yoso-silly – Page 18

Rome Day 2 – A typical vacation day with the Missus Part 1

October 31, 2014 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Italy, Pizza, Rome, Travel, yoso-silly

I keep looking at all these photos of Rome and thinking, well one of these days. There was so much we saw, but it also seemed so hectic. I usually will look at a set of photos and the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, pop out and just like that; I have a post. This one had to really pared down……in the end, I thought this would be a nice description of what a typical vacation day with the Missus is like. It makes a nice C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post.

As is the norm, we woke quite early on our first full day in Rome. I actually got up at 5am and did a post from our room. The Missus woke a bit later and we were headed out before 7. The Missus had a basic list of places to check out and we'd be walking to them all.

So we headed off from Termini Station down the street.

Pst the Colosseum and the Forum……

Skirting Palatine Hill and the Victor Emmanuel Monument…..

And we ended up at Saint Andrea della Valle, Piazza Navona was just a short walk from there. It was pretty quiet at Piazza at that time.

The Missus was determined to get to the Pantheon when it opened. So we walked on over and found that we were still quite early. So we walked over a block to Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

First thing on my mind was….what's up with the Elephant Obelisk, what does it represent? Well, apparently, this obelisk was one of two brought to Rome by Emperor Diocletian from Egypt sometime during his reign between 284 – 305AD. The obelisks were built during the reign of Pharoah Apries around 570BC. The Elephant was designed by Bernini and sculpted by Ercole Ferrata, completed in 1667. The Missus has a thing about obelisks….I'm really afraid to ask really. I will say, this is my favorite one…though I'm still not sure what it all really means.

The church itself is built over the ruins of a temple to the Egyptian Goddess Isis.

As with many of the various churches in Rome, of which there are over 900, most with a rich history, and tons of relics. Santa Maria sopra Minerva was once the center of the Dominican Order, so it makes sense that Saint Catherine of Siena is buried here….well, not all of her. Her head is interred at the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena.

We returned to the Pantheon, which still wasn't open, and decided to just have a cup of coffee and chill. There seemed to be quite a few "locals" walking their dogs, chatting, and generally giving the place a very relaxed feeling.

And yes, that's a obelisk and fountain the front of the Pantheon. This one was built by Ramesses II and was taken from the Temple of Ra in the ancient city of Heliopolis.

Soon enough, folks started lining up in front of the huge doors……

The Missus has been obsessed with visiting here since She saw some show which theorizes that the beam of light from the oculus actually tells time…in other words; it's a giant sundial. What's really amazing is that the Pantheon was finished around 126AD, and almost 1900 years later, it is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world!

Anyway, here we were, standing in front of the huge bronze doors of the Pantheon. A little gentleman comes out to open up…and can't budge the doors. He recruits a bunch of us to push open the doors. Which we do. Oh man, talk about a thrill….I helped to push open the doors of the Pantheon! I immediately asked the Missus if She got a photo; "oh, I was so excited for you….I forgot!"

Click on the photo above to enlarge….this is one of the few places that really impressed me more than what I had read.

A few minutes later the place started getting crowded. It was time to leave. Outside, all the locals had disappeared as tourists descended on the Pantheon. I'm glad we had arrived early.

We headed back to Piazza Navona which was starting to pick up.

The Piazza stands on what was the center of the Stadium of Domitian.

There are three fountains which grace the square, this is the one on the North, the Fountain of Neptune.

We decided to back track and headed to Campo de Fiori, literally translated to "Field of Flowers". I read that in the Middle Ages, the area was actually a meadow. It now houses a daily flower and vegetable market….kind of touristy. pretty pricey, but still fun.

Right on Campo de Fiori resides a place that is pretty much legendary, Forno Campo de Fiori, a little bakery and shop.

The Pizza Bianca was good, initial crunch, a bit too chewy for my taste, very soft interior…..kind of bland though. The pizzas, were, well, kind of disappointing, hard, greasy….probably because they seemed to have been laying out for a while.

