Happy 86th Birthday Dad! Tonight Dad and I celebrated his birthday at "Mangia" at the Swiss Hotel. Would that I look so good and be so healthy at 86!

Guests at the neighboring table asked in a very civilized southern accent -- What DO you eat?! You don't look 86!




"Well, I like to bake bread", Dad replied. Is that the secret? - well at least it keeps him happy!

The courses...

Coconut Shrimp


Anna's Cesar

Dad's Mixed Greens

Dad's Fillet

Anna's Spinach Pasta with Scallops


Anna's Lemon Panna Cotta

Dad blows out the candles on his Pistacio and Coconut Ice Cream Cake
May all your wishes come true!

The Butler and the Chef. Met my friend Carl and he introduced me to this wonderful French Bistro. We both had crepes -- buckwheat -- his filled with salmon and cream cheese, Norwegian style, and I had the chicken with dijon filled ones. The crepes were accompanied by spinach salad. Very good, and the atmosphere was very French, a mix of Parisian and what seemed to me themes of southern France. The Butler and the Chef is bordering South Park in San Francisco, a very quiet and pleasant neighborhood. The waiter was appropriately friendly and service good. Definitely recommendable!

Oyaji. Worth a visit! Very distinctively in the style of a Japanese bar (Izakaya). Great small dishes and friendly staff.

The owner is hugely funny and entertaining, and even gets more so if you buy him a drink!

Sachiko and I had a wonderful meal here tonight, with special off-menu items that I don't have a name for, but enjoyed nonetheless.

Lots of Japanese congregate here for true atmosphere and foods, the sound of Japanese is all over the restaurant. Great for practicing your Japanese language skills, and everyone is SO tolerant.

Oyaji is located on Clement Street in San Francisco, near Lincoln Park.

La Fleur de Lyon. Guy Birenbaum, Chef and Owner of La Fleur de Lyon creates the most luscious brioche! The crusts are perfect, and hearing the description of the efforts he puts into the fillings, well you know you have SLOW FOOD here!

Easy directions (and quick for the end user!) -- pop these in the oven for 15 mintues, add a salad and a glass of wine and you have a great light meal!

I find Guy at the San Rafael Farmer's Market on Thursdays, but I know he also can be found at other Farmer's Markets, and some fine food stores such as Scotty's Market in Terra Linda.

Earlier this month, I brought my nephew Colin (9 years old) to the Farmer's Market since he has aspirations to be a chef. Given this introduction to Guy at the market, Guy told Colin of the efforts it takes to be a good chef and told him to always find passion and love in life! Good advice for anyone, and you can taste Guy's passion in every bite of his brioche.

Strawberry Gourmet Delicatessen. This cool find is hidden in the less popular arm of Strawberry Village. Unassuming from the outside, the food is good and has nice touches. I've been here several times, and it is consistent. Today, I picked up some food to go to supplement leftovers at the house.

Strawberry Gourmet also has cleanly maintained wooden tables and chairs to eat within, or umbrellaed tables outside to enjoy al fresco dining.


I chose potato salad and hummus. The potato salad had bits of fresh celery, parsley and red onion in it. The hummus had a nice smoky flavor. I also spied french feta and tabboulah in the deli case. Definitely a great place to pick up a quick lunch, or supplements to your menu.

The proprietors, Alfred Baumann and Mare Salman have over 30 years of catering and restaurant business experience and would be delighted to assist with any catering needs as well.

Robata Grill and Sushi. Today was 'Dad's Day' in that we worked on making sure all his doctor's appointments were caught up and he had all the supplies needed while I'm off to Japan for my extended visit. I thought he would enjoy lunch at the Japanese restaurant close to my Mill Valley home, Robata Grill and Sushi. I have not reviewed Robata before, mostly because it's so uneven, I haven't been sure what to say about it. Perhaps simply, it's uneven!

The daily lunch box at Robata is highly recommendable. It has a nice variety of delectable items, and changes daily to include fresh creations.

The concept of Robata originated with Japanese fisherman who cooked small bites over the fire, and in the spirit of sharing, passed tastes oar-to-oar among the ships in the harbor. If you sit at the Robata bar, you will be passed your food on an oar in the old tradition. Kids really love this!

I've been to Robata many times, and particularly enjoy their 'hella' roll, made with asparagus and tempura bits. I also enjoy ordering off their special Japanese menu (you have to ask for it), for authentic delights such as chawanmushi, and a steamed chicken and vegetable pot.

