slipping, slippers

I slip ever further behind on blogging. A week in Anaheim, a long weekend in the UP. These conspire against me. I feel as though I'm writing many more apologies for not writing entries than writing actual entries. Merde.

I still have photos from KC in May that I want to post. Add to that content from the ALA conference last week. But for now, pretty flowers. A nod to Jeph - I can't compete with his garden (we don't even have a sacrificial plant on the balcony this summer), but I can see lovely gardens and wildflowers on my travels.

We counted about 70 of these showy lady slippers along the roadside near Escanaba this weekend. We also counted a couple of holes where people had dug up some clumps - a no-no given that the orchids are protected. They're a little past their prime but no less attractive for it.

LA

11:09 PM, and the sound of the wind whipping rain against the windows has me wondering if it's late autumn outside or, worse, a December night of sleet and snow. Conrad's flight is due on the ground in a couple of hours, and I hope there aren't delays from the weather. It'll be a late enough night as it is.

I'm knackered, and though I should blog a whole bunch of the conference week, I'm not up to it. Travel, bad eating today, a 5 km timed swim when I got back to Chicago - all have taken their toll. Instead I'll simply finish this post I began at John Wayne International Airport this morning.

Last Friday was mostly an off day for me at the conference. I had had to go in for a Thursday orientation, and that left a day to catch up with CG, popping into LA to visit with her friend Kerry.

CG had a rental car, and I attempted to navigate. Between us we made it to Kerry's place, or so we thought. Good thing we were early - this was Kerry's workplace instead. That river? The Los Angeles River, I think.

We did make it to Brentwood after a phone call or two, and after pleasantries, we strolled in the neighbourhood while Kerry pointed out the sights normally seen in In Touch and Us Weekly. Cool. Never let it be said I'm above cheesy pop culture. Even cooler? Kerry, who works in television, has two real honest-to-goodness Emmy Awards. Wow.

The morning fog had burned off, so we got into a car and headed beachward, landing at Santa Monicawhere we roamed a little and wandered into the gorgeous Hotel Casa Del Mar. When I grow up, I want to afford staying there!





Westwood was our next stop, and more specifically, In-N-Out Burger. What is it with this place? It's THE thing in California, it seems. I grant you, it is a good, freshly made burger and fries. They only do that, and they do them well. Still, it's funny to hear people on my airport shuttle ask the driver if he can take them 20 miles out of our way to go get some burgers. The three of us ordered the double-double with grilled onions.



Dessert? Of course. Hey, I did the hotel treadmill/weights that morning (though after a week of conference eating and little real exercise, I'm really reluctant to weigh myself). Kerry took us around the corner to Diddy Riese for cookies. For a buck-fifty (!) I had two peanut butter cookies sandwiched with cookies-'n'-cream ice cream. It lasted the two block walk back to the parkade.
It is funny, though, that I spent a week in this same neighbourhood in 2005 when I attended a workshop at UCLA. I never found my way to either of these institutions. Shame on me!

Kerry had to get to work after that, so we retrieved the rental and all headed back to where CG and I first went to that morning. Kerry works for the CBS flagship in LA, at their studios. He gave us a tour around the news facilities and some of the studio lot, pointing out sound stages for shows, sets, and mementos. CG and I were a little agog: it's hard to conceive that real people actually work in these places and that we were there. Again, cool. And over in time to get us on the freeway back to Anaheim before rush hour kicked in.





Back in Anaheim, we caught up with a colleague from Penn over a drink at a hotel, then CG and I made our way to a simple meal of salad, pizza, and (wonderfully inexpensive) red wine over at California Pizza Kitchen. Satisfying, utterly, and whatever stresses of travel the day before were far from my mind after such a fine day with CG and Kerry.

In Anaheim

Conference time, this year in Anaheim. Much to post, but I've lollygagged too much already this morning. I need to shower, shave, iron, get dressed, get coffee, and get over to the conference center for another jampacked day. So consider this a quick hello for maybe even a few days. Rest assured, we're diligently undertaking conference activities!

cookies = pain in the...

The things I do for love. Or, in other words, the things I do for Conrad. He loves these cookies, as does his family. Since we'll be up in the UP for the 4th of July weekend, I made some themed cut-out cookies and decorated them up yesterday. We've got a bunch in the freezer now.

He thinks they're fun and tasty, but he's not the one in the kitchen for hours. But I love him, and he DID help with dishes, so...

Note, please, the maple leaves. The 4th of July isn't the most important day of next week, after all! The green cookies were using a lot of blue food colouring. Ah well. Green they are this time! I also tried a neat trick of filling holes in the cookies before they went in the oven with pieces of crushed hard fruit candies. A neat stained glass effect. I'll have to practice with that for Christmas.

My decorating hand is not as steady as Jeph's, but they are edible, so that counts for something!

Frontera Foundation dinner, 2008

Wow. And oh my goodness.

So then, 11:13 on a Sunday night, and I'm rather glad I'm taking tomorrow as a (very legitimate - I have two article drafts and a grant proposal) research leave day. We've had quite a dinner, and I need some water before bed.

Anyone who reads this blog knows that Yoshi's has a special place in my heart - it's truly my favourite Chicago restaurant. But there is a big world of non-Yoshi's dining out there, and the Rick Bayless empire has a pretty supreme position in that.

Tonight we dined in Topolobampo. The 6th annual Frontera Foundation dinner, and I have to say, it was superb from beginning to end.

Conrad and I joined RAD and some others to make up a table of 7. All were exceptionally good and enjoyable company (Dianne, Jim, RAD, Linda, and Tim).

Better still, most of us won silent auction items or raffle items, or both in one case! Fun! We got ourselves gussied up


and made our way down there in time o beat one of the rain/hail storms passing through.

But you're here for the food, so let's press onward with that.

After the Margarita of the Midway (flavoured with rhubarb and prickly pear), it was on to an opening bite: Pizza #1. Handmade artisanal grassfed Jack and cheddar on flaky filo crust with Sungold tomato jellies and Green City Market basil.
Light, flaky, a simple bite that had the delightful fragrance of the basil. Fun!

The first real course: Smoked Rushing Waters trout with cattail shaved ice and shoots salad. People, that was cattail shaved ice. Seriously, who thinks of these things? Gold star. Wow. A great taste combination, a little bit of zing to it. Carlos, the managing partner, brought out a raw cattail to explain to us the use of it as an ingredient, which only added to the experience. Above all, though? The crispy trout skin. Lovely. Jill paired this with the 2007 Viña Esmeralda, Torres Family Winery. I don't think I can rave enough about how lovely the wine pairings were tonight. I'll try.

Next up, my favourite. Conrad and I discussed this in the cab home, and I still have to say this was the course I most liked. Which is high praise, you should understand - the food was delightful tonight. But this, ahhhhh. Homemade chorizo soup with 45-minute slow-poached egg and puffed hand-harvested Minnesota wild rice.
The photos show the egg and sausage before and after the broth was poured into the bowl. The wine was the 2005 Nerola from Torres.

Fish again - not a complaint. Wild Alaskan troll-caught king salmon with green chile "pesto", hickory nut pipián, and fresh corn tamal filled with goat cheese. The wine really surprised us - a Spanish Pinot Noir. We're not experts, but we'd never encountered a Spanish Pinot. the 2006 Mas Borràs Pinot Noir was a revelation. I was down visiting the other end of the table during this course, but I could see how delighted Conrad was with this pouring.

On to the meat with a course of Grill-roasted pork loin with spicy red curry, grilled garlic scapes, coconut-mango rice, and smoky asparagus.
Wait, we're at Frontera? Curry? It worked, marvelously. The wine was a 2006 Atrium Merlot - I should note that I more than happily had additional pours of each red after dinner.

Finally it came time for dessert: Pizza #2. Cute idea. Homemade puff pastry with Wisconsin hickory nut cream, strawberries and rhubarb, jellied crema and applemint. Maybe I'm in a mint mood these days, but I think that particular flavour made the dessert. For wine we enjoyed the non-vintage Aqua d'Or, from the Torres Family Vineyard (like all the wines tonight).

We finished the evening with tequila. No, I lie. I tasted a bit of each of the three tequilas and then opted for cafe de olla plus more red wine.

Tonight was all for a good cause, more than just my tummy. But goodness, if only every good cause could be so much fun, so satisfying. We won a silent auction item, we brought home grab-bag goodies, and we utterly enjoyed the company at the table. Soon time for bed, but I think I need to come down a little from such an evening. Enjoy the photos!