Forno Campo de' Fiori
Campo de' Fiori 22
Rome, Italy

Since it was now my turn for the time being, we headed off down Via dei Giubbonari, one of the side street off of Campo de Fiori. A little street lined with shops and cafes. Along the way we passed a little cul de sac, which had….what else, a church.

This little church is Santa Barbara dei Librari – the church for booksellers!

I loved this little three panel wooden painting, called a triptych. I later read that it dates back to the 15th-16th century.

When we hit the cross street of Via dei Chiavari, I found the other place I wanted to try. My good buddy Candice told me that she preferred Antico Forno Marco Roscioli.

About this time I figured out that pizza bianca would make a perfect sandwich….which it did.

I did notice that the pizza bianca here was less oily and had a better crunch.

I thought the marinara pizza was pretty good as well.

Antico Forno Marco Roscioli
Via dei Chiavari 34
Rome, Italy

As you notice….these were the days before the Missus really clamped down on carbs. And yet, with this walking, I still lost weight!

Bolstered by carbs and caffiene we headed off to find the Missus's next target….where was that darn Trevi Fountain?

Thanks for reading!

Tokyo: First impressions, Shinjuku, and Nagi Ramen

October 24, 2014 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel, yoso-silly

Back in July, having just returned from Belgium and the Czech Republic, the Missus sent me a text. Something along the lines of "let's go to Japan." To which I replied, "great, so next year, we'll go to Japan". Her response? "No, I mean let's go to Japan in October, after seeing my parents." And so it came to pass….

For some strange reason; I'd never really been motivated to visit Japan. But now, the wheels set in motion, I just couldn't wait. Though busy at work and time was short, I did some research, and found things I needed to know; the somewhat confusing address system, making sure I had photos of the storefronts of the places we needed to be at. I got us apartments in Tokyo and Osaka, and even a Machiya in Kyoto. Had friends make reservations at two places in Tokyo. We don't really plan much in the way of activities; mostly just broad outlines. The Missus likes to do most of that when we reach our destination. This can be a challenge, but She does it based on where we need to be.

All in all, Japan turned out to be one of the easiest places we've ever visited. It's amazingly orderly, folks at the worst are polite and everyone we met was helpful. That the Missus could read Kanji proved to be a major plus as other than the hiragana and katagana, and Japanese pronunciations, She could cull out meaning. I know a handful of words though my phrasing is (sometimes hilariously) woeful. When it comes to food though, I understand much more.

Well, enough of that….I'll get more into it in future posts.

As things turned out, all you really need is a Japan Railpass, Suica Card, the Hyperdia App, addresses both in English and Japanese, the word "sumimasen", and a little patience and you'll do just fine.

I really thought Tokyo was going to be a bear and was prepared to be overwhelmed, and in a way we were, but not exactly in the way we thought we'd be. First off, getting around in Tokyo was very easy for us. Finding exact locations weren't. Tokyo itself is made up of 23 wards…..think of it as 23 cities packed into one mega-city. Yes, it's busy, but also very quiet. The train/subway can be packed to the gills and yet, there's not a single word uttered in anything above a whisper! Folks line the stairs and escalators…all to the left in Tokyo, letting folks pass to the right. They walk…a lot…they eat tons of carbs and are very thin…folks do not eat while they walk, it's bad manners, even though there are very few public waste receptacles, the sidewalks are extremely clean.

We arrived in the neighborhood of Yotsuya and found the business of the person we were renting our apartment from with rather minimal problems. She was in the middle of teaching a class, so we dropped off our luggage, we travel super light, and set off to get something to drink, and to do some exploring. We walked down one of the side streets….

Seeing the sign above we walked down the alley like street and were totally over whelmed by all the restaurants and bars……which led to the big question. How does one actually make a choice here? There are so many places and options. I'm sure Tabelog and Gurunavi would help, but man, there's just so much. The Missus made the comment, "man, there are more restaurants in this little street than all of Clairemont Mesa!"

