bake good bread should buy, said that when you put the bread into the oven to bake you should spray the sides of the oven with water to create steam. This makes for a crunchy crust.

The trouble began when I didn't have a spray bottle. Instead I tossed a shot of water into the oven and it did create steam. Unfortunately 20 minutes later when I went to turn down the oven and rotate my loaves I discovered the oven had gone from 450 to 350. Concerned, I turned up the heat and left it for another 20 minutes. When I returned to pull the loaves out the oven was at 200 and the loaves not even close to being ready.

That's when I discovered I'd doused my pilot light. For some reason, though the oven was on, the house didn't fill with gas. I haven't figured out why yet because surely my move of accidentally dousing the pilot light with a cup of water should have resulted in an ultimate gas explosion. But maybe that only happens in the movies.

At any rate, it took a very groggy Bryan (he'd been napping) and I a good half hour to get the pilot relit and the oven reset. Now that my half baked loaves had completely cooled off, I returned them and baked them again at the right temperature. I tried them this morning, they're not terrible, but definitely not up to their potential.

So let this be a lesson to all you potential bread bakers. Buy a squirt bottle. Don't throw cups of water into your oven. I know it should be obvious, but in a pinch, sometimes the brain convinces you that doing really stupid things is a really great idea.

Fortunately nothing blew up in the learning of this lesson.

Deadwood

2006-10-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

I was going through all the pictures in iphoto and I came across these from when I was in Deadwood as part of the Sturgis trip. On a sidenote, if you google Sturgis 2006 my post comes up about 53rd. About a third of the random people who find my site, do so by searching for Sturgis 2006. Weird.

Main Street Deadwood

The only police office I saw in all of South Dakota

Bullock's hotel

The best-looking woman I saw in the entire state

Sigh.

The thing about Deadwood is that it's actually really depressing. The town has burned down several times since the days of Wild Bill, which means that it's been rebuilt to look old-timey, but it doesn't even come close. In an attempt to lure tourists, the town made gambling legal, so really it's just a main street of the worst casinos you've ever been in. We're talking one card table and 50 video poker and slot machines. Pathetic.

It did however, have the best restaurant anywhere around. The food was good. The service, not so much. It was a $30 entree kind of place and the waiter placed all of the wine glasses at one end of the table and had us pass them down. Classy. And this was after we spent 20minutes (I'm not exaggerating) convincing them to push 2 tables together to accommodate 8 people. The wait staff was terrified that the kitchen staff would get mad at them.

It didn't make sense to me either.

Ah Deadwood. Don't ever go there. Just watch the show.

Thanks Greg

2006-10-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you've noticed but Green Urban has a new look thanks to the technical wizardry of my brother. Seriously, I look at a page of html and see gobbledy gook, he looks at it and speaks its language. Crazy. But thank God we have one in the family.

Also, when I was at Auna and Jake's new house I noticed that they were both running firefox as their web browser. I assumed this was because they are scientists and know about this sort of thing. I, in turn, switched, and discovered that firefox supports all kinds of fun features of Blogspot that I didn't know were there. Like a formatting palette.

So thanks Auna, Greg and Jake, for understanding computers, so that I don't have to.

Oh and in case you were wondering, yes that is Bryan sitting on the floor of our house. I think he's eating a burrito. This picture was taken before we painted the walls and stripped the floor.

Deck the Deck

2006-10-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in San Diego at my parents' house helping my dad and brother build a deck in their patio. My family is well known for it's weekend projects, though when I lived at home I always made sure to avoid them as much as possible. Sadly I now wish I had the home improvement skills that I would have learned helping them. The irony is not lost on me.

Our goal for the weekend was to get as much of the framing for the deck done as possible. Greg and Dad had already set the pilons (I don't think that's what they're called) in cement last weekend and figured out the measurements and leveled the beam that the framing would affix to. It involved using lasers.

Greg reviews our work

Most of the work on Saturday was spent cutting the framing to the correct length. By the end of the day this is what we had.

Framing in place but not yet set

Because the patio was a concrete slab the builders had sloped it away from the house. Obviously we didn't want to trap any water that got into the deck in the deck (nor rats, but that's another story) so when blocking the framing Dad used 2x4's on the side towards the house

2x4 blocking

and 2x6's on the side towards the dirt because that end was already elevated several inches due to the aforementioned leveling of the beam.

