fanciful

I had a very bizarre evening. I went to my work's "Appreciation Dinner", and talked E-Dawg into being my date (Oh E, will you ever forgive me? Believe me when I say that I didn't know). It was at the LeMont. I'd been there once before, and it was weird, but I was with close work friends (last job), and it was okay. But, this was really wonky all around. First of all, I shoulda known because yesterday I started asking all the peeps at work that I regularly converse with if they were going, and none of them were. The only people that said they were going were the more...socially challenged types (I work with all computer-genius-types, remember?) or ones that are kinda like the boss of me or just ones that I don't talk to much. But, I figured it would still be interesting, and free food & drink, right?

Wrong. It was a cash bar (and, for reals, I feel more appreciated when I'm being plied with booze). The only red wine option was an unnamed Merlot (I swear that the label was scraped off the bottle, too). And, the beer options were Augustiner, IC Light and Iron City. The whiskey was Jim Beam. E and I went for the merlot, which wasn't, actually, too horrible. But, still.

The veggies were crinkle-cut which leads me to believe that they were formerly frozen or sold in a giant-ass bag at Sam's Club or something, and there were deli cheese slices as hors d'oeuvres. Again, not bad, necessarily, but definitely bizarre.


The salad was way overdressed, the bread was day-old Breadworks salt sticks, my pesto pasta tasted like water-flavored paste, E's crabcakes tasted like WonderBread, the waiters (all men, by the way) seemed sorta criminally insane (one of them sported a Hitler-style moustache), there were weird fancy chandeliers in the drop ceiling acoustic tiles, E's "berry torte" was really a berry tart.

The moral of this story is to never, ever go to the LeMont. The view is spectacular, but everything else is crap.





But, now I feel guilty for not being grateful. Or, rather, I feel that I'll feel guilty if anyone from work ever reads this. Or, actually, I feel that I'll feel bad if anyone from work ever reads this and then they fire my ass.

Anyway.

We were all fanced-up, so we decided to hit the town afterwards. First stop was Remedy Lounge (formerly Ray's). I liked it better when it was Ray's. Even with Keri freaking out on Ray and the staff in front of you. Ah, memories.

Then a quick stop into the Blue Moon (Thursdays are Ladies Nights) where we ran into Vince (a bartender from Remedy/Ray's) who told us about a new gay bar that had just opened on 44th St, Cattivo. So, we went there. It's nice--big, clean, well-stocked, friendly bartender, good drink, pool tables, juke box.

[as an aside: last night was a blue moon. i told lots of people to look at it. and, i even went to a bar named "Blue Moon", and walked around outside a bit, but did i look up last night? um, that'd be a no. what the bleep?]

The funniest thing of the night, besides our running commentary, was that at one point this woman from across the bar stands up on her stool and stares at me for a second--with anger or something, but then stares at Ellen--with lust and desire. I think I came real close to almost having to fight for her. She was lookin' fine, but I'm a lover, not a fighter!

please see my office hours

Yesterday evening I pretended that I was holding office hours at the Quiet Storm. It all started because yesterday was the first day that my CSA subscription started, so I was going to pick it up, and meet my friend Jen at the QS to divide up the booty and get her half of our payment (we're sharing a "small share" from Kretschmann's). I was to meet her there around 6:30 p.m., so I didn't want to go home, then have to turn around and come right back to Garfield, so I decided I'd just go after I picked up the veggies and read. But, then I made a plan to meet up with my new pal Jenn for coffee in the meantime (to take our palship from virtual to real world). She's a peach! So, we hung out for a bit, Jen came by to get her veggies and hung out for a minute, then Mags and her dad, Ani and Carol came to meet up for dinner. I wish my office was the Quiet Storm every day.

And, speaking of the QS, I had an amazing dinner there. I ordered the special: "crabcake" sandwich with macaroni salad and choice of green salad or soup. I chose the chilled green pea and mint soup. First of all, the "crabcakes"? Freakin' fab! Man, oh man! Better than many "real" crabcakes I've tried over the years. And, crab is one of those things that I really miss (along with toro and bacon). I emailed the owner/chef to see if I could get her recipe or a tip and begged her to add it to their regular menu. So tasty! And, the chilled green pea and mint soup was fresh and delicious, too. All in all, one of my favorite meals recently, for sure!

And, as for my CSA box. This week we got: romaine lettuce (or leaf?), butter lettuce (?), spinach, mixed baby greens, pea shoots (I've never tried these before and can't wait!), radishes, sage, rosemary, egyptian onions (look like big green onions with flowers like scapes), rhubarb and a loaf of multigrain bread. YUM! Picking up the CSA box and seeing what we get that week is one of my favorite things ever. I love surprises, and this is the best kind of surprise!


Since I had dinner out last night, I didn't do a whole lot with my veggies last night except admire them. But, for lunch today I made a green salad and an eggsalad sandwich. Eggsalad is one of my favorites, but I haven't made it in a while because I normally put a TON of mayo in it, so it's totally not healthy. But, I made some up last night that is definitely better for me than the old-style kind. I used five organic, free range eggs (these were from the Polish Hill bee guy, Deron Johnson) and hard-boiled them, then added about 4 T. of vegan mayo (I used Heidi's recipe from Super Natural Cooking--below), 2 T. real mayo, 1 t. yellow mustard and sea salt and pepper. I like my eggsalad straight up--nothing fancy, not too mayonnaise-y. I had it with a bunch of the butter lettuce and some of the multigrain bread (lightly toasted). I tried to wait until lunch time, but I ate it around 11:00 a.m. I could not help it.

Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Mayonnaise
(makes 1 1/2 cups)
[Super Natural Cooking, p. 200]

8 oz extra-firm tofu
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t. fine-grain sea salt
1/2 t. dijon mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper

Wrap the tofu in a few paper towels, then press and gently squeeze to release excess moisture. Combine the tofu, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, mustard and cayenne in a food processor and blend until very smooth, 30 seconds or so. Thin with warm water to reach desired consistency.
[Ehrrin's note: this is a great base for any flavor you want to add. I've used it to make aioli, miso mayo and wasabi mayo. So easy and so good!]

Tonight I have a work dinner at LeMont. Ellen's going as my date, and we will be hooking up some serious old-skool "fancy". I've been there once before (for another work function, different job), and the view is magnificent, the decor bizarre, and the food was very much so-so. I already know what I'm having tonight because I had to pick my menu items last month: salad, pesto pasta (the token vegetarian meal) and creme brulee. It should be interesting. This will be the first time that my worlds have collided with work peeps and friends. And, my work peeps are...let's say...odd. They're all computer genius types, so they have various levels of social skills. I find them to be endlessly fascinating, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them all fanced-up.


I need to start brainstorming some recipe ideas for my upcoming beach trip. So far I'm thinking:
-find a good recipe for veg "crabcakes" (QS wrote back, but skipped the part where I asked for the recipe. darn.)
-Heidi's recipe for "Yucatecan Street Corn with Lime, Chile Powder and Grated Cotija"
-Heidi's recipe for "Wheat Berry Salad with Citrus, Toasted Pine Nuts, Feta and Spinach"
-SarahGrams's mom's crepes with some interesting fillings/toppings
-fresh rolls
-veggie sushi

Anyone have any other good (and impressive) recipes for my 9th(?) annual all-gal beach extravaganza?