tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60110029202666658382024-02-19T07:59:26.130-08:00Superhomey Poet on WokCulinary pleasures with dash of poetry, recipes that rock and roll, and lots of food bloggingPASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-90557008168294658982019-04-16T12:32:00.002-07:002019-04-16T12:35:25.792-07:00FOOD and STUFF: A Superhomey's Rockin' Cookbook<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">I WAS</span></b> born in a country that is battered by killer typhoons 5 or 6 months a year, at a time when military dictatorship menacingly poked at my young journalism. How to deal with all these? Laugh. Laugh so hard it makes your empty stomach full... Filipinos got this weird kick about laughing at everything, including their own tragedies. So I don't really know what is “negativity” because I was born in a world that was dark and cold and dangerous—hence I appreciate a mere instance of sunlight caressing a lonely lump of grass... I get angry and then laugh, I hear “bad” news—I make fun of it. Done. Time to cook and eat. And thank my God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">I AM </span></b>kind of OCD when it comes to cooking, very particular as most cooks are--although I cooked, as well, almost on random, in calamity areas and evacuation centers. Whatever are available, I work around them--quick and sure. But if I have a choice, I'd prefer that I get the feel and vibe of the kitchen first--before I set out to cook, like a meditating monk a-front the wok... The kitchen is like the performance stage. I gotta do it right. If I fail, no problem--I'll do it again. I don't confine myself with set recipes, I always improvise—I want to keep on introducing new flavor mixes and/or ingredients-interface. That is the challenge of cooking, like how writing and art ignite the fire within—always come up with some magic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">GRILLING </span></b>is cool. I associate it with backyard hangout--family, friends, neighbors, community. It's kinda weird to be grilling alone, feeding just yourself. I imagine giant grilling beds and lots of stories randomly thrown around... Cooking or dinners blossom and nurtured at the tiniest but most significant unit of human activity—family. Then it evolves into community connectedness, and expands—it grows into global oneness. Food (or eating together) is probably the least debatable module of friendship offering; it is easily modified, adjusted, altered, interfaced, improved to suit a specific group's collective liking or individual preference. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">COOKING</span></b> is an endearing gesture of connectedness, a sublime intimacy that is anchored to a strong feeling of family. It connects me to my family oceans away. But these days, cooking and dining at home—with mom, dad, sons, daughters, and pets present—has almost become a forgotten facet of family bliss… Everybody has an important task to finish, or an electronic bauble to play with… So I cook. I cook for friends like I am cooking for the spirits of my past—both excited and enthralled what sort of culinary magic I’d come up with for dinnertime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>IT IS</b></span> always a painstaking endeavor to venture beyond cultural comfort zones. Language is a major barrier, nuances and reflex convey mixed signals, music or arts may deliver contradictory, unpleasant messages when these happen to touch sensitive tribal mores and stuff… Literature is the same. I tried to shake hands with my poems but it’s always a hit and miss situation. However, the only human gift that has more chances at bridging communication gaps and filling cultural vacuums is FOOD. Everybody eats…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;">COOKING</span></b> is one of three activities that I detest someone peering over my shoulder. The other two: Writing and reading. Outside distraction and unsolicited (or solicited) comments are only allowed after the fact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">SOME </span></b>people's affinity with food these days, sad to say--has evolved into something similar to religious fanaticism. Like religion, food should not be imposed on people; but unlike religion, food is a basic human need. We can exist without religion, but without food—we die. The survivors of Hiroshima, for example—learned to find ways to “de-poison” fish, raise animals, and farm land that were ruined by the atomic bombing in 1945. Without the buffalo hide and meat, the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw etc who were removed from their land in the Trail of Tears of 1831 wouldn't have survived punishing winters. </span>Alaska and Antarctica wouldn't have been inhabited by humans if hunting animals for food is called murder. Majority of peoples of the world subsist on meat and seafood because these are basic necessities for them to live and function within their family, community and society... It is disrespectful and insensitive to judge these “carnivorous” people inhuman just because they eat meat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Yet the way most non-meat/non-organic eaters castigate those not their kind is almost tantamount to a fanatic who hollers in our face: “If you don't follow god almighty, you will burn in the fires of twinkies! My child, save your soul!” Holyguacamole! How many people tell me, “Why do you eat that disgusting Waffle House pork chop? That ramen noodles? Dirt! That meat you just bought at Ingles is poison!” I usually shrug that arrogance off by saying, “I am Wolverine Junior Jr! I am strong, I am invisible, I am a man of strength and kickass claws because I eat pig ears and chicken feet! If you believe I am dying because I also love Sonic banana split and Bojangles dark meat, then leave me alone... Let me exercise my right to kill myself with joy. Now, please hand me my PBR.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">A PAELLA STORY. </span></b>My grandma (re)cooked leftover paella for her dogs—while we, boys, played basketball in the driveway. When grandma (“Lola Luz”) excused herself to the bathroom, we ran inside because we smelled some paella. We attacked the (re)cooked paellas, meant for the dogs, which pissed the dogs off—and chased us down the driveway to the street. Lesson: Don't eat babedawg food, especially paella dog food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>I WAS</b> </span>born in a country that is battered by killer typhoons 5 or 6 months a year, at a time when military dictatorship menacingly poked at my young journalism. How to deal with all these? Laugh. Laugh so hard it makes your empty stomach full... Filipinos got this weird kick about laughing at everything, including their own tragedies. So I don't really know what is “negativity” because I was born in a world that was dark and cold and dangerous—hence I appreciate a mere instance of sunlight caressing a lonely lump of grass... I get angry and then laugh, I hear “bad” news—I make fun of it. Done. Time to cook and eat. And thank my God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">PATRICK </span></b>McDonald opened the first McDonald's—called “The Airdrome” and later "McDonald's Bar-B-Q"--in Monrovia, California in 1937. Then in 1954, Ray Kroc, a seller of Multi-mixer milkshake machines, learned that Patrick was using eight of his machines so he sought the dude out—and then offered to franchise the restaurant throughout the country. Well, rest is history... Since I was born and grew up in a country where all kinds of edible stuff is called FOOD and we eat them, we just curse the food chain and then thank God for the chow. Simplified living, I guess... Meantime, I gotta tell you—I love McDonald's McWraps, especially the mushroom wrap and the new veggie/chicken wrap. Protests, anyone?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">CHOPPED!</span></b> I am a fan of the Food Network show, “Chopped.” It pits four chefs against each other; the challenge is to take a mystery basket of ingredients and turn them into a dish that is judged on their creativity, presentation, and taste with minimal time to plan and execute. I dig such a challenge, that's the way I'd like to cook—when I don't know what's inside the fridge or cupboard and just work something out. Growing up in a country that is clobbered by paralyzing typhoons almost 6 months a year, people got used to improvising on whatever are available. That's the only Food Network show that I like.</span> Since the original “Iron Chef” was cut, and reformatted—I lost interest. I don't like cooking that employs a whole lot of gadgets (that I find unnecessary). Besides, most of the judges seem to put more premium on artistic presentation than taste, as though art alone will feed people. Most shows seem to teach cooking in restaurants than cooking at home, for family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">I SAW </span></b>this Travel Channel show about food artists and/or scientists, sort of—who, for example, liquify a broccoli then mix venison paste then served alongside grated wheat bread that is soaked on Smirnoff. Or sliced apples fermented (or preserved) in a tank of vinaigrette and calamansi, then rolled on flour and cornmeal, then frozen—then wrapped around bacon that looked like cabbage. I don't know... You might know what I'm talking about. Hah! Why do food, cooking or eating have to be that complex? I'd like to eat and chew the real deal not some mutated chow from the lab.</span><br />
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PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-25071423077375169702017-08-04T12:16:00.001-07:002017-08-04T12:17:55.785-07:00SPORTS and COOKING in the Family<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">I
AM</span></b> fortunate that my birthing and flow out of innocence have been
blessed with a sportscentric and cookery crazy family. My father is a
hyper soul whose ageless chakras know no respite. That's him playing
chess with a tribal leader in Ifugao mountains back home. Dad would
travel rough roads amidst typhoons and countryside strife just to
hang with his superhomeys. And play chess and backyard basketball. Paulo built a martial arts gym at the back of the ancestral
house when we were kids and, with Uncle Jimmy, taught us and other
kids in the `hood karate, judo and arnis. (No, dad didn't teach us
the Valentino lover-boy moves, we were just grade school kids, ha!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Mom
used to manage a bowling alley in a mining village where we once
lived so we learned how to play it when were just little kids. All
nine of us siblings, especially the boys, got into sports early. We
didn't just play them, we also organized summer sports events as
well. Putting up basketball events in the community was my brother
Sonny's summer madness so much so that his first job as a teenager
was as sports organizer for the city government's anti-drugs program.
Two of my bros got some kind of school tuition privilege playing
basketball. One commits to village-level sports clinics, pro bono. My
older brother Alberto is a golf champ but not like PGA kinda, but
still a champ. He also won bowling tournaments when he was working in
Saudi Arabia. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Cousins and a niece (CD) are chess champs in regional
school events. My son Duane, who is a professional artist and writer,
is also a mixed martial arts fighter and now a trainer. Nephews got
athletic scholarships and stuff, and sports still meld the family
today as in the past. When we argued as siblings (featuring second
youngest bro Allan The Enforcer) and cousins, dad would usher us to
the punching bag and get the rage off our chest in the gym, or let us
play basketball and sweat it out. Definitely no unfriending.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2bzA5V_67k3O2xFe2NlIyiG0Pa354ijiX1AM6vLau2Ptep16ztb8807CU_7x4TWT-X1ibrDS5w92qB-D15oFv9PW_VIjmi5ZyE4r-wnrE41rI3EZcmMFUGGPUqxu5MQQI68kFRbPMjKa/s1600/cook+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="346" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX2bzA5V_67k3O2xFe2NlIyiG0Pa354ijiX1AM6vLau2Ptep16ztb8807CU_7x4TWT-X1ibrDS5w92qB-D15oFv9PW_VIjmi5ZyE4r-wnrE41rI3EZcmMFUGGPUqxu5MQQI68kFRbPMjKa/s200/cook+1.jpg" width="186" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And
cooking.</span> My youngest bro Alvaro was on national ABS-CBN television
showing off his culinary arts prowess, in a gig that was booked by my
daughter Donna. Alvaro was also featured on TV in re his free summer
sports camp/s. Whenever we gather (which is often), a top competitive
flair is who's going to be the day's (or weekend's) chef. Of course
on my last visit to Las Vegas to see family last winter, I was
waylaid in the kitchen by my eldest sis Tess, sis in law Ate Rezy,
bro Alberto, and daughter Daphne. My Marseille-Style with Beurre
Blanc Shrimp Stew was no match to Tess' Spanish Callos Royale. I need
more practice, I guess. So I simply, humbly gave way and just washed
dirty plates and pots and pans and mopped the kitchen floor. At
least, I am still the Kickass Dishwasher! Uh huh.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>SOME
COOKING thoughts and ruminations.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">THINK
</span></b>of another human activity that is closer to sex or lovemaking?
Cooking. Why? Well, it's all about touch, smell, feel, sound,
taste—all senses come into play. And it's very individual and
personal. Cooking is rhythm, like dancing, like bedroom
scrimmage—it's cadence, flow, vibe. So cooking is best when you
really know the person you are feeding.
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">IT</span></b>
is always tough to cook for kids. I had to come up with a few
kidstuff BS to be able to convince this sweet little girl to dig in
my spaghetti magic. I tried, “Santa Claus dropped by today to give
me this recipe...” and “I cooked this just for you because I know
you love spaghetti.” </span>But what worked was, “That cheese on top of
your spanghetti is called Hello Kitty Cheese!” I remember when I
was a kid myself, I won't touch dinner unless there's broth on the
side, or I never ate any food that is dark (like black beans,
chocolate cake etc). My eldest daughter Donna refused to eat any food
that didn't pass her olfactory standard, and well, once I've set her
plate in front of her, nobody touches that plate—otherwise, she
won't touch that food and dinner is over!
