Iggy Pop

Being that our family is so spread out over the globe, it's rare for all four brothers to be in the same place at the same time. It usually only happens for big occasions, in this case Michael's wedding.  It was June of 2004. Although all four brothers didn't make it into this photo, I wanted to post it anyway.  Why?  Well, we all had such a fun time in San Fransisco (AND it was the first time I met Jennifer, my much loved sister-in-law).  Mostly, I just love this photo of Ygal (on the right for those who might not know)......does he look cool, calm, collected and casual or what?  Seriously, Ygal is/was the most photogenic person I've ever known.  I'm sure you've noticed from all the photos each week.  He simply could NOT take a bad picture.

An Experiment in Local Eating

Yesterday Clara and I were out running errands in a large shopping center close to home.  As we drove in, I saw two Asian ladies crouched down on the ground picking up fruit that had dropped from one of the many gingko trees which line the parking lot.  Well, I am not one to miss out on a good thing!  After we grabbed a little lunch, I pulled off to the side of the lot under one of the female trees and collected about ten of the little fruits.  

As soon as Clara went down for a nap, I started Googling.  Ha ha.  One of the first things I learned is that Gingko fruit contains urushiol, the same chemical found in Poison Ivy/Oak. It's highly recommended that one wears gloves when collecting the fruits.  I must've been lucky ~ I picked only the best looking fruit.....not squished or oozing liquid.  Good thing!  

The second thing I learned is that the fruit is not collected for the fleshy part. In fact the fleshy part can be toxic if consumed in large quantities. These fruits are prized by certain Asian cultures for the nut inside.  I found some step by step instructions here and followed them....

This is what the fruit looked like.....

Per the instructions, I soaked the fruits whole for two hours.

I then removed the nuts from the fruit....using my latex gloves the entire time!

I coated the nuts with a little oil and then roasted them for about 45 minutes.

This is what they looked like after.  On the left is one of the nuts I'd cracked open.  You can see the seed inside....

My verdict?  The seed was rather mealy and gummy although I rather liked the nutty flavor ~ it was reminiscent of chestnuts.  Still, after all of the effort, I'm not sure it was worth the work involved.  I don't know if I cooked it correctly or enough.  I'd read the nut/seed should appear green but mine never did.  Maybe if I found the right recipe....

This article from Gourmet magazine was very interesting to me and somewhat mirrors my own experience....although I never fried them up....and certainly don't intend to.  

It was rather cool to try something new. I found it all rather exciting.  The Chinese even believe these nuts are an aphrodisiac.....hmmmm......I guess you'd probably have to eat more than two to notice a difference!  As for the smell, I never noticed it.....but I don't have a strong sense of smell.  Some cities have banned planting female gingko trees because of the foul smell created by the rotting fruit.  This saddens me.  These trees are living fossils and, for me, produce some of the most beautiful foliage.  Remember this photo?  Those yellow leaves are gorgeous gingko leaves ~ they turn yellow in the Fall.  In fact, we'll be visiting that same site in about a month! 

I'm curious......has anyone else tried Gingko nuts?

Garden Update

I have a confession to make.  I quit my garden the second half of the summer season.  Yes, I did.  Everyone knows how much I dislike the heat.  I decided I didn't want to do it anymore, despite the many payoffs that come from caring for the garden.  Luckily, Alain picked up some of my slack and we still managed to have a decent season/harvest.  

I'm happy to report that temperatures have FINALLY dipped below 80 degrees in the mornings and evenings.  So, you guessed it, I have reunited with my garden again.  It's so nice to be back!  

So far, I've pulled out all of the dead growth in my tomato plants as we're still getting some new growth and yummy tomatoes. I'll probably give the plants a couple more weeks before I pull them out completely.  

My eggplant is having a late season resurgence.

I planted nine different lettuce plants. Yum. I can't wait for these to be ready!

Our neighbor gave us a few different hot pepper plants.  One of them is doing amazing!  There are probably a hundred different peppers growing.

Just take a look at this beauty we harvested today!

Sophie's zinnia plant is also having a resurgence.  There are lovely pink blooms ~ I've even picked a few and put them in a vase inside the house.

I planted three cabbage plants.  Ruby Perfection.  I LOVE growing red cabbage despite the looper problems.  We usually don't have as many problems in the Fall so fingers crossed.

This was our little harvest today.  I told you my eggplant was doing well!  There were also many more cherry tomatoes but Clara eats them as quickly as we can pick them.  How fitting that her hand made it into the picture.

I also planted carrot, radish and pea seeds.  In addition, I have some onion and leek plants which have to be thinned before I plant them.  Hopefully I'll get around to it this weekend.

I LOVE FALL GARDENING!

Tell me, how does your garden grow???

