Easily Pleased

I Like it Tart

2006-11-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

Here in the USA it's Thanksgiving week, and so it's time to begin prepping for the feast on Thursday. We're going over to a friend's house for an "orphan's Thanksgiving" - a mishmash of everyone who isn't traveling to visit family and who doesn't have family in town (ie: everyone I know).

I always make homemade cranberry sauce in these cases, because occasionally you get to a feast like this and NOBODY HAS BROUGHT CRANBERRY SAUCE! Which, as you can tell from the caps, is a massive transgression. Truth be told, the stuffing and all that other stuff is actually a vehicle for good cranberry sauce. I feel the same way about chutneys and plum sauces, mint jelly... they are the real reason to eat! Mmmm.

So, I went with a classic this year. First, the fresh cranberries.

I put about 5 cups of them in a big bowl of water to wash them, which reminds me of how cranberries are actually harvested. They grow on bushes in a low-lying, sandy-soil field (a cranberry marsh), and then when it's time to harvest, the farmer floods the field and the cranberries float to the surface! Then, they scoot around in boats gathering up all the berries. The fields are drained, and the same bushes grow the cranberries perenially. Cool, eh?

I also cut up some oranges - best to get organic, since we'll be using the whole orange.

Then, put the cranberries, oranges and about 2 cups of sugar in a bowl and go to town with a stick mixer. Or you could put it all through a food processor, or, do like my mom and use your old-fashioned meat grinder!

I prefer a little less sugar and I leave it pretty chunky.

If you want to, you can get clever and add some fresh ginger (very nice) or pomegranate seeds or walnuts or whatever you like. I don't find it necesary to can it properly so long as you eat it within a couple months. The chemical make-up of those crans won't let anything grow in there, even with the sugar. But don't quote me on that. Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer.

Make this a few days ahead at least. It's WAY better once all the flavors have had a chance to mingle and mellow.

Tomorrow I'll make some Jalapeño Corn Bread and head over for a delicious meal.

Happy Tofurkey Day, everybody!

If Mrs. C. Was a Fruit

2006-10-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

These are dried Marionberries. I found them at the organic co-op in a bulk bin. (Not to be confused with the Congressman from Arkansas. Or the Former mayor of Washington, DC. It would be real weird to find the Congressman or the Mayor in a bulk bin, and quite dehydrated, at that.)

At first I thought they were blackberries (they are similar) but then this dude next to me buying nutritional yeast (not to be confused with... oh... never mind) told me to buy some, that they're spetacular.

So, of course I slyly looked left, right, and checked for security cameras, then snagged a Marionberry and gave it a taste. Hmmm! Delicious! Chewy and very very berry-tasting. No big seeds like blackberries have. I bought a big bag and brought them home. They were tasty on top of my cereal the next day and turned my tongue bright purple. Bonus!

In Honor of Grandma Sue

2006-10-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a cake. I made it in honor of my cousin's grandma, Sue, who passed away recently. I never had the good fortune of meeting her, but she was loved by many and left quite a legacy. She used to make a special cake that everyone loved, called Sue's 1-2-3-4 Marble Cake.

Here are some of the magical ingredients:

Can't go wrong, right? Here's the recipe, as it was passed on to me:

It was very easy to make, and I used some whole-wheat flour (I figured Sue wouldn't mind me fiddling with the recipe a little since she famously fiddled with it herself!

It was delicious! Thank you, Grandma Sue!

...And a Side of Gag Reflex, Please.

2006-10-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

Wanna ruin your appetite? If so, check out this photoshop contest of unappetizing food. Some of it is truly revolting. It's funny how we can have such a visceral reaction to the wrong combination of sweet and savoury. The photo above is titled "Herring in Aspic". Not the best flavor for a cocolate-covered ice-cream. Gulp. With pickles, no less.

But then, why are chocolate covered pretzels so good? Mmmm.

Make sure to scroll down each page for full enjoyment.

Cocoa Beans - Who Knew?

2006-10-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

I love chocolate. Hardcore. And look, I know a lot of people love chocolate. It's not that original or anything, so I'm just stating a fact. And I discovered something so great this week:

Whole cocoa beans! They were in a bulk bin at the local organic food co-op. Which means they are organic whole cocoa beans. Bonus. They are about the size of almonds.

I picked one out of the bin and thought, "I wonder what the heck you're supposed to do with these?" And I did what every curious foodie does, I bit into it. Eureka! So that's where those popular "cocoa nibs" come from!

I bought some and brought them home, where I crushed them a little and removed the outer skins. Now I have a pile of pure, organic cocoa nibs.

Chocolate at its purest. It's not sweet at this point, of course, but is slightly bitter and very cocoa-y. I have a friend who uses the nibs in his chocolate mousse - a great counterbalance to the sweetness and richness of the mousse. I happen to like just eating them as they are, but I might try using them in baking or roasting them.

Who needs a 86% cocoa chocolate bar when you can have a mouthfull of 100% coco bean?

Them Balls

2006-09-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Last time I ate dim sum in NYC I neglected to take a photo of the best part. But this time I did not forget! Here they are, hot fried glutinous rice balls (about the size of small apples) covered in sesame seeds and filled with sweet bean paste. These are the apex of deliciousness. The dim sum lady with the dessert cart snipped them in half with some scissors. (ouch!)

The photo really doesn't do them justice. If you've never tried these, make for your nearest dim sum resto and grab some balls!

Pasta Sauce Ikasumi Special

2006-08-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

I love to try new things from the Japanese grocery in my neighborhood. This week, I picked up some packets of "spaghetti sauce" - my usual favorites being ume (pickled plum) and spicy tobiko (flying fish roe with some chili sauce). I tell you, they are delicious!

This time, I saw a packet called Pasta Sauce Ikasumi on the SPECIALS shelf.

Ok, I thought, I love ika (squid/cuttlefish) so this will probably be good. Lemme read the ingredients:

Corn syrup, tomato, olive oil, cuttlefish, onion, salt, garlic, anchovy, MSG. Sounds good to me! And the photo here looks good - some friendly ingredients... and obviously a little squid ink for color...

I planned to put some tasty tsukemono on top. Pickled garlic with shiso...

Delicious yamagobo (pickled burdock)...

Well, I cooked up some spaghetti and as soon as I squished the sauce packet on there, I got, um... let's say a little apprehensive. Jesus. What is that, tar?

So I mixed it around thinking, ok, it's just a little more squid ink than I was expecting. Ha ha heh! Hmmm.

Ok cool. No biggie. Squid ink's a delicacy, right? And I'm sure it'll taste awesome.

Well, it friggin' did not taste awesome, it tasted like the bottom of a crowded fishbowl that has never been cleaned. Plus salt. And an anchovy aftertaste. And what's worse, they don't call it INK for nothing. That crap dyed my tongue black. I don't even want to know what it did to my insides. If I pee or poo black, I'm gonna have a conniption.

Never mind my Vader guts, look what it did to my pretty Japanese noodle bowl (and ruined a pair of bamboo chopstix)! And this is AFTER WASHING WITH DISH SOAP!

Okay. So. What lessons have I learned for today?

1) When something is on the SALE shelf, in ANY store, no matter how much you like the store, there is probably a reason.

2) Learn how to read Japanese. Because I am quite sure that package says, "Joke Sauce Funnytime! Feed to Gaijin Friends and Make Celebrate Laughter Forever!"

3) If something looks really black and forboding, don't eat it. It's ok to throw it away. It doesn't make you a wuss (yes it does).

Anybody want the other packet? It came with two...

NYC: Candy Fun

2006-07-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

My sweet tooth was acting up (nothing new) so we headed into Dylan's Candy Bar.

They've got quite a nice selection of bulk candies and a good selection of retro, foreign and hard-to-find treats. For example, if you love Violet Crumble from Australia or any Cadbury's from the UK or Sugar Babies, you can find them all at Dylan's.

It's slightly overpriced, in my opinion, but that serves as a good deterrant to completely rotting out one's teeth.

So, over at the main bulk candy area, I met these two little girls. They had some cool Dylan's treasure boxes and were filling them up. You get an empty box for a certain fixed price (I think it was like $16 or something?) and then you can fill it up completely with whatever candies you like.

I would have LOVED this as a kid. Organizing and categorizing candy. Type-A bliss.

NYC: A Walk in Chinatown

2006-07-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Went to Chinatown for dim sum. On the way, we checked out the awesome seafood selections. Beautiful shrimp, giant prawns, softshell crab (there at the bottom of the photo in the boxes), fish and other...

Wish I had gotten some close-ups because this was some delicious-looking fare...

We walked on. At one Chinatown storefront, I saw a man looking in a trashcan and thought, "It's sad that people have to look for leftovers in the trash." But then more people came up and started looking in. Seemed strange, so I took a look...

AAARRRGGGHHH! And they were alive and squiggling. Gulp. I daresay frog soup is on the menu in quite a few households tonight.

Then we stopped and had dim sum. I did not take photos but the flat shrimp noodles were especially tasty. And for dessert... I ate a delicious sesame ball. It's a fried ball of rice gluten covered all over with sesame seeds with sweet bean paste in the middle. The perfect finish to dim sum.

But had I not just eaten that ball of love, I might have been tempted to buy this:

A GIANT jar of Nutella. Found it on the top shelf of an Italian grocery right at the edge (or now within?) of Chinatown. It's hard to tell from the photo just how giant it was. The smaller Nutella jars you see there are the extra-large size that you can find in some Costco-type places. So that mega one is really huge. Imagine the toast you could slather with that!

MD: Crabshack Love

2006-05-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Long time no post. Sorry 'bout that, and thanks to all of you who emailed to check up on me. Let's cut right to the chase and get to the food!

Mother's Day made for the perfect excuse to go to Harris Crab House near Annapolis, MD and chow down on some delicious crustaceans cooked in the way that only Chesapeake Bay Area residents know how to do: boiled up in spicy Old Bay seasoning and dumped on a brown paper-covered table for the enjoyment of all.

If you know what I'm talkin' about, then enjoy the show. If you think this sounds crazy, read on and immediately take a trip to that part of the country to partake!

Here's a little shot of a dock on the bay just to set the scene.

And now we go inside!

The pretty waitress has just come to the the table, and never has our hungry demonstrator been so happy to get crabs!

The crabs are encrusted with Harris' special salty crusty stuff. If you take anything away from this exposé, it should be that YOU CANNOT EAT CRABS WITHOUT COPIOUS BEVERAGES. They are salty and spicy and YOU WILL DIE if you don't hydrate constantly.

The number one best thing to have is a pitcher of beer all to yourself. But other drinks work well, too, such as pink lemonade mixed with water. (Water on it's own won't do it. You need something sweet to cut the heat. Carbonated sodas are ok but the carbonation can kinda hurt if you get a really spicy crab.)

Ok all set. Now, here's how you eat a crab. You can do the legs before or after, our demonstrator has chosen to go for the lump-meat innards first. Lift up the little tail flap...

Then insert your thumbs and pull the top apart from the bottom...

Mmm! Now see those feathery thigies on the top part of the photo? Those are the gills, and not edible so pull them off. Then crack that same part in half and you will get a delicious gift of lucious lumpmeat. It takes some pickin', but that's the whole point!

Now, for the legs and claws, you'll need some tools.

People use different techniques, but basically you want to hammer with a good, quick wrist-action (as opposed to lifting your arm up over your head to smash - this is how we spot n00bs). Give it a good snap to crack the shell.

Then you can eat the meat!

In the end, you're left with a massive pile of exoskeleton. The bigger the pile, the cooler you are. Your lips may be swolen up like Lisa Rinna on a bad day from all the salt, but you will be admired by all who witness the carnage.

Some sides that go along nicely with crab are slaw (cools the mouth)...

And fries...

These people had the right idea. If there's no springtime rain, eating crabs outside is very best!

Wheat Berries a la Esiry Preased*

2006-04-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

Ok first you take some soft wheat berries (whole, unprocessed wheat kernels), cooked slowly in rice cooker.

Add steamed broccoli, red bell pepper, edamame. Let cool.

Toss in a selection of random seaweeds and tsukemono, including takuan, little onions and sweet red "munchies" (don't know what these are but I always buy them).

Drizzle on rice vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, a few drops of red pepper oil, black pepper, and dried red shiso flakes. And admittedly, a few other things may have been tossed in as well, not sure!

Oh yep, like chopped crimini mushrooms - I see them in the photo. So there ya go.

Little shake of nori flakes on top and grab your stix! And how.

*The title is in homage to the Engrish of my old university roomate, Miyuki. Great sense of humor and man could she cook. But she couldn't say the letter "L" for the life of her. (And I speak little Japanese, so she wins.)

I Heart Michal Pollan

2006-04-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

There's a super Michael Pollan interview on Salon today by Ira Boudway. If you care about food, and I know you do, check it out.

