A bit of beauty at the Beach

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I’ve seen many things at the Bluff, but this was a real surprise!

This beautiful gated horse and decked out rider were a stunning, competent and well mannered pair with plenty of energy and patience while they awaited the parade to begin.

California Sunrise

SPOOKY TREES
Late afternoon walk through the woods
after a chilly swim in the lake.
Adirondacks, NY

There is something about walking through a deep forest that is mesmerizing, even euphoric and if you are walking very far, for very long and maybe alone in a deep forest, you may drift into a dreamy, euphoric calm or even experience a hallucinogenic state. The proverbial, natural high.

After having enjoyed hiking and camping as a child I am naturally drawn to exploring deep, silent forests wherever I find them, I understand how people could start feeling a natural high to the point of envisioning forest sites and sounds, even fairies, elves and trolls hiding behind trees wondering what you’re doing in their forest. The amazing, giant redwood trees of California and the ancient Sitka Spruces of Oregon are the embodiment of the images of fairy tails with their sky-bound tops and long, shaggy fairytale mosses hanging from seemingly timeless branches, ever the sad witnesses to the changes of Earth: It’s decay at the hands of man-not-so-kind.

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I prefer happy endings…

Another one of my favorite trees, the Jacaranda trees of Hawaii and a migrant to California. What beautiful messes they are! Craved for their mesmerizing purple blooms and large reproductive stamens, yet despised for their sticky, slimy mess that their wilted blooms make when they fall. My daughter told me the jacaranda is her favorite tree, so it’s now one of my favorites also.

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As much as we love our trees, we sacrifice them to man’s ever increasing “need” for resources for our ever-increasing human population at the cost of all others. Have you yet noticed there is NOT an “e” after the word human?

Is there no end to it? One of man’s worst traits is greed. We need more and more and more. At some point, the earth will be depleted and no longer able sustain our lust for more.

Trees abound nearly everywhere on Earth, from the equator to the North Pole where the Arctic willow, one of the smallest willows in the world only it grows to only 2-9 cm and clings to seemingly baron ground which is frozen much of the year to the brutal Sahara dessert. Rwanda.

Africa is awesome!

From the dry savannas to the desserts and the vast rocky mountains of South Africa, I have never been disappointed by the seemingly endless beauty of the Africa’s lands, animals and the people who live in their challenging ecosystem and seemingly endless mountain ranges around every turn, jutting up from every ocean shoreline. It is easy to understand why it is seen as such a profound and important place on Earth.

Two of my favorite trees, the umbrella-like acacia and the venerable baobab trees, which sounds like what they look like; bulbous, thick, unassuming and sturdy yet somehow reverent.

Baobabs are one of the largest and most important trees in all of where they grow, as they are able to provide shelter and wood. The leaves of the tree are used for making soup and the tree has some medicinal purposes in some regions of Africa for treating ailments such as wounds, diarrhea, asthma, fever, and malaria.

FINISH…………………………..

yet beautiful and natural surroundings. The raw and very often dry wilderness where the animal inhabitants live and die by the laws of the survival of the fittest.

(No, that’s not a monkey in the front and center of that image, it’s my husband.) LOL My favorite explorer.

A New Year Morning Run

It was a foggy morning. Chilly yet still and perfectly silent. So I Went back to bed for an extra hour. Finally, by 9:30 a.m. the fog lifted enough to run. It’s not that I don’t want to run in the fog, but there aren’t enough people on the beach for me to feel reasonably safe. Sad but true. Not that Long Beach has any reputation of being dangerous, like Santa Monika peer has become, but still, there are random homeless people here and there sometimes.

It’s always colder in my place than it is outside, so I slipped on my Nike long-sleeve over my t-shirt. Velcrowed my tiny key pouch onto a running shoe and set out with my ActivityTracker turned on. No Power Beats. I enjoy being in the moment: listening to the seagulls screeching, half a dozen in chase to steal a morsal from rgw the poor guy flying his/her heart-out to save his hard won tidbit of edible god-only-knows-what. Dog Beach is a shot of vitamin B and happiness in one. The dogs are having such a great time. Some are just sniffing, trying to figure out the other dogs. Others have been here many time and jump joyfulling into the waves to retrieve their soggy tennis ball…for the 20th time. For dogs, the beach is a ball!

The sound of the waves is hypnotizing in a relaxing way that I can’t get from music, not even from Enya…though her music is hypnotically uplifting and wonderful in other ways. Another perk, just watching other people relax, play with their dogs and kids, chat with loved ones… is very uplifting. I don’t have to be the subject of the attention to benefit from it. Enjoy!

(Dog shots later)

Pelicans Enjoying Bolsa Chica Wetlands Reserve

Bolsa Chica Bird Sanctuary

A serene haven in the middle of the cities and just across the street from the ocean

Volunteers planting

Community spirit coming together, Families, students and friends work together to pull invasive plants and to plant native trees and shrubs.

View of the water

View from a trail

 

The clouds were awesome today! I’ve never seen so many types of amazing clouds all from one view point.

Bolsa Chica Bird Sanctuary

See the cotton ball clouds in the upper left corner?

