A Hamtastic Day!

Today was a good day. No, it didn't involve Battlestar Galactica, but it did involve ham. Glorious ham. Mr X and I were out and about for the day and we inevitably wound up at Bristol Farms - a delightful place in which to wander and sample expensive morsels of food. While we were gazing longingly behind the cured meat counter, Mr X spotted some rare and incredibly expensive Jamon Iberico. It was $100 per pound. Out of curiosity he boldly asked the woman behind the counter if they get many requests for this expensive Spanish ham. She said not a lot of people ever get it except one day when it was 40% off (still a hefty $60 per pound). Today, sadly, was not that day. But to our surprise and delight, the Meat Lady asked us if we'd like to try some. Of course we would! She presented us with four mouth-watering slices to sample. (Probably about $10 worth, I imagine.) It was absolutely hands-down the most delicious ham I have ever eaten. I'm going to find out when it goes on sale again and then I'll run down to Bristol Farms and order four slices for $5. Or maybe I'll just have Mr X bat his lashes at the Meat Lady again so we can get some more free samples.

The Status of my Christmas Shopping

I'm proud to report that after this past weekend, Mr X and I are completely finished with our Christmas shopping. I'm thrilled as this means that the only thing left for me to conquer from my holiday to-do list (besides all of the frivolous baking of course) is mailing off all of my neatly wrapped gifts for people. Oh yes, I've already wrapped them all in festive paper and tucked them into their boxes for shipping.

Now watch, I'll end up getting everybody their gifts late this year due to a false sense of "being ahead of the game."

If you have time to kill or you are as fascinated with food pictures as I am, go here and enjoy. Or more appropriately - be prepared to be appalled.

Citrus season is looming

The season of citrus is nearly upon us and I'm pleased to report that I've got my first 'take' behind me now. My fruit bowl is filled with nearly 3 dozen limes in this photo. I made a key lime pie this past weekend. This coming weekend I'm going to make pomegranate-lime juice to quench our thirst and I'm going to cut the peel into strips and 'candy' them. Well that's the tentative plan, at least.

Gift Idea

Mr X took this picture while gallivanting about in Japan. I just never got around to posting it for your viewing pleasure. In honor of the upcoming season of gifting I thought I'd post this gift-worthy watermelon. I would be pretty ecstatic to receive this, but I don't believe one can purchase them here in the US. They're spendy little things too - Mr X reports this one was around $60.

Just for Briana: Sulu Kofte

Because I haven't been blogging lately I received a phone call from my lovely friend Briana, demanding to know if I was dead or not. (Thank you so much for your phone call and for keeping in touch, Briana!)

I'm not.

I just haven't felt like I had anything worthwhile to write about. I haven't been going to any exotic places other than Buckeye, Arizona. I've just pretty much been working a lot, working out when I can, baking and surfing the Internet for travel destinations in an attempt to live vicariously through other people's fabulous experiences. Though yesterday I attended a formal cooking class that turned out to be very blog-able. More on that later though...

Meanwhile, Briana also wanted a recipe from me, so here it is:

Sulu Kofte (Turkish meatballs in tomato sauce)

Kofte ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or ground lamb
1/4 cup short grain rice, washed & drained
1 egg
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup flour

1 onion, grated
4-5 Tbsp crushed tomatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups water
salt & pepper (to taste)
chopped parsley (optional)

Place the flour on a large plate. Knead the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Break off small pieces and roll them into a small ball shape. Roll them in the flour.

Meanwhile saute the onion with the olive oil and butter for a few minutes in a medium sized pot - until they are soft and tender. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.

Gently drop the floured Kofte into the pot and stir slowly. Cook for about 20 minutes on just below medium heat. Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top and then serve.

--------------------

Acibadem Kurabiyesi (Turkish Almond Cookies)

1 cup ground almond (available in specialty stores)
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar
3 egg whites, lightly whisked
Garnish: slivered almonds or almond halves

Place all ingredients except the garnish in a medium sized pot. Stir constantly at just under medium heat. Do not let the mixture boil. To ensure that the temperature is right, dip your pinkie in the mixture - it should be warm but shouldn't burn.

Pour the contents of the pot into a heat proof dish. Let it cool down. Oil 8 paper baking cups. Once the mixture has cooled down a bit, spoon it equally into the oiled baking cups. Place the almonds on top and put the cups on an oven tray.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Then turn down the heat to 240 F and put the tray in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes without opening the oven door. If you open the door, the cookies will droop. Let the cookies cool before serving.