And buy Pollan's new book, The Omnivore's Dilemma : A Natural History of Four Meals. I'm going to.

That's How You Get to Sushi School!

2006-04-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

First you take Palms, to Centinela... (sorry, really obscure reference here. Mostly to amuse a certain reader.)

We found our way and arrived for lunch at the California Sushi Academy where you get 2 pieces for 2 bucks... because it's the students who get to practice on you!

C'mon in!

Now, don't fret - these students are being trained by some very serious experts. And Sensei was there the whole time (just off screen to the left of what you see here), supervising and making them nervous, as any good sensei is wont to do.

The students were very friendly and attentive. Greeted us properly with loud Irashaimase! and got to work on our order. First we had a very nice bowl of miso soup that I have to say was better than even most upscale Japanese restos. It had a smoky dashi base, I am assuming made by way of bonito. And generous seaweed. Really delicious.

As for the sushi, there was not a lot of variety - no expensive stuff, as I ascertain it's mostly about their assembly skills. Everyone who listens to his or her Sensei knows that you can't do fancy until you have mastered the basics. And even then, it's about the zen of doing the basics with perfection. But I digress. For $2/2 pieces one really shouldn't be nit-picky. We had salmon nigiri, lightly seared albacore nigiri, tobiko gunkan-maki, tamago nigiri, a california roll and two salmon skin temaki.

I didn't take any photos of the food... suffice to say it looked fine, like average sushi, cleanly presented. The fish was fresh and well-cut. My main constructive criticisms are as follows...

1) I am not very knowlegeable when it comes to this type of roll, but I like when salmon skin in a salmon skin roll is crispy and quite warm. Part of the fun is texture and temperature play between that warmness and cold ingredients like cucumber. Today's was flubbery and just slightly lukewarm... as if it had been microwaved? I assume in a larger operation they place the skin in the fryer (where the tempura goes)... right? Or maybe on a very hot grill. In any case, I missed the crispiness.

2) The rice was not properly prepared. It was either undercooked or dried out. I am not expert enough to tell you which, but it was distractingly dry. And as Partner in Crime noticed, it also did not seem to be seasoned at all - needed some vinegar and some sweet undertone. Not sure what happened here, but you gotta get the rice right. As I once heard it said, true sushi is about the rice - the slices of fish in nigiri are actually "condiments" eaten to compliment the rice which is the main feature.

All of it was most certainly edible. And inexpensive. And we would go back on another day purely out of continued curiosity about the process of learning this tremendous skill. I mention these details because these are students and are learning, and you can tell they care! I think opening the door to lunch customers is a super idea.

Here is their wall of fame with all the graduates of the Academy. Onward, fine students! We shall return!

Nice Stack!

2006-04-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

I bought some quinoa flakes from the bulk bin at the health food store the other day. Quinoa is a supergrain (actually a superseed) because it's a whole protein!

Had no idea what to do with the flakes, but figured they were like rolled oats, only made from quinoa. I was about to make some hot cereal, but then I got another idea.

I combined the quinoa flakes with water and eggs. Mixed it all up and poured into a griddle to make....

Quinoa Breakfast Cakes with blueberry maple syrup (Vermont pure maple syrup heated up with some frozen wild blueberries, then reduced) and dollop of low-fat sour cream.

And then I thought, "Hey, I'm tired of all this flirting, let's go all the way." And I added hulled hemp seeds, flax seeds and sliced organic bananas that I pushed into the batter once it was spooned onto the griddle. I served this version with melted sunflower seed butter.

I made a bunch of extras that I froze. They will be reheated in the toaster oven for another breakfast, or more likely, made into naughty ice cream sandwiches.

It's So Easy Eating Greenz

2006-03-31T13:30:00.000-08:00

I got some interesting greens at the farmer's market.

The name escapes me, something like "broccoli spirella" comes to mind but I tried looking that up online and can't find reference. Mystery greens! If anyone has a guess (or knows) please comment.

Anyway, these greens were really delicious. I discarded the stems (too twiggy) and sautéed the spiral leaves in olive oil with onions, garlic and a little salt.

Wow! Really yum. And it doesn't taste anything like broccoli... maybe there's no connection. It is not like rapini, it's completely different. I would say more like the texture and tase of the resulting baby that would be born if kale got busy with collard.

I will buy more, even if I have to run around asking for it as "that green squiggly stuff."

Now I Might Have to Like Wal*Mart?

2006-03-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

Wal*Mart goes organic. Holy crap. And MSC certified seafood, too? Somebody wake me up...

Thin Mints: Delicious Discs of Death

2006-03-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

Those are Thin Mints, straight out of the freezer, hazed by a little condensation. Yum.

One thing about buying Girl Scout cookies is that you feel like you're doing something good AND you get a tasty treat out of the process. That's why this type of fundraising has worked for so many years. Anyway, I was SOOO stoked when my local Girl Scout returned late last week with my Thin Mints!

I popped 2 or 3 in my mouth (ok, 7 or 8...) and happened to glance at the package. Cute GS's doing some rock climbing or rapelling, and the side of the box says "You'd be surprised what a Girl Scout Cookie® can build: Strong Values, Strong Minds, Strong Bodies, Strong Spirit, Strong Friendships, Strong Skills, Strong Leadership, Strong Community."

Ok, I'll buy that. Well, I already did, right? But then I switched around to the other side of the box and took a gander at the nutritional info. Wha?! No! These suckers have 4g of saturated fat and 1 g of trans fat! PER FOUR COOKIES PEOPLE. That means I just ate 8 friggin grams of sat fat and 2 of trans fat. Great. So much for Strong Arteries.

This really pissed me off, I have to say. And while I was, admitedly, still enjoying the aftertaste of the chocomint flavor I love so much, I sat down to scribble an email to Girl Scouts of America:

Hello Girl Scouts. I supported your program this year by buying a box of Thin Mints, a longtime favorite. I am dismayed to see that they contain not only a relatively large amount of saturated fats, but also TRANS FATS! I think it is disingenuous for the Girl Scouts (of all people) to be selling a product that is proven bad for people. Many baked-goods companies have taken steps to reduce saturated fats and remove trans fats from their products. I hope you will do the same, or this is my last time buying. Thanks for your time.

I don't expect I will ever hear back. But you know you'll read about it right here if I do!

On a positive tip, the amazing Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has devised a recipe for healthi(er) Thin Mints. Good on ya, Heidi!

In a Gotta da Beeta, Baby

2006-03-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

Mmm! Dinner was a most tastetastical Roasted Veggies atop Fusilli wid Garlic Butterbean Wine Sauce. That's a mouthful, no? It features the last organic ingredient from my delivery box: beets.

Beets are sweet and delicious and are high in folate and potassium. The tops contain lots of calcium and iron. The best thing about beets, though, is they make your pee pink and your poo red! (So don't forget you ate beets for dinner or you might get a real scare the next day.)

I cut up beets and carrots. Also a red onion. Coated lightly in oil and herbs, roasted for 1 hour at 400 degrees. See all the veggies so happy in their roasting pan?

The sauce for the pasta was 10 cloves of garlic, 1 1/2 cups vege soup stock, 1 cup white wine, black pepper and Aromat (flavored salt). I reduced it way down and added a can of butter beans, including about 1/4 of the juice. Reduced some more until thicker. Added a pat of butter right at the end. Served over whole wheat fusilli.

Gobble.

Rhussel Up a Lhassi

2006-03-13T16:39:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by my foodbloggy friend Arjuna who made a mango lhassi as a side for a fritatta she made recently. I wrote, asking how to make a mango lhassi, as I have always loved these at Indian restaurants.

Little did I know a lhassi was so easy... mango purée, plain yogurt and Arjuna informed me that I could also put in cardamom. Of course! That's the magical flavour - all of a sudden it's obvious why I love a mango lhassi so much.

I LOVE cardamom, and any chance to use it is glee! The best chocolate bar I ever tasted was chocolate with a cardamom infusion. If anyone knows where I might find another one of these I will make you 1,000 golden lhassis.

Aren't these lovely cardamom pods? (Ok, maybe slightly dried out, but still good...

But it's the little inside seeds you want...

Crush and inhale the scent of the gods. I often drop 3 or 4 pods into my tea in the morning. Now you know my secret.

Po' Man's Paella

2006-03-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

So check it. It was late, I was tired, hungry, and I wanted something hot to eat. There was not much in the house by way of food, so I started rooting around. About 20 minutes later this was dinner:

That's right, foodtastical friends. A tasty meal that's somewhere above white trash and somewhere below authentic. And I did it faster and less annoyingly than Rachael What's Her Name.

Into large pan:
leftover brown & wild rice cooked earlier in the week and frozen in a baggie
frozen peas
frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joe's)
can of clam sauce (Trader Joe's)
can of fire-roasted tomatoes
teaspoon of Vegeta soup base
turmeric for yellowness (I had no saffron on hand)

Into frying pan:
Tofurkey Italian sausages, cut into long discs and fried golden brown

Instructions:
cook it all up.

I am telling you, it was really damn good for being made almost entirely from stuff that came out of the freezer or cans! Partner in Crime said, "Wow! How'd you make gumbo so quick?!" I said, standing akimbo, "It is not gumbo, it is paella". He said, "Whatever. Can we eat it now or are you going to take pictures of it all night?"

We put some habanero hot sauce on top and it was tasty.

Bodacious FriTaTa of the Organic Variety

2006-03-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... Fritattas are usually the bastard of the kitchen - what chefs tend to make when there are leftover odds and ends around and cash flow is low. But I assure you, this is no garbage-disposal variety 'TaTa, this is a Bodacious Organic one!

It features this fresh, delicious Red Chard from my box of organics...

Mmm! Chopity chop...

I started with a gigantic amount of carmelized onions on the bottom of the pan for a carmelly "crust". Then poured in a mixture of 6 'ganic, free-range eggies, a can of organic fire-roasted tomatoes, plenty of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and various herbs and spices.

Then I laid (a LOT of) steamed chard all over and pressed it down solid. (Because I happen to like dense, flat 'TaTas. You might prefer puffy 'TaTas, this is your perogative.) Broiled with some more parm on top for finishing.

I served it with 'ganic quinoa with Cuban-style black beans and a side of 'ganic grape tomatoes with tarragon. Some chipotle salsa was nice on the side as well.

Okay, I am very happy with my organic delivery box and will likely do it again. Also, I am getting tired of hearing myself write the word "organic" so from now on, just assume all or most fruits and veggies on this site are such. I don't plan to get weird about it.

Ta ta!

Oscar™ Night Organic Celery & Cauli Soup with Fresh Tarragon

2006-03-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

Straight from the organic delivery box into the pot and then down the gullet! This soup was delicious hot and even better the next day served cold.

I'd like to bring it to your attention that I concocted (heh heh I said coc!) the soup to be the exact same color as my Blogger background. Yes, it is because I am such a dedicated blogger and I know you foodreaders will appreciate my dedication to style and form. I love yous for that.

ADDITIONALLY this soup matches the color of 90% of dresses worn to the Academy Awards. You see, this is v. important in an Oscar-day posting! Coordination at all costs.

So basically...

1 head celery
1 head cauliflower
3 onions
3 scallions
1 TBSP butter
fresh tarragon
fresh ground black pepper
freshly-grated nutmeg
sea salt
unsweetened soy milk
a bit of sweetened almond milk
cayenne to taste
dash of vinegar

cayenne or paprika & creme fraiche, sour cream or soy yogurt for garnish if desired

Today I ate one of the organic mangoes from the delivery box - oooooh! It was magically delicious. Mangoes (good ones) are perhaps one of the best tasting things on the planet. I am not religious, but a good mango gets me thinking about thanking someone for that taste. Can I get a witness, people?

Partner in Crime states that the 'ganic pears and apples are also tasty. The little grape tomatoes are not as sweet as the organic mixed yellow/red ones we get from trader Joes, but not bad. But Organic Express' test is not done yet!

Organic Deliverance

2006-03-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

Yay! It's here!

This guy thought I was nutters for snapping a photo of him in delivery mode.

And here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for.

Ahhh! A box of organic delight!

I have to say, the produce is beautiful. The Swiss chard is perfect, the beets and tops are perfect, the fruit looks wonderful.

Is this enough stuff to warrant $29? Well, I didn't have to shop for it, and it's a great selection. I will have to do the math. Stay tuned for taste tests and cooking adventures.

Time to Go 'Ganic

2006-02-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

When I answered the 5 Cooking Challenges meme about a month ago, I stated that one of my goals was to try organic delivery. I thought this would force me to eat more organic, which I know I should do. See, when shopping, I sometimes can't successfully get past the price comparison or the fact that the non-organic stuff frequently looks better to the eye.

