dinner @ lou

dinner @ lou
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

tucked away in a strip mall on vine, with little more signage than a reversed out white on black marquis squeezed among the other businesses in the same mall, lou teases us to find her. even though there's only an address on the door, you can't miss the dynamic, black and white on one side, and red dominating black and white on the other side graphic curtains that shield its diners from the rest of the city.

i have to first comment on the fun and fabulous decor because no dining experience is complete without the feeling generated by the environment or the ability it has to transform you to another place. when you enter, the left wall is papered with a vintage-looking edward goreyesqe illustration of trees; while the right wall has the menu hand-written complete with drawings of sheep on a blackboard, an indication of the changing menu that follows what's fresh & in-season locally. though there's plenty of pattern, it all works well together, and along with candle and soft overhead lighting sets a warm mood.

a small, intimate space where you may find yourself bumping elbows with fellow diners at a keith haring-esque patterened communal table, it's still as yet largely undiscovered as we went on a saturday night without reservations and only waited 15min. i fear though, that won't last for long, but they do take reservations.

the attention to the details is as everpresent in the food as in the space. what we ate:

tonight's bistro salad plate: this included pee wee potato & sweet corn, like a delicate, buttery potato salad with sweet corn; blue lake green beans, fresh & crunchy and mixed with red onion with a splash of vinegar, and some smokey charred eggplant & basil.

savory tart: chanterelle mushroom, goat cheese, ricotta - for the cheese lover, light, creamy and subtle with nutty flavors from the mushrooms.

pan-roasted pekin duck breast, summer squash shelling beans: nice smokey flavor from the duck. tender and not gamey or greasy at all.

albacore conserva, chitarra, white beans, ligurian olives: if you like fish, this is a great pasta dish, simply sauteed in olive oil & garlic with chunks of albacore, beans and salty olives. the combination of the fish and the olives is fantastic.

i love that they offer wines as a taste, glass or bottle, so you can get as little or as much as you want. the taste is actually a good amount in a small wine glass. both the wines my brother & i had, a sonoma zinfandel & a chablis chardonnay from france/burgundy were great. they offer naturally produced wines, many of which are organic. that means no chemicals and low interventionist practices in wine-making. service was good.

king hua dim sum

king hua dim sum
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

this ranks highly in my book among dim sum places. not your average dim sum banquet, king hua offered us a bounty of delicious and atypical as well as usual small plates of goodness beautifully constructed, which didn't stop us from stuffing our faces. what we ate:

steamed rice noodle & shrimp: the delicate rice noodle wrapping fresh shrimp was tasty, with the best part being the sweet, light soy sauce ladled on top.

spare ribs in a black bean sauce: rich, fatty pork flavor enhanced with salty black bean sauce.

seafood salad: my least favorite of our meal, and though i like mayo, i thought that in combination with being deep fried was too heavy.

bbq pork bun in oyster sauce: i always feel these things are overrated at dim sum places because they're usually ho hum to me, all tasting the same from one dim sum house to another like they were cranked out by the hundreds, but not the ones here. the surprisingly sweet and flavorful marinade made this a standout. someone cared for these buns. this is why people like to order this.

shark fin scallop dumpling: held together by a delicate skin, large pieces of shrimp with a scallop on top and a dollop of shark fin bring together the flavors of the sea in one bite.

steamed shrimp & pea tips: one of the prettiest dumplings, this one also featured shrimp and sweet pea tips.

fresh shrimp dumpling with chives: the star in this were the chives that explode into your mouth when you bite into it. the skin was a little on the thick side, but flavor was good.

steamed rice noodle with chicken & bitter melon: this was more interesting for the novelty of the slight bitterness of the melon and sweetness of the soy sauce.

steamed egg tofu with fresh scallop in dry scallop sauce: if you like tofu, you'll really enjoy that flavor mixed with egg, both light and hearty and nicely paired with a scallop & salty sauce. not only pretty, but pretty good!

baked bbq pork bun: not as good as the steamed version, but still tasty, it is sweet with hints of cilantro coming through.

har gow (shrimp dumpling): standard, good. the other shrimp dumplings were far more interesting in flavor & ingredients.

shrimp & pork shiu mai: good, juicy and sizable.

stuffed eggplant: i like eggplant, but this one was so so. it appeared to be stuffed with some fish pureed that wasn't all that flavorful, fried and sitting in a sweet, slightly spicy sauce.

