Author: yvonnepearl

Dinner @ Mercado

~ yvonnepearl ~ Leave a comment

Tercera time at Mercado! I really enjoy it. Santa Monica, nice crowd, laid back people and good atmosphere.

Always order to share. We usually get the basics and its a great deal.

The Poblano peppers in creamy sauce with fresh-baked tortillas to start, then fish tacos are delicious and black beans and rice of course.  Do not forget to get the poblano pepper spicy drink. Yum!

The food there is spicy but not too hot! I never ate spicy food before LA. You cannot have a great culinary experience living here, if you do not force yourself with spicy food.

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Life is about trying new stuff. I always thought I’d have indigestion issues if I ate peppers or wasabi … One day, I was eating dinner at someone’s house. The host was mexican and the salad on the table (which appeared to me as thin dices of cucumber of tomatoes)  was in fact, a salad of fresh poblano peppers in dices with tomatoes. Looked exactly the same ! I love this salad usually and decided to take a big bite with a spoon. It felt very crunchy at first, my tongue started to burn a few seconds afterwards. I couldn’t even smell anything anymore except for this hot spice that was coming from my mouth. I swallowed it all and thought my throat was going to hurt forever.

I must say, that jumping from “not being used to anything spicy at all” to “eating like a real mexican” affected me. The next day, I was sick. Nevertheless, thanks to this one in a lifetime experience, I now can eat spicy food when I want. I just cannot take any more surprises though. I really enjoy it and I am getting there step-by-step. Mexican cuisine has so much to offer. It’s generally affordable, very tasty and the people cooking it are the friendliest.

After dinner at Mercado, I’d recommend you either walk or drive (very close) to Beachy cream to get the coffee or hot chocolate (spicy) organic homemade ice-cream with the pretzel cone!

Bon appétit!

Artist’s Palette #2

~ yvonnepearl ~ 1 Comment

As you notice, this recipe has 3 colours. Conclude that it’s healthy and tasty too.

You’ll need 2 eggs (organic is better)

Spinach leaves (farmer’s market maybe)

Fresh Red Beet

– Cut the red beet and peel (raper) in thin, thin little slices. The thinner, the crunchier! Mix Espelette chili (if you can find it) otherwise a little tabasco, with one tablespoon of white wine vinegar and 2 of nut oil. Let the thin pieces of beet rest in that mixture while you’re preparing the rest.

– Wash the Spinach, mix them with white wine vinegar and olive oil, add pepper and cooking salt

– Put water in pot, wait until almost boiling. Insert the eggs really softly (maybe use a big spoon) so they do not break. Wait 4 minutes, put them under cold water for a minute. Peal the shell gently …

– Take a nice plate, place a little mountain of spinach leaves on the bottom, decorate with the crunchy seasoned raw beet slices and the eggs on top (remember to always add salt and pepper)

Bon Appétit

Voler dans un espace hors du temps, Fly in a space against time

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Voler dans un espace hors du temps,

Fermer ses sens au goût de la marée

Peut-être est ce possible, vraiment ?

Ou bien faut-il pouvoir aimer ?

Fly in a space against time

Close your senses at the taste of the tide

Is-it possible? Really?

Or do you need to be able to love?

Aimer qui ou quoi comment ?

Love who or what, how?

Ne laisser pas les fleurs fanées !

Do not let the flowers fade!

Mes sourires ternissent en pleurant

La persécution ne fait qu’augmenter

Ou vais je ?

My smiles become dull while crying

Persecution is growing

Where Am-I heading?

Je vole dans une sombre mais douce vallée de coton

Une biche passe par la, hop ! Elle saute si haut…

Je ne la vois déjà plus. Je suis à nouveau seul(e) ?

I’m flying in a dark but sweet cotton valley

A doe is passing by! She jumps so high …

I already can’t see her … Am-I alone again?

Parez-vous pour le défi du temps, les parapluies ne doivent pas oublier

Surtout pas d’évanouissements

Or, il existe toujours ces fées

Elles sentent mon enchantement,

Get ready for the time’s challenge ,Umbrellas cannot forget

Above all, no fainting

Yet, these fairies still exist

They feel my delight

Tout à coup, je suis tuée

Suddenly, I am killed

Mais sans peurs ni regrets et pourtant,

But with no fears nor regrets and yet,

La vie, table basse a bout portant.

 Life, coffee table at point-blank range

Je ne vais plus.

A quoi bon ? Les fruits des désirs me reviennent, Une mûre, une orange et du cassis

La salade de fruit sera pour plus tard.

Repars, temps qu’il est encore temps.

I am not going.