But organic almost always tastes better for reals, and this week, I read this UPI report on a study that was just published. And I quote, "Children who switched their diets for only a few days to organic foods dramatically and immediately lowered the amount of toxic pesticides in their bodies, researchers report."

I am not a child (at least in body) but I don't want those nasty-ass neurotoxins in my system, either. And my fridge happens to be nearly empty of veggies except for a bag of organic carrots and some limp non-organic broccoli. Perfect timing!

So, I just went to my local organic delivery's website and signed up. I am so excited. (Ok, reminder that you're reading a FOOD BLOG here, we're allowed to spaz about a delivery of vegetables and fruit to our doorstep.)

It was super easy to sign up - I just picked a box size ($29 or $39) and checked off the items that I DON'T want to receive (like, carrots, for example, because I already have some). My town's organic delivery allows you to do a one-box delivery OR sign up for regular deliveries. I'm doing a one-time test drive.

The box will be here in 2 days. Stay tuned.

Gettin' 2 kno U: Meme of 4

2006-02-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

To all my fabtabulous readers who have emailed, I apologize that I've not been posting in the past little while. This happens sometimes when actual (non digital) life cuts into blogtime. But I'm still here, and...

Well whaddaya know! I been tagged by Liz from Good Stuff for the famous Meme of Four. And though I blog anonymously (mysterious, non?) I will answer the call without blowing my awesome disguise.

4 jobs you have had:
• Lifeguard at local pool
• Food Server
• Salesperson at bike store and surf store
• MYSTERY JOB! (I blog anonymously, so don't want to say what I do as a "career". But someday I will come out!)

4 movies you could watch over and over:
• River's Edge - starring Keanu Reeves and Ione Skye at their best as young actors, also classic Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper.
• Lord of the Rings - these will never get old. Best trilogy ever made.
• Good Will Hunting - solely because of the acting in scenes between Robin Williams and Matt Damon. Precisely why acting is art.
• Grease - if I need to explain, you wouldn't understand

4 TV shows you love to watch:
• Inside the Actor's Studio - did you see Chapelle? Brilliant.
• NBA - my favorite team is sucking ass, tho
• Project Runway - you either in or you out
• My Name is Earl - some of the best comedic acting and writing out there. I heart Randy Hickey

4 places you have been on vacation:
• southern Spain
• Sydney, Australia
• New York, NY
• St. Thomas, VI

4 websites you visit daily:
• Food Porn Watch
• Huffington Post
• BoingBoing
• Netflix

4 of your favorite foods*:
• sushi - mmmmm... uni, ikura, and Tokyo-style
• Asian food in general - i figure this covers a whole whack of foods that I love and love to cook
• chocolate - this is not merely a food though
• persimmons, pomelos, mangoes and avocadoes... and arugula. and kabocha. and quinoa.

*disclaimer - this category is pretty much impossible to answer in "four"

4 places you would rather be right now:
• I
• am
• here
• now.

4 bloggers you are tagging:
• any ho' who wants this meme. let me know and I will
• put
• you
• here

Frontin' With Fish Eggs: Cavi-Art®

2006-02-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

I got something very exciting in the mail this week! My order of Cavi-Art® by NorSea! This product is such a cool idea - caviar that doesn't further damage already endangered fish species. Because it's not real caviar, it's made from seaweed! Brill.

Question is, does it taste good?

Now mind you, the type of caviar these guys emmulate, salmon roe and lumpfish caviar (dyed black, red or gold), is not particularly endangered at this time, definitely not like the caviars that come from sturgeon. But it's still a cool (and vegetarian) idea.

Doesn't this "salmon roe" Cavi-Art® look delicious?

It's a very realistic texture, similar to the ikura (sake cured) you get in a sushi restaurant.

And this is the "black lumpfish" Cavi-Art®:

Looks exactly like the real thing.

So now let's get in there and eat some up! First, the salmon roe. As you can see, I decided to prepare it in a fairly traditional European manner, with some crème-fraîche and chives on toast.

It really looks pretty, except the individual eggs, when isolated, are a strange bi-color (note the ones in the background). Real salmon roe has this color separation, too, but it is way more subtle. When I popped a few of these eggs, they leaked an oily substance, not unlike real roe. The manufacturers should work a bit on blending the color within the eggs, but other than that, the texture was perfect. So far so good.

Then I bite in. Hmmm. Okay, good texture, good pop... but aaak. What a weird taste. Somehow they've seen fit to fill the egglets with oily dill pickle juice. Mmmurrff. Gaaak. Hmmm.

But you know, combined with enough crème-fraîche, I can get it down. (One might argue that you can get almost anything down with crème-fraîche.) Not the most awful thing I've ever tasted but I would not eat it again.

Moving on, we have the lumpfish caviar, also prepared with crème.

I munch. Ahhh. This one is not too bad. Not as salty as your usual lumpfish caviar (which is kinda nice), and has a very good texture. I do detect dill, which means they probably use some of the same stuff as in the salmon roe, but it works way better in these little eggs. I would eat this again, and will probably eventually finish the jar.

I love the fact that this Cavi-Art® is made from seaweed product. That rocks because you know I love seaweed . And I think it looks pretty darn good! I would highly recommend it for food stylists because it does not need to be refrigerated until opened and doesn't smell and won't go bad like real caviar would. It would be perfect on set.

I also think people who are interested in vegetarian and vegan products might dig it if they want to eat something caviar-like. Also, there is no cholesterol in this product, unlike real caviar. But then again, you don't get all those nice Omega-3s either. (Unless they use flax-seed oil, which I am assuming from the taste they do not.)

Chefs might be able to do clever things with it, as the website states that Cavi-Art® is not damaged by cooking! There are some tasty-looking recipes on the Cavi-Art® site, including a creamy fish soup.

But if you love real caviar to be eaten as-is as the focus of the moment, then I say caveat Cavi-Art®. This most likely won't do it for you. Especially the salmon roe. Akkk. Gerrrpp.

Cavi-Art® Red "Salmon Roe" - $7.98 for 3.5 oz
Cavi-Art® Black "Lumpfish" - $5.98 for 3.5 oz
Order here

** Contest! First person who posts a comment counting the correct number of ®'s in this post gets a half-eaten jar of Cavi-Art® Red "Salmon Roe"! **

Soup Attack: Spinachy Egg Drop

2006-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

I love to invent soups. By golly. This, I believe, is the one, two, three... fourth soup I have posted about! ("About which I have posted." My Mom's a bit of a grammar cop. Hi Mom.)

Now, when I say "invent", I'm not sayin' that I didn't kinda get inspired by something I ate before or something I've heard of. What I'm sayin' is that I like to russell up a pot o' deliciousness based solely on what's in the fridge.

Today I had lots of eggs and thought, hey, how about trying egg drop soup! You just drop the eggs in... uh, some soup, right? Right? Well, as it turns out, yes!

"But wait," you say. "Why is it green? I've never seen green egg drop soup. This is a scam." Hells no. Don't be hatin'. It's green 'causa spinach! Here's how the session went:

Chop and sweat two onions for 20 minutes. Then two (of those Tetra Pak) containers of vegetable broth into pot. Blend with hand blender. Dump in a bag of organic baby spinach, wilt and blend again. Whisk two eggs, then pour in slowly while whisking the soup around. Throw in a cup of finely-grated Pecorino Romano (this also takes care of the perfect amount of salt) and whisk some more.

And wallah! (As a fine reader of this blog likes to say - LOL!)

And you can't see it in the photo, but just under the surface, just under that grated cheese garnish, is a prize! A whole egg cracked into the soup and left whole to poach. When you're ready, just poke it and let the yolk leak onto your spoon.

And as usual, was even better the next day. With an excellent taste:ease of preparation ratio!

Losing MEME Virginity

2006-01-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

I am fairly new to this blogging thing. Like for example, you can see that I'm still using a cookie-cutter Blogger template and I only have about 1650 on my "unique reader" counter down there in the right-hand side bar. Most of all, you can tell I'm new because until this week, I had never, EVER, been tagged for a MEME.

Now, I'm not saying I was up nights worrying about it, but I was kinda feeling like the kid in the lunchroom who maybe forgot to wear deodorant. And never bathed. And brought a fermented fish head for lunch. But I digress.

I am now officially Not A Complete Food Blog Loser because the fabulous Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice has tagged me for the "Cooking Challenges of 2006" MEME! Thank you Ivonne. I love you, and like do you wanna come over after school and we can hang out this weekend and ... Ivonne? Hello?

Anyhow, it's um, not like I've been planning out what I would list if I ever got tagged for this MEME, um... but I do happen to have 5 ideas all primed and ready to go.

The 5 Cooking Challenges that I Dare Myself to Do in 2006 are...

1) Bake a cake from scratch. And I know which one I wanna do. I will have to buy a sifter!

2) This one isn't really a cooking challenge, but it is food related: Eat NO refined sugar for two whole weeks. And lest you think I'm turning "kooky-healthy" on y'all, I'm not. True, I am curious to see if it makes me feel any different, but the real motivation is to see how good sugar tastes when I go back to it! Mmmwaaahaha! (Maybe that's when I bake the cake!)

3) Try organic delivery. I have almost signed up so many times but stop at the last minute, thinking that I want to be in control of the produce that winds up in my fridge. Problem is, when I shop, I don't always buy organic, and I think I should. Added benefit: a box of veggies chosen by someone else would force me to cook new things!

4) Get a real wok and learn how to stir-fry for REAL. I'm talking high heat and mad skills. I make plenty of "stir fries" in my regular non-stick skillet on medium-high heat, but I know I'm a hoser. While I'm at it, need to expand my cooking oil knowledge. As it is, I operate only with olive, canola, a little sesame for flavoring Asian and flax-seed oil for salads. Healthy, yes, but I know there is so much more out there. Peanut, nut oils, corn, grapeseed, sunflower, soybean...

5) Bake Bread. Real bread. With yeast and kneading. You knew that was coming. I have marveled at breads on other bloggers' sites. (There's even one dude, the famous Professor Salt, who has the cohones to bake bagels!) But I have bread-bake-a-phobia bigtime. I think it might come from someone telling me things like, "You have to have the proper oven or don't bother," and "It's so easy to make a mess of bread." Well... nobody ever died from birthing a foul-tasting brick from a lame gas oven, so I'll give it a go! (If anyone has a delish bread recipe suggestion you think I could handle, now would be the time to come forth. Preferring hearty/healthy, rustic whole grain...)

Cool. I'm now on record and must live up to the dares. And now I'll tag some of my fave fab foodie folks... this MEME's fer you!

Joe at his delicious blog Culinary in the Desert
Shauna at her tasty blog Gluten Free Girl
Sarah at her hilariously yummy blog The Delicious Life
Polly + Dieter at their lip-lickin' blog The Second Helping House
The very naughty Courtney, Trobee, Trina, Ruthie, Vanesa, Peter and Kathryn at their spicetastic blog Naughty Curry

Born Again: Jalapeno Corn Bread

2006-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

What I mean by "born again" is that I tweaked the heck out of this recipe to make it actually aaaalmost healthy! The original one comes (I think) from Southern Accents, but came to me on a greasy scrap of paper from my friend Caro about 10 years ago.

Here are some of the ingredients I substituted to make it better for our bods...

Evaporated cane juice sugar. Less processed and in this case, organic. But still sugar, no doubt about it. Whole wheat flour works well in a hearty pan bread like this. Almond milk is what I had on hand, lightly sweetened, so I adjusted the recipe for it. And of course, the biggie - the recipe used to call for Crisco which is a major no-no for the arteries. This non-hydrogenated, no trans-fat margarine worked perfectly. By the way, I know you can't substitute things willy-nilly when doing more complicated baking, but in this case it seemed to work.

Get ready! Chop chop!

CAVEAT: I have NEVER before published a recipe on this blog and there is a good reason for that. I am a freestyle cook who rarely follows (and certainly doesn't invent!) recipes. Things usually work out pretty well but sometimes there is a disaster. I am terrified of "real" baking and have only made cookies and easy (non-rising) breads such as this. If you make this cornbread I would like a report - and don't worry, I have thick skin. (Sniffle... no, really, I'll be fine.)

Ok, here's what I did:
1 1/2 cups non-bleached, whole wheat flour (original called for all-purpose)
1 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup cane juice sugar (original called for 2/3 cup white sugar)
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 cup (to taste) jalapeños, seeded and chopped
1 3/4 cup almond milk (or soy, rice, skim milk, adjust for sugar - original called for 1 1/3 but whole flour dictates more)
5 tbsp non-hydrogenated margerine, melted (original called for Crisco)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup liquid honey plus more for drizzle

1) In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and chopped jalapeños until well mixed.
2) In a smaller bowl, whisk together milk, margarine and eggs until frothy.
3) Add liquid ingredients to dry and fold.
4) Add honey.
5) Pour mixture into greased 8x8 or muffin tins. 325F for about 25 min or until golden brown.
6) As soon as you remove from oven, drizzle honey over entire surface, allow to sink in.
7) Delicious while hot and can be re-heated in foil.

