It was suggested that I post some of my e-mail musings on Southern cuisine in coming up with my final offerings to the Supper Club for its Southern themed gathering on March 25th. They are below... Enjoy!


February 4th: I've been thinking... spent several hours trying to locate POSSUM meat... to the best I can determine, it's illegal to sell it :-( ... I found some really wild other kinds of meat for future reference though! My mother was from Kentucky -- and she said that my great-grandmother (she was a child in the civil war era) used to make it occasionally, and it drove her Dad out of the house for a week! Guess it smells funny.

I'm trying to think of things that are practical as well because some of the recipes handed down from my mom are best prepared and served immediately for best flavor and I don't want to add to the kitchen hecticness.

I've also been referring to a book "What's Cooking in Kentucky" which is a spiral bound book which has real old fashioned country cooks recipes which can have some interesting instructions and side notes. (A distant relative of mine self-published it). I decided to pass on Kentucky Burgoo, which takes all day cooking and stirring outdoors, and serves 50. Not to mention it also takes steak, pork, chicken, squirrel & jowl bacon on the meat side...

I've been recently toying with something like Buttermilk Pie, Peanut Soup, something with Okra or Poke Greens, or Hominy (big or little).

So still in a state of research....

Can't wait!
Anna

PS. My mother also used to tell me stories of, and sometimes serve, some very unusual meat dishes which were popular when she was growing up... mostly organ meats. Scrambled brains & eggs for breakfast... sweetbreads... and she used to send me to school with Head Cheese Sandwiches. Although she didn't make it from scratch, I found this recipe for Head Cheese quite interesting.

Head Cheese

After thoroughly cleaning a hog's or a pig's head, split it in two with a sharp knife; take out the eyes, take out the brain, cut off the ears, and pour scalding water over them and the head and scrape them clean. Cut off any part of the nose which is discolored so as not to be scraped clean; then rinse all in cold water and put into a large kettle with hot (not boiling) water to cover it, and set the kettle (having covered it) overthe fire; let it boil gently, taking off the scum as it rises; when boiled so that the bones leave the meat readily, take it from the water with a skimmer into a large wooden bowl or tray; take from it every particle of bone, chop the meat small and season to taste with salt and pepper, and if liked, a little chopped sage or thyme.

Spread a cloth in a colander or sieve, set it in a deep dish and put the meat in, then fold the cloth loosely over it, lay a weight on which may press equally the whole surface ( a sufficiently large plate will serve); let the weight be more or less heavy, according as you may wish the cheese to be fat or lean; a heavy weight by pressing out the fat will of course leave the cheese lean. When cold take the weight off, take it from the colander or sieve, scrape off whatever fat may be found on the outside of the cloth, and keep the cheese in the cloth in a cool place, to be eaten sliced thin, with or without mustard and vinegar or catsup.

After the water is cold from which the head was boiled, take off the fat from it and whatever may have drained from the sieve or colander and cloth, put it together in some clean water, give it one boil, then strain it through a cloth and set it to become cold, then take off the cake of fat. It is fit for any use.

Well, don't think I'll be making the head cheese, but it is fun researching the old. Thought about making corncob wine, but it seems a bit techinical and you have to age it for more than 6 mos. I remembered my mother's 'hoe cakes' (yes, originally cooked on a hoe), creecy greens, cracklin bread, black-eyed peas (and various other unusual legumes), and chess pie. Still lookin'.

February 9th: Well fellow foodies, after reading the necessary actions to prepare good possum, I've given up! But it was fun to see it to the end. I was thinking of contacting my rather wild cousin in Kentucky to hunt one down for me and ship it on dry ice. However, as the following information states, it is especially important to keep it live for a few weeks and feed it a special diet before having 'him' for dinner. The thought of transporting a live possum via Fed Ex (if they even do it) and caring for it at my condo for a few weeks -- well I just couldn't picture it!

Enjoy this recipe from 1917 -- authentic! - Anna
PS I wonder what type of wine would have paired well ;-)

****************************************************************

The Preparation of Poultry and Game: Pick carefully, draw and singe every manner of poultry and feathered game, wash clean, quickly, in cold water, never hot, drain, then wipe as dry as possible with a soft, thick, damp cloth--it takes up moisture cleaner than a dry one. Keep very cold and away from smells until ready to cook. Tilt roasting fowls, so they may drain, if liquid gathers. Before stuffing rub over the whole inside lightly with soft butter or bacon fat, pepper it scantly, and rub on a very little salt. Grease and season the outside after stuffing is done,--never before it. If game is shot-torn, soak for ten minutes in weak salt water after plucking, rinse in cold salt water, wipe dry and drain.

Furred game, as rabbits, squirrels, possums, ought to be drawn before it is cold, if you would have the finest flavor. This is especially necessary with possums--which should be bought alive, and fattened for several weeks in a clean cage, feeding them on bread, milk, apples, potatoes, cabbage leaves, and grass. This makes them tender and much more delicate in flavor. Kill by dislocating the neck with a quick, upward jerk, then cut the throat and hang to bleed. Roll after dampening fur well in very hot embers--then scrape the same as a pig, draw, and hang to cool. Divide the skin of rabbits and squirrels around the middle, and pull off each half, the same as a kid glove. Thus no hairs stick on the clean flesh. Draw very quickly, wipe lightly with a damp cloth, and hang where it is cool and airy for at least an hour.

Possum Roasted: Chill thoroughly after scraping and drawing. Save all the inside fat, let it soak in weak salt water until cooking time, then rinse it well, and partly try it out in the pan before putting in the possum. Unless he is huge, leave him whole, skewering him flat, and laying him skin side up in the pan. Set in a hot oven and cook until crisply tender, taking care there is no scorching. Roast a dozen good sized sweet potatoes--in ashes if possible, if not, bake them covered in a deep pan. Peel when done, and lay while hot around the possum, turning them over and over in the abundant gravy. He should have been lightly salted when hung up, and fully seasoned, with salt, pepper, and a trifle of mustard, when put down to cook. Dish him in a big platter, lay the potatoes, which should be partly browned, around him, add a little boiling water to the pan, shake well around, and pour the gravy over everything. Hot corn bread, strong black coffee, or else sharp cider, and very hot sharp pickles are the things to serve with him.

Dishes & Beverages of the old South
By: Martha McCulloch-Williams
Published 1917

BLUE SUN: Spaceweather.com reports that for the second time this year, a blue sun has appeared over Egypt. "A powerful khamaseen dust storm swept through Alexandria on March 7th," reports astronomer Aymen Ibrahem of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. "The sun shining through the dust turned blue."

The Egyptian sun on March 7th. Photo credit: Aymen Ibrahem.

Blue suns occur when the air fills with particles just a little larger than the wavelength of light. This makes the air behave like a filter, scattering red while allowing blue to pass. For maximum blue, the particles should all be very close to the same size--about a millionth of a meter across. Khamaseen storms are notorious for such fine dust. The spring dusty season is just beginning in Egypt. Sky watchers there should be alert for more blue suns--and blue moons, too.