Kings in other countries

Several weeks ago I headed to the back of the building in which I work seeking out a few of my IT coworkers to ask them a question about something or other. There is room in the back where that has become their workspace/offices. It was a once cavernous stockroom that is now cramped and overflowing with cords, adapters, monitors, CPUs and all sorts of other technical IT necessities. Often the actual IT personnel can’t be found in this office because they’re out bustling about fixing things and causing trouble (the latter part is just my opinion). But on this particular day I got lucky and there they were…several of them…sitting around chatting and enjoying Moon Pies. I have never, to my knowledge, come across a Moon Pie before so I had a rather quizzical expression on my face when I saw the treats. But my coworkers apparently have guilty consciences and they somehow all decided that my facial expression conveyed disappointment in their snacking choices.

One of them desperately blurted out, “You know, we would be KINGS in other countries!”

To which I replied, “What on earth are you talking about?”

Coworker: “In some other countries they LOVE fat people because portliness is a sign of their power and wealth.”

Me: “Well it’s unfortunately then that you live in THIS country in THIS century then, huh?”

Coworker: *sigh* “Yeah, it is.”

After they discovered that I had never experienced the (apparently) delectable joy of the Moon Pie it was all I could do to get out of there before they had the chance to jam one down my gullet. And I never did get around to asking them my question.

In case of emergency

In Mr X's hotel these signs are posted up on the balconies between rooms. Apparently in Japan, if there's an emergency and you need to escape quickly, you really ARE supposed to karate chop your way to safety.

To Market, To Market

Here are some random shots from Mr X's ventures out and about. The first is from the local market. The second is a photo of the local beach. Mr X reports that it's always this crowded.

Ready for some home cookin'

As most of you know, I love pictures of food. So before Mr X left I instructed him to be sure to take lots of food pictures for me. He's done a great job with it too. This first picture is one of his more recent meals. He wasn't pleased at all when they placed this feast before him:



The next picture is another memorable meal. I've included an excerpt from Mr X's email describing it:

"I ate lunch at the Latin Oasis. They have tacos on the menu and their special is taco rice. You would think it's a taco with rice on the side. Nope - a bed of lettuce, a pile of rice, little bit of meat, a couple of beans and some crushed chips."

I think the crushed chip looks like a Dorito rather than a regular corn chip.

The next picture is from a shopping excursion. Here's what Mr X had to say about that:


"I stopped by the store in the neighborhood. The glasses in my room are too small. I wanted a big giant cup I could fill with ice and water but they only sell tiny little glasses for the tiny little people. So I bought a couple of beverages. CC Lemon Zero. It's 'the new zero calorie refreshment with a plentiful of vitamin c'. That's what it says on the bottle. It tastes like lemonade that never got stirred up."

Then I challenged Mr X to quit with the disappointing restaurants and go to the store and find himself something a little more palatable. This is what he came back with:

Teriyaki Chicken with plain white rice. (Slightly boring, right? But probably decent to Mr X.) And below we have "Apple Pie" from a french bakery. He said it was more custard-y and didn't taste quite right.

Presenting Owen Tucker

This is a severely belated (my fault) photo of my newest nephew, a Mr Owen. He was born back at the end of June. He's having a nice sit with his big brother, Jack.

My Handiwork!

Check this sweet picture out:





That's the hat I painstakingly made and gave to my SIL for the arrival of her new son. It didn't fit at the time but it sort of does now. Look at it - it doesn't even cover the poor tyke's ears. Good thing it's August and he doesn't need to be bundled up. By the time his little noggin' needs to be kept warm the hat will probably fit him like a yarmulke. Oh well, I tried. Thanks so much for sending me this adorable picture, Nicole. It made me smile.

Wicked

This past weekend a girlfriend of mine took me for a night out to see the play Wicked. I had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, H, for a delightful evening out. My verdict? The play is better than the book, hands down. (But I still like Phantom more.) You can go here if you want to see pictures.

Snorkeling

Recently Mr X decided to go on a snorkeling adventure in Japan. I'm not sure exactly where he went, but the views were beautiful and he had a really nice time. This was the day before the Typhoon hit, actually. He said he saw all sorts of sea creatures - lots of different fish, lobster and plenty of creepy looking eels. The water was cold but not cold enough that Mr X needed a wetsuit, but he was pretty chilled after swimming around for two hours. But the Japanese think of everything so they had these old boats that had been converted into hot baths for all of the shivering bodies to enjoy. Mr X climbed into the boat to warm up with everybody else. He said it was really nice until he warmed up enough to think properly. Then he came to the conclusion that sitting in a big giant boat/tub full of strangers was kind of gross. So he got out.

On the way to and from the snorkeling spot Mr X captured breathtaking views of Mt Fuji:

Cheese Glorious Cheese!

One day, way back in June Mrs Nye called me and asked if Mr X and I'd like to come over for a Cheese Party the next weekend. I immediately thrust my microwaved mug of low-fat part-skim Mozzarella aside and enthusiastically said "Yes!" (Okay, maybe I didn't actually have a steaming mug of cheese in my hand when she called, but the chances are good that her call interrupted me while daydreaming about cheese.)