What for? Desires’ fruits are coming back to me, A blackberry, an orange and blackcurrant

The fruit salad will be for later.

Go back, time it’s still time

Choses dites, Choses faites.

Thing said, thing done.

Me revoilà, toujours la, en face de toi…

I’m back, still there, in front of you …

YP

Cowboys vs Indians

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So as I said earlier, fashion trends come and go but they definitely come back. Fashion designers are artists in my opinion. They create clothes which always come from an inspiration they had. Walking in the streets, watching an old movie, going to an art exhibition … I have a few designer friends, they are great people and are really laid back. You’d think they would be always talking about the newest handbags, what this famous actress is wearing and so on … No, that’s not the case, they’re really simple people who enjoy simple stuff. My friends are well dressed, with good style but do not spend a lot of money on clothes. They pick out the best piece, that works for them and wear it with style, with no effort.

A lot of designers have been focusing on this old battle: Indians versus Cowboys. They’ve been battling themselves. From a fashion season to another one. I love these style but it’s rather hard to wear.

How would you wear these different inspired outfits?

And when?

(Isabel Marant designer)

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Dream Piece …

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Fashion trends are always cycles. Do not give your clothes away! Okay, if you do not have enough space in your closet please try to store them or put them in a box in your basement.One day, trust me, you’ll be happy I said that. Your daughter maybe will be happy too or even granddaughter.

The thing about Fashion I learnt and I keep on experiencing, is that what makes you fall in love with a piece and live a lifetime relationship, is the fact that this particular piece is UNIQUE. You never see it on anyone, and people just ask you where you got it. I can imagine that if you buy something at a Vintage store, you’re going to think it’s unique and you’ll be able to reach this point of “perfect” piece experience. It really depends. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past with Vintage stuff (TG it’s cheap). You buy it and then you tell yourself that it’s old and maybe doesn’t really fit or is just not what you wanted to get but couldn’t afford the dream piece in the Boutique next door. If that is your state of mind, please do not buy anything to make you feel better. Just try to put money aside and get what you truly and deeply want! Buying in quantity can be great but it’s generally a way to feel relieved  that you didn’t spend it on one piece you’ll wear once and that you just cannot afford right now.

Then comes the big analysis of whether or not the piece you’re dreaming about is a “One of kind”, “never gonna find again”, “will make my life so much easier” PIECE. It can be answered asking yourself simple questions:

Step 1: Do I already own a similar piece? (example a small black clutch)

If your answer is YES you’re done here (except if you have so much money and just want to have the most awesome closet without even knowing what and when to wear something since you don’t even know that you have it (mm I’m a bit exaggerating here)

Step 2: Do I need this piece? (example for clutches: are you going to go to many events soon? Weddings, nice dinner parties?) I mean if you’re going out more often during the day, you don’t really need a new clutch)

Step 3: Do you like the material? Is the colour easy to combine with your usual outfits? That’s the most important thing. If you saw it in a magazine and a girl was wearing it at the Oscars for instance, the way she wears it is maybe going to be slightly different from your style (I’m using maybe because you could have this lifestyle, do not know who is reading my blog …)

Step 4: Is it something I can afford right now? Okay here, comes the boring, technical question we all hate. Yes we’re dying for this new piece and we do not care how much money is left on our accounts. I’d always think about how my Dad raised me when I ask myself this particular question. I feel amazing that Step 1 to 3 was successful and then comes this stupid financial issue that’s going to ruin my dream (obviously this is categorized in the superficial dreams, not really a dream I want to accomplish) It would be sad if our dreams would be only fashion ones! But you know what, being superficial from time to time is relaxing. You can finally turn OFF your brain and turn ON only your eyes!

Anyways, I found a solution for this financial issue (when it happens): Try to convince your Mom, your Boyfriend, sister … that’s the piece you’ve been looking for this entire Fashion Season (this is useful when your bday is not so far away, Hanukkah, Christmas …) always a great way to either get it as “the most amazing present” or to get a little help (you could share the cost for instance and still be a gift) Just talk about it excessively saying how good it will look with this or that, and these people will get a sense of your love and attachment to this dream piece. Trust me, this technic usually works, everyone is happy at the end.

Step 5/Alternative: Wait … Find it online: http://www.vestiairecollective.com/ (that’s the amazing website I used in France, but it’s worldwide now)

Bon Shopping

 

 

La Bonne Cuisine

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The Yum Miam is the exciting category of my blog. The big dilemma is the following: Do we eat to live or live to eat?
I mean certainly eating is a need but what about the desire to eat something? The craving you need to fulfill in order to be satisfied (until another one comes along). French people are viewed as very refined eaters. Nevertheless, I had conversations with fine gastronome here. They were critiquing how French cuisine always uses cream in different dishes from meat, fish to deserts.

