Wok And Roll

Okay, a lousy title for my newest blog entry. I apologize ahead of time.

Behold, the basic carbon steel wok. Hand forged and shaped for use in high heat situations where the foods involved are moved across the rounded surfaces to evenly cook them quickly.

The wok at right isn't ready to use yet. It's new, unseasoned and seasoning is really important to the successful use of the wok. It is done just like that black-as-the-night cast iron skillet handed down to you from your grandmother. The seasoned dark surface creates a natural non-stick surface.

To season your new wok, coat the surface with a light oil and wipe it down with a paper towel. Set the wok on a burner set on high and heat the wok until the surface begins to smoke. Turn off the burner and let the wok cool. Repeat the process a couple of times.

From this point on, never scrub your wok with one of those green scrubbers or a Brillo pad. The abrasiveness will scratch off your carefully created seasoning and you will have to go through the seasoning process all over again. Instead, use a light scrub brush, a little dish soap and fill the wok with hot water. Scrub lightly, rinse and dry. Your wok will darken and season further with time and use.

When using your wok, set it on the burner, turn the burner to high heat, pour the desired amount of oil into the wok. This will depend on the amount of food to be cooked and or the desired amount of oil you wish or do not wish to ingest.

Allow the oil to heat up, then carefully add each of the foods to be cooked in the order of their density. Raw meats go in first, along with onions, then garlic followed by carrots, celery, squash, cabbage, etc. Get the idea. Some foods will cook faster than others. You need to make sure others ARE cooked thoroughly, especially meats. Shrimp or scallops cook quickly so they would go into the wok at the end of the cooking process.

Hold on to the handle of the wok with a folded towel or oven mitt on your non-dominant hand and stir the contents of the wok with the other hand using one of the many wok tools available and that often come with your wok. I like the bamboo handled wire scoop. It lets me scoot the foods around the wok, separate items and serve portions leaving behind the high calorie sauce and oil.

Woks work best on gas burners and the higher the BTU output the better. Most home stoves have one burner with a higher output, but when compared with the burners used in Asian restaurants home burners can't begin to compete. So turn up your home burner all the way up!

What to cook? Anything goes. You are pretty much limited only to your imagination. There are plenty of recipes out there in cyberspace. Perhaps you got a recipe book with your wok. Be adventurous! Enjoy!

A Wedding in Shenandoah National Park

Our family has been through quite a whirlwind over the past few weeks. Specifically, our son-in-law and daughter have really had a rough time getting themselves over here to America. So, when the paperwork still had not been completed and the time had come for a wedding in which our daughter was to be a bride's maid, she had to make the difficult decision to come without Nick.

Elise Reuschenberg and Duane Lambert were getting married in the Shenandoah National Park. Elise was our Kate's maid of honor at her wedding in England. The two of them had met while in the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa, where we also met Elise for the first time. Elise is a wonderful lady who has become our east coast daughter. This was our first meeting of Duane. He turned out to be (as if there would be any doubt) a wonderful guy, a perfect match for Elise.

Kate arrived in New York the same day we flew into Newark, NJ to rent a car and drive to the wedding. Nick and Kate had arranged for a car to be purchased for them to pick up in New York on their arrival. Kate had to pick it up by herself and drive on to the wedding. I wasn't at all sure about making the trip after hearing about Hurricane Earl which was traveling up the east coast. But I decided to go ahead with it and take the chance that the hurricane wouldn't, and it turned out it didn't, interfere with the trip. The drive to Shenandoah was beautiful when we finally got off I-95, one of the main north/south freeways along the east coast. We arrived on Friday, the 3rd of September, checked into our rustic but comfortable room with an incredible view looking out over the Shenandoah Valley hundreds of feet below. Kate arrived a couple of hours after us.

Many of those attending the wedding gathered for a BBQ in the afternoon and we got to know some of the family and friends of the bride and groom. Some of the bridal party were also Peace Corps alums who we had met there and had also had in our home a time or two. It was great to get to talk to Kate and let her vent a little. We spent the evening writing out the table name tags for the wedding dinner the next afternoon.