xia long bao: another surprising standout. i've had these at dim sum places, and they're usually ok. these were soupy, with a very nicely flavored broth. i didn't even notice that they didn't come with ginger as i found myself in a food porno. the broth literally squirted onto my neighbor's shirt when she bit into hers, and though i bit and sucked mine, there was still soup to squirt out the side. now that is what i call a climax.

shrimp & sticky rice on lotus leaf: shrimp cooked in a sweet broth coalesce with large slivers of ginger, carrots and straw mushrooms. this is what i call comfort.

egg custard: standard, and with a nice flaky crust.

there were a few things ordered that i wasn't partial to, but most of the food was consistently flavorful and well done. the aesthetics of the dim sum adds to the impression that the chefs aren't just cranking these out. standouts for me were the sweet & flavorful steamed bbq pork buns, juicy xiao long bao, shrimp dumpling with snow pea shoots.

the place looks a lot like sea harbour on the inside, with fancy carpeting, damask table cloths and fabric covered chairs. we were a part of a large group, and though the restaurant was packed, the food came quick and the service was good. with so many people, they had a hard time keeping our waters & tea full, but they were always eager to do it. they all thanked us as we left. like i said, not your average dim sum place.

komatsu: omakase dinner

komatsu: omakase dinner
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

if you like tempura, this is the place to go as they perfectly batter and fry a variety of seafood, veggies and fruit, many of which you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere. i like tempura, but i couldn't imagine eating an all-tempura meal. luckily, i went with a group. many of us ordered the omakase, including me, but my boyfriend, uncertain that it would be all fish & veggies, ordered (with my help..ok, so i picked things out for him) from the two page a la carte menu.

here is what was included in the omakase, which was almost all tempura:
miso soup: rich brown, earthy soup, salty with strong mushroom flavors and hints of rice vinegar

shrimp (good, typical), squid (nice texture, not too chewy), white fish (very strong, good fish flavor), and sea eel (subtle fish flavor)

clam (at least that's what i think she said, but it was more oyster-like to me), stuffed mushroom (my favorite, the mushroom was smoky and stuffed with shrimp chunks that seemed to be battered with some egg), onion (sweet, soft)

salted plum (the most intense of the ingredients, the plum was like a salty, sour and very lightly sweet compote), asparagus, sweet potato (another standout, with a crispy chip-like skin, soft and just the right amount of sweetness inside)

along with the tempura, you get a dish of freshly minced daikon and some tempura sauce, a trio of salts that include plain, lemon which had sesame bits and green tea. i couldn't really make out the lemon, but the green tea was interesting.

i'm glad we were able to share some a la carte plates because i was starting to get tempura'd out by the end. here is what we had off the menu:

soft shell crab: lightly battered, standard, good

asparagus sesame sauce: fresh asparagus in a salty, miso flavored black sesame seed sauce

fried eggplant mushroom: what came to the table was different than what i imagined. japanese eggplant & shimeji (small, brown, slippery mushrooms that will make you work to pick them up with your chopsticks) cooked in a broth with seaweed, topped with scallions. it tasted like the ocean.

we ended with some green tea & lychee ice creams. the lychee was great. the green tea was good and typical.

even though i ate a lot of fried food, none of it was greasy. i found the combination of flavors in some of the a la carte items to be more interesting than the tempura, although they could have pulled back a little on the salt. the way the tempura is prepared really makes it more of an accent to the natural flavors of the ingredients, which are unseasoned. maybe i had high expectations based on past reviews, considering cost ($44 chef's menu), and that it was suppose to be the best the chef has to offer, but i wasn't blown away by the omakase as i had hoped.

service was ok. we had a large group that was divided into three private rooms, so at times was slow, and the waitresses do not speak english that well.

art is a luxury...

