I can't seem to get enough!

Tonight's dinner featured more goodies from the Hollywood Farmer's Market.

I sliced up a "Green Zebra Stripe" tomato & a "Pink Stripe" tomato (which didn't really have any pink coloring that I could tell - it was mostly yellow with some variations to the tone)- and drizzled them with some Adam's Ranch Olive Oil, and finished them with a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt & pepper.

The main course of the meal was leftover Halibut (not from the farmer's market - but safe according to the Seafood Watch guide) with a chunky tomato vinaigrette (using another heirloom which i can't remember the name of, sorry).

Quite colorful considering that all I had was fish & tomato.

I'll still be eating more tomatoes this week as you can see from the platter of them on the counter behind my dinner plate.

I also purchased a Winter Squash. I guess I'll roast it some time this week. I've never tried this variety. actually - I'm a novice at Winter Squash... Only tried roasting a butternut squash once, and Pumpkin Pie from Marie Calendar's doesn't count.

This week in Apples:

I want to know more about them. There are so many varieties out there. So I'm buying one of each to see which variety i truly like most.

Old-Fashioned Red Delicious: It has a matte red skin with green striping to it (no picture - I ate it already). Different looking from what we find in the supermarket - the highly waxed - gleaming deep-red apples. The texture wasn't as mealy as the supermarket type (++) but it still had that "Red-Delicious" taste - which I don't like.

Next up - Jonagold & one that starts with the letter 'M' and i think there was a 'u' in it... but I forgot the name. It's green.

Ratings
***** - Love it
**** - a keeper
*** - ok - good for variety
** - meh - I've had better
* - never again

Old-Fashioned Red Delicious apple **
Pink Stripe Tomato - *****
Green Zebra Stripe Tomato - ***
Lindner's Bison Kebab cubes - *****
Lily's Eggs (Chicken) - *****
Lily's Eggs (Eggs) - *****

Better than nothing?

My representative - Henry Waxman - disappointed me today.

He voted Yea on the $700billion bailout...

But seriously - how could he know through osmosis that he was not representing me? I didn't try contacting him on how I felt.

So I went onto my Senators' webpages (Barbara Boxer & Diane Feinstein), and emailed them how I felt. My header screamed:

"NOOOOO - I do not support the bailout!"

Why should the irresponsible parties who created this disaster be rewarded at the expense of the taxpayers?

I didn't buy a house I couldn't afford.
I didn't buy a new car that I couldn't afford.

I'm still driving an '89 toyota camry that I inherited 8 years ago.

I also take the bus to save $$ on gas.

So why should I help fund those who spent beyond their means and were too greedy?

and the bankers... why do they get such exorbitant salaries, bonuses & golden parachutes?

shouldn't they pay that money back first before the rest of us foot the bill?

And I was recently reminded (and outraged by the lack of media awareness) that McCain was one of the Keating 5. Hello? bailout part II?

So perhaps I'm a little bit all over the place... I didn't want to write too long a letter - I wanted to get my point across.

But I took a few moments out to contact my senators to tell them how I felt. They supposedly represent us - and if we don't tell them how we feel, then how can they truly represent us?

Or am I being an Idealist here... do they really care about serving their constituency or have they been bought?

Sigh... at least I tried...

McCain: The Most Reprehensible of the Keating 5

Click Here for a link to a very enlightening article on presidential hopeful, John McCain's involvement in the Lincoln Savings & Loan debacle... back during the first Bush Presidency.

The burden of the FDIC insurance payments was given to the taxpayers...

Who's going to be paying for this $700 Billion bailout?

you.
me.
our kids.

How are we going to fix those potholes?
oh funding's been cut
New books at school?
the money's been funneled elsewhere.
Repair Levees?
it will have to wait.

Our infrastructure?
crumbling.

How do you Melt Meat?

While vacationing with my parents in Julian, CA - about 15 years ago - we decided have dinner in that charming little mining town in San Diego County before our long drive home. We had a choice of 2 restaurants... we went to the Fondue place.