We see you little jalapeños! Time for a trip down the muffin hole!

NYT: Food Critic goes Undercover

2006-01-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

This is a fun article in the New York Times, published January 25, 2006. Food critic Frank Bruni goes undercover as a waiter and gains some due respect for servers. Love it.

Documentary: The Future of Food

2006-01-23T15:55:00.000-08:00

Last night we watched a documentary directed by Deborah Koons (Jerry Garcia's wife!) called The Future of Food.

It's an interesting piece about genetically modified foods and the possible dangers therein. It also exposes horrendous issues like small farmer (Percy Schmeiser) VS. giant conglomerate (Monsanto). Scary!

This film most definitely takes a point of view and does not purport to show "both sides of the issue," but I still found it fodder for thought and a launch pad for further research. Besides, I like a point of view. Especially when it's the right one.

It is most definitely worth 88 min. of your time if you care at all about what you put into your body and the people who grow it. And of course you do! A must-watch for all foodies, chowhounds, chefs, and thoughtful individuals.

Watch the trailer here.

Join The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Food here.

Maybe a comment if you've seen it? ...

Taste Test: Lord of Biscuity Cereals

2006-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

I love biscuity cereal. Sometimes I snack 'em down one by one with a big mug of tea on the side. Other times I place each biscuit on a soup spoon, submerse it for precisely the right amount of milkabsorption time and eat a whole bowl methodically as such. Am I a cereal nerd? Oh yeah, totally.

It seems that suddenly there are so many variations on biscuity cereals out there, that I am forced to do an emergency taste test. I picked just eight out of the many available because I don't have the bling to buy more. Cereal is expensive. Dag!

Here is a bold statement on the side of a box of a cereal that will be reviewed in a moment.

Such bravado! I'll be the judge of that. And of all the rest of you biscuity delights as well.

Without further ado, I present to you the results in order of Best to Worst:

In first place by a whole aisle of cereal is our Lord of Biscuity Cereals...

Kashi's Organic Promise Autumn Wheat. Simply the best. It is, as promised on the box, "lightly sweet" with 7g of sugar. It's got a really awsome loose weave made from thin strands. Perfect for dry crunching OR a quick milk soak, keeping the crunch so long as you don't douse & neglect. You can eat a bowl of these and not feel like you ate candy for breakfast. I can't taste the organic (though it is a nice bonus), so this does not sway the results. Get it at
Trader Joe's for cheap!

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Next up is Autumn's cousin...

Kashi's Organic Promise Cinnamon Harvest. Same weave with a light cinnamon taste. It retains rightful use of the term "lightly sweet", though it has 2 additional grams of sugar, coming in at 9g. I like it almost as much as Autumn Wheat.

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In third place we have a surprise...

Plain old Trader Joe's Bite Size Shredded Wheat. It's not sweet at all because it's got zero grams by way of sugar. Definitely the healthiest choice. I almost didn't include it in the test. But I'm glad I did because it's got a hearty wheaty taste that is worth noting. The weave is completely different - a VERY tight bind (similar to your traditional Post Shredded Wheat). Some days call for zero G's.

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In fourth place, we have...

Malt-o-Meal's Frosted Mini Spooners. The weave is completely different here. A medium weave made from thick, strong strands. Extremely crunchy. The Spooners claim to be "lightly sweetened" but I would correct that to say "pretty honkin' sweet". Clocking in at 11g of sugar, things are getting serious. As for the claim on the side of the box (see top of page), yeah, they do taste every bit as good. But read on to see if that's something to brag about. Besides, it's kinda lame to be a cereal-copyist and not come up with your own idea. Poseurs.

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In fifth place...

Ralph's Frosted Bite Size Shredded Wheat. Identical in weave to the Spooners, but these are really too long to be considered bite size. Also, they are not "crispy" enough. A very slight chemical taste. Soaks up milk nicely though. 11g of sugar as well. Please give me a break with the "lightly sweetened" line. You cereal box writers are worse than James Frey!

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Moving on down to sixth place we see our first Kellogg's...

Kellogg's Bite Size Frosted Mini Wheats Vanilla Creme. Well, they are VERY vanilla creamy. Overwhelmingly so. True, they have a weave like no other, the traditional perfect Mini Wheats weave, but they are so unbelievably coated with sugar it kinda ruins the texture. The box says "lightly sweet" but now they are just plain lying like Bush. With 12g of sugar, you might as well eat cookies for breakfast. Remember the jingle, "Whole-wheat goodness on one side, light frosting on the other"? Light frosting? No wonder more than 23% of the nation is fat.

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In seventh place is another Kellogg's treat...

Oooeeeh! Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats Strawberry Delight. A complete artifical flavor sensation. Slathered with 12g of sugar, these also boast little pink flavor specks within the biscuit. See 'em? If you are a 9 year old girl in a princess costume who gets to eat one box of sugar cereal per year, this might be your top choice. Best Friends Forever!

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And our last place goes to a foreigner who I had such faith in, but alas...

Kellogg's All Bran Choco, which I picked up in Spain! I got very excited as this is a flavored-but-not-frosted biscuit cereal. But it tasted like doo. I had a few and threw the rest of the box out. Just plain bad. However, I have to give a shout-out to a delicious biscuit cereal that you can only find in Canada: Kellogg's All Bran Strawberry Bites and the others in that family that I've had (I think there was an apple one and maybe blueberry?) These are little biscuits with some fruit filling in the center. Not too sweet and perfect without milk. Another reason to move to Canada.

By the way, if anyone can substantiate the claim on the side of this box of Kellogg's, I will be amazed:

Less tired? I just ate a bunch of fiber and I am plain tuckered out!

Mushroom Soop for Rain

2006-01-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

Lots of rain recently, so we needed soup.

Went to the Japanese grocery and got loads of delicious ingredients...

A selection of mushrooms:

Those thick-stalked ones are eringii. Meaty. The tiny ones are enoji - smaller than bean sprouts, even. There's a pile of fresh shitake in there, and the dried bunch is kikurage (wood ear mushroom), which I went on to reconstitute in water - they grew very big!

And here is a bag of sansai zenmai:

I think "sansai" means "wild", and "zenmai" is a sort of fern. I never bought these before, but they looked like they'd be good in a mushroom soup.

And here are some mystery greens that will go in at the last minute:

I saw the name of them at the store, but I have forgotten.

And here is today's prize:

Fresh burdock! I love burdock, but up 'til now have only had it as tsukemono. I asked a nice Japanese lady in the store how I should cook it and she suggested peel, slice thinly and sautée with olive oil, mirin, sake, soy sauce. I will try this next time! But this time, they're going in the soup. And I am not going to peel them because why lose the fiber and nutrients?

No moneyshot of finished soup this time because I forgot. Oops. You will have to imaginate it. Earthy and delicious.

How Can a Cheese be so Good?

2006-01-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

"Well if you love it so much, why don't you marry it?!" Ok. I will.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, my new spouse and delicious snack, Ski Queen Gjetost cheese!

I can't pronounce it, but goddamn if I can't marry it and eat it in a variety of ways.

It hails from Norway and is a delicious blend of boiled whey, goat's milk, cream and milk. It is very sweet and has that goaty, barnyard flavor that I love. It's kinda like your pet goat took a soak in a vat of caramel and cream and then you let it harden and called it cheese. That is Gjetost.

I bought this small block in California at IKEA. I bought a large block of it in Montreal last winter and it was much darker in caramel color. Not sure why. I don't remember a difference in taste.

Today I am going to try it on this nice Fitness Bread. And then I might go for a run like the nice lady on the package.

When you melt it, it takes on a whole new flavor. It makes me want to marry it all over again.

Lest you think I go around marrying cheese at whim, I'll have you know that I've been having an affair with Gjetost cheese since I was 8 years old. Went over to Debbie Bernstein's house after school and her mom gave me a chunk for snack. I had never tasted anything like it. And her mom wasn't even Scandinavian. And we were in DENVER in the 1970's for god's sake. See, it was meant to be.

Royal Potatoes au Gratin

2006-01-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

That's right, people. I call this dish Royal because it is purple. Purple potatoes are what I had on hand from the friendly potato guy at the Farmer's Market when I suddenly decided, for the first time in my life, to make Pommes de Terre au Gratin. Or Taters O'Gratin if you wanna be Irish American about it.

When I got the unsolicited idea, I thought to myself, first, "What the hell?"

And then, I went with it and thought, "Well, how hard could it be, I mean, without dumping a can of cheddar soup and some crispy fried onions on some potatoes?" So, I looked at a few random recipes online, then did what I normally do: remember a few basic ingredients from what I've read then forget everything and stumble blindly into what could be an unmitigated disaster.

First thing I did was slice the potatoes thinly - I know they are supposed to be eventually layered. Or scalloped. Wait. What does scallopped mean? Ah. Never mind.

Next, I carmelized some onions and scallions and then put some flour in there - I gleaned this from somewhere. Helps with thickening, later on right? ... Right?... Hello?

Then, I poured some almond milk in there. Not a typo. I didn't have regular milk on hand, so I figured what the heck, it'll just be a bit sweeter than normal. And then I stirred in a bunch of carefully and professionally selected grated cheese. That is to say, I looked in the cheese drawer which contained a 2/3 used packet of grated pizza cheese from Trader Joe's (which I think is parm and moz), a hunk of emmenthaler and some low-fat smoked gouda.

I layered purple potatoes and cheese sauce a couple times and sprinkled the rest of the grated cheese on top. Salt, pepper and paprika. Baked covered at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Then for 10 more minutes with the cover off.

And voilá!

Come on, don't be shy. Step right up.

Mmmm! A fresh side-dish of steamed broccoli and red pepper with a tasty dressing of flax seed oil, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, Braggs, a dash of ponzu sauce and some toasted sesame seeds.

And that, my kind reader, was dinner. And it contained the color purple. And purple is always good. But I am still confused. Is Potatoes au Gratin ie: Scalloped Potatoes a fancy French dish or a white trash staple? ... Anyone? ... Beuller?

Spain: When in Spain... Eat Candy!

2006-01-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

When anywhere, eat candy, actually. But I happened to be in Spain, so...

It's fun to go into candy stores in different countries. You get all sorts of new taste sensations. This neatly backlit candy store was in Granada.

Some of those little mini Smarties/m&m's are white chocolate. And Swedish berries of all flavors, even lime. And little balls of soft licorice and coffee flavors combined.

Contribute to EP's Dental Fund. Thank you.

Spain: Market Finds

2006-01-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

These are fresh water-cured olives. Surprised I would ever try one of these again? Well, they were delicious!

And there were lots of black truffles to be found. I think it is the season.

No wonder all those "wild" pigs we saw were always rooting around like mad!

If I were a pig, I would definitely go for the truffle-hunter job rather than the serrano ham job. (Kind of a dead-end job, you know?)

And check out this interesting seafood called percebes, otherwise known as gooseneck barnacles:

Aren't they gorgeous? Never did get to try them. I wonder how they're cooked? They only grow in a few select places in the world... mostly Spain and Western Canada!

Spain: Bonjour Bon Noir!

2006-01-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

Next up, Granada. Here is a view of the Albaicin neighborhood from the Palacio de Comares at the Alhambra.

All that palace-viewing made us hungry, so we went looking for treats.

Found a really hot chocolate shop called Bon Noir. Everything was perfect in this place - the decor, the identity, the presentation of chocolates.

It was austere, with brick, stainless steel, sliding glass, and completely focused on... chocolate!

We went omakase, with the owner picking out Lemon Tart, Marsala Creme, Green Tea, and a Cinnamon/Ginger Creme. All truly delicious. And the little box came with a small pamphlet about how to properly enjoy chocolate. God, I love people who love food. Most especially chokky.

If you happen to be in Granada, do not miss it. Bon Noir, Plaza Bibrambla 10, Granada, CP, Spain.

Spain: Afternoon Sweets

2006-01-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

Easily Pleased hit the 1000 unique readers mark today. I know that's nothin' but a raindrop in the ocean of the WWW, but thanks mucho to all of you who have stopped by. If you're a blogger, do leave a comment with your URL so I can visit you back.

How about some sweets to celebrate? Here are some tasty selections from a pastelería in Ronda (south of Sevilla):

Dark chocolate-covered orange rind, marzipan-type lightly baked mushy good thingies, and some almond cookies. All delicious.

Ronda is a really interesting town, situated high above a gorge.

The view from above is amazing, making sweets taste even better. (Photo not quite up to par...)

Spain: Sevilla Graf

2006-01-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

Sevilla is a world-class city, on par with San Francisco, Sydney, Montreal... my other favorite cities. And it has its share of street art, which rivals Montreal's, for sure!

