Wow, has it been almost a week since my last post? I'm such a slacker. Sorry, guys.
A friend of mine recently commented on the fact that John hasn't shown up much in this blog. Don't worry, that's not a sign of trouble in paradise. Nobody wants to hear about our schmoopiness, but nobody wants to hear me whine about how men can never pick up their dirty underwear, either. Plus, he reads it, so I find it best to keep the really personal stuff off of there. If you want dirt, you can call me. :-)
I will say that the other night, I had a dream in which I had a baby. Now, I've had dreams before where I was pregnant, but I think this is the first time a dream produced a babe-in-arms. I had a baby, I was holding out, and then I gave the baby to my dad to hold. He was ecstatic to be holding a grandkid, and I was pretty happy myself. Not weirded out, or trying to stuff my fingers in my ears, or holding the kid at arm's length to avoid spit-up. Doesn't take a rocket scientist there to figure that one out. I just can't decide if this is my long-absent maternal instinct finally making an appearance, or a sign of the apocalypse.
Speaking of the apocalypse, I officially have two (unpaid) weeks off for Christmas. We'll spend the first in Missouri with his family, and the second in Virginia with mine. Punctuated by A LOT of driving. I'm going to create a game called Holiday Bingo, with squares like I Have To Pee Again, Is There More Gravy?, Have You Gained More Weight?, I Wish You'd Taken That Teaching Job, and When Are You Going To Have A Baby? First person to get Bingo gets to stand up in the middle of dinner and randomly yell BINGO!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Great Culinary School Debate
Last night I stopped by the San Diego Culinary Institute while I was out running errands. I chatted with one of the admissions ladies for a few minutes. She ran through the curriculum, and I was surprised to realize I already knew a good bit of it. I was also surprised to realize that the idea of going to culinary school has really taken hold.
Now, granted, if Culinary Institute of America were to offer me a full scholarship, I'd be there tomorrow. But that's not likely to happen. And much as I would enjoy getting and utilizing a degree from CIA, I can't in good conscience rationalize another $80,000 tuition bill. Or two and a half years of full-time study (but wouldn't that be fun? Spending two and a half years banging around in one of the greatest kitchens in the world?).
The cooking school in San Diego is considerably less expensive, and I could finish up in 6-9 months (depending on whether I went full-time or part-time), but I would still be looking at spending just over $20K. For credentialing, essentially, and possibly some improvement on my knife skills. Apparently my cooking knowledge is greater than I thought; one of the exams there is to identify, by taste and smell, 50 different spices. I already own more than 50 different spices, so no problem there. I can already make a bearnaise sauce, beef stock, souffle, and carve up a whole chicken. And frankly, my knives are better than the ones included in their chef's kit. Oh, and they offered no classes in wine or wine pairings. How is that even possible in a culinary school? Another checkmark for CIA.
While I have no idea how I would pull it off, financially speaking, I love the idea of cooking for a living. And of getting the requisite training, even if I already know a lot of the basics. But how to finance it, and my living expenses while getting the degree?
Now, granted, if Culinary Institute of America were to offer me a full scholarship, I'd be there tomorrow. But that's not likely to happen. And much as I would enjoy getting and utilizing a degree from CIA, I can't in good conscience rationalize another $80,000 tuition bill. Or two and a half years of full-time study (but wouldn't that be fun? Spending two and a half years banging around in one of the greatest kitchens in the world?).
The cooking school in San Diego is considerably less expensive, and I could finish up in 6-9 months (depending on whether I went full-time or part-time), but I would still be looking at spending just over $20K. For credentialing, essentially, and possibly some improvement on my knife skills. Apparently my cooking knowledge is greater than I thought; one of the exams there is to identify, by taste and smell, 50 different spices. I already own more than 50 different spices, so no problem there. I can already make a bearnaise sauce, beef stock, souffle, and carve up a whole chicken. And frankly, my knives are better than the ones included in their chef's kit. Oh, and they offered no classes in wine or wine pairings. How is that even possible in a culinary school? Another checkmark for CIA.