That was my first time having fondue. We had a cheese fondue - and dipped pieces of bread, blanched broccoli, and some other veggies... I remember the waitress now - explaining how to stir from the bottom, and to shake off the excess cheese "twirl [the fondue fork/skewer] against the rim of the pot - and never, ever tap!"

Mom: You know, we have a fondue set.
Me: Really? How have I never noticed it?

Yes, my parents had a Fondue set - probably a wedding present or something... I guess it was the rage back in the late 60's early 70's...

About a week after our return home, I asked about the fondue set. She pulled the whole set out.



Me: what are all those little dishes for?
Mom: for the condiments.
Me: what condiments? we didn't have condiments with our cheese.
Mom: it's for the Meat Fondue.
Me: (completely perplexed and horrified) How do you melt meat?

apparently, you cook cubes of meat in hot oil that's burning in the pot... no cheese involved.

The fondue set has been in my possession for the past 8 years and last night was the 2nd time I used it - and the first time for meat.

When I bought the cubes of Bison meat from Lindner's Bison at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, I saw a suggested recipe for fondue. I popped the package into the freezer when I got home. I wasn't ready to cook it yet.

I was having computer issues, and I bartered computer clean-up assistance in exchange for a home cooked meal. Even though i thought I'd washed my hands of him... turns out, I needed Mike's help... he does a great job of pissing us all off (within our circle of friends) - but somehow he just weasels himself back in. pretty smooth if you ask me.

He got his bison he'd wanted.

I got my computer fixed.

While waiting for the meat to marinate, & the computer to de-frag - we walked to the museum (LACMA) . We did a brisk walk through - from the Ahmanson building - where the Magritte painting (at right with Mike) is now housedto the new BCAM - then back home through Hancock Park (that's the name of the park) where the La Brea Tar Pits are.

You know - the Idea of Fondue is so much better than the Reality. It's such a pain set the whole thing up.

BUT - IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!

was it the bison?
was it because it was basically fried in a pot of oil?
was it the marinade?

Whatever the combination - the meat was delicious.

And in keeping with that 60's spirit (I've been watching Mad Men - great show), we had cocktails with the meal - Bloody Marys - followed by vanilla flavored Brandy on the front porch with cigarettes. Not only did I smoke... I chain smoked - about 5!! That's all they do on that show - smoke, drink, & have affairs.

All I can say - I was hurting this morning.

But I still made it out to the Hollywood F.M. and spoke with Mrs. Lindner - and bought a brisket. It's in my freezer now.

Keating 5

If you can't learn from the past - you'll be granted the opportunity to re-live it.




For anyone not aware of the Keating Five, here’s a very simple summary:

Charles Keating owned a savings and loan in California. He was illegally using the money of his bank’s customers to give loans to himself and friends that they didn’t have to repay, and to speculate on risky real estate investments, which was strictly forbidden by U.S. law (the latter was one cause of the Great Depression).


When the feds found out what was going on and launched an investigation into Keating and his company, Keating called five U.S. Senators whom he had wined, dined, and lavished with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and personal gifts for years.


Keating asked the five Senators to tell the feds to bug off, and the five Senators, later known as the Keating Five, obliged, meeting with federal investigators twice and pressuring them to stop investigating Keating’s crimes. They bought Keating some time, but the feds didn’t give up and eventually Keating was nailed. The reason the feds were so persistent was because Keating wasn’t playing with mere chump change. Keating blew $3.4 billion through illegal personal loans and bad investments, and the FDIC eventually had to reimburse Keating’s customers who had been ripped off. (The FDIC is a part of the federal government funded by taxpayers dollars, so when Keating stole from his customers you and I were the ones who paid for it.
)