4x6 blocking

To make sure the deck wouldn't sag there was some debate as to the material that would be best to use as footing.

A foot

In the end it was decided that we should use small pieces of wood sealed with a tree sealant. Saturday was a lot of planning and driving for lunch and lumber but Sunday we got a good bit accomplished. The three of us got into a rhythm of measure, cut, test, flip, drill, screw, spray, dry, glue, set, measure, cut, block. In that order.

There was one tricky corner where the wood would have created a little pool for water running down the wall, so Dad cut this 2x6 a little narrow.

Our tricky Corner

At the end of the day, we remeasured and found that we were pretty much exactly where we should be, which is a happy feeling.

Greg and Dad check our final placement

See how there's a tree at the edge of where the framing is right now. The next step will be to set another pilon and angle the beam around the tree.

Greg, explaining something of great importance to Dad

I actually had a really good time learning about the difference between a chop saw and a skill saw (which by the way, I cut with). The best way to screw in a nail and how to seal wood. It's always surprising how satisfying working on these kinds of projects can be.

Dad, relaxing after a day of hard work

Especially because it means you can end the day with a beer and not even feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

Once they finish the framing, I'm going to head back down again and help with the decking boards. I've gotten attached to the project, and want to be there when it's finished.

Happy Birthday Greg Lasagna

2006-10-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated my younger brother Greg's 22nd birthday. There's no better way to spend your birthday than doing construction work so he and I helped my dad out in the back of their house (more on this to follow).

For his birthday dinner Greg requested a lasagna, foolishly thinking of the kind you buy frozen at the market. There was no way either Mom or I were going to serve Greg frozen lasagna, but making a lasagna from scratch, while delicious, can take all day. Fortunately, Mom has become a Rachel Ray fan and recently watched an episode of 30 minute meals where she made a lasagna from ravioli, veggies, cheese and bashemel sauce. Or at least she saw the second half of the episode. I believe this is the actual recipe, though I don't know for sure since I didn't watch the show. At any rate it's something close to what Mom saw.

The point to all of this is that you much start with an unbelievable huge kitchen. Like this one:

That's not actually true. I just lust after my parents' kitchen as it has about 15xs the counter space that mine does.

In fact, what you need to start with is some veggies.

And I wasn't paying too close attention but I believe Mom sauteed green and red bell pepper, onion and eggplant with olive oil and garlic.

She also made a bechamel sauce using 3Tbsp flour, 3Tbsp butter and 3 cups milk. While all this was happening she cooked 1 package of ravioli to use as the pasta.

Then came the assembly. Bechamel, pasta and veggies first,

covered with cheese, Bechamel and some straight-from-the-jar Classico Sauce.
Repeat until all the ingrediants are used up. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Eat veggies and drink wine while the lasagna cools and sets.

Happy Birthday Greg!

Grape and Gorgonzola Pizza

2006-10-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I was in the check out line at Gelson (just for a few of those hard to find ingrediants that seem to never be carried at any other grocery story) when I noticed in the rack beside me the most beautiful magazine I'd ever seen. Seriously, it was far more interesting even than the Tabloids above it. Gormet Magazine, the cover informed me and I immediately reached for it a bought it, as I often do in times of finding things of great beauty for under $5 (that could be a lie, I don't actually remember how much it cost.

So the brilliant thing about this particular issue was that they picked the greatest ingrediants of all time and had a series of recipes for each one. The ingrediants were things like Pomegranates, Duck, Mushrooms, and as in the case of this recipe, Grapes.

Lately I've been on a deconstruction kick where once a magazine arrives via mail or grocery bag I immediately flip through it and then take out scissors and disassemble it into categories. I have all these files now. One is recipes to try. When the recipe is successful it goes into my "Tried and True recipe box" which Bryan thinks I should rename "Fried and blue" but I digress.

This particular recipe caught my eye and since I've been on a now-successful bread making kick, I thought Pizza was the next obvious step. I freely admit that I am lacking pictures of the final result, which was not only pretty but extremely delicious, becuase the recipe calls for wine. I partook in the wine myself and misplaced my camera in the process. Not to worry, it didn't cat baked, I found it this morning in my purse.