...to which the artist pays. --David Smith

time

there's not enough time for me to carry out the ideas evolving in my head for art projects, or to watch all the movies in my maxed out netflix queue, or to knit the projects in that long queue, or to try all the great restaurants in the LA metro not to mention the OC. i'm making little headway on my little reading list and wonder about the small collection of fabric i have for sewing projects. this is why i feel guilty taking a leisurely walk to the beach. i shouldn't even be blogging. damn it.

eating close

rasraj, little india
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i haven't made as many plans in LA as to avoid driving, what with the high gas prices. besides, there's plenty of good food in the neighborhood. this past weekend found me in artesia and nearby hawaiian gardens.

friday, i was craving dumplings and so we went to canaan for the crab meat xiao long bao, which, incidentally, is stuffed with crab meat & pork. the bf is a pescatarian, so couldn't help with eating them, which meant that i gorged on dumplings. you think this was a good thing, but i paid for it with being painfully overfull with a bit of heartburn an hour later. the dumplings here are ok. some have soup, but appear haphazardly thrown in, so often found stuck together with soup gone. still, they were moist and satisfied my craving. the dish of slivered ginger that comes with it is a nice complement.

although seemingly authentic and tasty, the dishes we ordered were mild in flavor. they included the rice cakes with salted vegetable (leek), which are discs of rice flour steamed and then sauteed in oil with strips of pork and bits of green vegetables that tasted more like mustard greens than leeks, and ginger scallion fish fillet with snow peas. the fish was sauteed and covered in a thickened broth-like sauce with strong flavors of ginger and white pepper. i think they could have thrown in more snow peas.

while waiting for our food, i noticed them bringing this dish of large shrimps scrambled with egg that looked amazing to the next table. i'll have to come back and try other things, including the 3 for $23 dinner special. i'm sure it won't be long before i'm craving dumplings.

saturday, i went to sport chalet to pick up some tennis gear. it's been 18 years since i played, which was in high school, but i am desperately needing some kind of exercise regimen. yoga & pilates can be expensive when you consider the per class cost. i signed up for a tennis class at LBCC for $10. this should insure that i at least start. it wasn't until i was picking out a racket that i remembered that the better quality rackets don't come strung. i had some time to kill while they strung my racket, so tried a nearby viet resto--vietnam flavor. i had driven by this place that looks like a diner built in the 80s many times, and didn't realize their pho is actually pretty good.

although i am a person who likes the stability and familiarity of routines, i can't help but be swayed by my impulses and cravings. maybe it is because of the latter, that i appreciate the former. well, sunday, it was all about indian food. even if you've eaten indian food before and have your favorites, eating at rasraj, a restaurant in little india, is an adventure. a casual "deli"-style place with photos along the walls and a list of somewhat unfamiliar names behind the counter where you order await a willing palate.

the thali, which looks like an indian bento and consists of two vegetable options, a dal, chutney, spicy cornbread, basmati rice, dessert, and choice of starch that includes naan, tortilla, puri, is a great choice for sampling a few items in smaller quantities. the ones i ordered mine with were a spinach paneer & a benghan (eggplant) dish. the spinach was salty with strong flavors of turmeric and fennel and cubes of cheese. the eggplant, which appeared to be stewed in a tomato sauce with some peas, was sweet, salty and slightly spicy. the puri, a round, puffy bread-like but more light and airy, starch thing we selected was great for dipping into and scooping up the thick vegetables. highly spiced with green chilies, their cornbread was very intense with corn flavor and dotted with poppy seeds. in the tray, was a bright orange-red, dessert ball that tasted like a moist coconut cake.

along with the thali plate, we also tried the dahipuri, which are discs a little over an inch in diameter, that are puffed, fried little dough balls whose tops had been cracked open and filled with a combination of chilled, sweet yogurt, a spicy green chutney as well as red chutney, small potato chunks, beans and onions. it was an intense explosion of sweet, sour, salty and spicy in your mouth.

i really enjoyed the masala dosa, which is a huge crepe, filled with turmeric & poppy seed spiced potatoes and accompanied by two dips. one was a coconut puree, and the other was a red chili, whose flavor was initially chili pepper before the spiciness starting making its way to the surface of your tongue. i found the spiciness of the food experience to be one of a delayed response. first, you experience the combination of flavors, then zings on spots all over your tongue, which didn't stay in one place. it wasn't painfully spicy, but a nice enhancement that made you super-conscious of the many flavors in your mouth.

at the end of the meal, i cooled down with a mango kulfi, a sweet, creamy, milky mango-flavored ice cream popsicle. they also have this cola, called thums up, that is like an indian version of coke that really tastes like there are some dark spices in there if you can't get enough from the food.

i wish i had taken some notes when the nice guy at the counter went through the list of veggies i had to choose from for the thali and translated what they were. prices are great for the amount of food you get. we'll definitely return to try other dishes. excellent place for vegetarians and vegans.

