San Diego, CA: Day 1 and 2

I am writing about sunny California today, but I have to admit, I'm not really thinking about it. This past Monday I had brain surgery...er...my wisdom teeth removed. I've been in a narcotic-induced stupor for the past four days with the shades pulled down and my head under a heavy blanket. Not vacation-y at all.

This California adventure began as an engineering conference at the San Diego convention center where I imagine spectacled middle-aged men in suits hawked their technological wares to other middle-aged men with badges and free nylon totes. Totally boresville. Luckily, Britton was invited to the conference and told me I could stay with him fo' free as long as I paid the airfare.

Having never been to California but completely bought by the notion that it is the greatest state in the union, I made arrangements to fly out the day after Britton arrived.

I am working on being discreet concerning business-related subjects, so I will not mention Britton's employers' or any vendors' business expenses throughout the trip. May it suffice to say that our accommodations were nice and Britton and his coworkers were well-received.

DAY 1:

The plane rides from Atlanta to Houston then Houston to San Diego were awful. A giant snow storm was hitting the Midwest and the Northeast, creating massive delays and lots of angry fliers. By the time I got to the hotel from the airport it was 5:30PM central time and I hadn't eaten anything in 14 hours. At dinner that night I was ready to rip someone's head off for a sesame roll.

The hotel itself was once a large bank. The conference room in the hotel was originally the main vault. The ridiculously large door is still intact, and the room is lined with safety deposit boxes.

Everything in the common areas was ornately decorated, but the individual rooms were updated and felt like any modern hotel.

The railings around the bar and dining area as well as at the front desk still had the original teller numbers and signs.

While Britton was at the conference, I had plenty of time to have breakfast and take in the sights at my own pace. I decided to walk down to the waterfront to a little restaurant called Cafe 222 (on 222 Island Avenue) per Britton's coworkers recommendation.

I was surprised to read that the restaurant had been featured on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate" for their Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast, so of course, I had that. It was delicious (though not the best I've ever eaten.) It was like a deep-fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. A week later and I think it is still sticking to the inside of my stomach.

Their coffee was awesome. The coffee mugs had cartoon characters of the restaurants proprietor Terryl Gavre and her husband Sam. The cup said "I had breakfast with Terryl and Sam." So cute. Must vomit.
Another thing I noticed about all the restaurants in San Diego...they had an A.

I had to go to Los Angeles to even see a B, and it was at the cesspool known as Hollywood and Vine.

California? Hello? What's up? Why you tryin' to make me sick?

After breakfast, I ran back to the hotel to put pants on because it was super windy. I then had a moment of clarity mid leg hole and thought, hey, I can take PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

Normally, public transportation would be out of the question. MARTA. Say no more. But apparently San Diego's MTS had won some kind of award. So instead of milling around downtown all day, I hopped on the bus to Old Towne.

I was thrilled to find that right outside the transit station was a state park. It was a bit kitschy - mostly gift shops, restaurants, and school children walking around with their fingers in their noses.
But they had an interesting town square with historic farmhouses sitting right next to some lovely semi-wooded hillsides. And the flag of California proudly flying. It has a bear on it!

Slipping through a couple employee parking lots, I found the Bazaar del Mundo, a place full of expensive things that I wanted to buy. The shops were mostly Latin American and Central American crafts including decor, rugs, ceramics, clothing, jewelry, and other neat thing-a-ma-jigs.
I probably spent two hours running around, gawking at all the wonderful merchandise and talking to the shop owners.

Can I put this on my wedding cake?

I took the bus back to my hotel and dolled myself up for dinner with some vendors and Britton's coworkers. The picture below is the remnants of the surf n turf. I was not expecting the whole freaking lobster.

DAY 2:

After falling asleep at what would have been 2 AM Eastern and waking up at what would have been 9 AM Eastern, I still felt like I was a bit of a zombie on Day 2. I walked down to the convention center with Britton's coworkers where we had breakfast at Cafe 222 (again) per my recommendation.

After Britton and his comrades split to go to the conference, I dallied around the convention center and took in the scenery. It was magnificent. I walked to the mini peninsula in the picture below which turned out to be a circuits-style fitness park and jogging path. I did not know this at the time, but the cliff in the distant right is Cabrillo National Monument.

After the convention center, I walked over to Lion Coffee for a cup to go. I headed over to Horton Plaza, an outdoor shopping mall which has several courtyards with lots of higher end shops including my favorite Ann Taylor Loft and the largest XXI I've ever seen (below.)

Midway through what may have been a wonderfully tragic shopping spree, my phone rings demanding I reconvene with the conventioneers for lunch and a trip to the USS Midway.

