an anniversary dinner of sorts

A year ago, we returned from a fantastic trip to South America with our neighbour Natasha, her friend Marina, and some others.  Chile and Argentina for almost two weeks - wow, there was some fantastic scenery.  Some good food.  Some lovely wine at one winery.

We've barely seen Natasha these past couple of months, and its been ages since we've seen Marina as well, so it was nice to see them both last night as the Pasadena members of the trip got together for dinner here last night.  Reminiscing a bit, catching up on the year since, drinking Chilean wine, and having a good evening of it.

Van arrived early, so the three of us enjoyed a cocktail made from a gift Allison sent us for Christmas, clove and rosemary gimlets. 

I vacillated between thinking the clove was too much and enjoying the drink, but Van rather liked it.

Natasha and Marina are both Russian, so I found a way to incorporate caviar into the dinner.  I made a puree soup to start, parsnip and cauliflower.  Into each bowl I placed a seared scallop, then garnished it all with chives, creme fraiche, and a little caviar.

For the main course, I marinated halibut in chermoula, baked it, and served it with some reserved chermoula, a bit of cous cous, purple carrots, and green beans. 

I hadn't done the recipe in some time, and it was good to revisit it.  I thought the fish cooked up nicely.

Dessert was a recipe I used back in November and decided to do again:  wild rice pudding with a caramel sauce. 

As I did back then, I also made a raspberry sauce for people to enjoy, but I stuck with caramel only.  I have such a sweet tooth.

The Chilean wines were good, and the evening was a success.  We have one more bottle of wine from the trip in the wine refrigerator, and one day we'll open it and enjoy.  I'm just glad, though, that we were able to get together and have a nice quasi-anniversary dinner together.

a casual Saturday

It was a lovely, sunny Saturday here this past weekend. 

Cool weather, but lovely winter weather.  After my morning walk, plus a little walk with Olive,

I got myself ready for an outing to the west side with Van.  Our plan?  Brunch!  In WeHo at that!

So it was that we met up with his friend Nicole at The Butcher's Daughter.  Nice place, bright inside.  Mostly vegan, but also eggs and dairy in a number of dishes.  I ordered what they called the "crab" cake Benedict, made with quinoa and jackfruit, topped with an egg, and a cashew hollandaise. 

And it was good.  But I honestly don't get why they call it "crab".  Just call it what it is - it's tasty as it is.  Ah well, I ate it and was happy.  Oh, and a cold pressed juice flight, which I would rank (from favourite to least favourite) as yellow, orange, green, red.

And then Van and I took ourselves to the Brentwood Country Market to poke in some stores (and eat some ice cream!).  A different world over there, a more monied, privileged world.  I did find a book that I wanted, though, which was good.

And then we came home.  A handful of hours outside of the house in a different part of the metro, a nice brunch.  A lovely, casual Saturday for us.

dinner and a show

Friday night was a date night in DTLA for me and Van.  Dinner first, then a show at the Ahmanson.  The first one is worth talking about.  The second one, as appreciative as I am that we went to a show, is worth forgetting.

It actually started out with Van getting us tickets to the show, and we worked backward from there.  A couple of years ago, the new Conrad Hotel opened across from the Disney Hall, and Van had his eye on dinner there.  A Jose Andres restaurant, San Laurel, was our dinner destination.  And it was a fine choice.  The pre-theatre crowd was a little older and a little less loud.  That was welcome.  The room was handsome, the menu was appealing, the restaurant bar had some great options (hello, Nolet's Gold!), and the service was excellent.  The food?  Pretty much lived up to what we hoped for.

Van and I started with cocktails, a variation on a G&T for him,

and a drink that included Fernet Branca and amontillado for me. 

The Polka Dotted Coleman, that was the name, and it seems likely a nod to Ada Coleman and the invention of the Hanky Panky.  Just a guess.  It was good.  I did get a nice recommendation for a glass of red wine with dinner as well.

Up first:  the beefsteak tomato tartare,

which featured semi-dried tomato chopped and mixed with olives and other things in emulation of a beef tartare.  It was good, perhaps a little chewy, but in concert with the lobster salpicon,

it was a great combination.

For dinner, we shared a side of asparagus

to go with the lubina that Van ordered

and the rack of lamb that I ordered. 

I liked the lamb - tender! - but I LOVED the little eggplants that were served alongside it.  I told the waiter that the eggplants need to be their own dish.  Delicious!

And then a Basque style cheesecake for dessert. 

No bells and whistles with this, just purely tasty.

Van and I agreed that we need to bring Conrad there.  And, a nice meal in our bellies, we headed over to the theatre,

stopping to get photos of the Music Center complex

and of city hall. 

We made it inside

to our seats

and waited for the show to begin.  And then, afterward, we talked a lot about why I did not like it and what Van thought of it.

You know, it was a lovely date night.  So what if I pretty much hated the performance we saw?  Van and I enjoyed a lot about the evening, and I was glad we had that little escape to DTLA.

I'll catch up on things soon, I swear, but first...

... Conrad is home from NYC!  YAY!

I picked him up at LAX yesterday evening, and got him home in time for me to have a late bite of dinner at the bar at Maestro.  And then he crashed.  We both slept in this morning, not getting up until almost 8:00.  LATE!  Wow.  A short walk and breakfast for us.  We have friends coming for dinner today, so I needed us to get groceries, get me in the kitchen, and get him doing housework.