So here's the recipe. It calls for Vin Santo, which I wiki'd and discovered is an Italian dessert wine. It is seemingly impossible to find Vin Santo at any of my regular haunts so I substituted a symphony white wine that I know to be very sweet.

Grape and Gorgonzola Pizza

Ingrediants

For the Dough
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour mixed with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cups warm water (105-115F)
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp olive oil

For the Topping
1/3 cup Vin Santo (or sweet white wine)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cup seedless red or black grapes, halved lengthwise
5 oz Fontina cheese, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 oz Gorgonzola dolce or creamy, crumbled
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Pizza stone and parchment paper are ideal!

Make Dough: Stir together yeast, 1 Tbsp flour and 1/4 cup warm water and let stand until mixture appears creamy on surface, 5 min. (If mixture isn't creamy get new yeast)
Whisk salt into 1 1/4 cups flour in a large bowl, then add yeast mixture, oil and remaining 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in enough flour (1/4 to 1/2 cup) for dough to begin to peel away from side of bowl. (this dough may be stickier than others you're used to - says the recipe, like we all spend a lot of time trying different pizza dough recipes - please)

The dough also rises

Grapes, so many grapes!

Assemble Pizza: Arrange topping on dough leaving 1-inch border.
Slide Pizza on parchment onto pizza stone. Bake pizza until dough is crisp and browned and cheese is golden and bubling in spots 14-16min. Using peel, transfer to a cutting board. Cool 5 minutes, remove parchment and slice. It's important to wait the 5 minutes, otherwise pizza will seem to shloopy. It will firm and be perfect.

That's it. Surprisingly easy for a gourmet recipe. The trick with the parchment is that it keeps you from making a big corn meal mess on the pizza stone. The other trick is to trim the parchment to just an inch around the pizza. I didn't and it burned on the sides of the oven, filling the house with smoke. Otherwise it was a fairly disaster-free culinary adventure.

When I told Bryan and Kevin that I was making Grape and Gorgonzola pizza for dinner they both looked at me extremely skeptically - but then Kevin asked for the recipe when he left. So I guess it's fair to say this is Bryan and Kevin approved.

Bread Again

2006-10-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Remember that whole thing about how I was going to conquer bread? How I was determined to make an edible loaf? Well thanks to Mr. Daniel Leader and his book, I have succeeded. I've spent the last two days following his step by step directions on how to make a good loaf of country bread. I read, several times, the breakdown of what happens in the milling process of wheat. I can even tell you what the difference is between whole wheat and white flour.

The end result, however, was that tonight we actually ate the bread I baked. That's a first, and I've made a lot of bread.

So I started out fermenting the poolish. Here it is nicely bubbling.

Once I mixed in the other ingredients, I kneaded that sucker for 20 minutes. That's a serious workout.

Here are my two loaves proofing (that's rising for the second time in their baskets, or in this case bowls.

And here they are baking in my oven.

What I learned by using an oven thermometer is that if I set the oven to 400, it cooks at 475, and then if I turn it down to 350, in 10 minutes it'll be at 300. Fabulous, I know. So I'm working out the kinks of how to actually bake in it.

Regardless the final product was not only edible, it was tasty.

I think using organic stone ground flour makes a huge difference. It tastes like good bread instead of cardboard. Now I'm moving on to the more elaborate recipes.

If you've ever considered baking bread you must first buy this book Bread Alone. Seriously, do yourself and your bread tasters this favor. You'll thank me.

Working Like a Dog

2006-10-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

I've been sitting at my desk most of the day working on my teen mystery novel. I just passed the halfway point of the first draft and I'm really chugging now. As I paused for a moment to refresh my coffee, I looked over to Mel, who looked like this:

It's hard to be a dog sometimes.

I also started a new batch of bread, but I'll get more into that later. Suffice it to say that yesterday I purchased a pizza stone, wooden peel, organic stone ground flour (which, by the way, I had to go to Nature Mart to get - the crunchiest of all the local health food stores, and I live in LA, so you can imagine how crunchy it must be) and multiple thermometers, one of which I've already managed to misplace.