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">COOKING</span></b>
is personal—it’s like poetry, like sexual intimacy. Cooking
flows from your inner self and into the stove. It is about
smell, taste, sight, hearing. Sensitivity. Touch and feel.
When you feel like writing, write; want to cook, cook; feel like
making love, do it—these are the best moments to flow… Sexual
intimacy or the cooking process—it’s communication between you
and your senses, sensuality/sensitivity channeled to your partner. If
you don’t know your inner truths—it’s not possible to project
it, or derive pleasure from sharing it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjYpFu3tYOTBs57opLjcxG1uddXblZxVYeR1gj8OeeEoehWKvC9V7yyhsljAWZ-AA_D87L95nBxdZcOSA3jxYTFWEsXKlZI6pJj3W2C7lLuQnY6ADTWcbrHYRS0zBOiiQA05MBn5FN2ev/s1600/cook+4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="640" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjYpFu3tYOTBs57opLjcxG1uddXblZxVYeR1gj8OeeEoehWKvC9V7yyhsljAWZ-AA_D87L95nBxdZcOSA3jxYTFWEsXKlZI6pJj3W2C7lLuQnY6ADTWcbrHYRS0zBOiiQA05MBn5FN2ev/s320/cook+4b.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><b><span style="color: red;">“</span></b><b><span style="color: red;">I
WOULD</span></b> love to cook for you...” That offer always, instinctively,
comes out of my mouth—when I meet new friends. Food could be the
most accessible and most convenient gesture of human connection. I
eat whatever is offered me by friends, relatives or and even
strangers. It is a natural reflex... <span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Food breaks ice and starts
conversations on a freewheeling, relaxed mode. Food also loosens up
supposedly super-serious, ultra-dramatic, nerve-wracking
conversations. I always say, if we have food on the table and we are
all having fun eating—there's not much room to argue about anything
at all. In fact, when the food is so good—everybody's silent.
Living good, loving good, eating good.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">I ALWAYS</span></b> nurtured an indulgent fascination with feeding
people. Eating is human right as well as living imperative, and food
is as basic as shelter and education. Yet I get the heat from
vegetarian friends when I say that mere contemplation of a life
without meat is a luxury, a romantic snobbery by the affluent
first-worlder. Truth is, the world's poor doesn't feast on dead
flesh—they eat whatever is available so they could live another
day. Over all, rich nations eat much more meat than poor ones, and
raising animals takes more agricultural resources than raising
crops--so less affluent people eat less meat. Even if I maintain a
non-meat diet all my life – when I go out there and see starving
humanity, I will still feed them with whatever is called food. Food
keeps people alive. When it comes to eating, my logic is gut-level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">MY</span></b>
cooking reflex is random but calculated, non-systematic but adaptive.
How is that? First, I don't religiously follow recipes—I just
basically refer to them as “guides” or motivational patterns. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The
most important aspect of cooking is the significance of feeding
people, of knowing individual tastes: what do they wish to eat, what
are their preferences, ingredients/spices/herbs that they avoid etc.</span>
I am very confident that whatever foodstuff, condiments, herbs etc
are available in the fridge, cupboard, garden—I can whip out a good
meal from those. Cooking is like playing music—you fit in, fill in
the blanks, jam in the vibe, work it out as the beat flows. Art is
never prearranged. Cooking is art. </span>
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PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-55158116831117280652016-07-29T23:38:00.005-07:002023-07-06T12:06:25.314-07:00Anybody for the Environment? <div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #e06666;">I AM</span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"> usually silent in regards what most of my enlightened friends and
colleagues are fighting for. Maybe they've already unfriended me and
boxed me in a crate they reserve for “rightwinged moomoos.”
That's the way life is these days, I guess. You disagree with the
enlightened you are a Conservative. You diss the Conservative you are
stoned-cold homeless. Either way, you are unfriended. LOL! For the
first time in my life though after four decades of being labelled a
hardcore Leftist, I am called rightwing skynyrd! Ah! Freebird.
</span></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">Seriously though, I don't expect to be labelled left or right when I
talk about the environment. I hope.</span></span></span></strong></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcjexn8wvOirXBB761TCLAz5Q9XIyjf5QugG8Gi1B5Tu1HBd4zO-WNAEtutnOxnvXaFSxiDBUKi6Cb-E8Vv8x9SiEsFnvx1zSWR_PVXzYqa905zCWsBrgRyI-gNOA59XYYr_7u5tNNz1M/s1600/calvin-and-hobbes-snow-walkers2b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcjexn8wvOirXBB761TCLAz5Q9XIyjf5QugG8Gi1B5Tu1HBd4zO-WNAEtutnOxnvXaFSxiDBUKi6Cb-E8Vv8x9SiEsFnvx1zSWR_PVXzYqa905zCWsBrgRyI-gNOA59XYYr_7u5tNNz1M/s400/calvin-and-hobbes-snow-walkers2b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Has
anybody taken to heart and soul the danger of sea-level rise after
Katrina and Sandy, more than we spend huge energy debating and
discoursing stuff? Stuff like The D and The H over the B? When
Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012, it flooded more than 88,000
buildings in the city and killed 44 people. That figure may not shake
the skeptic, I'm sure? Yet that was a transformative event. By 2030
or so, the water in New York Harbor could be a foot higher than it is
today, according to mostly Dutch experts that the city government
hired following the disaster. That may not sound like much, yet even
with a foot or two of sea-level rise, streets will become impassable
at high tide, snarling traffic. The cost of flood insurance will
skyrocket, causing home prices in risky neighborhoods to decline. So
says a Rolling Stone article by Jeff Goodell.</span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: large;">But
that is not the real fear. There will always be a big storm coming. A
year from now, 7 years, maybe 20 years. It might be smaller than
Sandy, it might be a lot stronger that the strongest that hit the
Philippines or China. Of course, governments are working things out.
But if you add a foot or two of sea-level rise to a 14-foot storm
tide, you have serious trouble. And if it hits before we actually
constructed or implemented mechanisms to lessen damage of such a
calamity, then we got serious problem.</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Sea-level
rise is no joke. And news from the Arctic is not good. Of course we
know that the big guys have been melting ice there for more oil
diggings so we can gas up more and watch “Game of Thrones” more.
This summer, temperatures in Greenland spiked to the highest levels
on record. If just one-tenth of the Greenland ice were to melt, it
would raise global sea levels by two feet. The breakup of West
Antarctica, which has showed signs of increasing fragility, could
raise the seas 12 feet.</span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOcIWGqJp44gIwmAX37VjDSU20mAlTd50_q_T4MIldzA7nvBKOjyE-QIFWtmwo-2rRW2AvX_mm2TEwhUDDOmsQIOPEgs11hNCKSMJRux5HQLTLLDi4W_UR7uykcVwlsvZ7bqbny2MHqHL/s1600/balmmcc.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOcIWGqJp44gIwmAX37VjDSU20mAlTd50_q_T4MIldzA7nvBKOjyE-QIFWtmwo-2rRW2AvX_mm2TEwhUDDOmsQIOPEgs11hNCKSMJRux5HQLTLLDi4W_UR7uykcVwlsvZ7bqbny2MHqHL/s320/balmmcc.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></strong></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Hugely
contributing to environmental ruin of course is the greenhouse
effect, a process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms
the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without
its atmosphere. Earth’s natural greenhouse effect is critical to
supporting life. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil
fuels and clearing of forests, have intensified the natural
greenhouse effect, causing global warming.</span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Approximately
two-thirds of all industrial methane and carbon dioxide released into
the atmosphere since 1854 can be traced to burning fossil fuels and
producing cement. Over the decades, scientists have succeeded in
confidently tracing how much of climate change can be directly tied
to human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels. Sadly,
the carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are now higher
than at any point in human history, further worsening the ‘greenhouse
effect’ contributing to global warming and the consequences of
climate change. In fact, recent data shows that global carbon dioxide
emissions were 150 times higher in 2011 than they were in 1850.</span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"> And
who are the main contributors to global warming via our lifestyle? Or
carbon footprint, the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to
directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed
in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Top 4: China, the US,
India and Russia. Cement? Top 3: China, India, the US. Steel: China,
Japan, India, the US. </span></span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpkjLv0sBk8XIopIR9AWskKtMLpn9owFBmbow1caXSb0vHYmzXH-yaNMLUgl_vDIqBQlPT1cul0KYMTyY1qA6j1y3fEJD32-jBSso8rJ8dJpwn7yaIObXCLLcQqUB383FJncEL9iHagAk/s1600/nonesss.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpkjLv0sBk8XIopIR9AWskKtMLpn9owFBmbow1caXSb0vHYmzXH-yaNMLUgl_vDIqBQlPT1cul0KYMTyY1qA6j1y3fEJD32-jBSso8rJ8dJpwn7yaIObXCLLcQqUB383FJncEL9iHagAk/s320/nonesss.jpg" width="211" /></a></span></span></strong></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></strong></span></span></span><strong style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Still,
we do think that we are doing enough for the environment? No. Instead
of fighting for bike lanes and bus transport, we fight for (I don't
wanna say it). We listen to political humor more than we listen to,
for example, the Dutch who knows how to prevent floods (well their
country is under water protected by dams, dikes and levees) and they
are also number 1 in use of bikes not for recreation but for basic
transport. How many of us will boycott Walmart but are you willing to
boycott your gas station? No. You get my drift. We love that car.</span></span></span></strong></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Anyway,
it's past 2 AM now. I gotta digress. And sleep. Uh huh. </span></span></span></span></strong></span></span>
</div><div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">(Photo credit: Michael Penn.)</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-18130637056650655422016-07-28T16:42:00.004-07:002016-07-28T16:42:54.315-07:00The Food That We Eat<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">THERE's</span></b>
just so many food/s and foodstuff to choose from around us. If there
are only three of the same food, not 35--then probably we'd break `em
down to the only ones that we really need. Just like the good old
days before local business grew into such a gargantuan ogre otherwise
known as corporations. Then there is this ailment we call
consumerism. We buy and buy and buy. </span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpwzUVXU6dr1wd80kNMmOFvxuXf0XUod8XbVkqGDXvEIoVHkFlZsF5qAtXIaLGN3fVAwLEusvcJzpYtTRjo5oxZQpfxYvLROVAa37p3wai0crYuELzT-TgdQD1sP40jhrzfgvqqrhrUPJ/s1600/1.aIMG_7145b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpwzUVXU6dr1wd80kNMmOFvxuXf0XUod8XbVkqGDXvEIoVHkFlZsF5qAtXIaLGN3fVAwLEusvcJzpYtTRjo5oxZQpfxYvLROVAa37p3wai0crYuELzT-TgdQD1sP40jhrzfgvqqrhrUPJ/s400/1.aIMG_7145b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /> Most poorer cultures
buy foodstuff that are consumed only for a day or max of three days
because that's all that their cash could afford at a given time. They
buy in open markets where vegetables/meat are fresh and with lesser
chemicals or "bad agents" since these directly come from
the farm. Most local produce are consumed by the locals. Some are
transported by only via 6-8 hour transport time direct to the store.
