She Suggests...

I've MOVED...

2010-06-15T09:12:00.001-07:00

Visit now! Visit often!

CrockPot Pea Soup

2010-05-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Finally pulled the (circa 1972) Crock Pot out of storage and made some pea soup. Start with about 16oz of dried peas, rinsed and sorted...

Brown some sausage (8oz?16oz? up to you) Chop up 1 onion, 2 ribs of celery, 3 carrots...
Add about 30oz of broth, a bay leaf (and your favorite soup fixins-pepper, chili flakes, etc) and cook on low for many many hours. My recipe said 4 to5, but it was really more like nine!

Everybody Poops

2010-05-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

READ THIS: the following post contains WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION. You have been warned.

Before I had a child I wondered, would I be a good (enough) mom? I had never bathed a child, dressed a child, or more importantly ever changed a diaper. I am, shall we say, squeamish? Whenever a not-so-sweet odor would begin to emanate from my otherwise sweet cousins, I would hand the child back to my aunt, smile politely and back away slowly making excuses to the tune of "Oh pardon me, I have to go feed my nonexistent fish, wash my hair and be on time for my root canal, buh-bye."

While pregnant (read: about to change a diaper whether I was ready to or not... and soon, very soon!) I confessed my fears to everyone who would listen. Everyone reassured me that once it was my own child it would be different. That I would bravely step up to the plate and look fear in the face, (or the derrière). And I believed them, even though all evidence pointed to the contrary. Compelling evidence. Such as running away when I went to the bathroom and summoning my husband in the horrific event that the toilet was clogged. But I believed everyone...

Well guess what? Everyone LIED.

Obviously not changing baby's diaper is not an option once said baby is here, and poopy, and hollerin, so you do what you have to do. But diapers are one thing and now that I am a parent I know there is an even scarier thing than changing a diaper. What is it you wonder? Well let's just say that up until now I had been spared and my cooperative and sensible child had not committed this oh foul of foulest atrocities.

But last night we were taking a bath (oh yeah I warned you!) and I said to hubby "oh cute she made bubbles" translation- farted in the bath. He didn't miss a beat and responded "you better hope that's all she did." At first I didn't understand. I naively looked at him and thought to myself "what else could she have done?' But I did not remain naive for long because my darling girl, looked up at me, grinned and pooped in the bathtub! At first I froze then I took control of myself, yelled at husband to get off the floor where he was rolling around and laughing his a$$ off to take the bewildered baby and proceeded to get the hell out of there..and into the shower for the rest of the night (or exactly two and a half minutes because of course once bathed, baby must be fed.)

Okay seriously folks this parenting thing is not for the faint of heart.

Because I'm sure you don't actually want me to post a photo of any of this, please enjoy a freshly bathed and non poopy baby picture.

Polenta, Salmon and Shrimp...the new holy trinity?

2010-04-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

So my dad is a cookin' genius, he looked in my fridge and whipped this baby up in like half an hour! That's the good news. The bad news is the man never ever uses recipes and is terrible at giving instructions to us mere mortals who dare attempt recreating his culinary creations. So I can try to tell you all how to make this tasty trio, but I can't guarantee any kind of quality control, sorry.

Okay so here goes, the salmon was baked with a simple salt, pepper rub and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

The shrimp was pan fried and served with a sauce which I can only assume is part ketchup part garlic, part pepper, and all delicious.

Finally the Polenta (the organic Polenta that comes in a tube at your local Trader Joes) was also pan fried, served with feta cheese and sprinkled with dill.

Wish he could make my dinner every day!

Peek a Boo

2010-04-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

Authentically Speaking...

2010-04-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

I have a game that I like to play, (and all you wanna-be-Freud's can chime in if you like.) I like to pretend to go back in time and re-write my life. I take this game very seriously and carefully craft each aspect of my new life..my job, my place of residence, my fabulous new-found sense of style, etc., avoiding all of the 'mistakes' that I made the first time around.

Except something I began to realize in the last few years of playing is not everything in my life needs to be re-written, some things are pretty gosh darn great and I wouldn't' want to change them one bit. My husband for example? Truly, hands down the best husband in the universe, (and yes five seconds after I write this he will invariably do something to land on my shit list but so it goes...) And my brand new baby? She is amazing, wouldn't give any part of my mommy life for anything (poopy diapers and 3am feedings included)!

And there in lies the dilemma because as all of you know if you change one tiny thing your whole life could turn out completely different (as demonstrated in that creepy Butterfly Effect movie)

So something that occurred to me at 3 in the morning today (don't blame the baby she was sleeping like an angel) why oh why am I spending all of this time obsessing over a life that isn't (and never will be unless I invent a time machine) when I could pour all of that energy into authentically living the life I have (and kinda love most of the time)?

So that's it folks I am making a New Life Resolution (it's like a New Year's resolution but grander and more fancy sounding) I resolve to life my life and tell the tale! So what if I have an MBA but no career, or any prospect of a career per se? So what if it's going to take me the length of three pregnancies to lose this pregnancy weight? So what if my dog will never be trained enough to walk properly on a leash (or my husband be trained enough to put his dirty clothes in the hamper!)? And so what if people think I'm a little ridiculous? I kind of am! And I kind of like it that way.

A Day in the Life...

2010-04-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

As a parent of a six week old.

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS ILLUSION-SHATTERING INFORMATION

ie if you think having a baby is all cuddles and coos, do not proceed...

I thought it might be "fun" to see what life is really like with a baby. So I'm picking a random day (Wed April 7th) to keep track of all that goes on- the good, the bad, and the very smelly. I'm planning on repeating this at different ages and stages of Aliza's life to see if my job gets any easier or harder. Any bets?

The short version-

soiled diaper units-15

nursing units dispensed-13

coffee units consumed-0 mg

time spent day-dreaming about consuming coffee units- approximately 2 3/4 hours

The long version-

12:00am (yes your days officially start at 12am now that you are a parent) Aliza, who sleeps right next to me for now, is awake! Hubby changes her while I get ready to nurse. Poor guy wouldn't even have had to wake up but darn puppy needs to be let out to go potty too (it's like they're conspiring against us)! I nurse le bebe while Hubby starts a load of diapers.

3:01am Change & nurse.

4:45am Change & nurse.

