Dymo Zin

White letters on a red background, printed to look like it was made by a Dymo label maker. This was the wine we had with dinner, at the Blue Note Napa. A Zinfandel, and I loved the look of it. Minimal ✅, unusual reference ✅, brilliant! The wait person was too young to know Dymo label makers but we recognized it right away. The wine was good as well.

Joy


Yesterday evening I walked to Jardim da Estrela, a lovely park with the tallest cacti I have ever seen, and lots of great big trees. After sitting on a bench beneath a tree, collecting my thoughts and enjoying the view, I walked East and South to Time Out Market, where I saw this poster. My next destination was the nearby Dahlia, where I had dinner. By the time I arrived in my flat I had walked just under seven miles.

Together we joy, ja?!
Let’s joy together!

Food

Here are some of my favorite food staples. Some of them I buy but most of them I make regularly.

  • Hummus – I make a batch almost every week. I start with dried chickpeas that I cook in a pressure cooker. At first I experimented with additional ingredients and flavors but then realized Hummus is a little like Bread in that it needs a bit of neutrality. I do, however, sometimes sprinkle a little Gomashio on hummus.
  • Gomashio – I dry-roast a mix of light and dark sesame seeds in a deep pan and then use mortar and pestle to grind it up with sea salt flakes. It’s prefect for so many dishes… I am even contemplating making an ice-cream flavor based on Gomashio.
  • Pesto – how I love pesto! I make this all the time, also, but I don’t stick to a strict recipe. We have three kinds of basil growing in the yard: Genovese basil, Thai basil, and Cinnamon basil. I’ll cut off any basil that is ready and if it’s not enough I’ll add some fresh spinach or arugula. I can’t find a good source for pine nuts here but discovered that roasted pistachio nuts work really well.
  • Garlic-Parmesan cream – not sure what the Italian name for this is. Like pesto, this paste is another perfect Italian idea. At a restaurant it was served with bread, as an appetizer, and I loved it and asked the waiter about it. He laughed and said it’s just parmesan, garlic and olive oil. I make this about once a month. It keeps for a long time in the fridge.
  • Kimchi – how I love this, too! I don’t make Kimchi but I make lots of things with it. Yesterday I made a Mac ‘n’ Cheese dish for dinner. Only, it was Penne instead of Macaroni and it had a cup of Kimchi in it.
  • Sourdough Bread – yep, pretty damn perfect. I still bake every Sunday and have been making sourdough bread for at least ten years. That’s thousands of loaves. I am starting to feel the dough.
  • Granola – I was first introduced to granola in Vermont in the year 1979. Damn, what a great idea. I don’t like any granola that is sold in stores! It’s all too sweet for me. Like Bread and Hummus I like my granola a bit more neutral in flavor. I make at least one batch every week.
  • I realize I could go on and on about food. Better stop here for now. To be continued…

    Food

    From a post about Brussels Sprouts to a post about Organic and Plant-Based food…

    the world according to channie:

    I read and listen to the “now” generation talking about food. I see that there is a slight shift in the things they want to eat and the ways they think these should be cooked. They talk about “plant based” food. As opposed to what? I ask myself. “Animal based”? 

    We search the shelves in the grocery stores for “organic” and pay the high price for so choosing.. How and when and why did this concept come into our lives? Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad thing. But it reveals much about our culture.

    The post ends with:

    Yes, there was a time when all we ate was “organic” and we didn’t even know it then. We do now.

    I encourage you to read the whole post.

    Brussels Sprouts

    In an appearance on the new Alo Yoga podcast Alo Mind Full, Kanye West said that he hasn’t read “any book” and compared reading to eating brussel sprouts.

    No wonder that I don’t understand the man. I love books AND Brussels sprouts. I should take a dish of Brussels sprouts to eat at the local library to celebrate both.