Unaware

I've often heard people say that we don't have seasons here in Monterey.  If by "seasons" they mean it doesn't snow, then yes, we don't have snow.  But nature is cyclical and even in tropical places or regions of the world with "Mediterranean climates," like lovely Monterey, there are seasons.  The most obvious way to see the difference in the seasons is to note the changes, leaves on tree, no leaves on tree; long sunny days, short less-sunny days.  Nature needs a break, it needs to grow, to create to bear, to rest - so although we don't have as drastic changes from season to season, they are there - you just have to be aware. The season changes in every region of the world are fitting to that region's ecology and environment, or maybe it's the other way around, the ecology and environment make the seasons change in the way they need.  Or maybe it's a compromise of both, or something entirely different...

We often walk through life blind to our surroundings.  For years and years I lived in Monterey and was so absorbed with my life (whatever that means) that I didn't pay attention to the season changes, the differences in the visibility of the stars and the moon in the summer versus the winter, the abundance of fruit in the summer and the baron shrubs and bushes of late-fall.  I have started noticing, however.  I notice the subtle changes daily in the autumn: less day light, a lower hanging sun, a definite change in weather - namely, less fog but more crisp, cool air.  I see squirrels putting away acorns.  It's amazing! The other day as I was laying out in the midday sun of my driveway, I kept hearing something rustling in the oak tree above me and the sound of things dropping on the ground around me.  I looked up and watched as a squirrel was intentionally knocking acorns from the tree onto the ground. It made me think of something a co-worker had mentioned the week prior, that is, when squirrels put away a lot of acorns in the Fall that means (according to the Farmer's Almanac) that it's going to be a wet winter.  Well that makes logical sense!  Plants (seeds) need water to grow and the winter is the wet season, so squirrels act as the oak tree farmers, encouraging the seeds (acorns) to fall on the ground in the Fall and hopefully when the wind and rain comes, they will get some soil (nutrients) and be able to sprout and bring about more oak trees come Spring!  Nature is amazing.  How do the squirrels know?  We don't need to get too philosophical here...

So I guess all I'm saying here is that if we intentionally make ourselves more aware, there is so much to discover in our surroundings.  I wonder what else I've been missing all these years...?

The Sound of Silence

The title of this post is not a reference to the Simon and Garfunkel song, although it is a good song, this post is about the beauty of silence.  What do you think of when you think silence?  I personally think of nature and early mornings but that is probably because I am a morning person.  

Today after my morning walk, I came home and rather than turn on my music (albeit classical) I decided to just make tea and sit outside in silence.  It's the beginning of autumn and the weather is markedly colder than it has been.  (Colder is a relative term, it was colder for my Monterey.)  I can also tell that the season is changing because coming home from my walk, when I reached the normal landmark that I associate with daylight, it was still dark.  It was so beautiful!  I sat outside with my tea and took in the air crisp - I listened to the sea lions barking off in the distance and I heard birds chirping in the garden next door.  As beautiful as classical music is, I ought not drown out these beautiful, natural sounds that inspire musicians and composers.  I would like to just be in them, be part of them.  I don't know that we take much time to appreciate the sound of silence in our hyper-connected buzzing and beeping world with text and e-mail notifications, constant blaring music, etc. but I did today and I appreciated it, it calmed me down and reminded me that there is more to life than my iPhone.  I think I want to try to do it more.  I suggest you do, too. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium Sip & Sea

Last night was the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sip & Sea Event.  A member's (and members' guests) event for the 21+.  The Aquarium was open after hours so that attendees could explore the exhibits, enjoy a drink and listen to live music.  I went with some friends and had a blast!  We enjoyed local beers and wines while admiring the jellyfish, fish, sharks, sea turtles, sea horses, otters, star fish, etc.  Did you know that sea horses dance while courting and before mating (see video)?

Jelly fish!

Sardines

Sandra, me and Shandy with a sea turtle in the background! (#MontereyBayAquarium)

The "Bang" outside the Aquarium

Made in Monterey

The best way to thank someone for something is to cook them dinner, in my humble opinion.  It's more personal that way, I think.  Also, cooking is a creative art and relaxing, you get to be alone with yourself in the kitchen creating something, something that someone else (or you, yourself) will savor.  I don't know about you but I find peace in cooking, I relax (especially when I drink a glass of wine and listen to good music while I'm cooking, jejeje).  I had a "Thank you" dinner scheduled last night for a friend who did a huge favor for me...so I decided to try to go local... 

