tejon

Now, would you suggest adults or children here?

Hmmm....I do have chocolate chips that need using up.... Like I need any kind of excuse to make chocolate chip cookies

I think I'll miss the diversity here the most. There are Indian and asian communities close by, and I've learned so much by having such a wide mix of people and cultures around to learn from. This also means that ingredients are easy to find, an area in which I've gotten a bit spoiled. There's an Indian restaurant called the Peacock Gardens that I will sorely miss. Wonderful food, and I'm making sure to go there at least a few times before we leave.

Cloves and ground coriander it is! And the mystery spice, 2nd from the left on the top row is....Spanish saffron. Not great quality, but it's fine for rice with many other flavors and that's how I usually use it. Bacon as way to entice buyers - I love it! That's certainly more likely to be cooking than something with cinnamon (unless it's a braise of some sort). Just finished dinner with Dan and the boys. I made pepper steak, smashed red potatoes with butter and a little bit of cream, and steamed broccoli. Ryan had some broccoli (his favorite vegetable) and steak without the peppercorns and declared that he'd be having meat for dessert, thank you. Arden stuck with white foods as he's been doing lately. At least he tried a little broccoli. Dan and I just smiled at what the boys were missing .

After shopping, Arden and I walked over to the Sweets and Spices store: They have desserts, crunchy snacks available by the pound, pani puri and sev sold by the bag, and freshly made vegetarian dishes of all kinds. The dosas are excellent, though the bhel puri calls my name far more often. Today I grabbed a samosa filled with potatoes, peas, fennel seed, ginger, and chiles. Cilantro and tamarind chutneys studiously applied, of course. Then we picked Ryan up from school. Snack time for the boys (whole wheat crackers, apple slices, peanut butter and juice), then homework. Ryan decided today's apple was worth a thumb's up . Time to get dinner ready!

The first one isn't star anise, though I wish I had that much on hand! The picture quality makes it hard to tell exactly what's inside. The last one can't really be seen at all, but it's whole nutmeg down in the bottom. I love power tools, too. Actually, I love building and fixing things far more than is in any way typical for us female types. Sit me down with a saw and a hammer and something to work on and I'm happy as a clam. Thankfully, I married a Mechanical Engineer, so we just build things together . We also fight a bit over the Mikita . I figure people will most likely want to see the house at the least opportune times. That's why we're putting so much effort into getting everything as clean and move in ready as possible - so a bit of mess won't make as much of a difference. The kitchen floor just got replaced exactly because what we had NEVER looked clean, no matter how much I scrubbed. The new tiles look great even when there are random crumbs here and there....not that that is ever the case here

After I picked Arden up from school, we went searching for good pita bread and vegetables. Ended up at a Halal store where I buy many of my spices and dried grains and dal. My favorite part of the store - spices! Down below the mix boxes are bags of just about everything my little heart desires, all lined up in fragrant row after row. I love the heady smell of cloves and fennel and cumin that rises up as I sort through to find what I need. Here's the ever friendly butcher who made sure I got a good picture as he waved: Arden decided he needed to help me pick out the perfect lemon:

Cloves are correct. The last one is difficult to see - whole nutmeg. Sumac it is! Good eye. Peppercorns and fennel seed are also correct, but that's not ground fennel. All exactly right Aw, thanks. It's really important to me to make sure they have good tasting, healthy food every day. Lets me nurture them a little when they're at school, which is nice for everyone. Dinner tonight will be pepper steak, potatoes of some sort, and broccoli. Clearing out some really nice looking rib eye from the freezer.

I'm back from picking up the boys and lunch, so as you wish, ludja! First, I'd like to introduce my spice and seasonings shelf. Don't try to find any kind of rhyme or reason there, as none exists. I bustle through the bottles and jars as I cook, seeking out this or that flavor as needed. Completely defies explanation of any kind, but it does seem to work. The cabinet goes much further back that it looks in the picture - the contents fill a banker box (as I've found in past moves). This cabinet doesn't offer nearly enough space for everything I use regularly, so I have an overflow spice drawer where most of the spices I buy in bulk tend to live. I also keep chopsticks and metal skewers to one side. Anyone care to try their hand at guessing which spices are pictured? I used to label everything, but soon found I recognized all of these easily enough by sight, so didn't bother when I put all of these in new bottles. On to the windmill. This makes me laugh a little every time I see it. It rests at the corner of the strip mall where I go grocery shopping each week. Something about a windmill smack dab in the middle of California suburbia, next to a Ralph's and a bank, strikes me as endlessly funny. It's evidently a historical piece and it quite lovely as it spins whenever the wind blows. Here's the not as quaint Ralph's location directly across the parking lot:

Dan has nobly volunteered to get a double double tomorrow. Talk about self sacrifice! And anyone who would like to help paint or tile is more than welcome at any time - I promise both food and drink and even free entertainment in the form of small children.

Ryan's teacher had a lot of extra work for me to do today and I have to pick Arden up at 12:30, so lunch today had to be quick. Luckily for me, en route to preschool is a quite decent Vietnamese restaurant: I usually go for this: Sigh. Soup would take too long. So I opted for a bahn mi sandwich to go. I chose a "marinated, roasted pork", which was surprisingly heavy on meat and light on vegetables. The meat was tender with crisp edges, the bread was crisp on the outside and light and airy inside, and the cucumber and carrot added a nice crunch. There was enough nuoc cham and mayonnaise that I had to eat it like a Philly cheese steak - leaning forward so the savory drips didn't end up all over my clothes. The sandwich was HUGE, and at $3.19 it was a pretty sweet deal. I'll admit to licking my fingers when the last bite was done.