Their yakisoba is pretty consistently too dripping with sauce, otherwise it would be a nice mix. Every time I've ordered scallops, they are exceedingly DRY and tough. They also 'paint' on the room temperature teriyaki sauce, and it often cools down the whole dish.. not my favorite way. Many of their rolls suffer from the US Japanese restaurant syndrome -- upsizing. Sushi in Japan is usually made in very manageable bite-sized pieces, with the mark of an excellent sushi restaurant being besides freshness, the proportion of filling/topping to rice favoring the filling/topping by an obvious amount. This is often in reverse in the US. To Robata's credit, they don't over do the rice/filling ratio, however the sizes are generally, just too big overall.

This too bigness was emphasized to me again with my father's struggle as an 86 year old with dentures in being able to enjoy the sushi and other offerings in his bento box. He had a difficult time being able to eat the huge rolls without them falling apart, and the broccoli spears really needed a knife to eat properly as they were too crispy to bite off in pieces easily, and way too big to put all in your mouth at once.

This being said, I do enjoy eating at this neigborhood Japanese restaurant, and just pick and choose my dishes carefully from experience.

In the evenings, they also have a great selection of specials, with freshly made examples with labels spread out as you pass through the door to the lobby. These are usually really tasty. They do a good job with light and inventive desserts too.

Back in Sonoma in the evening, we went to Mary's Pizza Shack for dinner and caught a movie at the Rialto - Peaceful Warrior. It has a limited showing and is based on the Dan Millman book, "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior", which I enjoyed reading years ago. Dad and I both enjoyed the movie. Mary's was good, but it has grown too corporate since I started going there. They no longer serve fresh lasagne, but microwave frozen, and 50% of the time it's come partly frozen, so I no longer order it. The clam linguine I had last night was acceptable, and Dad enjoyed his special "Sonoma Wrap", which contained chicken, avacado, bacon, and spring mix rolled in a tomato tortilla. We also ordered Mary's Pizza sticks, which used to be included in the meals, and they tasted as good as I remembered.

Japanese Chocolate. So I had some fun in Japantown picking up some chocolates on Thursday. There are some very interesting ones, like "every burger" chocolates made into little hamburgers, complete with sesame seeds on the buns. The coconut Pocky tasted like freshly grated coconut was under the chocolate. The "Fromage" was white chocolate that had a yogurt tang with some crunchies in it. But the hands down favorite -- taste tested today by Jo-Ann, Michael, Toran and Aurelia, was the green tea mousse coated Pocky. I can always find something cool in a Japanese market.

Gourmet Garden To Go. A sweet find! My friend Tula recommended that I check this place out. I don't see how I could have missed it before, being located just across the street from the Mill Valley Whole Foods. Gourmet Garden is themed on a European garden with walls painted in refreshing garden themes and charming touches everywhere. There are some metal garden chairs and tables in the interior, I suppose if one wanted to do a quick eat-in, but they did not look too comfortable. The concept is for fine dinners-to-go for the discriminating palate, with directions so simple that it takes creativity to mess them up.

The proprietor was friendly and enthusiastic and took the time to explain the system to me in detail as a first timer. Everything is fresh; they even make their own ricotta and pasta for the lasagne. There is a tall refrigerator case with charmingly arranged black paper boxes covered with film containing the appetizing entrees and side dishes. Everything but the lasagne is cooked in a pre-heated 400F oven in the box without the film top, for 10 minutes. How simple is that?!


I had to limit myself! I brought home the vegetarian lasagne ($10), French green beans with sherry/almond/butter ($8), Pear and Apple/Dried cranberry tartlets ($5) and an orignal Deep pocket sandwich filled with pancetta and chard ($12). This was carefully placed in big shiny black bag with napkins stapled artfully to the front.

I baked the deep pocket sandwich for lunch.. mmm.. astoundingly flaky crust. The chard and pancetta filling was good, almost too salty, but not quite too much. It was very filling. No room to sample a tart.

Later in the evening: Mmm. mmm.mmmmm. The lasagne was great. The pasta was so tender - the best I can remember since a friend's Italian Mom and Aunt came to visit and cooked from scratch all day... the pear tartlette had hints of almond extract and marzipan - yum as well.

Music for one apartment and six drummers

This is quite inventive! Cool food for the ears!

Adventures in San Francisco. Jo-Ann and I went to JTB to get our JR Rail passes for our upcoming trip to Japan, and Toran & Aurelia of course wanted to know 'what else' we would be doing while we were in the city. We replied vaguely in the car that we were sure we would have some 'adventures', but we would happen upon them as we went along. By 10 a.m. we already had our Rail Pass certificates, and the kids again wanted to know what adventures we planned on having!