Spain: Everything's Coming Up Olives

2006-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

We went on a trek just west of Ronda, through grazing lands and olive groves.

Hey, lookit those sacks by that tree...

But of course. Olives!

Spain: Feliz Chocodad!

2006-01-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

In Sevilla they have some funny ways of expressing Christmas joy. At the most famous and oldest pastelería (pastry shoppe) in the city we saw this. A nativity scene made entirely of chocolate:

Except for, wait... the hay in the manger is made of...

Shredded cheese. Hey, whaddap, Baby Cheesus!

And I posted previously about the Andalucían love of everything hammy. Well, here in the same pastelería is a jamón decorated with frosting, kind of like a kosher-bashin', halal-hatin' cake:

Do you think your Jewish and Muslim friends will come to your fiesta if this is the invitation?

However, you know, I read somewhere that the reason that ham eventually became so obsessively and popularly eaten in public in southern Spain is because the Conversos (undercover Jews and Muslims) had to convert or fake being Catholic so as to not get themselves killed during the Inquisition. So they basically made an art out of publically and ritually eating forbidden foods in order to save their own hides.

I smell bacon. Does this mean I'm about to have a seizure?

Spain: Jamón it!

2006-01-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

In Spain, at least down south in Andalucía, they are obsessed with jamón serrano. That is dry-cured ham, people. And when I say obsessed, I mean, they worship the pork.

This is a typical sight in any grocery store and in every bar and restaurant:

Those are whole leg o' hams hanging on a rack.

The kind with the black hoof is supposed to be the most special (jamón Ibérico), because those pigs get to roam around in the woods getting fat on acorns until... um...

Because I am basically vegetarian, I can't get over there being a hoof attached to my food, period. If you are squeamish about ham, do not go to Spain. If, however, you like pork a whole lot, you may want to consider selling everything and relocating there.

I'm really not kidding. Here is a "friend" I made in the local market in Madrid.

He saw me taking photos of food (I guess this marked me as TOURIST, though I do it at home, too) and tried to gross me out by showing me the appetizing dead piglet he had in a bag. Oh. F*ing great.

See his friends laughing like naughty little gremlins in the background? I totally kept my cool, acted all nonchalant, and took the photo. Wasn't going to let them win. I do hope they wash that wee little piggy down with a nice cold glass of karma.

Spain: Chestnuts for Reals

2006-01-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

You know my last post about chestnuts? Well, here are some REAL roasted chestnuts from a street vendor in Sevilla, Spain.

Toasty and a little salty and so so so damn good.

Going Conkers for Chestnuts

2005-12-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

Mmmm. They good.

This year, I decided to boil instead of roast and it was much easier and the chestnuts turned out moister (more moist?). I cut the cross-hatch then boiled for about 10 min. The ones where I had perforated the pellicle (that inside softer shell) while cutting were easier to peel. I could have then sauteed them in butter or something, but they disappeared down me chestnut hole.

Conkers is a game that you can play with chestnuts. My dad was champion of the Bronx back in the day. Take that, Xbox!

What to Do With Brussels Sprouts #2

2005-12-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Fresh off the stalk. Some shredded, some pulled apart leaf by leaf for texture. Sauteed in olive oil, with lemon juice, lemon pepper and pine nuts. Simple, sweet and delicious.

Experiment Results: You Got Your Chocolate in My Mint!

2005-12-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

After a great deal of deliberation and a sugar high that has changed my brain chemistry permanently, here are the results of the You Got Your Mint in My Chocolate and... I Want You to Leave it There Taste Test:

In last place...

Palmer® Bells. Oh. Nast. They do not taste like they have any actual cocoa in them. Not much mint for that matter, either. And see how the bell has a "chocolate" part and a "mint" part? Uh, no. It's all the same, just colored differently. A quick examination of the package helps clear things up: partially hydrogenated palm oil is the second ingredient. Run. Run far and fast and never look back.

For Fourth Runner Up we have a surprising (at least to me) result...

The Hershey's Miniature Special Dark: Mint Sweet Chocolate. Sweet is right. Gaggingly sweet. Too sweet. And far too minty as well. It's weird because I'm a longtime fan of the larger bars of regular Special Dark. I was expecting more. So much for having faith in the dark side.

Third Runner Up goes to...

Hershey's Miniature: Mint White Chocolate with Candy Bits. First of all, you have to be big on white chocolate. I'm not. I don't really consider it chocolate. This was also extremely minty and features some little embedded white-trash pink and green balls. Like, you know, those things on the top of Sno Caps. Take a closer look:

This might be ok if you are a chewer. But I am a melt-in-mouther and it left me with a mouth full of crunchy little tasteless sugarballs. Neh.

Second Runner Up goes to...

Ghirardelli Chocolate Peppermint Bark. Again, not a big fan of white, and this is very white-oriented. See how it's about 2:1 white chocolate to milk? Would be better if it was 1:2. And maybe dark chocolate instead. And this one could use more mint - there's hardly any. It's got a bit of crunch with those pink candy bits (which are just pure unflavored sugar as far as I could tell) and is more pleasing than the balls in Hershey's effort. All in all it was buttery and not bad, but just not what I'm after.

First Runner Up goes to...

Hershey's Miniature: Mint Milk Chocolate. Creamy and delish but on the edge of too minty (they really need to dial it back a bit). It definitely wins in the bag of Miniatures, but then you're stuck with the other lower-ranking ones. Ah well, at least now you know which ones to pick out and eat first.

And our winner is..

Chocolate Mint Hershey's Kisses! They are delicious. And my (educated) hunch was right - they taste different than the First Runner Up, even though they are both mint milk chocolate from Hershey. I bet the recipe is different. The kisses taste very cocoa-y and creamy and contain the perfect amount of mint.

So, Chocolate Mint Hershey's Kisses won this round for sure, but how do they stand up to the good ol' Mint m&m's? I say it's a tie. If you like a bit of crunch, stick with the m&m's. If not, go for the Kisses. Above all, do not buy nasty-ass Bells.

Oh yeah, these guys get an honorable mention...

The Trader Joe's Dipped Candy Cane Thingies. Upon tasting, I don't think they really qualify as Chocomint. They are actually candy canes dipped in Chocolate, not chocolate infused with minty flavor. But they are good, and they were free. And free makes everything taste better, no?

Today I learned that it is very hard to clear the palette of mint. Between each test, I swished water and ate a small, salty rice cracker. (What? You thought this was a joke? I happen to be very serious about these taste tests and I resent the fact that any of you think I might be over here just stuffing my face with chocolate and using this blog as an excuse.)

I know there are gourmet-quality mint chocolates out there. Probably all better than those tested here. And I know I skipped other good consumer-quality ones like Andes and Aero. But it is now irrelevant. I don't care for mint-flavored chocolate any longer. Onward, sweet toothius!

Experiment: You Got Your Mint in My Chocolate!

2005-12-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Previously, I posted about how much I love Mint m&m's and how hard they are to find. Well, I ate my last handful this week and set out frantically searching for more. I could not find them anywhere. But lo. Lo ho ho. Look who else has hopped on the Chocomint train!

There are so many insulin insulting choices.

And we need to find out who's our Minty Daddy.

Therefore, I now present to you the next in a celebrated history of candy taste-tests, You Got Your Mint in My Chocolate and... I Want You to Leave it There!

First up, the ubiquitous Hershey's Miniatures (which, of course, is just a big f*ing LIE of a name since everyone knows you have to eat at least 8 at a sitdown, which equals more than a regular-size bar):

There are THREE different minty choices in the Miniatures bag, each one deserving its own separate judgment. Note the Bag says "Chocolate Mint Collection". Oh. Excuse me. I didn't know it was a "collection." I just thought it was a bag of diabetes. Now I am doubly intrigued.

Then, we'll taste their cousin, the Chocolate Mint Hershey's Kisses:

Though you might think Hershey's is Hershey's... I suspect (based on years of candy-testing expertise) that this may not be the case. And both of the Hershey's products let us know how special they are by the "Limited Edition" mark.

Then, we'll slum it a bit with Minty Bells:

These are brought to you by Palmer®, and the fact that they have to write "with a rich chocolatey taste" as a selling point is a warning that things might get scary.

Then, we'll recover with some Ghirardelli Chocolate Peppermint Bark:

The back of the package alerts me to the fact that I can "Experience moments of timeless pleasure..." Ok. Bring it. Also limited edition, of course.

And to top things off, because they were handed to me as a free treat at Trader Joe's the other day, and free rocks... the Trader Joe's Dipped Candy Cane Thingies:

Stay tuned and get ready to fly on the magical carpet of Chocomint taste satisfaction. Results coming up in the next post. If you don't hear from me in 48 hours, I've fallen and I can't get up. Call for help.

Freeform Soup

2005-12-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

In my last post I noted that I almost never use recipes, especially for soup. My cooking skills ain't all that, it's just... I don't have the patience to collect ingredients and follow directions. I reiterate that I have MUCH to learn, grasshopper, and I assure you my limited repertoire would most certainly benefit.

That being said, a friend who reads Easily Pleased asked how I can cook without a recipe. She says she never does, not even to make a salad! Whoa nellie. Since I happen to be free-stylin' another soup tonight, here's a typical session:

I begin almost every soup with onions and garlic in a little oil. Carmelize. Let's see what we've got in the fridge. Ah, some carrots. Chop chop. Now I'll pour in veggie soup stock and some additional water. How 'bout some dried, shaved bonito flakes (I just leave 'em in there, no straining) and yamaki somen tsuyu for a smoky flavor and some mushroom soup stock paste because we need a bit of salt. Needs... lesseee... dried ginger and a bit of dried coriander.

My friend would now say (because I know her), "But how do you know to put in those spices? And how much?" Well, the truth is, it just seems like ginger would be good since I seem to be going Asian-ish and coriander adds some... some... corianderness. Sorry I can't be more specific, but this is how I roll.

Now I need something substantial. How about the best squash known to humankind, the Kabocha. It is rich and nutty and sweet. Look for smaller, heavy ones. This one is an orange Kabocha from the Farmer's Market.

Also, some lotus root, which I buy frozen in a bag and looks like this...

Convenient and delicious and also nutty, though nutty in a different way than the Kabocha. Now I'll huck in a few dried shitakes and chop in some Red Russian kale.

Now, I want the soup to be a full-on meal, 'cause homie ain't makin' no side dishes tonight. The kabocha is probably enough for carbs, but there is no such thing as enough carbs, so... why not some matzoh balls (made from Manischewitz mix, is there another way?) which I'll infuse with dried dill before plopping into a separate broth (my good'ol standby, Vegeta) for cooking.

All done. I let it cool down and then re-heat. I don't know why. I've just noted that soup always tastes better the next day when has become a "leftover", and this is my way of faking the "leftover" process.

In the bowl, it looks like this.

I guess it turned out to be Pan-Asian Matzoh Ball Soup heretofore to be known as Nutty Russian Buddha's Balls! That's the thing about my cooking "style"... you never really know what you're getting until it's done. And sometimes when it's done, you still don't know what the hell it is!

But this soup was truly delicious. The Kabocha was so sweet, some of it dissolved into the broth resulting in a sweet nectar of enlightenment. Of course, one of the drawbacks (or, magical mysteries, if you will) to being recipe-challenged is that I could never make this same soup again.

Now, what utensil to use for such a soup?

Partner in Crime invented a truly multicultural method...

John Lennon, this soup's for you. ... and the world will live as one...

What to Do With Brussels Sprouts #1

2005-12-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Last night I made a delicious Brussels Sprout and Carmelized Onion Soup with about half of the giant stalk I bought at the Farmer's Market. It was super easy and tasty.

Here are the sprouties boiling away in their sweated and carmelized onions and veggie soup stock. They enjoyed their little sprout-spa.

Until I "massaged" them with the best kitchen appliance ever invented:

Hot liquification baby! Et voilá.

Served up with dollops of Greek-style yoghurt and paprika. Also some delicious Bezian's Moroccan Olive Bread.

I am not a big recipe person. I am much more the If-It's-In-the-Fridge-It-Can-Go-In-A-Soup type. But I should pay more attention to the pros because this soup recipe was bowl-lickin' good. Even Brussels sprout haters would eat this and have to admit it.

The soup was sweet and delicious and not only because of the carmelized onions. I think the info those people gave me about sugar in the stalk going into the sprouts was correct!

Lookit. I whittled away the woody outside of the stalk and the inside was nearly as sweet as sugarcane. For reals. You could use this core in a salad or grate some onto the top of a soup for a crunch (but I ate it all before I could do that).

Branch O' Brussels

2005-12-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

Today I came across something I have never seen before (dollar bill for scale):

Brussels sprouts still attached to their stalk! In fact, before I saw this at the Farmer's Market, I sorta thought the little sprouts grew like mini-cabbages... something like this, but um,... like,... a LOT smaller.

