What I Cooked, part II

Collard Greens Salad with Quinoa, Strawberries, Walnuts, and Avocado

My friend Paula is game. She likes to eat. She likes to travel. She's not afraid to change things up. I might not have made this salad without her here, and I certainly would not have made my own tahini for the tahini based salad dressing....but I did. One peek at the salad dressing labels at Vons with their to the moon sodium content and roster of weird ingredients sent us to the Asian food aisle where I bought a jar of sesame seeds instead. After a little dabbling, the concoction  transformed from paste into dressing. 

But the cutting of the collard greens was the most entertaining part. Remove the center stem, the instructions commanded, then stack the leaves, roll them up like a cigar, and slice them into narrow ribbons. The result was beautiful. 

We also had a radish and cilantro salad in a citrus dressing.

And ceviche from the local fish place.

We lingered at the table, and I am grateful for that.

The wind has been blowing manically since yesterday afternoon, non-stop. Having a houseguest has keep me from retreating to my bed and pulling the covers up over my head.

Friday & Food

The man who loves me just called to tell me bought some wild salmon at a local farmer's market. That ought to get us out of the salad rut. Of course, I'll make a salad anyway, but it will have a supporting role for a change instead of sitting center stage. I've been serving salad for dinner every night for months--which is not to say that it's always the same. I have a number of ingredients in my repertoire. Avocados, tomatoes, pine nuts, other nuts and seeds, roasted peppers, any number of vegetables--raw or cooked, apples, tangerines, berries of all kinds, cranberries and other dried fruit. Even so, C. has rebelled. She goes out now for In 'N Out or something. I love salad--the way I do it with super fresh organic mixed greens. Arugula is one of the most amazing flavors on the planet. To me it tastes like greens crossbred with pepper and peanut butter.

And speaking of food, here are a couple of food blogs for your weekend enjoyment:
1) Wild, Fresh + Tasty (where, if you read the post that features MADE, the coffee/gift shop at the Downtown Women's Center, you will see a photo of me working the counter in my barista hat.
2) How To Eat I have the good fortune to know Elizabeth personally, and when my divorce is completely over, she's going to bake me a cake. Now that's something to hope for!

Now for a Los Angeles food scene trivia question:
At which cafe are you likely to come upon a patio table with a pile of poop on it? 

ɯnʇǝɹoqɹɐ ʎʇunoɔ sǝlǝƃuɐ sol ǝɥʇ ʇɐ ǝɟɐɔ ʞɔoɔɐǝd ǝɥʇ

The name of the place says it all.

The image used in this post is a painting by an 18th century painter named Luis Melendez.