mizducky

Okay, a bunch of cooking has gone down, and a bunch of photos have gone up, so let me put them together for you all. First, the goat: here's some of my mise en place: We've got chicken broth, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, five-spice powder, white and red fermented bean curd (fu yu and nam yu respectively), ground white pepper, daikon, ginger, and garlic. Browning off the salted and peppered goat meat (because of the bones, I couldn't really cut these chunks into smaller pieces very easily, so I just went with them as is): Frying the nam yu, fu yu, and minced garlic and ginger--I hope, Ah Leung, that you won't be offended that I used cooking spray throughout instead of oil! I added two cups each of chicken broth and water, brought it to a boil, added a couple tablespoons worth of dark soy sauce and three teaspoons of the five spice powder (I do have whole star anice and Szechuan peppercorns, and cinnamon sticks, but none of the remainder of the five-or-so spices in whole form, so I decided to just go with the powder for the time being and see if that was strong enough). Then in went the browned meat: While that was simmering away under its lid, I turned my attention to my beets: Trimmed, washed, and ready to go in my trusty Pyrex baker--look how purty! Lidded them, and slid them into a pre-heated 300-degree F oven to bake for an hour or so. Then I got the daikon all ready to go: Oops! Didn't realize I forgot to peel them until way later, after they were in the pot and simmering with the meat. Oh well ... Then yer faithful correspondent took a bit of a rest, with a bowlful of the La Mesa Farmer's Market strawberries splashed with some of that balsamic from TJ's: To be continued ...

And today's goat-challenge winner is: (drum roll, please ...) Ah Leung's Cantonese goat recipe. But all your suggestions are winners--and like I said, I'm definitely filing them away for future purposes. Meanwhile I've been contemplating the beets. I think I'm going to steam the beetroots (they're relatively small), peel and slice or chunk them, and put them in a nice vinaigrette. Maybe also add a cucumber in my crisper that's begging to be used. The greens may wind up braised or sauted or something. If I have range-space and time to do the black beans with epazote, I may try that too. Leftovers galore! And also some really nice fodder for my picnic repast at tomorrow evening's outdoor concert. Off to the kitchen now to get myself sorted ... with camera at the ready, of course.

Greetings, earthlings! Man, this foodblogging thing is a workout! I slept like a rock! Breakfast once again was the roast beast in a whole wheat pita. When it's the first meal of the day, I'm very much a boring creature of habit--it has to be something I can assemble while still not quite compos mentis. Thanks for all the great responses, including the great responses to my goat query. They've really been stoking my creativity furnace, so of course now I've got enough ideas for about eight batches of goat creations. So please know that even if I don't use your suggestion, I'm definitely filing it away for future purposes--especially now that I know I have a good cheap source for the main ingredient. Now for some responses: Heh. I should add that, while I naturally gravitate to all the funky/ethnic/alternative sides of any city I reside in, the majority of San Diego is a relatively conservative town (in many senses of that word). But yeah, there is indeed some quality funk to be found. For further entertainment about Lestat's, check out their website. I almost forgot to mention one of the best things about this place--they also have a small but nice performance space next door with a little stage, where they have a variety of musical groups and open mics. The general consensus does seem to be running that I should do the beets separately from the meat. So now I'm going that way--and thinking about ways to cook the beets that preserve as much of their stripey interior coloration as possible. Let's see ... I think Kirk's got the cross-street address for Supermercado Murphy's covered already ... I have been to, and enjoyed, Pancho Villa market--definitely some great produce! I do eat beans on my regimen, and I adore black beans--in fact I checked and I do have some in my pantry. Not sure if I'll cook them today--gotta see how the burner space and personal energy-management go. I'm definitely going to try drying some of the epazote, because I have way too much to use before it loses its freshness anyway. Hillcrest Farmer's Market: I might be able to fit that in--my organo-groovy UU church is right nearby (over near the UCSD Medical Center). I've got an extremely full plate planned for tomorrow though, so again I might have to see how things go. The only think I can think of is Rogan Josh, even though it's usually made with mutton, I would think goat would be OK. It would only help use your onions, though, and you would need yoghurt. ← No yogurt in the house right now. I do have some nonfat buttermilk--I'm not sure how well that might sub for yogurt, but I think there's some potential there ... Y'know, I just did a pantry check for curry spices, and unfortunately I'm running a little low. I have a small amount of generic curry powder from my food coop. I've got garam masala, ground cumin, ground turmeric, the fresh ginger ... the dried red chiles ... some stick cinnamon ... I could eke out a curry spice blend from those ... For that matter, I also have a packet of Syrian spice blend a.k.a. seven spice powder a.k.a. bajarat. It contains allspice, pepper, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cloves, and other unidentified spices. Yummy stuff. Hmmm ... possibilities! Yum! And this recipe is definitely playing to my long suit ingredient-wise. I even have some dried bean curd sticks, and a chunk of daikon in the crisper that I almost forgot about. Hmmm ... possibilities! Osso bucco does sound yummy too. And booze for cooking is totally okay for my food plan--but somehow, other than the Shaoxing, I don't have any wine in the house right now! Certainly easy to fix--I was so startled the first time I walked into a big-box drugstore here in California and saw a whole aisle of booze for sale. And even though drugstores are hardly the best source for wines, one can always at least find some of the name-brand vermouths. Ahhhh, decisions ... Alas, I'm not sure I can manage the closed-grill thing. My understanding is that the apartment complex management frowns on individual grills--that's why they provide the communal grills installed in the courtyard. And those babies are usually in heavy shared use on weekends, such that I just don't feel right monopolizing one with a closed-lid project of any length. But this is definitely a plan for a future occasion (like, on a workday afternoon when there's no competition for the grills). Oh yeah--best of luck with your performance! Keep on self-hydrating! Okay, I'm close to a decision ... stand by for an announcment. (Edited for minor space-outs...)

