soups on

its cloudy and drizzly here in sunny socal today - a perfect day to find yourself slurping on one of the ten best soups in los angeles according to the la weekly.  what better way than to warm your tummy and prep it for all the turkey holiday week feasting that's about to happen next week!
have a warm bowl of a weekend!

*photo's via laweekly.

bond

james bond, via daniel craig and skyfall had it's highest grossing opening weekend this past week. I was a contributing ticket buyers - money gladly and perfectly spent. my favorite james bond film? maybe not, but one of the best i've seen in recent memory which only makes me think i really need to get my hands on the just released 50th anniversary bond box set and hold a 22 film screening marathon. 

stuffed quinoa peppers

another delicious and healthy hit from the vegetarian times. this recipe made more than a dozen peppers, enough to freeze and save for a later date. my yummy batch lasted over a month and came to the rescue for half a dozen last minute lunches and dinners. 

alder & co.

i could throw a dart and love any alder & co. item that i land on. every item at this oregon store is beautifully crafted, thoughtfully selected and simply gorgeous. 

vine foods

not surprisingly, californians rejected proposition 37 at the polls this week - refusing the mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods. thanks to the over $45 million spent on anti prop 37 commercials by monsanto and other massive corporate food giants, california voters were (falsely) scared into thinking that their food prices and taxes would sky rocket and local farmers would go out of business. voting sheep being blindly led to slaughter.
i've been making an effort in the past couple of years to read food labels and make a concerted effort to know where exactly the products i use and the food i eat are  coming from and what exactly is going into them. vine.com is a great source for natural, organic and green products - all one click away and delivered free to your door.
have a genetically modified free weekend!

storm and the city

new york magazine dedicated their latest issue to sandy's effects on the city. there are some great articles along with an amazinv cover photo, showing manhattan and the divided city's power supply. 

singing in the rain room

we don't see a lot of rain here in sunny socal, so when i came across this awesome london art installation, i found myself craving an afternoon of listening to thunder and jumping over puddles. a rain soaked weekend in london somehow seems lovely right about now - a perfect post election day for singing in the rain! 

go vote!

i'm heading out to vote this morning...and for the first time, feel anxious and slightly nauseous about the impending results.
stay tuned....

awesome art by oliver jeffers.

music monday -feist

this whole daylight savings, fall back time thing has me hungry for dinner at 6, ready for bed at 9 and up at dawn.  this song somehow just fits this morning. 

thai brussels sprouts

ok, so i've never been a big fan of brussels sprouts. they were always far too bitter and chewy and never part of the rotation of vegetables we ate as kids. well, now, brussels sprouts are on almost every new gastropub and restaurant menu in town. marinated and roasted until they are charred and crispy -  the new must have menu item can be actually quite delicious! so when i came across this easy momofuku recipe, i had to give it a go. i skipped the puffed rice and can officially report now that brussels sprouts (prepared the right way) deserve their current place in the culinary trend sun!
have a crispy and tasty weekend! 

petite cocoa batons

my current sweet snack obsession:

the choice is clear

6 days and counting - just in case you still have doubts, read the new yorker's endorsement of obama, along with the one issued by the new york times this past weekend.

sandy

devastating eerie pictures courtesy of the new york times. 
hope everyone on the east coast is safe, dry and enjoying a cozy board game and good book day at home.  

  

music monday - la light

the music is nice, but the video has me transfixed. home sweet home...

roc star

instead of yet another noodle or sushi spot, a void has been filled on the west side and there is no longer a need to drive all the way to the san gabriel valley for delicious dumplings (well, maybe once a year). roc star soft opened this week on sawtelle, and if the long line and 45 minute wait is any indication, it's going to be a huge neighborhood hit by the time it's official signage and doors go up in a couple of weeks. in addition to these crab and pork babies, we had amazing glass noodles w/crab and an assortment of fresh and cripy stir fried veggies, each better than the next. this is one roc star that the neighbors are lucky to have!
have a steamy, yummy weekend!

vitsoe

i've been feeling slightly cluttered in our little apartment and have been dreaming of having an entire wall of shelves and drawers and storage - all perfectly designed by vitsoe. the 606 universal shelving system is timelessly simple and adapts to every space imaginable. i've been imagining it on all my walls recently - their catalogue is on the way.

avocado chimichurri

my current home cooked meal recipes have mostly come from the pages of a great magazine i recently discovered while in line at whole foods. vegetarian times has great,  fresh and easy recipes - most healthy and so far, all delicious. this delicious avocado chimichurri toast was lunch yesterday (and appetizers the night before)!

the politics of it all

the last of the 3 presidential debates aired last night - and instead of feeling informed, i was instead made nauseous - like bad reality tv. 
the 2 weeks left until election day couldn't come fast enough....