Official Ramen Homepage. Happened on a Ramen Blog, rather cute and funny!

On to Okazaki. Monday, I took the Shinkansen to Mikawa-anjo and was picked up by Shinji & Fujiko and wisked off to their home. The timing of leaving Hiroshima was impeccable since it started pouring down rain. The colorful umbrellas seemed like spring blossoms moving gently down the sidewalk.

I arrived at the Hiroshima train station rather early, and enjoyed walking around nearby and appreciating the artfulness of Japanese packaging and arranging of goods for display at the stores.


















While I was waiting, a young woman smiled and started talking to me in English and we soon swiched to Japanese. She was a 'detail' person for Bayer, and was on her way for a business trip! What a coincidence. I guessed her job! I mused that it might be fun to buy a two week pass and sit for a time at each shinkansen station and see what the world brought me, and write up an article or expand on the sections for a book. Who knows???

Reunion Party. My good friend and colleague Mr. Akimura kindly arranged to have a reunion party of some of my former supervisors taking place in Hiroshima. Mr. Irie, Mr. Kawaguchi & Mr. Akimura attended (I visited with Mr. Sato in Osaka). Mr. McHale was in New York on business, and had to send his regrets.

We enjoyed a slow meal in a traditional restaurant and reminised about old times, and caught up on current activities. The weather was cold - it snowed the day I arrived, but held its clear skies.

I really enjoyed seeing everyone and having relaxed conversation.

From "Popeye" in Hiroshima. What a cute name for an Internet Cafe. So back in the seat in the non-smoking section. Yesterday afternoon I had a long and wonderful meeting with Haruko Moritaki, and caught up on her dedicated activities to shed light on the harm being done with DU weapons. Totally amazing woman. We enjoyed a late lunch of Okonomiyaki, the signature dish of Hiroshima at Hanayashiki, then went to Shukkei-en, a lovely garden which had plum blossoms starting to bloom, despite the unusually cold weather. Some of the trees looked like weeping willows with the trailing branches weeping riotous complex pink blossoms.


Some photos of our Okonomiyaki Lunch:

Anna & Haruko Moritaki, lower left - Okonomiyaki lunch, upper right

Some Shukkei-en views (plum blossoms were in season):

After finishing our visit, I rested a bit and walked to Hachobori again and enjoyed a simple katsu-curry dinner at a restaurant in the same spot for 50 years. The owners engaged me in a conversation, and by coincidence, the wife of the husband/wife team has a cousin living in San Rafael!

I later met an old friend, "Jon" Koike in the lobby of my hotel.. 30 years since we were students together at Hiro-Dai Fuzoku koko. It was fantastic to catch up on each others lives since we last had the chance to sit and talk about three years ago. Silly me brought my camera, then became so engaged in our conversation that I forgot to take a photo. Zannen desu.

This morning, by sheer coincidence the cute young girl who served me breakfast at the hotel is currently a student at the same high school I attended 30 years ago.

I sat on the wooden deck of the hotel after breakfast soaking in the early morning sun and romantic scenery, blossoms and trail by one of Hiroshima's famous rivers. Seemed the morning for dog walking along the trail, and the cleaning lady, sweeping an already immaculate deck, was so cheerful and smiley I would dare anyone who saw her not to have an uplift to their morning.

I freshened up again upstairs and then headed out with a book to stop and have some coffee at a friendly coffeeshop, one of the delights of Japan. I did enjoy a cup of mocha (not like what we have), but then I was surrounded by smokers suddenly, and decided it was time to leave!

From Hiroshima. I arrived in Osaka last night, and had the most wondeful dinner with Mr. Tetsumi Sato, and two of his associates, Tatsumi and Koji at "Loin", a teppan-yaki restaurant in the Shin-Hankyu Hotel. The chef was a master, we all had beef with vegetables, including matsutake mushroom, paired with some wonderful Chilian wine. We reminised about old times, and good friendships, and in particular remembered Dr. Barrett Scoville, a colleage we miss who passed on in a plane crash (he used to commute regularly from Connecticut to DC in his small plane).

I woke up early this morning, and took an early Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima, checking my bags at the hotel and finding a lovely Internet Cafe from which I'm writing this. I saved my Shinkansen ticket for Toran, and even took a photo of the train I rode for him. Love making my young friends happy. I'll have to post photos in retrospect when I'm back in the U.S.

Sonoma. After spending the morning on organizing the book tour, and getting things ready to go for Japan, I went to Sonoma. Had tea with Linda and took my Dad out to dinner at the "Happy Garden" Chinese restaurant. It was so-so, but my father enjoyd being out. It started pouring rain and the temperature dropped this afternoon ... BRrrrr...

Another thing you'll never find on my table...

Chinese give cat food a whole new meaning
From Jane Macartney in Beijing
The Times

EVERY day thousands of cats are transported to Guangdong province in southern China.

They are destined not to become the pampered pets of the country’s new rich, but to be served up at the dinner table.

The trade is one that merchants seem eager to keep out of the public eye in a country where pet shops have sprung up to meet a growing demand as incomes rise.

While no laws exist to regulate the business, at the Baishazhou market in Wuhan, central China, two cat traders were startled this week when a local reporter paused to take photographs.

They had collected about 1,000 cats, taken to the city by rural cat-catchers. The terrified animals were crowded into large wire cages.

All were alive, but most were silent, apparently too exhausted and traumatised to do more than mew faintly. The traders loaded about fifteen cages, each crammed with cats, into the back of a van for the animals’ final journey to Guangdong. Chinese have for centuries eaten a startling range of creatures. Southern Chinese particularly relish the taste of wild animals, believing them to be rich in nutrition.

Wild civet, banned since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) scare, is believed to boost the immune system. Snakes are reputed to increase a man’s virility, and the smooth-skinned salamander is believed to clear acne.

In the markets of Guangdong, cats cowering in small cages are a common sight. At the Nanjin poultry market about forty stalls sell cats, which are divided according to size. The larger the cat, the higher the price. A cat weighing more than 3kg (7lbs) can fetch 70p a kilo, while smaller animals cost about 40p a kilo.

A local newspaper quoted one trader as saying that he sold up to 300kg (660lb) of cat meat a day. He said: “Today I’ve sold 200 cats. Tonight another 100 will arrive. No matter how many you need, I can satisfy demand.”

Catching cats offers an alternative source of income for farmers in China’s poorer central provinces who sell them for up to 40p each. One Guangzhou restaurant offers a braised cat meat dish for £3, but charges £12 for cat stewed with snake and chicken. The owner said: “The cats are domestic cats and are clean and cheap. In winter we have more customers than in summer. Only local people eat cat, not people from other provinces.”

The Guangzhou City Food and health quarantine office said that there were no regulations regarding cat meat.

Another We-Eating. Michael was too ill to join in person, but Jo-Ann & I enjoyed our meeting, Michael joining by speaker phone after we'd finished our enjoyable Japanese-style brunch. We took photos to memorialize our theme.

