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KO TO
2007-05-27 02:55:00
I’m in Toronto for nine days, and oh man it is good to be in a real city, to be able to walk down the street, passing through narrow alleys between brick mansions and into streets where cafes and pubs spill out onto the sidewalk so that passersby brush shoulders between the menu board and ...
More About: Vegetarian , Eating Out , Elsewhere , Savory

May Gray
2007-05-18 19:19:00
The weather has been awful here for the last week or so—cold, cloudy, and damp. It seems the June Gloom has come a few weeks early. It’s perfect soup weather, though, and Henning came back from the Talbot workshop at the end of March claiming to have enjoyed a black bean soup. Amazing, for a ...
More About: Vegetarian , Appetizers , Soups , Savory , Gray

Michael Pollan in San Diego
2007-05-17 18:20:00
Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, will be in San Diego to give a lecture on Tuesday, June 12. I’ve just finished reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which Pollan takes a hard look at four modern food chains, so as to ascertain what it is that Americans are really ...
More About: Eating Out , Michael , Mich

A minivacation
2007-05-16 09:18:00
This past weekend, Henning and I took a minivacation to Santa Barbara. We had to pick up Henning’s new passport at the German embassy in LA on the way, so we spent the day going to a few museums there. The Modern West Landscapes exhibition at LACMA is a bit boring, save the part from ...
More About: Eating Out , Elsewhere

Mi corazón está en México
2007-05-11 06:25:00
My mom was in town and taking inspiration from Cinco de Mayo, we cooked up a little Rick Bayless Mexican food last Friday night. I’m on this Mexican kick lately. I just can’t seem to get enough. Seriously. There is really an amazingly rich and complex world of Mexican food; it’s sad that most Americans ...
More About: Savory

Vienna Vegetable Orchestra
2007-05-02 21:04:00
Oh goodness. I’m speechless. Just watch. To learn more about the instruments, visit Gemueseorchester.org
More About: Eating Out , Vegetable , Elsewhere , Chest , Vienna

When the moon hits your eye
2007-05-01 05:08:00
Ah yes. Pizza. Everyone’s favorite food, one of my least favorites. At least it was, until a couple of years ago, when I discovered the joys of homemade pizza at my friend Tom’s place. Gone was the greasy Real CheeseTM processed cheese food product, the sugar sauce, and the bland, soggy crust. Instead, I found ...
More About: Vegetarian , Moon , When , Hits , The Moon

Market
2007-04-30 05:18:00
Last night, to celebrate my birthday (again), my parents took Henning and me out to dinner at Mark et Restaurant & Bar in Del Mar. In short: absolutely fabulous food, grotesquely upscale ambiance. Living in La Jolla, I’m used to seeing excess money flaunted about like nothing, but pulling into the complementary valet parking lot at Market, ...
More About: San Diego , Eating Out

Chi-town
2007-04-25 22:50:00
I’m back from Chicago. Finally, I got to go somewhere interesting for a math conference. The conference was great—a bunch of really good talks, plus the good company of fellow graduate students in topology. I arrived in Chicago late Thursday night without having taken any time at all to plan activities or meals. The conference ...
More About: Eating Out , Town

Wah-HA-ka
2007-04-19 21:50:00
My first experience with pioloncillo sugar was not nearly as romantic as I’d imagined it would be when I watched Tio Tomas gently break small chunks of the stuff from its cone and stir it into a pot of steaming Champurrado in the movie Quinceañera (a fantastic film about gentrification of Hispanic neighborhoods in LA). ...
More About: Vegetarian

An old standby on a sunny day
2007-04-15 19:27:00
Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day in San Diego. Granted, these are not so few and far between, but the past week has been a bit chilly, gloomy, and grey. The sudden onslaught of bright sunshine and warm temperatures, coupled with the cancellation of the afternoon number theory lecture that Henning and I attend, just ...
More About: Sunny , Stand

Pavlova lovah
2007-04-10 21:29:00
Yes, pavlova is taking over the foodblogging world this month. Something about strawberries and Easter is inspiring pavlovas left and right. Deb, Elise, and Adrienne are already on board, just to name a few, so guess I’ll throw my meringue disk into the ring as well. I have faint memories of my mom making this ...