Yesterday on my way home from work I stopped at the Monterey Fish Company (at Wharf #2) to see what was fresh.  They had recently caught Monterey Bay Rock Cod, among other fish, but that looked good to me.  I bought a couple fish and the nice young guy scaled the fish and gutted them.  I asked if I could watch and he showed me how to swiftly and cleanly gut a fish, something I have never done before.  It will take several poorly gutted fish before I can do it with his grace.  I also bought squid but did not prepare it last night, I'll keep that for another post.  

Thank you fishies, for letting me eat you 

I went with simple: extra virgin olive oil (grown and pressed in Watsonville), Crane Lake Sauvignon Blanc (from Napa Valley), rosemary (that I picked at work), thyme (that I picked in my aunt's garden), Meyer lemon slices (that were given to me from my friend's tree), salt (oops, Himalayan salt that I bought at the store) and garlic (that I found in my parents' kitchen which surprisingly enough CAME FROM CHINA!).  Well, I try to do local.  

I put 2 super long pieces of foil on a baking sheet, perpendicular to one another, laid the fish on the foil and generously poured olive oil, salt and the herbs over and in it.  I had cut some slits in the fish and stuffed the slits with herbs and chopped up garlic and inside the fish I placed thin slices of the lemon and more garlic and herbs.  At the end I drizzled the fish with some white wine and sealed the foil, making a tent like structure.  I put it in a preheated oven (at 375˚ F) and baked it for 20 minutes. 

seasoned Monterey Rock Cod 

 The green beans (from the Farmer's Market) were blanched then tossed in olive oil and butter that had thyme and almonds frying in it. 

green beans from the Farmer's Market

Voilà

Yum!

Dessert was honeydew (farmer's market) with lime  (farmer's market) squeezed on it and fresh mint (aunt's yard)...refreshing!

Monterey bike path

Why one oughtn't have headphones/earphones on while running or walking on the bike path:

1. The barking of the seals and sea lions is missed
2. AND the sound of the otters crunching abalone 
3. AND the sound of birds chirping 
4. AND the sound of waves crashing or kayakers paddling 
5. you are unaware of your surroundings 
6. you don't get to say good morning/good day/good afternoon/good evening to your fellow runners/walkers/bikers

Good morning, Monterey, view from my commute to work 

the Wharf 

Once you blow open a mind, there's so much that mind can absorb

I happened upon a panel discussion of students from MIIS' spring break trips yesterday evening.  (MIIS = Monterey Institute of International Studies) A couple of students had visited Washington DC, others Taiwan and China, another to the UN in New York and another to Cuba.  The facilitator asked them questions about their experiences, things they had learned, "ah-ha" moments and advice they had for students.  It was very inspiring to listen to what these students from modest Monterey had witnessed, experienced and lived.  

A woman sitting near me in the audience raised her hand and added to what the student who had visited Cuba had commented about perspective (he had said that visiting Cuba blew his mind).  This woman, who turned out to be Professor Jan Knippers Black, said, "Once you blow open a mind, there's so much that mind can absorb."  That stuck with me.  We go through life with our pre-conceived notions, we all do whether we want to admit it or not.  In doing so, we inhibit ourselves from seeing things differently.  Something may not necessarily be right or wrong but we can learn from it, we can adopt in our lives small changes simply from observing how other people live and behave.

Conflicts are started because we assume that those people are doing things the wrong way, they are vehemently anti-"our way" and therefore we must change them or isolate ourselves from them, etc.  How much of life do we miss out on that way?  Imagine if we withheld judgement and looked at other people, cultures, political systems, you name it, as simply different and something from which we can learn.  This is where our mind can absorb things at face value, rather than be muddied by a pall of judgement and preconception.  So next time you watch the news or see something that is different to you, try to assess it with an open mind.  There will be things that even after open-mindedly assessing, you will be opposed to (FGM or slavery, for example), that is alright, but there will be many things that if inspected from another angle, can teach you something (i.e. governments investing in human capital).  

