The elements of good cooking

Calavera/sugar skull

The foot is slowly coming around, but I'm still spending a good deal of my days lounging on the sofa. Fortunately for me, Netflix is presently adding lots of new content to watch. I spent most of yesterday evening checking out a new series called Salt Fat Acid Heat hosted by a chef called Samin Nosrat. The show is based on Nosrat's well received cookbook of the same name. Each episode corresponds with one of the four elements of good cooking. The Salt episode is shot primarily in Japan. Fat is shot in Italy. Acid takes us down to Mexico. And, finally, Heat sees Samin back on her hometurf of Berkeley.

(Side note: Both she and I worked at the same restaurant in Berkeley for a time back in the mid-2000s. I don't remember much from that experience save for a chance meeting with Bill Niman--then still of Niman Ranch--when he dropped by to chat sausage with the restaurant owner.)

In her show, Samin takes the viewer on a 'salt, fat, acid, heat' journey to experience the elements of good cooking and proper food preparation. Aside from feeling like I should really try more when making a meal, what really struck me when watching the show was Samin's absolute enthusiasm for simple food prepared well. She smiles easily and laughs a lot. During the episode shot in Italy, we see Samin buying a proscuitto sandwich at an open air market. She bites into the sandwich and immediately gushes. She loves it. In that moment, I wanted to be right there with her, eating a proscuitto sandwich squealing, no pun intended, with delight.

PS: The sugar skull sketch above was done while watching the episode shot in Mexico.

First Thursday in the Pearl

On my last night in Portland, I walked over to the Pearl District to check out their First Thursday event. I imagine First Thursday has evolved over the years into an Art Gallery Open House/Street Festival hybrid as the event felt like a big ole street party. A clog of folk were jammed into one city block drinking, eating food truck fare, and listening to live music. I didn't enter the fray--too many bodies.

The adjacent block was much quieter and not at all packed out. It was there that I saw some art. As I was fatigued from the massive walk I had taken that day, I only had energy to visit two galleries. The first gallery was filled with sort of very interesting modernist, glass sculpture. I enjoyed the space and how the art was arranged, but found it a little perplexing that so many folk were jamming around taking pictures of the glass in order to upload it to Instagram accounts and the like. -a sort of meta experience that documents what one did without being in the experience of what one is doing, if that makes sense. I'm no aficionado, but here's me standing at a piece trying to really take it in while having to contend with mobile phone users jockeying for best position for a shot. I wound up leaving the gallery in fairly short order.

The second gallery, however, was an unexpected delight. The somewhat newly opened Elisabeth Jones Art Center concerns itself, if I have understood their mission statement, with art focusing on the preservation of our natural world. Sept. 6th marked only their third First Thursday event.

In one portion of the gallery, I saw art pieces relating to marine life--sharks in particular. Another area of the gallery concerned itself with art pertaining to the polar ice caps. The massive mobile below is made up entirely of rather small fish shaped from wire. Each fish is marked with a piece of colored paper. I really dug it.

In another area, paintings depicting the Pacific Northwest coastline were on display. Here's an awkward shot of a small portion of the coastal art wall--


 

I spoke with a few artists/docents on-hand. They were lovely and engaging. We talked about the gallery's focus, what the art was meant to convey, and how the pieces made us feel.

The shark/marine art wall (I neglected to take photos) touched on global shark hunting for shark fin soup popular in Vietnam and China. What I learned by talking to the docents is that traditionally shark fin soup had been reserved for special occasions and has always been somewhat prohibitively expensive to buy. Currently, the demand for shark fin is at an all-time high as wealth has risen in East Asia. As a result of over-fishing, one-third of shark species are now endangered.

Full disclosure: at a New Year's dinner some 15 years ago, I ate shark fin soup. My friend's parents were visiting from Hong Kong for the occasion. As I didn't want to appear rude, I ate the soup, but I'll tell you that the fin itself was bland in flavor. I didn't see the appeal.

Domestic abuse at the hotel

While kicking about Portland, I stayed in a charming hotel just outside downtown. Things, unfortunately, got off to a rocky start. 