Iggy Pop

Ygal was an alumni of The University of South Carolina!  One of his most favorite things about Columbia was a small little restaurant called The Salty Nut Cafe. He LOVED the place! At least one year that I can remember he lived in an apartment right across the street. The picture for this week was taken during that year. I really like this picture ~ it makes me happy that I got to enjoy one of Ygal's favorite places with him on a number of occasions. And I'm glad we have it memorialized in this photo.....

I am just so thankful for this photograph.

The Wisdom of Kids

Just recently I was reminded that kids are much wiser than we give them credit for.

While we were vacationing at Ocean Isle last month, I took a stroll by myself on the beach at dusk.  It was so peaceful and beautiful. But something disturbed me....

There was a lot of trash. And suddenly my heart felt heavy. I will never understand people who leave their trash on the sand when they're at the ocean.  No one is that important or that busy that they can't take a few extra moments to make sure they've left the beach as they found it!!!  I must've seen at least ten of those fluorescent spoon/straw thingies on my very short walk. This is the type of thing that weighs heavily on my mind and my heart. I'm not the type of person who can leave it and then not think about it anymore. If I've seen it and done nothing, then I am just as guilty.

The next morning was our last day at the beach. Sophie was playing in the water. I took a trash bag to the beach and collected Sophie and told her we had some important work to do. She was excited! We started walking and I pointed out all the trash and explained that we were going to clean it up.  Why us, she asked me, when we didn't put it there?  Well, Sophie, the beach gives us so, so many things. We have a lifetime of beautiful memories from our times spent at the beach. Sand and saltwater seem to cure just about any ailment, physical or  mental. The sun gives us loads of Vitamin D. The beach is a home to all kinds of creatures....the sand dollars that Mommy loves so much, the amazing dolphins that we're always searching out, the lovely birds of which we take so many pictures.  The beach gives us many things....isn't it about time we give something back???  Don't you think the beach will be a happier place with less trash?  It didn't take long and she was on a mission....searching out every bottle top, straw, umbrella tag, drink bottle, etc that she could possibly find.

A while later, we approached an area that was crowded with people, beach chairs and umbrellas.  I started to turn back. Sophie said we needed to walk further. I said to her, "Soph, there are a lot people here....I don't want to make them uncomfortable by picking up trash all around them."  And do you know what she said to me?  

"Mommy, that's silly, if there are more people, there's more trash."

The wisdom of that statement stopped me dead in my tracks. Those words came out of my little Sophie's mouth ~ words that I'd never uttered but she'd figured out on her own. It made me happy but also sad. You best believe we then cleaned up all around those people. As Sophie pointed out to me, maybe it's a good thing if they're uncomfortable ~ maybe they'll actually clean up their trash! I can honestly say that was one of my proudest parenting moments. It made me feel that I must be doing something right. 

For as long as I can remember, I've been searching and searching for people like me, with similar interests......possible vegetarians, earth-minded folks, gardeners, animal lovers, etc.  Just as I'd given up trying, I found a little someone....walking right beside me....that little gal who calls me Mom.

V.I.P. in the Neighborhood!

It's been a very exciting week around these parts.  You see, President Obama & Michelle were staying right down the street during the Democratic National Convention.

Over the past week, there was a lot of this...

On the news this morning I heard that the Obamas would be leaving for the airport at around 10 AM.  As it turns out, I just happened to be near the hotel at around that time and I noticed that people were standing on both sides of the road.  I checked my clock and it was 9:37.  I had to pull over. How many times in a life do you get to see a Presidential Motorcade?  I didn't want to miss it.

There were people everywhere.

The main road was closed off completely and there wasn't a car in sight.

You could see snipers on some of the office rooftops.

You could feel the excitement in the air.

People were walking out of nearby office buildings to watch.

There were police cars everywhere you looked and people too, sporting phones and cameras.

I was SO HAPPY to have my camera on hand. I taped the procession and here it is....

It was really wild. No matter what side of the fence you're on, being that close to the President is exciting.

Who knows how long it will be until we see that kind of excitement around these parts again!!!! 

Iggy Pop

When Alain and I first moved to Charlotte, Ygal was in college just over an hour away.  We were lucky to get to spend a little more time with him those couple of years.  Today I wanted to share one of my favorite memories.....

One weekend we were hanging out at home when there was a knock on the door. Imagine our surprise when we opened the door and there stood Ygal!!!!  It was such a great surprise!  He told us that he had borrowed a friend's car to "run some errands"....but then drove to Charlotte to visit us.  HA!  Hopefully she wasn't too familiar with the mileage on her car.  In typical college fashion, we then let him borrow some money to refill the gas tank before he drove back to school.  It was a short visit but we had a great time. Of course, nowadays I am extremely happy that we decided to take some pictures together.  I'm really happy to be able to share them here today....

We were all in good moods that day.  Clearly.

That's not a beer above but cream soda that Ygal is drinking, one of his favorite drinks.  We always had it stocked in the fridge for when he came to visit!

Alain told us to "look sexy" for this shot.  Um yeah, not so much. 

Such a gorgeous photo!