Off the Wheel

Yosemite backpacking trip

2010-07-02T16:26:00.012-04:00

Backpacking the North Rim of Yosemite: 3 nights, 4 days out

Our route, roughly.

We had intended to do another route, but when we arrived, we found it was still too snow-covered. The North Rim was our other choice, and it turned out to be wonderful. Especially with (or maybe despite of) the advice we got - from a couple of very drunk Texans at the backpackers' campsite the night before we started - about an unmarked trail through (or rather, straight up) some rock slides...

Scrabble, travelers' edition - to pass the time at the backpackers' campsite the night before getting started...

Gabe: Really?? "GRIEF??" Come on, Meg, we're on vacation now...

Off we go.

The rock slides...

View of Yosemite Valley...

Ribbon Meadow, on our second day out. We were trekking over snow moments later...

Taking a rest on a cliff...

Campsite, day two.

View from North Dome, day 3.

Half Dome!

View of Half Dome, at our campsite on the final night.

Sunrise at the Arch at Indian Rock, day 4.

I believe Gabe is making oatmeal up there.

One year down...

2010-07-02T16:22:00.002-04:00

First year of grad school, done. Looking back at my first year here, I can't believe: 1) I survived. 2) I now have two cats. Hm.

Joshua Tree

2010-03-28T10:12:00.011-04:00

The end of the winter quarter brought a (short. very, very short.) "Spring Break"...

Camping at Joshua Tree!

The wildflowers in the southernmost part of the Park were in bloom...

The Joshua trees were also in bloom. The blossoms look like big popcorn balls...

Joshua tree in bloom

close-up

Joshua trees are funny things... Often, they are really impressive and striking to look at... But, other times, they look a little silly.

A hike (approx. 7 miles) through the "Wonderland of Rocks" to a little oasis called "Willow Hole":

Near our camp site:

Arch Rock

Kitten updates!

2010-03-28T10:00:00.003-04:00

... I have to.

Not-Andy is the perfect size (and shape) to fit in my bag.

This pose, by the way, has become familiar.

Like this, but fuzzy. And cute.

Updates

2010-03-28T09:22:00.010-04:00

I have been meaning to update this for... holy cow... about three months now....

Cough. Well. Better late than never, I suppose.

First! ...

Ski trip to Tahoe!

After living almost my entire life in the snowy northeast, I finally (finally!) put on a pair of skis... (Again, better late than never, I suppose...) Thanks to the Dillons and Duques, I not only survived, but had a great time.

See? Me, having a great time. (I am pretty sure I wiped out getting off the ski lift shortly after this was taken, but for the moment, I appear to be doing well...)

Lake Tahoe!

In the gondola...

Happy Birffday, Steve

2009-12-08T20:38:00.002-05:00

Oh, hai! Today I am blogging cuz Megan is trapped somewhere she said it is called "paper hell" but I don't know what she is talking about because she likes papers it always seemed to us, she has so many of them all over the floor.

Anyway, we wanted to make a birffday cake with some ingredients we were thinking about. Maybe tuna and treats, which are our favorite flavors. But then Not-Andy made the plan get messed up because he found this box and I said no, but he said yes, let's not make the cake anymore, let's play in the box.

This is what he sounds like all the time with his little cat noises. I told him if you don't bake this birffday cake with me, I will show the world your little voice. And, ok, he said fine I don't care. But I also didn't tell him I was going to say this: THIS IS WHAT HE SOUNDS LIKE IN THE BAFFROOM. LIKE WHEN HE IS USING THE LITTER BOX! HAHAHA what a nerd!

Anyway, this post is dedicated to Steve, a guy we hear about, I think he has cats so he is a V-I-P is how I would put it. It's his birffday. Like I said, about the cake, it's all Not-Andy's fault. Bai!

Cannot stop taking photographs of cats.

2009-12-04T11:25:00.003-05:00

"Oh, hai!"

Andy battles a toy bug, momentarily appearing to be in outer space. (Outer space, however, soon reveals itself to be a black futon...)

It appears Andy is victorious. He kangaroo kicks Not-Andy off the couch to celebrate.

Not-Andy is a man of letters. He is a big reader. Oh, I mean - he is a wee big reader.

Not-Andy has been chosen

2009-12-01T19:37:00.006-05:00

He is pet of the week in the newspaper. (Here is Andy's pet of the week feature.)

We must attend to his toilette. He is so fuzzy; there is much to attend to.

I am giggling uncontrollably in the background that "He looks like Martin Van Buren..."

Which he did. A little.

Andy's Shenanigans...

2009-11-30T22:09:00.002-05:00

Andy declares that this glass is empty. EMPTY.

I question Andy's choice of armor...

Andy and Not-Andy... are adorable

2009-11-28T19:11:00.007-05:00

Andy is the tabby (about 7 wks old); Not-Andy is his sidekick (5 wks old)... I'm their foster mommy for a little while....

I think I am in love...

Andy (he came with the name "Andy")

... Not-Andy (he came with the name "Fluffy-bum"...)

Not-Andy attacks the dire threat that is... The Paper Bag.

At the end of the day, being so very fluffy, Not-Andy is... a lover, not a fighter.

2009-09-19T09:37:00.003-04:00

Nnnooo.... to think. Pastina could have ROCKED this sport. One more wee trophy on her wee mantle. * tear

Aw, a training regimen, to prep for the big day. ...But, what?! Just cardio? No weight-training?

PETS! I WANT PETS!

2009-09-18T20:48:00.003-04:00

I miss Pastina :( What a good ham she was.

Visited a pet store the other day to soothe my pet-withdrawal.

I feel very bad for you, hermit crabs. They have given you the most undignified shells ever! Especially you in the back, with the word "Rad!" painted on. And the "Go USA!" with little squiggles is just weird.

(Hm. Even NOT on a crab it would make me feel weird... Unless we are at the Olympics. Which we're not. Ok, sorry, sorry, I'm done.)

This hamster has a problem. "Seeds! Kernels! Must get me some seeds! Kernels!"

A day in LA

2009-09-15T14:18:00.003-04:00

Began at the LACMA... (Above is a funny, hangy-down sculpture installation thing that little kids like a lot. I liked it a lot, too. You just have to be careful and look out for the big concrete post in the middle if you are running through it at high speed. We noticed they padded the post, though. Maybe there had been a mishap...)

"Immortal with Toad"

This is one of Raquel's favorite exhibits at the LACMA. All of these mini carvings are kimono accessories. Some are made of ivory; some are made of NARWHAL TUSK!

Here is a pet-related photo I could not resist adding.... It's a billboard I saw near Echo Park. Pet-related, but with an LA twist.

Peter is a great cook. He made us candied kumquat mojitos and then paella for dinner. NOM!

Oh, p.s. - I tried to find a recipe for the mojitos (they were really, really tasty) and here is one from the LA Times.

Last day at Olympic National Park...

2009-09-12T20:06:00.006-04:00

Last day in the Olympic National Park... Having done the mountains (and survived -cough- ) we decided to check out the rainforest and the coast...

First sign you see, upon entering the Hoh Rainforest.... BIG SPRUCE TREE, this-a-way.... Okayyy....

Yep, that's pretty big... (over 270 ft. high, 12.5 ft. diameter, 550 years old)

This is the phone Frodo uses...

(I couldn't help including it, if only to illustrate just how lush and green everything is in the rainforest here...)

Along the Hoh River... We took a hike along the Hoh, amid rain showers, no surprise...

And saw this guy!!!! Eeeeek!

SO GREEN! This is club moss, which is actually more related to the fern family than to the moss family. It hangs on all the trees here...

Crescent Lake, carved by glaciers... The clouds are truly a part of the landscape here.

Mist and clouds...

Second beach (I think) at the La Push region... Great driftwood, empty beaches, and a healthy, powerful coastline.

Hurricane Ridge

2009-09-10T11:37:00.005-04:00

Day 2 in the Olympic National Park: took possibly the ugliest rental car ever (see pic above) up to Hurricane Ridge for a hike in the mountains...

Lots of deer in this park...

We hiked up Elk Mountain (6,773 feet).... The views were spectacular. It is just you, the wind, the occasional call of a bird... It makes you feel so very wee...

See? Wee...

Gabe notes that we can see both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker in the distance. We were extremely lucky to have a clear day for the hike. Actually, we both got a bit of a sun burn - pretty good work for a trip to the Pacific NW :)

Mount Olympus... It was very shortly after this that I discovered... that I have a brutal fear of heights.

No. Seriously.

This became apparent as we began a length of exposed ridge hiking down the face of Elk Mountain. "I'M GOING TO DIE! EEEEEE!!!!"

I don't know how, but somehow, Gabe managed to coax me, clinging to the side of the mountain, across the exposed face to a copse of pine trees where I huddled in a fetal position until I was good.

It was then that we also discovered.... that we had left our trail map in the car. :| There was a short, hungry debate (our lunches were also left behind in the car) about whether to push on or double back and retrace our steps. It is very uncomfortable to find out that you are afraid of heights and do not know where you are, while you are on the side of a 6,773 foot mountain. In the end, I lived. Which is good. But I looked like this for some time afterward (ok, until I got a beer in the nearest town):

Post-wedding random Olympic National Park trip

2009-09-08T20:49:00.006-04:00

The wedding was fantastic. It was held at a lovely farm and was really a special event. I was having such a great time I actually didn't take any pictures, myself, but believe me... there were plenty taken :) Mazel tov, Steve and Sarah!

After the wedding - zooooom! -- quick camping trip...

...in the Olympic National Park. Ohhh yeaahh...

Is it... a pheasant? .... a funky, tiny turkey? A GEODUCK?? (Gabe: "No, no... not a geoduck. I already told you - geoducks AREN'T ducks...")

We set up camp and then took a hike along the Elwha River to "Goblin's Gate," a narrow part of the river right before it shoots into the canyon. Look how wee Gabe is next to that tree, hehe...

The Olympic National Park is really special because it contains so much diversity: mountains, a beautiful and rugged coastline, old-growth forests, and TEMPERATE RAIN FORESTS (I'm verrry excited to see that. Tomorrow, perhaps.)

Know what else it has? BANANA SLUGS. (lick, lick)

Seattle!

2009-09-06T15:21:00.010-04:00

Flew into Sea-Tac yesterday (Was it yesterday? Time is still a little blurry for me right now...) in order to go to Steve and Sarah's wedding on an island just off of Seattle.

Neat-o. I'm in Seattle.

