11/06/2006, Home
Flu Food
Still sick, and tastes have gone into hibernation. Julia couldn't stand the thought of eating anything but Top Ramen, for some very strange reason, so we ran down to Ralphs. While there I tried to convince her of some kind of compromise, but in the end she only relented to the extent that a can of condensed matzoh ball soup is any better than the ramen! When we got home, I popped a potato in the oven, rubbed with a little olive oil and kosher salt for a nice crusty skin. When it was done I split it open, and covered it with pepper, garlic, steamed and grilled veggies including mushrooms, brocolli, carrots and green beans, and a little sharp cheddar.
Julia ended up having a bowl of "chicken flavor" ramen, and seemed quite thrilled with it. To each his own!
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11/05/2006, Home
Satay, Salad and Soup
This cold/flu thing is getting to be a real drag - not least because my taste buds are all but shut down at the moment, and my appetite (and Julia's) is hard to predict. But last night there was one thing we could agree on - salad! A big salad started us off with all the fixin's - greens, sprouts, cucumber, carrot, tomato, hardboiled egg, fresh croutons, and I'm certain 4 or 5 other things, with a raspberry vinaigrette. On the side we had a grilled lemon-herb vegetarian chicken satay which was an instant favorite, and what remained of the incredibly spicy, sweet, rich apple butternut squash soup. Took about 10 minutes to toss this all together, and I'm still licking my chops!
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11/04/2006, Home
Seasonal Comfort Food
Saturday we did some grocery shopping at Whole Foods and at Trader Joes, so we're fully stocked. When we got home it was just starting to cool off, and I felt like cooking. I started by freshening up our crouton supply with another loaf; 6 cloves of garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper, fresh basil, and a mix of two types of parmesan and a bit of feta. After the croutons I made a batch of stuffing with cranberries, nuts and veggie sausage. At the same time I put some soup on - apple butternut squash with nutmeg and cayenne, a great conflict of hot, spicy, sweet and savory.
Eventually Julia demanded I bring things back to the task at hand: feeding her, now! So I quickly roasted half an acorn squash with cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and served it with stuffing, a bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream, and a garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette. We both gave it 2 thumbs up.
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10/12/2006, Canter's Deli
Deli Food for Veggies
Canter's Deli is a longtime favorite of ours, and about half of the residents of the city. This place is open 24/7, every day of the year, and is as LA as can be - I've seen celebs and the homeless side by side enjoying a corned beef sandwich or a big crock of matzoh ball soup. I used to come here with The Jesus Twins just so they could be seen in public. It's that kind of place. Decent, sometimes great, deli food, though the menu is so big you can get a taco, a chinese chicken salad, and kasha varnishkas all on one table! The food is reliable, the atmosphere is always fun - any time of day or night, any part of the week, the place is half full, and half of the staff are waitresses who look to have been serving there at least 30 years (and by their shapes definitely take advantage of the staff discount!). I had a bowl of veggie soup and half an egg salad sandwich on rye - their sandwiches are no-nonsense, just bread, meat (or egg salad in this case), and maybe a bit of lettuce. Julia had matzoh brie, which is kind of the Jewish french toast - matzoh soaked in egg batter and scramble fried. On the way out we couldn't resist the allure of the Canter's bakery, so we picked up a bag of rugala for home.
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2006-05-01, Los Angeles.
Roasted red pepper and tomato soup with garden burgers for a quick and yummy dinner!
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2006-04-26, Canter's Deli, Los Angeles.
One of our favorite places in a pinch - open 24/7, big menu, great scene. I had half a roast beef on rye and a small veggie soup with a cup of coffee, Julia had her bowl of matzoh ball soup. Pickles on the side, of course.
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