cloud bolero wip

cloud bolero wip
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i was still trying to figure out what to do about the increase seams on the lacy sweater from rebecca 31 i had started last week AND forgot the pattern at home, so ended up casting on a new sweater, isolda's cloud bolero, in the mean time. it's been a fast knit so far, despite having to rip and reknit the first 18 rows because i wasn't paying close enough attention to my yo's and not counting my stitches. it couldn't be helped as we were talking about cupcakes last night at snb.

uncle alan visits, dinner at la creperie

uncle alan visits
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

mike's uncle alan was driving through, and stopped in long beach for a brief visit. we decided to go to dinner at la creperie.

a casual, french-inspired resto in the trendy belmont shore strip of 2nd street, la creperie cafe offers vegetarian-friendly food made from good quality ingredients--mixed greens versus iceberg lettuce. not all crepes are created equal, but most are pretty tasty. because of its popularity, there may be a wait, depending on when you go. i've never had to wait too long (over 30 min) though.

they could be a little more understated with the french bistro decor, but it's nice that they have live jazz. conversation can be challenging, if you're seated close to the band. dishes i've had include:

garlic fries: you can't go wrong with a combination like this. along with the shoestring fries, they give you three different dips--ketchup, aioli, & some creamy orange concoction that tasted faintly of horseradish.

garden salad: mixed greens with cucumbers, a big slice of tomato, onions, green bell peppers, balsamic vinaigrette. the dressing balanced the right amount of sweetness with a touch of salt & vinegar.

ratatouille: eggplant, squash, tomato, pesto - eggplant takes a while to cook, and though our food arrived in a timely fashion, the eggplant was undercooked. flavorwise, it was ok. definitely, not the better of the options.

zorba: Spinach, tomatoes, caramelized onions, Kalamata olives, feta cheese in a vegetable broth - the salty broth has a tasty, tomato-y cheese flavor to it, almost like a classic pizza.

al mare: Jumbo shrimp, sun-dried and plum tomatoes, Shitake and button mushrooms, shallots in a lobster basil cream sauce - this is my favorite thing to get. everything works well together. the creamy sauce alone is quite delicious but with bursts of sweetness from the sun-dried tomatoes and a lovely seafood flavor, it's quite divine. photo:

moules mariniere: mussels are steamed in a white wine broth with leeks, shallots and garlic. quite good either as entree or appetizer, and they come with the garlic fries.

croque madame: similar to the croque monsieur, which is a ham & cheese sandwich frenchified and made extraordinary with a bechamel sauce. this one is topped with two poached eggs and tomatoes--extremely decadent and for lovers of all things creamy. i couldn't eat the whole thing.

napoleon: strawberries, creme brulee custard, carmelized sugar - we all love nutella, and there are a number of variations of crepes with nutella. if you want to venture into something a little different, try this equally rich and sweet dessert crepe. it's stuffed with strawberries & custard (thicker and heavier than creme brulee, but still tasty).

royal: nutella and strawberries - can't go wrong with this.

la traviatta: caramelized apple and cinnamon with brown sugar and apple brandy - this is the french cousin to american apple pie.

when we went last night, i noticed they updated their menu since we last went. they seem to be venturing beyond the european-style fillings. i haven't tried the texan or the curry crepe, and am curious. it's great that there is good, interesting food that's not overly expensive. uncle alan seemed to really enjoy the food.

beach day uye

beach day uye
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

steph & a fellow yelper hosted a uye beach day, which was a perfect excuse to spend the day at the beach. because of our previously scheduled tour at la espagnola, mike & i didn't make it until the afternoon. it was a perfect weekend to be at the beach. despite the bits of wind and still colder than i'm used to water (i was raised on warm gulf of mexico waters), it was a fabulous day to be at the beach.

steph had an extra boogie board, so i went out for a little bit with her. once you get into the water, it's actually not so bad. i had fun, but we had parked at one of the dreaded 2-hour limit meters, so had to leave to move the car. in retrospect, i realize that though we saved a few cents, it really was not worth the trouble and would have been better off paying $12 to park in the lot. my body was also not liking the cold water next to my skin as i started to break out profusely from cold uticaria (yeah, look that one up!). kind of annoying since i was having fun. i lounged for a bit on a towel under our easy-up, which was quite perfect as it let in some sun but provided some protection.