Luckily, I had reservations taken care of for the next night, had a plan for this evening, and had an outline of where to eat in the area for our last evening in Tokyo. In fact, we went looking for that Izakaya and actually found the place….using my really, really bad Japanese, I uttered one of the few phrases I know, "Yoyaku wo onegaishimasu"…. actually getting reservations.

We finally got settled into our apartment, which ended up being in the Yotsuya Sanchome area. A bit more residential, busy main streets, but quiet side streets.

We were meeting an old friend of mine; Reiko for dinner. nothing major, I wanted some ramen, and it would be great seeing Reiko, who used to work for one of my friends several years (actually more than several) back. Reiko was born and raised on Tokyo, so I thought getting to where we wanted to go to would be a slam dunk…well, not quite. You see, first we had to get to Shinjuku Station, claimed to be the busiest in the world (according to Wikipedia, the station was used by over 3.6 million people a day and has 200 exits).

Shinjuku itself is a popular business, entertainment, and shopping area…. lets just say popular is an understatement. Tons of younger folks gather outside the station, just milling around, as it seems to be a popular meeting and socializing area.

The place I'd ask Reiko to find had several locations within Kabukichō, the red light district and the Golden Gai, so it goes to figure that Reiko isn't really familiar with the area. After passing the Robot Restaurant (if you really gotta know, you can read about it here.) and missing the photo op of a large group of business men taking a photo with one of the "Robot Warriors", she needed some help and got a bit of direction….

This was sensory overload….after a while, things started looking like this.

I was seeing blurred outlines by now…all the blinking lights, the neon….. the punk-goth Japanese girls, good god, I was ready to fade to black.

Just in time Reiko pointed and said, "there it is Kirk-san…. Nagi Ramen."

Yes, all this effort for ramen. Would you expect anything less from us? Of course, not just any ramen….

Then of course, there was navigating the ramen ticket machine. You enter in your money and press the buttons for the various options you want.

The tiny shop has a single counter with a few seats. Behind the counter, two guys do everything….. it's hot and hard work.

Nagi is famous for their hardcore niboshi broth. Vast quantities of dried anchovies are simmered for over 12 hours to come up with a heady broth.

The broth is hearty, thick, savory, packing a huge punch. Pungent and full of flavor, it's not eveyone's cup of tea. Indeed it was a bit too strong at first for the Missus. That first sip of the broth will do that to you. We both ordered the combination of noodles, the regular, kind of doughy-chewy noodles and the wide and flat "hirauchimen"noodles which the Missus preferred. The egg had that perfect bright orange orb of a yolk. I had ordered extra green onions which helped balance out the flavor of the broth. My only issue was with the chashu which looked medium rare and was very tough and chewy. Otherwise, this was love at first bite….though perhaps not for the Missus who was a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Leaving the restaurant, things seemed to slow down, everything felt like it was slowing down, all was right in the world, things were starting to make sense…. though I still didn't have an explanation for the Robot Restaurant!

Thanks for reading!

So you wanna try some Swordfish Bone Marrow, huh?

September 16, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Seafood, yoso-silly

Well, it's 730pm and still super hot and muggy, so I thought I'd do a quick post as a follow-up to having dinner at Wrench & Rodent. Yep, that swordfish spinal fluid was still on my mind, so on my visit to Catalina Offshore the following week, I asked Tommy about it. Now I knew about Vesiga, the bone marrow of the spinal cord of the European Sturgeon….basically because, my mind being that cesspool of useless information, I recalled reading that it was served during the last meal on the Titanic. I asked Tommy about some background…..he explained that Norwegian fisherman used to consume the stuff to give them "energy"…..well at least he didn't tell me, "no worry….it make YOU STRONG!"

Which is how I ended up unwrapping the spine of a swordfish on my counter…..

Harvesting the stuff was totally brainless….I took a heavy knife; a cleaver actually and sliced through the seam of the spinal column. I then proceeded to scoop the wonderful gelatinous stuff out.

