In praise of Fresh and Easy

This year I have drastically changed my grocery shopping. When I was traveling extensively, a neighborhood Von's and Trader Joe's were my staples. However, I rarely shop at Von's now. Von's is a rip-off. Everything in the store has gone up by dollars not cents. And I don't like the way they remodeled making it impossible to shop with a cart in the produce area. It's annoying and overpriced and there are always lines. No mas. Trader Joe's - still a great store - but I realized that I was drawn to their speciality items like their papaya salsa - nearly 4 dollars that doesn't make a meal and pretty soon you can be down $60 without real food in the house.



Then a new player comes into town - Fresh and Easy. The first go through I was mildly impressed. But I received a $5 coupon off $20 of shopping and I was motivated to go back. I spent more time perusing the isles and now I am a fan. They have a fairly good offering of staples, produce and convenience items. They are situated in shopping centers with plenty of parking in convenient areas. There are no lines. The prices are very fair and in some cases, down right cheap. They have a food sampler were there are at least 3 items you can taste. Fresh and Easy has a "Reduced" area - 50% off for those items that are expiring that day. My thought - stock up and freeze those items - for example a pizza for $2, rice pilaf for $1.50, chicken enchilda meal for $2 etc. Layer on top - the $5 coupon and what a deal - and the food is good! It's tasty. It's healthy. It's easier and cheaper than buying all the ingredients to make your own. Two thumbs up.

Taco Tuesday & Happy Hour at El Torito in Redondo

A friend introduced me to Taco Tuesday at El Torito located at the pier in Redondo Beach. Although somewhat of a landmark at the pier, I had passed this up time and time again. Call it food snobbery - or anti-food chain mentality - I don't think this was ever on my radar for a rocking good time!

I was pleasantly suprised upon entering the dining room - the panaramic view of Redondo Beach was incredible. There were swimmers froclicking in the surf, folks enjoying the bike and foot path...all this... and...the Lakers were playing the Celtics - (they won that game and the rest is history). Definately a good vibe to this place. The chips were salty, the salsa had some kick and the tacos were good. I was impressed at the women working hard to produce fresh tortillas at the taco bar. She fills them with your choice of meat and you add the fixings from the buffet. I wouldn't recommend the combo plate - to me - fried bits and pieces of the same things in different configurations.

Yesterday after driving all over L.A. for two appointments and hitting Thursday rush hour - I was in the mood for attitude adjustment at the beach, with some salty chips. El Torito called my name. After consuming half the basket of chips, I tried the chicken quesidalla - quite good. The location is wonderful. The food is cheap. And with the economy the way it is, I'll probably be headed to El Torito more often.

Fast Food Nation

With the lack of intelligent TV these days, I thought a trip to the library was in order and I rented a couple of movies. The jacket describes the movie as "inspired by the best-seller that revealed the unpleasant truths behind America's fast-food industry." Rolling Stone said "...a firecracker of a movie that jumps off the screen."

I found it very slow moving and not that interesting although I enjoyed Greg Kinnear's character. About 3/4 of the way through - I was downright bored. Ok so a guy gets ensnared in a meat grinder and loses his leg while his friend tries to save him and is severly injured. Kids spit in burgers before handing them off to customers. A supervisor in the meat packing plant is having sex with his underlings. All the while - a high fecal count is making it into the food supply because the "gut line" is moving to fast for the workers to properly remove the matter from the end product. Enough.

I fast forwarded only to see how cows are slaughtered and call me what ever you will - but it was deeply disturbing. I was mad at myself for watching this before bed-time. I instantly thought about my food choices. Will I eat meat again? I am sure I will...but it the inhumane slaughter made a strong impression. And I do believe how we treat animals is indicative of how we value life and treat each other.

Molten Chocolate Cakes for Father's Day

Here's the dessert I plan on making for my brother and his family in celebration of Father's Day.

Molten Chocolate Cakes
Serves 6

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp, more for muffin tin
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tin
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 salt
8 ounces bittersweet choc, melted
Confectionary sugar for dusting
Whipped cream (optional)

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees. Butter 6 cup muffin tin and dust with sugar.
2. Beat butter and sugar (yum) until fluffy. Beat in 1 egg at a time. Reduce mixer speed and beat in flour and salt. Beat in chocolate. Divide batter among muffin cups.
3. Place tin on a baking sheet, bake until cakes no longer jiggle (8-10 minutes). Let cool for 10 minutes
4. Turn out cakes onto serving plats. Dust each with confectionary sugar and serve with whipped cream or perhaps ice cream or some other yummy accompanyment like fresh raspberries.

If you try this, send me a comment - I'd like to know for what occassion, how it turned out and some other fun details!

Booty from the Farmer's Market

Being in the holiday season with all the glorious food and sweets, I'm seeking refuge in vegetables! With a treasure trove of freshness courtesy of the the Palos Verdes Farmer's Market, I walked away today with bags of red and yellow peppers, yellow squash, zuchhini, cauliflower and broccoli, heirloom tomatos (the last of the season!), garlic, green beans and orange persimmons. Abundanza! The great thing about displaying all the goods on one platter in the kitchen is - you feel healthy making the items on the platter disappear one by one during the week! I've been making batches of soup by steaming vegetables and pureeing with chicken stock and throwing in a few herbs. It's quick, easy and healthy.