Uncle Mike (1942-2012)

This was the sky on the beltway last Friday as Michael and I drove to BWI to catch our flight to Indianapolis.  Unfortunately, this last-minute trip was to say goodbye to Uncle Mike.

Here's daddy listening to Uncle Mike at my cousin Kristen's wedding in 2009.  He always put a smile on your face with his stories (or by accessorizing with a decorative bow around his neck).

Uncle Mike was the oldest of the Farrell boys... you can tell that they had a lot of fun together.

Above is a picture of all the Farrell siblings at our wedding and below is one of my favorite moments of our wedding.  Uncle Mike pulled Michael aside and gave him a little talk about how he needed to take care of me and what a lucky man he was.

The service for Uncle Mike was probably more elaborate than he would have liked, but I thought it was simple, loving and beautifully adorned with lots flowers sent by friends and family that miss him terribly.  

The world has lost an amazing spirit but I know he's happy up in heaven with my Aunt Judy and cousin Michelle and making pineapple upside down cakes in an old cast iron skillet (like he used to make for me when I would come to visit).  We miss you, Uncle Mike.

Asheville

Michael and I frequently discuss how lucky we are to go "home" to two of the most beautiful places in the country: Northern California and Western North Carolina.

It's a North Carolina Christmas this year and, coincidentally, I just read two things today that reminded me of where we'll be spending the holidays... in the mountains, cozied up by the fire, and spending time with friends and family.

I just saw on Facebook that Good Morning America selected Asheville as one of its most beautiful place in America (in addition to Point Reyes).

Then I opened up my email and American Life in Poetry featured a beautiful poem about the Blue Ridge (even though she refers to the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge, the imagery she describes reminds me of NC).

American Life in Poetry: Column 351
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

In many of those Japanese paintings with Mt. Fuji in the background, we find tiny figures moving along under the immensity of the landscape. Here’s an American version of a scene like that, by Stanley Plumly of Maryland, one of our country’s most accomplished poets.

Off A Side Road Near Staunton

Some nothing afternoon, no one anywhere,
an early autumn stillness in the air,
the kind of empty day you fill by taking in
the full size of the valley and its layers leading
slowly to the Blue Ridge, the quality of country,
if you stand here long enough, you could stay
for, step into, the way a landscape, even on a wall,
pulls you in, one field at a time, pasture and fall
meadow, high above the harvest, perfect
to the tree line, then spirit clouds and intermittent
sunlit smoky rain riding the tops of the mountains,
though you could walk until it’s dark and not reach those rains—
you could walk the rest of the day into the picture
and not know why, at any given moment, you’re there.

Gifts for Sweet Tooth

My wonderful friend just gave me a package of delicious Salty Oat cookies and it reminded me that it's that time again: gift giving season has arrived!

Whether it's a thank you gift, a feel better soon gift, or a happy holidays/birthday gift, I have a ever-growing list of vendors that have surpassed my expectations and that I love to share with my favorite sweet tooths (sweet teeth???)  Whatever.

Chocolate Gourmet: Chicago-based sweet shop selling hand-rolled ugly chocolate truffles, squares, and damn good cookies using all natural ingredients.  I've never tried the squares, but the ugly truffles and damn good cookies are worth the shipping and handling!

John & Kira's:  Philadelphia-based chocolatier makes the most unique chocolate ladybugs and caramel bees!  Great quality and super cute... this one's always a crowd-pleaser.

Kayak Cookies: Maine-based bakery that I just discovered and will definitely be ordering from soon.  The Salty Oat cookies are AMAZING... actually, I'm eating one now.  So good.  My friend picked them up at Teaism in DC (for all you locals) but I'm so glad you can order them online too.

Kron Chocolatier:  Michael and I discovered the famous Budapest crème truffle at Mazza Gallery right across the street from Michael's office when looking for a birthday gift.  These are the most delicate, decedent, and delicious truffles I've ever had.  Mmmmmm....

...and the list keeps on growing.  We love supporting these local bakeries and chocolatiers, instead of Godiva, Vosges, or even See's Candies.  An extra kick of good karma in every delivery.

Crazy Autumn Weather

I can't believe it's already November!   Last weekend, we had snow on Saturday... VERY unusual.

Then it was followed by a beautiful Sunday!

And I took this photo today while taking a walk in the park across from our place.

