The mighty squid, the world's favorite aphrodesiac

This is what I call "spitting rain". From inside it doesn't really look like its raining, just kind of misting, so you forgo the 'brella. But then when you get out into that spit, you realize you are soaking wet in about 10 minutes. That's what happened to me on my way to yoga today. When I got there I was drenched. Then I dried off and replaced the rain with sweat, only to get soaked again on the way home. This is how people get sick. Anyway, my days off are limited, so I am utilizing this rainy one to the fullest. I just downloaded the new Radiohead album, used my new juicer for the first time (4 little beets, 2 stalks of celery, 4 carrots, one nubbin of ginger and 12 clementines) and made a delightful calamari salad for lunch. As for the juicer, I should have captured the mess with my camera. Since I didn't, allow me to elaborate: in order to get the one cupful of delicious, blood red, potent juice, I got about 4 cups of pulpy, rainbow mash that will make a great contribution to my compost, but for some reason feels a little wasteful. Also, a lot of prep went into that magical cup. It takes a minute (or 15) to peel all those veggies and clementines. So, I am not abandoning my juicer after only one try, but I am also not abandoning Taqueria El Castillito across from Safeway on Church that for only $3.04 makes you a small (actually pretty big) juice with the same ingredients in about 3 minutes.

As for the calamari salad:

1 lb squid, cleaned, bodies and tentacles separated

3 c of arugula

1/2 c sliced almonds

1tbsp plum sauce

Juice of 2 lemons

1/2 english cucumber sliced (i just hate regular cukes)

1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

Saute the squid with the plum sauce for about 3 minutes.

Cut squid body into 1/2 inch rings, and cut tentacles in half if too big to eat. Toss remaining ingredients gently with olive oil, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Should serve about four small dinner salads or two larger lunch ones.

Long time, lots to eat

No, I haven't died. Still living in San Francisco, only now it's on the other side of town. I guess anywhere is kind of "the other side of town" compared to North Beach though. So now when I step out my front door, I don't manuver my way between smoking patrons of Gino and Carlo and passed out bums in Jasper Alley. I instead carefully carry my bike down our insanely steep stone stairs, turn the corner and find myself in Golden Gate Park. Well, the panhandle really. It's windier over here. Everyone has a dog. And instead of being tempted by friends sitting outside of Del Uva drinking wine on a tuesday afternoon, I hike up to Buena Vista Park or ride around GG Park. It's like I'm growing up or something.

Oh, and a barbecue came with the house. So did a really big, pretty backyard (along with some pretty young, pretty loud kids living upstairs). So I have dubbed this the best summer ever, even though it's still raining, because we will be grilling and entertaining like crazy all summer (and san francisco summers last til November). Already we have held a legit shrimp boil for my B-day, a very successful housewarming dinner party featuring shrimp and skirt steak fajitas, one Bay to Breakers waffle and sausage breakfast (ala Wet Hot American Summer) and at least two fattoush feasts. I love fattoush because it feeds lots of people and is very flavorful and good for you.

Fattoush
(Middle Eastern Salad)

Cut up a package of pita bread into triangles. Put on baking sheet and bake on 350 til crispy...around 15 mins.

Depending on how many people, pan sear salmon filets in a little oil with s+p. I go with about a half pound per person. And just a couple minutes on each side. You can also bake the salmon for about 10 mins at 350. Just drizzle with oil and s+p.

In big bowl combine:
chopped romaine (1.5 heads)
kalamata olives (1 cup)
chopped red onion(1)
peeled and chopped cucumber (1)
chopped fresh mint (1 cup)
crumbled feta
chopped fresh parsley and cilantro (1/2 cup each)
chopped tomatoes (4)

Top with the salmon, pita chips, and a lemony vinegrette. Enjoy!

