Scratch Cooking July 18

Hosting a 17 year old French girl is EXHAUSTING! I don't spend this much energy entertaining my own kid! Shopping, shopping, shopping on every possible rue in the greater Los Angeles area. Thursday night was a concert on the pier with my friend's daughter Alex who was a total sport and tried very hard to speak in French with Mallaury. They even road the ferris wheel together.

Friday night we were traipsing around Hollywood Boulevard until 1 am desperately seeking Johnny Depp's star. Tonight, a play. Plus, there is just the pure exhaustion of trying to speak French all the time. I am beat! Today, we are going to the flea market (marche de puce) and then Melrose. I can't wait until my daughter gets back and there is another young person to do the entertaining!

I did manage to get some cooking in, and Mallaury likes to cook, too, so that is nice. Tuesday night we went to the Hollywood Bowl to hear French composers and we made guacamole and home made tortillas which Mallaury learned to make like a pro! Also a salad with potatoes, green beans, hard boiled eggs and a vinaigrette of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mustard. It was simple but very good.

Thursday night I marinated some butterflied shrimp in olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and grilled them on the barbecue. I served with some rice and sauteed onions and greens from the garden. (Did I mention that Mallaury doesn't eat salad? We aren't sure she's really French!)

Last night we had a barbecue at Nina's and I made a couple of salads. One with lettuce and herbs and tomatoes from the garden. The other with a cut up watermelon, thinly sliced onion, cubed cucumbers, some goat milk ricotta I had made in the morning, a heavy sprinkle of salt, juice of 1 lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. I know watermelon in salad sounds gross, but it is addictive!

I also made some bread yesterday. Mallaury had never seen anyone make bread before (of course not, bread comes from the boulangerie!) so she was fascinated by it. First I made a sponge of 2 1/2 cups of whey (or milk or water) 2 packets of yeast, 4 cups flour and 1/4 cup honey. I let that rise for about 1 hour and then added 3 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups potato flour, 4 teaspoons salt and 1/3 cup canola oil. Let rise for another hour. Punch down and put in pans, let rise 30 minutes and bake at 350 for an hour.

Okay, it's back off to the races!