Truly, in LA, most of the people I’ve encountered are really healthy. It’s a way of life. They’d say “I’m getting healthy again” and so on. By healthy, they mean eating in a structured way. People eat but they think about what is going to end up in their system. I’m not saying this is bad or good, I really don’t have an opinion on this eating philosophy. For instance, they won’t mix dairy and vegetables or cheese and fruits. For me, a Parisian with Auvergne origins (center of France where the molded cheeses comes from) it doesn’t make sense. You eat, you mix, you digest and nothing will affect your system (except if you have health conditions of course)

The Yum Miam is dedicated to eating well (not healthy) but well. I agree sometimes I’d qualify it as healthy but I’m not counting the calories or the sugar quantity, just baking/cooking with my heart and soul. I’ll define well as eating good products, with taste and taking your time … In French culture, Eating is a such an important part of our lives and we focus on it. Not thinking about what we are eating and over analysing the food and ingredients in our plates, but sharing this moment with others, taking a breath between every bites, and taking notes maybe on how to cook or reinvent the recipe at home (revisité concept)

Always remember to ask a recipe for a dish you enjoyed (friend’s, Grandma’s …) and tips in restaurants it allows your cooking skills to get way better and inventive.

Bon Appétit

The artist’s Palette Dinner

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This is a one person meal (so multiply for the number of people)

In this plate there are 4 colours. It looks a bit like an artist’s palette. That’s what you always have to keep in mind.

My mother always told me that the more color you have in your plate, the healthier the meal.

Lentils (red or black): in a pot (1 cup lentils, 3 cups of water) on medium, stir and wait (add one tablespoon of saffron, two of cumin, shallots (really thin slices), salt and pepper.

cauliflower (in hot water with salt and cover) depending on how you want it (crunchy or not) check with fork, rinse it under cold water, and leave it in fridge so it gets cold. In a small bowl mix mustard (grain) one teaspoon, 2 tablespoon of nut oil, and one of white wine vinegar. Add parsley and mix with the cold cauliflower.

Tomatoes (juicy ones) thinly sliced, white vinegar, oil and shallots (very very thin) in a bowl. Cover the tomatoes with the mixture and leave for 10 minutes. Stir and add pepper and salt.

Presentation: you’re free, you are the artist here, the plate is your palette.

Advice: you will always enjoy food better if it looks good and colorful.

Bon Appétit

Finkelstein

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I just cannot pronounce the “TH”. I’ve been speaking English all my life. My father tried so many times to teach me the pronunciation. It’s simple maybe, for me it’s just impossible. I have to really focus in order to make it happen. The first is when it comes to number such as Thirty and Forty. Turns out I pronounce Firty and it sounds like Forty! My “TH” are “F” sounds. So I guess it became cute. I should maybe write a song or a poem, replacing all the “THs” with “Fs”. That would be really interesting. I’ll keep you posted with that idea. So, I guess the fun part is when I say ‘I Fink”, which I usually say in every sentence. The Parisian have this tendency to say “JE” (I) quite a lot. “Je’, “moi” (I,me) no no it’s not egocentric … I mean maybe it is a bit, that’s the French culture. So anyways, I’ve been saying it a lot here too. At first, I’ll even make these huge mistakes: “Me, I Fink that blablabla …” And that’s how Finkelstein was born. No no, not Frankenstein, although it feels a little close. My nickname for now is Finkelstein. That was just ridiculous. I’m getting better everyday, practicing and writing helps too. I just love this side of me though. I don’t know if I ever want to get rid of it entirely. I know I could lose my accent one day, living here, speaking English (as I am half-american already).

What if I lost this cuteness? Would I still be me? It’s funny how speaking another language allows you to change. It’s weird but you get to be a little different, it’s not the same melody, the same sound that comes out of your mouth. The notes are higher in English sometimes in my opinion. I do not speak as fast also. I get to think more about what I’m going to say next. I think in English but I’m careful. I do not know the exact words to describe things or feelings sometimes so I hope it doesn’t affect who I am. I hope one day, I’ll be able to express myself fully like I would in French. The humour will never be the same! Changing languages, having conversations, everything becomes a new experience. Of course, your inner humour is still the same, the physical stuff stays there but playing with words is an entire new world! I was lucky to be raised with American references (TV, Musicals, Songs, Writers …) . It was mandatory that we sang “take me out to the ballgame” and watched the “Wizzard of Oz” when we were little (my sister and I). I am so thankful for all of this, it really allowed me to be part of this wonderful culture, the American one!