in the evening, rob started up the grill. the marinated portabellas i made were better grilled than any that i ever roasted. i also brought a caprese salad and some marinated veggies for the grill. after experiencing how good the food tasted and considering how hot our unairconditioned apt gets especially when cooking, a grill seems like a great solution for summer cooking. keeping my eye on a portable weber.

thank goodness for the fire and some sweat pants from steph as i would have frozen my ass off--really--when the sun went down. once again, i underestimated how cold it would get, thinking hey, it's huntington, can't be as cold as san francisco. we made s'mores, which were good, although i would like to try to make some gourmet ones with dark chocolate, homemade marshmallows & shorbread.

so glad we finally made it out to the beach!

la espagnola

la espagnola
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

mike & i toured the meat plant at la espagnola in harbor city. they make a variety of gourmet charcuterie meat products as well as importer of spanish foods, including rice, olives, meats and cheeses.

alex, the son of husband and wife who originally started the company because the only chorizo in california in the 60s was mexican, informed us of the history as well as the traditional process they use for curing meats as evident in the moldy casings. it may sound gross, but it's a process that has been used for decades in the caves of europe.

completely safe, and producing a more refined flavor, it is a process that few companies these days use because it is more time-consuming. like some fine wines, apparently, meats can come to fruition with aging. we sampled some of their 18-month cured serrano hams, which was surprisingly not as salty as we imagined, but delicate not only in cut but in flavor.

there's a deli adjacent to the plant where you can purchase a variety of gourmet food items, and an outdoor patio area where after the tour we dined on tasty paella made in a huge pan with chicken, shrimp, several types of sausage, pimentos. i bought some rice to try to make some at home.

sweater madness

hew
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i don't know what has possessed me to be so obsessed about knitting sweaters. the summer is heating up, so i can't really be sporting most of these sweaters. so far, it's given me good pause for not shopping, so i'm saving money in that respect. i do like that there's a lot of variation between sweater patterns. i have yet to tackle one that requires a lot of assembling or sleeves, but may soon, as some of the patterns i really like involve that.

hew

hew
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

anxious that even after buying the one ball after the fact that i would need yet a little more, i plowed through this weekend to discover that i barely had enough.

the ribbing at the bottom didn't end up being tight enough for my liking, making the sides sort of hang loosely at the ribbing. if i were to do it again, i would use a smaller needle size, and cast on more stitches. the sweater is definitely designed for the more flat-chested of us. there were a few spots where i fudged things, like casting on the ties, because i wasn't sure how best to do it. i used a cable cast on on the longer tie, but the way it's written, i ended up having a narrower tie on the shorter side. it doesn't bother me so much. it's a cute sweater.

there is some confusion in the pattern, but i asked a fellow knitter for some advice and emailed canarysanctuary who was nice enough to respond with some clarification. on the part where you work the increases for the bust, it says to do so until you have 22 stitches--that would be for each side, not the total. then you continue in stockinette until the desired length.

it is hot today in southern ca, and we have no ac. i rushed the photo taking as i couldn't take the heat in the sweater.

chang's garden

chang's garden
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

though not mind-blowing, chang's garden was a good and authentic introduction to specifically shanghainese food. i came here with a large group, sat with 8 other pleasure palateers and we sampled 11 dishes, some better than others.

boiled peanuts: this is a nice little snack while you wait. it tasted faintly of allspice.

pork ribs in lotus leaf: consists of a good-sized pork spare rib that has been wrapped in sticky rice with spices and then a lotus leaf. the lotus leaf imparts an earthy flavor to the rice and pork. the rice had a slight red chili zing, and the meat was so tender and moist it came easily off the bone.

bamboo fungus with chinese squash: the squash was light and tasted faintly of rock but not much else. not exactly earthy, but of the earth. the bamboo fungus had a crunchy texture, and soaked up the tasty broth this dish was sauteed in. it was a little sparse on the fungus, which although it doesn't sound appetizing, was tasty and the better of the two.

greens and bean sheets: don't remember exactly the name, but this dish had largish, green shellbeans with a diced green vegetable and thinly sliced tofu sheets. it was more interesting for the novelty. the bean sheet tasted like the way raw, freshly made tofu from an asian market smells. there really wasn't any sauce or strong flavor. it had more natural vegetable and tofu flavors.

seaweed fried fish: chunks of fish are battered with strands of seaweed and deep fried. it tasted freshly of the sea. my boyfriend liked it a lot.