So as I was writing this post, Mel came up and did her tail wag hesitant bark to get my attention and play with her. We went for a walk around the block and I happened to have my camera along so I shot a couple of the Victorians that I like.

Though I could never imagine myself living in something so fussy, I respect that these Victorians go all out. It's like they're saying, yeah, we're Victorians, don't mess with us because we've got dollies and we're not afraid to use them.

You gotta love the gold trim.

And then my absolute favorite part of the neighborhood which is the door into the...Underground tunnel?

It's hard to say what this goes to. On top of the retaining wall is a big lawn that goes for at least 150 or 200 feet before it hits the house. Is it a bomb shelter? Escape route? It is a huge house that, while most likely old, is not the same Queen Anne's style as the others. I like to imagine it was for bringing in the master of the house's mistresses, but back then this door was better concealed behind a thick wall of ivy. Who knows, but I like it.

Goodbye Ranger

2006-10-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

It's official, we're selling the Ranger. That's right. The car that got us safely to and from the Yukon (via Alaska of course) is now up for grabs.

If you know anyone looking for a truck, let us know. It's a good truck, we've never had any major problems with it.

Oh and there is this little dent in the fender, so it would be ideal for someone who may be new to driving or just wants a truck to beat up.

It's sad to see it go, but the Kramers just generously passed on their 4Runner to us, and so the time has come to part with Randolph the Ranger (I just made up that name - it is NOT Bryan-approved).

A Saturday Morning in Echo Park

2006-09-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

This morning I was hanging out in Echo Park with Mel as we waited for the truck to get detailed. What should have taken three hours took five and resulted in a minor sunburn. But in truth is was a lovely way to spend a morning, sitting on a bench, looking at the fountain,

reading a british mystery novel for work. Occasionally another dog would come by and if it was a friendly dog it would play with Mel for a while. One body checked her into the lake. She doesn't swim and I think she was surprised to discover that she sinks. I pulled her out and now she's much more respectful of the lake.

All morning some folks were setting up a stage on the lawn and periodically blasting Chris Isaac. When it sounded like bands were actually beginning to play around noon, we wandered over and discovered the 2nd annual Echo Park Music Festival. This was one of the bands.

As you can see attendance was low, but I'm thinking it was because the hipsters were all still asleep.

When we left the park we passed the lotus garden, which is past its prime.

I think those are seed pods left over from the blooms.

A few blooms still remained so the season isn't completely over, just getting close.

It's days like these that make me really happy to be living where I'm living.

All Better

2006-09-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

Two weeks later and I now have a new windshield, hood and headlight.

In other news, Bryan thinks I'm getting obsessed with baking bread. Moi? Obsessed? Just because I said I was going to read every word on every page of this bread book before I mixed flour and water again? I thought that given how many of my loaves have met their maker, and then been thrown on the compost pile, it was a good idea. He assures me he agrees.

I already know a couple of places I went wrong:

1. FLOUR. I was using regular ordinary Pillsbury Flour from the grocery store. Apparently this is a big mistake as only stone ground organic flour will give you the good tasting old world style breads that I want to make.

2. Temperature! Temperature! Temperature! Apparently this whole baking thing is a VERY PRECISE science, involving not only measuring spoons (which were only added to my repoirte in the past year) but also thermometers. In order to get the yeast to behave just right, it's important to have the correct temperatures for the flour, water and air. Not to mention factoring in you friction factor (which is how much the dough is heated by your individual kneading style). Yikes! So I can't say exactly where I went wrong in the past because all I have is a candy thermometer, and I only used that for the water (with the thinking, 'well it's within 10 degrees of what the package says, that should be fine')

3. Baking Sheet. Silly me for thinking I could use a cooking sheet to bake bread. No in fact I need a piece of stone or brick or tiles to get the crust nice and crunchy.

These things will be gathered before my next attempt. I'll keep you all posted, as I'm sure you're all routing for me right? right? Come'on you know I'm going to show up to the holidays with a loaf of bread, and if I don't have your moral support it will be inedible. Just be glad you're not my guinea pig - I mean husband.