Wandered around Pike Place Market for a bit. This is at the fish market. People stand around and wait for the famed Pike Place Fish Mongers to do their thing, which, as far as I can gather, is tossing really, really big fish through the air to each other.

I got to experience the niftiness that is the car ferry for the first time ever. "You just drive right into it? Get. Out.) Waiting in a line of parked cars for an hour and a half was not so cool... but the ride was!

Maybe I don't get out much, but I was exceedingly excited about this car ferry (I took an embarrassingly large number of photos in the ferry, of the ferry, around the ferry... Ferry ferry ferry.) And about seeing this stuff - the clouds, water, dark pine trees. Very, very beautiful.

I should organize and pack for my trip tomorrow...

2009-09-04T00:42:00.009-04:00

...but instead I think I'll go to the beach again. (mwhahaha...)

The rocks rolling over one another make a neat sound. (And, yeah, that is me realizing I am being video-taped...).

I am looking for some nice rocks. At some beaches here, there are signs that say: PROTECTED AREA - NO COLLECTING (and a small but belligerent and bad voice in me goes: "No collecting? ...YES collecting!") so when collecting is allowed, I look for things. Like rocks. And shells.

This is what I collected! The little rock on top is my new pet rock. And the big one is a rock I found that looks like a bear. All he will need are some painted eyes and maybe some ear outlines.

(He may end up a doorstop, though. Just to be upfront about it...)

Good-bye, beach...

... and hello, In-N-Out Burger :)

Eleeza tipped us off to order our burgers "Animal Style" (per the In-N-Out "secret menu"), so we did (actually, we ordered one "Animal Style," and one not, so that we could compare and figure out what "Animal Style" actually is...) Delish.

Oh, and I'm not telling what "Animal Style" is if you don't know... click the link or come to visit me on the west coast to find out... (preferably the latter)

This video has a lovely surprise at the end...

I can't believe I live here...

2009-09-02T23:40:00.008-04:00

Laguna Beach this time. I can't believe I can wake up and think, hm, what should I do today, I guess I will go to Laguna Beach for a bit before lunch.

This is at Crescent Cove, in Laguna Beach. There are a number of coves of varying sizes that belong to the Laguna Beach area. This one was Grrrrreat! The water was so clear you could be standing chest high and look down and see seashells and rocks. (Gabe stared for a good while at one rock which he at first mistook for a fish: "Look a fish!!! ...oh, no, it's a rock. ....Wait, no! ...oh, yeah, it's a rock.")

But we did see this little guy scampering around in a tide pool. Also, lots of anemones and hermit crabs and mussels... and, yes... a fish. For real this time.

On the way back from Laguna, stopped at the SHAKE SHACK! I was feeling a bit peckish.

NOM NOM NOM NOM! A date milkshake! Thanks (once again!!) Eleeza for the tip ;)

Warm roast beef sliders on potato rolls with creamy horseradish and grilled onions. Ate at a little look-out over Crystal Cove...

We go to Target and then eat crawfish

2009-08-30T18:10:00.004-04:00

A trip to Target, to get stuff for the new place... Got distracted by this guy, though... He was in "T-Rex mode." I wanted to see him do "Herbivore," but the "Herbivore" button did not work :(

Some seashells I collected at Newport Beach :)

In the afternoon, Raquel and Peter came down from L.A. and we went to a water park to scamper around and have fun. Afterward, we went to a little restaurant to eat crawfish, which apparently is becoming a trend here. They were so spicy and so wee. And they were served in a big, steaming plastic bag. NOM!

John Marullo is here!

2009-08-26T02:39:00.003-04:00

Crazy... but John Marullo is in town (!!!), touring with his band! Hearing his stories about traveling cross-country made our trip suddenly look verrrrry tame :) (He did sort of get stranded in Sioux City, though... Oh, John...)

We went to Apple Pan, an awesome, old-school burger joint in West L.A. (click that link, it is pretty spot-on)

Took a little walk down Venice Beach at night...

Moving in and exploring

2009-08-26T02:26:00.003-04:00

Slowly figuring out where things are... Apartment is off Anteater Drive, for instance... :)

Took a morning jog at Crystal Cove State Park. Really beautiful place - clear green-blue water, clean beaches, and interesting rock formations...

This is at one of the tide pool areas...

Gabe: "Maybe you'll make a beach-lover out of me after all..."

Will, Alyssa, and James - for you! To entice you to come visit :) (There was a small exhibit at the Crystal Cove visitor center, which had a corner devoted to mountain biking in the region...)

Day 13: THE FINISH LINE!

2009-08-22T22:00:00.005-04:00

It is time to get to where we are going... Vegas to Irvine is about 4.5 hours. Vrrrooom.... Arrived around 3:30 p.m.

OMG.

You know, we sort of wondered whether the packages would arrive ok... aaaaand, the answer is YES. Fed Ex, you are awesome.

Apparently, our packages arrived and assembled at the door... for about a week. Just waiting. Twiddling their thumbs... My neighbors probably think I am curious :|

SPACE! There is SO MUCH SPACE!

First meal in the new apartment... Thanks, Eleeza, for the recommendation!! Delivery pizza from Gina's! .... on a milk crate table. No chairs, none needed. :)

Day 12: Las Vegas

2009-08-22T11:41:00.003-04:00

Arrived in Sin City and checked in at the Golden Nugget (I admit that I chose the hotel based on its name alone (NUGGET!!!)... Upon further investigation, the hotel is part of hotelier Steve Wynn's '90s re-vamp of Las Vegas... Sort of interesting...

Weird pic of me in the desert heat....

Gabe is expressing the way both of us felt about Vegas, generally... Ok, I'll just say it: Vegas was totally Pastina's idea... poor 'tina...

The Bellagio.... I saw a duck in the lake. It was the highlight.

The famed fountains of the Bellagio!

Day 11 and 12: OOPS!!! Ok, Grand Canyon...whatever...

2009-08-21T11:26:00.010-04:00

From Zion, we headed to Vegas.... until.... I checked our hotel reservations from the road:

Me: "Umm. What is today's date?"

Gabe: "Wednesday." Pause. "Maybe."

Slowly realized we had completely lost track of time and were one day ahead of ourselves... I have a set "check-in date" at UC Irvine. For some reason, we had thought that date was on a Thursday. About 30 minutes into our drive to Vegas, we realized, oops - nope, it's actually on a Friday. So -- wow. EXTRA DAY!

What to do, what to do... Pulled over, consulted the map (THANKS RICK) and each other, and.... Grand Canyon it is! Turned the car around and chug, chug, chug.... to Arizona!

Except... we did not quiiiiite make it to the Grand Canyon that evening. We called the park ranger station from the road, and it seemed that the North Rim camping sites were full; we decided, then, to camp in the Kaibab National Forest, just outside the Grand Canyon Park. (Kaibab means "Mountain Lying Down," by the way...)

We met this dude along the way. We noticed him at Zion - saw him again on the road to the Kaibabs. We pulled over to offer him a couple of beers and see where he was truckin to -- Gabe tried to chat him up a bit, but then, Highway Patrol came with their rude sirens and broke the party up - "You CANNOT park along this road. GET back in your car and GET out of here!" Stern, chubby, sun-burnt man.

Be still my heart... Also, there is a special squirrel, called "The Silver Ghost of the Northern Rim" (hehe, ok, no - that is his nickname. His real name is the Kaibab Squirrel) and he only lives on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon -- no other place in the world does it for him. :)

The Kaibab National Forest allows camping at large. We found a logging trail into the forest, drove my poor lil Hyundai in, and found a nice spot to pitch camp. What a beautiful night of stars!

In the morning, we got up, packed the tent away, and headed to the Grand Canyon! Took a short hike along the Widforss Trail (named for an artist, Gunnar Widforss, who did landscapes of the Canyon in the '20s, I believe) and then took off.... for Vegas ! (for real this time....)

Gabriel, shooting wildlife (har har har...)

Day 11: Zion!

2009-08-21T10:54:00.007-04:00

We somehow made it from Yellowstone all the way south to Cedar City, Nevada - took us about 11 hours or so... But we stayed at an Econolodge across the street from....

ANGRY CHICKENS! Gabe pulled a U-ie to get a pic of that, by the way. He also informed the girl behind the check-in desk at the Econolodge that ANGRY CHICKENS were in the 'hood. :|

In the morning, made the short drive into Zion National Park! Beautiful, no?

Verrrry chubby, Mr. Groundsquirrel... (I did not say this to his face. He's a biter, said the signs around the park.)

We took a hike into the Narrows -- which required sometimes waist-high fording of the Virgin River. It was spectacular - very clear, cool water and magnificent rock formations. By the way, there is no evidence of glacial activity in the Zion Park area -- all the rock formations are the result of downcutting by the Virgin River, sedimentation, and erosion.

At the hanging gardens (the rock is porous sandstone and can support lovely hanging wildflower gardens), the water has been dated to 1,000 years old!

Got on the road in the afternoon, in order to make it to... VEGAS, baby! by evening...

Day 10: Bye, Yellowstone

2009-08-19T03:37:00.009-04:00

The saddest day of all... saying goodbye to Yellowstone :( But first, I would like to show you some buffalo doing buffalo things (nomming, snorting, mouth-breathing, staring...)

On the way out of Yellowstone, we crossed the Continental Divide. Verrrry exciting.

So, the only thing we were disappointed about in regard to Yellowstone was that we had not seen any grizzlies. We had seen: buffalo (loads and loads), elk, a coyote, black bears, snakes, marmots and ground squirrels, various birds, and deer -- but no grizzlies. Then, juuuust as we were leaving the park..... BOOM. GRIZZLY.

I've never heard Gabe's voice do what it did when he saw it: "OOOMYGOD - IT'SAGRIZZLY," veering car to the side of the road, reaching for camera. This is the shot I got out the back window.

Grizzly bear butt... Gabe and I high-five from the safety of our car.

The Tetons... and beyond

We drove through the Grand Teton National Park and enjoyed the rugged and more jagged peaks.

But then, of course, came Idaho and Utah... and the, um, "scenery" got less impressive... (By the way... that says: One Big Ass Mistake America...)

Yep, Idaho. Potato State. Remember that first grade project I did on Idaho, Dad? :)

We got to Utah and took a mini-break in Salt Lake City to see the Salt Lake Temple and read about the Mormons. We tried to go inside the Temple, but we weren't allowed in. You need a special letter from a bishop, Wikipedia said later, when we consulted it.

