The Cost of 'My Seven Years in Tibet Dinner' (in US$)

The cost of the ingredients for my 'Seven Years in Tibet' Dinner are listed below. Keep in mind that the prices are based on buying everything new rather than using ingredients that I already had in my pantry. Of course there were lots of things left over for future meals, so the actual cost of the dinner based on the quantities of the ingredients used to make the dishes will be much lower than the grand total of stocking a pantry from scratch for preparing Tibetan cuisine.

Specialty Ingredients:

Soy Sauce - 3.49
Curry Powder - .99
Chili Paste - 2.49
Sherry or Brandy - 4.99
Bleu Cheese - 3.49
Turmeric - .99
Sechuan Pepper - .99
Cashew Nuts - 3.50

Fresh Ingredients:

Chicken - 3.01
Lamb - 3.35
Ground Beef - 2.22
Kale - 1.50
Onion - 2.61
Garlic - .49
Ginger - 1.67
Potatoes - 2.49
Red Bell Pepper - 1.52
Yogurt- .50
Limes - .99
Tomatoes - 4.56
Daikon - .51
Spinach - 1.44
Green Beans - 1.87
Apples - 1.70
Cream - 1.49
Pinot Noir - 3.33

Basics:

Butter - 2.50
Flour - 1.99
Cornstarch - 1.49

Total - $62.16 (US$)
10:00 AM PST Permalink |

To Market, to Market...

Today was shopping day for my 'Seven Years in Tibet' Dinner. The weather was dreary with a steady drizzle all afternoon, and I'd much rather have stayed in, but I was nonetheless propelled out into the world by my excitement at preparing tomorrow's Tibetan menu.

I started my quest at one of our local thrift shops where I found an amusing assortment of rustic dishes for serving all the various courses I have planned. And while my son Will was at his Tae Kwon Do class, I went to the grocery store for all the fresh ingredients I will need. My shopping list was short and simple this time, so I was done just in time to pick up Will and ferry him down to his Dad's.

And since the Tibetan recipes appear to be so simple and straightforward, I didn't feel the need to do a lot of prep the night before. Instead, I'm just going to start around noon to give myself plenty of time to set the table and make all the dipping sauces, marinades and dough ahead of time.

With the winter holidays and my big move to a new house, it seems like forever since I made my Filipino dinner last month. So I'm definitely looking forward to rolling up my sleeves, donning my apron and getting busy in the kitchen tomorrow.

11:35 PM PST Permalink |

Revisiting the Tibetan Recipes

This afternoon, I delved into my 'ThingsAsian Dinner & a Movie' file and fished out all the pages with the Tibetan recipes I gathered a few weeks ago. Since none of my cookbooks had any Tibetan recipes, I had to rely on what I could find on the Internet, of which there were plenty. I've narrowed them down to the basics: MoMo Dumplings filled with meat and herbs, a tomato-bleu cheese soup called Churu, a lamb stew called Then Thuk, a buttery chicken dish called Mar Jasha, and a side dish of green beans and potatoes called Tema. I will also be making a simple flatbread called Balep Korkun, and for dessert, a Winter Apple and Prune Crisp served with Po Cha, Tibetan Butter Tea.

The ingredients for this dinner are remarkably simple and common, most of which are already in my pantry, so my shopping list is short and easy this time. After I get my shopping done, I'll be spending the remainder of the day tomorrow getting my kitchen organized to prepare and photograph a five-course Tibetan meal.

The weather here in the Napa Valley is almost Spring-like, while the rest of the country and much of the Northern Hemisphere is in deep freeze. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to all those savory, warming Tibetan dishes.

