TONS of new India Pics!

TONS!!!! of India pics posted below - click on the pic below to go to my new Picasa page for my India photos!

India 2006

india/thailand food pics

many food pics from my india and thailand trip below. more pics to come as i just signed up w/ google's picasa and recommend you do the same. just google picasa..

my food pics below, click on image:

eating in india and thailand

new pics and video from india/thailand

a video from a night market in bangkok.



also, here's some more pics from the trip

neighbor

question:

what would you do and think if your 87 year old neighbor that was supposed to feed your cat whle you were gone told you this upon your return: While you were gone, he saw an asian mom and her two kids inside your house and when he asked who they were, they gave him a mean look and pretended they didnt understand him? he says he saw them coming down the stairs, as if they just spent the night.

Now, let's just say absolutely nothing was missing from your house, and nothing looks disturbed at all. the neighbor is also quite old and regularly repeats himself, and you think he has alzheimers?

i think he's gone wacko. i called my landlord and he has no clue who that is/nobody else has keys, and he thinks the old neighbor needs some serious help. he also thought the neighbor would have called him or the police if he really did see anything like that. plus when the landlord ran into the neighbor a few days ago, the neighbor said nothing of this to the landlord, but did mention he was taking care of the cat... man i think the neighbor dreamt this story up last night...his mind is replacing real memories w/ delusional ones...a definite symptom of alzheimers... rest in peace to my grandfather, who was a victim of alzheimers. at one point, alzheimers hit him so bad he was talking into the remote control, trying to pass it around to other family members in the room saying the phone was for them, and that he just had a nice conversation with someone on it....its a crazy disease...

so what do you think?

india videos

2 videos from india:


1) here's some video from the streets of mumbai/bombay:



2) a video of a snake charmer near Ghandi's cremation site:

end of trip

i'm so tired...too tired to type momre and upload pics from the camera...but not the cellphone camera, we have 2 nice ones for you now...just got back to portland this morning instead of last night...LAX airport is the worst in terms of directions. our flight to the states was late also. that and miscommunication in terms of picking up bags when arriving in the states / customs/ checking into domestic flights made us miss our flight last night. the two awesome upsides, however are:

1) I met Kanye west in the airport and he was really cool. he was w/ his fiance/wife. he let me take a pic with him. peep:

2) we got to eat at In-N-Out burger, which really does stand up to all the hype. order your cheeseburger "animal style" off the secret menu!

more india and some thailand

before i forget, 2 days ago, i had an awesome 2 hour butt naked aromatherapy hot oil massage from a blind lady. no you dirtballs, there was no happy ending. at one point, she did pick it up though and say something in thai, but i have no clue what she said. i laughed and she laughed and she put it back down and kept massaging my legs or whatever. yesterday we hit the custom tailor. i am getting 2 suits custom made, 3 shirts and some ties. mel is getting a suit, a skirt, a shirt and a jacket i think.

back to india... i left off the day Rajeev was showing us around... so at that muslim monument, there were tons of gorgous wild parrots flying around. bright green. we went to the spot where Gandhi was cremated. we paid our respects. Rajeev brought us home to his crib and introduced us to his wife and mom and pops. his wife showed me how to make chapitas, an indian bread similar to naan or roti, either fried or grilled. we made both. we also had an awesome raita w/ yellow split peas, a very good potatoe curry, a mixed vegetable dish, a cashew desert, and more. i learned about the 5 spices in garam masala (secret) and more...we drank lassi (yogurt drink) without the rumored bhang (cannabis). anothony bourdain drank some bhang lassi in rajisthan, india.

we went back to the hotel and walked to a night market and bought some things like ayurverdic hair products/lotions for melenie from this store that had a signed johnny depp poster there saying everytime he comes to india he buys hair crap from this place and loves it.

more to come about taj mahal, food, mumbai, bankok, etc. i have some really really good pics and video as our new camera w/ a 2gb memory card is the shiiiiiiiiit. we took about 750 total pics/videos.

india

back in thailand now after some crazy adventures in India. I don't even know where to start. I guess by city descriptions. New Delhi is the political capital of India and less modern than Mumbai/Bombay, aka the Washington DC of India. Mumbai was the New York/business capital of India, though it's on the coast, so there are palm trees everywhere. We LOVED Mumbai, didn't care too much for Delhi, though the food was amazing everywhere in India.

