Sociables

New Hampshire photos, cat edition!

I miss my Strudes but the other cats here are nice too!

LeLe is the black & white one, and the gray cat is Ollie.

This is Bruce, one of the 5 lovely cats our director Deb owns.

Our editor Joel's cat just had kittens. They are SO precious.

Leslie's cat Otto misses her terribly back in LA and has taken to sleeping under her photo!

Here is a pic of my Strudel, just waking up from a nap- I miss the little monkey but I will see her soon!

Sometimes I like to make everything around me, today my earrings, into the Chanel logo. I need help. Preferably in the form of a 2.55 handbag!

St. James and Boniface got dragged out here with me but they enjoying the adventure. We even gave them a starring part on the show! I'm sure fame is in the cards for these two.

Our accountant Kristy Lynn has a pet baby something. It's name is Molly.

Our DP Tom has the best license plate ever!

We went to the awesome Red Arrow Diner in Concord. This is the PB&J bread pudding. My fav part is the guy in back doing the photo bombing!

The sunset over the bay in Exeter.

Hello from New Hampshire!

Cross-Country Road Trip

Just one bit of advice: L.A. to New Hampshire in 4 days? I do not recommend. 5 days would be better. That being said, we still got to see some cool stuff and it didn't kill us, so that's good.

We left Saturday morning. Leslie and I met between our respective homes, which just happened to be by the Disney Concert Hall. There was, of course, a bike race going on so all the streets were closed. Somehow we found each other and got the hell out of dodge. We drove across California and into Arizona.

At our many fueling stops, we spotted some local interests:

We managed to make it to Albuquerque, NM the first night. We found some delish local eats the next morning-breakfast burritos with famous New Mexico green chiles! So hot & so good.

The place was packed with pics of John Wayne.

Pointillism at it's finest.

I'm still regretting not buying this gem. Then it was time to head toward our next destination: through Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma!

Leslie in Texas! Howdy Y'all!

Miles of beautiful scenery showcasing American advertising.

Lalalala. Driving, driving, driving.

More local "flavor".

We made it through the night in Oklahoma, next up was through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and stopping that night in Ohio. We were determined to stop in St. Louis to check out the Gateway Arch.

The Arch from the side.

I have to tell you, I was blown away! I am usually like a jaded teenager when it comes to tourist spots but this time I was more like an old person who loves everything. It was the most amazing piece of architecture I have ever seen. It was soooo cool! Seriously!

Ok, enough of that!

Well, maybe one more!

One of my favorite things was seeing the beautiful sunset every night. Serious jesus rays people!

We saw lots of roadkill. It was pretty stomach turning. The worst.

The next day it was through Pennsylvania, New York, and FINALLY into New Hampshire.

It took us forever to drive through upstate New York, but it was so gorgeous that I didn't mind at all.

We got into New Hampshire so late that I couldn't see any scenery. We were up super early the next day to film the show, so the first thing I got to see was the studios next to the beautiful river in Manchester. Not a bad way to start out life in New England!

So far, things have been good here. It's a total 180 from L.A. and I am kinda annoyed that I have to drive 40 miles to go to Trader Joe's and Forever 21. But if it works out, it's worth it. I will definitely keep you posted on all the goings on and interesting things in this area.

XOXO

Things I will miss about L.A.

1. The SUN.

2. My friends that I have made here.

3. BevMo.

4. The lax drinking laws/buying liquor at T. Joes.

5. Taco trucks.

6. Luckyscent.

7. Palm trees.

8. Yacht rock on the radio.

9. All the shopping. Second only to NY.

10. Free illegal cable.

Things I won't miss:

1. The crappy shower in my apt.

2. The traffic.

That's all!

I love you L.A.!