"Growing your own food is like printing your own money"

For those of you who are not familiar with TED, you ought to be.  The notion is "ideas worth spreading."  People come together for TED talks and give a short blurb about just that, an idea worth spreading.  It can be anything from coping with an ill partner to an innovative business design.  There are conferences and all the TED talks are available online.  I recently attended an independently organized TEDx event, TEDx Monterey - it was so inspiring.  A fantastic reminder that there are people in our community doing super cool things, you just have to be willing to hear about it.   

At TEDx Monterey, they played this TED talk about gardening.  You know, growing your own food.  Have a look and see what you think.  Maybe you'll plant a garden?  Even if it's just a container garden - plants in old milk jugs or cleaned out paint buckets.  Plants are a form of life and life wants to live.  Give it the bare minimum to survive and it will thrive... 

Morning flowers

Let me first start off by saying I'm a creature of habit. I have this tendency of finding something I like and obsessing over it.  I'm that person who plays her favorite song (of the week) on repeat until all my roommates, friends, neighbors, classmates, etc. are well aware that (insert catchy pop song of the week) is my (current) favorite song and can no longer listen to it without cringing and thinking of me.  Maybe it's my own form of "friend-security." (:

My current obsession is the meaning of flowers.  I have always admired flowers but this book I'm reading (The Language of Flowers) has taken this admiration to a new level.  On my morning walk there was a garden filled with lavender and rosemary.  Both soft purple flowers.  I thought to myself, what could lavender mean? Whatever it means, I love it.  I love it for its fragrance and beauty.  I also love it because a past amante had fields upon fields of it and would bring me sachets of lavender buds.  If you're curious, lavender means both devotion and distrust.  Those seem like contradictory meanings but I guess both can be involuntary, one can be devoted to something and distrustful simultaneously?  Devotion is a state and distrust a feeling?  I'm still pondering this one.

I kept on my way and stumbled upon a purple iris.  They're everywhere in the forest!  I looked that one up to, it means good news.  The superstitious in me thought, maybe I have some good news in my future?! The logical thought, irises bloom in Spring and it's spring.  I'll stick to superstition. 

It was much more clear today and as I turned the bend, exiting the path and onto the road parallel to the ocean, I looked back and saw the sunrise over the silhouette of cypress trees.  The ocean was still and speckled with brown seaweed, a little head popped up and I smiled at the otter.  I passed the house with the bench in the fence, the one I mentioned yesterday with all that lavender, except today I noticed another thing, behind the bench were several yellow narcissus.  Narcissus means unrequited love and selfishness.  Well that's fitting, one sits on a bench surrounded by remembrance of her/his selfishness.  That's a sad thought.  But it's also reality - people can be selfish and selfishness stems from fear.  Protecting the self is easier, safer than being vulnerable to another.

Yellow and purple flowers.  I have a theory that plants producing these colored flowers have some sort of symbiotic relationship with one another because I have observed that they grow in close proximity regularly and not only in California, I observed this in Spain, too.  Maybe the types of plants that grow in coastal environments have this characteristic.  I have not investigated the biology behind it but I stand by my theory, science could only prove this theory correct (or disprove it altogether).  But take for example the lavender and narcissus, or even a purple iris with yellow stripes on its petals, ice plant with yellow and purple flowers, etc.  

I passed a yellow mimosa (in Spanish) (and not the champagne mimosa although that conjures a beautiful image, too).  I came home and found out the name in English, silver wattle or better known by its scientific name, the acacia tree.  I looked this up and it means secret love.  How beautiful.  You could send your secret admirer a sprig of yellow mimosa. 

Mimosa or Acacia (thanks wikipedia!)

Have a beautiful day!

Life

I wonder why people get so quickly frustrated and angry.  I was parking today, in heavy traffic - I was doing a left-side parallel-parking maneuver.  Now, I pride myself on my parallel-parking skills but I miscalculated and had to try again, the woman in the car behind me couldn't wait for me to park and so when I drove forward to re-park, she honked, rolled her eyes and threw up her hands while shaking her head.  It made me upset.  She had already driven away when I thought about blowing her a kiss.

I wonder where people learn that behavior.  Why is it acceptable to treat one another that way?  We wonder why we have so many disagreements and fights and wars...maybe we out to teach some patience and compassion to our children. 

