In which I express my outrage...

...at Panda Express!

Last night I was so beat and the weather so uncomfortably hot that I just didn't feel like cooking so I went to Panda Express for something to go. The reason I go to Panda Express is to chow down on their tofu and eggplant dish. I love it! Yeah, ok, I do like the orange chicken too but I really go there for the tofu and eggplant. Well, imagine my surprise when they told me they don’t make it any more…again!  They took it off the menu once but brought it back and now it is apparently gone forever! I told the kid behind the counter, if anyone cares, could he mention that I am very unhappy about the decision to remove my favorite item...again. Cry me a river, I am so sad  L.

Speaking of the weather, it was so hot and humid last night. I took cat naps all night long and woke up exhausted. I actually got up at 3:30 in the morning to go sit in the patio where it was only slightly cooler than the house. When I got back to bed, I flipped on the TV and caught the Olympics.

 

I happened to tune in to a marathon through the streets of London a city that fascinates me (a topic for another post). 

When I finally got out of bed, I had to take a couple of aspirins and sleepwalked with the dog through the ‘hood. We got an early start like 6:15 and you won’t believe this but all the neighbors were up walking their dogs, doing their chores with the same thought as me, let’s get things done before the day heats up! San Diego has such a mild climate that when the summer heat hits we are such pansies.

I started this post on Saturday and here it is now Wednesday the 15^th and I find it is Julia Child’s birthday – Happy Birthday Julia! She would have been 100 years old.

I have been a fan of this woman for years. One day I hope to make it to the Smithsonian to see Julia Child’s kitchen and the famous peg board that holds her pots and pans. Not a fancy kitchen by any means but quite a functional one and one that was host to many well known chefs that cooked and baked with Julia on PBS.

Julia, the Great, in her kitchen

When the book Julie/Julia was published I was first in line to pick it up. The premise of the book sounded like a great idea. Unfortunately for me, the hype did not live up to the actual product. I thought the book was horrible. A far better read is My Life in France which Julia co-wrote with Alex Prud’homme. 

The lady had a sense of humor! Julia and husband Paul.

When Julia was a regular on Good Morning America (I think this was sometime in the 80s) the group visited Italy where she made panzanella, the Tuscan bread salad. I was blown away as I had never heard of anything like this before. Who would want to eat a salad made out of bread?

Charlie Gibson, Joan Lunden, Joel Siegel and Julia Child

Well, I did eventually try it and in fact I would like to share a variation on a theme of that recipe. Here is a panzanella salad made with cornbread. I don’t have any amounts listed I would suggest that you use your best judgment based on the number of people you are serving and as my mother would say…eyeball it! Good luck!

Cornbread Panzanella Salad

Sugar plum tomatoes (whole or cut in half)

Hot house or English cucumber (cubed)

Pre-made (or homemade) cornbread cut into cubes

Fresh basil (chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

One meyer lemon (zest and juice)

Throw all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy - it's quite good!

As Julia would say

BON APPETIT!