Big-time Audience Participation Time!!! To paraphrase the title of one of the more popular long-running posts on eGullet: behold my meat! Any suggestions for what I should do with it? This is the chivo I bought this afternoon at Supermercado Murphy's (Babelfish translates "chivo" as either "goat" or "kid" i.e. young goat). About 1.25 pounds total. Bone-in meat--I'm no meat expert, but the shape of the bones makes me guess this is meat from right along the spine. Looks like it's meant for stew meat. The challenge: I'm planning on spending Saturday at home cooking instead of galavanting around town some more, and I'd like to build those plans around this goat. So I soliciting suggestions from the audience. Ya wanna help get my goat? (ow. sorry. couldn't resist... ) To make the game more interesting: as you may recall, I also have several other goodies I've accumulated this week; plus other stuff in my vegetable crisper, some of which may be in need of being used up real soon before they go off; plus a variety of condiments, staples, seasonings, etc. They don't all have to be used in the same dish as the goat--in fact, it might be unpleasantly scary if they were! But I think it would be pretty entertaining if I could come up with some interesting combinations. Like--how about some wacky non-standard borscht using the goat meat and the beets I also bought today? To recap other stuff I've bought this week: --shallots --yellow onion --Asian basil --enoki mushrooms --dried European mushrooms --chicken broth --balsamic vinegar --scallions --ginger --red fermented bean curd (nam-yu) --bean sprouts --epazote --candy cane beets with their greens --spinach --cilantro Some likely additional players from the fridge and pantry: garlic; three fresh Roma tomatoes; a big can of peeled Roma tomatos in their own juice; rice (brown, white, and Arborio); chickpeas; a whole troop of Chinese condiments and seasonings, including light and dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, toban jian (chile-bean) sauce, shrimp paste, salted black beans, Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder, and fu yu (white fermented bean curd) with chile; a handful of Japanese condiments, seasonings, etc, including medium-brown miso, kombu, bonito flakes, dried shiitakes, rice wine vinegar, and hijiki; some miscellaneous other condiments/seasonings/etc. such as extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried red chiles, etc. ... and there's other stuff my brain is no longer remembering. (Damn! I've sure accumulated a bunch o' stuff since I moved in here back in February!) Oh yeah--whatever we come up with has to fit in my food plan. So, no deep-fried goat burgers or beets in cream sauce, okay? One other rule: while I'm not adverse to making one more quick shopping trip to pick up an extra ingredient or two, I'd like to keep that to a minimum. I should have enough different things kicking about that additional shopping won't be necessary. So -- that's the game. I plan to start cooking as soon after noon PDT tomorrow as possible. Let the suggestions commence!

Catching up on a few comments: There is one roommate. I found him, and the room for sublet, through Craig's List. He's a decent guy--another musician--and as apartment-mates we get along well. We mostly coexist in a neighborly way rather than householding or socializing together. We don't share any cooking, but he's a real good sport about anything stinky or fragrant that I cook--in fact, he seemed to actually like it when I cooked a seaweed-heavy soup the other week and the whole kitchen started radiating the smell of the ocean. He's not the world's tidiest guy--I'm being generous here--but I can live with that. All in all, he's being a good roommate. Dinner right now has turned into the leftover shirataki/bok choy stuff I made last night--after today's wanderings and eatings, I'm pretty pooped and pretty satiated. But I have big cooking plans for tomorrow--stay tuned for a post coming up shortly! Awwww...! OK, I'll play: "Accept No Substitutions" When may I expect a non-call from Stan's successors? ← Well, I think I want to see if we get any further submissions--I count two official ones so far. Stay tuned! Hmmmm ... I dunno about "doomed", but it does sound like there is a definite genetic predisposition to gout in your family. It might be wise to have your doctor check it out. Often a person can be running elevated levels of purines/uric acid in the blood for years before those nasty crystals precipitate into an attack, and there are tests that can detect that. Your doctor can then suggest what if any preventative actions you might want to take. My dad had gout, but I never thought twice about it until the night my big toe decided to bite me (so to speak), and I found myself wishing I had given it a second thought.