Snickers

On the bus to work, I watched a girl savor a fun sized snickers for 10 minutes. I saw her take the snickers from her bag and didn't think much of it, I continued my window gazing/people watching - I had forgotten a book. I was interrupted from my window gazing/people watching, several moments later by the sweet aroma of over processed chocolate, peanuts and gooey, almost burnt sucrose. I turned my gaze to the culprit, only to find her 1/4 done with the snickers! 

Torture. 

She methodically peeled and smoothed the wrapper with every chipmunk nibble - which was one every minute, if I had to guess. She studied the treat with great intensity before going in for a bite. This continued for the duration of my commute to work. As she approached the end, with about 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch morsel left, she removed the victim from its wrapper, the first time she touched the chocolate with her bare hands. 

She touched it with minimal contact, only the very tips of two fingers grazed Mr. Snickers, the remaining fingers stood out, separated like spider's legs and reminded me of a posh high tea. She folded the wrapper in half and in half again and continued to take microscopic bites of the delightful goodie. My patience -  which had wore thin long ago, transformed into curiosity bordering anxiety.  Will she eat it?  What's her next move? Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnn.  

Her friend finally woke up from her stupor and decided she wanted one, too  Ms. Self-Control pulled another fun sized snickers from her bag and gave it to her friend.  Great, two of them.  

The friend ripped the package open and plopped the whole thing in her mouth.  Seriously?  Ok.  Our chipmunk continued on with her nibbling, unaware that her friend was much less meticulous than she, and that I was watching her, typing like mad on my phone.  

The bus rolled to a stop, and I got off the bus, and finally let out a deep breath I didn't know I had been holding.  

:)

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

I heard this saying the other day "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."  I really like it.  You get more out of life if you're sweet than if you're bitter.  You may have heard people saying to "kill other people with kindness," which is a similar idea.

You know if things aren't going your way or you're in a sticky situation you could either yell and scream and have a bad attitude, or be nice and sweet about it and people are more inclined to be patient with you and listen to you because they don't feel like they're getting attacked and you have the potential (a much greater chance, actually) at getting what it is you want.

I really like this because it is true and a beautiful philosophy to live by.  I recognize that it is not easy, in fact I think that if you are human you find this task challenging at times.  However, I think it is rewarding if you do try it.  I guess you would catch more flies that way :).  

Movie - "The Sessions"

Oh. My. Lordy.  How refreshing!

I saw the movie "The Sessions" today.  It was fantastic.  It was provocative, romantic, real, sad, funny, raw, human and humane. It is based on the autobiographical writings by Mark O'Brien, a poet/writer who was not-quite-paralyzed from the neck down due to a bout of childhood polio.  He lives mostly in an iron lung and always on a gurney.  At 38, he sets out to lose his virginity and after consulting with his priest, decides to see a sex-therapist.  It challenges the conventional stigma surrounding the disabled and allows you to truly empathize with the guy.  The movie did a great job of bringing the characters to life - the relationships were real and you could genuinely relate, no phony business.

I think the actors were fantastic, John Hawkes plays Mark O'Brien and Helen Hunt is Cheryl Cohen-Green, the sex-therapist.   You really had a sense of empathy - both happy and sad, for Mark.  I will leave it at that, you ought to see the movie for yourself to truly experience it.  

Rainy Day

I am a self-admitted sun bunny, desert rat, you name it...I'm sure there are a thousand ways to describe us sun addicts but I must admit, the rain is charming.  This morning when I left the house it was pitch black and  unusually warm.   You could tell the barometric pressure was low.  Some people say you can smell when it's going to rain, but maybe it is just feeling the pressure change in your nose or in your head, I don't know.  I went to exercise at the gym and when I came out, it was raining.  It was awesome.  I feel like the world slows down when it rains, maybe people drive slower or maybe it causes us to see things from a different perspective but it was really beautiful to watch the world go by.  I did my normal commute (about 7 minutes, including parking time) and was quite taken back by how different everything appeared all wet and grey.  Rainy days are great for fireplaces and books, hot chocolate and blankets and quiet classical music humming from a muffled record player.  Hopefully by the time I get home in the evening it will still be raining and I can cuddle up under a blanket with a good book and eventually fall asleep to the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof...

