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I’m In My Glory

Monday, November 24th, 2014

This past week, Ivan, my temporary Italian roomie, who has been living in Oaxaca many years but split with his girlfriend and lost his apartment cooked Pasta Bolognaise for me, Angie and her mom. Angie is the sister of Lumina, my friend who stayed with me for two weeks, with her British boyfriend, a couple years ago on their way back to Ohio to get married. They live now in the UK.

Then the next night this party wasn’t planned. It was a serendipity coming together at the last minute…all at the same time.

Bala, a biochem research scientist, from India but living in the UK and cycling from Alaska to Patagonia, came to me through Warm Showers, a hospitality web site for bicyclers similar to Couchsurfing.

Anita is a couchsurfer from Italy looking for a course in midwifery. Together with Ivan, these two Italians were a riot. My god, if I only had half the energy of these young people!

Sharon is a retired expat friend here in Oaxaca and enjoyed schooling Bala on the history of resistance in Oaxaca and answering his many questions. Sharon and I met on the plane in June 2006 when both of us were coming here to live.

Ksenia is Russian, (playing chess with Ivan) also coming to me through couchsurfing, was born in polar Siberia but has lived and traveled all over the world. She is one bright, funny, aware powerful woman! Loves Pussy Riot and confirmed all my suspicious about Russia today. But Ksenia, who studied chess (chess is taught in Russian schools) from the time she was a young girl, lost 6 chess games in a row to my Italian roomie who has never read a book on chess! She took it with great good humor!

The conversations ranged from geopolitics and economics to mind expansion with the help of 6 bottles of wine and a little herb! All with the requisite laughing and good humor…even the debates.

Then if that weren’t enough to warm my heart, Bala, cooked basmati rice and two curry dishes…for 7 people again the next night! OMG, what a treat!

Took Bala yesterday to the Tlacalula Sunday Market and found some borego (lamb.) Bala will cook lamb curry and fish curry again for tonight.

I have hope for the world.

Feast Fest In Hong Kong

Saturday, January 11th, 2014

Josh and Polly have treated me to five days of an eating orgy. From famine in Oaxaca, except for extraordinary Oaxacan food, to Chinese feasts in Hong Kong! Oh my!

Hong Kong 2014

Saturday, January 4th, 2014
Yesterday I took a Dragon Air flight from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong. The efficient 20 minute high speed train from the airport passes through Kowloon and ends in Hong Kong...at ... [Continue reading this entry]

Antalya Turkey

Saturday, February 9th, 2013
I left Adana by plane for Antalya.  Outside the Arrivals Hall I asked a gentleman if he spoke English. He didn't but another one with a very busy 4-year old in tow, overhearing me, asked if I needed help. The ... [Continue reading this entry]

Death To Criollo Corn In Oaxaca

Sunday, July 4th, 2010
Criollo corn is under attack in Oaxaca.  Hand made criollo corn tortillas are the prize find for any foreign foodie and for all local Oaxacans.  Industrial corn tortillas taste like sandpaper.  This reads like a detective novel in which ... [Continue reading this entry]

Best Dinner Partner

Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Last month I had the best company and dinner partner ever...my son who is a chef at The American Club...a family club for American expats living and working in Hong Kong.  Because employees and their families are not allowed to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Costillas de Puerco en Salsa Verde

Thursday, March 19th, 2009
I have a cleaning lady come to my apartment twice a month to mop up the polvo (diesel dust and pollen) from my floors and shake the rugs. She also will give me a cooking lesson for a few extra ... [Continue reading this entry]

Sheep Camp Bread To NY Times?

