dream home

How lovely is Amanda Peet's home in Los Angeles? Seriously, what a dream. Photo's courtesy of Vogue and this blog. Happy Sunday! Xo

musique

Ever since I bought this CD at Starbucks last week I've been obsessed with listening to French music. Above is one of the songs included in the collection. Enjoy!

hook ups and hummus

Tonight Dusty and I are going to a little dinner party at his cousin's house (we're trying to set him up with one of my girlfriends ;-) ) and I was asked to bring appetizers. My friend is a gluten-free vegan so the options were somewhat limited but I decided on hummus (recipe follows). I'd never made hummus before and I must say, it's quite easy and the results were pretty f***ing delicious. I'm really hoping that tonight works out well, and that even if the two don't fall in love we at least have a good time. Have you ever set anyone up? How did it turn out? (Photo of Brigitte Bardot from this blog).

Simple Hummus  (adapted from this recipe)                         

Serves 4-10 as an appetizer (depending on how hungry everyone is)

Ingredients


2 cans garbanzo beans (15 oz. each)
2 good-sized garlic cloves, pressed or minced
4 tablespoons tahini sauce (available at Trader Joe's)
2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-3 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice
2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions


1. Drain both cans of garbanzo beans fairly well (it's okay if there's some liquid left) and then pour both cans into a small sauce pan and heat on medium high for 15-20 minutes, or until the garbanzo bean skins begin to come off, stirring frequently.

2. Pour out the beans into a colander and rinse with water. Peel off as many of the garbanzo bean skins as you can (this will give the hummus a smoother texture) and discard them.

3. Pour the beans into a good blender or a food processor with the garlic and blend until smooth. Add the tahini sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, and cumin, blend and taste, adjust seasoning, add salt and pepper if needed. Serve in a bowl drizzled with olive oil with pita bread, chips, or veggies. Enjoy!

hello again

Hello friends, sorry for my hiatus. Life was a bit crazy for a while so I had to take a break. My sister-in-law got married on May 26th and so the week before was full of wedding craziness and then a few days later Dusty and I headed up to our favorite campground in the the Redwoods and then I started a grant writing class and my summer internship so it's been nuts! I hope you're all doing beautifully! (Photo by me, the view of the rushing redwoods on the side of the road taken from the passenger seat, sort of what life feels like right now.)

jaunts and jerk sauce

So, my expectations for yesterday seem to have been a bit overblown. Not because I didn't have an amazing time, but because I spent the entire time focusing in on my friend, laughing, talking, and catching up with her, and ended up taking exactly 0 photos. Oh well. It was gorgeous though you'll have to take my word for it. The drive alone was trip worthy, down PCH past Santa Monica to Malibu, and then up a windy road through the canyon, I definitely recommend. Once we arrived at Topanga Canyon State Park we made the unfortunate discovery that the park is closed now, except for on weekends. Of course we didn't let that stop us, and ended up parking in a small dirt area next to the park and walking right in. Sadly, we didn't have much time as it was nearing sunset so we had to settle for a rather short hike (more of a jaunt we decided) but it was beautiful, and I hope to go again soon when I have more time. After the hike we changed our clothes in the car and then drove back to Santa Monica for dinner. We had planned at eating at a vegan Thai restaurant but when we got there it ended up being more of a to-go/counter type of place so we walked down the street and enjoyed delicious Caribbean food here, we both ordered the Salmon Negril, which is marinated in garlic and curry and then grilled and covered with a mango-pineapple-jerk sauce, sooo good. The only downside of the place was that they didn't serve alcohol, though you're allowed to bring your own in so I went down the street to a liquor market and bought us a bottle of white wine. Just to warn you though, we were charged one dollar for the two plastic cups we drank the wine out of. I hope you all had a wonderful Friday! What are you up to this weekend? Later today Dusty and I are going to the REI sale to look for hiking boots and then after we're going to hang out with my brother and his girlfriend and hopefully just drink some beer and hang out. Enjoy your weekend! Xo.  

(Photograph by Mitch Epstein, 1974 of some ladies hanging out (with a snake) in Topanga Canyon)