Jack's Peak, Saturday hike

Another beautiful Saturday morning hike in Monterey.  Papa B and I went to Jack's Peak and had a great hike.

When I was in highschool, my cross country team would regularly race there.  It was one of my favorite places to race because I loved being in the solitude of nature, boiling with competitive juices and adrenaline, not to mention the gorgeous view of the Monterey Bay.

We did our cross country course, backwards and then some.  We walked and talked and laughed.  There is one section that has switchbacks, it makes the really steep incline seem not so steep.  I kept telling Papa B, we used to run here and there and that was the start and there was the finish.  At the switchbacks I told him, we used to run this!  He said (switching to English, which he does for dramatic emphasis), "used to is in the past tense, Sally, you need to think in the present."  Woah!  He's totally right.

We hiked along, enjoying the scenery, smelling the pine trees - slightly green and sour smelling.  In the background you could hear the concert that was happening at the Fair Grounds.  Also occasionally we would hear planes taking off or landing, Jack's Peak is just up the road from the Monterey Airport.  There were bugs glistening in the sun light and if you pay attention you could hear the woodpeckers high up in the trees.  It was a really wonderful hike.  I hope you get there someday. 

We unfortunately did not see any mountain lions

View of the bay

Monterey bay through the trees :)

The trail

A fallen tree covered in moss and pine needles

A banana slug!!! Hi buddy.

Spider web

After our hike we came home and had lunch with Mama B.  Life is good, isn't it?

 

Lunch! Green beans with garlic, olives, red cabbage and sesame salad, cut vegies

Point Lobos with Papa B

It was a gorgeous Indian Summer day here in beautiful Monterey so Papa B and I decided to go down to Point Lobos for a hike. (For those of you who unfamiliar with the concept of Indian Summer - it's a phenomenon that occurs in the Northern Hemisphere marked by warmer than expected weather in late-September-November, we definitely experience it here in Pacific Grove).  

Point Lobos is a State Natural Reserve a bit down the coast from Monterey.  We headed down and parked just outside of the park and walked in.  There were many people out today, it's Saturday and a clear day - it's great to see so many people out! 

We walked through the trees, it was a bit cooler than out in the sun and a little darker.  After some time, we saw blue and turquoise through the trees.  Although I have grown up on the Pacific Ocean, I find it amazing how diverse it is - it amazes me every time.  It's completely variable depending on the weather, the lighting, the time of day, the tide, the wildlife, etc.  Today was especially spectacular.  

The ocean through the trees 

Gorgeous cove!

Looking across to Carmel, Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove

p-r-e-t-t-y

We admired the ocean, told jokes and "hello-ed" people as we passed them on the trails.  Going around a little cove made me think of "Island of the Blue Dolphins" a book we had to read in the 4th grade.  It's about a Native American girl that lives on an island off the coast of California.  I haven't read the book in over 10 years but I guess the imagery stuck in my subconscious.  

This is what reminds me of "Island of the Blue Dolphins"

There were scuba divers preparing to go out - how cool!  I wonder what all they see down there?  

We were lucky enough to see a vulture fly by overhead, its wings spread magnificently with the ends sticking up like fingers.

The water was pretty calm, when the waves were well behaved, the water looked super smooth and the sun reflected brilliantly off of it.  

It looks like glass, doesn't it!

At one point we sat on a bench and admired the coast.  There were rose petals all around the bench and Papa B said there must have been a girl here reciting "he loves me, he loves me not."  

I love seeing the crushed abalone shells in the ground, their metallic color always catches the light just right and reflects up at you.  It's like a silver, green, pink, purple color.  

Broken abalone shells, can you see the metallic coloration?

Eventually we came upon a little cabin with whale bones around it.  One rib was about the length of my height!  There was also what looked like the hip bone of a whale and the vertebrae of a whale.  On the side of the cabin was framed baleen - the filter in the mouths of baleen whales.  (S)He consume a huge volume of water that hopefully has lots of krill in it, the whale then pushes the water out but the krill are trapped in the whale's mouth - dinner! 

Whale bones!

It looks like where the vertebrae would connect, but I'm not too familiar with whale anatomy...