For a change I took University Ave. back westward into town. Interesting watching the neighborhoods transition as you drive along ... it wasn't too long before it was clear I was back in the multi-culti barrio of City Heights, where things are a bit more gritty, but also IMO a bit more real (as in "keepin' it real"). When I saw there was plenty of open on-street parking in front of this establishment, I took it as a sign from the Parking Goddess that I should check it out: Gayla (or anybody local to San Diego), can you supply some more background on this place? From what I can piece together from Google, this is a relatively new store, opened in a renovated building by one Mark Kassab who seems to have been involved in this neighborhood both as a businessman and as a community supporter for some time ... Anyway, I felt like I had been giving the Mexican community's food contributions short shrift in this blog so far. Supermercado Murphy's helped correct that pretty quickly. Inside the well-maintained facade was a compact but full-service market, complete with reasonably-priced produce: Full-service meat and seafood departments: And a bakery: Plus a takeout department with a small dining area, and several aisles of groceries. I assuaged my tightwad heart with a few bargains, and hurried home with the day's haul: You can't see it in this picture, but the thought-balloon over Randall's head sez: "Hmmmph! The hairless ape is paying more attention to that pile of lawn clippings than she's paying to me! What nerve!!!" My full haul for today: From the farmer's market: Candy cane beets Epazote Strawberries (sadly, a little overripe) From the supermercado: Spinach Cilantro Goat meat! Labeled "chivo", the cuts are big chunks with lots of bone, but at $1.79 a pound I just couldn't resist. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but that's just part of the adventure, y'know?

Totally like the vampire. See the complete (not premature) post for a little more detail.

Today's wanderings could be titled "A Tale of Two Coffeehouse." Or "A Tale of Two (Or Three) Neighborhoods." First stop: Normal Heights. Now, this community website helpfully explains that "Normal Heights was named for San Diego Normal School, a teacher's college that was the forerunner to San Diego State University." However, I am informed that some wags have done the inevitable and nicknamed it "Abnormal Heights." Nothing particularly weird about the place--in fact, it's a pretty charming neighborhood, with a cute business district given to antique shops and used bookstores, that hosts a number of terrific yearly street festivals. But then there is this decidedly funky establishment: I go to LeStat's whenever I start feeling nostalgic for the scene along Broadway/Pike/Pine in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, as this coffeehouse has become a kind of clubhouse for folks of a goth/punk/boho persuasion. The espresso drinks are admittedly a little uneven--my latte today had kinda limp foam and kinda muddy espresso--but the vibe estabilshed by the clientele and thrift-store Edward Gorey decor is some of my kind o' fun: Alas, the majority of their food menu is stuff I now only eat for splurges (basically scones and muffins), and they were already out of their soup of the day at 1:00pm (?!?), so after I finished up my appointment and latte here, I decided to move on to my next planned stop, to see if I would have better food-luck there. Note: If I had wanted to linger on Adams Ave., I could have just headed over to the next block and Jyoti-Bihanga, a well-thought-of vegetarian restaurant run by devotees of Sri Chinmoy, but I really did want to have plenty of time to explore my next stop ... which was La Mesa Village. La Mesa is a town at the east termini of University Ave. and El Cajon Blvd., just beyond the San Diego city limits, that has taken its downtown area and turned it into another cute-as-a-bug's ear little walking neighborhood full of antique shops and etc. They too have a bunch of community events throughout the year--I got to experience their fun Oktoberfest the other year when FXH's band performed there. And ... they also have a farmer's market on Friday afternoons which I had never checked out before, so now was my excuse to do so! Oh yeah, and there's also a San Diego trolley stop that leaves you right in the heart of the action: (Sandy, my bruthah, this one's for you. ) Alas, the cheap-and-healthy eats opportunities right on the main drag of this neighborhood seemed to be rather scarce, but fortunately I had scoped this establishment with some advance web research: My second coffeehouse of the day! Only right now I was craving food, not coffee (because of my GERD, coffee has sadly gone from a several-times-a-day necessity to a very occasional treat). Cosmos' decor is kind of a laid-back hipster/Jetson's retro look, with a scattering of kidney-shaped tables (some of which I think I recognize from the IKEA catalog): While I was waiting for my order (not the speediest service, but the 20-somethings behind the counter were sweet and fairly enthusiastic), a guitar-and-standup bass jazz duo set up in front of me and began to work their way through the Brazilian jazz tune "Insensitive." When my sandwich did arrive, though, it was pretty darned nice: The ingredients in this veggie sandwich are not in themselves unusual, but the freshness and quality of the ingredients and the care with which they were assembled definitely was. The guacamole had a nice chunky texture. Both it and the cream cheese spread on the other end of the sandwich had slivered almonds embedded in them. The bread was a very fresh and yummy wholegrain. The side salad, a tabbouli-like creation based on couscous instead of bulghur, had a nice bite of pepper to it and little bits of feta and red onion mixed in. At $5.75 this is a little above the "cheap eats" range for a sammich, but was still quite welcome--especially when it came with a jazz duo. Satiated, I made my way through this muraled walkway to the farmer's market, now in progress: This turned out to be a sweet, but not very large, market, mostly given over to organic and specialty produce, with a couple of prepared food stands, a few flower-and-plant stalls, and only one vendor of gewgaws (jewelry in this case): I struck up a nice conversation with the folks staffing this stall about their candy cane beets, of which I got a bunch: I also bought from them a big bunch of epazote, which I have never played with before! All hints and advice on how and where I can use this stuff will be heartily welcomed. Everything looked nice and attractive, and the prices were decent for this kind of relatively upscale produce, but again this wasn't exactly tightwad-friendly territory. So ... once again I began to contemplate a Plan B. (to be continued ... )

