goal setting and fortyseven day countdown

 Maybe I function better when I have arbitrary food goals.

Hello, I am back for quarantinedmeals part 2.

I think it's time for me to venture out on my own. And by that I mean, live alone. A goal that always felt drastically cost prohibitive even as all my peers were finding their own little cozy caves. I think this timing couldn't have been better because I think I need my own space to struggle through therapy in, and I have 1.5mo to purge and organize my shit. And guess which category of my things feels most overwhelming to me?

You are correct. It's the food.

My ambitious goal is not eat out for the next 1.5mo (with the exception of one prearranged dinner), so that I can reduce my pantry stash by 1/2, completely eliminate my freezer stash, and fit all my fridge fermentation experiments in my traveling fridge bins. I guess with the exception of buying fresh produce from time to time.

But first some vegan inspiration from Little Saint. This baked chickpea pancake buried under squash, cilantro, vadouvan, pine nuts, some sort of yogurt-y sauce and rose petals is telling me to be stop neglecting my legumes drawer.

Megan also had a birthday this past weekend, which meant I used up the rest of a jar of passionfruit jam and some frozen passionfruit concentrate for these little passionfruit toast plant cell cakes [passionfruit cake, passionfruit curd, sourdough buttercream, plain colorful buttercream organelles].

hand pulled happiness

 Friends! Let me share my instantly-impressive-to-others, dinner-for-one "hack" with you.

Hand-pulled noodle blocks.

I led my team to Ox 9 Lanzhou, which had became just a tad nerve-wracking because I wasn't sure where everyone's palette landed. There are people who truly eat anything, and there are people who say they eat anything but may not eat everything. Also it was at the eleventh hour that I even saw they had a vegetarian option.

This was a small scale simulation of how I feel about planning and decision making in general:

pros: I get to pick exactly what I want to do (or eat)

cons: I shoulder the blame and guilt if other people don't enjoy it

Is it higher or lower stakes if it's your coworkers?

Whatever, it doesn't matter because lunch was delicious and everyone thought so. I should know better than to question the power of hand-pulled noodles.

I got the soupy pork ribs with large flat noodles. The larger the flatter the chewier the better, I say.

hello compilation

A summary of latin food from the first half of this year and stories from my hazy memory.

goes paddle boarding, eats several meals

 

SLC - eating on the go with someone else part 3

We got an unintentionally late start to the day the morning we were supposed to start driving home. But I did feel so refreshed when I woke up with the sun. So it was worth it.

The morning consisted of compiling every 90s/00s throwback we could think of while driving back west, which unexpectedly landed us by this quiet lake to finish our PR food leftovers and finally break into this peach Hef because there's almost nothing I enjoy more than outdoor day drinking. (Okay, after sleeping and snacking and generally just putting things in my mouth.)

coastal things

 

I bitch a lot about living here, but then people ask me where I'd rather be, and I'm like... idk.

There are worse places to be in a pandemic than a coastal state with access to endless coastal hikes and the charming coastal towns that they surround.

twelfth night

Woke up. Made a mini cake. Sun went down. And that's my day.

TANKAJ bumped me with her truck and drove away

blais

in town for business

Everyone told me SD was the best city. The last memory I have of it is the zoo and the inside of a hotel room while my dad was doing his conference rounds. I figured I'd make it back there eventually.
Weekend getaway one was San Diego.

last in LA

But actually we didn't learn how to plan...

Our ambitious schedule included LACMA, paddle boarding, and Griffith.  The details and timing of our day revolved around moving homes, renting a car, and of course, three square meals.

Super food, protein packed brekkers at Superfood Express because we were adapting that diet-frenzy-vegan-veg culture of LA.  Always a good reminder of my vegetarian days and how I can, in fact, survive without meat.  If I don't accomplish anything else in life... at least there's that.  I nommed contentedly on my Santa Cruz Scramble (with vegan sausage) while convincing myself I didn't want the Smoked Salmon Special (which was only available at 11am).  Food regret was lingering.

question of the day

"What have you learned today?"

Here at Cafe Gratitude, we adore ourselves and everyone else.

I adore the menu theme.  I adore the raw freshness.  I adore the 'guilt-free' eating.

I am Fabulous.  I am raw lasagna with squash blossoms, heirloom tomatoes, cilantro, pumpkin seed pesto, fresh corn, summer square noodles, cashew queso fresco, salsa verde, and raw cacao mole.