The next morning many of us met in the conference center where the wedding reception and dinner would be held later in the day. The flowers for the tables and the wedding flowers needed to be made and we had agreed to help. My floral design skills came in handy. I arranged most of the table arrangement flowers and created the bride's nosegay. I also arranged the flowers for the trellis the bride and groom stood in front of for their vows. A lot of others helped with the bride's maid's nosegays and the boutineers for the men in the wedding party. It all came out beautifully and it was so much fun to be able to help out on Elise's special day.

The wedding turned out perfect though quite blustery. It didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm and the ceremony went of without a hitch. We all headed for the reception/dinner where a Zydeco style band played throughout the afternoon and evening. There was plenty of liquid refreshment and finger foods before the dinner. Prime rib, trout and a vegetarian entree I never saw were the options for dinner. Besides the wedding cake, we also had a delicious dish of blackberry ice cream. The music went on into the evening and many danced the night away. I can tolerate only so much loud sounds before I become overwhelmed so about 9:30 I called it a day and headed up to our room.

The next day, many of the folks that had come for the wedding were leaving. We were unsure what to do since Kate still had a car that needed to get across country and no one to drive with her. I suggested that Leslie, who didn't need to be back until later in the month for her classes to start, drive with her. So it was decided that I would head back to Newark, NJ for the flight home and the two of them would head out across country together. That's what we did. About 3:00 PM that day, I loaded up our rental and they loaded up Kate's new car and we all drove off in opposite directions--they headed towards a first stop in southwest Virginia. It was quite a lonely drive back up the coast through Virginia, past Washington, D.C., through Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But I arrived home about midnight after a long flight on Monday.

As for our two intrepid adventurers, they arrived at their destination that first night. First thing in the morning they found themselves with brake problems. A generous and friendly local mechanic volunteered to help them out despite it being Labor Day. The rear brake pads needed replacing. They were on their way by early afternoon and made it to Bardstown, Kentucky.

By Tuesday afternoon they had driven on to Chicago where they would turn west onto I-90 and the long straight-as-an-arrow drive to Seattle. At this writing they were planning stops along the way at the Badlands, the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore and on up across Montana and Wyoming (possibly Yellowstone), Idaho and Washington.

Hopefully, before and certainly not later than their arrival back in Bellingham, Nick will also have arrived and they can get on with their lives, finding a home, Kate a job and most importantly, ever so much closer to us. ++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks Tim!

Since the beginning of June we have had the use of the creative talents of Tim Singer here nearly everyday working to create a brand new landscape for our front garden. Tim the rock guy, as we call him, erased our front garden and carefully created two rock walls which hold back two new terraces of garden space. The lower terrace will be newly landscaped with a few mature plants moved from other locations in the yard, but mostly with recently purchased plants we found on Craig'sList. A wholesale nursery west of Portland, Oregon advertised gallon plants for a fraction of the cost in a retail nursery. We drove down and checked out their farm, were very impressed and placed an order. 100 plants will shortly arrive at our home where 100 holes will be dug for each plant's new home. Big job! Behind the upper wall is a second terrace where a new lawn has been rolled out that is watered by our new automated watering system. As the rock walls neared completion we spoke to Tim about the lawn and watering system we planned to install next. He let us know he could do that type of work as well. He bid the job and we were pleased enough to give him the go ahead to do the job. Well, Tim's work is done now. The rock walls are the talk of the neighborhood. Everyone comments on how beautiful they are. The lawn is bright green and thriving with a brown border surrounding it awaiting the plants will that will ring the lawn. An automated drip system will feed just the right amount of water to each plant. The rest of the garden is up to us now and then only time will tell how the garden will turn out. Thanks Tim for your artisan's touch, the strength of your back, your ideas, skills and your insistence on perfection. I know you are proud of the way the project turned out, but we couldn't be prouder either. Well done, Tim!

Biennial Trek to OSF

We have just returned from a few days in southern Oregon and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Over the 4 days spent there we saw 6 plays. Three were by Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night and Henry IV, Part I. We were also to see Hamlet. More about that later. Along with the Shakespeare we also saw American Night, Pride and Prejudice and She Loves Me.

