tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30923647989550376832024-03-05T14:01:25.235-08:00Tiny Kitchen Cuisinean amateur's observations on cooking and eating<br>
in and around Los Angelesjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-68739704172258412602018-08-01T22:00:00.001-07:002018-08-01T22:41:43.787-07:00Can o' Salmon
A quick and tasty lunch is a disk of canned pink salmon smothered with a spoonful of mayonnaise, Sambal Oelek chili sauce, sliced green onions and Japanese sesame and seaweed seasoning. Don't mix it all up or mash it just use a fork to break off mouthfuls and you can enjoy the many textural elements in each mouthful. the creaminess against the tartness, the pungency of the earthyjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-40451723805692318622012-08-09T16:20:00.004-07:002012-08-13T10:01:07.388-07:00Nice Cuppa TeaThat old taste for tea has returned. When I was nine years old I decided that I would most likely turn out a coffee person. This caused much consternation from my grandmother, especially when I asked for a second cup at the farmhouse table in Ohio. She would warn me that it would likely stunt my growth, ignoring the fact that at that time I was probably two feet taller than my peers.
My dear jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-27059489201772551272011-10-11T16:45:00.000-07:002011-10-18T07:05:59.632-07:00Cast in IronTime flies, doesn't it? There are big changes afoot this year and it seems as though nothing is written in stone. Fewer dinner parties and more nesting suits me fine. There are new found friends and, rather sadly, lost or fading friends. Sometimes there is hardship or suffering, but personally I am finding the now a pleasant time of adjustment and a veritable cleaning out of the cobwebs. jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-80745242885560543012011-05-10T07:06:00.000-07:002011-05-11T10:44:12.126-07:00Bacon BitThe dish pictured to the right, Atlantic sea scallops sautéed with bacon and scallions in a cream sauce with grapes, was very successful and I was going to go on and on about the virtues of seafood but I thought a change might be in order and so I am putting my feet back on dry land with this post despite the taste of seaspray.
I want to focus on the bacon I used in the dish, because I sured it jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-42251202172396581032011-04-28T07:47:00.000-07:002011-04-28T12:55:55.887-07:00End of HarvestIt's spring once more and I wish I had the drive to be neatly boxing things up for posterity and tying everything with silk ribbons. I am content to sweep in dark corners and take unused things to the relevant recycling facility. Seasonal changes acome with refreshing reminders and new discoveries. Remarkable how many changes for the good are afoot despite the generally gloomyjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-54330053758503257312011-02-23T21:20:00.000-08:002011-02-24T09:48:25.021-08:00Back To The Present FutureI had friends over a Sunday evening or two ago. It was a split meal deal where I made stuff and they made stuff and we did indeed have a lovely time. I hardly ever entertain, but this was fun and I will attend accordingly to my lack of it.
I am a fan of the Roux Brothers' cookbook, The New Classic Cusine. Important to the development of the Nouvelle Cuisine movement The jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-29377069257399514192011-01-23T23:15:00.000-08:002011-01-23T23:15:58.483-08:00FishyMy friend George writes a very beautiful blog and shames me with his dedication not just by regularly posting, but also because his careful research is impressive. I sometimes wish he would pop in some gastronomic tidbits, but, the gossip is in itself is nutritious and I always end up satisfied.
I'm so ready to read Taras Grescoe's recent book Bottomfeeder. I was a huge fan of his book The jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-25341910670234072011-01-23T19:10:00.000-08:002011-02-20T09:11:07.945-08:00If The Moon Were A Piece Of CheeseIf the moon were a piece of cheese it would be a finely holy havarti with a smile gently pressed into it. Tonight, unprepared food-wise, I quickly picked up a block of havarti, a chunk of buttery St. André, a loaf of "rustic"bread, grilled artichokes, olives, mortadella and coppa for an al fresco supper. As we grazed I was reminded of the French themed lunches which often featured my jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-23368698707755275912011-01-15T19:47:00.000-08:002011-01-16T18:56:57.258-08:00All Caution Thrown To The WindIt has suddenly warmed up here in LA. Of course it's probably because Awards Season is upon us once again. Don't start thinking it's all part of the climate change thing, as we know full well here in Vanity City it's the heat from the rest of the world's gazing eyes toasting up the atmosphere in our little bubble. Living in greater Hollywood makes residents adept at avoiding traffic snarls that jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-91992032333629939112011-01-10T21:48:00.000-08:002011-01-10T21:50:48.124-08:00Memory LaneI'm sipping a very inexpensive Soave and remembering The Veneto. I think it's remarkable that a wine priced this affordably can be fragrant, complex and dry without losing impact. Forgive me, feeling pretty suave for it, while I watch Reilly, Ace of Spies Disk 2 which is just as engaging as it was on first run, and I'm thinking of far off places. I'm also enjoying Michael Krondl's book, The jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-28179583563531320132010-09-27T19:38:00.000-07:002010-11-23T21:46:03.138-08:00It's Really Hot!We are tolerating record heat to the tune of 112ºf, after the mildest summer on record. It's a very dry heat reminiscent of my time in Tucson, Arizona. Challenge in this little kitchen is to not use the oven but do everything stovetop. Even better would be to use a barbecue but there isn't room to swing one on the back stoop. Tonight it's risotto, which keeps the flame on for quite a while but jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-5585440922219891372010-09-27T18:48:00.000-07:002010-11-23T21:47:08.065-08:00The Dull ShineI have a copper Ibrik that comes to a nice coral mirror finish after a bit of spit and polish (i.e. Brasso). After a month or so clouds seem to fall over its surface and the pink shine fades as if it had endured its own private rainstorm. If it had a voice or a soul it would be screaming forever "clean me, clean me or forget about me" until it was satisfied, as though it had a memory ofjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-16843218794237845712010-07-28T10:41:00.000-07:002010-09-15T22:00:05.359-07:00Letter From New Zealand #6My friend Peter Huck, journalist and windswept adventurer, recently moved away from Los Angeles with his other half, the lovely Barbara Drake, to beautiful New Zealand. They are living in a tiny apartment in Auckland with a very, very small kitchen. Since their excellent and mostly vegetarian dinner parties were such a feature of my social life here, and sadly missed, I asked Peter to think aboutjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-6503751748763754382010-07-27T22:07:00.000-07:002010-11-23T21:52:29.357-08:00Fish For The LandlockedAfter a trip down to Angelino Heights this morning I scooted up through Echo Park to pick up the 2 freeway to Glendale for lunch at Fish King. Nestled in a green leaved, landlocked naeighborhood on the edge of the foothills, it's hard to believe that some of the best fish in LA can be found here. I was first introduced to it verbally by a couple who would drive in from the jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-21411565133942698332010-06-02T21:03:00.000-07:002010-09-15T22:02:38.265-07:00Letter From New Zealand #5My friend Peter Huck, journalist and windswept adventurer, recently moved away from Los Angeles with his other half, the lovely Barbara Drake, to beautiful New Zealand. They are living in a tiny apartment in Auckland with a very, very small kitchen. Since their excellent and mostly vegetarian dinner parties were such a feature of my social life here, and sadly missed, I asked Peter to think aboutjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-16477867311596974162010-05-30T21:40:00.000-07:002010-07-26T19:05:38.924-07:00PreservatismI saw my brother early in the year on the East Coast and was fortunate enough to be there when a package arrived for him from the PX and it contained this object which he promptly unpacked and tested in front of me. He was so impressed that I was impressed that he sent me one and it arrived three weeks later here on my coast. I always like useful new technology that does what it is marketed to dojonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-35354697343740563952010-05-26T15:28:00.000-07:002010-06-08T22:57:42.184-07:00Dinner With a View
