Son #2 just submitted a short animated film to the South Bay Film Festival. Turns out he's a finalist and his film will be shown in it's entirety (all ~3 minutes) at the Festival on November 1st.
Just had to brag for him on my soapbox.
At some point after the festival, the films will be posted online to view. Check it out at http://www.southbayfilms.com/ Just a warning to anyone who needs it, some of the movies posted on that site might be adult themed.
If you want to view Son #2's film only, you can see it on his blog: www.thabno.blogspot.com
Generosity, Trust and Community Service
There really are so many nice people out there in the world. Today I was at Sam's Club buying all the food for our Toberman dinner and a very nice gentleman started chatting with me as we waited in line. I guess he was wondering why I had 40 pounds of pork, 2 gallons of BBQ sauce, a zillion buns, 5 bags of salad, 4 giant bags of veggies, and a gallon of salad dressing. He found out what I was up to, and handed me $20 for Toberman. I was completely caught off guard. How generous! It's nice to know that there are people who are still generous and of course, trusting! Thank you sir! I know that the kids at Toberman will be happy to know of your generosity.
Toberman Settlement House is a place in San Pedro where those in need can receive assistance. There are many ways they help those in the community, you can check it out at www.toberman.org.
Anyway, along with 3 other families, my kids and I cook and serve dinner to about 120 children each month. We started this project about 5 or 6 years ago and have been there every month since. It's a very rewarding project and it's nice to see how much these children appreciate a nutritious hot meal. With food costs skyrocketing and the economy the way it is today we really need to look out for those who are hungry.
Toberman Settlement House is a place in San Pedro where those in need can receive assistance. There are many ways they help those in the community, you can check it out at www.toberman.org.
Anyway, along with 3 other families, my kids and I cook and serve dinner to about 120 children each month. We started this project about 5 or 6 years ago and have been there every month since. It's a very rewarding project and it's nice to see how much these children appreciate a nutritious hot meal. With food costs skyrocketing and the economy the way it is today we really need to look out for those who are hungry.
Mexican Food in Indiana
Scary thought isn't it? But what the heck, we decided to try it anyway. My sis lives in Indy so we are visting this week.
I wish I had taken a pic of this Mexican restaurant because you would die to see it. We were there for lunch and the place looked like a nightclub just waiting for the darkness. It was like a huge warehouse with a stage, a bar, a row of booths and about 8 tables.
I ordered a margarita because I learned my lesson -- when in doubt of the cleanliness or freshness order hard liquor. Weirdest margarita I've ever tasted. Not sure why. I tried to pinpoint why so weird, but not possible.
I ordered a mushroom quesadilla. Naturally, being in Indiana I expected to see canned mushrooms. I figure if that's what I'm expecting and they miraculously have fresh I'll be thrilled. No such luck. But they did saute the mushrooms along with onions and tomatoes. But you have to hear about the cheese. This was not real cheese. It was likc nacho cheese from a can. Oh my. Can you even imagine?! Why don't they use real cheese? It's beyond me why a restaurant wouldn't use real cheese. It seemed like food from a snack bar at a ball game. That's where I'd expect to see that quesadilla.
Moral of the story - go with your gut (don't eat Mexican food in Indiana).
Unless I go to Japan, I am never ever ever having sushi outside California.
I wish I had taken a pic of this Mexican restaurant because you would die to see it. We were there for lunch and the place looked like a nightclub just waiting for the darkness. It was like a huge warehouse with a stage, a bar, a row of booths and about 8 tables.
I ordered a margarita because I learned my lesson -- when in doubt of the cleanliness or freshness order hard liquor. Weirdest margarita I've ever tasted. Not sure why. I tried to pinpoint why so weird, but not possible.
I ordered a mushroom quesadilla. Naturally, being in Indiana I expected to see canned mushrooms. I figure if that's what I'm expecting and they miraculously have fresh I'll be thrilled. No such luck. But they did saute the mushrooms along with onions and tomatoes. But you have to hear about the cheese. This was not real cheese. It was likc nacho cheese from a can. Oh my. Can you even imagine?! Why don't they use real cheese? It's beyond me why a restaurant wouldn't use real cheese. It seemed like food from a snack bar at a ball game. That's where I'd expect to see that quesadilla.
