Sweet Prawns of Santa Barbara

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5697999438/" title="opal6123 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="opal6123" height="480" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/5697999438_3eb217a74f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Fresh local prawns here are very sweet and delicious. We remember buying them from the fish market on the docks years ago. Last night at Opal Restaurant, where I ate this salad with Santa Barbara prawns, the host said that he did not think they had found any for the menu in the ten years he had been working there. So apparently, they are now quite rare, like many desirable foods from the sea, alas. The rest of our meal was also extremely well prepared -- basil-flavored pasta, grilled opah from Hawaii, and chocolate creme brulee.<br /><br />On a previous visit to Santa Barbara, we also ate at <a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2009/02/opal.html">Opal.<br /></a>

Sweet Prawns of Santa Barbara

Fresh local prawns here are very sweet and delicious. We remember buying them from the fish market on the docks years ago. Last night at Opa...

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Temporary Kitchen in Santa Barbara

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNjr4jAMF-ijACsJsmCEoYnSojZWl_z1JLRQJABg0hABcuRyOKYA_OEIztKbG99HosB0BPceh8oc9RpHsUWbAezOOMFVdzA3DmXNwi-9VhkN-B50elRHC_NR9FnaM6ACt7FRfFkz2igs/s1600/house6113.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603709865404049778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNjr4jAMF-ijACsJsmCEoYnSojZWl_z1JLRQJABg0hABcuRyOKYA_OEIztKbG99HosB0BPceh8oc9RpHsUWbAezOOMFVdzA3DmXNwi-9VhkN-B50elRHC_NR9FnaM6ACt7FRfFkz2igs/s400/house6113.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>Our temporary house has a functional though not luxurious kitchen. The owner is opposed to using microwaves because she says microwaves destroy nutrients and Kirilian photos show that vegetables cooked in a microwave oven are "dead." About this I checked Wikipedia which a few minutes ago stated:<br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">"An experiment in evidence of energy fields generated by living entities involves taking Kirlian contact photographs of a picked leaf at set periods, its gradual withering corresponding with a decline in the strength of the </span><i style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">aura</i><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">. In some experiments, if a section of a leaf was torn away after the first photograph, a faint image of the missing section would remain when a second photograph was taken. ...</span><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The text preceeding this tag needs specification from October 2008" style="white-space: nowrap; color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"></sup><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"> James Randi has suggested that this effect was due to contamination of the glass plates, which were reused for both the 'before' and 'after' photographs."</span><br /></blockquote>I may retrieve the microwave oven from the studio that is part of this house, but at the moment I'm experimenting with no-microwave cooking. I actually have read that the shorter microwave cooking times for steamed vegetables preserve the vitamins better than conventional steaming. So far we've been eating salads anyway.

Temporary Kitchen in Santa Barbara

Our temporary house has a functional though not luxurious kitchen. The owner is opposed to using microwaves because she says microwaves dest...

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Meyer Lemons

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkExxFthJVeGL5iC2QnnqvUKFyMHZxVO39VM6MTYR7e0l4eh8YrD11MPHRDIfrSI6YogwjYvJZoDHnsBTmod0wwUED_69k1_ahyFEtOsiFH-kKHJOiBsU6FFm2SMYtuZfHg4Mra8UEk8Y/s1600/house6119.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603709866431311378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkExxFthJVeGL5iC2QnnqvUKFyMHZxVO39VM6MTYR7e0l4eh8YrD11MPHRDIfrSI6YogwjYvJZoDHnsBTmod0wwUED_69k1_ahyFEtOsiFH-kKHJOiBsU6FFm2SMYtuZfHg4Mra8UEk8Y/s400/house6119.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px;" /></a>Our temporary house in Santa Barbara includes a beautiful Meyer lemon tree with the biggest, juciest Meyer lemons I have ever seen. On the tree hang many ripe and unripe fruits as well as a few fragrant blossoms. Beautiful!<br /><br />I love the taste of Meyer lemons: like an unusually sour Clementine. I have already squeezed some juice into a couple of salads and a sauteed pork dish, and will surely continue to cook with them -- and eat them -- throughout our stay.

Meyer Lemons

Our temporary house in Santa Barbara includes a beautiful Meyer lemon tree with the biggest, juciest Meyer lemons I have ever seen. On the t...

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As it's meant to be...