Sourdough Bread - Day 7

2006-09-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

And the results are in! This bread is...(drum roll please) A Horrible Failure!

I know. I'm sad about it too. Crushed in fact. Yesterday afternoon I mixed in the salt, dissolved yeast and white flour just like the Greens cookbook told me to. Never before has that cookbook let me down. Until now.

I kneaded the heck out of that dough, with my hands, and then let it rise two hours until it doubled in size.

After it rose I punched it down and formed to round loaves on a corn-meal-scattered cooking sheet.

I made those cuts so that it could rise without becoming misshapen. I think my first mistake in the baking process was I didn't let them rise enough this second round of rising. I went by the 40minute time the book suggested, but the truth was the kitchen had cooled off and in retrospect they should have been given more time to rise.

Here they are right before entering the oven. Note that they did rise some, you can tell how the cuts have separated.

So into the preheated 425 oven they went. I also heated up a pan that I then poured a cup of hot water into, to create steam in the oven.

And the results:

Not bad to look at, but my god, they were the most sour sourdough I've ever tasted! Bryan was home when I pulled them out of the oven and Eva stopped by after they had cooled. I gave them each a taste and each reaction went like this:
"Oh, it's not as bad as you said" They swallow "My god that's sour"
You see the sourness had a way of growing on you as you chew and swallow. Somehow it just kept getting more and more sour in your mouth. Not like a rancid kind of sour, more like a super-condensed Sourdough sour. It didn't help that as per usual my bread was too dense.

Mel didn't seem to mind though; she was ready for her piece, and she didn't complain that it was too sour.

So after a week's worth of work (Bryan reminded me that most of that work consisted of my sniffing my starter and exclaiming how wonderfully it was fermenting - I like to pretend I know what I'm doing) I'm back to square one.

I was feeling very depressed about this bread baking disaster and about my general inability to bake a decent loaf, when I went to the mailbox and found this:

For a minute I couldn't figure out what someone in Wyoming could possible be sending me, but then I remembered that I had recently made a purchase on Amazon (which also lead to my recent selling of my soul for corporate profit).

I tore open the package and found my ray of hope

He promises to walk me through making a classic country-style heath loaf step by step, in such a way that even I, a proven failure at bread, will be successful. Daniel Leader, I'm in your hands, lead me to bread making greatness. (and yes, that is an iron scorch mark on our ironing board cover, we can't all be brilliant in all aspects of domestic godessness)

Sourdough Bread - Day 6

2006-09-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

I was SO READY to bake bread today. I've been waiting almost a week for my starter to be ready and today it was nicely bubbly and I knew it was finally ready. So I cracked open the Greens cookbook, turned to the country french bread page and read what I was to do next to have my bread ready for tonight.

I've been thwarted.

It turns out that after making a starter, it suggest that you then make a sponge, which takes a day to sour. Sigh. OK so the recipe calls for 2 cups of starter, which is all the starter I've made. To that I added 3 1/2 cups of warm water and then 4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.

This creates a sponge batter, which will sour until tomorrow. In order to make sure it only takes until tomorrow and not longer, I followed their suggestion to place it in the oven with only the pilot light on.

Apparently tomorrow I'm supposed to remove 2 cups to replenish my starter, but since I've used up all my starter I guess if all goes well I'll take that bit and use it to build up a new starter. This is all so complicated, how did anyone manage to feed themselves before Gelson's and Trader Joe's?

Sourdough Bread - Day 4

2006-09-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

I had been regularly stirring in the crust of my starter, as the book said to, until I realized it was all crust. Fortunately it was also time to feed the starter, which I did with a cup of water and a cup of wheat flour. The crust dissolved into the batter. It's beginning to bubble and definitely smells sour. A couple more days of this and I may just have a starter that's ready to use.

I've Sold Out

2006-09-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

That's right. Corporate America came knocking on my door, and I not only answered, I served tea and cookies. I'm such a bad anarchist.

As you may have noticed, there are now ads on my site. The good news is that I didn't bend to the will of google and put on adsense ads. Instead I chose to back Amazon, because, quite frankly, they've never done me wrong and we order a lot of great used books thru them, like the bread baking book I just bought.

