Dia de los Muertos
Offering
Great school activity today when a mom came in to teach kids about Dia de los Muertos. I had always known the holiday to be one that was a bit scary, a bit morbid and I could never figure out why the skeletons were always dancing. The mom did a great job at explaining how the food was an offering of smells and favorite thing from family members who have passed on. Fresh fruit, flowers (marigolds), tamales, chocolate and “Pan Muerto,” translated literally to “dead bread” can be made with a family member’s name on it. Very cool tradition. It reminded me of when our family was invited to a Tet New Year celebration for the Vietnamese culture. The habits are so similar. It reminded me a bit of paganism with the concepts of calling the dead with smells and flavors and offerings.
Not scary at all and so beautiful to look at. What a great, and, surprisingly peaceful and celebratory holiday.
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Stone Soup
I never really got the point of the book, Stone Soup. Maybe its that I don’t like the idea of starving children. Maybe because I’m too base to understand the big moral story. In any case, it was never really one of my favorites. However, the book “The Real Story of Stone Soup” I like a lot more. It’s clever and silly and has a beautiful Asian twist to it. The illustrations are great too.
Thing 2 asked if we could make Stone Soup for dinner tonight. And indeed, we are. Here’s the recipe:
The Chang Brothers’ Egg Drop Stone Soup 2 T canola oil 2 cloves garlic, fine chop 1/4 c. chopped onion 1/4 cup mushrooms 4 pieces banana leaf 2 tomatoes cubed 4 cups chicken stock (or hot&sour soup mix) 8 ounces white fish (halibut is good) 1 large egg, well beaten 1 t sesame oil 1 T soy sauce and of course, 3 stones, washed thoroughly Heath oil in wok or skillet. Add garlic, onion, mushrooms. Cook for one minute. Add banana leaf, tomato. Reduce heat. Stir in stock. Add stones. Boil. Reduce heat and add fish, bring to boil again. Turn off heat. Stir soup in one direction with chopstick and slowly pour in egg so egg forms long threads. Stir in sesame oil and soy sauce. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve hot!Read More
Thirsty Neighbors
No Water in the Reservior
Every time I walk into Starbucks and see their Ethos Water campaign, I want to cringe. It’s not that I’m against bringing water to the countries and areas of the world in need, but moreover that the need begins right here. And it’s not not need, it’s a desperate cry. Our neighbors right here in California are losing their livelihood (and in some cases, lives) to the lack of water. This isn’t Rwanda, folks, this is Central California.
People want to beat the crap out of the Governor and Congress for rationing water in the area, but truth be told, as my mother-in-law puts it: “Congress didn’t keep the rain from falling.”
There are signs up and down 1-5 that I’m sure you’ve seen saying “No Water = No Crops. No Crops = No Jobs.” You can see the parched land from your air conditioned car tearing down the highway, only stopping for In-N-Out or a pee break. But off the highway, it’s even more serious.
Generations of California families have been sucker punched to a standstill. There are pumps, there is acreage. There is a need, a want to save miles of trees and agriculture in just about every direction you look. But there is no water running here.
This isn’t a new problem, of course. But it’s becoming increasingly harder for me to swallow. I just can’t watch huge marketing campaigns flinging around God complexes like they’re white flags. I have such a hard time understanding how we can turn a blind eye to our own neighbors, our own state’s citizens who have brought damn good agriculture to the nation for a frigging long time. There is really no reason to blame politics, as Jon Stewart points out, we wouldn’t have this land to farm if it weren’t for The New Deal about a good few decades ago. Look in your backyard, people. And the next time you think about giving, think about the families in Central California whose lives are literally being dried up.
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Shame on You, Fruit Fakers
Fake Fruit Offenders
Lined up the “fruit” snacks at Costco yesterday and in horror, found six of the eight brands to have High Fructose Corn Syrup as the number one or two ingredient. The other two, an organic, real fruit thingy, looked like beef jerkey, so I passed. The one I bought looked safe enough, Sun Rype Fruit Source Mini Bites which, in fact taste like ass.
Here are the big offenders, in a firing line of Shame, Garza Style.
Fruit by the Foot
Tree Top Fruit (by candy maker Brachs)
Fruity Snacks (by another candy maker, Jelly Belly)
Kellogg’s Fruity Snacks
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Fish Stinks
When I was a kid we ate fish on Fridays (or, if we got lucky, Filet ‘O’ Fish from Mackers). It wasn’t that I disliked fish, it was that I absolutely hated the smell of fish that lingered in our house for two days. And worse, the smell of cleaning products lingering over the top of the fish smell. Ick.
I make fish a couple times a week at home, but I absolutely refuse to do the nasty fish smell in our house. I bake or grill our fish only. No exceptions. I don’t care if there isn’t a crusty skin top or a quick pan fry that makes fish taste so yummy and oily. Nope, bake the sucker. Trust me on this one.
Baked Fish
What you need:
Glass Pan
Tin Foil
Pam
Sea salt
Fresh herbs
Panko Bread crumbs
Olive oil
Halibut, Sea Ball or other white fish
What to do:
Put foil in pan, Pam on foil
Rub fish in oil, then mixture of salt, crumbs and herbs
Fold foil over half of fish
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes
No smell:
Serve fish onto plate
Take tin foil in whole and throw directly outside to your trash bin
Put glass pan in dishwasher
Trust me on this, your kitchen will smell liked warm food, not dead fish.
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Side Gigs