A bridge, Bombay to New York
2007-04-09 09:10:00
Indian food is the ethnic food that grabs, and holds, my attention more than any other. I am always intrigued by the rich array of spices and amazing depth of flavors that Indian food brings to the table. Floyd Cardoz’s One Spice, Two Spice views “American food through the kaleidoscope of Indian spices,” as New ...
More About: New York , Bombay , York , Ridge , Bomba

SanDiego.Eats.It
2007-04-08 19:57:00
Just a quick note to let you know about a new resource for eating in San Diego . SanDiego.Eats.It tries to take the best parts of the bigger food sites, streamline them, and focus on dining out in San Diego. The site is driven by restaurant recommendations (not reviews), and encourages in depth writing, rather than ...
More About: Sand

A homecoming, times two
2007-04-03 02:38:00
Ok, Jef has rightly pointed out that I’m a whiny, spoiled Californian. How can I complain about access to fresh produce whilst living in San Diego? Really, Maia. People in North Dakota are still buried under snow, and you want to complain that there are too many greens and not enough strawberries in March? Come ...
More About: Time , Home , Times , Ming , Meco

Bonding with the Link
2007-03-29 19:27:00
Last night was my fourth visit to the Link ery, after three visits in three weeks in January, so I think it’s about time that I weigh in on that little joint. It’s definitely not the swankiest, most high-brow food that I’ve eaten, but there are a lot of things to love. Their attitude towards food ...
More About: Bond , With , Bondi

Getting over the hump
2007-03-27 19:05:00
Molly is right to be fumbling around in her pantry at this time of year. It’s that funny bridge between the seasons, when the weather can’t decide if it wants to be winter or spring, and neither can the farmer’s market. All of the winter staples are looking tired and pale, while the first of ...
More About: Over , Hump

Last supper
2007-03-23 20:13:00
Phew, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? It’s the end of the quarter here, and I’ve been holding extra office hours and grading piles of linear algebra exams. But, last you heard from me, I was wining and dining my way around DC, courtesy of my mom and her fabulous taste in restaurants. After Palena ...
More About: Last , Last Supper , Supper , Suppe

It?s good to be in DC
2007-03-09 21:35:02
Remember how I complained that I never get to go anywhere interesting for math conferences? Well, right now I’m in Washington, DC, and will be attending a conference in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins University tomorrow through Monday. This certainly beats Lincoln, NE, or Bloomington, IN. My mom works in DC and keeps an apartment here, so rather than getting a hotel in Baltimore, I’ll be taking the train up and back each day. Not only do I not have to stay in Baltimore at night, but I get the added luxury of going out to dinner with my mom back in DC. In fact, my dad is flying in from San Diego tonight, since he has a meeting in Boston on Monday, and my parents will celebrate their anniversary at Citronelle. I don’t get to tag along for that one, but I’ve already been spoiled with two insanely good meals. Sorry, no photos from either, I’m too shy to take my camera to such nice restaurants. I flew nonstop to Baltimore on Southwest on Wednesday, and took the...
More About: Good

Simple, sweet
2007-03-06 09:32:01
We’re still celebrating Henning’s 30th birthday, and it hasn’t even happened yet. Last night, we had a semi-celebratory dinner for just the two of us, since on his actual birthday I have to teach until 6pm. It was only semi-celebratory because we both didn’t have much time to hang out. Henning is giving a talk in the Topology seminar on Tuesday (his birthday!) and I have a lot of research to work on. I made some pasta with Italian sausage and peppers and a simple orange scented almond cake, since Henning loves almond desserts. Cakes made with almond paste are amazing—they retain such great moisture and they tend to have a delicate, soft crumb and a nice chewy crust. Working with almond paste can be a bit of a pain, but I’ve got some tips that make it much easier (I don’t own a mixer, remember?). The only difficult thing about working with almond paste is getting it evenly incorporated into the batter. I’ve found that if it is ground t...
More About: Simp , Sweet , Simple

