Monthly Archive for June, 2008

Risotto = Heaven

Published on June 30, 2008 in Food. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

IMG_0150, originally uploaded by sygyzy.

Risotto is probably one of my favorite dishes in the world. I can eat it multiple times a week. It’s relatively simple to prepare but it requires your attention and love. It’s not a quick meal but the investment pays off. It serves as an excellent canvas, but unlike noodle pasta, it brings its own flavor element to the party. A rich, creaminess that goes well with just about anything.

In this particular incarnation, we made saffron risotto by infusing a pinch of the spice in a bit of stock and adding it at the end when the heat is turned off. While the risotto was cooking, we cooked the scallops in a sous-vide bath at 50C. After it was removed from the bath, we seasoned them and pan seared, bathing them in butter. We finished the risotto by adding some butter and pancetta, then stock to loosen it up a bit.

A delicious weekday meal.

Simple Summer Pasta

Published on June 25, 2008 in Food. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

IMG_0117, originally uploaded by sygyzy.

It has been a scorching week in SB and my roommates and I wanted to make a dish that required minimal work and minimal stove time. This fit the bill.

25 Things Visiting Germans Taught Me

Published on June 24, 2008 in Friends and Life. 1 Comment Tags: .

  1. They love Lacoste (and Polo) products. Absolutely love it. A Polo shirt in a US outlet is $25. It’s $120 in Germany.
  2. They call their mobile/cell phones handy. They don’t know why, but they think it’s probably because it’s “handy” to have. I asked if I could call my shoes handy as well.
  3. In Germany, there is more shelter space/capacity than there are homeless people.
  4. The largest fireworks competition happens annually in Berlin.
  5. They never heard of Sinn, one of my favorite (German) watch companies.
  6. They never heard of Solebox, one of the top sneaker stores in the world. Clemens actually lives within walking distance and he’s never been there! Shame!
  7. They never heard of “Battle of the Year,” the largest breakdancing competition (also held in Germany).
  8. There is a white sausage dish that (traditionally) must be eaten before noon and you have to drink beer with it.
  9. In Berlin, there are no dress codes for clubs. Jeans and sneakers are welcome.
  10. A very popular drink at bars in Germany is Vodka with bitter lemon schnapps (?). It tastes like Sprite with Vodka, “but better”
  11. They have phones that have GPS’s built in!
  12. They claim that the Mexican food in Germany is quite good.
  13. Fitness in Germany is just average. It isn’t extremely health conscious but not lazy either. So I guess it’s like America
  14. Berlin, the capital, is the largest city and most interesting, but it’s in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing around it except farmlands.
  15. The Black Forest region is famous for cuckoo clocks.
  16. The most famous exported German beer is Beck’s
  17. Shelterbox Australia is doing $1M in business annually. This puts them far ahead of Germany which became an affiliate sooner.
  18. Germans are very excited about the iPhone. The exclusive carrier is T-Mobile.
  19. There are a lot of IKEAs in Germany. Germans love it so much that Germany is the largest market for IKEA.
  20. They have never heard of Uwe Boll. How is this possible?
  21. You cannot own a gun in Germany except if you get a special license as a hunter, or you are in the military or a police officer. If you get an exception, you can only use it on the job and to carry it to and from the hunting grounds. You can’t even stop at the supermarket with your gun in the car.
  22. In Germany, there is no draft. If you decide to join, it’s at least an eight year term.
  23. They like to pop their collars.
  24. Each club and each member in Rotaract has to pay dues to a the head committee. Also, their individual club fees are quite expensive. Something like 160 euros a year.
  25. One of the top home theatre speaker manufacturers is in Germany. (I don’t remember the name).

The Usual

Published on June 23, 2008 in Culture, Events and Friends. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I know some (one?) of you have been wondering what I’ve been up to. Here’s a quick photo tour of my life recently.

Last week I went to Los Angeles for the 99th Annual Rotary International Convention.  While we were there, we donated over 300 books and helped break a Guinness record.

This was the second time in as many weeks that I was in LA and on both trips, I ate at Father’s Office (2) in Culver City. Yummy!

My company had our summer party last Friday. This time it was held at Elings Park instead of the Zoo. The theme was Cirque du Solstice and they pulled out all the stops!

The mercury averaged around 90 degrees this weekend in Santa Barbara. The only way to stay cool was to stay outside and moving. That’s exactly what I did by attending the Solstice parade.

Canon 40D

Published on June 23, 2008 in Food, Photography and Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: .

I bought the original Canon Rebel dSLR when it came out and returned it a few weeks later thinking I could score a nice deal from Dell. When that fell through, I couldn’t convince myself to spend $1000 a second time, so I just decided to wait until the next generation to come out. It did but I still never bought one. Many years later I finally picked up a 40D and have been spending all my free time learning how to operate it and about photography. I have also been buying accessories (filters, lens hoods, memory cards, cases, etc) like a mad man.

My favorite thing about having a nicer camera (so far)? Food photos!