We were very disappointed with the productions of Shakespeare's plays this year. A new Artistic Director was brought in a couple of years ago and since then the company seems to have taken a new approach to its interpretation of The Bard. The leads in the plays were still as strong as years past, but too many of the supporting actors were very weak and I question certain of the stylistic decisions made. A case in point was the costuming in Merchant of Venice. Now I must confess to preferring my Shakespeare performed in period costumes. However, I have been won over by some past performances that strayed far from the traditional. Two years ago I watched a wonderful performance of Much Ado About Nothing performed in a wild west setting. It was delightful! This year's production of The Merchant of Venice however, went too far. Some actors wore period costumes (the tights and all) while others were in rather modern business suits. During the courtroom scene the clerk wrote up the proceedings with a laptop. It was distracting and confusing. The Play Bill notes indicated the director made this stylistic choice in an effort to show the timelessness of the play's message. Note to director: Let Shakespeare's words convey the message. You can't possibly improve on them by confusing your audience with your schizophrenic choices of when this story takes place. We were so frustrated with the productions that actually left half way through Henry IV, Part I It just plodded on and on and I found myself looking at my watch (something I have never done at an OSF production). and wishing it were over. Again with Twelfth Night. It just didn't fly despite the best efforts of its leads. I finally stood in front of the box office on our last day and sold our two tickets to Hamlet. After three duds, I was not going to chance it on a fourth. We went out to a movie instead. On the bright side, the three non-Shakepearean shows we saw were wonderful! American Night, an American history revisionist play told through the eyes of a young Mexican immigrant about to take his citizenship test was both touching and a hysterical. It is on of 37 plays being commissioned by OSF to showcase American history. Delightful! We also saw a wonderful production of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Solid acting, a beautifully done adaptation that gave me the feeling that I was peeking in on the lives of these people. When Mr. Darcy's and Elizabeth's seeming dislike for one another was finally transformed with their words of undying love and devotion, the audience sighed and daubed tears. Mrs. Bennett was played to comedic perfection as she did everything in her power to marry off her girls to the best matches she could manage. Finally, we were delighted with the upbeat A Love Letter, a Jerry Boch boy meets girl musical based on Illatszertar by Miklos Laszlo. This play inspired the movie You've Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner, a 1940 film with Jimmy Stewart. This show was originally produced in 196o's. The musical didn't do well on Broadway and quickly faded from memory and production so it is seldom done, yet the audience loved this show. It was a good old fashioned romantic comedy with lots of cute songs and comedy and the old boy meets girl, boy looses girl, bot get's girl ending. What better way to spend an evening? The cast was solid. Wonderful singers, comic timing where required to pull off this show and they were marvelous. The shining star for me though was young lady who played Amalia. What a voice and what a presence on stage. We had some other wonderful experiences while in Ashland. We had a delightful afternoon wine and cheese party with some Bellingham friends we discovered were also at the Festival. They where staying in a rented home in a part of Ashland we didn't know existed. So were able to explore it on a night that happened to be an art walk evening. This part of Ashland has become a neighborhood all its own with restaurants, art galleries, a bakery, coffee houses and the local Co-Op. It also happens to be where the oldest homes are located so it is delightful to drive or walk through.

It was in that little neighborhood that we had our best meal of the trip at the Peerless Hotel and Restaurant. The turn of the century building houses a lovely hotel and restaurant. We found the beautiful garden setting for al fresco dining absolutely perfect. A fountain next to our table made cooling sounds in the afternoon heat of the day. We decided to try some of the small plates. The chose lamb meatballs and rosemary & cumin encrusted lamb medallions with eggplant tapenade and a mint yogurt sauce; sweet potatoes and yams were roasted and served topped with bacon, an onion and walnut chutney and chojija, a mexican cheese and fried parsley; Duck Confit, roasted crisp with moroccan olives, a date gastrique and couscous. We also had dinner with another pair of friends also from Bellingham who were there to play in the local Britt Festival which takes place in Jacksonville, a small mountain community about a half hour out of Ashland.

Dinner on the deck at Martino's Macaroni's was very nice. We had Ceasar Salads and I had my favorite Spaghetti and Meatballs. Leslie had the winner of the night though with Rigatoni al Pezzetto--Italian sausage, onions, olives, roasted red pepper and feta cheese in a pomodoro sauce. We also had a nice lunch at Si, Casa Flores, Mexican restaurant we love in Medford and had a disappointing breakfast at longtime favorite Black Bear Restaurant.

