A Books & Bakes Chechen Feast

That's what I looked like several hours before last night's Books & Bakes, mainly because Saint Mirtha wasn't there yet to help me and also because what the hell was I thinking when I decided to concoct a Chechen menu?  Here it is:

Moscow Stinger

Eggplant Walnut Dip with Lavash

Sliced Radishes with Yogurt

Dates and Almonds

Yogurt Cream Soup with Herbs

Vegan Stuffed Grape Leaves

Beef Manti

Chechen Peppers and Mushrooms

Halvah Ice Cream

Dark Chocolate Sauce

Salted Peanuts

It was actually not entirely Chechen, but I stuck pretty close to the cuisine of the Caucasus with some Russian and Armenian borrowings. The Moscow Stinger was a very bracing cocktail made of vodka and white creme de menthe, shaken and poured over ice. I ran around Los Angeles visiting several liquor/package stores to find the white creme de menthe. I am being perfectly honest when I say that I have never been to a liquor store in Los Angeles -- not because I'm chaste or a teetotaller, but  -- you know -- any liquor that I drink is usually already at my house and has been there for at least fifteen years or someone brings it to a party. I found a very dusty bottle of the stuff at a place on Melrose and Vine, and it cost $7.99. Frankly, it might have been mouthwash (and I imagine mouthwash costs a hell of a lot more), but the combination of the vodka and that was bracing and very refreshing. We all had a swig or two while eating the eggplant dip and admitted that prior to reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomenoa, none of us had the remotest knowledge of Chechnya beyond the vague wars fought there and the recent brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon. If you haven't read Anthony Marra's novel, you must. It's a novel in which you can get lost -- lots of tragedy and drama and horror -- but it's also a novel of hope and dark humor. You will learn about Chechnya. It does feel a bit odd to be celebrating the food of the region and exulting in Marra's writing, particularly as the events and story described are so brutal and so far removed in any real way from our own. We talked about that, about the presumption and pretension of it, about the relatively pampered lives we live here. There's no getting round that discomfort, I guess, and I don't have any wise words to do so. I am grateful, though, to love like I do the words of others, for my eyes to be opened to places and situations that are different, true, but that also shed light on what it means to be human. 

That's a whole lot of cliche and folderal, though. Here's the food:

Denise wrote a wonderful blog post about last night. Read it here.

Weekend Recap: A Bit About Guns, Neurology, Meyer Lemons, Books, Food and Burkas

Driving Meyer Lemon

Those are some Meyer lemons that I picked off my friend Jenni's tree yesterday afternoon, after I dropped Oliver off for a birthday party. He finally got to do that airsoft gun thing and, of course, had a blast. He told me that there were some creepy people dressed all in camo running around. Grown men. He said that I would have taken one look and walked out. He knows me well. He asked whether he could go again with Henry, and I said that I wouldn't pay for it or drive them there. Ever. Would I let them go if they paid with their own money? Why, yes, I would, at this point. I figure that if I don't let them do these things, they 'll do them all the time when they get older. They might actually be that grown man in camo running around in Lawndale, California pretending to be a soldier.

Anyhoo.

Later this week, I'm participating in the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles conference/summit. On Friday, I'm sitting on a panel with a few other people to discuss CBD in front of a whole bunch of neurologists and physicians. The other participants include an eminent male neurologist from UCLA, an emergency room physician who is also a father of a child with epilepsy and a woman who has something to do with Realm of Caring, I think. The UCLA neuro is in charge of the show and sent over a suggestion for how the panel discussion should proceed. I am evidently first, and he listed my name like this:

1. Start with strictly parent viewpoint - Elizabeth -- I'm assuming you're not involved in research or healthcare.

And so on. Reader, I had to do it. I had to respond with my characteristic thinly veiled irritation. The veil is, of course, irony and black humor. I'll give a fabulous prize to the first person who guesses why I was irritated and what I might have said. I should add that The Neurologist is a great guy, that he responded to me appropriately and with great humor and that we are all looking forward to the weekend. If you remember, the last time I spoke about CBD, I was told that it was as if a bomb had been let off in the room. Maybe this time I'll wear a leotard and light sparklers. On Saturday's Family Day, I'll be with my peeps, showing the Extreme Parenting Video Project that I made some years ago with Erika and Phil and talking a bit about the journey I've been on with Sophie since she's been diagnosed. I guess I should wear the leotard to that event as well, or maybe a burka to suggest the complete erasure of my identity over the last two decades.

What did you do today, Reader? I did some more purging -- lots and lots of it. Frankly, though, my room still looks like the same, cluttered somewhat bohemian space it looked like before. The Barbie closet is sleeker, though, and I threw out a lot of papers. I flipped through some old journals and had to talk myself out of a deep depression. Suffice it to say that there is nothing new under the sun.

I forgot to tell ya'll about Friday night's Books & Bakes. I think it might have been the best one ever. We talked and laughed about John Lanchester's really great novel The Debt to Pleasure. It'd be hard to describe it, but think travelogue, murder mystery, erudite food criticism, recipes, laugh aloud wittticisms and a creepy serial killer. Here's what I cooked:

Provencal Fish Stew
Toasted Baguette with Aioli
Roasted Tomatoes with Farro
Green Salad
Espresso Creme Brulee

Here's what we drank:

Lillet
Pimm's Cup
Rose Wine
Water

The next book for the salon is Anthony Marra's A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. It's happening on April 17th at 7:00 pm. Please come if you can.

Love,

Strictly Parent Viewpoint Elizabeth