Whale ribs, vertebrae, fin and baleen 

Next we went around a different bend and encountered some deer.  It is rutting season for the deer here.  That means they are mating.  This usually happens right before daylight savings time and there is a drastic change in their hormone levels.  They behave abnormally, more agressive, and if they don't move out of your way - you should get out of theirs.  We saw three young males and clapped at them, they looked at us a bit and didn't budge, we went down a different trail.  

We came upon another bench overlooking another little cover.  There were three seals resting on the rocks.  

Seals on the rocks! Can you see them?

Looking across to Carmel 

We admired from afar and eventually had to get down to the water.  Luckily there was a bonafide trail and we slowly made our way down to the rocky beach.  I quickly lost my shoes and socks and tried to run to the water, it was difficult to do on a non-sand beach.  The water was refreshingly cool.  It was low tide and so there were uncovered rocks filled with sea anemones.  You can't really see them unless you're looking because they are closed and have bits of sand and rocks stuck to them.  I touched them just to watch them shrivel back - I hope I wasn't harming them, they're just so amazing, and I couldn't help it!  

Rocky beach :)

Sea anemones!  They close up during low tide

More sea anemones 

We eventually walked back to the car, retracing our footsteps.  If you are observant enough, you can notice slight changes in the light, coloration, etc. in the trails that you walked in not too long before.  There was the same creaking noise from a tree when we walked back as when we had walked past the first time.  It would stop as we walked by and pick up again after we were past the tree.  I therefore am convinced that it was an animal but my dad claims it was just the wind causing the tree to creak.  

Cacti, cookies, coast and condors

I went down the coast again with the ladies, this time it was with my mom and the aunties.  Yesterday was one of my aunties' birthday and so naturally we needed to celebrate.  The plan was to drive down the coast in the morning, to Big Sur, have a treat from the Big Sur Bakery, go for a hike and then have lunch at Nepenthe.

Well, we got a later start that expected - which is to be expected.  On the drive down, we stopped at Save-Mart, one auntie had forgotten her sunglasses and as she says "fashion first."  She ran in and bought cheap-o sunglasses as my mom, other auntie and I plotted how we would liberate the tri-tip being BBQed on a grill outside the store, unattended.  Seriously?

We parked at Nepenthe, we were going to eat there after all.  But first we had to stop at the Phoenix Shop.  It's a shop below the restaurant that sells great books, stationary, jewelry, clothing, cosmetics and all sorts of home accessories.  Sampling hand cream, leafing through books and perusing the clothes sale rack really works up an appetite so up the stairs we hiked to eat lunch.  So much for hiking...

We waited to be seated, admiring flowers and making quite the scene.  The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to see so many people out enjoying the sun and the scenery.

We were seated on the back patio, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  The view was breathtaking.  I have a picture below but it doesn't even begin to do justice to the beauty that we had the pleasure of admiring.  We had a slow meal sharing each plate, family style.  A woman walked by with a baby on her hip, wearing just a onesie and had a fountain of hair coming out of the top of her head.  I stopped my story mid-sentence and began my well-versed baby flirtation.  Within minutes the baby was on my lap and she had all my attention, I was in heaven.

After our 3-hour meal, we decided we were tired and we should probably head to the bakery for birthday goodies before going back home.  The Big Sur Bakery is nestled in The Big Sur Spirit Garden. How beautiful!  We walked through the cacti and sweet peas, among other flora.  There was a man watering the garden and the smell of wet plants on a hot day is unmistakable - it gets etched in your scent memory pretty vividly.  It reminded me of watering plants in the summer with my uncle on his land, north of Damascus.  He taught me how to syphon water out of the well despite being on an uneven surface.  What nostalgia!  For a moment your psyche transports you to that time and place.  You are who you were when you were there.  The smell is the same in these two place, where you are in actuality and the place in which you have olfactory memories.  I guess your soul, if you believe in souls, is the same, but your body has changed; what we remember in our mind fails to point out the differences, the pain, whatever.  You are simply existing in two places at once - in your memory and in the present.  It's truly phenomenal.

We were disappointed, as the bakery was in transition from lunch to dinner and there were no pastries left, it was 3:00 in the afternoon, after all.  As we piled back in the car, my aunt pulled out a little bag of coconut, apricot cookies and a bar of dark chocolate.  She is always prepared...take note.

