The Getty Villa

After touring the Getty Villa with Tony, our friend from Australia, we sat down to a bit of lunch before taking the long drive home. They have the usual poor ordering system you see in places like this...long lines at lunch time, with one register closed and one working. On a hot summer day at the height of the season, at lunch time, why would one register be closed? You look at a paper menu provided as you stand in line and decide on your order. There are no instructions about this..you have to figure it out.

The dining area is very nice - mostly outdoors with a view of the villa. I did like the old restaurant better because it wasn't so big. This is just one big space and not terribly attractive. It could be improved by breaking up the space but that probably wouldn't be architecturally acceptable.

The food was pretty good. I had a Primo Piatto which had a small panini, some roasted vegetables and greens and an awful bit of lentil soup. Richard had the panini of the day which looked good and tony had the Bruscetta Mista which was several slices of bread with mixed topping: Chunky tomato basil; preserved lemon and herb gloat hceese; parmesan artichoke.

Dinner at Chez Panisse

Chez Panisse.

Tension en route to CP. The freeway was unbelievably crowded and it took us at least 45 minutes longer to get there than we planned. When we arrived the lobby was full of people waiting for the dining room. We were whisked upstairs and seated immediately. The room was full.

It was Doug and Jan's anniversary dinner. I had pizetta with squash blossoms and scallions as an appetizer and for me, it was the best dish of the evening. Entrees were - me, local king salmon with sweet corn, zucchini and lemon-chili butter, Rich and Doug had the Grilled Wolfe Ranch quail with frisee and green bean salad and plum vinaigrette, Jan had the Mariquita Farms greens and ricotta crespelle baked in the wood oven with chanterelle mushrooms. For dessert, I had the wildflower honey ice cream with roasted figs and biscotti. Doug and Rich had the bittersweet chocolate pave with espresso cream and Jan had the peach tart with mulberry ice cream. For wine I had the Blanc du Puits Sec, Evesham Wood, Willamette Valley; Rich had the Vin du Pays, Cabernet Franc, Domaine de la Pepiere, France.

Summer Salads

King crab salad for dinner tonight! The corn on the cob is still very fresh in the markets and we've put a cob's worth of kernels in with the crab. An avocado, of course, some red onion and a chopped mango are the supporting actors. A dressing of blood orange juice, white balsamic vinegar and lemon flavored olive oil added enough additional flavors to layer the dish and make the flavor complex; drunk with a bottle of cheap leibraumilch which is icy cold and perfect on a hot and muggy summer evening.

Salads satisfy so many yearnings when you're hot and sticky. The textures of crisp lettuce crunch lightly in the mouth; a fruit, juicy and cold, adds sweetness and body; a bit of protein satisfies our minimized urge for protein when the temperatures soar. I like the dressing to be fruity atop a sweet/sour base to brighten the flavors and help keep the palate clean as you are eating.

This is the only time of year we use the ice maker in the refrigerator.

Laid Off

Brunch at Mimi's with a friend today. I haven't seen her in a very long time and enjoyed the pleasure of her company and Mimi's new item, Pototas . Well, the potato dish sounded much better than was delivered. It was a scoop of seasoned potato dropped in a french fryer. The outside of the potato was crispy but then they poured a rather thin salsa over the top and some cheese. The salsa sogged up the crisp potatos and there was far too much sauce.

All of this was secondary to my friends news of her husband. At the age of 54 years and a month, he was told that after 22 years working for his company, his job was being eliminated. 11 months more and he would have received full retirement benefits. They arranged something for him to carry him over until age 55 but it's a horrible job and he will be both exhausted and sleepwalking his way through it. The experience was a big shock to them both and they feel as if the rug has been pulled out from underneath them.

Into Thin Air

Our book club read The Time Traveler's Wife this month. The fictitious time traveler vanishes into thin air every 10 or 12 pages. When considering what food to bring, it struck me that something with a foam would be appropriate, foams having a propensity to vanish into thin air. I decided to baptize my ISI whipper and made the mango espuma from the recipe in the booklet in the package; it's also posted on the ISI website. As a host food, I made a panna cotta from blood oranges from our backyard trees, with heavy cream and sugar.

The foam was a bust! No air at all. The flavor of the mango sauce was good, but it just dribbled out of the nozzle like the trickly remains of water left in a turned-off hose. Obviously I need more practice with the device OR the recipe requires some improving. The process could certainly be simplified as it took too many pots and pans for the end result. First there was the mango peeling and chopping and the orange squeezing. Then these two had to be boiled together with the sugar. Next, pureeing the mixture and then pushing it through a sieve. Finally adding the gelatin, cooling, hand whipping and then filling the whipper followed by refrigeration for several hours. You could probably start with a mango juice of some kind, adding sufficient gelatin to achieve the right consistency and then blast it out. I'll try that next.

My fellow book club members were sympathetic and enjoyed the panna cotta even though the foam flopped. We recalled our various bad experiences giving demonstrations and the difficulty of handling a lot of equipment plus managing the on-camera requirements at the same time - following a multitude of directions, looking directly at the camera and still concentrating on the main task. I told them about doing egg demos for the egg commission when I got tangled up in mike cords; walked off stage dragging pans behind me and did other stupid things. The sisters told me about doing craft demos on camera - one of them had practised her schtick over and over but when she arrived at the studio, they told her she was going to have to do everything upside down on camera. Quelle Horreur. Somehow she managed but even though it was years ago, they have never looked at the video. At about the same time they hired a young woman to do some of the crafting on camera and she ended up just staring wide-eyed into the camera for the whole thing - like a deer caught in the head lights.

We all agreed that on-camera work is more difficult than it looks and that the most masterful people make it
look incredibly easy.

Next day report: after sitting in the refrigerator overnight, the mango espuma, espumed when dispensed. No audience. It was actually very good - light and airy - perfect for my lunch today over a nectarine.

Memories of an Asado

Could chimichurri cause insomnia? Dinner of skirt steak with the chimichurri - grilled peppers, parsely, onions and sliced tomatoes seems to have had a bad result. Chimichurri is a kind of Argentine salsa used primarily on steaks and it's characterized by an abundance of parsley. The other ingredients add to the flavor profile but it is overwhelmingly green in nature. I think it is somewhat of an aquired taste.

In Buenos Airies with our Argentinian friends we've enjoyed a couple of at-home barbecues or asados but I don't remember the classic chimichurri on the table. Ahh..the barbecues were wonderful events, with long tables set under the shade of a tree for 20 or 30 people. Huge platters of freshly barbecued meats, bife de chirozo - top loin or bife ancho - like ribeye, emerging from the parrilla one after the other. Bottles of wine, platters of vegetables and good bread. Most of what we will always remember is the conviviality. At one of these barbecues, our host was a dedicated Argentine patriot and should have worked for the Chamber of Commerce. He loved his country and enjoyed talking about all its splendor. At one point during dinner, he got out a map book of Argentina and used it to point out to us particular places of interest. Because of this lively, impromptu lecture, our next trip included Salta, a wonderful place.

At restaurants in Argentina we've ordered a picada or starter plate instead of lunch. This "plate" would typically consist of salami, ham, cheese, olives, potato chips and maybe bread. In Argentina, when it comes to food, nothing exceeds like excess, so the plates usually contained enough for a group of six and we regretably had to leave much of it behind after stuffing ourselves.

Still lurking in our refrigerator is a huge container of dulce de leche given to us by Lizzie iin BA. We had a wonderful dessert there made of thin layers of cake separated by layers of dulce de leche. It was absolutely decadent. More quickly disposed of, was a bottle of home-made limoncello hand crafted by Jose and made from a particularly special lemon he gets from some monks who live in isolation on an island near Argentina. To say it is delicious would be such an understatement. Ambrosia would be more fitting. My own home-made limoncello fares poorly by comparison. Perhaps my Meyer lemon tree could use a heavenly touch to improve the flavor.

Goodbye Sambuca

Last night I drank the last tiny bit out of the Romano Sambuca bottle. It was rather a nostalgic moment as I remember buying that bottle in Olympia Washington for a CEC project. The bottle and I have been together for well over a decade - small sips together two or three times a year. Frequently I'd turn to the Sambuca when a sore throat was bothering me, or a cold. The strong, harsh alcoholic liquoricy liquid was somehow soothing to the throat and to my psyche. Interesting that the drink is sometimes served aflame (photo from the web answers.com).

I was introduced to Sambuca by my good friend Bob Pierre, who was President of the egg commission for many years. From time to time after a business dinner, he'd order a sambuca with a coffee bean. After I tried it once, I agreed that it makes a splendid end to a good meal.

Over the years, I've sprinkled it over a rotisserie chicken (with anise in the cavity); used it in an omelet fillling; drizzled it over berries and poured it into coffee. If you like licorice, you will find it enhances everything. The basis of the enhancement is glyzzherin, a component of licorice which is a proven, effective flavor enhancer. It is a powerful sweetener, 30–50 times as potent as sucrose (table sugar). Chemically, glycyrrhizin is a triterpenoid glycosidic saponin with the systematic name (3-beta,20-beta)-20-carboxy-11-oxo-30-norolean-12-en-3-yl 2-O-beta-D-glucopyranuronosyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosiduronic acid. Whew!! The acid form is not particularly water-soluble, but its ammonium salt is soluble in water at pH greater than 4.5. Although sweet, the taste of glycyrrhizin is different from that of sugar. The sweetness of glycyrrhizin has a slower onset than sugar, and lingers in the mouth for some time.