On the first night, I heard a horrendous-sounding, knock-down drag-out fight going on in the room above mine. Coat over PJs, I went down at approx.11pm to notify staff. I was calm and measured because I assumed I would be taken more seriously as a result. I used both the expressions 'domestic disturbance' and 'possible domestic violence' and gave my room number: 730. The woman at the front desk, possibly the only person on front desk duty at this time of night, her face a mask of ambiguity, said she'd 'call up' to ask them to be quiet. While that is a nice gesture, my having said that I heard both repeated loud thuds and crashing noises should have alerted her to, maybe, sending someone up to the room to check on a woman who was possibly being battered. To be fair, the front desk clerk may not have really gotten the gravity of the situation. Heck, who wants to believe that something potentially vile is happening to a woman? I didn't hardly want to believe it myself, but I had HEARD it and knew that something bad was going on in the room above mine. I also told the front desk clerk that it sounded as if hotel property were being damaged. Sort of cynically, I thought that that would get staff to act quickly and I sincerely believed that the room was being damaged.

Indeed, the front desk must have rung the room as the noise temporarily subsided. However, I found myself going back down at just after midnight when things started to really kick off again. This time, I firmly requested that someone go up to the room to check on the welfare of the woman straight away. 'Someone needs to go up there now. This is serious.' The same staff member I had spoken with previously then turned to a man who appeared to work for hotel maintainance and said something like: Do you remember that couple in 830 who were fighting down here around 10.30pm and we had to tell them to stop...? 

I then chimed in with: They've been fighting on and off for over an hour. 

To his credit, the man made a beeline for the elevator and went straight up. Three warnings by hotel staff to keep down the noise level (although what they were engaged in was beyond just yelling) is really '3rd strike' territory. The brawling couple really should have been asked to leave. I would have also thought that the police could have been called, but in a domestic abuse situation having the cops show up probably only would have enraged the man more and the woman would have, ultimately, surely suffered more as a result. 

The couple were also in one of the poshest rooms at the hotel. I should know as I was in a similarly posh room just one floor down. -don't know if that would be why there seemed to be a reluctance on the part of the hotel to ask this couple to leave. Also, maybe they were to check out that very next (Tuesday) morning. Dunno. What I do know is that at 1am, after the couple had started up the cycle of abuse one more time, I went down to the front desk a third time to notify them of the ongoing disturbance and to finally ask to, please, change rooms. I suppose it took me so long to do so because a) I had never been privy to such an unfortunate situation before & b) I had never asked to change rooms in a hotel before. 

The request was granted and I moved to a smaller but much quieter room on a lower floor (sans view). I don't know what happened to the couple in 830, but I did think about what I had heard going on in their room that first night for the remainder of my stay. 

PS: I sent an email to the hotel outlining the above experience. My hope would be that they are inspired to review their policy on how to handle, for lack of a better expression, 'problem guests'.

Recent trip to PDX

I took myself on a five-day trip to Portland, OR. at the beginning of the month. I walked like a fiend daily which is probably why I'm laid up with a bum foot now. Always wear appropriate walking shoes, kids! 

Anyway, the trip was lovely, if a bit too long. One can see all one needs to in about three days, to be honest. I took myself out and away from downtown, where I was staying, and was treated with views of some very lovely architecture. Most of the houses I saw were older, some were more 'Grand Designs' new. I was really taken with all of the lovely porches I saw associated with homes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first image below almost looked like a film set, somehow. I thought it fab. The second image was a WOWZA of a house that appeared to have been built within the past year. It stands in a neighborhood of older homes like the one above, but didn't totally stick out. I assume that that had to do with the color of the cladding. I really like both homes, but I think I might prefer to live in the house with the porch. Portland gets toasty-warm in the summer (and unlike here) the temperature stays warm well into the evening. I would love to be able to kick back on a comfy chair out on a front porch, iced-tea in hand, watching the sun go down. 