While I have no idea how I would pull it off, financially speaking, I love the idea of cooking for a living. And of getting the requisite training, even if I already know a lot of the basics. But how to finance it, and my living expenses while getting the degree?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving 2009
Continuing the Great Thanksgiving Travel Tradition, John and I took in some California scenery this weekend. Admittedly, it wasn't nearly as exotic as previous years' excursions (Rome, Buenos Aires), but it was considerably cheaper. The road trip earlier this year pretty much entirely destroyed my travel budget for the rest of the year (actually, it destroyed pretty much all my budgets, but hey. It was worth it).
We started with Joshua Tree National Park, continued to Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, and ended the trip by coming down Big Sur and taking in Hearst Castle. It was great doing something that was in no way holiday related; as everyone else stressed over cooking the turkey and got caught in Black Friday traffic, we zipped through some incredible natural surroundings and ate potato chips and burritos. With almost no traffic.
Joshua Tree wasn't quite as alien a landscape as Badlands, but it was close. Strange trees, weirdly-shaped piles of rocks, desert. It was a beautiful clear sunny day, which provided us with some great views. And we saw a coyote. We spent the rest of the day driving up to Fresno, a convenient gateway to both Sequoia and Yosemite. Before I moved out here, I thought everyone in California was a surfer and a Democrat and smoked a lot of weed. You know, the classic stereotype. I was somewhat dismayed to discover exactly how many farms and farmers (and rednecks, and Republicans, and pickup trucks) there are in central/inland California.
We started the next day in Sequoia, where I got to drive some really twisty and fun mountain roads, and we saw some really big damn trees. Really. Big. Sequoia groves are eerily silent; maybe because the trees are so damn big, but I didn't hear any birds or see any other wildlife. No squirrels or chipmunks. The only spot of holiday traffic was in Yosemite; we got there about 2 pm on Black Friday, and apparently a great many people had the same idea, because it was really crowded. But it wouldn't have been a good day to visit, anyway; it was rainy and foggy, obscuring most of the famous views. All those people, and the rain, made me cranky. Fortunately, the rain provided an amazing double rainbow just outside the park's exit. I don't think I've ever seen a rainbow that was so bright or so close. Hearst Castle had a fair number of visitors, but there were only eight or so on our particular tour, and every other park/place we visited was almost entirely deserted.
It was great seeing Big Sur without all the traffic that I encoutered the first time I drove through; and it was also great taking the mountain roads there and in Sequoia without any traffic. John did at least half the driving, for which I was eternally grateful. It's very different seeing a national park from the passenger seat. He drives like my grandma, but it kept my road trip-related injuries from acting up (so I tried my damndest not to point out all the times when he was driving more than five miles under the speed limit). We road-trip very well together, my lead foot aside. Good tunes, an open road, and someone to share it with. What could be better? You can see the pics at Flickr.
Hearst Castle is the West Coast equivalent of Biltmore; an obnoxiously big and pretentious estate. There's some pretty stuff inside, but it's all thrown together. The house has no sense of itself. It's obvious Hearst was buying stuff just to buy it, to show off how much money he had, because why else would you ever put so much useless crap in one room? Decorative friezes, Greek vases, Roman statuary, medieval triptychs, Italian marble fireplaces, Renaissance portraiture, Turkish rugs, and Art Deco lamps have absolutely no business all being piled up in the same room. But there were amazing views, and I got the opportunity to drool over the enormous kitchen.
We got back late Saturday night and crashed (1700 miles in three days will do that to you). On Sunday, I ran errands and visited my friend Dave in LA. He works in a bar on Rodeo Drive, so I got to pretend to be well-heeled for the afternoon. We got in a quick drink at the Beverly Wilshire (of "Pretty Woman" fame) as well. I really like LA--I need to spend more time there.
John will be working late all this next week, so I'll be ramping up my cooking efforts and catching up on my reading. I'm eager to dive into the new Stephen King.
We started with Joshua Tree National Park, continued to Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, and ended the trip by coming down Big Sur and taking in Hearst Castle. It was great doing something that was in no way holiday related; as everyone else stressed over cooking the turkey and got caught in Black Friday traffic, we zipped through some incredible natural surroundings and ate potato chips and burritos. With almost no traffic.