Leaving Salt Lake City... lovely sunset. Gabe: "It looks like the Promised Land..."

Day 9: Yellowstone, take two!

2009-08-19T02:56:00.009-04:00

Activity No. 1: Morning Hike!

We took the Seven Mile Hole Trail, which is an 11-mile roundtrip trail that begins along the rim of the Yellowstone canyon and ends with a descent into the canyon, where some of the backcountry camping sites are located, along the Yellowstone River.

We did not make it very far before I realized my pants were falling down. >:( Makeshift suspenders!

This is a wee squirrel who hates me. He barked at me to go home. For a really long time. It hurt my feelings...

The trail leads into a pine forest and then.... presto-change-o, meadow-o! Ate our lunches here.

Activity No. 2: The Mud Volcano

More geothermal stuff... the vapors are mostly hydrogen sulfide (stinky), carbon dioxide, and steam...

Activity No. 3: Yellowstone Lake

Twenty miles long, fourteen miles wide... And lots of geothermal vents and activity way down at the bottom. You're not supposed to swim, though, because it is very, very cold and they don't want you to die of hypothermia.

We are very busy taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other.

Day 8: Yellowstone at last!

2009-08-19T02:05:00.006-04:00

Stop No. 1: Mammoth Hot Springs

"DO NOT APPROACH THE ELK!" But... they look so... approachable.

This is in front of the Inn and "Resort" at the Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone. The hot springs themselves are a short walk away.

Amazing, no? The hot springs at Mammoth are comprised of "terraces" created by limestone, heat, water, and rock fissures. Thermophilic bacteria give these hot springs their beautiful color.

(Actually, I think some of these photos are from Norris Geyser Basin, which is the hottest and most dynamic thermal area in Yellowstone...)

Yellowstone Park is known for its magnificent geothermal activity. Yellowstone, itself, is an enormous (and still active) volcano. Bet you didn't know that.

It started to rain a little bit while we were at Mammoth. Hot springs, cold drizzle...

The hot springs deposit travertine as white rock and it creates a really remarkable-looking landscape. I thought these trees, with their stripes of white, black, and brown, looked like skinny beagle tails sticking up in the ground.

Stop No. 2: Old Faithful

You bet. Old Faithful goes off about every 90 minutes. As the time approaches, people begin gathering around the viewing platform.

You are two minutes late, O.F. For shame!

Actually, I overheard an old guy behind me say, "She used to be a lot more faithful, you know..." and apparently, he is right -- the interval between Old Faithful's eruptions is growing longer. Earthquakes in the area have changed the underground "plumbing" of the geyser over time...

On the drive back from Old Faithful, we saw.... A BULL ELK!!!

It is very funny. You can drive around Yellowstone and when you see a bunch of cars and people stopped in the road or along the side, you know you should stop, too, because there is something cool - LIKE A BULL ELK! - to be seen.

I am embarrassed to say that I was so excited, I left the car door hanging open in my rush to see the elk (Well, "relative rush," that is... You have to be very careful and keep a far distance away from the wildlife. There are signs all over to remind you that the wildlife is, indeed, wild. And will behave that way when provoked.)

Driving back to camp, post-elk excitement, in the evening.... What a beautiful waterfall...

So beautiful, in fact, that why don't we just put our big old faces in front of it and take a (now less beautiful) picture. Gabe: "Hey! Speak for yourself...."

Nothing like a campfire...

Day 7 and 8: More Montana and Beartooth Pass

2009-08-19T01:24:00.008-04:00

Day 8: Montana

Ok, so Montana got better. They don't call it "Big Sky Country" for nothing...

We stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument, which commemorates the Battle of the Little Bighorn (obviously). The battle is also known as Custer's Last Stand - although, in 1991, the official name of the monument was changed from "Custer's Monument" to the current name.

Gabe: "Custer fell... RIGHT HERE."

Me: "Do that again."

Gabe: "Ok. Custer fell... RIGHT ---"

Me with camera: (snap! snap!) "Ok, ok, thanks."

In 1991, Congress also authorized the building of a memorial to honor the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors that died fighting General Custer's men.

That night, we stayed at some silly, cheap motel called... get this - "The Yodeler," in a town called Red Lodge. We wanted to shower. And eat pizza.

Day 8: Beartooth Pass into Yellowstone National Park

We checked out of "The Yodeler" (auf wiedersehen) in the morning and headed to Yellowstone via the Beartooth Highway. See hairpin turn above - we are all very pleased that I was not driving.

Ok then.... good to know.

Oh, wow. Top of the world indeed... Why do I feel an urge to yodel...

This was the best -- just coming over the top of Beartooth Pass, we were suddenly among crystal clear mountain lakes and streams.

Coming down in elevation, expecting cows as directed. Moo.

Holy cow - I mean, buffalo! This is within the first mile of entering through the northern gate to Yellowstone. And (insert knowing chuckle here) there were oh-so-many more buffalo to come....

Day 6 and 7: The Black Hills and beyond

2009-08-19T00:51:00.004-04:00

Day 6: Exploring the Black Hills

Our second day in the Black Hills was a wee bit rainy. We wanted to hike to Mount Harney, but someone (ok, it was me) thought a hike in cold rain sounded less fun than....

..... lunch and Moose Drool beer at the "Bumpin Buffalo."

We did take a pretty drive along Needles Highway, though...

Slight bottleneck along the way. There was a tour bus that somehow managed to wedge its fat self through the narrow tunnels along Needles Highway. It was weird.

Day 7: Bye to the Black Hills, onward to Yellowstone

That sign says "Wyoming" by the way...

We stopped by Devils Tower. Apparently it is famous and I should have known about it long ago because of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." I never saw that movie, though, until.....

Heh heh.... Thanks, Rick, for Netflixing it for me right before I left D.C. I started watching it about twenty minutes after seeing Devils Tower in person. I'll drop it in the mail when I get to Vegas tomorrow.

And then we went to Montana...

Which looked largely like this for the rest of the day.... >:|

Day 5: The Black Hills, South Dakota

2009-08-14T13:24:00.014-04:00

Off to our camp site in the Black Hills...

View from the campsite, Horsethief Lake Campgrounds... Skip and a jump from Mount Rushmore...

Gabe: "Oooh, Presidential Soft Drinks!.... Flavors! Meg, want one?"

Me: "Richard Nixon Rootbeer... I'd feel dirty actually buying it, though..."

Gabe, as he scampers away with 'Gerald Ford Grape': "Heehee, you'll thank me later, when Gerald Ford quenches your thirst...."

Here is me, with the bust of the dude who designed Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum.

Day 4: The Badlands, South Dakota

2009-08-14T13:18:00.006-04:00

Drove through the Badlands.... not so bad, really...

Actually, quite beautiful... The Badlands terrain is mostly the result of erosion and deposition. The formations are gently warped due to mountain forming activities that shaped the Black Hills to the west...

Rain, off in the distance...

Day 4: South Dakota, land of many billboards

2009-08-14T13:14:00.013-04:00

On Thursday morning, we said bye to Ray and Dick and the terriers... and headed to South Dakota!

Bye, Chiquita. Thanks for the shirt, Ray and Dick.

Stormy weather.

Not stormy weather.

Me: "OMG, STOP THE CAR! STOP THE CAR!!!!"

We saw billboards leading up to this.... "FEED THE PRAIRIE DOGS!" then "WHEEEE! PRAIRIE DOGS!" and best of all "NO HOWL, NO GROWL! TAME PRAIRIE DOGS!"

They were exactly the way prairie dogs should never, ever be. This one popped out of his hole and then just sat on his rump and stared at us. He was very dusty.

Sigh. The Corn Palace. We had to. And, for the record, the Corn Palace is emphatically NOT palatial. It isn't even really made of corn, for that matter. I hate it.

There was this, though.... so, you know.... one point, Corn Palace. Just one.

Day 3: Minneapolis

2009-08-12T17:03:00.011-04:00

Farewell, Chicago. Hello, the rest of Illinois... and Wisconsin... and Minnesota...

Wisconsin

Me, apparently practicing my L.A. paparazzi pose, at some rest stop along the way...

ARE WE THERE YET???????.......

Aaaaaand, we finally make it. At Ray and Dick's place, Minneapolis, MN

Ray and Dick are Cairn terrier enthusiasts. These little guys were born about 6 or 7 weeks ago...

Ahhhhhnom, nom, nom, nom, nom.... Mmmm... cargo shorts....

Ray and Dick's mini-van. Told you they're enthusiasts.

This thing is by Claes Oldenburg. It's at a sculpture garden Ray and Dick took us to on our mini-tour of Minneapolis. Ray noted that it had been taken apart and re-painted earlier in the year.

Ray: "What do you think, Dick - the cherry's darker now, isn't it?"

We all stare at it for a few moments and contemplate.

Ray again: "I seem to remember a more... maraschino look..."

More staring and contemplation.

We also canoed through Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, and Brownie Lake, and in the evening, we went to a Greek Restaurant called "It's Greek To Me" and then walked next door to see a one-woman play called "The Syringa Tree," which was awesome...

We came back, put the puppies to bed, mapped out our route for tomorrow, and now I am typing this.

Day 2: Chicago

2009-08-11T10:04:00.023-04:00

Millennium Park and "The Bean"

Went to Millennium Park first. The Park itself is beautiful, and "The Bean" (officially called "Cloud Gate") is awesome. It's a three-story, 110-ton reflective steel sculpture. People (like that funny-looking kid in the second picture) like to stare at themselves and take pictures of themselves staring at themselves in its surface... Surprisingly FUN! (Not just "fun.", but "FUN!")

"Take a picture of me, Meg! .... Meg? You there? Comon, take the picture."

"Ok, Gabriel..."

Staring straight up, directly under "The Bean"

We ran across Daedalus performing at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion, designed by Frank Gehry. Really great concert space.

Architecture Tour from the Chicago River

We took an early evening boat tour/crash-course in some of Chicago's notable architecture.

The building formerly known as the Sears Tower. For some reason that I didn't catch, they officially renamed it the Willis Tower in July ("Whut you talkin 'bout...") (Sorry. Bad joke.)

108 stories, 1,450 feet tall.

It makes me think of Jacobim Mugatu for some reason...

One thing I found interesting was the plentiful use of greenish / aqua-tinted glass along the riverfront. According to our guide, the choice was deliberate, intended to reflect and complement the Chicago River as much as possible.