Converted into a museum, the USS Midway is a conventional air craft carrier which served after the end of WWII. She served in Operation Frequent Wind in 1975, evacuating Vietnamese and trapped Americans after the Vietnam War. Also in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in the early 90's.

Here is Britton, reenacting a scene from The Prisoner with this weather balloon.

It was so windy, Britton let me borrow his blazer. We are waiting in line to see what I am going to call the "control tower" though I do not if that is its official name.

Wind-burned and tired, we walked back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We took a wild taxi drive to Mission Beach and dined at JRDN, a place that screamed ritzy SoCal. The patio looked out onto the Pacific Ocean and of course, there was a glorious outdoor fire pit.

Chinese Steamed Pork Patties

It's snowpocalypse in Georgia this week. With six inches of powder and an inch of ice on top, the boys and I huddled around the television like a washed-up roadside diner waitress around the cigarette machine. I cleaned my office, updated files on my work computer, applied for graduate school, burned through the pending laundry pile, and placed Bones, Season 2 on continuous play.

Prior to the snow, I participated in an environmental health training program at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, AL. The training was informative and well-organized, and I brought back a great deal of knowledge, useful both professionally and personally.

Red Cross offers a personal emergency preparedness kit for 1 adult for 3 days at $50. I am opting to create my own "go kit." I recently went to Costco to stock up on a week's worth of canned food and a large LED flashlight. Britton has been carrying the thing around like a police officer.

Below is a picture of Water Bob, a disposable bladder you can place in your bathtub to store 100 gallons of fresh water during an emergency. Considering an adult needs 1 gallon of fresh water per day in disaster situations, a family of four could survive using Water Bob for over a month if necessary.

Another cool feature at the Center for Domestic Preparedness was the hydration chart placed in the restroom. With an endless supply of diuretics and bottled water, I was swinging wildy from yellow to clear. Maybe TMI.

Also, the environmental programs director for AL PHD brought us a can of water bottled by Anheuser-Busch during Hurricane Katrina. He told us the responders were rather excited to see the Budweiser truck pulling up to their camp.

FEMA offers a wide variety of fully-funded training programs at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. I recommend looking into these programs if you have any interest or if they may serve you in your career.

Now to the food. If I could pick the most requested dish in my repertoire, this would definitely be it. It doesn't matter if we just had it or if it's 100 degrees outside. Steamed Pork Patties.

The recipe is an adaptation from a recipe found in Jen Lin-Liu's Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China. It was a dish the author's mother made for her in childhood home in Southern California. The flavors in this dish are distinctively Chinese and somehow capture everything I love about Chinese food. Flavorful without being too bold. The patties are balanced and light (depending on how much pork you scarf down.)

To complete this recipe you will need some heat-resistant containers, like little casserole ramekins or small pyrex bowls. You will also need a method for steaming the little buggers, be it some unknown microwave contraption, a rice cooker with a steamer basket, or a bamboo/metal steamer. You may also need to make a trip to your local Asian grocer for Shaoxing rice wine, white pepper, and rice vinegar.

This year I served them in placed of traditional Southern New Year's Day fare. In my youth, we normally ate plump black-eyed peas to represent prosperity, dark boiled greens to represent wealth, and pork to represent progress and moving forward.

I boiled the black eyed peas in pork stock and made bok choy with oyster sauce (another Britton favorite.)

Don't be scared a the slimy looking picture below. The pork patties are moist and smell amazing. Make sure to serve over plain rice - I prefer brown jasmine.

Chinese Steamed Pork Patties

Serves 2 hungry peeps, 4 not so hungry

• 1 lb lean ground pork
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 cups uncooked rice

Cook rice using your normal preparation. I have a rival rice cooker ($12) that I've been using since freshman year in college that still seems to churn out great rice. Combine remaining ingredients together in a large bowl, stirring until fully homogenized.

Fill your heat resistant ramekins with the pork mixture. I have 2 bowls that are about 4 inches in diameter and an inch tall. I also have 4 bowls that are the same height but half the diameter. It just depends on how many people you want to serve and what portions you feel are appropriate. Remember - you can always refrigerate half your pork mixture to use tomorrow.

Place ramekins in a bamboo steamer or other steaming device. Once water reaches a full boil, allow pork to steamer for 20-25 minutes. Internal temperature should reach 150-155 deg F. I know I am playing with fire here since the accepted cook temp for ground pork is 165 deg F.

REMEMBER - if you are cooking for children, the elderly, or the immunocompromised, always cook your raw meats to the FDA recommended cook temperature and don't listen to crack pot renegades like me.

Once the pork is done, carefully remove the ramekins using oven mitts. Pour the juices over the prepared rice and place the pork patty on top of the rice. Enjoy your homemade Chinese meal, and don't forget to round the meal with a simple veggie like steamed broccoli.