Below is what the clouds looked like when I turned 180 degrees to face into the sun..

Sun behind clouds

And finally a trail view. Miles of walking trails with dedicated birders, walkers, runners and nature photographers arriving dawn to dusk.

View of the water

View from a trail

RIP Beautiful boys. Best friends for 13 years passed over peacefully at home in their yard together on Halloween morning.

We will miss them and love them always.

Farm fresh produce to schools endangered

Awhile back on an NPR report the government was making it more and more difficult for schools and local farmers to benefit directly from each other.

To be continued…

Good golly great greens!

Okay, so one of these veggies is purple cabbage, but still, it counts as a “green” food.

Testing a couple apps for posting ideas.

https://spark.adobe.com/page/lozOkK2WWfOB1/

Stir fry 3 ways

The best way to make a healthy dinner different and delicious every day of the week.

I would like to say fast, but the veggie, meat and sauce prep can take a little more time than making a hamburger. I have learned to enjoy the process of creating recipes, cutting and prepping the ingredients and perfecting the cook times and methods. Stir fry’s seem so simple, but they can take some practice to cook all the different ingredients just right for great flavor and texture.

A shortlist of my basic ingredients for a flavorful sauce starts with a fresh olive, grapeseed, or toasted sesame oil. I splash some sesame oil on at the end with toasted sesame seeds, cashews, raw sunflower, pumpkin or hemp seeds especially when I’m not adding any animal protein.

After browning the animal protein, shrimp, scallops, chicken, beef or pork I deglaze the pan with rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar in a pinch. I place delicate proteins, such as, shrimp and scallops, in a separate bowl so they won’t over cook.

Then I sauté the chopped onion with a dash of salt then clear a circle at the bottom of the pan to add in the minced garlic. After a few minutes, when the onions are a little translucent, I’ll toss in quartered mushrooms to give them plenty of time to release their juices. Then I add a root vegetable like burdock root, carrots, beets, (yellow as muddy red is not a good look for a stir fry).

Finally I layer the remainder of the ingredients, usually vegetables based on their hardness, therefore, cooking times. A quick list of my favorites and in order of adding to wow: kale, mustard greens, celery, peas green or snap, boc choy, bell peppers etc. I sauté each ingredient for a very short time before tossing in herbs and sometimes cubed tofu or another alternative proteins that just need to be heated.

At this point I’ll splash in some sesame oil, soy sauce or go in a different direction with dash of curry spice, plum paste, oyster or fish sauce, saracha or any other flavorings that are complementary to the mix of vegetables and proteins I’ve added. I would like to say I plan this before starting to sauté, but I often change my mind at the last minute, assuming I had a plan to begin with. I admit this is not a good practice. I have rarely discovered superb flavors combos using this method…

Put a little, or a lot, of spice in your life

Cooking is like swimming. Everyone should know how to do it.

Whether you’re a beginner or consider yourself to be an excellent cook, there is always more to learn. Cooking classes are for everyone from kids to seniors, couples, groups, extroverts and they are particularly good for introverts.

I love taking cooking classes. Chef Tech’s cooking classes  in Long Beach CA, range from Kides cupcake baking parties to their intensive Culinary Arts Program. They also offer everything from Pro Baking to sushi making and a variety of special occasion, seasonal and cultural meals. The classes are fun, relaxed and yet intense in a laid-back sort of way. More importantly I learned more precise cooking methods, and convinced my non-detail oriented side, that in cooking, details are the key to excellent results. Students ranged from a 16-year-old chef-in-training to a 70-year-old gentlemen with a keen eye for culinary perfection, a newly married couple, beginning and skilled foodies of all flavors. They even have kids classes and summer camps!

 

Chef Teck Cooking School

Chef Teri’s energy and humor makes for an upbeat, social learning experience.

Chef Tech cooking school in Long Beach CA is a great place to take your first cooking class or to embrace a more in-depth culinary experience with their Pro classes for baking and their advanced series of culinary skills. I’ve enjoyed many cooking classes. My first cooking class was with Richard Ruben in his Manhattan, NY cooking.  The recipes were based on his Farmer’s Market Cookbook. The class began at Manhattan’s Union Square open-air Greenmarket. What I loved was his ease in getting his group of students immediately involved in choosing produce. He simply said, “if you see any vegetables or herbs that you aren’t familiar with, let me know. Chef Ruben bought whatever anyone pointed out and made up recipes on the fly at his Tribecca flat. My take awy, butternut squash soup I’ve cooked many dozens of times in dozens of ways and never been disappointed.

Fast forward to Abby’s Table, Portland Oregon’s darling of healthy, vegan, gluten free, social cooking classes and catering. Abby Fammartino’s healthy culinary classes have a relaxed, friendly atmosphere with a classy group meal following high-lighting the delicious healthy recipes we learned to cook that day.

The Farmer’s Market Cookbook

by Chef Richard Ruben

Abby’s Table Essential Sauces + Sides: Naturally gluten, dairy, and soy-free recipes to please every palate

By Chef Abby Fammartino