Saturday, May 15, 2010

Ramen&Slides......

........What could be better?
A night of feasting and looking with loved ones at Aileen Street.
All in celebration of Scott.
Yum.


What is Ramen?
David Chang from Momofuku restaurant in NYC describes Ramen as "broth with noodles in it."
Every Ramen shop has its own distinctive style and recipes. How thin they slice the pork. Some add a heave dose of soy to the broth.....some add much more fat to the broth....... You could fill up notebooks and notebooks with jottings on ways to create a Ramen soup.......

We prepared for a week:

And the lists were long......















We had no idea what we were getting into...........

This book became our bible, and we were totally in awe:



















Sunday night we began making the pork buns. Steamed. Then frozen for Friday.
Monday night we began the broth -  that simmered for 9 hours. We then contained it......




















Tuesday night we pickled. Beets. Cucumbers. Onions. And got the memma (bamboo shoots) ready...


Wednesday night we chopped and prepped.
Thursday night was the roasting of the pork belly and pork shoulder.


































And Friday was the party.
People gathered.
Sake was served.
Pork buns were re-steamed. Hoisin sauce, chopped scallions, and picked cucumbers sandwiched pork belly.
Yum.
Then the Ramen was served. Hot broth with noodles. People dressed it as they wanted. Poached egg??
Fish cake? Two pieces of nori? Sauteed collard greens with corn?
Yum.
Mochi was then served.
The slide projector turned on.
Images floated towards us. The selections inspired oooohs and ahhhhs.........
Bellies full of love.
Nothing better.
The love is on.
This was the perfect sight this morning: Remnants left on the porch:

Saturday, May 8, 2010

We Love Oakland.......


The Oakland Museum of California: 
A museum for the people: Over 1.8 million objects in the collection: 
A space to go and learn, wonder, wander, connect, and reflect.............

this is what life should be.........


shadowplay....shadowsnack.......


Ruth Asawa is a graceful presence in space....


color and light


playing with reflections.....


more play.....


you make the call.....


what do you see?.....


like a halo around two beautiful ones......


collections of things......

a secret surprise....a diorama scene...magical.....

We will return............


Saturday, May 1, 2010

MayDayGardeningBliss.........

It is May.
Time to get out the bikes....
and the blooms are bursting.....
The pups are starting to take over....
And the garden is a delight.
We spent all morning digging, weeding, tending, and arranging...now we leave it up to nature to do its thing.....
Here are some images......

Shadow Play

Most excellent garden puppy


Supersonic Seed Bombs: Plant and Run

Garden Hose composition

Succulents growing

Lettuce!

Artichokes!

One tired puppy.

                  Bike repairs

Bike fun