25 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Markets & Stores, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: caviar, charcuterie, cooking, Epicure Imports, food, foodie, humor, North Hollywood, warehouse sale
I can’t remember who told me about it — a gourmet food sale to end all gourmet food sales. I was at a party somewhere, talking to someone, they described a nirvana of exotic food items, all at wholesale prices — in a sale that only happened a couple times a year, and only if you knew about it.
The line on the loading dock outside Epicure the opening morning of the Holiday sale
I had promptly forgotten all about it when, the next day, an email arrived from [whomever it was] with information on how to sign up for sale notifications and a link. I followed the link, gave them my name, and promptly forgot about it again. More
22 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Recipes
Tags: food, guanciale, Italian cooking, pasta, penne, recipes, swiss chard, whole wheat penne, yoga
I love Swiss chard, it’s one of the best greens in my opinion. It cooks up velvety and has a beautiful earthy flavor.
Rainbow chard from Malibu (more glamorous than other rainbow chard)
So I was thrilled at the Friday farmer’s market here in Topanga to discover bags overstuffed with leaves of rainbow chard — white, golden and red. The chard was grown in Malibu, so they were charging $5 for it. (Usually I have rainbow chard growing in my own garden for free, but things have lately gone fallow.) Smitten, I bought the chard anyway. More
19 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Good Gadget, Bad Gadget, Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: barbecue, Black Equities Group, food, gadgets, grilling, humor, rib eye, Scott Murphy, Topanga
People often give me items for cooking or the kitchen that are sometimes useful, sometimes not. And you never quite know at first in which direction they will fall.
The Scott Murphy Hat
For example, you may open a Christmas gift to discover a beautifully designed utensil from Williams-Sonoma that looks like something you couldn’t live without, and find over time that you have no use for it at all. Conversely, someone may hand you something you couldn’t imagine ever using, and it winds up being one of your MVPs (Most Valuable Products). Such was the case with the Scott Murphy hat. More
15 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Humor, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: cooking, fennel pollen, food, Groupon, humor, Milford Spice Company, saffron, salt, spices
It was a cold and rainy winter morning in March 2012 (actually it was so long ago I don’t remember, but “cold and rainy winter morning” always makes for a better story beginning) when the Groupon arrived — a new online spice company called Milford Spice. I browsed their website and found a lot of interesting things, and who can’t always use some spices — especially at 50% off? It was near my birthday, so I treated myself to the Groupon and got shopping.
Bourbon-barrel smoked sea salt, looks good doesn’t it?
Here were many things I could use — saffron, Malabar black peppercorns, Middle Eastern zahtar, vanilla beans — and interesting things I’d never heard of before like bourbon-barrel smoked sea salt and toasted onion cane sugar (!). I was like a kid in a candy store, and put my order in. More
12 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Humor, Observations
Tags: blood pressure, cooking, exercise, food, humor, jogging, margaritas, Mark Bittman, nutrition, Vegan Before Six
After three months reducing my salt, I went triumphantly back to the doctor to check my blood pressure, sure that my elimination of kim chee, olives and anchovies and my new snacking regiment of walnuts would’ve done the trick. I hoped my blood pressure wouldn’t now be too low!
“Still the same,” she said. “I guess you’re not that sensitive to salt.”
The Omron 10 Series
How could this be? And then she broke the bad news: She wanted to try putting me on a low dose of blood pressure-reducing medicine. More
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skinny girls & mayonnaise 