No Fuss - California Style

Since moving to SoCal 6 months ago, I've been thinking a lot about what defines California style.

This applies both to fashion as well as cooking.

So much of my Seattle wardrobe doesn't make sense here, not just because it's too hot but also because it's too fussy. No one wears high-heeled boots or even strapped wedges to the beach except for in fashion shoots. Forget about constructed dresses and hairspray. None of these are practical in an outdoor lifestyle consumed by the beach and warm sun. When we first arrived, I consistently found myself overdressed at events. It's usually best to be a little dressier, but I felt over-done. I've since traded most of my heels for flats and sandals, stopped blow drying and coloring my hair, and stashed away the more tailored pieces of my wardrobe. Instead, my favorite well-worn jeans plus a light tee have become the staple. Maybe a scarf or some jewelry for an accent, but that's about it.

The same goes for cooking. I'd struggled to find my style here in the SoCal kitchen. In Seattle, the home chef reigns as the skies rain, sending us deep into cookbooks and the bowels of quirky markets looking for super ingredients to delight and even one-up our foodie friends. Here, that's just too much. There's no need for a cabinet full of high tech gadgets and fussy ingredients. In fact, I hardly even cook anymore - it's too warm and too enjoyable to spend excess time in the kitchen (and too crazy at the grocery store to take any more time than needed to get the staples). Plus the ingredients are so fresh, it's nice to simply prepare them to let them shine, cleanly.

Our focus has changed. We eat well - but we and eat and move on. No more fuss.

Case in point are the fresh strawberry hand-pies I made Sunday night, after gaining inspiration from Pinterest. These represent everything about California style - they're casual, flirty, and impossibly simple. They feature fresh, limited ingredients, don't take much time to prepare, and are a light treat. These could easily be adapted to feature whatever filling suits your fancy - I'm thinking peaches in the summer, apples in fall, and even lemon curd into winter. Be flexible and fun with your ingredients - just don't be fussy.

PS: This post and pies made to Father John Misty's new album, Fear Fun, as is most everything I do these days. It perfectly captures Los Angeles living (J. Tillman, formerly of Fleet Foxes and Seattle, is also now an LA resident). I think he likes it here, too: "How was I to know that milk and honey flowed just a couple states below?"

La La Love You - LA's Bounty

I am in love with California's bounty. No dis on Seattle intended - after all, our homegrown tomatoes and state-grown apples are things of beauty. And the fresh salmon, flown in from Alaska, is heaven, one slab at a time.

It's just that SoCal's produce - much of which grows year-round - is fresh, delicious, plentiful.

Just look at the size of those shallots!

And artichokes!

It's also inexpensive! I really didn't believe farmer's markets were cheaper than (or even equivalent to) what I could get in a top-quality grocery store at home. I've had many a conversation about this, including a discussion with Angela from What's My Deal? But California is a game-changer. A trip to the farmer's market no longer leaves my wallet $30-40 lighter; here, we can fill our bags for under a 20-spot.

An even better deal is free-99. We can stretch our arms into the communal lemon tree in our apartment building's courtyard to pluck a ripe fruit anytime we need some zest. I see a lot of lemon bars in my future. In fact, I'm prepping to make a batch of David Lebovitz's whole-lemon bars this week for our new neighbors.

A current rave that brings this all together: simple salad. In my last post, I raved about the Olive Pit's 18-year balsamic vinegar, so luscious and aged that it drizzles like syrup over a salad. Paired with an equal drizzle of olive oil and a crack of pepper is all I need to top intensely dark green spinach and a harvest orange heirloom tomato for my favorite salad of the moment. (It's pretty great with chunked tuna and garbanzo beans for extra protein, too.)

This picture really doesn't do it justice. The green of that spinach was so dark, it was like a forest at night. I felt healthier just handling it.

This is what's on my table right now. I can't wait to discover new local gems - like the persimmon I've been eyeing at the store. Stay tuned!

An LA Story, Part 2

Our next move?
The view from the hilltop Silverlake apartment is sweeping. To the right and down, houses cluster together amid the trees. Off in the distance, mini skyrises form geometric blocks flanked by the famed Hollywood sign rising monolithically in the backdrop. Further afield: a gauzy haze covering what I know to be Santa Monica and the Pacific. Dreamy.

I could get used to this.