In Japan, where concern over the safety of artificial sweeteners during the 1970s led to a shift towards plant-derived sugar substitutes, glycyrrhizin is a commonly used sweetener, often used in combination with another plant-based sweetener, stevia. However, glycyrrhizin appears to have some pharmacological side effects, and the Japanese government has asked its citizens to limit their consumption to 200 milligrams per day.

Sambuca Definition: Generic for a very sweet-yet-piquant clear Italian liqueur flavored with anise, licorice root and an infusion with elderberry in a neutral spirit base. Sambuca is similar to Anisette but with a higher alcohol content. The term Sambuca usually refers to the transparent version, although other versions exist such as black sambuca. The liqueur is prepared by the steam distillation of star aniseeds. The resulting fragrant essential oil is infused with neutral spirits, witch elder berries and licorice. Other natural flavors and sweetening are added. The origin of the name Sambuca is believed to be Arabian, likely an Italian version of Zammut, - the anise-based drink that first came to the Italian harbors on ships coming from the Far East centuries ago. Residents of Civitavecchia, a port city near Rome, already produced the anise-based liqueur and perhaps renamed it "Sambuca" for trading convenience; Civitavecchians still produce it in large quantities today. While popular in mixed drinks, the common and traditional manner of comsumption is straight, with coffee beans -- two or more depending on the locale. There are a number of respected sambuca brands on the Italian market. These include Sambuca Borghetti and Sambuca Ramazzotti. With 87% global market share, Sambuca Molinari is the overall market leader, though Sambuca Romano is the most popular in the United States.

Some of the cocktails that incorporate Sambuca and a link to
on-line recipes: http://www.drinksmixer.com/cat/2443/

Genoa Cocktail
Matinee Cocktail
Sambuca Coffee Frappe
Via Veneto Cocktail

Off to the market to buy a new bottle.....

Bourne Ultimatum

With our bellies full of one-half a delicious Chinese meal at the Peking Wok, we joined the throngs at the Bourne Ultimatum. The theatre was almost sold out for the 5:45 show and the audience was rapt for 90 minutes. You could have heard a pin drop in the theatre were it not for the incessant car crashing, chases and fights. The film is non-stop action and Richard loved it. I was less enthusiastic and gave it a 65. When I told Richard it was too unbelievable he reminded me that it is light summer entertainment and should not be expected to be anything near realistic.

At the Chinese restaurant we had pot stickers, piping hot and full of fragrant filling. The wrappers were just right, steamed on one side with a slightly crisp bottom where they "stuck" to the pot. Braised sweet and hot shrimp were perfect and served almost sizzling - shrimp just cooked and the delicious tomato, ginger, onion sauce clinging to every morsel. Our waiter was fast and efficient and we got out of the restaurant and over to the movie just in time. During the film, Richard munched on his fortune cookie. When we got home, there was just enough shrimp and fried rice left for the other half meal.

No food was consumed in the Bourne Ultimatum. Spies and bad CIA guys don't eat - they live on cheap thrills and adrenaline. There was plenty of blood shed - Jason bleeds in every second scene. I certainly hope he takes plenty of iron supplements before Bourne number 4.

We are so pleased to have a good Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. So apparently is everyone else because the place is nicely crowded whenever we've gone. We wish them much success.

Hawk on the windowsill

A loud thump in the dining room got my attention quickly. I ran in to see what had fallen off the wall. Nothing. But there was a hawk sitting on the outside window ledge, beating his wings against the window, totally disoriented and squeaking in pain? Cconfusion? I could hear an answering squeak coming from a nearby palm. Could that be a mate or is the hawk on the windowsill a youngster learning to fly? It looks small so perhaps it could be just a baby gone astray.

Hawks hang out on my roof regularly. The roof corner is perched on the edge of a slope which falls off into the arroyo, dark and leafy, home to many critters. The slope houses many rabbit holes, gophers and other small potential meals for a hunting bird. The hawk(s) wait patiently on the roof, spot their target and swoop down past the window, past my computer and drop down the slope, over the arroyo, sometimes into the neighboring grove and I lose sight of them. It's very dramatic and quite a show. I get to see this almost everyday. Sometimes I'm on the phone when this happens and I gasp to my callers surprise. I try to explain the drama but words usually fall short.

Baci RIP

Baci - the greatest cat.

Baci has left us. He was last seen on Sunday morning, looking good and acting normal. He didn't return for dinner and for Baci, that's serious. After much tromping through the grove, looking and calling we have to assume that he has died.

Baci was a great cat right from the beginning. Nancy and Richard bought him from a cattery back east and they fell in love with him immediately. They trained him well and he turned into a great, people loving, wonderful pet. Nancy trained Baci to come to the dinner bell and it worked well. He'd hear that bell and come running.

I only knew Baci for a few years, but I loved him. What a guy!! Richard would bring him over in the car to spend the evening with the girls. Ha. Baci hated Lulu and Squeakie but quickly surveyed the situation and figured he could assume alpha position easily. After one or two tentative visits while he was still sniffing things out, he formulated his strategy and on visit three, he roared in the back door making a great hissing noise aimed at nothing in particular. He'd rush up the stairs and the girl cats, totally amazed, got immediately out of his way. In short order, the routine was established...Lulu and Squeakie were shivering in the closet and Baci reigned supreme. He didn't sleep in the bedroom..sort of left it to the girls but he had the rest of the house as his own.

He was incredibly smart. I had a fence rigged up on the patio where I let Lulu out to take the air. She never tried to wriggle under the fence or climb over it. We tried Baci out there. Put him down behind the fence; he took a look around and immediately leaped over the fence. Lulu was watching him in amazement and you could almost hear her little brain saying, "Could I have done that?". I'd estimate he had at least twice the brain of the girls combined.

A very good hunter, he proudly carried many trophies home...a rabbit, snakes, gophers. He was athletic and a pleasure to watch on the stalk. We bought a little red light from a pet store and he enjoyed chasing that around the house. We liked to watch him track the light across the floor and up the wall, then across the ceiling, getting his feet in place and calculating for his pounce.

I called Richard the "cat whisperer" because he seemed able to do impossible things with Baci. He acted more like a dog with Richard than a cat. They worked together; Richard would load up the truck with his tools, call Baci to jump in and they'd go off to do chores. Richard kept the radio going in the car and Baci would either sit nearby and watch him or busy himself sniffing around, jumping up in the trees or hunting something down. For lunch, Richard would find an avocado and the two of them would crouch down like hairy cavemen and tear into the fruit..a bite for Baci and a bite for Richard. They loved to ride together on the bike, hair streaming behind them, Baci clinging to Richard for dear life. Up and down the slopes they'd speed around the grove.

A human could do just about anything to Baci - he was very cooperative about grooming. Richard could clip his nails - Baci sat quietly and let him do it. When he was combed with the fine flea comb, he purred. Any kind of touch or scratch would elicit a purr.

A walk in the grove with people was a big treat and whenever we were at the rancho he'd be ready to go! We'd get down about a hundred feet and he'd launch off to do his business; we'd hear him scratching out a spot in the leaf litter. Then he'd usually rush up a tree, feeling light on his feet and happy.

Above all things, Baci loved to eat! At dinner time, he'd be standing anxiously by his bowl waiting for the food. You could hardly get it out of the can and he'd be butting your hand away to get to the meat! If we were cooking anything at all, he'd be in the kitchen waiting for a crumb to fall or a tasty morsel as a treat. I've never seen a cat with such a lusty appetite. When Richard lived alone, he'd have Ahi once in a while and Baci loved the scraps from that meal. He also loved Richard's twirled chicken.

For his final two years, he had the dubious company of an unwanted sibling when Brini joined the household. They each found their place and seemed to have a truce established, if not a friendship.

Richard and Baci shared a special kind of masculine bond. Baci would show his affection with a head butt as in the picture above. Richard treated him not roughly but rather energetically and Baci loved it. Richard for instance would throw him up onto a branch of one of the avocado trees and Baci would catch on to the branch and looked like he loved it. He would ride around perched on Richards shoulders, ears pitched forward and that beautiful tail hanging down. They made a good looking pair together!

He will be eternally missed and we hope he rests in peace in kitty heaven.

Heat, Humidity and a dazzling smile

Arrggggh. The high humidity of Arkansas combined with the 90+ temperatures made it absolutely stifling. I arrived late Tuesday night and at 10:00 the air was sticky and thick. As I left my suitcase behind, I had to make a trip to the Rogers, Arkansas Wal Mart a new superstore, where I picked up grooming essentials and a few other items for flavor school. The store is very bright with nice wide aisles and good signage atop the aisles. At that time of night, there were still quite a few shoppers! My room at Embassy Suites was more than nice - a large living room with a flat screen TV - same in the spacious, comfortable bedroom. In the morning the shower was a treat with gobs of good hot water and a perfect hair dryer. Breakfast buffet is outstanding with plenty of choices of hot and cold foods, fruit and coffee. No complaints - but nor should there be for almost $250 a night in the middle of nowhere.

The Unilever offices at this location have grown from 15 or 20 people 7 years ago (last time I was there) to over 125 people. Everyone appears to be under 40 and I feel like a bit of a dinosaur among them. Young people treat me either with great respect and as irrelevant. The charming young man who is the team leader there couldn't have been nicer.