And by golly if it didn't taste wonderfully refreshing; slightly of the ocean, with some very faint sweet hints to it. Still, the flavor alone felt a bit incomplete….I felt it could use the most gentle touch of citric acid, so I added two drops of fresh squeezed lime juice…..which just made it perfect. It just kind of slides on down…..

The Missus watched me removing the gelatinous material from the psinal column and had Her doubts…until She got Her first "shot"…..and then She was hooked!

And I think you would be too…….get your hands on a fresh swordfish spine and have at it!

Cheers!

Midweek Meanderings: Rumors about Hana Mart, growing mutant okra, and recently consumed

September 10, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, Markets & Grocers, yoso-silly

Rumors about Hana Mart:

Poor Hana Mart. I recently heard from two very reliable sources that the former U Mart will be changing hands again soon.

I find this kind of sad. Even though I believe the produce, meat, and other items are better than what Zion Market sells, the place just can't seem to get any traction.

Bummer. I did ask if the place was going to go through another name change, but no one knew….. I hope they eventually find their way. Competition is a good thing.

Hana Mart
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111

We're growing mutant okra:

Our recent crop of okra kind of freaked me out.

We let them go for a couple of extra days and they went crazy. The plants that we're using drip irrigation on are doing much better than the ones being watered conventionally, in size and flavor as well.

These were a bit tougher, but super sweet and moist. Here are a few photos to give you some perspective.

Crazy, huh?

Recently Consumed:

It's been mostly lighter fare…….

On the top is a pork-jalapeno sausage topped with a stir-fried okra – ghost pepper relish on top of lettuce from our yard. On the bottom is a smoked scallop "roll". I quick smoked some smaller scallops from Catalina Offshore, finishing with a quick sear. I made a stir-fry for the Missus (see below), and put the rest in the fridge. The next day I chopped up what was left over, added in some scallions and celery from our garden, mixed in some mayo, and seasoned to make a nice refreshing dinner.

And then of course, we're really enjoying our latest batch of Utopenci. Nice and refreshing with a beer on a hot day…. which seems to be everyday over the last couple of weeks….

Tell me, what have you been doing to stay cool?

Guess where this is…… yep, it’s The Noble Chef

September 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Have you seen this place? Does it look familiar?

Anything ring a bell? The decor? Furniture???

How about the Chinese BBQ case, not bad looking eh?

Well, walking in here was a bit of a shock…….the place went from this:

To this…..

Yes, that's right it's The Noble Chef….

Oooops, I mean The Noble Chef.

You know, I've been coming here since 2002, and first posted about the place in June of 2005. I've seen the old owners retire, taking their wok skills with them. And while, the couple of items I thought were pretty good on the menu were never quite the same, it was passable and even improved over time.

Thanks to FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Jess", I found out that The Noble Chef was finally reopening on September 3rd.

Imagine me walking in to a menu full of Cantonese dishes facing a case of Chinese BBQ. I decided to just try out the roast duck; I needed time to look over the menu to see what new and maybe promising, and also to see if my old favorites were still there. So I got a half roast duck ($12). Getting home and opening up the styrofoam container, I felt like there was bait and switch going on. The ducks in the case were a nice, lacquered brown….this was a rather beige looking beast.

Skin like rubber, meat moist, but lacking flavor…skin almost without flavor, where was the five spice, the salty, the sweet? I also question the cooking temp/technique as this seemed greasy, not rich with oil, but greasy. This has got to be the worst Chinese Roast Duck I've had in quite a while.

Let's add insult to injury, it seems that many of the dishes I thought were decent at Noble Chef are no longer on the menu; Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice, Shrimp Tomato Sauce, Shrimp and Egg on Rice….in fact, it looks like there aren't very many shrimp dishes on the menu. To make things even worse; one of the lousiest dishes I'd ever had at Noble Chef, the Hainan Chicken Rice is on the lunch menu.