Seeing how movement oriented they were, I suggested we visit the Golden Gate Park and perhaps the Japanese Tea Garden within. Yeah! went the backseat chorus. So I programmed my car and off we headed. The garden was a delight! I'd passed it many times driving through the park, but was always too rushed to stop. The entrance fees were nominal - $3.25 for adults and $1.25 for children. Naturally, with the kids we stopped first at the restrooms which were exceptionally clean, and also in Japanese style buildings to match the rest of the garden architecture.

We walked through the park leisurely, with Toran and Aurelia skipping ahead at times and pointing out things that fascinated them. All my photos are here. There were some beautiful iris blooming in the ponds, and pretty red-outlined gates and pagodas. I took photos of Jo-Ann and the kids on top of a very steep-curved bridge! After tea at the tea house, we decided to continue our Japanese-themed adventure and head into Japantown for lunch.



After due negotiation with Toran and Aurelia we stopped at Kuishinbo for lunch. I'd been there several times before with good experiences, but not for a few years. It was the same authentic meal experience with lots of Japanese language spoken around us. Toran and Aurelia found every photo op in the mall on the way there of course, for more photos like this post's lead photo, click here. The children shared somen salad with curry don, of which the salad was great, but the curry too runny. Jo-Ann and I had Hiyashi Chuka-ramen which was a cold ramen noodle salad covered with various thinly sliced vegetables and meat/fish. We all enjoyed the meal.

Not wanting to quite finish the day, we went the LONG way home, by the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and the beautiful back views of the Golden Gate Bridge.


The rest of the photos of this view can be found here.

Las Camelias. Ok so you notice the Mexican theme? Well, I guess I'm just gearing up for the next Supper Club event - Regions of Mexico. So I tried a more upscale Mexican Restaurant tonight. I've been there several times before, and the food and service was consistent with my past experience. Las Camelias website is here.

They have made a very fine effort toward making the interior warm with interesting artful accents in each room.

The waiter was patient with my lengthy read of the menu. Well, what can they expect when it's so different than the standard Americanized Mexican menu and is a delight just to read!

I finally settled on "Pechuga de Pollo Parrilla Al-Guaca-Mole Salsa". This was a moist, flavorful mole covered chicken breast (none less than a Rocky Jr.) sliced, and served with amazingly flavored black beans, with salsa fresca, guacamole and fresh corn tortillas.

The mole was beautifully complex, and I rolled it over my tongue trying to distinguish the flavors within. The chips, by the way, were gourmet quality as well. Thick and crispy and fresh tasting!

The only misstep of the evening was serving my splurge - flan - before clearing off my dinner plate. It was also to die for -- smooth, creamy and fresh, with perfect carmelization on the top.

I wonder what the waiter thought when I pulled out my digital camera and took a snap before digging in... I like to be incognito, but also want to record something of the actual dinner to share here.

I'm going to be making some effort to go to out-of-the way, smaller places which may be missed by the standard reviewers. Hopefully, this won't mean a slew of poor reviews, but I think there may be some hidden gems for more casual and inexpensive dining. Stay tuned.

Bionaturae Organic Pasta. Nice taste and very good for you. Has rough exterior to hold sauces, and good biting texture. A cool find. See more details on their website.

Panchitos. I stopped for a VERY late lunch at Panchitos in Terra Linda, in the Scotty's Shopping Center.

The menu stated that the restaurant had been in business for 28 years. It was clean and welcoming with nice paintings on the wall. Very casual, but everything was sparkling, even the restroom, and the service was prompt and friendly.





I had a Tamarind soda and Chicken Tostada. The chicken in the tostada was perfection, had the look of pulled chicken and was moist and flavorful. A highly recommended neighborhood kind of place.

Real Fruit Juice - NOT. I had a little adventure going to a shopping center in Terra Linda which houses 'Scotty's Market', and a host of other small businesses. I found a line of intriguing licorice-like candies, and decided to try the watermelon 'Juicy Twists' on a whim. It proudly states, "with real fruit juice" on the front. Yes, real apple juice, but nary a drop of watermelon juice! They are sweet and have that artificial tang, so definitely could be passed by.