I would say the school was a success and the participants both learned a few things and enjoyed themselves - my goal. The Unilever people were happy that they had a chance to present the big blue U and interact with the decision makers in a slightly different environment than the usual buyer's meeting. I believe they will benefit greatly from the presentation. But is it worth it for me to do these things? It takes several days to pull everything together and then at least two days of my time for the travel and execution.

Incredibly, this time I left my suitcase behind. Pulled out of the garage and simply left it sitting by the car. I had gotten into the car and was distracted looking for the keys. Found them and pulled out without going back out to load the suitcase. I realized what I had done about three quarters of the way to the airport. Past the point of no return, I called Richard and caught him just as he was leaving the house. He rushed back and took my suitcase to Brian who taped it up and got it on UPS for early morning delivery. Thank God. It would be so embarrassing to have not been able to execute the school properly. I now will develop a list and a back-up plan in case. For instance I am going to mail everything ahead from now on. Then I will bring along a copy of the most crucial things in case the mail screws up.

At the Unilever offices they were having "semester" reviews...all these young sales and marketing people get to pretend they are still in college I guess. They were huddled in offices going over number after number and many of them confessed to me that they had pulled an "all nighter" getting ready. On these occasions, food is ordered in and yesterday it came from Chic-Fil-A which the Arkansasans love...it's a home-grown concept. So, for lunch I had
fried nuggets, fruit salad, veggie salad and gallons of iced tea which they provide. The nuggets were actually pretty good - not as salty as most and crisp enough to hold up for a couple of hours. For dinner at the North West Regional Airport, I had one of the really terrible eating experiences we all suffer through on the run. A piece of luke-warm limp pizza, cheese plasticized on the surface, nuggets of brown ground meat (which they called shaushage) and one paper-thin slice of pepperoni. About as bad as it gets, but it did keep me from expiring of hunger. Keeping my eyes open on the ride home was difficult.

Exiting the Ontario airport into the cool California night felt like being wrapped up in a familiar blanket and I appreciated with every bone in my body the walk across the airport to my car, without streams of sweat running down my sides and hair clumped up at the back of my neck. A young man in the ticket booth where you exit the airport gave me a dazzling smile which I thanked him for. As he turned around in the booth to run my credit card through, I noticed he only had one hand and the other arm ended in a stump about half way down. During the minute long exchange he told me he liked people, was always happy and grateful for life.

And I worry about leaving my suitcase behind.

Bars are not for old people

The family reunion was a big success. Unbelievably we encountered little traffic on the way up. Not a single slow-down on all the busy freeways between our home and Santa Maria. We stayed at a Radisson Hotel located near the airport in Santa Maria - hard to find, but quite comfortable. There was the inevitable wedding reception in progress and the hotel was full of children, running around the halls and crowding in and out of the elevators. They appeared to be having a wonderful time.

We went to the bar at about 9:00 to have a snack as dinner was served in mid-afternoon-we found we were hungry. The bartender was very personable and didn't blink an eye at our request to share a quesadilla and to share a beer - a Stella Artois which was very good - served at the perfect temperature, with a perfect head of fine bubbles in a frosty glass. Oozing with Jack cheese, dotted with spinach and chicken, the quesadilla appeared on a plate with microgreens, excellent guacamole, salsa and sour cream. We noticed they had a very nice list of central California wines by the glass and a tasting flight of 5 wines (3 ozs. each) for $14.00. A bargain and an opportunity to get a nice sampling of the local wines. It was too late after too long a day so we passed it up.

Visiting bars is not something we usually do, but this was a decent one and our only food option at that hour. A small unamplified combo played easy listening music providing a pleasant background for the room where the acoustics were pretty good. No clatter and we could actually hear ourselves speaking. How unusual is that? The patrons in the bar were an odd polyglot. There was a single drunk who wandered in and out muttering to himself. A couple who appeared to be Spanish, came in and ordered a beer each, downed them in about 5 minutes and left. Two men in their 30's, one Spanish, one not, came in and ordered cocktails, downed them and were out in about 10 minutes. One single guy sat at the bar and had two drinks during the time we ate and drank. Another pair of men came in and sat talking together and drinking slowly. No women.

The practise of rapidly belting down drinks puzzles me. My generation is likely the last of the cocktail "sippers". Bars, to us, still retain some of the hangover glamor of the 40's movies..places where the combo played, romances started, people met and fell in love - there was a patina of sophistication associated with frequenting them. Today's patrons view the bar as a "party" place. The contemporary version of a party consists of loud, loud music, drunken brawling, throwing up, public nudity and other vulgarities. The drinks pushed by the liquor companies reflect this attititude: Piece of ass, Fuk meup, Absolut Sex, Afganistany whore. They know their market.

As we age and we begin forgetting things AND our ability to retain information diminishes, the idea of voluntarily paying for alcohol to put us into a further muddle loses it's appeal. Bars are not places for old people.

Family Reunion

We're preparing today for the family reunion over the weekend. On Saturday, we have a traditional Santa Maria barbecue - tri-tip beef, chicken, beans and salad. Everybody brings a snack and their own beverages. We're making a tapenade of olives, capers, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and chopped herbs; a guacamole and some hummus. Richard is buying some bagel chips for dipping. For each hostess we're taking a basket of avocados and olive oil. We also take along a big loose bag of avocados for general distribution. On Sunday morning, we all go over to one of the cousin's vineyards, the Pretty Penny, where we enjoy pizzas baked in their outdoor wood burning oven, one after the other, after the other. They are so delicious -the best pizzas I can remember except for Italy, and the setting of the vineyard is wonderful. The house is at the top of a hill with the vines marching down the sides of the slopes and even though in July, it's beastly hot - it's still wonderful, sitting outdoors on their wide spacious patios enjoying the views. Our cousin takes the kids on tractor rides up and down the rows of vines which they all love.

There will likely be 40 or 50 people this year. The oldest will be Richard's Uncle Kelly, other than Richard's mother, the oldest living relative. Who knows who the youngest will be? Last year, there was an infant one of the cousins had adopted from their daughter. There will be an 80+ year life span represented.

City Chicken

We went to see "Buddy" last night at the Lawrence Welk theatre. During dinner with our friends, we were wallowing in nostalgia over our teen age years when Buddy Holly was the really big deal. The subject of mock foods came up. The ritz cracker apple pie was one dish Pam, Richard and I remembered and in fact, Pam had actually made it once. Joe remembered something they called City Chicken which was actually pork and veal, skewered and then baked in the oven. Pam can recall her mother making the dish for their family; Joe enjoyed it in the seminaryl The origin of City chicken (aka mock chicken) seems to have its roots in the Northeast. The definitive origin of the name continues to elude food historians although it may be related to chicken fried steak. (The photo is from the Detroit News, 2005)

The culinary evolution of City chicken:

"Mock" foods (foods that are named for an ingredient that isn't in the recipe) have a long an venerable history. Medieval cooks employed by wealthy families were fascinated with illusion food. The practice of calling one food by another name (mock sturgeon was composed of veal) or making one meat resemble another was quite an art and highly respected. Victorian-era cooks were also intrigued by mock foods. They enjoyed mock turtle soup (calve's head...remember this character in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland?), mock goose (leg of pork) and mock apple pie (soda crackers). Depression and World War II-era cooks created mock foods to stretch the budget and satisfy family tastes. The 1931 edition of Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking has recipes for mock chicken sandwiches (tuna), mock pistachio ice cream (vanilla with almond extract and green food coloring) and mock venison (lamb).

German weiner schnitzel [breaded veal cutlets] morphed in the 1940s in many southern states into "chicken-fried steak." The recipe for "city chicken/mock chicken" is almost identical except for the long oven cooking in moist heat. The difference is that city chicken is made with pork and veal cubes (as opposed to a single type of meat) and shaped on a skewer. It seems that chicken at this time was actually more expensive than pork and veal. Also people didn't like pork tenderloin, believe it or not. They thought it was tasteless and the silverskin was objectionable....so butchers used it up in the Mock Chicken or City Chicken format.

Mock Chicken Legs
1 lb beef steak
1 lb veal or pork
2 tesapoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup fat, melted
1/4 cup flour or 3.4 cup cracker crumbs
6-8 wooden skewers
Have steaks cut about 3/8 inches thick. Pound well and cut in 1 or 1 1/2 inch squares. Arrange 6 pieces alternately through one corner on each skewer, having top and bottom pieces somewhat smaller to represent drumsticks. Brush over or roll in fat, then in flour or crumbs, season with salt and pepper. Fry in fat left over and brown on all sides. Cover pan closely, cook slowly about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender, adding water if necessary."
---The Settlement Cook Book, Mrs. Simon Kander [Settlement Cook Book Co.:Milwaukee WI] 21st edition enlarged and revised 1936 (p. 161)

"Mock Chicken Drumsticks (City Chicken)
6 servings
Cut into 1X 11/2 inch pieces:
1 pound veal steak
1 pound pork steak
Sprinkle them with salt, pepper
Arrange the veal and pork cubes alternately on 6 skewers. Press the pieces close together into the shape of a drumstick. Roll the meat in flour.
Beat 1 egg, 2 tablespoons water
Dip the sticks into the diluted egg then roll them in breadcrumbs.
Melt in a skillet 1/4 cup shortening
Add 1 tablespoon minced onion (optional)
Brown meat well. Cover the bottom of the skillet with boiling stock or stock substitute or water. Put a lid on the skillet and cook the meat over very hot heat until it is tender. Thicken the gravy with flour (2 tablespoons four to 1 cup of liquid). If preferred, the skillet may be covered and placed in a slow oven 325 degrees F. Until the meat is tender."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs Merill:Indianapolis] 1936 (p. 95)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mock Apple Pie

This recipe -- or one very much like it -- was invented around 1852 by a group of pioneer women for their children who missed the apple pie they'd had "back east." In Helen Evans Brown's West Coast Cookbook, she quotes Mrs. B. C. Whiting's How We Cook In Los Angeles (1894), "The deception was most complete and readily accepted. Apples at this early date were a dollar a pound, and we young people all craved a piece of Mother's apple pie to appease our homesick feelings." The recipe was referred to as "California Pioneer Apple Pie, 1852", and the crackers used at that time were "soda crackers" which were mixed with brown sugar, water and citrus acid and cinnamon.

