Heading out

I'm still not done packing for my US trip, but by request, I am making a quick update to say that I am outta here for a bit. Here being Seattle. I'm off to California this afternoon, to meet Christinahead, for our quick tour of northern CA (yosemite, redwoods, tahoe, etc) and to spend some more time with my cousin Jim. Then I am off to TX for Susie's wedding in Dallas and a quick visit to my aunt in Houston. Then to NY to see family and pick blueberries in CT. Next on the itinerary is CO, to see my cousin Larry, and then do a WildernessVolunteers trip through Eagles Nest Wilderness. Christina and I are still working out the rest of the details - but currently plan on renting a car, driving through CO, UT and to Las Vegas. There's a possible extension plan to continue to the Grand Canyon and end up in LA with Farkas, but all is still unknown. After that, I am heading to MN to see my friend Kristine who is getting married. And finally, after all that, returning to Seattle.

Jun 26 - SEA to OAK, staying in Berkeley one night, then Yosemite, etc.
Jul 6 - OAK to DFW, staying in Dallas and visiting Houston
Jul 9 - DFW to LGA, hitting Flushing and going home to CT
Jul 17 - LGA to DEN, Fort Collins, Breckenridge, and western bits and beyond
Aug ?? - ?? to MSP
Aug ?? - MSP to SEA

We are currently seeking suggestions on hikes to do in Yosemite (Half Dome has already been suggested a half dozen times), other places to visit in CA (Mono Lake is on the list), and cool things to do in CO and UT (Escalante, Bryce, Zion, Arches are on the list). So comment away or email me!

Bad Directions

I'm meeting my friend, Craig, for lunch today. I google mapped how to get to his office and was surprised at just how bad the directions were! Redmond to Snoqualmie is really only a half hour drive - not a cross-Atlantic trip!

Photo Essay: Berkeley and Oakland

My last days in Berkeley were spent sleeping with Mo, and sometimes Marcus would join us. Here they are being unusually affectionate with each other.


I also spent my time packing up, getting ready for the return to Seattle. Here, Mo is checking out the huge bag that my sister gave me.


Mo and I became quite attached. Here she is laying down on top of me, preventing me getting any more packing done. We enjoyed this position for a good 20 minutes at least. Such is the pace of my life these days.


I tried another gluten-free recipe. This time crepes. I would have like to use buckwheat flour, but didn't have any on hand, so used a recipe from one of Gretchen's books. I don't know if lack of refrigeration botched the thickening or if the book was just way off. I had to seriously adjust the ingredients as the batter was way too thin. I filled them with spinach, mushrooms, onions and chicken. This was the side-dish to a delicious dinner that KC and Gretchen whipped up.


On Sunday, my cousin Jim came over to pick me up. We gave him a tour of the house and sculpture garden. Then we were off to Oakland Chinatown for some yummy food at Shan Dong. (The yelp review is pretty good - If you know any chinese at all, read the one from 3/16/07 - hilarious for the mandarin-english translations.)


Unfortunately, we were late in meeting his sister/my cousin, Emily, there. Thankfully she was patient and stayed extra to chat with us. Emily is a teacher in the Bay area, recently returned from 7 years abroad studying Buddhism. Jim is an avid bicyclist and his girlfriend Susan was away working the Lifecycle ride to LA. Since Emily already ate, Jim and I shared 7 dishes (Shan Dong special dumplings, jiu-tsai cakes, sweet do-jiang, seaweed salad, vegetarian bun, a tofu dish, and yo-tiao).


Jim and I walked around Chinatown afterwards, where we spotted this car. That's right, take a closer look at that license plate.


We picked up some mini egg puff treats - which I was excited to try because they're one of my favorite things to get in NYC Chinatown. The woman in NY sells bags for a dollar each, and they're fresh made from her little cart and ready to go in minutes if not seconds. The ones I saw in Oakland were in a cafe, took at least 15 minutes to order and prepare, were 3 times as expensive and tasted like fortune cookies. I wouldn't recommend it.


We also spotted cherries for 99 cents a pound. So I bought a bag to bring home to Gretchen and KC. I put them in a tray next to the 3.99 a pound cherries from Berkeley Bowl and the 6.99 Rainier cherries from the Berkeley Organic Farmer's market. I split the Chinatown cherries into 2 sections - the normal looking ones and the mutant, double butted ones. The blind taste test resulted in the Berkeley Bowl cherries in first place, with the mutant Chinatown cherries in a close second. The others were far behind in 3rd and 4th.


I also made a gluten-free Italian Herb Bread. It turned out really well - even better than the French Bread. I used fresh parsley from Gretchen's garden.