(Chicago looooves its river, let me tell you. Verrrry proud. A marvel of modern civil engineering, the river was completely reversed in 1900 - made to flow toward the Mississippi rather than toward Lake Michigan, where it previously emptied. They (the Chicagoans) also dye it green on St. Patrick's Day. Wheeee...)

The elite gym that Obama used to work out in. That is all I remember about this building.

Designed by Mies van der Rohe, pioneer of modernism. Exemplifies the highly abstracted, minimalist aesthetic he would become known for.

The Aqua Tower, designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects. It is the largest project ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman. The undulating ledges along the facade are supposed to look like waves. I believe the tower is still under construction...

One of the many bridges that span the Chicago River (There are 88 in total, I believe). The double-layering is an interesting feature of Chicago's design - something Daniel Burnham was really into when he and Edward Bennett wrote up "The Plan of Chicago."

This appeared around the corner just as Gabe and I were remarking how "American" the city of Chicago feels. I am not really sure where we were going with that, but hey... When a giant, 3D homage to "American Gothic," titled "God Bless America" appears in front of your face, I feel like you can say "This city feels very 'American'..." and just leave it at that.

From the top of Hancock Tower...

First destination: Chicago

2009-08-10T02:09:00.007-04:00

So.... Ohio is really, really flat. So is Indiana. And Illinois. >:|

See? Flat.

After much flatness, I made it to my first destination: Chicago! (Made it in decent time, too - 10.5 hours or something like that.) I liked it when Central Time happened all of a sudden...

Oooo, Chicaaaaago...

Yay, Chicago! But, do you know what happens when you wait until the night before you leave for a place to book your hotel room? Yes. BAD RATES. Do you know what happens when you are also going to a place where there happens to be a major music festival going on? No. Wrong. It is worse than that.

It is: HOOTERS.

Yes. Your hotel (the ONLY hotel you can find in the area with an available room under $200/night) - is next-door-neighbors with Hooters. (Not that I didn't try to go get chicken wings there as soon as I arrived. Too bad they were closed already. No fun.)

"Chicago O'Hare Garden Hotel" ....... and ..... "HOOTERS"

I aaalllmost have a view of this from my room - but, alas, it was not meant to be.

S'long D.C.

2009-08-10T01:51:00.003-04:00

I may not have Tina to protect me, but Liz did some awesome mendhi for me with symbols of protection for my long journey ahead :)

My thanks

2009-08-10T01:44:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences about Tina's passing. It helped a lot. Let us all "hoist a peanut" - for Pastina and for good friends!

- M

Pastina Roborovski... May she rest in peace.

2009-08-05T09:31:00.004-04:00

It is with the saddest of hearts that I announce the passing of Pastina Roborovski. Pastina died in her sleep, with her cheek pouches full, at age 1 year, 6 months. The world will mourn her passing.

A hamster of impeccable timing, Tina knew when to run on her wheel (just as I would turn in for the night, on most occasions), when to jazzercise (one of her favorite activities), and now -- when to pass on to her final reward. It touched me deeply to realize that she must have known the end was drawing near -- we had been planning our Great Migration to the west coast and had been caught up in a flurry of packing and preparation. Wee Tina, I now realize, was only humoring me; it hit me quite poignantly as I opened her suitcases and moving boxes... only to find them empty. She must have discreetly donated her belongings, feeling the closure of the circle of life within her. All that is left are a few choice articles: her photo album (the photos all of herself or, only sometimes, of my thumb), her diary (mostly doodles), and her stash of "kernels and seeds shaped like celebrities."

As is the custom (following her predecessor-hamster, Mr. President), Tina was buried in a cream cheese box, under an ivy-covered tree in Rock Creek Park during a private funeral attended by family. We all must struggle onward, despite our sadness -- for as it once was said, "the wheel stops for no hamster." Pastina wouldn't want it otherwise - Run on, friends, run on.

***

Pastina's Hamsterster page.

The Amazing Adventures of: Znail the Snail!

2009-08-04T15:57:00.007-04:00

I was copied on an email thread today, and in one of the messages, James apologized for not posting some photos this morning. He said he had been "up late doing snail video stuff."

Me, in my brain: "What. Okeeeee... Maybe it is a euphemism for something. Or some tech speak. I will let this one go."

But then, a few hours later, I got this:

From James: Was up at my Grandmas in Upstate NY for the weekend. Znail showed up and wanted to go Hollywood. I said "nah nah, lets keep this indy." This is our low budget summer blockbuster action suspense thriller film! enjoy

Thank you, James! Thank you, Znail! You are both movie stars, I love you!
No, wait! - Movie Ztarz, that is! No, iz! (halp.)

***

I saw G-Force

2009-08-02T15:54:00.025-04:00

It was awesome. Too bad those 3D glasses don't work for me, though. That - sigh - would have been amazing.

Ha... I sort of see it.... Yes. Tracy Morgan was this (bad ass) guinea pig. And it totally worked.

Guineas with gadgets.

Car chase. Sort of.

Underwater rodent spy maneuvers.

The looove interest. (With peanut.)

Token hamster.

A bug. (Provided critical reconnaissance.)

No shame.

(P.S. You can't see it, but I am wearing a hat with a guinea pig applique on it.)

Dinos and Coke

2009-07-22T09:16:00.014-04:00

Ok. I have not been posting very much this month. You know how it is - life gets busy and the first thing to go is the blog updating. Anyway, I have been busy at work with... work (go figure), and have been busy at home with preparing for my move to California....

BUT....

I had to post this. Because it is about dinosaurs. And Pablo Escobar. I know, right?

Today, NPR had a story (here) about how the infamous Colombian drugpin's hacienda has apparently been turned into a theme park.

But! but! Wait. The important part of this is.... that, before the police shot him dead in 1993, Escobar had "stocked the ranch with life-size concrete dinosaurs and African big game." Whoooaahhh, for real? Because that is EXACTLY what I would do if I was an insanely rich, bad-ass Colombian drug lord.

Photo source: NPR

Photo source: BBC

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

2009-07-10T14:27:00.011-04:00

Photo from http://www.bluehillfarm.com/

Remember the Obamas' "date night" when they went to the Blue Hill restaurant in NYC? Yeahhh... I have not been there, but I have, in fact, been to its sister restaurant in Pocantico Hills, New York (about 30 miles north of NYC). It is located on a farm, and last weekend, I went back and took a "Livestock Tour." It was neat, and sometimes smelly.

They have a couple different kinds of chickens. All of the ones above are for nomming; there are other egg-layers somewhere else. It is cute. The egg-layers go inside a little house on wheels and get inside a little box and lay an egg in it. In the night, all the chickens file into the little house, someone closes up the door, and they go to sleep. In the morning, someone comes and opens the door and the chickens file back out. Bbbawk.

Here are some sows. Mmm... face bacon. (Face? What? Yes. Check out #9 here.)

There is a dog, too (she is under the little tree-bush, yonder) that takes care of the herd 24/7. There is one ram and he has his own place. These are all ewes and lambs. They walk around and chew grass and poop. (Er. I mean, they chew grass, period, and they poop, period. Not they chew both grass and poop. That would be gross.)

I have too much stuff

2009-07-08T12:08:00.015-04:00

Hello there. I am moving very far away, and I have too much stuff.

I do not even know how I got some of this stuff. Please take it away. Comment or email me at megandmccabe@gmail.com if you would like to ask questions / reserve something / offer moral support for pack-rats.

Halp. ....Please.

(I have conveniently divided "Stuff" into categories. New things get added as the closet gets cleaner.)

FURNITURE(ish) ITEMS:

Shelve-y things / Folding bookcase

Quilt stand

chair. obviously.

KITCHEN STUFF:

(Not the wok, though. Gave that away already.)

HOUSEHOLD STUFF:

MEDIA (in re: Ice Age... don't judge.):

(Eleeza has reserved some of the books, btw)

RANDOM CLOTHING, ETC:

A throwback.... to May. ( Yes, that far back.)

2009-07-07T23:01:00.011-04:00

Remember "The Selected Poems of Hamster"?

What?...No?

It's okay, just click here.

Anyway, this is the video companion. Get your hankies ready, friends. (P.S. -- You will need sound.)

Sigh. I heart Tic and Tac...

(ehh... Ok, I admit it. I cannot positively tell who is the "thin" one and who the "fat". There. I said it.)

Pasta pronto

2009-07-02T11:45:00.009-04:00

This is for a friend who is moving into a new place on his own and anticipates living off, and i quote, "cereal, yogurt, apples, bananas, and lots of simple pasta," until he: a) learns to cook more stuff, b) acquires a personal chef, or c) throws in the towel and takes up with take-out.

Simple pasta, a la me (Flourish! ...Deep bow.) You'll need:

- thin spaghetti
- feta cheese and/or ricotta cheese
- olive oil
- two handfuls of fresh spinach
- 1 can of diced tomatoes (I used Hunt's diced tomatoes with oregano, garlic, and parsley)
- 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
- garlic powder, dried parsley, dried oregano

First, boil a pot of water and cook your pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, drizzle a little bit of olive oil in another pan and add the mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes on high, then turn the temperature down to medium-high and add the spinach. Add a generous amount of the parsley and garlic, and a little oregano or basil. Then, when the spinach is pretty wilted, add the whole can of tomatoes (juice and all) and simmer everything, uncovered, until the spaghetti is done.

Toss the spaghetti with a little bit of olive oil and then toss it with ricotta and/or feta. Toss everything with the tomato sauce mixture and, voila! NOM! :)

Abra-cadabra, yummy pasta...

now!!

(You can also add in other veggies like: zucchini, peppers, fresh tomatoes, um... hm, what else. Well, you get the point. I have to go to lunch now, bye.)

Chimichurri, I heart you

2009-06-30T11:28:00.014-04:00

Gabe and I made a nom the other day with our sad little grill.

sad. wee.

It was very tasty. Menu: grilled pork chops with chimichurri sauce and a spinach salad with feta and warm, grilled peaches. I discovered that I love chimichurri and I will heretofore nom it with everything.

chimichurri. drool.

Ingredients (Chimichurri, adapted from the "SavorySweetLife" blog, here):
- 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp. water
- 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- dash of red wine vinegar
- 1/4 c. shallots, minced (or onions)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped very fine
- 1/4 c. (or a little less) basil, chopped very fine
- a couple pinches of dried oregano and thyme
- a couple pinches of salt and pepper

The easy way to prepare this is to put everything in a food processor, instead of mincing everything up. I do not have a food processor though (sadface). Hence, mince-mince-mince-mince-mince-mince-mince-mince-gaahhh...