7:09am Wake up (for real this time) Hubby changes le bebe, I nurse her (yay for division of labor!). She then sleeps on Hubby (at this stage she only sleeps on one of us or in her stroller ONLY while it's moving) and in the meantime I make breakfast.

8:20am Just to see if she'll sleep I put her in her (barely ever used) crib, she wakes up within minutes quite angry! I nurse her for a bit, she proceeds to throw up most of it. I change her diaper and rush to get dressed and leave the house.

9:01am Arrive at Stroller Strides for an hour workout while baby (mercifully) sleeps.

9:58am Back home,I manage to shower in under three minutes, change the baby, nurse her, pack my lunch and snacks for the day.

10:51am On the road again to a "playdate" (I use the term playdate loosely since Aliza is obviously too young to care about any babies that may be playing in the vicinity)

4 diaper changes, 3 feedings while on playdate with awesome mommies!

3:51pm On the way home I pick up puppy from daycare (yes we send our dog to daycare whenever we can it results in one tired puppy and one happy mommy)

4:25 pm Change diaper, nurse, change diaper, nurse (this kid sure can eat!)

5:14pm Put in her bouncy seat and she actually stays calm! Manage to unload dishwasher & reload it, tidy up in kitchen for a bit!

5:35pm Her calmness doesn't last long so I stick her in the Ergo and bounce on the exercise ball until she falls asleep. With arms free I dump photos from the playdate and begin editing.

6:00pm Diaper change, & nurse.

6:15pm Hubby is home!!! Do a happy dance.

6:25pm Hubby changes a diaper (because let's face it he's been dying to all day) while I hang out at the computer then we switch off and I hold her and continue to edit photos while he makes dinner.

7:10pm I put her in the bouncy and she hangs out while we both attempt to scarf down our dinner...peace doesn't last long and he goes off to change her diaper again.

7:45pm I put her in the Ergo and bounce on the exercise ball until she is asleep! It is glorious! I finish editing all of the photos, catch up on emails and watch the cast of Glee perform on Oprah, cannot wait for that show to resume. Hubby finally has time to shower! He tell me he thinks he hasn't showered all week...umm good thing we're not in the same bed for now!

8:45pm I nurse her again and we all go to bed...until the cycle starts over in just a few short hours.

Goodnight moon!

Challah French Toast

2010-03-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

How have I gone this long in life without trying this? Soooo good!

To make some at home (once Passover is over) take four large eggs, 1 cup of milk, dash of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, some vanilla extract and cinnamon (if you like that kind of thing)

Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup or whatever else floats your French toast boat!

On my own

2010-03-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

All of my helpers have officially left the premises as of Monday 3/21/10 4pm. (That's hubby the first two weeks, my mother in law week three and my mom week four)

Now it's just me, puppy, baby and the judgmental conga line in my head...

Status report day one- everyone has survived without any permanent damage, despite no internet, no TV and no electricity during lunch. Let's see how this brand new momma fares during the rest of the week.

Five things I thought before I became a parent

2010-03-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Before I became a parent I said some silly, silly things...here are some of them in no particular order:

On baby necessities-
Then: Who needs a glider rocker? I mean what a waste of money on a butt-ugly-doesn't match-anything-you-own piece of furniture.
Now: Dear, wonderful, (lent by my neighbor) rocker, I love you, please don't ever break, I don't know how I would nurse without you.

More on baby necessities..is it necessary to have all of these necessities?

Then: Diaper wipes warmer? I mean seriously? This baby is in need of her butt wiped by warm wipes instead of regular ones?
Now: Umm can we warm the changing pad we put her on? (Anything to stop the screaming.)

On balancing the needs of a dog and a baby-
Then: (commenting on suggestions on how to prepare your dog for the arrival of a new baby) Having a screaming toy baby to prepare your dog seems a little excessive, I'm sure our furry baby will adjust to a human baby just fine!
Now: Why is our dog hiding under the kitchen table refusing to come out? Why is our dog running into the walls on purpose? Uh-oh.

On parenting-
Then: All I'm going to do for the first six weeks is feed the baby booby, I'm sure my husband can do the rest.
Now: Cue obnoxious laugh track. Delusional mommy to be, what were you thinking?

On my appearance-
Then: I won't worry about losing the pregnancy weight until at least six weeks postpartum, I mean they don't even clear you for exercise until then right?
Now: Must break every mirror in house. Must not wear clothes...just get a muumuu for now and all will be fine.

Developmental milestones....

2010-03-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

A: dude I'm three weeks old? Did you expect me to walk and talk by now?

Aliza is three weeks old now and there are no significant incidents to report...and no news is good news right? And while it would be nice if she would learn to change her own diaper (or at least stop screaming until she turns purple while we change it for her) overall life with a brand new baby is pretty swell. We did not put our baby "on a schedule" but she seems to have one of her own, at least for now. And I could report that she only wakes twice at night and lets us sleep for three or four hour stretches at a time but I don't want the other mothers to stone me. Other than that we poop and such, eat and such and fuss and such. She is super duper close to smiling at us, for now she smiles absentmindedly during feedings and sometimes right before she starts to wail! I can also report that she has more control over her eyes and responds to sounds as well, this is both good and bad news as every little noise can wake her up. My favorite newborn reflex is the "stick em up" hands that she exhibits every time she is startled, like a little bandit, pretty hilarious.

Cloth diaper report- we are using two dozen infant Chinese pre-folds (from Nicki's Diapers), five x-small Thirsties covers (three from Nickis and two bought in a panic when we realized three just wasn't enough from Sew Crafty Baby- an awesome mommy run store with free shipping!) We are washing them on a Whirlpool front loading HE machine and are using the "whitest white setting (which includes an extra rinse) with BioKleen detergent...everything is going pretty well in this department, once you get the hang of it cloth diapering is easy and baby seems pretty content, everyone should try it, it's not that hard!

Two Weeks Old

2010-03-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

I still can't believe we made one of these littly itty bitty beings from scratch, from scratch people!

Aliza is two weeks old today and to celebrate we took some newborn photos of her with this talented lady, Eden Thome. Eden was so patient with us as the session took just a little longer than expected...okay so our booger cried for three hours before settling down enough to allow us to take photos of her and Eden just smiled through it all and reminded mommy to be patient.