Finally, our last meal in Ashland was at a new discovery. Sesame is a place open for about two years now so it has opened since our last trip to the Festival. It sits right across the street from beautiful Lithia Park and right next to the creek. Sesame as its name implies, specializes in asian cuisine but it has quite successfully and creatively made some interesting twists on some wonderful dishes. We started with some lettuce wraps of chicken or tofu in slightly spiced coconut sauce and served with bean sprouts, cilantro, carrots, chopped peanuts and mirin soaked cucumber. Next we enjoyed a fresh and delicious Imperial Palace Salad created using napa cabbage, daikon, carrots, asian pears, orange segments, toasted almonds and topped with a tangerine vinaigrette. I chose Vietnamese Fish and Chips with tempura battered Basa, an Asian white fish with solid pinkish flesh perfect for the light batter. It included sweet potato fries, asian slaw and a sweet coriander dipping sauce for the Basa. Leslie chose Phuket Shrimp with wide rice noodles, a peanut sauce, topped with roasted peanuts, cilantro, mung beans sprouts and lime. A terrific meal taken outdoors along the creekside on a beautiful sunny day in Ashland, Oregon.

Bellingham Breakfast Specials

Where's the best place to get breakfast in Bellingham? I thought it might be a good idea to offer some ideas from my perspective. Bellingham is no dining mecca to be sure though there are a few, and only a very few, exceptions. However, where breakfast is concerned a few more options open up. Here is my list of favorite places in no particular order. They all have their pluses and minuses.

Avenue Bakery
Old Town Cafe
The Bagelry
The Mount Bakery
Harris Avenue Cafe
Web Locker

Well, that is a longer list than I thought. It does not include the chains like Denny's and IHOP nor a few other locally owned places that for a variety of reasons don't make my list.

Avenue Bread and Cafe--My wife and I love Avenue for a weekend breakfast or to stop in and buy their delicious breads. We usually stop in to buy a loaf or two of their day old loafs, especially the whole grain loaf. Their breakfast eggenues are a delicious and economical way to start the day. Combined with a cup of their great coffee options, you have a terrific breakfast made with the best organic, local ingredients. Have a seat with your number and the friendly staff will locate you at your table where you can greet local friends or peruse the morning papers.

Old Town Cafe--A real local spot. Here you'll rub shoulders with folks from all walks of life but it does lean toward the college student, granola crowd. We love the community table where several people can sit and you never know who your neighbors will be. Due to the all organic nature of the place, prices aren't the lowest of the spots on my list, but the food is hearty, well prepared and delicious. I enjoy there steel-cut oatmeal with fresh fruit, the home-made granola with yogurt and fruit as well as the full breakfasts with eggs, thick sliced bacon, browns and whole grain toast.

The Bagelry--another local favorite and with good reason. They make some of the best bagels I have eaten west of NYC. These are the real thing. Lots of flavors to choose from and they also offer a good breakfast and lunch. My only grip is that they serve their food on paper plates and plastic tableware. Otherwise, good funky place for a good well-priced hot breakfast with great bagels!


The Mount Bakery--Another funky spot downtown Bellingham, the bakery is noted for its pastries, Belgian waffles, croissants, Eggs Benedict with organic eggs, freshly made hollandaise sauce and local Hempler bacon. Look for you Benedict on a Belgian waffle topped with fesh local crab or smoked salmon. They also make wedding cakes and truffles using Belgian chocolate. My only complaint here is that the dining area's tall ceiling and bare walls tend to make the place rather noisy.

Harris Avenue Cafe--This little cafe is located in Fairhaven, what was once a separate community long ago became a part of Bellingham. It is the most scenic part of Bellingham attracting locals and tourists in droves. The Cafe is quite like The Old Town Cafe in many ways. It too is rustic, funky and attracts the granola crowd as much as the rest of us. Great granola, and oatmeal, organic local products are served. Eggs any style, local potatoes, breakfast meats, and the sweeter side, pancakes and waffles, are served as well.

