Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities has come to my mind this week. As billionaires and the French government pledge money to rebuild Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, the Yellow Vest protests continue. While I do not condone vandalism and violence, the underlying circumstances that spurred the protests nearly six months ago have yet to be addressed by the government. In addition, this New York Times article indicates that Notre Dame is emblematic of the aging churches, cathedrals, and historic sites that have fallen into disarray in France.
Lest you think that this is only an issue for nations with many Medieval monuments to maintain, let’s turn the camera lens closer to home. The National Park Service, the guardian of our national heritage, will suffer a nearly $500 million cut if the current proposed budget is approved. (See this article for details.) Anyone who’s visited a National Park of late knows that the staff is overworked and the facilities and roads are falling into disrepair.
Madame Defarge, have you started knitting yet?
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/04/20/it-was-the-best-of-times/
This is the season of renewal. Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover, or the Vernal Equinox, spring engenders hope. The fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during the Christian Holy Week was a horrific sight. Paris has lost an icon. However, the city has many examples of places that represent renewal.
A couple of miles away from Notre Dame is the church of St. Gervais. A German rocket came through the roof of this church during World War I – on Good Friday. Eighty congregants were killed in the bombing. The church was rebuilt. The windows at the top of the sanctuary were replaced with more modern glass art. The church has memorials to those who were lost, but the church is still a living sanctuary.
Notre Dame will be rebuilt. It will not be a clone of the original structure; however, it will return to its role as the sacred center of the city.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/04/15/rebuilding-and-resurrection/
One of the perks of living in the Pacific Northwest is the plethora of fresh fish and seafood that’s available. Our regular grocery stores have tanks and iced displays of locally-grown clams, oysters, mussels, and Dungeness crabs. Mussels and manila clams are reasonably priced and make quick and tasty meals.
We have two go-to recipes for clams. The first is the traditional Italian linguine with white clam sauce. The second is Chinese clams in black bean sauce. We first had this dish at a restaurant in Seattle’s International District, the late lamented Hing Loon. We tried for years to replicate Hing Loon’s recipe before finding a close facsimile in Stewart Chang Berman’s book, The Potsticker Chronicles.
A few bits of friendly advice about cooking clams:
- Clams sold out of tanks are more likely to be alive than those sitting on ice. A further advantage to buying clams from salt-water tanks: They’re relatively clean and don’t need the sand-purging treatment some recipes call for.
- Discard any yawners, those that don’t clam up (close) when you tap them. They’re dead on arrival.
- Clams, especially our local Manila variety, cook quickly. Get all of your ingredients chopped and at the ready before you inspect and rinse the clams. It’s also a good idea to set the table before cooking. Put a large bowl on the table to collect empty shells. Provide plenty of napkins or paper towels.
- Often you’ll get clams of widely differing sizes. It will take the bigger clams more time to cook. Be patient. If a Manila clam doesn’t open after about 8 minutes, it’s dead and shouldn’t be eaten. For the larger littlenecks, allow about 10 minutes for larger ones to open.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/04/15/clam-o-rama/
After many years of procrastination, I finally got “invisible” braces. The system consists of a series of rigid plastic templates that move your teeth around over time. Every couple of weeks you change to the next set. Unlike the wires, the braces are taken out to eat and drink anything other than cool water. This liberalizes one’s diet a bit; however, the braces have to be cleaned when they come out and the teeth have to be brushed and flossed before they’re put back in.
The concept, in theory, could be a great weight loss tool for people who snack. Since the braces have to be worn 20 to 22 hours per day, one has to ask, “Is this snack worth yanking the braces and brushing/flossing afterward?” We’ll see.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/04/09/bracing-myself/
Music is everywhere in Las Vegas, from the shows to piped-in music in casinos and restaurants. Most of the songs are up-tempo pop music. I would like to propose a more realistic playlist, based on my impressions of the town.
I’m a Loser – The Beatles
Take a Chance – Abba
Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones
The Gambler – Kenny Rogers
Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley
Luck Be a Lady Tonight – from Guys and Dolls
I Got the Horse Right Here (Can Do) – from Guys and Dolls
Anything Goes – Cole Porter
Lucky Man – Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
Maybe This Time – from Cabaret
Grand Illusion – Styx
The title song from Rent
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/04/05/my-las-vegas-soundtrack/
The highlight of our hike on the South Kaibab trail in the Grand Canyon was seeing a California condor soaring above us. These are the largest birds in North America, with a wingspan of over nine feet and a face only a mother could love.
