Chihuly at the Salk

San Diego really has more art and culture than you think. Sometimes we have smaller, shorter shows, but we get to see some great art. Thanks, Kim, for alerting us to the Dale Chihuly show at the Salk Institute. What a wonderful morning it was. Dale Chihuly is probably the most famous living glass maker in the United States, if not the world. The wonderful thing about his work is that it is always evolving. He doesn't just have one style and keep repeating himself. He is constantly creating new and wonderful objects, stretching himself and his glass blowers to the limit.

Chihuly was born in 1941, attended the University of Washington, then went to the University of Wisconsin, which had the only glass program in the country at that time. From there it was off to the Rhode Island School of Design, and finally off to Venice, Italy. It was here that he developed a team approch to glass making. Many of his designs are so large they cannot be handled by one person, so he has 2-3 people working on one piece.

Chihuly likes his exhibits in gardens and surrounded by hard structures, so the Salk Institute was the perfect setting. There were some pieces with 1,000 parts to the structure. Everything is disassembled for shipping, then reassembled. The installers have some lee way in the assembly, so no two exhibits of the same piece are exactly the same. Two outdoor chandeliers were created especially for this exhibit, so even if you don't get to the exhibit before it closes, the chandeliers will be on display until August.

Some of his pieces are so large that his Seattle studio cannot accomodate them. He goes to Finland once a year where he rents a very large space in order to produce some of his large pieces. I'm surprised that he doesn't just rent a larger space in Seattle. I guess he likes going to Finland.

My favorite piece was called Float Boat and Floats. Chihuly purcheses old wooden boat hulls, refurbishes them, then fills them with the most gorgeous blown glass balls you can imagine. Some the larger balls weigh up to 60 pounds. Many balls are piled in the boat, others are scattered around the boat, in front and behind.

Another gorgeous piece was The Sun. This is one of his most famous pieces, but this is the first time it has been seen with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop. This sculpture had over 1,000 individual pieces fitted into its base. It was truly magnificent.

I urge you to stop by the Salk (you can order tickets on line) before the exhibit closes. It can also be seen at night, which would be a wonderful experience, with lights shining on his work. If you don't get there, remember that the two chandeliers will be on display until August. Don't miss them.

Gourmet Cooking in No Time Flat

Last week I spent a delightful evening at the Encinitas Libray, thanks to my friend Christie. She called to tell me they were having Deana Gunn, the author of a book called Cooking With All Things Trader Joes. She thought it was something I would enjoy, and was she ever right. Christie arranged for about ten of us to meet before the program, picnic dinner in hand, and socialize. Unfortunately it turned out to be the coldest, rainest night in a long time, so we picniced inside. Then we got to listen to Deana speak and demonstrate for about an hour, showing us how she has learned to use Trader Joe's products to prepare good, healthy gourment meals in no time. She had so much information to share, that I will write some now, then blog about this next another time with more of Dean's tips.

First, check out her website and blog, www.cookingwithtraderjoes.com. She has recipes every week and even some free giveaways. She's easy to read and full of great ideas. Deana also has two books out. The first one, Cooking With All Things Trader Joes, is a big, bulky book with over 130 recipes, color photos of each recipe and very beautiful to look at. The trouble is, lots of people making her recipes want to take the ingredient list with them to the store, so her second book is in a small, pocket sized format, with no pictures. It also has about 130 recipes.

One of Deana's favorite products is organic brown rice, ready in 3 minutes. Trader Joe's also has a white Jasmine rice. Both are delicious and a real time saver. Another product that she introduced me to is by Dorot. It is frozen cubes of garlic, in something like an icecube tray, that you just pop out as needed. Fantastic idea. Dorot also makes basil and cilantro in the same kind of packaging. I hate buying cilantro because I only use a little and end up throwing the rest away. This product may actually save me money. Another favorite of Deana's is the fresh bruschetta sauce in the refrigerated section. This tastes like homemade. Fresh tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and and basil combined to make a fresh sauce for bread, or add to pasta with a little parmesean for a complete meal. Or, spread a little goat cheese on a cracker, then the bruschetta and you have a fancy hors d'oeuvre.

These are a few of her fabulous ideas and recipes. I will write another blog about this evening soon and give you more tips for becomming a gourmet and keeping within your budget.

Brunch at The Kitchen

Since I first started coming to Boulder 15 years ago, things have really changed. Not only is it the organic capital of the world, it is also fast becoming a culinary city to be reckoned with. Every time I visit there are new and interesting places to dine, some expensive, some not, but all creative and exciting. Our Sunday brunch at The Kitchen on Pearl Street was my second visit to the exciting restaurant. My first visit was last year for dinner, but they now serve breakfast and Sunday brunch.