Applegate's Sunday Bacon - Organic, with no nitrates, and a whole lot of good taste. However, no nitrates means it should not be kept around for long, so having some left from a meal made for a guest earlier last week, I decided to have some for breakfast this morning. Fried crispy, and set on a piece of Jewish Rye Bread, it made a mini-explosion of delightful flavors in my mouth this morning. Read more about it. Paired with a San Rafael Farmer's Market fresh white peach (which had gone tree to me direct, without ever seeing the inside of a cooler) it made a breakfast fit for a princess.

Supper Club, Cuisine of Japan. Tonight's event was fabulous! Full photos here. All participants melded with the theme of Japan. Caren even wore an antique kimono, while Emil wore a traditional blue and white summer Yukata which Linda and Anna had given him as a gift a few Christmases ago. It was wonderful to welcome first-timers Richard and Paige who blended right into our mix of chefs seamlessly.

The final menu, served in separate courses:

Catepillar Sushi - Glen
Edamame - Tom M.
Chawanmushi - Stephanie
Okonomiyaki - Tom H.
Yasai dengaku - Linda
Buridaikon - Emil
Banbanji - Bob
Miso Soup - Karen
Somen - Richard
Sushi - Glen
Refreshing Daikon-Okra Salad (pictured) - Anna
Assortment of Sweet Mochi and Mochi Ice Cream - Paige

Caren, Tom M. & Karen and Richard all brought an amazing selection of authentic sake in different styles and regions and the tasting was a total education! Anna brought a traditional Japanese Plum Wine for dessert as well.

Sushi Lin. A new sushi restaurant (no bar) opened up a couple weeks ago in San Rafael. I tried it this evening. They remodeled an old Japanese restaurant (previously Tomoe's) to be more airy and light, and the old diggs were freshened and repainted. The walls are now apricot, with light green tablecloths as the contrasting color. The sushi was good -- nice light use of rice vinegar and distinct rice grains were in the sushi. The tempura appetizer by way of contrast, was awful. One would need mouth armor -- it's the hardest tempura batter I've ever attempted to eat. But the proprietors are friendly, and working hard at making the guests welcomed, so maybe the cooking kinks will work themselves out with a bit more time.

Ride Home. Colin and I left Rancho Mirage around 9:30 a.m., and with a couple stops on the way, arrived in Japantown, San Franicsco around 6:30 p.m. Colin requested Japanese flavors for dinner, so I told him that we would walk down a LONG hall of Japanese restaurants, and he could choose any one he liked for dinner. Wouldn't you know it, he picked BENIHANA's. After some teppan-yaki, "San Francisco" style, we were just in time to catch the newly released movie "Superman Returns", which we both enjoyed. We got finally to my place around 11:30 p.m.

The Living Desert. After driving all day yesterday to arrive at Erika's new place in Rancho Mirage, I watched Colin & Collette while Erika went to work for the day. After breakfast at Collette's requested place, Ruby's Diner, we set off for The Living Desert. At 113 degrees F, it was a good thing that I picked up the shuttle ride option for the tour. I can't remember ever being in as hot of weather. The animals weren't very active in that heat either, but we did see most of them. We also explored the largest wild animal hospital in north America there, and it was quite interesting. The kids loved it, although the heat sapped them too.

I'm afraid I went back with the kids and collapsed on the sofa with a pounding headache. The heat was just too much. When I finally roused myself or was roused by a couple hungry kids, it was Colin's choice for lunch, and we went to Maki Maki. The food was simply horrid, and hardly Japanese. I had a Japanese chicken salad -- the wilted pieces of lettuce were floating in sesame dressing soup. The 'tempura' chicken on top were more like beer-battered deep fried stuff with big hunks of won tons hanging off. Will pass on ever visiting that one again (and so will Colin!).

Erika came back later with her Chef's Toolbox -- amazing! And better yet, she showed off her culinary skills by making the most tender and well-flavored short ribs.. mmmmmm!

Wolf House. Dad and I met Linda and Miss Olivia at the Wolf House for lunch. Feeling like having lighter fare, we all had sandwiches. Dad's salmon sandwich looked perfectly done, and he enjoyed it. Reports of the burgers from Linda & Miss Olivia gave those good marks. The only misstep was that the chicken in my sandwich was underdone, but the management wisked it off and took care of it with apologies and a perfectly cooked one, so no complaints.

Dad enjoyed his shirt and belt from me, and the lovely hand drawn greetings from Miss Olivia, and is looking forward to the Giradelli chocolates she and Linda gave him.

Father's Day. Celebrating Father's Day at one of Dad's favorite restaurants, Wolf House, in Glen Ellen.

