Flogging

These are our friends, Jamie & Meghan Gilroy.
Jamie's email response to our last blog ("Winter Tastes Good") ...

(This from Jamie:)
Ok let me see if I got this right cause it’s important. You NoCal folks clearly like to eat. Then eat some more. Then go to a country fair all about eating. Then eat some of what you bought at the fair. Then go to a movie about eating. Then squeeze in some WooWoo ceremony between feeds. Then of course go find a good place to eat (burning mucho calories doing WooWoo Cali Style no doubt). Whoa now!!! I hear the Northern Toltec Clan are representing Large! I am simply subsisting off of your food blogs BTW. Love you and your hefty clan brothers and sisters (BTW part 2: I hear Alan Hardman weighs in at 350lbs these days!) So Merry Merry and Happy Happy and keep your food blogs (heretofore now known as FLOGS!) coming! xoxoxo, J

Well, he got it right, didn't he!?

Jamie is a wonderful blog writer himself and is a meticulous House Wright in Marblehead Massachusettes, check out his blog at:
http://jamiegilroy.blogspot.com/
Check out his House Wright business at:
http://www.jamesgilroyhousewright.com/about-us/

Happy Holidays!!!

Wishing You All a Bright & Bountiful New Year!
Love Always,
Ted & Peggy

Winter Tastes Good!

Bon appétit mes amis!
We recently watched "Julie and Julia" for the second time and just could not resist Bouef Bourguignon. The next day we went to a local country butcher, got good lean stewing beef and a chunk of bacon complete with rind, and got ready. The next day I lept out of bed (really ... lept ...), put on my pearls Julia-style, and started cookin', still in my ’jamas an' all.


Bouef Bourguignon is not hard to make, but it is veerrrry time-consuming — about 5 hours between preparation and cooking, and worth every second. The finished dish is deep rich brown, with meat so tender it falls off your fork, melts in your mouth and makes your eyes roll back into your head. Sliced sweet carrots, small brown-braised onions, mushrooms sautéd in butter, nearly a whole bottle of red wine, herbs, and bacon all blend together via slow-cooking to create the most peak culinary experience ever.

Okay. Okay!
As if that bit o' beefy heaven wasn't enough ...
Get ready, because crab season is also upon us.
The markets are full of these crawly guys at really incredible prices.
We've seen them as low as $2.50-$2.99 a pound, and at those prices, well, who can resist? Jo and Ray couldn't (our sister and brother-in-law), and invited us to come over for a down-and-dirty crab fest. And down-and-dirty we got, up to our elbows in red sauce and sweet crabmeat. (Can you hear us sucking and slurping?)


Jeeeeeeeez! We cannot believe the bounty of Winter!


And what better way to celebrate the official onset of Winter than through beautiful ceremony with our friend Frank. We've blogged about Frank before, but for anyone who may not be familiar, Frank is our resident shaman extraordinaire. Every single equinox and solstice, come rain, shine, sleet, sn ... (well maybe not snow, but only because it doesn't snow much at the beach) Frank is out at a sacred spot at the Western most point of the Bodega Headlands, to bring in the change of seasons with beautiful communion and ceremony ... even if it's 3 am.

Well lucky for us, the Winter Solstice fell at a decent hour this year, 9:47 am last Monday morning. Oh yeh, it did rain a bit, and it was cold and grey, and the sea was churning, and the gulls and pelicans were calling and flying in circles above our heads, and honestly it was so enlivening, who cares about the cold? There was beautiful drumming, conch calling, and Frank’s lovely way of creating sacred space and an experience that connected us to something greater than ourselves. Mama Pacha was smiling for sure that morning!



After the ceremony, we headed back, but not without a stop at Wild Flour Bakery in Freestone. Had to get some special bread for Christmas dinner this week. To the Wild Flour folks, bread-making is a true art form, check 'em out at: http://www.wildflourbread.com/


Okay, next stop ... Christmas dinner. It's at our house this year ... stay tuned for the next adventure. Till then (say in high-pitched melodic voice) Bon appetit!

Into The Great Mystery

This was my mom, Laverne Abby Livingston in about 1943-4.
Pretty, don't you think?

Mom passed into The Great Mystery last month and my first impression when I heard the news was an image of her at about this age, laughing and enjoying herself with her own mother who passed on several years earlier. I was relieved for Mom because, as pretty as she was on the outside, she was very troubled on the inside for most of her life. My brother said that he and my dad arrived at the hospice just minutes after she died. He said he'd never seen her looking so peaceful.