(Background Info - Keating wasn’t the only Savings and Loan owner who was committing fraud, 20% of the S&L’s that failed during that three year period were found to have been caused by fraud and/or insider trading. The failure of the Lincoln Savings and Loan and other S&L’s pushed the country into a recession, costing the U.S. government $126 billion dollars in FDIC insurance payouts to investors. All of this came to a crescendo during the first year of the presidency of George H.W. Bush, who pushed through the S&L bailout plan to keep the economy afloat.
)

When the involvement of the Keating Five was made public, a scandal erupted and the Senate Ethics Committee launched their own four month long hearing into whether the Keating Five senators had violated Senate ethics rules. It was a giant mess (see the Keating Five Videos section). The other four Senators left office either immediately or within one term. John McCain was formally rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising “poor judgment” for intervening with the federal regulators on behalf of Keating, but because McCain accepted Keating’s gifts of travel and vacations to Bahama while McCain was a member of the House of Representatives (he served one term there before moving to the Senate), the Senate claimed they had no jurisdiction to censure McCain.
(However the meetings to pressure federal regulators occurred during the first few months of McCain serving in the Senate in 1987, so that excuse doesn’t hold up)

John McCain then went back to the drawing board and re-invented himself as “the Straight-Talk Express” and the media gobbled it up. “Tax-Evading-Criminal” doesn’t sound as catchy as “Straight-Shooting-War-Hero”.


Ever since the scandal, when McCain lies today, it’s never questioned, because he’s a “straight talker”. The man has more skeletons in his closet than any politician in history. The Keating Five is just one bone.


There are two fantastic articles about the Keating Five we highly recommend reading.


One is from 1989, written by the Phoenix New Times, called McCain: The Most Reprehensible of the Keating Five. That article does a good job of capturing the anger at the time at John McCain and the other corrupt Senators. It took an incredible spin job for McCain to have survived the scandal.



www.mccainkeatingfive.com

More Tomatoes

I can't help but eat tomatoes right now... They just look so good at the farmer's markets.

This is my modified caprese salad:
slices from 2 different colored heirloom tomatoes,
watercress,
buffalo mozzarella,
a drizzle of Adam's Ranch Olive Oil,
a pinch of Maldon sea salt,
fresh ground pepper,

and voila!

Gotta mix it up a bit! if you have great looking watercress, skip the basil...

This past Saturday, I was at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, and picked up a bottle of the most delicious olive oil (from Adam's ranch - click above in the recipe for the hyperlink). Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil... so smooth, so rich, so yummy! And it's local (ding!). It was price-y but it really made me want to test it out and savor the flavor - and it is indeed worth the extra bucks. It's comparable in price to some of the fancier label imported brands... but I've never found one that really stood out to me before - enough for me to take notice, at least.

And the idiot that is me wanted to test out my intolerance to dairy by getting buffalo mozzarella - just to see... but what did I also do? Got goat's milk yogurt AND had some Lemon Bars that Lisa & I baked the other day (with real butter)... So how can I tell what caused this recent breakout? sigh... one thing at a time, dork-o!

Lisa & I have been cooking together again... we are pretty damn good cooks - i might add! Lisa's dating a chef... and he was duly impressed by our tilapia last night. Good in, good out... we buy only the best (organic, seasonal, local).

She takes pictures of everything she makes... so I will too. Provided i remember to take a picture before digging in.

Civic Duty part II

I reported back for Jury Duty this morning at 10:30 (took the subway - so convenient)... they called roll at 11am and told us to report back at 1:30.

Really? we get there mid-morning, and then they tell us to come back 2.5 hours later? Not enough time to really go back to work and return.

So I took a stroll thru the Civic Center. I forgot my camera (again) but i found this website with pictures of all the things I saw today (publicartinla.com/civiccenter).

Moses (representing Mosaic Law), King John with the Magna Carta & Thomas Jefferson with the declaration of Independence.

I like the stylization/art deco quality to these statues.

Nice to walk by these interesting places - I'd never notice them while driving, but on foot, I looked up and contemplated them.