Brunch Menu: Barazushi, Ajitsuke Daikon, Tempura Shrimp, Kiri-gobo, fresh organic farmer's market baby greens with miso-mustard dressing and cherry blossom carrots, oden, miso soup, organic stawberries in birch sugar, and a good Merlot.

We started at 10:00 and ended at 2:00 -- mid-way Jonathon & the kids turned up and wanted to swim in my frigid pool -- if they could brave it! So they took a Swedish dip, and returned later. We all went walking across the Golden Gate Bridge afterwards enjoying a spectacular view of the city and good looks at the cables and structure of the bridge underneath us. Back to my place for some hot chocolate/tea and to warm up!

Sunrise at Sunrise Pointe. Waking up early this morning, I was treated by this beautiful scene. I had to take a snap and share!

I am up bright and early to make barazushi for a Japanese-themed brunch this morning for stoking the creative juices of the creativity group... more later.

A Farewell to Remember. My friends at OAI threw a farewell lunch for me today celebrating my 22 years with the company. We enjoyed a fabulous feast at Chaya, and moving around the table I enjoyed visiting with all. I was presented with a Mont Blanc pen with enscription "From Friends at OAI" and a most beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was lovely to have such appreciation.

Hugs and warm wishes, and interest in my new endeavors as a consultant were all part of the mix.

What a send off to the future!

Dinner tonight. It's President's Day, and I took some time to enjoy some 'play' time with my Dad. I picked him up, took him to lunch at his favorite buffet... then we went to see Duma at the Rafael. What a fabulous movie. VERY worth seeing. A little too intense for tots, but great! Dad enjoyed it too.

On my way home I checked messages... uh oh... my Doctor's nurse calling. I called her back. oh yes, that little matter of a certain test. Don't I have to keep a certain diet before completing? Yes, hmmm... it's on the back? When? Well.. yes I'll do it, but I happen to like a lot of the raw vegetables it prohibits, and well, then there's the matter of the raw meat... well of ... ahem. I DO enjoy raw tuna and it's on the menu tonight, and again I'm making it for a friend on Thursday. Bad? How do I know what's in it? I trust the source.. why, well, I only buy from a trusted source in Japantown. Can I SEE what's in it.. well, no.. (oh I'm just putting my foot in it futher, I'd best give up this conversation)... I see, yes, I'm sure Doctor will have something to say to me about it.

All caution tossed to the wind, and well, as to the matter of the incomplete test, it will have to wait until next week.. as I enjoy my tuna pokki tonight -- photo above of tonight's dinner. I'm going to do seared black-sesame coated tuna with a ponzu/green onion sauce for Thursday.

Lunch at Il Fornaio, Palo Alto. I enjoyed a marvelous lunch with Wilma this afternoon. It was unseasonably crisp and cold in Palo Alto, but we were tucked away inside and enjoyed Italian 'comfort food', with a little splurge on some drinks to toast to what's up next. I had a Bellini (peach juice & white wine blend).

I met Paul at Standford shopping mall and did a little pre-trip gift shopping. (Yes, I'm off to Japan next week!)

I also had some fun with my new roommate -- my iRobot Roomba. What a cute creature! He took care of all those dust bunnies under the bed while I was reading a book... wow!

Supper Club Recipe (France). Following is Emil's information about the origin of the cheese served last Saturday, and instructions for storing cheese, etc. (Emil, Caren & Anna left)

Fromages Françaises

The French cheeses we served at our Supper Club Feast were purchased at Au Vieux Gourmet, a cheese store with a huge selection of fabulous cheeses, located at 3, rue des Orfèvres, Strasbourg, near the cathedral, and included:

Abbaye de Trois Vaux – handmade cheese of nuns in Normandy
Chevrotin – artisan goat cheese from Savoy
Gaperon – speciality of Auvergne
Grisie du Jura – Savoy
Gouda Rouge Vieux – aged for 3 to 4 years
Livarot – one of the oldest cheeses of Normandy, highest rate of consumption
Pyramide Cendrée – goat milk
Royal Briard – artisan cheese from Île-de-Françe

Resources for French cheeses:

http://www.fromages.com/cheese_library.php

http://www.cheesesupply.com/

http://www.francefromages.com/m32_encyclopedie_tous.asp

http://www.france-gourmet.com/gb/cfm/boutique/index.cfm


No matter how far archaeological finds go, there is evidence that cheese came into being in prehistoric times. Cheese can not really be said to have been "invented". This delicious food must have resulted from the simple observation that milk left in a container ends up by coagulating, even more if it is hot. People living in areas where the climate changed seasonally would also have noticed the effect of temperature on this process: in warmer weather the milk would curdle faster than in the cold. This might be considered the first technological cheesemaking discovery.

There are hundreds of different types of cheese that can be differentiated both by the type of milk - raw, skimmed or pasteurised, and by the animal - cow, goat, sheep, buffalo, horse or camel.

Serving and Storage Tips

Unpasteurised cheese with a range of flavours should not be sliced until purchase otherwise it will start to lose its subtlety and aroma.

Keep the cheese in conditions in which it matures. Hard, semi-hard and semi-soft cheeses are stored in the temperatures from around 8 - 13 C.

Keep the cheese wrapped in the waxed paper and place it in a loose-fitting food-bag not to lose humidity and maintain the circulation of air.

Wrap blue cheeses all over as mould spores spread readily not only to other cheeses but also to everything near.

Cheeses contain living organisms that must not be cut off from air, yet it is important not to let a cheese dry out.

Do not store cheese with other strong-smelling foods. As a cheese breathes it will absorb other aromas and may spoil.

Wrap soft cheeses loosely. Use waxed or greaseproof paper rather than cling film.

Let cold cheese warm up for about half an hour before eating to allow the flavour and aroma to develop.

Supper Club Recipe (France). Our tireless organizer, and professional chef Tom (left) sent along his recipe from Corsica.

Mouton aux Olives (Lamb with Olives)

SERVES 6

Meat stews are a hallmark of Corsican cooking, and with good reason: The herbs that go into them are the same ones that the animals graze on, creating a unique layering of flavors.

4 oz. bacon, diced
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 lbs. lamb shoulder (have butcher cut into medium pieces)
1 tbsp. flour (I used chestnut flour, which you can find at Andronico's, but it's not necessary)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup red wine
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
6 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and sliced
1/2-1 cup picholine or other good French or Italian green olives

1. Render and crisp bacon in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in lamb and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring often, until juices thicken and flour loses its raw flavor, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, wine, thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Add 2 cups water and bay leaves, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring often, until lamb is tender, about 1 hour.

4. About 30 minutes before lamb is finished cooking, stir in carrots and olives. Before serving, skim any fat from liquid and remove and discard bay leaves. Serve warm with slices of chestnut flour pulenda, if you like.