<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Toasted Ravioli</span><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667715898/" title="pastahouse5925 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="pastahouse5925" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/5667715898_5622b94130_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">St.Louis Food:</span> toasted ravioli at Pasta House in University City, Mo. Until this dish was copied by Olive Garden, it was a specialty of St.Louis only. I remember eating it at a restaurant called Rinaldi's that went out of business ages ago. We ate there Tuesday night with a number of relatives.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667715970/" title="pastahouse5930 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="pastahouse5930" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5184/5667715970_bd677a54a9_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Chips and Salsa</span><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667716064/" title="albuquerq5957 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="albuquerq5957" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5110/5667716064_9678608957_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Southwestern Food: real chips and salsa in Albuquerque Old Town. I haven't had such perfectly flavored chips and salsa that was exactly the right heat for a long time! We ate inside the building, one of the oldest in the city, made from adobe of a type from the early 19th century. The tamales, chili rellenos, and other things we ate were all good too. For more about our day: <a href="http://maetravels.blogspot.com/2011/04/oklahoma-from-moving-car.html">Oklahoma from a moving car</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5667145287/" title="albuquerq5972 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="albuquerq5972" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5667145287_4e836bd452_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>

As it's meant to be...

Toasted Ravioli St.Louis Food: toasted ravioli at Pasta House in University City, Mo. Until this dish was copied by Olive Garden, it was a ...

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Chinese food for Easter

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIu0NAxJL9AvLS7raPqallbdGWa33oe0G73C-iEvUaRfi8L47Rz2HLRTTKhveTndses5RiH7ID31LQkE_uwBAVTT9rTLrVWQna3cSY8u3DmsRvk3rrfREjxhlNCFrm0XgosgdlQ0-aEfR/s1600/szech-garden5764.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599311857848514898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIu0NAxJL9AvLS7raPqallbdGWa33oe0G73C-iEvUaRfi8L47Rz2HLRTTKhveTndses5RiH7ID31LQkE_uwBAVTT9rTLrVWQna3cSY8u3DmsRvk3rrfREjxhlNCFrm0XgosgdlQ0-aEfR/s400/szech-garden5764.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zmH9kRj17RccQ5iUFMybt0AJuANxv38XqqZMMcqFcfNW_IslUpfSQqEnjHCs_PAZBNpjFLwLPnVijSgO31y6xZK-6G22EjZckLcU8-FdzjRqXLu86B0IgZb6-vLZ8qz3eLPgRDl1t6Pl/s1600/szech5770.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599311851710951970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zmH9kRj17RccQ5iUFMybt0AJuANxv38XqqZMMcqFcfNW_IslUpfSQqEnjHCs_PAZBNpjFLwLPnVijSgO31y6xZK-6G22EjZckLcU8-FdzjRqXLu86B0IgZb6-vLZ8qz3eLPgRDl1t6Pl/s400/szech5770.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a>... Szechuan Garden, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Chinese food for Easter

... Szechuan Garden, West Lafayette, Indiana.

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Israeli Markets: an anthropologist's view

Here's a view of markets: <a href="http://blogs.forward.com/the-jew-and-the-carrot/137167/">Q&A: The Culture of Israel's Markets</a><br /><br />In this interview with Nir Avieli, professor of anthropology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, I found the ideas about various Israeli markets quite appealing.

Israeli Markets: an anthropologist's view

Here's a view of markets: Q&A: The Culture of Israel's Markets In this interview with Nir Avieli, professor of anthropology at ...

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Cooking for Passover, 1478

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjD43kua4HIjtfBUr3AKD-iX5SfonIhdaviOyYOn6Oti2EVh3MEJ8z5pnZvsry1YG8uPrxQ56drz1sJTwZZiOw2EOMcqz6dBq9uBNvhcOfnNUqdg8KRSteVAV05QsZMTBXOFo0ur38DHEJ/s1600/washington-haggadah.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597007072704578482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjD43kua4HIjtfBUr3AKD-iX5SfonIhdaviOyYOn6Oti2EVh3MEJ8z5pnZvsry1YG8uPrxQ56drz1sJTwZZiOw2EOMcqz6dBq9uBNvhcOfnNUqdg8KRSteVAV05QsZMTBXOFo0ur38DHEJ/s400/washington-haggadah.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 372px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />I've read several reviews of a display of a hand-illustrated Haggadah from 1478 on display now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/arts/design/the-washington-haggadah-at-metropolitan-museum-of-art.html?pagewanted=1">Today's New York Times</a> included several illustrations -- this one of two women cooking for the Seder seems especially relevant to my thoughts on holiday cooking of difficult recipes as a way to preserve tradition and allow women to work together.

Cooking for Passover, 1478

I've read several reviews of a display of a hand-illustrated Haggadah from 1478 on display now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New ...

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