The best part was that Eden was able to capture this smile from her, now to be fair she is not smiling consciously yet but still, how cool is that? Right before this photo was taken I asked my sweet little daughter to grace us with her first smile. Her response? A loud fart/poop! And about two seconds later this happy with herself little grin! Yup, nothing wrong with her sense of comedic timing.

How to make Gangsta rap child friendly

2010-02-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

Our little bundle requires lots of entertaining input to maintain an appropriate happiness output, so I find myself singing to her a lot (and wishing I had taken those singing lessons when I had the time.) And while I can Doo-wop and I can Disney, I absolutely draw the line at Barney, which is what I almost caught myself singing to her the other day...you know the one "I love you, you love me"...ugh. I think our young one would benefit more from Mommy's old school Gangsta rap favorites than Barney! But making Tupac and Ice Cube child friendly can be a challenge. Here's my take on the chorus to Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice:

"Rollin' down the street in my stroller

Sippin' on booby juice

Laid back, with my mind on my mommy and my mommy on mind"

What do you think? Would Barney rap that?

And on the seventh day...

2010-02-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

We rested! Finally!

Today's is Aliza's seventh day and since she so thoughtfully gave us the gift of sleep we shall return the favor and give her the gift of recording random ramblings that will embarrass her one day in the all-too-near future.

As told from Aliza's perspective (we have almost a Betazoid-like telepathy with our child and can therefore interpret her thoughts and desires)

Day One (Friday, February 19th, 2010)

Birth! Pretty exciting stuff. Mommy seemed upset that the doctors were cutting me out of her so I decided to poop on them as a form of revenge. When that didn't seem to do much to cheer her spirits I peed on the floor (all while my head hadn't been born yet) and that really did the trick, Mommy found that hilarious! Afterwards I went to the yucky nursery with Daddy, the mean mean nurses didn't let me see Mommy for three whole hours, I rewarded them by being the loudest baby there! The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and I got to eat some booby and chill with my new parents, they seem ok so far, only a tad neurotic.

Day Two (Saturday, February 20th, 2010)

I'm kicking butt and taking names...so far the names are Mommy and Daddy...you two didn't think I was going to let you sleep did you?

Day Three (Sunday, February, 21st, 2010)

I was pretty ready to get the heck out of this place and go home! We made it safe and sound despite the "blizzard" outside and I was greeted by all of my grandparents and my furry big sister Rory.

Day Five (Tuesday, February, 23rd, 2010)

Our first outing as a family- Mommy, Daddy, Rory and me! It was pretty great, even if it only lasted ten minutes.

Day Six (Wednesday, February 24th, 2010)

Back out into the world and off to my first doctor's appointment. It didn't seem too bad, especially since Mommy fed me booby the whole time, that Mommy she is pretty awesome.

It's not easy being green

2010-02-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

aka more witticism from tired parents

As you all know we decided to cloth diaper. We figured since neither one of us has ever changed a diaper before we would have no bad habits to break. I would love to tell everyone that it's going great, but really I wouldn't know because I am absolutely terrified of changing her diaper, I have bargained with hubs that I will start changing her diaper as soon as her cord falls off and until then I will sit in the corner eating my elbows.

This is the conversation I overheard between hubs and Aliza yesterday as he was changing her diaper...

(We put her in a disposable diaper for our first visit to the pediatrician, we figured it would be a little easier and it was, so when we got home we changed back into cloth)

Hubs: Isn't this better than those nasty disposable diapers?

Aliza: WAAAAAAAAAAAA

Hubs: (dismayed at her unenthusiastic response) Don't you feel green?

Aliza: (louder now) WAAAAAAAA

Hubs: No? You feel pissed off?

Aliza: (in agreement) WAAAAAAAA

Hubs: It's not easy being green!

And so maybe it isn't easy being green, but so far the diapers have had one blowout (our fault not diapers) the disposable which we have used a fraction of the time (mostly during the hospital daze) had two! They seem more absorbent and once we know what the heck we are doing just as easy to use as sposies. We may very well consider adding some all in ones to the mix once that dreaded cord falls off.

our brand new life

2010-02-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

Aliza Marie, just minutes old...

how sleep deprivation leads to mis-understandings/ some notes on our first days as parents

hubs: (in response to baby fussing) check her arms

me: they seem fine

hubs: no, her lower arms

me: um, you mean her legs?

hubs: oh yeah I forgot there's a name for those

hubs: what do you want for breakfast?

me: english muffin

hubs: butter? honey? (meaning the condiment)

me: butter, honey (meaning just butter, honey-term of endearment)

breakfast outcome questionable

me: I'm so glad you get to stay home with me, it's like a vacation, like a honeymoon!

hubs: yeah you are preoccupied with something the whole time and you don't get any sleep

me: (dreamy, doped up on baby love hormones) yeah...

hubs: (sarcastic, bleary eyed monster) yeah...

many more witty discussions to come

Blueberry Yogurt Cake

2010-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Another tried and true recipe from Smitten Kitchen....that I managed to somehow destroy!

The original recipe can be found here and I'm sure would have been just delicious if I left well enough alone...

Recipe & Revisions

what you need:

1 1/2 cups & 1 tblsp all purpose flour, I have been using unbleached
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, but I'm sure regular salt is ok too!
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 cup & 1 tblsp sugar
3 extra large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons worth)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil, I know what you're thinking a Smitten Kitchen recipe without butter is almost an oxymoron
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed, our local Cosctco now has organic frozen blueberries! Scoop these up for the half the price of Trader Joes or Whole Paycheck!
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice. And here is where I think I made THE big mistake, I think I told the hubs to just squeeze all the juice out of the two lemons we used for zest because I figured I love lemon flavor so more juice can only add to that lemony goodness...umm no, this made the cake way too tart! So be warned don't go overboard no matter how much you think you like lemons.

what you do:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2 inch loaf pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease and flour the pan.
Sift 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt in one bowl and in another whisk the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet.
In another bowl mix blueberries with the reserved tablespoon of flour and gently fold into the batter...I still don't quite know what "gently fold" means so I pour the blueberries and say "gently gently" as I mix the two together.
Pour the batter into your prepped pan and bake for fifty or more minutes until a toothpick placed in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
And while that's a bakin'...threw the lemon juice and 1 tblsp sugar into a small pan and cook until sugar dissolves and mixture is clear...I think we really should have increased the amount of sugar we used, we tried to make it proportional to the extra lemon juice we used but clearly we failed.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about ten minutes, then let cool on a cooling rack. While the cake is still warm, either poke holes in it with a toothpick or use a pastry brush to add the lemon sugar mixture to the cake, make sure there is something underneath the cake to catch the drippings! Cool and slice up to enjoy. Take outside, put it on a table and take pictures of it before the snow melts. Eat.

