What a week..I took a sick day on Wednesday as Steve was called down to LA for the neck biopsy and supposedly the larynx biopsy on Friday. Thursday was my birthday.
Neck biopsy didn’t go well. The Dr. or NP spilled the beans that the cells were “atypical” ie cancerous and she didn’t know where they were coming from so she took many samples. She mentioned that they may have metastasized . Of course Steve asked the questions and I wasn’t in the room. That was a real downer.
The VA put us up in a Travelodge near the hospital. Clean but dumpy. When they are booking the rooms, they call it "booking a bed"! Exactly! There was one electrical outlet that was so old my computer plug wouldn't stay in the socket. Since it was on their dime we made do.
We went out for a walk and ended up at the Westside Tavern on Pico Blvd, a nice walk down Overland St. The place was written up in the L.A. Times and we liked it so we came back for dinner.
The menu was nice, corn and heirloom tomatoes everywhere. We chose salmon on a bed of roasted corn with mushrooms and tomatoes, Burrata salad which is a fresh cheese with cherry tomatoes and balsamic viniagrette. Flat bread with a smokey cheese and guess what??? Heirloom tomatoes. Very good.
Thursday we had a free day and it was my Birthday! Off we went to Malibu with the top down on the Celica! We stumbled upon an area north of Malibu called Paradise Cove. I read about the mobile home park there. Some are going for $1mil each! It is so cool! We went into the parking lot to the beach restaurant and I saw a sign that said $3 for 4 hrs. get your parking ticket validated, perfect. We sat at a table in the sand and had 2 beers and just enjoyed the shit out of the little bay. I left the waiter $20. He validated our parking ticket. On the way out the parking attendant asked for $3. We wondered why when we had a validated ticket, he said "look at the sign", so we did: Parking $25 for 4 hours, $3 validated parking ticket with a $20 purchase in restaurant. We certainly had a good laugh over that one. Good thing I didn’t leave the waiter $19
Lunch was in order so we went back to the Malibu Pier as I had read about the renovation of the Beachcomber Café and the Malibu Pier restaurants. We sat on the deck and ordered a Turkey Club and a glass of wine from a “local" winery, Rosenthal, plus a beer for Steve. The views were great. It was a clear blue beauty day. Good people watching too. Parking was $14 upfront with a $10 refund when the ticket was validated. What a riot but we were not only in Los Angeles but Malibu to boot.
As luck would have it the Rosenthal Winery tasting room was nearby on the PCH. The waiter from the restaurant steered us in the right direction. There were 3 guys working the bar, 2 of them used to work at Wine Warehouse and sell Peachy Canyon wines, the 3rd knew our winemaker friend in Paso Robles, Hank Donatoni from the old home winemaker days. We were more than welcomed there. They explained that there is a Malibu AVA and they have all 250 acres of it. We saw the special Malibu shale that is similar to limestone. The wines were great and we took 2 home as well as cards, a poster and some Merlot chocolate sauce that was killer good. On the way back we got a call from Steve's brother, Scott, that he and his wife, Paula, were on their way up to L.A. to celebrate my Birthday. We had planned on an early evening taking in a movie so Steve would be rested up for his surgery the next day. Oh well. It would be a good diversion.
Back at the Travelodge we got a message on my cell phone from Dr. Duong, that the biopsy on his larynx was cancelled. He said they had enough information from the neck biopsy to make decisions. Both of us went ballistic. Steve broke down and cried because he thought they were writing him off and not giving him a chance to fight whatever this is. It was so sad and I tried to reassure him that they didn’t want to put him through undo pain when they didn’t have to. He took a shower to calm down and get cleaned up for dinner.
I called Scott and Paula and explained the situation. They agreed with me about the decision of the surgeon.. My brother Bobby called and Steve talked to him too. Bobby is a cancer survivor and knows what it is like to be kept hanging about the prognosis.
Steve was feeling a little better. We walked to the Best Western on Sepulveda where Scott & Paula were staying. THAT was a hike ,but we needed it. They welcomed us with open arms, wine and lots of reassurance that he wasn’t diagnosed yet and it may well be a benign tumor (it wasn't) etc. He felt a whole lot better. Napa Valley Grille was the "birthday dinner" of choice restaurant. It was fabulous. The waiter, Phillip had been there for 7 years. I worked for the restaurant company that opened it 9 years ago. Phillip said he remembered me ( sort of ) and treated us very well, comp appetizer, no corkage and a signature "Lava Cake" with a candle for my Birthday. I had the best corn Agnolotti with Chanterelles ever! Scott had Turkey Ragu papperdelle , Steve & Paula split a very good hamburger. Best Birthday, under the circumstances.
We drove back home the next day with future appointments at the VA the next week.
