Gastronomy 101

Last year, this was basically the one cookbook I wanted to add to my collection. It's not a collection of recipes for meals; instead it details how to make the basics that you keep around in your fridge or pantry to use in other things. This includes items like butter, cheese, granola, sauces, snacks, etc.  I love this idea because often on my full time work schedule that often includes unexpected overtime, plus the fact that there are only two of us, meal times are typically geared towards the simple and quick meal for one or two without a lot of major meal planning going on. Baking can be an exercise in frustration when you work from home, as you are then faced with a mound of cookies or other sweets that you really shouldn't eat. You don't want them to go to waste, but there's no convenient break room to dump them in so other people will eat them for you. Enter The Homemade Pantry , which allows me to scratch my cooking itch by whipping up staple items that I

Winter is the time for hearty greens, all braised or roasted or otherwise cooked up and providing those good vitamins so you don't wither away in the frosty chill. The thing is, I like my greens raw not all cooked and wilty and soft. This is not a problem with regular lettuce or kale, which I can toss into a salad and chomp down like the good little rabbit I am. But when you get something a little more substantial, like chard, it doesn't work so well to just eat raw. They are bitter and thick and really need a little cooking to mellow them out and refine the flavor. But if you're a weirdo like me and MUST eat them raw, throwing them in a smoothie is the perfect way to do it. You may be thinking ... ewwwww! But here is the secret -- once you put sufficient fruit with your leaves, the whole thing tastes like fruit, with the added bonus of being a beautiful brilliant green color and giving you a metric ton of Vitamin A, C and potassium.  This is one of the heal

So, I know it's not cooking, but ever since I moved and now have this lovely big yard, I've become obsessed with gardening. And since growing is one of the beginning processes to eating, I'm shoehorning it in here, since it's my blog and I can do whatever. It's really rewarding to grow your own food and there's nothing fresher than something just plucked out of the ground or off of the branch. So I thought I'd keep a log of what I'm doing in the garden each month, the successes and not so much successes and what chores each season brings. Paperwhite Narcissus: Paperwhite Narcissus is a bulb that can be forced in the winter time and has becomes a traditional decorative plant for Christmastime. This year I tried growing my own and it is super easy. You can just toss the bulbs in a glass container with rocks or a regular container with soil, water and leave them. They grow into these beautiful white flowers in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it turne

This won't be the last squash post you'll see around here, so get used to it. Winter squash and the soups that they transform to are one of the best things about winter. Sitting under a woolly blanket with a steaming bowl of thick, sweet and spicy squash soup is sure sign it's winter, even in L.A. (Hey, it gets cold at night here!) About Acorn Squash: Acorn squash is a winter squash that is dark green on the outside and orange/yellow on the inside. It is native to America and the first Western settlers to come upon it actually thought it was a type of melon. Whoops! If you are considering growing this yourself, it is very easy to grow and can be directly seeded outdoors. It also produces delicious squash blossoms that can be eaten as well. It takes about 85 days from germination to harvest, then another 10 days of curing outside or in a warm, dry space. When buying, look for a squash that is dull and not shiny, which as much green as possible. Make sure it has n

Everyone knows it's time for apples and oranges, but fall and winter aren't as limited as you might think when it comes to fruit. There are many ways to branch out and liven up your cold weather menu, one of which is persimmon. Persimmon is in season October through February. The name "persimmon" actually comes from the Algonquin language of Powhatan, from words that mean "a dry fruit." There are two types of persimmon that are widely available: Hachiya and Fuyu. The above pictured type is a Fuyu, which accounts for 80% of the persimmon on the market. It is generally eaten raw and can be sliced like a tomato. I think a fuyu persimmon actually is quite similar to a tomato except that it is sweeter and more solid in texture. Hachiya persimmon is rounder and fuller and is not good to eat until is fully ripe due to the high levels of tannins that make it very astringent. You don't want to eat a hachiya persimmon until it feels like you are holding a

I originally posted this article in 2007, but it's popped up again on my most viewed articles Since people seem to be interested in this topic, I figured I would update this article for the current restaurant climate in L.A. Although most of the restaurants originally discussed are still great choices, I wanted to take off any that were no longer with us and add some new ones that are additional great choices. So if you are looking for dining options in Los Angeles that feature seasonal and often locally farmed ingredients, here is a current selection of top options that are either personal favorites of mine, or widely acknowledged to be among the best restaurants in the city: Canele: I have not yet been to Canele, but from what I know of it, it is a small neighborhood place beloved by folks in the area. Owned by a former commodities trader and a seasoned restaurant manager, this is the kind of place where you will find the menu chalked up on a board, and people who stop in for d