Joshua Tree wasn't quite as alien a landscape as Badlands, but it was close. Strange trees, weirdly-shaped piles of rocks, desert. It was a beautiful clear sunny day, which provided us with some great views. And we saw a coyote. We spent the rest of the day driving up to Fresno, a convenient gateway to both Sequoia and Yosemite. Before I moved out here, I thought everyone in California was a surfer and a Democrat and smoked a lot of weed. You know, the classic stereotype. I was somewhat dismayed to discover exactly how many farms and farmers (and rednecks, and Republicans, and pickup trucks) there are in central/inland California.
We started the next day in Sequoia, where I got to drive some really twisty and fun mountain roads, and we saw some really big damn trees. Really. Big. Sequoia groves are eerily silent; maybe because the trees are so damn big, but I didn't hear any birds or see any other wildlife. No squirrels or chipmunks. The only spot of holiday traffic was in Yosemite; we got there about 2 pm on Black Friday, and apparently a great many people had the same idea, because it was really crowded. But it wouldn't have been a good day to visit, anyway; it was rainy and foggy, obscuring most of the famous views. All those people, and the rain, made me cranky. Fortunately, the rain provided an amazing double rainbow just outside the park's exit. I don't think I've ever seen a rainbow that was so bright or so close. Hearst Castle had a fair number of visitors, but there were only eight or so on our particular tour, and every other park/place we visited was almost entirely deserted.
It was great seeing Big Sur without all the traffic that I encoutered the first time I drove through; and it was also great taking the mountain roads there and in Sequoia without any traffic. John did at least half the driving, for which I was eternally grateful. It's very different seeing a national park from the passenger seat. He drives like my grandma, but it kept my road trip-related injuries from acting up (so I tried my damndest not to point out all the times when he was driving more than five miles under the speed limit). We road-trip very well together, my lead foot aside. Good tunes, an open road, and someone to share it with. What could be better? You can see the pics at Flickr.
Hearst Castle is the West Coast equivalent of Biltmore; an obnoxiously big and pretentious estate. There's some pretty stuff inside, but it's all thrown together. The house has no sense of itself. It's obvious Hearst was buying stuff just to buy it, to show off how much money he had, because why else would you ever put so much useless crap in one room? Decorative friezes, Greek vases, Roman statuary, medieval triptychs, Italian marble fireplaces, Renaissance portraiture, Turkish rugs, and Art Deco lamps have absolutely no business all being piled up in the same room. But there were amazing views, and I got the opportunity to drool over the enormous kitchen.
We got back late Saturday night and crashed (1700 miles in three days will do that to you). On Sunday, I ran errands and visited my friend Dave in LA. He works in a bar on Rodeo Drive, so I got to pretend to be well-heeled for the afternoon. We got in a quick drink at the Beverly Wilshire (of "Pretty Woman" fame) as well. I really like LA--I need to spend more time there.
John will be working late all this next week, so I'll be ramping up my cooking efforts and catching up on my reading. I'm eager to dive into the new Stephen King.
Monday, November 23, 2009
You know you're in California when... Part 2
I have just purchased earthquake insurance. Which, like flood insurance, is entirely separate and not covered in any standard homeowner's/renter's policy. It does not cover china.
San Diego Wine and Food Festival
This weekend I went to the annual San Diego Wine and Food Festival, held in Embarcadero Park, overlooking the ocean. First, let me just say that as far as I'm concerned, that is an ideal way to spend a Saturday. 70 degrees, sunny, on the water, wandering from booth to booth sampling great food, great wine, exotic liquors, artisanal chocolates and oils, cigars, craft beers, etc., not to mention collecting all the free swag (magazines, recipes, coupons, pens, blah blah blah). I discovered a lot of new and small wineries, and got some great ideas to apply to my own cooking (notable flavor combinations and ideas include: scallops with edamame puree, tuna tartare with lemon confit, gnocci with duck ragu, and hummus with pomegranate seeds).
I ate a lot, drank a lot, and took some great pictures of the water. Craft vodkas and tequilas were big, as were Mexican fusion flavors—I had at least twenty different variations of the classic fish-and-chile combination. I tasted a lavendar liqueur, wine jellies, and smoky mushrooms cooked in a Big Green Egg (which, FYI, I am seriously lusting after right now).