Found a great new Marin/Bay Area food blog, the Daily Feed. It had a nice past review of one of my favorite ethnic spots in San Rafael, Hatam's.

Well, best be off to REI to get Dad that new shirt! Will blog further on the Wolf House experience later!

Fresh tisane. Having recently discovered that this blog is listed on the Marin Food Blogs reference on Becks & Posh (one of only 4), I think that I'd better make a more concerted effort to include more of my 'cool finds', or musings on things food.

I have to admit, sometimes I'm a little lazy in my posting and don't include all of the fun things there are to be noticed or discovered each day. I really can't imagine why people become bored. Those who know me, know I love adventure and discovery -- and what is more accessible than food? One must eat (usually) every day, and good food adventures are not limited to expensive forays. A little imagination and a good eye go far!

Another thing my friends notice is that I have more shelves devoted to tea and tisanes in my pantry than any other category of food! And tisanes, like food, are best freshly prepared out of high quality ingredients! So I've been making my own concoctions rather than taking the dusty little tea bags prepared and sitting! What a nice smell in the kitchen freshly ground whole Jamaican hibsicus flowers or whole leaf dried peppermint make! And that is before steeping the tea! The nice thing about tisanes is that most will hold up to a higher steeping temperature than 'real' tea. And that fragrance wafts about the house as well. I snapped my freshly ground and made hibisucus tea above... now by my side to sip as I complete this posting. The color is even more garnet than the photo shows (the flash bleached out the color in the photo a bit).

Hibiscus has many reports of good health effects (Google "hibicus health" for backup articles). Some of the ones I've found are:

reduces cholesterol and artery fat build up
lowers blood pressure
weight loss
gentle laxitive
diuretic
abundant vitamin C and antioxidants

These have varying levels of scientific back up, but whatever the documentation - the tea tastes great!

Oh, and by the way, if you are looking for the best buy on whole Jamacian Hibiscus Flowers in Marin -- go to Hatam's on B Street in San Rafael. Whole Spice in San Rafael does have a bit better price judging from its website, but I haven't tried their product yet, so am not sure if the quality matches.

Toran's 7th Birthday Party. Oops. I forgot my camera in the quickly leaving the house to pick up ice on the way... however, imagine a bunch of 7-9 yo Luke Skywalkers, Hans Solos, Darth Vaders and numerous white-clothed Princess Leah's. Interesting - there was much more variety in the choices of male characters. And yes, I went as an alien costumed as a human.

The menu was even more creative than the costumes -- Yoda Soda, Jabba Jiggles, something that looked like dirt with worms in it (chocolate pudding with bright worm gummies and oreo cookies crumbled on top). Light saber duels, pin the saber on Yoda, and Darth Vader pinata were among the games eagerly participated in, while the adults sipped cool drinks in the shade.

Luckily the Star Wars chess set I gave him appeared to be well-received (big hug to Auntie Anna and kisses to the game!).

An eye-opening drink. Having picked a BIG package Ginger/Honey Crystals tea up at 99 Ranch yesterday, I tried a cup for breakfast, and woke up fast! Packs a punch, but is smooth and good. I'm thinking it would be great to add to a POT of regular tea as a taste novelty and sweetner.

Now I have to get in 'costume' for Toran's 7th birthday party in Star Wars theme. I think I'll go as an alien cloaked as a human...

A full day. Up at the crack of dawn, I organized my mission & vision materials as well as organized the Marin Entrepreuneurs Group's minutes and got them posted. (I started the group last month and it's going gangbusters.) Jo-Ann and I planned to go to 99 Ranch and see if Michael was up to a visit after surgery. The market was fun, the live sea urchins were the most interesting, wriggling around their spikes at the fish department. I just can't see myself trying to use those myself!

Michael was up for a visit and we got to meet Karen for the first time at her Oakland apartment. Through the painkiller grogginess, we could tell that the Meiji chocolate and Mango pudding treats we brought were hits.

The Dandy's Brand Lentil Pea Chips were a good find at the market as well, qualifying as a "Cool Find".

Erika called and said she'd taken my message to heart about taking the kids a week each again for Camp Auntie Anna, and already told Colin and Collette, so I couldn't change now! I guess I'll be driving to Rancho Mirage to pick them up at Erika's new home later this month!

I got home just in time to meet Sachiko for our night out -- to Avance for tapas and checking out a singles meet-up, and then on to Mission Impossible III. We enjoyed both - MI3 was particularly action packed and was a very thrilling end to the evening!