How to make a major decision (like which diapers to use)

2010-01-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

I'm someone who needs to absorb as much information as I can get my hands on before I can make a decision. I also need to delay making the actual decision for as long humanly possible...commitment? yikes!

For example, as someone who didn't start college knowing exactly what I wanted to do (you pre-med crazies that practiced surgery on your dolls at the tender age of four know who you are) and I'm not they type to just dive in and take classes willy nilly (and yes, I still regret not taking tractor driving) I had to develop a systematic way of making this monumental decision(sarcasm implied). I looked through the entire college catalog and made a list of anything that sounded remotely interesting and still in the realm of possibility given my academic abilities (anything involving math? I think not.) Then I noted all the prerequisites my choices had in common and started in on those classes first. That way I could still change my mind before any major commitment had been made.

But I digress...now that I have a college edumacation (and even a masters) all of my knowledge and my finely honed decision making skills can be put to the test and I can make all kinds of important decisions...like what kind of diapers to use for little jellybean (who will be making her debut shortly.) Sarcasm about becoming a stay at home mom aside, choosing what kind of diapers to use is actually an important decision, both for economic reasons and environmental ones. Hubby and I knew we wanted to cloth diaper but I knew nothing about this mystical world when I started my research. Weeks of diligent research later I came across several websites that organized all of the information out there. Like this one, and groups like this one. Did you know there was several different cloth diapering systems? I didn't when I started.

A fabulous website that has helped me make sense of it all is Babyworks. They explain the plethora of choices as two basic systems- diapers that are used inside of a cover and diapers with a waterproof layer built in.

These can be subdivided further. There are three kinds of diapers that are used inside of a cover- prefold, fitted, and contour. These types of diapers are all different types of an absorbent layer that is then used inside of a waterproof cover. There are also different options for what to use as the waterproof cover. These vary by what kind of material the cover is made out of (synthetic, wool, etc) and how the cover is closed- velcro, snaps, or pull on.

Then there are two kinds of diapers with a waterproof layer built in- a pocket diaper and an "all in one." Pocket diapers are two piece units- with a waterproof outer layer that has a pocket in which the absorbent inner layer insert is placed. Finally, "all in ones" are diapers in which the absorbent inner layer and the waterproof outer layer are attached, so when you change the diaper you change the whole thing, just like a disposable!

Okay now how do you choose from all of these options? Some are more expensive than others, some are more labor intensive, some offer "cuter" design choices (like we care at 3am) and so on. This is what I am going to do. I am fortunate enough to have received a sample pack from a friend (that ultimately chose to go the disposable route, score for me) so now I have a sample of each type of diaper- prefold, fitted, contour, pocket, and all in one so I can play a little and see which baby likes best. And even though I just mocked the whole concept of design when it comes to diapers, I admit I'm a little bummed that this sample pack is all boyish colors. Please feel free to call me a hypocrite and throw things.

But in the meantime I still need a system (because the system of diapers then dictates the pail you get and the laundering system you use, no seriously there's so many choices!) and I am going to choose....prefolds (these kinds) with covers (this kind.)

Think that's all there is to it? Then you haven't been paying attention. I still need to figure out how I'm going to store all of the dirty diapers, how I'm going to keep these puppies so fresh and so clean clean, and whether I am going to use disposable wipes or cloth ones. There are even choices within choices- make your own wipe solution? Use a wipe warmer? Use natural detergent for laundering? Dry them on a clothes line? The list goes on and on.

As I embark on this adventure I plan to share my trials and tribulations with you readers (aka mom) and hopefully help to simplify the process for someone out there considering cloth diapering.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

2009-12-11T15:52:00.001-08:00

So something I've never been very good at is pancakes...maybe because pancakes didn't exist when I was growing up in the Ukraine. There were crepes and then there were pancake like things called "oladie" that are a whole lot like a pancake but smaller and less doughy. So now this recipe, while a traditional pancake recipe is made like a cross between "oladie" and pancakes...

Recipe

(adapted from Joy of Cooking, All About Breakfast & Brunch)

preheat oven to 200-250 degrees (to warm completed cakes) and preheat your griddle

whisk together in a large bowl:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone ground... now here is where I deviate, last time I made these, the cornmeal left little lumpy bits in the batter...yucky, so this time I just used 1 1/2 cups of flour and had to adjust the buttermilk accordingly, but we'll get to that

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

whisk together in another bowl:

1 1/4 cups buttermilk...okay so probably due to the extra flour my recipe needed more buttermilk, I guesstimated but I would say probably about 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups alltogether

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest...and again

I deviate, I was saving my lemon zest for the Cranberry Scones (coming soon) so I instead used orange zest and probably a bit more than the recipe called for

pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk together gently, mixing until just combined

whisk in yet another bowl

2 large egg whites, beat until peaks are stiff but not dry...this is crucial to the fluffiness of the pancakes, whip it, whip it good! and then gently fold into the batter

last but not least fold in 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

spoon 1/3 cup batter (again I like to use less, like maybe a 1/4 cup) onto a griddle or a good ole fashioned pan, cook until top of each pancake has some popping bubbles, then flip and cook until underside is lightly browned

keep warm in a 200/250 degree oven while you finish whipping up the rest

ENJOY!

baby bump week by week

2009-12-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

Leftover Pumpkin

2009-11-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

And if you've made some black bean pumpkin soup you might be wondering what to do with your leftover pumpkin...so back to Smitten Kitchen you will go to find another pumpkin recipe!

Here is my revision of this recipe:

Recipe

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon-

1 teaspoon ground ginger- I'm pretty sure I doubled this by accident, and it was still tasty!

