Author Archives: j

chocolate cake (aka marie antoinette)

we call cake marie antoinette (a bit of j’s brilliant wit) because ejg loved cake so much that we couldn’t call it cake without being able to put it in front of him *immediately*. the gg clan hauled themselves over in their new silver van with darya take out so we provided dessert. we made cook’s illustrated’s old-fashioned chocolate layer cake and frosting from scratch. i’m not a fan of frosting so i could’ve done without, but the cake… whoa… i will make cupcakes with this recipe. after being unable to find a good cake in LA, i now realize i can make the best one at home.

: using the gg ferrari red KA again. it’s the most accessible appliance in our kitchen. who knew?

: look at how well we greased and floured the cake pan. like buttah… (well, yes, there was some butter involved.)

: voila! with rocker njg in the background ready to fling marie antoinette *everywhere*

tamara’s tamales

“you take too long…”

finally stopped off at tamara’s tamales across the street from costco and in the same strip mall as celadon thai. we ordered the pasilla rajas (favorite!), red pork chile, chicken verde (very chicken-y, verde not strong), and spinach mushroom (not to j’s liking – just didn’t go right with corn masa; m *loved* it). since it was our first visit, they gave us tamara’s special gratis. i would order it again; m wasn’t fond of it. the corn tortilla chip strips were awesome: super salty, a little greasy, and so. much. corn. flavor. i also really enjoyed the tomatillo salsa – so much tomatillo, the consistency became thick and the roasted salsa with all of its char. the salsas are worth the trip.

i heart the reverb junkie

what i’ve been listening to all day while it rains and blows and our gutters earn their living: All I Think of is Love (Shuriken) (feat. Madeon)

pepitas

i only remember making roast pumpkin seeds once when i was a kid. i also remember them being the best. thing. ever. i roasted a sugar pie pumpkin today and the recipe said roast the seeds (as in do. not. throw. the seeds. away.). so i roasted them according to oh she glows and they turned out just like i remember. it’s taking all my strength to save some for m.

pepitas gently massaged with EVOO and sea salt

roasted pepitas

homemade limoncello

we are attempting homemade limoncello using the last of the lemons on our tree with these 4 recipes to guide us. finding 100 proof vodka was slightly more difficult than expected but certainly not impossible…everclear, on the other hand…(isn’t that a band?).

: step #1: zest lemons focusing on quality (no white pith) over quantity

: step #2: put zest in a jar where it can steep in the dark

: step #3: let it rest for 4-44 days, depending on the recipe

: now what am i gonna do with all these lemons – it’s not like i like lemonade or anything

soup fixin’s

harvested kale and onion tops – gonna add to our soup tonight!

another unsung hero

remember when the artichoke was a wee little lad (lass?)? now look at it! despite being crushed by eucalyptus branches, raked over by tree trimmers, and trampled on by painters, it is alive and prosepering.

pappardelle

this is m’s pappardelle #3 and just one of many pasta nights. the nikon was handy so i opted for some shallow depth of field. it is amazing the way she can eyeball a measurement and slice the noodles evenly. she is *amazing*. :)

: pappardelle cut to exacting standards

: pasta water is the key to getting the sauce to stick to the noodle

: homemade (defrosted) bolognese and dough made in advance makes for a quick pasta meal that doesn’t taste like pasta roni

unsung heroes

last summer, armed with absolutely no gardening acumen, we planted a butternut squash plant and a chili plant. we hoped that we would have squash by thanksgiving and indeed we did. apparently, squash plants yield about 2-3 squash; we got 11. we are still eating the squash and they are still sweet despite our best efforts to kill them, let powdery mildew overtake all the leaves, and leave them sitting in the mud long after the stalk is dead. our garden now has lots of new residents but these little guys blazed the trail for all the others.

the last 2 squash

ready for microwave for dinner / 20 feb 14

third harvest

still harvesting kale, brussels sprout leaves, and spinach… the kale seems to be the most impervious to garden pests.

kale