The restaurant itself is a community bistro located in historic downtown Boulder, Colorado, open seven days a week. The menu evolves seasonally and reflects the simple and straightforward preparation of comfortable classics. The Kitchen (upstairs) is a relaxed wine and beer lounge. Rustic food is prepared in a wood-fired oven and compliments one of the best beer and wine lists in Colorado.

The Kitchen believes in protecting our environment, 100% of the electricity for the restaurant is provided by windpower. They recycle or reuse almost 100% of their discards. Paper products are all biodegradable. The remains of uncooked food or open bottles of wine are given to the waitstaff at the end of each day. Discarded food is composted. In short, The Kitchen is a green restaurant, and I love to supports such establishments.

Let's talk a little about the food. Awesome is all I can say. Homemade bakery items are everywhere. Coffee cake, croissants and granola are all homemade. I ordered the goat gouda omelette (I had it with egg whites only). It was served with a simple salad and delicous crusty bread. It was a great meal, and I didn't go too far off my eating plan. Phil had the smoked salmon, bagels, cream cheese with chives and capers. Deborah had the The Kitchen sausage strata, a layered casserole type breakfast with eggs, sausage, bread and cheese. It was just delicious. The homemade croissants are wonderful, although we resisted. Other brunch items include Udi's challah french toast (Udi is the owner), crab, lime, avocado and cilantro salad, chevre and hazelnut salad, slow roasted pork sandwich, and much, much more.

I urge you to try The Kitchen for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's a happening place, you can eat at the bar if you're alone, or at the community table in the center of the restaurant. Food is fresh, creative and oh, so good.

Cinco de Mayo Hot Spots

Cinco de Mayo is NOT the celebration of Mexican Independance, as many may think. It commemorates the victory of the outnumbered Mexican army over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Any excuse for a party in San Diego. Fiestas, happy hours and musical events can be found everywhere from Ocanside, to Chula Vista, to Old Town. Here are some of the events you might like to consider attending.

In Old Town, on May 1-2 you can attend music, dance, storytelling for kids and food events throughout the day and night. Go to www.cincodemayo.com for a list of events and exact location. The Bahia Sternwheelers is a paddleboat in Mission Bay that will take you on a cruise of the harbor. It's $10 for adults, with specially priced margarittas and music.

Las Olas in Cardiff will offer their famous pineapple and chile margaritas, in addition to lots of appetizers and other drink options. It's crowded so get there early.

The Gaslamp, always up for a party, will have a Cinco de Mayo blockparty. My guess is that even the non Mexican restaurants will be celebrating.

Other restaurants that have always had a lively party atmosphere for Cinco de Mayo include En Fuego in Del Mar, Fidels in Solana Beach, and all locations of Rockin Baja Lobster.

Happy Hour is always a kick, and the Cinco de Mayo celebrations are just another excuse for us to get out and party. What could be better than a cold margarita, some fresh, hot tortilla chips with a great homemade salsa and some great friends to party with? Not much.

Fourteenth Visit to Taft

Today was a great day for Ron, a visit with old friends, in addition to a visit with his old wife. Phil and Ellen have known Ron for 54 years. They all went to high school together, Phil and Ellen married and stayed in Chicago and Ron moved to Los Angeles. For many years they were out of touch but reconnected about 15 years ago. They now live in Scottsdale and made a trip here with the express purpose of seeing Ron. Now that's a good friend. When Ron was first incarcerated he never expected many people to come see him other than family. After all, if you live in San Diego it's a full day's journey, if you're in Los Angeles it's a six hour time frame. He never expected that people would put themselves out to come see him. But he was wrong. Several friends have already been up to Taft, and in two weeks time he has a few of his Carlsbad buddies coming up to visit. In the future some of his softball friends are also going to make the drive up to see Ron.

It was great. Ron was so happy today. Telling jokes and stories as he loves to do, he was just having a great time. I think he did 75% of the talking in the four hours we were all together. Some of the time was spent catching up on news of high school friends, but much of the day was spent with Ron describing in detail his daily life, talking about the people he's met at Taft, and his plans for the future. I think Phil and Ellen were happy they made the trip. Just seeing where he is, how he looks and his great attitude let them know he is a survivor.

I just sort of sat back and took it all in. Often our visits are intense one on one conversations for hours (which I love), but today I got to watch Ron enjoy himself with old friends. I arrived about 1 1/2 hours before Phil and Ellen. We always have so much to talk about. Today was no exception, in fact there's so much to say that I have to keep a list of topics, lest I forget. Telephone conversations are taped so we wait for visitors day to discuss anything that is private.

All in all it was a great visitors day, and it was great to see Ron's spirits so high. The only downer is that Ron's 50th high school reunion is in June (Phil and Ellen are in charge of the event) and we won't be there. I know that he is sad about missing it, but there's nothing he can do about it. Hopefully we'll be at the next one.