Here's the deal, there are links to a few of my favorite items, and there is also a link to the store in general on the right sidebar. Since I'm writing this blog mainly for friends and family, I was hoping you'd do me the favor of using my site as a portal when you want to buy something from Amazon. Just come here first and click a link to Amazon.

Thanks. I appreciate it. And so does Corporate America. Here's to widening the gap.

Sourdough Bread - Day 2

2006-09-22T14:39:00.000-07:00

Day 2 finds my starter starting to get a bit stinky.

It's also getting a bit crusty. Though I've regularly "mixed in the crust" as the cookbook tells me to, I'm a little concerned that it's drying out too much before it sours. Fortunately I have this guy to worry for me so I can go about doing other things...

...like blogging.

On a sidenote, that's also what Bryan looks like when I tell him I'm going to do some baking. A holdover from back when I didn't have any measuring spoons and was trying to make muffins from scratch, with no recipe other than my sense of what ought to go into muffins. I had a reputation for a while as a terrible baker. I've gotten better, I swear.

It Must Be Fall ( Veggie Tortellini Soup )

2006-09-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know people have been saying it's fall for weeks now, but it's only really settled into fall for me. I think it's my urge to curl under quilts at night that is the real giveaway; or maybe it's that I've been pulling out my sweaters and long sleeves. Either way, there's one thing that's certain, Summer is officially over; which means it's time to make soups! I already posted the recipe for the fabulous Corn and Green Chili Chowder I made last week, and last night I made a wicked (if I do say so myself) veggie tortellini soup.

The bread I made to go along with it left a little something to be desired. OK I'll admit, it was dense. Like throw a slice and end up with a shattered window, dense. Either my yeast isn't working, or I'm doing something wrong. But watch out bread, I know I've failed in the past, but this time I am determined to conquer you. I might even sign up to take a class. I'm getting that desperate. But anyway, back to the soup...

I adapted this recipe from How to Cook Everything and the Williams Sonoma Pasta cookbook. Basically it involves everything I had in my kitchen last night. Here it is:

Veggie Tortellini Soup

8 cups vegetable brother (I made mine from scratch a few nights ago and got made fun of for not using the cubes. It tastes better, I promise)

1 fennel bulb
3 leeks
1 clove garlic
a couple of sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
corn cut from 2 ears
2 medium sized zucchini
2 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 bag Trader Joe's dried cheese Tortellini
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper and Sugar to taste
Parmesan to garnish

Cook the pasta until just al dente, rinse, toss with a splash of olive oil and set aside.

rinse and chop leeks, Dice the fennel bulb (caveat - this was my first time working with fennel so I actually diced the bottom part of 3 big stems, so that I ended up with about the same amount of chopped leeks - anyone have any idea if that's what you're supposed to do with fennel?) and a few lacy sprigs. Saute in about 4 Tablespoons olive oil until they've softened. Make sure you're using your stock pot and not make my mistake of using a pot that's too small. Toss in the corn, garlic and zucchini and saute for a few more minutes. Add the sundried and diced tomato and broth. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and leave at a lively simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add the pasta and cook for a few minutes until warmed through. Season well.

Serve with a bit of Parmesan and bread. But not the bread I've baked. Not yet at least. Not until I defeat the bread recipes.

This recipe is very much Bryan-approved, especially if it goes along with watching Noir movies on the couch, which last night, it did.

Sourdough Bread - Day 1

2006-09-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

I am currently embarking on the most potentially terrifying baking experiment to date, namely: making sourdough bread. Here's the thing about sourdough bread, it's my favorite, but it also requires you to mix flour and water and let that sit out for three days and sour. Gross. So yesterday I mixed up some flour and water (I believe the ratio was 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flower to 1 cup water). It's now sitting on my counter, souring.

I remember one summer my mom was baking a lot of bread in her bread machine. At one point she decided to try to make sourdough and my memory is a little fuzzy on this, but I believe the starter turned green. And she had to feed it everyday. So if my sourdough started turns green and starts singing "Feed me Seymour" I think I'll follow her example and toss it out. Stay tuned for further updates on the process.

Irrigation Works!