The Web Locker--Our final stop, this cafe is my most recent find. Due to my new involvement with boating, I found the Web Locker in the local Squalicum Harbor. This place is especially great to sit in the outdoor seating on a beautiful sunny Bellingham summer day. Open for breakfast and lunch, Web Locker's recently got some big attention when it was nominated for having the best burger in western Washington. Its New England style clam chowder is also a local favorite. As good as their lunch is I'm here for the breakfast menu and that ain't bad either. Quick, friendly service, fair prices and good food are what you'll find here. Eggs and omelets, browns, bacon or sausage, toast and a cup of coffee. just what the doctor ordered before heading down to work on the boat.

So get out there and enjoy a good breakfast. Choose on of my favorites or go looking for your own. Only, please, if IHOP or Denny's are your cup of tea, well, just keep it to yourself thanks.

Back to Atlanta and Home

June 31st, our final day on our southern road trip before boarding our flight home to the cooler temps of Bellingham. We packed up and after breakfast at the hotel, headed for Atlanta. The drive was uneventful. We finally took some photos of the Kudzu that we'd seen so much of along our way. This funny looking vine often takes the shape of familiar objects like clouds often do, but sadly it has become a real problem to control here in the south.

As we drove along, Leslie discovered Harold's Barbecue in Atlanta was right on our way into the city. She read its description aloud and it sounded like a place we ought to try so we took the turn off for it just as we came into town. The description read that it was located between a housing project and a state prison, but not to worry as lots of cops ate there as well. The location wasn't that seedy but there were cops there. I had wanted to try Brunswick Stew and hadn't had a chance the entire trip so I ordered that along with some ribs. Leslie ordered her usual pulled pork sandwich. The stew is a thick southern vegetable soup with meat added. In the case of the Georgia style it is usually pork. The stew was a disappointment. It was pretty flavorless and sadly it was a foretaste of the rest of the meal. After Sargent White's, Harold's just didn't even come close to matching up. Later on I read that they had stopped using wood fires to BBQ their meats and had gone over to a gas oven. What are they thinking? A sad, disappointing final taste of the south.

We had a plane to catch. We had hired our car downtown Atlanta instead of the airport saving ourselves the high airport taxes they tack on when you get the car their. It was an easy and very convenient train ride from the airport to the center of Atlanta and then only a 3 block walk to the car rental agency. We returned our car and they even drove us the 3 blocks to the train station for the return to the airport.

Our visit to the south was wonderful. Oh, I know I have complained a lot in this blog series about the heat and humidity and it was genuinely a problem for me and Leslie as well. I would recommend taking the trip during a cooler time of year, perhaps early spring or fall.

But don't stay home for any other reason. I have long stayed away from travel in the deep south for reasons that are really prejudicial which is rather ironic because that was my image of the south--prejudiced white supremacists driving around in old beater pick up trucks proudly flying the stars and bars, poor blacks relegated to run down neighborhoods, marginalized where opportunities in life are concerned. The separate water fountains, Jim Crow laws, etc. may have been outlawed, but. . .

Now admittedly I am seeing it through the eyes of a caucasian male, but my view of southerners both black and white was one of a warm, friendly and generous folk. The racism so burned into my memory from all those 60's images was simply not evident anywhere during the trip. Instead those ugly ways seem to have been exposed for what they were, not hidden or swept under a rug, but admitted to and now there is a feeling of live and let live. Oh, I'm not naive enough to think racism no longer exists in the south, I'm just saying that, like the rest of the country, we have come a long way.

Successful, affluent African Americans were quite evident everywhere. The charm of the old south is also evident everywhere--in conversations, the service, courtesy, warmth and friendliness of nearly everyone we met and so one day very soon I'd like to return and continue exploring more of the south.

Savannah, Georgia

Before leaving for Savannah, we had one last meal I have got to share with you (if only I could) in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Sargent White's Diner was our vote for the best BBQ on the trip. We were the first to arrive at the diner that morning. We needed to drive to Savannah and so we wanted an early start. I tried the ribs and three sides, mac and cheese, corn bread and greens. Leslie tried the pulled pork, butter beans, corn bread. The deep smoky flavor of the ribs was lay your head on the table and cry good. The meat melted in your mouth and fell from the bone. The greens were smoky as well, with chunks of ham scattered throughout. The corn bread was moist and the mac and cheese rich and creamy. We were able to have a short chat with the Sargent before leaving and thanking him profusely, told him about where we'd been on our trip and declared his BBQ the best we'd ever had. The next day I picked up the shirt I had worn at the diner and could still smell the smoky flavor of Sargent White's ribs. It still permeates the menu I took home with us. If you are anywhere near Beaufort, SC in your travels, Sargent White's is a must!