Here it is a month later, and most of the time right now I don't really "get" that Mom's gone. I think of her still up in Oregon, sitting at the kitchen table smoking cigarettes. Then I look at photos of her and remember and sigh. She made it through. There were many times when we didn't think she would. But she did. She made it through a whole lifetime, and now she's graduated into somewhere, something else. And my belief is ... wherever she is ... she's finally home.



Above: Mom married my dad, Les Silver, in 1945. She had three kids between 1947-1952.


Above: About 1965
Top row: My brother Larry, Grandpa Livingston, my dad Les.
Bottom row: My sister Joanne, my grandma Nana More, my mom Laverne, and me.

Above: About 1992 I think.
Standing row: Samantha with baby Talo (he's nearly 18 now!), Ray, Joanne, Bonni, Leslie, Tifa, me, Puna, and Mom (by then, she had changed her name from Laverne to Abby Blair.)
Seated row: Larry, Ted, Dad.


Mom's ashes are at my Dad's house in Oregon. She's up on the fireplace mantle with the ashes of her father Adolph and her dog Pepper. I like that she's home, remaining a part of the family instead of buried in the ground or in the wall of a mausoleum somewhere. I think my Dad likes having her home too. He's got a photo of the two of them, all dressed up, taped to the front of her box, and is comforted to know that when he goes (he's 88 and says he's going to live another 5 years and I believe him), we'll be combining their ashes according to their wishes, and sprinkling them around the lakes by their house. I'm hoping Dad will get some good fishing time in before then.

So Mom lives on in his heart and in the hearts and memories of those who loved her. And she's finally, thankfully at peace.
Vaya con Dios Mamacita ...

Guava time!

Last year while still living in L.A., our niece Samantha told us about a house for rent in Santa Rosa, right across the street from her and her husband Rudy. Their daughter Nayla was about to be born and we decided we wanted to be closer to family, and needed a change, so we came up in October to look at the house, and by December 1st we'd made the big move.

One of the first things I remember after Samantha scoped out the house for us, was her telling us that we had some wonderful fig trees in the back yard. They looked strange for figs and we found out later that they were actually Pineapple Guavas, or Fejoas as they're sometimes called. We made our move a bit too late to enjoy last year's harvest, but this year was a different story.

Gathering up armfuls of those pretty green fruit, Ted went to work making Guava Jam. Oooooooooh ... sweet, slightly tart, tropical ... luscious. And as a tribute to Portos, our favorite Cuban bakery in Burbank, Ted baked up some Pastelitos — light flakey pastries (like little pies) filled with Guava jam and cream cheese, and tasting like "Ay Carumba!" in your mouth.

http://www.portosbakery.com/home.htm

Sweeeeeeeeeet!

Oyster Sunday

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things ... "

One soft grey Sunday in early October, Ted and I set out for a very particular adventure — The Oyster Beds at Tamales Bay.

Doing a little research ahead of time, we'd heard about Hog Island Oyster Farm, perhaps the most famous oyster farm in the Bay area. I emailed the Farm to find out when their oysters were best, and got this reply:

"Each species of oysters has it's normal cycle and is best at certain times of the year. We grow several different species so that we always have great tasting oysters. Right now, the Hog Island Sweetwater oysters are reacting to the water turning colder and are absolutely delicious. I had some yesterday and can say from personal experience that they are really excellent. Also, the kumamotos are at their buttery best.
In general, Pacific oysters are best when the water is cold (from now through next June) and our Atlantic oysters are best in the summer (our water is colder in the summer than the Atlantic ocean is so they think it's their winter.)"
Linda, Hog Island Oyster Farm Shuckmeister, http://hogislandoysters.com/

Somehow, tricking those Atlantic oysters into believing it's winter in the summertime, is right out of Lewis Carroll's poem — humorous yet deceptive — Walrus and Carpenter are smiling (and probably drooling too).

We set out early and when we arrived at the Farm, it wasn't open yet. But not to be disappointed (we'll go there another time) our growling tummys took us to the next best spot — grilled oysters at The Marshall Store. http://www.themarshallstore.com/index.html

The Marshall Store is a small local store selling everything from lip balm and shucking tools to grilled oysters on the half shell. You place your oyster order at the counter, a mess of fresh oysters are scooped up, halved, trimmed, then scattered out onto a grill. Hot steam rises filling the room all cozy-like.