So what to do? I'm not sure….I guess I need to check out some of the lunch specials at the least. Lunch is served until 4pm, which is great……but I'm not so certain about the food. Really nice folks, they seem to be trying hard, but this just didn't do it for me.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Summertime/Limited Time fast food treats

September 1, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Hello there. You have found mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog that shares random food-centric posts. Today, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing and researching. Cathy is writing.

According to the calendar, Summer is less than three weeks away from becoming Autumn. The Labor Day weekend is sometimes considered the end of summer, but food-wise, the stone fruits, ears of corn and tomatoes on the vine are still growing and available in the stores.

At some local and mostly chain restaurants, there have been some Summer-only treats which will be slipping off of the menu soon. We enjoy trying the seasonally special treats, enjoying the 'rare' rather than the 'usual'. Here's a small compilation of what was found this year.Stopping at the oldest operating McDonald's Restaurant, in Downey, which has a museum of McDonald's memorabilia, to try the fried apple pie once a year is a Summer splurge. At any McDonald's, the baked peach pie was a special item this Summer. Not only peaches, but a layer of cream cheese, which cuts the sweetness and adds a richness. A great treat.

Another note- ALL McDonald's have "Filet o Fish Friday" all year (not just during Lent) with reduced prices ($1.50) on those delightful sandwiches on Fridays. It's not advertised but usually the bottom item on the 'Value Menu', or just ask. Website

The Starbucks Window decals this Summer have been concentric circles, symbolizing bubbles. They have been advertising not only adding carbonation to ANY beverage (for a mere fifty cents) but also have had "Fizzio" beverages available in three flavors (root beer, ginger and ginger-lemon). All three flavors are caffeine free, hand made with a combination of syrups and the carbonation and contain cane sugar. The flavor is very close to Vernors Ginger Ale in taste point (not like Canada Dry or Schweppes at all). The root beer- you can almost taste each ingredient, from the cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses and anise to the vanilla. Very different and refreshing on some of our warmer/humid days. Also this summer, the San Diego area Starbucks were 'retrofitted' to display and sell (Starbucks-owned) La Boulange pastries. The stores just North of us began serving La Boulange more than a year ago. Some of the pastries are excellent. The ham and cheese and egg breakfast sandwich on this croissant-like bun is very good and different from the 'artisan' ham and cheese also available. Website
In honor of it's 50th anniversary, Del Taco brought back their 'Classics' this summer, and the **Bun Taco** revived a craving. I remember we purchased both a Bun Taco and a Taco Salad and ate those on the floor of our new home when unpacking from our cross country move…a 'California Meal', we said… Website

A new item available at 85C is a lemon iced tea, which is made with a whole sliced lemon. Ordered without any added sweetener, this is really tasty; both the tea and lemon are standouts. Website Jack In The Box had a few new items available. The 'croissant donut', made to order was so promising. As you can see, the texture is nothing like the ad. It was pretty much the churro dough fried into another shape, topped with the churro cinnamon sugar topping. Disappointing. The banana sundae though was very nice. A layer of banana puree topped with soft serve, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry was refreshing. Website Another cinnamon-sugar flavored dough was at Carls, Jr. The 'cinnamon pull apart' seems to be made of balls formed from biscuit dough (which is very good) rolled in cinamon sugar then baked into a large roundish shape. It tastes like something mom made at home with leftovers. website Rita's, an East Coast frozen custard-Italian ice franchise has finally made it to San Diego, opening five locations as of this date, with more slated. We've stopped at the Chula Vista location and have tried various daily-made ices as well as custards. So far, a gelati (layers of custard and Italian ice) made with Florida orange ice and vanilla custard is a favorite. The Swedish Fish flavor is really good too. I first found out about Rita's from cc , who has visited here many times since April. Website Paris Baguette has been having mid-month deals for a while now. The 11th of each month is interesting in that you get a fairly large container of pastry cream when you purchase a baguette. This summer, banana and pineapple pastries were available in a few variations; a change from mango everything I've seen around town. If it were the 12th of the month, pastries and desserts are 20% off. If here on the 13th of the month and purchase $10 of items, two slices of multigrain bread would be the bonus… Website