Yosemite

Yosemite,
originally uploaded by me!

My week in Yosemite! The photos paint the best picture, but Linda and I packed a lot in our week at the remote cabin at Fish Camp.

We were woken up one morning by a big rockslide that blocked the main entrance to the park -- a friend, Jan, called early to see if we were affected, but since Fish Camp was on the south end of the park, we didn't skip a beat!

We enjoyed lunching at The Forks at Bass Lake, a place having won an award for the best burger in California. Followed by a one-hour boat cruise on the popular and picturesque lake. Manmade and owned by PG & E, the development has been controlled such that the north side of the lake has private development, and the south side is mostly recreation and natural.

All the falls were full and cascading heavily over the cliffs. We enjoyed a hike to lower Yosemite Falls, and a 2-hour valley tram tour covering the highlights of the valley floor.

On Friday we enjoyed Jazz on the Lake at Ducey's on Bass Lake. It was a beautiful night with a BBQ buffet and easy sounding music provided by the Yosemite Jazz Band.

Supper Club

Table shot,
originally uploaded by me!

Another Wonderful Supper Club - Persian Style. I created a Flickr account to capture all the food photos from last night. You can access it from the link below the photo.

Cooking quotes:

"Good food has a magic appeal. You may grow old, even ugly, but if you are a good cook, people will always find the path to your door." - James Beard

"A good meal makes a man feel more charitable toward the world than any sermon." - Arthur Pendenys

"The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star." -Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

The ashe-paz (soup preparer) reveals her secrets (well, the recipe was from a dear friend, Linda) for the Ash e-jow (barley soup) being prepared for the Supper Club, Persian theme. I'm preparing a day ahead, as it is recommended for melding the flavors.

I first enjoyed going to the San Rafael Farmer's Market with my neighbor Jerrie, and Jo-Ann to pick up some of the ingredients fresh and organic! It's amazing how fresh dill and coriander smell! I picked up the more exotic things like kashk last night after a quick and delicious dinner at Hatam's.

Ash e- jow (barley soup)

3 onions peeled and thinkly sliced
1/2 pound stew meat (beef, lamb or veal) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon tumeric
10 cups water
1/4 cup dried chick peas (optional)
1/4 cup lentils
1 cup barley
2 cups chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh dill
1 cup fresh coriander
4 cups fresh spinach wash and chopped
1/4 cup rice
1 cup whey (kashk)

garnish
3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves

1) Brown 2 of the onions and meat in 1/3 cup of the oil in a large pot. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and tumeric. Pour in the water and add the kidney beans, chick peas and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 50 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

2) Add barley. Cover and cook 50 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

3) Add parsley, coriander, dill, spinach and rice. cover and cook 50 minutes

4) Check to see that the meat is tender and the beans are done. Adjust seasoning and add more warm water if ash is too thick.

5) Stir in the liquid whey and continue stirring constantly for 5 minutes with a wooden spoon to prevent curdling.

6) Just before serving, prepare the garnish. Pour the rest of the oil into a small frying pan and brown the remaining onion and garlic. Add tumeric and remove from heat. Crush dried mint in the palm of your hand and add to the pan.

7) Pour the simmering soup into a tureen and garnish with mint and garlic mixture.

For best results, cook your ash a day in advance so that the flavors meld. Add kashk and garnish at the last minute.

Week of business pursuits, mixed with pleasure, of course. Spending time in classes for budding entrepreneurs and meeting with potential business partners. Using the Sports Club LA/San Francisco as my base in the city. Even getting in a few workouts along the way. Enjoying some meals with friends... had breakfast with Paul at the Rain Tree Cafe, lunch with Carl in the city.

Did buy another cool thing: z-coils. I'm getting stopped on the street and asked about these cool shoes!

Happy Endings for Dad. Was wonderful to see Dad looking so perky having all good news about his cancer remission. He packed up and I took him back to his Sonoma living space this afternoon. I enjoyed lunch with Carolyn at E&O Trading in Larkspur. It really does a good job of fusion food.

In the evening, coached along by Michael, I finally made the decision to buy a MacBook Pro, the new laptop with Intel processor allowing it to run Windows as well. It's a slick machine, and you could almost use the Mac side for everything, but there are still a few programs it won't run. But with the ability to run it as a PC, you can have the best of both worlds (or so it is promoted).

The other factor is that the Dell sales staff were very difficult to work with, and my configured laptop would have been more expensive than the Mac I bought.

