Walking LA

A quick trip to SoCal, a lot of time spent master food preserving, and walking loops around the property just about sums up the month of June. I’ll begin with our weekend with Jana. After spending over thirty years of my life in SoCal, I never really experienced Los Angeles. LA, as everyone knows it. Since taking a job in the area, Jana has lived in Beverly Hills (on the edge of West Hollywood or WEHO, as they call it). Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City, Mid-City (Miracle Mile), and now spends much of her time in court or at her boyfriend’s home in downtown LA.  Basically, it’s all LA and we’ve found it all to be enchanting. I understand the draw LA has on young people. It has art (Jana is less than a mile from LACMA and works directly across from the museum), music, theater, great food of many cultures, and old, beautiful architecture.  It’s exciting and always changing. And, if the traffic and congestion gets to be too much, Uber is available within a couple minutes of making a call.

We experienced it all in our three-day visit. Late afternoon on our first day in LA we went to the Grand Central Market, a landmark since the early 1900’s, and drank wine and ate oysters on the half-shell. 

Eating oysters at the Grand Central Market

Our table gave me the perfect view of Angel’s Flight (no longer in operation). Were I not a big fan of Michael Connelly (having read all of his books two or three times), Angel’s Flight might not have held such significance. But, I am and it did. Connelly’s sixth Harry Bosch novel (Bosch is a veteran homicide detective with the LAPD/Hollywood Division) was called Angel’s Flight. What a thrill it was to see the setting of that story! 

Angel's Flight

The Market is amazing. I didn’t have much time to explore (reason to go back), but it’s a one-stop-shop for a foodie. If it’s edible, I believe it can be found at the Grand Central Market. As we walked to our table, we passed a meat market that had fatback. Again, this wouldn’t have held much significance if I hadn’t just spent two months preparing for an MFP sausage class. You can’t find fatback (that thick layer of fat on Ms. Piggy’s back) in Amador County. I could have spent a full day walking from vendor to vendor. But, I wasn’t in LA to grocery shop. *Sigh* 

Front view of Grand Central Market

Dinner that night was at Maccheroni Republic one of Jandy’s (Jana and Andy) favorite Italian restaurants. Clearly it’s one of their favorites, as the host knew them by name. Jana said she’s made a concerted effort to achieve that status as she thinks it gives them a bit of an edge when they show up without reservations and the waiting line wraps around and down the street. We arrived early that evening (to keep me happy…I like to eat by 6 p.m.) and since that hour is just not hip in LA, we were seated without a wait.

The rest of the day we spent walking LA. There was a time I might have whined about all the walking we did (Verne was the whiner this time). But, as I’ll explain later in this blog post, over the previous few weeks I'd been bragging to Jana about walking several miles each day and she wanted to make sure I met my goal of 10,000 steps. Actually, she and Andy walk a lot. I doubt the primary reason is fitness…it’s just so much easier (and cheaper) than dealing with parking. Not to mention, it’s often faster to walk than to drive and deal with traffic. So, we walked several miles to Mumford Brewing, where we (not me – I’ve tried, but never learned to like beer) drank beer and we played Rummy. Jana is really into card-playing and carries a deck with her wherever she goes. These aren’t ordinary old Bicycle playing cards. She has Game of Thrones (hand drawn images of all of the main characters) and The Walking Dead playing cards. I’ve got to have a deck of each! I love The Walking Dead. Just a warning, though, if you aren’t current with the show, the cards may hold a few surprises. Spoiler Alert! There’s a not-so-favorite character (Merle) who is featured on one of the cards (as a Walker). Hmm…wonder when that happens. I used to like playing cards, but haven’t since before the girls were born. Guess my life just got too busy. Well, whether or not I take up the game, I’ve got to have my own set  of Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Grimm (another favorite series) playing cards. 

Another hand of Rummy...she had no mercy on us!

Dinner that night was at Baco Mercat (kind of modern Mediterranean cuisine), where we shared about a dozen small-plate sized vegetarian dishes (each served as it was made), a couple crispy flatbreads, and desserts that we were too full to eat, but wasted no time devouring. It was another excellent LA dining experience.

Jandy (Jana and Andy) at Baco Mercat

Raelin, Aaron and the kids (actually, teenagers...Kendall is almost 16 and Sam is 13) joined us for brunch at the La Brea Bakery on Sunday morning before we left LA and headed for home. It's always good to take advantage of every opportunity to spend time with family, even if it's only a few hours. 

All that eating over the weekend was the exception to the rule for June.  In late May I decided (with a little nudging from my doctor) that I needed to get my blood sugar levels under control through weight loss and daily exercise. The alternative being an early demise as none of my other heart disease ‘markers’ are particularly good either. I first accused Verne of trying to kill me with good food (he’s an incredible cook)…it’s always easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility for one’s own actions, idn’t?! After I got past the accusations, I faced the fact I needed to make a lifestyle change (one that I could enjoy and sustain long-term) and I ordered a Fitbit (an electronic device worn on the wrist that keeps track of steps, heart rate, weight, etc. and syncs with a smart phone).  I am only disclosing this highly personal information because (1) nobody every reads this blog anyway and (2) my overeating and under-exercising has been apparent to everyone who knows me for years now anyway and (3) I am so excited about my Fitbit. I love it! It’s only been a month and I’m walking four miles on average each day. I started by pacing a walk from the house down to the cabin (studio) and barn and back up the driveway to where I started (about 1/3 mile). I call this the ‘loop’ and walk it several times each day until I’m close to the 10,000 steps recommended by the American Heart Association. I’ve also changed my approach to food and have lost ten pounds in four weeks. It’s not happened without a few sacrifices, like giving up all dairy (no more heavy cream and no more cheese); giving up desserts and other sweet treats; giving up jam! I’m spending more time in the kitchen, because admittedly my cooking pales by comparison to Verne’s and it’s easier to lose weight eating my food (raw vegetables and salads) than Verne’s decadent creations. So far so good and no complaints from my honey. The next step in my eating regimen may meet with some resistance, though…juicing. I’ve got my eye on the Vitamix Professional Blender. The price is shocking, but it is an incredible piece of equipment! I can only assume that when blenders became juicers the price jumped from around $50 to $500! 

Verne and I participated in our second canning competition in June...the El Dorado County Fair. He entered his barbeque sauce and salsa again, but didn't receive any kind of recognition. Dang! The MFP in the family (that would be me) did, however, come home with a ribbon of each color and a $3 premium. Yahoo! I've taken time out to write this blog post as we are preparing for our final fair this year, the Amador County Fair. Verne has added to his repertoire a Peach Ale Mustard that he's entering. I'm entering four different jams and really feeling the pressure. What will my fellow-MFPs think if the old braggart goes home empty handed?