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HFTM | Hollywood 8May11

just a few things that made it home from the market…

Celery | Onions | Cabbage | Chinese Broccoli | Cilantro | Red Leaf Lettuce | Spinach

There were cherries in abundance at the market on Sunday and I passed them by.  I could only see shades of green and those onions.

Okay, so, the market was full of artichokes, too.  The short time I’ve spent on the ‘choke has mostly been at some casual dining establishment drowned in my old friend, cheese.  I vaguely remember sucking on some leaves, but that’s just not an endorsement.  They were so pretty in stall after stall, though.  Watching the FM budget and so unsure of what to do with them, I didn’t get any.

Yeah, that worked.  I’ve been thinking about them for days.  I might’ve come up with a way to handle my “IDK, I’m Scareds” when it comes to produce: budget for a little Wow! and uh, just buy a few.  Then, it’s just about a little research and maybe, a recipe.  (♥: You follow those?) Fine.  Somehow, I need to fix them, then see.

Wonder if I’m worried about wasting money, wasting food or not being able to do something right.  Won’t find out until I jump right in.

N♥

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LAPL at Home | The Inevitable

i’ve got 29 books and 1 doc out on loan.  these are just a few of the books i’ve got at home.

This is obvious, isn’t it?  All the time I’ve spent at the farmers’ markets in the last year and a half falling in love with fruit after fruit and veg after veg.  Well, that and the thing with the chickens* and, um, getting weirded out about the pork fat in the freezer.

I’ve been moving in this direction.  Making a transition to a place I’ve been before, but I feel like I’m better informed this time around with plenty of resources at my fingertips.  I’m, also, able to give a shrug to some veg and vegan cookbooks, not feeling beholden to them just because.

Starting to dig in to the stack above.  The Asian Vegan Kitchen and The Tropical Vegan Kitchen are really giving me life right now.  You should see how excited I am flipping through The Tropical Vegan Kitchen and seeing my childhood on page after page.

N♥

Chicken: Exhibit A & B

 

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HFTM | Pershing SQ 6April11

just a few things that made it home from the market…

Spinach | Celery | Strawberries | Shanghai Bok Choy

Okay… So some things didn’t actually make it home from the market.  I couldn’t help myself.  The strawberries were amazing.  Just amazing.

And I’m falling for celery.  I know.  Celery, right?  I feel like I’m back in my DC Chinese Carry-Out days.  Watching the guy making my mixed vegetables (extra spicy, extra baby corn) through the bullet-proof glass.  It wasn’t until I tried to recreate what he did that I had to watch him even more closely.  He steamed the veggies a little before the stir-fry.

I made my carry-out mixed veggies for the first time in years.  Yeah, heavy on the celery.  Mmmmm, celery.

I never knew his name, the cook at Andy’s.  I just smiled and waved and he made it like I liked it.

N♥

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HFTM | Pershing SQ 30March11

Lemongrass| Chinese Broccoli| Strawberries| Kale| Apples| Avocado| Cauliflower

I’ve been bland-ing it out for the last few weeks, so that I’m not aggravating whatever the doctor decided not to actually say I had for sure.  Yeah, okay.  More oatmeal, broth and brown rice, please!

I popped down to the market to see what else might fit in the realm of “Food, please don’t hurt me.”  Even though I’m slowly reintroducing, the strawberries almost didn’t make it home.  I might have eaten a pint at my desk.

N♥

 

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OverLooked | My Hair & I♥Mario Badescu, HARDCORE

the things i’ve been looking the hardest for have been right under my nose at home.

I can’t believe that my new favorite conditioner has been in my house unused for ages.  Seriously.  It was a part of a gift set I was sent when I got nostalgic for my NYC skin care routine.  And it just sat there, on the shelf, in the medicine cabinet.

I stopped relaxing my hair six years ago and if I wasn’t into the whole “doing my hair” thing before, I like it less now.  I don’t hate my hair.  I love it.  Lots.  I feel my family in its textures and I see my mother in the most random of styles.  It’s just that the one thing I’ve hated since I could remember someone combing my hair was someone/anyone combing my hair.  Tenderheaded and full of tangles since birth, probably.

The whole washing and combing it out thing is the most stressful part of a four hour pain in the ass.  No More Tangles definitely took some of the bite out of the process, but still.  The thought of so much time from shower to last last wisp flat-ironed always had me putting it off for another day, okay, weekend.

I am so digging what the Badescu has done.  There was no tug-of-war fought, no wasteland of battle weary strands woven among the comb’s teeth destined for their place in the bathroom trash, my sanity tossed in right after.  Nope.  My hair is cotton candy soft with just a smidge of coconut oil to nourish and maintain the shine.  Man, I can’t keep my hands out of my it.

I’m freakishly excited by this belated discovery.  So excited and giddy and happy, in fact, that I’m afraid to continue reading the list of ingredients for fear that it’s got something in it I shouldn’t be using.  Lanolin oil, does that mess with estrogen or cause cancer?  Wait, don’t tell me.  Let me empty that sample-sized bottle first.

N♥

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LAPL at Home | Catching Up

I’ve had 30 books out on loan for the last couple of months.  This is just some of what’s been at home.

It’s been a bit since I’ve written about anything, really.  And books?  Well, it’s been even longer.  Russel Simmons’ Super Rich was much more interesting* than I expected.  Five Ingredient Fix, not so much.

Still looking for my pliers and at books about making jewelry.

N♥

*I appreciate that RS is speaking from his own place of truth and connecting to people.  I’d been reading the book on the train, occasionally trying to hide the cover.  As I was close to finishing, a middle-aged white man notices the book and tells me that was touched greatly by it.  This was not the audience for the book I was expecting and in some ways that’s the point of the interconnectedness of our human experience and the common pursuit of sustainable happiness.

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HFTM | Pershing SQ 16Feb11

just a few things that made it home from the market…

Collard Greens| Eggs| Oranges| Baby Zucchini| Sweet Potatoes

I’ve told you about my egg thing, right?  I ODd on scrambled eggs drowned in cheese as a kid.  Still not a big fan, but I will play favorites.  I’ll always have a place on my plate for a boiled egg.

Saw some pretty fresh ones at the market.  As soon they made it home and half went straight to the pot.

Can I tell the difference?  Eh, I don’t know.  I sure do like them and that really matters.

N♥

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HFTM | Hollywood 6Feb11

just a few things that made it home from the market… the other day…

brussels sprouts| navel oranges| meyer lemons| onions

Sorry.  Distracted.  Watching RJD2 interview clips.  Listening to that Mos Def, Diverse, Prefuse 73 track, Wylin Out.  The RJD2 Remix.

Um, Food?  I’m preserving the lemons.  Did I turn the jar today?

N♥