While attempting to nap in the backseat on the drive home, I was startled by our abruptly pulling off onto the shoulder.  I naturally jumped out of the car as my aunties did - they were armed with a camera and binoculars.  After a great deal of binocular focusing and oohing and aahing we decided that we were in the presence of 2 California Condors and 2 vultures.  Cool!  We took turns passing around the binoculars.  One auntie is a naturally trained biologist.  And I mean naturally in the literal sense of the word, like in nature.  She explained the difference between a condor and a vulture and as she did, a third condor flew in and joined the other birds in circling their dinner - and putting a show on for us.  She explained that condors have up to a 9 foot wingspan and that they have white on top of their wings and below, whereas vultures are smaller and don't have the white on top of the wings.  We marveled at their magnificence in the mid-afternoon sun until they were through and flew off.  It was really the perfect ending to our day.

cool picture from the deck of Nepenthe as we waited to be seated, not too patiently

view from our table...oak tree + Pacific Ocean + fog

deck at Nepenthe, sweet checkerboard that these kids were playing some form of hopscotch on :)

Grapes!

Cacti

Wasabi Pea Soup

This cold is stubborn. I took the day off of work on account of my cold but then spent the day running errands. It wasn't exactly what I had had in mind but it was nice to break the routine, so to speak.

In the evening time, I decided to make some soup. I had recently bought wasabi powder from an Asian market and decided to test it out in a soup, spicy soups are always great for colds (recall, Carrot Ginger soup?). I did a little search on the internet and a lot of improvisation...

Wasabi Pea Soup

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 an onion
• 1 cup of peas, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth (or just water!)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp. wasabi paste
• spicy mustard to taste
• wasabi peas for garnish, optional

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until they are a little wilted. Add peas and sauté for a few more minutes.  Add broth or water and raise the heat until the liquid comes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 7 minutes, just long enough for the peas to cook all the way through.  Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes before transferring to a blender or food processor to blend.  (Be careful not to put hot liquid in an airtight container as the vapor pressure will cause it to explode, leave an opening for vapor to escape or periodically open the lid)

Pulse several times in the blender and add wasabi and buttermilk, blending thoroughly.  If you find that the soup is not spicy enough, feel free to add hot mustard like Colman's.

Garnish with wasabi peas.  Soup can be served hot or cold.  This recipe serves 2 as an appetizer soup.

Fresh made wasabi paste (well as fresh as powder + water can be)

Voilá!

Moonrise Kingdom

I just got back from seeing Moonrise Kingdom at the Osio Cinemas and it was awesome. Just charming and innocent. It made me feel like a kid again which is a delightful feeling. 

It takes place on an island off the coast of New England in 1966 and is about two kids who are "troubled" or misunderstood and plot to run away together.  Sam (Jared Gilman) is a "khaki scout" and orphan who has been going from one unsuccessful foster home to the next and Suzy (Kara Hayward) is the daughter of these two work obsessed lawyers who are having a tough time with their blossoming, outrageous nerd of a daughter.  The interaction between the kids is genuine, so honest.  Dramatic, as kids are, you can really remember the days when you were just so passionate about something that it just consumed your everything.  (Some of us are still that way but it is considered a juvenile trait.)  It was also nice to see Bill Murray, who played Suzy's father and Bruce Willis, the island cop, in these awkward, sepia-tone roles.  

A really cool thing about the movie is that it opened with clips from the 1946 movie Instruments of the Orchestra which features The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, a musical composition by the British composer, Benjamin Britten.  In my research after seeing Moonrise Kingdom, I actually learned that Benjamin Britten wrote quite a bit of music for children and young performers.  Very fitting for the movie. I appreciated the musical selection for the film, it fit very well.  

The filming was done very appropriately for the plot.  The way the camera moved was like a child's attention span and focus, I found that to really accentuate the young theme and atmosphere of the movie. The way the camera person moves through the house or follows the characters is how a child would, focusing on random, interesting things and skimming over the boring adult stuff. 

And the guy narrating (Bob Balaban) is awesome with his glasses, red coat and monotone voice. 

The little kitten in the basket was also the cutest thing.

