Life Begins at 30

Random Thursday (non-food) Quiz

Quiz of the day: Where am I, and why is this picture significant?

Hint: The picture was taken at around noon today.  Click to enlarge and get a better look.

Has hell frozen over? Did I just post a recipe?

If you have read this blog for any period of time, you know that I write relatively few recipes for being a food blogger.  The last time I posted an actual, honest-to-goodness recipe here on Life Begins at 30 was ... uh ... November 2004, and that wasn't even my recipe! 

I don't want to break my record now, which is why I've posted my latest recipe on Bay Area Bites instead of here.  I hope it's an entertaining post, even if you aren't into Indian Spiced Peanuts, as it talks about my cumin-hating family and why cumin-containing foods are crossed out in some of my cookbooks.

This post is also to serve as a reminder to those of you who asked for one (Jane) that tomorrow is the next in the Berkeley Food Politics Lecture Series:  GMOs Among Us: The Biopolitics of Genetically Engineered Foods.  I won't be able to make this one, but am going to try my best to attend the rest of the lectures.  I went last week, and it was very interesting.  The format is an hour-long lecture, and then about 10-15 minutes of Q/A.  Berkeley students then get to stay for longer Q/A session with the speaker after that.  Arrive early to find parking and get a seat.  Let me know if you have any questions, and if anyone attends tomorrow I'd love to hear about it!

Food Politics Spring 2006 Lecture Series - Berkeley

Did you know that Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle are both currently teaching at UC Berkeley?  The school of public policy is hosting an eight week lecture series called Food Politics that is free to the public.  Lectures are each Wednesday at 4 pm.  More information and speaker list below.

Food Politics Spring 2006 lecture series, Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. Room 250, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley This is a free event. Public welcome.

Introduced by: Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University & Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley Author of Food Politics and What to Eat

February 8
Peter Menzel & Faith D’Aluisio Photojournalist and Writer, co-authors of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

February 15
Mark Ritchie Pres., Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy Putting the Politics into Food Politics: Turning Your Good Ideas into Public Policy

February 22
Ignacio Chapela Assoc. Prof., ESPM, UC Berkeley GMOs Among Us: The Biopolitics of Genetically Engineered Foods

March 1
Michele Simon Adjunct Prof., University of Calif., Hastings College of the Law, & Dir., Center for Informed Food Choices How Big Food Resists Government Regulation: Corporate Spin in the Obesity Debate

March 8
Paul Rozin Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Prof. of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania Why, What, and When Do We Eat: Implications for Food Policy

March 15
Alice Waters Restaurateur (Chez Panisse), Author, Advocate Changing the World, One Meal at a Time

March 22
Harold McGee Author, Food & Cooking: The Science & Lore of the Kitchen Playing with Food: Science and Action in the Kitchen

April 5
Michael Pollan Knight Prof. of Journalism, UC Berkeley, and Author, The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore's Dilemma The Cornification of America

February already?

You are about to find out what a procrastinator I am.  You see, Jason and I did a way fun New Year's card this year.  My plan was to send out the card and then do a post talking about the photos that were on the card.  Most of the cards went out -- probably 90% of them -- but there were a few last ones that I had to send that never made it out the door.  And then the stamp prices increased, and all of a sudden it was February.  And is it too late now to send them out?

Well, I wanted all y'all to see the card because it was such a great look back at our random year, but please promise me you won't hate me if you should have received a card and you didn't.  It's not you, it's me.

Row 1

1) Me and J in Pt. Reyes Station.  We took this picture in the bookshop window one Saturday that we went to the Farmer's Market there.  If you look closely, you can see another man inside the store who is in the reflection as well.  It makes the shot very strange, but I like it nonetheless.

2) Trattoria da Gianni in Bologna.  In April, we went to Venice and our only trip out of town was to take a 2.5 hour train ride to go to this restaurant in Bologna for lunch.  We had gone there for the first time a few years ago.  As the train approached, we both worried that Trattoria da Gianni wouldn't match our amazing memory of it.  But it was really perfect -- such a great meal.   

3) This is me on the vaporetto in Venice.  I remember being so dang happy in this picture.  Those of you who have seen my Blogger Profile or my Blogher Profile will recognize this as my new favorite picture of myself. 

4) A palm tree that's in the park outside our house.  We have so many pictures of this palm tree because it always looks cool against the sky.