Supper Club Recipe (France). Now the recipes are starting to circulate from our fabulous chefs for the delights of the evening. Let's start with Paul's Recipe. Paul traveled all the way from Massachusetts for the event. I'm not particularly fond of duck, but this was GREAT. Not fatty!

BRAISED DUCK WITH PORT AND CHERRIES

4 large Moulard duck legs, including thighs (about 12 ounces each)

THE SPICE RUB

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

THE BRAISE

1/2 cup (3 ounces) dried Bing cherries (with 1 cup chicken stock, homemade
1 cup tawny port
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf

1. Trimming the duck-the day before: Trim the duck legs of as much excess fat as you can without cutting into the skin or the meat. If you've never trimmed duck legs before, proceed slowly to avoid trimming off the skin with the fat. Unlike chicken, duck skin and fat can be hard to distinguish. After removing a maximum of fat, trim off any loose flaps of skin as well. Depending on the duck, there may be as much as 4 ounces of fat to trim off each leg. Collect the fat to render at another time and use it for sauteing potatoes or other vegetables, or discard.

2. The spice rub: In a small mortar or spice grinder; combine the coriander, black pepper- corns, and allspice and grind to a coarse powder. Add the thyme and salt and mix. Sprinkle this spice mixture all over the duck legs and rub so the seasonings adhere. Arrange the duck legs in a single layer in a baking dish, cover with plastic, and refrigerate overnight.

3. Plumping the cherries-the day before: In a small bowl, pour the port over the cherries. Set aside to plump overnight.

4. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

5. Browning the duck: Pat the surface of the duck dry using paper towels, being careful not to wipe off the spices. Heat a large heavy skillet (10- to 12-inch) over medium-high heat: If you have a cast-iron skillet, this is a good place to use it. Because it holds heat so well, it sears the duck legs without having the skin stick or tear. If you don't have cast iron, choose the heaviest skillet you have. Don't worry that there's no fat in the pan; the duck legs will quickly throw off enough to get things sizzling. When the skillet is hot but not scorching, add as many duck pieces skin-side down as will fit without crowding. Sear the duck, without disturbing, until the skin is crisp and taut, about 7 minutes. Lift one edge with tongs to peek to see that the skin is crisp before turning. Panfry the other side just until spots of brown appear, another 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer the duck to a shallow braising pan (4- to 5-quart). Pour off all the excess fat and repeat with the remaining duck legs. Pour off the fat, this time reserving 2 teaspoons in a small jar or ramekin. and remove any black specks from the skillet with a damp paper towel. Don't dean away any tasty cooked- on browned bits that will later add depth of flavor to the braising liquid.

6. The aromatics and braising liquid: Return the skillet to medium heat, add the
reserved 2 teaspoons duck fat and the shallot, and saute until the shallot begins to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cherries and their soaking liquid, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer to reduce the liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf and stock and reduce again by half, another 8 minutes.

7. The braise: Pour the reduced port-stock mixture over the duck legs. Cover with parchment paper, pressing down on the paper so it nearly touches the duck and extends over the sides of the pan by about an inch. Cover with a tight lid. Slide into the middle of the oven to braise at a gentle simmer. Lift the lid of the braising pan during the first 30 minutes to check that the liquid isn't simmering too forcefully. If it is, lower the oven temperature 10 or 15 degrees. After 1 hour, turn the duck legs with tongs. Continue braising gently until the duck is fork-tender and pulling away from the bone, another hour or so (about 2 hours total).

Remove the duck from the oven, and, with tongs, arrange the legs skin side up in a single layer on a half sheet pan or broiler pan. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Increase the oven heat to 475 degrees.

8. Degreasing the sauce: Duck legs release a substantial amount of fat when braised,
and if you own a gravy separator, this is a good opportunity to bring it out. Pour the brais- ing liquid into the separator, and then pour the liquid into a medium saucepan (2-quart), .leaving the clear fat behind. If you don't have a gravy separator, pour the braising liquid into the saucepan and skim the surface fat with a wide metal spoon.

9. Reducing the sauce: Set the saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer rapidly
until reduced to a syrupy sauce, about 3 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper, and lower the heat below a simmer to keep warm.

10. Meanwhile, crisp the duck: Once the oven has preheated, remove the foil and slide the pan of duck legs onto a rack in the middle or upper part of the oven and roast until the skin on top is crispy and sizzling, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to warm plates or a handsome serving platter.

11. Serving: Spoon the dried cherry and port sauce over the top of the duck. Serve.

Supper Club: French Regions. This evening was my introduction to the club, and I was happy to have Bretagne as my region. There were about 15 fabulous chefs present, including professional. The menu:

1. Salade d'Endives, Fromage, et Noix (Belgian Endive Salad with Cheese and Walnuts) - Auvergne

2. Fromage from different regions of France (photo left -Caren & Emil): Royal Briard, Chevrotin, Pyramide Cendrée, Livarot, Abbaye de Trois Vaux, Gouda Rouge Vieux, Grisie du Jura, and Gaperon - Various Regions of France

3. Tartare de Thon - Brittany

4. Chickpea and Spinach Soup with Almonds - Pyrenees

5. Egg and Wine Soup

6. Augergines et Fenouil Saint-Loup (Eggplant and Fennel with Tomatoes in an Egg-Cheese Custard) - Provence

7. Oysters Escargot in Mushroom Caps - Burgundy

8. Coq au Vin - Burgundy

9. Braised Duck Legs in Port with Cherries

10. Mouton aux Olives (Lamb and Olive Stew) - Corsica

13. Croquembouche w/ Grand Marnier Pastry Cream

14. "Salle Pleyel" as created by Robert Linxe of La Maison Du Chocolate on the rue du Faubourge-St. Honore' in Paris - Paris

A very slow and much enjoyed meal... did not disappoint! My dish was the Tartare de Thon. I served it in an antique lidded glass pedestal dish, with sea salt from Brittany on the side.

The salt was quite special:

Salt: Velvet de Guerande "Le Tresor"

Velvet™ by Le Trésor is light gray in color and almost the consistency of flour. This is a very delicate crystal that has a "buttery" feel and taste as it melts on your tongue. This is a terrific salt to top any dish, its texture makes it ideal for snacks such as popcorn, sauces and salads. You will naturally use less of this salt because the crystals are so fine, you get maximum flavor from a small amount of salt.

*This salt is certified organic by France's Nature & Progrés. This is the most rigorous salt certification process, which equates to purity and quality.

Tartare de Thon
Serves 4 as an appetizer

1 lb. piece of tuna
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 tbsp. salad oil
2 fl oz/1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 shallots very finely chopped
2 tbsp. capers, drained and chopped
1 tbsp. chopped chives
1 tbsp. chopped parsley salt and pepper

With a very sharp knife, clean the tuna fillets, removing all skin, bones and membrane. Chop the tuna finely with a knife and put into a bowl. Add the oils, vinegar, shallots, capers, chives and parsley and mix well. Season the tartare to taste, cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave to marinate 2-3 hours (in refrigerator). Serve with crisp pieces of toast.