After grilling, the oysters are gathered on a plate, filled with garlicy cocktail sauce and served with soft rolls to mop up the juices.

We took our Oyster Fest outside to the picnic tables overlooking the bay.

So the obvious question is:
What's warm on the inside and cold on the outside?
Answer:
Ted and Peg slurping up hot grilled oysters on a crisp Fall morning at Tomales Bay.

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one."

Sonoma County Harvest Fair

Autumn has come to Wine Country. Most of the grapes are harvested and the vineyards are turning vermilion and gold. Wine lovers from everywhere come to experience "The Crush" season, enjoying wine and fabulous food. And there's no better place to get a taste of it all than at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.


The Sonoma Harvest Fair is a giant wine cotillion where over 150 winemakers present their latest vintages for tasting. http://www.harvestfair.org/index.php


Ted brought a newspaper clipping reviewing several wines. Here he is enjoying one of many selections on his "dance card."



Baby, baby, oh baby. A little wine, a little nosh, everyone was in a relaxed, congenial mood.


Bauchus is dancing in heaven as you can see ... wine leaf headdresses and toga girls liven up an already intoxicated crowd.


As luck would have it, we ran into friends, Suzanne & Tom enjoying the fruit of the vine.



Outside of the wine pavilion, the four-leggeds wait for their Goat Chic runway walk in the Harvest Fair beauty pageant. Goats and sheep and rabbits of all descriptions, ready for their close-ups Mr. DeMille!


Hmmmmmmmmm. Maybe the wrong side of a close-up!

More food porn...

Farmers Market Roma tomatoes roasted with garlic in olive oil, and sprinkled with rosemary from our garden.

Fresh eggs from the corner Farmstand ... just plucked outta da hen's butt - oooooooo - yummy!(?)

"Made in Spain" night at our house. Inspired by the PBS series "Made In Spain." (Okay so enchiladas aren't Spanish, but HISpanic anyway, and melty, cheesy good!) Check out our current favorite Spanish chef, José Andres. http://www.josemadeinspain.com/bio.htm

Bouchon Bakery. The highest, most delicious, bakery art form. http://www.bouchonbakery.com/

They invited us in the back for an impromptu tour of the bakery.





Eye-rollingly good. After a bite of this, Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally" would NOT have been fakin' it!

Our Gypsy Girls and Katmandu

Shanna and Amanda. Our neices ... Ted's brother J.D.'s girls ... can hardly be called girls any longer. These bright young women simply mesmerize me. Shanna (raven haired one) is a legal secretary by day, Dreamtime Circus fire-twirler by night. And Amanda (striped dress) just got back from the island of Ibiza to visit a German friend and his family who are renovating a centuries old villa there. We just love these "girls". They have a very close sisterly bond that makes you want to "feeel da luvvv" even if you don't have a sister.

So all the Raess's came together (including Ted's younger brother, Jeff and the girls' mom, Debbi) to belatedly celebrate Ted's mom's birthday and to see J.D.'s house that was recently renovated from a fire that damaged about a third of it last Christmas time. An older home, the house feels fresh and new and it was enjoyable to all be together ... a rare occurrence these days since everyone's lives take them in every direction ...

And speaking of every direction, how 'bout Katmandu? You guessed it, The Katmandu is a festival here in wine country. We're just amazed by the abundance of fairs they have up here and each one is unique and interesting in it's own way.

A cacophony of spicy color, sitar music, food (mmmmmm Sag Paneer!) and Tibetan/Nepalese people (there's quite a community up here), I can't say this was like being in Katmandu because I've never been there, but it certainly had a delicious exotic feel that wasn't quite like any fair we'd seen so far.


Photo below - fabulous Himalayan food served out of deep copper kettles, from the Yeti restaurant in Glen Ellen. We ate at the Yeti once with J.D. and since he'd been to India years ago, we believed him when he said that their food was the real deal.



Above: Cute girls finding pretty bargains.


Can you find "Waldo" (Peggy) in the photo below?


The Katmandu Festival was held a few blocks off the City of Sonoma's main square. In the square itself, a full-on Mexican festival was bursting with Marachi bands, Mexican food and families eating, dancing and having fun.


From Katmandu to Mexico in just a few minutes ... it sho' 'nuff ain't dull around here!