We rubbed the pork chops with olive oil, dried thyme, salt, and pepper and then grilled them a few minutes on each side.

The salad was yummy. Halve the peaches and then drizzle a little olive oil and salt and pepper on the cut side. Then, grill them up. Perfecto with crumbled feta and spinach. We went with a very simple vinaigrette for the dressing.

Pack rat

2009-06-30T09:17:00.003-04:00

I am moving in a few weeks. That means I have to get rid of a lot of stuff. And that means I have to sort through a lot of stuff. Look what I found.....

A creepy drawing I made a long time ago. I almost forgot about it.

Guest blogger! Nick the Dolmas Maker!

2009-06-28T15:20:00.010-04:00

Meet Nick P.

He is my friend, and he makes stuffed peppers, too. But not the way I do. He makes them the way he makes dolmas. Apparently, Nick likes stuffing foods inside of other foods. He also thinks it's cool when people teach other people how to stuff stuff. So. Here is Nick making dolmas:

In the fine Greek tradition of stuffing things inside of other things, I bring you....

Dolmas / Dolmathes, a tasty treat. They are grape leaves stuffed with various things, such as meta, rice, pine-nuts, couscous, whatever you happen to have around really. When making these with meat, you can choose any ground meat. When I was younger, we always ate venison, and these are a delicious vehicle for ground venison. Traditionally, you'll often find them made with ground lamg. This recipe uses beef, but you can pick your favorite meat, or you can forego the meat entirely and substitute pine nuts.

We will be using:
- 1 jar of grape leaves
- 1 lb. of ground meat
- 5 stalks of celery
- 2 med. onions
- 3 tbsp. butter or olive oil
- 1/2 c. uncooked rice (I used brown, but you can use white or even couscous)
- chicken stock or bouillon (enough for ~ 1 1/2 c. stock)
- 1/8 c. white wine (sake works in a pinch)
- 4 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 c. parsley
- 1 1/2 tbsp. dried mint
- salt and pepper to taste (a pinch!)

First, let's get that rice going. I'm using a rice cooker because I am lazy and it makes brown rice perfectly. Set up shop and chop those onions with a medium chop.

Add your butter into a large skillet on low heat. Add the onions into your skillet, chop up your celery. Put the celery into the skillet, stir around, and continue to saute on low heat til the onions become slightly translucent.

When your onions get that succulent, clearish color, it's time to add your meat. I like to push the celery and onions toward the sides and make a "well" for the meat. Brown the ground meat and stir. The onions and celery are going to suck up the liquids.

Add in your parsley and mint once the meat has come to a nice brown. Stir, stir, stir on low heat...

Ding! Rice is done! Time to add it into our mix. The rice will generally soak up any remaining juices in the mix.

It's time to get your chicken broth/stock/bouillon going at this point. I usually have some frozen chicken stock cubes hanging around in the freezer (make stock every time you cook a chicken, it's worth it!). In the pot they go! You want to get your chicken broth/stock/broth to boil only for a second and then turn it off.

While your chicken juice is getting ready, go ahead and take your grape leaves out of the jar. You want to drain them of the brine they come in. Some people are adamant about washing them; I think the flavor out of the jar is pretty tasty.

Unroll the wads of grape leaves carefully. Pick a nice, big leaf and lay it out on your work surface. You want the "stem" to point up towards you, with the veiny side of the leaf facing up (the shiny side down.)

Put in about 1-2 spoon scoops of the meat mixture into the center of the leaf. Fold the sides in. Roll up! Congratulations, you've made a dolmas! Now, do it 40-more times and put them in a pan (or 2).

You aren't done yet, though. Once you have used up all your stuffing, wrapped your dolmas, and put them into a pan, you need to pour the chicken stock/broth/bouillon over the dolmas. Then, pour the white wine onto them and then, the lemon juice.

A quick note, you will always have more grape leaves than stuffing, so when going through the grape leave, pick out the biggest ones without holes in them for the actual dolmas. You will use the reject grape leaves to cover the stuffed ones in the pan. Put the pans in a 225 degree oven for about 1 hour.

After an hour, take out the dolmas. Remove the top layer of grape leaves that have now dried out. What you are left with is unadulterated delight. You may have the occasional dolmas that have dried out a big, but no worries, they are still good.

Enjoy!

(Me, again: Thanks, Nick! You are good at exchanging things! Swapping! Barter! Trade! I want to make these and nom them with the wine you gave me for the books I gave you and if you want to make a recipe I gave you and nom that with me with the books I gave you for the.... whoah. I am dizzy. Bye.)

Meow vs. Meow @ Fort Reno

2009-06-26T11:53:00.001-04:00

I saw a band called "Meow vs. Meow" play music last night. It was in a park and there were lots of toddler-children and dogs and picnic blankets. What larks!

((In re: "Meow vs. Meow," I am 100% sure that Meow came out on top (hyuck, hyuck)...))

Pics:

Yes. It is true. I have "meow"- appropriate garb.

Yay! There they are! Musical meows!

And then the alien glow worms flew by to listen.

And this is what I look like to alien glow worm eyeballs:

Stuffed peppers = stuffed tummy

2009-06-26T10:58:00.009-04:00

I made something tasty that is also inexpensive, easy to do, does not need many ingredients, and is aesthetically pleasing. Holla! (haha, that is the first time I've used "holla'"... I feel weird.)

My recipe is vegetarian, but you can add some chopped steak, ground beef, or left-over chicken if you want. There is no judgement here.

Ingredients:
- 1 Red bell pepper (for 1 person, or a side dish / snack for 2)
- 1/2 medium onion, sliced
- 1/4 green poblano chile pepper, chopped finely
- about 1/2 c black beans, rinsed
- about 3/4 c cooked white rice (ooh, or you could use wild rice)
- 1 roma tomato, chopped
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
- tabasco sauce
- olive oil
- parsley
- basil
- salt and pepper
- mozzarella cheese (or parmesan -- or! or! ... GOAT CHEESE! nom!!)

First, prepare your pepper-baby by cutting him in half and cutting out the seeds and crap. Then, rub the outside and inside with a little olive oil and put the halves, cut sides up, on a pan in a 400 degree oven ~15 mins. or til he looks kind of steamy, then pull him out and set him aside.

While he is roasting, chop up your onion, poblano, garlic, and tomato. First, caramelize the onion in a small pan - heat up a couple tbsps of oil and add the onions along with a pinch of salt and a tiny pinch of sugar. Stir often til they get nice and tender and darker in color.

While the onions are doing their thing, heat a little oil in a larger pan and saute the garlic and poblano pepper. Add the tomato, rice, caramelized onions, and beans and saute to combine everything, a couple of minutes. Add a little tabasco (Cuidado! Not too much or your peppers will be crazy spicy) and the parsley and basil. If you need to add some moisture (e.g. "It's burning! It's burning! Eeee!"), you can add a little water, broth, or tomato juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

They call them "stuffed" peppers but this is misleading. "Filled" peppers works, though. Fill each pepper half with the rice mixture. Top everything with some cheese and put everything back in the oven for another 10 mins. or so. At the very end, you can turn the oven to broil, but keep a close eye on him - it will take only a couple minutes to get a nice browned top and roasted outside.

These were so tasty - spicy, but balanced by the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the black beans. I am getting hungry doing this post (looks wistfully, if vacantly, around room). Sigh.

General Tso's Tofu

2009-06-23T20:41:00.007-04:00

Do you have a vegetarian girlfriend / boyfriend / housemate / wife / husband / kid / dog (oops. not dog. carried away.) that you have to cook for?

I don't. But I still had a block of tofu in my fridge. Hence: this, adapted from "The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch" blog (I... hm. I was going to comment about that title, but I stopped myself in time.)

This recipe is brilliant. Because what is wrong with tofu? Right! It is a little too healthy. (Tofu, you overachiever.) And what is wrong with General Tso's Chicken? Right again! It is most def not healthy enough. (yeah, yeah, General Tso purists... your arteries will thank me later.)

Oh, also, it is delicious.

Ingredients:

- 1 brick extra firm tofu
- 3-4 tbsp. cornstarch
- canola oil

- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 3 tbsp. rice vinegar (or reg. white vinegar)
- 3 tbsp. ketchup
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/2 c. water
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2-3 scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh, grated ginger
- hot pepper flakes
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

First, squeeze the extra water out of your tofu by putting it on a plate between some layers of paper towel and putting a heavy pan on top of it. Let it sit for about 30 minutes while you do other stuff.

Combine 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the brown sugar, hoisin, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and water and set it aside.

To fry the tofu (after the excess water is squeezed out), cut the tofu into cube-y, rectangle-y pieces, coat each piece lightly with cornstarch, and then fry the pieces until golden and crispy in a shallow pan with some canola oil. Put the fried tofu aside and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.

Make the sauce - saute the garlic and the white parts of the scallion in the sesame oil for 1 minute, then add the sauce mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer it for a couple minutes until it thickens. Toss the tofu with the sauce and --- presto! Nom! (Top the dish with the green scallion bits, hot pepper flakes to taste, and nom the tofu with white rice.)

And more weddings!

2009-06-23T11:00:00.013-04:00

"Mawidge! Mawidge... is what... bwings us... togethah... today!"

"Mawidge! That bwess-ed awangement... that dweam! Wiffin a dweam!"

My dear fwiend --cough-- sorry, I mean "frrriend," Michi, got married over the weekend. The wedding was in Asheville, NC. Congratulations Michi-n-Rance, Rance-n-Michi!

Drive, drive, drive, drive, drive, drive...

A staring contest. With a raccoon.

Hi, Laura! Neat flower you got there.

Day-before-wedding hike.

Day-before-wedding crouch.

That is one mighty fiiiine pluton.

Cooking, underground

2009-06-16T14:13:00.013-04:00

Over the weekend, I attended a very zany dinner. (It was scrumptious, too. But that is only part of the story.) How zany? I'm glad you asked. It was so zany that there was, I kid you not, a Japanese film crew there to videotape it. They were airing footage of the dinner for some television show in Japan.

See? Japanese film crew.

Where was this dinner? Another good question. It was hosted by the culinary genius-men, Michael Cirino and Daniel Castano, of the "underground supper club," A Razor, A Shiny Knife. (You may recall my previous post...) A Razor, A Shiny Knife is founded on the (brilliant) idea that food and its preparation are awesomer when experienced with others. Lots of (sometimes really random) others (see photo above)... From the "invite" to the event:

"As always these events are not only for professional chefs or foodies, but for anyone with a love of food at any level of skill. Our goal is to create a communal environment of social interaction, education and fun with food where people can arrive early to learn and get dirty, while meeting the people they will be dining with that evening."