Okay, now I've gotta go watch Rocky IV under the supervision of you-know-who to ensure I get the full cinematic experience. Wish me luck and stay warm!

Peppermint Bark and some other stuff

My life has been full of work, work, work, and trying to get into the Christmas spirit. I think with enough 98.5FM blaring out of my car speakers and a lot of holiday baking, I just might reach Christmas euphoria a little early this year. Christmas euphoria is that delightful time of year when my brain stops functioning and I say things like "Well, isn't this just lovely?" and "How delightful!" and "Who ate the last mother effing piece of turkey?"

I wanted to mention the product that has been getting me through my wintery dermatological slump (this year and past.) If you are like me and have skin with a water activity of the Sahara desert even in the middle of summer, I recommend old-fashioned grandma's worst kept secret Pond's Cold Cream. Slather it on in the shower, remove with a clean wash cloth, and voila! Nice, smooth, moisturized skin. Even my cousin who lives in the coldest place I have ever been (Nebraska) uses it to fight off wind burn. (As a side note, the second coldest place I've ever been was Toronto, and it has nothing on the winds whipping o'er the plains.)

I also finally broke down and bought a coffee maker. It's a Festivus miracle! Britton's uncle gave us a brick of Brazilian coffee by Cafe do Ponto he grabbed after a flight to South America. IT IS ORGASMIC. Very clean roasted, no funky tastes. Just amazing black coffee.

Unfortunately, it was already ground, so our reliable french press was useless. Luckily, the fates saw fit to allow me to win a raffle at work for an $18 crock pot which I promptly returned at Wal-Mart for a full refund. There I placed my hands on a Mr. Coffee programmable coffee maker. I know that talking about a coffee maker for so long may seem a little ridiculous. People give away their old coffee makers left and right. But I've never owned a coffee maker, and it sure feels good.

Okay, now the important stuff. This is perhaps the easiest peasiest recipe I've ever posted. The combination of peppermint and chocolate is very Christmas-y, and just happens to be my favorite flavor duo.

To make peppermint bark, you'll need just a few things.

2 bags of white chocolate chips

1 package candy canes

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

I doubled the recipe. Don't look at me like that.

Thanks to my little sister, I've realized working with melted chocolate can be an epic disaster. AND DON'T PUT CHOCOLATE TO MELT IN A MICROWAVE. Seriously. Just stay away from the radiation. You'll have to use a double boiler or some other contraption. I don't have a double boiler and in fact, I have no idea what one looks like. I just guessed that it would look something like one pot of boiling water with another smaller pot on top.

Yeah. Something like that. I used a wooden spoon to brace the small pot since my pots are nonstick and don't take kindly to scraping and scratching. You want the water to come to a calm boil. Don't let it go nuts down there. As you melt the white chocolate chips, you'll need to continuously stir until it is nice and smooth.

Next, place your unwrapped candy canes into a gallon size plastic bag. Place a towel underneath the plastic bag and a towel on top for cushioning. (You don't want to crack those stain-collecting builder's grade laminate counter tops, now do you?)

Grab an unopened wine bottle, or if like me, you can't cook something without a beverage, then grab a rolling pin or other pounding-worthy device. Wail away. You are going to get some chunks that just won't crush. That's okay. It's all part of the master plan. Drink the kool-aid and you'll see what I mean.

Add the crushed candy canes to the molten chocolate mixture. You'll also want to add a teaspoon of peppermint extract for every two bags of white chocolate you used.

Spread evenly over a pan lined with parchment paper. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When the chocolate is completely firm, break into chunks by whatever means necessary. I used brute strength and a wooden spatula.

This stuff is rich. Allow your boyfriend to have a couple pieces, but then immediately place the rest in adorable Christmas tins or goody bags and ship them off to your friends so they will be all fat and when you see them you can say hey, lay off the peppermint bark, you crazy beyotch. Just kidding. But in moderation people or all your teeth will fall out...maybe.

Happy Holidays!

A weekend in Asheville, NC

On a sunny Friday morning, Britton and I set out for Asheville, NC to meet up with some of his former coworkers and their assorted girlfriends and to enjoy the scenery. After breakfast on the road, we made pit stop at Tallulah Hydro where Britton spent a couple weeks on a project while he was working with the Athens test group.

There were steps outside the building. No one was sure what it was we needed refuge from, but...you never know...zombies, velociraptors, the Illuminati. It's a jungle out there.

Below is a video of the Georgia Power guy heading down to the hydro facility at the bottom of the gorge. A wee bit north of us was the state park. The elevator looks safe enough, but carries you down at a weird 25 degree angle.