After Ritz crackers were created in the early 1930's a recipe for Mock Apple Pie began appearing on the box. Apples were once again expensive and homemakers in those years were once again able to use crackers in order to give their children a taste of apple pie.

Recently, another Ritz cracker curiosity has appeared on the Web, using Ritz crackers and dipping chocolate to simulate the taste and texture of the chocolate mint cookies that are sold each year by the Girl Scouts. Look for for "Faux Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies."

Mock Apple Pie a la Ritz
Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie
30 to 36 Ritz crackers, coarsely broken up (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Grated rind of one lemon
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Place sugar, cream of tartar and water in saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Add grated lemon rind and lemon juice. Allow to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

3. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9 inch pie plate. Place coarsely-broken cracker crumbs in pie crust. Pour cooled syrup over crackers. Dot with butter or margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon.

4. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie. Trim, seal and flute edges. Slit top to allow steam to escape. Bake at 425 F for 30-35 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden. Cool completely before serving.

Doggie Bag

Once a week, we dine with a 92 year old neighbor. He doesn't eat much but he likes to have company for dinner and likes to go out, which is unusual for an elderly man, I think. He always gets a "doggie bag" and carries home at least half of what he orders. This gets eaten the next day for lunch.

Lawry's restaurants invented the doggie bag. They noticed that people couldn't finish the large portion of prime rib served in their Prime Rib restaurants and so they started giving their patrons a bag to take home the leftovers. With a nod and wink, it was christened the doggy bag. I believe this was some time in the thirties. The term is more common in California than other parts of the country where you may be asked if you want a "take home" container or a container to go.

Lawry's also invented valet parking, the pre-dinner salad fork, the chilled salad fork and some say, drive-in dining. Richard Frank told me that his "old man" as he always referred to his father, had his servers put a board through the front seat of the car and served dinner on it, with china, glass and silver. Very classy. Cars were a novelty at this time, and people wanted to be seen in them. The Franks are/were a very creative bunch. Richard was responsible for many concepts, such as Casey's Bar in downtown LA, a meadieval chop house in San Francisco and best of all in my opinion, a small Italian eaterie which should have been the Olive Garden. He didn't expand it because they couldn't seem to make the lunch pay off. Richard was responsible for taking the seasoned salt which his father concocted and turning into the Lawry's food company. He developed one of the countries most recognizable logos with Saul Bass, a marketing genius operating in LA in the 50's. He was also the first food person to package in flexible foil. Richard was always on the look out for packaging innovation. A great leader and a wonderful person to work for, I enjoyed my years at Lawry's foods very much. Richard Frank fostered creativity, ingenuity and a spirit of entrepreneurship in all his co-workers - when I was managing the product development lab, he would wander in and tell me that everyone in the lab should have at least 20% of their time free to dream, create and let their minds wander. Can you imagine that philosophy prevailing anywhere today??

Online I read of the British expression "a real dog's dinner" which is not related to the doggy bag but instead describes a mess of some sort. "She showed up looking like a real dog's dinner."

Years ago I worked with a 90 year old coffee taster. He trained me to "cup" coffee and he also taught me how to drink a martini at the Jonathan Club in downtown LA. He loved sushi and I would take him to our local Japanese joint - this was 30 years ago before there was sushi on every corner. He would ask for a doggy bag for the parsley on the plate. A real depression scarred human, he didn't let anything go to waste. I remember a story he told me about purchasing a $1000 whole life insurance policy in the 20's. At the time, people asked him why he would make such an extravagant purchase as $1000 was such a princely sum. Well, he had beat the statistics and lived to see the policy amount because of inflation become almost worthless. We laughed about the fact that the $1000 even thirty years ago wouldn't cover a funeral.

Now that there are more cat owners than dog owners, perhaps the name should be changed to a kitty bag.

Viral recipes

Today is our annual community picnic. Everybody brings a dish for two plus. We're making chicken drumettes and a lemon dessert. Some friends who used to live in our area are coming along as well. The food at events like this are always an interesting melange. Family recipes, church bazaar favorites, pot-luck favorites. It's haphazard and the kind of food that everyone loves once in a while. True comfort food and full of surprises.

One of our friends is barbecuing a turkey. The ethnic people usually bring something interesting. One year a Korean woman in the neighborhood brought some delicious marinated and barbecued beef. On different occasions I've brought Asian cole slaw or last year I did a fruit salad in a watermelon, disguised as a pig. Oddly not a soul commented so I've left my fruit carving kit in the drawer since. No sense in the effort when there is no audience for the art.

The lemon dish I'm bringing I first tasted at an office pot luck many years ago..in fact about 30 years ago. One of our secretaries brought it and it was instantly gobbled up by the assembly. The Japanese woman, the cook, was so modest that she was loathe to get attention for her contribution. I wonder where she got the recipe. Tracing one of these to their origin would be an interesting exercise.

Pot luck foods have been the subject of many recipe books over the years. I have several and took to buying them whenever I passed through a community either at a gas station or in a airport bookstore. Some years ago, I stopped collecting them because most of the recipes are similar or even the same from community to community.

Sometimes recipes are passed around almost like a virus. This is a great trick to pull off if you are promoting an item such as strawberries. The strawberry/spinach and almond salad flashed around Orange County from pot luck to pot luck a few years ago and I'm sure it ultimately spread round the country. The Lipton Onion chip dip is a classic case and the product has lasted for decades.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Adapted From Taste of Home

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup raspberry vinaigrette
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 package (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or other nut, such as almonds or macadamias, toasted

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine the vinaigrette, sugar, salt and mustard. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Stir in poppy seeds. Transfer to a small pitcher or bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled. Just before serving, toss the spinach, strawberries and nuts in a large salad bowl with dressing. Yield: 8 servings.

Writing later, after the picnic, we can pronounce the food a great success once again. This year the table was groaning with entrees. Roast pork, lots of home fried chicken, chile in various iterations - turkey, vegetarian, super hot. Lasagna, some mexican casseroles and various kinds of cole slaw. I only made it down half a table before my plate was starting to look horrible so I stopped and ate to filling. Couldn't get to the last bits. The most unusual
dessert was avocado ice cream.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The volunteer fire department showed off it's two new fire engines - clean, sparkling, beautiful things. To those of us who live in a tinder box, a working fire truck parked just down the street, is a beautiful sight. Our local supervisor, Bill Horne was on the scene as usual - he's been an excellent supervisor and very good to our community. Ross Daily, the padrone of the community at 92 is still going strong and he calls the "Let's eat" signal every year. I love the picnic and think it's the kind of glue that keeps people together.

Aromas

Aroma packing today. I've devised a little packing box with styrofoam holes for the vials. This makes the kit easy to mail and less likely to develop leaks. No matter how tightly the lids are screwed on, when mailed in plastic containers, I find aroma transference and leaking. Hopefully this will solve that problem.

When the aromas leak, there's an odd but consistent aroma that develops - even thought the specific aromas might be different. For me, it's flavor school aroma. Orange, garlic, smoke, lemon, clove, ginger, coffee all melded together into a unidentifiable smell...it's not nice and not appealing in the least. In fact, it doesn't smell like food but more like a kind of oil that's heated up, like on brakes or on a small straining electric motor. It is a very persistent aroma too..
lingers in the air, long after the vials are gone.

Pilaf

I have a client that wants us to develop a pilaf for him. He markets a line of mediteranean and middle eastern foods. This would be an addition to that line but also he hopes might be a way into conventional grocery outlets in the US. We talked about Costco and their approach to adding products to their stores...throw it against the wall and if it sticks, it sticks.

Pilaf is a rice dish which originated in the middle east. It is also known to the Turkish as pilar and can be known as plof or pullao or pullaw. Typically it is rice or another grain sauteed in oil or butter and then simmered in a broth with seasonings. In many cuisines it's mixed with meat or vegetables.

In Turkey it is made with bulgur which is the oldest processed food known. Bulgur is prepared precooked wheat, originally from the Middle East. Wheat is soaked, cooked, and dried, then lightly milled to remove the outer bran and cracked. It is eaten in soups and cooked with meat (when it is known as kibbe). Also called ala, burghul, cracked wheat, and American rice.

