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A Perfect Day in L.A. 1024 768 Mari Bickmore

A Perfect Day in L.A.

Well, actually another perfect 10 days in LA.  It’s like deja vu there!  Sunny in the 70s everyday.  I was in the South Bay Area visiting my son and his family…mostly to see my AMAZING granddaughters.  No really…they are amazing.  So sweet and cute.  My older one told me one day that I was always in her heart and in her brain everyday.  That just rips your  heart out when you only get to see them every 3 or 4 months.  I got to take them and pick them up from school almost everyday too.  What a change from when you have your own children and sometimes you aren’t savvy enough to know that you GET to take them and pick them up from school as opposed to having to do that.   That older child would wave to me for quite some time when I left her in the morning, until she turned the corner and could no longer see me.  I would have stood there all day long to see that wave and that smile!  Just getting to go to their swim lessons, ballet lessons and violin lessons was a treat.  I even lucked out and was there for my youngest granddaughter’s field day at school!   I did an art project with them everyday and didn’t care about the mess.  Grandchildren are the best and being relaxed as a grandparent is such a release.

We always eat out far to much when I visit, but getting to try new restaurants is a great thing too.  Just a couple of good places in the area that I haven’t tried before:  Brio Coastal Grill at Del Amo Mall (tied for the best Shrimp and Grits I have ever had) and Mama Terano in Rolling Hills Estates (OMG – I had the special:  Veal Sweetbreads Linguine.  I’m telling you, you should call them and have them put you on a contact list for when they have this special again.  Not kidding.).  Those two are my standout restaurants.   Oh wait!  Shrimp By You in Torrance was a winner too!  We shared a Big pot with a whole lobster, shrimp, snow crab, crawfish, and clams (we substituted the mussels for crawfish).  Choice of sauces.  Really, really good; we ate the whole pot.   Hermosa Beach Fish Shop is always good:  Great fish tacos, but their Fish Shop Shrimp is outstanding.

HOWEVER, we went to Smorgasbord LA, which is like a food festival but there every weekend, and had a great time.  There are around 50 booths/trucks, a mix of both, with so many selections.  The first one was Smogasbord New York and that guy opened on here.  A venue for up and coming chefs.  I think I walked around it twice before even attempting to make a choice.  I’m sure so much of it was really good, but the absolute best thing there has to be the Ugly Drum Pastrami Sandwich!!!  I know, if you had said that to me I wouldn’t have believed you either…but it’s undeniably true.  I was standing in the line for a pork belly taco from Goa Taco (truly yummy), and this man started talking to me.  Said this taco we were about to partake of was really good, but that I had to try the pastrami sandwich.  His son, right on cue, walked up with said pastrami sandwich and the dad made him give me a bite of it.  Heaven.  I didn’t even have the taco yet and my plan  was to immediately go stand in another line for that heaven on a slice of homemade rye with a little mustard.   There were seven of us, so I had little bites of a few things, but none any better than these.

We did go home and try to fly a really, really big kite..but after all the wind we had that week the wind gods left and it didn’t get off the ground.  That was the day before I left.  I am pining for another bite of the pastrami!  But truly, I miss the girls more than the sandwich.  They are living it up in London this week for Spring Break and aren’t giving me a second thought…as it should be.

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What Are Excuses For? (and Fish Cakes) 1024 768 Mari Bickmore

What Are Excuses For? (and Fish Cakes)

I tell you what excuses are for…to make up reasons why you haven’t done something you need to do.   Well, it’s not that I need to write this, but I do like to do it.  You wouldn’t think so considering the paucity of posts I have written, now would you.  I have to make a confession though.  Something I don’t really like to talk about, yet here I am laying it out to the world…or actually the five people who might actually read this post.  I had been a little down, i.e. melancholy; depressed if you will.  Maybe I was just teary for awhlle.  Call it what you will.  Not a debilitating thing, but not fun either.  From early 2016 until sometime in April I would just cry too easily.  It’s like tears were just parked behind my eyes waiting to come out.  Do you ever feel that way.  I don’t think it’s fun for people you live with either.  If someone said something the least bit off-putting to me, I cried, and then I would start thinking about things I couldn’t control in my life, and that would make the crying last longer.  I have moved so many times now that I have all but forgotten how to make friends, and that would be my biggest trigger.  Somehow I came out of that…thank you God.  I don’t want to make light of depression by saying I came out of it just like that.  I have had this, whatever this is, on and off for many years and it is usually situationally-based in nature.  Stuff happens, right?  Sometimes I just don’t deal well with it.  Anyway, now I’m still trying to remember how to make friends, even though I’m not sure I have the energy for it.  I have concluded that it takes a lot to make new friends at my age.  I feel like everyone in a new place already has a life and friends and is quite busy and that they don’t need someone new in their lives…so I don’t barge in to upset their applecart, so to speak.  In any event, right now my son’s girlfriend from Norway is staying with us and I really like her…maybe she’ll be my friend.  Kind of sounds like I’m in junior high..right?  “Will you be my friend?”

Good new is that I’m able to play tennis again, the sun is shining everyday, the flowers are blooming, and life is good.   My husband is a love and takes good care of me.  I would promise that I won’t write anything morose for quite some time, but I might not be able to keep that promise.  Just depends what life brings my way.  There are lots of things happening in the world that I have a strong opinion on right now:  CRAZY election year here – a lying, corrupt, self-serving witch and a real estate mogul who can’t keep his mouth shut to save his campaign…or is that what he wants us to think?  More CRAAZZY Muslim murderers, Brexit, men using the little girls room, “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!”…and the beat goes on.  Ready to put my two cents out there.

In the spirit of Norway (see above), I decided to make something with fish and that turned out to be a very good thing.  I promise you will love these fish cakes.  If you love crab cakes, you will definitely love these.  They are more Cajun than Norwegian, but those guys need to get some spice in their life, I mean spice in their food.

Cajun-Spiced Fish Cakes

Ingredients

2 pounds Alaskan halibut fillets, poached and flaked (about 4 cups loosely packed) I think you coud use most types of mild, white fish or even salmon AND you could sear it  also (I poached mine the day before, and it was actually leftovers and refrigerated overnight – it made it easy to handle)

Option: 2/3 cup of chopped shrimp or langostino

2/3 cup unseasoned fine bread crumbs

4 tsp BonTon Seafood Spice by Jazz  

1-1/2 tsp dried chives or 1/3 cup chopped chives

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

1  cup Mayonnaise

1 large egg, beaten (or 2 small/medium)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (or more if needed)

1 tbsp olive oil

Mache lettuce or mixed greens.

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the halibut, optional shrimp/langostino, bread crumbs, BonTon spice, salt, cayenne, chives, cilantro, mayonnaise, and egg.  Mix all together gently until crumbs are incorporated.  IMG_5690

Shape into about 3-inch patties about 3/4 inch thick.   Makes 9-10 patties. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

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In a large skillet, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat . Add the cakes and cook until golden, 3-5 minutes per side.  Place two cakes on top of lettuce and a dollop of tartar sauce and serve.  I promise you these are really yummy and pretty darn simple too!

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I had some jalapeno and horseradish tartar sauce that I didn’t love, so I used about half a cup of that and added about 2/3 cup mayo, a minced sweet pickle, a little lemon juice, a tsp or so of chopped cilantro, and a 1/4 tsp of salt.  Perfect for the fish cakes.  Your favorite tartar sauce should work just fine too, or a garlic aioli.

Well, that ought to be enough until next time!  I already need a vacation…where should we go?

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