As I sort through a massive back catalog of recipes I've cooked and photographed for this here space, one thing is abundantly clear-- I eat a lot of tacos. Even before our venture out to SoCal, the land of tacos, I was on board. Perhaps it's because my dearest is gluten free and I love foods that are naturally so as well.

But it's more likely that tacos are just super fucking easy.
Like slap some tortillas over an open flame and fill with meat and put in your mouth easy.
And when the filling is made in the slow cooker, it's even easier.

These are up there with the cilantro chicken I made a few weeks ago-- the braised beef is so delightfully tender, and the combination of spicy jalapeños, smoky cumin, and tangy lime juice comes through in every delicious bite.

After averaging about a tamale or two a week since our arrival out to southern California, I decided a little while back I ought to learn how to actually create these little packets of doughy deliciousness. I was shocked that it's not really all that difficult, just a tad on the time consuming side. Regardless, these tamales came together in just a few hours one afternoon, and depending on your filling it could go even quicker. I used my bamboo steamer simply because I already had it, and found it works pretty great with these little square-ish tamales I folded. This was also the first time I used vegetarian soy chorizo as opposed to its fattier pork and beef counterparts, and it was truly great-- the same tangy spicy sausage you expect, but a lot less neon orange grease to drain. Coupled with some corn, some smoky adobo sauce and a red onion, and this filling made for highly addictive tamales.

It's been forever since I've posted just a set of photos. It's been a nice few months out here in sunny LA. We had a few visitors a couple weekends ago, and I've taken to frequenting Runyon Canyon with the dogs on a regular basis. Also, I met some cute puppies in my travels including a miniature siberian husky. Swoon.

I've gotten better about bringing out my camera on what seems like a boring afternoon. Some moments are just worth capturing.

Speaking of which, I upgraded to a Canon 70D this past Christmas, and the shutter bug is strong with this one. I can't stop using it, editing photos, and learning new tricks. Here's hoping my skills keep improving so I can share prettier and prettier photos here. Also, to all my northeast loves, I am sending you all the sunshine I got.

Hello!

I'll spare you a long story about this chicken. You should just skip to the recipe and photos below and know you're going to behold some of this green glory sometime soon. If you're one of those people that think cilantro tastes like soap, this is probably not your kinda thing. However, I will say this would probably be good with basil or parsley instead.

But really? Cilantro is delicious.
The dress was gold and white.
There are some things that are just facts.

I've made this chicken a couple times, most recently when Matt's brother was in town for a visit. He kept eating it cold, right out of the fridge, with his bare hands for days to follow; mumbling "best chicken of my life," as he chewed. So, this is for Jimmy.

Don't you want to eat cold chicken with your fingers like Jimmy?
Or maybe these tacos.




You know you do.

We've been calling North Hollywood home for about a year now.
Matt lived here-- back in the day, when us being together seemed like some far flung dream that could never come to fruition. There were just too many miles between us. But, of course, he sacked up, packed up, and moved to Boston for me in 2009. The rest, as they say, is history.

Except when we came west and started looking for a place, Matt was astounded and ecstatic to see what had become of his old neighborhood. Instead of one shady bar amid a stretch of thrift shops and car dealerships, in the seven or so years he was gone, so many establishments have opened their doors and welcomed in locals. One of the first places we discovered was EAT. I think I'd just come home from a business trip and was ravaged one morning, and hellbent on finding some sort of smoked salmon to put in my gullet. A cursory Google search revealed a few bagel places way too many minutes away-- and EAT, right on Magnolia. And they had other things like "scrambles" and omelets for my gluten-free fiance. Sold.

We were in Boston last weekend.
My cousin's wedding was a great reason for a quick trip back east. The event itself was gorgeous, and seeing all our friends and family was a wonderful bonus. The only thing that wasn't wonderful, of course, was the weather.
While it didn't snow while we were in town, and even though I was all too aware of what we were in for, the amount of god damn snow on the ground was positively astounding.

Don't get me wrong. I miss you all terribly.
But I am so glad we moved.

In honor of our visit to the arctic northeast tundra, I wanted to pull out and publish a lost file, if you will. I made this, photographed it, tested it, and wrote a great recipe for it right before we left Boston for LA last year.

But then we moved. Then it was hot. And then I didn't write about anything, let alone seasonally inappropriate soup.

But while doing inventory on photos and posts and creating a calendar, I realized I didn't want to lose this guy. So I decided I wouldn't. I hope it's starting to finally get toward Spring, Boston. I'm sending you all the sunshine I can.