03:26 PM PST Permalink |

Dandelion Wine...In Grandmother's Kitchen

One of my favorite works of literature is Ray Bradbury's magical coming-of-age story, Dandelion Wine. First published in 1957, the story focuses on the life of a boy named Douglas Spaulding in the summer of 1928 in Green Town, Illinois. His world is filled with a cast of lively characters, including his younger brother Tom, his parents and grandparents, a pair of spinster sisters named Miss Fern and Miss Roberta who have a misadventure with a car nicknamed 'The Green Machine', a pipe-dreaming inventor named Mr. Jonas, and a dreadful phantom known only as 'The Lonely One' who lurks in the ravine.

Why, you may ask, would I mention Dandelion Wine in a weblog on Asian food and film? Well...my favorite chapter is the one that describes his Grandmother's kitchen. Having recently deconstructed my own kitchen for the move to our new home, amid the process of restoring order once again, I am fondly reminded of many passages from that chapter of Dandelion Wine.

In the first few paragraphs, Douglas muses, "Is this where the world began? For surely it had begun in no other than a place like this. The kitchen, without doubt, was the center of creation, all things revolved about it; it was the pediment that sustained the temple."

But pediment to the temple though it be, Grandmother's kitchen is the epitome of chaos; her failing eyesight is dubiously enhanced by a badly chipped and smudged pair of spectacles; and what's more, Grandmother Spaulding never uses a cookbook.

"In all the years not one single dish resembled another. Was this one from the deep green sea? Had that one been shot from blue summer air? Was it a swimming food or a flying food, had it pumped blood or chlorophyll, had it walked or leaned after the sun? No one knew. No one asked. No one cared.

...The food was self-explanatory, wasn't it? It was its own philosophy, it asked and answered its own questions. Wasn't it enough that your blood and your body asked no more than this moment of ritual and rare incense?"

Each evening, Grandmother laid a out a sumptuous banquet for the Spaulding family, a half-dozen boarders who rented the rooms upstairs, and Aunt Rose, who had come for an extended visit.

"Trailing veils of steam, Grandma came and went and came again with covered dishes from kitchen to table while the assembled company waited in silence. No one lifted the lids to peer in at the hidden victuals. At last Grandma sat down. Grandpa said grace, and immediately thereafter the silverware flew up like a plague of locusts on the air. When everyone's mouths were absolutely crammed full of miracles, Grandmother sat back and said, 'Well, how do you like it?'

And the relatives, including Aunt Rose, and the boarders, their teeth deliciously mortared together at this moment, faced a terrible dilemma. Speak and break the spell, or continue allowing this honey-syrup food of the gods to dissolve and melt away to glory in their mouths? They looked as if they might sit there forever, untouched by fire or earthquake, a shooting in the street, a massacre of innocents in the yard, overwhelmed with effluviums and promises of immortality. All villians were innocent in this moment of tender herbs, sweet celeries, luscious roots. The eye sped over a snow field where lay fricassees, salmagundis, gumbos, freshly invented succotashes, chowders, ragouts. The only sound was a primeval bubbling from the kitchen and the clocklike chiming of fork-on-plate announcing the seconds instead of the hours."

One afternoon, Aunt Rose made the well-meaning mistake of suggesting that she help Grandmother clean and organize her kitchen.

"Grandma," said Aunt Rose, down again. "Oh what a kitchen you keep. It's really a mess, now, you must admit. Bottles and dishes and boxes all over, the labels off most everything, so how do you tell what you're using? I'd feel guilty if you didn't let me help you set things to rights while I'm visiting here. Let me roll up my sleeves."

Aunt Rose would not be denied, and before it was all over, the kitchen had been overhauled and organized from top to bottom, including a larder of fresh groceries, new glasses and a hairdo for Grandmother, and...much to her horror...a cookbook! But despite Aunt Rose's best intentions, suppertime that evening was a joyless occasion.

"Smiling people stopped smiling. Douglas chewed one bit of food for three minutes, and then, pretending to wipe his mouth, lumped it in his napkin. He saw Tom and Dad do the same. People swashed the food together, making roads and patterns, drawing pictures in the gravy, forming castles of the potatoes, secretly passing meat chunks to the dog. Grandfather excused himself early. 'I'm full,' he said."

