Remabulous

Video Friday: Clean up that kitchen, people!

Your kitchen matters more than you think.

Especially when I am trying diet modifications to get rid of my skin problem. Let me say that it's a whole lot easier to make these things happen when you don't have a million off limits items at home.

But either way, it's easier to get to those goals with gusto if you're eating well.

Check out my new kitchen, above. Yay!

blogher '08 ladies: you must not miss the helmand palace restaurant

so it is not right by union square, nor is afghani a cuisine most people sample regularly, but i can confidently say that the helmand palace on van ness and green in san francisco may have ruined me for all other food from now on. if you're looking for a real treat, figure out the public transportation that is needed to get you there. you will thank me. i promise. if you're not already convinced, i will just tell you that the kaddo (baby pumpkin with yogurt sauce and ground beef) made both me and my dining companions groan with such delight- and volume- that they brought us another order on the house.

magical service, perfect food, and an unassuming atmosphere. don't miss it.

dolce isola: adventure of the week!

this week, i am in for a more relaxing adventure. i was delighted when my friend and fabulous co-teacher, june, suggested we meet up to discuss our recent workshop at dolce isola, the bakery for the ivy restaurant.

many of you have heard of the ivy: the restaurant where all the stars in the world are supposed to be eating at any given time. having just arrived @ dolce isola, i can already see that it is much more my speed. spotless with marble floors and charming mismatched fifites patio furniture inside, the place is a dream.

sitting with a perfect cappucino and waiting for june, i am trying to decide between far too many amazing choices all laid out in a simple display case. i think we might have something mrs london would approve of here. and robertson boulevard is much closer to me than saratoga springs ny! i"l post some pictures and share taste details later on. yay new bakeries!

cafe of the week: susina on beverly

and the cafe of the week is: susina bakery on beverly! as i am spending a lot of time banging away on my laptop working on this book, i have decided to rotate location. (that and i have no air conditioning in most of my house and felt like i was going to suffocate in the delightful 90+ temperatures today). susina was just the ticket for hot weather cafe action: delicious salads, ( i had the gorgonzola and beet YUM), friendly service, pretty twinkly chandeliers, and lots of cookies. i could not have been happier the whole time i was there. those who need internet to work, beware, however: they don't offer it free in the cafe- you have to log onto one of those creepy ubiquitous log-on-from-everywhere types. it works just as well for me: writing the book does not require much internet and cuts down on the procrastination.

so if you need to write and want to escape the deathly heat, pop into susina for a smoothie and a sit down. an excellent place for a read as well- patrons are quiet and mostly studious types rather than gabbers.

enjoy!

image: susina bakery

so much for that challenge; after six days, a return to food

so. this evening i feasted on a dinner of miso, rice, edamame and cucumber roll. the will to continue this cleanse eluded me. especially after they said in the cleansing article that if you get hungry at any point after the first three breaking in days, you should start eating again. and today, you bet your ass i was hungry. out of nowhere, too. i had not been interested in food beyond flavor, but today despite drinking the regular stuff in the same general amount, i just wasn't holding on the same way.

perhaps the fact that i wanted to kill, cook and eat everyone i encountered today would be a good indicator that it was time to stop. well, maybe not everyone i saw, but still. it wasn't so pretty anymore.

on not eating

these guys are my new porn stars. when you're fasting, there is nothing quite like food voyeurism.

image: eschipul via flickr

as some of you may know, i have been struggling with a weird and upsetting skin condition for nearly two years. it is called granuloma annulare. i'm not certain if i have spelled it right, but it has certainly wreaked plenty of havoc. but i will not be daunted by weird skin patches that look like lesions from some kind of alien attack. i am fighting back now. i am fasting.

we're on day 4. and i am starting to look over cookbooks like they were pornography.

sushi ike: pure fish delight

tuesday night is the night for fresh fish at sushi ike at hollywood and gower. we were introduced to this tiny unassuming treasure by our fabulous friends, austin and candace. find out what's on the menu...
photo: jjsawrey

big sur: off-season hideaway of treasures (and a reader's paradise)

i am always scared to write about big sur, because i really don't want to share it. it's that good. i have been going for a number of years and have never once been during the busy season of summer. i have confined my visits to september through april and wouldn't change a thing. this time, i got to live the high life by staying with my parents and brother at the post ranch inn. check out the view:

yes, you can swim in it, too.

the final frontier of east coast eats: baltimore

that i found culinary true love in the city i grew up in not only shocked, but amazed me. i am giving my friend megan my first born child for taking me to greg's bagels in belvedere square for lox.

a family waits to get their fix. i just dare you to resist ten or more different varieties of smoked salmon. even if you don't like salmon, you will cry with joy and want to move so you can eat it every day.

east coast eats part two: boston's best tea-time snacks

the end of this past summer, i spent my birthday at my mom's new place in jamaica plain in boston. she took me out for a delicious tea at the four seasons. i liked it so much, that it seems that when i was just there thanksgiving week, we only wanted to eat out in the late afternoon. here's the rundown on where to deal with afternoon rumblings at any budget.

the view of the pretty park outside the four seasons at boston common. this is what we would have seen if we had eaten there in november as well as august.