Sunday at the Napa Valley Symphony. Yalda treated us with tickets to the symphony today, and it was lovely. Linda, Jan & I enjoyed the program featuring Alan Feinberg.

Classical Concert V: Early American

Sunday April 23, 2006 3:00 PM
Tuesday April 25, 2006 8:00 PM

Alan Feinberg, piano

Buck Festival Overture on the American National Air Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue Listen Kathryn Selby, piano Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra; Richard Hayman, conductor Gottschalk Grande Tarantelle for piano and orchestra Listen Kathryn Selby, piano Hot Springs Music Festival; Richard Rosenberg, conductor Chadwick Symphonic Sketches Listen Jubilee National Radio Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine; Theodore Kuchar, conductor Recordings courtesy of Naxos of America

After the symphony, we met Yalda at Don Giovanni's for a lovely dinner.

Sakura on Saturday. It is Cherry Blossom Festival time again in Japantown, and the 100th anniversary of Japantown. Linda, Michael & I attended a wonderful Taiko and Kitaro concert this evening, after a delicious dinner of fresh handmade ramen (miso-ramen soup, and yakisoba) at Sapporo-ya.

2006 US–Japan Taiko Festival

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Kabuki Theater, Post & Filmore Streets

San Francisco Japantown

Featuring San Francisco Taiko Dojo

with Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka

Special Guest: KITARO

with Keiko Takahashi - Synthesizer

Koichi Tamano - Butoh Dancer

Special Guests from Japan:

Akita Gojome Tensho Taiko

An unusual recipe from the World Museum, Liverpool.

Honeypot Ants

Ingredients

1 bowlful of honeypot ants Melophorus bagoti

Preparation

Hold an ant by the head and simply bite off the honey sack, letting the nectar slide down your throat. This is the best way to eat the honey.

Other ways are to squeeze it into a glass and drink it, or to fill a chocolate cup half full of honey, top with whipped cream and decorate with a frozen honeypot ant.

Notes

Honeypot ants are special worker ants that store the nectar gathered by their nest-mates. They are too full to move so they hang upside down in the nest.

These ants are considered a delicacy by the Aborigines and have been
incorporated into many recipes that are popular across Australia.

And you thought loofahs were just for bathing.


LOOFAH AND CHICKEN STIR-FRY

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 35 min

1/2 lb skinless boneless chicken breast, cut across grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 lb fresh angled loofah* (about 12 inches long)
1 cup peanut oil
3 small fresh shiitakes, stems discarded and caps sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 teaspoon Chinese fermented black beans**
5 small (2-inch) fresh red chiles such as Thai, seeded and cut into fine julienne (2 teaspoons)
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Accompaniment: cooked white rice
Special equipment: a deep-fat thermometer

Stir together chicken, cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a small bowl.

Stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and stock in another bowl until sugar is dissolved.

Remove ridges from loofah with a vegetable peeler, then scrape skin lightly with a sharp small knife (a little green skin should remain). Cut loofah lengthwise into 2- by 1/2-inch sticks.

Heat peanut oil in a wok over moderate heat until it registers 350°F on thermometer, then cook chicken, stirring, just until no longer pink, about 11/2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon, then pour oil into a heatproof container and reserve.

Heat wok over high heat until a bead of water dropped onto cooking surface evaporates immediately. Add 3 tablespoons reserved peanut oil, swirling wok to coat evenly, and heat until it just begins to smoke. Stir-fry mushrooms until lightly browned and tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Add beans, chiles, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add loofah and toss until well coated.

Add stock mixture and bring to a boil. Add chicken and return sauce to a boil. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to sauce, then boil, stirring, until sauce thickens slightly and becomes translucent.

Serve drizzled with remaining 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil.

* Also known as "ridged gourd" and "Chinese okra."
** Available at Asian markets and by mail order from Uwajimaya (800-889-1928).

Makes 2 to 4 main-course servings.

Gourmet
March 2002

Google cooking. Found a new an interesting service on Google this morning -- a place to search recipes in specific! It's part of Google Base a beta product for collecting useful user fed data.

Easter at Anna's. There was an Easter celebration and dinner at my place. Dad, Linda, Yalda, Olivia, Jonathon, Jo-Ann, Toran & Aurelia were the all there.

The three children decorated sugar cookies in Easter shapes for the adults (and themselves) and Yalda brought a champagne cake and champagne!

The children also were delighted to get three separate Easter surprises -- bags from Linda & Yalda, Jo-Ann & Anna, and Dad's handmade baskets. Dad also made baskets for all the adults with a parmesean shaker inside for the treat!