We spent 5 or so days in Delhi and 2 in Mumbai. we arrived in delhi at around 11 or so at night, so we just passed out that first night. we stayed at a gorgeous hotel, The Ambassador, since our trade mission for Siam International was hsoted by Food Export USA. We were there to promote US foods in India, through Mel's moms import/export division. the hotel had awesome food and breakfast was included, I ate many dosas for breakfast, which are kind of like a crepe, though filled w/ a potato curry, if you get a masala dosa. They typically come with sambor i think it's called, which is like a minestrone soup, minus the noodles, and then 2 chutneys, a coconut chutney and a tomato chutney, though it's more like a paste you spread on the dosa. very, very good.

we hit connaught place the next day. mel bought some saris. i bought a little antique tiger. we did a lot of haggling. our associate, got poop thrown on his shoe. this is a scam we read about it our india travel guide. someone throws poop on your shoe, says its monkey poop, then offers to clean it up for 10 ruppees, which is only about a quarter in US money. i have a pic to show later on this. i ate some really good street food, a plate of spicy lentils with good grilled chapita bread. connaght place has a crazy underground, indiana jones type of shopping too, which just looked like all corny bootleg stuiff that is way cheaper in bangkok at MBK mall anyway.

next day we called up my uncle jay's client's brother, Rajeev, who lives in New Delhi. This guy was so cool and gracious...he hired a cab for the day, took us around to some sites then brought us to his house for a big home cooked indian lunch. we saw a huge temple in the shape of a lotus for all religions, the Bahá'í House of Worship. We saw Iskon temple, a huge krishna temple, where I got some good pics and video of music. we then went to a really sick muslim monument, which i have to dig for the name of the place. a former king built this as a memory ...

gotta run in mid sentence, be back later, lots more to come...

p

thailand

whats goin on my good readers?

first day in thailand, super long 17 hour flight from LA, a 2 hr one before that from portland. arrive in bangkok, not as hot as last time, only about 80 or so. some super blazing koh mon gai, and then the fried version too... koh mon gai = boiled chicken w/ garlic, ginger, sugar, salt and scallions, then use the stock to make rice, serve you a side of chicken stock/soup w/ radish/daikon, then a heap of rice chicken flavored from the stock, w/ the chicken on top (boiled or fried), we had both, w/ a side of cucumber, a blazign sweet/hot sauce, then we had some moo satay also (pork grilled on a stick served w/ a peanut sauce and a little side of cucumber, chili and red onion in vinehar w/ sugar.)

holler. shit was blazing.

ive got about 5 singha's in me right now. im passing up seeing dj jazzy jeff perform at Que bar (www.quebar.com) where matt is manager cause mel is feelign sick on our first night here and is downstairs sleeping. its 12 midnight. im about 13 hours ahead of yall right now or something.

copped an ill new digital camera for about $180 today. a super slim fit in your pocket sony cybershot 5.1 mp.

also coppd my favorite little tapioca balls stuffed w/ panuts, eaten w/ cilantro and a striahg tlittle thai chili.

mel ate her favorite juk soup.

the electronics mall was sick. forgot to mention a 2 gig mem card i bought also for the new cam...specifialyl for all the video i'm a record in india...watch... but yo, 5-6 floors of all little electronics boutiques...sensory overload....

im ghost...more to come.

thanksgiving weekend with stink and mecs

we had a blast with stinke and mecca this weekend...amazing thanksgiving dinner that mel and i cooked:

a brined turkey stuffed w/ apple, onion and other aromatics
candied yams w/ marshmallows
acorn squash soup
lemon, tarragon, dill and crab dip
cheese and crackers
tons of pinot noir
creamed spinach
som tum (amazing spicy thai papaya salad)
garlic mashed potatoes
garlic jasmine rice
pumpkin ginger duck confit dumplings
apple pie
fried tofu

we went snowshoeing at mt hood on friday to walk it off.... hit the city, shopping, drinking and eating (montage: jumbalaya and mac n cheese) on saturday...nice sunny day too... then today we hit the coast - from astoria to cannon beach to tillamook... good times, good friends, good food..