Products That Didn't Survive the Last Decade

Every year thousands of new products are released, and the public will either accept or reject them. Most fizzle out for various reasons such as not enough capitol behind them, poor advertising, or just the fact that it's a lousy product. Here are a few of the products that did NOT survive the first decade of the 21st century. Some of them seemed like very good ideas. It's hard to know why they didn't make it.

1. Segway. Launched in 2002, this two wheel personal transportation vehicle received a great deal of hoopla. Some said it would be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy. It didn't pan out, due to its price point being too high, over $3000. You still see them on a limited basis in big cities. They're used for the most part by police and messenger services.

2. Microsoft Vista was released in 2007. It was created to improve security. It created a nightmare for many PC users. It had so many glitches in it that many people, including myself, uninstalled it on their new computers and replaced it with Microsoft XP.

3. Palm Pilot. This device was released in 1996 as a personal organizer. It seemed good at the time, but when Blackberry came along, Palm Pilot developed difficulties. It's still on the market, and they have plans to release a new version of it soon.

4. Microsoft Zune was launched in 2006. It was meant to compete with Apple iPod, and we know how that worked out. It just couldn't compete.

5. YouTube. It's the largest video sharing site in the world, but most of it's content is of such low quality that advertisers do not want to put their dollars there. It is unlikely they will turn a profit anytime soon. It is estimated they will lost $470 million this year.

6. Mountain bikes. They just never caught on with the public, and although they're still around today, they are used mostly by public service officials (police, etc).

7. WebTV. This product seemed like a winner when it was first released, but over the next few years technology of other products made webtv seem outdated. Surprisingly, Microsoft bought the company, but then scrapped the brand.

8. Cocaine. This was a high energy drink with 3 1/2 times more caffeine than Redbull. It was pulled from the market byt the FDA in 2007. They said it was being sold as an alternative to street drugs.

So here you have it. A very short list of the thousands of losers from the past decade. It's funny how something seems like such a good idea at the time, and then, poof, the public is on to something else. Remember Krispy Kreme?

Food Expo Part 2

There were so many interesting food products at Food Expo that I hardly know where to start. A number of vendors were at the show from Australia, Korea, Canada, France and Spain. Many were here to introduce their product to those in the food industry, but don't have any distribution in the U.S, at this time.

I was so disappointed when I tasted Simply Delish chunky dips from Australia. They're not available here yet, but should be within the next six months. Don't forget this name. They're the best prepared dips I've tasted, with flavors like pumpkin with nuts and parmesean cheese. Another great one was a mild chile dip.

Another interesting product from Seville, Spain is Ines Rosales Sweet Olive Oil Tortas. They are delicate, crisp tortas, crispy and covered with sugar. They're individually wrapped, and are a great snack or cookie. They can be found in major speciality shops (mostly Mexican grocery stores). I could not find an exact list of where they're sold.

Steels Gourmet (www.steelsgourmet.com) is an interesting company. Right now their products are only available online, but take a look. They sell sauces sweetened with agave. No sugar is used. They have chutneys, carmel, sweet and sour, barbeque. In addition they have fruit spreads, pie fillings and salad dressing. The sauces were just delicious, great for diabetics and dieters, low in calories, and they have great taste.

One of my favorite products at this year's show is Gourmet Mist. It is similar to Pam, but better. First, it is not an aerosol spray, but a pump spray, which is much better for the enviornment. Second, it comes in several varieties, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, canola oil, balsamic+pomegranete, and balsamic+raspberry. The latter two are delicious, so good in fact that you can just spray them on green as a salad dressing. At 5 calories per serving, it's a great product to have on hand. Locally they can be bought at Ralphs and Bristol Farms. I plan to get one or two varieties to keep on hand.

Redwood Hill Farm was at the show sampling their goat milk cheeses. Boy, were there great. I especially enjoyed the smokey cheese. Their products are available at Whole Foods.

Aussie Crunch is a gourmet popcorn company not from Australia, but from Georgia. Go figure. The popcorn is fantastic, and comes in several wonderfully sweet, crunchy flavors. Look for it at Whole Foods and other specialty stores.

Finally, a new product to me, but one that's been around for over 2000 years and originated in the Middle East, is Freekeh. It is green wheat, picked before fully matured, then parched, roasted, smoked and dried. The result is one of the most nutritious super-grains available with more than 4 times as much fiber as rice. I met Bonnie, the woman selling this product. She was recently on the Dr. Oz show telling her story. Basically, she says she lost 130 pounds eating freekeh. You can go to the Dr. Oz website to find out more about it. This is another product from Australia. Freekeh is available at Trader Joe's. It's a crunchy grain, similar to quinoa or brown rice. Check this one out.

I hope this gives you an idea of the vast array of products presented at Food Expo. It must be difficult for buyers to decide which products to carry. There is so much to choose from. It's great for us, the consumer to have so much choice. I hope you will look for some of these new products and give them a try. On my next visit to Trader Joe's I will pick up some freekeh and start experimenting.