Recipe: Garlic & Cherry Tomato Sauce

This is an easy recipe. It makes enough sauce for two or enough for one plus next day.

Cherry tomatoes simmering with garlic

After simmered, everything is blended into a sauce

Grilled Summer Squash with Garlic & Cherry-Tomato Sauce,
topped with Basil from the garden.

Recipe:

1 Basket of Cherry Tomatoes
3 Cloves of Garlic (more or less if you like)
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt to Taste
Chili Flakes to taste (Optional)

Cut tomatoes in half (or I just like to squash them when i add them to skillet, be warned of getting juiced!) Add tomatoes to large skillet with garlic sliced thinly with the olive oil. Sautee on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until tomatoes soften. Add Balsamic Vinegar and Sautee a few more minutes until vinegar starts to absorb into tomatoes. Add 1 cup of water, oregano, salt, chili flakes. Let reduce by half. Add one more cup water, let reduce by half again. Remove from heat and let cool. Put in blender. Puree into a sauce. Pour back into sauce pan. Put over pasta or veggies.

Recipe by Larimie Garcia for GrowlerEats.com

Rambutan in Silver Lake

Rambutan in Silver Lake is an average Thai restaurant with a great atmosphere of bright orange and acidic green The tables are sparse with white plates and accents of colorful chopsticks. Everything is pretty good but nothing was a total standout for me.

The Summer Rolls were refreshing and the peanut dipping sauce made me want more. The Pad Kee Mow aka Drunken Noodles was very good. I've normally had it with a light coat of gravy, but at Rambutan they do it two ways. You can get it "dry" with a light coat of gravy like I normally get. But the best option here is to get it in a bowl with gravy to the brim. It does make the noodles extra slippery and you may need to master your chopstick skills. I got some gravy in my eye when the noodles slipped away from me. The Crying Tiger beef neither made me cry nor feel like a tiger. It was a simple flank steak grilled almost perfectly, but by itself had little flavor. It's all about the sauce. It's sweet and tangy and a little onion-y. It kept reminding me of flavors in Mexican Salsas.

RAMBUTAN THAI
2835 West Sunset Blvd
Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA
213-273-8424

Thai Iced Tea

Summer Rolls

Summer Roll

Pad Kee Mow

Crying Tiger Beef

Jasmine Rice

My Favorite Scent

Oh the sweet scent of the Champaca Alba aka Michelia Tree. It smells incredible. I'm so fortunate to have one in my neighborhood that I try to pass everyday on my  way to Sunset Junction. I can smell it a block away. These are the fragrant flowers of the Champaca Alba.

Watermelon Kicks

Watermelon Shoes for Kids by Vans

If I had a little kid, I would so let them rock these watermelon shoes. These awesome shoes for kids are made by Vans and available at Undefeated shoe store in Silver Lake (Los Angeles).

Lykke Li & Danger Dogs

Lykke Li broke my heart and put it back together last night. She brought down the Wiltern with a black and white stage show with one exception. "Rich Kid Blues" had the stage washed in red lights. After the show, I grabbed a Danger Dog and this incredible train of hot dog carts waiting outside.