Moral of the story - go with your gut (don't eat Mexican food in Indiana).
Unless I go to Japan, I am never ever ever having sushi outside California.
MM's Boring Chicken for The Dave
MM has inspired me to post about chicken. If you want to see her 'Boring Chicken' she makes for The Dave, visit her blog (link at bottom of my page). I actually don't cook chicken very often anymore because it is so dang boring. And it's disgusting how they are raised and killed. I am turned off of any chicken that looks too big and was raised and killed 'normally'. What is normally you ask? I don't know. But if they are abnormally large for a chicken (turkey-sized) forget it! I have discovered that Kosher chicken is really tasty. If you feel like having some boring chicken, this is the way to go. Take a whole cut up kosher chicken, bone-in and skin-on (this is important for flavor -- you may think that boneless-skinless chicken breast is the way to go, but really you may as well just eat your sauce). So take the chicken, loosen the skin but don't remove it. Rub olive oil, lemon juice, kosher salt and garlic all over under the skin and then on the skin. Let it sit for an hour or several hours in the fridge. Now cook the chicken either in a dutch oven, doufeu, or on the grill. It is the tastiest chicken you will ever have!
Loving Food Feels Like a Curse Sometimes
Some days when I don't feel like cooking (or rather dealing with a mess to clean up) it can feel like a curse. When I crave some good and healthy food like a simple fresh green salad with some fresh figs, or some heirloom tomatoes lightly tossed with a dressing of oil, balsamic vinegar and fleur de sel it seems impossible to find it anywhere but in my own kitchen. I know what you are thinking: what's gonna get dirty? A salad spinner, a knife, a cutting board and a bowl? Big deal. Wash the damn dishes. But it's not like that. I feel like I always have to clean up before I can start preparing any meal. Dishes from the previous meal (lunch and breakfast, and if I'm not so lucky, dinner from the night before). Plus, I have 2 boys here. They won't be satisfied with just that salad. Sometimes I think the dirty dishes multiply exponentially within minutes around here.
So we make an attempt to find a place to go out to eat that will be close to home, relatively cheap, and serve fresh healthy food, and some meat for my carnivore son. It's not easy to find that place in suburbia. Even in the suburbs of LA. I wonder how the Westside would fair? I know Whole Foods is always an option. But sometimes the ambiance is a turn off. Plus Whole Foods is not all that inexpensive. Tonight it set me back $45 for a very mediocre meal with the ambience of a fast food joint. Don't get me wrong, I love Whole Foods for grocery shopping. But where else can we go? Forget chain restaurants. Salads in chains are usually from a bag, never rinsed and doused in bottled dressing. Ick. I am on a mission to find a good place here in the South Bay. I'm sure there's something out there.
So we make an attempt to find a place to go out to eat that will be close to home, relatively cheap, and serve fresh healthy food, and some meat for my carnivore son. It's not easy to find that place in suburbia. Even in the suburbs of LA. I wonder how the Westside would fair? I know Whole Foods is always an option. But sometimes the ambiance is a turn off. Plus Whole Foods is not all that inexpensive. Tonight it set me back $45 for a very mediocre meal with the ambience of a fast food joint. Don't get me wrong, I love Whole Foods for grocery shopping. But where else can we go? Forget chain restaurants. Salads in chains are usually from a bag, never rinsed and doused in bottled dressing. Ick. I am on a mission to find a good place here in the South Bay. I'm sure there's something out there.
My Enchiladas
Bro asked for my enchilada recipe so I may as well just post it here. I haven't made the one he's refering to it in a long, long time so we'll see if I can remember. When I make enchiladas I usually just throw in whatever I have on hand -- any type of beans, corn, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, chiles, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, leftover chicken, salsa, whatever's around. I think this might be the one he wants. I can't give measurements, you can adjust to how much you are making and to your taste.