The place: An apartment in Brooklyn. Michael emailed confirmed guests the address a couple days before the dinner. Then, you just arrive, ring the doorbell, and hope. (I knew I had the right place because it smelled delicious. Like, more delicious than any Brooklyn apartment has any business being.)

The menu: I don't know if I would actually call it a "menu," but we nommed some of the following:

- homemade baguettes with homemade butter
- fresh lobster over homemade linguine
- custard-coated cherries
- pork belly custard (first you have your sweet custard, now you get your savory custard... everyone wins)
- pickles (this is hard to explain but it involved a vacuum machine, some fresh vegetables, and science)
- mashed potatoes with eggs, powdered smoke, and probably other stuff I did not see go in...
- an assortment of cocktails and Miller High Lifes (ohhh yeahh...)

I have not had this much fun in a kitchen since that time, in 4th grade, when a neighbor and I decided to combine all the ingredients of two kiddie chemistry sets and then boil everything in a pot. We got grounded, but we also made a satisfying mess that (score!) was highly flammable and pretty stinky...

Thanks, Mike and Daniel!

First, tell Mr. Lobster you are very, very sorry. Mr. Lobster, you are just too tasty.

In he goes.

Out he comes. Poor (scrumptious) Mr. Lobster...

HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, PASTINA!!!

2009-06-16T09:44:00.005-04:00

Friends! On this day one year ago, Pastina Roborovski became part of my family - creative muse, friend and foil, little 'Tina is a wee and wonderful part of my life! Here, to celebrate her anniversary, I will re-publish her adoption announcement, sent out exactly one year ago today:

*****

Dear Friends and Family!

I am joyful to announce the arrival and adoption of....

* Pastina Roborovski

* Age 3 mos.

* A very, very wee hamster

* The color of pudding (all kinds)

Please join me in welcoming this tiny new addition to my family! A very short video is attached. You may also view Pastina's Hamster-ster profile at :

http://www.hamsterster.com/?pet=2624

Hooooray for the wee-est of friends!

Love,

Megan

P.S. Pastina is named for the smallest of pasta shapes, the pastina. Definition, from Ronzoni Pasta makers:

Pastina: Italian for "tiny dough" these are the smallest shape we make; if you look closely, they're in the shape of a five-pointed star. Pastina is made with egg.

*****

Chicken pot pie

2009-06-10T22:19:00.013-04:00

This was scrumptious.
Which is lucky for me, because I will be eating leftovers for a long time. A loooong time.

I pieced the recipe together after reading a bunch online, like this one. Pot pies are convenient because you can put whatever you want into them. Presto, deliciousness.

Ingredients:

- 1 pkg. chicken thighs (3-4 small thighs)
- 1 frozen pie crust, thawed
- 1 lrg. potato
- 1 c. frozen peas
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- handful spinach
- asparagus, broccoli, green beans, mushrooms - whatever you have around
- 1 1/2 sticks butter
- 1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
- tabasco sauce
- 3 c. chicken stock
- 1/2 c. flour
- salt and pepper
- fresh parsley, if you have it

First, boil a large pot of water and poach your chicken thighs ~10 minutes. They don't have to be aaallll the way cooked through. Cut them up into bite-sized pieces and set them aside.

Now, make the filling. Melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a large pan (I know. This is very rich.) Add the potatoes and the onion and garlic and saute ~5 minutes. Add the chicken and then, the veggies (if you are using frozen veggies, heat them in the microwave first and drain the excess water). Saute everything another 10 minutes or so. Add the red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Set everything aside.

Now for the sauce! Melt a stick of butter (I told you this was rich...) in a large saucepan and gradually whisk in up to 1/2 c. of flour (it should thicken but not be glue-like, ew). Whisk in up to 3 c. of chicken stock, a cup at a time. The sauce should be the consistency of, oh, New England clam chowder, I'd say. Only smoother. Add the tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.

Time to fill the pie pan(s)! You can use one very big (deep) pie pan or two smaller ones. Spoon the veggie-chicken mix into the pan(s) and top with sauce. Take one pie crust and cover each pan. Pinch the edges and brush the pie crust with a little bit of milk so it will brown nicely. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until the crust is golden-brown and the filling bubbles.

Banana muffincakes / cupkins

2009-06-10T21:48:00.008-04:00

I had some yucky bananas. I made muffincakes. Or cupkins. You can choose.

They were very tasty - moist and denser than a cupcake, but sweeter than a muffin. I found the recipe here on the "Schweet 'N Savory" blog.

Ingredients:
- 3 c. flour (cake flour might be a good idea, but I used all-purpose because I did not think of that)
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 1/4 c. sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/8 c. canola oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 3 or 4 very ripe bananas
- 1 1/2 c. milk

Frosting:
- 2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 c. butter, softened
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a regular-sized muffin pan with paper liners or spray it with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, mix the sugar and eggs. Add the oil, vanilla, milk, and mashed bananas (try to make the bananas nice and smooth). Then, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little at a time. Combine everything, but don't overmix or else your muffincake/cupkins will be too tough. Gross.

Fill your muffin tins. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The frosting is easy. I feel silly explaining. You just mix all the ingredients together until it is smooth and delicious. You can dust the muffincakes/cupkins with cinnamon, too, if you want. I did.

nom!

Cute stuff

2009-06-09T12:56:00.005-04:00

My sister got me the cutest book. It is called "Cute Dolls" (see? I told you it was cute) by Aranzi Aronzo. The book is part of the "Let's Make Cute Stuff" series. It teaches you how to make... uh... cute stuff (I have never written the word "cute" so many times in so few sentences before. I wonder if it is bad for me.)

Yes. The book is for children. I know.

Next to the pictures of the lil animals you can make are captions to explain them:

"Munky is a foreign monkey.
It's not Monkey, it's Munky.
He gets upset if you don't pronounce it properly.
Munky likes banaNAS. Not baNAnas.
He gets upset if you don't pronounce it properly."

"Pinkie is pink.
She's plump and flutters her eyelashes.
She loves pink.
She also loves flowers.
Actual gender and species unclear.
'Pinkie is pink.' That's all you need to know."

Weeknight soba supper

2009-06-09T12:06:00.007-04:00

"More noodles, more noodles, more noodles, more noo-"

Oh. Hi. I made more noodles last night. Here they are:

Ingredients:
- 1 bundle of soba noodles
- piece of frozen unagi (smoked eel) or whatever other protein you have handy (gotta get your protein, you know)
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- handful thin asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
- handful of spinach
- 2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 - 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- canola oil

(Disregard that egg up there. I found I did not need him. He is still sitting at home, in the refrigerator, being an egg.)

First, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook your soba noodles. Drain them and set them aside.

Heat your wok up, add a little canola oil, and saute the garlic and scallion whites. Add in the mushroom pieces and the asparagus, along with the oyster sauce and soy sauce. Saute this only a couple minutes - just enough to soften the asparagus. Dump in your soba noodles and spinach. Drizzle in the sesame oil. Saute another couple of minutes to combine everything.

Serve topped with unagi and scallion greens. Delish! And so easy (..to think I was going to nom a frozen burrito... ha!)

Jap chae

2009-06-08T13:31:00.006-04:00

This is my mom's favorite Korean dish. She could eat oodles of these noodles. It is an easy recipe, and easily adaptable. I made it recently for an impromptu, outdoor dinner party and it was a perfect summer nom. (And it got perfect-er and perfect-er with every blueberry gin & tonic used to wash it down...)

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg. cellophane noodles (aka "glass noodles" - these can also be found labeled "sweet potato starch" noodles or "bean thread" noodles or just "Korean starch noodles")
- 1 block of tofu, drained well or 3/4 lb. thinly sliced beef or pork
- 1 egg, fried
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 scallions, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, matchstick sliced
- 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. mushrooms (shitake perchance?)
- a handful of spinach if you have some, or some other green
- 1 1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
- sesame oil
- canola oil
- soy sauce
- ~ 1 tbsp. sugar
- black pepper

First, you cook the noodles. If you are using the bean thread variety, I recommend you rinse the noodles in cold water first. Then, add them to a large pot of boiling water and cook them for ~5 minutes. It really does not take long. Drain them in a colander. You will notice that, wow, they are very, very long, these noodles. Cut them with kitchen scissors and set them aside (you can toss them in a wee bit of oil to make them less sticky, too, if you want.)

Then, heat up some canola oil in a wok or saute pan and saute your garlic, scallions (the white parts), and onions. Add the tofu or meat, and saute ~2 mins. Add the carrots and mushrooms and saute until just softened. Then, add the spinach, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Saute just to wilt the spinach and then transfer everything to a large bowl.

Add the noodles to the bowl, along with a drizzle of sesame oil, tossing everything together as you go. Sprinkle everything with sesame seeds, and ta-da, jap chae!

Hiking @ Bull Run

2009-06-07T17:06:00.025-04:00

(frondy ones.)

Today, I went on a hike in northern Virginia (~ 45 miles from D.C.). Here is the trail map:

It was a purrfect day. There has been a lot of rain recently, so at first, we had some confusion as to whether our trail was indeed our trail, or whether it was a wee creek.

<-- puddle-hopping

As we climbed higher, though, the trail dried, and it was oh-so-lovely. Photos:

Dry trail

"Who's iiiiinnn there??"
(100 geeky pts. if you know the reference)

Where are the hobbits??

Up there? ...Frodo?

On the way back down the loop, we came across a sign:

Is educational! Apparently, the trail runs through the site of the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, where a division under the Union's Brig. Gen. James Ricketts attempted (with little success) to stall the progression of Confederate troops marching toward Manassas to join Gen. Lee's army. The trench:

We also came upon a wee graveyard, where several members of the Chapman family were buried (the Chapman family owned a mill nearby, for which the above trench had originally been created, and owned the land upon which the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap was fought.)

To get to the trailhead, you park your car in a wee lot and then cross a set of railroad tracks. At the end of our hike, we were just leaving the trail, about to cross the tracks to go to the car, when I remarked to my hiking partner, "It would be funny if a very, very long train came by right now and we got stuck on this side of the tracks and had to wait til it went away to get to the car." Just as I said it, we heard... yes. Choo-choo. :D

It wasn't THAT long, though :)

Improvised "latkes"

2009-06-07T11:06:00.007-04:00

I woke up today, and to my horror, NO BAGELS. I nom a(t least one) bagel EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (Do not worry. I will find one, eventually, today...) This is usually at breakfast, but today, all we had to nom was:

woe.