This is a photo of a 75 lb world record-holding cabbage! (Woman's head for scale.)

I questioned a couple who was buying a stalk and they told me that the sprouts are much sweeter when purchased like this because the sugar from the stalk goes into the sprouts and that the small ones near the top of the stalk are the best. They said they remove the sprouts before cooking, but I thought it might be fun to baste the whole dang thing and roast it or BBQ it!

Gotta go. I need to research Brussels sprouts recipes. Suggestions accepted! Stay tuned.

Thank the God of Candy

2005-11-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

These look like regular "holiday" m&m's, don't they?

Well, praise the Lord of All Tooth Decay, they are NOT! They are the famous and notoriously rare MINT m&m's, and I found them this week at my local Ralph's grocery store.

I love these m&m's so much I called Mars a few years ago to ask where the heck they were since I hadn't been able to get my hands on a bag for a 3-year stretch. Here is the transcript:

Operator (chuckling): Ah yes, Mint m&m's. Loads of people always call around this time of year looking for them.
Me: I can certainly imagine. Well, then... SHOULD THEY NOT BE ON STORE SHELVES AROUND THE NATION?!
Operator (slightly scared): Well, uh, probably... I like them too.
Me: Sorry. I'm on a sugar-low. Is there anything I can do to get some in my area?
Operator: No.

(Pause here for another handful of chocolatey-minty goodness...) My communication with Mars today revealed:

1989 - Mint m&m's introduced during December holiday season only (in green, red, white holiday colors)
1990 - Mint m&m's added during Easter season (white)
1991 - Mint m&m's available year round (This is right around when I became a cult member.)
1994 - Mint m&m's phased out (DEAR GOD, NOOOOOOOOooooooooo!)
1995 onwards - Mint m&m's available only during Dec holiday season and only in random limited areas

Be sure to look for the Mark of Mint! You will not be sorry!

In the Jungle... the Tofurky Sleeps Tonight!

2005-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

It's getting close to Thanksgiving, which means you can get lots of yummy things in the grocery store right now. Fresh cranberries, chestnuts, pumpkin pie fixin's, and... TOFURKEYs!

What the furkey? Tofurkey! Yep it's basically a turkey roast made of tofu. It comes in a box with a container of gravy to go along side.

See? There are even "giblits" in the gravy which is perhaps the cutest word in the world for something actually pretty gross.

Ok, so I forgot to take a photo of it before unwrapping and cooking. It's wrapped a lot like a giant bulbous sausage, in a plastic sheath with two metal clips on the gathered ends. I have to admit, even to a vegetarian with a sense of humor, it's pretty Tofurkin' scary.

But I basted and cooked according to instructions (olive oil, soy sauce and fresh rosemary). I put it on a bed of yuca (no potatoes or carrots on hand) and onions. I also poured a little of the gravy on there because I was worried about things drying out.

This is what the 'Furkey looks like when "carved". It's got stuffing/wild rice in the center! Unlike having to shove your fist up a real turkey, the Tofurkey is born this way and needs no degrading abuse.

All in all, we thought Tofurkey was quite tasty. It kinda squeaks when you chew it. Bonus, dude. Multimedia! The gravy even got gelatinous when cold, just like "real" gravy. Ain't life grand?

***CONTEST TIME!***

Email your best artist's rendering of what a wild Tofurkey looks like before it's captured and packaged for sale. I will post the best entries on this site. The winner (judged by me) will win their very own Tofurkey roast!

tofurkey

Delicious Booty... Perhaps A Bit Too Literally

2005-11-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

It's olive season, so I bought some freshly cured olives at the Farmer's Market. I had heard about these particular olives on the local NPR station - people were raving about them. The olive man himself told me that people were waiting for him before Market even opened to buy buckets of his "water-cured" olives.

They look good, don't they? Funny... because they TASTE LIKE ASS!

I'm not kidding. I sampled one at the market and paused. "These taste like... a horse," I said to the olive man. He laughed. I said, "No, really, these taste like a barn smells, do you know what I mean?" He shrugged and said "Yeah."

Um... ok. So, because I know next to nothing about olives but wanted to be down with the early-morning olive hunters, I bought a small container.

And anyhow, I like things that taste barnyard-ish: like all sorts of goat cheeses. I love the goaty flavor! And I like things that people often say smell bad - like very moldy cheese and uber fishy things. So I figured I just needed to acquire a taste.

I'm still working on it. The olives still taste like the stink of a cow patty on a hot day. If there's anyone out there who can confirm that water-cured olives are SUPPOSED to taste like this, I would feel a whole heck of a lot better about continuing to try to eat them.

Luckily, I also bought these...

These are dry-cured olives (cured with salt), jarred with garlic slices and chili peppers. Friggin divine. The opposite of ass.

Delicious Booty II

2005-11-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

This is a lemon cucumber! Pretty, huh? It'a about the size of a lemon but perfectly round. When I bought it at the Farmer's Market I asked the fellow if it tasted lemony. He said no - that it was just called that because of its shape and color.

WRONG! Send that dude back to produce skool. It DOES taste sour and citrusy, sort of like cucumber with a squeeze of lemon on top. It has big crunchy seeds and is very nice on a sandwich. The skin (at least on the one I bought) is a bit woodier than regular cuckes, so you really do have to remove it, even if you're one of those people who think all fruit and vegetable skins are meant to be eaten (ahem, you know who you are).

And lo... just in time for the end of Ramadan... (or, since I do not happen to be Muslim, just in time for lunch...)

Fresh dates, still beautifully clinging to their stem! Bite into one and it's crispy like an apple. And so, so sweet - they are (quite literally) the sweetest fruit. The man at the Farmer's Market had dates in all stages of drying. Fresh are my fave.

And what's a lunch without true artisanal bread?

Have you ever heard of this kind? Me neither, which is why I bought it from a new discovery of mine, Bread Man Bezian. I have to say, the sourdough culture was sour and delish. No yeast, so it was a very dense bread. Very different, extremely lunchtastic.

Delicious Booty

2005-11-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

Persimmon season. You can't stop me now. There are few fruits that are this addictively delicious. There are two different main types: astringent and non-astringent. That is to say, one is yummy and sweet no matter when you eat it (new & hard or ripe & soft) and the other is good only, and I stress ONLY, when very mushy and ripe. These are some GIANT Fuyu persimmons of the non-astringent persuasion.

I should have put some sort of object in the photo for scale. They are the size of softballs! The biggest I've ever seen, and de-friggin-licious. I just ate one. It was still a bit hard, but beginning to go soft. Probl'y the only time this decription is a compliment.

A few years back when I didn't know jack about persimmons, I bought the astringent type, Hachiya. I didn't know you had to let them ripen into a nearly-rotten mush before eating with a spoon (or using in baking - yum!). I cut one up and bit into it, expecting sweetness, and got a mouthful of bitterness. Painful and demoralizing.

Another super fruit that's in season right now is the feijoa. I thought they were guavas, they smell like guava and have a similar texture. In fact, they ARE called pineapple guava or guavasteen in English, and they are related.

One of this fruit's best features is its spectacular scent: fowery/fruity. Like some things in the world, the feijoa is yummy but doesn't actually taste quite as good as it smells. Why is that? The nuance just doesn't completely translate into taste.

They have fancy flowers... might help explain the scent. Bee crack.

How Do You Roll?

2005-11-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

When I go to the Farmer's Market, I usually bring a large backpack to carry the booty. But the thing is, you gotta stack it all in there carefully or things get crushed (ie: squash on the bottom, then apples, then pummelos, then greens, then heirlooms, then grapes...). And sometimes things get crushed anyway. That can be a real bummer.

This method, though common, has similar problems, sometimes even worse. Cloth bag rubs against body and arm...

Hanging bags on your bike works ok, but only if you are picking up 3 or 4 things and the market's not too crowded to push your bike through...

I've noticed that some people have have much better ideas. For starters, the traditional wagon...

Or one of those "old lady going to the grocery store" carts...

And this one is for people who don't like to advertise what they're buying (and might have stacking issues similar to backpack)...

This one, I think, is some sort of laundry hamper?

I don't know what you call this - it's like a mini shopping cart with 2 levels for more surface area. Not bad!

Sometimes, aquisition of Farmer's Market Booty leads to child neglect. Note how this boy has lost his ride to a sack of oranges...

And another child displaced by food...

But, by far, the most kickin' Farmer's Market wheels is [sic]...

The Eight Shopping-Bag Caddie from Hammacher Schlemmer.

Damn! So long as you're really at the Market to get food and not pick up (because there's no way to escape looking like a 'tard pushing one of these things unless you're over 60), it really is perfect.

If you hook some re-usable cloth bags on there (or at least recycle some plastics you already have on hand) you're environmentally golden! None of your tender purchases get mushed because they all hang in their individual bags without anything on top.

Conspicuous Consumption Disclaimer: I can't think of anything else you could possibly use this thing for, so better go to the Farmer's Market a LOT to justify the purchase. If I get one, I'm going to re-name it Scroti Toti. "Hang your tender sacks on the steel rod and push... or pull!"

Snack Attack: Pass the Weed

2005-11-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Now I can finally stop buying rice crackers. Really I was just doing it so I could suck the nori off them. All hail my new favorite snack: Shirakiku Korean Style Seasoned Seaweed.

I bought 'em yesterday at the Japanese grocery in my 'hood. The 3-packs were on special in a bin, and I didn't really pay them much mind until this 11-year-old gringo kid (or whatever you call us in Japanese... gaijin, I guess) walked over with his dad and a shopping cart and piled about 10 of them in. The dad said, "Are you sure?" And the kid was like, "YES, Dad. They're good!" I recognized the look in that kid's eyes. It's the look of the food-obsessed. We're born that way. So I grabbed me a pack.

For all the things that are wrong with schools in California, you gotta like the fact that this kid probably sits by a Korean or Japanese-heritaged kid at lunch and they trade stuff. I wish someone would have given me a delicious seaweed snack back in the day. Nobody wanted to trade with me, though. Because my mom thought sliced sunchoke was a great dessert. But I digress.

So anyway, I had a feeling these would be some sort of nori-like snack and I was right. Each pack contains a little plastic tray of toasty delights! Crispy and seasoned just right. MMMMMM!

Go ahead... lick your monitor!

But be CAREFUL. I was so excited to taste that I slipped one of the... feuilles... in my mouth in its entirety. It immediately adhered to the roof of my mouth as nori is wont to do. I gagged and made like a dog eating peanut butter for a good 15 seconds and finally had to stick my finger in there and dislodge. Gringochoke. But no biggie. All went deliciously well after that. I broke the rest in half before inserting.

Quick, they're on sale here!

Virgin Vigil

2005-10-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Last night there were 1,354 MoveOn.org vigils held all over the country marking the 2,000 American soldiers who have died in the Iraq war.

I had never been to one of these things before, but wanted to see what it was like to participate. So I brought a candle. The focus was peace and rememberance, not so much political rallying. The women next to me were talking about all the Iraqi civilians and soldiers who have also died in this situation. Everyone seemed focused on the larger "human" concept.

We wondered aloud what it would be like to stand on a street corner with a "No War" sign and a candle in a red state. I mean, it's pretty easy to do this in West LA.

Overall, I found it to be a positive experience. Lots of cars beeping and waving in support. Who wouldn't support the concept of peace and remembering those who have died in service of our (malfunctiouning) country? Maybe the guy who leaned out his SUV and shouted something about how George Bush would kick our asses. Read a newspaper lately, jackass?

TORONTO: Fight Night!

2005-10-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

Toronto is such a cool city. Here is the requisite photo of the CN Tower, the world's tallest building!

Well, most of it is buried up in the clouds there, but trust me, it's tall and pointy. And it makes a great landmark for if you're ever unsure of the direction you're walking when you come up out of the TTC (subway).

Many people who have even a passing interest in architecture have heard that Frank Gehry is architechting the renovations of the Art Gallery of Ontario. I didn't manage to go by that part of town, so didn't get a photo, but I did get this:

Yo! That's the Royal Ontario Museum getting a face-lift as well, and this one is being architected by Daniel Libeskind.

Oooh! An architect fight! Who's gonna pimp the best museum? Anyone read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead? I say we call for a throw-down in front of City Hall! (It was designed by Viljo Revell, and he's dead, so it's neutral ground.) Email me to place your bets.

Frank "Rocky Bilbao!" Gehry is 17 years older than Daniel "Freedom Tower" Libeskind, so maybe there's a slight advantage there for Libeskind. Also, Libeskind never wussed-out and changed his name to sound not-Jewish*, so that's got to give him some sort of advantage as well, right? But Gehry's gorgeous buildings look like they could suddenly come alive and stomp to his aid like giant Transformers, so we'll see!

