Work has just been a frenzy of activity over the last several months and it’s been forever since I’ve had a full weekend of relaxation. But with an entire half Sunday to myself I wisely went over to Shodashi’s to pack it full of some of my favorite things:

1 Crazy Friend (ie Shodashi) who pampers me because she’s a goddess (of Evil perhaps, but a goddess nonetheless)

Homemade Lemon Squares made by said goddess. She claims they were not quite perfect yet they had completely vanished when i returned for another just 2 days later.

Chocolate. Given to me by an obviously extraordinarily enlightened Finnish friend. Fazer Red (Caramel Milk Chocolate) and Blue (Milk Choc) are apparently *the* Finnish brand of chocolates. They are waxier than milk chocolates I’m used to but I am not one to look a chocolate horse in the mouth. And is variety not the spice of life (if not chocolate)?

Freshly Shucked Oysters. A brand new addition to my (extensive) list of Favorite Things. But now that they’re on it, I can’t get enough. So let’s subcategorize them under Obsessions. When I started to whine about needing an oyster fix, the goddess friend thought for a moment, looked at her watch and said, “We have 15 minutes before closing time”, plunked me into her car and whisked me over to the Los Gatos Farmers Market where I ate 5 of these luscious beauties.

Ok, yes. 3.5 months in Blog land qualifies as forever and a day away from my post here. But I’ve been super busy with work and actually still am. But I have SO MUCH WORK TO DO it just seemed like the perfect time to completely procrastinate and write a short blog entry.

So what have I been up to?

I’ve taken 2 trips to London in the intervening months, eaten out several times with with friends, family &/or work collegues & all in all continued to make a nuisance of myself everywhere, always taking photos prior to meals, photographing interesting looking food shops, all for the benefit of you, my voracious and demanding reader(s).

So you see I have not forgotten about this blog and will (eventually) get my photos and thoughts posted. As a matter of fact I believe I’ve perfected the annoying photographer act to a tee, though the disciplined writer is still a work in progress.

Now aren’t these good natured chaps handsome? Even more scrumptious was the fresh seafood in the cases behind them. This is Randall & Aubin, a seafood restaurant in London’s Soho theatre district. I didn’t have a chance to eat here, but I promised the gents I’d return for a platter of briny fresh oysters on my next trip over.

Details…………………
Randall & Aubin
329-331 Fulham Road
London SW10
Tel: 020 7823 3515

Many apologies for the long absence. Work has just been crazy these past couple months.

And I’ve felt so guilty about letting you down. I don’t want to disappoint my devoted audience of one( or maybe two) readers.

But instead of guilt-tripping, I’ve decided I should strive to blog more often even if it’s only a picture or a couple of sentences. Just so you know I’m still thinking about you. Does that work for you, Audience?

…

So for today, know that I’ve been enjoying fresh kumquats over the last month.

It’s like eating a confused mini orange. When you pop the thing in your mouth you’ll find the peel sweet and inner pulp sour. Watch out for the seeds though, I can’t believe how many these dinky things can hold!

The weather’s been getting progressively warmer so last night we decided to do a little grilling on our tiny hibachi-sized Weber.

I was only planning to do a simple marinade for the large shrimp we had purchased but The Husband had other plans. With a gleam in his eye, he proceeded to ransack the kitchen in order to concoct Le Grand Marinade.

This included at least:
melted butter, onion powder, paprika, chile flakes, red chile oil, stone ground mustard, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, peanut & sesame oil, lemon juice and chicken bouillon.

I started getting panicky around ingredient 50, but he poo-poo-ed my concerns and kept adjusting and tasting while I worriedly sliced zucchini and skewered mushrooms.

But when we sat down to eat, I had to admit the shrimp was not bad. As a matter of fact they were delicious. By the end of the meal I was licking and sucking the empty shrimp shells trying to get at the tangy, spicy, totally addictive marinade.

Some of the mushrooms were brushed with the marinade too. Oh, they were so good!

Like most of his wild kaleidoscopic mixing sprees, it’s probably a once in a lifetime dish. After all, the ingredients and proportions would be hard enough to recreate but how do you capture the flavor of wild abandon, whimsy and inspiration?

My sister has never been a big fan of cheese. She’d eat those wrapped cubes of “cow” cheese but she otherwise hated the stuff.

So growing up, as the protective big sister I was (and still am), I made sure to eat her slice of cheesecake whenever our mom had the audacity to make and actually serve her a some.

After years of watching me eat my double helping, my sister started becoming suspicious.

“Maybe I should try it, it might be good.”
“It’s called CHEESEcake because there’s CHEESE in it. Do you like CHEESE now??”

“No… But this might be different.”
“Well ok, taste this. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Then I’d carefully scoop a small bit of the sour cream topping onto the fork and hand it to her. She’d nibble it gingerly. “Eew!”

“See, I’m just trying to help you out here. So shall I finish the rest of that slice for you? Mmhmm. Thought so.”

One benefit to living with someone and sharing a bedroom is your partner can
catch the nighttime gems you utter while half asleep and still dreaming. And then remind you the next morning so you don’t forget the important lessons of life that only come with REM sleep.

My husband said he walked into the bedroom late last night and I exclaimed,
“Goddamn crustaceans.”

To which he replied supportively, “Jerks.”

I only remembered this exchange when he told me in the morning.

You know what? I think those lobsters were totally trying to rip me off last night.

Ugg, I feel like I’m starting to come down with something. D is just getting over a flu-like thingy, all congestion, coughing, upset stomach & with a touch of fever. I hope I’m not coming down with the same thing as I can ill- (ha, a pun!) afford the time off from work what with all the stuff I need to get done plus an impending business trip next week.