I decided to make latkes. Here is what I used:

- 1 1/2 potatoes, peeled
- 1/2 small onion, minced finely
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch
- 1 tbsp. flour
- salt and pepper
- canola oil

Topping:
- 1 ripe tomato
- 2 tbsp. sour cream
- some fresh parsley
- drizzle of honey

First, you need to grate the potatoes. Like so:

<-- grate, grate

Then, put the grated taters on a clean dish towel (preferably not a terry cloth one, because they are too nubbly and stick to your taters. Use a smoother one if you have it around. You can also use a lot of paper towels folded over a few times. --cough-- If you want to kill trees.) Wring the water from the taters. Use your little muscles.

When your taters are dry, put them in a bowl and add the finely minced onion and garlic. Add the flour, corn starch, salt, and pepper, and mix everything thoroughly.

Heat a good 1/2-inch of oil in a skillet, on med-high to high heat, and when it is hot, use your hands to make lil tater patties. Drop the patties in and flatten out or shape with a spatula. Fry til golden and let drain on a paper towel. To keep them crispy, transfer them to a wire rack (Oh, and don't stack the latkes between paper towels, layer on layer - this only makes them mushy, sad, and not-crisp.)

For my topping, I combined diced, ripe tomato with some sour cream, honey, and a wee bit of parsley. The neat thing about latkes, though, is that you can experiment with all sorts of toppings. Bye!

For a rainy day

2009-06-05T20:08:00.008-04:00

It rained today. Very damp and gray outside. Pastina and I decided we wanted some soup. I made a spinach congee, and it was very good and very easy. I found the recipe on the "Seasaltwithfood" blog, here. (Oh. And there is a surprise toward the end of this post. It has to do with scary pork. heh heh.)

Ingredients:
- 1 c. jasmine rice (2 c. cooked)
- 5 c. water
- 1 bunch spinach
- 4 cloves garlic, whole
- 2 1/2 c. water
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. canola oil
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 stalks scallion, chopped
- sea salt, to taste

First, cook the rice. Then, in a large pot, saute the garlic in a little canola oil until it is browned. Turn up the heat a little and add the oyster sauce and soy sauce. Add the spinach and saute ~1 minute.

Now, add the rice and water. Bring everything to a boil and then, lower the heat. Add the eggs and the sesame oil. Stir and let the congee cook until the eggs are cooked. Pour into a biiiiggg bowl and top with chopped scallions and...... (the surprise!).....

PORK FLOSS!!! Mwhahaha! Isn't that gross?! Fluffy pork! - It's like pork cotton candy! --grin-- Pork floss, which is also called Pork Sung (closely related to Pork Fu) is actually quite delicious. It is dried, cooked pork. Do not be scared. It goes very well on top of congee, but you can also nom it on plain rice. You can find it at any Chinese grocery.

<-- look at that wad of pork floss in there! NOM!

Speaking of which...

2009-06-05T09:42:00.013-04:00

Speaking of Julia Childs... Don't you think Susan Boyle looks like Julia Childs??

Julia.... and.... Susan!

Poor Susan Boyle... As you probably know, she was admitted to a mental health clinic in London (the same clinic that treated Pete Doherty for drug addiction in 2006, incidentally) following her break-down after the "Britain's Got Talent" finale last week. Apparently, she will be allowed special daily visits from Pebbles.

<-- Pebbles (source)

Susan's brother reports that Susan has received an invitation from the White House for July 4th and still hopes to sing for President Obama.

Oooh, and speaking of President Obama.... Have you heard of the Obama look-alike in Indonesia?? Ilham Anas, a photographer in Indonesia, has apparently become quite famous for his striking resemblance to Barack Obama. Story, from Reuters, here.

Photo source.

OMP (Oh My Pastina!)

2009-06-04T20:37:00.010-04:00

I made something delectable today. Dee-lec-tah-ble!! At my first bite, I was spirited away to a moment akin to the very famous nom of Brioche Tart that made Julia Childs weep (It is true - a tart (a wee tart!) actually rendered Julia Childs so choked up that - well. I cannot explain. You should watch - click here, and then click the video segment "Creme Fraiche Custard Brioche Tart, Part 2."

Ok. Where was I. Ah, the delectable nom (Dee-lec!-- ok, ok, sorry).... A Custard Pear Pie! -- Pears, fresh and delicate, paired (har har) with the sweet creaminess of custard! And did I mention that it was super mario brothers easy, too?? Only took me 15 minutes to put together, and required few ingredients. Which brings me to.... Ingredients:

- 3 D'Anjou pears (how do you pronounce? Dee-An-joo? Dan-joo?)
- 1 pre-made, frozen pie crust (9-inch)
- 3/4 c. white sugar
- 1/4 butter
- 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, beaten

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Press the pie pastry into a 9-inch pie plate and, what's-it-called, "ridge-ify"(?) the edges, -pinch, pinch-

Peel and cut the pears in half, and then take out the core with a knife (2 slanty cuts to make a "v" that pops the core out works well). Place the pears, cut side down, in the pie crust with the small ends pointing toward the center.

In a medium bowl, mix the softened butter and the sugar together until fairly smooth. Beat the eggs in one at a time until fluffy. Stir in the flour and vanilla. Pour this bowl of yummy over the pears.

Bake for about 50-55 minutes (the original recipe, found here, btw, on the Honey & Jam blog, said to bake 1 hour, but I got antsy and took it out at ~52 minutes). Cool before slicing and serving (I also cheated here - the original recipe says to wait until it is completely cool before you slice and nom, but someone - not me, it was probably my hamster - really wanted a piece BEFORE it was completely cool, and I, er - I mean, my hamster, LOVED it warm...)

"A dessert worth crying over!" (said in a Mrs. Doubtfire - I mean, Julia Childs - voice)

(click this pic! see the goodness!)

More critters!

2009-06-03T13:01:00.005-04:00

My friend, Chris, just sent me a link to the "Wonderful World of Animals" blog, an "animal photo blog and more." I am partial to the "small animals" grouping (see some of the images below), but the whole blog is quite nice. You will like it, too, if you like critters.

"Here. Photo this one. Is cutest."

"I am a sugar glider, and you... YOU!... are getting very, very sleepy..."

(Ok. Maybe this one is a little obscene... Nice ears, though.)

Soup of failure

2009-06-02T20:21:00.007-04:00

Perhaps I was overly cavalier, having just come off my great success with kalbi on the grill last weekend... I decided to try this recipe from "The Crepes of Wrath" blog, for crock pot Korean-style ribs. Pride do cometh before the fall.... um, -eth...

The recipe was easy. My hamster could have done it. I dumped the ingredients in before work, turned that puppy on low and headed out, dreaming of glorious ribs for dinner. When I came home, I had a charred yet gooey and oddly - even disturbingly - delicious-smelling pile of gunk in a pot.

I will not lie to you. I tried to eat it. I was sad and I was hungry. I had had a long day.

<-- NOT what they looked like.

But I stopped after two noms. This is what I think I did wrong: I cut the recipe down because I wanted only one or two servings. This is not a good idea when you have a big-ass crock pot. All the ingredients spread out and there was not enough liquid for the meat to stew in. (Hmph. I need either a smaller crock pot... or a family, I suppose.)

Anyway, meanwhile, in a fit of grouchy petulance, I had decided to make some soup using whatever I had around. This amounted to:

- a few cups of organic vegetable stock
- a shallot, sliced
- a few cloves of garlic, minced
- a nugget of fresh ginger the size of, hm... my pinky toe, I'd say
- some dried white beans
- oyster sauce
- soy sauce
- yellow baby carrots, sliced
- a tin of water chestnuts
- some fresh chives
- some fresh basil
- a scallion, sliced

I sauteed the garlic and ginger in a bit of olive oil, then added the shallot and the whites of the scallion. Then, I added the carrots and water chestnuts and very quickly sauteed everything.

Then, still very grumpy, I added everything to a pot of boiling vegetable stock plus a couple cups of water. I added the dried white beans (about 1 cup) and a couple tablespoons of oyster sauce and soy sauce. I brought it all to a boil for a few minutes, then covered it and let it simmer.

A couple hours passed. These were mostly taken up by laundry and, humiliatingly, scrubbing the charred stuff out of my crock pot. I went back to my soup after a bit and felt sad ("IS NOT RIBS!")... I tasted it and... the broth was delicious! But, it was still lacking. A little bland. A little not-rib-like.

And then I had an idea - which was to shred whatever good meat I had retrieved from the failed ribs (still sitting, spurned, on a plate of sadness on the table) into the soup! Cue the music! I even added a not-too-charred-looking bone for flavor -- the result was.....

NOMMmmm nom nom nom nom!

The take-away here? --- If at first you don't succeed, fail, fail again (and then combine your failures!)

A new hedgie

2009-06-02T12:19:00.003-04:00

A friend adopted a cute lil hedgie:

Welcome, Mr. Hedgehog! (or, um, Thor.)
(I am told the deliberation over names has yet to wrap up...)

I never thought I would say this...

2009-06-01T16:40:00.017-04:00

... but I like cooking things. It is fun. And interesting. In my quest to acquire cooking skillz, I have already injured myself twice in a manner that has involved bandages and/or short-term scarring - once when I caught on fire by accident and another time when I was zesting with too much abandon and zested some of my pinky off. Anyway. Yesterday, it was kim-bap that had me braving mortal danger.

First, I drove into the suburbs (mmm... lawns...) to find an Asian foods store (oddly rare in D.C. proper) Look at my spoils (See the lovely smoked eel???) :

Then I came home and got down to kim-bap making. Kim-bap is a Korean picnic food that looks like a California roll ("kim," meaning dried seaweed sheets and "bap," meaning white rice).

Ingredients:
- dried, roasted seaweed sheets
- 2 c. white rice, cooked and cooled to room temperature

- Fillings, such as:
--- fried egg, cut into long strips
--- nova lox
--- pickled daikon, cut into long strips (That's that bright yellow stuff next to the carrots in the pic. Packaged, it looks like the scariest giant pickle you have ever seen.)
--- cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, and cut into long strips
--- shredded carrot
--- crabstick
--- spam, cut into long strips (I am not kidding. Korean moms love spam.)
--- leftover beef or pork
--- smoked eel (unagi) (Delicious!)