Anna's tips: I made 1 1/2 times this recipe for the supper club. I used sashimi-grade tuna which is sold in blocks in Nijiya market in Japantown. This way there is no cleaning and removing undesireable parts, and it is precut in a way that makes it easy to slice, then chop and get a nice smooth finish. I used white pepper, and the Velvet de Guerande salt, with extra on the side as an add-on for individual taste. I used Enova oil as the 'salad oil'.

Christmas Eve. Wow. It's been about a month since I last posted. Don't know if I'll get time to back fill the days or not, but I'll start here for now.

My former host family from Hokkaido is here, Mama (Mrs. Kishi), Mika (Hosokawa), and Shohei (Hosokawa, 4 yrs.). They arrived on December 18th and we've been having a great week together.

We met Mika's six sixteen year old girls (English students) for lunch at the Grand Cafe. I was delighted to find that they really enjoyed this restaurant.

Then after a quick stop at Whole Foods so Anna could pick up some Christmas dinner items, Mama, Mika, Shohei & Anna traveled up to St. Leo the Great Catholic Church for Children's Mass. We met Linda there, and it was quite the scene with more children than I've seen in years milling about. The church is beautifully set in a wooded area, and behind the alter is not a wall, but 3 panels of floor to ceiling windows. The service started with a nativity play, and Mary was seen on horseback (yes! a real horse!) parading back and forth in front of the windows so all could see her traveling pregnant to Bethleham. She had the baby somewhere outside I guess, as the next scene had her and Joseph coming in the back doors and down the corridors with baby Jesus in arms. It was a warm and wonderful service with children front and center. Olivia was singing and waving to us from the children's choir. Shohei was invited to join in, but was too shy.

After the services we drove to the Silverado, and after Yalda gave us a wonderful tour of her Spa, we had our Christmas Eve dinner at The Grill at Silverado. It was really a delicious dinner. I had the coconut prawns with slivered cucumber and saifun salad. Linda had rather a start to see that many of the continously playing photos of the resort in the restaurant alcove featured Yalda as a model, with a lot of skin showing... discreet, but just enough to make a mother uncomfortable. Shohei & Olivia were in high spirits and at one point were twirling around together, kissing each others cheeks. Olivia announced that she was going to marry Shohei, and Shohei said rather firmly that he did not want to get married!

There was so much talk of Santa Claus coming down the chimney and leaving the children gifts that I thought I'd best make sure Shohei wasn't left out of this fun (I gave them my Christmas gifts earlier since they needed to judge the size for packing). So we stopped briefly on the way back and I got some chocolate chip cookies to leave for Santa as well as a stocking and some stuffers to appear in the morning from Santa Claus (see the upper left photo). Shohei left some milk and a cookie for Santa.

As you can see above, Santa took a bite of cookie, drank the milk and left Shohei a return note. We also had a great time tracking Santa at the NORAD Santa tracking site.

I'm now sleepy too, so will go to bed now. Tomorrow is another day.

Cheap is good...but seawater beer? I have not tasted this, but how unusual!

"The craze for a cheap beer made out of sea water and raw malt has Japan's brewing industry hopping mad. Japan's biggest brewer Asahi said it was seeing a continuing slide in sales as more and more Japanese turned to the drink called happoshu. Asahi makes Japan's best-selling beer but in the past three months the company's operating profit has fallen more than 20%. The popularity of happoshu is hurting the sales of all Japan's big brewers. Asahi is trying to cash in on the craze by offering its own happoshu beers. And the government is flirting with the idea of a new happoshu tax to help the established brewers. According to one columnist at the Japanese website - Captain Japan - the only thing the success of happoshu proves, is that if a drink is cheap enough, it will sell, even if it tastes like medicine."

Special Thanks to Victoria Broadbent BBC World Business Report

Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday! I went on a retreat "It's About Time" at Enchanted Hills in Napa. The first days I've taken just for myself since I returned from Africa in February. Some friends organized this and invited friends and friends of... so it was a close knit group, and the program was developed by a core group.

It was on 300+ acres on the side of a mountain in Napa Valley, where cell phones and the like did not work. I took the photo on the left just outside the Dining Hall. There was beauty all over. There were a lot of periods for meditation, and we all were asked to put our timepieces, cell phones, PDAs, etc. into a bag which was locked up for the entire weekend. The only clues we had for time were the sunrise & sunset, and the ring of Tibetian Bells for mealtimes and some gatherings.

At the end, we had a completion gathering, and we shared what we would take/leave on the mountain. A number of our group said to me after how inspiring my words were, and I've received a couple e-mail at home afterwards asking me to recreate what I said in writing. I will do that here.

"Lenny shared with the completion circle that he would no longer abandon his friends. Those words shot across the circle and went straight into my heart and I was stunned with the thought that I had abandoned myself. I realized that throughout the weekend I had silently thought, or verbally commented any number of times how I 'used to do' something, like knitting, singing, running... and I knew that I had been leaving pieces of my true self, those things that set me apart and made up my authentic self - those things most valuable, along the way of my life, continuing along the path without them. Those things most joyful and those playful things that make life whole and abundant were just lying there behind me. Things that I had been passionate about. I will not leave those behind any more, and what I will take back with me from the mountain is my whole self, not just that efficient, "lean, mean, time-machine". I will pick up those pieces and be whole again as I leave, my best authentic self returning to the everyday world."

My friends understood that I didn't mean I was taking off to suddenly become an opera singer or the like, but that there were things that were worth keeping integrated into myself and enjoying doing what was suitable for now, of all those past interests and passions. Seems that it touched a chord in many.

It was a magical weekend. And a very inspiring and open group of people.

Enchanted Hills

Yes friends, I've not been blogging for awhile. This month found me catching two viruses, and it was all I could do to keep up with day to day stuff. If I get around to it I might backfill some from here...

Started the day with a brunch with Jo-Ann & Michael. We wound up checking out the AlphaDog store in Mill Valley -- $32 for a designer doggie t-shirt- wow. Ended up distracted in the wonderous Mill Valley Market found some interesting stuff... Picked up some Acai fruit and buffalo meatloaf to try.

As Michael & Jo-Ann left, I ran out the door to meet Sachiko as we decided to have some dinner at "Fish" in Sausalito. Sachiko found that "Fish" had closed for rennovations, so I suggested we go to Christophe's since she hadn't been yet. That was a hit, and we had a nice meal. We went to Cafe Trieste after that for coffee, and ended up meeting a writer (in the style of Alvin Toffler) and sailboat racer, Michael, who plyed us with lots of good zin. Told us to resist him strongly if he asked us to take him home, and said "I'm serious". Hmmm....

Needless to say, we each went home alone after enjoying the zin and "The San Francisco Medicine Ball Band". Michael suggested we could catch him most mornings at the same Cafe Trieste.

Clothes Shopping the Easy Way. Sheva hosted a Weekender's clothes party this evening. It's called turbo-shopping. This line has a lot of classic looks and comfortable yet good looking fabrics. So I got a few fall colors...