Not so holy guacamole
2007-03-06 09:32:01
People tend to be fairly opinionated about their guacamole. Chunky or smooth? Should it just be a mashed up avocado with some salt and lime, or should there be more to it? Are tomatoes appropriate? What about garlic? Cumin? Well, I’m in the “stuff in my guacamole” camp. Avocados are delicious, but they’re even more so with a good fistful of cilantro and a generous squeeze of lime juice. And onion and tomato add a great flavor and texture contrast. I do put lots of fresh garlic in my guacamole, which I’ll admit is controversial. The aroma and bite that the fresh garlic brings to the party really complements the creamy avocado and tangy lime. While the exact recipe is debated over, everyone agrees that good, ripe but not overripe avocados are the essential ingredient. Look for avocados that give slightly to the touch, but don’t go ’round the market squeezing the bejeesus out of all the avocados to see if they’re ripe. They’re a ...
More About: Holy , Mole

A new luscious layout
2007-03-06 09:32:01
I’ve just given my little blog a makeover. I was tired of the generic Wordpress.com Blix theme, and frustrated with the fact that the width of the content was only 450px, when the standard horizontal Flickr image is 500px. So, I decided to give css customization a go. There is still a little tweaking to be done, but otherwise the update is complete. What do you think? Does everything display nicely on your browser? For the header, I used a photo of Droste dutch process cocoa swirling into cream for ice cream. Man, I need to make that ice cream again sometime soon, it was sinful! I made the header and background all girly-pretty with some brushes in PS7 that I had collected from Echoica a long time ago. Yes, it’s true that it’s a sickeningly sweet swirl of chocolate and vanilla, but I love it. It makes me want to lick the screen, or maybe even go for a swim in that chocolate cream swirl up there.
More About: Layout

Happy thirty
2007-03-06 09:32:01
Henning’s 30th birthday is March 6, and my mom will be back in Washington, DC by then, so she invited Henning and me and four of our friends over for dinner, drinks, and hot tub last night. Henning and I and two of the friends stayed the night, and this morning we were treated to french toast and bacon. Mmmm.. bacon. For dinner, my mom made bbq ribs and sausages, and I made some cabbage slaw and spiced roasted sweet potatoes to go along side. For dessert, I made an extremely decadent chocolate torte. Super rich dark chocolate mousse is spread over a nearly flourless chocolate cake and then topped with whipped cream and raspberries. It was absolutely fabulous. I’m too tired to write more, so I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves. (…the recipes)
More About: Happy

Sprouts for an army
2007-03-06 09:32:01
Cleaning out the cupboards the other day, I ran across an unopened bag of boring American brown lentils that I’d bought before I discovered the luxury of Du Puy and Beluga lentils. They must have been sitting in my cupboard collecting dust for about 8 months, buried behind cans of diced tomatoes and half-empty bags of rice. They don’t stand a chance at getting used in a lentil soup or salad anytime soon, not as long as there are half-empty bags of Du Puys and Belugas sitting next to them. I remembered Madhur Jaffrey having a few recipes involving lentil sprouts in her wonderful World Vegetarian cookbook, so I googled lentil sprouts and found that all that is involved in sprouting them is a bowl, some water, and a few days patience. Without checking the yield of a given quantity of dry beans, I dumped the entire one pound bag into a large bowl, covered it with water to rinse, drained, and then covered with water to soak for 12 hours. When I came back to drain them, oh goo...
More About: Army

Believe the hype
2007-03-06 09:32:01
In addition to the gorgeous honey that caused security problems for me at the Oakland airport, I also brought home some Rancho Gordo beans. Good Mother Stallards, to be precise. Henning is not the hugest bean fan, but I thought some of these gorgeous heirlooms might win him over. On Sunday, Henning and I had dinner at my parents’ house. My mom is in town, and I had been salivating over the memory of some Rick Bayless chicken enchiladas that she made a while back. I thought that it would also be a good chance to try out the beans and to request a reappearance of a certain fruit and jicama salad that my mom made last time she was here. The enchiladas were good, though not as wonderful as my memory of them. The beans and the salad, on the other hand, were out of this world. I did as Rancho Gordo says and cooked the Good Mother Stallards simply, with just a mirepoix. They gave off the most amazing pot liquor I’ve ever tasted, and were just the perfect texture. Creamy and lu...
More About: Hype , Believe