Pilaf is not difficult to develop but still it takes time to decide on a strategy, some flavors, screen for competitive ingredients, find a contract packer, write ingredient declaration and package instructions that are clear and legal.

My middle eastern friend told me he would change his name if he was younger. He feels having a middle eastern name is a death sentence in western business circles. I wondered how that would feel when your very name strikes dread in people.

Brain Freeze or Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuralgia

A visit to Jamba Juice yesterday where I drank an original size Caribbean. For me, unused to super gulps and the like, this was a huge drink and by the time I was through it I was very uncomfortable and bloated. The icy cold temperature was refreshing but sucking it through a straw lead to the dreaded brain freeze - a stabbing pain in the forehead that lasts a few seconds. Brain freeze is referred pain caused by a combination of super-cooling the sinus cavities and the trigeminal nerve. My husband calls it the tri-genital nerve because he likes the sound of it. The tri-geminal nerve is undersung for a system that affects most of us every single day. Some facts:

Your brain DOES NOT actually freeze. NO damage is caused by brainfreeze.

• 7-Eleven registered the term "brainfreeze" in 1994 to communicate the painful joy of drinking a frozen Slurpee beverage.

• Brainfreeze is also known as an "Ice Cream Headache", and "Frozen Brain Syndrome"

Some sudies suggest that brainfreeze is more common in people who experience migraines. Raskin and Knittle found this to be the case, with brainfreeze occurring in 93% of migraine sufferers and in only 31% of controls. Other studies found that it's more common in people without migraines. These inconsistencies may be due to differences in subject selection–the subjects of the first study were drawn from a hospital population, whereas the controls in the second were student volunteers. In my case, I have never experienced a headache but can trigger brain freeze almost immedicately by touching something cold to a specific spot on my palate.

What happens? When something really cold touches the palate, the body's response to the cold is to vasoconstrict the peripheral vasculature (to reduce the diameter of blood vessels). This vasoconstriction is in place to reduce blood flow to the area, and thus minimize heat loss to keep warmth in the body. After vasoconstriction, they return to normal status and artery size results in massive dilation (vasodilation) of the arteries that supply the palate (descending palatine arteries). The nerves in the region of the palate (greater and lesser palatine nerves) sense this as pain and transmit the sensation of this pain back to the trigeminal ganglia. This results in pain that is referred to the forehead and below the orbit, other regions from which the trigeminal nerve receives sensation. The pain is not caused by the cold temperature alone, but rather the quick warming of the cold palate.

Here's a trigeminal ditty I wrote for flavor school:

You love ice cream and eat in sprees
But go too fast, you get brain freeze
You love hot foods, eat them with ease,
Your tongues on fire and still you seize
still more hot sauce for your Chinese
and salsa for your plate of peas
Or even for your fine head cheese
Your palate wants a constant tease
And sunshine seems to make you sneeze
It's all trigeminals if you please!!!

The trigeminal nerve has three sections: the opthalmic branch (affecting the eyes), the maxillary branch (affecting the nose) and the mandibular branch which is centered in the mouth. If you eat a bowl of chili you can feel all three areas: your eyes will water, your nose will run and your mouth will burn. Trigeminal nerves in the mouth wrap around the fungiform taste buds and there are three times as many of them as there are taste receptor cells. Supertasters, because they have many more taste receptor cells than non-tasters, are far more affected by chili heat than are tasters are non-tasters and they are less likely to eat hot food.

A frequently experienced tri-geminal affect occurs when you go to the dentist and get aenesthetized. Frequently the tri-geminal nerve is numbed and you are left not knowing where your tongue is. It also feels very thick. This is a very strange phenom to experience and makes you appreciate the presence of all the neural systems which work together to keep you informed of where you start and where you stop.

A few other trigeminal favorites are: the tingle of carbonated beverages; nasal pungenecy of horseradish and mustard; the bite of raw onion and garlic; the cooling sensation of menthol. During flavor schools, I give people a mint to eat and think about and sometimes, a vial of ammonia to quickly sniff. Smelling salts were basically ammonia and a whiff of this really jolts the tri-geminals and gets your attention. Last year in Thailand, watching a long holiday parade in the heat of the day, I was passed a vial of smelling salts which the Thai ladies used to revive themselves and regain focus. A little upper sniff.

The dark side of the trigeminal nerve is it's connection to headaches. I know little of this but hope one day some clever researcher will figure out how to stop the great suffering that many experience.

The picture posted is a watermelon brain from camerge on Flickr. Looks pretty cool doesn't it?

Here's to plenty of ice cream, many slushy cold drinks and little or no spheno palatine gangleoneuralgia

Menu for a "down under" guest

We're thinking today about our Australian visitor in August and what to have for dinner that would be American, new for him, good with wine and easy to prepare ahead. Hmmmm. We thought about enchiladas - Mexican food being somewhat scarce down under. Perhaps we'll have a big nacho plate for appetizers, chicken enchiladas and a flan with some kind of caramel foam for dessert. Or we could have big delicious hamburgers on onion buns, cooked on
the Barby! Perhaps artichokes as an appetizer, a grilled fish, local vegetables and home made lemon ice cream (with the meyers and a lavendar foam. We'll have to decide if we want to go sophisticated or more down home. Our friend will be exhausted as he's at the end of an around the world trip.

We decided on: gazpacho with plenty of avocado, a coucous salad mixed with grilled vegetables - zucchini, peppers, eggplant and with halved cherry tomatoes and basil chiffonade. The dressing will be olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings. We'll served alaska crab leg meat with the salad.

Desserts will be something foamed. Is this American - no? But do I have a foamer I want to use? yes.

You Kill Me

Saw "You Kill Me" last night and enjoyed it. A couple of meal scenes but no focus on food, except for a close-up of a turtle eating a piece of cheese!! Lots of drinking scenes because the story is about a Polish alcoholic hit man, played by Ben Kingsley. To shovel the snow he begins by taking a huge slug out of a bottle of vodka. He throws the bottle a few feet, then starts shoveling. When he gets to the bottle, he takes another big slug, then throws the bottle out a few more feet. Good plan. As the film progresses, between slugs from the vodka bottle, he drinks beer. The film is full of scenes of people drinking, bottles being opened, liquor poured, in bars, at home and at an Irish wake. It actually started to nauseate me, as the sister of an alcholic, thinking about all that booze being consumed and how it would make the people feel the next day. Kingsley does a wonderful job of being almost emotionless at the opening of the film when he just joins AA and he's totally unaffected by the people around him, like an automaton. When he drinks in the film, he drinks almost as if he's taking medication - joyless and mechanical. In one scene, he drinks in a bar sitting perfectly upright with that Kingsley ram-rod posture, picking up the glass, sliding it toward him, raising it to his lips at almost right angles and then throwing it back. Scene by scene, seemingly "one day at a time", he starts to show emotion and become connected to people - Tea Leoni, playing someone he meets in the mortuary in San Francisco where he works (she's relieved he isn't gay - alcoholic and a hit man, she can handle) ; his AA sponsor; the black woman at the mortuary; his Polish mafioso "family". Pretty good film with lots of laughs and particularly funny if you know AA or if you know an alcoholic.

Speaking of alcohol, we had a rather poor beer last night with our Indian food after the film. It was watery and thin, like Coors. Our meal consisted of Chicken Tikka, Spinach Saag with homemade cheese, #60 which is potatoes and cauliflower in a kind of curry, rice and garlic/cilantro nan. Taste of India in Temecula is almost always empty which astounds us because the food is quite good - not great, but perfectly serviceable Indian food. The service is excellent because of the low level of patronage. We eat there on Saturday nights if we're going out because almost all the other restaurants in Temecula and Murrietta are crowded and there are long, noisy waits. Pam mentioned last night that they're all the same too! Isn't that the sad fact.

A new amusing routine: we're throwing out left over bread onto the branches of our Norfolk Pine. The branches are widely spaced and almost flat. Bread chunks nestle nicely into the cleft down the center of the branches. Big crows swoop down to the deck, sit on the railing and assess the situation. Then they make their move, fluttering over to a branch to establish a footing and get a beak around a chunk of bread. They carry off pieces about 1/3 of their size, fly a long distance from the house, drop the bread and then eat it. Once one crow comes, the others follow and the tree/birdfeeder can be stripped of a loaf of bread in a few minutes.

Food Memories

Friday the 13th. And on the freeway to Orange County. Lunch at the Bowers museum was very good. Joacham Splichal of the Patina group owns the restaurant and they have some unusual items on the menu. "Airline chicken" caught our attention and we asked what it was. Turns out they get their chicken breasts from a farm on the east coast. The chicken breasts are flown to OC and logically became airline chicken breasts. They also serve "soup of yesterday" instead of "soup of the day", because everyone knows that soup is better the second day.

We had four appetizers: the spanish cheese with grapes baked in sherry, eggplant and carrots cooked with cumin and pomegranite syrup, skirt steak on skewers with mache salad and crab cakes. They were all good but the skirt steak and the eggplants were my favorites. For dessert we had the chocolate pyramid which was a really delicious chocolate mousse served with real, creamy, buttery caramel sauce dotted on the plate. The caramel was so good that I'm sure either Shari or myself would have licked the plate. After lunch we visited the gift shop briefly and then I shot over to my brother-in-laws to help him organize his closet. It wasn't a big job as he doesn't have too much. He took me to dinner at Le Brasserie but it was closed for remodeling so we went to an Italian restaurant in Orange where I had cannelonni and Jim had veal marsala.

