after a week conferencing with the archivists at UCLA, i escaped (and collapsed) to the desert near los angeles. it was hot, dry and dusty, and my couple of days were spent on the concrete at the municipal pool, lying on the couch, sleeping on the couch, lying on the deck and doing very little else.

this was the thank you dinner i cooked for my hosts. i finished my five week ‘escaping the ghetto’ tour with variations on the meal that i ate to start it. fennel salads became the bookends to the trip, neatly marking the time.

fennel and ruby red grapefruit salad
thinly slice 3 or 4 fennels, and finely chop the green furry tips
peel and dice a big ruby red grapefruit
mix the fennel and grapefruit together, add a few handfuls of kalamata olives, and dress with olive oil, lime juice, a bit of salt and pepper and serve very cold.

vegan zucchini fritters
grate 3 zucchinis, squeeze all the liquid out of them
in a bowl mix the zucchini, half a tub of silken tofu, a good hanful of breadcrumbs, chopped garlic, a bit of olive oil, tamari and some chopped furry greens from the fennel.
it needs to be fairly thick, so keep adding breadcrumbs till the consistency is together enough.
fry little fritters in oil until golden.
serve with salsa, sourdough and local beer.