Food for thought (punny) at just the right time.  We graduated.  We're moving on.  We're still figuring it out, but we have a direction.  Grateful for the last big trip to LA.  The long and hungry day spent at a taping of The Voice ("so many televisable moments").  The love that Adam and Blake share.  The free mini tour of Universal sets.  The entire week of good eats and good weather and beaches.  My dad.  His support (despite) of my unemployed ass.  My friends.  Their acceptance of and patience with my weirdness.  We are majestic.  We are baked shortbread with strawberry biscuit, marinated berries, and cashew coconut cream.

"How to plan."

I will walk 500 more

So the correct thing to do after a food coma-inducing brunch is... to marinate in fat during a long nap.

The not-lazy-blob thing to do is walk a good two and a half miles from Santa Monica to Venice... in the sun and breeze... along the beach.  Straight to a cup of coffee because Amelia was struggling (little did she know it was only the sad beginning).

boozy bottomless brunch

$35 for all-you-can-eat bottomless boozy brunch at Zengo.  Reservation for three, please.

"Are you celebrating Father's Day?"

"No... haha."  [Our fathers are all learning to let go of their shining college grads back in NC...ha.]

It was a swanky venue on the rooftop patio of a mall.  They had sunny terrace seating overlooking Santa Monica where I got a sunburn on my nose and one arm.
To get that money's worth, we each ordered three plates and a side.  Meanwhile Ann and Nancy killed the bottomless Mango Mimosas and Lychee Bellinis (I had about two glasses when I wasn't busy stuffing my face...).  We lounged for a good two hours before they cut us off and kicked us out.  What a struggle it was to get up out of that comfy chair after it was basically molded to my ass.

scallop ceviche | Brussels sprout salad | crispy tofu | steak Benedict | grilled salmon
These were my favorites.
Note: we only got the Benedict for the poached eggs on top.
I also dissected a breakfast burrito, and the fried dumplings were delicious (but I had to economize the stomach).  Unintentionally slow-toasted our edamame in the sun.  And I think Nancy did, in fact, cave for the chocolate waffles.
Not a bad way to shake off a hangover and start off a Sunday.
I miss you guys, let's go back.

spotted: misfits

A couple of Misfit(s) for cocktails.

basil gimlet | goodnight emily | bijou

First Joelle, now Sydney. [Izzi, Nikhail, I'll be coming for you two soon.]  I was excited to finally tramp around on this girl's turf, and even though our reunion had a time limit, I was still so happy you and your hanger made it back to LA for the day.  Reminded me of those desperate times in NZ when finding a meal was of the utmost importance.  Your stories always keep me entertained - what is your life??  After hitting a couple unsuitable bars, we made it back around to Misfit where Sydney was way too excited for her bread.  But probably not as excited as Ann was for her Brussels sprouts.

I had had a chocolate croissant earlier that lasted me into the night and then some, so I was not opposed to returning for a proper meal a couple days later.

Where we got a kale salad for the table, and I went with the refreshing tuna tataki.  Literally everything that came out of the kitchen looked amazing because of//in spite of the weak lighting.  Such a constant bar atmosphere.

landscapes of LA

How was LA?

It's fucking huge.

The last time I was there, I was still into theme parks.  I was probably about seven, and we went to Disneyland and Universal Studios.  I got really into collecting the pressed coins and hit every single souvenir shop even though they are all basically the same.  Today, I really hate crowds and haven't returned to a theme park of any kind since.

If there's ever a place for seamlessly guilt-free meals, it's Native Foods.  Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger is nothing like it sounds.  It's vegan.  While delicious and filling, the 'meat' got a little bit tiring both texture- and flavor-wise.  Taste fatigue is a thing.  Seitan (SAY-tan say-TAN SEE-tin... how do you pronounce this?) makes a pretty convincing 'meat' product but the facon (fake bacon) was too salty.  I'm no stranger to fake meat, and there are times that I prefer it, but bacon - and more importantly, pork belly - just can't be replicated.  Regardless, I was still super satisfied and struggled to walk it off and couldn't get drunk two hours later because it still weighed so heavily in my stomach.  The best part was the fruit/tea drinks - first timers get a free cup.  The waiter even made me a fancy watermelon concoction with mint leaves and a straw.