When Life Gives You Lemons...

My parents have a lemon tree in their backyard, so I try to use their lemons as much as possible (no pesticides and free!).  I was able to incorporate lemons into all three courses that I made for Mom's birthday dinner on Monday night.  I made a watermelon, feta, mint & arugula salad to start, using Ina's recipe, with the only adjustments being a little less olive oil, plus I didn't use all the dressing that I made since I don't like to overdress my salads.

We all loved this salad; it is such a great summer salad.  It is bursting with fun and interesting flavors: the sweet and juicy watermelon vs. the salty dry feta on top of the peppery arugula with some fresh mint (also from the backyard).  The dressing is also very good and summery, and a little different from my usual vinaigrettes: it uses both freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice, with some shallots, honey and olive oil.  I'll definitely be making this again.

To continue on the lemon theme, I made a roasted shrimp lemon capellini pasta based on Ina's recipe also, with the only adjustment being less butter: 2 TB instead of 4 TB, although I think you can reduce it even further to 1 TB.

This pasta was also very good; the lemony freshness really shone and went well with the roasted shrimp and the butter and olive oil coated the pasta well.  The only thing I would perhaps change is to roast the shrimp on two baking sheets as opposed to one; since there's almost 2 lbs of shrimp being roasted, it ended up steaming more than roasting since they were arranged so close together.  I think roasting the shrimp on two baking sheets with more space between them would further bring out a nice roasted flavor.  It's another nice summery dish.

For dessert, I made lemon ricotta cookies with a lemon glaze using Giada's recipe (I just used a little less sugar for the cookies since we all don't like desserts that are too sweet).

I really liked the lemon flavor of the cookies, and they weren't too sweet.  I still haven't quite mastered baking however, they turned out a little soft and some were slightly damp.  I think I need to put them all on cooling racks when I let them cool or something.

For wine, we had Curran's 2007 Grenache Blanc.  I've had several bottles of this wine from this vintage and it is one of my favorite whites.  It's just very easy to drink, but also very interesting at the same time, very bright and slightly floral.  It goes well with everything, from seafood to cheese, and also great on its own.

4th of July and Boating

For the fourth, we had a nice BBQ at a friend's house in Venice.  We had a very festive spread of food, including a very patriotic red white and blue dessert pizza.

His sweatshirt actually had an insulated pocket specifically for beers

 That's Bojer. Look at that face!

After sunset, we headed west a couple of blocks to the beach to watch the fireworks.  Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out how to take pictures in the dark.  We were well prepared with blankets and jackets, so it was pretty nice to relax on the beach at night with a bunch of friends and watch the fireworks.

The next day, we went out on our friend's boat from Marina del Rey and boated south, past El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, to Palos Verdes and back.  It was a nice day for a boat ride; although a bit chilly and overcast, it was still nice to be out on the water see LA from a different perspective.

Random pirates and revolutionaries rappelling down the side of a house

We also got to see lots of wildlife that we don't normally see, including a bunch of lazy, fat seals around Redondo Beach and a school of dolphins.

Those are dolphins in the distance

 Palos Verdes

Get Out and Run

I blame it on the warmer weather, which just makes me want to go outside and run, play golf, ride my bike, swim or go to yoga class, but over the last few weeks, I've spent way too much on Lululemon: 2 crops, 4 tops, 2 jackets, 2 shorts and a visor.  Good news is that everything (except the visor) was significantly on sale (check out the stores and website for big discounts); bad news is that it still is a lot of clothes in a short period (though I would argue that I needed every single piece) and Lululemon is still relatively expensive.  I really made sure to buy pieces not just because they were on sale, but also in good base colors like black with my favorite matching accent colors like potion purple, senorita pink and angel blue and in my exact size.  As most people know, I adore purple and hot pink, and I particularly love the Lululemon versions of these colors, which they change every season, so I figured I would stock up before the colors are discontinued.  I've also found that the technical aspects of Lululemon's clothes really hold up, they really do wick moisture and dry quickly; whenever I hang my various yoga pants to dry after washing, the Lululemon ones dry within hours whereas the really thin cotton of my American Apparel pants or Hardtail tops take over a day and a half to dry.  Their clothes really last; the crops that I got last year still look brand new with no fading and fit just like the day I bought them, with none of the pilling that my newer Lucy pants have all along the seams and the fading issues, particularly with black.  Now that my collection is complete, I vow not to spend another dollar on athletic apparel for at least the next six months.  I've already put the new clothes to lots of good use this weekend; yesterday I tested out the bike shorts with a long bike ride to Main Street for brunch and along the beach bike path and today, I went to the free yoga class inside the Lululemon store. Picture of some of the new additions:

