SPICES? Did someone say… SPICES?

Posted in General by sallybr

We spent the whole of last Saturday meandering around beautiful LA neighborhoods, guided by the coolest couple in town, my stepson and his girlfriend. From their apartment in North Hollywood we hopped on the metro to Silver Lake, marveling at the stores of furniture, clothing, books, shoes and art, …when suddenly our guides mentioned a spice store…

You know what happens when a dog’s laying around in a pleasant state, minding his own business, and someone drops the word “cookie” in a conversation? The ears pop up, the head twists, and the inquisitive eyes tell it all: “Cookie? Did someone say … cookie”?

I didn’t wag my tail, but I was ready to “woof!” It wasn’t easy to control my enthusiasm because, after all, I’d left all my spices – three drawers of spices– 1,345 miles behind. And I needed a whiff of at least the basic aromas. Having visited Penzey’s in the Bay Area, I didn’t expect to be awed, but I underestimated: Spice Station is a fragrant dream of a store!

Inside a hidden courtyard, with doors wide open, enticing smells waft around and invite you to step inside and enjoy what they have to offer. Do you like masala mixes? I thought I knew them all, but a couple of theirs were new to me. Have you heard of Urfa Biber? I hadn’t. Care for special salts? You’re in for a treat of smoked and infused salts that you can sample at will (I brought home smoked Yakima Applewood). Dried peppers, curry mixes, barbecue rubs, endless herbs, seeds, pods, and a huge selection of teas. They sell a rare Chinese white green tea, “pai mu tan, ” that’s hard to find except from special tea importers (it’s my favorite!).

Not only does the Spice Station carry an amazing stock, but they’re all elegantly displayed in beautiful bottles, perfectly spaced on charming wooden shelves. The owners and staff are super friendly, knowledgeable, fun to chat with… and patient! The poor guy in charge of my order didn’t even blink at my long list of spices. He stood by the balance, weighing away, writing and labeling and moving to the next spice… and the next… and the next….

Between tasting, choosing and chatting the time flew by, but, in this lovely environment the gentlemen didn’t seem to mind… 😉

So if you’re a spice lover then stop by Spice Station next time you’re in LA. If you’re far from LaLa-Land, then take a look at their Etsy store for your next order. I’ll be back by again and again… there’s a Vintage Merlot salt that’s calling my name! 😉

SPICE STATION
3819 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 660-2565

ONE YEAR AGO: The Lighter Side of Meatloaf

6Sep2010

THE NANO-KITCHEN

Posted in General by sallybr

I’ve been getting emails asking for photos of our new kitchen, and the challenges it presents. It took me a while but now I can finally introduce you to the nano-kitchen.

This is the entrance…

The microwave was already in the house, and living next to it now is our Breville espresso machine – we could not leave it behind, for obvious reasons. Nothing beats a nice capuccino to start the day. And no one makes a better one than my beloved private barista.

We have a great countertop area to work now, thanks to my stepson and his girlfriend, who just moved to a smaller apartment in LA, and had to get rid of their kitchen island – it has storage space underneath and a cool side storage for knives. Without it, we would be in real bad shape. Are we lucky, or what? Big thank you to C & C, the coolest couple in Los Angeles!

The trickiest part: doing the dishes in the nano-sink…

Another item we could not leave without: the Penguin carbonator! We go through at least two bottles of carbonated water each day, so we’ve been making our own for the past 2 years. No more wasting glass or plastic bottles of Perrier or club soda. Our Penguin goes wherever we go. We are forever in debt with our dear friend Marie-Louise, who insisted we should get one.

Some details to make the kitchen a bit more functional…

The dining table right next to the kitchen area… we turned the table sideways to gain space in the room, as it’s just the two of us here.

We love our window, and the sunlight that peeks through the living room, or should I say the “one and only room?” 😉

We’ve been here for 9 days only. I sometimes open the cabinets searching for my own china, my plastic containers to put leftovers in the freezer, or my lemon juicer (that I cannot believe I left behind). But little by little, the house on the hill starts to feel like home. Home is indeed wherever I’m with the one I love. And that’s the way I like my life to be.