*Apparently, Gehry (Goldberg, Ephriam) regrets the name change. Hey, John Mellencamp resumed his given name and his career was unharmed...

One Benefit of Big Fire

2005-10-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

24,000 acres burned in brush fires in LA County in the past few days. Lots of particulate in the air. Bad for the lungs but sure makes for some interesting skies...

SPECIAL: Still thinking about Earth

2005-09-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

This article in the New York Times today talks about the shrinking of the Arctic ice cap.

This is not an environmental blog. But this stuff is really weighing on my mind. I must have contracted the Kyoto virus at that Gore talk.

The thing that's really buggin' me is the resistance to the FACT of global warming and human culpability. This article explains.

I've always cared, but I am late to the game in really taking a hard look. And I don't really know much about the science. But I am trying to learn. Yesterday I purposefully bought 100% recycled toilet paper ( I can no longer wipe my ass with a freshly-cut tree in good conscience), and rechargeable* batteries.

I also called the toilet paper brand I used to buy (love those ripples) and told them I was switching and would come back to them when they manufactured a post-consumer product. Tiny things. But imagine if everyone did the same.

Does anyone know what this means?

It's 100% recycled but the post-consumer content is 10-25%. I don't get it. I know so little. Kinda scary.

Thinking about a hybrid, sooner rather than later, too. Here's what Umbra from Grist says on the subject.

*The Blogger spell check didn't know the word rechargeable!

SPECIAL: Climate Crisis, Time to Act

2005-09-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended an excellent talk given by Al Gore on climate change. I have always been attentive to conservation issues, but now am convinced that we've got to step up and really solve this problem. We are ethically and morally bound to do so. And we have to do it RIGHT NOW. "Too late" is looming.

Laurie David, wife of Larry David, is the producer of the Al Gore talks (and resulting documentary) and these suggestions are from her site.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO FIGHT THE CLIMATE CRISIS

1. DRIVE SMART

- Buy a hybrid car!
- Make fuel efficiency a top question when purchasing a new car.
- Carpool when possible.
- Get your engine tuned up and keep your tires inflated.
- Start a no-idle rule in your school or church carpool lane.

2. BE ENERGY EFFICIENT

- Buy energy efficient appliances with the Energy Star label.
- Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. These compact bulbs produce the same amount of light, last 10 times as long, and use a 1/4 of the electricity. Use clean energy to power your home and business.
- When you are in a hotel that is over-air conditioned or they leave all of the lights on in your room, complain!
- Unplug your cell phone charger and other electronics from the wall when you are not using them. Did you know that even when turned off your hairdryers, cell phone chargers, and cameras use energy?
- Call your local utility and sign up for renewable energy. If they don't offer it, ask them why not!
- Weatherize your home, caulk, and weather-strip your doorways and windows. Not only will this save energy, but it will also save you money!

3. CREATE INCENTIVES

- Give coveted parking spots at churches, schools, malls, and community centers to hybrid cars.
- Let's pass car pool lane incentives and offer free parking meters for hybrid vehicles.
- If you are a business owner, offer clean-energy incentives to employees like the software maker Hyperion, who is giving $5,000 to every employee who buys a car that gets 45 mpg or higher.

4. PAPER PRODUCTS

- Buy only post consumer products, including toilet paper and tissues . The paper industry is the third greatest contributor to global warming emissions .
- Recycle your paper.
- Don't buy from companies that refuse to make post consumer paper! Producing new paper, glass, and metal products from recycled materials saves 70% to 90% of the energy and pollution that results from products made from virgin materials.

5. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

- Join a national or local environmental group that is fighting the climate crisis everyday so their membership numbers swell and their voice can't be ignored.
- Write to your elected officials, your mayors, your city council members, your state legislator, your Senators and members of Congress, and your President. Tell your local officials to adopt new goals. Write your congressional representatives that you support the McCain/Lieberman global warming bill. Ask your friends to do the same.
- Tell the companies you invest in that you care about global warming and you will pull your investments if they don't address the issue. Don't like a company's stance on global warming? Stop buying their product! Are you on a company's board? Promote solutions to global warming.
- Write to your local newspapers and call your radio shows and tell them you care about global warming; question the skeptics.
- Get these issues into the curriculum in schools.
- Email relevant articles to your friends and family to get them fired up about global warming.
- Go to shareholder meetings and speak-up!

NYC: They are DEVA... D.E.V.A.

2005-09-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Saw this kick-ass DEVO cover band called DEVA at Webster Hall. They opened for Le Tigre.

They even had a Mutant Monkey Man on stage in a diaper.

Hello Monkey Man!

NYC: Why Italians Rock #264

2005-09-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

The San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy is a mecca for treats, Italian style. You like cannoli? Tiramisu? Calamari? Gelato? Yeah baby, I do. And they also have this... torrone. Gigantic blocks of it!

Get your nougat on, people. This is Jean, she is a torrone hacker. Go Jean!

p.s. I am not Italian, just want to be.

p.p.s. They also have fried Oreos at the fest, but I decline to comment.

NYC: Battle of the Kitschy Chatchkes

2005-09-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

If you need a translation you haven't spent enough time in New York. Look at these colored mirror-y thingies. Wow. Spine-tinglingly kitschy.

But then, from behind, on the inside, comes the Russian nesting dolls in a modern stylee.

You know you want one.

And then sometimes cheese is so honed and well-done that it's not actually cheesy anymore... it becomes... pimped. I don't know much about car culture, but these dudes know what they're doing. A fully chromified engine!

My favorite element was the ice in the center of all four white-walled wheels. That would look awesome on my '95 Subaru.

NYC: Politics on da Street

2005-09-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Public participation stickers are all the rage in NYC right now. They basically help the average person throw up graf without the guilt. "But officer! There was a blank sticker to write on!" Here's a link to an artist who does it with speech bubbles (thanks, BoingBoing). And though the grammar is awkward as all get out, the sentiment is funny on this Mad Libs-inspired poster.

George Bush causes me a great deal of depression. But this blog is about things that please me. Funny t-shirt.

NYC: Behold Central Park in September

2005-09-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

To my, um... eight readers out there (counter says 000008 since I put it on the site last week), sorry I haven't posted in a while. But there are a bunch coming up. Besides anyway, I know you eight are probably just "next blog->" stumblers and... um... hi mom.

Here's an appetizer...New York City in September is extremely pleasing. Window glare, but you can still see how awesome Central Park looks from way high up at 59th & 5th.

Could this be the Housing Bubble Bursting?

2005-09-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

I saw something yesterday that was very interesting and very different than I've seen in the past 2 1/2 years. I saw a huge bevy of signs pointing people towards open houses on this corner in one of the hottest housing markets in the nation - Mar Vista (near Venice Beach and Santa Monica), CA.

You can't see from the photo, but the signs went all the way around the corner and down part of the block. I would say there were about 20 total.

You always see a few signs like this on the weekends around the area, and it WAS the Labor Day weekend (a hot selling weekend?). So perhaps my assumption is wrong. But I just thought I would post this in case it turns out to be the big turning point, and than I would be cool like a breaking news blog!

Can I get a RAmen?!

2005-08-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

Totally weird - I was just finishing up eating a plate of whole wheat spaghetti with rappini and was just about to wash the dishes when I felt a strange noodly presence.

I'm a bit freaked, but I think I may have been converted without my consent.

So, like, can I put the plate in the dishwasher? I mean, I don't want to miss the beer volcano.

You Have Never Tasted A Grape...

2005-08-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

... until you've tasted a Kyoho. Discovered by accident last week. Gollydamn, if this ain't the best tasting table grape I've ever put in my grape hole.

Now, this is probably because I have spent far too much time in North America where actual taste is GMO'd out of everything you find in the supermarket. But I am finally getting wise and learning how totally worth it it is to go to farmer's markets and specialty stores. I have always dabbled, but now I am becoming more committed. I'm keepin it real, though, as I still think a Coke Slurpee and a bag of Veggie Booty makes a delicious lunch.

Back to Kyoho. How I love thee. Apparently this grape is very popular in Japan and Korea. I bought my kyohos from a Japanese father and son team at the Venice farmer's market here in California. The son said it's his uncle who grows them. According to this here chart, they are rarely grown here. But if you can find them, eat them immediately!

If I had the motivation, I would make a line of t-shirts: Get yo'self a Kyo, ho! And I would convince Diddy to wear one to the MTV Video Music Awards and then the popularity of this grape would be off da richta and people all across this great nation would taste the sensation!

Stacked in La Jolla

2005-08-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Went for a run on the beach down to the end where the cliffs start. I came upon a collection of inukshuk, you know, those community-stacked stones that seem to be a worldwide sign for "I-was-here-but-I'm-too-conscientious-to-throw-up-graffiti-or-destroy-nature-so-instead-I will-stack-rocks."

I balanced one on top of a shorter stack that looked like it needed help. (Because if you don't participate when you come upon these, you're a party-pooper. Also, it seems like not placing a stone might bring a curse upon your house or some other bad thing.) Actually, I don't even know if you really call them inukshuk unless they're constructed by real, live Indigenous North Americans, but it sounds better than saying I saw a bunch of stacks of rocks.

And lest you think rock-stacking is for hosers, check out The Rock Balancing Art of Bill Dan. Watch a video of him kicking some stony ass in the Presidio. All in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.

And if you are turned on by that, you'll really get your rocks off if you rent this. It gives rockumentaries a good name.

Sorry.

Ok, so the other neat thing I saw today was this.

I was real thirsty from my run and desperately wanted to lick it, but I thought vibrations from my tongue might result in a spider attack, so I refrained. But it does look refreshing, doesn't it?

Step Off My Heirloom Tomato

2005-08-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the farmer's market to get heirloom tomatoes. Everyone was congregated around the stall and was real pushy - like a bunch of desperate parents at a toy store during Christmas. They're TOMATOES, people. Chill the hell out.

So, I shoved my way in (hey, when in Rome) and grabbed six beauts. They were pricey ($11) but worth it. I sliced 'em thick and did the drizzle. Also some fresh figs, goat gouda, and these friggin' delicious grapes unlike any I have ever tasted (also from the farmer's market).

I know they look like regular grapes, but they weren't. They were really really grapey, not like the usual red or green store-bought grapes which are sweet but taste like... nothing. These were big, juicy, purply and seedless, but had an intense, grapetastic taste. I'm not sure what they are... maybe some type of inbred Concord? More research needed.

Montreal: Crew Lunch Addendum 1

2005-04-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

Remember my shock and delight recently when certain television crews preferred sushi and tea houses for lunch instead of the usual "crew food"? Well, today order was restored in the universe as C., the sound guy, brought us to La Cabane on Rue St. Laurent in order to partake of his lunch of choice...

Note that he has a side of mashed potatoes with his fries and sauccis - hey, you can never eat too many "vegetables". He dipped every one of those fries in mayonnaise, as is the Quebec way. Me, I had a mangy salad, which of course is the only type of salad you can get in such a place.

But I was thankful for that salad, because C. could have dragged us directly across the street to the famous Schwartz's, home of Montreal's Viande Fumée - Smoked Meat Sandwich. I don't think they even serve salad there, so I would have had to eat ketchup for lunch.

See all the people lining up for smoked meat? The funny thing is, we never actually saw anyone LEAVE the restaurant...

Montreal: Super Bon Experiment! RESULTS

2005-03-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

!This post contains the results of an experiment proposed in an earlier post!

After a careful clinical trial in our specially equipped laboratory, we have reached some interesting and surprising conclusions. (Humor me while I speak in 3rd person, it makes me feel like there are more than one of me here eating chocolate-covered cherries (CCC), which makes me feel less pitiful.)

Our 4th runner up is...

Lowney (Hershey's) Cherry Blossom. Though big in size, she tries to do too much in one package. The chocolate contains roasted peanuts and coconut, which is simply uncalled-for in a CCC. Also, the inside sauce had a blob of that vulgar, white icing-sugar stuff that comprises the inside of a Cadbury Egg. It's a waste of space that could have been filled by like 4 cherries. The cherry itself... a nice red color but pretty standard.

Our 3rd runner up is...

Nielson Cerises. The bottom disc of the chocolate dome popped off soon as we took a bite which was an unwelcome reminder of the "how do they get the cherry inside the chocolate" manufacturing process. However, the chocolate was pretty good for milk chocolate. The cherry sauce was surprisingly clear in colour and not as viscous as Blossom's. The cherry itself... if you can believe it... was quite salty!

Our surprising 2rd runner up, coming in strong with no packaging to depend on...

Brown Paper Bag from the bulk store! The chocolate was a little waxy and not as good as Cerises, but she gained a lot of ground in the cherry department. The cherry sauce was quite red, had a nice viscosity, and tasted VERY cherry-ish. The most cherry-ish of all those tested so far. Yes, it is an utterly and completely artificial cherry flavor, but shit, people, we LIKE artificial cherry flavor! Sue us!