everything's changed

Last time I posted was right after I returned to SF from SE Asia. Wow, where does the time go? Well, I helped a friend of mine open a Mexican restaurant in North Beach called Don Pisto's. To the left are some of the amazing pulpa tacos with onions and homemade tortillas. I just can't get enough octopus and squid these days, especially in taco-form. I have also been thoroughly enjoying the restaurant scene since making the leap to an omnivorous lifestyle.Of course I still love my veggies, and completely support anyone who wants to help the world by going veg. I just realized that I NEED meat. I'm not just saying that either. I struggled with this realization for about a year before finally caving in to my body. I dreamt about burgers. I would salivate at the words "steak" and "bacon". And it doesn't stop there. Suddenly, I will try anything, from virtually any animal. I think that travelling probably started me on this adventurous track--especially when you are in the middle of a lake in cambodia and all there is to eat is some stringy and meaty thing that has been hanging off of someone's front porch for the last week. Turns out that one was a water snake. I also think that my travels made me realize that vegetarianism can be viewed as extrememely elitist in poor countries. If I even tried to refuse whatever was fed to me on my trek through Laos, I caused extreme confusion and the people assumed that I was being rude and didn't appreciate their hospitality. Don't get me wrong, vegetarians can definitely survive travelling in crazy places, but I found it much more fun to simply try everything.

And I have brought this credo back with me. Since being back in SF, I have tried almost everything meat-related that I had: a)never tried before/heard of before or b)missed desperately from my childhood. Let me tell you, my palate has never been the same! From quail to sweetbreads to bison to antelope to frogs legs to escargot to the basics like bacon wrapped hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches to crazy things like fois gras, bacon ice cream sandwiches, pig's ear ambrosia, a pig's head (including brains, tongue, cheeks...), goat fries, etc...

I know that it may seem that I'm going a bit overboard, but for someone who has just awoken from what seems like 13 years of being half-asleep in vegetarian pajamas, I think this splurge is well deserved. Plus, I think that all those years of vegetarianism give me some karmic leeway. Oh yeah, I suddenly have a sweet-tooth too. Like, I scour our cupboards for a lost cookie or peanut butter cup when I can't sleep at 2a.m. I NEVER liked chocolate before. What's happening to me? I think I am growing up and realizing that I can't spend my life only eating healthy things because it gets boring. It was fine before, when I turned a blind eye to the wonders of meat and chocolate, but now I know the truth, and I cannot pretend that I don't know how fantastic they are--and how necessary to my happiness.

Chow Down in Laos (the 's' is silent)

Here is the second installment of my vay-cay in Laos. (Disclaimer: this was also an article I wrote for VegNews Magazine, so it is pretty veg-heavy. In real life, however, I was inhaling meaty things at an alarming rate, including that awesome whole fish to the left.)

There are quite a few vegetarian cafes and restaurants popping up all over Laos, especially in the serene capital of Vientiane. Phounchup Vegetarian Restaurant, adjoined to the large marketplace in the downtown area of Vientiane, offered tantalizing tastes of Laos unique vegetarian cuisine. Word to the wise: savvy vegetarian travelers seeking an authentic Laos dining experience should avoid the numerous cafes lining the city’s main drag that attempt to lure Western tourists by blaring episodes of Friends or Family Guy.
Luang Nam Tha is a province northwest of Luang Prabang and offers much along the lines of eco-tourism and delicious vegetarian cuisine. The best eco-lodge in Luang Nam Tha is called The Boat Landing Guest House and costs around 200,000 kip per night (or around $21). From here you can book one of many enticing eco-excursions in the Nam Tha Protected Area, which in 2005 was named an ASEAN Heritage Park. This park boasts some of the most diverse and breathtaking wilderness areas in Laos. Many species of conservational concern are currently being protected in the Nam Tha Protected Area, including rare species of pangolin and guar, soft-shelled turtles and the crimson-breasted woodpecker. Plus, one of the best veg restaurants in all of Laos, The Coffee House, can be found here. A combination of Lao and Thai vegetarian cuisines, it is affordable, delicious, and run by the sweetest Thai woman in the world.
During the rare times that I wasn’t eating, I spent my days purposely getting lost in and outside of the cities. In Luang Prabang, I stopped into Green Discovery, an eco-tourism company that offers guided trekking, kayaking, cycling and bird-watching excursions, as well as a cruelty-free elephant safari through the jungle. As it was my first time in Laos, I was unaware of how time consuming travel there can be—there is no rail system and the roads are small and windy—so I had to settle on a two-day trek instead of a five-day. It ended up being a blessing, however, because my travel companion and I ended up getting a very handsome and stoic personal guide who let us choose exactly how to spend our two incredible days. By the way, the myth about Asian men is a myth indeed. For a mere $60 each we experienced the following in no particular order: we rode on elephants formerly used as beasts of burden, swam in bone-chilling waterfalls, hiked through rice paddies, climbed a mountain in order to visit a tiny Khmu hill tribe village, slid down the mountain in the rain, kayaked for hours along the Nam Khan River, negotiated some medium-difficult rapids, and stayed overnight in a Hmong village where we sang traditional Lao songs and drank lao lao (rice wine) with the local teenagers. I’d say it was by far the best $60 I’ve ever spent, not to mention that I was able to request vegetarian food a day in advance, and so was pleasantly surprised with a wild eggplant puree, tomato/chili sambal, sautéed ferns, sticky rice, and other interesting local veggies for both lunch and dinner.
After returning to Luang Prabang, covered in mud and exhausted from our laborious trek, we stumbled upon what I would call the coup de grâce: a vegetarian street buffet that was literally 0.50 cents! Sufficed to say, I ate more than my fare share; seated on a plastic stool, I admired the sunset over the Mekong while a light drizzle cooled my tired skin. Bamboo and moss soup, black rice salad with cashews and tofu, fresh long-bean salad, spicy green mango salad, water lily stir-fry, vegetarian tam lao (with a mushroom sauce substituted for the fish sauce) and ground toasted sticky rice were just a few of the delicate morsels we feasted on in the streets that languid evening. Armed with a couple of lukewarm cans of Beer Lao, we decided to turn in for the night, bellies and hearts full of love for Laos.