Those that are not bought are "recycled" as animal feeds or
compost/fertilizers. Economics is also part of it. Pesticides
etc are expensive. Then traditional/tribal cultures that don't rely
in over-marketing and produce smothered with chemicals. You buy
directly from farmers. Etc etcetera. Here, even if they say kale are
organic etc, most of these are transported from somewhere else,
frozen and stocked in shelves for days and weeks. It's basically the
same as those they said antibiotics-laden. But then I don't think
about it much. I cook, I eat, I dance. Burn the crap out of my
system.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">IT is weird, I know. Some people in coastal villages
(in Asia) sometimes dine on mussels and other seashells that are
washed to the shore by toxic waters/wastes on certain seasons. I also
saw a documentary movie about how survivors of the bombing/s of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were able to consume fish and seashells and
land produce after their environment was devastated by nukes. I
guess, humanity's body functions and elasticity is adaptable to
whatever condition. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsn8IaM9pQKqWvtuHAWptS9MetCwWY2FN9fnkBZkoO-1pILn0PnZPsvJGbP6L9J6P3g7Qis0o-FXBJUgajz0PBjbkdKr_VB8HyaTe_ouD44B_nQiBw91ffl1ZVymd7VQ0hvMoGKE1F5-0v/s1600/42.ddd222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsn8IaM9pQKqWvtuHAWptS9MetCwWY2FN9fnkBZkoO-1pILn0PnZPsvJGbP6L9J6P3g7Qis0o-FXBJUgajz0PBjbkdKr_VB8HyaTe_ouD44B_nQiBw91ffl1ZVymd7VQ0hvMoGKE1F5-0v/s400/42.ddd222.jpg" width="258" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /> My guru in India has a better
explanation to this though. As for me, it's the old-school
feeding/food culture that helps a lot. We cook our food usually
because we know what our body wants exactly. Restaurants may offer
those of course but the internal satisfaction of eating per se makes
digestion and nutrition work well. We are also feeding the mind.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">WHY
do people in other cultures could effiortlessly dine on food that
normally make us sick? Immune system brought about by their body's
adaptability with the environment. I am not sure but these people
live. I don't think it's "food allergies" per se since, for
example, the prevalence of "questionable" street foods
remains as is per consumption.</span> Food that are sold in open markets
don't go through strict inspection or regulation. Including hogs that
are butchered as per community--these are simply distributed among
villagers. No health department inspection whatsoever. I don't even
recall food poisoning or untoward incidents. Food that we normally
reject here are embraced somewhere. Spam is "good food"
among native Hawaiians, all parts of the chicken are eaten in most of
Asia etc. But these people are not necessarily unhealthy. </span>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-79703016483817291002016-04-25T16:31:00.001-07:002016-04-25T16:55:26.770-07:00Cooking Stuff and Other Things<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">COOKING</span></b> is like music to me. Rhythm section is the basic/fundamentals, the
improvisation comes with the guitars and sax and horns and stuff.
It's always hit and miss. Right key, right blend.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcur5A3aYDiwjCVP9Hh1bn3FJZ-rKT8GEBXhhguHzFr2T8acDSyFifWPn9N74rJqd_pAf6r3ltxaTarzwU9eqCW6gx_zv78iqRWUvY5TUqHeathceG96JT6OQHmcmEBO2N7b4TZ6yCWopt/s1600/1.saggss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcur5A3aYDiwjCVP9Hh1bn3FJZ-rKT8GEBXhhguHzFr2T8acDSyFifWPn9N74rJqd_pAf6r3ltxaTarzwU9eqCW6gx_zv78iqRWUvY5TUqHeathceG96JT6OQHmcmEBO2N7b4TZ6yCWopt/s320/1.saggss.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">FOOD
is a mystery, but it's an endearing adventure to know and understand
what people eat. I try all kinds of recipes that I read and encounter
and then interface my own take (that somehow go in a book that I am
writing--island cooking, herbs, sustainabilty, cultural interface).
Cooking is intimacy. If we don't know how to feed the people we're
with, then we need to explore more that relationship. Something's
missing.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> I like cooking for the people I love and the friends that I
hang out with--although I also cooked for typhoon victims in the
Philippines and poor urban workers in India. Cooking is always hit
and miss, that is why I continue knowing/learning.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 0.17in;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjthjYIvTh2p59OyAhIu6tRFZmlVbjI1rSzSCvRbu1Syf8ebqhOQ59lOGgersYFY0OSYCVsYY268KO9oXLveT95Ogh8UVIjvQZ6KwSEJRjNR1PoBeQOub483RtoOG7YTN1SHEctOiWi78UG/s1600/3grilled+sardines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjthjYIvTh2p59OyAhIu6tRFZmlVbjI1rSzSCvRbu1Syf8ebqhOQ59lOGgersYFY0OSYCVsYY268KO9oXLveT95Ogh8UVIjvQZ6KwSEJRjNR1PoBeQOub483RtoOG7YTN1SHEctOiWi78UG/s320/3grilled+sardines.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="font-size: large;">ORGANIC
food has become much more popular and mainstream in recent years,
accounting for 3 to 4 percent of US food sales and climbing. </span>In the
UK, for example, 40 percent of baby food consumed is now
organic. But I still don't trust it, especially when “organic food”
is sold in relatively bigger stores—compared with my community
grower whose produce I can see blossom from seed to harvest.
Otherwise, who cares about “organic”? Check this out: Hershey's
owns organic chocolate maker Dagoba; Pepsi bought Naked Juice; Coke
and Odwalla report to the same boss; Nestle and Tribe Mediterranean
Foods are the same. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 0.17in;"> <span style="font-size: large;">More: Kellogg also owns Morningstar Farms, Kashi,
Gardenburger and Bear Naked, and ConAgra/Lightlife. General Mills,
Cargill, Kraft, Cadbury, M&M Mars and others also own a host of
natural brands. The conglomerate Hain Celestial Group is a major
player in the sector. </span>Mean</span><strong style="font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">time,
in Asheville, a Trader Joe's, which specializes on organic and
vegetarian foods, competes with Greenlife Grocery on the same block
on Merrimon Av. Trader Joe's also owns Aldi's, which sells foodstuff
that an average joe and jane could afford but snobbed by
“organic-only” patrons. What's scary about giant food companies?
They mass-produce their products, and here's a sample of their
production line: Farmed in Guangzhou, China; washed and cleaned in
Madras, India; packaged in Cebu, Philippines; and repackaged in
Matagalpa, Nicaragua; then shipped to Asheville, North Carolina. Can
you trust that? I don't—but I don't want to lose sleep over it. I'd
like to simplify my food and save my stress to the next NBA playoffs.
I will buy food that I can afford, eat anything that looks good,
served on a clean plate.</span></strong><br />
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 0.16in;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 0.16in;">DANCE!
Cook. Write poetry. Crack jokes. Do art. Don't explain yourself.
Dance. Keep on dancing.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 0.16in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYv4kOcMYBnz54DP7d_4CIM-8D2a0ZjhGbaVLoteaJ7v3xs67FBrThODID7xmmWsTHLRU-tRxUYtbKEBXzXAPUwYwrMf87Vxe4dXDtjVeY8qvKCm9Z5AzSkb7eeOckVYZfOMEyswS3BfV/s1600/1.batchoy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYv4kOcMYBnz54DP7d_4CIM-8D2a0ZjhGbaVLoteaJ7v3xs67FBrThODID7xmmWsTHLRU-tRxUYtbKEBXzXAPUwYwrMf87Vxe4dXDtjVeY8qvKCm9Z5AzSkb7eeOckVYZfOMEyswS3BfV/s200/1.batchoy1.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I'D
love the challenge of cooking an awesome dinner for a mixed martial
arts lady champion who has just been knocked out. And see what
happens. Quite a job, I reckon. </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large;">IF
we can't understand and accept a people's food we can never
understand and accept them. It's like making love. Food is intimate
like shared nakedness.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">WHAT
do I do when I am bored (when I am not writing). I roam the streets
like a Blues Brother, I meditate by the sea, I pretend that I am
Batman Junior Jr, I eat, I fight it with my Incredible Hulk hand. Or
I just cook.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I
AM a grandfather. I would love to walk my grandson to the open market
and tell him stories about grandpa picking ripe guavas in the
mountains as a kid. Or read my granddaughter "The Little Prince"
and how a fox's ferocity can be tamed by patient friendship. Then
cook them plantains on rice wraps and stuffed with jackfruits, chased
down by a cold coconut juice right off a tree. </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I
AM happy that there's a steady stream of wonderful Facebook friends
who “like” what I post on dizzying succession almost 15 hours a
day, nonstop. Thank you, thank you! I wish I could invite y'all in a
dinner party on a prairie and satisfy your wildest, most virulent
culinary cravings—with all the awesome food that I could cook!
Seriously.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSgRoHxi1f4X7TEy_mgwiDbL9MY0yf0J-euROPUn1IXBkjR6Ves7EZZ2rwVYXgQvSoDo27MoHBLHVUkyum4J16p6mYviZmS6zFu73Vc0kH9jTZB5sHVUWeFsx-YXs5Yr9mhrDIMEHGAyb/s1600/oranges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSgRoHxi1f4X7TEy_mgwiDbL9MY0yf0J-euROPUn1IXBkjR6Ves7EZZ2rwVYXgQvSoDo27MoHBLHVUkyum4J16p6mYviZmS6zFu73Vc0kH9jTZB5sHVUWeFsx-YXs5Yr9mhrDIMEHGAyb/s320/oranges.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I
HAVE a simple philosophy or reflex/deduction in regards eating. I eat
to live. Am I eating safe or unsafe food? Well, that is common sense.
If I've been eating poison food in the last 50 years of my life, then
I must have resurrected 50 times already? I am still breathing... </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">IF
I could, I just want to shut my mouth—stride to the kitchen, put on
some Bee Gees or Led Zeppelin or Andres Segovia, and cook. I will
cook till I drop and sleep... Uhh, before I'll sleep I'll post what I
cooked first, click on a Netflix movie, and sleep in peace and quiet.
I don't mind sliding into a dreamland kitchen, still cooking. </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
WOULD love to own a house with an outdoor kitchen, wood stove, and
stuff. Of course, it's not that easy in an urban setting with
neighboring condominiums and apartments.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of issues...
Nevertheless, I enjoy watching the fire, the raw smell of burning
wood, embers fluttering by, burnt clay pots, veggies off the farm
still smothered with muddy soil, fish set to be gutted and all, herbs
all over the yard—the breeze or rain and birds chiming along as the
dog and cat saunter by.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">BACK
home in the islands, or long time ago in America, we don't have an
apt word for organic since most food are "organic."
Meaning, straight from the farm, local, non-pesticide, non-stocked
(in shelves) hence no chemical agents to give it longer shelf-life,
non-packaged/ready to go as is, non-transported from other
sources--and sold right in the open market by people who live in the
same community. So when people say “organic” and then they head
to a “healthy food” franchise grocery, and negate the
local/community grower, I tend to rant. But I digress.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">MANY
days my life's pursuit of happiness is simply focused on hoping my
home team, the Charlotte Hornets win a game. Or I don't argue over
some silly, redundant item. Happiness is a sweet two hours
goof-around with a child, a cool walk with a babedawg by the river's
side—or I get to eat a really fresh and delicious seafood dinner.</span><br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I
WANNA say, "Let me cook for you, my love. Stay in bed today,
rest your back, play a Rising Appalachia CD. Relax like a fairy. Let
me handle your sweet lips and warm hips in a bit." Those lines
even rhyme, isn't it?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_mJA_wAIPg1WbtYHsDUHFDDdlDMbGFNxDnt6SZo8hf2Z7A-9cSU016TUrQbENE2MuWirJAx-D_IpM2VQoXu-R82bsuzPf9uCCaP_QToDJoDxQSsHrz7IUSPymBaHxwniPR4FTHp08F1D/s1600/fruits45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_mJA_wAIPg1WbtYHsDUHFDDdlDMbGFNxDnt6SZo8hf2Z7A-9cSU016TUrQbENE2MuWirJAx-D_IpM2VQoXu-R82bsuzPf9uCCaP_QToDJoDxQSsHrz7IUSPymBaHxwniPR4FTHp08F1D/s400/fruits45.jpg" width="265" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span></span>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">WHEN
humanity is well fed and sheltered, and the world and society provide
art and music for dancing in place of too much talk, scrutiny and
judgment by way of our diversity and differences--then, there will be
lesser arguments. There will be Harmony, Love and Peace. </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">COOK
like a world music artist. Not just a cover band. Recipes are
fundamentals, let's infuse our personal magic. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">"BIZARRE
Foods," the TV show, is interesting to me because food is the
best way to harmoniously interface with other people's culture. A
shortage or lack of understanding of cultural truths pave way for
animosities and discrimination between countries. Sadly, we in the
West, have become more choosy and picky with our food--sometimes
judging others' culinary identity as strange and disgusting. Fact is,
we waste a lot of food enough to feed more than half of starving the
human race. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; padding: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large;">EATING
is better than arguing. Dancing is better than fighting. Kissing is
better than Breaded Pork Chops. Got problem with that?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">WE
lost the glory of simplicity because nothing seems simple anymore.