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves- I had to omit this because I don't care for the taste of cloves

4 large eggs seperated

2 cups shaken buttermilk- well sadly I only had blackberry kefir at home (purple kefir + orange pumpkin= slightly greenish tint waffles, but still tasty!)

1 cup canned solid packed pumpkin- I used my leftover fresh puree

6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 (to warm the ready waffles while you wait) and turn on waffle iron.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

In a separate large(r) bowl whisk together egg yolks, buttermilk, pumpkin and butter until it ain't lumpy no more, then whisk in dry ingredients until just combined.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together egg whites until they hold soft peaks. If you are truly crazy you can do this by hand, I have learned my lesson and will use a mixer next time.

Fold these in gently into the batter.

Pour batter onto your waffle iron, I find that the amount you use really depends on your personal waffle iron. Cook and then transfer ready waffle to the oven to keep toasty!

Make more oe save the rest of the batter for the next morning or lunch that day.

Topping- blackberry sauce I whipped up (blackberries, sugar and water melted together)

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

2009-11-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

My new favorite food blog is Smitten Kitchen...these days I just go there, drool, fantasize about making the dishes and sometimes actually make them! This is her black bean pumpkin soup, which I didn't alter one little bit. Because it is yummy just the way it is! Try it, you'll like it.

Southern Cornbread

2009-10-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

I found the recipe for this delicious dish on AllRecipes.com. While there are several cornbread recipes to choose from I wanted to try something that I could cook in my cast iron pan...

So here is the recipe for Real Southern Cornbread...

My only change is (you guessed it) adding corn! You can't make cornbread without it... well you could but what would be the point?

A word of warning, do not wait too long to put it in the oven or you will burn it! When the recipe says to "cook on high heat until bubbles start to form in the center" interpret that to mean a bubble or two. I like to eat this with honey butter, for which I melt butter and add honey until you reach the right blend of sweetness, for me that's mostly honey with a dash of butter.

I served this with butternut squash soup, for which sadly I have lost the recipe! But don't be alarmed a quick search on all recipes reveals many many options!

Deconstructed California Roll

2009-10-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in Woman's Day magazine, which keeps arriving in my mailbox despite the fact that I never subscribed to it...

They call this the deconstructed California roll, I call it what to do if you have an hour or more to spend!

Check out the recipe from Woman's Day, I strayed pretty far from their suggestions...

I used the following ingredients assembled atop an endive leaf: rice, crab (as you know California rolls use imitation crab, I used real so it was a completely different taste), shredded carrot, avocado, soy sauce, wasabi, and toasted sesame seeds.

Several of us assembled a whole lot of these...don't know if I will do this again, a lot of work for such a small dish!

Other people's property (well photos in this case)

2009-10-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

Check out these photos taken by Dimple Arts of my humble creations!

Mmm...Mushroom Risotto

2009-09-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

Recipe (8 servings)

2 shallots
2 cups arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
8 cups chicken broth
1 lb mushrooms, chopped
oil (you will need at least 1/4 cup)
salt & pepper
1/4 cup (or more!) Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup (or less!) butter

Directions & Revisions

warm the broth on low heat
heat 2 tblsp. olive oil and add in mushrooms, cook for about 3 minutes, remove from heat and set it aside
in a seperate pan, heat 1 tblsp of oil, add shallots and cook for 2 minutes
add rice and cook about 2 minutes
pour in the wine and absorb
add 1/2 cup of broth at a time, stirring constantly
continue until all of the broth has been added and rice is cooked (about 15-20)
stir the mushrooms (and whatever else you want, for this risotto I added spinach, peas and prosciutto)
add butter and Parmesan

Review

Hubby and I give two thumbs up...my friend N. had two servings, the best compliment a "chef" could hope for.

Rory has some news to share...

2009-09-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Karlovy Vary

2009-09-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Prague Last Day

2009-09-12T12:04:00.001-07:00

Prague Castle

2009-09-11T07:24:00.001-07:00

first day of Prague

2009-09-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

last day in Vienna and travel to Prague

2009-09-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Day 4 Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

For your reading pleasure, Stan wrote this entry:

MAK- the Museum of Applied Art
Museum a mix of textiles, paintings, woodwork, furniture and books from early medieval to modern and from Europe as well as Asia. Favorite exhibits were Architecture, Frankfurt kitchen, Seating Furniture.
Judenplatz- is a nice little square separated from the louder streets by taller buildings and accessible by windy alleys. Open air restaurants are an interesting backdrop to the mausoleum-like memorial to the Jews that perished in the nearby concentration camps.
Belevedere- The gardens are very impressive. Lawns are decorated with a mosaic of little plants that look like miniature trees so it looks like a small version of tree-lined alleys. Fountains, flowers, palace in the distance, tourists (us included) everywhere.
Dinner at a little Thai restaurant. Tom Yum – good. Green curry was different from US-Thai but very good.

Day 5 Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Travel day- today we took the big bad OBB to Prague! It was 45 minutes late but a good time was still had by all…check out Stan and his happy juice below.
Having spent the train ride learning about Prague through Rick Steve’s and Frommer’s the take away message for us was that Prague is full of con artist, thieves, and mafia style cab drivers that cheat you and charge exorbitant rates…but still a lovely place to visit! So naturally I got a major case of “I’m a big strong woman and don’t need no stinkin’ no-neck cabbie to stiff me so I’ll just walk to my hotel from the train station thank you very much” and almost an hour later having dragged a 50 lb suitcase and backpack (each) plus purse (just me) we arrived collapsed at our hotel, the Eurostar Thalia.
We then strolled around our new neighborhood (much easier now without the luggage) and scoped out where and what was up.

Photos:
Belvedere Palace, Belvedere fountains, bumblebee, travel with all our luggage, Stan’s happy juice

Eurotrippin continued...

