The page has turned

It's officially October and time for the Countdown to Hallowe'en to begin!

Being born and raised in Los Angeles, I've never been anywhere else for Autumn, but I hear all about bright orange and red leaves and apple cider smell and crisp cool mornings.

Here's my ode to Autumn in Los Angeles.

There's nothing like the smell the Santa Ana winds coming in and setting all of the foothills ablaze so that the sky is pumpkin orange and cobweb gray and store-bought tombstones floating down the street with each gust of wind.

The sight of teenagers wearing their Ugg boots and shorts and a plaid scarf, pretending that the mornings are crisp and cool, but it's actually 88 degrees and they're just desperate.

Pumpkin "patches" popping up on deserted corner lots with petting zoos and $30 pumpkins because they had to be trucked in from Central California. The lots will shortly turn into Christmas tree fields filled with flocked and bedazzled trees of every sort and then back to dumping spots for torn couches and stained mattresses.

Trader Joe's shelves emptied of their "This pumpkin walks into a bar" and pumpkin cake mixes. Every denizen ready for the onslaught of pumpkin spice lattes on another warm Hallowe'en night.


I personally love all of this. It is my favorite, my sacred time of the year.
I wish you all a very Happy October all!!!

12 weeks 'til Hallowe'en :)

Yes, I am back again for a number of reasons:

1. I just got back a ton of time at work because I finally hired someone and she started and she's great and I'm not doing 2 jobs anymore!!!  Yay!!!
2. So much has happened.
3. I feel like writing again.
4. Hallowe'en is 12 weeks away and I'm planning on participating in CryptKeeper 2013 and if I don't get started writing now, I'll never build up to writing again on October 1.  

So here I am!!!

Catching up:

• Last September my in-laws moved into our house for 3 months. It was a difficult time. Let's leave it there. They moved out on New Year's Eve. 
• 2013 started very well and all has been going along swimmingly. About the first thing we did was get a dog. Her name is Mitzi Francesca Landsman, but I tend to call her Schmookieface. Michael calls her Mitzidoodle, the Wonder Poodle. She's AWESOME! I don't know how we found such a special dog, but I think she might be the best dog I've ever met.  Ever.
• I grew a billion cucumbers, tons of lettuce, a million tomatoes and 4 watermelons. I killed a ton of garlic and I have killed the dill again. I planted artichoke and while it produced chokes, I thought I'd give the plants some time to toughen up so I cut them off so the plants could grow. We'll see if that works. Also, I bought a fejoia tree and it is producing!!!
• I canned 200 pounds of loquats into every form I could think of.  Next year I'm going to ask for help. Also, I'm probably going to make some kind of liquor next year, because it seems everyone wanted loquat liquor. 
• I got two new chickens!!! Michael named one Marsala and my sister, Shannon, named one Super,
  
  after the cartoon.  I kept trying to tell her that SuperChicken was a rooster, but she didn't care.
• We went to Alaska for the last week in July and had a fabulous time. I went snorkeling. In Alaska. No, Michael didn't join me snorkeling because he's bok, bok, chicken!!! He stayed on the ship and napped. Wev.

I'm attending the Scare L.A. Hallowe'en Convention this weekend, August 10 and 11. I'll be spending a ton of time working the Southern California Valley Haunters booth, which I recently joined and LOVE. I can't believe I get to dress up for Hallowe'en in August.  I plan to take a billion photos.

BY THE WAY....Did you know that cameras can become obsolete because the batteries are no longer made and buying the special batteries online costs about 1/2 as much as a new camera?  Well, it's true.  And it sucks. So I need a new camera. Before Sunday...Grrrr.

So there it is folks.  My update for the past 10 months. Whew.  

Los Angeles Events

While I generally am a cranky bitch when it comes to crowds, one of the things I love most about L.A. is the community.  There are cultural and community events every weekend and it's often a tug of war to decide whether to attend a festival, event, meeting, opening, or stay around the farm. Also, we're so diverse here in L.A. from the smell of carne asada wafting from every carniceria to the Greek Festivals that seem to be held every month at some church or the other to the festivals for agriculture, books, countries of origin, religion,  flea markets and films -- we've got it all.

While I can't or won't always attend an event, I often wish I could tell my peeps about upcoming activities.  L.A. Ell used to do this but she isn't anymore, therefore, a prominent feature of Bluestocking Farm, the blog, will be a calendar of events.  I was thinking that I would post events on the sidebar or a new page so that those of you reading from beyond L.A. won't have to be bothered with the goings on of our fair city. Tell me what you think.