Food is so complex. Is that GFO-free? as in genetically-fucked up?
Ah, gimme safe food or I starve myself to death! Language is so
complex. Political correctness needs to be a college degree,I
guess—your main job is to correct people, politically. It is easier
to junk a cellphone since before there's only 1 house phone to 101
houses, one TV to a barrio of 2,000... Food is what mom placed on the
table, EAT! These days, younger people don't have an idea how to it
was then so they tend to get depressed with seemingly "simple"
things. What? There's no Wi-Fi in the woods? </span></span>
</div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-24954196627472595082016-04-19T15:13:00.001-07:002016-04-19T15:13:52.435-07:00The Chinese Work Ethic<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">THE
Chinese</span></b> work ethic and business sense continually mystify me. They've
been in the Philippines long before the Spaniards and Americans did.
Although the old Astronesian natives have long traded business with
China, the one Chinese dude that registered in Filipinos' psyche was
a pirate named Lim Ah Hong. Probably Senor Espanol and Mr Smith
thought it convenient to create a “pirate” image of the Chinese
to sort of lessen competition? Not sure... But what's sure is, the
Chinese have long upended the Spaniards and Americans in the
Philippines even before Beijing entered WTO in early 90s, and evolved
into the unparalleled manufaturing titan of global business.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4X3aLODCp6RJj_CSB8c66by-vYPLlJxlKx0eRm4vn0uCDgMEhlG8lkOSQVnBb73IwzAtpHpexA2CJROGW42zuNVFlI_aRA0oM8uQ7-uNGa5ikMfty1QaOAFlM_iLXtj_eRzOhj_MTOBoE/s1600/people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4X3aLODCp6RJj_CSB8c66by-vYPLlJxlKx0eRm4vn0uCDgMEhlG8lkOSQVnBb73IwzAtpHpexA2CJROGW42zuNVFlI_aRA0oM8uQ7-uNGa5ikMfty1QaOAFlM_iLXtj_eRzOhj_MTOBoE/s320/people.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"> Historically,
the Chinese work silently, yet effectively. They worked in railroad
construction under the Vanderbilts, they sold silk and flip-flops in
every little corner of any city in every little corner of the world,
and they had pretty cool lo meins at Lim Ho Fook, as well, so says
Warren Zevon, right? There was this barbershop banter in regards
Chinese business camaraderie that always fascinated me. They say that
when a diner goes to a Chinese restaurant and asks for a dish that
happens to be missing in the menu folder, the waiter will say, “We
have that, Sir!” and then he runs out by the backdoor and goes to
another Chinese restaurant where the owner willingly gives him what
the customer is asking. There! They collared a client, that's the
bottomline... The Chinese don't compete with each other, they
actually support each other. When they entered WTO and got factory
deals from the West, the big boss Chinese dude gave out capital to
smaller entrepreneurs in the provinces so they'd get all the job
orders from the US and Europe and elsewhere.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Yup,
the Chinese work ethic and business sense are very mystifying—and
effective.</span></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-14068055374507288382016-03-12T01:21:00.004-08:002016-03-12T01:23:11.551-08:00Where Do You Buy Your Chips?<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">“NAH, I DON'T</span></b> shop at Aldi. Yes, chips and
stuff are inexpensive there but I don't support huge corporations
that sell us junk. They are evil! I go to Trader Joe's or Whole
Foods. Sometimes Greenlife.” Good.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> My ramens budget is kinda
limited too so I go to stores that sell them really low like 15 packs
for 50 cents, with a $2 Slantshack Jerky coupon. Yeah. It's all
economics to me. Health-wise, I let my weird logic take over.
Inhalation of carbon dioxide and methane emissions a.k.a. carbon
footprints a.k.a. greenhouse gas a.k.a. pollution—plus a dose too
much of political campaign speeches—will kill me faster than two
Cup-a-Noodles a week. But seriously, if we really want to improve or
change consumer behavior with a goal of minimizing “poison” in
our food, let's try to shake the source and support local growers and
producers. That's a good start.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeiid6HjDHTdWRyI9pojwDQNyzX1CLpXLT6Qjqi7nspq-vdbvQ7D-Ieypj1CpqzW9WDhjujxTF_Rs9ceCdrHThw8gQXGTeMSzM__0Qz82Twp_KvNDBoYwZENQr-WkEDCYkjLaJkVounCJ/s1600/1food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeiid6HjDHTdWRyI9pojwDQNyzX1CLpXLT6Qjqi7nspq-vdbvQ7D-Ieypj1CpqzW9WDhjujxTF_Rs9ceCdrHThw8gQXGTeMSzM__0Qz82Twp_KvNDBoYwZENQr-WkEDCYkjLaJkVounCJ/s400/1food.jpg" width="285" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>
</span><br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"> <span style="font-size: medium;">But
let me ramble first... Aldi and Trader Joe's, you see, are owned by
the Albrecht brothers Karl and Theo of Germany. There are 10,000
Aldis in 18 countries and 457 Trader Joe's stores in the US, heaviest
concentration in Southern California. Founded by a cool dude named
Joe Coulombe in Monrovia CA, Trader Joe's—a market leader in
organic and fresh food groceries in the US—has long been bought or
acquired by Theo Albrecht. Damn goofy Theo, right? Meantime, Whole
Foods Market Inc., a supermarket chain specializing in organic food,
is a Fortune 500 company—the 30th largest retailer in the US. Some
of its One Percenter investors are Vanguard Total Stock Mkt. Index
and Harbor Capital Appreciation Instl. Think GMO, think Monsanto.
Whole Foods is also the owner of Greenlife Grocery (located in my
home city of Asheville). </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> The
boom in organic food has boosted sales over $32 billion annually and
has led some of the nation’s biggest food companies—General
Mills, Coca-Cola, Perdue, Kellogg—to acquire or take stakes in
smaller organic outfits. To name a few: Hormel’s acquisition of
Applegate Farms for $775 million; WhiteWave’s acquisition of So
Delicious/Turtle Mountain for $195 million and Wallaby Yogurt for
$125 million; General Mills’ acquisition of Annie’s Homegrown for
$820 million; Pinnacle Foods’ acquisition of Boulder Brands (Earth
Balance, Evol, Udi’s) for $975 million; Post’s acquisition of a
number of cereal and egg brands (including MOM/Malt-O-Meal/Better
Oats) for $1.15 billion; and JAB Holding’s acquisition of a number
of coffee brands (Green Mountain Einstein Bros./Noah’s, Stumptown
and Intelligentsia, Peet’s, and Caribou).</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> That's
just the way of the world, I guess. Remember those two kids who
invented a Batman-laser instant-flash whatever you called it beamed
on building walls to supposedly announce a “secret” Occupy
convergence? Those kids are now under the employ of giant techno
gods—collectively, these techno billionaires drop $5 billion a year
for R&D budget alone, more than the annual national budget of my
home country, the Philippines. Start-ups? Sell them to the big guys.
Dig? I don't have any problems with that—I mean, I ain't gonna lose
a good weekend's sex for that! Look, one day I will come up with 501
ramen recipes and maybe H.J. Heinz or Kraft Foods will be interested
to buy me out, right? Then I will steal the title “Ramen King”
from its inventor Momofuku Ando.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 1; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Thing
is, let's take it easy. We know who are damn selling us the good food
and the bad food. The same Wiley E. Coyote on Brooks Brothers suit!
Win win for the dude. Oh well, I wish organic produce and non-GMO
stuff are more affordable than the poison brands, just like when I
was a kid in an island-galaxy so far away. Open market produce and
other meats and fish etc are a lot inexpensive than manufactured shit
in groceries. Yet we weren't really paying much attention on
“healthy” or non-pesticide/no-antibiotics reminder—it was all
about economics. I mean, many times when I hear people say, I don't
go to Walmart or I don't support franchises, I can't help but wonder
out loud—are you saying we both hate the One Percent or you just
want your shit healthy or organic? If your answer is the former,
then—let's go to the tailgate market this weekend and buy some
homegrown cabbages and okra. Life is cool when it is simple. Feel me?</span> </span></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-65161846920213866652016-02-01T11:09:00.003-08:002016-02-01T11:10:22.342-08:00Organic and Stuff<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">ORGANIC</span></b>
food has become much more popular and mainstream in recent years,
accounting for 3 to 4 percent of US food sales and climbing. In the
UK, for example, 40 percent of baby food consumed is now
organic. But I still don't trust it, especially when “organic food”
is sold in relatively bigger stores—compared with my community
grower whose produce I can see blossom from seed to harvest.</span>
Otherwise, who cares about “organic”? Check this out: Hershey's
owns organic chocolate maker Dagoba; Pepsi bought Naked Juice; Coke
and Odwalla report to the same boss; Nestle and Tribe Mediterranean
Foods are the same. More: Kellogg also owns Morningstar Farms, Kashi,
Gardenburger and Bear Naked, and ConAgra/Lightlife. General Mills,
Cargill, Kraft, Cadbury, M&M Mars and others also own a host of
natural brands. The conglomerate Hain Celestial Group is a major
player in the sector.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PwzzNLUsaSFH9zHH3kfUyP8-_Wv-TQvPYDblUhnO9IPfl2VY8lBGG3ZOr9uFJh-T06NIl-yCFMx-Oc0LutUWsz_4CpXzYgbt22ZsFBUumOglQP6-0nTYZSaTWkLMgaH9WC08AIXbbcGh/s1600/oranges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PwzzNLUsaSFH9zHH3kfUyP8-_Wv-TQvPYDblUhnO9IPfl2VY8lBGG3ZOr9uFJh-T06NIl-yCFMx-Oc0LutUWsz_4CpXzYgbt22ZsFBUumOglQP6-0nTYZSaTWkLMgaH9WC08AIXbbcGh/s320/oranges.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Meantime,
in Asheville, a Trader Joe's, which specializes on organic and
vegetarian foods, competes with Greenlife Grocery on the same block
on Merrimon Av. Trader Joe's also owns Aldi's, which sells foodstuff
that an average joe and jane could afford but snobbed by
“organic-only” patrons. What's scary about giant food companies?
They mass-produce their products, and here's a sample of their
production line: Farmed in Guangzhou, China; washed and cleaned in
Madras, India; packaged in Cebu, Philippines; and repackaged in
Matagalpa, Nicaragua; then shipped to Asheville, North Carolina. Can
you trust that? I don't—but I don't want to lose sleep over it. I'd
like to simplify my food and save my stress to the next NBA playoffs.
I will buy food that I can afford, eat anything that looks good,
served on a clean plate.</span></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-14250179269070514352015-04-02T13:47:00.005-07:002015-04-02T13:49:16.006-07:00A Bit of Sarcasm. Food and Exercise<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">WE</span></b>
need those... Yet it is becoming clearer and clearer that the only
way to stay healthy these days is to grow your own produce at your
organically-designed (sic) backyard, and then raise your own
hogs/poultry etc in an environment that is super pre-tested
(++PremiumPlus) and subjected to huge-ass research for toxic agents
and bizarre nitrogen contaminants—and then sealed in a giant,
ecologically-cool glass globe (so no cancer-carrying sunburst and
mercury-spiked raindrops could mess them up). (Okay, I am being sarcastic.)</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDibppQe0IAk9we_V2bbATmCScP7A_D6Q0R91CWWABxL3WpDT__gs0KHW9uK45XZ9JJsoxrq7Viboe_7_3NucGVSayLj7gw5p2ck1po8JjzjwrdjLWglV7ABEMc4zgf9ELeivL8aZRWfB8/s1600/4.lapses03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDibppQe0IAk9we_V2bbATmCScP7A_D6Q0R91CWWABxL3WpDT__gs0KHW9uK45XZ9JJsoxrq7Viboe_7_3NucGVSayLj7gw5p2ck1po8JjzjwrdjLWglV7ABEMc4zgf9ELeivL8aZRWfB8/s1600/4.lapses03.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> After
your sumptuous dinner, you do need exercise, right yo? So biking is
recommended. Purchase a helmet that is approved by a council of
helmet experts from Yale and UC Berkeley, shoes that give you greater
mobility, peace and pleasure (made of beta-carotene and prime
California weed), shirt that doesn't make sweat stick (manufactured
in Saturn where there is no pollution), e-shorts that offer spiritual
orgasm as you pedal (because it comes with a cord that connects to a
Vangelis dubstep remix scented with organic aphrodisiac) etcetera
etcetera. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Oh,
a bike—it must be the kind that went through strict FDA/CDCP/EPA
scrutiny and debated/deliberated on in the United Nations' security
council, or better still, the kind that Lance Armstrong didn't use...
