Allie (on right) and friends wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

President's Compost

The seven Founding Fathers

It's high time for another guest blog and this one, by my sister Lucia Monfried, spotlights four of our revered founding fathers and is entitled      PRESIDENT'S COMPOST

With presidential politics front of mind these days, I'm thinking of a certain president who was hot headed, prickly, and off-putting, one who distrusted the press, and felt himself constantly undercut by comparisons to his predecessor. No– it's not the current resident in the White House, but John Adams, our second president. Comparisons to current leader (ahem!) end there. Adams, who said "facts are stubborn things," was a courageous patriot and brilliant writer and thinker who got the revolutionary war going.

Defeated in the election of 1800 by Thomas Jefferson, his vice president, in a hotly contested and shockingly mean spirited fight, he did not attend the inauguration of his rival, instead slipping away to his farm before the festivities. Sound like someone we know?

I gleaned these facts from a wonderful book called Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf, about the estates, farms and gardens of our first four presidents.

   

As election tensions rose in the leadup to the recent election, I found a kindred spirit in Adams, who was reputed to go out "digging and scything" when he felt anxious as Washington's vice president.

Madison couldn't wait to don old patched trousers for gardening, while I wear sweatpants and old shoes today

I indulged in some digging and raking (not scything) myself, in my garden in Connecticut, to ease my anxiety as events unfolded in November.

Adams was the only New Englander among the founders Washington, Jefferson and Madison, all rich Virginia estate owners. Adams had a farm in Quincy, Massachusetts, which he named Peace Field (now a part of the National Park Service and open to visitors in normal times) to which he retreated and lived out his very long life.

Peace Field in Quincy, MA

 Below, in contrast to John Adams's modest farm, are depictions of the grand Virginia estates of George   Washington and Thomas Jefferson. 

Extensive gardens and grounds of Mt. Vernon, George Washington's estate in Northern Virginia

Monticello, Jefferson's luxurious estate in central Virginia- note extensive experimental 'vegetable terrace' to the right

Adams eventually reconciled with his former friend Jefferson with whom he had spent time in England after the Revolutionary War carrying out governmental duties. They both toured gardens there, read treatises, and immersed themselves in the art and science of horticulture.

Both men believed deeply in an agrarian future for the young republic, and followed advances in agricultural research.  Endearingly to me, Adams studied and revered compost. One scene in the HBO miniseries John Adams starring Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as his wife Abagail, shows him in the muck extolling the merits of manure.

Promotional photo for HBO's John Adams

A screen grab of young John Quincy Adams 

                "Deeper! Deeper!"commands John Adams while he and his son dig in the compost                                                                           in the HBO miniseries John Adams

                    

                  Son John warily sniffs a handful of dung offered by his enthusiastic father in John Adams.

Adams may have been truculent and thin skinned but he reminds us that people are complex, a mix of attractive and unappealing characteristics. Another reminder: activities that were sustaining two centuries ago– digging and composting and improving the earth– continue to be so today. Working on his farm was so important to Adams that he compared it to a medicine.

So with this wish, take a cue from John (and James and George): May the conservation of the land so hallowed by our founding fathers sustain us all in this fractious time of transition.

Buddha's Hands at the farmers' Market

It's citrus season again and Buddha's hands are starting to show up in our local farmers' markets. To demystify this exotic fruit, read THIS.

Here's a favorite photo from a previous blog. This Buddha sits on the mantle at sister-in-law Ricki's. As my friend Andrew, who is fluent in Japanese commented, the stand is actually upside down.

Original 2012 Buddha Hand blog with Green Bin header

Happy Halloween Goodies

 

                                  Deep dark chocolate and ghostly meringue cupcakes

Here's a recipe for some sweet halloween fun from Anita Chu's Dessert First blog. Even if you don't make these ghostly goodies you can smile at their goofy faces. And remember, as I said three years ago, ghosts are compostable too. 

Halloween-Ghost-Cupcakes 

 

Go Kamala

 

My sister models her new , LA shirt in New York

Transamerica Pyramid from Wayfare Tavern

Pyramid at 5:40 PM Oct. 17th 

    It's hard to take a bad picture of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco's financial district. But on Saturday evening, from our table outside the Wayfare Tavern, the upturned camera angle and the late afternoon light aligned to create some stunning shots. Even taken by an iphone.

