Gorbachev - Fashion Model

Did I hear right? The big news in the fashion industry is that Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, will be modeling for Louis Vuitton’s new luggage line. If that’s not enough to make you do a double take, he will be donating all proceeds from his modeling gig to Conservation International, whose spokesperson is none other than Al Gore. Talk about crossing political, ideological and stereotypical barriers, this really takes the cake. Go Gorby!

Hello SF!

I am all settled in beautiful San Francisco and truly enjoying this wonderful city. My arrival on the other hand wasn’t so pleasant… I arrived on Aug. 14 at eight in the evening and got home at 10 pm because I was sent to the Homeland Security room. Why why why??? What took up most of my time there was the waiting, and then I was asked some incredibly inane questions that took all of three minutes. I have absolutely no idea why they called me in and I had no intention of prolonging my stay at the airport by demanding to know the reasons why I was directed to them. I’ve been coming to SF for the past twenty years and staying in the same apartment. Whatever reasons they may have, it’s insane. And to top it all, when I got home to the apartment my keys didn’t work because, apparently, the locks were changed a year ago and no one bothered to tell me. Luckily my neighbors, the Ziegler’s, were awake and let me in. Still none of that could bring me down. I was glad to be in SF and that was the last of my bad luck.

The next day I cleaned up the apartment and shopped for my necessities. The first place I went to was Whole Foods and I bought some of the things I love about SF – unpasteurized raw milk, artisan bread, miso mayo, soup in a carton (wasn’t to good, but very convenient), salmon smoked in ginger and tea, sliced turkey with bits of chipotle pepper, parma ham, some very fresh veggies and Odwalla juices. I think I have enough food for two weeks.

The weather is perfect and everything is working out smoothly. It took me some time to decide what laptop to get and to order internet access. I finally decided on a MacBook, I love it! My PC in Manila was giving me to much trouble, which is one of the reasons I hardly updated my blogs. Well, that all changes now…

As for my garden/farm, I left it as is and told the remaining farmers they could plant their own produce and sell it on their own. In return they are caretakers of my property. Before I left, Mario planted corn and I got a batch of delicious sweet corn in time for my Bon Voyage party. I had to leave my pets, who will be well taken care of, at my apartment with my helper. I miss them terribly. Thank god my cousin will be moving in with her fiancé in a couple of months. Hopefully they have a happy home life once again. My Mom and sister Marta took me to the airport, lots of hugs all around.

Open-faced Smoked Salmon Sandwich

a slice of Italian rustic bread
miso mayonnaise or plain mayo
mixed clover & radish sprouts
smoked wild salmon

Spread mayo on lightly toasted bread. Top with sprouts and smoked salmon. Delish.

Recipe: Zucchini, Caper & Anchovy Salad

I found this recipe in an old cookbook given to me as a birthday gift by my youngest cousin a few years back. This salad is easy to make, refreshing and absolutely delicious! It's also a bit unusual for me because it uses raw zucchini which I've never had before.

Zucchini, Caper & Anchovy Salad
from Classic Italian Cuisine edited by Rosemary Moon

450 - 500 grams zucchini
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon capers
4-6 anchovies, chopped
1 tablespoon anchovy oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
juice of half a lemon
salt & pepper

Trim the zucchini and slice them very thinly (by hand or machine). Mix with the onion, capers and chopped anchovies. Make the dressing by mixing the oils, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss the dressing with the salad ingredients.

Salad Days

Who said dieting had to be a dreary undertaking? I need to lose 1o pounds to get back to my normal weight and I was well on my way to losing the weight I put on a couple of years ago, but visiting J in Bacolod last week for a week of pure gluttony was no help at all. The food in Bacolod is irresistible and hanging out with another foodie spelled disaster for my figure. So I'm back in the city, exercising and dieting. My diet consists of lots of fruits and vegetables from the organic market (using organic produce makes a huge difference in terms of flavor and when your dieting flavor counts a lot!) and absolutely no starch. In the mornings I have a bowl of pineapple and cottage cheese or granola with low-fat milk. For lunch I have a big salad and in the evenings, it varies, sometimes I have an omelet or fish or some more salad or cereal. The two salads I've made so far are really good and I'm not missing anything by being on this diet. This could be a habit...


Tuna & Green Bean Salad

1 can tuna in brine, drained
1 can anchovies, chopped, reserve oil
a handful of green beans
salad greens mix
a good extra-virgin olive oil
a good balsamic vinegar

Steam the green beans for 3 minutes. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

Toss the salad greens with some olive oil. Then toss everything else together with the greens.


