New Stuff...September is here

Where to begin? I dunno...first is the discovery of our beautiful grandchild Kaylee's FB page. How fun, corss generalional communications, what a treat. They are so much more technologically able than us old farts that they communicate in this way like we used to with IMing and emails. Who even remembers snail mail? When was the last time you bought a stamp to mail a letter to someone dear and not so near? So she friended (a new verb) us and we are now on her list of friends.
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Today I baked a loaf of bread without sugar as an ingredient. It's a first. Usually the 3 cups of bread flour have 2 Tablespoons of some sugar, molassus to assist the yeast in it's work. Today there was none of this. The result rose normally and browned nicely as well. The aroma was that of nuts and caramel. I'll let it set a few hours and try it and report back.

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I asked last night at the Cast Iron Grill and Bar to get a kitchen tour today. The chef, Anthony set a date for today at 2pm and I was there with bells on! A beautiful slab of what was going to be corned beef was being prepared at the time so I kept out of the way and watched as Anthony drew his razor sharp (I mean it!) blade along the underside of the silverskin and peeled it away bit by bit. Then came another slab prepared the same way, then pierced to allow the seasoning to penetrate thoroughly. The it was wrapped in plastic and put aside to marinate for a while.
We discussed many elements of his kitchen as well as recipes and methods. He has worked in many restaurants after culinary school and worked as a sous chef with Bobby Flay in the past as well. He possessed a very kindly and knowledgeable attitude with this chef-wanna-be-but-will-never-be answering my cooking questions one after the other. It was a very impressive visit and as I left I said "You are our restaurant now!" and meant it.

The Fourth of July, Indepenence Day, Whoopee!

The 4th is a stupendous celebration throughout the United States. It commemorates our intention to become independent of our good ol' friend England in 1776. It goes off in a bang everywhere there are citizens of the US. We love it generally and only the grumps hold back. It's always been a favorite of mine coming at the height of the summer months amidst plentiful sunshine and warm (if not downright HOT!) weather. When my kids were little I held the biggest, baldest fireworks display ion our entire block and hardly ever set fire to anyone's house or cars. Incidents did happen from time to time with minor burns to hands and paint and once even a roof (my own!), otherwise it was just good fun thanks to my connections in Chinatown in San Francisco. You could buy any and everything you wanted for not a whole lot of money too. Then the work would begin to rig up whirly gigs and series of fuses so things went off almost certainly in sequence. Terrific for my kids and their friends on the block. I loved it. My favorite things were a firework called "Ground Bloom Flowers", some of these were small and spun like the wild things they were bouncing up and down totally out of control and lots of scary moments occurred when one ventured under a neighbor's car or truck or our own fireworks! Yes sir, great fun! The I found a dealer in The City that had these things in LARGER sizes weighing not mere ounces but a full pound or more! Whoopee! They were downright dangerous and had long leashes of 25 -50 feet which allowed them to bounce high and fast and fill the sky with sparks and fury. I LOVED these things!

Now I live with Kelly and Furry and our daughter Audrey (nearby) in Suisun and we have the biggest, baddest most amazing Independence Day in the whole county of Solano! Bands play, singers sing, flags fly, food is served and copious amounts of beer and wine are served. It is a scene! At the end of the day just as nightfall happens the fireworks begin and thousands of people come here to see them up close over our waterway and turning basin. Fantastic they are and they far outdo anything I did...ever! It is a great day indeed for our nation and for our citizens and visitors. Come one, come all to Suisun City tomorrow to enjoy the day and watch the fireworks show. Free Parking EVERYWHERE about town!

Another Week

The image on The South 40 post, the one right before this one shows the South 40 as it appears this morning May 1st,2010. Tomatoes (some of what I will eventually have planted) are in along with beets, yellow squash, artichokes, leeks and seeds of various others yet unsprouted. Lots of room left for the stuff from Oregon whenever it arrives. There's no drip system installed so all watering is done either by watering can and shared hose from the public tap. It rained Thursday a little so I skipped Friday and watered this morning hoping against hope that I don't over do it.

The sun shines well today and the usual breeze has not started (yet!) and we are going out to Winterhawk Winery to the music/wine tasting/pizza eating activity that we so happily attended last Saturday. It was a ball and well worth the time. Tomorrow we'll attend Dimitri's Lounge once again for our version of Sunday Service...the Blues! TV and his wonderful, long suffering 8-), wife have said they will be there so we will have to have a big table ready as B&M said they're coming too! Should be a blast!

Had our first formal dinner at the Gypsy Kitchen as I call these events, last night with B&M and Audrey. I made Osso Buco using beef shanks cooked in a tomato, beef stock and white wine braising liquid which was then reduced after 4 hours of a low simmer, as the sauce. This over a bed of risotto with asperagus. A crisp Romaine lettuce salad with avacado and a dessert of Banana Sorbet. The appetizes were Sicilian Olives and Castelveltrano olives wrapped in prosciutto and broiled for 10 minutes. All came out well and was much appreciated. Lots of wine flowed as is the custom too. Next one in a week or so...