curse of the beagles

eagles lost and lost mcnabb for the season. this blows:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=261119021

turks

cant wait one minute more! like my old favorite tune from CIV, im pretty amped to see my ol pals stink and mec from philly relocated to the bay area trekkin up here for turks day.

after evaluating many a recipe for roasting a turkey, im going to trust my main man Alton Brown on the food network..if you've ever seen his show "good eats" - you'll know this guy knows his shit...big time science behind the cooking guy.. Alton's turkey recipe can be found here. i'll use his brining method as a nice starting point... letting it brine in a cooler outside for hours before roasting...

so we got this 20 pound bird! lotta turks for 4 people so some turkey soup will most def. be on a few days later...friends are coming for 4 days which will be nice...

a week later mel and i are definitely headed to india... bounce dec. 1st, arrive in bangkok dec 3rd, kick it with dj jazzy jeff and travellin matt that night at Que Bar where matt is a manager and dj, then bounce to new delhi, india the night of the 4th... IFE food trade show is the 6th through the 10th. my uncle jay's good pal has a brother/family in new delhi, and Rajeev will be having us over for dinner one night for an authentic indian homecooked meal!!! so excited to experience that...hopefully they'll also show us around for a little bit... we'll have some extra time in which we can hopefully make it to Rajisthan where Bourdain got his bhang lhasis on!!! do some research to know what im talking bout, but if you've been to amsterdam, its similar to a spaceshake... on the 10th we hit the taj mahal say word! then the 11th bounce down to Mumbai in the south (formerly known as Bombay). ask me if im gonna drink a bombay sapphire martini james bond style in bombay...come on now! extra olives or maybe a little pearl onion action called a gibson. hells yeah! back to bangkok on the 13th through the 17th to kick with matt, do some crazy bootleg shopping for $5 bape hoodies, cheap digital cameras, tons of sneaks and shoes....holler. not to mention a lot of thai full body $5 for an hour massages. no happy endings, get your mind out of the gutter, guys... and TONS of som tum, thai bbq chicken, bumi (egg noodle) soup with the bbq pork, bbq duck, etc. kow mon gai (mels favorite), street style pad thai and more. oh wait, curries. man i cant wait.

keep in touch people.

pauly walnuts

p

random recent pictures

here's some trout that i cooked recently, a cool truck, pictures of duck confit (before and after) and some nice autumn leaves.

bff,

paul

duck confit

im making a duck confit today. im going to india in a month. duck confit is made by slowly cooking duck legs in duck fat. its supposed to bee amazing. happy birthday aunt lish!

plug and socket slappy hollerween!

my birfsday tomorrow

its my birfday tomorrow. twenty nine years young. halloween party tonight - YEAH BABY, my favorito time of the year.

other things ive been up to:

• my old college roomate, Tadd, came to visit about 2 weeks ago. he works on alaskan fishing boats counting the diff. species of fish they catch. this last boat was a mackerel fish.
• i like mackerel. the japanese cook a bangin mackerel..oily fish with a lot of flavor. ive ordered it cooked and raw from japanese restaurants, and it tastes the same both ways.
• india coming soon. my buddy john from work old me that the one emperor who built the Taj Mahal originally planned an identical black Taj dead across from the white one. i can't wait to see it - one of the 7 wonders of the world...
• reading the new haruki murakami short story book, "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". REALLY good. highly recommended.
• using this super delicious finishing salt, fleur de sel (flower of the salt) on everything...
• bout to cop a new chef knife, courtesy of my lovely sister, erica, for a bday present she got me, a gift certificate to a knife store...thanks, slick.

audi five gees

farmers market in autumn

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS DAY TODAY! farmers market. chanterelle mushrooms, squash, radishes, locally raised pork products, tons of super fresh amazing fall harvest items..

