Building Porn

The former Ray Vines Chrysler-Plymouth-Imperial Dealership, one of the last remaining examples of Googie architecture in Long Beach.

Constructed in 1963, for automobile dealer Ray Vines. I am not sure who the architect was, the permit states that it was designed by architecture firm John Case and Associates. However, I have read that it was designed by Paul B. Clayton, who designed a number of mid-century buildings, including the beloved, Johnnie's Broiler. I'll try and keep looking for architect information. 

Located at 4201 E. Willow Street, Long Beach.

This building is currently for sale- let's hope the City has no plans to demolish this gem.

Coconut goodness.

The only thing better than coconut shrimp at a restaurant is coconut shrimp you can make at home for a fraction of the price!

The perfect dish to remind us how much we love (and miss) summer. 

I'll admit I'm a garden ho

The question I get asked the most my other gardeners at the community garden is "So is anyone helping you with your plot?" I have been asked this at least 10 times.
I was a little taken aback by the question, as it made me wonder, exactly how much time am I going to have to spend out here? I have a full-time job and only two days off a week. Everyone was making it sound like this is really difficult!

However, the time spent out there has been thoroughly enjoyable for me. While I would be happy to accept the help of my husband or anyone else in family, I love being at the garden. I can easily toil the day away weeding, planting, watering and planning what I want to start next.

I cannot believe how much I enjoy doing this.

Handmade holidays

This year's recession-slash-general doom and gloom that everyone thinks is going to stay through 2009, prompted the husband and I to opt out of the gift giving part of this holiday season. While neither one of us (that we know of) is heading towards job loss or anything concerning, but we just decided that with the purchase of a house, a wedding and a lot in between, that is seemed totally unnecessary to go out and buy each other a bunch of crap.



It made things easier and a hell of a lot less stressful. We had a great thanksgiving dinner, followed by a relaxing day hanging out at home (no malls!). Tomorrow, we will have a nice Christmas dinner and spend the evening relaxing around a fire and most likely watching a classic holiday flick. This whole financial malaise has really got me thinking about consumerism, our excesses, the loss of personal-ness in everything we seem to care for. And it really motivated me to decide that from now on, I am really going to try and only give out homemade gifts. Yeah, it's easy to say now because I don't have to think about christmas again for 11 months, but I'm really going to try. Not only for the holidays, but for birthdays, house warmings, anniversaries, etc...

Just looking around the internet I have already compiled a list of possible gifts that can be easily made at home. Of course, knitting gifts will always top that list, but I have some other hand-made gift ideas too...

A succulent arranged in a pretty pot;

Something yummy, like madelines, spiced nuts or fancy cookies in a chinese take-out box;

Bath salts in a pretty jar;

The possibilities are endless, if you are a crafting junkie like myself! I better start planning now...

I sware this is not just a cooking blog...

But I have been seriously kicking ass in the kitchen lately. My office was having a holiday potluck, so I decided to make a tasty treat for the event. I found a nice recipe for lemon bars and since I already had all the ingredients on hand, they seemed like the easiest option. Like most of my recent cooking adventures, this was my first time making lemon bars. I made a crusty dough out of flour, butter and powdered sugar. It was baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Pardon the crappy picture, the lighting in my kitchen is terrible, and I am still figuring out how to deal.
Then I mixed eggs, sugar, flour and lemon juice together and poured the mixture over the cooked crust. Everything was placed back into the oven and baked for 20 minutes.

Oh my god. These are soooooo gooood. And way too easy to make!

Recipe here.

Thanksgiving

This was the first thanksgiving where I cooked. In the past, I was never really interested in cooking and the thought of getting up at 6am to prepare everything was not something I wanted to do on my day off. However, ever since we bought the house, I have really enjoyed making food and challenging myself to create new and interesting dishes. Cooking a giant turkey from scratch seemed like it would be the next appropriate milestone in my quest to become a good (maybe great?) cook. Perhaps I should have achieved this important milestone prior to inviting my family and friends over for a holiday dinner, as it was quite possible that my little experiment could fail and we would all be eating shrimp cocktails and hummus with pita bread for dinner instead of yummy turkey. Instead of the proposed disastrous scenario, everything turned out lovely.

It seems there are just as many ways too cook turkey as there are to skin kittens. I didn't do a lot of research on turkey cooking, but I did notice a few contrasting schools of thought, such as the brined vs. not brined crowd, the stuffed vs. not stuffed, basted vs. no basting, and of course breast up vs. breast down.

Ultimately, I decided to go with tradition and ignore all the blogs, cookbooks and commentary. I called my mom and asked her what she does. She told I didn't need to buy a brined turkey, so I got a regular, fresh one. She has always stuffed her turkeys, so I did the same and made a chestnut and sage stuffing which I placed into the turkey's chest and neck. I roasted chestnuts in the oven, which was surprisingly easy to do. The turkey's skin was basted in a mixture of olive oil, sage, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and smoked paprika. For side dishes, I made mashed potatoes from scratch and a traditional green bean casserole, something we had never eaten in my family before. I basted the turkey every half hour and cooked it for about 5.5 hours. Everything turned out amazing.

