treat week

I've been bad, eating out for lunch because I have not been packing lunches for work. But man, those sweet potato fries from Curry Up Now were good!

one hot mess

Cross-cut sweet potatoes, chicken chunks, and fresh onion are slathered in a strong tikka masala sauce. Though this dish has less food than the chicken tikka masala burrito, it's just as filling because the curry isn't diluted by rice... it tastes spicier. And that's just the way I like these fries (but as always, I wouldn't say no to more potatoes.)

If you want to try, order the "Sexy Fries." I have no clue how the name came about because I can't think of anything less sexy than eating this sloppy fry plate. Perhaps it's ironic, but not funny.

Visited Jamba Juice this week but certainly not for juice! I believe Wednesdays are $1 oatmeal days and I found it a fitting snack.

playing with oats...
brown sugar steel-cut oatmeal

Besides, cooking the oatmeal is supposed to kill all the stuff they neglected to wash off, right?

The past few Wednesday nights Oddjob has been coming over for a couple of hours while her Popsy takes a yoga class. She is fascinated by my bachelorette's mixed menu - from fresh fruit to frozen pizzas. This week I prepared a super easy "French" meal for her: Champs-Élysées salad (slivered carrots and radicchio) and a Tarte d'Alsace (what I call a French pizza, topped with ham, gruyere, and creme fraiche.) All items available from Trader Joe's and ready to impress eleven year-old girls who don't know better!

Easy to eat, easier to make.

Added some avocado and Caesar dressing, favorites of Oddjob. Oh, that girl loves her salad dressing.

On Thursday I met Tater for lunch at The Plant Cafe but alas! I forgot to bring my camera (shame on me, just what sort of blogger am I? I promise to revisit with camera in tow but for now, just take my word for it.) The goods are a few dollars more than what I like to pay for lunch but such is the premium for organic food served in the United States. The meat options are slim (chicken or tuna in a few sandwiches) so I gave in and got the vegetable-packed Spicy Red Thai Curry. The sauce was beautifully complex, savory and sour and a little spicy. And there were so many different vegetables - some I didn't even recognize - all cooked so there weren't any disconcertingly raw crunches during my meal. And might I say they serve some pretty nice rice.

Tater inhaled her Roasted Chicken Pesto Sandwich and White Bean-Garlic soup... turns out white beans make a red soup but it was still delicious.

Love the lemons and limes you can add (yourself) to the water (that you also get yourself.) The decor is clean and modern; Tater likened it to "a corporate feel in LA." My only complaint is the decibel level... when the cashier asked if it the meal was for eat-in or take-out, I yelled "credit!" Oops.