About three and a half weeks ago I moved to Santa Clarita, CA with my boyfriend Aaron to study Critical Studies (Writing) and earn my MFA at CalArts. Other than Aaron, I knew two people living in the LA area. It turns out one of them moved to Detroit, so the number dwindled down to one. This one person is fucking awesome.
Emily Kiernan and her boyfriend Ryan came over to my house for dinner about two weeks ago and Aaron and I made an Indian flavored dish with Paneer, Chicken, Eggplant, and a spicy red sauce over rice. At this gathering, I did what I always mistakenly do... I gave Emily four of my books.
Over the course of about seven years, I've seen many things happen to my books. Mostly, their just plain stolen. Not picked off the shelf and never to be seen again, but rather I give them to someone, and that person decides it looks better on their bookshelf than mine. Or there is my mother, who always gives them back... with a shattered spine. Knowing all of this, I still dared to find one friend who would give me back some of my most cherished possessions.
Turns out - Emily's my gal!
Last night Emily and Ryan had Aaron and I over for dinner at their place in Silver Lake, LA. It was posh and the building gave access to the roof where we saw many unusual and beautiful sights of LA. ("There's this store across the street called Circus of Books and we thought, 'Wow! We live next to a book store!' But no. Turns out it's a porn store.")
Not only did Emily return Anne Waldeman, Dodie Bellamy, Brother JT, and Harryette Mullen, but she made the most delicious dinner. She found the recipes on Epicurious, a site I highly suggest. She made Chicken stuffed with Fontina, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, a mix of white and brown rice, a delicious salad, and blueberry cobbler with ice cream. I brought two $2 bottles of wine from Wal-Mart that were actually quite delicious, and a small, light red velvet cake (also purchased from Wal-Mart.)
It should be noted that when she made the chicken, she only baked it for a half an hour, rather than doing the whole frying/baking thing.
Here's the recipe for the salad, which was fresh and wonderfully inviting:
The Dressing:
4 teaspoons tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
The Salad:
1 head red-leaf lettuce
One carrot, grated
1 beet, grated
1 tsp ginger, finely grated
cherry tomatoes
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On another note, I'm all about buying in bulk, and using things for more than one recipe. Recently, Aaron and I bought some avocados. We're going to make a cold avocado soup, and guacamole. Bulk is cheaper than buying individually, and if you can come up with creative ways to use it, you don't feel like you're eating the same thing all the time.
For example: Aaron bought a $10 tube of ground beef (85/15.) We made delicious burgers once with it. We're going to make chili out of another third of it. Lastly, we're going to add it to pasta sauce. Three different meals, all involving the same ingredient, but prepared differently, so you aren't throwing out the extra.
Over the course of my recipes, you'll see food repeat itself. Sometimes it's because I bought bulk, sometimes it's because I bought a lot because I love that food. (Yellow squash and I have a secret love affair.)
So tonight, we are going to eat the rest of the Tilapia, and use some of the prosciutto and sage leaves we're also going to use for a salmon recipe later in the week. We had extra zucchini rice from the other night at Zoe's house, so we're eating that as a side, and I found this recipe on the wonderful Epicurious. I modified it, and present the modified version below.
Tilapia wrapped in Prosciutto
Serves: 2
2 pieces skinless, boneless tilapia fillet
4 thin slices prosciutto
2-4 fresh sage leaves, stems discarded
2 teaspoons olive oil
1. Wrap each piece of fillet crosswise in a slice of prosciutto, leaving ends of fillet exposed if necessary and tucking 1 or 2 sage leaves between prosciutto and fillet (use 1 leaf for smaller pieces of fish).
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute the 2 pieces of fish 4 minutes. Turn over and saute until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.
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