Whooops! Sorry folks, I hit "Submit" a little early--the complete full-length post is below.

And we're back. Well, almost. I have to go upload some photos, and then I'll tell you all about today's explorations.

Once again, many thanks to everyone who has chimed in on the blog so far. Keep 'em coming, folks! I'm off now for my day's rounds. See you later, with more photos about buildings and food ...

Oh yeah! I forgot about DZ Akins. They're in such a funny little location, I have to remember to specifically head over there. DZ Akins is a big rambling place that strives to be a New York style deli/kosher-"style" restaurant. It's a matter of some opinion as to how well they do. My personal opinion as an ex-pat New Yorker is that they're a decent substitute for when I'm feeling nostalgic for that kind of food, but they're not really quite in that league. But then, any restaurant of this sort, even the best New York ones, is also competing with my memories of how members of my family made some of these same dishes, and tends to suffer by comparison (I have yet to find anyplace anywhere that beats my maternal grandmother's blintzes--may her memory be for a blessing). Re: Vietnamese restaurants: IMO you certainly can't go wrong with Saigon--I think it's my favorite so far. They have a very extensive menu--pho and boba are only a small part of it. I went for dinner there awhile back with a bunch of other folks (organized by Kirk/mmm-yoso), and we had a terrific meal, including a whole-fish dish and I don't even remember what-all else. But there are bunches of other Vietanmese places on El Cajon and elsewhere that I haven't even had a chance to visit yet--mmm-yoso's way ahead of me on that score.

Good morning, all! Breakfast today is a repeat of Tuesday--back to the roast beef in a pita, with a big grapefruit. No photo this morning--it looks just the way it did the other morning. Now to catch up on some more questions: Bummer about those food restrictions! I think I would have a breakdown if I couldn't freely use ginger or onion products in my cooking. I will happily keep on providing you with vicarious experiences, though ... Oh yeah, I've hit every Jewish foods department of every supermarket chain in my area, plus the bulk grain departments of both my food coop and my local natural foods grocery store, to no avail. And I didn't get it, because I'd seen the stuff in those places in other cities where I've lived. I even had at least one natural-foods store clerk not quite believe that I wasn't mistakenly asking for Kashi, even after explaining about kasha to him several times. I wonder what "pork melt" is? Any idea? BTW, I've had a kitchen floor that looked just like that once. You can try a scrub with something like bar keepers friend (ton of work) which will help, but in my experience, it's probably hopeless. Mine did look a bit better and was easier to keep clean when I started putting mop and glo on it... ← I've been wondering about that "melt" stuff too. I think they actually might mean pork *milt*, which is another word for the spleen. About the floor: yeah, I confess I'm not so sure I'm up for getting down on my hands and knees with a scrub brush for this joint. Maybe as a celebration for when my knees are completely healed ... (or maybe not.) Checking out that list--whoa, there's a kosher sushi joint?!? Who knew? And that's the same El Cajon Blvd. I was exploring yesterday--only even further eastward, I think, to judge from the street-numbers on the addresses. Looks like I've got to expand my explorations some more ... And I've been meaning to go to Aaron's for a while now--it's a tiny storefront in a tiny strip mall in that same Convoy neighborhood where so many of my favorite Asian places are. I always spot it, and remember about it, right *after* I've just sped past it on my way somewhere else. Or else it's Shabbos and of course they'll be closed. Need to just make a plan and go there one of these days ... By the way, if anyone has posted a question and I seem to have forgotten or missed it, please feel free to remind me. I do know I still have to post an expanded explanation of yin/yang and how I use those concepts, which I hope to get to sometime today. Other plans for today: I'm done with catsitting. I have an appointment at 1 pm, after which I'm hopefully going to check out a farmer's market I have not visited before. I need to replenish my stash of fresh fruit. And then there's the always-entrancing prospect of figuring out what to have for dinner ...