But be aware that when you go out there and bike, you have limited
space to roam, like a treadmill the size of Walmart and encased in
another glass globe—because you may be hit by a hostile ray of the
sun or a falling, malfunctioning drone if you bike outside without
protection. You are not also allowed to engage other bikers to a chat
because humans' pristine nature to spew negative vibes will send out
virus to your computer-generated shorts (programmed by an Apple
apps).</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Now,
ready to live your life to the fullest? Swipe that damn AmEx...</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>[Art by Duane Lucas Pascua]</b></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-82120053296549103902014-05-24T18:54:00.001-07:002014-05-24T19:35:30.396-07:00Island Cooking Demo and Herbalism Lecture at Mama Bird's Granola & Kitchen, June 12<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">ISLAND</span></b>
cooking and herbal alternatives share cultural commonalities that
often get lost in a fray of contemporary Western culinary mindset.
One of the most popular albeit “undiscovered” herbs-based dishes
that emanate in the Pacific region is Mung Beans Soup, a recommended
dinner fare especially during rainy and wintry seasons.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> Quite
intriguingly, mung beans—the seed of Vigna radiata, native to
the Indian subcontinent, and mainly cultivated in the
Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries—played a huge part
in the survival of both American soldiers and Filipino guerrillas in
the Pacific War in the 1940s. The ingredients are easily obtainable
and cooked and prepared quickly, Mung Beans Soup (called, “ginisang
munggo” by the natives) is an excellent source of protein, thiamin,
niacin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C and K, manganese,
among others.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VWnvJx-vDRoO38oAUeHO6lDe1DXsng9DmnxZ27v8FMw6U8sFIYJE_4yKxRBgwbx6rNN_eMGl24ZIFqxyqRs5gn900k3lULMDrQFY-EdWcWsEZItbL94qhmQ2T67LqTRK-N9HQ3W7rPT-/s1600/Poster+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VWnvJx-vDRoO38oAUeHO6lDe1DXsng9DmnxZ27v8FMw6U8sFIYJE_4yKxRBgwbx6rNN_eMGl24ZIFqxyqRs5gn900k3lULMDrQFY-EdWcWsEZItbL94qhmQ2T67LqTRK-N9HQ3W7rPT-/s1600/Poster+2.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span>
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> Hence,
world war 2 fighters freely consumed hot servings of these to sustain
energy while holed up in typhoon-battered jungles of the Philippines
and Southeast Asia. Mung beans-based dishes are also largely consumed
in hot and dry regions of Southern Europe and the Southern
United States. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> On
June 12, coincidentally the Philippines' Independence Day (from
Japanese invasion), Mung Beans Soup with choice herbs is the
highlight food in <b><span style="color: #b45f06;">“MUNG BEANS HERBAL SUMMER (Pacific Island Cooking
and Herbal Class, & Dinner)”</span></b> at Ma<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ma
Bird's Granola and Kitchen, located </span></span></strong><span style="color: black;">909
E Broad St #400, Athens, GA 30601. Event time starts at 6:30 PM.
Entry fee: $20 for one, $35 for two. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> Ma</span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ma
Bird's Granola and Kitchen, with </span></span></strong><span style="color: black;">Moonflower
Botanicals and Loved by the Buffalo Publications, organized the
event. “Mung Beans Herbal Summer” is the kick-off of a series of
movable cooking and herbs collaborations between Pasckie Pascua, an
author and cook, and Chris Wagoner, an herbalist.</span></span><strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></strong><br />
<strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaGB2nil3Z0lWdGSoWUNZXrJGQLTrw_FiAmAj1ctxl_WCbE3UtvAK5Th6GBSUellLsleX0V59reSqDv6mdS36Fki0t5WZE5Uy1-i-v4FgGzEbbdbzmfR1SUKkJI-lQClept_8uSO9k-CY/s1600/pasckieouu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaGB2nil3Z0lWdGSoWUNZXrJGQLTrw_FiAmAj1ctxl_WCbE3UtvAK5Th6GBSUellLsleX0V59reSqDv6mdS36Fki0t5WZE5Uy1-i-v4FgGzEbbdbzmfR1SUKkJI-lQClept_8uSO9k-CY/s1600/pasckieouu.jpg" height="200" width="171" /></a></span></span></strong></div>
<strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Pascua
is a </span></span></strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">veteran
journalist/editor and publisher poet/writer—educated at the
University of the Philippines's Institute of Mass Communication, with
postgraduate studies at </span><strong style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tisch
School of Arts, New York University. His cooking madness grew out of
the quintessential grandma kitchen in the Philippines, long community
work in tribal villages, as well as classes at LA Culinary School in
Pasadena CA, and apprenticeship with cooks and chefs from Toulouse,
France.</span></span></strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> Pasckie
edits the community paper, The Indie, based in Asheville NC (and will
be distributed soon in Athens), and the founding executive director
of the Traveling Bonfires, a non-profit organization that advocates family wisdom and community
connectedness.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyU8VYIQ7p2PCzJxPmptsxf2VC23RUbRjnwLpniAPzKzgpwT-vcLvlG6JbcYbKe_ihk15KVFDjJ7_Iv3HNu-kJAk4tg2D6cT4Dao_DHACVQDz17083u2I0dFiswY8R3SRvLbp328zfhVZ/s1600/chris+3b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyU8VYIQ7p2PCzJxPmptsxf2VC23RUbRjnwLpniAPzKzgpwT-vcLvlG6JbcYbKe_ihk15KVFDjJ7_Iv3HNu-kJAk4tg2D6cT4Dao_DHACVQDz17083u2I0dFiswY8R3SRvLbp328zfhVZ/s1600/chris+3b.jpg" height="200" width="166" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Wagoner,
who practices herbalism via her Moonflower Botanicals, trained under
P</span></span></strong><span style="color: black;">atricia
Kyritsi Howell of Botanologos School of Herbal Studies, based in
Mountain City, GA, and CoreyPine Shane of Asheville. Howell teaches energetics of plants and illnesses from the
perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and from the perspective
of Ancient Greek Medicine, which is the basis of Chris' current
clinical practice.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Wagoner is the current Secretary of the
Georgia Herbalists Guild, a chapter of the American Herbalists Guild
based in Atlanta. She is also a wild crafter, and an organic farmer
of her own herbal apothecary and various heirloom vegetables which
are sold through Athens Locally Grown. </span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> FOR
more details about the venue, call Jennie Phillips-De la Vega or
visit </span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">mamabirdsgranola.com.
Infos about Pasckie Pascua, go to
http://pasckiepascuawords.blogspot.com/ (or find him in Facebook).
For bookings (of the same program), call Chris Wagoner at </span></span></strong><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">706
207 7746, email <a href="mailto:lovedbythebuffalo.chris@gmail.com">lovedbythebuffalo.chris@gmail.com</a>.</span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-78948855200157900442014-05-23T17:36:00.001-07:002014-05-23T17:36:56.960-07:00MUNG BEANS HERBAL SUMMER<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Pacific Island Cooking and Herbal Class, &
Dinner</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">With <b><span style="color: #660000;">Pasckie Pascua</span></b> (author and cook) & <b><span style="color: #660000;">Chris Wagoner</span></b>
(herbalist)</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">June 12, 2014. Thursday. 6:30 PM</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">VENUE:
Mama Bird's Granola and Kitchen, </span></span></strong><span style="color: black;">909
E Broad St #400, Athens, GA 30601. </span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(678)
997 9647. </span></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">DETAILS: mamabirdsgranola.com </span></span></span></strong>
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-81677315958403554562013-10-05T14:24:00.002-07:002013-10-05T14:40:08.637-07:00Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack:<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong style="line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Homecooked, Homemade Southern Soul Food, Served Hot</span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong style="line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">by
Pasckie Pascua</span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">CHICKEN
is a no-brainer. Why is that? Well, for one—I am a Filipino. Back
home in the islands, we could prepare a chicken dish 101 ways, and
that is an understatement. We also consume almost all of the fowl's
endowments: Meat, feet, head, blood, bones, entrails. The feathers
and claws also serve other purposes other than as food.</span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1r_X3d9X47TXt7AOw4f3Y9alFuif7KT_B1l5ahTsSjzJlsxYskUn-CIE_M6mm8-B2ysYaVr_8hmhcfRbEllwZALZZwVWN2dqIYjV75JsfFqv0ToX5lQPOkogxjB07x8qmrSU07qEjFR7/s1600/photo+(2)b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1r_X3d9X47TXt7AOw4f3Y9alFuif7KT_B1l5ahTsSjzJlsxYskUn-CIE_M6mm8-B2ysYaVr_8hmhcfRbEllwZALZZwVWN2dqIYjV75JsfFqv0ToX5lQPOkogxjB07x8qmrSU07qEjFR7/s320/photo+(2)b.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> But
I am not in the Philippines at this juncture. I am wombed in
Asheville, in the mountains of North Carolina. Yet, chicken remains
“easy” to me. Why is that? Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack, that is
why. This is “homecooked, home-made Southern soul food” marvel
the way granny cooked them, with some modifications. “Our hot
chicken experience is a pleasure you keep on coming back to,” owner
Rich Cundiff told The Indie recently. “It is addictive and face
melting!” “Face-melting” means spicy cayenne face melting, that
is—that could definitely rival Indian cuisine's tikka masala or the
Filipino chili peppers on coconut milk plate, “Bicol Express.”</span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Rocky's
“Tennessee Style” hot chicken, says its menu folder, “... is
brined and cooked in small batches, to maintain freshness and flavor,
then prepared to order with the spice level as you like it—from
plain to xx hot.” Hotness is categorized as (not so hot to
hottest): Plain, Honey, X-mild, Mild, Mildium, Medium, Hot,
Foothills, Xxhot. The fried chicken, spicy or not, exudes an intimate
kick that—yes, reminds us of what exactly grandma used to prepare.
The dry rub, thin flour dredge, and flimsy oil wash makes for an
exquisite crust and body. Juicy but never greasy—and with a choice
of 4 sides out of 13, an order is already a full meal at below $12.</span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Meantime,
chicken “hotness” and its standout choice of side dishes aren't
really the very reason why one ventures at Rocky's. </span></span></strong><span style="color: black;">Cundiff,
who was Earth Fare's chief operating officer, took over Rocky's </span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hot
Chicken Shack more than two years ago, from a friend when it was
still located in Arden. “I bought the recipe, and expanded it,”
he says. “From then on, we have enjoyed steady growth.”</span></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Said
unprecedented surge in patronage in a relatively far-flung locale –
away from Asheville's restaurant row in downtown, somewhere down
Patton Avenue beside a tiny car auto dealership and honky tonk motel
– isn't just credited to Cundiff's finger-lickin' good fowl on a
plate. Rocky's “casual family dining concept,” ably shared by its
staff of 20 on 7-days rotation, makes the restaurant more of
destination for locals, not for tourists. That's hardly a marketing
hook, it's an honest invite. Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack is one of
Asheville’s locally owned and operated restaurants, and Rich is an
active board member of Asheville Independent Restaurants (AIR)
association.</span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dGMXZfXKgoZEX8GVxA90He3fnr4aVfSgp_Pfv37qBfkvdtXso5ZKm-oqUHGDslqad-5OUqtJ2w4SLKSg-h-Bs9KRa2H0Sw29ETV3h-vFTRqpctKNj4gJMIsu_NUNl94cvCWvY6itUHbJ/s1600/photo+(1)b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dGMXZfXKgoZEX8GVxA90He3fnr4aVfSgp_Pfv37qBfkvdtXso5ZKm-oqUHGDslqad-5OUqtJ2w4SLKSg-h-Bs9KRa2H0Sw29ETV3h-vFTRqpctKNj4gJMIsu_NUNl94cvCWvY6itUHbJ/s320/photo+(1)b.jpg" width="243" /></a></span></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong> “</strong><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
get that feeling of being taken cared of,” prides Lauren Cundiff,
Rich's wife and co-owner. “And we also share these blessings with
the community by way of donations to local churches, food banks, and
school system.” Adds Rich, “We also help local musicians,
individually,” which makes Rocky's stand out among other businesses
in town, being the only local establishment that treats local
performers with special love.</span></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Localness
that almost instantaneously comes with healthy eating certainly add
sublime fervor to Rocky's “mercilessly hot” and “psychedelic”
chicken allure. “We source quality and local ingredients for the
recipes that we make from scratch,” says Rich. “Our natural birds
are raised without antibiotics or other additives.” The Cundiffs'
menu doesn't end with the obligatory slew of enflaming birds. “We
have a crowd-pleasing menu and daily specials based upon seasonality
and freshness,” offers Lauren. These favorites include waffles,
desserts like their own “banana pudding in a jar,” and what
Rocky's prides as “our daily soul bowl”--all chased down by
freshly squeezed lemonade, sweet southern tea and other soft drinks.