LAOS

I said I'd eventually get to writing about Laos and Cambodia and Indonesia, and here it goes, just two months late. First I'll start with Laos--or at least start with starting with Laos:

Rice

Laos, officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, is one of the smallest and least-visited countries in Southeast Asia. However, despite being about the same size as Utah, Laos boasts incredible ethnic and scenic diversity. From the lush jungles deep in southern Laos to the vast mountain ranges of the north; to the lazy Mekong river that snakes along the western Thai border to the sleepiest capital in the world, Vientiane; Laos is truly the Jewel of the Mekong. Rich in vegetation and largely Buddhist, Laos guarantees a plethora of wild and interesting vegetarian foodstuffs that will peak any adventurous omnivore’s curiosity.

Larb

Due to its rough history, Laos has, until recently, remained relatively untouched by tourism. This is a good thing, because where much of Thailand (especially the islands) is becoming increasingly built up and the beaches littered with buckets, beer-cans and baseball hats, Laos has maintained its wild and untouched feel due to a blossoming eco-tourism industry. Eco-lodges are popping up all over Laos as well as eco-tourism agencies that can help you decide on which excursion is right for you and your budget. I started my jaunt in Laos by flying into the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang directly from Chiang Mai, Thailand. This ancient town is set along the Mekong River and is surrounded by a breathtaking backdrop of lush green mountains and over 30 Buddhist temples. The night market of Luang Prabang is an eco-conscious-shop-a-holic’s dream. A cacophony of brightly colored, high-quality handmade products, the market allows for a symbiotic relationship where the local hilltribespeople can make a fine living by selling their gorgeous embroidery, organically hand-dyed fabrics and clothing, and bamboo paper to the wide-eyed and drooling tourists. Seriously, the gorgeous goods and mouthwatering (and dirt-cheap) vegetarian street food that can be found in the marketplaces all over Laos can be literally stupefying.