For dessert, I didn't want to make the traditional pumpkin pie, as my family isn't too crazy about it. So this year, I decided to keep pumpkin in the dish, but make a cheesecake instead of pie. I made a yummy crust out of ginger snap cookies.


And combined pumpkin puree with the cheesecake batter. I baked the cheesecake in a water bath, a cooking method I have never used before. It was strange to do, but it worked quite well.

The cheesecake was very good. So all in all, Thanksgiving 2008 was a successful experiment!

My Funny Frog's Thanksgiving Menu

Roast Turkey with

Sage and Chestnut Stuffing

Fall Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

Big Martha's Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole, recipe printed on can of Trader Joe's fried onions

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Community Garden

About 6 months ago I signed up for the waiting list to get a plot at our local community garden. At the time, the woman told me that I probably wouldn't have to wait too long, and they'd call me when a plot opened up. I completely forgot about it and began planting some late summer crops in my backyard. Last month, they finally called me and let me know that a plot was available.

After attending a class to learn about the history of the garden and the rules, I was given my plot. I was absolutely amazed at how large the plots are. Each plot is a generous 15' by 25'. The arrangement varies with how the plot was previously arranged; mine is organized into eight sections framed by wood borders, and surrounded by dirt paths.

After walking around the garden to see how and what other people were planting, I decided plant some starter plants from the nursery. I started with spinach, lettuce and onions. I also spoke with my garden neighbors who provided me with a wealth of useful information about the gardens, and how to achieve a successful harvest. In addition to the usual pests, there are squirrels, rabbits and rats who love to munch on young seedlings.

While some gardeners have remedied this problem by building fences around their plots, I decided to go with the craft netting covers also commonly used at the gardens. The netting is covered around metal hoops that cover each section of the garden. I like the netting method, because it offers an added layer of protection against pests, and can be moved based on the arrangement of the garden. The netting can be purchased at a fabric or craft store, the metal wire framing came from home depot- it is kind of hard to find. I is technically called "masonry ladder" and you'll find it in the construction aisles, at the very back of the store. The construction sales people should be able to help you find it. 

I didn't do much to the soil before I started planting. I was told that the person who had previously worked my garden plot kept it in fairly decent shape. The only soil amendments I put in the ground were equal parts of sodium sulfate and gypsum. There was already plenty of manure in the soil, so I just mixed everything into the ground and used a hand tiller to break up the dirt. It seemed to be enough, as I have had no problems with the starters I have planted. 

I can't wait to see everything grow! 

Fish Tacos and Shrimp Ceviche

Food coma kicking in....now.

Happy Sunday

IMG_1022, originally uploaded by MyFunnyLittleFrog.

Grilled Fillet Mignon with Blue Cheese Crumble

These were sooo0 good. Last night was a great evening for being spontaneous, and when the husband said he wanted "Steaks with Blue Cheese", I went right to my trusty internets to see what I could whip up.



I had never had a steak with blue cheese before last night, and I have to say it is a wonderful combination of flavors. The pungent flavor of the cheese really seems to bring out the flavor in the meat. I added a bit of garlic and panko flakes to my blue cheese topping mixture, and finished the steaks off with a few minutes under the broiler.



Served with sauteed mushrooms, roasted potatoes and a spinach salad.


From this recipe.

Thirty-One Years

It was a nice and quiet day. 

Last year, I spent my 30th birthday at my grandmother's funeral. It was a mixture of sadness and relief, as she had been gradually fading away for many years and I was glad she could finally be at peace.

This year was much less eventful. I went for a bike ride. I had a lovely breakfast. I gardened. and I spent the evening with my soulmate.

All in all- I think 31 is starting off to be a good year.

Farmer's Market Sunday

This is what $20 worth of fresh, organic, local food looks like:

With food prices on the rise and so many people looking to save money and eat healthier, the local farmers market is really the way to go. It is so much fun to walk around, looking at each vendor's produce and deciding who has the tastiest, freshest fruit and vegetables. No waiting is long grocery lines, or playing bumper carts with old ladies. Just lots of people, and tons of really good food. Of course eventually I'd like to be able to grow as much as possible in my garden, but until then I'll shop at the farmers market.

I too, want to see Jawas and Sandpeople united.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Seen in the Garden

I seem to be having a few problems with pests in my garden.

There are aphids on my tomatoes,

Grasshoppers too,

And then there is this pest, which is relentless:

Anyone know a good organic beagle repellent?

Namaste

Have a wonderful Labor Day.

Working the Grill

Ever read Last Night's Dinner? I love that blog. Here's what I whipped up:

Beef- Trader Joe's Korean Boneless Beef Ribs (skewered), grilled corn and cocount rice. And a Blue Moon to wash it down. Delish!

Feed me Seymour, Feed me all night looooong!

Cucumbers are INSANE. Seriously. I had no idea how fast they grow and how aggressive they are towards other plants. Who would have thought that the cucumber, a simple delicious cold vegetable - would dominate the garden? Ever see Little Shop of Horrors? Yeah I have that blood thirsty plant living in my back yard right now.

Cute baby alien plant:

Cute baby cuke:

After about three weeks:



Four weeks:

Just look at that kung-fu grip!

There is little I can to to stop the cucumber.

Yeah, I am waiting for this to happen: