recent food recollections

I have been eating pretty well the past few weeks. Accompanied by an out-of-town visitor, I made many a scramble, roasted many a beet, enjoyed homemade hummus, birthday cupcakes, and some very fancy chocolate chip cookies.

I also revisited some of my new favorite LA eatin' spots: Mashti Malone's (incredible Iranian ice cream with flavors like Sour Cherry Faludeh and Ginger Rosewater), Kogi BBQ Taco Truck (best idea and execution of fusion cooking ever), The Nickel Diner (best burger I've eaten in my life and possibly best cupcake too), and fresh mango in a bag with chile and lime from the side of the road, which was a favorite of mine in Chicago days too.

The best thing about those fave spots is that they are all totally reasonably priced and excellent for sharing. Thank you, LA. Next week I hope to find the restaurant/diner in Griffith Park that I keep hearing about...I think it's near the golf course area. Supposed to be delicious.

Here's a recent frittata meal. Made with miscellaneous starchy leftovers, fresh carrots, onion, garlic, potatoes and broccoli...and chipotle with adobo sauce.



And a great tapenade plate from Le Pain Quotidien (where the ricotta and radishes were the real stars):



Oh, and the Food Hotline also had some nice calls recently! Thanks for calls about artichokes (don't boil!), sugar cookies (be sure to chill the dough), and especially the comment from Erin about the Cilantro Experiment (so glad it turned out!).