The crown jewel of the visit were my multiple trips to the Rose Garden. Officially named the International Rose Test Garden, this space came to being just over 100 years ago and boasts approximately 650 different rose varieties. I have never seen so many different kinds of roses all in one place in my whole life. I just loved being there. It felt as if I had taken a gazillion photos, but I'll only subject you to a few plus choice images. :)

This beauty is named Ketchup and Mustard--

Gorgeous bloom, no name found.

Another nameless charmer.

This one is called Hot Cocoa. The petals appear a bit more burnt-umber in person.



Some roses were absolutely bushy with petals and some were fairly sparse. The colors were astounding: deep purple, chartreuse, lavender, rainbow-sherbert, etc. The sizes were also varied. There were teensy-tiny flowers, BIG blossoms, and everything in between. If you ever find yourself in Portland during the summer, go to the Rose Garden. You will not be disappointed.

Honshu, Japan, Pt. 4

My friend in Japan is very sweet. When I told her that I was taking a Japanese course she said that her boyfriend could be my speaking partner. If he were local, then I might take her up on the offer. It would be good to have a language partner who didn't speak any English. I'd never be tempted to 'cheat' as there would be no point.

I had intended on writing a 'part 4' of my Japan trip back in autumn, but never got around to it. Now seems a good a time as any to finish that up--

Our time in Tokyo was just over two days, short but well spent. The below photo was taken at a place in the pedestrian zone of Asakusa, just a stone's throw from the temple. While walking around one night looking for a place to eat, we spied a rather full joint on a corner & my friend told me that their specialty was a kind of omelette/pancake/crepe. My interested was piqued, so we went for dinner. The server brings a bowl of uncooked cabbage with raw egg, I assume, spices, and whatever topping one wants like meat or cheese. We ordered ours with cheese. The entire contents of the bowl is poured onto a VERY hot griddle and the mixture is then sort of mixed/cut up by the server using two chopper/salad tosser-looking tools. Before our server left we were told that when the cheese is fully melted, our meal would be ready to eat. I don't know if you can see in the shot, but one is meant to eat the griddle cabbage-cake with a wee shovel (that's resting on the dish in front of me). The chop sticks were used for a fish seasoned with miso dish (out of shot) we also ordered. My face is read because it's about ten at night, the walls of the restaurant are opened to the night air, and it's still around 26C out. That huge glass of ice water was downed in no time.

Asakusa regional dish of cabbage with cheese cooked on a very, very hot griddle.

In the final days of my trip, we took a train down to the fourth largest city in Japan, Nagoya. Their main claim to fame is an astounding castle and its attendant grounds. Below is a replica of one of the two 'fish animal' creatures that adorned the top of the castle, one facing east and one facing west. They are meant to be protectors of the castle. Later, when we went on a guided tour of the grounds, we found out that they did not do their job, unfortunately.

Replica of original dolphin creature approx. 6' tall that stood atop the old castle.

Waiting at the entry gates to the castle grounds were 5 women wearing armbands, and, as it was pouring rain, holding umbrellas. They were on hand to give gratis castle tours to speakers of English. We decided to got for it. The woman, retiree with a desire to practice English, giving the tour could not have been nicer. (She had us take a picture in front of the dolphin creature replica, and to get us to smile said, 'pickles! butter!')

What we learned, in addition to the history of the different dynastic families living in Nagoya from the 17th to 20th century, was that in 1945 American forces obliterated the castle in an air raid. What one visits today is a reproduction built in the late 1950s. The origninal roof top 'guards', a sort of dolphin creature, had melted into blobs of gold during the raid. We were told by our guild that the gold was then refashioned into two massive tea pots now on display in Nagano City. The newly constructed marine creatures (you can see a speck of one of them in the below photo) are made of a slighter lesser quality of gold and are greatly reduced in size.

The rock wall withstood the bombing. All original.

Note one of the gold sea creatures atop the castle.

Tatami receiving room in Nagoya Castle

Note the black lacquer ceiling. The more ornate the ceiling, the higher status the room & its guests. 

