m made an amazing dinner: grilled chilean sea bass (from the brentwood farmers’ market) with cilantro lime sauce. green and yellow pea shoots (from the brentwood farmers’ market). organic madagascar pink rice (unfortunately, it turned out too soggy from the rice cooker. i will have to try again.).
my new favorite salad at bay cities deli
went to will rogers state historic park today. making a wish list of all the places i can play:
Airport Park
3201 Airport Ave
0.83-acre off leash area, with separate areas for large and small dogs
Herb Katz Dog Park (Joslyn Park)
633 Kensington Rd
1.25-acre off leash area, with separate areas for large and small dogs
Memorial Park
1401 Olympic Blvd
0.14-acre dog run located at the northwest corner of the park
Pacific Street Park
Pacific @ Main St
0.42-acre dedicated off leash area
no, this post isn’t about sheryl crow. this is about mac and cheese. whole foods 365 brand mac and cheese. and evaporated milk.
using a portion of a can of evaporated milk that the kl+ml bequeathed to us from their exodus (we were out of milk and didn’t want to use soy, almond or coconut milk), m made the best. mac. and. cheese. ever. the recipe called for 3 tablespoons of 1% milk, but we substituted 1/4 cup of 2% evaporated milk. and then ignored it so it turned into a globby mess. and then added another 1/4 cup of milk. and it magically morphed into thick, creamy, luscious macaroni and cheese that rivaled kraft. there is no picture as every single morsel was devoured with gusto. we could’ve eaten three boxes; it’s probably a good thing we didn’t.
we are taking a stab at replicating cilantro lime rice tonight to accompany our fajitas. here’s the recipe:
1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
2 tsp. fresh cilantro
2/3 cup white basmati rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lime
In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. The following in brackets is what the recipe says, but we make our rice cooker do all the hard work. We added the water and salt to the rice cooker bowl then added the buttery rice. [Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.]
ok, it’s not really a frankenstein plum, but look at all those fleshy veins! muuuuuuhhhhhwaaaaaaa!
3 batters: almond, regular, soy
remember those buckwheat crepes m made earlier? we are trying to make them with almond milk, coconut milk, and soy milk so our milk-allergy friends can come over for brunch.
the coconut milk batter is not present in the picture. it was the runniest, which makes sense as the coconut milk itself has a low viscosity. i’m not sure i could drink coconut milk by itself, but in chai or even the coconut chai we have, it could make it very…coconutty? the crepes with soy milk came out with our favorite flavor and texture. they reminded me of pappadum with their thinness and crispy edges. my second favorite was the almond milk crepes – m thought they were gummy, but i was as equally pleased with their thicker size and their texture as i was with the soy ones. they were both good, just different.
fast forward to cooking the crepes today after a day of rest…the almond milk crepes spread well in the pan when cooking but crumble when served. i prefer the almond today as they have more flavor than the soy ones and their texture is less gummy. what a difference a day makes. m is right: they fall apart more easily, but i’ve never minded about stuff like that. i also don’t really mind if my yolk breaks as i usually don’t have enough carbs on my plate to sop up all the yolk.
i’m suffering a bit from too many options. i was planning on going biking down to manhattan beach today, but now it’s overcast and i’m drinking chai and i’m thinking about going swimming and then sitting outside and reading for a while instead. i’m super jazzed about work, but there’s plenty of work and time to do it, so i am trying to convince myself to do other things instead. but then i say to myself: well, if the exciting work is really what i want to do…
like i said, too many options. one thing is for certain: i am very much looking forward to day one after 26 days.
frak! it’s been 6 hours and my eyes are *still* dilated!
i’m sitting on a bench inside the west hollywood park basketball courts. our old stomping ground. we played horse here. i took picures of a guy shooting hoops. then i took pictures of a pick up game; i was trying to capture action. i took pictures of two guys playing tennis; i was trying to figure out my film slr. did i ever get that film developed? the pacific design center has a new entrance. i am sitting in the shadow of the red building which has been under construction for over two years and is not yet finished. damn recession. i voted at the auditorium down the street; my state voted against me. i never swam in the pool here; too many tiny kids peeing in it. i swim in a different pool now; with plenty of adults who probably also have bladder issues. i was sitting in the shade but have been sitting here long enough that i am now sitting in the sun.
i sit here not because i miss it, but because it is familiar. i know where to park. i know my way around. i feel comfortable. i can linger for a while and not feel like i’m imposing or being imposed upon. i’m not expected to pay anything or leave a tip. i can just sit in the sun and be.