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.
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