Waffles are becoming a 'thing' now; I could do a week of posts about waffle sandwiches. Vons grocery store has been selling 'Waffle Donuts' this summer. Kirbie and Mary each wrote a whole post about these waffle shaped, not donut dough-ed items which have been on sale, two for $1. The Mister brought these home…the glaze has the vary-ing flavors, the size was dependent on the glaze, the dough is not waffle, nor is it a doughnut…it confused me. Website Tastee Freez, located inside most Weinerschnitzel locations, has had daily specials for almost a year now. Since you never know when that might end, we tend to drop in for a snack. The pink dipped flavor is cotton candy, and it is surpsisingly accurate. The part carmel part chocolate dip is excellent. Mary mentioned the Tastee Freez items in her recent Weinerschnizel post. Website Northgate Gonzalez Market added a small booth in the center of the 'Deli' section, making Tostilocos and Raspados to order. For $1.99, ice is shaved and topped with your choice of concentrated, fresh toppings (prune, strawberry, pineapple, coconut, apple, jamaica and mango). I chose jamaica and coconut- there were fresh coconut shavings and the jamaica was not too sweet. Another refreshing treat. Website

It's been fun trying some new and limited items. I hope you've had a chance to partake before Autumn choices and coolness sets in.

Midweek Meanderings: Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign – Tan Ky Mi Gia Closes and others…..

August 27, 2014 mmm-yoso yoso-silly

Tan Ky Mi Gia – Mira Mesa Closes:

On Monday, FOY "TFD" sent me a text telling me that Tan Ky Mi Gia had closed down. This came as a bit of a shock to me as the place always seemed to do a steady business. I drove down (up?) and took some photos….it was indeed closed, with eviction papers posted. Earlier today Sandy was kind enough to also post a comment on this post announcing the same thing. Too bad, I always preferred the place over Luong Hai Ky and have done many posts over the years. It was an old stand by……

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd #A
San Diego, CA 92126

Noble Chef Still Hasn't Reopened:

When the renovation started in July, there was a sign announcing August 1st as the grand reopening. I thought that was being a bit optimistic. I guess it was since that sign is long gone; the new signage is up, but the place still hasn't reopened.

It does look like any day now though….

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

Here's more signs……..

And of course, that chain-fast casual arms race going on near the corner of Genesee and Balboa.

Hope you're having a great week!

Midweek Meanderings: Little Piggy does Karaoke and Thanksgiving in August

August 13, 2014 mmm-yoso BBQ, Filipino Restaurants, Memorable Meals, yoso-silly

Little Piggy does Karaoke:

I've often mentioned what a great bunch of friends I have. We all get along and always have great time. These guys are up for anything; like the "Amazing Graze" and our Porcine Party. Sadly, I haven't been to help plan or attend many of the recent events, work has kept me busy over the last year or so. So when one of our gang said she wanted to do karaoke for her birthday, it was naturally a "yes, of course." But there was a catch, she also wanted a whole roast pig as well! Not a big deal, right? I mean, I see folks dragging swine into karaoke rooms all the time….yeah, right? Anyway, it was easy enough to get the assignments done; YummyYummy with her connections and persuasive manner would talk the place into letting us bring an entire hog into one of their rooms, I swing the swine, and the rest would be gravy, or is that sauce.

Anyway, after polling some of my acquaintances, and my "Filipino Mom's" in the office next door to us, one porker rendered its way to the top, Porky's Lechon. Now, I gotta say, based on my visits and meals at the place this was a major leap of faith. But I gotta say, this was a very moist fifty pounder.

In case you don't believe that we actually brought a whole pig into a karaoke room, here's "Xiang Jiao" doing the honors as the disco lights dance around it's roasted body…… To paraphrase the lyrics on the screen…."This pork has taken its toll on me……"

Thanks to JohnL for sacrificing his van to transport said swine…..I hope it doesn't still smell like pork heaven. Big thanks also to TFD and MrC for getting the Hen Xuc Banh Trang and baking the cake, and of course "YY" and Quanito for coordinating the room.