I'll explain those once I'm back this afternoon, I promise!

Quick shower for me (did I mention that I'm not in any way a morning person?), then it's time to make up my five year old's lunch. Arden asked for peanut butter sandwiches, chocolate milk, and Havarti cheese - comes out more like "Havadi" when he tries to say it - and I added in some more goldfish and a Fuji apple: I grabbed some of the Havarti for myself, along with a swig of Orangina. Not bad together, actually. Now I'm off to drop Arden at his preschool, then volunteer at Ryan's school for a while. I'll probably grab lunch on the way at some point, then I have to go over what we need to tile the bathroom this weekend.

Just packed up lunch for my oldest, Ryan: He takes pretty much the same lunch each day: pizza that I make ahead of time and reheat in the toaster oven, water, fruit leather from Trader Joe's, fruit or a vegetable, and a snack of some kind. Today it's goldfish, the wholesome snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off . I'm off to school, then back momentarily so I can make up my youngest's lunch and eat something myself.

This will be my twenty-fourth move . Hoping this will be the LAST one - I'm really tired of boxes and labeling everything. I love the idea of taking the cracklin's along. Much better than the "honorary can of Spam" we got as a wedding present and were told must stay in the pantry at all times. And they are pork jerky - the best kind imaginable! Mmmm...pork...

Actually, I was born in San Francisco and grew up in Los Angeles and Orange County. California native all the way back to my great Great Great Grandparents. Dan's a native as well, so our planned move has a lot of people shaking their heads in confusion. One of the main reasons is cost of living, especially housing. At the moment we're essentially trapped in a two bedroom townhouse with no way to move out at all unless we went deep into the desert - and away from jobs for Dan. A long time ago we made the decision for one of us to stay home while the children were small, and while financially that has made life a bit more challenging it's been a really good choice. Oregon is one of the areas that has many potential jobs for Dan, but more importantly it just feels right to both of us. We both love trees and green and even rain, and felt like we had come home when we visited. I have some family there and we have friends in Portland as well. Though mostly it just feels like where we should be.

...ah, but not *quite* empty! We're probably going to end up around the Portland area, though Dan might have a good job nibble just across in Washington, so things could change. And housing is cheaper there, so we're considering Vancouver as well. Right-before-bed snack of cinnamon toast and milk:

Good morning! My name is Kathy, and I live with my husband and two small boys in Diamond Bar, California. I usually just tell people I live at the very edge of Los Angeles, which is completely correct, if only by a whopping three miles. Or I mention that I'm close to Disneyland, which is also true. I did a food blog last summer and enjoyed myself so much I had to do it again. This time around I'm older, wiser, and only slighty more insane. This week will be all about (hopefully) controlled chaos in my kitchen and house. After years of planning, we have finally decided to move to Oregon. There are many reasons for the move, but the main thing is that we both feel more home there than here. It's an exciting time and a slightly crazy one as well. In an effort to get the house ready to sell, we're painting and installing new flooring and generally fixing and fluffing everything to hopefully get the most money possible in this already insanely high market. Hey, every last bit helps . Getting everything done hasn't been easy, but I love a good challenge. I'll be finishing up the kitchen and putting in some last bits of tile. Since we're moving soon, I'm trying to use what's left in my pantry and freezer, so suggestions are more than welcome (ideas on what to do with three cups of cracklins, anyone?). I'll be making Pepper Steak and falafel and whatever else sounds appealing. Also grabbing something at In-N-Out before they become just another burger chain. Pictures hopefully soon to follow. My Canon S400 is having issues, so today's first order of business after dropping the boys at school will be a trip to the camera store. Back again in a few hours!

Rebecca, I'd love a seat at your table

I love Savory Thins, both the regular size and the minis. Light, crisp, with the perfect amount of flavor. TJs has been carrying them consistantly for at least the last few years, so I wouldn't worry too much about finding them again.

There's one out my way that I've avoided for some time now. Always wondered if it was part of a chain, as it had that look. Actually, I'm waiting to see how long it lasts before it closes down and someone else takes over - the location is bad enough that restaurants tend to last a year or two at the most.

Back in first grade, I remember a girl who brought an apple in her lunch each day. Nothing at all different about that, but the apple was cored, sliced into wedges, and reformed into an apple shape and wrapped in plastic. The real miracle (to all of us) was that the apple wasn't brown when she ate it. We all clamored around her each day, hoping for a bite of her special apples. It was only many years later that I finally realized the secret was simply a little lemon juice. Mystery solved.

I've always wondered why any soy sauce container would suggest refrigeration. With the amount of salt in the mix, could anything really grow? I keep my gallon container of soy sauce in my pantry year round and always have.

Exactly!

There honestly are few if any healthy choices for children who eat at the cafeteria at my son's school. Occasionally there is fresh fruit, and once a week or so there is salad of some kind. Otherwise, the choices are typically something with lots of cheese, tater tots, chocolate milk, fried foods, and something sweet like pudding. There's good reason why I pack my son's lunch - the alternative is far from acceptable in my eyes.