Lunch was in order so we went back to the Malibu Pier as I had read about the renovation of the Beachcomber Café and the Malibu Pier restaurants. We sat on the deck and ordered a Turkey Club and a glass of wine from a “local" winery, Rosenthal, plus a beer for Steve. The views were great. It was a clear blue beauty day. Good people watching too. Parking was $14 upfront with a $10 refund when the ticket was validated. What a riot but we were not only in Los Angeles but Malibu to boot.
As luck would have it the Rosenthal Winery tasting room was nearby on the PCH. The waiter from the restaurant steered us in the right direction. There were 3 guys working the bar, 2 of them used to work at Wine Warehouse and sell Peachy Canyon wines, the 3rd knew our winemaker friend in Paso Robles, Hank Donatoni from the old home winemaker days. We were more than welcomed there. They explained that there is a Malibu AVA and they have all 250 acres of it. We saw the special Malibu shale that is similar to limestone. The wines were great and we took 2 home as well as cards, a poster and some Merlot chocolate sauce that was killer good. On the way back we got a call from Steve's brother, Scott, that he and his wife, Paula, were on their way up to L.A. to celebrate my Birthday. We had planned on an early evening taking in a movie so Steve would be rested up for his surgery the next day. Oh well. It would be a good diversion.
Back at the Travelodge we got a message on my cell phone from Dr. Duong, that the biopsy on his larynx was cancelled. He said they had enough information from the neck biopsy to make decisions. Both of us went ballistic. Steve broke down and cried because he thought they were writing him off and not giving him a chance to fight whatever this is. It was so sad and I tried to reassure him that they didn’t want to put him through undo pain when they didn’t have to. He took a shower to calm down and get cleaned up for dinner.
I called Scott and Paula and explained the situation. They agreed with me about the decision of the surgeon.. My brother Bobby called and Steve talked to him too. Bobby is a cancer survivor and knows what it is like to be kept hanging about the prognosis.
Steve was feeling a little better. We walked to the Best Western on Sepulveda where Scott & Paula were staying. THAT was a hike ,but we needed it. They welcomed us with open arms, wine and lots of reassurance that he wasn’t diagnosed yet and it may well be a benign tumor (it wasn't) etc. He felt a whole lot better. Napa Valley Grille was the "birthday dinner" of choice restaurant. It was fabulous. The waiter, Phillip had been there for 7 years. I worked for the restaurant company that opened it 9 years ago. Phillip said he remembered me ( sort of ) and treated us very well, comp appetizer, no corkage and a signature "Lava Cake" with a candle for my Birthday. I had the best corn Agnolotti with Chanterelles ever! Scott had Turkey Ragu papperdelle , Steve & Paula split a very good hamburger. Best Birthday, under the circumstances.
We drove back home the next day with future appointments at the VA the next week.
September 13- A Somber Sunday Brunch
On Sunday, Steve didn’t want to me to go too much trouble for Brunch but I insisted it would be o.k. and I would keep it simple.
Omelets! It is a rerun of a former brunch, one that we loved.
Heat a little oil and butter in a small skillet. Saute 4 sliced Mushrooms, 1/4 c.chopped onions, 1 minced jalepeno pepper. Add 4 quartered cherry tomatoes and 1/4 c. diced ham. Shred leftover pieces of cheese: Jack, Jalepeno Cheddar and some goat cheese to equal about 1 c.
Omelets! It is a rerun of a former brunch, one that we loved.
Heat a little oil and butter in a small skillet. Saute 4 sliced Mushrooms, 1/4 c.chopped onions, 1 minced jalepeno pepper. Add 4 quartered cherry tomatoes and 1/4 c. diced ham. Shred leftover pieces of cheese: Jack, Jalepeno Cheddar and some goat cheese to equal about 1 c.
I think I finally have it down thanks to my go to "Breakfast Book" by Marion Cunningham. For each omelet, heat non stick skillet, add 2 tsp. butter, when foam subsides add 2 large, organic if possible, eggs which have been whisked with s&p , Tabasco and a little milk. I like to add milk because I think for some reason it tenderizes the eggs. I set up 2 bowls of the egg mixture ahead so I can do one after the other.
Let eggs set 5 sec. Draw back the edges with a heat proof rubber spatula and let the egg run underneath to set. When just about set, strew 1/2 of the filling and some cheese,over 1/3 of the omelet. Flip one side over with a spatula, tilt the pan and flip it, rolling it onto a heated plate. Sprinkle more cheese on and keep warm in the oven while you make the second omelet. Wahoo! They came out perfect.
To round out the brunch I made one of my typical fruit compotes splashed with the bubbly we were about to pour and served English muffins with peanut butter and my homemade peach jam. ( another recipe to come).
Sparkling wine du jour was Trader Joe's Crement Rose, a lovely sparkling from Burgundy, France.
We were in for the journey of our lives but I still had several more weeks of brunches left before we moved down to Los Angeles for Steve's treatments and we were going to make the most of them!
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