Overall, I recommend you see this movie, it's fun.  

Parker-Lusseau Pastries

One of my favorite bakeries of all times is Parker-Lusseau Pastries.  One of their locations is on Harnell St. (see map), in an old, non-reinforced building.  There is a little sign by the door that basically says, should there be an earthquake, the building may or may not hold up.  I'll take that risk for good pastries. 

Now that we have that out of the way, you must understand the amazingness of the pastries.

The almond croissant is my favorite pastry there.  It's filled with marzipan, covered with slivered almonds and dusted with powdered sugar.  The dough is also just perfect and on parts of it you can taste that when it was baking, the marzipan and sugar caramelized a little bit with the dough so it's kind of chewy and delightful. 

The canele is not to be missed.  A canele is a small French pastry the inside is soft and custardy and the outside is dark brown and a sugary shell.  Great as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or tea.

The moka is the best, made with wonderful chocolate and great espresso.  If you want a real treat, get it with whipped cream on top.  Whether with the whipped cream or not, they'll sprinkle some chocolate powder on top which is just like an angel's kiss on top of an already great thing.

Extra perks to note: all the girls that work there are fabulously fashionable, they use all sustainable and compostable products, they serve water out of a blue ceramic pitcher with sliced lemons in it, they sell organic apples on a cute little platter, the ciabatta bread is delicious and coated with semolina and they have drink stamp cards - your 11th drink is free!

Go grab a pastry!

yes, bakery is open...wonderful

Down the coast with the ladies

This post is a little outdated but I still really wanted to share.

A couple of weeks ago, I went down Hwy 1 to the New Camoldoli Hermitage with my mama and her lady friends.  We packed a picnic and drove the hour+ to the Hermitage, a Benedictine hermitage in the Santa Lucia Mountains, just a bit south of Big Sur.  We had planned on going to watch a mass and then have a picnic overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  On the way down we talked about all sorts of things.  A friend of my mom's talked about how there was a purse she really wanted but that it was too expensive.  Another woman expressed her frustration with a class she was taking.  It was really nice, a change of pace to spend time with these ladies and really learn from them.  It's amazing how much you can learn by listening but it's also astounding how much you can learn by having others listening to you and listening to yourself.  I think that is rarely addressed in society.  We are pushed to be good listeners.  I agree, listening, when appropriate is a very important quality to have as a person.  But being able to speak and express and listen to yourself and allow others to really hear what you are saying is also invaluable.

Nepenthe was mentioned, a restaurant with a killer view that neither my mom or I had ever been to.  My mom gracefully leaned over to me and said that we should not have packed picnics and just had lunch at Nepenthe.  Oh well, next time, I thought.

When we arrived at the hermitage, we stood quietly outside of the church and someone suggested we take our picnic home and eat at Nepenthe anyways.  Oh! Daring!

We got to the hermitage and watched the mass.  Silence was to be respected, it was quite a different experience.  I made a very conscious effort to not speak.  My mom's friend leaned over to me and said "do you like my shoes?"  She was wearing turquoise sandals that I had noticed before but not yet had the chance to compliment.  A huge smile came across my face and I nodded.  She forcefully squeezed her eyes and nodded her head forward "shoot, we're supposed to be quiet, it's so hard for me."  It was really surprising that it wasn't me who couldn't keep quiet.

After mass, we went to the bookstore and bought delicious fruitcake made by the monks.  And I bought chocolate :)

We loaded up in the car and headed to Nepenthe.  The drive along the coast is just beautiful as you can see in the photos below.  We quickly found parking and a table and sat to enjoy lunch on the sunny terrace overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  I had a bloody Mary, which was very well made!  Be sure to order it when you go, especially if it's a hot day.  The most popular dish is the Ambrosia Burger, but I had a turkey sandwich that had cranberry sauce in it, which was very good.  The Beet Salad also looked very appetizing.

We sauntered down to the Phoenix gift shop and marveled at artisan jewelry, books about the Monterey Bay area, sampled lotions made locally and enjoyed the various art that was displayed.  This gift shop is a great place to buy unique gifts from the area!

view from the car going down Hwy 1 

baby blue 

from the Hermitage, you can hardly see the ocean from the fog! 

Lunch place :)

ciao bella 

d