Thanksgiving in August:

Recently "XJ", "YY", and their family moved into new digs. they've been wanting to do sort of a house-warming type of thing. "XJ" had also gotten a Weber Smokey Mountain…she's really BBQ Grrrrl I guess, and wanted to put it into service. So I brought my WSM over and we did a little BBQ kinda thing for the gang.

Of course BBQ takes a while and needed our strength, so their mom was nice enough to make us a delicious breakfast.

We timed things pretty well and everything was ready by 2pm as we had planned…..tri-tip, salmon, ribs….

And a whole lot more…..charcuterie and cheese board, TFD's mom made a delicious pork and jackfruit salad, roasted vegetables, salad, and of course dessert.

Around the time we were setting up, someone said "this is like Thanksgiving, but better!" And so it came to pass, Thanksgiving in August. I think we'll make this a tradition. A pretty good idea, don't you think?

Nothing like the power of pork to bring people together!

Hope you're having a great week!

Saturday Stuffs: A Gift from a Friend, How does our garden grow, and Cooking at Catalina Offshore

August 2, 2014 mmm-yoso Cooking, yoso-silly

Glico Beef Curry Lee X 20:

A few weeks ago I received an email from FOY and fellow food blogger Dennis, whom you might know from his wonderful blog – A Radiused Corner. He told me he was sending me some nice and spicy curry he brought back from his recent trip. How thoughtful! A few days later a package arrived….it was the curry.

A couple of days later, it was cool enough for me to try and eat this. I simply heated in the typical way and served it over rice. Not having any pickled ginger, I garnished with some of our piclekd onions.

I loved the "nose", you could tell there was some heat involved. Overall, I liked the heat, it was enough to get the sweat going a bit, but not in an uncomfortable way….it did slowly build, but was nicely buffered by the creaminess of the curry. This was quite nice. I'm almost tempted to chop up some ghost peppers into some curry next time!

Thanks Dennis! This was so very thoughtful!

If you'd like to read Dennis's experience with the X30 – made with Moruga Scorpion Peppers, you can read Dennis's post here.

How does our garden grow:

So here's our garden update.

So, this is usually when the chilies start really doing well. But we've been most impressed with the okra. The plants look really fragile and delicate. We've got 6 plants and I don't think they're growing right in our raised bed, we're only getting about 4-5 okra ready to be picked at a time. But man, those fruits are quite robust!

Meanwhile, the chilies are starting to give off quite a bit of fruit. This year though, the ghost peppers aren't quite as burning hot as last year….they seem to be very fragrant…much more fruity than last year. We've been using them in stir-fries. Not sure why it's not as spicy. Could it be the padrons and shishitos close by? Is there some cross-pollination that's affecting the peppers? Or has the weather been too cool overall? Who knows.

Now, I know folks have been curious about these…..

The Moruga Scorion Peppers. These are pretty straight forward spicy, mildy fruity, with a burn that lasts about 15 minutes. I have a feeling that our scorpion peppers aren't quite as spicy as they should be either. Still, there is a burn.

And it is quite a bit more spicy than the Bhut Jolokia.

So we've been playing around with peppers….mostly using them in various stir fry dishes for the Missus. The Red Habaneros are not bad, a nice buzz, not sustained very long.

Recently, after two years of asking (nagging), the Missus got Her patio set. I gotta say, I'm really enjoying it as well. Here's my favorite past time on a typical evening.

We don't have the most beautiful backyard….but there's something serene about looking over our plants as the day ends and things start cooling down.

Cooking at Catalina Offshore:

So, I'm not sure when Tommy realized that I have a food blog. I'm pretty sure he knew this for a while, but it got really funny when a food blogger had mentioned "Kirk"….who Tommy knew as "yeah, he just comes in here and buys fish every week." But the one thing that gave Tommy some leverage was being called the "grandfather of food bloggers in San Diego". I'm flattered and all (Faye), but man, you just gave Tommy a response…."Hey Mister Grumpy, what's up"…… "Not much Grandpa, what's happening with you..he, he, he…." I love you Faye, but man, did you have to go and do that…….