Now I'd have never discovered this park had I stuck to the streets. But I decided to cut through the "Mall" area and found a nice setting with such a crashing sound coming from this massive fountain. I just fell in love with the Mid-Century stylings of this Civic Center - very angular and flat - dramatic horizontal lines and a long low profile.

It must look spectacular in May & June as the fountain is surrounded by Agapanthus plants & Jacaranda trees - the place would be all abloom in blues and purples. (unless the agapanthus flowers are white - but they're usually blue). These pictures are definitely old - the trees and landscaping are much more mature now.

There was a starbucks down in that park so I had a coffee and tried to read a book... but I felt like calling my mama (in barcelona) - she didn't call me this weekend (hmpf!) so i called. I should call more often. I want to visit her again soon.

1pm rolls around & I head back to the courthouse. Hint - if the elevators going up to the 11th floor are totally packed, take the elevators that go from the 12th to the 19th floor, and get off at the 12th and descend 1 flight of stairs... much easier than climbing 11 flights like i did 2wice last week... i hate crowded elevators!!!

1:30 - roll call. They make us wait some more. 2pm - case dismissed. What a freaking waste of 2 days. I didn't even get to run my mouth off again and get dismissed by the prosecuting attorney! we were all dismissed... guess they settled or plea bargained. oh well... no more jury duty for another year.

I took a different route to get back to the subway station... via Temple. I saw this interesting mosaic mural - a topographic map of Los Angeles. This picture doesn't do it justice at all. The colors are much richer in real life.

It's good to take different routes - I used to park near the Disney hall, walk along 1st street then go up on Hill to Temple.

B-O-R-I-N-G!

Gotta cut thru the park, look at the public art. Soak in the different settings... This is what life is about... Experiencing as much as you can... and if you're forced to be somewhere you really don't want to be - explore... see why something like the Civic Center was built - why it looks the way it does - what purpose does it serve... Sure, I'd never say "I want to go to the Civic Center just to sit by the fountain"... But now that I know it's there, next time I get Jury Duty - I might go and take a coffee in the park.

Doing my Civic Duty

Jury duty time.

on 9/11

It was because of 9/11 that my family all decided to become U.S. citizens. I was born in Montreal, Canada & never really applied for citizenship even though I lived here in Los Angeles since the age of 1.

Or was it because of the 1st Bush election? I can't remember now what was the catalyst...

But with Citizenship comes the right to vote, & the duty to participate in Jury service.

1st time around - about 3 years ago, I hung around all day, and was dismissed in the end. No panel selected.

This time - no such luck. I was picked at about 2:30 pm. And even though I did raise my hand and ran my mouth off about stuff that i can't talk about just yet - I wasn't dismissed.

I had my camera in the car... I should have taken it with me on my lunch break - Jurors now park in the Disney Concert Hall... and I took a "self-guided" tour of the joint. I also walked through the mall of the court houses and saw this great fountain and some fabulous mid-century architecture.

Even though the courtroom was dark and dated looking - I really did take a liking to the wood paneling and the slender vertical lines near the ceiling in the interior of the courtroom... and the way it broke around the clock... Wish I could take a picture of that. I really liked that wall. They really crank the A/C super high in there. I was freezing. maybe that's to keep people like me from falling asleep.

I'll take my camera with me next monday so I can take shots of some of the stuff that caught my eye (to post herein).

correction

Lowered Expectations was a MadTV skit.

And speaking of Lowered Expectations in regards to dating... I have such low expectations about Jdate (yes i'm still occasionally logging on to see who'll message me)... I was surprised to actually meet 2 really decent guys... (the tally of those I deigned to meet in person: 5 absolute NOs, 1 meh, 2 Yes).

that being said, i realize that I just don't know what i want! I'm not sealing the deal with anyone lately... is it because i'm simply letting these men pass through my life? I think i've reached some sort of comfort level in my singlehood that i just don't know how to open up to anyone anymore...