The following afternoon, Grandfather took up a collection from the boarders to buy a train ticket for Aunt Rose, and had Douglas distract her while they packed her bags. When they returned to find Aunt Rose's luggage on the steps of the front porch, Grandfather announced, 'Rose,' 'I have something to say to you...Goodbye.'

That evening, with Aunt Rose out of the picture, Douglas crept downstairs at midnight and restored Grandmother's kitchen to its original state of chaos.

"He took the baking powder out of its fine new tin and put it in an old flour sack the way it had always been. He dusted the white flour into an old cookie crock. He removed the sugar from the metal bin marked sugar and sifted it into a familiar series of smaller bins marked spices, cutlery, string. He put the cloves where they had lain for years, littering the bottom of a half a dozen drawers. He brought the dishes and the knives and forks and spoons back out on top of the tables.

He found Grandma's new eyeglasses on the parlor mantel and hid them in the cellar. He kindled a great fire in the old wood-burning stove, using pages from the new cookbook. By one o'clock in the still morning a huge husking roar shot up in the black stovepipe, such a wild roar that the house, if it had ever slept at all, awoke. He heard the rustle of Grandma's slippers down the hall stairs. She stood in the kitchen, blinking at the chaos. Douglas was hidden behind the pantry door.

At one-thirty in the deep dark summer morning, the cooking odors blew up through the windy corridors of the house. Down the stairs, one by one, came women in curlers, men in bathrobes, to tiptoe and peer into the kitchen -- lit only by fitful gusts of red fire from the hissing stove. And there in the black kitchen at two of a warm summer morning, Grandma floated like an apparition, amidst bangings and clatterings, half blind once more, her fingers groping instinctively in the dimness, shaking out spice clouds over bubbling pots and simmering kettles, her face in the firelight red, magical, and enchanted as she seized and stirred and poured the sublime foods.

Quiet, quiet, the boarders laid the best linens and gleaming silver and lit candles rather than switch on electric lights and snap the spell. Grandfather, arriving home from a late evening's work at the printing office, was startled to hear grace being said in the candlelit dining room.

As for the food? The meats were devilled, the sauces curried, the greens mounded with sweet butter, the biscuits splashed with jeweled honey; everything toothsome, luscious, and so miraculously refreshing that a gentle lowing broke out as from a pasturage of beasts gone wild in clover. One and all cried out their gratitude for their loose-fitting night clothes."

Of course, by the time I prepare my 'Seven Years in Tibet' dinner, I hope to have achieved a somewhat more orderly arrangement than Grandma Spaulding's in my new kitchen, which is still a work in progress. But even in the most orderly kitchen, I will always subscribe to her philosophy of food, asking no more than this moment of ritual and rare incense.

04:52 PM PST Permalink |

Cooking & Shopping While Hungry

Years ago, my mother told me 'Never go to the grocery store hungry'. Her theory was that a hungry shopper would be more inclined to make impulse purchases that would exceed the family budget. Which is all well and good for a thrifty householder, but when preparing a gourmet meal, I think it's better to have a keen appetite at the grocery store. I tend to be much more creative and visionary in my purchases when I'm hungry than when I shop on a full tummy.

I have a similar philosophy when it comes to cooking. I usually eat quite lightly in the early hours of the day, and save the larger meal for the evening, when I can relax afterwards. On those days when I'm preparing an elaborate meal, I rarely eat anything more than a few soda crackers and maybe a little fresh fruit or yogurt to appease my rumbling tummy while I cook. That way, I have a clear palate and plenty of room to sample all the dishes without spoiling my appetite for the actual dinner. And I always have a glass of Chardonnay close at hand to keep the chef happy and relaxed [wink].

