Yann Martel

About 5 years ago, I came home to find a delivery from amazon.com on my doorstep. As I hadn't actually ordered anything and it wasn't my birthday, the box was a bit of a mystery. Until I opened it and found a note on the packing slip from my friend Lauren that said something like, "I just read this book and really want to talk about it with someone. I thought you might like it too..." The book was Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

I've had people suggest books to me, perhaps loan books to me. But I'd never had someone make a recommendation by actually purchasing a copy of a book for me. I suspected it was truly a must read. So I read it. And it was.

The curious illustration of a silhouetted boy in a life boat with a tiger, turned out to represent one of the most profound stories I've ever read in my life. And here I thought it was just going to be a book about a kid and a vicious animal. Never judge a book ...

I have been in constant awe of Life of Pi (and Yann Martel) ever since and have recommended it to everyone I know. (Perhaps I should be buying them all a copy as well). Martel hadn't published anything since that book - until this year when his latest, Beatrice and Virgil, was released. So he's on book tour now, and came to Kansas City this month, (thanks to Rainy Day Books and the KC Public Library) and, as you might imagine, I was there. With bells on.

He was as compelling a speaker as he is a writer. And I was amazed at how broadly instructive and enlightening his talk was - even when he spent a lot of time talking about the new book which I haven't even read yet. He did discuss Life of Pi, sharing (among other things) that the zoo, a significant plot element, seemed to him to represent the parameters that religion provides, versus the vast, wide, and - for some - uncomfortable freedom of secularity.

I am realizing that Life of Pi deserves another read. And, after Martel read for us the stunning section of his new book where the monkey (Virgil) tries to describe to the donkey (Beatrice) precisely what a pear is like, I am anxious to read Beatrice and Virgil too. Well, anxious, but hesitant, due to some contentious reviews of the disturbing nature of the latter 1/3 of the text.

In answer to the queries about the way his new book ends, he explained his goal as a writer is to be both "entertaining and elevating." Though I can't vouch for B & V (yet), L of P certainly hits that mark perfectly.

KC Symphony - Simone Dinnerstein

It's been so gray and dreary today. Wet enough to feel like spring, but down right cold for May. After being out all day, I came home and was pleased to stay nice, warm, and dry in my apartment for a little while. I kind of wanted to stay here the rest of the night, but we had tickets to the symphony. We haven't been in many weeks and tonight's guest soloist was Simone Dinnerstein, and I've been looking forward to her performance all season long. So even though I kind of wanted to stay in, I went out.

The four pieces on the docket tonight were Schubert, Mahler, Mozart, and Strauss - all Viennese, each so distinct. Dinnerstein played the Mozart piece - Piano Concerto No. 21. Before she came on stage, wearing a watery, fluttering blue and purple iridescent gown, I had been reading in the program that this concerto, when it was written and performed in 1785 "held an expressive undercurrent that would not continue to please the Viennese public" and that they were "bewildered by this music and its incipient Romanticism."

Romanticism. They say that like it's a bad thing, but it was precisely these things that I loved about this piece - and that I have always loved about the second movement of this piece, a movement I know so well and always associate with spring. Every time I hear the music of the second movement, I think of rainy spring. Which might explain why the first and third movements also fit so well with the weather today, too. The entire piece is rich with emotion and felt so right on a night like this.

And as for Ms. Dinnerstein - her performance was so expressive and varied, both clear and complex, indeed as iridescent as she was.

Happy Mother's-To-Be Day

Today marks the half-way point in my pregnancy - 20 weeks - and everything I read says you can start to feel the baby move by now. I was so anxious to feel it, to feel something. But what, I wasn't sure. Maybe the baby's moving and I just don't know how to recognize it? BabyCenter suggests that the feeling is like a goldfish swimming or a butterfly fluttering or - my favorite - popcorn popping, all of which are only mildly helpful since I have never had a goldfish swimming in my belly, a butterfly fluttering in my belly, and certainly not any popcorn popping inside my belly.