Thursday, February 19th, 2009
I'll bet anything this recipe came from an Irish sheep camp much like my father's. The recipe's originator, Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York ought to give you a hint. The easiest bread recipe ever
By ... [Continue reading this entry]

Rice Tsunami

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
The price of rice has sky-rocketed in Thailand to such a degree that gangs have taken to raiding farmers' rice fields. Some farmers have taken to sleeping in the fields to guard against thefts. One economic advisor on ... [Continue reading this entry]

Dinner From The Street

Saturday, April 5th, 2008
Tonight I went out to the street and bought my dinner which I brought back to my room to eat. First, a Papaya Salad with only one little red chili and it's still hot! 80 cents. The two sticks with ... [Continue reading this entry]

News In SE Asia

Friday, March 28th, 2008
China, Cambodia, the Philippines, India and Burma are banning or reducing their rice exports in order to conserve enough supply for their local populations. Reasons for supply and demand are complex and theories abound. Iran and Indonesia are expected ... [Continue reading this entry]

On To Jinghong

Thursday, February 14th, 2008
Too cold to do anything in Kunming so am flying out today to Jinghong in the south of China where it is reportedly warm. Was in Jinghong in the tropical Xishuangbanna Region in December 2004 when it was much warmer than this ... [Continue reading this entry]

Almost Didn’t Make The Plane To Kunming

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
YUqE3FCf1Hd9CjfG1qqmt0-2006171132705308.gif Hard to believe I was in Beijing for two weeks. But you know what they say about stinking guests if they stay too long. So today I flew to Kunming in Yunnan Province in the south ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Sad End Of Mexican Criollo Corn?

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
NAFTA and Biotech: Twin Horsemen of the Ag Apocalypse The Last Days of Mexican Corn By JOHN ROSS Mexico City. The single, spindly seven foot-tall cornstalk spiring up from the planter box outside a prominent downtown hotel here was filling out with new "elotes" ... [Continue reading this entry]

This Side Of The Border Problem

Friday, April 27th, 2007
Oaxaca is Mexico's second poorest state with many mountain villages nearly empty of working age men. But over half of the poco English speaking men I have talked to have said they learned the language by working on the East ... [Continue reading this entry]

Making Tejate

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
Tejate is a rich frothy drink that is famous in Oaxaca. You get hooked on it. Labor intensive, it is made with criollo corn boiled in wood ash and ground and mixed with toasted and ground mamey seeds, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Taco Surprise

Friday, March 23rd, 2007
Yesterday, after a leisurely visit over coffee at the Nueva Mundo coffee shop in the Centro with Sharon, I drove out to Plaza del Valle, past the University, to Oaxaca City's northern style shopping plaza which is newish...built within the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bob, Josh and Luk In Bangkok

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007
My son Josh is Chef de Cuisine of "One East On Third" in the Hilton Hotel in Beijing. He was sent by the Executive Chef to Bangkok last week to check out some restaurants there. Luk, a delightful Thai ... [Continue reading this entry]

Wedding In Teotitlan del Camino

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007
My friend Bardo is from Teotitlan del Camino near the Puebla border and his parents, three brothers and a sister still live there. Bardo's father, Don Bardo, a furniture maker, and Dona Mari raised six children in their big open-air ... [Continue reading this entry]

Chef Joshua Goetz

Wednesday, January 10th, 2007
Amy's (son Josh's wife) last blog post: "For the new edition of Timeout Beijing they listed the top 50 restaurants in the city. And, yes, you guessed it - One East on Third was on the list!! It was ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Best Of Amy’s Blog

Monday, December 4th, 2006
My youngest son, Josh and his wife Amy are living in Beijing. Her entries are best read from the bottom up. Nov 25, 01:45 AM The first week I was here Josh had a huge dinner to put on for the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Day Of The Dead, Black Mole, Hookah Pipes

Sunday, October 29th, 2006
Went to my landlord's home yesterday morning to make black mole...pronounced "molay" a Oaxacan specialty that is always made for the Day Of The Dead and served exactly at 11:00 on November 2 for the spirits of the dead who ... [Continue reading this entry]

Soccer & Trucha In Huayapam

Saturday, October 14th, 2006
After getting in at 3am early Saturday morning, Mike and I returned to Huayapan at 7am Saturday to take Bardo's son's soccer team to a tournament...all 12 of them...in my car. You can watch a soccer game just so ... [Continue reading this entry]

