32 : girl's night in

My BFF + fondue + wine + 4 kinds of dessert (since someone couldn't decide) + 3 movie options = one fun night

27 : mangoes

Mango. One of my hands down favorite fruits. When you get a good, ripe one in season it's one of the best things ever.

After trying to determine if the correct plural spelling was "mangos" or "mangoes" (many say both are acceptable, btw...however, blogspot tells me that "mangos" is incorrect), I ran across an interesting fact on Wikipedia...

Mango peel and sap contain urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy and can cause a rash and other side effects in certain people.

Yikes! Thank goodness I'm not one of those people.

20 : truffle salt

I love truffles...not the chocolate kind, but the "the fruiting body of an underground mushroom" commonly found by "truffle hogs", aka pigs kind.

So when browsing at UniqueLA's winter show, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to try Hepp's Gourmet White Truffle Salt. One tiny taste and I was in love. It's not as salty as you'd think given that it is in fact flavored salt.

A simple grilled steak finished with a sprinkle of truffle salt equals absolute deliciousness.

16 : first dinner

Seared Ahi...yum!

I used to love to cook. When I was younger I had a huge binder full of recipes and when my dad would come home, dinner would be started. When I lived with my long-time boyfriend, I cooked more chicken breasts than I want to admit (it was his favorite). But after the break-up, cooking for one just wasn't fun. It seemed like a headache and a hassle not to have someone to share it with. Sure, I cook occasionally, but not like I used to.

Luckily a trip to Whole Foods snapped me out of my funk, and for the first time since I lived in my new place (all of 2 weeks), I cooked myself an actual dinner. Nothing frozen or microwaved. And while it still is nice when there's someone to share it with, cooking whatever I want, not do the dishes right away, eating in front of the tv, and drinking a glass of wine with dinner, is pretty amazing.

02 : sushi happy hour

I always look forward to food adventures with my bestie. There are few things better than a good conversation over good food. And while we have quite a few places in our rotation, a sushi craving generally means a trip to RA in the Del Amo Mall.

Edamame, seared tuna, various rolls and sake sangria. Super yum. And you can't beat the amazing prices during happy hour.

Photo from www.rasushi.com