Anyway, Tommy had been wondering for a while what the heck I was doing buying that salmon every week. There was always better salmon available, but I always went with the Scottish….. when I described to him that I was smoking salmon every week for the Missus, he thought it was quite an effort. When I told him it only really took about 25-35 minutes to do he was intrigued.

Which led me to bringing my now 9 year old Cameron Stove Top Smoker and smoking some salmon.

No, it isn't being filmed……..so you won't find this on Catalina's Youtube Channel.

I mean really….do you want to watch smoke wafting up from a stovetop smoker for 30 minutes?

The one really interesting thing was that Tommy told me when I arrived that Sam the Cooking Guy was doing a demo at 10. No big deal since it was 8 am and I could get this done in like 40 minutes total….Tommy was not a believer.

He is now……. I put out some baquette slices, dill mustard, dill creme fraiche. Spoke to a couple of customers and got out of Dodge. I'd say Tommy is a believer….he now has his own Cameron Stovetop smoker. Sorry to say I didn't take a photo of the end product, maybe next time I will… Tommy told me that we'd (I'd) be doing this again…. Not sure when. We'll see….. Cooking with good ingredients isn't very difficult.

Thanks Tommy….and yes, even you too Faye….. I think.

Midweek Meanderings: Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, How does our garden grow update, and our new caffeine rush

July 2, 2014 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, yoso-silly

Yep, it's really Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas:

Need proof?

A couple of years ago, author Natasha Yim contacted me regarding a certain recipe I had on the blog. Apparently it turned out rather well for her and she wanted to use an adapted version in a children's book she was writing. I was quite humbled, flattered in fact. A few later, her editor Alyssa Mito Pusey….who actually is an ex-pat Kama'aina as well contacted me to get the paperwork done. And so it came to pass…..

I was quite surprised to receive an rather large envelope in the mail last week. In it was a signed copy of Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, which is quite a cute book, a really nice story. And at the back of the book is an adaptation of one of my recipes…and this:

You know, our little blog is a labor of love…and of well, obsession. We aren't looking for a revenue stream, advertisers, or to market ourselves. So this was such a nice touch, more than I could ever have asked for. Good luck with the book Natasha!

And if you want to get your own copy of Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, you can get it here.

How does our garden grow – an update:

So here's an update. The Missus is really pleased with how our okra is coming along….large and quite sweet.

We've been able to roast, grill, or pan fry Padrons and Shishitos a couple of times a week…..

The serranos are fruiting quite prolifically…the Missus prefers to wait until they get red, so we're picking a mixed bunch.

I'm not sure what to think about the huge mutant scallions we got growing…..I've three patches of scallions. This one was bought during one of those 10 bunches for 99 cent things last year…..I just stuck them in a left over window box and they are going nuts!

The ghost peppers seems a bit small so far this year. A few cherry sized peppers have already ripened.

The Missus actually likes the small ripened peppers because they are just the right size for "stir frying without dying….."

Meanwhile, the Scorpion Peppers are getting ominously large…….

The Red Habaneros are finally starting to fruit….can't wait for these. In addition to this plant, I have smaller ones that will probably get going later in the season.

We're still waiting for the cucumbers to kick in. Last year we were getting 3-4 a week.

We're having so much fun with pepper that we added a few more last week……

This might end up being one spicy summer!

And for our caffeine fix:

It seemed that every apartment, B&B, and room we stayed at in Belgium had a Nespresso machine. I'd really started enjoying getting a shot of espresso on the go when in Portugal last year. We had started really getting used to having one of these….so we decided to get one of the smaller models…using points and discounts, we ended up paying less than half price for it.

In talking to folks about this….I never knew how much some people are into Nespresso…..talking to me about limited editions …accessories……sheeesh! I just want a nice cup of espresso! Though I am finding I enjoy the Dulsao do Brasil…….uh-oh!