The Tomato (last week's nickname based on BabyCenter's food corollary) - 5.3.10 - 19 weeks

Then on Thursday morning I was at work writing an email, minding my own business, and I felt the funniest ping in my abdomen. Not a ping, like a twinge. Or maybe like a twitch? Kind of a spasm ... sort of sensation. An itty bitty, split-second spasm. Or flick. But like a soft, padded flick. Kind of... Anyway, I consulted with a couple of pregnant/previously pregnant co-workers and confirmed. That had to have been the baby.

I have spent the days since then getting to know all the subtleties of the baby's movements. (And yes, I admit I can kind of get the goldfish/butterfly comparison. Still no popcorn.) How funny that I felt nothing before (or just didn't know how to feel it before) and now I feel something every day, several times a day. What a kick. Literally.

AND, just in time for Mother's Day.

So today we celebrated - Mother's-To-Be Day, the first feel-able baby wiggles, the 20-week milestone - with a delightful lunch at Happy Gillis and long awaited Fresher than Fresh snow cones for dessert.

Creamy Tomato Soup and the*new* Tartine sandwich (featuring hummus & arugula)

Opening weekend at the snow cone stand!
(clockwise, starting with the pale pink: Ginger Rose, Agave Hibiscus (daredevil!), Pineapple Serrano, Espresso with Mexican Cane Sugar, and Green Tea Pear)

It was a very Happy Mother's-To-Be Day indeed.

5.9.10 - 20 weeks

Sailing in the Sea of Cortez

at sea in our vessel, the "Caribbean Reef"

Last week we went sailing off the coast of Baja California Sur, our second "babymoon" (our first was to London). Our friends, Ben and Jieun, who live outside of Seattle are big fans of the nautical vacation and we were delighted when, earlier this year, they invited us to accompany them on a boat for five days in the Sea of Cortez. It's not everyday your friend calls you up and says, "I'm going sailing, want to come?" We said yes post haste.

boats, bouganvilla and cactus

We set sail last Monday morning out of La Paz, BCS, from the Moorings marina that was inundated with bouganvilla - my favorite non-mid-western flower. There were cactus everywhere, too - the climate in Baja is so arid, though the nights on the boat were so humid. It was like New Mexico plopped down smack dab into the ocean. Our journey took us up and down a short piece of the coast and in and out of several islas. Our captains were my friend Ben and his dad who sailed and motored us adeptly while the rest of us did our best to help "batten down the hatches," "unfurl the jib," learn to tie a "bowline" or - at least cook dinner.

practicing the bowline at night

at anchor during the day

Our vessel was a 4 cabin Catamaran - Sergio and I had the bunk at the front of the boat on the right side - er, uh - the "starboard berth in the bow of the boat?" (Still learning my nautical terminology.) The boat was fully stocked with food and had a well appointed though tiny kitchen; we all took turns prepping and cleaning, and we easily fed seven people almost three meals a day for five days. (Despite the itsy bitsy grill.)

Sergio's guacamole with the freshest of avocados

a mango, superbly fresh and local in Mexico

We did make several stops along the way, including a nice dinner (Captain Denny's treat!) at the Playa Pichilingue restaurant on the night before our return where I had delicious garlic fish and tried to practice my Spanish by telling the waiter that "Over there where our boot is there are many pots." He knew I meant boat and waves. I think...

The Gringo's whale skeleton on Isla Coyote

But my most favorite stop of all was a tiny - and I mean tiny - island called Isla Coyote or Isla Pardito. It is a simple slab of rock jutting out of the sea where there live twice as many sea gulls as pelicans and ten times as many pelicans as people. There are only six families living on Isla Coyote plus "The Gringo" and his wife who collect whale skeletons. They all live in and among the closely clustered 8 or 10 buildings visible on the north side of the island (the south face is uninhabitable rocky terrain) and everyone there fishes. Including the pelicans and sea gulls. I have never seen anything like this tiny island and I was amazed.

And when we weren't exploring tiny islands, or mangroves, or cooking food, or successfully enduring a few nights of really rocky waters ... we all spent a lot of time reading.

