Beautiful Santa Monica January Days

Yesterday was a gorgeous day at the beach; the waters were a beautiful rich sparkling blue.  I've rarely seen the ocean look so inviting.  After quite the cool and rainy start to the new year, the weather has warmed up nicely; it's currently a very enjoyable 70 degrees in Santa Monica.  It will be perfect for my early evening run!  I was by the beach for the Santa Monica Wednesday farmer's market.  Nothing new or exciting to report, there were a bit more offerings than last week, but just the same winter produce that we've had for the last few months: winter squash, root vegetables, dark leafy greens, citrus and some lingering apples.  I couldn't find any more pears, but there was a lot more variety of citrus and they had some awesome chanterelles.  I bought some salad greens, fingerling potatoes, beets, rosemary, parsley, cilantro and hachiya persimmons.  I've been cooking a little more this week and plan to make a pork loin roast for the weekend.

After more errands, we stopped at Tacos Por Favor for some tasty tacos.  It was packed, but delicious as usual. 

Al pastor on the left, chorizo and cheese on the right

lengua taco

Random chicken tikka masala picture from earlier this week.  I basically followed my original recipe, but subbed leftover half and half for the heavy cream, which turned out fine, and added some Japanese curry powder.  Everyone really enjoyed this dish; the heat was nice for the winter.