My, my, it has been a while, no? Rest assured I have not been idle. In addition to improving my running with crosstraining, intervals, and rigorous record keeping (nutrition, calories burned, heart rate, etc), the huge influx of summer produce has induced a euphoria of kitchen activity. Mind you I haven’t spoiled this fun with all the little details I usually bother with—namely, photographing and journaling for posterity—BUT, today I decided, “Why not?” That is my Jekyll (or Bertha?) personality peeking through the curtains. I am not ordinarily the most whimsical person, but this site is nothing but the indulgence of a whim.

While restraining myself from utterly devouring sweet, luscious white nectarines, peaches, and cherries, my recent flirtations have been with grain berries and ovo-lacto vegetarianism.

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If there’s one reason to love California, let it be the abundance of produce grown inside state borders. We came back from farmer’s market today loaded down with summer goods: Maui onions, broccoli, asparagus, celery, tomatoes, rhubarb, seeds, dried fruit, tarragon, parsley, garlic chives, green beans, strawberries, and an (unbelievably) early crop of delicious cherries. The selection is simply amazing. And contrary to cries of food elitism from editorial writers who can’t be arsed to shop at something other than a national megamarket, our farmers markets offer an abundance of pesticide free goods at cheap or competitive prices. Of course, you can buy three punnets of a special, tasty, organic variety of strawberries for $16; but you can also buy three punnets of a more regular, pesticide free variety for $5 at the stall next door. Elitism (or lack thereof) is purely left to the shopper’s discretion. So in addition to superb selection, freshness, and eco-friendly products, shopping at your local farmer’s market supports our local economy without sinking your wallet!

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The weather in west Torrance is lovely at this time of year, if somewhat varied and unpredictable. Spring rains are abating rapidly, but gusty coastal winds and bouts of cloud cover can result in unseasonably cool temperatures (especially indoors, with all the breeze and none of the sun). Gradually, however, the days are warming. Temperatures aren’t likely to peak until the month of August, but they are expected to rise into the high 70s or low 80s by July. So Tyler and I are finishing the end of Spring cuisine with a warm, hearty meal—the likes of which we’ll probably not revisit again until the end of this year or the beginning of the next.

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Really LAME nerd jokes aside (oh god, stop), the culinary transition between winter and Spring has been a combination of the old and new. Some recipes I’ve developed from scratch and others I’ve simply borrowed from my library of awesome. I didn’t record much of these past few months in detail, but here are some of the menu items I’ve concocted:

1. Strawberry-mayonnaise in a turkey bacon wrap with fresh basil, mint, romaine, escarole, thinly sliced red onion, toasted slivered almonds, balsamic vinegar, and goat cheese (optional).

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With the arrival of Spring, farmer markets throughout Los Angeles are experiencing a revival of crop. The end of winter was very tedious; the herbs were dour looking, and many of our favorite stalls downsized their inventory. In the last month or two, however, there’s been an abrupt shift in momentum. Strawberries, fava beans, carrots, asparagus, artichokes (particularly the baby artichokes), and cucumbers are now available in abundance. The strawberries are hit-or-miss, so you always need to sample before buying. But the other produce is fairly consistent, especially a new favorite of mine: fava beans.

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Guest article by Tyler

As part of the preparation for our Christmas feast, we obtained an Imperia Pasta Machine from Williams-Sonoma, initially for the construction of wild mushroom ravioli. We had a really pleasant experience making the ravioli. Despite being a manually operated machine, once you get the hang of how to work it, it’s quick, simple, and produces fantastic pasta as advertised.

We decided to give it a second workout, and this time to actually use the pasta cutting attachment, by making some spinach fettuccine. And, as usual with anything we make involving flour, we made an attempt to get some whole grains in there as well. Without further ado:

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Guest Article by Tyler

After successfully preparing a delicious dish of Murghi Ni Curry, our second foray into the book 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer was Badam Murghi. Again, I can only guess as to what this might literally translate to, but it is anglicized as “Yogurt-Almond Chicken with a Spinach Sauce”. If you haven’t read the article on the Murghi Ni Curry, take a minute to do so, as I will be making numerous comparisons between the two.

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Guest article by Tyler

After putting together two fantastic feasts for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Jenn is starting off the new year by taking a short vacation to drive the darkspawn out of Ferelden. Meanwhile, I’m going to write up our first experiments with recipes from a book on curry that Jenn received for Christmas. You’ll have to excuse the sub-standard pictures — I don’t have quite the presentation skills that my wife does.

The book is 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. This book caught our eye because while we both enjoy Indian dishes, we’ve never really made too much of it ourselves beyond a very simple and very Americanized chicken curry, a rather botched attempt at Baingan Bharta, and the much more successful Yellow Dal Puree just recently.

We thought we’d start in somewhat familiar territory by focusing on chicken curries. Much like a good chili, what separates a boring curry from an interesting curry is the sauce. The Americanized curry-from-a-box approach, or the slightly more sophisticated “try to make something like curry-from-a-box without using a box” approach is to make a relatively simple tomato paste-based sauce, and to load it up with vaguely Indian-seeming spices, and pour it over a mish-mash of vegetables and small bits of chicken. The chicken curries in this book are much more authentic, and are without filler vegetables: just substantial pieces of chicken stewing in a complex, flavorful, savory sauce.

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The curious may wish to view my comparison of sauerbraten recipes, which I used extensively to develop a recipe of my own.

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When I attended USC, there was a lunch shop across the street called A Taste of India. The fare was hardly haute cuisine, but it was warming, tasty, and very inexpensive for a budget-challenged college student. It was also my first real exposure to food from that region of the world. At the shop, they served a mellow, but delicious yellow dal mixed with spinach and diced tomato. This recipe attempts to recreate that dish, with a slight change in texture.

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