Not to be missed, of course, is the bar's choice of locally crafted
beers.</span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> There
you go. My islands-chicken fix is pretty well served and pleased
right here in Asheville. I may boast that Filipinos like me could
prepare a fowl 101 ways... But, I bet Rich and Lauren Cundiff and
their staff could whip out 102 “hot” ways to cook and savor a
chicken, the Appalachian way. So get hot like a true Southern spirit
at Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack. It's all good.</span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><>Rocky's
Hot Chicken Shack is located at 1455 Patton Avenue, West Asheville,
North Carolina. Tel # 828 575 2260. Open Everyday.
11:00 AM to 9:00 PM: Sunday-Thursday; 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM: Friday
and Saturday. www.rockyshotchickenshack.com</b></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-13436053593964247972013-06-29T00:53:00.002-07:002013-07-01T13:10:26.693-07:00Food Review and Restaurant Profile<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>POSANA CAFE: Conscious Artful Cuisine </b></span><b style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.16in;">from Farm to Table</b></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>by
Pasckie Pascua</b></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">POSANA</span></b>
Cafe's most-sought appetizer Lobster Mac and Cheese—a refined
delight of ricotta gnocchi, chives and aged cheddar cheese,
punctuated by premium Maine lobster—could pass off as an entree to
a light diner. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: black;">Such
a thought doesn't worry Peter Pollay, executive chef and owner, of
the 4-year old restaurant on Biltmore Avenue in downtown. He has more
to offer. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: black;"> Two choices from the menu's main dish lineup: the Chili
Marinated Tofu and Zucchini Noodles (top grade bean curd surrounded
with braised cippolini onions, jalapeno, tomato, caramelized
eggplant) and Hickory Smoked Scottish Salmon, tossed in a sumptuous
bed of roasted gold beets, grilled asparagus, basil, Looking Glass
goat cheese cream, with confit lemon vianigrette—should make dinner
a mini-feast. We don't end there though... A mouth-watering
cornucopia of “artful cuisine” is a surefire come-on but Posana
Cafe's main attraction is essentially Asheville's focal magic as
well.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.17in;"> </span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> "The biggest thing about us is we are 100 percent gluten free and
organic,” Pollay told The Indie. “That completely separates us
from everyone else.” Posana Cafe has been awarded the Gluten-Free
Food Service Accreditation from the Gluten Intolerance Group of North
America and caters to diners suffering from a broad spectrum of food
allergies.</span></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 0.17in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.17in;">Suffice
to say, the Pollays' (Peter and wife Martha) brainstorm found its
soulmate in Asheville, long considered as one of America's go-to
destinations in terms of “clean eating.” Residents and
transplants alike achingly quiz even a “health” store and
vegetarian restaurant details surrounding food products and
ingredients. Thus, Posana promises on its website: “We know the
best meals start with fresh ingredients straight from the garden that
just need a little washing before they’re prepared for your plate.
We want the next generation to have this same love and
understanding.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> For
the past four years, Posana Cafe celebrates its May time anniversary
by supporting the education of the younger generation through
the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Program’s Growing
Mindsinitiative. The primary focus of the Growing Minds initiative is
to connect students and farms in all ways possible. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> Peter
and Martha believe that it benefits the community to have a strong
relationship with local food, and teaching youths the benefit of
supporting local growers and producers is important. “We buy
everything from close to 40 different local suppliers,” says Peter.
“At any one time, up to 80 different products, all the way from
fruits and vegetables to condiments to beers and beverages, all are
local.” </span>
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Posana
Cafe banners Pollay's simple food philosophy: Source premium
ingredients, work closely with the local farming community and never
take short cuts when preparing a dish. “Because of that philosophy
you will discover practically every item is made from scratch using
high quality, natural ingredients. From the flavored syrups and
freshly squeezed mixers behind the bar to the bun and pickles on your
burger,” adds the website.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K_UZ_I77r2ItIW7IZMOB5DeXiTshxVxTt6qllaf6TK6i30d4rLevdpRRRVxiJlp8ZNt5UvI7iCs7FxWuq8J6Fn8Iin057GI2gyDb1ZlwT0IYL6SSlMd80Z3Wjq0r7zOYIFUOP1hU-9Zx/s1600/Main+Dining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K_UZ_I77r2ItIW7IZMOB5DeXiTshxVxTt6qllaf6TK6i30d4rLevdpRRRVxiJlp8ZNt5UvI7iCs7FxWuq8J6Fn8Iin057GI2gyDb1ZlwT0IYL6SSlMd80Z3Wjq0r7zOYIFUOP1hU-9Zx/s320/Main+Dining.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> Simplicity
doesn't necessarily mean innovativeness is not a possibility. Posana's menu offers lots of it. While a number of the offerings,
at least those that I tasted, exude an Italian plate's classic
simplicity, whipped up around five to eight closely selected
ingredients—these dishes also suggest Southeast Asia's complex
flavors yet aromatic balance of fundamental taste senses. What
results is a harmonious finish that is both elegant as it is
delicious.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.17in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.17in;">Sample
the intriguing Kale Salad—toasted pumpkin seeds, currants, Three
Graces Dairy manchego style cheese, lemon, Theros olive oil—sweet,
salty, and bitter. A balance of detail and variety. Then there's BBQ
Spiced Sunburst Farms Trout—stone ground Boonville Mill Grits,
white cheddar, fennel-olive oil slaw, charred tomato vinaigrette.
Calabrian delight by way of the Appalachians!</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">THE</span></b>
Pollays' move to Asheville from Los Angeles ten years ago was almost
like a natural progression. They had just their first child and
believed LA wasn't the place to raise children. “We had a few
friends that had moved here and we came to visit. We liked
it. We liked the seasons,” Peter, who hails from Chicago,
recalls (Martha came from Wisconsin). “The winters weren’t as
harsh as the midwest so we decided to move here and this would be our
home.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The
young family immediately found instant affinity with this tiny
mountain city, which at the time, was all over national radar with a
number of accolades, such as one of the "Best Places to Reinvent
Your Life," "Top Seven Places to Live in the US,” “10
Most Beautiful Places in America," and "25 Best Places for
Business and Careers," among others.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The
birth of Posana Cafe as a “conscious artful cuisine” bloomed as
the Pollays nurture their “new” comfort zone. It fits their
lifestyle as they fit within Asheville's mystifying persona. “Back
in LA, we would go to the market and buy ingredients from tailgates
or fresh market then go home and make it for ourselves. We
figured there were already a few restaurants doing it here but not to
the extent we wanted to do it.”</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> So
in the spring of 2009, the Pollays started looking for a restaurant
spot. But the hunt for a place didn't come easy until a friend's
suggestion finally satisfied them: </span><span style="color: black;">1
Biltmore Avenue in downtown. “You </span><span style="color: black;">can’t
beat the address. We are right next to the park, next to Vance
Monument. We have the museum and Diane Wortham across the street. We
always have activity here, people always walking around... It really
is one of the best locations (for a restaurant) in Asheville,”
Peter says.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJztZdKkhCgunLZZUQ6Y_XRKM4HFHKHzhgZSGDl1ckxWi5GEjcYP-E3A_uv8y3LoHMYZZHBZTPx8ry8aRNi5HOfPQcb4Mo1GCiPCUzxE0qr1RFkCvLWu1BE52k-jvteXeQuO0brhjs77W/s1600/Lobster+mac+and+cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJztZdKkhCgunLZZUQ6Y_XRKM4HFHKHzhgZSGDl1ckxWi5GEjcYP-E3A_uv8y3LoHMYZZHBZTPx8ry8aRNi5HOfPQcb4Mo1GCiPCUzxE0qr1RFkCvLWu1BE52k-jvteXeQuO0brhjs77W/s320/Lobster+mac+and+cheese.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">THE</span></b>
economic downturn that drove a number of Asheville restaurants to
fold up didn't faze the new transplants. Their sole passion for food
and the building of healthy communities was enough to get them going.
“It was a hard time at the start, we knew it was slow at first, and
we had to purchase strategically, as well as hire strategically,”
recalls Peter. “But we slowly grew as the economy grew so we didn’t
have to slam on the brakes with the downturn because we started with
the downturn. So we didn’t know any better. We just knew
the bad times.”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"> It
also greatly helped that Asheville's relatively small but tight
downtown community and its peripheries were already well-entrenched
years before the Pollays' arrival. Although the city's climb from
bankruptcy in 1930s to a degree of prosperity onwards through the 80s
was slow, it was sure. Hence, two decades later, Asheville was
already flourishing—as steady migration and continuous investments
poured in from new residents and entrepreneurs. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> With
the coming of new spirits in the mountains, a communal fervor and
“new age” idealism—in all facets of life and living—set in.
“This community is founded on the basis of why everyone is here,”
Pollay philosophizes. “We all like to support each other... Just
like saying hi! on the street or being nice to people, or holding the
door open. More importantly, the locals really support the local
small businesses here, including restaurants, which is great.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI00AfmAKtsUCgqauC1sTqNKYavuWIjXeRuf8eWf5wSXOpv-yKYVL7h7FDtIBQ3X_QXDMRbyaRW9ksD4fK-DZ_ju_ZFtw91QmdE2Gmsl0IS55hEbrY5CudiDQtG5j-BWOsLQOsv2izVIdn/s640/Kale+Salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI00AfmAKtsUCgqauC1sTqNKYavuWIjXeRuf8eWf5wSXOpv-yKYVL7h7FDtIBQ3X_QXDMRbyaRW9ksD4fK-DZ_ju_ZFtw91QmdE2Gmsl0IS55hEbrY5CudiDQtG5j-BWOsLQOsv2izVIdn/s320/Kale+Salad.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.17in;"> Pollay,
who brings with him an education at the Culinary Institute of America
in New York, plus years of restaurant experience to Asheville, adds:
“You always need to re-invent yourself, stretch yourself and kind
of get the vibe of what the public wants. If you don’t change
with that or adapt with that people will stop going to you and sooner
or later you will have to close.”</span><br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It
seems simplistic to say that philosophy alone makes a business
endeavor succeed. Apparently, in the case of Posana Cafe, it is
almost an understatement to conclude that, indeed, the Pollays know
what their market wants: Gluten-free, organic, local
cuisine—adulterated, unpretentious, straight through. They don't
need to tinker with that. Yet in the end, as Peter boasts, “Our
focus is the service... and the food.” He meant, in part, why don't
you try the Lobster Mac and Cheese for a start...</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>[POSANA
CAFE is located at 1
Biltmore Ave., Asheville, NC 28801. (828) 505-3969.
www.posanacafe.com/]</b></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>PHOTO:
Peter Pollay, executive chef and owner.</b></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-71121309260829751672013-06-05T22:02:00.003-07:002013-06-29T01:09:13.751-07:00The Local Joint<div style="line-height: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>An
Intriguing Eggplant and the Best Reuben Sandwich in the Mountains</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 16.3125px;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicljsktoa9tc-NsT310W4DC6I_2GLd9lEzUUga7bVcb78-PX05_iEMH7b877vbAeY5P97CNsYkIjqbax0j29LS4xcAE0Cbwv6a5E4Z59QDjYpUaA_IgSiVO-CyaYEQxQnrQ4tvJPUTQxVa/s1600/IMG_7151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicljsktoa9tc-NsT310W4DC6I_2GLd9lEzUUga7bVcb78-PX05_iEMH7b877vbAeY5P97CNsYkIjqbax0j29LS4xcAE0Cbwv6a5E4Z59QDjYpUaA_IgSiVO-CyaYEQxQnrQ4tvJPUTQxVa/s320/IMG_7151.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>by
Pasckie Pascua</b></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">THE</span></strong><span style="color: black;"> glossy
blackness of an eggplant with its white flesh, somewhat bitter taste,
and meaty texture seems like a regular veggie enticement—yet it is
not to most, unless you're into French cuisine, for example
ratatouille, a traditional provencal stewed vegetable viand, or
Balkan dishes, notably moussaka. Eggplants take kindly to gentle
pairings, particularly starchy ones (pasta, potatoes and rice), which
tame its rich, complex flavor and add enough bulk to turn a vegetable
into a meal.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Many
eggplant recipes advise salting, rinsing and draining of the sliced
fruit, to soften it and to reduce the amount of fat absorbed during
cooking, but mainly to remove the bitterness of the earlier
cultivars. Too much effort, isn't it—although back home in the
Philippines, we simplify eggplant preparation like southern folks
de-complicate cooking of taters here in the Appalachian mountains.
