White Harte Pub and Planta Cocina

Ellie had been complaining for months about her MCAT exam. Between her long work hours, her boyfriend, and studying, things were starting to get to her. And it was understandable. The MCAT is an eight hours long exam with only a 30 minute lunch break. So, her brain was fried. Her stress even wore down her boyfriend, and when she was done, he was exhausted as well. After it was over, she and her guy went out, and got blitzed.

The next day, she wanted to celebrate with me. So, we went to her favorite pub, White Harte Pub in the valley, and had drinks.

The second celebration will be tomorrow. I’m taking my friend out to dinner to Planta Cocina in Marina Del Rey to celebrate her birthday.

I’ve already been here before. Their vegan sushi is yum. I have had vegan sushi in the past, but so far, this place tops them all. Here are some photos from the last time I was there. It’s a fun place to just kick it for a few hours, and perhaps even go for a long stroll before or after dinner. If you decide to go, you may want to skip their unmemorable drinks, and opt for wine or beer.

Dragon roll

Crispy rice – a popular dish.

Drinks – can’t even remember what we had, but it basically had no flavor, no alcohol, and tasted like water mixed with sugar.

Croquetas – so so. I didn’t care for the texture

1,000 Layer Crispy Potatoes – my favorite.

Truffle Kamameshi – yum.

And let’s not forget views, views, and views…

 

Copycat

 

A lot of people have no imagination and just copy what someone else does. It takes thinking and creativity to be original. I’d rather be an original than a fake. Even if this means that I may fail a lot before I succeed.

I have noticed lately that some people look at the photos on my blog, and then go and post similar photos. My posts are all original. I don’t go around looking to see what others do and then copy them. And if I do this, I make it a point to be obvious about it and say I got this idea from someone on the internet, twitter, Facebook or something to that effect.

Even my books are original. And I know that gets me into trouble oftentimes because reviewers don’t know where to place me. When I enter contests, there is often no specific category where my book could be placed. Even my first book is not just a “romance book.” But I don’t care. I don’t want to fit in. Fitting in is boring. As Gloria Gaynor says: "I am what I am, I am my own special creation." And I like to keep it that way. How sad it is for those who just copy.

I mean, it’s okay to research and see what others are doing to get ideas and to make your creativity flow, but to copy exactly what someone does is not cool. Anyway, that’s my rant for today. I’m just tired and am going to reduce my activity on social media and focus on my book.  

Oh, the Places You'll Go! and Raw-Vitalize

I bought two books last week. I finished one: Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss which I found out about by eavesdropping on someone’s video conversation 😉 Many of you have probably read the book. I read a lot when I was little, but I had never read anything by Dr. Seuss.

One of the reasons I got this book is my brother and I may be collaborating to write a children’s book, and I wanted to get an idea of how to write one. My brother made up this story which he used to tell his kids at bedtime. One day we were sitting in the kitchen of his house, and he told me about his made-up tale. I loved it. And the plan was to do a book together, but we never got around to it.

Even as an adult, I enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss’ book. There are some life lessons in there, and you can find a YouTube video on it, but I opted for the book because I love reading.

I received my second book yesterday: Raw-Vitalize by Mimi Kirk & Mia Kirk White. I got this because I have an auto immune disorder which makes life difficult, if not impossible, for me. It started in my twenties, but I was able to manage it. Unfortunately, it got much worse after my mom passed away, and I have been struggling with it since. Doctors tell me that there’s no cure, and my only choice is to take medications which may or may not work for the rest of my life. The medication causes cancer and other health issue. So, thanks, but no thanks.

There are a ton of people who talk about the raw diet, but I chose Mimi Kirk for two reasons. She too has an autoimmune disorder, but no symptoms. She says that it is because her raw diet helps her control it. Also, she is a good cook. I can cook, but I don’t’ know how to put raw things together unless it’s a salad, or a simple veggie dish. I’m looking forward to reading her book and trying out some of the recipes. This is going to be a process as I learn different tricks.

When the weather is cold, I prefer cooked food. But with summer around the corner, I think now is the best time to get started and get used to eating this way. I learned a lot when I took my mom to the Gerson Institute such as nothing is the same as eating live food. I learned that when I cooked food at a high temperature, I killed a lot of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. I also learned that a plant based diet is much easier on the digestion.

My snacks. I’m going to start juicing again, and to work towards balancing my days by having 80% raw, and some cooked food because I like herbal teas, and I enjoy socializing with friends and family.

I just want to feel better, and live life to the fullest. I believe that there are many components that contribute to good health such as taking care of our mental health by staying active, working, socializing, eating healthy, meditating, and letting go of negativity. Life is a journey, and we are always learning about ourselves, and the people, and the world around us.

 

Happy Sizdah Bedar, a Persian picnic

Sizdah Bedar is the 13th day, and the last day of Nowruz. It’s a day for family and friends to hangout.

People bring their sabzeh (sprouted wheat, barley or lentil), and leave it in nature or put it in a river at the end of their picnic. Men and women tie the grass leaf, in the hopes of findng a spouse. Others tie it to make a wish.

My family used to do a potluck, and one person always made Ash Reshteh, a hearty soup,because it was tradition. It’s made with a type of Persian noodle, lentil, chick peas, spinach and herbs, kashk – whey, fried onions and mint. It’s tasty, and most Americans like it.

