August 5th, 2009
Summer has decided to hunker down these days it seems- the weather is hot and oppressive and afternoon naps are becoming longer and more essential to survival. Luckily there is still time and opportunity to hit the beach to cool down; the water temps are magical, if the abundant seaweed and sandbars are not. (tip: do not dive headfirst into waves!)
Gearing up for Spain has been fun. We started a Gourmet Club, which is cooking with a purpose for an audience. Our first theme was Mediterranean cuisine, which of course covers a large region and flavors. My main course was a seafood paella. This could have been quite expensive if not for the Asian market, where we were able to select fresh calamari, mussels, shrimp and cod. Since cost is not prohibitive when shopping at the Asian market, there seems to be no good reason to eat frozen fish.
Sides were stuffed grape leaves, stuffed mushrooms, salad, hummus and spicy potatoes. We were all quite nauseous in the end, but rode out the waves by watching Keyboard Cat on the new I-Phone and some other video bloopers. I guess the I-Phone is like a portable TV and entertainment system- always accessible- always ready to settle a debate or argument on something random. Like, what is the strongest muscle in the body? Is risotto a rice or pasta? I don't know what we did before Google, but the Encyclopedia Britannica surely wasn't as quick.
Summer has decided to hunker down these days it seems- the weather is hot and oppressive and afternoon naps are becoming longer and more essential to survival. Luckily there is still time and opportunity to hit the beach to cool down; the water temps are magical, if the abundant seaweed and sandbars are not. (tip: do not dive headfirst into waves!)
Gearing up for Spain has been fun. We started a Gourmet Club, which is cooking with a purpose for an audience. Our first theme was Mediterranean cuisine, which of course covers a large region and flavors. My main course was a seafood paella. This could have been quite expensive if not for the Asian market, where we were able to select fresh calamari, mussels, shrimp and cod. Since cost is not prohibitive when shopping at the Asian market, there seems to be no good reason to eat frozen fish.
Sides were stuffed grape leaves, stuffed mushrooms, salad, hummus and spicy potatoes. We were all quite nauseous in the end, but rode out the waves by watching Keyboard Cat on the new I-Phone and some other video bloopers. I guess the I-Phone is like a portable TV and entertainment system- always accessible- always ready to settle a debate or argument on something random. Like, what is the strongest muscle in the body? Is risotto a rice or pasta? I don't know what we did before Google, but the Encyclopedia Britannica surely wasn't as quick.
At last I made it out to the Velodrome for some fixie bike riding. I cant believe people ride these bikes in traffic- no brakes and no gears! I am tempted to try it myself...However, for now, I will stay on the track where crashes are sure enough...It is fun, with the wind whistling in your ears and no cars to worry about! Where else can you go 30-40 mph with nothing to worry about other than keeping your handlebars steady enough to keep rubber sides down?
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