Each couple was to bring two different types of cheese of their choice, preferably of the stinky variety, along with some sort of salami-type meat. Mrs Nye baked some incredibly delicious European style bread and I brought some fruit so we wouldn't get rickets. (Mrs Nye also improvised with some tasty olives because she's just good like that.) The result is what you see below and I believe it to have been one of my favorite meals of the year so far. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you since my idea of a tasty indulgence is a a mug of melted cheese with some sort of chocolate chaser.

My point to this post? Go have a Cheese Party...you won't regret it, trust me.

Another one...

Mr X was in yet another earthquake yesterday. This time it was a 6.5 magnitude quake. Still large enough to cause damage and kill people - at least that's what I heard on the news this morning on my way into work.

Check it out

Go check out this picture and then come back here and tell me what you think of it. I think it's pretty gross. Why would a grown woman who should know better take it that far? I wonder what her kids think when they look at her.

Not calm or collected

When Mr X first got to Japan, I saw news articles about the unusually high amount of rain in that area which was resulting in massive and deadly mudslides. I wasn’t happy to hear this. Then I relaxed some as the days and weeks progressed. Then Mr X called me this weekend to report that he had just been through the largest earthquake of his life. It was a magnitude 7.1. That’s pretty big. I don’t think I’ve ever experience any that were over 5.0 here and those were scary enough. I guess the last earthquake that Japan had was a 7.2 and it resulted in a lot of deaths and destruction. Mr X assured me that he was safe and sound, though he definitely felt the quake since he’s on the 13th floor of a hotel. He said the whole building was swaying back and forth and that it lasted a long time. That was Sunday night (for him). Then Monday Typhoon Etau hit Japan and so far it has caused 13 deaths and 20 people are missing. Oh and it initiated another slew of mudslides again. I DO NOT like this one bit. I want Mr X to come home NOW. Okay, maybe not now – but just as soon as the typhoon has passed over completely and the skies are calm again.

Dining Options

Mr X has run into some interesting places to dine while out and about in Japan:

This place wasn't open when Mr X encountered it so I can't report to you what the Japanese version of a pie is like.

This place also wasn't open. Mr X wanted to see what what served at an Amish restaurant in Japan. The menu was posted, but unfortunately that doesn't really help Mr X out much.

You would think that with a name like "Lasagna Cafe" this would be an Italian restaurant, but you would be wrong.

Japanese Landscaping

These are my some of my favorite pictures the Mr X has sent back from Japan. I just love the beautifully manicured landscaping and the lush green of it all:

Buddhist Temples

This past weekend Mr X hopped a few trains/buses and did some exploring. He visited several Buddhist temples and had a nice time checking different areas of Japan. He visited the Hase Temple as well as the Kōtoku-in Temple in Kamakura and the Kenchoji Temple. Here are some of his pictures:

(That green thing in the front is a watermelon tied up in rope, in case you were wondering.)

(This is the Great Buddha. It's over 13 meters high, so almost 44 feet tall.)

(That's more fruit as offering/gifts below the enormous Buddha. The orange things are grapefruit.)

(This was a tiny cave with Buddha carved into (among other things) and people would buy the tiny little Buddha statues and put them in there. Mr X says the cave was very short - even the Japanese people had to hunch over to go inside.)

Mr X's digs

This is Mr X's hotel room door. It's very 'apartment-like' to me. Mr X, who is just shy of 6 feet tall, reports that were he any taller at all, he would have to duck to walk through the doorway.

The hotel has some special 'health observations' for their patrons. They don't really make much sense but that's why I enjoy them so much.

This is the view from Mr X's room:

Just a typical alleyway nearby:

This little food stand is one of the places where Mr X actually enjoys eating. But he's not getting the skewers of intestines or pork livers or chicken tails (what exactly is that anyway?). He's just getting the more standard skewers of straight up chicken and pork and those are pretty tasty.

It's Mr X's Birthday! Well sort of...

The strange thing about Mr X’s birthday this year is that it falls on a different day for him than it does for me. Sort of. The fact that he’s 16 hours ahead means that by the time his birthday has started in my reality, it’s almost over for him. Bizarre. So I guess this will seem more like a belated birthday post to him.

So in an effort to not miss wishing Mr X wonderful birthday wishes, I'm starting today (his birthday over there already) and I'll end tomorrow because that's his official birthday in this hemisphere.

Happy Birthday Mr X! I hope you have a fantastic day despite being thousands of miles away. I at least hope you manage to find yourself some delicious food so you can celebrate properly with some good eatin’. KFC maybe? I love you and miss you.

A bit from Mr X now

Mr X's first day after his arrival in Japan he ventured out to explore the immediate vicinity. During these explorations he hit the local grocery store to get himself something to eat for dinner. Here's the picture he sent back:

(Wontons, some sort of noodles, 'cooling grapefruit' beverage and some nuts.)