I also shared the interesting information below with everyone, which was sent from Keith & Marie in the UK earlier this morning as an Easter hello.

Some Easter Superstitions

At the pagan feast of Eostre an ox was sacrificed. The ox’s horns became a symbol for the feast. They were carved into the ritual bread which is where "hot cross buns" originated. The word "buns" is derived from the Saxon word "boun" which means sacred ox. Nowadays the symbol of a cross is used to decorate buns. Hot cross buns are thought to act as a charm against evil. Sailors believed that the buns would protect them against shipwreck if taken to sea. Farmers in many parts of England also believed that they would protect their granaries against rats. Tradition states that hot cross buns actually baked on Good Friday will never go mouldy.

The goddess Eostre was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons and her symbols were the egg and the hare so from that we still have the egg and the rabbit or Easter Bunny. Eggs have always been associated with rebirth and continuity.

Mary Magdalene is supposed to have visited the roman Emperor Tiberias and she gave him a red egg as a symbol of the Resurrection - the symbol of new life. It is believed that the Christian tradition of giving eggs to each other at Easter came from this event. For a long time Eggs have been painted in bright colours to celebrate the Spring. Hard-boiled egg rolling contests still take place in some parts of England over Easter.

People would not use nails or iron tools during Easter time. This was because of the nails hammered into Christ’s feet and hands. The planting of crops was never done at Easter because it would mean that metal would enter the ground in the form of a spade or fork.

It was generally believed that it was very unlucky to sweep your house or yard on a Good Friday. Likewise it was also unlucky to sweep dust directly out of the house as you may sweep your good luck out with it. It was considered better to sweep all the dust into the centre of the room and then pick it up and dispose of it from there.

Another unlucky thing was to wash clothes on a Good Friday as nothing good would come of it. This is associated with a story about Christ, who whilst carrying his cross to Calvary, had a woman wave wet garments in his face. It is said that Jesus proclaimed "Cursed be everyone who hereafter shall wash on this day."

On the other hand, it was very lucky to wear new clothes at Easter. It was "deemed essential by many people to wear some new article of dress, if only a pair of gloves or a ribbon, for not to do so is considered unlucky and the birds will be angry with you."

Touching wood is thought by some to be the result of the Christian belief in the Crucifixion. As Christ was sacrificed on a cross of wood touching wood was a sign of deep compassion and reverence for Christ’s resurrection.

The Hawthorn tree is either lucky or unlucky. Some considered it a tree destined to bring bad fortune to the owner as it is thought that this is the tree from which the crown of thorns was made. However, some people believe that the Hawthorn is a very holy plant for exactly the same reason and that cutting down or attacking a Hawthorn will result in terrible misfortune.

A very widespread belief was that when the sun rose on Easter Sunday it danced "for joy". People at Castleton, Derbyshire used to climb the hill on which the castle is built at six o'clock in the morning to see the sun rise. "On this day the sun is said to dance for joy at His rising." Some people would put out pails of water or gathered at rivers or ponds to see the sun dance's reflection. When the sun set on Easter Sunday it was supposed to spin around and people also used to gather to see it turning.

Easter Dinner Menu:

Hearts of Palm Dip with Assorted Crackers

Spinach Salad adorned with stawberries, hearts of palm & walnuts

with Poppy Seed Dressing

Heirloom Tomato Salad
with fresh basil and white balsamic vinegar

Brazilian Garlic Cheese Bread

Hot Cross Buns

Honey-Baked Ham

Fresh Wild Halibut
pouched in French Court Bouillon Visnat

Carmalelized Onion or Madeira Mushroom Brioche
with Mushroom, Bechamel and Madeira Wine Sauce

Char-grilled Marinated Eggplant
in olive oil

Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Crudites
carrots + broccoli + cauliflower, fresh bread & butter pickles, olives, sugar snap peas with Ranch Dip

Kid-Decorated Easter Sugar Cookies
Champagne Cake

Assorted Exotic Flowering Tisanes, Teas & Coffee
Hot Mulled Cider

Wines

2004 Hiedler Loess Kamptal Gruner Veltliner

A juicy mandarin orange and lemon-zest palate and complexity from notes of fresh herb, pepper and wet stone -- quite refreshing

1999 Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay

Produced from 14-year old vines, the 1999 Chardonnay Monte Bello exhibits a tight, Burgundian-like nose of citrus, roasted nuts, smoke, and orange skins. This is a medium-bodied, pure, impressive expression of Chardonnay.