Endless Errands In Oregon

Friday, September 8th, 2006
Nothing is ever easy. Came up to pick up my car and found that my name wasn't on the title and the registration had lapsed. Had to get a new title expedited from a friend in the Governor's ... [Continue reading this entry]

Early Morning In The Zocalo

Sunday, August 6th, 2006
Vendors with hot chocolate, atole and red and green tamales stood at each end of the Zocalo at 7am...one giving free pan (sweet bread) and chocolate to two indigenous women selling the latest edition of the Noticias de Oaxaco showing ... [Continue reading this entry]

One East On Third

Saturday, August 5th, 2006
On the e-hotelier.com web site a friend found this description of son Josh's restaurant in the Hilton Hotel in Beijing where he is the Chef de Cuisine: Hilton Beijing stars as Lord of The 3rd Ring Jul 31, 06 | 1:57 am Catch ... [Continue reading this entry]

Sabaidee Pi Mai Lao!

Thursday, April 13th, 2006
Lao New Year (and in Thailand) is a time to encourage young people to absorb the spirit of cleaning their temples, houses, stupas of their ancestors and apparently the bodies of anyone, especially the foreigners they come across. The purpose ... [Continue reading this entry]

Thai Cooking School

Wednesday, March 29th, 2006
At the Smile Guesthouse I attend cooking school. A Dutch couple and a German girl and I each have our own "station" with a wok sitting on a gas burner. O (pronounced O?...the voice rising up at the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Faithful Tuk Tuk Driver

Saturday, March 25th, 2006
eWCBF9KYWi73omUCUHRffw-2006185115650300.gif Nice to have someone faithful to me. I trust Supoat, in his 50's, with soft face and warm bright eyes. I call him when I need him to drive me somewhere in ... [Continue reading this entry]

Breakfast at Smile Guesthouse

Saturday, March 25th, 2006
I have changed hotels. I am now at the brand new Bau-Tong Lodge with free WiFi that is down little soi 3 off Loi Kroh...for half the cost of the Galare Guesthouse where I was for the last three ... [Continue reading this entry]

Chiang Mai Felt Like Home?

Sunday, March 19th, 2006
eWCBF9KYWi73omUCUHRffw-2006185115650300.gif Have been here three weeks and Chiang Mai did feel like home for awhile...just long enough to get oriented and find the good places to eat. I spent all afternoon today in my ... [Continue reading this entry]

Market-Going

Wednesday, March 15th, 2006
Tired of the Night Market for tourists, this week I walked to the Warorot Day Market...a market for the local Thais. DSC00445.JPG DSC00450.JPG I bought delicious garlic flavored BBQ ... [Continue reading this entry]

Walkabout

Tuesday, March 7th, 2006
Yesterday morning I walked to the Post Office around the corner and down the street and then slowly swung a wide path through the city...dawdling in used book stores, Jonesing for all the quality crafts and household items in shop ... [Continue reading this entry]

Good-bye To Samui

Saturday, March 4th, 2006
On 1 March I said good-bye to my son Doug and his wife Luk and Ting Tong...their little Shimizu...and caught a Bangkok Air flight back to Bangkok (Bangkok Air built the airport on Samui so they won't let any other ... [Continue reading this entry]

Koh Pha Ngan

Friday, February 24th, 2006
Doug Luk and I took a break from Samui and put the car on the ferry for the two hour trip north to the island of Koh Pha Ngan for a couple days. Almost no car and truck traffic, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Coffee Yen

Tuesday, January 31st, 2006
Iced Coffee Stands Coffee Yen Coffee Yen 2

Street Food

Tuesday, January 31st, 2006
Eggs For Sale Eggs for Sale Soup Stand Street Restaurant BBQ BBQ BBQ2 BBQ 2 BBQ3 BBQ 3[Continue reading this entry]

Street Noodles

Monday, January 23rd, 2006
My favorite food in Thailand is one of the many varieties of noodle soup found on street carts. Street food is safe if you select a cart in early to mid day, when the food will be fresh, and watch ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lucky Luk!