What a way to vacation.

Bloodroot, by Amy Greene (L), Better Off, by Eric Brende (R)

PS: LOTS more pictures on Flickr

Kale Chips

I can't believe I've never made these before. It's not like I hadn't heard of them or read about them before. It's just that I thought they sounded - I don't know - like they were hard to make.

Kale tossed in olive oil + Mom in the background

Boy howdy was I wrong about that. Wash the kale, toss it in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 15-20 minutes. So, so easy. It comes out thin, crispy and delicious - kind of like potato chips - only not really. And more delicious. I'm so glad my mom suggested making them - and I'm glad we had fresh kale from KCCUA's transplant sale.

giant kale chips

We tried crumbling our kale chips into our popcorn, as per someone's suggestion on Smitten Kitchen. It worked okay, but we couldn't make it stick. In truth, I was happy with the Kale Chips alone. They don't need anything else to make them great.

Here's the recipe from Smitten Kitchen who, remarkably, doesn't like kale (?!)

Baked Kale Chips
Adapted from a bunch of inspiring places

1 bunch (about 6 ounces) kale (I used Lacinato or “Dinosaur” Kale but I understand that the curlier stuff works, too, possibly even better)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I needed two because mine are tiny; I also lined mine with parchment for easy clean-up but there’s no reason that you must). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Weekend with Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad came for a visit last weekend - a great visit. Mom and I shopped for maternity clothes on Friday; on Saturday we went to the KCCUA Transplant Sale to buy some vegetables, to check out the farm and to admire the transplants.

Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture

Mom, Dad and me at KCCUA

transplants

Dad and his transplant

Even though it would be days before he got back home, Dad decided to buy a tomato plant - a Zapotec Pleated Tomato plant. We will call it the Miracle Zapotec Pleated Tomato plant if it stays healthy all the way back to OKC. I am optimistic it will and I look forward to trying the pleated, ruffled, pink-red flesh of the fruits that it will bear.

Mattie Rhodes

After the transplant sale - where we bought tons of fresh spring vegetables - we went to have crepes for brunch at Chez Elle on the Westside. It was a beautiful, sunny day so we took a walk through the neighborhood stopping in at Mattie Rhodes gallery, taking a gander at the Herb'n Gardner's urban farm, and picking up some agua de jamaica, agua de tamarindo, and diet coke at the Los Alamos market.

spring outside of blue bird bistro

peaking over the wall at the Herb'n Gardener's Urban Farm
(CSA SHARES STILL AVAILABLE for 2010!)

At home that night we made a big stir fry with all our vegetables from KCCUA - turnips (white and red), carrots, pak choi, bok choi, and turnip greens. Plus some well-preserved green beans from my freezer. After dinner we put up the big screen and watched The Botany of Desire - the fabulous PBS film version of Michael Pollan's book - and had popcorn with kale chips (more on the kale chips).

stir fry

Sunday came too soon and the weekend ended. Time to plan the next visit.

How Green was my Gumbo

A friend looking for kale and chard recipes commented on a previous blog post of mine, and my exchange with her reminded me of Green Gumbo, which I haven't made in forever and which I quickly began to crave. Once it dawned on me that last summer's preservation endeavors meant that I had all the ingredients I needed - including the okra, chopped and frozen - I decided to make some.

okra, bell pepper, tomatoes & corn - frozen/canned in August; collard greens frozen in December

The recipe I originally used for Green Gumbo is mostly just greens, okra, and Creole seasoning. Oh, and a roux. I much prefer making mine with tomatoes and corn as well. The first time I made it I botched the roux and then just left it out after that. But I tried again tonight and I think I was successful. (In as much as "successful" simply means, I didn't have to throw anything away.)

The consistency of the gumbo seemed just right to me; maybe that was from the roux. Or maybe it was the okra. Which, by the way, is where the word gumbo comes from: ngombo in West Africa is the word for okra.