California condors were extremely close to extinction, due to pesticide use and loss of habitat. In the 1980’s, only 27 birds were alive. Scientists undertook a captive breeding program and reintroduced them to their natural habitats. Now there are over 350 California condors. Each bird is tagged to track their whereabouts and fate.
The return of California condors to the wild is even more of a miracle than that of the bald eagle. Both species play key roles in their respective ecosystems. We need to remain vigilant to be sure that these birds can continue to thrive.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/04/05/day-of-the-condor/
Tonight’s dinner was at Lotus of Siam, away from the Strip. Julian made reservations before we left Washington. The restaurant was less noisy than those on the Strip. Service was excellent.
We had hot and sour catfish soup as the appetizer. This soup elevates the lowly bottom-feeder fish to legendary status. I’ve made several versions of this soup before.
Hot and sour catfish soup.
We got spicy jackfruit curry with pork and crispy duck khao soi with noodles for the main dishes. Both were very tasty. Even though we’re unlikely to return to Las Vegas, this restaurant was worth the trip.
Duck khao soi and garnish (top) and jackfruit curry with pork (left).
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/03/29/more-thai-food-in-vegas/
The first leg of our trip to the desert Southwest was at the Valley of Fire State Park, about an hour northeast of Las Vegas. The terrain is spectacular – a mix of red and white sandstone, sometimes layered. In addition, Valley of Fire contains several sites of petroglyphs, which are drawings by ancient residents of the valley.
Red and white sandstone rock, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
Petroglyphs on Atlatl Rock.
The petroglyphs are at the top of the stairway. How did they get up there?
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/03/29/valley-of-fire/
Las Vegas was not my first choice for a destination on this vacation. Nor was it my second, third, or twelfth choice. I’ve always had an aversion to places that only exist to separate people from their money. Many years ago we went to the Trump Taj Mahal with Julian’s aunt and uncle. It was an interesting sociological field study, nothing more. I’m approaching our two days in Las Vegas the same way.
Here are a few of the contradictions I’ve seen so far:
- The hotel encourages us to reuse our towels, yet they probably spend plenty of water on the fountains and plantings on the property. Las Vegas is in a desert.
- The dining situation is supposedly one of a kind, but the Strip is chockablock with chain restaurants that we could find in Seattle or Sheboygan. Chili’s? Check. P.F. Chang’s? Got it. Denny’s? No problem.
- Vegas is attempting to appeal to a more family-friendly demographic. So why is there an “adult intimacy package” in our minibar? Try explaining that to your ten-year-old.
- Last night we watched the fountain show in front of the Bellagio. The music selection was Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, which is a variation on the Shaker hymn Simple Gifts. Somehow I can’t see the stolid, thrifty Shakers roaming the Strip.
Luckily, tomorrow we head off to the Grand Canyon, where the natural world provides the glitz.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/03/29/the-many-contradictions-of-las-vegas/
Las Vegas has a plethora of restaurants associated with the casinos on the Strip. Many of them are branded by famous chefs: Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Emeril Lagasse, to name a few. Others are chains that you can find in Seattle or Chicago. Many of these restaurants are designed to separate you from more of your money. And the noise level in some of these restaurants borders on the painful. (See my earlier post, Turn It Down.)
After we picked up the rental car, we went in search of lunch before heading to Valley of Fire State Park. We wound up at a Salvadoran restaurant near an outlet mall, Las Pupusas. We got two pupusas and carne deshebrada. It wasn’t quite what we used to get at Gloria’s in Dallas, but tasty and much less expensive than restaurants on the Strip.
Salvadoran food in Las Vegas.
We were walking along the Strip tonight in search of dinner. On the Cosmopolitan billboard was an ad for an outpost of Pok Pok, our favorite Thai restaurant in Portland. It was in a food court with a limited menu. It had the famous chicken wings, papaya salad, and pad thai.
Pok Pok in Vegas
Tomorrow night we have reservation at Lotus of Siam, supposedly one of the best Thai restaurants in the country, Julian observed that we’re probably the only people who go to Vegas to eat Thai food.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2019/03/28/vacation-chow/
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