                           And the cocktails, fried chicken and popovers weren't bad either

photo taken at 6:10 PM

 

Danish Oat Cakes

Completed oat cakes, slipped out of their muffin pan and ready to eat

 

Like so many others, I've been baking my way though these stressful times. Here's an old favorite that's perfect for late summer heatwaves because it doesn't require baking at all. I'm talking about Danish Oat Cakes

     

                               They're super-comforting if you're freaked out about nearby wildfires,

                               the Pandemic, smoky air---or all three!

   

The recipe comes from The Complete Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton, Jr.  I've been making them since I bought the book in 1973, when it was published. The oatcakes are called Havregrynskage in Danish, "They're fun to make, good to eat and a conversation food." Here's the recipe as it appears on page 489 of my first edition.

In a large skillet, over moderate heat, melt 1/2 cup butter and stir in 1/4 cup sugar with a wooden spoon. Let them cook together for about 30 seconds. Add  2 cups instant oatmeal and, stirring occasionally, cook for 10 minutes or until the oatmeal is a golden brown. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup corn syrup. It will be quite thick and sticky

Then rinse a muffin tin with cold water, shake out any excess  moisture and pack the cups firmly with the hot oat mixture.

Place the filled muffin pan in the refrigerator for at least three 

hours. When the oat cakes are cold, loosen them by running a knife around the edges and slip the cakes out of the pan. Now they're ready to eat. The Danes sometimes serve them with a chilled buttermilk soup which they pour over the cakes. I guarantee that the buttermilk is not necessary. They're perfect eaten alone with only a plate underneath to catch the crumbs, accompanied by a cup of strong coffee or a glass of wine.

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Aperol Spritz

For our second outdoor lunch at Belotti, we were seated on the roomy, shady side of the restaurant and our table faced this bright Italian sign for Aperol Spritz---"Italy's #1 cocktail." We can attest to it's popularity, having visited Italy's Piemonte region last September.

In Alba, I was intrigued by a happy table full of Scandinavian tourists (pre pandemic, of course) drinking bright orange aperitivi. What could they be?

A few days later, wandering the hilly streets of La Morra, I got a chance to find out. We stopped for lunch at a trattoria, nabbed a table on the lovely patio and ordered what everyone else was having--Aperol Spritz!!  They were delicious.

So refreshing on a hot summer afternoon in La Morra

                                   

Back at our Belotti lunch last week, excited by the bright orange poster advertising Italy's #1 cocktail, we ordered Aperol Spritzes, but to our dismay we were served a dispirited watered down version of the cocktail in a short glass

After a few sips, we complained to our waiter and he cheerfully brought us two new drinks which he called biciclettas. These hit the spot and we happily drank them with our fabulous salad and pastas.

Biciclettas at Belotti

 After a bit of research I found out that a bicicletta is a cocktail made with Campari instead of Aperol, so  it's really a Campari Spritz. Chowhound's website offers a thorough comparison of the two liqueurs for those who may be interested. I am paraphrasing their comments below:

Both Campari and Aperol are part of the amaro family (amaro means bitter in Italian) which are consumed neat as an after dinner digestivo or before a meal as an aperitivo to stimulate the appetite. Aperol, created in 1919 by two brothers from Padua, is the sweeter of the two, with a higher sugar count and an alcohol content of 11%. It's signature blend is dominated by bitter and sweet oranges, rhubarb, plus a secretly guarded ratio of herbs and spices.

Campari, created in 1860 by Gaspari Campari in Milano, is significantly more bitter and boozy at 24% alcohol. Its flavor profile features orange zest and a pronounced herbaceousness as well as intense quinine, floral and tart red berry flavors. In cocktails the tartness is usually balanced with something  like sweet vermouth.

As for color, Aperol has a significantly lighter orange hue, while Campari is known for its bold electric red tint. Both colors are achieved by a coloring agent.

So when our waiter substituted a Bicicletta for an Aperol Spritz, he was plying us with a more alcoholic cocktail and hoping we would enjoy our lunch and go away happy. It worked! We are looking forward to returning and next time we'll order a Bicicletta straight away.

Challah for Rosh Hashanah

The traditional Jewish Sabbath bread, Challah, is typically oblong, but for Rosh Hashanah, everyone serves a round Challah to symbolize eternal life. