Coming to America: Day 4, La Quinta

During the festival, we call La Quinta home. Today we are cruising around for food in our hired convertible before heading into the festival - the Japanese restaurant is closed so we head over to this Mexican place with serves dangerously large portions of food and jacuzzi sized pomegranate margaritas. Yeah!



Las Casuelas
NW corner of Washington and HWY. 111
La Quinta

I am a huge avocado fan. I lurrrrrve the avo. I like Mexican food because there is always a little of my favourite pear shaped fruit on the plate - except at this place where there is a whole lot of it. Check it out! There must be at least a box of avocadoes in this Fiesta Guacamole alone! (try making your own at home: diced avocado, coriander, red onion and chopped tomatoes, squeeze lemon juice over the top and a few shakes of tabasco - don't forget the doily)
The food here isn't mind blowing, but it's a million times better than any Taco Bill experience I had as a child. As soon as you are seated, you are given a basket of fresh corn chips and salsa that is semi-frozen, kind of like a tomato Slurpee, which makes it very enjoyable to consume in the desert heat.
We end up visiting this place twice over the course of our stay in La Quinta. The first time, I had a vegetable Quesadilla that came bracketed by rice and refried beans. It is such a huge serving that I have to eat my way up the middle - leaving most of the rice and beans. I feel bad about this wastage, but I just can't force rice and beans down in 40 degree heat.
The next time (with Alyson and Halle, below) I order a salad in an edible bowl. The salad is much more refreshing, it is layered with a cooked vegetable mix of corn, corgettes and peppers on the bottom, then lots of crispy iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato, then some cheese, sour cream and a huge ice cream scoop of guacamole on top. The edible bowl is a little disappointing though, I expect it to be like a huge Dorito but instead it tastes like...fried.

Yay! The margaritas, the happy waiting staff, the cooling water mist spray things

Boo! Why do the servings have to be so big? Surely if Americans ate realistic portions it would solve the food crisis

Cost: A few margaritas and a main will set you back £12
Service: 4.5/5

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Having Nat around has been great because it has motivated me flex my culinary muscle. The other night I decided to make sushi rolls. I had wanted to do this three weeks prior, but got sidetracked and now the cucumber I purchased for the occasion has turned into brown mouldy mush held together in its original form by the plastic wrapping. After disposing the ex-cucumber, I suss out the contents of the fridge. Eggplant, chestnut mushrooms from the mushroom guy, avocado, salad leaves. Not typical sushi roll ingredients, but I'll make them work because I can't be arsed walking to the shops.

What you need
2 small eggplants, thinly sliced
3 handfuls of mushrooms (I used chestnut and portabello), thinly sliced
2 handfuls of salad leaves
half an avocado
miso paste
teriyaki sauce
salad leaves (like rocket, or mizuma - japanese rocket/parsley)
Kewpie mayonnaise

The do

The mushroom filling
In a hot pan with a little oil, fry the mushrooms with a few shakes of teriyaki sauce. Cook until all the liquid has disappeared then remove from heat and set aside.

The eggplant filling
Mix 2 tablespoons of miso paste with 2 chinese teacups of boiling water and a teaspoon of sugar. In a medium pan with a little oil, add eggplant and miso mixture. Cook until soft, remove from heat and set aside.

Now you are ready to roll!
For full instructions on sushi rolling, look here

I filled mine with:
Avocado + Kewpie mayonnaise + black sesame seeds
Eggplant mixture + salad
Miso mushroom + salad

Serve with the usual wasabi and gari (pickled ginger) combo

EASY PEASY JAPANESEY

As Lily said, I've been pretty busy lately - but all work and no play doesn't have to mean crappy food. For those Melburnians out there, this dish is my rip-off of the one they serve at the Nudel Bar, and it has been my staple for the last few weeks.


Green tea soba noodles and avocado

What you need
Green tea soba noodles or plain japanese soba (buckwheat) noodles
Gari (pink pickled ginger)
a perfectly ripe avocado
good quality soy sauce or tamari
wasabi

The do
Bring a saucepan of cold water to the boil. Drop in a bundle of soba noodles (they usually come divided in neat little bundles, don't forget to remove the tape!) Boil for a few minutes until they are cooked. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well and pile onto a plate.
Cube half an avocado onto the noodles.
Serve with a blob of wasabi, gari and a small dish of soy for dunking the noodles in. Sprinkle with some black sesame seeds and sesame oil if you have it.

Add an avo to your day

Avocado on toast (ripped off from Cafe Gitane)

I can't go to Cafe Gitane everyday to enjoy this because, sadly, I don't live in New York. But I've tried my darndest to replicate it at home.

Toast some grainy bread.
Spread a generous amount of avocado on the toast.
Sprinkle some chilli flakes and Maldon sea salt on the avocado. Squeeze some lemon and drizzle some olive oil on top.

A happy holiday brekkie for five people you love.

During my last trip home, the gang and I enjoyed the tranquil surrounds of Wilson's Prom.
Laura and Lisa fussed over a delicious Roast Veg and Polenta stack with balsamic gizz, rosellas pecked at Adam and Will's pasta sheets as they dried on the veranda railing. Ollie skillfully applied bronzer to my face, and I made Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa and Rocket.




What you need:
2 to 3 corn cobs or 2 tins of good canned corn (Don't get the cheap stuff. Pay the extra p's)
1 or 2 eggs
plain flour
salt and pepper
chopped spring onions or chives

Shave the corn from the cob into a big bowl (or drain the canned corn).
Break the eggs into the bowl and razz it with a fork. Splash a bit of milk or soy milk into the mix.
Add spring onions and salt and pepper.
Sprinkle some flour into the mixture. Mix well. Keep adding flour and soy milk, mixing until it's all battery. It shouldn't be too thick or too runny.
Heat a frypan, when hot, add a splash of oil.
Add two tablespoons of the mixture to the pan and shape roughly into a round - make them too big and you'll find the flipping manoeuvre difficult.
Repeat, but don't overcrowd the pan. Turn down to a medium heat. After a little while, flip the fritters and cook the other side.
Keep warm on a plate in an oven on low heat.

While all this is going on, cube a couple of avocados into a bowl. Cut open some tomatoes, scoop out the pips and slimey bits. Chop, and add to the cubed avo. Rip up a big handful of basil leaves and throw them in too.
Mix gently with a fork. Squeeze a lemon over the mixture and some salt and pepper. (If you don't have lemon, balsamic is also good)

Serve the salsa on or next to the fritters with a handful of rocket.

Some other things you can throw on the plate:
Cooked baby spinach
A dollop of sour cream
a few teaspoons of pesto

Eat whilst comtemplating Oliver's ponytail, and listening to the sound of crashing waves.