L-R: Run:Zoom Knee Short in potion purple, Flashback Jacket in potion purple, Flow Y IV in senorita pink, Tracker Tights in potion purple, Vita Organic Tank in potion purple, Flight Running Visor in angel blue, Gather & Crow Crop in savage green, Layer Me in potion purple (not pictured: reverse groove shorts, Mynah Jacket in angel blue and Cool Racerback in potion purple)

Yesterday, based on a recommendation from a friend, I went to Top to Top in Santa Monica to replace the 5+ years old running shoes that I bought online.  Before Top to Top, I always bought whatever running shoes were on sale in colors that I liked.  That might explain my various knee and lower back issues that bother me when running.  At Top to Top, they spend a lot of time watching you walk without shoes on and analyzing your gait before bringing out a bunch of shoes to try on.  I pronate slightly and have a high arch and relatively wide forefoot, so they brought out various Asic, Saucony, New Balance and Nike for me to try on.  I was amazed at how comfortable, supportive, light and cushy all the shoes were.  I also realized how ill-fitting my previous running shoes were.  I ended up going with the Saucony ProGrid Guide 3 shoes because I found them to be the most supportive all around the foot.  I felt very light; ready to run a couple of miles.  You'll be paying full retail price, but it's worth it.  I also found that the same shoes weren't cheaper online at Amazon or Zappos, so I was satisfied with my purchase.  Initially, I wasn't a huge fan of the electric blue color, but they are growing on me.  Plus, it matches some of my Lululemon buys :).  I jogged a bit in them with the dogs, but I'm looking forward to going for a real run today or tomorrow.  I highly recommend going to Top to Top for all things running, and don't forget the $5 coupon on the website.

Yesterday was a busy, but really enjoyable day of running around.  We started by biking down to Urth Caffe and meeting up with friends for brunch.  After a short stroll around Main Street, we biked down to the beach bike path that runs along the ocean and biked towards home.  It was a beautiful day for biking around; it really felt like we were on vacation.  Everytime we bike on the beach, we always vow to do it more often, but somehow time always gets away from us.  There's always too much to do, too little time.  We ran a couple of errands around town for a bit and stopped at Top to Top for the running shoes, and then took the dogs for a nice long walk.  I made one of my easy summer pastas: organic heirloom cherry tomatoes, basil, organic spinach, fresh mozzarella with fusilli pasta, based on Giada's recipe (with my addition of spinach for more greens).  After dinner at home, we met up with friends for drinks at Rush Street in Culver City.  All in all a great day.

Today, we got up bright and early and I went to the free Lululemon yoga class while K. went to play golf.  I'm prepping and cooking this afternoon for mom's birthday meal tomorrow, and later in the afternoon, we'll be heading over to Venice to a friend's house for a BBQ and fireworks.  Another busy day!


Top to Top
2621 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA  90403
(310) 829-7030

New Trader Joes Discovery

Whenever I go to Trader Joes, I head straight towards the sample station and get a little snack and a small cup of coffee to drink while I shop.  Occasionally, I find a new discovery that I really like, such as these rosemary, cranberries and pecans.

While they are a little expensive at $3.50 for a small 5 oz bag, they are really good; a little sweet from just a bit of sugar on the pecans, tart from the cranberries, and warmth from the rosemary.  It makes for a very good simple salad; tonight we just served it on top of some spinach leaves and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette and it was really good.  Sometimes you don't need a lot of ingredients for a satisfying salad.  After a long week, we kept it simple for dinner at home; just grilled up some thin pork chops with some bbq sauce to go along with the spinach salad.

Lemonade

After a strange and rather dull yoga for athletes class at YAS (Yoga and Spinning) on Abbott Kinney, Jen, Dee Dee and I had lunch at Lemonade.  This was the second time I've been to Lemonade in the last two weeks (I went last week for the first time after Circuitworks, which I also was not a fan of).  Despite being a little expensive for lunch (~$12 pp), I really like Lemonade.  It's bright and cheery fast cafeteria-style place where you order from various servers behind a counter.  I really like the variety; they have so many interesting choices, it's hard to make a decision!  They have market sides which are assorted salads, pasta salads and vegetables:

Sandwiches and pot roasts which are stewed in a lovely rainbow of Le Creuset pots:

Lots of desserts and of course, a variety of interesting lemonade:

There's so much more on the menu that looks good that I can't wait to try, which is always a good sign of a place.  My thoughts so far on what I've tried:

