My summer break has officially begun! Welp, its more like a pause, because I’ll be up and at ‘em not before long, doing another internship in DC this summer. But, before I jump from my academic life into the government work life, I will be enjoying a bit of the good life. This weekend I started with a day trip to Savannah, GA with my mom. I heard so many good things about Savannah that I was expecting to have a good time. Yet my expectations were exceeded by the hauntingly beautiful scenery and extensive African American history. It’s definitely a must-see, for any history buff. My top three sites included the memorial dedicated to the voluntary black soldiers unit (freedmen from Haiti) who fought to help free Savannah from the British; the first African-baptist church in the US, which pre-dates the independence of the US and the burial sites of some of the more well-treated slaves where oak trees with Spanish-moss dangle in the wind and are sprinkled throughout the grounds. Definitely an excellent start to my little summer pause!
Now this is some news I can slow jam to! An Obama and Jimmy classic.
Cooking Lesson from a Chef-in-Training:
Last Saturday night I was invited to participate in a marathon of sorts, a cooking lesson. It wasn’t your average, recreational cooking tutorial. The vibe was definitely more didactic. It was a group of six ladies including myself, being treated to a highly informative, entertaining and thankfully very appetizing cooking lesson. The Chef-in-Training was a kind, professional guy with a solid ambition to share the wealth of culinary knowledge he’s mastered. Add to this his unforgettable catch phrase like “you got to get physical with your chicken”, and we’ve got a likely successor for a video podcast, youtube series or major network cooking show!
The original menu for the nigh’s lesson was “lapin braisé à la sauce moutarde avec des légumes racines rôtis et riz pilaf” [translation: rabbit braised in mustard sauce with roasted root vegetables and rice pilaf]. The change from rabbit to chicken and pork was suggested by our lovely host and kindly adopted by our CIT. Before we got down to the business of cooking, we had to learn the basic of prepping. This involved quartering a whole chicken into its parts, namely two airline breasts and two legs/drums. This is where the now infamous, “get physical with your chicken” quote originated. As a bonus to this “warm-up exercise”, which was a culinary workout in its own right, we also learned how to “french the bone” (think of how the rack of lamb in a fancy restaurant is presented, with bone sticking out — meatless. That was the result of “frenching”.)
The next session was a little more familiar territory. Cutting the root veggies. That would be veggies that grow underground for folks that didn’t quite get it at first read like me. Our selection included common picks like onions, red potatoes, carrots; more luxurious veggies like butternut squash and shallots and then finally ones most of us in the room hadn’t eaten before, celery root and parsnips. We then mixed this multicolored batch of veggies with slices of garlic cloves, popped them in the oven and added a bit of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), kosher salt and pepper!
From there we moved on to the rice pilaf. The highlight here was making our own bouquet garni (garnish bouquet), a mix of celery, black peppercorn, fresh dried thyme and parsley.
Lastly, the piece de resistance, was the cream mustard sauce that braised our chicken and pork pieces. It is appropriate if your mouth is watering at this point!
The event started at 7:30 and ran til midnight. As is required for any sort of marathon, we paced ourselves, and were revived with refreshments, namely a homemade cocktail, which I’ve dubbed “The Woodard”.
In the end, I believe I can speak for all the ladies, the night was a good night. The culinary marathon was worth every minute of toil. Today for lunch I had some of the leftovers and as leftovers’ tendency, it brought the flavors together even more, making the second time around even better. See for yourselves what our feast was like and… Bon appetite everyone!
\nite
Behold Our God!
The last two weeks, March 5-18, have been a remarkable journey, definitely a milestone marker in my sojourn here on this earth. The Lord really used it to wake me up; draw me closer to him and simply beckon me to listen to his call and behold his glory with greater faith!
The timing of everything was impeccable. Which makes sense, because God is perfect in all his ways. Impeccable timing!
So the words of this hymn that I just heard about three weeks ago is very fitting. Its a new one from Sovereign Grace Ministries:
Behold our God seated on his Throne, come let us adore him
Behold our King, nothing can compare, come let us adore him
You will reign forever, let your glory fill the earth
You will reign forever, let your glory fill the earth
Behold our God seated on his Throne, come let us adore him …
AMEN!! In light of this, the last couple of entries points to a mere glimpse of the Majesty of the Lord, which I got to experience the last couple days during my Spring Break to Northern California.
His glory is filling this earth, in spite of our reluctance to recognize and admit it.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
Northern Cali: San Francisco (aka Fog City) and Sonoma (Wine Country)
(Clicking on this photo will divert you to my picasa web album of my San Fran and Sonoma photos)
Northern California: Monterey & Big Sur (CA Route 1- Pacific Coast line)
(Clicking on this photo will divert you to my picasa web album of my Monterey & Big Sur photos)
Northern California : Carmel-by-the-Sea (south of Monterey off of CA Route 1)
(Clicking on this photo will divert you to my picasa web album of my Carmel by-the-Sea photos)
Enlightening NPR audio interview on new book “TINDERBOX”: How The West Sparked The AIDS Epidemic And How The World Can Finally Overcome It
Marseille's Melting Pot - Photo Gallery - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine
Bless my soul! This takes me back to my home away from home! Enjoy ;)
Black History Month 2012
I don’t believe it was a coincidence that my 1st weekend in February was spent in Birmingham, Alabama attending a conference. Of course my reason for going was to attend the conference, but as life experience and the Bible tells us, our intentions aren’t the point. Consequently I had the opportunity to visit some of the historic sites of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, including the 16th Street Baptist church where the 1963 bombing killed 4 middle-school aged girls. Right next to the church is the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. It is a powerful exhibit that chronicles the fight for justice in Birmingham, Alabama, the South and throughout the nation. I highly recommend it. No photos were allowed inside, but here’s a couple outside shots. I must say, this was an excellent start to remembering/honoring Black history month!
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