Paris Etc.

We're going to Paris! We've never been (well, unless a six-hour layover at Charles de Gaulle counts), so we're thrilled. Already plotting our many food and drink stops. Here's a few we're planning on getting to:

Marche des Enfants Rouges
La Patisserie des Reves
A La Petite Chaise
Atelier Maitre Albert
Restaurant Jadis

And I thought I'd share a few sites I stumbled upon recently:

Foodzie - for goodies
Yummly - for recipes
The Perennial Plate - online documentary series

West Coast Whirlwind

We just spent three and a half days in LA and San Fran for my hubby's step-brothers' graduations--one from college, one from law school. (Congrats again, guys!) It was a whirlwind tour filled with ceremonies, festivities, and a lot of eating. And just to boost the zany factor even more...We drove between LA and San Fran, encountering lots of food-related stuff along the way. Here's a list of everything foodie from our West Coast celebration:

• Fish tacos at Manhattan Beach
• Coconut ice cream with fresh mango chunks on top
• Duke's Malibu: tiki joint practically in the ocean
• Endless orchards
• Giant wooden cutouts of farmworkers propped up in the fields along the road
• Castroville artichoke farms
• Gilroy garlic advertisements
• Factory/Industrial farming and animal feeding operations (sadly)
• La Bicyclette restaurant, Carmel-by-the-Sea: asparagus and morel lasagna, which I declared at the table to be one of the best things I've ever, EVER consumed
• Really tasty and inventive tapas at Andalu, San Fran
• Shopping at SF's Rainbow Grocery, scooping up as many beautiful, local vegetables as the cart would hold
• Cooking a feast with two of my favorite women in our SF kitchen with a view (below): crudite platter, grilled chicken and salmon, baked portabella mushrooms stuffed with quinoa and veggies, roasted zucchini, and mixed greens salad
• A giant orange gummy bear
• As much avocado as I could get my hands on
• As much CA wine as I could drink
• Picking lemons from the tree in our SF garden (thanks for the pic, Mom!)

Lettuce Wraps

We felt bulgogi-ish last night so we marinated some sliced skirt steak for about a half-hour in sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice, sriracha, grated garlic and ginger, Asian five spice, salt, and pepper. While it was marinating we made some germinated brown rice and sliced up the veggie toppings: red pepper, carrot, and cucumber. Then we very quickly cooked the beef in a super-hot grill pan. (A wok could've worked, too.) Done! We wrapped up our rice, meat, and veg in bibb lettuce cups and topped with a splash more of soy sauce and a lot of sriracha.

If you click on the above link you'll see why I say bulgogi-"ISH." Hardly traditional but certainly inspired by the classic Korean dish.

Also, Saturday was the knife skills class at L'Academie de Cuisine and I have to report that my technique now qualifies as mad phat. Well, probably not, but it's definitely better. The class was fantastic, the instructor knowledgable and entertaining. Highly recommended for anyone looking to hone (get it? ha!) their skills.

May Flowers Bring:

A prolific week of recipes, ruminations, etc. But first, the Washington Post's two leading stories today:

D.C. Council Launching Campaign Against Childhood Obesity
Oil Spill Threatens Gulf Region's Ecosystem and Fishing, Tourism, and Shipping Industries

I was thrilled this morning to see these very important stories above the fold, especially the latter one. This one's deserving of loads of print and airtime, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, what the hell is going on down there? The most recent report says that it could take 90 days before this is solved! "In that time, lots of oil could spread." Thanks for the insight, Mr. Salazar. Let's hope not. You and the Prez better get on those geniuses at BP for the sake of the environment AND the livelihoods of the Gulf region's residents.

Now onto cocktails. I should preface this by saying I'm usually pretty old-fashioned when it comes to libations, but I came up with two this week that don't fit that bill, and I'm OK with that. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did ;)

First, the Candied Lavender Martini. Make lavender-infused simple syrup by combining 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and generous pinch of dried lavender. Bring to boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool and strain. Place some ice in martini glass and set aside. Put ice into cocktail shaker. Pour in 1 ounce of Drambuie and 2 ounces of gin of your choice (not Hendricks). Shake well. Remove ice from serving glass and, using strainer, pour into glass. Drizzle in syrup to taste. Garnish with sprig of fresh lavender if you wish.

Second, the "Altered State," which is a Negroni-Greyhound combo. Place some ice in old-fashioned glass and set aside. Put ice into cocktail shaker. Pour in jiggers (1.5 ounces) of gin of your choice (not Hendricks), sweet vermouth, Campari, and white grapefruit juice (not "cocktail"). Shake well. Using strainer, pour into glass. Top off with 3 ounces of tonic water. Finish with squeeze of lime. Stir. Garnish with lime wedge.





Now onto grub. It was a varied week: seared scallops on Monday night; paneer with vegetables on Tuesday night; martinis and filet mignon on Friday night; Italian sausage sandwiches, of course with peppers and onions, at Merriweather Post Pavilion pre-My Morning Jacket (our fifth time seeing our favorite band) last night; and brunch today at the Hay-Adams--just because--complete with one of their famously strong Bloody Marys.

For the paneer dish, I sauteed onion, garlic, and ginger then added cauliflower, asparagus, and peas with canned diced tomatoes and garbanzos. Seasonings were garam masala, bay leaf, lime zest and juice, salt, and pepper. I cooked the veggies until tender and added the cubed paneer to warm through. (You could use extra firm tofu if you can't find paneer cheese.) It was hearty enough to eat without rice, but you definitely could serve it over basmati.



And lastly, a couple of garden pics: