Ritz Bites

Pitfalls of Dining Out

Butter-laden dishes at AOC last week reminded me of a big upside of in-home eating: fewer calories. Though I'm definitely not a low-calorie or low-fat cook -- nor do I exercise regularly like I should -- I love my veggies, I take pleasant strolls, and chase my active toddler around. I also don't obsess about food intake like I used to through my twenties, which is good for the soul.

So combined with fewer restaurant meals, most of my clothes look better on me than they used to, and I can wear slimmer pants, making jeans shopping a dangerously tempting proposition. Part of it must be in the genes; my sister also experienced this sort of bizarre postpartum weight loss fluke. (I'm also still relatively young. Right? Right?!)

Today the Times points to some dangers of chronicling food and all things gustatory that's a good reality check. After all, my cholesterol levels still give me cause for concern.

My Grandma Pearl, a very wise woman who loved food, used to say "always leave the table half full." More often easier said than done. Now it's time for a couple small bites of the bread pudding H brought me from Angeli.

If you can't stand heat in the kitchen, no problem: Raw Food

The whole raw foods trend doesn't interest me much.  Given that I'm the type to spend six hours cooking a bolognese ragú and a long-simmered puree of carrot and celery root soup, I'm not the target audience.

But I love veggies and I'm willing to try just about anything.  Plus I like some versions of healthy hippie foods, if we're talking like, M Cafe de Chaya.  So I'm surprised to say Euphoria Loves RAWvolution -- name aside -- is pretty good.  It's nice to know there's a place for people who can't stand heat but don't want to get out of the kitchen.   

Kale salad, seaweed, and runny "egg" salad does not a daily meal make.  Yet as an occasional lunch it's filling and obviously healthy.  I'd return to the exotic land of Main Street Santa Monica, which feels a world away from Hollywood, for the pungent and freshly blended soy chai.  Silky coconut pudding is also quite tasty.  Stylistically (brightly colored walls, Indian fabric cushions, white folks with dreadlocks), the space and vibe help preview our visit to Ithaca in May.

Earlier in the day I'd gone buck wild at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market.  The bounty is just so ... overwhelming.  I managed to drop a lot of cash (literally -- I think I lost a Andy Jackson along the way) on more greens than I'll ever have time to prepare, and a can of walnut oil. 

And in keeping with the theme of lunch, I snacked on some raw walnuts and shelled peas as the afternoon wore on.  But when dinner time came along, those peas were blanched and mixed with a slab of butter, and the tender baby spring onions spent a lot of time in hot olive oil and were joined by Flora Bella Farms rapini.  After about 45 minutes, the slow-cooked onion-rapini duo met its good friend, boiled spaghetti.  I still like heat in my kitchen.