tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313143592011-04-21T18:37:27.767-07:00Musings on food, books, and books about food, from a self-described "foodie" and aspiring librarian.Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1160251253921223142006-10-07T12:56:00.000-07:002006-10-07T13:00:53.936-07:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I have not abandoned my blog! I have had a miserable cold (which turned into bronchitis) for the last 3 1/2 weeks. I have managed to drag myself to work and to my library internship despite illness (other than the one day I was so bad that I had to call in sick to work), but have had no time or energy for anything else.I finally got to the doctor a

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1158273127653982022006-09-14T15:19:00.000-07:002006-09-14T15:32:07.676-07:00

A couple of years ago, inspired by some great Thai food that I had at a little strip-mall restaurant called “Long Beach Thai Restaurant” (listed in the Yellow Pages as “Long Beach Restaurant”), I decided to try my hand at Thai cooking. I picked up a terrific cookbook called “Simply Thai Cooking” and decided to make Panang Nuer (Beef Panang), my favorite dish at Long Beach Thai. Made with sliced

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1158247703695434372006-09-14T08:22:00.000-07:002006-09-14T12:05:48.800-07:00

BBM ContentsYesterday I received my Blogging by Mail package. My package was from Georgia in Sydney, Australia. What fun and interesting foodstuffs she included. For my sweet tooth, there are several chocolate items – Violet Crumble, Giant Caramello Koala (both candy) and Tim Tams (cookies/biscuits). I am a chocolate lover, so I know that I’ll enjoy these. I have actually tried Violet Crumble

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1157757443444688512006-09-08T16:15:00.000-07:002006-09-08T16:17:23.456-07:00

In my research on infusing vodka, I found differing opinions on how long to leave the infusion going before straining the concoction. For basil, the prevailing opinions ranged from 2 days to 4 days, and for blueberries from 4 to 6 days. So, when I started the infusions on Monday afternoon, I planned to do a taste-test on the basil infusion on Wednesday and then a taste test on the blueberry

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1157584326301868422006-09-06T16:06:00.000-07:002006-09-06T16:22:38.623-07:00

Last night I made two more attempts at replicating the strawberry balsamic basil cocktail (James joined me in taste-testing). Unfortunately, neither was quite right.For attempt # 2, I essentially duplicated the recipe of attempt # 1, except that I doubled the amount of Basil Essence to 2 ounces and added a dash of balsamic vinegar. There wasn’t a noticeable difference from attempt 1 – the basil

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1156968440381294592006-08-30T13:01:00.000-07:002006-09-14T08:41:43.150-07:00

BBM ContentsLast night, I made my first attempt at the Strawberry Balsamic Basil Cocktail that I tried at J’s Tapas. The drink was delicious, but not quite right. First of all, I didn’t realize until I was getting ready to make my drink that I was out of balsamic vinegar. So, at the very least, the drink was simply a Strawberry Basil Cocktail. Second, the basil flavor was much, much too subtle –

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1156878482910762292006-08-29T11:55:00.000-07:002006-09-06T16:18:32.840-07:00

My husband James is an artist (though he has a day job to pay the bills). Recently, a friend and fellow artist featured one of James’ drawings in his show at the Upfront Gallery in Ventura, during the town’s annual “Art Walk” festival, so of course James and I had to go up for the show (for those outside of Southern California, Ventura is an artsy beach town about an hour or so north of Los

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1155599094271548152006-08-14T16:33:00.000-07:002006-08-15T17:54:24.103-07:00

James likes his hamburgers rare. To him, cooking a hamburger any more than rare results in a dry, flavorless burger. This didn’t used to be a problem. Most places (other than fast food joints like McDonald’s) were happy, upon request, to cook a burger rare.About a year or so ago, however, we noticed the beginning of a trend. It started with chain coffee shops. We used to frequent our local Coco’s

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1155332748709437202006-08-11T14:40:00.000-07:002006-08-12T14:03:21.693-07:00

Bon Voyage. This past weekend, my 9-year-old stepson “C” (for privacy’s sake, I won’t mention his real name, but James and I call him “Snuggie”) moved 400 miles away. His mother was transferred by her employer, so she, her husband, and Snuggie had to move. Obviously, it is hard for James to have his son move away, and it is hard for Snuggie to leave his home, his school, his friends, and all of

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1155150645250902772006-08-09T11:55:00.000-07:002006-08-15T17:57:28.733-07:00

Last week, in a post titled “Nostalgia,” I raved about Riviera at the Fireside, a restaurant that reminded me of the old Continental Cuisine restaurants that I loved in my teens and early ‘20s. Well, James and I, along with our friends Rick and Susan, went there this past Saturday, to celebrate my birthday, and I am sorry to say that Riviera has gone downhill in the past couple of years.The first

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1154725191223996752006-08-04T13:55:00.000-07:002006-08-15T17:59:43.093-07:00

Cupboard PastaA few nights ago, I planned to make spaghetti for dinner. Nothing fancy, just spaghetti with store-bought (but higher quality) spaghetti sauce, doctored up with fresh garlic, onions, olive oil, dried basil and oregano, and hot Italian sausage. James assured me that all we needed were the Italian sausages. I stopped at the supermarket on the way home and picked up the

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1154622801477719442006-08-03T09:27:00.000-07:002006-08-03T09:33:21.486-07:00

After writing my last post, in which I traced my evolution into a lover of foie gras, I started thinking more about those great old “continental cuisine” restaurants that I enjoyed in my childhood and through my teens and twenties. One of my favorites, that we enjoyed rather frequently in the early ‘80s, was called Lord Henry’s, located in Los Alamitos, California, just south of Long Beach. It

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1154110473386130832006-07-28T11:13:00.000-07:002006-07-28T11:14:33.403-07:00

Reading Michael Ruhlman’s recent posts regarding foie gras on megnut, particularly “Foie Love: A Level Field”, made me think about my own evolution into a foie gras lover. Growing up in Southern California in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I don’t think I was even aware of foie gras other than as an ingredient in paté de foie gras or mousse de foie gras. Money was tight in my childhood, especially after my

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153941976672788902006-07-26T12:21:00.000-07:002006-07-26T12:43:55.520-07:00

Kir RoyaleAs a newbie Food Blogger, I am (as usual in terms of new interests) becoming rapidly obsessed. Already, I find myself frustrated by my inability to take photos of the quality that I would like. The digital camera that I was so excited to receive as a gift from my sister-in-law just 7 months ago is now driving me crazy with its limitations (Kodak EasyShare). For example, the lowest

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153773105606305962006-07-24T13:27:00.000-07:002006-07-24T13:33:29.276-07:00

Proscuitto PaniniLast night, I decided to try out one of our wedding gifts, a Krups Panini Grill. After spending the afternoon at the movies (air conditioning – what a relief!), we stopped on the way home at Bristol Farms, our local (overpriced) upscale grocery store. I would have preferred to go to my favorite place, LA Farmers Market, but we didn’t have time (and we didn’t want to suffer the

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153768518088767442006-07-24T12:10:00.000-07:002006-07-24T12:20:03.150-07:00

baby squashLiving near the beach, as I do, means that the weather throughout the summer is generally wonderful – sunny skies, comfortably warm rather than unbearably hot. Those of us who live near the water don’t bother with air conditioning, and there tend to be only a couple of days each summer in which I wish that I did have air conditioning.Not so this summer – nearly every day has been

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153510828895177462006-07-21T12:39:00.000-07:002006-07-21T12:40:28.903-07:00

Just noticed an interesting AP article on Yahoo – the title caught my attention immediately:Blogger in France sues after being fired.The blogger, a woman identified only as “Catherine,” didn’t write about food – her blog apparently dealt more with her love life, single motherhood, etc. It’s still interesting, though. I tried to access her blog, Petite Anglaise, but got the message that the

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153497085757151052006-07-21T08:41:00.000-07:002006-07-21T13:24:13.966-07:00

I promise that I will get off of the wedding / honeymoon topic soon (don’t want this to turn into a “My Wedding” blog) – but coincidentally I learned about Food Blogs shortly before I got married, and started this blog shortly after returning from my honeymoon. Since James and I are “into” food, fine dining, etc., many of the details of our wedding and honeymoon relate to this blog, so I am

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153357285932187472006-07-19T17:58:00.000-07:002006-07-20T08:17:02.813-07:00

I am an avid reader, and one of my favorite genres is food writing. I’ve got a huge collection and am constantly on the lookout for new food books. Here are some I’ve enjoyed recently. (By the way, as a grad student and aspiring librarian, I am fanatical about citation, so I will list full citations for these books at the end of the post).Heat by Bill BufordBuford, a staff writer and former

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153335523094099582006-07-19T11:50:00.000-07:002006-07-19T11:58:43.106-07:00

During our honeymoon, James and I went to an incredible restaurant for dinner. This was a special evening for us for several reasons – not only were we on our honeymoon, but James’ birthday was that week and it was also the week of the three-year anniversary of our first date. So, we wanted a restaurant that would be a true celebration.Through some online surfing, I discovered a restaurant that

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153256173595401022006-07-18T13:52:00.000-07:002006-07-18T13:56:13.606-07:00

I just got back from my honeymoon in Coronado, California (next to San Diego), and had a completely relaxing, rejuvenating, and romantic experience. My husband (yes, I still love saying “husband,” since it is so new) James and I stayed at the historic and luxurious Hotel del Coronado, built in 1888 and host of numerous U.S. Presidents, foreign royalty, and other famous (and infamous)

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31314359.post-1153244447485962692006-07-18T10:28:00.000-07:002006-07-18T13:57:16.336-07:00

Hello, and welcome,Having only recently discovered the world of food blogs, I found myself hooked and had to start my own. First, a little about myself. I have been a self-described "foodie" all my life. My mother taught herself to cook through watching and reading Julia Child in the '50s and '60s and passed her love and knowledge of cooking and fine dining on to me from the time I was in

Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17535579319978742685noreply@blogger.com0