Jim is going to Winnipeg and my thoughts turn to the foods we used to love there. Kelekis' hot dogs and chips, Blakes fish and chips, Salisbury house nip and chips, the malts at the Hudson's Bay, Jeannies cakes, pierogis with sour cream and onions, Mrs. Wiebes cream puffs, my mother's paper-thin crepes slathered with butter and brown sugar, fresh green beans out of the garden steamed about a minute and eaten with butter, salt and pepper, pickerel fillets, fiddle head ferns, stewed rhubarb, fresh raspberries with cream, fresh blueberries with cream, smoked goldeye.

From the web, author unknown:

Jeannies cake icing recipe:1 CUP MILK 3 TBSP. CORNSTARCH 1/2 CUP WHITE MARGARINE 3/4 CUP SHORTENING 1 CUP FINE GRANULAR SUGAR (icing sugar) 2 TSP. VANILLA Extract. Combine cornstarch and milk in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring slowly and constantly. When thick remove from heat and keep stirring until mixture is cool. Combine margarine, shortening and sugar and beat with electric mixer until creamy. This takes about 7 - 10 minutes. Add to cooled milk mixture, add vanilla and beat on medium speed till icing resembles whipped cream. Butter can be substituted if white margarine is not available but will color the icing off yellow. This icing is best when made fresh as it does not keep well.

Bon Appetito

Carry in food tonight. Spaghetti and meat sauce for me;spaghetti and meat balls for Richard. We had a very busy day and had no time to even think of going to the grocery store and getting a meal together. The meat sauce on the spaghetti was very good - deep and dark with a rich flavor and mahogony color. Marinara sauces leave me cold - the acidic tomatoes I find shallow and for me, they do little for the pasta. Richard's meat balls tasted like...well, meat balls. Rubbery and with a kind of warmed over flavor. But he enjoyed them.

We're searching for the all-time best meat sauce around here. The quest keeps us trying new Italian spots always applying our uniform kitchen test - how is the meat sauce? Most of the sauces lack the depth which comes from long simmering and building layers of flavor with first, a good meat base, fresh tomatoes and a knowledgable hand with the spices and wine. When done correctly a good meat sauce is a work of art. My own meat sauces are always disappointing to me. I try different recipes but none deliver the richness and layering I'm looking for. So far, Vinces in Temecula delivers the best flavor. Incredibly it's also very cheap!

I can cover up a lot of sins with the herbs from my garden. A mediocre Italian dish is incredibly improved by laying a large, fragrant piece of rosemary across a steaming plate. The diner gets the rosemary aroma borne skyward on a cloud of steam. Regardless of the actual taste of the dish, the rosemary does a lot for the perception of what's about to come - and anticipation and preparation is half the experience. The other trick is to serve a good wine and plenty of it. Garlic bread is so ubiquitous and so well liked that a good chunk slathered with garlic butter and then dredged in parmesan cheese is another distraction.

I'd like to spend some time in Italy with someone who really knew where to go and eat. We've had a marvelous time stumbling into places and have eaten well. But oh how wonderful to be taken to the "sure thing" in every location to try the best of the best. Maybe 2008 will be the year we get to do this with one of the many experts who offer such a service.

It's Magic

The disappearing sugar trick is progressing! I've been practising and have developed a story to go along with the disappearance. With magic, the distracting story is key..particularly when your magic skills are marginal. Tonight I did the trick for Richard and he liked it and offered suggestions. I think he is lusting after my thumb. He tried it on tonight but he has rather large knuckles and would probably have to have one made to fit. One of those anatomical peculiarities that simply put one out of the game.

While buying my thumb at the magic shop in Temecula I learned that David Copperfield lives in Oceanside! I was surprised to see his scrapbooks in the magic store show case. The owner told me that David comes in to visit and talk and decided to do the shop a favor and leave the scrapbooks there for a while. How cool is that! Visiting the store is great fun as the bulk of the customers are little boys who are more than eager to share their knowledge. They spend much too much time pressing the whoopee cushions and fart machines; but for them, nothing exceeds like excess. I've enjoyed my several encounters with these cute, curious kidlets very much. Yes, the magic store is
a fun stop in Old Town in Temecula.

Last time I was there I discovered the Temecula cheese company. The woman running it is charming and told me she used to be a real estate agent. She got tired of people "disliking her". She decided to find something to do where people were eager to come to see her. After spending some time with the wineries she decided that wine making was what she really wanted to do. Alas, she is not a billionaire so the next best thing she could come up with was the cheese business. Self taught she spent two years working at shops, traveling to cheese makers and taking classes. Now she and her husband have opened a store and are hoping for the best. I bought a few ounces of Port Salut and a half pound of olives mixed. Both were very good.

Plum Jam day

Plum jam was on the menu today. I used about a gallon of plums and made the simple oven recipe Jan has been using for years out of Sunset Magazine. The result was lovely - a beautiful color and nicely balanced sweet and sour. While the plums were in the oven I braised and then simmered pork with green chiles, some salsa and broth until the pork fell apart in shreds. We're eating it wrapped in tortillas with guacamole, salsa and lots of chopped cilantro. We'll eschew our usual glass of wine and trade it in on a Negro Modelo and a Tecate. With both beers we'll try our client twang's beer salt - a little sprinkled in the glass.

Salting beer is a Mexican custom. They do it because it compliments the lime that is traditionally squeezed into the beer and also because it makes the beer foam. I like it because I think some beer tastes better. Oddly, people in Canada used to salt beer. Perhaps it has it's origins in Europe. Miller introduced a beer this year that is modeled after this drink - the chile and salt addition. Following is an announcement about the beer intro.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Miller tries lime-and-salt beer to boost sales
By DAVID KESMODEL
The Wall Street Journal

Miller Brewing Co., known for its conventional slate of American beers, is hoping a brew with a Mexican twist can help pull it out of a sales slump. The Milwaukee brewer is launching Miller Chill, a 110-calorie beer flavored with lime and salt, throughout the U.S. this summer after a successful test run in Texas and other states.

Miller said Chill is expected to be available in the Kansas City area as early as this week.

Chill is Miller’s answer to the michelada, a drink popular at Mexican beach resorts usually consisting of beer, lime juice and ice in a salt-rimmed glass. The brewer hopes Chill, which it calls a premium light lager, will appeal to light-beer drinkers seeking more flavor. Miller is targeting 21- to 35-year-olds with the new brand, said Randy Ransom, Miller’s chief marketing officer. “Consumers are looking for new and different ways to experience beer, and they’re willing to pay for it,” he said. “The core objective of this brand is to take share from competitive mainstream brands by giving light-beer drinkers a compelling reason to trade up.”

Miller began researching the possibility of a michelada-style beer about 18 months ago. Its focus groups suggested American beer drinkers would be willing to try it. “There’s clearly a move toward Latinization if you’ve been watching the American consumer,” said Ransom, citing hits such as the Mexican-food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

Michelada ingredients can vary. They sometimes include hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce with a pinch of black pepper. Miller tested more than 20 recipes of Chill. It declined to discuss how the beer is made, citing competitive factors. The brewer began test-marketing Chill in March in San Diego, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida. The beer did so well that Miller decided after four weeks to launch it nationally — an unusually short trial period in the beer industry. Sales to retailers have been about 40 percent higher than the company’s goals, according to a recent memo sent to the company’s distributors.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Michelada- Mexican Beer Cocktail

Micheladas have been around for decades in Mexico and have been especially popular in the Northern areas of Mexico. The Michelada stemmed from the usual practice of adding a squeeze of lime and a dash of salt to a beer. Now there are as many recipes as there are bartenders. Here is a simple recipe for this beer cocktail including the more popular ingredients and suggestions for other variations.
INGREDIENTS:
1 ice cold Mexican beer (dark is better)
coarse salt (for the rim)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1-2 dashes of hot chile sauce (such as Tabasco, Tapatio or Cholula)
1 dashes of soy sauce
1 dashes worchestshire sauce
beer mug or large glass (chilled if possible)
Ice
lime wedge for garnish
PREPARATION:
Salt the rim of the glass by wetting the edge with some of the lime juice then dipping it into a plate with salt on it. Now fill the glass about half way with ice and pour in the lime juice, chile sauce, soy sauce and worchestshire sauce.

Mix with a spoon then slowly pour in the beer to the top of the glass. Push the lime wedge onto the edge and serve immediatley. When you have a few drinks, pour the remaining beer into the cocktail.
Variations-

A dash of Maggi Sauce
A pinch of black pepper.
1-2 pinches of all-purpose meat seasoning.
A pinch of celery salt
Do not salt the rim, instead add 1-2 pinches of salt to the cocktail.
A sprinkle of Pico de Gallo seasoning
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My UPS office called this morning telling me to get over there and take a package waiting for me, out of their building. It was smelling up the place. Sure enough when I walked in the door, the smell of onions had leaked out into the whole place. Oh, they suffer there with me as a client.

I find myself plum tired out today.

Jerks in Hollywood

I've recently joined a book club. What a great bunch of women belong! Last month we read a book about Hollywood called Easy Rider to Raging Bull. A difficult read about some very difficult people. The book club members all bring something to eat- nothing formal, but everyone contributes something. I decided to bring a Beef Jerky salad which seemed appropriate as all those directors appear to be Jerks. Unfortunately the meeting was changed and I couldn't make it. The Beef Jerky ingredients are all here waiting to be assembled into something. I'd hate to serve it to my husband!

