I love kimchi. And I'm here to tell you: the dried kimchi that Trader Joe's is selling with the description "snack/condiment" is not edible as a snack. I imagine it could make a great condiment for a Korean taco with bulgogi, though. There might be a texture issue.  I wonder if there's any probiotic value left after you dry it out like that. Probably not.

Tom Collichio: personal thoughts, while watching his appearance on Bill Maher's show

His bruiser looks belie a soft persistence in speech that is urgent and sincere. Which makes him completely impossible to say no to.  Big features on a big bald guy who is shiny and white, paired with the leaning, curt speech of a New Jersey smart guy. His blue eyes look red _ maybe with tears for America’s hunger, maybe with pot, considering “stoner food” is one of the high compliments he pays liked dishes on “Top Chef,” TV’s best cooking competition show that spawned countless impersonators and inspirations. 

black-eyed pea salad

Delicious, simple to the point of stupidity:

Black-eyed Pea Salad

2 cans of 365 black-eyed peas (organic, no salt, halo floats right above the can)
1 large fresh jalapeno, small dice (I removed all ribs and seeds to reduce spice; leave some in for a kick!)
1 red bell pepper, small dice
4 green onions, sliced thin
1 lemon, juiced
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp rice vinegar
celery salt, generous (it should taste almost salty before it goes in the fridge, the flavor softens overnight)
1 clove garlic, mashed through press or minced fine

1. Wash and drain peas.
2. Chop peppers, green onions into a small dice. I removed all ribs and seeds from jalapeno and will probably leave some in next time for a little kick.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. My lemon was enormous, so feel free to play with the sours of this recipe.
4. Important: let sit overnight. Leave a spoon handy and give it a stir every when you're at the fridge.  Might need more salt eventually.  I tried it last night and it was just shy of disgusting. Today, amazing.

Restaurant: Mohawk Bend
Visit: First
Location: Silver Lake
Order: Buffalo Cauliflower, Poutine, Steak Frites

They did an okay steak, but it was seared too hard on the outside, so although I got a mostly medium rare steak, the edges were very well, hard.

Poutine may just not be my thing. I prefer Nacho Fries like biscuiterie will tell you. A mushy fry with gooey sauce needs to be crinkle cut with straight nacho cheese in my (obviously) humble opinion.

The Buffalo Cauliflower is what I want to go back for. It sounds ridiculous but it was so delicious. I could have eaten another order all by myself. I don't know if the cauliflower was blanched first but there was a very light skin and Frank's buffalo sauce, which is the traditional flavor you get everywhere. There was some sort of forgettable vegan blue cheese dressing to go with it.

Note: try this
http://ow.ly/iunbj

I also need to buy fresh carrots and jalapenos. I bought canned escabeche (that pickled jalapeno/carrot combo) and it is so unbelievably spicy, it's impossible to eat. I think if I cut the canned with fresh, and add bay, garlic and vinegar, it'll be tasty.

Well, it has been a very long time.

Usually posts like this mark the beginning of an end.  Like one last beep before the plunge into the darkness of a dead phone battery. An energy is spent, gone from you, the feeling to write. But it's been a long year and I have all kinds of fresh goals.  And Michaela's blog linked to this old thing and I actually had the thought "ooh, I wonder what the last thing I wrote was." That's not a great thing to wonder.

I am really excited about the coming year. Part of it is the simple math. You leave behind a bad year and every day of survival away from it counts. I feel unusually confident and together.  Like biscuiterie mentions, I ran a half marathon, my first. I started running right after my dad died. I was sleeping next to my mom, nights in Laguna. Days chasing all the unraveled bits. And I would need to run, but I couldn't. In high school, I remember I would go up and run around the park for what seemed like hours. I would turn over my Green Day/Specials/NoDoubt/Rancid/DeadKennedys/Smashing Pumpkins mix cassette (!) in my Walkman and run. But when I would slip away to the park and run last year, I couldn't make it very far _ for the tears, for the tightness in my throat, for the physical weakness.

And last week, we went to Austin.  It was so completely fun. I want to do that every year. We ate well, we behaved well _ for a weekend in which I ran longer than I'd ever ran in my life, I felt remarkably rested and happy when we got back.  I want to start trail running this year. And to do a few more races. I'm already signed up for Bay to Breakers in May.  It felt really great to honor my dad with the race. I'm proud I was able to do it. I don't feel like there are a lot of ways the feeling of it can be expressed. I feel a light and a lightness in the comfort of knowing he would be happy for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnsO4PJrLFM
tangent: I wish I saw them play in Budapest. before I die, I want to go to the European music festivals for a summer.

This year, I get what I want. The runes said so. I went to a party with my screenwriting class. It was in the Valley at my teacher's house. I really like the people in the class. There are a lot of really young, talented people in there. It's kindof inspiring. We might become a cult after class, I think. Everyone's kindof spiritual and we're all really into eachother. And we read my runes. Other people were asking for career advice and the only thing I wanted to know when it came my turn was if I'm going to have a boyfriend and the runes say I will. Still, your prayers are well-appreciated.

It's late.

Beep.