Jo-Ann dropped by with Aurelia while I was out yesterday and today, and little Aurelia drew me the cutest family drawing, which is now on my refrigerator, and today left me a bowl of stawberries with her artwork. What a 3-year-old sweetie!

Last night another bright light, 4 year-old Miss Olivia, left a voice mail telling me she loved me... and signing me part of the refrain from "Annie" which she went to see with her Mom and Maga (Grandmom) at the Golden Gate Theater this past weekend. My heart melts!

Last evening I took out a DVD that Michael recommended - Born Into Brothels. A very worthwhile documentary. There is a site with more about the kids: Kids with Cameras. A good way to slide into a weekend with Global Partners starting tomorrow!

DeLay Indictment. It was too Delayed. I had a personal experience with his slimy office a few years ago. Someone representing themselves from his office called me at work without prior introduction and gave me a sugar-coated offer. After praising my business success (seemed very strange that his office should have any clue about my career) and telling me I'd won an award, they asked that I allow them to use my name in the paper supporting Bush's policies. I naturally responded that I couldn't do that as I strongly opposed the Bush policies that they were discussing (can't remember off-hand which one now). Apparently the so-called 'award' and recognition was CONTINGENT upon use of my name in the paper. Although the person wouldn't state it in that way, guess what -- nothing she promised came to my address! And of course my name wasn't on whatever retro policies he was proposing at the time. Given this experience, it would not surprise me if he is actually guilty of the crimes he's been accused. At any rate, he's a bad actor, and hopefully will have the cane come out and pull him off the public stage permanently.

Kitti's Place Redux. Since the portions were so generous, I had a full dinner of left overs tonight, which heated up well. This evening seemed to be the evening of difficulties for a number of friends and family -- got calls all evening telling me of various very hard times. Seems that way for a lot of people these days, I hope that things shift into a more positive and healthy sphere real soon for all.

I did find a very cool gadget! A virtual keyboard (VKB). The cigarette-lighter-sized VKB uses laser and infrared technology to project a full-size QWERTY keyboard onto any flat surface for almost any palmtop computer, PDA or mobile phone. It is also easily integrated into a mobile phone, with Siemens and Samsung having shown versions of the technology integrated into their phones at recent trade shows.

Roughly the size of a disposable lighter, (90 x 34 x 24 mm), the VKB enables users to type email or long text as easily as with a conventional keyboard.

VKB works by using both infrared technology to produce an invisible circuit and laser technology to project a full-size keyboard that performs exactly like a real one. Its direction technology, based on optical recognition, enables users to tap the images of the keys, complemented with the realistic tapping sound, and then feed the commands into the compatible PDAs, Smartphones, lap-top or personal computers.

Is that cool or what?!

Kitti's Place. Not one to let grass grow under my feet, I promptly enjoyed dinner at Kitti's Place in Sausalito as my food writer neighbor recommended. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a website. It is very casual and California with a Thai flavor. The lettuce cups were outstanding -- a mix of chicken and shrimp and crispy wide (Phad Thai type) noodles, jicima, other surprises and a very well flavored sauce.

Saturday & Sunday. I tried to make it a relaxing weekend as next weekend will be a BIG one as it's the Global Partners for Development Gala. Michael & Jo-Ann came over on Saturday evening for a We-eating and creativity flowed. Daniel was concerned about not hearing a word from the lady he sent 1,000 roses to -- on Sunday he finally had the disappointing news that she was really not interested in developing the relationship further. Oh well... the story didn't have that happy movie ending.

I did attend my condo associations social Sunday evening, and finally got to know the neighbors. Delightful bunch, lots of talent and interesting lives. I particularly enjoyed meeting my neighbor Lois directly across the street as we seem to have a lot in common... and she's a food writer for a local newspaper! She told me I have to try Kitti's Place...

Thursday & Friday. Wind down days. Went to my Shadow Dancing meeting on Thursday, and enjoyed a quick bite at Akira's on Friday night. Looking forward to the weekend!

NPRI (Nuclear Policy Research Institute). Tuesday was very tied up in assisting the new expatriates, and I enjoyed a quick bite at La Maison de la Reine afterwards.

On Wednesday I went to a showing with the Filmmaker and Executive Director of "Nuclear Deception" associated with NPRI, which I was introduced to from Dr. Caldicott's staff. It was in San Geronimo (Western Marin), and a small but well-educated group. The DVD is very worth seeing as there are a number of critical facts compellingly displayed. Before the screening, I drove through the tiny town and had a very nice dinner at the "Two Birds Cafe", the only restaurant in town!

San Geronimo is so quaint and interesting. Here is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle that has a good description:

Valley of the Artists Mural still speaks to bucolic San Geronimo

-Sam Whiting

Riding west on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, motorists and cyclists blow right by the San Geronimo Valley Cultural Center - unless they happen to know this is the place to see winter-run salmon in the creek and a WPA mural in the lobby.

The bucolic landscape is 15 feet wide, 7 feet tall, and 50 feet off the road. It's worth a stop just to see how little has changed along the way out to Olema and Point Reyes in the 70 years since it was painted by Maurice Del Mue. A Parisian by way of San Francisco, Del Mue came out here to live and paint in 1925 as part of a migration as consistent as the salmon. The valley claims the highest concentration of artists in Marin County, and that's saying something given all the watercolorists in Mill Valley.

"Because of the beauty, it's like Santa Fe, N.M. It just brings that out in people," explains Susan Lahr, who has lived here for 30 years. "It's a huge artistic community - recording artists, visual artists, literary artists."

There are enough artists that the Two Bird Cafe has its own curator. The valley has almost as many post offices per capita as there are artists - four for 4,000 people. Each of the villages has its own - Woodacre, San Geronimo, Forest Knolls and Lagunitas. "You meet your friends and neighbors at the post office on a daily basis," Lahr says.

There is no home delivery of mail, or much of anything else. When the power goes out, it goes out early in the San Geronimo Valley and comes back late. Last winter, Lahr lost hers for five days. Last El Nino, it was seven.

"This is a real '60s place. Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Quicksilver - they all lived out here," says Lahr, who didn't arrive from her hometown of Pittsburgh until 1973 - which was in time for Elvin Bishop and the day Garcia died at Serenity Knolls, the recovery center in Forest Knolls. They also lost folksinger Kate Wolf, but she is brought back the third Sunday of each month with Kate's Cafe, featuring performance art in the Cultural Center. It starts at 6:30 tonight. The two galleries are open, and the mural is lighted in the lobby. (It can also be seen weekdays, or by calling Lahr, the Cultural Center arts and events coordinator, at (415) 488-9385, Ext. 4.)
Five miles west of Fairfax, the San Geronimo Valley is entered by crossing Brown's Bridge at White's Hill, the great divide between rich Marin and West Marin. Opened this year, the 380-foot bridge is touted as the longest single- span west of the Mississippi.