Great job! Deserves a place in the Konnyaku Day thread in the Japan Forum. ← Thank you! I'm getting pretty fond of the stuff actually. I've still got so much to learn about handling it, but I'm having fun playing around with it.

Oh, I almost forgot--Randall decided to pose for me in a most amusing way, with his own photo previously posted on this blog: Audience participation time: this photo totally needs a caption. Winning submission wins ... oh, I dunno ... anyone remember the classic Marvel Comics "No-Prize"?

On to dinner itself. Remember that container of shirataki I bought on Tuesday from 99 Ranch? I plopped the contents into a strainer and gave it a good rinsing with the hottest water out of my tap (which is pretty damn hot indeed): Konnyaku products need a preliminary dousing with hot water to rinse off the sometimes-stinky smell they can develop while hanging around in their packaging. If I were being more thorough, I would have boiled some water to pour on them, but this did well enough for my purposes and energy level. I thinly sliced an onion: ... and sweated it over medium heat in a non-stick pan (sprayed with some cooking spray for good measure): I do own a real wok too, but this fake wok from IKEA, with its glass dome lid, turns out to be useful for a whole bunch of random cooking tasks. Just as long as you don't try to fire it up over maximum heat and expect to get some wok hey out of the poor thing. (On this generic consumer-grade stove, of course, I can't get any wok hey out of my real wok either, but that doesn't stop me from trying. ) Now for the creative leftover recycling portion of the program: This ungorgeous stuff is the remains of the marinade I used on the yellowtail the other night. Once the onions were good and soft, I poured this over them, added the shirataki, placed the remaining fresh baby bok choy on top of that, and then put the lid on so everything could steam-braise for a little while: The resulting dish: That very fiercely gingery marinade has now been sufficiently mellowed and diluted that it's nice and gentle, and I can clearly taste the bok choy and onion. A nice light refreshing (and completely meatless) meal, a great antidote to last night's splurge.

I was feeling the bottom start to drop out of my energy bucket as I typed up those last couple of posts, so I went for a quick-and-easy dinner based on some creative recycling of leftovers, combined with fresh ingredients. But first, the kitchen! Copious apologies in advance--it's looking rather "ghetto" this evening: I fear the linoleum may be permanently discolored--when I first moved in, I gave it a wash with hot water and Spic'n'Span, with no noticeable effect whatsoever. One of these days I'm going to have to try something a little more drastic on it. It doesn't help that housework is not particularly high on my current roommates list of priorities. Oh well--that's what I get for continuing to choose musicians as roommates... Here's the Traditional Fridge Shot: Anything in that fridge that's either from Asia, from Trader Joe's, or from a fresh produce department probably belongs to me. Ditto the contents of the door shelves: Meanwhile, the big bottles of "cocktail" mix are definitely the roommate's. And I think just about everything in the freezer right now is his: Ah yes, that carefree bachelor living. Meanwhile, here's most of my stash of Asian condiments and other goodies: That's kasha a.k.a. buckwheat groats in the blue-lidded container. I was going nutz for some time now, hunting for kasha in every store I could think of and not finding it, until I at last spotted it at Vineripe Market, a mostly middle-Eastern grocery that kalypso turned me on to during my previous blog. But Wolff's Kasha in the little cardboard box is an unknown critter out here, apparently. It wasn't just nostalgia for kasha varnishkes that had me hunting for the stuff (though kasha varnishkes IMO is certainly reason enough on its own). Buckwheat turns out to be an incredibly healthy grain, one that I wanted to make a point of including in my health regimen--more info here. Next: on to the actual cooking, such as it was.

Thanks for the info, Gayla. You know, I kinda suspected that name was somebody's overenthusiastic case of "marketeer-think." And yep, I've seen that "The Boulevard" sign. This city seems to have had a whole wave of putting up big neighborhood signs like that--off the top of my head, I can recall seeing such signs in University Heights, Hillcrest, and North Park. And I was in fact wondering what Saigon's building used to house--it's kind of an odd look for a restaurant. Must have been a bit of a tight fit for an auto dealership, though. I've got my (late) dinner, and I've got some more pictures to upload. Back shortly...

Congrats, Chris! And best of luck sneaking some actual content back onto Food Network! I do hope you make it down to San Diego--as you may have noticed, we have a whole nest of eGulleteers and associated foodies down here who are all about the excellent little hole-in-the-wall mom'n'pop divey joints. You'll never suffer through an ersatz touristy fish "tack-o" if you hang with us!