12:17 AM PST Permalink |

Taking Photos of My 'Seven Years in Tibet' Dinner

I will be preparing my 'Seven Years in Tibet' dinner on a week night this time, so it will only be Rene and me in attendance. It's a school night for Will, so I will be relying on Rene to serve as my photographer again this time. However, I will be preparing my Tibetan dinner in my new kitchen, where there is much better light, and lots more room to set up all the dishes to be photographed before serving.

12:06 AM PST Permalink |

Deciding What to Wear

Although we had an unseasonably warm autumn, it's been chilly here in the Napa Valley all month, sometimes below freezing, although certainly not as cold as Tibet, or even Ottawa, where my older brother Steven lives. In an e-mail from him yesterday, he reported, "The overnight low was about -24 Fahrenheit. You should've seen me," he says. "I had on a fleece jacket under my winter coat (a snowboarding jacket), two ski caps with the hood up on my jacket, tights under my pants and ski pants over top, insulated gloves and snowmobile boots. All you could see was my eyes. And believe it or not, I passed people on the street with no hat on at all. The air is so cold you have to bite it off in chunks. You would not believe the colour of the sky just before dawn though. The air is cold, but clear beyond belief-- and the colours of blue in the sky remove any doubt that's where heaven is."

But I digress... My new home has very high ceilings and is somewhat drafty and hard to heat, so the attire for my 'Seven Years in Tibet' Dinner & a Movie will be wooly and snuggly warm, although I will probably have to shed a few layers once the kitchen gets fired up.

Traditional Tibetan Dress

The chupa is the traditional garment of Tibet for both men and women, and features an asymmetrical wrap front, wide neckband, and simply bound armholes, and the wrap-front attaches under the right arm with a special clasp. For women, the chupa is worn with a colored blouse that has a shawl collar showing at the neckline. Married women wear a pangden apron made of three strips of striped cloth, often embroidered with floral patterns. The chupa is often topped with a sleeveless vest, or worn with a zhen shawl made of colorful patchwork squares, which is draped to leave the right arm bare. Another version of the chupa, called the treche is worn by Tibetan monks. Tibetan garments are also worn with colorful, elaborate hats, and in the cold months are covered by an outer coat constructed of rectangular panels of homespun cloth.

Here is a link to a website that features an excellent collection of photographs of Traditional Tibetan Garments.

12:39 AM PST Permalink |

Special Cookware for a Tibetan Dinner

In my research of Tibetan food, I happened upon an illustration of a rustic Tibetan Stove. The drawing is rather small, so it's hard to tell exactly how it is designed. However, it appears as though it's smaller than a bread box, with a single burner on top, and either a drawer or a recessed scuttle at the bottom in which to burn the fuel. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to prepare a meal using one. But my guess is that the simple design is intended to accommodate 'one-pot' cooking of dishes such as stews, soups, curries and dumplings, which appear to be the mainstays of the Tibetan diet. In looking over the recipes I've chosen, I'm sure my gas range and everyday cookware will serve my purposes just fine.

01:53 AM PST Permalink |

Beverages to Go With My 'Seven Years in Tibet' Dinner

The most common Tibetan beverage is a warming brew called Po Cha (Butter Tea). This tea is an interesting presentation of the garden variety black tea that is consumed millions of times a day all over the world. It can even be made with the Lipton tea bags you probably already have on your pantry shelf.

In Tibet however, the process is somewhat more complicated, as the tea comes in compact bricks. To prepare the tea, a chunk of the brick is crumbled into a kettle of water and boiled for several hours until it forms a strong, bitter concentrate called Chaku. When it comes time to make Po Cha, a little of the Chaku is diluted in a pot of boiling water. Butter, milk and a little salt are added to season the tea, and then the mixture is churned to emulsify the ingredients, which keeps them from separating. In a modern kitchen, a blender works just as well.

Since it's so simple to make, I'm going to try a pot of it to go with dessert, but being a special dinner, I will also be serving a bottle of Napa Valley Pinot Noir, my favorite red wine.