Another piece of technological trivia is that Alexander Graham Bell strung up the first telephone in California to link houses on the Mailliard ranch. Even back then there was a Bolinas attitude in West Marin. Bell ran the phone line between fence posts, and a Luddite came along and snipped the wires behind him, so they say.

The isolation ended for good when railroad tracks were tunneled through White's Hill. The passenger train that carried Del Mue is gone, but the yellow depot still sits behind the Two Bird.
The Cultural Center was built as Lagunitas School in 1924, and 10 years later Del Mue painted the mural. Because it is on canvas stuck to the wall, Lahr is convinced it was painted on site, and that somebody out there saw him do it. To flush out a witness, Lahr held a Lagunitas School reunion last summer. Former students in their 60s and 70s brought their report cards as proof, but none brought a memory of the man painting the mural.

At first sight, it is remarkably vibrant. Dirty, though, to an eye like Lahr's. It needs $20,000 worth of restoration, so Lahr got Trillium Press to make fine art prints of the mural to trade for a $250 donation. Some would rather have a print of the 1961 valley master plan, which hangs on the opposite wall as a cautionary tale. It shows where Highway 580 was going to come off the Richmond Bridge and run beside Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

There were going to be 5,000 homes and a big motel. But 40 years of fighting whittled it down to a row of overbuilt Ponderosa-style ranch houses just west of the school.

"That's probably what the whole valley would have looked like," Lahr says, "but everything else got shot down."

The freeway would have upset the flight pattern of the swallows. Outside the center, there is a nest tucked under each of the eaves, and a plaque describing them.

"They'll be back," Lahr says, looking up at the empty nests. "They always come back." So do the coho and chinook salmon and steelhead. At the other end of the center is a footbridge over Larsen Creek, a 15-mile swim from the ocean.

"The kids are here every day after school watching them," says Lahr.

The fish will be coming with the rains and, if Lahr can sell enough prints, so will the mural conservator. That makes two spectacles to stop for this winter in San Geronimo.

Davis. Things went smoothly, and Michael was able to meet us for lunch. The only glitch was that the chosen restaurant, Sophia's, was closed for renovation. So we went to a nearby noodle house that makes them by hand. Everyone enjoyed it, and it was good to have some discussion with the Okayama's about kayaking and skiing. We spent a lot of time on preschool searching just prior, so it was a nice balance of interests. Davis seems to be a very nice place for raising a family. I took the families to Yankee Pier in Larkspur for dinner. They all loved the clam chowder.. but the service in general was very slow.

Daniel did send the 1,000 roses! The florist personally delivered the 25 vases of 40 red roses, plus one dozen to start off the surprise. Seems the recipient was grinning ear-to-ear, however, Daniel has not heard a peep.

New friends. Grazed on leftovers today and rested, cleaned house.... then I went into the city and noticed WHAT TRAFFIC! Well, it is to be expected with 35,000 extra visitors to conventions in the city as I later found out. I picked up a mini-van to be able to transport two new families who are settling in from Japan in the Davis area transferred by our company's parent. I picked them up for a light dinner since they just arrived this morning and all timing would be off. The Matsuokas and Okayamas were delightful, and we enjoyed a big boat (huge!) of sushi at Akira's. The Matsuoka's 2-year old, Haruki, was cute as a button.

Tomorrow we go to Davis to look their new apartments before choosing rental furniture. I found that Mr. Okayama LOVES kayaking, and Mrs. Okayama LOVES skiing, and so am doing what I love, cross-connecting people with similar interests. So it follows I called up Michael to see if he might be interested in meeting us for lunch... he is a kayaking enthusiast, and his girlfriend Karen as much a skiing enthusiast. Michael added that Karen's close friend in Japanese and also a skiing enthusiast, although living in LA. So I'll be calling Michael tomorrow to see if his day allows him to break away and enjoy lunch at his recommended Sophia's Thai Kitchen with us.

Jaison & Linda. After having a leisurely breakfast with Michael of a Spanish omelet and country buttermilk biscuits with a mango lassi and discussing the latest in music notation and creating software, we went off to our respective days. I enjoyed a money lecture with Jaison in Napa, and dinner with Linda & Olivia at Cafe Citti in Kenwood. Olivia was tired and really went on a crying tear when it was revealed that the restaurant didn't have any ice cream. I hope that's the worst thing she ever has to cry about.

Stopped at Dad's briefly to help him shop, and then caught up with Daniel on the phone on the way back. The hot-or-not photos worked well enough for him to have found a beautiful girl of his dreams only to seem to have her slip away after two dates..... he's now contemplating a surprise gift to better express his feelings of 1,000 red roses. No, that was not a typo. The number of 0's are correct. Makes me think of that movie "Bed of Roses".

Also makes me think of my relationship with flowers. I love them unreservedly as they are such expressions of beauty and happiness without reason. I love receiving them in this light and context, for beautiful, happy positive moments, or for no reason at all. I just as much abhor receiving flowers as an apology as the association seems incongruent and ruins the enjoyment of the flowers.

USCF Visit. Dad's visit was quite disjointed, and they were not able to do the cystocopy. Surgery is necessary in order to complete the check-up, so we started the schedule for it. Although we had no 'bad' news, it was frustrating to have one of those most things don't quite go right with the appointments days. It appears Dad will have an outpatient surgery on September 28th, with all the usual pre-op appointments, so we will be in the system a few days for that minor surgery.

After taking Dad back home to Sonoma, I prepped for the creativity group meeting at my place. Jo-Ann, Michael & I dubbed our new name for meetings 'we-eatings' as we have had nothing but delectable potlucks as we enjoy our creative ventures together into the late evenings. Michael stayed over to get out to sea-kayaking in the morning from Sausalito.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Tuesday started another session of the Shadow Dancing Women's group. The standout pleasure of these days was Wednesday when I enjoyed cooking dinner for my friend Carl. Did a Cajun Blackened Salmon on the grill w/asparagus, and a saffroned rice with green peas and baby shrimp. Made a kooky Japanese samurai helmet dessert out of Ben & Jerrie's Cherry Garcia and bananas and a waffle cookie with chocolate middle. Thursday was taken up with picking Dad up for being in place for his Friday morning appointments at USCF.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

Theodore Roosevelt

WMD Threat Could Spark American Nuclear Strike
By Giles Whittell, Times Online

A PRESIDENT of the United States would be able to launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes against enemies planning to use weapons of mass destruction under a revised “nuclear operations” doctrine to be signed in the next few weeks.

In a significant shift after half a century of nuclear deterrence based on the threat of massive retaliation, the revised doctrine would allow pre-emptive strikes against states or terror groups, and to destroy chemical and biological weapons stockpiles.

Presidential approval would still be required for any nuclear strike, but the updated document, the existence of which was confirmed by the Pentagon at the weekend, emphasises the need for the US to adapt to a world of worsening proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in which deterrence might fail. In that event, it states, “the United States must be prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary”.

The Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations, last revised ten years ago, extends President Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive war to cover a US nuclear arsenal that is expected to shrink to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2012.