Night Market 

Being an ex-French colony, Luang Prabang is probably one of the only towns in Southeast Asia where you can nosh on a freshly baked baguette alongside a traditional Lao meal of tofu larp and sautéed morning glory with a side of moss straight out of the Mekong. I pretty much ate at the cheap vegetarian street buffet ($0.50) every night, which consisted of sitting on plastic stools eating heaping plates of steamed vegetables, sticky rice, and slurping hot noodle soup while the sun set over the Mekong and a faint drizzle cooled our tired skin. Larp is a Lao specialty, which is usually made with some sort of chopped meat, green onion, sesame seeds, lime and red chillies. However, it is becoming more common to see vegetarian renditions that are not to be missed, including tofu, wild eggplant, pumpkin, etc…Lao cuisine is quite similar to Thai, although it’s not as spicy and everything is served with very sticky rice. Its flavors are also a bit more tangy, as it calls for such pungent additions as chilies, lime juice, lemongrass and fresh coriander leaf. One thing to look out for is the common Lao practice of using a clear fish sauce made from anchovies called ‘naam bpaa’, as well as fermented shrimp paste, or ‘ka-pi’, which account for the cuisine’s salty element. One necessary Lao phrase for any vegan or vegetarian, therefore, is “Please don’t use” or ‘ka-lu-naa baw sai’ then add ‘naam npaa’ or ‘ka-pi’. Other common flavors in Lao cuisine include sour tamarind juice, coconut milk, ginger, sweet basil and ground peanuts. And like many of Laos’ Southeast Asian neighbors, it’s a great place to try a wide variety of tropical fruit both in smoothie-form or from a street vendor who will peel and chop the fruit for you. I became basically addicted to sour green mangoes, jackfruit, durian, guava, longan, and my personal favorite, the glamorous dragonfruit.

my body hates me

The veins in the tops of my feet have been virtually sucked dry. There are 25 mosquito bites on my left leg (most concentrated on my ankles and feet) and 23 on my right leg. The veins on the tops of my feet are bulging and itchy and my tummy is rumbling in a most precarious way. It's a travel day --which worries me-- because I have no clean, comfortable, western toilet stocked with plush t.p. to call my own when the inevitable explosion occurs. There is sweat running down my face and neck and into my cleavage, collecting under my boobs which is uncomfortable and gross. I am flying from Bangkok to Jakarta tonight, and am not really looking forward to it. I want to just be in Bali and be over it. Indonesia is a bit unstable, and according to David (perhaps my new boss-to-be) everyone there is quite shady and will try to take advantage of me as soon as I step off the plane. I decided that instead of show up in an unknown place at midnight with nowhere to stay, I would simply suck it up and stay at the airport hotel and bum around until my flight to Bali, tomorrow at 4pm. It is sure to be a long night.

Jen left on Monday after an amazing and raucous couple days in downtown Bangkok. We stayed at the new Dream Bangkok-a swank hotel geared towards young, crazy partiers. Our room looked straight out of some music video or something. There was recessed blue lighting under the beds and in the walls, a huge flatscreen tv, an ipod hookup so we could blast music and even a chandelier! The beds were big and white and cushy and I doubt I ever wasn't wrapped up one of the big amazing terrycloth robes...even when I was jumping wildly from bed to bed.

We even splurged and went out to a nice meal at a really adorable veg place called Tamarind Cafe. We had sesame covered fresh falafel balls with three different mediterranean dips that were to die for. We also had a potato gratin, a fantastic mushroom pasta and this creamy tofu dish with the tofu fried, thai-style served with a fresh tomato sauce. We also had two bottles of white wine (which were both affordable and delicious) I think they were a Sauvignon Blanc of some sort and Brooke fell down the stairs after we finished the first one and had gone outside on the roof deck to smoke a cig before our decadent chocolate cake arrived (with the 2nd bottle) for dessert. Luckily, she is a pro at falling, because she kept her wine glass in the air and managed to land on her knees and one wrist to save the glass! A girl after my own heart: never allow a drop of wine to go un-sipped!

Now I am off to buy some more books before I go to Indo. I have much more to write about Laos and Cambodia, but that is going to have to wait, I'm afraid. I'll wave to you from the top of a volcano!

Stuck-up Hippies

At the moment we are in Laos in a little town called Vang Vieng and the sun has finally decided to come out. Lately it's been cloudy and drizzling everywhere we've been, so now that the sun is out we are renting bicycles ($2 a day) and going to ride out to some limestone caves and then go tubing down the Mekong River. Laos is a lot like Thailand, but there are a lot of French influences because it was a French colony at one point. I really need to study up on my Laotian History! Wow, I can't belive the last time I posted was back when we were on Koh Pha Ngan. Well, after that we took an overnight train to Bangkok (lovely)and then flew to Chang Mai. If we had more time we would have taken the train all the way, but 36 or so hours of train time when we have time-constraints wouldn't have cut it.

