Monday, November 30, 2009

Sheesh, Christmas already?
















Good God, can it be here? Well of course it can. Eh, I'm not the biggest Christmas person in the world, which is an understatement if you know me. One thing I really like about Los Angeles is that unlike Chicago, Christmas isn't in your face everywhere. It's just not celebrated here the way it is in the Midwest. It looks funny, too, when people decorate for Christmas. It's like those really strange neighbors you had as a kid who were so lazy that it would be summertime and they would still have their Christmas lights up. It just does not FEEL like Christmas, unless you seek it out. So for the Christmas blasé person like me, it's kinda perfect. I'll be posting some more Christmas stuff in LA this month.

Check out my fall leaves picture. I took it on Saturday. Some streets have such a Chicago feel to them. Of course, then you go to the beach and see the sunset and realize you AIN'T in Chicago anymore. We had a little storm brewing over by the mountains, which produced some killer-looking clouds.

The funny thing is, I perform a Christmas version of my show. So I really have to ramp up the Christmas spirit, at least for my audience. The other night, I had my first one. Look at that set - isn't it great? As soon as I heard the preshow music, I really felt happy. I think it was due to performing, not necessarily Christmas.
Have I said Christmas enough in this post? I was mourning the loss of the salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks this season, but then was happy to see that Trader Joe's has coughed up a dark chocolate salted caramel...well caramel. I have yet to try them. I'm still working through the Dreyer's Seasonal Peppermint Ice Cream. Hey, if it's the holidays, you gotta indulge a little. I guess I could post a high-calorie recipe to keep things moving along in the holiday spirit. I don't have a picture for this, but I'll give you my old chestnut (get it?) Sesame Peanut Noodles. I'm so lazy I don't even use tahini. I think you'll like this one a lot.

1 box linguine
1 jar of unsalted creamy peanut butter
1 small bottle of sesame oil
Soy sauce (I use Bragg's Amino Acid) to taste
Hot chili flakes, to taste
1 whole cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 bunch cilantro, bottom stems removed, chopped
Optional: toasted sesame seeds, about 3 tbs
Mix peanut butter and sesame oil till smooth. If there is oil on top of the peanut butter, make sure that goes in as well. Add soy sauce to taste. I like things salty, so I add a lot. Ditto the hot red pepper flakes. Toss in the cucumber, cilantro and sesame seeds if you are using them. Set aside.
Cook the linguine according to the package directions. Drain. Here's the most important part: rinse with cold water until the noodles are cold, or else they will not mix well with the peanut butter.

Mix noodles into peanut butter mixture. Chill and eat. Enjoy!

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