There are things from Friday and Saturday to catch up on, and I will, but let this be enough for this Sunday afternoon. 😃

oh, right, I swam!

Checking in with my morning coffee before launching into work (though I've already been at the email inbox).  I swam yesterday!  A chilly morning, as you can tell from the steam from the pool. 

But hey, it was a swim.  And that's all it was.  Not a great one.  Just a swim.

Onward with the weekend!  After today's meetings, that is.

reminder: Olive is adorable

You can't deny it.  Just look at her!

It's been a rough few days for her, what with all the rain.  She may be adorable, but she's a bit of a princess, and she cannot bear to go out and get wet.  I don't blame her!

a rainy night in

Sunday evening, the Grammy Awards on television, a Last Word in hand, the other two on the couch, and rain coming down in considerable amounts outside.  Yep, a night in, and a welcome one at that!  Cheers!

Remember the Alimony

I've been playing more recently with spirit-forward cocktails as opposed to citrusy ones.  And moving beyond a martini or manhattan, when I can.  Last night I capped my evening with the Remember the Alimony, a mix of gin, fino sherry, and Cynar.

Bittersweet, smooth.  One for me to come back to some time.  Cheers!

a good morning start

Nothing out of the ordinary here.  No, quite the contrary:  happy routine!  We're expecting a whole lot more rain starting late tonight and through the next handful of days, so it was nice to get a sunny (if cool) window this morning to get out on foot.  A little farther afield today, and in a different direction than most mornings lately.  A little over 4.5 miles in all, but ultimately, we ended up at Amara before coming home.

Ah, Amara.  A welcome start to Saturday with Conrad. 

A decaf latte,

an arepa. 

I can't ask for much more.

But it's back home to chores and such now.  Bedding is in the washing machine, and I'm working on my passport renewal.  Fun times.

Happy weekend, all three of you reading this!

a return to Maestro

We've been derelict, I confess.  Last weekend Peter and Matt were in town.  The weekend before, I was in Baltimore.  And aside from that, Van has been doing a cleanse.  So we've not been the good, regular Maestro customers that we should or could be.  Sorry.

But tonight we did go back.

As always, we arrive right at opening to nab our favourite seats at the bar.  Alas, although the dining room was still empty,

someone had grabbed my corner seat, and we sat elsewhere around the corner of the bar.  Ah well.  We got to chat with Rigo and Marco, and the owners, Sergio and Paul.

And we had good food.  Guacamole and cocktails to start, and then the bone marrow esquites came out. 

Yum!  Intensely flavourful.  So good.  That was followed by the cochinita pibil,

and we fervently hope these stay on the menu a long while yet.  So good!

And then we came home to read, plan travel yet to come, and wind down very early.  Ahhhhh.  I like our Friday nights like this muchly!

The Toronto

I am NOT a fan of the Centre of the Universe, as anyone should know.  But the cocktail named for it?  Not bad!

capping it off with sushi

So that was January.  I just managed to cross 10,000 steps a day on average - some good days, some lazy days.  I made it to Baltimore.  I... hmmm... not sure what else momentous I did.  Ah well.

I didn't get home from work until close to 6, so rather than do Thursday night sushi, I readily persuaded Conrad to do Wednesday night sushi instead.  Thursday (when this will post but not be written) is supposed to be very rainy, and I have no need to be on campus, so I will work from home and save the commute time.  That will make for an easier time cooking us dinner.

We headed to Mama M shortly after 6, and sat at the sushi bar.  A bottle of red wine, and requesting things of the chefs.  We did well.  We often get takeaway from them, but it's a nice treat to go and sit there, have the hot things piping hot and the chilled things chilled.  Delicious.

We dined well.  Loving my amaebi as always. 

A nice starter of shishito peppers. 

Some lovely sashimi

and then an assortment of nigiri that were just delightful.

It's February tomorrow.  A new month, new adventures (or things close to home).  I am happy we capped off January with a nice little dinner at one of our favourite places.

this is what the week has been

That was last night.  Olive, in her pre-bedtime mode.  Some television (The Bachelor, in this case - yes, Van and I watch The Bachelor.  Conrad has not succumbed).  Tonight will probably be some Canada's Drag Race for me and Conrad, plus reading and music.  Maybe an after dinner stroll.

All in all, an easy week.  I almost feel weird that I don't have many trips planned and booked and the like.  But no.  These days it's just a nice life enjoying ourselves at home.

last sunrise of the month

I feel like January postings this year have been a lot of first and last and so on and so forth.  Sorry for that.  Maybe I'm in a rut for titles?  Ah well.

Another short entry here.  I'll get this posted and then out the door for a day on campus.  It has been a quiet week so far, and I expect today to be the same.  I have a couple of things to get done, and that will be helpful for doing that work.

So then, enjoy this morning's sunrise.  I had a good walk without and then with Olive, and these lovely skies were the start of that.

last swim of the month

It's not been a banner month for swimming, but believe me, I've had far worse.  I managed to carve out time enough today to get A WHOLE MILE DONE.  Wow.🙄🙄🙄

On to the next month of crappy little swims.  Go, me!

a tree

That's it.  Just a tree.  Curiously decorated, left in a corner lot in Pasadena.  A curiosity on a morning walk.

It really is a quiet week.🤣