Sun, Nov 9 - Vijay's b-day at El Misti

7.13am - the dishes I woke up to this morning, after our fun, fun night with Nady, David and Mingus. Took care of them all (well, we do have a dishwasher but it was already more than half full) - and then went back to bed for another couple of hours...11.06am - a slice of perfectly ripe cantaloupe, on a sunny November morning, at home

11.15am - Thai-spiced cashews (w/ kaffir lime, lemongrass and chili), at home

11.33am - a mini-fuji while stopping to get gas. Check out those palm trees and how windy it is...

12.18pm - a shot of Ritesh's mom's hardcore health elixir: juice from tulsi leaves mixed w/ celery, at Ritesh's parents' house

12.22pm - just a little snack of Ritesh's mom's home-cooked daal, before heading out to lunch...

1.14pm - a giant choclo, imported from Peru, with some equally ginormous fava beans, some Peruvian cheese and an avocado-chili dipping sauce, at El Misti Peruvian Restaurant, w/ Ritesh, his parents, Suzie and Prashant, and little brother Vijay, the birthday boy

1.42pm - yucca fries w/ dipping sauce

1.44pm - un rico tamal peruano

1.58pm - my halibut ceviche! w/ sweet potato, yucca, and some fabulous roasted corn nuts. Great ceviche, but honestly, this plate is HUGE. Who's supposed to eat all that?

2.06pm - Ritesh's giant caldo blance, a spicy lamb soup w/ potatoes and yucca, very tasty.

2.43pm - some super tasty picarones (sweet potato/yam fritters), with an orange-cinnamon sauce

3.31pm - Vijay's birthday cake, from which I abstained, you know, for health reasons...

4.55pm - some banana chips from fresh&easy (they're the BEST! - thanks, Cecy, for introducing me to them!) and the world's first presidential knee-socks, on the drive home.

5.03pm - another mini-fuji, on the drive home, with Ritesh

5.53pm - not a great photo, but this is a paper bag full of tulsi leaves from Ritesh's mom's garden. Tulsi, also called holy basil, is a sacred Indian herb with all kinds of medicinal properties, and the best of all, it actually tastes great when used in tea. So we cleaned the whole lot, and are now drying it... made a whole pot of tea already with fresh leaves.

7.02pm - ciabatta w/ tarama, hummus and salad, at home, with Ritesh