Our 1st runner up is...

Hernois Patisserie " Traditional". This is the one we had pegged to win. The chocolate was dark and delicious. The bottom surface was dipped in chocolate sprinkles, which in the end, was a bad idea because the chocolate sprinkles were not as high quality as the chocolate. Maybe they were structural support. We were shocked and saddened to find, in such a fancy CCC, a blob of that tasteless white icing sugar stuff taking up space (and therefore grudgingly apologize to Blossom for calling her vulgar). But it probably had to be there because the cherry was so SMALL! And when we bit into it... Yo! What the... a pit! In fact, it was all pit with just a little layer of cherry flesh. Thank god we are scientists and dissect everything carefully or we would have broken a tooth for sure. What saved this CCC (and why she is 1st runner up) is 1) the high quality chocolate and 2) the cherry sauce: definitely alcoholic and delicious. Note the lack of artificial color, which can only be expected in fine chocolates.

And the winner of da Bomb Bomb experiment is...

Patisserie Harnios "Cognac." Lord have mercy, look at the size of that cognac-engorged cherry! It practically takes up the entire cavern! And the cherry sauce (and I do mean SAUCE) is a delicious liquor which we suppose is cognac because that's what Harnois told us. The chocolate was very dark and delicious and we would definitely buy this one again...

If we still had a taste for chocolate-covered cherries...

Which,... guess what... WE DO NOT!

Join us next craving as we discover which salty snacks offer the best crunch for the buck or which cereal tastes most like cookies or perhaps which chocolate croissant is actually worth 4 hours on the treadmill.

Montreal: Super Bon Experiment!

2005-03-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

You know when you get obsessed with a certain food? Well, this is the story of my newest food obsession... chocolate-covered cherries. Don't ask me why. People close to me know I have a rather formidable sweet tooth. But even for me, this is a bit out of left field. I never cared for a chocolate-covered cherry before.

Prior obsessions in the candy realm include chocolate-mint oriented things, chocolate-covered salty things (pretzels, potato chips) and candy bars that are especially detailed, necessitating painstaking nibbling according to precise layer (Canada's Coffee Crisp is the best - 9 layers to excavate, including the chocolate enrobing part). But I digress.

As I figure I will be eating a lot more of chocolate-covered cherries in the coming week (until I basically make myself sick and move on) I have decided to find the best chocolate-covered cherry in my neighbourhood and gorge on those. Why? Because I'm worth it!

So join me as I do a carefully constructed and controlled experiment:

Which BonBon is da Bomb Bomb!

Here are the candidates:

Working clockwise from 12 O'clock:

Candidate #1 is Lowney's Cherry Blossom. She hails from the dépanneur on the corner. She is the heftiest of the bunch, wrapped in foil, then in a yellow box, and is equivalent to, say, a Hershey-level bon bon. Wait, in fact, upon further examination of the box... she IS a Hershey bon bon! So much for Lowney.

Candidate #2, we'll call her Brown Paper Bag, is from a random candy shop called Sucrerie du Soleil - "Sugar of the Sun" - it's one of those bulk candy places, and there is no way to tell how long she's been living there. I found her (and her friend) in the back. Gulp.

Candidate #3, Neilson Cerises, is from another dépanneur down the street. She is 4 bon bons in one package (this will not sway my objective results) and is equivalent to, perhaps, a Nestle's-level bon bon. Upon further examination of the package... make that Cadbury.

Candidate #4, call her Fancy Pants, is from Patisserie Harnois and is considered a Fine Chocolate. Fancy Pants is actually 2 different bon bons - one is a traditional chocolate-covered cherry (see the stem?) and the other (in foil) is a cherry in cognac. I had to get both because this is a very important experiment and I need to get as wide a sample as possible. Science, people.

Now, as you can see, Patisserie Harnois had a few other items for sale...

I may or may not have endeavored to make sure none of these other bon bons was feeling left out just because he or she doesn't contain a cherry. But I digress yet again.

Please join me in the next EP blog entry as the taste test commences.

Montreal: City of Graf

2005-03-19T04:39:00.000-08:00

Montreal has some world-class graffiti - if you appreciate such things, which I happen to. Sometimes it's hard to tell what's actual graf and what's a commissioned mural. In my neighborhood there is some amazing street art. This is a very small sampling, all within a 3-4 block radius...

There's just something about a city that demands art be everywhere for everyone...

Some of it's playful...

Some is serious and perhaps political...

Some of it I can't stop thinking about...

And some of it is just to remember Felix from the block...

Viva Montréal!

Montreal: J'aime Le Metro

2005-03-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

I love the Montreal Metro system, which was until very recently called Société de Transport de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal. I always enjoyed the acronym because, well... SCTUM. Glance at it fast and... scum! Or ...scrotum! Or ...sucked 'em! Because of municipal amalgamation, it's now just Société de transport de Montréal - STM. Boring. But I'm goin' down anyway.

Each Montreal metro station is decorated in different style. I am particularly fond of the Villa Maria metro station because it gives me a weird 70's feeling...

Here's a sign that makes perfect sense to French-speaking people:

But on first glance I thought that retards* might get arrested if they got on this particular train. (*Wikipedia: Politically Incorrect)

Hey! Here comes le train!

Montreal: When You Walk Down the Street

2005-03-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

There is so much to see in Montreal! It really is like being in Europe. The cars are smaller, the people thinner, the architecture fascinating, old and new. You see lots of old buildings like this one...

And you also see modern institutions, with proper Québec signage, of course...

And look at this - for those of you who don't speak Québeçois, a dépanneur is a "corner store," like a 7-11. I ask you, would YOU buy sushi at a dépanneur? Je pense que NON!

Today, I saw a whole bunch of boxes filled with vinyl LPs that someone had put out to trash! There were lots of interesting records in there - Dean Martin, Rolling Stones... I hated to see them going to the dump, and desperately hope some bohemian with a record player will come and rescue them!

Vinyl is a cool word. I shall name my first child Vinyl. And this is a store in my neighborhood that sells legs. I might buy one just in case one of my knees gives out.

Montreal: Crew Smashes Stereotype

2005-03-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

Remember how I mentioned (Montreal: A Real Travesty) that it was an anomaly to be going to a sushi restaurant with a television crew? Well, this past week, I was working with a completely different crew, and much to my surprise, B. (DP and camera) suggested we take our lunch break at a frilly tea house!

And there I sat with B. (he's the one holding the tea cup daintily), E. (PA, young guy on the right) and my producer, BeetleJuice (putting clotted cream on his current scone)!

And don't forget C., who, though she is female, does typically prefer a hamburger or her own bagged lunch to the leek and truffle oil soup she's enjoying here...

Wonders never cease! And here's your bonus shot for today, a truck carrying a booty of something the Quebeçois treasure most: Boréale beer. Blond, Rouge or Noir, this is simply one of the most delicious beers you'll ever taste. Man, I hope they have Boréale in the afterlife.

Montreal: La Cabane a Sucre... saWEET!

2005-03-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

Today I went to a Cabane a Sucre! Go ahead, translate it yourself...

It means Sugar-Shack! And it is a fine Canadian Tradition. See the guy eating something on a stick there?

He is eating a delicious maple syrup treat! The Cabane master pours a line of delicious pure Canadian maple syrup on a bed of snow, then takes a popsicle stick and rolls it down the line, wrapping the stick in mapley goodness!

Until he gets to the end, when you have just what you came for... a frozen knob of maple syrup on a stick!

Deeeeeeee-licious! And luckily (what the F?) it was -18 C today, so the syrup stayed frozen while i walked down the street and did not drip onto my hand, as maple syrup on a stick is wont to do. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my nose.

Here are some of the other fine maple offerings sold at this Cabane a Sucre... little mini ice cream cones filled with whipped, hardened maple syrup (for those of you who have lived in Quebec, or Ontario for that matter, you know you can find these year-round at most corner-stores)...

Delicious Bonbons d'Erable - Maple Candy made of Pure 100% Maple Syrup...

And of course... well... maple syrup!

And just think: usually you have to go out into the country to a maple tree farm to experience such a cavity promoting treat. Imagine my surprise and delight to find this Cabane a Sucre conveniently located just outside the St. Denis Metro station!

Montreal: Buried Bikes and Euro Sneakers

2005-03-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

Oh yes it is, it really is winter here. Today it snowed all day, adding another 6-7cm layer onto the ice-encrusted city that is Montréal.

One thing I have never understood about Montrealers, is how they leave their perfectly good city bicycles locked to a fence or a post, only to get buried in snow for 4-5 months of the year. Why not just bring it inside or ask a friend if you can keep it in his garage? Do these bikes work in the spring or are they just discarded for new ones?

(Granted, I do remember back in the day, I had an excellent 3-speed that I left locked outside my apartment on Avenue des Pins. There was an unexpected snow storm in October, and a sidewalk snow-plow (yes, they have them for sidewalks here) came by and hit my bike and crushed it. So I just left it locked to the post for eternity, thinking it was the city's problem since they wrecked it in the first place.)

This is my new gym! It's called L'Optimum, and everyone at this gym speaks French. It is a fairly nice facility, but the people in it are the most un-gym-like people I have ever seen. It is completely refreshing. The funniest thing is the shoes. I am obsessed with checking out these peoples' shoes! Instead of really "athletic" sneakers, like we would wear for running or aerobics or whatnot, they wear... fashion sneakers.

Do you know what I mean? Blue, green, maroon... Euro sneakers with black socks. Or even black boot-looking things with culots! I SO want to send you photos of this phenomenon, but I can't figure out a clever way of taking pictures of peoples' feet and trying to explain it in broken French. Possible translation: "I am making photo of shoes of different style for making my friends laughter in California and elsewhere!" That might make me fewer friends than I already have.

This is just inside the door of the entrance to the gym. Everyone is very good about removing their wet, salty boots and putting on their Euro-sneakers right away so that the facility doesn't get sullied. Don't you just love Canadians? French or Anglo, this is one of their fortés!

And this is the metro stop closest to the production office. I am glad they wrote the graffiti in English, because somehow "La viande est le meurtre" doesn't work as well.

Montreal: A Real Travesty

2005-03-04T15:58:00.000-08:00

Something horrid happened today! We were taking a lunch break from shooting and were sitting at a sushi place (which, for those of you who know television crews, was a surprisingly civilized choice for lunch... EFP camera and sound ops nearly always preferring diners featuring Meat and Potatoes, in my experience of working in TV/film).

The server brought out our order and, well, there's no nice way to put this... proceeded to drop the order on my back. She literally dropped the large plate of sushi and it fell on the back of my head and neck and down into the back of my chair and out onto the floor. This is probably a lucky talisman of some sort (if sushi falls on you, you will automatically have good luck at fishing, and maybe... healthy arteries?), but at that moment, it seemed like someone shot my dog. Hell, I wasn't even worried about my clothing or anything, I just never, ever, imagined how painful it would be to see a platter of perfectly delicious sushi hit the floor.

But I did. And now you can, too...

Yes, to make matters worse, the server swept it up into a nasty-ass dust pan. Can you imagine! How DARE she not tenderly pick up and gracefully dispose of each piece of fresh, newly soiled fish, some still stuck expertly to their little rice log? It was truly disturbing. Thank god this was fairly tame "lunch special" sushi and not ikura, uni or tobiko with quail egg. In that case, I think I might have considered punching her in the throat.

My producer (who witnessed the Sushi Travesty and was more appalled that the restaurant didn't offer me a free dessert or anything to make up for the fact that they dropped food on me than he was at the sushi's fate) looks like Michael Keaton.

Ever since I realized this, I can't stop thinking of him as Beetlejuice. Especially when he thinks we might go into overtime and begins racing around like a mad,... well,... Beetlejuice!

Montreal: H.W.B.

2005-03-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

You might ask yourself, "Why would a respectable, perfectly young person buy a hot water bottle?"

The answer: Because it's muthafuckin' COLD here (-10 degrees C), and I currently don't have anyone to keep me warm.

So, to be cooler (not in temperature but in hipness), I am calling it my H.W.B. which if you say it right, with a Black American accent, kind of sounds like a gangsta and less like something an old person might pee on in the night.

Here is a detail of H.W.B. isn't she pretty?

and this is the bed that H.W.B. and I will share tonight, here on Rue Christophe Colomb in the heart of Montreal.

Gosh. I hope she's not a leaker.

Montreal: First Night

2005-03-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

It's lovely and snowy here in Montreal! Not cold but just right for walkin' down the city street and hunting down some dinner.

Kimchee and vege paté sandwich from local dépanneur.

Yummy and also delicious!

Photo for Profile

2004-07-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Just a photo for the profile :)