Mon, Nov 10 - Nadja's birthday

8.18am - bread w/ butter and jam, boiled egg, grapefruit, at home. Today is Nadja's b-day (that's the Nadja in Germany, not the Nadya who came over for dinner on Saturday). German Nadja and I have been friends since kindergarten, so I've celebrated many Nov 10's with her, and the date is etched in my mind - and reminded me that there's still a tiny bit of her mom's home made black currant jam in the fridge! Hence this breakfast. Happy birthday, Nadimaus!

And as an aside, today is also the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which fell during the night of Nov 9 to Nov 10, 1989.

10.49am - an article in Variety on how Obama is keeping his distance from Hollywood, to everyone's disappointment. Ah well. Oh, and I had some raw almonds and dried cranberries while browsing the trades. At work.

1.35pm - lentil soup and crackers from Mrs. Winston's, at work.

1.45pm - salad from Mrs. Winston's, at work. Today is the first day that the weather is so chilly that having lunch outside wasn't really an option, and that some hot soup was called for. And check out how sad this salad looks, compared to its splendid radiance when photographed outside. So much for my theory that food looks good in California because of the light...

2.18pm - chocolate cherry bumble bar, at work

7.09pm - this is leftovers from El Misti yesterday - this was the dish Ritesh's mom ordered and didn't really like so we got to take it home. I thought it was pretty tasty, although I still don't know what it is ...just some veggies and soy ham or something?

7.29pm - the last piece of tarte Tatin, shared w/ Ritesh

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

Thurs, June 12

9.02am - peanut butter & jelly sandwich, at home. Ritesh got me these lovely sunflowers yesterday to cheer me up a bit - thanks, love!10.36am - strawberries, at work.

12.30pm - fresh watermelon juice from a stall run by a sprightly Mexican septuagenarian at the farmers market outside work.

12.35pm - Peruvian chaufa (fried rice w/ fish) from the Happy Inka stall on the farmers market. Note the latest trend in corporate landscaping: Let the grass grow! Very nice actually, compared to all the manicured lawns they had before.

12.56pm - went back to the Mexican granddad's stall to try one of his horchatas (that's a sweet and cinnamony rice milk, Nami) - very nice indeed. Will have to get another one next Thursday.

20.47h - avocado salad w/ tomatoes, shallots, grilled chillies and an olive oil-lime-garlic dressing, at home.