When we finally arrived in Asheville, just a couple hours later, we had some time to kill before we met Aaron and Darren (Britton's former coworkers) with their girlfriends Kari and Angie (respectively.) Britton discovered a coffee shop/chocolaterie (just made that word up) on a side street close to the art museum.

It was called French Broad Chocolate Lounge. IT WAS GLORIOUS.

Every kind of chocolate imaginable with only the finest local and fair trade ingredients. Chocolate liquer, hot chocolate, brownies, cakes, pies, truffles...along with some of the best coffee I've ever had via Counter Culture Coffee.

Britton tried the quintessential chocolate cake while I noshed on the flourless chocolate truffle torte with a raspberry sauce.

I was in a very very VERY happy place.

French Broad Chocolates is family owned and operated by two young entrepreneurs, and they ship to anywhere in the U.S.! So check them out already. Geez Louise.

After meeting up with the crew and settling into our hotel room, we headed over to Biltmore estate for the Christmas Candelight tour.

There's no filming in the house itself, so I'll just have to describe it.

This place isn't just a big effing house. It is a monument to American domesticity. With 250 rooms, it boasts a grand banquet room, billiard room, parlor, winter garden, master and mistress wings, bachelor's wing, numerous guest rooms, a full library, a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool, fitness changing area, indoor gym, servants quarters, at least three kitchens, a rudimentary walk-in cooler, stables adjoining the house, and numerous gardens. The tour was a lot of fun...self-guided with the house all decked out for Christmas. There were dancers and Christmas carolers in the winter garden on the ground level.

Unfortunately, the tour offered little in the way of Biltmore history even though the guides stationed all around the house were extremely knowledgeable if you had any questions. Our tickets included a visit to the grounds (designed by the man who landscaped Central Park) the next day, but we did not have time to return. Britton and I agreed we would save that for another trip.

My favorite room in the whole house was the library. I know. Big surprise there. The library is two levels with an ornate spiral staircase accessing the loft-like second floor. George Washington Vanderbilt II owned over 23,000 books and could read in multiple languages. There were around 10,000 books in the library.

The next day we visited Chimney Rock State Park. Chimney Rock is a granite rock formation most known by me for its appearance in the final scenes of The Last of the Mohicans starring a sexy Daniel Day-Lewis.

The mountains were just shedding their fall colors, and the park was full of scenic photo opps.

Please enjoy this brief introduction to the park. It's the main title from The Last of the Mohicans featuring solo artisit Britton Carter in his film debut.

Britton playing photographer with Aaron and Kari on top of Chimney Rock.

This is a picture taken from the Opera Box which overlooks the top of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure below that.

Britton and I found a comfy patch of granite in the Opera Box.

That is correct. I hiked a freakin' mountain in a freakin' lacy dress. That's who I am.

This morning, before heading back home, we grabbed brunch at Tupelo Honey Cafe. Minus the 25 minute wait to get into the place, the food was delicious and the service was prompt.

Warm pimento cheese and tortilla chips.

Britton's lump crab omelette with a real orchid on top.

And a GIANT sweet potato pancake with granola and roasted pecans. I hate this picture of me, but I wanted to show you the scale of this pancake. I ate 1/4 of it and threw in the towel.

Don't worry about my booty, everybody. I just got back from the gym, and Britton's Dad, the patriarch, has a treadmill. Which reminds me. Thanksgiving 2010 is going to be broadcast from Tampa, FL this year. With the help of my mother, Pioneer Woman, and Mark Bittman from the NY Times, I will slay this honey-baked holiday beast.

WISH LIST

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into Springs
These are a few of my favorite things...

HedgeHog Necklace by Piggy.

Proudly Posh Heel by ModCloth

Faux Ostrich Purse called "Lacy" by Miche.

Paris Oui Oui Earrings by Betsey Johnson.
Tibetan Alter Cabinet from Pearl River.

Blooming Teas by Tea Posy.

My Cat Odie

This is my crazy kitten, Odie. I found him on a pool inspection in Suwanee, GA. Britton and I spent a month of our lives waking up twice a night to nurse him and stimulate his bowels. Needless to say, after all those late night feeding sessions and a few close calls, we are quite attached to the little monster.

He leaps. He twirls. He gnashes.

Then just when you want to whack him with a pillow, he purrs and rubs his little head against your neck and...it's over.

But lately I've discovered my cat has a strange obsession. An obsession that involves interrupting us at our most intimate moments...

That's right.

The shower. Odie scrambles at the sound of flowing water. As soon as Britton or I grab a towel to dry off and sometimes even before, Odie is slipping between our legs to lick up the remnants of our shower water. IT IS WEIRD.

Observe.

He is a weirdo, but we love him anyway.