So how are we sure this was taken on the West Coast?

So how are we sure this was taken on the West Coast?, a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Yellow mustard.

This aint no disco. This is LA. I imagine it is a dark roast.

This aint no disco. This is LA. I imagine it is a dark roast., a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Puppy on the bus.

Puppy on the bus., a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Living in perilous circumstances. 
Had to be in the backpack to get snuck back into the motel. 
The girl and the puppy looked healthy enough to make their way through 
whatever they are going through right now. 
You hear a lot of stories on the bus. Sneaking photos is hard. 
On this ride, everyone who saw the dog loved the dog.
Love and prayers for this girl on the bus today with her dog.

Drumroll for the Ratatouille with a baked egg.

O. It is not ratatouille with baked egg yet.

This all started here http://ediblerhody.com/blog/ratatouille-baked-eggs/

I wrote to the lovely http://adriana-gallo.com/about/ Adriana and asked if I could share her illustration.
She responded quickly for which I am grateful because this story is not complete without her painting.
I gathered ingredients from Whole Foods and Jon's Marketplace. I didn't have individual baking dishes
since I left a dozen of them behind in Rhode Island so I took myself out in the night and found a pair.

Then I chopped and chopped, and discovered that I had no thyme. How can I have not thyme?
Put the chopped eggplant on paper towels with salt to sweat, and ran down the street for thyme.

Chopped some more and finally began to cook.

Onions with lots of garlic and salt and pepper and smoked Chili flakes. This is California.
Carmalized the onions to light brown. No closeup of the onions because the last time I did that the camera
needed major cleaning from olive oil. This shot is dangerous enough.

Eggplant. Smaller Japanese eggplant. Eggplant is a magical thing. Cooking up silky and smooth.

Added the zucchinis and bell peppers and Compari tomatoes, juicy and sweet.
Looking like Ratatouille now!
With basil from the balcony and the thyme from up the street.
 
And a secret ingredient. Ground fennel. Not a lot.
You can see I am pretty serious about grinding up fennel.
Simmered the whole mess, turned on the oven, oiled the baking dishes, and added the egg.

Finally. Ratatouille with a baked egg.
Don't overcook the egg! I had to put some Parmesan on there. Had to.
This is so good I could have it for breakfast lunch and dinner for a month.
♥Chloe

Strawberries from the balcony.

Strawberries from the balcony., a photo by chloe & ivan on Flickr.

Sad to report that the strawberry plants are not doing well : (
I have cut off the blighted leaves, & quickly ate these two gems.
We will see if the rest of them make it!

Sharing meatballs on the internet

Some of you already know I love meatballs. There are meatballs in every culture all around the world.
hmmm. kinda like donuts. There is a sweet fried dough in every culture all around the world.

These meatballs smelled so good I could have foolishly burnt my mouth on them as soon as they were done.
They smelled good from shallots & garlic & oregano & freshly ground pepper & salt & flat leaf Italian parsley & oats because I was too lazy to grind up some breadcrumbs & an egg. 

For those of you wondering what the heck is going on here, the meatballs are in my meatloaf pan with the holes in it to let the fat drip off. Underneath is aluminum foil in a cake pan. 

So I can just gather up the aluminum foil (a peeve of mine is everyone saying tin foil when it is not tin foil it is aluminum foil) and don't have to wash the pan. : )

Why is the meatloaf pan in a cake pan? Because I do not have a loaf pan the exact size of my meatloaf pan.

Because I moved across the whole continent and left a lot of things behind. 

But the meatloaf pan with holes in it is so useful that I will improvise.

I am on the quest for a loaf or bread pan to fit my meatloaf pan with the holes in it.

When I find one, I will make a nice meatloaf  for you.

I love meatballs. I often have made them to share. 

Sometimes, a meatball is the whole dinner for me. 

♥ Chloe

Real mail in ink on paper with stamps.

Arrived in my mailbox today. I have been waiting for it!
It felt good to hold paper pages and look at beautiful script.
No deleting this.

Now to write back.♥