Hopefully, I just overdid it in the sun today. After several drizzly, rainy, gray days, stuck in a cubicle at work, craving sunshine, I spent all day outdoors making the most of the glorious weather and bright blue sky.

But my throat’s getting sore and I’m getting that odd, prickly sensation that often heralds a full fledged cold.

So what do you eat to stave off a cold? I’m not particularly hungry but could really use some ideas. I figure a good hot meal, hot bath and restful night’s sleep should set everything to rights. Here’s what what sounds good though I’m not up for serious cooking tonight:

A spicy Thai Tom Yum Goong sounds really good.

Warm & soothing Indian Dal on rice would be nice too.

I’m always craving fresh fruit. And I’m sure the extra vitamin C would help too.

Any other ideas? I’m at a loss.

We’re spending a quiet Valentine’s evening at home with the cats, no reservations made, no special menu planned, just a simple, hot, tasty home-cooked meal of sauteed zucchini, tofu and beef over rice.

When I was younger, I used to believe that it was important for the man I was in love with to make a concerted effort on this *one* day of the year (forgetting for the moment that he should also make that special effort on my birthday, our anniversary, Xmas, etc etc) to show how much he loved me. After all, I spend the rest of the year doing all kinds of little things for him to show how much I cared. For example, I was busy rearranging the contents of his kitchen cabinets and drawers, potentially much of his furniture as well (even though I had a home of my own), putting out fresh flowers, adding plants, cooking delicious meals, even (gasp) doing his laundry because it was an outward expression of how much I cared.

“I care so much about you that I must manipulate your physical surroundings to my taste. I also hate how you have a pile of laundry taller than me in your closet and cringe to see you wash a single set of clothes every day (shirt, pants, underwear, socks). Here, this is how you do a load of jeans.”

In discussions with girlfriends, I believe I am not alone in my experience. Perhaps, you recognize some of these traits and tendencies as well?

Through the years, the boyfriends, and now the husband, I’ve learned to keep my expectations about Valentine’s Day in check. In the handful of years we’ve been married, hubby and I are rarely on the ball enough to make reservations on time so we often make do with something more spontaneous or casual.

Last year we took a road trip to Mendocino and, seeing a sign for the Charles Schultz museum, turned off in Santa Rosa on a whim. We caught the “Little Red Haired Girl” exhibit when all little red haired girls had free admission. My hair is black and had blue streaks at the time.

But the museum was marvelous. We rediscovered why we had fallen in love with Peanuts in the first place. We weren’t just crazy kids way back when, the strips really were better eons ago.

That night we stayed in Ukiah where we stumbled upon the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas monastery just as twilight was decending when we were looking for something (anything) to do. It’s a magical place where peacocks roam the ground, settle on rooftops and scream from high atop the trees, and where a colony of squeeky bats lives in the rafters of the main building.

This year we aren’t going anywhere and haven’t made any plans for the evening. But during the day at work I found myself anticipating the time I could go home just to be with my husband.

Now he’s now cooking me dinner and I feel relaxed, blessed and loved. The bouquet of flowers on the dining room table looks lovely and I’m looking forward to the meal and spending time a quiet evening with the ones I love.

Here’s hoping that your Valentine’s is just as memorable.

PS. Incidentally, all is not lost on the laundry front. My husband is actually able to do a full load of laundry now. Alas, the new challenge is in getting him to move that load into the drier before it starts to crust over.

I was never much of a tea drinker. As a matter of fact I was never much of a hot-anything drinker. But I’ve always liked the thought of drinking tea, the assorted baggies and leaves, the little pots to be filled with piping hot water, little cups to be drunk out of.

Then there’s the ritual of tea which is also very soothing. Put some fresh, cold water in the kettle and set it on the stove to boil. Meanwhile, contemplate the various teas and decide which to use. Baggie, ball or loose leaf? Persian black, Japanese barley, Orange, Gunpowder, Chinese Jasmine? I decide on jasmine loose in a little teapot from Mitsuwa with a filter at its spout to catch the leaves. It comes with two small blue matching cups.

I set out a plate with napkin and set the little teapot on it. The napkin is good for soaking up the dribbles which inevitably run off the spout to wet the bottom of the pot.

The kettle has a tendency to burble and clatter instead of giving off the appropriate whistle. So I turn off the gas and pour a bit of hot water into the teapot, swirl it about to warm the porcelain, then slowly pour the water out of the spout into the sink. I set the teapot on its napkin and open the tin of jasmine. 2 heaping teaspoons of leaves go into the pot, then the rush of just boiled water to the brim and with a clink the top is replaced and the tea left to steep for 5 minutes.

I stare out the window and note the overly long Sombreuil rose tendril that needs to be tied down before it gets too windy. The tea leaves unfurl and infuse the water with their flavor and aroma.

I think the tea is ready and carry out the plate and 2 small cups to the table. We pour out our jasmine tea, then inhale the fragrant steam and warm our hands against the cups.

Deeply immersed in a work document, I blindly reached for my peach at the corner of my desk. Raising it to my lips, I’m overwhelmed by its fragrance and pause before my first bite.

This causes my mind to reset itself, awaken from the depths of the workday and notice my surroundings for the first time in awhile.

The syncopated keyboard taps punctuate the hum of the air conditioning while quiet phone conversations drift in and out from around the large room. The bright sunlight seeps through the partially closed blinds but dissolves into the harsh florescent office lights before it can reach me. My eyes feel tired and I stretch my body to ease the tension of my shoulders and spine.

Then I raise the peach to my face and again drink in the sweet, floral, milky, intoxicating aroma and feel its fuzzy, slightly prickly body against my nose and lips. It radiates a deep coolness between my palms and its mass feels surprisingly dense. I have with me, a handful of summer, here on the 3rd floor of Bldg A, cubicle 3612.