American, Americano

It’s a two-fer! You get a drink, and a dish. An some random facts about me.
The “American” salad got me thinking about this here country, which got me thinking about race issues, which got me to pondering how I seem to have an affinity for being the minority, which is somewhat of a feat for a white girl from the Midwest.
I grew up in a school where being white put me in the minority. In college I played taiko drums, so I hung around a lot of Japanese folks. I acted with the St. Louis Black Rep (token white chick?). So when I moved to LA I moved to Koreatown because it felt good to be in the minority. Now I’m just East of K-town, almost downtown, in a pretty diverse neighborhood.
In general I think I am accustomed to not quite fitting in, to the point that I am actually more comfortable feeling like I am not blending in.
The exception being a trip to, say, Whole Foods, where white English speakers abound but no matter how nice I thought I looked before going I will never measure up to the super-hip clientele in all their lululemon glory. I may be in my demographic but I’m itchy as all get-out.

I get my chia seeds and run.

Safely at home I might just mix up some nibbles. And an almost-a-Negroni drink to make myself feel better. Which is inevitably dumped out before I’m done because I cannot drink too much alone. Nor should I drink whilst trying to chop potatoes for a nice potato salad and simultaneously working on scenes for an audition.

And so it goes.

Americano from The Ultimate Bar Book by Mittie Hellmich
1 1/2 oz. Campari
1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
3 oz. club soda
Twist of lemon peel
Twist of orange peel
Stir Campari and vermouth over ice, strain into glass of ice. Add club soda. Stir. Twist peels over and drop in. Salute. And salud.

American Potato Salad (adapted from The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition)

1 pound potatoes (not the starchy type)
1 celery rib, dice dice baby
A couple Tbsp. diced bread and butter pickles
6 Tbsp. reduced fat mayo
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. brown mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle of dried parsley
Boil taters in salted water until cooked. Drain, chop into whatever bite-sized means to you. Toss with remaining ingredients. Put in fridge until cool.

Purple ftw

First off, eat at Jar. Even if you are a vegetarian, perhaps even vegan. The vegetable sides are brilliant.
Second(on? off?), be adventurous. I do not like sweet potatoes. I saw purple Okinawan sweet potatoes on the Jar menu and decided to throw caution to the wind in the name of purple. I like purple though I do not know that I will wear it when I am old. I’ll probably still be in black. These do not taste like potatoes or sweet potatoes. They taste fantastic.
Thirdly, frequent a Korean market in Koreatown in the fall/winter and find yourself some of these. The California Market is the only place I’ve found these gems. Do not be afraid. Koreatown will not bite. And I need some visitors over here on the more easterly side of LA, I’ve been trekking west far too much these days.
I’ll stop whining.
Lastly but hardly leastly, nor yeasty, bake these up and serve with a sprinkling of fleur de sel. Don’t attempt the mustard aoli dip you see in the background-it was a bit of a fail.
I imagine some Bearnaise would be smashing, though.

Do you like foods better when they come in a cool color?