Corn tortillas
Black beans, drained and rinsed
Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Diced green chiles
Frozen sweet corn
Cheddar cheese, shredded (I think I used cheddar cheese soup at one time -- find a good one though)
Enchilada sauce (ES) (if it's too spicy for you either make your own, or add some tomato sauce to mellow it)
Most likely I layered the dish like a lasagna. Be sure to start with some ES in the bottom of the pan. Also mix some ES with all the other ingredients and after you put on the last layer of tortillas top it off with some ES and some shredded cheese. Cover it and bake until the tortillas are really soft and it's all bubbly.
Does that sound like the one? Can you get all these ingredients in AU?
Corn tortillas
Black beans, drained and rinsed
Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Diced green chiles
Frozen sweet corn
Cheddar cheese, shredded (I think I used cheddar cheese soup at one time -- find a good one though)
Enchilada sauce (ES) (if it's too spicy for you either make your own, or add some tomato sauce to mellow it)
Most likely I layered the dish like a lasagna. Be sure to start with some ES in the bottom of the pan. Also mix some ES with all the other ingredients and after you put on the last layer of tortillas top it off with some ES and some shredded cheese. Cover it and bake until the tortillas are really soft and it's all bubbly.
Does that sound like the one? Can you get all these ingredients in AU?
Grilled Cheese Invitational
This has got to be the coolest thing ever. Too bad I couldn't get in.
They call it "an orgy of cheese." Evidently there's something like 150 people making grilled cheese sandwiches to be judged by up to 800 attendees. Some grilled cheese loving roomies came up with the idea in 2003 and now it's an annual event that got a blip in the LA Times last week. Well, by the time I read the paper and tried to RSVP (that's the only way you can find out the location of the event), it was too late. They reached max capacity. Huge bummer.
I am a grilled cheese junkie.
It's a huge comfort food (white bread, white American cheese, lots of butter, in frypan, served with tomato soup of course).
Foodie food (French baguette, fresh mozzerella, procuitto, fresh basil, olive oil, on panini grill).
An "every-man-for-himself" dinner (any bread on hand, any cheese in fridge, any meat if any, any veggies sliced thin, olive oil or butter, on panini grill).
And dessert (sheepherders bread, Havarti cheese, sliced dates on panini grill) OR (country bread, dark chocolate bar, on panini grill, add créme fraiche after it's grilled).
Makes me want to hit Campanile on Thursday for Grilled Cheese Night.
I am determined to get to the invitational next year. Check it out at www.grilledcheeseinvitational.com
Just don't take my spot.
They call it "an orgy of cheese." Evidently there's something like 150 people making grilled cheese sandwiches to be judged by up to 800 attendees. Some grilled cheese loving roomies came up with the idea in 2003 and now it's an annual event that got a blip in the LA Times last week. Well, by the time I read the paper and tried to RSVP (that's the only way you can find out the location of the event), it was too late. They reached max capacity. Huge bummer.
I am a grilled cheese junkie.
It's a huge comfort food (white bread, white American cheese, lots of butter, in frypan, served with tomato soup of course).
Foodie food (French baguette, fresh mozzerella, procuitto, fresh basil, olive oil, on panini grill).
An "every-man-for-himself" dinner (any bread on hand, any cheese in fridge, any meat if any, any veggies sliced thin, olive oil or butter, on panini grill).
And dessert (sheepherders bread, Havarti cheese, sliced dates on panini grill) OR (country bread, dark chocolate bar, on panini grill, add créme fraiche after it's grilled).
Makes me want to hit Campanile on Thursday for Grilled Cheese Night.
I am determined to get to the invitational next year. Check it out at www.grilledcheeseinvitational.com
Just don't take my spot.
Um.