Italian Herb Bread
adapted from The Best Gluten-Free Family Cookbook by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt

1 1/3 c sorghum flour
1/2 c whole bean flour
1/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca starch
1/4 c granulated sugar
2.5 t xanthan gum
2 t instant yeast
1 1/4 t salt
1/4 c snipped fresh parsley
2 t ground dried marjoram
2 t ground dried thyme
2 eggs
1 1/4 c water
1/4 c oil
1 t cider vinegar

1. In large bowl, combine flours, starches, sugar, gum, yeast, salt, herbs. Mix well.
2. In separate bowl, combine eggs, water, oil and vinegar until well blended. Slowly add dry ingredients at low speed until combined. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Beat at medium for 4 min.
3. Spoon into 9x5 greased loaf pan. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm, draft-free place for 60-75 min or until dough has risen to the top of the pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 35-45 min (until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom). Remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

I woke up on my last morning to Marcus sitting at my feet, laying on her back and cleaning herself. KC, Gretchen and I fit in a few more rounds of cards. I had taught them how to play Vietnamese Poker (with a more forgiving format than Tuyet's Grandma allowed) and we'd been playing all week, keeping tally of the score. KC couldn't pull himself out of a huge deficit, and we promised to start over from scratch in Seattle for the next 13 Cards Tournament. (Here's a site with rules pretty close to how we play.)

I flew out of Oakland, to LA, and then to Seattle. Yes, it was cheaper to go south first rather than a direct flight north. Crazy what I'll do to save $50. That was Monday June 11.

Gluten Free Galore

Yesterday I made a gluten-free tabbouleh using quinoa (pronounced key-nwah, not chin-o-uh). My sister usually makes it using cous-cous and others make using bulghur wheat - both no-no's for Gretchen's diet. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, so here's one in the tupperware container for the leftovers.

Quinoa Tabbouleh
Most time is spent chopping and chilling. This is a refreshing summer dish that can serve as a lunch or appetizer.

2 c water
1 c quinoa
3 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c lemon juice
3 green onion stalks, minced
1/4 c fresh mint, minced
1 T cilantro, minced
salt
3 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1 cucumber, finely chopped
(missing: 1/4 c pine nuts, 1/2 c parsley)

1. Rinse quinoa well first so it won't be bitter. Bring water and quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed and kernels are soft.
   
2. Combine oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Mix with quinoa.
3. Add greens and veggies. Mix well. Chill.
4. Serve with bread or over mixed greens.
   

Today I made a gluten-free French Bread. This came out surprisingly well and was really quick to put together, given that it was a yeast bread. The rising time was only 15 minutes! Gretchen really enjoyed this and we ate it plain and with leftover tabbouleh.

Fat-free French Bread
Note that potato starch flour is different from potato flour! Tapioca flour is the same as tapioca starch.

1 1/3 c + 1 T white rice flour
scant 1/2 c potato starch flour
2/9 c tapioca flour
2.5 t xanthan gum
1.5 t sugar
1 t salt
2 t instant yeast
1 t vinegar
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1.5 c warm water (110-115 deg)

1. Grease a French bread pan (or make your own out of a doubled piece of heavy foil about the length of the cookie sheet, to form a long curved mold).
2. Combine flours, xanthan gum, sugar, salt and yeast in large mixing bowl. Whisk well or mix through sieve.
3. Add the vinegar, egg whites, and water. Beat at medium speed for 3 min.
4. Spoon dough into the mold to almost full length. Smooth the top.
5. Cover and let rise for 15 min. Preheat oven to 400.
6. Bake for 1 hour. Turn down to 350 and bake another 15 min.
   
7. While hot, tear it apart to eat. Once cool, cut with knife.

When I was driving home from lunch with my uncle, I noticed a bumper sticker in front of me: Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

I keep forgetting to take a picture of my uncle whenever I see him. Sitting across from him, I noticed how much he resembles my dad at times and sometimes his mother/my grandmother as well.

Yoko also stopped by today - she loved the house. Here's a link to original pictures: bantadesign Go to Projects - Residential - XYZ House

Day Off

I had the day to myself yesterday to wander around San Francisco. I started in Russian Hill and walked up Polk St (south). I stopped at Quetzal to get a mango-banana-pineapple smoothie. It was delicious. I then went to an Indian grocery store, New India Bazzar, not too far down the road. It's a very small store, especially compared to what I'm used to (Mayuri in Redmond). But they had some idly mix and some chutney powder which was what I was looking for. I still didn't have my debit card on me, so I had to get at least $15 worth to use my credit card. I made out with some papads, cashews and a pongal mix.