What's in it? Well, it's a popular Thai dish and combines the jerky with green papaya, lime juice, fish sauce, onions and other seasonings. Very delicious but it will have to wait for the arrival of a not so nice person who hopefully won't get the pun.

GREEN PAPAYA JERK SALAD or GREEN PAPAYA SALAD for jerks

- 1 large ripe tomato, cut in to wedges.
- 1 green papaya (500 g/1 lb), coarsely grated to yield 3 cups.
- 1/2 cup diced beef jerky
- 1 small carrot, coarsely grated to yield 1 cup.
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves.
- Sprigs of mint leaves, to garnish.

Dressing
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice.
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce.
- 1 tablespoon sugar.
- 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (or more if you like it hot)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, dry-roasted for about 10 minutes over low heat until browned OR
- 1 teasoon sesame oil

- Combine the Dressing ingredients in a large bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved, then add all the other ingredients (except sprigs of mint leaves) and toss well to combine.
- Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with the mint leaves and serve immediately.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 mins.

An ordinary day

We have a new client that makes whipping devices. As we are intensely interested in foams this is something we are looking forward to. A friend recently sent me a menu which featured a beer and bbq pairing and there were even foams featured on this macho menu from a bit of a culinary outpost...Fresno. Foams were prominently featured on many menus we enjoyed this year, but primarily at Alinea.

Now we can spend some serious time foaming everything that comes along and looks like a possibility. Richard is bringing over apricots tonight which we will halve, sugar and bake for 20 minutes then put in the freezer. My sister-in-law Jan is a wizard at low sugar, delicious compotes and jams. This is her recipe. Could we puree the apricots, water them down and then foam them for an ice cream topping? We'll see.

We might get rain tonight in Southern California! Very unusual and dangerous because the rain will sprout the dormant seeds, they'll sprout, grow a bit and then dry out, leaving the hillsides covered with fire prone vegetation. It's already a tinder box here...this may be just more fuel for the fires.

Lost things were reunited with their rightful owners today; Richards lost sunglasses turned up and he found his toothpaste. Perhaps this good fortune will spread to me and I too will magnetically attract the lost and convert them into the found.

Dinner tonight is an artichoke with veal and angel hair pasta. We're still eating up the creme fraiche so perhaps we'll have a dollop on some apricots, drizzled with cognac.

Just an ordinary day in Fallbrook.

BASIL FOAM

Yield: 50 servings

Craig Shelton's Basil Foam

2 bunches basil leaves, washed of silt
3 1/3 cups spring water, divided
8 pieces gelatin sheets, 1.4 ounces powdered unflavored gelatin
4½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
Cold spring water with ice for ice bath

Soak the gelatin in cold water if using sheets, or use 1/3 cup of the spring water, to soften powdered gelatin. When softened drain and wick off moisture from gelatin sheets.

Bring the spring water to a boil over high heat. Blanch the basil leaves for 30 seconds. Shock and drain the basil leaves, carefully reserving all the blanching liquid, stirring in the granulated sugar until dissolved.

Transfer blanching liquid to a deep container that can be partly submerged in a deep bowl of cold water with ample ice to bring the temperature of the boiling water down sharply and quickly. Shock until it reaches (90°F). Add softened gelatin. Stir to dissolve. Continue to shock until chilled (about 70°F).

When basil is cold, transfer to blender and purée until smooth, adding enough cold infused liquid to facilitate blending into a smooth purée. Strain through a fine sieve so that some flecks of basil are visible in finished product. Combine basil purée and cooled basil-infused water in a stainless steel siphon canister. Turn to seal tightly. Load with two CO2 cartridges. Maintain under refrigeration between uses.


Black Grape Foam
Recipe Courtesy of Mario Batali


2 pounds black grapes (may substitute any wine grape)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup heavy cream
Wash and stem grapes. Pass grapes through a food mill, not allowing any seeds through but including all pieces of pulp on skin that come through. Refrigerator.
Make simple syrup by heating sugar and water until clear and refrigerator. When ingredients are cold, add simple syrup to grape pulp. Add lemon juice and zest and stir to mix well. Whip cream to soft peaks and fold into cold grape mixture. Place in ice cream machine and chill following machine instructions. When finished, pour into 2-ounce Dixie cups. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze. To serve, remove from freezer and allow to stand 10 minutes. Unmold into a martini glass and garnish with fresh cream and clean grapes.

The luckiest day of the century

Today is everyone's lucky day. 7/07/07. It's also a chilly day here in GG. We're testing a condiment dispenser and it's humming away cooling down and getting ready to be loaded up with goodies like relish and pickle slices. Health department regulations require that such dispensers hold food at 41 degrees F. That is the test.

Chicken wings for dinner last night. On the barbecue, cooked almost to done and then brushed with butter for a mahogony hue and some crunch to the bite. This is the ultimate finger food; greasy mouths and always the danger of burning the lips because you just can't wait for the darn things to cool down. Mashed potatoes are willing accomplice to this over-indulgent meal: translation in (goes in really fast), dul (all good sense goes out the window when you smell them), gent (what you used to be before you started tearing into the wings like an animal). A small salad and a glass of TJ Chilean cab for $2.99 were also consumed. Such a meal can't ring up more than $5.00 on the cash register but feels like a million bucks while you're eating it.

Fresh strawberries are sitting on the counter drawing fruit flies. They are teetering on the brink of over-ripeness and you can smell them all over the house. Tonight they will find themselves in a salad with sliced almonds, citrus olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Maybe a salmon filet? After a day of inhaling strawberry aroma, my focus is entirely on the fruit. My sister-in-law made strawberry ice cream the other day and this is weighing heavily on my mind.

Another new computer in the household. Richard recieved his Lenova Think Pad tablet sized computer. It's a real fly weight and should be easy to haul around. They now come with nothing much but a cord to plug it in and then they have a life of their own. You name them press a few buttons, listen to a little song and they are born. This one should be called Teenie. We'll see what he comes up with.

Off to pick up a lottery ticket or place a bet on something. Gamblingrevenues will be off the charts today.

Summer Time

The "bombs were bursting in air" here in Fallbrook last night. We could see the celebration in Temecula flaring up behind the hills outside of our decks. It was a perfect summer day, warm but not hot, clear and gorgeous. A warm evening for people to sit out in shirt sleeves.

We ate alone eschewing the traffic we'd encounter participating in a celebration. Gazpacho seemed perfect for the warm weather and I always think of it as party food. We made it with chunks of cucumber and avocado floating on top. It was chilly and delicious. Second course was a scallop salad. Bay scallops were sauteed with limoncello (home made) and then tossed with arugula, watercress and baby lettuces. An olive oil and white balsamic vinegar dressed the salad. We drank a Rock Rabbit Sauvignon Blanc 2005 which recently won best of show at the Orange County Fair. The faint peachy and lemon flavor paired well with our entree and dessert: white peaches drizzled with creme fraiche. A perfect, cool dinner for July 4th.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
GAZPACHO - actually anything goes
Photo above from the Pagan Chef

tomatoes
V-8 juice
cucumbers
onions
peppers
garlic
lemon juice
olive oil
pepper
salt


Pour a quart of cold V-8 juice into your favorite mixing bowl and add a diced cucumber, 1 cup of
diced fresh tomatoes, a small minced onion, a diced red or yellow bell pepper, a clove or 2 of
minced garlic, the juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper
to taste. Combine and relegate to the fridge for a few hours of chilling. Remove from fridge, pour a helping into a deserving bowl, and garnish with slices of avocado, maybe a dollop of sour cream.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tonight we'll have a pasta variation on the classic Lime Tequila made with grilled shrimp. The buttermilk in the fridge is calling to me (I can drink it straight out of the carton - a pint at a time) so there will likely be a dessert of plums on puff pastry with more creme fraiche.

What else can we do with bushels of plums???

Hollywood

At last the Villa delle Stelle called back and we have reservations for the end of August. A houseguest from Australia is coming to visit and it's his first time in LA. We'll be spending a few days with him in Hollywood before bringing him out here to the country to see avocados hanging in abundance.

Tony sells corks and other accoutrement to the wine industry around Adelaide. Traveling with him in Asia, we drank many fine wines that we would never have ordered were we alone. We're looking forward to trying some unusual wines while he's here. I'll be picking them out here and hauling them home.

The Villa is almost on Hollywood and Vine so Tony will be able to see Graumanns and some other sights on foot for a day before we will be able to join him. I'm sure he'll be grateful to have a pause in the company in order to catch up and gather his thoughts after his round the world travels.

The Gourd Festival

Fran came over from Carlsbad and we went to the gourd festival together. Shockingly high admission price of $9.95 - a bit much when really it is mostly shopping for gourds or gourd related equipment. This would be much like paying admission to a shopping mall. We did however enjoy the exhibition of contest winners. Some of the gourds were stunning. I bought three unpolished gourds to sit out on the deck.