We headed down the highway next to the final destination on our trip--Savannah. We arrived in the late afternoon, drove around familiarizing ourselves with this beautiful city and got ourselves checked in to our hotel.

We stumbled onto The Lady and Sons, the Paula Deen owned restaurant destination I had been looking forward to. The more I read about it the more I thought this was going to probably be a mistake--another victim of it's owner's success. Call me crazy but I have admired Paula Deen for a long time. I guess it is partly a result of her rags to riches story (only in America). You can look up the story if you want to know more about her. Its easy to find.

I let Leslie out in front of the restaurant to try and get us in or get a reservation and I drove around the block waiting for her. She hopped back in the car announcing we had an 8:30 reservation. Cool!

We drove around town some more fascinated with the squares that dot the city. When originally laid out, every so many blocks a park-like square was placed. It is surrounded on all four sides by lovely homes, many antebellum, or sometimes a church, shops or municipal buildings. It makes for a much more small town feel breaking up each area into neighborhoods. The trees were draped with wisps of moss and life just slowed down in Savannah. I now know why southerners talk with that slow, genteel drawl and why they move just a little slower. Its got to be the heat and humidity! If you tried to move through life at a faster pace, you'd just have to lay down and die.

That evening we drove over to The Lady and Sons for dinner. The downtown was a lot less lively compared to earlier in the day so it was easy to find a parking place. The evening breezes also made it more pleasant outdoors so the walk through the streets was much more fun.

We arrived early and walked into the gift shop attached to the restaurant. Every Paula Deen endorsed cooking item was available. From pots and pans to utensils, knives, you name it. I located a copy of her second cookbook (I already had the first one) and noticed they were autographed by Paula. I had to have one of those. Her cookbooks, just as her TV show, are filled with recipes that are very southern and don't hold back when it comes to using original ingredients. No fat-free recipes here.

Our table was waiting for us. We were sent to the third floor dining room! Third floor? This place has three stories high, each floor with its own dining room. It makes the restaurant much more flexible. A wedding reception for a couple of hundred could be going on on one floor and the general public could still be accommodated on the other two. Still, it seemed quite a factory sort of set up. To my surprise, the food was quite good. I had some of the best fried chicken of the trip and despite the fact that I opted for the buffet line, the food was fresh, hot and as good or better than many of the Road Food recommended spots we tried. I settled on several of the sides and was not disappointed. My favorite greens were smoky and chunks of pork were scattered throughout. The mac and cheese was creamy and delicious and the corn bread, moist. Leslie was just not that hungry and sadly, opted for a big salad that was fine but wasn't representative of what we were there for. My dinner was delicious and my expectations were not disappointed. I'd go back if I was in Savannah again. Thanks Paula.

The next day we headed out to Fort Pulaski and Tybee Island along the Inter-coastal waterway. The fort was pre-civil war, built much in the style of Fort McHenry in Baltimore and many others of its era. It is star shaped offering its weapons the ability to shoot overlapping patterns at enemy ships.Thick walls made it pretty much impenetrable up through the civil war. I followed along with a very interesting ranger guided tour for a while but the heat was just getting too overwhelming so I ducked into the air conditioned gift shop to cool down. Fort Pulaski was so hot and humid that Leslie was even affected by the heat. We got some ice cold water out of a machine, got that down and decided to call it a day with the outdoor site seeing.

We drove over to Tybee Island and took a look at a tall light house for which the Carolina coast is famous. Then we headed back into Savannah stopping along the way at a Piggly Wiggly, the famous southern grocery store chain. We bought a bunch of souvenirs there--t-shirts and mugs. Deciding it was time to get out of the heat, we found a movie theater and sat through Knight and Day, a new Tom Cruise film. Fun!

The final full day of our trip ended with a swim in the hotel pool and staying in for the evening. We were tired and ready to head home.
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Next--The Final Day--Back to Atlanta and the flight home