2009-09-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Day 3 Monday, September 7th, 2009

We learned our lesson the hard way yesterday and wisely had breakfast at the hotel before heading out to MUMOK- Museum Moderner Kunst. What can I say about modern art*? It's a natural outgrowth of the complexity of modern life and the meaninglessness that results from it? It's hit or miss? It's silly (to paint a canvas one color and tell people it's "artistic")? It's even sillier to literally scribble (think- any two year old can do this) on a piece of paper, tape that to another piece of paper, have two floors(!) in a museum devoted to this, without it making sense to anyone and call THAT art? Yeah I guess it's safe to say that we liked the modern art in Chicago and LA better.
*Disclaimer- I am not a trained art critic. Nor am I a professionally trained artist. I’ve never taken an art history or an art appreciation class. To be frank I don’t even think I can doodle very well. So everything I have to say can just be ignored, thank you very much.
Naschmarkt- is where we headed to next. It's an open air market where you can buy fruits and veggies and any kind of cuisine imaginable! (we found Russians selling vodka and caviar!) We snacked on some Vietnamese soup and strawberries.
Across the street is the Secession Building- this is a building. Really there's some artsy explanation for why it's important but to us it's just a building. Please see photos for proof. Then onto the Jewish Museum- another rather disappointing place, maybe we're bad Jews or something but we didn't find the experience particularly moving or informative. When we first got there, there was a woman in the elevator with us who asked "Where are you from?" I thought I detected an accent from her so I answered "oh from America."She then says (all bitchy and exasperated with me) "Well I know that, where in America?" I thought about it for a second, I never know quite how much information to give here (well my husband and I are originally from the Ukraine, and we both immigrated to San Francisco, and went to school in Davis and then he moved to Reno and I stayed behind, blah blah blah, you see the problem) so I said "Umm Reno?" to which Miss Bitchy says "I didn't realize people from Reno actually went anywhere"...awkward pause from me, mental plea from Slavik "please don't bother she's not worth it" UGH!!! Some people.
The one exhibit we both enjoyed was "Tipisch" a look at pervasive Jewish and other ethnic stereotypes. There was a multimedia component (with clips ranging from "Dave Chapelle's Black White Supremacist, a rap song about "The Protocols of Zion", and other clips of existing stereotypes in the media) which was designed to show us that stereotypes are alive and well and be (we think) serious in tone...well we find it hilarious and sat and laughed at everything. I guess it's hard to edumacte us backward, hillbilly, Reno-ites that never travel anywhere.
After this a quick break at Buffet Trzesniewski- a place serving 21 different cheap open faced sandwiches, essentially Russian salads on black bread. From here we hobbled around the City Center looking for Cantina La Norma, an Italian restaurant mentioned in the Rick Steve’s travel guide. By the time we found it I could no longer walk… yet somehow miraculously found the strength to continue to get gelato at Zanoni Zanoni, yummy yummy! Another memorable moment of the evening for us was when I remarked to Stan on all of the lovely horse drawn carriages taking tourists around, “Ooh horsies!” To which Stan says “Run from the four legged pooping machines.” Lovely imagery thank you Stan.

Photos: It’s modern, but is it art? No I think it’s a cardboard rock suspended from the ceiling. Stan underneath another fine “art” exhibit. Several selections from Naschmarkt. The Secession building. Sandwiches from Trzesniweski.

Eurotrippin

2009-09-06T13:49:00.001-07:00

Day 1- Travel…sucked. Pregnant and traveling alone for 21 hours. Really is there any need to elaborate?
Saturday, September 5th, 2009
When I got to Vienna, I was greeted by my lovely escort/bag carrier/tour guide/husband. We took the CAT to downtown Vienna and then the train to our hotel, the Renaissance at the Imperial Riding School. I was crashing and slept for an hour before we could venture out for some dinner. My tummy wasn’t ready for wienershnitzel yet, so we dined on less than traditional Viennese fair…or to be more accurate we found a vegetarian Taiwanese restaurant, delicious! Then we wandered around to the Ringstrasse (the center of Vienna) for some dessert. After the all the hype of sachertorte, I thought it was kind of a let down, way too sweet and too dry. I will chalk that up to the skill of the chef, not the torte itself and valiantly try again.

Day 2 Sunday, September 06, 2009

We got up bright and early and went looking to find a better breakfast bargain (our hotel charges 24 Euros per person for breakfast buffet, nien danke). We took the “best in the world” Viennese public transportation to Stephansplatz (center of the tourist Vienna) and to our amazement found nothing open, seriously nothing, it was 8 o’clock in the morning, when do these people get up to work? We ate at McDonalds in defeat.
We started with Stephansdom or St. Stephen’s Cathedral. On Sundays there is mass and there was a sign that explained that they closed the doors during it. This made us really paranoid of being locked in, so we decided to go to the top of the tower on another day. We took a train to the museum quarter and started the hard core sightseeing.
Hofburg Palace- we saw the Kaiserappartements (Imperial apartments) which were more modest than one would expect of a palace dwelling, the porcelain and silver collection (yawn) and the Sisi museum- a museum dedicated to the life and death of Empress Elizabeth, wife of Franz Joseph I.
We found a tiny sandwich place, Hofburg Stuberl and had some yummy kasekreiner (sausage with cheese) and bread.
Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts)- an exhibit of the Hapsburg’s art collection including Raphael, Bosch and Brueghel.
Another food stop and photo op moment at the outside cafés in the museum quarter. Warning to the wise- you never know what you’re getting even when the menu is in English. But our meal wasn’t half bad and gave us the strength to continue on!
Leopold museum- the most famous artists here include Egon Schiele (nudes galore) and Klimt.
After such sensory overload we needed a nap! For dinner we found a nearby pub for some more sausage and goulash, and bier.

Photos: Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), Parliament building, statue in front of Parliament building, horse's ass, painting of Pomona and Vertumnus (for those of you that saw the play I was in "Metamorphoses"...), us contemplating our navels at Museum quarter

Bun in the Oven

2009-08-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well it's official people we have something baking in there!

Breakfast, the tastiest meal of the day...

2009-06-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

On a recent camping trip our camp cooks made this delicious breakfast in a dutch oven (directly in the fire) and it was amazing!
I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since and even attempted to recreate it in our dutch oven (directly in the oven.) Sadly, ours is enamel and can't be heated over 350 degrees (or something like that, don't quote me, look up manufacturers guidelines) so that attempt didn't turn out so well. But I persevered and stuck our cast iron skillet in the oven instead! The result? Tasty!!!