During my stay in Japan, I was fortunate to book an appt. with my friend's hair stylist. Below is a picture of the two of us. My friend had to translate for us, but all turned out well. The young man who shampooed my hair was keen on learning English. His dream is to do hair in New York. He was so eager to practice his English with me that I think what normally takes a few minutes' time under the faucet took what felt to be about twenty minutes. He would scrub my head while asking me halting questions in English that I couldn't really hear with all the scrubbing going on. We did our best & my hair got squeaky clean. As it turned out, he has relatives here in the Bay Area. I gave him my email & told him to contact me anytime. I told him I'd be happy to show him around the city were he ever to visit. So far, he's yet to send a missive.

Lovely haircut from a lovely stylist.

Cardiff trip, sort of accidentally remembered.

This shot was taken by my husband back in 2012, I think it was, when we were on a trip to Cardiff. On this particular day, we took a walk along the water starting from about the National Assembly building. I can't recall where we ended up, but our jaunt took us along lovely stretches of wildflowers. All were photo-worthy.

Walking through one of the posh areas en route to the Botanical Garden, I spied this bit of choice graffiti on someone's back gate. -hope the owners of the house didn't mind, but I thought it hilarious.

The wildflower mix avec moi & the copper pictures popped up on Google as a result of some 'remember this day?' function. I suppose the feature is meant to stimulate the viewer to post the pictures on the shared Google platform to be enjoyed by strangers and friends alike. Instead of that, I thought I'd share them, along with other Cardiff trip pics I then scrounged up, here.

Cardiff Botanical Garden

Wood inlay from the Residences at Cardiff Castle

Me with the Ood, Dr. Who Museum

Part of the castle wall (moved some meters away) featuring amazing creatures including this hyena.

View from the top floor of the Cardiff Public Library

If I could go back tomorrow, I would. Cardiff is a lovely city.

Honshu, Japan Pt. 3

The Japanese have turned fireworks into an art form. Summer is the season of multiple fireworks displays across the country. At the beginning of this month, I was fortunate enough to have attended a fireworks competition at Suwa Lake near Matsumoto City, Nagano.

There were approximately 24 entrants, the event lasted two hours long, and each selection was introduced by a moderator. The event was flanked by impressive displays of eye-popping fireworks. The whole thing was a bit mind-blowing. We have nothing like this, as far as I know, here in the states.

My Japanese friend has a friend who is a huge fireworks enthusiast. He attends multiple fireworks events each year in Japan. The below picture is one of hundreds he took that night at the show. The picture below his is mine, taken with a mobile phone. 

Not only did I see the most amazing display of fireworks at Suwa Lake, but I also enjoyed a lovely dinner to boot. The bento box picture below shows a rather decadent meal, don't you think?

Proper photo.

Taken on my android.

Bento box included in ticket price.

Waiting for the sun to go down, Suwa Lake.

Day trip to Nagano City to visit the Zenkoji Buddhist Temple--

The temple dates back to the 7th century, but, from what I understood, this latest structure was built in the early 18th century. We walked from the rather modern & user-friendly Nagano main train station to the temple. It was a pleasant 30 minute stroll along a nice-looking boulevard. The closer we walked to the temple, the posher the shops and buildings became. The below shot is just at the entrance to the temple grounds.

Walk up the main drag to the temple.

Muscled foot of one of the guardians of the temple. He stood about 20' tall & was entirely made of cypress.

Tour group just in front of the Niomon Gate. 

Temple shot.

Advert from a local dairy on temple grounds.

Back side of temple. 

If I can find any more decent shots of the trip, then I shall post a Pt. 4!

Honshu, Japan Pt. 2

On one sunny day, my friend drove us (through multiple tunnels and over narrow mountain passes) to Takayama & Hida. My friend told me that Takayama is renowned for its morning market. It was lovely, but more intriguing for me was the stretch of well-preserved merchants' residences dating from between the 17th and 19th centuries found off the main drag through town. I didn't get the best shots of the merchant streets, but here are some of 'em anyway.

Entrance to merchants' area; the smaller sign reads: no smoking.

Sake and rice shop. Giant orb over door signifies sake, but I don't know why.