Friday, January 20th, 2006
I called my son Doug yesterday morning. He had just returned from the fish market on Koh Samui with a salad bowl of large fresh gung (shrimp) with heads still on for $1.60 and had cooked up a traditional ... [Continue reading this entry]

A Christmas Gift Brooklyn 2005

Monday, December 26th, 2005
After rack of lamb marinated with fresh oregano, thyme, garlic and olive oil; tender gratin of baby spinach in a bechamel sauce with snow crab and east coast clams; brussel sprouts braised with bacon and deglazed with cream sherry; ... [Continue reading this entry]

Yonah Schimmel’s Knishs

Tuesday, October 25th, 2005
Looking for a restaurant one afternoon on the Lower East Side, we happened by a tiny bakery with huge savory knishes displayed in the window...potato, kasha, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, mixed vegetable, sweet potato, mushroom...and sweet ones too. The glass window ... [Continue reading this entry]

Pierogis In Greenpoint

Tuesday, October 25th, 2005
Around the corner from Josh's apartment in an almost all-Polish neighborhood Bob and I found an authentic Polish restaurant. Blackboards behind the cashier list items in Polish and English. When our food was ready we carefully delivered it ... [Continue reading this entry]

Blue Ribbon Restaurant

Sunday, October 23rd, 2005
A call from Amy: Would you like to run into Manhattan with me to pick up Josh after work tonight? Of course, I said! Bob had already eaten stir-fry at home and preferred to watch the world ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bouley Restaurant Tasting Menu

Sunday, October 23rd, 2005
There are 13,000 restaurants in New York City and urbanites, with cramped apartments and schedules, often eat out...whether take-out, order in, pizza slices or, on special occasions, in one of the more elite culinary establishments. Eating out at one ... [Continue reading this entry]

Stories Of The Bangkok Street

Tuesday, July 12th, 2005
Ten baht (25 cents) for a motorcycle taxi gets me to the American educated dentist down the soi and around the corner in little more than a minute...scared to death that the trucks, cars, motorcycles, light poles, ... [Continue reading this entry]

“Oh New Shoes Lost Me!”

Monday, May 16th, 2005
1wXSp3CkNsDoJl3s0SgHmw-2006171163517229.gif After a flight from Bangkok on Bangkok Air, I have been enjoying my 26 year-old daughter-in-law on quiet Khlong Muang Beach in Krabi Province the last couple of weeks while my son Doug is ... [Continue reading this entry]

Trekking Northern Thailand

Saturday, April 2nd, 2005
gatQye8keZlS3vpnwrOvxg-2006186163905868.gif As soon as we returned to Bangkok from Bali Bob took a train to Chiang Mai for a trek in northern Thailand near Mae Son Hong. I stayed in Bangkok to have some ... [Continue reading this entry]

Not The Ubud We Pictured

Thursday, March 31st, 2005
DSC00068.JPG Ubud was nothing like I had pictured. Even though it's community members still adhere to traditional customs and the arts, crafts, music and dances support religious rituals and ceremonies, the village is not ... [Continue reading this entry]

Stamp-Out to Burma

Thursday, February 3rd, 2005
1wXSp3CkNsDoJl3s0SgHmw-2006171164904627.gif "Stamping out" consists of leaving Krabi Thailand at a border crossing...in the case of Ranong the border is with Burma...and then "stamping" back into Thailand. To do this they went to the Thai immigration ... [Continue reading this entry]

Luk’s Family In Trang

Monday, January 24th, 2005
1wXSp3CkNsDoJl3s0SgHmw-2006171170004499.gif 100_2898.JPG We rented an SUV and drove to Trang, about 150 kilometers south of Krabi, to meet Luk's immediate and extended family. We were greeted with the traditional Thai ... [Continue reading this entry]