And for some reason, I'm not feeling overly concerned about this... I'm getting scared that I should be worried. Hmmm - i'm scared that i should be worried about not being too concerned... That's a roundabout way of thinking if i've ever seen one.

Maybe it's not them after all... must be me. Oh well - maybe that handwriting analysis guy was right after all (from that earthday post back in april)

Hurray! and Doh!

Carrington got me 2 wonderful books for my birthday... one of which I've been wanting for ages... The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook (pictured right). I was so excited to start using it... and I was going to prepare for todays shopping - find a new recipe to try out that's especially perfect for what's in season NOW.

But Thursday night, I went to my friend Lisa's to cook dinner with her. Tuesday she had me over for shrimp with this amazing salsa & broccoli.

It was my turn to cook - but since my roommate always makes the most obnoxious gagging sounds & snide comments when I cook fish - I took it to Lisa's.

I took both the above book & my other favorite from Cooks Illustrated (pictured left) and forgot them at her place.

She left for Napa this weekend.

Sigh.

But we had the most amazing Halibut!

Halibut with Chunky Tomato Salsa

INGREDIENTS

1/2	pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, each tomato quartered (about 1 cup)
1/4	teaspoon table salt
1/4	teaspoon ground black pepper
2	medium shallots , minced (about 3 tablespoons)
2	tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
3	tablespoons lemon juice
6	tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Mix tomatoes with salt and pepper in medium mixing bowl; let stand until juicy and seasoned, about 10 minutes. Whisk shallots, basil, lemon juice, and oil in small mixing bowl; add to tomatoes and toss to combine. Pour vinaigrette over pieces of cooked fish and serve immediately.

I'd just prepared this meal for my boss - so I took some of the the extra salsa with me to Lisa's - along with some spinach to wilt with garlic. (the boss got baby potatoes with butter and chopped mint & a caprese salad)...

This recipe is a keeper - so easy! and the fish didn't leave any lingering smell at all. I bought a piece of wild caught halibut - about .6/lb - came to $13 - including the tomatoes & spinach, it came to about $20 total or $10 each. a bit of a splurge - but not breaking the bank. Healthy & light.

(must get book back asap!)

This Sunday at the Market

Tomatoes!

They're looking gorgeous - so colorful and flavorful even... and I generally don't like tomatoes... but how could I resist. I bought 3. I also got:
a rainbow assortment of radishes
3 zucchini ($9 for this & the above 2)
basil ($1)
mint ($1)
watercress ($1)
mixed baby greens ($3)
broccoli crowns (2@$1)
3 pounds of apples (I asked for 2 and he gave me the extra pound gratis) ($6)
golden & red raspberries ($6)
3 pink grapefruits ($2)
1 lb. each raw almonds & raw walnuts ($15.50 total)
dates ($4 - guilty pleasure)
a jar of strawberry jam ($6 - but soooo worth it)
and a basket of figs. ($1.50)

I returned 3 empty cartons of eggs to Tomas from Lily's farms & got a chicken ($13). I also returned an empty glass jar for jam to the people i'd gotten some apple jelly from - they gave me a quarter.

I also got a pound of Bison cubes to make Bison Fondue ($10). The recipe looked interesting... I bought them despite the fact that I cancelled what was to be another meeting of our 'Diner's Club'. I popped the bison into the freezer.

On tuesday I received a text from Michelangelo:

Whenever we convene the food society again i'm coming with you to the farmers market and we're going to eat buffalo steaks ok?

I told him Sunday was the next time I'd be free, and Linder's Bison is always there. So we set sunday as the day... I asked if it was just him or if Ara was joining... he went and invited Ara... ok - no problem.

Last night (saturday) I contacted him on AIM to find out what time he'll be meeting me at the market - that I'll be getting there around 9:30...