Wood/bamboo siding on one of the merchant buildings

We strolled through the market just before it closed at noon. We certainly aren't the only tourists to visit; many of the shopkeepers use English, both in speaking & on signage, to entice folk to their stalls. I needed no barker to help get me to the espresso stall. The proprietor roasts his own in beans, and takes great care to make a balanced, flavorful espresso. His sort of fun gimmick was serving macchiato in edible cups. I opted for paper, but my friend had the 'cookie' cup. I think she said it tasted of ice-cream cone.

Espresso in an edible cup.

Peaches that would have made Roald Dahl proud.

At the market: cukes and one lone tomato for 50 yen a piece.

Morning market welcome sign.

Red bridge, Takayama

The Hida folk village was about a 30 minute drive from Takayama. We parked well above the village & were rewarded with this view--

Hida Folk Village 

I should have put up a pencil for scale. Massive Hibiscus.

Hida Folk Village manhole cover. 

Koi in a small brook, Hida 

--more to come!

Honshu, Japan Pt. 1

So much happened on my trip to Japan not least of which was No. Korea sending a test missile across Hokkaido & a typhoon blowing up the eastern coast of the country. 

The test missile landed in the ocean without much fuss & the typhoon sent cool temperatures and strong winds our way, but not much else, fortunately. 

I flew into Tokyo & spent a couple of days there before taking the bus to Nagano. Once out of the city, the landscape became hilly & green. I guess I've not watched enough Japanese films because I hadn't realised that Japan was so lush. I think the country 2/3 forest. -pretty impressive when you think how densely populated Japan is.

Speaking of forest, my friend and I took a day trip to Mt. Fuji & on the way we visited Aokigahara aka the Suicide Forest. We pulled over and parked. Aokigahara didn't seem so scary, and besides there were scads of other visitors around to make the place seem very lively, indeed. As you can read, we made it out from our forest walk alive. :)

After visiting the forest, we drove to a nearby lake in order to get a gander at Mt. Fuji. The weather was a bit overcast, but the clouds kept shifting around Mt. Fuji while we stood & admired the view. I was told that the clearest views of Fuji are very early in the morning. Regardless, we were able to take a few decent shots from the side of the road (like everyone else). 

During my stay, we also visited my friend's friend's rice paddy. The paddy has long been in his family--get this--for 20 generations. I don't how one could keep intact family records so long, but that's what he said. -1,200 years of rice harvesting on this one spot. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was a bit flabbergasted. 

Friend's friend's wee work truck.

Paddy shot w/ neighbor's house in background. And, yes, she regularly receives rice from the harvest!

The rice was to be harvested this week, actually. It would then be dried in the open air for approx. 2 weeks. A machine, I was told, would then remove the rice from its stalks. And then, I think, the rice will be ready to eat. As I understand it, drying the rice by hand results in a much sweeter product. I'd be keen to try some & find out for myself! 

Manhole cover art in Inashi, Nagano

Nagano produces many fruits and vegetables. Walking in the vicinity of my friend's flat, I saw eggplant, perilla (Japanese basil), kiwi, asparagus, grapes, parsley, and tomatoes. Directly behind my friend's place were both rice and buckwheat fields. Nagano, I found out, is famous for its buckwheat.
Soba noodle joints, unlike here in California where ramen is still the noodle du jour, prevail. I was not disappointed with the fare, to be sure! 

The below picture shows a cold soba dish with rice ball, a dish of green onion/daikon/wasabi & picked cucumber (and out of shot was a small green salad & a dish of dipping sauce for the soba, tsuyu). This soba lunch was probably the best meal I had during my stay. 

Hot soba dish with sweet soya product called Yuba aka tofu skin.

A trip to Nikko to visit the temples and shrines of the area led us to eat Yuba, a dish made of the 'skins' of cooked tofu. The above picture shows a soba soup with Yuba as its centerpiece. All of it was delicious. 

On the grounds of the Nikko shrine site.

One of many temples on site. 

We spied a bridge on the walk back to the Nikko train station.

Once I upload more pictures to the computer, I'll post a bit more about the trip!