*image via aslan media

music monday - cat power

the latest cat power album, sun, was released las month and is currently on heavy rotation on my spotify playlist. you can download her first single, cherokee, free on her website as well as listen to my ruin, my current favorite track.

zucchini rice gratin

i made a slight variation of this yummy stick to your tummy dish last week, when the weather turned chilly and the oven being on for an hour at 450 degrees was actually a good thing.
have a tasty rich weekend!

spinlister

renting a bicycle while on vacation or (staycation) isn't exactly cheap ($10/hour here at the beach),  but now there is a new, far more budget friendly peer-to-peer bike rental site called spinlister. it works similarly to how airbnb works, but instead of vacation rentals, you can list your bike or find one to rent from friendly locals for as little as $10 a day. the service is currently only available in new york and san francisco, with plans to expand to more cities in the coming months.  helmets are optional, so no need to look silly riding down broadway! 

bloody brilliant

alex williams wrote a funny, great article last week in the new york times about american's new found fondness for british vernacular, a crime some of my best mates and i have been guilty of since our days of fancying fags and munching on 99p with cadbury flakes. cheers love!

nong la cafe

the first sign's of fall arrived in southern california last week (though today it's back to being almost 90), and so of course, the pho cravings kicked in. located on the increasingly too cool for schoo sawtelle "tokyo" strip, nong la cafe is the newest kid on the block. after having had their original (beef) pho and (beef) banh mi sandwich last month and then the (beef broth) lemongrass, tofu and mushroom pho last week (see below), i can officially say that this is the tastiest and freshest vietnamese i've had west of the san gabriel valley. pho sure! 

music monday - david byrne & st. vincent

i've always been a hovering david byrne and annie erin clark fan (don't own their albums, but love their music), and this new collaborative album (along with a 10-piece band) did not disappoint. 

petrichor

word of the day - and one of my favorite scents after a hot and dry southern california summer.
this morning, i awoke to a faint, yet lovely, petrichor.
have a fantastically sunny and fragrant weekend!

leek & pancetta risotto with fried egg

in a perfect world, where calories and carbs and cholesterol didn't do what they are so good at doing, i would make and eat this mouthwatering recipe every day - yes, everyday!

*photo via tastingtable.com

christopher hitchens

i read christopher hitchens mortality over a weekend a couple of weeks ago - a first hand account of his battle with cancer. it is a beautiful, perfectly pitched and sharp witted (as usual) book by of a man facing his own mortality. afterwards (because it's hard to let go and put down a book after you read what you know are the last words ever to be written by a great writer),  i watched parts of his memorial and got to know a little more about a writer, thinker, and man who by definition lived a full life.

passion fruit sorbet

my obsessions never stop searching for their next reward...

music monday - new mumford & sons

the latest mumford & sons album, babel, was released last week and this song so far has been the one that has stuck around at the back of my head.

culinary apothecary

new york mouth is a timely new online store that compiles, curates and sells a carefully crafted variety of hard to find and delicious gourmet small batch artisanal treats. no need to search for the best jams or chocolates or snacks all over town - a great many of them are now a click away.  my virtual shopping cart is currently filled with everything you see below - waiting to proceed to checkout!
have a sweet and savory weekend.

perse please

it's october, and although it's been 90 degrees outside this past week, cool weather is on tap for this coming weekend. i'm more than ready for a perfect fall slight nip in the air day, preferably with my wish list james perse items from this season's collection. 

half the sky on pbs

one of the most informative books i read a few years ago just became a documetary on pbs. it aired this past monday and tuesday and is now available for streaming for only one week online. if you didn't get a chance to read the book, set aside a few hours in the coming week and watch half the sky on the pbs video site - it's hugely eye-opening and possibly life changing.

tacos de mariscos

one thing that los angeles does better than anywhere else in the states is taco's. i realized i had never had and didn't know anything about authentic, delicious mexican food until i moved here (and went to mexico) and in that realization has come my love for fish taco's. i could easily and willingly eat a fish taco several times a week here and if i lived closer to my favorite, ricky's fish tacos, i probably would. the la weekly just published their list of 10 best seafood taco's in the city - a couple of which i have already entered into google maps for near future taste testing.

*photos via the la weekly

music monday - flight facilities

a friend sent me this song last weekend - perfect accompaniment to monday coffee and tropical fruits.

favorite sweater

wearing mine as i type - though it's now getting a bit too warm and a tank top is soon in order.
have a hot and cozy weekend! 

apron springs

i never wear an apron when i cook or bake. okay, i don't cook often, but still... when i do, there is always an inevitable splash or splatter or squirt and stain that ends up on my shirt or pants and i always kick myself for my inherited lazy stubbornness. so when i finally do get around to purchasing one (soon, really), los angeles based hedley and bennett's  gorgeous classic aprons are the ones i covet more than any other. they are functional, affordable and incredibly handsome. yes, handsome.