One of the errands that has occupied me these past few days has been going over to a friend's house and taking care of her cats while she is out of town on a business trip. So, once again today I spent about an hour feeding and entertaining the li'l guys ... ... and having myself a little snack that I brought along: I then headed out for El Cajon Boulevard--or "The Boulevard," as certain neighborhood booster organizations seem to prefer. (Question for the longtime San Diego residents reading this: what if any history is there behind that moniker "The Boulevard"? All I can find via Google are those neighborhood booster organizations, and they don't give any background to the name.) El Cajon Blvd. is one of two east-west thoroughfares that bisect a major portion of the city of San Diego, incidentally passing through a wide variety of neighborhoods both moneyed and working class (the other such east-west route is University Ave.). Both roads dedicate their central portions to City Heights, sometimes cited as possibly the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in the United States. There certainly is a wide variety of ethnicities represented by the groceries, restaurants, and shops lining this part of El Cajon Blvd., including Mexican, Vietnamese, Middle-Eastern, and others. It's a working-class neighborhood, with a tough enough reputation that I would personally observe some caution wandering off the main drag after dark, but in daylight hours it's practically a family affair, with mothers and aunties and high school students frequenting the shops and cafes. My first stop was to grab a more substantial meal than that apple, at the following establishment: I think I'm on my way to becoming a "regular" here--I'm beginning to get nods of recognition from the staff. Saigon is roomier than the average pho joint, housed in a glass-walled box with some nice decor: If I'd hit this joint when the high school across the street was in session, this scene would have been jumping with mostly-Asian teens drinking boba teas. But instead I had a nice peaceful room in which to enjoy ... more pho! Note the much more generous plate of mix-in veggies than the one provided by Convoy Noodle House. Because I was still fondly remembering the stewed tendon dish from last night, I ordered my pho with rare steak and tendon only. The tendon had lovely texture, but alas there wasn't very much of either it or the beef. That was actually okay, though, because I definitely maxed out on the animal protein last night and could stand to go easy on that today. (Aside to Ed Davis--the bun soup with periwinkles I showed at the start of this blog turns out to be #104 on their huge menu, and is called Bun Rieu Oc--I'm omitting whole tribes of diacritical marks I don't know how to make on this keyboard.) Then on down the Boulevard for more shopping. Most of the little shops and stores and strip malls lining this street are pretty nondescript, or even dilapidated, but every now and then you get a scene that really has some local flava to it: Minh Hoa is a really nice, if somewhat cramped and un-slick, little Vietnamese market that I like a lot, but today my destination was a bigger establishment: As the Roman number "V" after Vien Dong/World Market's name suggests, this is one branch of a small local chain of grocery stores primarily serving San Diego's large Vietnamese population. But like all the grocery stores in this neighborhood, you'll see people of every race, religion, and ethnicity shopping here, looking for some of their favorite foods, or just for some deals to stretch their often-tight cashflow. The place is huge and just chock full of *stuff*! The fish department is huge, and carries a ginormous number of species I have never even heard of, let alone seen: The meat department is similarly large, and similarly given to fascinating-sounding items not familiar to the Euro-American kitchen: Ditto with the produce--so many interesting-looking greens, so little time! I found the items I was looking for plus a couple of others, and made my way home--oh yeah, here, by the way, is the pool just outside my front door: Behind the windows at the far right of this picture is the complex's little gym, where I've taken to using the high-tech stationary bicycles (now dressing in tee and shorts to make a fool of myself on the bike, that I don't mind one bit ). There are also three permanently-affixed charcoal grills available just outside the pool area for the use of the residents. Upon returning home, I was enthusiastically greeted by my current roommate's cat, Randall, who you all met during my last blog: Trust me to wind up living with the only cat in the universe with a cross-species foot fetish. Today's grocery haul is considerably smaller than the other day's: The little jar contains red fermented bean curd, or nam yu--it gets its red color from the inclusion of fermented red rice in its brine. I have only a vague idea what I'm going to make for my evening meal at this point, but--geez, look at the time! I better get on with it. Fortunately, that bowl of pho has been holding me pretty well all this time. On to the kitchen ...

Thanks, folks, for all the suggestions about storing gingerroot. Well, I've experienced two different "going-bad" scenarios: 1) I leave the ginger unwrapped, either in the fridge or out at room temperature--in either case it dries out, especially if there's an exposed cut surface; and 2) I wrap it in plastic, as airtight as possible, and store it in the fridge, which prevents the drying-out behavior; but then, eventually, the ginger begins to rot and/or grow microbial colonies. I think maybe I'll try the freezer strategy next ... I have been a great fan of flavored seltzer ever since my Seattle days when I first discovered the Talking Rain brand of flavored fizzy-water. Alas, I have discovered that seltzer doesn't work all that well for the daily massive amount of hydration I need to accomplish (that minimum eight 8-oz. glasses daily thing)--the bubbles just take up too damn much room in my stomach! But a nice glass of raspberry-essence sparkling water is certainly a fine thing on a warm day. Will be posting the afternoon's batch of photos shortly ...