For now, here's what's going on this weekend in L.A. and surrounding areas.  Get outside! It's the first weekend of summer!!!


Saturday, June 25
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Drive on out to the Valley, NoHo in particular for the NoHo Rocking Food Truck Fest and Flea Market featuring Ta Bom, Slap Yo Mama, Komodo, Truck Norris, Da Munch Box, Waffles de Liege, The Greasy Weiner, Sweet E's and more!  You know you'll love it!! And it's for a fundraiser for Hope for PAWS animal rescue!


7:30 p.m. Gates open at Cinespia for a screening of The Warriors at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Grab your picnic dinner and your best leather vest and snuggle up next to a mausoleum for a night of New York youth gang life in the '70s.  DJ is TBA.


Sunday, June 26
10:00 a.m. Kickstands up for the June Oedipus Motorcycle Club ride. The last Sunday of every month, this 53 year old gay motorcycle club rides through the hills around Southern California. This month Ojai and Frazier Park.  It's a long one but it's going to be a beautiful weekend.


11:00 a.m. Backwards Beekeeping meeting at the new Atwater Crossing. Interested in beekeeping? Want to help protect bees? The meeting is fun and Kirk Anderson, founder of Backward Beekeeping is a quote a minute kinda guy.  Love him. Also, if you happen to know of a swarm in your area, they'll come take it away for free and give it to someone who would like to keep bees rather than exterminating it!  Call the Bee Rescue Hotline at (213) 373-1104.

1-3 p.m. Pasadena Food Swap at Orange Grove Park in South Pasadena. Diversify your pantry while meeting your friends and neighbors!

2-4 p.m. Santa Monica Food Swap at Salon Vert in Santa Monica - like a Silent Auction and a Potluck had a baby! 

Know of any other events?  Let me know and I'll add them to the list!

Home cookin'

My grandmother's name is Bubbles.  I'm not kidding. I didn't know until I was nearly a teenager that she had another name. My grandpa's name was Babe. Babe and Bubbles. My grandpa died a few weeks ago and we miss him a bunch.  He was a really good guy.  He loved bowling, playing golf and pool and his grandkids. He was born in Boston, but came to L.A. at 7 months old and grew up with his Orthodox family in the West Adams neighborhood, with 3 brothers they called the little Capones. One day I'll tell stories about the little Capones running around L.A. Needless to say, they got into a heap of trouble.

Grandpa Babe, Grandma Bubbles and mom, June 1946, West Adams, Los Angeles CA.

My grandma also came to L.A. as a baby. They moved to the Edendale area and then all over the place but eventually ended up in the Fairfax neighborhood.  Grandma went to Fairfax High school and grandpa went to Dorsey. Which makes me a 3rd generation Angelena; something I'm pretty proud of.  Anyway, my whole damn family lived in L.A. growing up. Great grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, crazy-ass third cousins removed a couple of times and they all came to family events. If the event was at brunch time, this dish was ALWAYS served.

I'm not sure where my grandma got this recipe originally, only that when I was a very young child in the 1970s I did not like it.  I can't imagine why as it is basically eggs, cheese, butter, some more cheese and Ortega chilies.  Perhaps it was the chilies. I've grown up since then and now I love the hell out of it. It is also super easy to make. Basically you mix all the ingredients and throw it into the oven.

There is some seriously cheesy goodness here.  It couldn't be made vegan by any stretch, but it is very easily made gluten free and you can't tell at all.  I've made it GF before and other than sticking to the pan a bit, it tasted no different. I can't imagine how it would stick to the pan as there's about a ton and a half of butter and cheese, but it did.  I've included the GF measurements in the recipe as well. By the way, this recipe can be modified 8 ways to Sunday. Feel free to make all kinds of substitutes, I'll include some below, hell, mix in some bacon if you're feelin' it.

 Enjoy!

Chili Egg "Souffle"

10 eggs (or an even dozen if you want)
1/2 cup flour (or GF flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
16 ounces small curd cottage cheese (or regular curd, fat-free, full fat, whatever, it still tastes good)
16 ounces shredded jack cheese (or half jack and half mozzarella or cheddar or whatever you have)
1/2 cup butter (or less if you want, but it doesn't get as crispy on top)
8 ounces diced green Ortega chilis (canned)

1. Beat eggs until a light lemon color. Add everything else. Mix up with a fork or your KitchenAid or whatever you have to mix with.

This is what it looks like going into the oven.

2. Pour into a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish (or two smaller ones). Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until top is brown and center is firm. Serves about 12 or so.

This is what it looks like hot from the oven for brunch with some cheap champagne.