I spoke at a middle school career day yesterday. I have done this before but for some reason I felt a little unprepared this time. Maybe because instead of reviewing my outline and notes before my talk I drank coffee and chatted with other speakers. Anyway I learned something about myself during my talk. I say "um" way too much! I swear I wanted to slap myself. As I rambled on and on about being a personal chef all I could hear myself say was "um". And the more I tried to stop the more I think I said it. I got to the point where I don't even know if I was saying anything that made any sense at all because my focus was all on my "ums". Thank goodness I made it through the talk without any of the kids actually screaming out "MRS. N, STOP SAYING UM!" It really wouldn't have surprised me in the least.
So later in the day I met up with a friend who teaches a college class and who also spoke at the middle school career day. She told me of the time she counted all the "ums" a college student uttered while giving an oral presentation and how she, as the teacher counted them all. Whew!was I glad she wasn't sitting in on my talk! Well, then she proceeded to take a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfold it. On it were lots of tally marks and then a total. 137. What?!
Her daughter, a middle school student, tallied all HER "ums!"
All I can say is there is no way I said "um" 137 times during my talk!
So later in the day I met up with a friend who teaches a college class and who also spoke at the middle school career day. She told me of the time she counted all the "ums" a college student uttered while giving an oral presentation and how she, as the teacher counted them all. Whew!was I glad she wasn't sitting in on my talk! Well, then she proceeded to take a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfold it. On it were lots of tally marks and then a total. 137. What?!
Her daughter, a middle school student, tallied all HER "ums!"
All I can say is there is no way I said "um" 137 times during my talk!
How to Get Rid of Food
I finally figured out how to clean out the fridge. Invite over ten 15 and 16-year old boys. Man can they eat! I kept putting out the food and it kept getting devoured. I bought about 7 pounds of sirloin steak to grill for them, plus I made 5 pounds of spicy chicken wings, salad, 3 bags of chips, salsa, and sodas. In addition, I got rid of a bag of potatoes (threw them in the oven to bake), a tray of baked penne with peas and bechemel from the freezer, a few bags of leftover Easter chocolates and jelly beans. Oh and the 2 cakes we served for dessert! They all seemed very appreciative. Kudos to hubby for grilling the steaks perfectly. And Kudos to the boys for helping me make some fridge and freezer space!
Big Son's Birthday Cake
Son #1 asked for a Tres Leches cake for his birthday. I have made Tres Leches several times and it's not hard at all. As a matter of fact it's very easy. But you do have to make it at least one day before you serve it so all that milk can soak in.
So since his birthday was 2 days after Easter and I have been hobbling around on a sprained ankle, I basically realized that making a homemade Tres Leches was not happening. So before I left for his volleyball game at 4 pm on his birthday I ripped out the bakery page from the Yellow Pages (remember the Yellow Pages? no one uses them anymore b/c of the internet) and stuck it in my pocket. In between games I would call the Hispanic bakeries to find a cake for hubby to pick up on his way home. I had my doubts. Would there be one along his route? Would a bakery still be open at 7pm? Would they have any Tres Leches? If they did would it be good? I got lucky. The first bakery I tried had it, and they'd be open till 8:45. I had to settle for a cake that serves 18, but oh well, better than one that serves 50. It was just for us 4. It was El Molino Bakery in Lawndale. They even wrote Feliz Cumpleanos on it for us.
It was delicious. Better than mine? Yes. They have way more experience with it than me and my Italian, Polish, Russian heritage. As a matter of fact I'm off to have another piece right now.
So since his birthday was 2 days after Easter and I have been hobbling around on a sprained ankle, I basically realized that making a homemade Tres Leches was not happening. So before I left for his volleyball game at 4 pm on his birthday I ripped out the bakery page from the Yellow Pages (remember the Yellow Pages? no one uses them anymore b/c of the internet) and stuck it in my pocket. In between games I would call the Hispanic bakeries to find a cake for hubby to pick up on his way home. I had my doubts. Would there be one along his route? Would a bakery still be open at 7pm? Would they have any Tres Leches? If they did would it be good? I got lucky. The first bakery I tried had it, and they'd be open till 8:45. I had to settle for a cake that serves 18, but oh well, better than one that serves 50. It was just for us 4. It was El Molino Bakery in Lawndale. They even wrote Feliz Cumpleanos on it for us.