Green Gumbo over rice

Green Gumbo
serves 4
6 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1-2 Tablespoons of Creole seasoning*
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bell pepper
(celery, if you've got it, to complete the Holy Trinity; but tonight, like most nights I had none)
12-16 ounces of okra, chopped
1 quart of tomatoes, with juices
1-2 cups vegetable broth (depending on how much juice there is with the tomatoes)
1 pint of corn
1 teaspoon of thyme
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
or a few splashes of liquid smoke
6-8 ounces of frozen chopped collard greens (also works with turnip greens, kale, chard, or a combination - and you can use as much as you want, depending on how green you want your gumbo - just add extra broth if needed)

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, until flour turns golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in Creole seasoning.
Add onions, garlic, and bell pepper (and celery, if using). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 3 minutes. Stir in okra, cover, and cook. Add tomatoes, corn, broth, thyme, Worcestershire and/or liquid smoke. Cook, stirring, 10 minutes.
Add greens, stirring. Cover and cook until greens are tender, 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve gumbo over cooked white rice.

* I used a modified version of this recipe to make Creole seasoning. Modified, because I didn't have celery seed or paprika.

Can't Wait for Saturday

I have been counting down the days to this Saturday. Fresh local salad greens, maybe some scallions, pea shoots if I'm lucky. It has been a long winter without those fresh delicacies. And, I'm hoping to stock up on jams and that local mustard again - like from last year. It won't be long now before spring begins for real at the first Eat Local expo, day after tomorrow!

Broke-ology

This is the last weekend of the KC Rep's production of Broke-ology, which has been highly acclaimed over the last few weeks. Lots of folks were saying lots of good things about it, so we decided to catch it before it ended. And I'm so glad we did.

The story is set in present day Kansas City, Kansas and is about a poor African American family - an aging and ill father, two twenty-something sons, and just the memory of their mother. The location is close to where I live, yet the circumstances couldn't be further away from my world, so I went expecting something unfamiliar.

And yet the story hit home, big time, and I found myself crying like a baby. You don't have to be a trying-to-make-ends-meet black man from KCK to recognize the power of generational transitions, of aging, and of the abrading passage of time. A suburban born-and-raised, pregnant white woman can feel that loud and clear. And anyone who loves their family will feel something too.

Believe it or Not

I'm pregnant. We found out two months ago and - three ultrasounds later - I still can hardly believe it's real. Yes, the nausea has made me believe. And the increasing waist line has made me believe. The fatigue was pretty convincing, too. But when I see that baby moving around on the screen, it's still just too good to be true.

The Fig, kickin' back

According to Baby Center, our baby was approximately the size of fig last week, so as has been our custom each week since we found out, we refer to it by its food corollary. The Blueberry. The Kidney Bean, The Kumquat, etc. "They grow up so fast!" Sergio wrote in our pregnancy planner as we moved from week to week. This week it's The Lime, but we're still calling it The Fig from last week; that one was most endearing to us.

I'm due September 26, about which I couldn't be more excited, since that's the same time frame as the birthdays of all four of the nieces and nephews on my side. We'll be waiting until then to find out whether it's a boy or a girl. Sergio thinks it's a girl; I have no premonition. Not yet anyway. I do have really elaborate and exhausting dreams - dreams about water, a dream about a pet dolphin, a dream that I gave birth to a dachshund. The miracle of life does strange things to the psyche.

Sergio and I have gone public and nearly completed our media campaign, which we launched a few days ago - by now I've received the most Facebook comments I've ever received. But not as many as Sergio - he won that contest. Either way, I'm thinking this kid is going to have lots of friends, even before s/he arrives. And that makes us feel all the more excited.

Visit from Tyler and the Girls (a photo essay)

starting off the day with crepes

a morning family art session at Kaleidescope

Minli meditating at Tea Drops

Minli expressing her opinion of the bubbles in bubble tea

a wonderful weekend, all the way around

London Surprise

Wow. We did such a good job of keeping it a secret that I nearly forgot to mention it here. We went to London!

Fish and Chips and - most importantly - Mushy Peas

So now that the cat's out of the bag, I can tell you: our friends Ken and Lindsay are living there this semester and Ken was having a milestone birthday. Lindsay thought it would be a fun idea for Sergio and me to surprise him with a visit. We agreed completely, snatched up some plane tickets, kept it a secret for many weeks, and finally - despite three (!) flight cancellations due to the blizzard in the northeast - landed in London.

Lindsay, Ken, Sergio, me, and Big Ben

After pulling off our transatlantic surprise, we went on to have a fantastic time with Ken and Lindsay - 1 very historic pub crawl (led by an American expat with a PhD in Dickens), 2 thousand-year old churches (Westminster Abbey and Temple Church) several highly memorable encounters with cheese, delicious Indian food, a comedy show, a hilarious Beefeater tour of the Tower of London (also a comedy show), a visit to Abbey Road (Sergio's request - in homage to Pink Floyd, not those other guys) ...

"Raclette" at Borough Market - cheese, recently melted under these little broilers, and scraped off onto boiled new potatoes, served with gherkins and onions. Unbelievably good.

Borough Market on Valentine's Day

Our Beefeater - so hilariously sarcastic. The name purportedly comes from the fact that long ago, because they were the queen's guards, these "Yeomen Warders" would have had rare access to beef. I think they keep up the name because it's funny.

Did you know that London was founded by Romans and originally called Londinium!? Me neither? Not until our pub crawl with the expat. Lindsay, a historian, further elaborated on some of London's history and I found myself completely aghast - I figured everything was around 1,000 years old, you know, just since 1066, right? But the whole city itself is more like 2,000 years old. I come from a town that's only 150 years old, so needless to say, I found these facts to be phenomenal.

Statue believed to be of the Roman Emperor Trajan, AD 98-117 - 'Imperator Caesar Nerva Trajanus Augustus'

As if London's own antiquity we're enough, we went to the British Museum to see even more really, really old things. Like the Rosetta Stone! Which is nearly impossible to get to through the throngs of people clamoring for a glimpse. We also saw the Elgin Marbles which amount to a lot of marbles, and I think I can understand why Greece is so upset.

behind the Rosetta Stone with swarms of people in front

Elgin Marbles, South Metope XXXI

AND, what's more? Besides five days of quality time under the "gray cloud" and "white cloud" of London with Ken and Lindsay, we also got to meet up with another set of friends who happened to be in England at the same time as us. What a treat!

me and Lauren after an afternoon at the Courtauld Gallery

Cheers!

Around the World

I'm making some travel plans for later this year and so I have traveling on the brain. Which flight should we take? How many PTO days will I need to use? What will the weather be like? What should I pack? Will my iPhone work in Baja California? Many uncertainties that I'm still working out for my own travel plans - which put me in a welcoming frame of mind to watch Around the World in 80 Days at the KC Repertory Theater tonight, in which life and traveling seems fundamental and simple.

Especially as portrayed with such a minimally appointed set, the journey of Phileas Fogg appeared to me pleasantly plain in its planning - but exciting all the same. Fogg and his valet, Passepartout, packed light, carrying just two carpet bags, some cash, and a little red book called the Bradshaw which lists time tables for ships and trains. With his penchant for mathematical precision, Fogg makes all the arrangements as he goes, never miscalculating, never erring.

Most welcoming of all, Fogg was so unscathed by the uncertainties of planning, the uncertainties of nineteenth century global travel, no less. I love the character of Fogg, so indefatigable, so constantly poised, so firm. When faced with even the most absurd set backs - an unfinished railroad, a warrant for his arrest - Fogg remains unflapped.

And here I am wasting a lot of energy on worrying that three months from now I might forget to bring the battery charger for my camera.

I'm sure the caricature of Fogg is meant to invite derision - I mean who could be so dry and intent as to ignore all the wonders of the world as they pass you by, no matter what kind of deadline you're on? - but I found his detachment sort of appealing. Of course, Passepartout is his foil - in awe of the sites along the way and inevitably getting into a couple of scrapes along the way.