Whatever the case, eggplant is considered an un-ordinary albeit
exotic little vegetable with a strange shape in most American dinner
plates. Hence, when I was served Eggplant Fries (!) as an appetizer
at The Local Joint, a roadside restaurant in Fairview, a tiny North
Carolina mountain town about ten miles east of downtown Asheville—I
was intrigued enough to ponder it no end before I took a nonchalant
bite.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Fried
golden and served with fresh tomato chutney, Eggplant Fries is one of
TLJ's most popular “starters,” offers owner Chris Sizemore who
sat down with us over four dishes on their loaded menu of “comfort
food with a kick.” French toast, pancakes, eggs benedict, biscuits
and gravy, huevos rancheros, Reuben sandwich, Cuban delights, chicken
Philly, burgers, housemade potato chips and pickles, shrimps and
grits, Cajun fried chicken, BBQ salmon, and beers, wine and Mimosas.
A relatively small restaurant with—quite literally—a full plate!</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPuuEXjVrvKZncx6L_MRBXFIJh3P6Rn46uH-LAH5tAAbzaasUGa4qCD4_DmlY_RwmNFI0eruYL3vG0G6k8PI2Sx2PEtr23JQFEmrRsg_y3XkZO11Cmh-2od6p49PP9gEJBPHgUCzQZhQa/s1600/2Chicken+Enchilada+with+Apple+Salsa,+Veggie+Quesadilla+on+a+spinach+wrap,+Steak+Fajita+w+garlic,+shallots,+and+cilantro+salsa+served+with+rice.+tljoint3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPuuEXjVrvKZncx6L_MRBXFIJh3P6Rn46uH-LAH5tAAbzaasUGa4qCD4_DmlY_RwmNFI0eruYL3vG0G6k8PI2Sx2PEtr23JQFEmrRsg_y3XkZO11Cmh-2od6p49PP9gEJBPHgUCzQZhQa/s320/2Chicken+Enchilada+with+Apple+Salsa,+Veggie+Quesadilla+on+a+spinach+wrap,+Steak+Fajita+w+garlic,+shallots,+and+cilantro+salsa+served+with+rice.+tljoint3.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">WHAT's</span></b>
fascinating about Sizemore's “truck stop for the discriminating
tastebud” restaurant is his fancy variations or culinary interfaces
of flavors. “I traveled a lot with my wife all over the country,
thus—we've been exposed to so many styles of food preparation...
Italian, French, Asian to suit each everyone's preferences,” says
Sizemore, originally from Knoxville TN. “My restaurant right off
the highway is where lawyers share seating with truck drivers.” His
wife Stephanie, who takes care of the creative look of TLJ, as well
as, throws in ideas in the kitchen—hails from Georgia.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.16in;"> </span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> TLJ's
Angel Hair Pasta—seemed like your casual pasta meal of fresh
tomatoes, basil, garlic and virgin olive oil on pasta (with choice of
chicken or shrimp)--but it's not. Chris's improvisation of the dish's
basic elements pleases a Southeast Asian's mouth as well an
Italian's. As for me, I brought home some to mix with my obligatory
boiled Basmati rice, and that'd be a sumptuous dinner later.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Meanwhile,
I have to articulate my utmost love for the Classic Reuben sandwich.
I am not a big bread or sandwich eater, so it takes a lot of cajoling
for me to finish up one, more so—start a course. But this one with
its house-made corned beef, kraut, Swiss cheese and Russian
dressing—simply converted me. It's not too greasy, the beef's rich
sweetness reminds me of grandma's “secret” recipes, and it's
earthy flavor makes for a satisfying full meal.</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The
Local Joint also prides itself with its homemade potato chips with vinaigrette dip. This is a kind of chips that cracks on each bite but melts on
your tongue, with the suppleness of cheese and crispiness of
old-fashioned fried potatoes.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7deahmRkIC_CBOiuR4VTPLv3JcDhRBxEmMfO7FfqpjVJn9n2uX-2kBSHkZfsAnt_p-CceNxqszqp5Kvx5wuYPqrtHyezAR4f-xklEZunfRJKnkU8ZUX74WlXvbPXFth9w3Z6mQBiTUT9/s1600/IMG_7159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7deahmRkIC_CBOiuR4VTPLv3JcDhRBxEmMfO7FfqpjVJn9n2uX-2kBSHkZfsAnt_p-CceNxqszqp5Kvx5wuYPqrtHyezAR4f-xklEZunfRJKnkU8ZUX74WlXvbPXFth9w3Z6mQBiTUT9/s320/IMG_7159.JPG" width="305" /></a></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.17in;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">ASKED
</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.17in;">about moving closer to a more populous location, which is Asheville,
Sizemore—who managed two downtown restaurants few years ago—before
setting up The Local Joint, reasons that he intends to serve a
smaller community that fits well with his vision. He says, “This is
community. People come here like neighbors...”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The
Sizemores—husband, wife and children—are also active in local
charitable programs via activities like “bake sales.” With Chris'
characteristic baseball cap and work shirt, we know that he meant
what he professes. He doesn't need to intrigue me with eggplant
fries. The Classic Reuben sandwich had me at hello, and I haven't
even tried a serving of Shrimp and Grits or the Barbecue Spiced
Salmon.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The
Local Joint is located at Old Charlotte Hwy., Fairview, NC 28730. Tel
# (828) 338-0469. Check them out on Facebook.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: black; line-height: 0.17in;">PHOTOs (by Marta Osborne): (1) </span><span style="line-height: 16.3125px;">Chicken Enchilada with apple salsa; (2) Chris Sizemore, chef and co-owner of The Local Joint.</span></b></span></div>
PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-58627216584986721982011-10-26T18:24:00.000-07:002014-07-14T21:23:41.912-07:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;">Noi’s Thai Kitchen </span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(in Asheville, North Carolina)</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">A Quiet Adventure in a Diversity of Flavors</span></span></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>by Pasckie Pascua</strong></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbEIa8vCYcGfbL6ODIVuuLZPCC-fDqppckQAmriWY2LZaRXwOHI6_AbripRWl5Tdw6zJxTILNCCcxGK0RiS20SBJ8YJAEhyphenhyphenKtTX64BD27Cmifl5TRZHSUd4-pvUkjuk8tGaAXVaGoovMY/s1600/thaifood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbEIa8vCYcGfbL6ODIVuuLZPCC-fDqppckQAmriWY2LZaRXwOHI6_AbripRWl5Tdw6zJxTILNCCcxGK0RiS20SBJ8YJAEhyphenhyphenKtTX64BD27Cmifl5TRZHSUd4-pvUkjuk8tGaAXVaGoovMY/s1600/thaifood.jpg" ida="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="color: red;">MY</span></strong> affinity with food is as frenziedly varied as my unpredictable taste for art. I am not a follower of minimalist treatments, one-dimensional perspectives, or simplistic elements—therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that my natural choice for food is a blend of many cultural traditions. Hence, Southeast Asian cuisine—notably Thai and Vietnamese—greatly appeals to me. Although Thai cooking procedure emphasizes simplicity, its finished food’s pungent aromatic components—by way of a wide array of spices and herbs—make dining such a pleasant adventure.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the Philippines where I was born, Thailand’s diverse ethnicity offers a rich row of ingredients and an extremely varied food preparation ways. Common herbs include </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilantro" title="Cilantro"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">cilantro</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_grass" title="Lemon grass"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">lemon grass</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, basil, and </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha" title="Mentha"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">mint</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. You could navigate in a bowlful of flavors that emanate from ginger, galangal, tamarind, turmeric, garlic, soy beans, shallots, white and black peppercorn, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaffir_lime" title="Kaffir lime"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">kaffir lime</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and, chilies. Then, there’s my favorite, generous use of coconut milk and curry, a variety of sauces and condiments—and, not to forget, the staple steamed or boiled white rice.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the paradox of Thai cooking. Preparation seems easy and simple, yet the dishes’ demand of capturing a sumptuous flavor via a dizzying mix of ingredients, herbs and spices makes it all complex. Hence, I must say Thai cooking is not mostly taught—it grows in you. It is more a traditional experience than an acquired skill.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes Noi’s Thai Kitchen, located on </span><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Merrimon Avenue in Asheville, stand out among a growing number of Thai and Asian restaurants in Western North Carolina. According to co-owner Lenny DiMaio, his wife, Noi, wants to make it clear that she does all the cooking herself. A diner is certain he/she gets exactly what is offered menu…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Noi </span><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">won't let anyone else help cook. She runs the kitchen and wants everything to be consistent," DiMaio told The Indie. Such sweeping hold could appear a bit weird to a typical Western observer, but such an attitude is daily life in Southeast Asia—where cooking is almost like a one-person job to a designated cook. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Noi grew up among the rice fields in Northern Thailand where people learn to cook by themselves at a very early age. Her father passed away when she was only 7… Noi, who also studied dentistry, had to take care of feeding her family, as well as help in putting siblings to school.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before moving to Asheville, Noi worked in Raleigh—in commercial kitchens at night and dental offices during the day. But it’s the kitchen that deeply defines her passion. That passion translates in how she diligently cooks and prepares dishes at her restaurant: very personal. You are sure to experience a member of your family feeding you: intimate, meticulous and sure. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Try my favorite appetizer, Tood Mun Goong—fresh shrimp and clear noodles wrapped in crispy skin served with sweet sauce. The “secret” remains the sauce. Then decide on a choice of these two awesome dishes: Gang Kiew Wan (red curry with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, zucchini, green bean, sweet basil, and bell peppers) or Panang Curry (green curry with coconut milk, peas, green beans, celery, zucchini, carrots, sweet basil, and bell peppers).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But don’t let this article mislead you. Your tastebuds should be the judge. All I can assure is—everything in Noi’s super-busy kitchen is prepared fresh by an experienced cook. You could almost hear Thai monsoon rains trickle and smell lemongrass steaming… </span></span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><strong>[NOI’S THAI KITCHEN is located at 535c Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC 28804. Tel # 828 251 1960]</strong></span></i></div>
