LA, FIRST DAY

I had a great day visiting with my dear friend Robin. We started off with a visit to the Torrance Farmer's Market, first circling the stands to see what looked good, then going back around for some serious sampling and buying.

We ended up buying an amazing array of fresh, delicious produce and other goodies: ultrathin asparagus, long beans, Chinese eggplant, red bell pepper, basil and dill, leeks, garlic, tomatoes, Ranier cherries, plouts, apricots, and cherimoyas. On top of that, we got salmon, freshly made hummus and taramosalata, pita, and olives stuffed with blue cheese. Groan!

We hauled the goodies to the car and popped them into a cooler, then headed over meet Robin's pal, best-selling author Barbara Hambly, for lunch. Robin introduced us some time ago, and the three of us often convene on those rare occasions when I'm in LA. Barbara is a music fan and sometimes accompanies Robin to my performances in California. We always enjoy each other's company, and I must say that I am a HUGE fan of her writing. If you aren't familiar, I urge you to check out her marvelous Benjamin January series, and another favorite are the two books in the James Asher series.

Robin, Barbara and I enjoyed a pretty healthy lunch and lots of good conversation at a Mongolian barbecue place. If you aren't familiar with the concept, it's a pretty good choice for inexpensive and healthy eating out. You choose your own veggies, meat, and sauce, which is then cooked on a very hot grill. You can choose how much oil and sauce to put, controlling the amount of fat and sodium that goes into your food. And it's very filling! We all three loaded up on veggies; I added a little chicken and turkey to mine, and a modest serving of noodles. Mmm!

After lunch, we dropped the goodies off at Robin's place and did a little prep in advance of dinner. Then we headed out again, and our stops included the Volks doll store. One of Robin's hobbies is collecting beautiful Asian ball-joint dolls. They are completely customized and quite stunning. Here's her little family:

Left to right are Jessica, Krishna, Clara, and Angelo. Aren't they gorgeous?

Now it was time for my birthday present. Robin took me to a spot she swears is all the rage now in Southern California: one of a number of Asian foot-massage parlors. They apparently are springing up everywhere, and you can get a reflexology foot massage and clothed body massage quite cheaply. We enjoyed our rubdowns thoroughly, and ended up as puddles on the heated automatic massage tables. It was heaven.
 
At long last, we peeled ourselves up and went back home, where fresh produce and goodies awaited. Just look at these beautiful bounty:

Robin's on her own weight loss journey, so we wanted to keep it pretty healthy. We enjoyed some taramosalata, hummus, goat cheese, insalate caprese, and olives on whole wheat pita triangles while I finished prepping the veggies for roasting. Such good stuff doesn't need anything fancy! I just sprinkled them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and into the oven they went to roast. Meanwhile, I cooked the salmon, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and fresh dill, in a pan on the stovetop. Everything was done very simply, but deliciously and healthfully, and a lot cheaper than eating out! We ended the meal with a cobbler made with several types of stone fruit (cherries, pluots, apricots) and a little vanilla ice cream.

 


 





 

We have both sworn to get some exercise in tomorrow (that means I have to hit the gym before my lecture!), because tomorrow is my birthday, and we're going out for Cuban food. Mmmm! Still, I think we did pretty well today, and neither one of us overate. Robin is particularly virtuous; she is calling a neighbor to come over tomorrow and take away everything that's not a regular part of her food plan. Everybody wins!

Comments

[Theresa]

Happy Birthday Cindy!!! You look so good these days. Thanks for sharing the photos. It's nice to see "healthy in action". :)

[Monster Soprano]

I have a really bad cold and watery eyes. I thought that aubergine was a sex toy. Seriously, I need to get better.

I love the colour purple on you (your dress) you should wear that more often.

[Mamie]

That salmon dinner looks delicious (and healthy and low fat too). I hope you have a wonderful birthday dinner as well.

I am a big proponent of the "you can have it on your birthday" diet trick. I do not allow myself potato chips, but I MAY have them on my birthday. Last year I had a nice big snack of French fries on my birthday instead of chips and they were quite yummy.

Happy birthday, Cindy!

[Sancho]

I love Barbara Hambly! I must have first read DARKMAGE twenty years ago now, and the Benjamin January series is excellent. I'll have to check out the Asher novels ...

Your farmer's market haul sounds (and looks!) fab.