Category Archives: eat & drink

Is There Such a Thing As Too Much Wine?

I only ask because, well, as I finally got around to cleaning out the office, I realized that we have 64 bottles in the rack there, three more cases (18 if you’re keeping count) and the four more I just put in the fridge. And well, I could be wrong, but damn that sure seems like a LOT of wine. Make that a lot of RED wine since nearly everything in the rack is red.

I can dump a couple of bottles tomorrow at a friend’s “bring a bottle” birthday party. But um, I’m kind of concerned since we’re heading up to Sonoma over Memorial Day weekend. It’s hard to taste and not buy. If only I had some housewarmings in my future!

I think the goal tonight is to find restaurant that does BYOB 😉

LA is Just Too Damn Big!

3 Replies

How is a gal supposed to find that perfect restaurant for her birthday celebration when the city is so large? Finding something centrally located aside, we still have too many kinds of restaurants to choose from. I’ve been Yelping nearly all day trying to find a place.

You’d think that as often as we dine out (sad, I know) that I’d at least have some ideas about where I might want to go to try for the first time. Or to at least know of a place that I enjoyed so much that I just have to go back again. Thing is, I want a good atmosphere, good food, good prices and good drinks. Oh and not to hip and trendy. Not too much to ask for, right?

It might just be easier if I didn’t also have our anniversary dinner to consider. Though I did decide that since our friend bought us a kick ass bottle of wine for Christmas that we’d drink it for our anniversary. So the actual night of, we’ll just stay home and enjoy the wine with something I’ll make (I’m open to any elegant, yummy, easy, non-salmon recipes or suggestions).

Okay, back to Yelp. I’ve got some work to do. Happy Friday everyone.

Help! I Need a Tortellini Salad Recipe ASAP

3 Replies

Well, maybe it’s not that big of a deal that I need to be all ASAP, but you I do need a recipe. I’ve got book club tomorrow in Santa Monica – no I didn’t read the book, but I did mean to – and I’ve decided to bring pasta salad. I have the cheese tortellini and can pick up anything else I might need, but really, I’m at a loss here.

Normally, I just use tri-colored pasta, add in some chunked veggies, some cheese, maybe some chicken or ham, and toss it all with some dressing or another by our good friend, Paul Newman. But this time around, I’m kind of stuck. I’m thinking that maybe something with a more creamy than vinegary dressing would be nice. But then what veggies? And no cheese because the pasta already has cheese, right?

Obviously, I’m going to flunk pasta salad making 101, so please, feel free to add any suggestions or ideas. Maybe I am a little desperate after all (it’s not like I can change my mind and bake something…we’ve got a forecast of low 90’s today and that means no oven!). So please, help a gal out…I’ll be your new best friend (she says in a sing song voice!) and I’ll be very, very grateful 😉

Do You Have a Diet Soda Addiction?

5 Replies

I only ask because I wonder this myself. Shine (you know, Yahoo’s new “womens” network) did a story the other day (thanks go input from Hungry Girl and quite a few folks commented regarding their own addiction to diet sodas. I’m not sure sure I’m an “addict” as I don’t seem to show any of the “side effects” that most talk about. To be honest, I can go days without caffeine without so much as a migraine (and I actually suffer from migraines from time to time). But I do wonder if many of the folks leaving comments about migraines and general aches are actually talking about a diet soda addiction or something more akin to a basic caffeine addiction.

If you are thinking about kicking the diet soda habit (I do hear that it’s quite bad for you – especially the aspartame) then let this list of alternative drinks over at Noshtopia help you out. Kelly the Kitchen Kop also has some helpful advice. Me, I think I’m ready to cut down (more than I already do). I think I’ll be going back to water or iced tea as my beverages of choice when I’m out of the house – I drank far too much Coke while I was sick for me to feel comfortable with myself.

Damn those Pesky Girl Scouts

4 Replies

And their delicious cookies!! Must they always wait outside of my grocery store to tempt me with their tasty goodness? The things I’ll do – and the price I’ll pay *yikes* – for my Samoas once a year!!! Needless to say, I plan on avoiding the grocery store for the next week or so!

My Rant on Celery & Messy Desks

2 Replies

I don’t like celery. No wait, that’s not entirely true. I like raw celery and I like raw celery in my tuna or chicken salads. I just don’t like it cooked.

If cooked celery turns mushy and gross when cooked, then why do we always put it in soups? You see, I love soup. I don’t love celery. If you’re going to put celery in soup, can’t you at least leave it chunky enough so that I can avoid it?

The only thing worse than celery in soup…okra in soup. Talk about slimy and gross! Really, it totally throws off the consistency, so why do it?