I continued walking south then east in order to get through Chinatown. It felt like home again. I miss chinatowns - I realize more and more that Seattle's lack of a decent chinatown makes me sad. I only had one dollar bill on me, so couldn't splurge on all the amazing food I saw - I passed on the boxes of mangoes, fresh made dumplings and bakery sweets like dan-ta (egg custard). Instead, I spent 90 cents to get my lunch: a cha-siu bao (bbq pork bun) and a mantou (steamed sweet roll). It was amazingly delicious. The place was on the right, walking north on Stockton. Its whole front counter was completely dedicated to steamed breads - huge vats of water and steamer baskets. It was like a little piece of heaven.

I continued north and west, crossing over the hill via Vallejo, climbing up the hundreds of stairs and enjoyed the view from the top. I rested at Yoko's trying to get some work done. But the free wireless available was being extremely flaky and driving me nuts. I looked up other free hotspots and considered going to Notes from the Underground, which was a close enough walk. However, by then, I had firmed up plans to meet Theresa at her hotel. She was in town for business. And the Courtyard Marriott she was staying at advertised free wireless in the lobby. So I packed up and took off towards downtown.

I got a chance to look at my cousin's pictures from his recent annual Memorial Day bbq. I also happened on another album - one dedicated to my uncle, his late father. I had only just arrived in France when he passed away and wasn't able to attend the funeral. Looking through the pictures made me miss him and regret not being able to spend more time with him. I think this is part of what drives me to go to Taiwan - to spend time with my only remaining grandparent.

KC and Grr were kind enough to pick Theresa and I from the lobby and drive us over to Richmond, the new Chinatown district. We met Abby at a Burmese place on California and 6th called Mandalay. There were a few interesting dishes (tea leaf salad, rainbow salad) but I think I like a well made Peking duck over the tea-smoked duck there.

This morning I made idlies for breakfast - mix 1 part idly mix with 1.5 parts water. Spoon into greased idly pan and steam for 12-15 minutes. Serve with chutney (chutney powder mixed with oil). Simple and delicious.

Memory Lane

I'm sitting now in Yoko's apartment in Russian Hill in San Francisco. She graciously lent it to me for the night while she is away. I found our college yearbook in her bookshelf and just flipped through the whole thing. It felt as if I'd never seen it before (but surely in any of the visits I've paid to Yoko in the 6 years since graduating, I've at least glanced at it, right?). I still laugh at Lauren Rankin's commencement speech. Seeing so many familiar faces, it felt like attending a reunion of sorts. My picture isn't in the portrait section of any of the college yearbooks - I don't think I ever cared enough to get my photo taken on picture days. It didn't seem like a big deal. However, I did make it in to some ultimate photos - who submitted the one of me and Amy Fair in spring break swimwear?! I had no idea. Flipping through is like a trip down memory lane - people I haven't thought about since college, but recognize instantly when I see their photo.

Yoko and I spent the last day and a half together. I got my haircut at her favorite place - her cutter/stylist convinced me to go longer than I wanted - and I don't think I'm happy with it. I'm willing to give it more time, but think I might go get another chop soon. We enjoyed lunch by the ferry terminal and then went to the Marina District to camp out while I got some work done and she napped (having flown in from Japan, she was really jet lagged). We met up with her friend Diane for dinner at a Mexican place around the corner, then returned home for an early night. This morning I did more research, grabbed lunch with Yoko, hung out at a cafe (The Grove, apparently where Friendster was started), book browsed, grocery shopped, and then returned home. I made the salad while Yoko prepared the pasta bolognese for dinner.

Quick and Easy Salad
(serves 2 - adjust servings as necessary and to taste)

mixed greens
fresh grapefruit slices (1/2)
avocado slices (1/2)
roma tomato chunks (1)
1 clove chopped garlic
1 t Dijon mustard
2 T balsamic vinegar
6 T oil
salt and pepper

Mix garlic, mustard and vinegar thoroughly. Add oil and shake. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with greens. Add grapefruit, avocado and tomatoes. Done.

And continuing in reverse order, last week, after the Trouts left, Gretchen and I hung out at her house getting some work done and decided to sign up for a tournament (CAL States) for the upcoming weekend. We went to Tuesday night pickup to get some ultimate in, where I nearly regretted signing up. Just doing the lap around the field was making me winded. Thursday, KC encouraged us to go on a run around the 'hood - again, a near death situation. My compartment syndrome still comes back on hard surfaces - not made any easier by the feeling of burning lungs battling the up hill course.