Eggplant & Sardine Salad

3 Japanese eggplants (the long kind)
3 sardines in oil, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
a good balsamic vinegar
seafood seasoning

Grill the eggplants until charred, peel and chop to 1-inch pieces. Toss everything in a bowl.

Delicious!

Victims and Survivors

I'm glad to announce that my garden is recovering from last month's erratic weather. The unexpected rains and uncommon heat were too much for my tomato seedlings and cauliflower, but my greens, surprisingly, survived. The past two weeks I harvested mustard greens, bok choy and romaine lettuce. I've actually been having a steady supply of salad greens since I decided to leave them in the propagation house/greenhouse to grow. This month's harvest of lettuce had a normal appearance, unlike last month's and the months before when the lettuce seedlings core grew into a stem which gave the plants an alien appearance. It was still delicious though and didn't stop me from making my salads.

Growing one's own vegetables certainly gives one a first hand look at Climate Change. I was certainly brutally aware of the unusual weather's effects. November thru February are usually the cool-dry months of the year. So it was quite disturbing when the heat reached 90 degrees F and at the same time storms were still brewing way past their season. On the BBC's environmental report today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded, with 90% accuracy, that Climate Change is caused by humans. Despite scientists persistent declarations of the reality of Climate Change it seems that the US government is consistently politicizing scientific reports on the matter (The US is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the world and is the only first world country that hasn't agreed to the Kyoto Protocol), according to The Union of Concerned Scientists. Because of this, the world is having a hard time controlling or reversing Climate Change. The greatest fear is that sea levels are rising which is causing havoc to climates all over the world. It is quite scary. Especially when it is causing damage to our food supply.

EU's New Climate Change Target

On the news today is the EU’s new proposal for targets on Climate Change emission standards. It seems like they are proposing a 20% decrease on greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. Although this has just been proposed and not yet approved by the member countries they seem to be patting themselves on the back and proudly stating that this is “the most ambitious policy ever”.

"If this was adopted it would be by far the most ambitious policy ever -- not only in Europe but the world -- against climate change," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference.

Whether these policies ever get implemented is anybody’s guess. Sadly, even if these policies come to fruition, the targets are not nearly enough to make significant progress in the fight against Climate Change.

"Scientific findings show that it simply won't be enough for the EU to only reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020 if we want to avoid catastrophic climate change," said Jan Kowalzig, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.

When will policy makers actually listen to the scientists? It would take cooperation between all countries of the world and drastic measures to affect Climate Change. Considering the catastrophic impact of neglecting what scientists have been saying for decades about Climate Change it is mind-boggling that governments are not more inclined to make the environment the top of their agenda.

Climate Change websites:
Union of Concerned Scientists
An Inconvenient Truth
Fight Global Warming

Happy New Year and a Wonderful 2007!

Disaster

My poor vegetables were wiped out by the brief but unusually strong storm last month. The only thing that survived were some Japanese eggplants which I'm harvesting today. Its such a pity and I was devastated. I won't be posting as often until I have more produce. So in the meantime you can check my other, recently created, blog - still about food of course.

Postcards From Vienna

In my last post I joined the Blogger Postcards of the World exchange and yesterday I got some in my mail. What a pleasant surprise to find not one but 4 postcards from my secret sender. Johanna of The Passionate Cook wrote all about her homeland Vienna although she lives in London. I love to travel and discover new things and places so her write up was much appreciated. I must admit Vienna was not one of my list of places to visit and that's because I didn't know much about it. Thank you Johanna for sparking an interest in me. Vienna has much to offer in the way of culture and architecture which spans from the Baroque period to the present modern day. It is the birthplace of Johann Strauss, whose music, according to Johanna, "embodies everything that is Vienna and the Viennese". She adds, that the Viennese concert every New Year is transmitted to over 40 nations. I will certainly try to catch that this New Year's. What a wonderful thing! Johanna also wrote about Vienna's coffee culture. I do love hanging out in cafes and I do have an awful sweet tooth for good pastry. She writes that the foremost intellectuals 100 years ago use to spend hours lingering in cafes over a cup of coffee, sharing thoughts. Nowadays, friends gather in cafes for coffee, pastry and chatting. Not a bad idea. Johanna shall I meet you there someday?

Blogger Postcards From The World Event

Meeta from blog What's For Lunch Honey? has come up with a fun blog event wherein each participant sends and recieves a post card from a randomly picked blogger. Here's my postcard...


I took this picture a month ago while attending an organic food convention in Bacolod. This creek runs through my cousin's 100 hectare land which he converted from agricultural land to a wildlife sanctuary. Indegenous trees were planted about 10 years ago when this property was stripped bare. See how lush it is now?