But wouldn't it be nice to traverse even just a tiny little corner of the world with both Fogg's calm and Passepartout's verve? I think so.

"Grana y Oro" Chili

three vegetarian chilis, mine is on the right, with the 'totopo' (chip)

Tonight was the 17th Annual Chili Cookoff at church - a fabulous event - and I decided to enter the contest this year. This was a last minute decision and with little time to get too creative, I decided just to spruce up my old favorite Red Bean and Quinoa Chili with some fancy beans, some chipotles, and a new name.

Since I was using two kinds of quinoa - the red one and the, uh, gold one - I got the idea to call it red and gold chili. Which was, of course, too boring. So I told Sergio I wanted to name it in Spanish and he directed me to this perfect word, "grana," which means both "scarlet" and "grain."

I forgot to take a picture of my chili, but I was very excited about my sign.

And thus was born my "Mostly local, organic and mild Grana y Oro chili, featuring QUINOA, the ancient grain and complete protein, from South America ... yellow CORN and red TOMATOES from Kansas and Missouri ... 2 kinds of BEANS (Kidney and Anasazi) ... and Mexican CHIPOTLES!"

It tied for second place in the Best Vegetarian Chili category!


GRANA Y ORO CHILI ("Scarlet & Gold" Chili)
based on "Red Bean and Quinoa Chili" from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair
serves 8-10

2 cups of red beans (kidney or anasazi)
soaked 6-8 hours, simmered in 6 cups of water 60 to 90 minutes with 1 t. cumin and 2 garlic cloves

2 t. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 t. sea salt

2 bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 a small jalapeño (or more to taste)
2 t. cumin

2 t. dried oregano

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. cayenne *OR* better yet - chipotle chili powder from Planters

2/3 cup red quinoa, rinsed in warm water and drained
2/3 cup gold quinoa, rinsed in warm water and drained

2 cups fresh or frozen corn

1 can tomato sauce
1 pint (or can) crushed or diced tomatoes

32 oz vegetable broth
1/3 cup chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped

Heat oil in skillet on medium. Add onion, salt, garlic, pepper, and spices; sauté for 5 to 10 minutes. Add rinsed quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomatoes, and broth to onion/quinoa mixture. Simmer 20 minutes. Add cooked beans and chipotles to other ingredients; simmer around 10 minutes.

Drinking Chocolate

Well, last summer I got hooked on snow cones. Really hooked. Then, about a month after the snow cone season ended, when the weather had finally began to get chilly and I was just about ready for a new obsession, I was reminded of Christopher Elbow Drinking Chocolate.

drinking chocolate - that's drinking the modifier, not the verb

This was nothing new as I've been a fan of Mr. Elbow and his artisanal chocolates (strawberry balsamic is still far and away my fave) since he first started up in the tiny kitchen in the back section of the antique store on Southwest Blvd. But this year, since I was ready for my next fixation, I guess, when I was reintroduced to the drinking chocolates, I got hooked. Really hooked. It was a weekly thing at first - on Fridays before each trip to Badseed, just down the street from Christopher Elbow. Now that it's the new year all full of resolutions, I've cut back a tiny bit, but not without significant longing.

There are several flavors of drinking chocolate to choose from - Venezualen Spice, Mocha, Dark, Peanut Butter, and - I think - Curry. All delicious, I'm sure. But the one that steals my heart each and every time is the Peppermint. Truth be told, I could give up chocolate altogether if it weren't for the way that it tastes when combined with mint. And this combination of hot drinking chocolate with cool peppermint is something else.

pepp, indeed

If you're interested in marshmallows, I can tell you that your best bet is one marshmallow only and a lid (which traps the heat which melts the marshmallow which prevents you from having to messily fish the marshmallow remainder out at the end of your drink). Or, if you're marshmallow-averse, definitely go for a bit of Shatto cream. (OR, if you're a vegan, they will make the whole drinking chocolate for you with water instead of milk!)

Truly - you can't go wrong.