lperry

So whatever happened with the "cleanse?" New year, new exercise recovery elixir: carrot, ginger, pink grapefruit, pomegranate, and banana. A nice balance of sugar, vitamins, and electrolytes. I've also found that the magic grapefruit eliminates muscle pain as well as Vitamin M. (I don't care if it's placebo. ) LA Mart had giant pomegranates for a buck fifty, and I got into the mélée and managed to procure a few. Those little arils juice beautifully.

I'm somewhat embarrassed by our rather (by comparison) meager showing for NYE dinner. I would be more so, if we hadn't been eating Christmas leftovers up until last night, and that's with about 20 tamales stashed in the freezer. We went with a simple Thai green curry with broccoli, water chestnuts, and tofu, and the above-mentioned bottle of Mumm. Happy New Year!

I understand the point of view that the cameras are neither fair nor effective, however, it is not going to change any time soon, and the bottom line is that it is a preventable problem. I am reminded of a friend who got fired from a retail job for repeatedly checking for the strip in a $100 bill instead of using the marking pen, which was required by store policy. She told me, "it's a stupid rule." But it was the rule, and the consequence was preventable. Why not prevent the consequence and stress, and if it is that important an issue to you, work through proper channels to get things changed?

This argument is one that I have never really understood, although I am a fan of Mr. Weingarten's bureaucratic solution. We know the cameras are there, there's a website that shows you exactly where you could be caught, and, IIRC, DC residents voted to keep them in place so it's the law. It's like Waldo and Lawtey in Florida, or the big hill on Russell Road (where a dear friend has been ticketed three times.) I know there's a speed trap, so I hit the brakes. How is this anything other than a simple question of making one's life easier with minimal effort?

I typically have extra seasoning salsa from whatever I made for the fillings on the side, and I also cheat a little by using a little chile paste in the masa dough for more flavor. I have a strange tendency to make big batches of chile pastes at a time and I keep little stashes of different types in the freezer - all from Rick Bayless' first cookbook - so it isn't as big a production as it might be. We're now up to nine people from the original six, so I'll make them tomorrow and stash everything in the fridge. I'm also thinking Julia Child's Queen of Sheba cake made with Grand Marnier would be nice.

We have an eclectic group of friends coming over, and to meet all the difffering food requirements, I'm thinking tamales for Christmas dinner. Mushroom/poblano and black bean/greens fillings, roasted chipotle sweet potatoes with lime crema on the side, and a "southwestern" slaw. A pecan pie for dessert along with a couple of sorbets for those who want something a little lighter. Sangria and margaritas to drink.

Lentil and mixed greens soup, topped with a little pecorino Romano cheese.

Mixed greens and crimini mushrooms, sautéed and topped with cocotte eggs Whipped potatoes with leeks from the garden Gérard Bertrand Syrah/Grenache, Languedoc, 2011 - amazing for under 10 bucks at Costco.

Roasted butternut squash risotto (the last squash from the summer garden *sniff*) Roasted broccoli with a little pecorino romano shaved over the top

Am I the only one who sees Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune on one side of the gym and Mercury, Venus, and Mars on the other, everyone looking awkward as some cheeseball music plays in the background and nobody dares dance?

^ I could never get into Unbroken. I have trouble understanding why people find it so inspiring when it seems truly horrific to me. I *finally* finished Inferno by Dan Brown, but I had to get the audiobook from the library and listen to it to get through it. It did pick up toward the end, but getting there was difficult. I don't know why I felt obligated to finish it.

Cooking for myself this week, I made two large pots of food and have been going back and forth between the two. It's like flashing back to grad school. Thai green curry with broccoli and mushrooms, served over jasmine rice. Roasted sweet potato and chickpea "salad" in a tahini dressing, served warm.

They are closed for good, as we have been told there are plans by the owners of that property to develop it. I believe that will take out the storage facilities as well.

My Mandarin class had our end-of-semester meal here this afternoon, and I'm going to try to remember what everyone had. There were a fairly large variety of dishes including both the cut and pulled noodles in pork and beef soups (pronounced both unique and delicious), one Kung Pao chicken (OK), roast duck (raves from the duck fans, noted that this is not Beijing-style), Sichuan green beans (which were good, but not really Sichuan with a thicker, sweet-ish sauce and a different salted vegetable. I really liked these, but if you order them, don't expect ma la), eggplant in garlic sauce (glorious flavor and texture like velvet), and some Guangdong-style fried noodles with vegetables. Our lunch companion at the table who has lived in Hong Kong loved these noodles and explained to me that you mix them up with the sauce and eat them for the combination of crispy and soft textures. Despite the fact that I was a bit meh at first, they definitely grew on me once I understood the concept, and I would order them again. Overall it was a solid experience with good to very good food and excellent service.

I love this guy. Not particularly food related, but this one is my all-time favorite. What am I, Galactus?

Roasted tomato soup (canned this summer) Pan-fried roasted tomato risotto cakes A wonderful Bosc pear, I think from Mom's

I'm curious - does posting a menu violate any copyright issues? Menus that are posted online by restaurants have copyright indicators on the webpages.

Night before last, broccoli and tofu in a Thai green curry, served over jasmine rice. Last night, roasted tomato (freezer) risotto.

Left to my own devices this week, so last night was polenta topped with (freezer stash) caponata, penne caponata for lunch today. Tonight: a giant arepa filled with scrambled eggs, manchego, and a hefty dose of chipotle hot sauce. For some reason, breakfast food makes the winter feel less winter-y.

A couple of nights of - an unexpected trip came up and we need to use the produce in the fridge - dinners. Night before last, Savoy cabbage braised with spiced apple cider, a little butter,and Fuji apple Roasted fingerling potatoes with parsley and Romano Last night: "pho" with mushrooms, tofu, and rice noodles

^ What she said.

Broccoli rabe, mushooms and onions in a red wine, balsamic reduction, served over pan-fried polenta cakes Celery root and Granny Smith apple rémoulade with chopped capers and parsley

We've got a post Turkey Trot brunch and a dinner tomorrow, and I asked to do some gluten-free desserts instead of a veg side this year. It always makes me sad that Mr. lperry hardly ever gets dessert on Thanksgiving, so M&M cookies are in the works for the brunch and an apple streusel pie for the dinner. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Broccoli rabe, sun-dried tomato and feta quiche Roasted fingerling potatoes with parsley and romano I opened the freezer some time last week to find that Mr. lperry had stocked it with a few piecrusts from the Happy Tart. Less than subtle, but effective. Apple pie on the menu for tomorrow.

^ You can always go buy a jar of emergency Blue Plate. Just in case. Spaghetti caponata. Not the best pasta choice for a chunky sauce, but after braving Pentagon CIty Costco yesterday, I couldn't bring myself to go to Trader Joe's for penne.