03:11 AM PST Permalink |

Designing a Tibetan Table Setting

The humble dishes I have chosen for my 'Seven Years in Tibet' dinner hardly demand an elaborate table setting. So, in keeping with the style of the meal, I will also create a simple table using earthy colors, rustic tableware, seasonal winter greens and soft lighting.

01:38 PM PST Permalink |

About the Dalai Lama

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth and present Dalai Lama, was born Lhamo Dhondrub on July 6th, 1935 in the village of Takster in Amdo near the monastery of Kumbum in northeastern Tibet to a peasant family. At the age of three, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Much mysticism surrounded the discovery of the new Dalai Lama. While the body of Thupten Gyatso still lay in state at the Potala, it is said that his face turned toward the northeast. Soon thereafter, a vision of the house where the next Dalai Lama would be found appeared to Reting Rinpoche, a Tibetan regent, as he gazed into Lake Lhamo Latso in southern Tibet. He saw the letters Ah, Ka, Ma, along with the image of a monastery with a jade green roof, and a humble house with a turquoise roof and unusual gutters.

For the letter Ah, a search party was sent to Amdo in the northeastern province of Tibet, and then to the Karma Rolpai Dorje monastery in Kumbum, with its turquoise roof, for the letters Ka and Ma. There they found the house with the unusual gutters. A search of the surrounding villages revealed a house with an ancient juniper bush on the roof, where they sought lodging for the night. There they found an infant boy named Lhamo among the members of the household. The leader of the search party, pretending to be an ordinary servant, played with the child, who took to him instantly and called him Sera Lama, for the name of the monastery where the lama had once been a disciple. A few days later, the party returned with a collection of personal artifacts that had belonged to Thupten Gyatso, the former Dalai Lama, including rosaries, drums and walking sticks. When presented to the child along with other items that had not belonged to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, the boy Lhamo claimed all the correct items as his own. Convinced that the child was the true reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, he was taken to Lhasa, but only after paying a substantial ransom to the Chinese provincial governor for his release.

Tenzin Gyatso was enthroned on February 22, 1940 in the Potala Palace at Lhasa at age four. His eighteen-year spiritual training began at the age of six, and was completed when he received his Ph.D. in Buddhist Philosophy at age 25. In October 1950 however, in the midst of his training, The People's Liberation Army of China invaded Tibet, and Tenzin Gyatso assumed full power as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama on November 17, at the age of fifteen. Political unrest continued to escalate, and by 1959, the Dalai Lama was forced to flee Tibet for India with nearly 80,000 followers. On March 17, 1959, the Dalai Lama escaped from the summer palace at Norbulinka with his family. For nearly five decades, from his headquarters at Dharamsala, India Tenzin Gyatso has worked relentlessly to restore the sovereignty of Tibet through peaceful, non-violent means, and to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the Tibetan people. On December 10, 1989, Tenzin Gyatso was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

12:07 AM PST Permalink |

About Heinrich Harrer

Heinrich Harrer was born in Austria on July 6, 1912. Contrary to popular belief, Harrer did not compete on the Austrian skiing team in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, an apocryphal factoid perpetrated by the film 'Seven Years in Tibet'. However, he did make the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland with Anderl Heckmair, Fritz Kasparek and Ludwig Vorg in July 1938. Austria was taken by Germany shortly before the onset of World War II, and Harrer, who was on a mountain climbing expedition to scale Nanga Parabat in India, was taken prisoner and held in a British Colonial internment camp near the Tibetan border.

After hoarding enough supplies to sustain themselves on the arduous journey that lay ahead, Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter escaped and set out for Lhasa, the Forbidden City. Having braved the harsh Himilayan terrain through a bitter winter with only meager rations, surviving the threat of attack by hostile nomads, the hardships of altitude sickness, and the likelihood that they would be denied sanctuary in Tibet, Harrer and Aufschnaiter were welcomed into Lhasa. There they were treated as honored guests, attired in the finest garments, served sumptuous banquets, and housed in royal quarters.