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PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-50138103108891515532011-04-26T18:41:00.000-07:002011-05-29T23:46:32.586-07:00Complex Flavors, Simplified<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsjicLm_jqym-DBBtXguGTXF5zYjr_08GN7gc-364oT9VvUT_-nsOx1L6p1aVJ1Y0uL_rzybjlK0HPGZqbRuXe7tlPOB0W5bF6NUltdOhzd4XFHWUCU8H189JeSe9__-vrlplDuuvmxDz/s1600/1Sauteed+Fish+Fillets+With+Orange+Butter+Sauce+or+Pineapple+Chunks.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600074475592920562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsjicLm_jqym-DBBtXguGTXF5zYjr_08GN7gc-364oT9VvUT_-nsOx1L6p1aVJ1Y0uL_rzybjlK0HPGZqbRuXe7tlPOB0W5bF6NUltdOhzd4XFHWUCU8H189JeSe9__-vrlplDuuvmxDz/s320/1Sauteed+Fish+Fillets+With+Orange+Butter+Sauce+or+Pineapple+Chunks.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 194px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 259px;" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><strong><span style="color: red;">ON AVERAGE,</span></strong> the human tongue has 2,000 to 8,000 taste buds, which contain the receptors for taste. They are located around the small structures on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus and papillae—all involved in detecting the five (known) elements of taste perception: salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami (savoriness)… What I am driving at is—the tongue makes eating such a cool, extremely pleasurable habit; food such a gift of life and a basic human need.</span>I was born and grew old(er) in a culture whose people eat three full meals a day (7am, 12 noon, 8pm), excluding two or three snack sessions (or meriendas—10am, 4pm, and 12 midnight). Usually, dishes and foodstuff that are served differ per meal or snack—hence, we are talking about a frenzied diversity of flavors. Those 8,000 taste buds really get to work on a daily basis.<br />
Needless to say, Philippine cuisine—the style of cooking and the foods associated with it—have evolved over several centuries from its Austronesian origins to a mixed cuisine with many Hispanic, Chinese, American, and other Asian influences adapted to indigenous ingredients and the local palate.<br />
You get my drift. My tongue—or mouth, and of course, stomach—could easily welcome or reject (mostly, the former) any flavor there is. (Move over, Mr Andrew Zimern!)<br />
Yes, indeed—I have lots of fun “interfacing” flavors and tastes that emanate from herbs, seasonings, condiments, natural juices, and other ingredients. I also gotten used to “fixing” flavors or mixes as the need warrants… uhh, throw in some parsleys or mix some mirin or maybe dab some more ground black pepper etc.<br />
But I don’t mean to scare you… my tongue, like my ears, is “genre-flexible,” sort of.<br />
A few hours ago, I had this little buttered mushroom side that I really enjoyed at a local Fatz. Simple dish, uncomplicated flavor… Made me recall a “sides-eating peculiarity” of my childhood. I used to boil or steam bitter gourd (“ampalaya”) and banana blossoms and just threw down on them, as is. Sometimes I dipped them on fish sauce sprinkled with calamansi (calamondin or lime) juice and chili peppers—but mostly, just the slightly-cooked gourd and blossoms on my plate.<br />
So whether it’s multi-flavored or no-flavor—as long as they’re edible and look good, I eat `em. Pretty much like music. Unplugged and minimalist sets, when performed good—is as good as orchestral maneuvers in the dark executed ethereally. Less blurry metaphors in a few, structured lines in a verse are as endearing and pleasing—as an epic poem.<br />
It’s all about cooking as art and craft, sensibility and sensitivity.<br />
Here is a dish that exemplifies my point—a less complex recipe—yet it still challenges a cook’s ability and cunning to make diverse, at times contrasting flavors work.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="color: #ff6600; font-size: 130%;"><strong>“Sauteed Fish Fillets, with Orange Butter Sauce (or Pineapple Chunks)”</strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: #ffcc00;">INGREDIENTS:</span></strong>3/4 cup fresh orange juice<br />
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar (or mild Mexican vinegar)<br />
1 tablespoon olive oil<br />
4 (6 ounce) white fish fillets, each about 3/4 inch thick<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)<br />
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (to taste)<br />
1 tablespoon tequila<br />
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces<br />
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #ffcc00;">DIRECTIONS:</span></strong>[1] In a small saucepan, boil the orange juice and vinegar until reduced to about 1/3 cup; reserve off heat.<br />
[2] Heat the oil in a big nonstick skillet and cook fish 3-4 minutes per side or until it is golden brown on the outside, opaque but still moist inside and just barely flakes when tested with a fork.<br />
[3] Season with salt and pepper; remove fish to a serving platter.<br />
[4] Add the tequila to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits; add the reserved orange juice reduction to the same skillet and bring to a boil.<br />
[5] Immediately decrease the heat to low and add the butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking just until melted.<br />
[6] Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro; spoon sauce over the fish; serve immediately.</span>PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-31821769350615186992011-04-24T23:07:00.000-07:002011-05-01T18:18:09.026-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDO6Vm4yF1Xl0jm6E_6sHYf8beTMPf0qJqgIhO5FMTGRX4zyE5d215Jzsb7dUU5DWGsXCIt4r527qOBdsDJDwwFNdn3lzlTl_mLbjVsI4_c6Y5vXAla4noH1bpS0LMr-Eze8-NiFB6x68/s1600/cIMG_9265.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 302px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599400051656551570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDO6Vm4yF1Xl0jm6E_6sHYf8beTMPf0qJqgIhO5FMTGRX4zyE5d215Jzsb7dUU5DWGsXCIt4r527qOBdsDJDwwFNdn3lzlTl_mLbjVsI4_c6Y5vXAla4noH1bpS0LMr-Eze8-NiFB6x68/s320/cIMG_9265.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">COOKING</span></strong> is an endearing gesture of connectedness, a sublime intimacy that is anchored to a strong feeling of family. It connects me to my family oceans away. But these days, cooking and dining at home—with mom, dad, sons, daughters, and pets present—has almost become a forgotten facet of family bliss… Everybody has an important task to finish, or an electronic bauble to play with… So I cook. I cook for friends like I am cooking for the spirits of my past—both excited and enthralled what sort of culinary magic I’d come up with for dinnertime. I’d like to infect that same vibe and wavelength to as many people that I could possibly reach.<br /></span></span>PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-10740838190200919602011-04-20T22:08:00.000-07:002011-04-20T22:12:18.877-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhtfKEiaOmjTkOlGVmtuiCO1ylomlm_radVrPy8-TMhT2QWuSU0VmIAj5P3eB-VqGwSpzPPiLD-rkbwHb6ebXsZRT_236XEi7DYbLLqSn_gr1rbE8fyalcxEyZXDW59kWrdYZp9Lkw8jk/s1600/IMG_1027.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 236px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597900204098644818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhtfKEiaOmjTkOlGVmtuiCO1ylomlm_radVrPy8-TMhT2QWuSU0VmIAj5P3eB-VqGwSpzPPiLD-rkbwHb6ebXsZRT_236XEi7DYbLLqSn_gr1rbE8fyalcxEyZXDW59kWrdYZp9Lkw8jk/s320/IMG_1027.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff0000;">LONG</span></strong> time ago, cooking was spontaneous—a daily task, 3 meals with some snacks in between. Food recipes are public domain. People have their own individual treatment or personal style or “secret” about how to cook a certain dish. Stews, casseroles, grills, soups and broths, baked dishes, stuff fowls etc. Cooking was a transcendent art form—it feeds both the body and spirit. Most of the know-how that I employ in cooking I get it from memory, observations on diverse cooking styles by my grandmother, my dad (mom didn’t cook much)—and many people I met in my travels. No recipes, no written instructions—no fancy gadgets, no expensive cooking machines whatsoever… It’s all instinct and feel.<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">PHOTO</span></strong> (my dinner dessert last night): <strong><span style="color:#000099;">PLANTAIN BANANA STRIPS</span></strong> with Pineapple Chunks fried with Honey on Lumpia Wraps—with Aunt Jemima syrup and sweet butter Ice Cream.<br /></span></span>PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-48717893637726721482011-04-16T15:05:00.000-07:002011-04-16T15:08:45.717-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWbkduOAL4QMhByJweMZM8ApYH3wYAX8sI2LixnBF-4qpqn0s42ypJjvnwNODcRrWWUjtdeW6_Ba86zxbg5_KDRGO5rG2Spgs8c8Htg6szrfe9gyHAx7TjfxN-t8197qlglEn7K4I18Sp/s1600/IMG_5187.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 225px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596306771481594994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWbkduOAL4QMhByJweMZM8ApYH3wYAX8sI2LixnBF-4qpqn0s42ypJjvnwNODcRrWWUjtdeW6_Ba86zxbg5_KDRGO5rG2Spgs8c8Htg6szrfe9gyHAx7TjfxN-t8197qlglEn7K4I18Sp/s320/IMG_5187.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">THERE’s</span></strong> nothing more passionate—leading to most passionate moments—than a good dinner, caressed and cuddled by sumptuous words and sweet music. </span>So let me tell (or whisper) you something cool: “Poetry, Food… Intimate Moments” is a freeflowing program of my poetry readings interspersed with my food offerings or what I call, “cooking gig.” Around a stream of scented candles and easy-wafting music, I’ll read poems while you dine and drink—all seated or comfortably slouched on the couch or throw pillows. So since spring is already dancing and summer is about to rock—why don’t you unleash those beautiful spirits off your winter hangover and open your house and/or property (farm, backyard, barn etc) to friends and acquaintances for some laid-back, intimate fun. By the way, we may also adapt the evening’s ambiance (or format) based on the particular day’s importance or significance (birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s dinner etc). <strong><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;">[For other infos, go to: HIRE ME page]</span></strong></span>PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-79078376434540806722011-04-15T00:27:00.000-07:002011-05-01T18:16:52.097-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqarAi0bsPQ2_TXNYYoVxeg_7ZqhLOy3RBJ87nA_iofdnsUaR3vrJuaJYe3HYC14dUvQsy2KgnZeo7pSCn96YT5WGE_wnswe31nSkbJKjbMClqjRKF6BIkaQwbCcENDnjP79EyIxzdpT3i/s1600/chef.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 228px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595710138584677090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqarAi0bsPQ2_TXNYYoVxeg_7ZqhLOy3RBJ87nA_iofdnsUaR3vrJuaJYe3HYC14dUvQsy2KgnZeo7pSCn96YT5WGE_wnswe31nSkbJKjbMClqjRKF6BIkaQwbCcENDnjP79EyIxzdpT3i/s320/chef.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff0000;">ROCK</span></strong> your paradigms, align wavelengths, and please your epicurean madness—in an intimate vibe… Enjoy and savor warm poetry, intimate music, and sumptuous food: “Live good, love good, and eat only good food,” so chants the superhomey on wok. So have a poetry dinner party in the privacy of your home with your friends. <strong><span style="font-size:100%;color:#003300;">Email me <a href="mailto:pasckie@yahoo.com">pasckie@yahoo.com</a></span></strong></span></div>PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011002920266665838.post-48339655027947177742011-04-13T15:42:00.000-07:002011-04-13T15:45:35.076-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzef27LMSc93AlLO90-MutK68zNv48CjeEkSIch1P7PQEsMva66rLLMEe9mzUz7-Ow8tqI3IXJDxSa6FI_CcPW89pCVQ9eJdgwQIHfHALBPxwsNCElpcbCNbCqI5NuzpMVZFtWJMDvXc7/s1600/13pasckiecook.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 235px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595203018479619762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzef27LMSc93AlLO90-MutK68zNv48CjeEkSIch1P7PQEsMva66rLLMEe9mzUz7-Ow8tqI3IXJDxSa6FI_CcPW89pCVQ9eJdgwQIHfHALBPxwsNCElpcbCNbCqI5NuzpMVZFtWJMDvXc7/s320/13pasckiecook.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">IN THE ISLANDS…</span></strong> the obligatory greeting when a visitor enters a house is: “Have you eaten already?” Food is always an object of offering or the centerpiece delight in any gathering—from formal meetings to spontaneous hang outs to funeral wakes. Filipinos eat three full meals a day: breakfast at 7am, lunch at 12, dinner at 7pm—at exactly at those precise hours. In between, meriendas (snacks) are served at 10am and 4pm, sometimes even at midnight… I never really gotten over my weird “food sense” all through these years, wherever country I crashland. I think about cooking and eating a lot. On romantic dates, friendly hangouts, random convergences… I always offer to cook or always inquire, “When are we going to eat?” </span>PASCKIE PASCUAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05312716892828923035noreply@blogger.com2