eG Foodblog: heidih (2011) - A slice of life in the South Bay of Los A

[heidih]

To accompany the bit of Indian vegetarian take-out I plan to pick up I would normally do rice. Since I picked up that summer squash yesterday, and because I love corn, I opted to do a vegetable corn bread. The base is Jiffy cornbread mix. I am more than capable of doing the dough from scratch, but at 55 cents a box or so, I find this works for me as I do not end up with cornmeal aging in the cupboard. I grated the squash, added an egg and 2 whites, a dash of poultry seasoning, a handful of Trader Joe fire roasted corn, a handful of grated asiago, a splash of 1/2 & 1/2 and the leftover packet of minced onions from the taco truck. The squash does not get the liquid squeezed out. I have been doing variants of this for years. In the cooler weather it is great with cooked winter squash like kabocha and caramelized onion & garlic.

I must admit to an addiction regarding the aluminum pans. Not ecologically sound but so convenient - especially without a dishwasher. I reuse them when possible at least.

Off to the spice store and the Indian market (yup bit of overlap there )

[Priscilla]

Heidi, Lomita has always seemed a magical place to me, as the home of one of my very favorite late-1970s bands, the Alley Cats.

This is a FAB food blog... you're doing such a good job of representing for SoCal. Even over here in Orange County everything resonates in the nicest way. YAY tables piled with vegetables, and even lovely familiar Stehly oranges, and iced tea in a pitcher in the fridge--in summer I often use those big Maeda-En iced tea bags... if you drink green tea, they're very good. Yay for taco trucks, and for trees laden with citrus right outside your door!

Blog on!

[Darienne]

OK. In answer to your question: I do not like and have never liked iced tea. Not unsweetened or sweetened. Could be the Canadian thing. Now...iced coffee buzzed in the blender. That's delicious!

[heidih]

Back from today's field trip. I dove into the food and am full. Until I tasted the Indian vegetarian food I had never experienced the wealth of flavors that the cuisine yields. I still am planning on pork butt later in the week of course

I went to Penzey's first and got off these shots before the store told me I need corporate permission.

[heidih]

And some more

[heidih]

I purchased a bag of the Ceylon cinnamon (4oz.) It was so much brighter and had notes along the more sweet versus spicy. Supposedly it is not spicy but the scent is lovely and I will experiment.

[heidih]

Then on to the little Indian market

Pictures speak louder than words

[heidih]

And more

[heidih]

I got three items for take out

saag with the fresh paneer cheese on the left (a spiced spinach puree), a dal made with chickpeas to its right, and a pepper stuffed with a spiced potato mixture, coated in I think a chickpea flour batter and fried- they refry it when you order and slice it up. It comes with tamarind and cilantro sauces. I ate over half the pepper in the parking lot- thank goodness for leather seats and paper towels - SO good. I also purchased some yellow mustard seeds in the hopes of making my own grainy mustard as discussed here

[heidih]

So at this point I have eaten my fill of the lovely Indian along with some corn bread. I am going to freeze the rest before I eat it all. Catch you later.

[heidih]

The local ads were stuffed in the mailbox today. Thought you might enjoy a glance

[toolprincess]

The tea sounds delicious -- do you have a favourite flavour combo?

I have stuck in the rut of a combo of black tea and herbal peach tea. This is my first experiment with fresh herb leaves. I do need to write down the proportions and results rather than thinking I can remember what I did. I've done that with dishes I threw together and then was never able to recreate them.

Heidi Swanson has a great "recipe" in her first book Super Natural Cooking which is basically 4 cups of water, 4 teabags (regular size) - brew tea. Mix tea with equal parts of Peach Nectar or any fruit nectar you like. I have made this several times with peach nectar and it is delicious!

I love her style of cooking. By nectar do you mean those drinks in a can or something else?

the peach nectar I have used comes from the juice aisle and is in a tall not too thick glass bottle. Sorry the brand just goes right out of my head. At my grocery these nectars are usually on the top shelf which if I remember my marketing correctly says something about their branding and price point. I was just wondering the other day about the canned nectars found in the Mexican foods aisle.