five spice beef pancake: beef is thinly sliced and well done, wrapped in a fried pancake with green onions, cilantro and bits of cucumber. between the fragrant green onions & cilantro, i really couldn't taste the five spice. other people liked it. i thought it was interesting, but the beef itself was not overly flavorful.

xia long bao: the pork filling was moist but not overflowing with soup as i had expected and had hints of ginger.

rice cakes: round discs of chewy rice starch are sauteed with pork, greens and scallions. it reminded me of chow fun, except chewier. i liked the slightly smoky taste.

steamed fish: can't remember exactly which steamed fish it was, but it was cooked in a dark, sweet and salty sauce with scallions. the fish had absorbed what sauce there was. it was flavorful, but i wished i had more sauce to drip over the white meat inside.

tea-smoked duck: i was surprised by the tastiness of the duck. any hints of tea were subtle, but the skin and meat were good and neither dry nor too fatty. it would have been great if they had taken out the bones, though as it was a little hard to eat with the dough cakes.

tung po pork: i'm a pig. i can't help myself. this was my favorite dish. although the inside meat was a little on the dry side, i enjoyed the dark, sweet and salty braising sauce with hints of allspice and loved the pork fat floating atop and melting in your mouth as you envelop it with your tongu. it was like butter, but less creamy and more concentrated with pork flavor.

chicken hot pot with water chestnuts: the sauce was sweeter, saltier and thicker than the pork. it really needs to be eaten with the steamed rice. the chestnuts were a nice texture contrast to the chewy chicken. my pet peeve though was pulling out the little bits of bone.

the service started out a little rocky. they brought out the wrong pork dish--mu shu pork--and it took about five minutes of chaotic "arguing" with the waitress that it was neither what we ordered nor what we wanted. her english was a little rough, and she kept insisting it was good, which was beside the point. this was righted, and the rest of the evening was fine, with the food being brought out quickly and us getting attentive enough service at our large table.

first generation iphone battery issues

since i upgraded my iphone software to 2.0 to take advantage of the great new apps, i have noticed some strange things happening. first, there was the residual images of people, the kind associated with a contact that would pop up when that person calls, would sometimes be visible faded back even though my iphone was inactive for long periods of time, and even when i hadn't had calls from the contact.

about a week ago, i noticed this "bug" getting worse. my iphone was warm, and when i turned it on, the battery displayed that it had been drained. one day, i went for not quite two days, and the battery died. during the upgrade, there had been some hiccups with all the new and old iphone users simultaneously attempting to access the update, so i decided to restore and re-update my phone. well, everything seemed to go well until i started noticing a sudden increase in battery power loss the very next day. within hours of fully charging the phone, the battery life would fall to 50%. at the end of the day, i looked at the usage, and found that the phone indicated it had been in use the whole day, which was odd, since i hardly used it at all except checking email a couple times.

i did a little googling and found that i was not alone in my iphone woes. this battery drain seems to be afflicting both first generation phones with 2.0 upgrades and some 3G phones. there doesn't seem to be a clear answer (as of now) or solution to the problem, but some people offered various solutions that worked for some and not others. after turning off location services (under settings>general) and fetch new data services, there was some improvement to battery life, but somehow the life was being sucked out of my iphone more quickly than pre-upgrade.

mike found some information about programs continuing to run in the background and using up battery life, so i followed that advice--hold the home button down for 8 secs to force quit the app (including email, sms, etc.) when done. you can tell something is happening because as you let go of the button, the screen will blink. this last bit seems to have done wonders. today, my battery life hardly drained at all. thank goodness for the internet.

hew progress

hew
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i realized after i was almost halfway up the neckband that i was incorrectly knitting the last stitch of every RS row with each knit row along the body, when i should have knit it with every other row, so the stitches from the neckband would be evenly distributed with the already knit stitches. as it was, it was bunching up, and i was almost through the new one and only ball i ordered. had to rip back to the ties. doh!

grandma + julian bdays

grandma + julian bdays
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

my grandmother is 86, and my cousin is now 23. time flies.

mayura restaurant

mayura restaurant
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

with a recommendation from jonathan gold, we had to try mayura. it's one of those modest hole in the wall mom & pop places that are easily missed jammed into a little strip mall in the lesser polished part of culver city. it was exactly what we were looking for, inexpensive and flavorful food!

