Jesus.

I suck at updating.

That's kind of a weird title, when I look at it now. Just for clarification, the title is not simply "Jesus" but "JESUS!"

I hope that clears things up for everyone. Sifting through previous entries has made me realize but one thing: why the hell don't I make Swedish meatballs EVERY FREAKIN' WEEK?

Wow.

Where the hell did I go? I was busy and forgot about this thing until my friend (HI KAELA!) asked me why I don't update anymore. Normally I wouldn't care but she said she LIKED reading my blog and wanted me to update it! How nice. And I'm only... what? A month late?

Well I suppose an update in my status is in order -

We left New Orleans at the very end of July and drove three days to Los Angeles. After that we mobilized to San Francisco where I stayed for about a month, before accepting a job that brought me down to Los Angeles. Michael and I found a townhouse, after much struggle and stress, and we currently live in a neighborhood called Monterey Hills. Monterey Hills is about seven or so miles northeast of downtown. We are living on the much less congested side of Los Angeles which makes living here a hell of a lot easier this time around.

Maybe one day I'll get around to posting photos I haven't gotten around to posting?

Hot.

Boy am I slacking on posts lately. Maybe it's because I'm so miserable here. Don't get me wrong I love New Orleans and I'll miss it dearly... but JESUS is it hot here! Heat index included, it is well into the 100s each and every day. It "cools down" at night, but only into the 80s. It. Is. Fucking. Hot.

It's so hot that just thinking about hot how it is makes me sweat a little.

Only about a month left to go though.

Caramelized French Toast w/ Cinnamon and Berries

I don't have anything to say about this one. It was pretty good and I'll probably make it again in a week or two. It's a recipe from Bon Appetit, which I have a subscription to. I took my own photo, and followed my own rules, because I'm a rebel like that I guess. I will post the original recipe that was published in the magazine, with a few notes at the end about what I did differently.

Caramelized French Toast w/ Cinnamon and Berries

7 tbsp butter; room temperature
6 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
8 (1-in. thick) slices of French bread
Powdered sugar
Fresh berries/fruit
Maple syrup

1. Mix the butter and brown sugar in a small bowl to blend.
2. Whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, and spices in a larger bowl.
3. Melt 2 tbsp of the butter mixture in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Dip the bread in the milk mixture, one slice at a time, and place in the pan. Cook until the bottoms are deep brown (but not burned) and flip, about 4 mins.
4. Repeat process until all slices are cooked, keeping toast warm under tin foil.
5. Divide the toast among four plates. Drizzle with maple syrup, and top with berries. Sift powdered sugar over top.

Yields: 4 servings.

*I skipped step one by throwing a dab of butter in the hot skillet and sprinkling sugar over the melted butter. When it starts to bubble, throw the toast in. I also halved the recipe for two people instead, and added mango to the berries. Make sure to separate any toast slices you are keeping warm because the sugar crust will stick and you'll have to rip them apart. It doesn't make for a nice presentation.

New Orleans is home to several species that, until now, were pretty much just mythical creatures in my coastal Californian mind. I have OFFICIALLY decided to make it a point to see each and every one of these creatures before I leave.

Exhibit A: a firefly. No I have never seen a firefly. And yes, I know that is just plain sad. There are no fireflies to be found anywhere in California as far as I'm aware, and certainly not along the coast. A glowing bug will surely blow my mind and I could not be more excited to hunt one down.



Exhibit B: an armadillo. Seriously, wtf is this thing? They are ridiculous.





Exhibit C: a nutria rat. Also known as, a beaver sort of thing without a beaver tail. Less exciting than Exhibits A and B, but still somewhat exciting.

Holy crap.

So I made a previous post about the evil little bastards crawling around outside. And I bet "ya'll" think I'm crazy and/or paranoid.

Am I? Am I really?!?

One night last week I was innocently getting into bed as I do every night, and something very disturbing caught my eye:


Oh... what, you don't see it? Well take a closer look:



TWO FEET FROM MY FREAKIN' FACE! Omfg. I was convinced they are coming to get me while I sleep, while I'm at my most vulnerable.

I'll say it again: OMFG. O. M. F. G.

In case you need reminding: these things sting the hell out of you if you even gently touch them. They are horrifying little creatures and I had a lot of trouble sleeping that night. I checked in and under the bed but could not prevent a case of the severe heebie jeebies.

Benne Cookies

My grandmother on my mom's side is originally from Charleston, South Carolina. AKA, the deep South. She used to make these strange but awesome cookies called "benne cookies." One year as a gift to me she put together a recipe box, including some old family recipes inside, and this was one of them. After some debate I decided that sharing the recipe was okay. I decided not to be selfish.

A little background: the cookies are made with "benne seeds" which is apparently the African "slave term" for sesame seed (I told you it was the deep South). But to the rest of us, they are sesame seeds. For this purpose however, they are benne (ben-eee) seeds, and therefore, benne cookies (they're really more of a wafer, but I didn't write the recipe).

I know you're probably thinking "eww, sesame cookies, gross." They're actually pretty damn good and not too sesame-like as you might expect. They're sweet, because they are a cookie. Otherwise they'd be a cracker... duh.

Give them a try and if you don't like them feed them to the dog. Story of my life.

Benne Cookies

1 stick butter (melted)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. sesame seeds
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toast the sesame seeds: spread them out on a cookie sheet and roast for about 10 mins. Set toasted seeds aside, in a bowl.

2. Mix all the cookie ingredients in a medium bowl, and drop by teaspoon fulls onto an aluminum-lined cookie sheet.

3. Bake at 350 F, approximately 10 mins. Cookies should be lightly browned (refer to photo)... not white in the centers, but not too dark either. Check the cookies at 5 mins. If the cookies have puffed up, give the tray a whack with a knife or spoon. This will cause the cookies to collapse. This batch did not rise for me, but has in the past. The cookies are supposed to rise but don't panic if they don't.

Personally I don't know why a recipe calls for baking powder (a leavener) if the instructions specify that you collapse the cookies... but like I said. I didn't write the recipe, and old family recipes are not to be tampered with.

Yield: about 2-3 dozen, I can't remember.