SICK new concepts from el Bulli

The #1 restaurant in the WORLD - el Bulli has these serious idealogies/concepts for their food styles - taken from their website, www.elbulli.com :

Synthesis of elBulli cuisine. In the mid-1990s a new style of cuisine began to be forged. Today, this style has been wholly consolidated and may be defined in the following terms:

1. Cooking is a language through which all the following properties may be expressed: harmony, creativity, happiness, beauty, poetry, complexity, magic, humour, provocation and culture.

2. The use of top quality products and technical knowledge to prepare them properly are taken for granted.

3. All products have the same gastronomic value, regardless of their price.

4. Preference is given to vegetables and seafood, with a key role also being played by dairy products, nuts and other products that make up a light form of cooking. In recent years red meat and large cuts of poultry have been very sparingly used.

5. Although the characteristics of the products may be modified (temperature, texture, shape, etc.), the aim is always to preserve the purity of their original flavour, except for processes that call for long cooking or seek the nuances of particular reactions such as the Maillard reaction.

6. Cooking techniques, both classic and modern, are a heritage that the cook has to know how to exploit to the maximum.

7. As has occurred in most fields of human evolution down the ages, new technologies are a resource for the progress of cooking.

8. The family of stocks is being extended. Together with the classic ones, lighter stocks performing an identical function are now being used (waters, broths, consommés, clarified vegetable juses, nut milk, etc.).

9. The information given off by a dish is enjoyed through the senses; it is also enjoyed and interpreted by reflection.

10. Taste is not the only sense that can be stimulated: touch can also be played with (contrasts of temperatures and textures), as well as smell, sight (colours, shapes, trompe d’oeil, etc.), whereby the five senses become one of the main points of reference in the creative cooking process.

11. The technique-concept search is the apex of the creative pyramid.

12. Creation involves teamwork. In addition, research has become consolidated as a new feature of the culinary creative process.

13. The barriers between the sweet and savoury world are being broken down. Importance is being given to a new cold cuisine, particularly in the creation of the frozen savoury world.


14. The classical structure of dishes is being broken down: a veritable revolution is underway in first courses and desserts, closely bound up with the concept of symbiosis between the sweet and savoury world; in main dishes the "product-garnish-sauce" hierarchy is being broken down.

15. A new way of serving food is being promoted. The dishes are finished in the dining room by the serving staff. In other cases the diners themselves participate in this process.

16. Regional cuisine as a style is an expression of its own geographical and cultural context as well as its culinary traditions. Its bond with nature complements and enriches this relationship with its environment.

17. Products and preparations from other countries are subjected to one's particular style of cooking.

18. There are two main paths towards attaining harmony of products and flavours: through memory (connection with regional cooking traditions, adaptation, deconstruction, former modern recipes), or through new combinations.

19. A culinary language is being created which is becoming more and more ordered, that on some occasions establishes a relationship with the world and language of art.

20. Recipes are designed to ensure that harmony is to be found in small servings.

21. Decontextualisation, irony, spectacle, performance are completely legitimate, as long as they are not superficial but respond to, or are closely bound up with, a process of gastronomic reflection.

22. The menu de dégustation is the finest expression of avant-garde cooking. The structure is alive and subject to changes. Concepts such as snacks, tapas, pre-desserts, morphs, etc., are coming into their own.

23. Knowledge and/or collaboration with experts from different fields (gastronomic culture, history, industrial design, etc.,) is essential for progress in cooking. In particular collaboration with the food industry and the scientific world has brought about fundamental advances. Sharing this knowledge among cooking professionals has contributed to this evolution.

----------------------------

i love this. i'm trying to study these concepts and seriously hypothesize on them. i'm a little crushed right now though after a few happy hour pitchers of mcmenamins terminator stout...

asia, here i come again...

rumor has it that i might be headed to india, vietnam and thailand in early december.

holler at your boy.

ok go

in case you havent seen this ok go video yet, its hilarious and i still dig watching it from time to time: