About claudia

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So far claudia has created 181 blog entries.

SEXY AND SIMPLE AVOCADO SALAD

This recipe was inspired by Martha Stewart's Avocado Jicama Salad that I found in one of the only cookbooks I have ever used, "What to have for Dinner." The recipe was tasty. It consisted of avocados, Jicama, red onion, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, etc. etc. You would think that was simple enough for me? Not so much. My second bout of inspiration came from the avocado salad at Versailles, my old favorite Cuban food restaurant in Venice Beach, CA. Theirs consisted of sliced avocado, sliced white onion, white wine vinegar, vegetable oil and salt and pepper. MY AVOCADO [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:33:39-04:00July 7th, 2010|
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FANCY AN ALMOND?

Remember the days when the only almonds that lived in your pantry, came in a blue can and usually had a smokey taste? Those were some yummy little treats, and I still partake here and there, but we have come a long way in the almond world. I noshed on my first Marcona almond while living in Madrid about 12 years ago. Little naked almonds sauteed in olive oil and drizzled with sea salt. What's not to like? Peeled Spaniards  and Unpeeled Gringo I brought Marcona's back with me in my suitcase and sighed when I got down [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:34:36-04:00July 1st, 2010|
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TV DINNER

I don't watch a whole lot of tv and when I do, it tends to involve food. I learn by seeing. I enjoy cookbooks, but rarely make anything from them. A cook book with no photos is never opened. When I was in college and should have been studying, I spent all of my free time watching the food network. These were the toddler days of the Food Network and I could not get enough. I watched Sara Moulton sneeze into her hand and then touch the food, felt slightly uncomfortable when Emeril made sexual references about sausage and day [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:34:58-04:00June 25th, 2010|
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SHALL WE DANCE?

Good conversation is like a beautifully unchoreographed  dance where each person takes a turn leading and where being in tune with your partner is essential to a perfect result. Have you ever asked yourself what kind of conversation partner you are? Once upon a time, a very good friend told me that I was a bad listener, to which I replied: What? Que? Moi? Me? NO WAY. I am a GREAT listener. He had stabbed me in the heart with a rusty spoon. Ironically, I thought he was a bad listener, too. Are you thinking, what on earth does this [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:35:18-04:00June 15th, 2010|
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WHEN PUNK ROCK AND CHEESE COLLIDE

ME, ME, ME Will do. I didn't want to like this book. I went to a signing in Mill Valley. My friend said there would be good cheese there and I thought it might be interesting to meet a real life Cheesemonger. I love the "monger" part. It sounds like it is going to involve a giant or something. I arrived late to the signing. I think book signings are weird. Meeting an author is one thing, but simply getting a signature is sort of meaningless to me. Ok, so I arrived late, the cheese table had already [...]

By |2018-10-03T16:36:00-04:00June 9th, 2010|
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