May 16th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink
June 2011 . Campfire Cookery
“Leaving on a jet plane.”
Like clockwork, I’ve got travel on the brain. Every Spring, Summer and Fall, I start thinking about where I want to go. I’m seeing and hearing about so many friend’s travels, that I itch to get out and explore. One of the things I’ve been talking about lately is camping.
May 7th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink
May 2011 . Cheesemonger
We all enjoyed a lovely description of Cutting for Stone by Cindy, and a brief summary of the first few pages of Stumbling on Happiness (which nobody ended of being able to finish!)
My first exposure to a book club was last year. The book Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge, enticed me to accept my friend’s invitation to join her book club. I scrambled to finish this book chronicling Gordon Edgar’s experience with cheese and Rainbow Grocery, a local San Francisco grocery co-op. I scrambled to finish the book in time for our meet up, but alas, I only made it three-fourths through. When I arrived to the gathering, I was greeted by a beautiful spread of cheese ranging from classic gouda to crumbly goat’s milk cheese. Needless to say, from that moment on, I found my new motivation to read.
May 2011 . Nook
June 1st, 2011 § 3 comments § permalink
May 2011 . The Lost Art of Real Cooking
“You are an extrovert trapped in the body of an introvert.”
His comment was accurate. That’s the side effect of a 16-year friendship. I’ve spent my days observing myself–inside and out–noticing the changes occurring all around and I feel so fortunate to have these actualizations. Today was the first day of my countdown. In less than a month, I’ll finish the last few pages of this last chapter and begin writing my next one. I’ve got plenty of zesty books to read and plenty of friends to share them with. Day 1 complete. Time to break out of my introvert-like shell.
April 4th, 2011 § 4 comments § permalink
December 2010 . Guava
Most of us living today hardly know where our foods come from. At best, we are dimly aware of the geographic and cultural origins of the crop genetic resources that form the living foundations of our food supply. We seem to believe that as long as we wish to eat, those resources will be invariably provided to the seed curators, plant breeders, nurserymen, and farmers who make our agricultural supply-and-delivery chain function.
That phrase came from Gary Paul Nabhan’s Where Our Food Comes From, a wonderful book that recounts the tale of Nikolay Vavilov’s work. I’m only 40 percent through the book and it’s already got me thinking and rethinking the way I think of food. I love when books help foster constructive thinking.
February 28th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink
February 2011 . Ebelskiver Pan
Okay…What…Is that?
We were dining at 1300 on Fillmore, a wonderful restaurant in San Francisco’s live music district that serves up ‘soulful american’ cuisine, when our waiter perplex-idly stared at the unusual looking pan. The pan, with seven small wells, was indeed funny shaped and not something you’d see a patron whip out while at a restaurant–heck, or any cooking gadget for that matter. To clear the confusion, my friends and I explained that this was part of a gift exchange. This pan, while not known widely here in the U.S., is used for making traditional Dutch snacks or desserts. Do you know what it is?