Harrer lived in Lhasa for nearly five years, where he taugh English to the children of the court, and developed a close relationship with Tenzin Gyatso, the boy who would become the 14th Dalai Lama. Harrer was even allowed to photograph and film the royal family as they participated in sacred ceremonies never before witnessed by an outsider.

Heinrich Harrer left Tibet in December 1950, just before Lhasa was invaded by the Chinese. Upon his return to Austria, he wrote Seven Years in Tibet, The White Spider, and Lost Lhasa, along with more than a dozen other books based upon his Tibetan adventure. Thereafter, he continued to organize climbing expeditions, one of the most notable being the first ascent of the the highest peak in Oceania, Puncak Jayadikesuma in western New Guinea.

His accolades include the Gold Humboldt Medal and the Explorers Club Medal for his expeditions throughout six continents. Seven Years in Tibet has sold more than four million copies and has been translated into 53 languages. In October 1997, Seven Years in Tibet made its motion picture debut with Brad Pitt in the starring role. And despite his advancing age, Heinrich Herrer has continued to maintain a close friendship with Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.

12:50 AM PST Permalink |

Come Spring...

The thing that most compelled me to take the leap and move into my new home was the spacious garden in the back. It has a 9' x 12' concrete patio, surrounded on two sides by a fenced yard. The moment I laid eyes on it, visions of an abundant vegetable garden, trimmed at the edges with beds of brightly colored flowers danced in my head. After ten years in a second-story dwelling, with nary more than a tiny landing, bereft of all but two hours of sunlight each day outside my back door, upon which to grow a few meager plants in pots and window boxes, I was giddy at the notion of plunging my hands into Mother Earth and nurturing a fecund crop of all my favorite agrarian delights.

So eager was I to get started on my garden that, weeks before a single moving box was packed, I went online and found a website featuring a vast array of Ferry Morse seeds at half the suggested retail price. And I'm not ashamed to say, I went hog wild. I ordered Kentucky Blue Pole Beans, Bok Choi, Cantaloupes, Celery, Chinese Cabbage, Sweet Corn, Cucumbers, Pickling Cucumbers, Japanese Eggplant, Leeks, Romaine Lettuce, Mesculin Gourmet Greens, Snow Peas, Sugar Peas, Jalapeno Peppers, Bell Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Pumpkins, Radishes, Soybeans, Spinach, Yellow Squash, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Tomatillos, Watercress, Watermelons, and Zucchini.

For my herb garden, I chose Basil, Catnip, Chives, Dill, Marjoram, Parsley, Peppermint, and Spearmint. And for flowers, Impatiens, Lobelia, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Sweet William and Lilliput Zinnias.

The whole bill, including shipping, cost less than a single trip to my favorite produce market, and the seeds arrived in only two days. In the next few weeks, while the ground is still soft from all the winter rain we've been getting, I will till the soil and wait for the danger of frost to pass in late March before planting. And although I know that the harvest is months away, I can't wait to begin preparing my Dinner & a Movie menus with freshly harvested vegetables from my very own garden.

The garden is also graced with what I think may be a cherry tree, which I hope will burst into a profusion of pink blossoms around the same time as Ohanami in Japan. And a few intrepid poppy-pink blossoms of a Japanese plum tree are already putting on a delicate floral show for me just outside my kitchen window, which sure does make the drudgery of washing dishes a little less dreadful. And each morning, as I begin my day's work at my desk overlooking what will soon be my shade garden, where I will plant the watercress and bok choy, it takes an act of great will not to abandon my task list and spend the day getting gleefully grimy instead. Ah...patience, dear...patience.

12:15 AM PST Permalink |

Playing Hooky for the Day

Having diligently kept my nose to the grindstone, shoulder to the wheel as I relocated to my new home, I decided to play hooky for the day. The winter storms have been non-stop for the past three weeks, so Rene and I were pleasantly surprised when we awoke to a clear and gorgeous day. We headed to the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, where Rene was keen to see a Mayan archaeological exhibit, followed by a Mayan textile exhibit and marimba concert at the Presidio Officers' Club. However, when we arrived at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, we were crestfallen to discover that the Mayan exhibit had closed on January 2.