I undid any benefit of the short run by eating way too much at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Berkeley (Great China Restaurant, 2115 Kittredge, 510-843-7996). We met my uncle (San Bo = 3rd uncle) and my cousin (Jim) there. We had entirely too much excellent food, including Peking Duck, double skin dish (only available here!), sauteed crab-egg with sweet man-tou, fresh sweet chives with chicken, pork and tofu dish, and a lamb dish. My uncle even ordered a dessert (sticky rice) on top of the standard orange slices and fortune cookies you normally get.

A few minutes after returning home, GMul and Jo showed up at the door, having flown in from Seattle. We caught up a bit that night, made breakfast together, went into town for lunch (Indian buffet), and then fired up the grill for dinner. In between eating, I managed to get some work done, including buying my return ticket to Seattle (June 11).

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early. We had ended the night in a heated debate and didn't get as much sleep as planned. We picked up Rob before driving down to Santa Cruz (Jo and GMul had left earlier - they play on an elite women's team. Grr, Rob and I were picking up with a last minute throw together team in the coed division). We warmed up on the most beautiful ultimate fields I've seen in over a year. The grass was green and plush - slightly wet from dew and fog - just the perfect kind for laying out. Just as I was reveling in the moment - of being able to run around again and enjoy the outdoors, my vision started to go. I stupidly decided to finish the point before going to rest. Of course, it ended up being the longest point of the game with a time out called in the middle. By the end of it, I was nearly blind in both eyes. I grabbed Grr's car keys and luckily passed GMul on the way - she helped me get to the parking lot since I was so disoriented I had no idea where it was.

Blindess, sensitivity to light and smell (there were some orange peels lying around from the morning that seemed to suffocate my nose and throat), nausea, temperature fluctuations, and finally throbbing headache. Grr showed up, prepared some garbage bags for me and luckily didn't have to witness me retching breakfast into the bag. As soon as I did, as is typical, the throbbing pain started to subside into just a plain headache. Grr came back with some magic medicine from a teammate whose wife also suffers from migraines. Even though it was too late, I took it anyway - letting it dissolve on my tongue. It had a refreshing minty taste. We decided it best to drive to the hotel and let me sleep in darkness and peace instead of in the parking lot. However, the bumpiness of the ride made me throw up twice more - mostly just dry heaving as there wasn't anything left in my stomach.

Fortunately Best Western had our room available and let us check in early. I alternated between being extremely cold and too warm, but was well on the way to recovery. The complete darkness, with curtains shut, was just what I needed. The close sound of traffic, with what sounded like trucks driving right past our window, I could have lived without. I spent a lot of time thinking about past migraine experiences. The first one I can remember clearly is in first grade. I remember sensing it coming on and dreading going to the nurse. I was using scissors to cut some paper and wanted to just ignore it. Another time I remember recovering and trying to join my mom in some exercises the next morning - I immediately threw up. Ever since then I try not to do anything active in the first 24 hours. The most embarrassing for my family is probably on one of our regular trips to NYC to see my gramma - I had gotten one on the way. We got to our restaurant and I barfed all over the table! The worst in my mind was sophomore year in college after eating a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs - a dish I don't even like - and it's definitely worse going the other way. There were lots of times I avoided throwing up, once I figured out how to manage them better - like junior year in college just before an ultimate tournament, and the most recent time while working at Microsoft. Luckily in both cases I was able to lay down in darkness and quiet until it subsided (thanks to Rick for having a couch and not being in that afternoon). [Note: for others who suffer from migraines, Oliver Sacks book, Migraine, is a great read. The medicine I took is maxalt.)

But back to Saturday...Apparently, when Gretchen drove back to the game, she played one point and then rolled her ankle! She said it swelled up as big as an apple - she was out for the rest of the tourney. So much for the team picking up 2 women! I spent the rest of the day sleeping and woke up at 7 the next morning -- totaling about 19 hours of sleep. Another freak occurrence was Chad getting hit in the face while marking the disc. It looked a lot worse than he felt apparently.

The next morning I felt better, milked the continental breakfast and then headed to the fields. We watched Riot play a bit - crushing their opponents something like 15-2 or 15-4. We then went down to the lower fields to watch our team destroy Wagon - which was a complete surprise given the 0-4 record from the previous day. Playing nearly savage really seemed to pump the team up - or maybe it was just the desire to not be bagelled.

ok, this is taking too long. Summary: interesting sideline conversations with Buckman and John, seeing my old teammate and captain Brynne playing with Mischief (last year's coed national champions), and then getting the run around trying to find crutches for GMul after she tore her ACL right before finals (HUGE bummer).

my new do