It was delicious. Better than mine? Yes. They have way more experience with it than me and my Italian, Polish, Russian heritage. As a matter of fact I'm off to have another piece right now.
Big Son's Birthday Dinner
Yesterday was Son #1's birthday. 16. Wow. Could I possibly have a 16-year-old?
Anyway, like MM said, I've been a slacker. It's tough to keep up -- So much to eat, so little time to blog. There's so much I haven't blogged about - like the beef recall/slaughterhouse problems, my continuted and expanded hate of chemicals in food, my new calling of helping revamp some school lunch programs, my trip to Marakai, my disgust of canned cream of chicken soup, the discovery of veggies at Sprouts having no taste, my sprained ankle right before Easter preparations, Alton Brown's homemade cottage cheese, should I go on?
So regarding son's birthday and my renewed disgust of any meat that's not organic and Kosher, we let him choose the restaurant for his birthday dinner. Claim Jumper. He's a carnivore. Of course, he's 16 and he plays volleyball for 3 hours every day. Ever since Claim Jumper (CJ) was built many years ago, not 3/4 of a mile from our house (we drive by it several times a day) we have been able to observe the clientele quite regularly. Now, if you don't know CJ, it is primarily a steak place with HUGE servings. I mean huge, huge like one entree could feed my whole family huge. The baked potato is the size of a watermelon. The chocolate eclair is dessert for 6. So too is the clientele. HUGE. It's weird to me. How do these large people find places like this? Do they know? We haven't eaten there since the week they opened. Back then our kids were under 5 and they could eat what they wanted and were only charged something like 5cents for every pound they weighed. Great deal when your kid weighs 45lbs! So flash forward to last night. We ate some good food. Son's burger was a delicious heart attack. My seemingly harmless rotisserie chicken, grilled asparagus and baked sweet potato I'm sure was much more fat and calories than I could have dreamed. There was 2, yes 2, huge scoops of butter on the baked sweet potato. And then about a 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I removed them both. Son was happy with the dinner, that's what matters, it was his night. I did like the food, but next time I know to ask for certain things left off. If there is a next time. Is the clientele huge before they become regulars, or not till after?
Anyway, like MM said, I've been a slacker. It's tough to keep up -- So much to eat, so little time to blog. There's so much I haven't blogged about - like the beef recall/slaughterhouse problems, my continuted and expanded hate of chemicals in food, my new calling of helping revamp some school lunch programs, my trip to Marakai, my disgust of canned cream of chicken soup, the discovery of veggies at Sprouts having no taste, my sprained ankle right before Easter preparations, Alton Brown's homemade cottage cheese, should I go on?
So regarding son's birthday and my renewed disgust of any meat that's not organic and Kosher, we let him choose the restaurant for his birthday dinner. Claim Jumper. He's a carnivore. Of course, he's 16 and he plays volleyball for 3 hours every day. Ever since Claim Jumper (CJ) was built many years ago, not 3/4 of a mile from our house (we drive by it several times a day) we have been able to observe the clientele quite regularly. Now, if you don't know CJ, it is primarily a steak place with HUGE servings. I mean huge, huge like one entree could feed my whole family huge. The baked potato is the size of a watermelon. The chocolate eclair is dessert for 6. So too is the clientele. HUGE. It's weird to me. How do these large people find places like this? Do they know? We haven't eaten there since the week they opened. Back then our kids were under 5 and they could eat what they wanted and were only charged something like 5cents for every pound they weighed. Great deal when your kid weighs 45lbs! So flash forward to last night. We ate some good food. Son's burger was a delicious heart attack. My seemingly harmless rotisserie chicken, grilled asparagus and baked sweet potato I'm sure was much more fat and calories than I could have dreamed. There was 2, yes 2, huge scoops of butter on the baked sweet potato. And then about a 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I removed them both. Son was happy with the dinner, that's what matters, it was his night. I did like the food, but next time I know to ask for certain things left off. If there is a next time. Is the clientele huge before they become regulars, or not till after?
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