Recipe & Directions (and Revisions!)
quantities and ingredients depend entirely on personal preference and availability in your kitchen

start by heating up your cast iron skillet- stick in the oven on 'broil'
chop up some onion (red, yellow, white- or skip if you hate onion) and throw it in the heated skillet, put the skillet back in the oven (do this after each ingredient is added)
chop up some bacon (add sausage if you like but don't skimp on the bacon whatever you do, bacon is critical to the success of this operation)
once the bacon has given you some grease to work with (resist the urge to 'mop up' bacon grease with some bread and eat directly from the skillet) throw in some finely chopped potatoes, I like to use new potatoes to avoid peeling them
once the potatoes look nice and brown add some eggs (again quantity is negotiable)
you can either let the eggs settle and then scramble them or let them be for a more omlett-y consistency
add grated cheese (cheddar is my personal preference)
add greens (some options here are cilantro, parsley, garlic chives, etc)
when everything is done serve with salsa (caliente por favor), and some yummy bread

Of course this is best cooked and eaten outside, but if you want to skip the camping and just enjoy the dish, that's alright by me.

Great Basin Food Basket

2009-06-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

This year we continued the tradition of the Great Basin Food Basket and every Tuesday I pick up a basket of locally grown, organic, delicious treats! Check out this week's batch:

I encourage everyone to look into Community Supported Agriculture, which is a fantastic way to buy food directly from farmers.

Stan's Birthday Present (from Rory)

2009-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Any guesses? No, not the usual presents she leaves us, but her very first giant hole in the backyard!
I think this look says, "I know I'm perfect but perhaps I've done something I shouldn't have..."
Don't worry I'll help clean it up!

What the devil?

2009-02-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

Really any excuse will do...You say you're having a party? Watching TV at your house on a Tuesday? Having a bad hair day? I'll make deviled eggs!

Since deviled eggs are not something that I can just make for myself (too rich for my blood) I have to wait until someone asks me (or I offer at the slightest hint that there's an occasion that involves dinner of the potluck variety)

This is a batch I made recently for a friend's birthday party.

Recipe:

6 hard-cooked eggs peeled and cut lengthwise
¼ cup Mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Paprika for garnish

Directions (and Revisions)

1. Remove the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork.

2. Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. (Revision: variation on a theme! You can add anything you want to this recipe- cayenne pepper, mushrooms, cheese, really whatever your little heart desires, experiment so that the consistency is firm enough to fill the egg with)

3.Fill the empty egg white shells with the mixture and sprinkle lightly with paprika.(or chives)

So I have to interject here and say that to make your life easier you must pipe the mixture into the eggs! To do so just scoop the mixture into a ziplock bag, snip off a corner and pipe away.

Review: YUM! Really is there anything tastier? These babies went in under ten minutes.

Reluctant Housewife Part 2

2009-02-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

And so my quest for Martha Stewart-like perfection continues...today we make falafel and live to tell about it.

Recipe:

2 cups chick peas
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
oil for deep frying

Directions (and Revisions)
1. Cover chickpeas in water and soak overnight (or hello, use store bought, make life a little easier)
2. Drain and place in food processor and blend until finely ground
3. Add onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin, baking powder, and 1 tablespoon of water, then process until a rough paste, leave covered for 30min (why? you ask, I don't know, maybe to let the baking powder work its magic)
4. Using your hands, shape heaped tablespoons of the falafel mixture onto even sized balls. Squeeze out any excess liquid.
5. Fill a large heavy based saucepan one third full of oil and heat until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Lower the falafel balls into the oil and cook in bathces of five for 3-4 minutes, or until well browned all over. Remove the falafel with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Okay if you know me, you know I didn't deep fry anything. And not because I don't enjoy a good greasy basket of french fries from the local pub (that's Flowing Tide for you Reno people searching for the best bar food around) but cause deep frying anything scares the beejezus out of me! I baked these at 350 for ten/fifteen minutes.

Review:
These little guys baked (instead of fried) taste basically like hummus with a baked over shell. Appetizing? Not necessarily. Go the old fashioned route and deep fry the suckers!

The Reluctant Housewife

2009-01-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

So as many of you know (and secretly despised me for) I have been spoiled rotten these last few months and have had little-to-no household responsibilities to attend to. But as all good things, the shirking of chores thanks to my “semester of seven classes” excuse has officially expired and I now, quite reluctantly, return to my housewife-ly duties.

Yes, Gloria Steinem I know this may not be what you had in mind for my generation but I (wisely and bravely) plan to turn this boring task into an opportunity...an opportunity to share my trials and tribulations, (and let's face it potentially disastrous outcomes) with the rest of my friends in an effort to save them time, provide them with inspiration, or at least a good chortle at my expense.

What did I make this weekend? Corn & Cheese Chowder and Sweet Potato Muffins...

Read on for the recipe, revisions and results:

Corn Cheddar Chowder
Prep time: 15 minutes (or 45 depending on how long it takes you to chop an onion, cry, wash your face, rinse and repeat)
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8ish

Recipe:

3 ¼ oz butter
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
4 cups chicken stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup canned creamed corn
2 cups fresh corn kernels
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cream (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, to garnish

Directions (and Revisions)
1.Heat butter in heavy based pan. (Revision: there's really no need to use that much butter unless you're a Paula Deen devotee, so I suggest maybe a bit of grapeseed oil and a tablespoon of butter or so) Add onion and cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes or until golden.

2.Add garlic (Revision: bring on the garlic, what's one little clove gonna do for you? I say double or triple that and kiss the cook!) Add cumin seeds and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly (arm workout: bonus!)
3.Add chicken stock. (now I do suggest using homemade chicken stock and will provide a recipe for my favorite later this month, but if you insist on the store bought because you're not a slave to the kitchen like some of us, sigh, I like Pacific free range low sodium chicken broth) Bring to a boil, add potato, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for ten minutes.
4. Add creamed corn, corn kernels and parsley (umm all I got's is canned corn kernels and that's ok, I used two cans worth for this recipe and substituted cilantro for parsley because I like it better) bring to a boil once more, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add cheese and cream and season to taste. Heat gently until cheese melts. Serve immediately sprinkled with chopped chives.(Revision: I used a hand held blender to cream this soup when it was done and if you plan to enjoy this for a few days don't add the cheese, skip the cream altogether, instead add the cheese as you reheat it and maybe add a delicious chicken apple sausage to go with it)

Review: This was delicious! Perfect for a cold winter night. I have to warn you the soup is pretty sweet, it is corn chowder after all, so you might want to season it with red chili flakes or cayenne pepper for some sweet and spicy balance. I will make this one again!