2006-09-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Back in February when Bryan and I first attempted to tame the garden, there were several incidents of shovel and irrigation PVC pipe meeting and shovel winning over plastic. Needless to say, we've been hand-watering the garden ever since, much to the distress of some of the plants.

At one point I thought I'd take it upon myself to repair our blunders, only to almost throw out my back trying to pull off the broken coupling from the PVC pipe. Later I leaned about the cement used to keep them attached.

The good news is that last weekend my mom and dad visited and while they were here, my dad helped us repair the damage. So now we have sprinklers that work. Like this one:

In other garden news, my white potted flowers, whose name I've already forgotten, are on their third bloom for the season.

The zucchini are chugging along nicely, happy in their new found regular watering.

The tomatoes alas, are dead.

The tomatoes are dead. Long live the zucchini!

So Sad

2006-09-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

I can almost understand breaking a window if you're going to steal something. But just smashing my windshield for no good reason? So uncool.

There goes buying plants for the fall.

Sigh.

The Music Coming Through My Bedroom Window

2006-09-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

They practiced for hours.

Spinning Dog of Destiny and a Really Good Soup

2006-09-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

This is the Spinning Dog of Destiny

And this is the recipe for a the best corn chowder I've ever had. Seriously. It's from Greens (of course). I don't know about you but I think Summer is over. There's a bit of a bite to the night air that wasn't there a week ago and right now I'm sitting at my desk contemplating putting on socks! This is the perfect kind of late summer/early fall comfort soup that we all need some days.

Corn and Green Chili Chowder

INGREDIENTS

Stock:
Milk heated with herbs

Soup:
3 1/2 cups milk
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 bay leaf
4 branches parsley
1 branch thyme
One 4 inch branch marjoram
Pepper
3 Anaheim chilies
8 oz tomatillos
5-6 ears corn
1 cup water
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz Muenster cheese, cut into small cubes
cilantro for garnish

Slowly heat the milk with 1/2 the onion and the herbs. Just before it boils, turn off the heat and let it steep, covered, until needed, then strain.
Roast the chilies in the broiler until the skins are blistered. Let cool, peel, remove seeds and cut into small squares.
Bring several cups of water to boil and then turn it down to simmer. Remove papery cover of tomatillos, rinse and simmer in water for 10 minutes. Remove and blend into a puree.
Slice the corn kernels off the cop. Set aside one cup of kernels and blend the remaining with 1 cup of water in two batches. Work the resulting puree through a fine mesh sieve.
Melt the butter in a soup pot and add the remaining onion; cook until softened. Add the pureed tomatillos, corn kernels, peppers and salt. Cook 2 - 3 minutes and add the pureed corn and strained milk. Cook on low for 1/2 hour stirring frequently.
Serve the soup over the cubes of cheese and garnish.

SO TASTY!! The chilies and tomatillos give it a great kick without making it too spicy.

I keep forgetting to have my camera handy when I'm cooking. I'll try harder next time.

The chowder and the spinning dog of destiny are completely unrelated of course, but they did happen on the same day and so they have to share this post.

A Quilt, Some Photographs and Photographs of a Quilt

2006-09-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Alison just completed this gorgeous quilt/wedding gift.

It's fabulous. I love it. It looks amazing in our home and we've been curling up in it every night on the couch as the summer heat turns into fall evening chills. The woman is amazingly talented, and I'm not just saying that because she's probably my most loyal reader. Her quilts are art. Our family has had a long tradition of quilt-making starting with my paternal grandmother (the one I share with Alison). Actually, it clearly started before that as I've seen some of the antique quilts that have made it thru the years. At any rate, my grandmother used to sew all the grandkids pajamas every year for christmas, as well as make an occasional quilt. When I graduated from high school Grandma made a quilt for me made out of all the flannel pajama fabrics she used over the years. I am happy to report that Alison is keeping the quilting tradition going strong, as you can see from the photos above. Thank you Alison.

On a side note, I know I said I wasn't going to post any pictures of photos we've printed, but that was a big fat lie. I admit it. I'm a liar. I can't help it. I feel the need to share these. The wall of photos above our desks is expanding.

Let me tell you...it's SO MUCH FUN to print 11x14 photos. It's not even funny how much fun it is.