Afterwards we came home and I made us each a glass of lemonade squeezed from our Meyer lemons with a shot of limoncello added for extra flavor and a big sprig of fresh mint from the side garden. We munched on some peanuts and waited for Richard to bring home the game hens he twirled on his BBQ. They arrived hot and redolent with the aroma of anise seeds that he puts in the cavity. The seeds along with salt and pepper are just enough to flavor the tiny birds. We ate wild rice with them and a small salad. Two bottles of wine disappeared much to our surprise - a chardonnay and a Beaujolais Nouveau. Fran enjoyed herself and we talked about going on a cruise in the Norwegian Fjords.

There was no dessert but I did manage to dig out a few very old cookies from the freezer. These were left over from Equal experiments of long ago and while they were overly soft (I microwaved them), they were something sweet to drink with our green tea. To remedy the emergency dessert situation I bought some chocolate brownies from Costco and put them in the freezer.

Two bottles of wine. Oh my.

June 30th

Today was my sister's birthday. She would have been 70 had she not died on Feb. 4th of cancer. To mark the occasion, a mass was said at St. Norberts church and I went up to attend with my brother-in-law. We said prayers for Eilleen and hoped fervently that she is in a better place.

After mass we went to Norm's, a favorite of Jims, for breakfast where I had loaded hash browns - hash browns with onion, peppers, bacon bits and cheese; 2 eggs over medium and sourdough toast, well done. Jim had 2 eggs over medium, hash browns and the same well done toast. We both like our toast slightly charred, which is a major coincidence as most people like toast "rare". During breakfast, in an attempt to lift our spirits, I tried my new magic trick out on Jim...the disappearing handkerchief. It came off fairly well even though he knows about the thumb. There's still plenty of room for improvement. I can also make sugar disappear which might be a trick to concentrate on as it is more food related. Eilleen would have liked the trick.

After breakfast, we went to the house, picked a few flowers - mostly pink plumeria which Eilleen loved and put them on her resting place in the cemetery nearby. It was a beautiful day out there and we enjoyed sitting under a big tree in the shade with the wind chimes tinkling in the breeze. With a couple of coffees to drink, we reminisced about the 5 months we've suffered without her and concluded that we felt happy that she had missed out on the inevitable suffering that would have involved a lengthy battle against her cancer. Jim said a prayer.

Eilleen and I shared a wonderful meal together shortly before she died. It was the last supper for the two of us together. After shopping for size 0 clothes for her (she had been losing weight and all her clothes were falling off) we went to Red Robin and had fish and chips - one of her favorites. The fish was perfectly fried with a crunchy crisp coating and flaky, moist flesh inside. The chips were golden and not too crisp - perfect for slathering with vinegar and salt - reminiscent of our childhood in Winnipeg. She loved the creamy coleslaw and ate every little morsel. We laughed heartily together over little things and our waiter spent more time with us than was necessary likely because we were having more fun than anybody else in the crowded restaurant.

The only bit of food I saw her enjoy after this was a single grape that her son squeezed lovingly into her mouth three weeks later, just before she lost consciousness and died.

I wonder if fish and chips will ever taste the same again.

Cruising

My first grade girlfriends and I celebrate 60 years of friendship and our 65th years of life by going on an Alaskan cruise together. We chose American Holland Cruise Lines and sailed on the Zandam. The ship departed from Vancouver, sailed up to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay and Ketchikan. The rooms were very comfortable and not what I expected. As this was my first cruise, I thought the cabins would be smaller and less well appointed. Instead there was room for everything and even when the three of us sat in one room, which was rarely, we were comfortable.

The food was very good. Each morning we enjoyed the buffet which held most everything one would want. For lunch we enjoyed the dining room three times and the buffet the other days. Every night we ate in the dining room even though we didn't bring very fancy clothes. We all had basic neutrals which we dressed up with all our jewelery and other fancies, in order to pass and not embarrass either us or the other guests. Being Canadians we were more worried about spoiling the dress-up effect for others should we be too casual. Not to worry. While some people did elect to wear tuxes and long dresses, we got by with our improvised dress-up. Next time, I would take one dress because the dining room meals are not to be missed.

Service in the dining room was superb as was the service all over the boat. We bought a wine package and they would save the wine from one night, re cork the bottle and serve it to us until we finished it. Five wines went down fairly easily and I was surprised we drank that much. The wines were pretty good and well chosen by the sommelier. Our waiters were Balinese and we enjoyed hearing about their lives on board. They didn't complain but nobody has to when you realize they work 7 days a week, twelve hours a day. Rarely do they leave the ship and when they do, they go straight to the phones and call their sorely missed loved ones. You can sense an aching in them, even though they put on a happy face.The chef's extravaganza night was particularly good. We all wore chef's hats and the waiters and sommeliers and cooks and chefs all put on a kind of show....an opening parade and a flamboyant dessert presentation.


The shore excursions were interesting however the towns are just rows of touristy chops. The train ride in Skagway was very enjoyable as was the trip to a cannery. The best part of the cruise was the day we sailed into Glacier Bay and enjoyed the majesty and beauty of both the glacier and the bay itself.

On board, we loved the nightly shows, even the corny comedians were entertaining. We spent half and hour in the casino one night; another night we joined a sing-along in the bar. We went to the dessert extravaganza to take pictures but didn't participate in the demolition of the beautiful plates. One evening, we attended the captains reception and spent some time talking to one of the crew members who waxed enthusiastic about his life style on board half the year and off, at home, in Europe, the other half.

In summary we were well fed, nicely entertained and had plenty of time to talk and catch up. A good time was had by all and we are planning our next excursion. Maybe the same time next year.

My brother-in-law swears by his #8 Griswold Waffle Iron. He uses a recipe from the American Woman's cookbook circa 1942, p. 133 which is pretty straight forward.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsps. baking powder
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. shortening (he uses Crisco), melted

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the milk gradually, then the eggs, beaten lightly. Finally add the melted shortening. Make sure both sides of the waffle iron are hot and that it is well greased. After baking each waffle, let the iron heat a minute, before putting in batter for the next.

Jim gave me a link to ebay for purchasing a Griswold but I haven't done so yet. The iron is placed on a gas burner and can achieve great heat. Jim claims that this heat level is what produces the crisp waffles we seek. I believe he is right.

Almost all the waffles I make or order disappoint me. I expect them to be uniformly golden brown, as crisp as an ice cream cone on the outside and tender and flavorful on the inside. In restaurants, they are frequently brown enough but thin and never quite crisp. My own are often mottled in color, limp and doughy inside.

The ideal waffle should taste like pancake but have a slightly buttery flavor with perhaps just a touch of vanilla aroma. The crust should shatter lightly under the fork. Atop such a heavenly creation, one should not pour maple syrup which will instantly ruin the texture. Instead, if syrup is necessary, each crisp forkful should be dipped quickly just before placing it in the mouth. Or preferably another topping should be chosen such as a compote -apricot, strawberry or raspberry which will perch on the top, adding wonderful complimentary flavor, but no damage to the texture. Fresh sliced strawberries, just slightly sweetened would also be delightful. The worst insult one can cause to a light, crisp waffle is application of the dreaded "strawberry topping" ala IHOP, that gooey pile of mushy red corn syrup, cloyingly sweet and sickeningly sticky. And then, quelle horreur, in many restaurants this abomination is topped with a pile of pseudo whipped cream. It's ugly, excessive in calories and sweetness and tastes terrible.

I will not waffle on this position.

Eating bark in Burma

In Burma, while visiting Golden Rock, our guide took us through the myriad small stalls selling food and provisions for the hike up to the Rock. Golden Rock is one of the holiest sites in Burma and pilgrimages are frequent. They believe that if you make three pilgrimages you will become rich. So much disappointment.

The climb up to the top is pretty hard. About 3 kilometers straight up. For my mountain goat husband, hardly a test, but for me, it was a 90 minute ordeal of gasping and hauling my sorry butt along. Porters are available with litters and four of them will bear you to the top for a fee. I was being dogged by a group of them who told me I would die if I wasn't carried. They sell particularly hard on the steepest spot because the gasping, staggering tourist doesn't realize that you are almost at the top. If you pay at this point, the bearers only have to carry your dead weight up a few hundred feet, so if they do manage to sell you, they do very well. Odd, that they should be working a scam in the holiest of places.

We hired a young man to carry our bags - three bags and some miscellaneous small items. He put them on his head and set out trotting ahead. When we arrived I gave him five dollars and his eyes opened very wide. Richard said I was spoiling things for everyone, but the entertainment value of seeing how this young fellow almost ran up the mountain with so much weight balanced on head, made it worth every penny. Even more amazing was watching him light up a cigarette on arrival.

Turned out our young bearer was 21 - he looked about 14. He's a fisherman during the rainy season, when no pilgrimages take place. Once the rain stops, his whole family moves up to the mountain and takes up residence catering to the pilgrims needs.

In the festive stall area, we saw many interesting foods. Matt has very good memories of his childhood before the road was finished and you could ride part way up. Back then families would start out at dusk after the air has cooled slightly. Carrying lanterns and provisions, they clambered up the paths, stopping to catch a little sleep en route when they would meet up with other families and enjoy the company. It's a very happy, very special event for families to experience together.

Lots of dried fruit was being sold, most of which was delicious. Matt had us try sauteed bark which was surprisingly palatable. Some of the monks in the area are unbelievably poor and have nothing to eat from time to time. When this happens their emergency fall back is the bark from local trees which they scrape off and stir fry with seasoning. I thought it was some kind of beef jerky until it's real identity was disclosed.