Sweet Potato Muffin
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes + 10 minutes cooling

Recipe:

6oz sweet potato
2 cups self rising flour
1 cup finely grated Cheddar cheese
3 ¼ oz butter, melted and cooled
1 egg slightly beaten
¾ cup buttermilk

Directions (and Revisions)
1. Preheat oven to 350F, brush melted butter or oil into 12 deep muffin tins (or use spray)
2. Finely grate sweet potato. Sift flour into large mixing bowl. (If you don't have self rising flour you can always add a little bit of baking soda to the mix)
3. Add sweet potato and cheese, stir to combine, make a well in the center.
4. Add butter, egg and buttermilk to dry ingredients (Muy importante: make sure the butter has cooled...otherwise you get pre-cooked egg) Combine ingredients.
5. Spoon mixture into muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden. Turn onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with butter. (Revision: or with honey butter, melt butter and add honey to it in either a two to one or three to one ratio, yummy)

Review: Eh. The muffins came out underdone in the middle and were rather bland...I can think of better uses for sweet potato, like baked fries, yummy!

Metamorphoses

2009-01-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

What to do on a cold Friday night in Reno, NV? How about an adaptation of Ovid's Metamorphoses and other assorted Greek myths? Luckily for Stan and I, the run of this play (Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses) had been extended and we got to see it. This was our first time at the Bruka, a local theater enjoying its sixteenth season and going to see the play fulfilled not one, but three of this years resolutions! One, as you already know is to be more spontaneous (and buying tickets only days in advance is spontaneity in my book) and the others are to be more involved with our community and to spend more quality time together. After the play Stan and I headed over to the best martini bar in town- Roxy's at the El Dorado and even danced a bit...which inspired me to promptly sign us up for a refresher dance class (or two.)

However the point of this entry is the title- Metamorphoses. I suspect 2009 will be a big year of change for me and I know a lot of my friends are going through a period of transition in their lives too: getting married, finding new jobs or careers, having (or raising) babies, and dealing with the challenges of a new place, a new space and new directions. I hope that this year will bring with it new opportunities for all of us and that we may be wise and brave enough to take them on.

As for me, I thought long and hard about what who and what I want to be when I grow up and decided it would be best to stay un-grown up a little longer...at least for the rest of the weekend...

Consolation Vacation

2009-01-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

So I'm not entirely sure how this blogging thing works but I think it might be a good way to keep in touch with those that want to keep in touch and as an added bonus it means I don't have to tell the same story twenty different times. So here goes...

Having canceled our trip to Israel thirty six hours before it was to take place, Stan and I were left with mixed feelings and a non-refundable ticket to LA. In the spirit of making good on our New Year's resolution to be more spontaneous we decided to book a hotel in Venice Beach and make the best of it. After a terrible flight at the crack of dawn on Thursday morning (1/8/9) in a teeny tiny plane we got a rental car (Stan found a local place that rents good 'ole Japanese cars instead of weird Chevy's) and headed to the Getty Museum. Awesome architecture, rather boring art. Afterwards we went to check into our hotel on Venice Beach...I guess I must have seemed nervous checking in to this rather bohemian establishment (“bohemian”- code for smells like pot and is surrounded by homeless people aka "artisans" ) as the front desk clerk felt the need to tell me that the memorial/vigil outside the hotel (which I hadn't even noticed at that point) was for a man who owned a local restaurant and had recently passed away from a heart attack, “he wasn't shot or anything” she reassured me (indicating that perhaps this was an equally likely explanation)...yes very comforting, I feel all better now! Wandering down the beach we found a cute place to eat, FigTree Cafe and enjoyed the best ahi tuna sandwich, sadly sans fries (not even on the menu, are you kidding me?) After lunch we headed to happy hour at another local establishment on the beach where I enjoyed a screwdriver made with potato vodka...result- inconclusive. When dinner rolled around Viv took us to a fabulous Thai place that had a lounge singer (who was awesome!!!) and as I was still feeling sick from my stupid cold we had to call it a night. I was however happy to learn that the famous flip line in Clueless “what's the point [of practicing parallel parking] everywhere you go has valet” is delightfully true, for only $4 you can hand your rental car keys to a complete stranger and pray you don't end up on Punk'd. All in all a funtastical first day.

Friday we went to FigTree Cafe again for breakfast and made it there in time for the 50% off early bird breakfast special, which apparently every place in Venice Beach does. Then headed to the LACMA where we spent the entire day!!! Must do exhibits include the Vanity Fair Portraits and the entire contemporary art collection (despite my lack of appreciation for Homage to a Square) Dinner was at a mediocre French cafe – Lily's and post dinner entertainment included waiting for an hour or so for netflix to allow us the privilege of instant movie watching, all made worthwhile by the successful showing of the classic Coppola dramedy – Peggy Sue Got Married.

Saturday we checked out our friends Viv and George's apartment in Long Beach (right by the beach lucky duckys! though also near a sex offender rehab facility...hmm maybe not so lucky) We all had lunch at “At Last” Cafe, super cute, good food and not overpriced. Wandered the marina and squeezed in some lingerie shopping and a much anticipated trip to pinkberry, my first time- pomegranate with capn'crunch, yum o! Don't think I'll be holding my breath for them to open their shop in Reno, NV though. Then onto the Pacific Resident Theatre to see “Fata Morgana”...all in all a good show despite the fact that one of the male leads seemed to be forgetting his lines and “improvising” (badly) for a large chunk of the show. I consoled myself with the thought that one of these people could get discovered one day and I can say I saw them back when. Post-show we drove for hours (possibly exaggerating for dramatic effect) for izakaya-style dining at midnite to enjoy gizzards, hearts, chicken skin and tongue, dee-licous. Sadly we were too tired to karaoke and took our lame butts home to sleep off the last full day of LA adventure.

Sunday, we woke up late (that's past 10am for you non-believers) and headed over to (what was by then) “our” place the FigTree Cafe for breakfast. Convinced Stan to try the “soufflé-d pancake” results-mixed and took a long stroll on the beach in eighty degree weather...mmm California I shall miss you.