LaLaLiving

Lil’ Slice of Banana Bread Heaven January 31, 2008

I had a bunch of bananas leftover from craft services on our recent How Do I Say This? shoot (all about Mexican wrestlers and revealed crushes … intrigued? I should hope so!), and had a sudden craving for banana nut bread. Not particularly interested by the recipe in my Better Homes & Garden standard, given the amounts of shortening it used, I went to Epicurious.com to see what was on offer. I stumbled on their recipe for Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts. Damn. I did not take a picture because I ate it too fast. Now I am trying not to let myself make more, as I would be fifty pounds heavier before the month is out.

One note: I took some of the suggestions from the Epicurious comments section, and cut down the sugar to about 2/3 the amount specified in the recipe.  I also just mixed the chocolate chips into the batter rather than layering them, and it worked perfectly.

Visiting January 30, 2008

Johanna was down visiting last weekend, and I managed to escape my cave a few times to meet up with her and Tina…even though three old high school friends can be a potentially dangerous combination for those around us.

We had dinner at Ita-Cho one night, one of my personal favorites. They’ve snazzed the place up a bit, putting in a new sushi bar along the kitchen area and adding a separate sushi menu for table service, but thank goodness the rest of the menu is the same. I think I would weep openly for a good long while if they ever messed with the fried chicken and eggplant.

Seriously. You can get raw fish anywhere, but that homemade mayonnaise? (Not that you really want to go crazy with the fish anymore, given that recent New York Times article on mercury levels in sushi-grade tuna … not a surprise, but a frightening reminder).

I also introduced them to Pho-Siam Thai Spa, one of my absolute favorite places in LA. For $40, you get kneaded, stretched, walked on, twisted, and generally reduced to wet noodle status within minutes (while while wearing cotton Thai pants, so you don’t feel so exposed while your leg is being prodded up over your head). All in a very pleasant setting, far from the Chinatown massage places I used to go to in NY, with some mismatched curtains separating you from the next customer. The three of us slowly rolled out after our sessions, and went to the Casbah Cafe at Sunset Junction for some tea. “Escape from Thesis Binder” doesn’t get much better than that.

How Do I Say This? Season 2

Once again, we’re officially part of the zeitgeist that is mtvU. We were included in their big announcement today that the channel is going to be carried by cable providers off campus—huge news, as it increases their viewership by 2.6 million subscribers.  HDIST is listed in their new season lineup. You can read the press release here.

As the kids say, “Woot! Woot!”    

Rainy Daze

I have most enjoyed the recent storms hitting southern California (the beloved red slicker and rain boots get to make an appearance), but I think it was all a bit too much for some, as witnessed by this picture.

I stumbled on it right around the corner from my apartment … can you imagine opening your front door to that?

Jim Was Here January 18, 2008

I saw this in one of the hallways at school the other day. It cracked me up.

It was written on one of the trim bins lining the halls of Melnitz (see pic below). I’m not sure how accurate the note is, given that when Jim Morrison attended UCLA the film school was literally in a Quanset hut, but I wouldn’t entirely rule it out either seeing as much of the equipment available to the students isn’t exactly state-of-the-art…

dineLA Restaurant Week January 17, 2008

I’m jonesing a bit for Restaurant Week in New York, which is coming up soon…the winter one in particular always had such a spectacular list of participating restaurants. But I learned the other day that Los Angeles is getting its own Restaurant Week this year, sponsored by LA Inc and AmEx’s dineLA site. It will run January 27 - February 1, and February 3 - February 8.

The list of restaurants isn’t exactly overwhelming, but it’s a start. Depending on the place, lunch is $15/$22 and dinner is $25/$34, exactly what a good starving student needs to get her over the hump of mid-quarter angst (especially when such favorites as Angeli Caffe are among the $15/$25 options!).

In Your Face January 16, 2008

I was able to attend a press screening of U2 3D yesterday, the new 3-D concert film extravaganza that opens January 23 (and premieres this weekend at Sundance, which you can read about here).  I left a bit headachy, but not as bad as a usual 3-D experience (but, oh, how I miss Captain Eo!)  If you’re a U2 fan, it’s a done deal.  If not, I’m not sure the 3-D-ness of it will be worth your $12.  The format did work well for a concert film, but I’m not sure I want to see There Will Be Blood in 3-D glory, you know?  The transitions/fades and shots are very nice and filmy, but there are still a few “look! it’s 3-D!” shots that were a bit cheesy, like Bono’s hand reaching out or the neck of the Edge’s guitar hovering above the audience.  That said, there were a few shots where I wanted to smack a chick sitting on her boyfriend’s shoulders because she was totally blocking the view, so I guess that means the filmmakers were successful in making it 3-D realistic, eh?  (Or maybe I’m just more sensitive, given that I’m always the short one being trampled on at those things…)

The soundtrack is great, and features mostly U2 classic megahits (smart move).  Which got me thinking about how few bands there are now that can pack a stadium—U2  is such a rarity (and why it made perfect sense to feature them in the film).  The aerial crowd shots were spectacular, with thousands and thousands of people jumping up and down in unison, appearing as if they were a giant pulse.  I remember seeing U2 on their Joshua Tree tour—one of the first concerts I attended—at the Oakland Coliseum, with the Pretenders as their opening act.  A far simpler show, but no less spectacular.  Those Irish lads certainly do know how to entertain.

Beannacht January 11, 2008

My friend Claire sent me this poem today, by Irish poet John O’Donoghue, who died a few days ago. He was sadly only fifty-three.

He was the chaplain at Claire’s college, and, in her words, “was responsible for packing out the campus church as both college-students and others gathered to hear this wise druid share his deep-founded thoughts about living a peaceful life, which comes across in this beautiful poem.”

Such lovely thoughts.

BEANNACHT

On the day when
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.
And when your eyes
Freeze behind
The grey window
And the ghost of loss
Gets into you,
May a flock of colours,
Indigo, red, green
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.

(note: currach is an wooden boat used by fishermen in the west of Ireland).

Edible Martini January 10, 2008

A new year, a new school quarter. Sigh.

Wish I’d had this recipe (and the machinery) to whip up one of these babies for New Year’s…that would have been a spectacular way to kick off 2008!

Edible Martini

I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with “chef/mad scientist” Dave and his lovely wife Jennifer at a few of Bob & Eliza’s dinner parties. Kudos to him for making the New York Times Magazine’s Year in Ideas issue!