29Aug2010

JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME

Posted in General by sallybr

We don’t mind long driving trips, quite the contrary. My husband and I love to drive, switching the pilot and co-pilot roles every couple hours, so that no one becomes overly tired. We’ve taken many long trips together this way, but never with our dogs as (reluctant) passengers. This was a first for them, and because of their advanced age we were a bit worried. The first stretch took us from Oklahoma all the way to Sedona, AZ, where we spent a day resting our tired bones and making sure the dogs recovered.

They spent most of the day in the prone-position, alternating between profound snoring and dreaming, their paws kicking imaginary enemies or perhaps pursuing chubby squirrels in the backyard left behind. Nine hundred and twenty five miles behind. But that, was just the beginning…

The second and final leg of the trip, from Sedona to Los Angeles, was something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Our Dalmatian developed severe intestinal problems, but because of the heat while crossing the Mojave Desert, we brought them into the cab with us. The adjectives “stressful” and “uncomfortable” don’t quite describe it. I only put things in perspective by thinking about a recent story from my friend Jenny, who endured an 11 hour train trip STANDING UP, in a super crowded, not exactly fragrant car in China. So, a 7.5 hour trip squeezed in with two stressed, smelly dogs didn’t seem so bad! 😉

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But, somehow we made it. Our new “nano-house” needs some work to make it livable, but we started making progress yesterday. I don’t have a recipe for you yet, so I’ll leave you with a song that we listened to a lot during our journey. The melody and rhythm of this song have the power to instantaneously make me happy, and the lyrics summarize how we feel (for the full lyrics, click here):

Home is wherever I’m with you!

Thank you for all the comments left on my previous post, it was absolutely wonderful to read them!

ONE YEAR AGO: Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce

24Aug2010

AU REVOIR, MY BEWITCHING KITCHEN…

Posted in General by sallybr

Major changes in the horizon!

Tomorrow we leave on what may be our greatest adventure ever: we’ll drive (22 hours!) to Los Angeles to join a research lab at UCLA. Working in academia, we have the opportunity to take a sabbatical leave every 7 years, and this time we’ll return to beloved California. We’ll depart before sunrise with our two dogs, bikes, clothes, books, cooking stuff… and lots of music in our player!

Now, for an interesting twist of fate. We rented a “nano-house” with a tiny kitchen that is (prepare yourself…) …. without a stove or oven.

I’ll give you a few minutes to recover. 😉

I also launched into hyperventilation at this news, thinking that a food blogger without a stove is like Rio de Janeiro without carnaval, or Brazil without samba, Paris without the Eiffel Tower. You get the picture…

After much deliberation, we devised a plan of attack: we’ll take our Breville toaster oven (recently approved for bread baking), our electrical griddle, and a panini-maker. The nano-house has a microwave and an outside grill. That should provide enough toys to play with. In the past I’ve lived in such small places that I had to choose between opening the fridge or a kitchen’s drawer – literally! But it didn’t stop me from cooking. Of course, it’s not the size of the kitchen that matters, but the enthusiasm of the cook. I’m ready for this challenge!

UCLA, here we come!

At present we don’t know what the internet status will be in our new place, but I’ll be back as soon as possible to share our cooking adventures.

Au revoir et a bientot!

ONE YEAR AGO: Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

15Aug2010

GROCERIES

Posted in General by sallybr

This weekend I couldn’t get to the farmer’s market, so I resorted to the grocery store. Having found rhubarb at a Homeland on the other side of town made me go back again, hoping to score some celery root. No luck this time, but while checking out, the teenage cashier said to me:

“Ma’am, I’ve never seen anyone buying so much fresh food, the only thing you can’t eat here is the laundry detergent”!

I hadn’t noticed. But, back in the comfort of my kitchen I realized he was absolutely right (well, except that he missed the issue of Everyday Food ;-)).

This, my friends, is the way to start the weekend…

(click twice to enlarge it)