Mike - Why so early?
Sharon - because it's from 8 til 1:30, and i don't want to go when it's too hot or too crowded
M - but i'm entertaining tonight
S - um - we had plans to shop together - what time will you be up?
M - I invited Holly too.
(now i love holly to pieces - and she's always welcome, and she always appreciates my cooking - wonderful guest)
S - At what point was I to find out about this? That's it - deal's off... I'm not shopping alone and then cooking and setting up for dinner for 4 all by my self.

I've been underemployed for too long - and I go to the effort of carefully selecting fresh, organic, seasonal, locally and hopefully ethically/sustainably grown foods... but I can't foot the bill and feed 3 other people when all they bring is a $10 bottle of wine or a box of eggo waffles.

That was $80 of groceries! not that all those items will go into one meal... but if I'd gotten 2 pounds of bison (enough for 4) that would have been about $20.

I'm over it. I was going through my cranky/blue moment - and now i'm just taking it in stride... i've mellowed... and i'm just dismissing the whole hassle of Mike... he can be so obnoxious... i should know better... i've known him for over 10 years now... washing my hands of his silliness effective immediately... and it's in print!

So much for "Lowered Expectations"...

Remember that skit from Saturday Night Live - from ages ago? it was a play on the old dating service "Great Expectations"... anywhoo - in the skit, the dating pool was from the not-so-choice candidates...

well, my friend Megan & I came up with a theory about "lowered expectations"... in the workplace.

Ever notice how the slacker gets so much praise when he/she actually decides to put in some sort of effort?

Yet the person who goes in everyday and gives 100% gets slammed if he/she has an "off" day?

I've always had a strong work ethic. I do what needs to be done. And I do it well. I give 90-100% most of the time.

But what always burned me up was the way the slacker - who bummed around and got by doing just 50% - would all of a sudden give a little extra - like 75% - Bonus Time! If I ever gave as little as 50% to 75%, I'd get chewed up and spit out.

So this is how it works... the slacker is all of a sudden doing the boss/company a favor by performing, and everyone is suddenly thrilled. whereas the hard worker is just taken for granted until the one day when he/she doesn't meet the standards - and it's time for a lecture or a meeting.

I have one job where I get the job done in a timely manner. If I ever show up on time, my boss is stunned. I work for her every wednesday - sometimes I show up at 12, sometimes at 12:15. My original start time was supposed to be 11am. But she knows - I get the tasks completed - so what does it matter what time I show up? Unless there's a specific reason why I'm needed at a certain time, I just show up whenever. I don't plan it that way... it just turns out like that.

I have another job where I work there once a week. Again - there's no set time... just 5 hours or so - as long as it takes for me to get the tasks completed. I work independently. we communicate via email or texts most of the time. She also knows I am not a morning person - and that if she ever sees me before 9 am (let alone 10) - hell must be freezing over.

Here's the problem: I just started a new job. I'm very very thankful for it, and I want to do a great job. However, there are 2 people in the company that I've worked with before. They know my work ethic and how I'm hard-working, blah, blah blah.

But they've been singing the praises of ME and telling the boss how awesome I am and how I'm the best and that he must hire me...

Way to set the bar so high.

How can I even meet those HIGH expectations? Now I'm gonna start a new job where if i ever make a mistake - the boss is gonna be thinking "dude - they told me you were the best - what's up with this?" So I have to start out of the gate performing exceptionally - where's room for improvement?

Doctor goes Green by going Pink

If you are of the male gender, you may want to skip this post...

... Finally went to the gyno today for my annual exam. apologies to anyone i may have spoken to earlier due to my testiness due to my anxiety over going to the doctor.

When i was escorted to the room, i was told to put on the gown and drape the sheet over my lap.

They were cloth!

and they were pink!

no paper gowns or paper sheets... less garbage, but it does create a different set of expenses - water usage for laundry and detergents... but this is less garbage, indeed.

very nice touch. i commented to him how i appreciated his eco-friendly change. we almost spent more time discussing the earth than we did with my exam/health. but i was happy to see him again. much better than the planned parenthood doctors who don't speak english and just grab their swabs and escort you out.