Thanks, kalypso, that sounds extremely encouraging about the Y. I will definitely keep all that in mind. I'm now ready to get out and about with this day's errands--including visiting some of those multi-ethnic neighborhoods south of the I-8 I was waxing enthusiastic about above. Must-gets on my shopping list include ginger and scallions; I have a bunch of stuff in the crisper that could stand to be used, including the remaining baby bok choy I bought the other day at 99 Ranch; and I'll also be keeping my eye peeled for anything interesting and/or on special that catches my eye. And then I'll bring home my haul and cook more stuff for your entertainment (and my nourishment). While I'm gone, here's a question I could really use some help with: I can't seem to keep my fresh gingerroot from going bad on me before I use it up. I eat more ginger than the average Caucasian, I think, but it's still not nearly enough to keep up with the biology experiment syndrome. So far my solution is simply to buy small amounts of ginger so that there's less left to go to waste; and to try storing it in the refrigerator in a plastic bag with as much air evacuated as possible. Any and all suggestions for better storage methods are massively welcome. See y'all later!

Oh, here's a little Audience Participation--especially designed for folks in the San Diego area! As hinted at earlier, this coming Sunday afternoon/evening I intend to take a picnic repast and a lawn chair to a park in a north-of-San Diego community, to hear these dudes perform a free all-ages concert. If you happen to be in the area and have that time free, you are welcome to join me! Only DON"T respond here in this topic--instead, PM me, and we'll handle the details off-board. (Not sure if I'll have any takers on such short notice, but hey, it's worth a try! )

Good morning, all! Breakfast (brunch?) this morning consisted of: About 2 oz of the fish I cooked the other night, with some romaine lettuce, in half a whole-wheat pita, accompanied by an orange and a cup of the peppermint tea I bought at TJ's yesterday. Thanks to all of those who commented. Let me address some of the questions that have come up: Yeah, I still have to watch out for excessive intake of purine-rich foods (animal protein, especially organ meats, plus a few purine rich vegetables like mushrooms and asparagus), because even with my anti-gout meds a purine excess starts generating the little tingling sensations in my toes that, unaddressed, would eventually turn into a full-fledged gout attack. But there really isn't any type or category of food that I have absolutely banned from my life for any reason. There are some, admittedly, that I love but now have on a much less frequent basis and/or in much smaller quantities (high-fat foods; booze; sugars whether refined or "whole", excessive concentrations of salt). There are also "diet-y" foods that I either avoid, or don't force on myself (I am beginning to feel a whole lot more positive about leafy greens, raw celery, and other traditional "diet" vegetation, but that's after giving myself permission to avoid them if I'm not feeling into them). And like I said earlier, I'm avoiding most diet-industry type products and other foods filled with artificial ingredients, but I do make allowances for certain "diet" products with other redeeming features, such as the cooking spray and a few others which you might see in action as the blog progresses. This is kind of inspired by macrobiotics, too, which holds forth that there are no bad or good foods, just foods that are easier or harder to balance into the whole than others. As mentioned above, I have considerably restricted my booze intake. Nowadays alcohol falls into the "occasional preplanned splurge" category, pretty much only when I go to a club to hear some live music; and the occasional glass of wine when I'm eating out with friends. I pretty much stick to wine, spirits neat or on the rocks, or non-sugary cocktails, as opposed to beer and the sugary stuff. Oh yeah, definitely--in fact, I'm intending to cook at home tonight, and will give a fuller accounting of my new kitchen at that time. Yeah, I figured I'd need to come back and expand upon that topic. It will require some more extensive writing, so I will tackle the topic a little later on when I can devote another hunk of time to covering it properly. Thanks! Yeah, it's different when a newcomer brings fresh eyes to a neighborhood, innit? I'm currently living on the edge of another neighborhood that has gone nuts that way, namely the Mission Valley/Friar's Road corridor. I can definitely see how new the construction is, so I can only just imagine how different these areas must have looked not too long in the past. I have mixed feeling about this. The New Yorker in me totally believes that high-density development is superior to the kind of suburban sprawl that eats up all remaining open green space--although a bunch of the development around here, alas, looks like it's both high-density and sprawling. And I confess to a certain, well, aesthetic objection to the miles and miles of similar-looking McMansion-style architecture (stick some terracotta-colored stucco on it and plant some palm trees-voila! instant SoCal luxury living! ). Somehow, even though the working-class multi-ethnic neighborhoods south of me are grittier, more down-at-heels, and more crime-ridden, I feel a little more in tune with their aesthetic. And I sure as hell don't want that sprawl crossing south over the I-8 and wiping out those neighborhoods--not only are there lots of folks down there who will be hard-pressed to find other housing they can afford, but all the incredible food and other cultural riches they provide would be wiped out as well. And the city would be the poorer for it, in ways no currency can measure. Actually, yes, the pool at the Friar's Y is heated (thank god) They also offer an amazing array of water related classes. They've been so popular in fact, that the Friar's Y is putting in a new pool just for people that want to swim laps! 10 minute drive for MizDucky down Friars from her current digs if she's interested. ← Oh yeah, I do know all about the Arthritis Association's water-exercise classes, and had been tracking the classes at the Friar's Road Y for some time now. There have been two problems: 1) The classes, let alone the Y membership, is a little pricey for my budget; and 2) Swimming runs headlong into some very old issues I have about exposing my bod to the public in a bathing suit and/or in a locker room (thank you, public school phys ed classes and grade-school bullies ). Even the idea of camoflaging myself with a teeshirt and shorts over the suit doesn't help all that much--as anyone who has ever seen a wet t-shirt contest knows, such a garment when damp is almost as bad as going without one. How I have addressed the cost issue: the apartment complex I have moved into has its own heated swimming pool--when I am ready to do so, I can just walk out my door and dive in. And regarding the bathing-suit vulnerability issue: one of the tenets of my current program is to not force myself to do anything that just make me crazy in an unproductive way. Obviously, I could just tough it out bootcamp style and just make myself do it anyway, despite my discomfort. But, from long past experience, I know that forcing myself to do something this way backfires bigtime in terms of stress, resentment against the whole project, etc. So I am giving myself permission to sneak up gently on the whole swimming thing, doing other exercises while I get back on a little friendlier basis with my body image in the first place. I'll probably still be a little freaked when I eventually get over myself and do it, but it'll be a lot less so than if I went and dragged myself into the pool right now.

