Sunday, May 31, 2009
"Bride Wars": A Surprise on the Upside
One of my friends highly encouraged me to watch "Bride Wars." Although this is not a movie I'd typically rent, she was insistent she didn't usually like these kinds of movies either but really enjoyed the movie. After debating between several other choices I decided to go with "Bride Wars" based on Christine's recommendation and was not disappointed. It is pretty funny - Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are both really cute in it and I think if I could find a guy like Bryan Greenberg out here in San Diego, I'd probably be willing to get in a bride war of my own.
My New Favorite Salad
It starts with cabbage. Yes, cabbage. Who would have guessed it? Part of this salad is inspired by one of my all-time favorites - the raw kale salad at Whole Foods. This salad includes craisins and pine nuts. My salad includes cabbage, craisins, sliced up pears, choice of nut (I've used pistachios and pine nuts, but you could also use walnuts or almonds) and choice of cheese (I've used blue cheese and feta cheese but would also highly recommend goat cheese, especially if you're at Trader Joe's).
This salad is very easy to prepare, and one large head of cabbage makes enough salad to last for a week if you're eating it every other meal. My current salad includes pistachios, feta cheese (a mix of reduced fat plain and feta with garlic and roasted peppers), sliced up pears, craisins and is generally topped with balsamic vinaigrette, although occasionally I mix it up and top with raspberry vinaigrette.
This salad is very easy to prepare, and one large head of cabbage makes enough salad to last for a week if you're eating it every other meal. My current salad includes pistachios, feta cheese (a mix of reduced fat plain and feta with garlic and roasted peppers), sliced up pears, craisins and is generally topped with balsamic vinaigrette, although occasionally I mix it up and top with raspberry vinaigrette.
A Tale of Two Fish
Over the past couple of weeks I've been cooking more frequently, largely inspired by the "Cabbage Strada" recipe my little sister Ali passed along to me. That recipe left me with tons of left over cabbage, which actually makes a great salad as it turns out. Yesterday as I was wondering the aisles of Von's I realized they had some pretty good sales on fresh fish. I purchased three different kinds of fish, two of which I've already prepared and eaten. One was a very solid recipe that I'd proudly prepare for guests. The other, well, not as great.
Last night for dinner I made a red snapper fillet. This is a quick and easy recipe that makes quite a delicious dish. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees and in a bowl, mix some olive oil, chile sauce and lemon juice. Season this marinade with salt, pepper and some freshly diced garlic if you'd like. I also put some salt and pepper on the fish, as well as some "Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salmon Seasoning." I pretty much use this seasoning on all my fish. It's good. Not sure exactly how long I put the snapper in the oven, but I'd estimate between 10 and 15 minutes. I served with some salad and watermelon. It was very tasty.
This morning for brunch, I made a different salad and cooked some tilapia fillet on the range. Similar to the snapper preparation, I used olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings in the pan before adding the fish (and also directly seasoned the fish fillets with salt, pepper and salmon seasoning before adding to the pan). Hmmm...not sure if it was the tilapia or the preparation but this dish wasn't as tasty. I'm guessing since the ingredients were nearly identical, it was the tilapia. So if you're preparing dinner for friends, I'd recommend skipping the tilapia and going with red snapper.
Last night for dinner I made a red snapper fillet. This is a quick and easy recipe that makes quite a delicious dish. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees and in a bowl, mix some olive oil, chile sauce and lemon juice. Season this marinade with salt, pepper and some freshly diced garlic if you'd like. I also put some salt and pepper on the fish, as well as some "Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salmon Seasoning." I pretty much use this seasoning on all my fish. It's good. Not sure exactly how long I put the snapper in the oven, but I'd estimate between 10 and 15 minutes. I served with some salad and watermelon. It was very tasty.