  

They also ate other foods depending on who brought what to the potluck, based on the tradition when they were growing up.

Dorugheh Sizdah, the 13th Day Lie, is similar to April Fools' Day. You tell an exaggerated lie, and hope that the person you’re telling it to, has forgotten that it’s Sizedh Bedar and believes you. There are plenty of myths and stories behind this holiday, but truth be told, families just like to get together, shoot the breeze, have a relaxing day, and eat a lot of food.

 

With that, I leave you with the above Persian song titled Gentleman, by a pop singer named Sasy. This song is popular among the young American-Iranian generation. Basically, Sasy tells the woman that she is the love of his life, and the woman tells him that he is a gentleman. He tells her that he is grateful for all her gifts and phone calls, and that she’s sexy, and to shake shake her body, and to c’mon and dance.

Nowruz 2024 and Tradition

This is the second time I am writing about Nowruz, the Persian New Year in this blog. This year our gathering was low key because some family members were out of town and others were working. But a whole bunch of us are getting together this Saturday.

The above photo is Haft Seen, made up of seven items that start with the letter S in Farsi. Each item is symbolic of something. The Jujube is for love, Sumac is for sunrise and new beginnings, faux gold coins is for wealth and prosperity, the wheat germ pudding in the small container is for sweetness, the vinegar in the tiny cup is for age and patience, apples are for beauty, and garlic is for health. 

Non-S items are the Mirror for self-reflection, painted eggs for fertility, fish for life, a book of wisdom, and Candle for enlightenment. The writing on the candle says Happy New Year. The flower is a symbol for spring arrival.

My family makes fun of me because many of the items on my Haft Seen are not real such as the flowers, apples, garlic, eggs, and fish. But you see, they go bad by the day 13. Imagine eating cooked eggs that’s been sitting out for 13 days. Or forgetting to change the water on the flowers. And red apples are not my favorite type of apples to eat. As for the fish, Iranians put gold fish in a small glass jar as it goes round and round. This is completely inhumane and I refuse to do it. I’m missing Sabzeh, for rebirth and renewal, because I have misplaced mine. It looked like the one in the above photo. The real ones, made from sprouted wheat or barley, are finicky, and you have to know how to keep them fresh, or they don’t make it to the 13th day because they rot.

For my book of Wisdom, I chose Rumi. Some people skip this, some use the Quran (although this celebration is not connected to Islam), and some chose books by other poets. So, tradition has it that you put money inside various pages of your book, and you offer your guests to pull out one. Out here in the U.S, people use brand new $2 dollar bills, because they are rare. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any and used $5 bills. My brother complained because they were not new. The money is not for spending. You are to keep it for good luck, but I think nowadays people forget, stick it in their wallet and spend it when they need change.

Anyway, this year was the first year I celebrated Nowruz at my house. Nowruz Mobarak on the icecream cake means Happy New Year. This was my mom’s favorite holiday, and I think my dad liked it too. So, Nowruz is not like the New Year out here where it happens when the clock strikes midnight. Persian New Year happens when spring happens. So, it could land on March 19, 20, 21 or 22 depending on the vernal equinox. Also, it occurs at various hours such as 2, 3, 4 a.m. or other times. When we were little, my dad used to wake us up and make us sit by the Haft Seen as we watched the celebration on T.V. Sometimes we were lucky and new year started in the afternoon or evening.

Upon the arrival of new year, we had 13 days to go visit friends and family members to wish them happy new year. My dad used to make us do it all on the first day as we went from house to house. It is expected for younger people to visit older people or call them to wish them happy new Year. Older people buy younger people gifts or give them gold coins or money. Younger people do not give gifts to older ones. Nowadays, people don’t give gifts as much because of financial reasons.

So, my brother and Ellie came over to my place for dinner. My sister-in-law and my younger niece were out of town. I had a bunch of appetizers out. The above picture is a vegetarian salad olivieh, Persian potato salad. It tastes different than the American potato salad, but it’s really yum. The non-vegetarian has chicken in it.

Iranians are tea drinkers. So, you can’t just have wine or beer to serve with appetizers. You also need to make tea. And you don’t toss in a tea bag to give to your guest. The tea should be brewed and offered with something sweet, because some of the guests expect it. The sweets in the above picture are Persian baklava made with almonds and cardamom, chickpea cookies, and chocolate wafers.

Persian food takes a lot of time to prepare, and so, I don’t make it that often, or I just do a condensed version. But this time I cooked the long version. The above picture is of foods people typically eat during Nowruz – sabzi polo aka herb rice, tahdig, the bottom of rice made of crispy rice, lavash or potato, sauteed floured fish basted with eggs and saffron, Koo koo sabzi made with eggs, herbs, walnuts and barberries, yogurt with shallot, and a Persian salad with olive oil and lemon juice dressing. My tahdig didn’t come out all that great, but the rest came out pretty good. The popular drink in the bottle is dough made with yogurt, soda, and mint. Sorry about the meh food photography. My brother was hungry, dug in right away, and messed up my table setting before I could take a picture. And my niece carries her vape with her everywhere and sits in weird positions at the table. But that’s the whole point about close family – to be comfortable doing whatever around each other. We had a nice time, listened to music, and chatted.