• Loved (would definitely order again): oxnard strawberries, arugula, blue cheese, balsamic; cauliflower, golden raisins, almonds, curry; chicken breast, butternut squash, grapes, oregano
• Liked (but debating whether I would order it again):  curry chicken apple sandwich (I like Urth Caffe and Surfas Cafe's curried chicken sandwiches more); lobster, soba noodle, lebanese cucumber, sesame; butternut squash and pistachios
• Meh: macaroni and cheese; spaghetti squash, farro, pomegranate vinaigrette; mini cupcakes (too dry)

Lemonade
1661 Abbot Kinney
Venice, CA
(310) 452-6200

Slow Roasted Salmon

Continuing on the seafood trend, since it is summer after all, I experimented with some wild alaskan salmon last night.  I couldn't decide whether I should poach it, or pan fry it, or roast it in the oven, or bake it in foil, so I did none of the above.  I decided to slow cook it in the oven based on a technique in serious eats, but with my own ingredients.  Since I had two ears of corn and 4 roma tomatoes leftover from the previous week's meals, I decided to slow roast the salmon on top of tomatoes, corn and onions and serve it on a bed of fresh organic baby spinach for even more healthy veggieness. 

• First, I preheated the oven to 250 degrees
• In my Le Creuset 3 1/2 quart wide french oven (off topic, but this is the Le Creuset dish I use the most: for sauteeing vegetables and potatoes, making soup or risotto), over medium heat, I heated up a couple of TB of olive oil and added 1 small thinly sliced onion and sauteed until soft, just a couple of minutes
• Then, I added the chopped tomatoes and corn, which I shaved off the cob, and sauteed for a couple of minutes
• I laid two filets of salmon (~1 lb total) on top of the tomatoes, corn and onions, seasoned with just a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and added 1/2 cup of white wine.  On top of the salmon, I laid a couple of thin slices of lemon
• Baked in the oven for half an hour
• Served on a bed of spinach

It was a pretty good way of cooking the salmon; the salmon was cooked through, but not dry.  The tomato, corn and onion base was really good; roasting in the oven really brought out the sweetness in all three vegetables, and they also added a little moisture to the fish.  I thought it was a good, healthy dish (plus easy cleanup, just the le creuset pot), so I'll definitely be making it again!

More Seafood: Spaghetti with Clams

Last night, I made a relatively light (as light as pasta can be) summer dinner: spaghetti with manila clams and roma tomatoes.  It's a very quick dish to put together; most of the time is spent prepping: scrubbing the clams, chopping the tomatoes, garlic and parsley.  I picked up 2.25 lbs of farmed live manila clams from Costco.  I'm always wary of purchasing prepackaged live seafood, but these clams looked like they were still alive (just slightly opened) and were packaged the same day.  As soon as I got home, I put the clams in a pot with ice and water and a little bit of flour.  They were fairly clean too; they did not release much grit, but I let them sit and scrubbed them very carefully one by one just in case. 

To finish the prep, I chopped 4 roma tomatoes on the vine (about 1 pound), 3 cloves of garlic, and 1/2 bunch of parsley.  While boiling water for the pasta and cooking the pasta:

• Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a wok over medium heat, then saute the garlic for 1 minute
• Add the clams, 1/2 cup of white wine, zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon and saute until the first clams start to open.  Cover and turn off the heat if the pasta isn't ready yet
• Cook the pasta until it is still very al dente, about 6 minutes
• For the last minute that the pasta is cooking (after it has been cooking for 5 minutes), turn the heat on the wok to high and add the tomatoes and continuously stir.  Season with 1-2 tsp of chili flakes, freshly ground pepper and salt (if necessary; sometimes the liquid that the clams release is very briny, so you don't need to add much salt)
• Using tongs, add the pasta to the wok and toss everything together until the pasta is cooked and sprinkle fresh parsley on towards the end and taste for seasoning.  Add pasta water if you want the sauce to be more liquid

It's a simple, but very flavorful pasta; very refreshing and filling on a summer day with a good glass of white wine.  There's a nice garlicky undertone and heat from the chili flakes that goes well with the fresh clams, complemented by the substance and acid from the tomatoes, brightness from the lemon, and freshness from the parsley, and the noodles absorb some of the nice briny / seafood flavor of the clams.  We paired it with a bottle of the 2007 Alma Rosa Pinot Blanc from Santa Rita Hills, which was a good pairing; the wine was interesting enough to stand up to the flavors of the pasta and good on its own.