A Persian Valentines Day
2007-03-06 09:32:01
This past weekend I was in Lincoln, Nebraska. Oh, the lovely places you get to travel for math conferences! Besides Lincoln, I’ve been lucky enough to visit Bloomington, IN, Ithaca, NY, and North Conway, NH. I’m still waiting for the conference in Hawai’i. The conference in Lincoln was the Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics, and I was an invited graduate student, which meant that my major purpose there was as a mentor, role model, and answerer of questions about graduate school. It was lovely to see so many undergraduate women interested in math, but the conference didn’t have much to offer in the way of food. I returned to San Diego on Sunday night. On Monday, neither Henning nor I felt like cooking, and we both had some work to do, so we went down to University Heights to Cream and then for dinner at Sultan Banoo, a cute little Persian restaurant on Park Blvd. The food was delicious, as usual, and I was inspired to try my hand at a P...
More About: Valentine , Valentines Day , Valenti , Vale

San Diego coffeehouse roundup - Part 1
2007-03-06 09:32:01
Being a graduate student in math certainly has its downsides–low pay, hard work, teaching calculus to hoards of unappreciative undergrads–but it also has its perks. One of the better ones is that I can do my work a-ny-where. I don’t need a computer or lab equipment or loads and loads of heavy reference books; I just need a few printed out papers, a pencil, some scratch paper, and my brain. Unfortunately, my brain is not always on board, and I have to lure it to the table with offerings of warm, caffeinated beverages. As a result, I end up spending a lot of time at coffee shops. Over a few installments, I’ll give my opinions on some of our local ones here in San Diego . My drink of choice is a latte, so my coffee comments are pretty much restricted to that beverage. I drink a lot of tea as well, and it doesn’t take much to convince me to try out various cake offerings. This first installment covers three coffee shops in University Heights, an area northea...
More About: House , Coffee , Roundup , Part

Lifting a fog as thick as pea soup
2007-03-06 09:32:01
Since I was feeling a bit better this afternoon, Henning and I went to Pannikin Coffee & Tea in Leucadia to try to get some work done. My head was still a fuzzy cloud wrapped up in a blanket of goo, but we had hopes that a little fresh air and tea would help clear the fog. And besides, it was a beautiful day (seriously, 73 degrees and sunny in February?!). Well, I managed to stare at my papers for an entire hour and a half, trying to make my brain think, before giving up. Math was just not happening for my brain today, the sick fog was just too thick. We went for a quick walk on the beach (also supposedly to make me feel better, but it ended in a coughing fit), and headed home. On the way, we stopped at Trader Joe’s to pick up the ingredients for a simple chicken noodle soup, a most reliable fog-lifter. Though I couldn’t compute the homotopy of ER(n) in the afternoon, I was pretty damn sure cook some chicken noodle soup. And oh, it was like therapy, coarsely chopping...
More About: Soup , Lift , Lifting

Just some oatmeal cookies
2007-03-06 09:32:01
I woke up this morning itching to bake something. I didn’t have to be at school until 1pm, and the oven was just calling to me. I rummaged through the cupboards and fridge and determined that I had the ingredients to make some chocolate chip cookies, though I didn’t want to make just the usual plain ol’. Flipping through Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, his oatmeal cookies caught my eye. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except that I upped the cinnamon, added ground ginger, and dark chocolate chips. The resulting cookies are chewy with oatmeal and warm with just a hint of spice. The cinnamon and ginger are not overpowering, in fact, they barely whisper to you that they’re in there. They lend a subtle complexity that makes people wonder just what’s in those little cookies. I suspect a little nutmeg would be good as well, though it might give itself away more readily than the ginger and cinnamon. I don’t own an electric mixer, ...
More About: Just , Cookies , Meal , Some