Row 2

1) We had to put in the quintessential Venice shot - if for no other reason than to prove that we were there.  This picture is of St. Mark's Square.  We managed to spend a week in Venice and do very little actual sightseeing.  We spent about an hour one day in the St. Mark's area, but most of the time just walked and explored the city.  Everything that you know about the light in that city is true - it really is a magical place.

2) This is me holding some rocks on a beach near Abbott's Lagoon in Point Reyes.  The beach there is amazing because it looks like a normal beach, but when you get up close you notice that it is tons of little pebbles that are so smooth and beautiful.

3) The weekend in September that my family was here for the birthday celebration of my mom and I, we took a bay cruise on The Adventure Cat.  II highly recommend it, and I think reasonably priced.  This picture is of my shoes and Jason's shoes and the bridge.  This shot is a perfect example of me directing the shot and making Jason take the picture.  He had to get in the most impossible position on the catamaran net, but I think the picture was worth it.

4) The pan statue outside the new De Young museum.

Row 3

1) Flowers in our house.  In the bottom right-hand side, you can see THE salad bowl -- the hand-carved one that was our main Venice purchase.

2) This picture of Jason makes me smile.  I get that eye-rolling look a lot.  People who see this say that it makes the card look like the Brady Bunch, with me at the top and him looking upward in this picture.

3) Pumpkins from the Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch. 

4) Pizza from A16 for our birthday dinner.  That's my mom's hand holding the pizza.

Row 4

1) This cute Buddha is in Jason's mom's amazing garden in Monrovia.

2) I made place cards for our birthday dinner.  These belonged to me and J. 

3) Do you know what a chiton is?  While in Bolinas at the tidepools in October, we came across a chiton shell.  I turned it over and found this beautiful blue interior - it was such a surprise.  And of course, I directed Jason to take the shot!

4) During that same trip in October, we were out in Pt. Reyes and Jason stopped the car to take a picture of something.  All of the young cows in the pasture across the way came running up to the fence thinking that we had food.  Here's another picture from that day.

Tales of a New Camera

The benefit of living with a camera junkie is that I often get the "leftover" cameras as J leaves one camera in favor of a newer, better rig.  So when Nikon announced a new digital SLR, I knew it wouldn't be long before I was the proud owner of a D70.  It's a bit of a learning curve to use this new camera, but I am determined to be producing great new shots before long.

Until then, here are some of my first adventures with the D70, along with some descriptions.  Be gentle, my dear critics -- I know that I still have a way to go before I can brag about any of these pictures. 

One of the highlights of the Eco-Farm Conference was a keynote speech by Marion Nestle.  Through visuals, she does an amazing job of showing how children and adults alike are convinced that they need to eat more and more food by the food companies. 

I went to a session while there that talked about Social Equity on the Sustainable Farm -- it basically talked about farm workers and how they are treated, and how sustainable farms are a different place to work than many conventional farms.  Two workers from Swanton Berry Farm were part of the panel.  Through interpreters, they talked about the benefits of working on this farm.  This was one of the two farm workers.

On the way home last Friday, I stopped by the Watsonville Farmer's Market.  There were about 7 booths: 3 prepared food, 2 crafts, and 2 booths that sold mainly citrus.  While I was happy that there is a farmer's market here, it was a bit discouraging to see that even if you wanted to, it would be impossible to do all your shopping at this farmer's market.  This was one of the food booths.

Clementine mandarins and Navel Oranges.

My shadow and the farmer's market sign.

I had read a lot about Fiesta Tepa Sahuayo in Watsonville, and looked forward to my meal there all week.  I don't know if it was the fact that I was dead tired or the fact that I was alone and could only order one thing, but it wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped it would be.  I ordered a saute of chicken, beef, and shrimp I believe.  Something that I ate smelled / tasted like the fake butter from movie theaters, and once I got that idea into my head, I didn't really enjoy the meal.  The chips and salsa were delicious, and I would like to return at some point with different expectations and a group of people to try it out.  You can see from the photo on the far left that the place is COVERED in Mexican tchotchkes.

This past weekend, Jason and I went to Fremont to check out the salt marshes at the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge.  This area features salt ponds that are operated by Cargill, and has become a wildlife refuge in conjunction with the US Government and Cargill.  The accumulation of salt on the sides of the ponds makes for interesting hues, and it was a very pleasant and interesting place to walk.  I would recommend checking it out if you ever have the chance.