Onto other things that annoy me…why is it that I can clear off my desk, but a mere two days later it’s piled over with crap? I mean there’s rarely even a bit of flat enough surface available for my mug of tea. How is that even possible?!? More to the point, how can I stop it from happening over and over?

And speaking of messy desks…what the hell am I supposed to do with this ginormous stack of mail that needs to be shredded, but is just too much for my little home office shredder to handle? Times like this I wish we had a fire place. I mean this stack really seems to be hindering my productivity while at my desk (if you ignore the additional stacks ‘o mess I mentioned above).

What is a girl and her messy desk to do? Any suggestions from you work at home gals out there? How do you keep it all under control?

About Cooking, A Blog & A Contest

4 Replies

I love to cook. I love to bake. Unfortunately, I have a teeny tiny kitchen with absolutely no counter space. This puts a damper on my dreams of cooking and baking. I also have a piece of shit stove and oven. The temperatures are way off, I think the oven leaks, and it cooks horribly uneven. Oh, and did I mention that we can’t use our stove or over from April to October because it creates too much heat and the walled AC unit doesn’t reach into the kitchen?! Actually, it barely reaches beyond the living room where it’s walled, but that’s an entirely different story for a hot summer day. Ahhhh, the joys of apartment living.

Needless to say, I don’t cook or bake that much. I tend to look upon events like book club, as my excuse to finally try something fun (I’ve learned my lesson with the in-laws that they won’t try anything they don’t recognize, so that leaves out a lot of food choices!). But that doesn’t stop me from buying and reading cookbooks (yes, I read them like a book, page by page, cover to cover). And it doesn’t stop me from reading cooking blogs.

My dear bloggie friend Geggie, over at GeggieBlog (Hi Geg!!) not only can point you in the direction of one of the best restaurants in Phoenix (damn was it good!), but she can also point you to some damn fine cooking blogs. The latest in her list of referrals…Megans Cookin. Check it out, it’s a fun-looking blog that just might leave you drooling. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Megan is also having a contest right now, just in time for Easter. And let me just say, I do believe that I am coveting those dish towels! If you stop by to check her out and enter, be sure to let her know that LA Blogger Gal sent you. And if I win the basket, I’ll send you my Peeps! Deal?

And speaking of book club, it’s time to get ready to head on over the farmer’s market. I need to pick up some berries and granola for my contribution – I already have the yogurt at home. I really was hoping to make the granola from scratch, but damn, I was just to wiped out this week to do much of anything. Plus the last time I tried to make it in this oven, it just didn’t work out so well.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Valentine’s Menu Ideas?

5 Replies

I’m thinking it’s about time to start planning that special, romantic Valentine’s menu. Any suggestions out there from blog-land??

Be Careful What You Wish For

Who Doesn’t Deserve a Cupcake!

2 Replies

Okay, well I’m sure I can think of a few people that might not deserve a cupcake. But dammit, I just completed one awesome interview with Liza Palmer (http://lizapalmer.com – my links are working with me today) and lo’ and behold, there was a cupcake shop right next door. And really, who doesn’t deserve a cupcake, right? So mocha it was – and I washed it down with a sugar-free, non-fat caramel macchiato…yum! What a great day so far!

Some other cool things…1) author extraordinaire, Liza gave me tons of info for reaching out to publicists. Hopefully I can get some other author interviews lined up. Mind you,they won’t exactly have the ease of in person, so I’ll surely have to get much better at my interviewing skills. But I’m up for it! So we’ll be adding that to my list of things to do this week. And 2) I’m getting some responses to my request for bloggers and experts for my site’s blog. I just love when the universe works it’s magic!

What I learned today…

1) I’m apparently a lousy excuse for a California gal – let’s keep in mind that I’m far from being a native!

2) Not a fan of the artichoke – even when I’m promised by the waitress that theirs is the absolute best and will spoil me for all others.

3) The oh.my.god that is Sees chocolates is kind of lost on me. I just thought it was just your basic chocolate. But apparently, it has some sort of cult following and both Liza and our adorable waitress thought I was nuts for not knowing of it’s other worldliness. Maybe I’ll look into that.

4) I guess I also fail in the key lime department. I guess it causes shock waves in the atmosphere to not want key lime pie. Who knew? I was fine with the brownie thing though (and then of course on top of that, the mocha cupcake).

So now I need to edit the interview. And of course, then have the hubby re-edit the interview. I hope to have it up some time next week. Can’t wait!

And did I mention that I have three books to read in two weeks and turn in some sort of review!! Nothing like having a little deadline. Well, I did say that I wanted something to do during the day. Thank you Universe! And now, I’m off to respond to blogging requests and get started on at least one of those books.

My LA Blog

Life & Ramblings of an LA Blogger Gal