All in all not too bad, I think. He says the drink was actually quite tasty and every thing else was pretty decent too.

More importantly though, here are some pictures of Mr X's "smart toilet":

(Note the circle in the middle: This is the setting you use to wash your boobs. Or maybe it's supposed to be a picture of butt cheeks. Or both.)

I wish I had a smart toilet. How luxurious!

Hot Summer Nights

Until this month I’d forgotten how uncomfortable the nights can get in SD when you live in a place without a/c. Despite being cooler because I’m near the beach, the nights always feel overly warm and sticky. It makes for fitful sleep. With the covers on you get too hot and muggy. But shortly after you’ve kicked the covers off, the moisture cools you off enough that you wake, searching for your covers again. The process repeats itself all night. It also makes my bed look like a disaster area by morning. Pillows strewn about the room, blankets half on the bed half on the floor, the top sheet completely separated from the blanket in a twisted heap around me as I lay sideways on the bed with my head and feet hanging off the edges.

This brings back to memory some of the ways I’ve combated the hot summer nights here before:

1) Stuffing my small blanket into the freezer for a half hour or so before bedtime.
2) Taking an ice cold shower just before bed.
3) Buying a portable fan and putting it on my nightstand and setting it to blow air right at my head.
4) Taking ice packs to bed with me.
5) Buying talcum powder with menthol and powdering myself down before crawling into bed.
(Often I combined several of these things together)

As you can see, a continuous lack of good solid sleep leads to some very desperate behavior.

Dolphins

I took the day off this past Thursday because it was Mr X’s last day in the country. So we spent most of the day at the beach. We spent the morning surfing. It was perfect because the water was nice and glassy with shoulder to head high sets coming through. But the best part of was when some dolphins swam through our surf spot. When I lived here before I saw dolphins every now and again but since being back in SD (almost a year now) I hadn’t seen any yet. The coolest part was that right as they got to where Mr X and I were, a set came through and the dolphins, being the playful creatures they are, turned and caught the waves. Seeing them in the crest of the waves right next to me completely unnerved me and I wasn’t able to get into the wave so I sat back and simply watched them. Mr X caught the wave right along with the dolphins and as he was riding down the line, one of the dolphins on the wave just next to him shot right out of the water and dove back in. It was super exciting to see and it totally made my day.

The Good Book Says...

Last weekend Mr X and I joined Mr and Mrs Nye for an evening of quality entertainment in the form of a musical theater performance. We went to see the Fiddler On The Roof and it was fantastic! For those of you familiar with the movie version from way back when - the very same actor (Topol) who played Tevye in the movie played Tevye in the production we watched. I was shocked when I first found this out because I assumed that if he wasn't dead then he'd at least be retired. Not so. In fact, he was quite spry and limber for such an old fellow. Later I did some research and found out that he's 74 years old! Can you believe it?!? Regardless, he delivered a superb performance. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised since he's performed that particular role over 2500 times. (Mr X had the poor fortune to be seated next to a rather unpleasantly fragrant women so his experience wasn't quite as pleasurable as the rest of us. Plus there's also the fact that he prefers other forms of entertainment to musical theater.)

Cucarachas

I believe the summer’s rise in heat and humidity are directly correlated to the increase in cockroach sightings at our place. I swear we’re not slovenly, disgusting people! I’ve seen several in our garage over the past month or so. But more distressing is the other place I’ve been finding cockroaches: inside my wetsuit. Eewwww! After surfing, I take my wetsuit off and clean it out with fresh water from our hose. Or rather, Mr X kindly does this for me. Then he leaves my wetsuit hanging on our back porch to dry out. At some point between the washing and the next time I go to to put the thing on (usually only a span of a few days), cockroaches have taken up residence. After the first horrifying encounter I’ve taken to shamelessly begging Mr X to do a ‘roach check’ on my wetsuit every time we head out to surf. More often than not Mr X’s inspections end up with cockroaches scurrying from my wetsuit as I hop around screeching and flailing about in disgust. I fear I’ll be forced to surf sans wetsuit during Mr X’s absence.

Everybody Loves Baseball

As an early birthday treat, I got Mr X tickets to the baseball game this past Friday here in SD. Padres vs. Rockies. I managed to get us some pretty nice seats. Here’s a picture:

The obnoxious thing is that despite the fact that I ponied up for nicer seats specifically for Mr X's birthday, my nice seats were right behind This Woman:

Her head is MASSIVE! It didnt' matter that I was in the seventh row because her head filled nearly my entire view of the important part of the field! I was constantly twisting and craning my neck and camera in order to get these shots:

I also attempted to take pictures of the “Friday Friarworks”, which are always an ocular delight:

I can't speak (write) for Mr X, but I had a lovely night.