- sesame oil
- soy sauce for dipping, if you want

You will also need bamboo sushi-rolling mats.

<-- ingredients

First, place a sheet of dried seaweed on the bamboo mat and spread a thin layer of cooked rice, leaving a wee margin all the way around. Then, place whatever fillings you want in a strip across one end.

Now, you are ready to roll. Literally. This is sort of hard to explain. You fold over the end with the fillings along it (I prefer rolling from the bottom up), tucking the fillings in and use the mat to roll the seaweed sheet up tightly, squeezing as you go. (Video instructions here).

When you are all rolled up, use your fingers to brush a wee bit of sesame oil over the outside of the roll. Cut with a very sharp knife.

Kalbi!

2009-05-31T11:55:00.011-04:00

Hi. I made kalbi for a bbq at a friend's house last night. It was so good that a person I have never seen before in my life declared that he would pay me to make more. At least two other people were seen licking their (paper) plates. I followed the recipe on The Cooking of Joy blog, here.

Ingredients (for 8-12 ppl):
- 6 lbs. flanken cut beef short ribs (I did not have quite that much, though)
- 1 kiwi
- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 red apple, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
- 1 pear (preferably Asian pear), peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup peeled garlic gloves
- 1 cup ajimirin sauce (or rice wine)
- 1/2 can of 7-Up (oh. hm. I just realized that I used the whole can...)
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup sugar

You will also need:
- 2 cups white rice
- Korean spicy red bean paste (I brought Chinese red chili paste, though, and it was fine)
- many rinsed and dried romaine lettuce leaves

Take the kiwi and use a spoon to remove the fruit from the skin. Put the kiwi fruit in a blender and puree it with the chopped onion, apple, pear, garlic, mirin (or rice wine) and 7-Up. Measure out 3 cups of this mixture into a bowl and add the soy sauce and sugar.

Arrange the ribs in a bowl or baking dish and pour the mixture over them so they are all coated evenly. Marinate for 24 hours. Grill and nom! You just take a lettuce leaf, put a spoonful of rice in the center, cut off a chunk of meat and put it on top of the rice along with a bit of red chili or red bean past. Roll up the lettuce leaf, and enjoy!

Happy birthday, Chester

2009-05-31T09:05:00.005-04:00

Chester, contemplating his pup years

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the birth of Chester, the world renowned philosopher, philanthropist, and shih tzu of letters. There never lived as dignified nor revered a shih tzu as Sir Chesterton (as was his popular nickname), and this writer, for one, is certain the world shall never again produce as sage a philosopher. At the time of his death in August of 2008, Chester had served several administrations (he served as special counsel to then Presidential candidate Barack Obama, for instance), had held countless professorships worldwide, and was the author of at least a dozen philosophical treatises as well as one best-selling children's book.

While achieving much during his all-too brief lifetime, Chester never forgot his humble beginnings nor the ordinary people who populated his small-town past. He was born to Aiesha and Snorky Runinsnot of Kirkwood, New York - the eldest of a litter of nine. The very last of his siblings to be adopted, Chester was known to have mused quite movingly over his feelings of unwantedness as a pup. His mother was widowed shortly after Chester's adoption, due to an unfortunate snorting bout that took her mate's life while she was traveling the Caribbean. In his writings, Chester has expounded on the existential shock that a parent's death represents, a subject that he also has taken up in his Broadway play, "A pup alone." Many have speculated that Chester's loss in his puppyhood lay behind his later decision never to marry or raise a family. He has, however, deeply touched the lives of many and remains an enduring part of the greater family of learning, culture, and the arts. On this day, the anniversary of his birth, we salute a great and noble shih tzu - Chester, to you!

A Tale of the Ugly Dumplings

2009-05-29T11:02:00.001-04:00

I decided to make mandu, Korean dumplings. They turned out very ugly but very scrumptious.

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 2 big cloves of garlic, minced
- a carrot, shredded or finely minced
- a few scallions, chopped
- some fresh chives, chopped
- a shallot, minced
- fresh ginger, shredded or minced
- vegetable oil for frying
- won-ton wrappers

First, turn on some nice music, preferably something calming. You are going to be spending some time doing this.

Ok, then, heat your wok, add a little bit of oil, then the ginger, some of the minced garlic, and the shallots. Saute your carrots, about 2 minutes (just to soften them). (Look! I found YELLOW (!!!) carrots at Whole Foods!)

Dump the garlicky carrots into the ground pork. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce (omg, that is pungent), sesame oil, the rest of the garlic, soy sauce, chives, and chopped scallions. Mix this up and let it marinate (I believe I let mine marinate for 45 minutes.)

Then, you fill your lazy-person, pre-made won-ton wraps up. Put a little meat in the center of the wrap, and press the edges together. Some people are very good at this and can do all sorts of fancy shapes and folds. Good for them. (Harumph.) I can assure you that your dumplings will be yummy no matter what they look like.

Heat wok, add a generous amount of oil, and when the oil is hot, fry your dumplings. Drain on a paper towel, and enjoy! (I also dropped some of mine into a boiling pot of mild-brothed soup, along with a handful of spinach - see first pic).

For a dipping sauce, I combined some light soy sauce, a tiny bit of chili oil, rice vinegar, and a drop or two of sesame oil. Topped it with toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOMMMMMMM!

It is grilling season!

2009-05-29T10:09:00.001-04:00

(I will admit it. This is not my photo. This chicken belongs to these people. My skewers were, oh, let us say "less photogenic." Whatever. I'm over it.)

This is a ridiculously easy, inexpensive, and delicious way to make chicken on the grill. I found the recipe here, on the "White on Rice Couple" blog (I have no comment on the title of that blog.)

You need:
- fresh rosemary sprigs
- a package of chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins (~2 lbs.)
- a couple of cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 3 tbsp. olive oil (enough to coat the chicken)
- freshly ground black pepper

First, rinse your chicken and cut it into 1-inch chunks. Mince the rosemary and garlic cloves.

Mix the garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and soy sauce in a bowl to form the marinade.

Add chicken, making sure all the pieces are coated. Let this sit for a little bit and then slide the chickie chunks onto skewers.

Grill the skewers, a couple minutes for each side. Yum!

Happy Anniversary, Miss Baker

2009-05-28T13:49:00.005-04:00

photo courtesy of NASA

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of Miss Baker's famous space flight. A squirrel monkey by birth and an astronaut by trade, Miss Baker became (as her gravestone in Hunstville, Ala. states) the "first U.S. animal to fly in space and return alive" on May 28, 1959.

Miss Baker's success was rather clutch, given the heated space race that was going on at the time. While the U.S. had successfully sent.... fruit flies (gah...) into space, the Soviets, as NPR points out here, were launching dogs (dogs (!!!) for crying out loud)... I mean, it was getting embarrassing.

Miss Baker went up and came back, in a wee thermos-sized capsule, after a successful 15 minute flight. The rest is history... (and involves tons of fan mail for Miss Baker)

(On a sadder note, Miss Baker was also traveling with a rhesus monkey named Able <-- perhaps a poor choice of name, all things considered. Unfortunately, Able expired shortly upon his return. Miss Baker lived to the ripe old age of 27. Over 300 people attended her funeral in 1984.)

Turkish fig + fresh goat cheese = NOM

2009-05-28T12:10:00.006-04:00

Very easy and delicious. Cheese and fig are my new favorite flavor pairing.

Ingredients (although that is perhaps a strong term for this ridiculously simple nom):
- 1 baguette
- fresh, soft goat cheese
- a few dried, Turkish figs (you can get these in the bulk aisle of Whole Foods)
- some thin slices of pear

Optional additions:
- BACON!!! (what isn't better with bacon?)
- fresh mint sprigs
- prosciutto (if you want to be fancier-pants about it)

Also, here is a great recipe for "Ricotta Thumbprint Cookies with Fig Jam, Honey & Pistachios" - courtesy of Very Small Anna ("I’m Anna. I’m small. I like making pastries, drawing, grocery shopping, eating fruit, drinking tea and hanging out with my tortoise, Bowser.") <-- Awesome.

More weddings

2009-05-28T12:00:00.004-04:00

Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Hammie!

They look so somber.

Weddings...

2009-05-27T21:45:00.011-04:00

Weddings are so much fun. (Fun, of course, is directly related to number of Italians in your family.)

See? Italians!

* Congrats, Tiffany! *

Summer

2009-05-26T15:36:00.009-04:00

Poor Mabel. She is so very fluffy, even for a cat. It must make summer weather very annoying.

"Deliver me!"

"Deliver me! ... from my fluff!"

*

Chili cook-off

2009-05-26T15:15:00.004-04:00

My flight of six very yummy chili samplings, at the chili cook-off at St. Ex, a local bar and restaurant in D.C.

Also, here is a fascinating story called "The Chili Queens of San Antonio," from NPR's series "Hidden Kitchens." The story describes the "plazas of San Antonio and the women who fed and tended their families and communities for generations... The makeshift tables, the fires and pots of chili, the coffee and tamales, the lanterns, and the crowds of San Antonians of every stripe -- businessmen, soldiers, cowboys, families, Anglos, Tejanos and the singers and troubadours who filled the night with music."

photo from The Kitchen Sisters, at http://www.kitchensisters.org/hktexas/hk_texas_talkon_MGuerra.htm

Yogurt guy dies

2009-05-22T13:13:00.006-04:00

The NYTimes reports that Daniel Carasso, "who helped turn yogurt from an obscure ethnic food into an international staple through the Danone brand in Europe and Dannon in the United States," died at his home in Paris at age 103. (Wow. That is old. I will eat more yogurt, I think.)

<-- Yogurt tycoon.

The obituary continues:
"The Danone brand owes nearly everything to Mr. Carasso, including its name. When his father, Isaac, created the yogurt in Barcelona in 1919, he named it after his son, whose nickname in Catalan was Danon, or Danny."

In tribute to Danon, this post is about yogurt.

- Yogurt and women
- Yogurt and men (um. ok.)
- Yogurt and a chubby cat
- What flavor yogurt are you? Quiz time. (I am peach, if you are interested.)
- Make your own yogurt (It is shockingly easy. Shockingly.)
- Greek yogurt in the NYTimes Magazine (includes great recipes)

Homemade yogurt

I am putting this down here, because it is a very bad joke:
Two cartons of yogurt walk into a bar. The bartender, who is a tub of cottage cheese says, "We don't serve your kind here." One of the yogurts replies, "Why not? We're cultured individuals."