Favorite finds included:
Eclipse Chocolat. A local company specializing in some really awesome chocolates. Chocolate bar flavors include Sweet Basil-Mint, Gingerbread Crumb, Sea-Salt Nib, Blackberry Sage, Coconut Lime, Mango Masala, Orange Peel Anise, Espresso Walnut, Chile Hazelnut, Moroccan Spice, Macadamia Ginger, and Kyoto Green Tea. My favorite is the Sea-Salt Nib—big chunks of sea salt, with a hint of lavendar, spread throughout the chocolate bar. Sounds bizarre, but trust me, it is really really good. Especially for a salt fiend like me.
Temecula Olive Oil Company. Artisanal olive oils and vinegars, made from 100% California olives. Yum.
Forlorn Hope Wines. A small-batch Napa winery. Their La Gitana Torrontes is the only Torrontes I've ever had (including all the ones I had in Argentina) that wasn't cloyingly sweet. Phenomenal balance and fruit. The Mil Amores blend was also spectacular. I like wines like this—made from uncommon grapes, by a winemaker who's more interested in quality than quantity. The downside of that is that these wines will be hard to find—I'll probably have to break down and order them directly from the winery. But well worth it, in my opinion.
As an added bonus, the winemaker is really cute.
Peltier Station Wines. I'm not usually one for dessert wines. They also tend to be cloyingly sweet, and served with desserts that are already cloyingly sweet in themselves. But Peltier Station USB is one of the few fruity-but-not-sweet dessert wines in the world. I really liked this. It's 100% Zinfandel, technically a port, but called USB because a new EU rule dictates that wineries can't use the word "port" unless the wine was made in Portugal. So they called it USB instead...Get it? USB? Port? In another outstanding bit of geekery, the binary code on the front of the bottle translates to "Peltier Station." Awesome.
Caliza Winery. Azimuth: a blend of Rhone varietals, Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, Tannat and Alicante Bouschet. Very well balanced, and apparently Robert Parker's favorite of the bunch. Kissin' Cousins: another Rhone blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Viognier.
Bonus points for their excellent font.
Vinni Bag. Why the hell didn't anyone think of this before?
Bledsoe Gallery. Because I'm a sucker for good travel photography—and pictures of wine corks.
I ate a lot, drank a lot, and took some great pictures of the water. Craft vodkas and tequilas were big, as were Mexican fusion flavors—I had at least twenty different variations of the classic fish-and-chile combination. I tasted a lavendar liqueur, wine jellies, and smoky mushrooms cooked in a Big Green Egg (which, FYI, I am seriously lusting after right now).
Favorite finds included:
Eclipse Chocolat. A local company specializing in some really awesome chocolates. Chocolate bar flavors include Sweet Basil-Mint, Gingerbread Crumb, Sea-Salt Nib, Blackberry Sage, Coconut Lime, Mango Masala, Orange Peel Anise, Espresso Walnut, Chile Hazelnut, Moroccan Spice, Macadamia Ginger, and Kyoto Green Tea. My favorite is the Sea-Salt Nib—big chunks of sea salt, with a hint of lavendar, spread throughout the chocolate bar. Sounds bizarre, but trust me, it is really really good. Especially for a salt fiend like me.
Temecula Olive Oil Company. Artisanal olive oils and vinegars, made from 100% California olives. Yum.
Forlorn Hope Wines. A small-batch Napa winery. Their La Gitana Torrontes is the only Torrontes I've ever had (including all the ones I had in Argentina) that wasn't cloyingly sweet. Phenomenal balance and fruit. The Mil Amores blend was also spectacular. I like wines like this—made from uncommon grapes, by a winemaker who's more interested in quality than quantity. The downside of that is that these wines will be hard to find—I'll probably have to break down and order them directly from the winery. But well worth it, in my opinion.
As an added bonus, the winemaker is really cute.
Peltier Station Wines. I'm not usually one for dessert wines. They also tend to be cloyingly sweet, and served with desserts that are already cloyingly sweet in themselves. But Peltier Station USB is one of the few fruity-but-not-sweet dessert wines in the world. I really liked this. It's 100% Zinfandel, technically a port, but called USB because a new EU rule dictates that wineries can't use the word "port" unless the wine was made in Portugal. So they called it USB instead...Get it? USB? Port? In another outstanding bit of geekery, the binary code on the front of the bottle translates to "Peltier Station." Awesome.