we started with the vegetable samosa, which was pretty standard. it had a good crunchy exterior and was filled with potatos, peas and subtle peppery spices. i really enjoyed the two main dishes we ordered. the kerala special avial, a vegetarian dish consisting of what appeared to be potatoes, carrots, and green beans cooked in coconut sauce, stood out. i wasn't sure about some green stalks in the dish which seemed too hard to chew and didn't impart any flavor as far as i could tell, otherwise, it was quite tasty, with turmeric and coconut flavors and mildly spicy. one of the sides that came with it--some kind of super tart and fragrant pickled red fruit had an intense flavor.

we also had the paneer bhurji dosa, which is a crepe stuffed with indian cheese, onions and spices--also quite good. an excellent place for vegetarians and vegans. they cook their meats separately from the veggie dishes. the service was attentive and friendly. they seem to have a lot of pride in their food. i'm looking forward to trying more of it.

caramels, marshmallows & funnel cake

caramels
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i took an awesome candy-making class taught by clemence gosset of gourmandise desserts this past weekend. initially, i wasn't planning on taking it since i had already signed up to take a tamale making class the same weekend, but there was a last minute cancellation in the dessert class, and with there being no refunds, i was offered a free class. i find it hard to say no to free. besides, i had thought about taking the class as it sounded fun, and i'm glad i was lucky enough to have the opportunity in the end!

clemence is fabulous. i think i have a mush on her now and want to take all her classes and become a baker! ha! my db rolled his eyes when i made that pronouncement. as an instructor, clemence is very knowledgeable, personable and passionate about her craft, and so open with all of her baking info, even unrelated to the things we were making.

we made three different kinds of marshmallows-vanilla, chocolate & passionfruit. i'm not a huge marshmallow person--never was, but these were tasty. i really liked the passionfruit ones. i'm also not that into caramel, but this was so buttery and delicious. the funnel cake was good, but i don't think i'll be making any at home until i have a larger kitchen, and it involves a party. it's easy, but uses a lot of oil which splashes. seems more conducive to a group effort. except for the funnel cake which we ate there, we brought home a small box of our creations. yum!

shalom cardigan

shalom cardigan
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

finished! i made some minor mods. for each of the twisted rib repeats on the yoke, i did two less (total of 5 instead of 7 for each section). at the point where i binded off the sleeves, i divided the section to be more even on the front and back and to better fit my body (i have small arms). k22, bo 40, k45, bo 40, k22 (row 45 in the pattern, 39 for my mods). the next row i cast on 10 instead of 15.

in retrospect, i think i would have k a few more stitches in the fronts and bo fewer so the yoke wouldn’t be so flared and the arm opening not so big. considering that the pattern was designed for someone tall, i also made fewer repeat rows (2 less for each section) on the body.

the only confusing bit was placing the marker on the center sides. instead of following the instructions, i made sure i counted the # of front stitches and for the decreases made the stitches so they fell at the center spot. eg. if there were 27 stitches before the center spot, after the decrease, there were 26. same with the increases.

overall, i like the way it turned out.

the counter

the counter
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

some fellow knitters & i went to wild fiber in santa monica to check out their sale. it was difficult to make our selections, since we had so many choices and a budget, and pull ourselves away from all the lovely yarn, but we did eventually, and made our way to the counter for lunch.

diy burgers can make or break your tasting experience depending on what you order. the hardest but funnest part is deciding what you want. i try to keep it simple.

today i had the 1/3 lb beef burger medium rare with gruyere, grilled onions, roasted red peppers, tomato, mixed greens, roasted garlic aioli. if you thought this sentence was a mouthful, try taking a bite of one of their burgers. next time, i might forgo the mess that ensued and go for their breadless or "salad" version.

the meat itself doesn't have a strong flavor, but i could taste the meatiness like you would from a bloody steak. if you put a lot of toppings on it, you'll have a hard time singling out that one flavor, but that could be the whole point--tasting the whole of it. i enjoyed my combination of toppings and meat, and i enjoyed the process of imagining how good it would be as i assembled the fresh, high quality ingredients in my mind. everyone else equally enjoyed their burgers.

the fries are pretty good too. though not the best i've had (i like the garlic-y ones at bouchees & father's office better), the sweet potato ones were more interesting in flavor than the regular fries. my favorite side was the fried onion strings, which were subtly spiced and not overly battered.