Due to troublesome times and a growing sense of panic within, I have accepted very few dinner invitations this year, and also given very few of my own. Last week Tony and Sherrie invited us to a wonderful evening at the house up in the hills of Highland Park which has views toward Elysian park and Downtown making a sparkling picture from the dinner table. They also have the terraced garden jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-81408569132418593722010-05-25T20:59:00.000-07:002010-06-08T22:58:56.930-07:00Pictures - with DirectionsThe ingredients on the left became the pasta dish on the very right - shrimp, shallots, plenty of garlic and abundant flat leaf parsley sauteed in olive oil and pillowed on wholewheat fettucine, then sprinkled with grated parmesan. The bowl on the left of the picture to the right has a wedge of iceberg lettuce with home made blue cheese dressing atop it and a ton of ground pepper. The blue cheesejonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-72859159290178722802010-05-14T20:31:00.000-07:002010-05-25T21:03:05.293-07:00No NosMaybe it's the rebel in me, but I have recently taken to cooking a forbidden potato or two at dinnertime despite my general adherence to the South Beach Diet. Tonight they were twice-baked, where one bakes the potato, cuts it in half and scoops out the pulp which is then combined with cream, salt and white pepper and butter (which I omitted to assuage my guilt). Meanwhile thejonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-15950083391665158702010-05-02T19:24:00.000-07:002010-09-15T22:05:38.670-07:00Letter From New Zealand #4My friend Peter Huck, journalist and windswept adventurer, recently moved away from Los Angeles with his other half, the lovely Barbara Drake, to beautiful New Zealand. I asked Peter to write a monthly letter from down under as a kind of mirror to my own efforts and experiences here. This is the fourth letter.
Clay cracks. Note the red cap wellies
standard issue on NZ farmsAutumn is here, jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-67821787110122570702010-04-18T16:00:00.000-07:002010-07-26T19:16:46.502-07:00Green EnvyAs if to underscore that this has so far been a strange and scary year, Los Angeles has been blessed with plenty of rain this spring. Spring time is when I usually begin reminiscing about that damp English climate I grew up with, with its sheets of fine silk-like rain and land-tinting gray clouds that would make even the most colorful environment look like a layered watercolorjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-30142301779605174292010-04-06T09:09:00.000-07:002010-04-17T18:40:00.639-07:00Letter From New Zealand #3
My friend Peter Huck, journalist and windswept adventurer, recently moved away from Los Angeles with his other half, the lovely Barbara Drake, to beautiful New Zealand. I asked Peter to write a monthly letter from down under as a kind of mirror to my own efforts and experiences here. This is the third letter.
The godwits are leaving. Driving up the coast road, past Miranda, at the bottom of thejonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-69671032970425868342010-03-11T17:37:00.001-08:002010-03-30T17:44:41.551-07:00Erin's Olives: My CureOlives plucked directly from the tree are edible, but, unbelievably bitter. "Bitter" is really an understatement, for having tasted them that way, I can tell you that that they are pretty much spit-out bitter. Planted extensively in Southern California for their ornamental beauty and also for commercial purposes, the olive is, unless genetically engineered, a messy tree, spilling a blood-indigo jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-53758295414078387132010-03-02T14:28:00.000-08:002010-03-30T17:42:25.942-07:00Letter From New Zealand #2My friend Peter Huck, journalist and windswept adventurer, recently moved away from Los Angeles with his other half, the lovely Barbara Drake, to beautiful New Zealand. I asked Peter to write a monthly letter from down under as a kind of mirror to my own efforts and experiences here. This is the second letter.
It’s been a dry month in Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud. Large cracks jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3092364798955037683.post-59024383728931156802010-02-04T13:33:00.000-08:002010-04-14T09:18:55.030-07:00Instant LiftI have been a bit down in the dumps lately. At such times work becomes an uphill struggle and friendships become strained as the stories become stale after the third telling. It is difficult to think anything is worth it, let alone cooking for oneself, especially as the appetite is suppressed and one ceases to eat for all the wrong reasons. I am still a bit worried how quickly one loses weight jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948246905975551365noreply@blogger.com0