ok. I'm back. I think.

I know, it's been a while. Certainly feels like it. It's been a little hard to get back into the swing of things, you know, take the camera everywhere, remember to snap a piccie before digging in - you'll see. I'm back, but there are still some lacunae, so to speak. Plus it's going to take me a while to catch up on all the pics I did take...

Like this one of the lilies Ritesh got me, in full bloom:


I thought I had so much to say about everything I did (and didn't do) while the blog and I were on hiatus, but now I can't remember any of it. Feeling a little depleted, burnt out on work and in need of a holiday. Taking a break from blogging is one thing, taking a break from work would be quite another. Benefits exponentially increased. But ah well. A few more weeks to go...

So anyway. Here's a somewhat random overview of the last week.... (didn't manage to stay totally away from the camera). I mostly subsided on fish tacos, pistachios and bread and butter (which I didn't bother to photograph) and if Ritesh hadn't taken pity on me and whipped up some tasty Indian food every now and then, it would have been a pretty dire week. With one exception...

You see, in spite of all ambitious plans, I didn't write my traffic ticket letter, didn't even book that summer travel, but at least I made some pesto! That's got to count for something! Pesto is normally Ritesh territory but he just couldn't motivate in spite of all manners of prodding, so I went ahead and did it myself before another pack of basil went to waste, and voila! It turned out great!

Thursday, July 10 - 18.39h: gnocchi w/ homemade pesto, at home, with Ritesh

So the next day Ritesh went to work and cooked up a super healthy Indian veggie feast, kichree (rice and mung beans), eggplant and potatoes, and kachumber (salad), Friday, July 11, 19.56h.

And then the following day, he cooked up that 2h tomato sauce from the baked pasta recipe I made a few weeks ago, and improved on it, of course, by adding some carrots (as Roberto's Italian mamma does) - hence the orange color. And he made some meatballs! Out of spicy Italian chicken sausage! Delicious! Sat, July 12, 18.48h.

oh, and this is just some raw strawberry cheesecake, cheeseless of course, made w/ cashews and coconut. super tasty. At the CoOp, Sunday, July 13, 18.03h.

Mon, July 7 - Leaf Cuisine

5.53am - fruit & nut bar w/ spirulina etc., before bootcamp, with Ritesh 8am - came back so hungry from bootcamp, I needed a proper meal, none of that oatmeal and fruit stuff. So demolished some of the leftover Chinese food, at home.

8.17am - fresh squeezed OJ, at home, with Ritesh and his lilies :)

9.37am - Mary brought home made brownies to work. Certainly not dairy-free, but could I say no to something home baked? When the baker comes around in person to offer a piece? Maybe you can, but I couldn't...

11.34am - half of a wheat free, dairy free, sugar free zucchini cake, at work

13.32h - a double shot of wheat grass, and a piece of apple as chaser, at Leaf Cuisine. Still overcompensating for that brownie...

13.34h - raw, vegan mock-salmon nori rolls, at Leaf Cuisine (same ones we had at Jing's the other night - amazing!)

13.35h - Rawsagna made from zuchini and spinach, with cashew "cheese", plus a sprouty salad w/ their home soy dressing, at Leaf Cuisine. This is the most expensive dish on the menu, and it's awesome.

19.49h - Ritesh took the day off, and made dinner! Indian-style cauliflower and broccoli, kachumber...

19.52h - and lentil daal w/ peanuts, and poppadums, at home, with Ritesh

Tue, June 3 - Venice, Juliano's, Cambodian

12.31pm - cucumber yogurt shake from the Cow's End Cafe in Venice. Took a mental health day from work today, slept in, then went for a walk by the Venice Canals. Governator Arnold declared a California drought crisis the other day, and with the water so low, the boats all aground and a slightly fishy smell in the air, this was indeed a pretty worrisome picture. According to NPR, we've had the driest spring in 88 years, and this is the first official drought since 1991.12.47pm - coconut custard pastry from the Cow's End Cafe, by the Venice Canals. Coconut custard cake is a great Brazilian classic - I have a picture from Brazil that I should scan in and post...

14.45h - the One World raw appetizer plate at Juliano's Raw Cafe. May not look like much, but it's very precious and flavor intensive as it's been dehydrated or carefully heated to stay below 44 celsius in an effort to keep enzymes alive - the soup is a Thai lemongrass soup, and the marinated kale chips were my favorite.

14.55h - raw avocado-strawberry-date-cashew parfait w/ macadamia sauce, at Juliano's Raw.

16.32h - pistachios and dried apple twist, at home.

20.29h - a Cambodian fish curry called "Amok" that I'm very excited about, at home, with Ritesh. I spent way more time in Cambodia than in Thailand, so I used to eat this a lot, but unfortunately I never took a cooking class there. Cambodia of course doesn't have the tourist infrastructure that Thailand has, and the only cooking class offered in Phnom Penh was taught by a Dutch couple, which at the time didn't feel "authentic" enough to me. However, Cambodian (Khmer) cuisine is actually the basis of all other cuisines in the area - Thai cuisine allegedly developed out of Khmer cooking after the arrival of the chili from the Americas, which depending on whom you read came either with the Portuguese via Goa or the Spanish via the Philippines. Vietnamese similarly developed out of Khmer-Chinese fusion. Not sure about Laos, but I think the hill tribes from Northern Thailand to Northern Vietnam may have had their own thing going. Anyway, I have a very soft spot for all things Khmer and am so happy this Amok turned out as it did. But I can't help wishing I'd had a blog at the time, taken pictures of the food and asked for recipes ...

20.37h - coconut sticky rice and fresh mango, at home, with Ritesh.