i suppose it's been a while.
i've had an ebb and flow of creative energy lately... more ebb than flow... mainly i just haven't felt like writing. i've been using my time doing other things after i get home from work... mostly listening to music and cooking, i suppose. i've lately achieved a sort of locally esteemed status as one-who-cooks-really-good food.
actually, i am proud to say that in the last month or so, i've managed to create a sort of informal salon environment. i framed a bunch of art and hung it on the walls... a few photos of my own, a few paintings and prints from friends, and a couple of prints by jordan crane. ('below the dark water,' 'light for dark,' and 'alone with the world')
then i started mixing drinks... informally at first. white russians, bloody mary's (for those saturday mornings), screwdrivers, and some delicious concoctions involving vodka, OJ, and mango juice. strangely enough, people started to gather. we would hang out. we would watch movies. we would shoot the shit.
and then eventually, the hunger would kick in and out would come the banana pancakes, and the stir fry, and the steaks, and the pizza, and the late-night spaghetti, and the breakfast burritos.
as time passed, my repertoire grew into a veritable menu.
however, by saying that i have become renown for my cooking ability, i fail to put the situation in the proper perspective... for there are not a whole lot of people who actually cook food in this building... mostly people heat things to a palatable temperature. the fact that i have a shelf full of spices, the fact that i have tomato paste and yeast in my refrigerator door, and the fact that i cut an avocado in its peel are about as much qualification as one needs to differentiate one's self as a 'cook.'
i've had an ebb and flow of creative energy lately... more ebb than flow... mainly i just haven't felt like writing. i've been using my time doing other things after i get home from work... mostly listening to music and cooking, i suppose. i've lately achieved a sort of locally esteemed status as one-who-cooks-really-good food.
actually, i am proud to say that in the last month or so, i've managed to create a sort of informal salon environment. i framed a bunch of art and hung it on the walls... a few photos of my own, a few paintings and prints from friends, and a couple of prints by jordan crane. ('below the dark water,' 'light for dark,' and 'alone with the world')
then i started mixing drinks... informally at first. white russians, bloody mary's (for those saturday mornings), screwdrivers, and some delicious concoctions involving vodka, OJ, and mango juice. strangely enough, people started to gather. we would hang out. we would watch movies. we would shoot the shit.
and then eventually, the hunger would kick in and out would come the banana pancakes, and the stir fry, and the steaks, and the pizza, and the late-night spaghetti, and the breakfast burritos.
rinse lather repeat.
as time passed, my repertoire grew into a veritable menu.
however, by saying that i have become renown for my cooking ability, i fail to put the situation in the proper perspective... for there are not a whole lot of people who actually cook food in this building... mostly people heat things to a palatable temperature. the fact that i have a shelf full of spices, the fact that i have tomato paste and yeast in my refrigerator door, and the fact that i cut an avocado in its peel are about as much qualification as one needs to differentiate one's self as a 'cook.'
so what else have i been doin?
well, take last weekend for example: friday was a evening of festivities, starting around 7 and ending around 1am. there was much drunken buffoonery and social imbibing.
the next morning was a social breakfast... which meant that i opened my door, started cooking, and people walked in and ate. i made breakfast burritos with onions, asparagus, peppers, eggs, sundried tomatoes, black beans, extra-sharp cheddar, and avocados...
i wish i had taken a picture, but alas the only memory is in the lining of my stomach... they were pretty sexy burritos, if one can freely use such an adjective in that context.
afterwards we all put our walking shoes on and set out for a waterfall about an hours drive to the south. the only map that we have showed the waterfall on the southern side of an east-west penninsula... the coastal road seemed to pass a few miles to the south of the falls so we decided to make our hike from the south...
once we started our hike we discovered two things:
1) koreans do not believe in switchbacks... the trails go STRAIGHT UP the mountain.
2) the waterfall is most easily accessed from the north... because there is a large mountain just to the south of the falls.
we made the first discovery rather quickly, but the second discovery was much more heartbreaking... we had barely made it up the 1200' altitude gain in 1.2km... the last thing we wanted to do was descend ANY AMOUNT AT ALL to get to the falls if it meant we would have to climb up again to get back to our car... it was quite a dilemma for a few minutes... we stood at the top of the peak looking down the path that curved over the edge and out of sight... no one wanted to say, 'let's go back' because we were already invested... no one wanted to say 'onward' because we had no idea how far down we would have to descend to the falls... finally we figured we had come this far already... and down we went.
the falls themselves were... well... pretty nice. the walk itself was beautiful... the last of the cherry blossoms are still clinging to the branches in the valley above the falls. it would have been nice to jump into the pool at the bottom, but apparently there are some fairly significant health related reasons not to.... so we didn't.
i wish i had taken a picture, but alas the only memory is in the lining of my stomach... they were pretty sexy burritos, if one can freely use such an adjective in that context.
afterwards we all put our walking shoes on and set out for a waterfall about an hours drive to the south. the only map that we have showed the waterfall on the southern side of an east-west penninsula... the coastal road seemed to pass a few miles to the south of the falls so we decided to make our hike from the south...
once we started our hike we discovered two things:
1) koreans do not believe in switchbacks... the trails go STRAIGHT UP the mountain.
2) the waterfall is most easily accessed from the north... because there is a large mountain just to the south of the falls.
we made the first discovery rather quickly, but the second discovery was much more heartbreaking... we had barely made it up the 1200' altitude gain in 1.2km... the last thing we wanted to do was descend ANY AMOUNT AT ALL to get to the falls if it meant we would have to climb up again to get back to our car... it was quite a dilemma for a few minutes... we stood at the top of the peak looking down the path that curved over the edge and out of sight... no one wanted to say, 'let's go back' because we were already invested... no one wanted to say 'onward' because we had no idea how far down we would have to descend to the falls... finally we figured we had come this far already... and down we went.
the falls themselves were... well... pretty nice. the walk itself was beautiful... the last of the cherry blossoms are still clinging to the branches in the valley above the falls. it would have been nice to jump into the pool at the bottom, but apparently there are some fairly significant health related reasons not to.... so we didn't.
this is Colt as we emerged from the far side of the peak and got our first glimpse of the valley where our car was parked.
there was much rejoicing.
sunday is for SNDC, which is sunday night dinner club... this week, i cooked... usually we switch off, or it is potluck style... but this week i just cranked out four pizzas and a bunch of focaccia bread. someone else made a wicked sangria and yet another mustered a fierce salad.
good eats all around.
c'est la vie
c'est la vie
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