This morning for brunch, I made a different salad and cooked some tilapia fillet on the range. Similar to the snapper preparation, I used olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings in the pan before adding the fish (and also directly seasoned the fish fillets with salt, pepper and salmon seasoning before adding to the pan). Hmmm...not sure if it was the tilapia or the preparation but this dish wasn't as tasty. I'm guessing since the ingredients were nearly identical, it was the tilapia. So if you're preparing dinner for friends, I'd recommend skipping the tilapia and going with red snapper.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Nellie the Beach Cruiser
I am the proud owner of a new Dyno Glide beach cruiser. As of this blog post, I think I'm naming her Nellie, though I can't really say why. After agonizing over the numerous used cruisers on Craigslist and checking out a few new ones, I decided Nellie was my gal. She's in really good shape, particularly after I polished her up with some chrome polish, purchased new grips, a new horn and got a new lock so she'd be safe.
There are some initial learnings about beach cruisers I'd like to share with my three loyal readers. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Any type of hill on a beach cruiser is a disaster. I learned this cruising down to Pacific Beach from La Jolla. There are a couple of mild hills that felt like K2 on Nellie. If you are in an area where you'll need to cruise around a bunch of hills, go with a cruiser with numerous speeds and be prepared for burning quads.
2. Taking your willful puppy for a run while your riding your beach cruiser can be tricky. Reggie has been pretty good about running next to me when I take her leash off on the bike path, but I'm still a little nervous about doing that closer to La Jolla Village. There were several near accidents, particularly when she saw another dog or tried to go the other way around a pole, etc.
3. Riding on a beach cruiser is incredibly relaxing and makes you very nostalgic. Sunday afternoon I took Nellie down to Pacific Beach. Midway through Birdrock I was humming "California Girls" and thinking about 3389 Hoover Heights and riding my bike as a kid. I think I'm going to try to make it a new weekend tradition - the beach cruise down to PB to grab a beer and a burger and then cruise home.
4. Beach cruisers personify "Cali-ness." Beach cruising is turning out to be one of my favorite things about living in Southern California.
5. More to come. I've only cruised a few times and Nellie still needs a little polishng up...
There are some initial learnings about beach cruisers I'd like to share with my three loyal readers. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Any type of hill on a beach cruiser is a disaster. I learned this cruising down to Pacific Beach from La Jolla. There are a couple of mild hills that felt like K2 on Nellie. If you are in an area where you'll need to cruise around a bunch of hills, go with a cruiser with numerous speeds and be prepared for burning quads.
2. Taking your willful puppy for a run while your riding your beach cruiser can be tricky. Reggie has been pretty good about running next to me when I take her leash off on the bike path, but I'm still a little nervous about doing that closer to La Jolla Village. There were several near accidents, particularly when she saw another dog or tried to go the other way around a pole, etc.
3. Riding on a beach cruiser is incredibly relaxing and makes you very nostalgic. Sunday afternoon I took Nellie down to Pacific Beach. Midway through Birdrock I was humming "California Girls" and thinking about 3389 Hoover Heights and riding my bike as a kid. I think I'm going to try to make it a new weekend tradition - the beach cruise down to PB to grab a beer and a burger and then cruise home.
4. Beach cruisers personify "Cali-ness." Beach cruising is turning out to be one of my favorite things about living in Southern California.
5. More to come. I've only cruised a few times and Nellie still needs a little polishng up...
The Alarm Clock
Nine times out of ten this is now what I wake up to, whether I fall asleep on the couch or make it to my bed. Reggie is a very good snuggler and likes to tell me when she's ready to get up. In the rare case she sleeps in her crate, it is a 6:30a sharp wake up call, which isn't so much fun on a Saturday morning.
We checked out the dog park at Balboa Park today - it was a lot of fun. At one point, she was hanging out with a three month old chocolate lab, a five month old yellow lab and a few other dogs. It was quite a scene to see the puppies chasing each other around. Not shockingly, she was bullying the three month old but the five month old was actually bigger than her, making it a bit of challenge for her to get her way. She is now officially exhausted and has been napping on and off since 4p. Gotta love the dog park!
We checked out the dog park at Balboa Park today - it was a lot of fun. At one point, she was hanging out with a three month old chocolate lab, a five month old yellow lab and a few other dogs. It was quite a scene to see the puppies chasing each other around. Not shockingly, she was bullying the three month old but the five month old was actually bigger than her, making it a bit of challenge for her to get her way. She is now officially exhausted and has been napping on and off since 4p. Gotta love the dog park!
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