XOXO

The Mission, Part 4- Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes

A few months ago, I decided to make this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook because I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, and I was on a bit of lentil kick. I love how Ina cops to this being a variant on a crunchy hippie recipe she found in a health food cookbook, but one that she loves anyway. I promptly whipped it up and became converted too! There is something about this dish that makes you feel all virtuous and supremely healthy, and it is a snap to make, the only part that takes any effort is waiting 40 minutes for it to cook! The other great thing about this recipe is how variable it is. When I made it today, I didn't have exactly the right spices, so I just added some cumin and coriander and a bay leaf, and it was delicious! I also love to grate a little parmesan cheese over before serving, or stir in some creme fraiche or sour cream. My favorite is to serve with an egg fried in lashings of butter and some toasted artisinal bread. Yummy!

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes

2 teaspoons good olive oil

2 cups large-diced yellow onions (2 onions)

2 cups large-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 gloves)

1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes*

1 cup French green lentils (7 ounces)

2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons kosher slat

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon good red wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and the carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.

Meanwhile, place the canned plum tomatoes, including the juice, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse several times until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped*. Rinse and pick over the lentils to make sure there are no stones in the package.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, chicken broth, curry powder, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Check occasionally to be sure the liquid is still simmering. Remove from the heat and allow the lentils to sit covered for another 10 minutes. Add the vinegar,season to taste and serve hot.

* I got “quick-crushed,” a rough puree that allowed me to skip the nuisance-y food processor step. Like many other dishes, this tasted even better the next day.

Photo Times

Strudes may be tired, but no one could ever get tired of Strudes!

Went to Ketchup for Whitney's Bday! Very cool.

The Bday gurl! The red lighting made the pics all atmospheric.

In case you were wondering, this is what happens when your bored and poor. And yes, drunk.

Did anyone see John Stewart interview the Pillsbury Dough Boy? Talk about the two cutest things in the world, together at last! I almost overloaded on squee but somehow didn't pass out and managed to take a picture.

I embroidered this '69 Dodge Charger for my Bro for his Bday. I hope he likes it!

Derek sent me this awesome photo he took of some sidewalk chalkffiti. As he so aptly put it "I didn't know Patty Duke was so hip with the kids these days". I didn't either, but I am suspicious of their spelling skills!

I'm getting a little jealous of Strudes relationship with the Wizard.

My New Favorite Thing- Zucchini Tea Cake

There are many things I love about this recipe, how easy it is to make, how delicious it is, but mostly the name: Zucchini Tea Cake. It smacks of elegance and Chanel suits and English afternoon teas with lemon curd and clotted cream. I found this tea cake online when I was trolling the Los Angeles Times Food section for new recipes. It mentioned that it was low in fat and adapted from a Huckleberry recipe, and I bookmarked it immediately. Not only do I love Huckleberry, but I have been looking for some dessert recipes that fit into my new healthy regime. Friends, I urge you to make this tea cake right now. It comes together so fast it's a dream. It will make your house smell so good, and then you have this heavenly tea cake to eat and you won't have to feel guilty!

Zucchini Tea Cake

Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Servings: 8 to 10
Note: Adapted from Huckleberry Cafe.

2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons for topping the tea cake
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (4.25 ounces) flour
1 cup shredded zucchini
3/4 cup toasted walnuts

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, vanilla extract, orange zest and vegetable oil, and whisk just to combine.
2. Whisk in 3/4 cup sugar and the salt just to combine.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the egg white mixture just until combined. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts.
4. Grease an 81/2-inch by 41/2-inch by 21/2-inch metal loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper. Pour the batter into the pan.
5. Lightly sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining 11/2 teaspoons sugar.
6. Bake until the cake is set (it will spring back when gently touched on top, and a knife inserted will come out clean), about 1 to 11/2 hours; ours typically set after 1 hour and 15 minutes, though this can vary by pan and heat of the oven.
7. Cool the loaf for a few minutes on a rack, then remove from the baking dish and cool completely on the rack.

*Couple of things: I used canola oil instead of vegetable and it turned out great, I didn't line my pan with parchment paper (who has time?) and the cake came out of the pan perfectly, and I substituted pecans for the walnuts. Also, I only had to bake my tea cake for an hour.