[blue_dolphin]

The local ads were stuffed in the mailbox today. Thought you might enjoy a glance

Heidi - Do you review and shop from those ads? My weekly collection also arrived on Tuesday. I usually take them directly from the mailbox to recycling bin but your post inspired me to take a look. I got Albertsons, Ralphs, Vons, Smart & Final, Fresh & Easy, Jons and Sprouts. I have no idea where some of these places are located so their advertising is clearly wasted on me!

Thanks for blogging, I'm enjoying your view of the South Bay!

[Shelby]

I have a big bag of those mustard seeds, too! We used some in making summer sausage. I'm going to check out the grainy mustard thread. That sounds right up my alley!

[heidih]

Heidi - Do you review and shop from those ads? My weekly collection also arrived on Tuesday. I usually take them directly from the mailbox to recycling bin but your post inspired me to take a look. I got Albertsons, Ralphs, Vons, Smart & Final, Fresh & Easy, Jons and Sprouts. I have no idea where some of these places are located so their advertising is clearly wasted on me!

Thanks for blogging, I'm enjoying your view of the South Bay!

I got the same ones except had a Food 4 Less subbed for the Jons. I pass by most of them on a regular basis so I will take a quick glance while still in the driveway and then pitch them into the recyling before I get to the house. I don't think I have ever gone out of my way to shop an ad. Things like blueberries for a dollar might catch my eye since my son likes them, but the advertising is clearly wasted on me as well.

[Pam R]

The tea sounds delicious -- do you have a favourite flavour combo?

I have stuck in the rut of a combo of black tea and herbal peach tea. This is my first experiment with fresh herb leaves. I do need to write down the proportions and results rather than thinking I can remember what I did. I've done that with dishes I threw together and then was never able to recreate them.

Sounds delicious. One of my favourites is black tea made with handfuls of nana (close to spearmint).

[heidih]

Good morning! It is 69 degrees at 8:45 with a projected high of 85. I will be catching the ocean breezes later with some fellow eGulleters.

I am delighted with my iced tea experiment from yesterday. It has a soft floral taste. I may not use the apple mint next time because I think it overshadowed the pineapple sage a bit. I will try them separately. I will play with the stone fruit in tea when it arrives. The white nectarines and yellow peaches set some fruit. I often slice up citrus and add it to the pitcher as well.

[heidih]

I like to give credit where it is due so I searched around for the source of information regarding kiddie pools as raised bed gardens. It was a post on Wandering Chopsticks here. This is one of my regular food blog reads.

[heidih]

I headed down to Quality Seafood on the Redondo Beach Pier with eG member CaliPoutine to snap some seafood porn for you.

The Harbor adjacent to Quality Seafood

Crab traps

Part of the crab selection

[heidih]

Part of the oyster selection - I am not an oyster eater - there were at least 15 different varieties

[heidih]

More shellfish

[heidih]

Views from the fish counter

[heidih]

Shots of the ceviche and poki case

Part of the smoked fish case

Although the pier is a bit of a tourist destination, the buzz at Quality on the weekends is all about food. There are concrete tables and benches under cover that are filled with families plowing through enormous quantities of seafood. Many sneak in their own rice, limes or lemons and dipping sauces. Crab is the majority selection based on my observations. You can hear murmurs of delight and enthusiastic slurping noises. My favorite selection is the local spiny lobster which has a short season from mid October to mid April.

[heidih]

Some ocean views

For lunch we went to a Lomita institution for some Mexican. Los Tres Amigos has been at the location for around 40 years and has a loyal following of locals.

CaliPoutine's fish tacos. She thought the fish was tasty and not that "fish stick" stuff you sometimes get

My shrimp a la diabla which has a generous amount of tender shrimp and a nice chile rich smoky sauce

Both meals were from the lunch specials menu and were $6.95. Their chips taste freshly fried and the salsa fresh tasting, spicy and thick enough to stay on the chips.

[heidih]

CaliPoutine brought along a treat for me - some Fig Newton style cookies. I must confess to forgetting if it was a relative or friend who makes them. She sells them commercially and bakes them in a more familiar FN shape for sale. These are the quickie sandwich version. My son pronounced them sweet, buttery and he would have guessed the filling was mango or something tropical like that (he took the rest of them into his man cave). He has not had a FN in years so I thought the description was pretty apt. I enjoyed one with my iced tea. The attempt at appealing presentation was influenced by this topic.