It was drafted by the Pentagon in March and posted on the internet, but did not attract widespread attention until a report on it in The Washington Post yesterday. It has since been removed from the Department of Defence website.

It came to light as Iran insisted, in defiance of the European Union, that it would continue processing uranium at its Isfahan reactor. The US has called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Tehran for failing to shelve its nuclear programme.

Referring repeatedly to “non-state actors” — parlance for terrorists — the doctrine is designed to arm the White House and US forces with a new range of threats and sanctions to counter the situation of threatened nuclear attack by al-Qaeda or one of its affiliates.

The document’s key phrase appears in a list of pre-emptive nuclear strike scenarios, the first of which is against an enemy using “or intending to use WMD”.

Elsewhere it states that “deterrence of potential adversary WMD use requires the potential adversary leadership to believe that the United States has both the ability and will to pre-empt or retaliate promptly with responses that are credible and effective”.

The 1995 version of the doctrine contained no mention of pre-emption or WMD as legitimate nuclear targets.

Harris Ranch Beef Stroganoff. Briny and strange tasting, not like stroganoff at all. Trying something new isn't ALWAYS fun.

But the company was fun (Daniel) and the rice in my new rice cooker (Aroma) turned out well (onion & mushroom rice).

Watched a thoughtful Ingmar Bergman film this morning - Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries). It was very good, but a trifle depressing way to start off the day.

Another depressing thing is a book called "The Long Emergency" -- about peak oil. Apparently, we will hit that point at Thanksgiving 2005, give or take a few weeks. Eeeek. I haven't finished the book, but it seems to be knocking out all the illusions of replacing oil with any up and coming technology. So far, it's recommendable.

25 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina And Its Aftermath

By Daniel Kurtzman

1) "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." –President Bush, on "Good Morning America," Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina (Source)

2) "What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." –Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the Hurricane flood evacuees in the Houston Astrodome, Sept. 5, 2005 (Source)

3) "It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level....It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed." –House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Aug. 31, 2005 ( Source)

4) "We've got a lot o! f rebuilding to do ... The good news is — and it's hard for some to see it now — that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house — he's lost his entire house — there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." (Laughter) —President Bush, touring hurricane damage, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

5) "Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." –FEMA Director Michael Brown, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

6) "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." –President Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, while touring Hurricane-ravaged Mississippi, Sept. 2, 2005 ( Source)

7) "I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don't have food and water." Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, on NPR's "All Things Considered," Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

8) "Well, I think if you look at what actually happened, I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers and I saw headlines, 'New Orleans Dodged the Bullet.' Because if you recall, the storm moved to the east and then continued on and appeared to pass with considerable damage but nothing worse." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, blaming media coverage for his failings, "Meet the Press," Sept. 4, 2005 (Source)

9) "I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving.” –Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Sept. 6, 2005 ( Source)

10) "You simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals...many of these people, almost all of them that we see are so poor and they are so black, and this is going to raise lots of questions for people who are watching this story unfold." –CNN's Wolf Blitzer, on New Orleans' hurricane evacuees, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

11) "What didn't go right?'" –President Bush, as quoted by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), after she urged him to fire FEMA Director Michael Brown "because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right" in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort (Source)

12) "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" –House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX), to three young hurricane evacuees from New Orleans at the Astrodome in Houston ( S! ource)

13) "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." –Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA) to lobbyists, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal (Source)

14) "Louisiana is a city that is largely under water." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, news conference, Sept. 3, 2005 (Source)

15) "I also want to encourage anybody who was affected by Hurricane Corina to make sure their children are in school." –First Lady Laura Bush, twice referring to a "Hurricane Corina" while speaking to children and parents in South Haven, Mississippi, Sept. 8, 2005 (Source)

16) "It's totally wiped out. ... It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." –President Bush, turning to his aides while surveying Hurricane Katrina flood damage from Air Force One, Aug. 31, 2005 ( Source)

17) "I believe the town where I used to come – from Houston, Texas, to enjoy myself, occasionally too much – will be that very same town, that it will be a better place to come to." –President Bush, on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport, Sept. 2, 2005 (Source)

18) "Last night, we showed you the full force of a superpower government going to the rescue." –MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

19) "You know I talked to Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi yesterday because some people were saying, 'Well, if you hadn't sent your National Guard to Iraq, we here in Mississippi would be better off.' He told me 'I've been out in the field every single day, hour, for four days and no one, not one single mention of the word Iraq.' Now where does that come from? Where does that story come from if the governor is not picking up one word about it? I don't know. I can use my imagination.” –Former President George Bush, who can give his imagination a rest, interview with CNN’s Larry King, Sept. 5, 2005 (Source)

20) "We just learned of the convention center – we being the federal government – today." –FEMA Director Michael Brown, to ABC's Ted Koppel, Sept. 1, 2005, to which Koppel responded " Don't you guys watch television? Don't you guys listen to the radio? Our reporters have been reporting on it for more than just today." (Source)

21) "I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know, New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening." -Bill Lokey, FEMA's New Orleans coordinator, in a press briefing from Baton Rouge, Aug. 30, 2005 (Source)

22) "FEMA is not going to hesitate at all in this storm. We are not going to sit back and make this a bureaucratic process. We are going to move fast, we are going to move quick, and we are going to do whatever it takes to help disaster victims." --FEMA Director Michael Brown, Aug. 28, 2005 ( Source)

23) "I don't make judgments about why people chose not to leave but, you know, there was a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans." –FEMA Director Michael Brown, arguing that the victims bear some responsibility, CNN interview, Sept. 1, 2005 (Source)

24) "I understand there are 10,000 people dead. It's terrible. It's tragic. But in a democracy of 300 million people, over years and years and years, these things happen." --GOP strategist Jack Burkman, on MSNBC's "Connected," Sept. 7, 2005 (Source)

25) "Thank President Clinton and former President Bush for their strong statements of support and comfort today. I thank all the leaders that are coming to Louisiana, and Mississippi and Alabama to our help and rescue. We are grateful for the military assets that are being brought to bear. I want to thank Senator Frist and Senator Reid for their extraordinary efforts. Anderson, tonight, I don't know if you've heard – maybe you all have announced it -- but Congress is going to an unprecedented session to pass a $10 billion supplemental bill tonight to keep FEMA and the Red Cross up and operating." –Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), to CNN's Anderson Cooper, Aug. 31, 2005, to which Cooper responded:

"I haven't heard that, because, for the last four days, I've been seeing dead bodies in the streets here in Mississippi. And to listen to politicians thanking each other and complimenting each other, you know, I got to tell you, there are a lot of people here who are very upset, and very angry, and very frustrated. And when they hear politicians slap – you know, thanking one another, it just, you know, it kind of cuts them the wrong way right now, because literally there was a body on the streets of this town yesterday being eaten by rats because this woman had been laying in the street for 48 hours. And there's not enough facilities to take her up. Do you get the anger that is out here?" (Source)