LOVE the changing seasons and it's gotten me very much in the baking mood.  I have tried a couple new recipes and I'll post them soon!

Easter Brunch 2011

Last Sunday, we hosted our largest annual Easter Brunch ever!  Unforunately, I was too busy and totally forgot about taking pictures so all of these are post-brunch photos.

Brunch was especially fun this year because three of my old friends from my hometown joined us to celebrate!  There are about a dozen Campolindo High School alumni living in DC from my graduating class and it's so great to have a little taste of home when you're 3,000 miles away.

But I must say that it was a wonderful success and we even got to use the beautiful three-tiered serving dish that Bill and Pat got us for Christmas (but Mom and Dad Merschat brought it up for the weekend and we opened it up on Easter Eve... what perfect timing!)

We stuck with some tried and true recipes for our brunch menu:
Chocolate Cupcakes (featured above with robin eggs on top)
Strawberry and Rosemary Scones (PERFECT for spring brunch)
Red Pepper Hummus (Michael also made an extra batch sans pepper for Mama Merschat)
Chicken Salad Sandwiches (featured on our beautiful new serving platter)
Lox and Bagels
Mini Quiches
Fruit Salad
Mimosas (of course!)

And the highlight of the afternoon was the Merschat family tradition of Easter Egg "dutzing."  I can't find any reference of "dutzing" (or any other variation on its spelling) via google but I did find this link explaining German Easter Egg Battles.

So you take some beautifully decorated Easter eggs that took hours to decorate and dye...

...and then you pick a partner and smack the eggs together!  One egg will crack, the other will not, and the winner "challenges" another opponent with a non-cracked egg until there is only one winner.  The winner gets good luck all year long... and this year Mama Merschat got all the good luck with her winning mushroom egg.

Food Photography

I never thought I'd be one of those people.  I mean, who remembers to take a picture of delicious food before you devour it? 

So obviously Michael and I have gotten into a habit of taking photos of our favorite recipes and posting the recipes on this blog.  Unfortunately, we have this very non-professional camera (shown above) and usually have terrible lighting because we don't get home until after dark and don't have natural light to take beautiful photos of our favorite foods!

We may have to upgrade our camera since I stumbled upon this blog post on thekitchn.  We will also need to work on composition and lighting. 

Thank you for putting up with our less-than-par photos.  I'm definitely going to try and beef up the food photography on this little blog of ours.  Yay for projects!

Hello Again...

We're back!  It's been a rough couple of weeks travelling across the country for daddy's birthday and cramming for my first CPA exam.  I survived (barely) but I must admit that I don't know if I really want to be a CPA after all.  Perhaps accounting is not my calling in life... hmmm...

But on a brighter note, Daddy's birthday weekend was fantastic!  Good food, good wine, and so much fun with the family.  It's times like these that I hate living 3,000 miles away.  Here are a few photos.

Welcome the Year of the Rabbit

Happy New Year!

I have a feeling it's going to be a good year.  Both my parents were born in the rabbit zodiac sign and according to Time magazine, "the transition from Tiger to Rabbit brings a change of vibe to the lunar year: The Year of the Rabbit is said to be a peaceful one, with those on either side of it (Tiger and Dragon) known for global unrest and change."

Hmmm... we should let Egypt and Tunisia know that...

Hope everyone has a happy, peaceful, and prosperous new year.  Gong Hay Fat Choy!

The Little Tercel That Could

This weekend, my car hit 100,000 miles and she's still going strong.

It was Easter weekend 1997 when my parents bought my cute, 2-door, silver Toyota Tercel.  It was a last-minute purchase to replace the beige/brown, hand-me-down 1984 Toyota Corolla, which was parked in front of our house and totalled by a drunk driver who had his license suspended (prior DUI), a concealed weapon in his car, and no car insurance (of course).  Fortunately, no one was hurt and I got a new car!

Since high school, me and my little Tercel have lived in 3 states and the District of Columbia; we've driven cross country with daddy from Moraga to Chapel Hill; and shared so many memories together.

She's not fancy and a little rough around the edges.  She doesn't have power locks, windows, or ANYTHING actually; she doesn't have cruise control; she accelerates best when you turn off the A/C button; she's missing a front right hubcap; and I have to replace the bulb in the back middle brake light... but it's what's on the inside that makes her so special to me.

