wishing the Pink Behreness a most happy new year!

Thanksgiving PS

A guest who will join us tomorrow night sent flowers for the table today. They are very pretty and they also stink. literally. The arrangement is mostly leaves and berries and the leaves stink. You can smell them all over the house, even upstairs. i am burning scented candles and may try spraying them with perfume. Any suggestions?!

Thanksgiving

Love and gratitude to everyone on Thanksgiving. Which i think Jolie just had!

of trains and trout

Planning to take the train to SLO on Friday, pick up Heather, and take the train back to Emeryville (close to my home in El Cerrito).

Our neighbors gave us some freshly caught trout earlier this year, which we've had frozen in the freezer. Thinking of cooking it for T'Giving, and wondering if you have any recipes to share?

Thanks!

Lauren

And this is REALLY good.
Jolie and i had this at a lovely Vietnamese restaurant yesterday. I think this is very close to what we had and i am definitely going to try it at home with the chicken version.
it looks here like a lot of work but my guess is, once you make it the first time, it is really easy.

Tip: do not over cook rice noodles.


Bún Thịt Nướng

Vietnam
Pastas and Noodles
Pork
Rice Noodles
Lowfat

Printer-friendly version
Pastas | Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong Image

(Vietnamese rice noodles with bbq pork and vegetables)

Bun thit nuong is a simple and favorite meal in Vietnam consisting of cold rice vermicelli mixed with fresh vegetables and topped with hot barbecued pork. Served with nuoc cham sauce, it is a good summer dish — light, lowfat, healthy and cool.

2 to 3 servings
Ingredients

Pork butt, partially frozen, then thinly sliced -- 1 pound
Shallots or scallions, minced -- 3
Garlic, minced -- 2 cloves
Thai or serrano chile peppers, minced -- 1 to 3
Sugar -- 2 teaspoons
Fish sauce -- 2 tablespoons
Lime, juice only -- 1
Salt and pepper -- to taste
Carrots, julienne or grated -- 3
Rice vermicelli -- 1 (8-ounce) package
Oil -- 2 tablespoons
Mung bean sprouts -- 2 cups
Greenleaf or romaine lettuce, shredded -- 1/2 head
Cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced -- 1/2
Cilantro -- 1/2 bunch
Mint -- 1/2 bunch
Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped -- 1/4 cup
Nuoc cham -- 1 cup

Method

In a large bowl, mix together the pork, shallots or scallions, garlic, chile peppers, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 15-30 minutes.
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add the carrots and blanch for about 30 seconds. Remove the carrots with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.
Place the rice vermicelli in a heat-proof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them set for 5-8 minutes until softened through. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan or wok over medium-high flame. Remove the pork from its marinade and sauté quickly until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add equal amounts of the carrots, sprouts and lettuce to each 2 or 3 deep serving bowls. Place equal amounts of rice noodles on top of the vegetables. Then place a spoonful of pork on top of the noodles to cover them about 1/3 of the way. Place the sliced cucumber neatly over another 1/3 of the noodles. Finally, lay sprigs of cilantro and mint over the remaining 1/3 of the noodles.
Sprinkle peanuts over each dish and serve with nuoc cham to pour over the noodles to taste.

Variations

Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong: add a deep-fried imperial roll to the top of the dish with the bbq pork.
Bun Bo Nuong: substitute beef for the pork.
Bun Ga Nuong: substitute chicken for the pork
Bun Tom Nuong: substitute peeled whole shrimp for the pork.
A Japanese-style mandolin slicer works well to julienne the carrots. You can also shred them with a box grater, in which case blanching is unnecessary.
Thai basil is also good as an herb garnish for this dish.
NUOC CHAM SAUCE

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1 cup water

Directions

In a medium bowl combine the garlic, red pepper flakes, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and water. Mix all together, adjusting to taste. Serve with grilled lemon grass beef.

A RECIPE TO TRY

Had this or something close to it today at a Chinese restaurant. i thought it was very good and am going to try it at home. you veggie types might like it too.

Fried tofu is great on it's own or dipped in just about any kind of sauce. You can also use fried tofu in a vegetable stir-fry, fried rice or noodle dish, or just about anything. I like to add fried tofu to vegetarian soups and salads for extra protein and a bit of crunchy texture. This Chinese-inspired fried tofu recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.
Ingredients:

1 block firm or extra firm tofu
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Preparation:

Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.
In a small bowl, combine the tofu with the remaining ingredients, except the oil, and toss gently to coat the tofu well. Or, place all ingredients in a zip-lock bag or covered container and shake well.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the tofu. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and lightly crispy.

YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE ROSTI?!

teach me. remember all of the "mit aig" rosti in Switzerland and how intensely Doo Dah could confuse a waiter mit our rosti orders?

cold and rainy

 Time to inspect the fireplace and the furnace.

I picked up the ingredients for the Quinoa patties, but it's hot buttered rum that has my attention now.

Meanwhile, Stella shows she doesn't even have to compete in  the "see how many Kilos we can lose by January 16 contest" that Laurie, Annis, and I have started.

check out Davies kinder...

 on the other blogs. good times in Singapore. love to all the PB klatchers.

http://joliejam.blogspot.com/...


http://www.annecam.blogspot.com/

quinoa recipe at a really great link

This lovely woman has just published her 2nd cookbook Super Natural Everyday. it is super indeed but even more so is her site because you can go down the choices on the left and find everything - except meat - that you might want to have a great recipe for. Lauren put me onto her maybe 2 years ago.. Heidi is the place i go first and her monthly FAVORITEs list is a delight too...good STUFF you enjoy knowing about.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baked-quinoa-patties-recipe.html

blood stories

Here's an article by Willl Self (newly-diagnosed with PV) in yesterday's 
Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/21/will-self-blood-disease

We often blame ourselves for our illnesses -- but if we go that route, we need to look at the collective self, spewing carcinogens into the air in order to support our elevated (and computer and car generated) life styles.

got recipes? for big Zucchini or green tomatoes?

if so, please post!

Here's one I adapted with turkey bacon, in part, because there's a muslim in my house. I hope she does not think she has sinned...

http://southernfood.about.com/od/zucchinirecipes/r/Zucchini-Squares.htm

OK LOLO, no prob getting here.

Go A!

Winged feet to eam, who left the Big Apple to run a half marathon today.

What to shred

according to Yahoooooo
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/113675/shred-financial-documents-mainstreet

HEY LYN!

CHALKBOARD DATA

The painting i did at the library is on chalkboard paint. Ariel knows all about it.

as to the above~
To create this effect at home, paint a wall (or a section of a wall) with chalkboard paint, such as Rustoleum's Chalkboard Brush-On Paint. Then hang a selection of vintage picture frames, which you can often find for modest sums at thrift shops and flea markets; vintage-style picture frames are also available from online sources such as United Picture & Frame Co. Alternatively, use a vinyl wall decal like the Oval Frame; $29 at Dali Decals.

Welcome Auntie!

Lyn A has joined us as a viewer and potential poster!

I love the view from Lyn's kitchen window --  one each of us has seen or at least been seen at, at one time or another.

 Here's sunset from my kitchen sink last night -- imagine the sounds of Middle and High School Football games in surround sound.

The picture was taken from my cell phone. My how technology has changed in the half-century since I was a young un eating cream of wheat at the kitchen counter where Lynn makes her morning coffee.  Today, I could probably upload a video and send the sounds through airwaves to your computers in Atlanta, San Louis Obispo, Jackson, New York, Sewanee, and Singapore in mere seconds with the click of my pinky finger.

Cat Door!

You know who really rules the roost!

Hey, is that a painting by child artist Heather in the background?

HOW ABOUT A DOOR FOR STARTERS JOLIE ; ) ?!

Wall

I would first like to say I have never blogged, I'm a blog weerjun. And my wainscot entry might have been a boring start. But now I am glad to report that thanks to the talented carpenter with a great attitude, who kept trying different pieces of wood configurations, he pulled it all together and it really looks like panelling. Upholstery- guilt lady in Wyoming, I appreciate your fabric story so much...I have in my home a closet of shame. It is stacked with fabrics and shiny objects that looked so good at the store. All sales final of course. I think if you get a big group of people together, and get them all to confess their worst waste stories, everyone will feel better. In fact, it is helping me now. Next entry involves a human.......not just a wall.

windows

This is our living room window at about 7 am. It is tinted, I hate that it is tinted, but I guess thats a tropical thing. It gets light at about 6:30 here, it goes from pitch dark to light pretty fast. M gets up around 6:40 and sits and looks out the window most mornings until I get up around 7:15. I took this picture from our bedroom door before she knew I was up. But I almost always know when she is up, I think I hear her little feet the minute they touch the floor. A couple of mornings in a row she spotted the two resident hornbills out the window - which I think is very cool.

week end

I lingered in bed this morning, listening to the dulcet keys of Herbie Hancock.  Plans this weekend for paying bills, feeding orchids, grading papers, running, taking a friend's mom  to Brunch,  checking in with Ariel about a project we are doing together. (She's doing some paid research for our Design Collaborative, to bolster advocacy for the program!).

It was a rough and tumble week for me in Department Chair land that required me, among other things, to call emergency medical personnel, placate angry students, address a frustrated faculty member's tearful outburst, and later, fight back my own tears in a discussion with my Dean about necessary accreditation reports. After this drama, grading papers actually feels meditative. And checking in with you, restorative.

 So What are you folks up to this weekend and week?  Heather just posted a comment on a September post below that she built a sidewalk!  Wondering how Karen's stairs wainscots are going?  Imagining falling Snow in Jackson, Cheerios in Singapore, and Ariel running in fall foliage. Write back if you are able to steal a moment to thrill the blogsteress with merely a post.

Love, Lola, Lolo, Lolly

Pretty pictures Lolo.

orchid, gardenia, laptop diversions

wainscot islands!

Great idea, I think. Should work.

my home improvement was, back at xmas time, hastily chosen fabric to recover the sofa...and while i was at it I chose, with equal speed, fabric for the chaise in the moose room. Waste was made. Ended up going to a designer and paying lots and lots more than a pretty penny to have them redone. As long as i was being that sort of It Must Be Done rash, I threw in the two chairs in front of the fireplace and a bunch of pillows. Now, like childbirth, the pain has been forgotten. All looks really good.
May add photos here but dont really think the improvement will especially show. And I NEED it to show!

the wise man seeks counsel...

My first post is about home improvement. Trying to be a do-it-yourself-er and cut out a step, I may have created the hall of shame. We needed some texture on a high traffic area, the stairway wall. I decided to add some shiplap boards, paint them, and that would be that. Turns out its very difficult to take the baseboard off steps. So instead of the whole wall, we decided to make "islands of wainscot". Now we will add picture moulding around these islands and paint them all together. I guess I should have consulted a professional because there is only a slight chance this will work out. And it will be an expensive mistake. Here is the before and I will post the after unless its so hideous that we rip it off the wall, have the holes repaired and never speak of it again.

from my new desk

With Annis moving in tomorrow, I'll be using the desk in the kitchen, often with the kitchen door open to let in air.

Welcome Karo!

Good to see you listed as a co-author.  Looking forward to seeing pictures of YOUR home.
Love,
Lolo

endearing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/14/bruce-huffman-esther-huffman_n_962277.htmlCompose

Which?

which room is this view from? the study?

sunset from upstairs room

That's Mount Tam.  I'll be renting this room to a woman from Iran, starting Sept. 20.  An extra roommate for the first year or so will make it a little easier to pay the bills -- but I'll regret losing this view.

 Hey Heather Mary Karen Ariel Jolie Mama, feel free to post your own window thoughts  -- as the sunsets, or rises, shines, or hides out your way..
love, Lola/o

living room shades

the large living room window

starfish by laurie

post your windows?

Thinking of Vivi!

Thinking of Vivienne this morning and hoping she feels better soon!

There's a soft fog in El Cerrito, which reminds me of North Carolina or Tennessee.

ok, tagged.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inberkeley/detail?entry_id=96444

here is an alternative - right in Berkeley to big time homeownership.

And the weekend? i was dealing with another Urinary Tract Infection and the troublesome med to heal it. Good bit of rest then. During that time we had some sudden and severe thunderstorms. just read in the paper today that these storms brought well over 7,000 lightening strikes in the mountains. I know of several that were wide of the mountain mark and one that was so close we could smell the smoke. it was like something was burning in the house or yard but no evidence of that could be seen.

And I lived vicariously through Irene who was so relatively kind to NYC and City Island and Ariel while moving on to do some really terrible destruction further north.

and how was YOUR weekend?

Thanks for the Ariel and Irene update.  The names sound beautiful together, so I'm glad their time together "flowed" without being too much.

 And thanks,  also for the lemon pesto recipe!  It sounds do-able.

So, who worked this weekend? and who played? And who managed both?    I sure needed the week to end!  Very grateful I am for weekends -- managed some errands (glasses and computer and laundry),  some work (emails, grading), and did some exercise (4 plodding miles around the track).  I have over 1500 messages in my inbox at work -- 250 for August.  My goal is to clear out the August ones by Wed.  You saw it here first!

And that's Blah Blah Blogging for you! Tag, ya'll are it.

love, Lolo.

Ariel and Irene

Ariel met Irene as " an uneventful evening" and " an uneventful morning"...more like a normal rain. The sea is now lapping at her door but Irene has moved on northward and the last report was" Wait, theres the sun!"

LEMON PESTO

LEMON PESTO

2 cups chopped basil ( I have done this with arugula too)
juice and zest of 1 large lemon
3 cloves of garlic
3 0z Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp olive oil
Coarsely ground pepper to taste

Blend all in blender or food processor

This amount is for 1 lb of pasta
You can also double the recipe and freeze little portions that are right for a smaller amount.
To freeze just cover the top of the pesto in the container with olive oil.

Irene

I watched the first two parts of Spike Lee's WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE last week. The damage and confusion was astounding.

Glad they are taking Irene seriously -- will be good to hear from Ariel, Frank, and others in New York.  It looks like all of might  have to get used to serious weather.

HELLOE HOUSE

iou you pesto pink B. wishing everyone well this weekend and especially Ariel out there in Long Island Sound!

hello house...

wow lolo! what a fun party.
will post the lemon pesto as pronto as possible.
muy full days right now. like you. like us all.
but more later and maybe another fav recipe too.

tuesday

Viv just pointed at the screen and said house. I replied Lolo's house, now she is repeating Lolo's house. Now Gabe is dumping cheerios on the key board.

lemon pesto recipe? : - )

Mama, you were going to post it here, yes?

Late Sunday afternoon sun, after a foggy day.  Taiko drummers at a block party nearby.  Tibetians on the basketball court.  Lots to do to prepare for the upcoming day. Where to start?

Baby olives!

Nino's nephew's 2d birthday

A Grandmother, Aunt, and cousins came all the way from Russia for this party, and the other Grandmother call all the way from Georgia. I drove from El Cerrito ... I was the age bracket of the grandmothers, but I didn't speak their languages, so I took photos with my phone - like the daughters.

Great Grandfather and great grandsons -- traditional homemade cake, and American "car" cake, plus pastries and fruit

the little prince carries a big bat

Nino can be very serious

The little prince, and his godmother's father's girlfriend

everyone crowded around for the candle blowing

test

test

an Observation and a Question

Have had a fine day, doing many things that i love AND had Mildred and baby Maisie Moose in the yard all day. Now, very soon,it will be time to go to the last concert of the year and I have observed that i would rather stay home. A good and unpredicted storm is brewing, we have excellent leftovers and fresh cookies and after that a good book.
They say this sort of stay homeness belongs exclusively to the Cancer sign. Do you think that is true?

hello house...

... missing your owner!

BULL!

I just walked out past the cabin, solo, quiet and ever alert to be wildlife that frequent the wetland. Looking to my right I see, in a strong ray of sunlight, an unfamiliar tree. A bit of magnificent movement revealed not golden branches but a the big brown head of a HUGE bull elk. After staring at each other for some minutes both slowly turned away at the same time I to come back home to tell you about this, he to continue on his stealthy way with what is likely an ever increasing harem.

I have seen several herds here at 2750 in the past years ( Ariel spotted the first one about 3 years ago as she drove up at night). There have been at least 2 groups come through every year as they head up the levee to cross the Snake. This is the first elk I have seen in daylight and up close. What a privilege! I am grateful, really, for everything about living here.

Think i will post on annecam about this. it was such a unique experience.

SUNFLOWERS AT THE TOP OF OLD PASS ROAD

to write a caption under each picture create a space between pictures by clicking at the end of the picture info. The info always ends with and begins with

Hoorah!

Jolie, Ariel, Heather, Lauren and MaMa are all here!

If you are having trouble adding comments, try using a different browser (I learned this via the Help menu).

Those of you more experienced in blogging than I have been made co-administrators; feel free to re-design the template or add other flourishes.  Also I'd like to know how to put captions on photos.

Thanks! Ariel, for this idea.

back yard on Aug 13

Agapanthus

Pink Lady (aka naked lady) and Amaryllus

Laurie's tomatoes, sunflowers, and nurse uniform

It's solid rain all day in New York.

I've been spending time looking for regional half marathons, right now I'm leaning towards one in Rhinebeck, NY. It looks a relatively easy town to negotiate without a car. My aesthetic is not much drawn to these New England clichés I have to admit.

I should go into "town" but I'm hesitant with all this rain.

I dreamt I was doing math problems in my sleep.

Pinkness

Heather writes:  .i can not believe yu [got] pink chairs for dining room! 
it looks like madonna inn!!


Lola writes:  Ha! Ha! Those chairs are apricot.  But now the pink cake at the party for Everybody makes more sense. (see AnneCam blog)

Feeling blue or pink? or moving toward purple?

http://www.jeongmeeyoon.com/aw_pinkblue.htm

nice olive branch

What plants are in your garden ? I was thinking the other morning in the botanical gardens a banana tree would would be most evocative in a Singapore garden. Some 30 minutes later, I learned from a passing group of vocal school kids it is a Banana Plant.

Dear House

Hello Baroness,
Here in the little house on the prairie I have just finished making basil lemon pesto that I will freeze in small containers.
This is the first time I have been able to grow basil outside. Why? Because I no longer listened to what I had been told would not work. That works!

August 13, 2011

The last Saturday before classes start -- I need to unpack, pay bills, send thank-yous, shop, and prep. Thanks to Ariel's influence, I'm also aiming to get in a run.  Will post photos later of what's blooming in the backyard.

Have set this right now so that only the authors can view.  We can branch out later, if we wish.