With several hours to while away before the textile show and marimba concert, we decided to have an early supper at our favorite sushi bar. Isobune in San Francisco's Japantown is a very special type of sushi bar, where chefs assemble large batches at a prep station in the center of a water-filled moat, and place individual plates of the edible treasures on a procession of little flat-bottomed wooden boats. Diners sit at a low counter on the outer side of the moat and help themselves to the plates of sushi as they float by. When they're finished, the waitress tallies up the bill by counting the empty plates and beverage bottles.

Isobune is my favorite restaurant in all the world, and as always, the sushi was fresh, abundant and delicious. We had the luxury of time to linger over a nice long chat and browse in a Japanese dishware shop next door before heading to the Presidio. Much to our delight, the textile exhibition was dazzling and elegantly displayed. It featured over a hundred garments, each one hand woven and intricately embroidered with flora and geometrics in an eye-popping spectrum of tropical colors.

With great expectations, we took our seats in the auditorium to hear the marimba concert. Promptly at 7:00 p.m., eight musicians dressed in embroidered white linen jackets with red neckties appeared on stage and proceeded to play the absolute worst music I have ever heard. The emcee had promised a selection of salsas and cumbias, but instead of a program of traditional Mayan songs, they had chosen to start with a set of contemporary American standards, one of which I could swear was the theme to the old Alfred Hitchcock Show. The band was off beat, out of tune, and at one point I wasn't even sure all the musicians were playing the same song. What's worse, the music was metered by the stacatto beat of a set of snare drums that made it sound like the 'oom-pah' band at a pathetic polka party. In the middle of the third piece, I leaned over to Rene and asked in a hushed voice, "Do we have to stay for the whole thing?" Much to my relief, he replied, "No. We can leave now if you like." So we did. And something tells me that the rest of the audience wasn't far behind.

On the ride home, we had a good laugh at the musical travesty we'd just witnessed, and to end the evening on a positive note, Rene detoured off Highway 101 down to Fort Baker at the tip of Sausalito, where we enjoyed a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge, with the city lights twinkling across the bay. Fortunately, Rene and I rarely tire of each other's company, and always manage to find something to enjoy about even the worst of days. In this case, it was the excellent company, the gorgeous weather, the delectable sushi, the opulent textiles, and the fantastic view at evening's end.

03:50 PM PST Permalink |

Toward Entropy...

After two weeks in our new home, my kitchen is gradually coming together. I've been living amid a sea of boxes, not knowing the whereabouts of such everyday necessities as fish food, hair brushes, and the electrical charger for my cordless screwdriver. Since I didn't bother to bubble wrap, tape and label each of the boxes for the four-block move from our old place, every day is like Christmas, as I open them with delight at their much-missed-and-needed contents. My brother Michael who lives in Texas has been a constant source of encouragement and optimism via e-mail to help keep me motivated until I've unpacked every last chopstick.

I still have a long way to go before my kitchen is in 'apple pie order', as my Mom used to call it. There's a trip to Home Depot in the offing for such amenities as cupboard organizers and extra shelving. But even amid the chaos, I have managed to prepare several memorable meals, including our New Year's Day dinner which featured Crab Cakes, Vichyssoise, Sashimi Salad, Grilled Petit Filet Mignon, Seafood Brochettes, and Chocolate Coconut Pastry. It was a challenge, but I managed to pull it off nonetheless.

I'm definitely looking forward to my first Dinner & a Movie night in this spacious kitchen. The lighting is much better, there's so much more room to maneuver without running into myself at every turn, and considerably more counter space for prepping, plating and photographing. Can't hardly wait!

12:28 AM PST Permalink |