She's the little engine that could... and I hope to be blogging when she makes it to her 200,000 mile marker... I think she can, I think she can, I think she can...

First Day of My Fourth Decade

The day is finally here.  I'm 30.

We're just about to head over to dinner at Nora's and I'm sporting my beautiful new earrings Michael got me.  He has such good taste - I'm a lucky girl.

Overall, today has been a wonderful and low-key birthday.  Let's hope that sets the tone for the beginning of my fourth decade.

New Favorite Floss

Kind of random but I love our new dental floss!  I feel like I can use less than the regular ol' waxed floss and I feel like it's not as tough on my gums.  Who knew I would have a floss preference?  Ok, just thought I'd share.

Pakistani Perspective of Times Square Bombing

My friend Kalsoom writes a popular blog CHUP! featuring Pakistani issues and I just thought her most recent post about the Times Square Bombing would be worth highlighting (make sure to read the comments too!).  Since living with my former roommate Sania and getting to know a lot of her Pakistani and Pakistani-American friends, I really feel it's important (and interesting) to see things from their personal perspective in addition to the mass media perspective.

In short, I think Pakistanis, Pakistani-Americans, and ALL American minorities are frustrated by the perpetuation of racial stereotypes when one person does something stupid that negatively affects the perception of that ethnicity in our great country built on diversity and equal opportunity.  I feel that America is a unique nation built strong by immigrants, tolerance, and freedom.  It just worries me a little with the immigration law in Arizona and support for racial profiling on the rise.  What happened to being proud of our melting pot nation? 

Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
' With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
~ Lady Liberty

God Bless America.  And that is my rant for today.  Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!  And remember to drink responsibly.

Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit

We all know that your chances of finding a gallon of milk or loaf of decent, non-wonder bread is pretty slim right before a blizzard... but I did not expect the store to be out of canned black beans! Weird! Michael needed the beans to make his delicious black bean soup so I thought I'd try making dried beans! Shoot, I'm snowed in all weekend and how hard could it be, right?

Well, it's not difficult at all but it is definitely time consuming. We soaked the beans overnight, drained them, and then boiled them for a couple hours. The beans were a little firmer than the canned ones, but other than that, I couldn't taste a difference. Some websites claim that there's a nutritional benefit to soaking the beans yourself... but I'm still not convinced it's worth the wait.

Overnight soaking + hours of boiling vs. twisting a can opener?

Things Just Aren't What They Used To Be

Michael just sent me a link from our condominium building's website. In the About the Towers section, the last sentence in the third paragraph reads:

"When the Towers was new, according to one long-term resident, patio access to the lobby floor apartments meant that call girls could (and did) rent these units so customers could arrive and depart in privacy."

Wow, isn't that crazy? Unfortunately, now the call girls have to go through the lobby.

All the units also have an extra service door in the kitchen so the help could go in and out of the apartment without disturbing the owners or their guests.

It's just incredible how people lived just a generation ago! Ok, that's my rant... thought I'd share.

Oh, and the penthouse just went on the market if you have an extra $4.3 million. We could be neighbors!!!

Natural Gas - It's Complicated

This past week I've seen a resurgence of T. Boone Pickens on TV talking about natural gas. Then I was listening to my podcast of Talk of the Nation: Science Friday and Ira was talking about natural gas regulation too! On his show, one woman was saying how highly regulated it was and the other was saying how it's not regulated at all. This jogged my memory and I recall reading a NY Times article about fracking and how that was polluting ground water.

So of course I google it and (surprise) it's complicated! Now, I am by no means a scientist so I just wanted the down and dirty: Yes, it's good or No, it's bad. Looks like it's both. On the one hand, natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, producing less carbon dioxide per joule delivered than either coal or oil and far fewer pollutants than other fossil fuels. BUT on the other hand, natural gas itself is a greenhouse gas (methane) and it's far more potent than carbon dioxide when released into the atmosphere. BUT since it's released in much smaller quantities, it's still considered the cleanest fossil fuel. BUT if natural gas becomes a more popular fossil fuel, then it could actually be worse than the carbon emissions that we produce now with oil. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

And it seems that it is actually regulated at the state level but not regulated very heavily at the federal level, with the exception of natural gas transpiration and rates, which prevent price gouging and market manipulation (ironically regulated by my employer FERC).

Does anyone know anything about natural gas? I'd love to chat about it and get some answers. Sorry for the rant.