Caliza Winery. Azimuth: a blend of Rhone varietals, Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, Tannat and Alicante Bouschet. Very well balanced, and apparently Robert Parker's favorite of the bunch. Kissin' Cousins: another Rhone blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Viognier.
Bonus points for their excellent font.
Vinni Bag. Why the hell didn't anyone think of this before?
Bledsoe Gallery. Because I'm a sucker for good travel photography—and pictures of wine corks.
Friday, November 20, 2009
You know you live in California when...
Last night I called a petsitting agency, to book someone to take care of the cats while John and I are traveling for Christmas. Here's an excerpt from that conversation...
Petsitter: "We can arrange to bring in your mail and water your plants, in addition to feeding the cats and taking care of the litterbox."
Me: "Oh! I hadn't even thought about that. If you could water the plants too, that would be great."
Petsitter: "Just so you know, we can't water any plants of the illegal variety."
Me: (...Pause.) "All my plants are of the garden edible legal variety, thanks. But...Really? Is that an issue? Does that come up a lot?"
Petsitter: (Darkly.) "Oh, you'd be surprised."
I had to laugh.
Petsitter: "We can arrange to bring in your mail and water your plants, in addition to feeding the cats and taking care of the litterbox."
Me: "Oh! I hadn't even thought about that. If you could water the plants too, that would be great."
Petsitter: "Just so you know, we can't water any plants of the illegal variety."
Me: (...Pause.) "All my plants are of the garden edible legal variety, thanks. But...Really? Is that an issue? Does that come up a lot?"
Petsitter: (Darkly.) "Oh, you'd be surprised."
I had to laugh.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Holiday changes
OK, so, John's son will not be joining us for Christmas. H's mother neatly killed the idea of him on an epic road trip. It's sad, but I suppose the good news is that John and I no longer have to kill ourselves on the driving part to keep it as short as possible. We can stop and see things, and if we decide to keep driving, one of us can stretch out and sleep in the backseat. I hope to get a week (or close to it) with his family, and a week (or close to it) with mine. We may still have to haul ass on the way back, as I'd like to spend New Year's in Virginia. But having done this once by myself, I'm excited about doing it again with a co-pilot. I wonder what it's like going cross-country in the passenger seat.
In other news, I think I've officially settled in here. Since I've moved, I've been beset with troubling dreams (exes coming back to haunt me, my hair falling out), held captive by strange anxieties (I never, ever made the bed before, and I find myself needing to do it here. Why is that?), and just been generally tense about the future. Residual stress from being laid off/the road trip/moving? Perhaps. Intense laboring to get out from under the shadow of my past relationships? Probably. I've been here long enough now to have established a comfort level, and now the anxiety falls away? That's part of it, too, I'm sure. One day this week I woke up totally relaxed and happy. No more bad dreams, no more weird stressing about cleaning or making the bed, no more wondering if I'd done the right thing. I have. And it's amazing.
Oh, OH! And this weekend I'll be attending the San Diego Food and Wine Festival! All day Saturday! Look for happily drunk, drooly, generally inspired food-and-wine-related blogging in a couple of days...
In other news, I think I've officially settled in here. Since I've moved, I've been beset with troubling dreams (exes coming back to haunt me, my hair falling out), held captive by strange anxieties (I never, ever made the bed before, and I find myself needing to do it here. Why is that?), and just been generally tense about the future. Residual stress from being laid off/the road trip/moving? Perhaps. Intense laboring to get out from under the shadow of my past relationships? Probably. I've been here long enough now to have established a comfort level, and now the anxiety falls away? That's part of it, too, I'm sure. One day this week I woke up totally relaxed and happy. No more bad dreams, no more weird stressing about cleaning or making the bed, no more wondering if I'd done the right thing. I have. And it's amazing.
Oh, OH! And this weekend I'll be attending the San Diego Food and Wine Festival! All day Saturday! Look for happily drunk, drooly, generally inspired food-and-wine-related blogging in a couple of days...
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