Chang Mai is probably my favorite town in Thailand. The old town is surrounded by a moat and there are wats everywhere. The night markets are flush with every sort of food you could possibly imagine, all for about 20 baht for a bag-full. On our first night, Courtney and Joe took us to the market by the Chang Mai Gate and we feasted on sticky rice, a bamboo/straw mushroom soup, Som Tom (Papaya Salad) and fried vegetarian spring rolls. We stayed at an awesome guest house called Julie's where we spent a good chunk of time on the roof deck overlooking the city. We had a very livable room and paid 160 baht for the two of us (about $2.50 each)and rented a scooter to explore the town with. I met a guy named Mike who is studying the Ancient Art of Chinese Nerve Massage which is completely insane. Basically, he is studying under the master of this healing practice and he is unbelievable. Just by looking at my weird curved fourth toe, he knew I had siatic and hip issues. Then he started to move my nerves in my arm around and it was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced. Many people say that it is even more painful than getting a tattoo. He did about an hour's work on my arms, and I felt like I was going insane. I tried to concentrate on my breathing and it took all of my inner strength to not scream in pain and let him finish. When he did, I could really feel the difference though, my arms actually looked straighter, and felt way less tense. My fingers are still a bit tingly, and I have bruises on my upper arms, but he said that he undid about three years worth of damage that I did to myself by waitressing; in fact he couldn't believe that I had only been a waitress for two and a half years, from the damage and strain, he would have guessed eight! Unfortunately we were only there for three days, but I am going to have to go back to continue my nerve massage. To look him up, go to www.ancienthealingmassge.com

So we left Chang Mai on Thursday and flew to Luang Prabang in Laos. I guess we really aren't "hard-core budget travelers" after all, seeing as though we'd rather spend money on an hour-long plane ride then spend three days taking boats and buses. I'm sick of all these holier-than-thou self-proclaimed "hard-core budget backpackers" anyway. It's possible to spend a long time travelling and living cheaply without becoming a stuck-up hippy. Isn't being a stuck-up hippy like completely against what a hippy should be? Hippies should be welcoming and friendly and happy that other people are travelling and experiencing different cultures, not pissed that everything is becoming "touristy". Aren't they tourists? What-EVER!

Anyway we are now in Vang Vieng, and Laotian food is not as good Thai food, but more like a Vietnamese and HIll-tribal Fusion sort...sticky rice with every meal, lot's of scallions, lime, lemongrass, chilis, moss (!) and even water-buffalo thrown into the mix. We just got back from a two-day trek into the Laotian jungle where a guide took me and Jen into little Hmong and Khmu(?) tribal villages up in the middle of NOwhere. We did a pretty intense hike (about 5 hours) up a mountain where we spent maybe 15 minutes wandering around a tiny (40 family) Hmong village and then set off down the other side of the mountain which was extremely muddy and slippery and dangerous. Jen was only wearing flipflops and almost slid all the way down the side of the mountain! But our stoic guide stuck his foot out and caught her. I slipped twice and by the time we arrived in the larger Hmong village to eat and sleep we were absolutely covered in red mud. But that didn't stop us from befriending the village teenagers and we proceeded to get them drunk off of lao lao (laotian whiskey) that came in a large lable-less jug and only cost about 15 cents. That day we also rode on elephants which was amazing and I was happy to see that the elephants looked very healthy and well taken care of. Yesterday we left the tribe and hiked for another couple of hours, swam in gorgeous waterfalls, then kayaked back to civilization for about 3 hours down the Nam Khan River. Tomorrow we are going back to Luang Probang, an absolutlely adorable little town where we can explore some more vats (buddhist temples) and buy some hand-made crafts from the hill tribes that come down for the night markets. On Tuesday we are flying to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see Ankgor Wat -- the mother of all wats and after that back to Bangkok. It's really sad that I don't have more time to really get to know all of these places, but that just means I'll have to come back! See you soon,