Yes, I'm doing my night-owl thing ... I know there's been several requests for me to explain my whole food regimen thing, and so when I finally had a free moment I went for it. I think you'll see that what I'm actually doing day-to-day doesn't look all that different, from any "diet;" it's more in how I think about what I'm doing. So here's the deal: 1. My primary goal is to eat and live healthily, so as to heal my body and be well. I view whatever weight loss results as a helpful byproduct, but not the main goal. My main strategy in achieving this goal is to develop a workable food and health plan that I can live with comfortably for, ideally, the rest of my life. 2. Foodwise, so far, I've been following the plan my HMO handed me, which happens to be the American Diabetes Association's booklet--not because our group is for diabetics but because it's a reasonable basic food plan for health and gradual weight loss. It comes out at around 1400 calories a day, comprising 8 oz. protein, preferably relatively lean; a small amount of fat, preferably unsaturated; a modest amount of "starches" (basically, dense carbs); and copious amounts of fruits and vegetables. 3. I consume this daily allotment of food in several small meals scattered throughout the day, a practice which works with the body's metabolism better than the common practice of just two or three big meals. 4. My culinary goal is to take these guidelines and make food that is satisfying enough that I am genuinely contented with it as-is, and not overly missing my old meat-a-holic way of eating. One of my strategies is to avoid most ersatz and "diet" food substances, and to prefer fresh and undoctored real foods. 5. I have built into my food plan the safety valve of the occasional pre-planned splurge. Right now I do them about once a week, postponing them if my weight loss appears to be stalling. So far I've seldom had to do that. When I do a splurge, I'm not totally off the hook, but I do allow myself to enjoy moderate amounts of foods too rich to be consumed other than as these occasional treats. 6. Exercise, while technically outside the purview of eGullet, is an essential part of this health plan. So I'll just note that I have my struggles with it, and thus my goal is to gently but firmly get myself to do what I can, when I can, as regularly as I can manage. And even that little bit seems to be making a difference. 7. I apply to what I'm doing now a lot of food philosophy I learned from my brief foray into macrobiotics back in my 20s. The concept of balancing around yin and yang is really proving helpful in weaning myself off of my past dedication to animal protein and fat, and gradually acclimating myself to a significantly more yin set of foods. Briefly, my solution is to yang-ify my food in a variety of ways as needed to ease my transition. I dunno what any expert in macrobiotics might say, but so far it seems to be working for me. 8. I also apply a lot of experience from past failures in weight loss--and past successes too, for that matter. Again, going into this personal history stuff at any length would, I feel, wander outside the bounds of what eGullet is for. Suffice it to say that, yep, as someone for whom weight has been a big deal since childhood, I do have some major long-term issues about food, weight, and weight loss--pretty much all the usual suspects, you know the drill. At this point, I think I've got a pretty good handle on what things I find helpful for me psychologically, and which are guaranteed to make me absolutely batshit you-won't-like-me-like-that crazee. For instance: I have banished numerical weight goals from my way of thinking. All my goals are functional, as in: can I walk a mile without blinking an eye again? Can I dance through an entire set non-stop again? 9. And I vow not to give myself a bunch of shit if I should screw up any of this in any way, and instead to just gently pick myself up and get on with it. I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff I'm forgetting, but that's the gist of it. Good night, all--looking forward to chatting with y'all in the morning.