We're here for two weeks in LA, housesitting for my oldest friend in the world while she and her family gallivant around eastern Europe. For us, the trip is a little bit R&R and a little bit work. We're here to decide whether Los Angeles will be the next move in our game of life.

It got off to a fantastic start. We arrived yesterday morning, and as the wheels bumped down at Bob Hope airport in Burbank, Nate and I exchanged glances. It's Go Time. Decisions ahead. But first, a bit of downtime to settle in.

We crashed into catnaps following the early rise, then were off to a posh Hollywood Hills house (now a working studio for a friend of Nate's) for a BBQ/birthday. If anything will sway our decision, it's the remote chance that we could possibly land a view like this:

Or this:

It's still much too early for a decision, but first impressions mean a lot.

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Sept 6 update - Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!
The temperature on the LA Times website says it's 90 degrees. We're only partially there, headed for 98 degrees tomorrow, then possibly 100. Thank God for air conditioning.

On a related note, I'm going to need to rethink my beverages if we move to LA. My steaming cup of coffee seems wildly inappropriate. At Starbucks yesterday, I tried a lime "Refresher" - a drink being testmarketed here in LA + also in Arizona. It uses green coffee for its base. The barista described it as akin to a mojito, minus the booze. I thought it too limey - it tasted like the tart pith. Nate thought it tasted like hay (what green coffee smells like). I'm not so sure it's a hit. Apparently there also was a passionfruit flavor that was so successful, it's already sold out.

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Sept 9 update - Gonna take a trip...
We saw Band of Horses last night at the Wiltern, a historic old theatre similar to the Paramount Seattle. I slagged off this band for their first album (yawn-inducing). A couple of songs on the second album piqued my interest. But the third effort, Infinite Arms, is on regular rotation now. BoH was supposed to be opening for Kings of Leon, but KoL had to cancel the tour while their singer gets himself straightened out. So BoH culled together a short, spotty headlining tour. So happy we are in LA right now to get to this show because they sounded pristine.

Forever ingrained in my mind will be the live rendition of "Laredo." I already love the song, but as they played it live, I felt the goosebumps rise on my arms as I watched from our mezzanine level seats. The band, warmed up and grooving, was clearly at their peak of the night. The swagger, the harmonies, the confidence... I didn't want the moment to end.
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Sept 19 update...This is happening
So, it's been 10 days since my last entry. That week and half has been full of questions, answers, and action. First, here are some scenes from coffee shops where we had good talks and made some decisions.

The honey-vanilla latte at Urth Caffe - a thing of beauty:

And the pastries at Intelligentsia (paired with a smooth Gibraltar on the side - a double shot of espresso gently caressed by a topper of cooler-than-normal steamed milk, so that it emulsifies):

Lest you think all of our decisions were made in caffeine frenzies, I present the famed flaming margarita at El Compadre:

So after caffeine and questions (my specialty), we made a decision: We are moving to LA!

We've found a place in Westwood, only partially decided upon due to proximity to the Paris Bakery and its macarons:

We move in just a few weeks.

Honestly, we knew deep in our hearts that we'd end up in LA. It was just a matter of securing a place (done), a job for Nate (done), and a renter for our Seattle house (not done - are you interested?).

It's time for an adventure, new scenery, and some sunshine. More to come in the weeks ahead!

An LA Story?

Last month Nate and I took a whirlwind four-day trip to Los Angeles. He was attending a writing conference with Robert McKee (author of Story, the screenwriter's bible). I tagged along to see friends and family.

Everyone warned me about how horrible LA is - the traffic! the prices! the people!

But, you know what? All of that proved to be untrue.

I drove south to Oceanside one day to visit my stepsister - made it there and back in under 2 hours each way.

Prices didn't seem so bad; in fact, many of our meals cost LESS than in Seattle.

And everyone we met was so darn friendly.

Maybe these misconceptions represent the LA of old? Or perhaps they're rumors Los Angelenos spread to keep people from moving to their city (much like we always tell people Seattle is grey and rainy 10 months of the year. Oh....wait. That one is true).

In any case, it was a lovely trip. I wish I'd taken my camera out of my (new Coach!) bag more. Here's what we have:

In LA, the streets are lined with palms not pines.

Beautiful grate/window at Griffith Observatory.

You know the phrase "amazeballs"? That is these garlic knots. More to come in a future post!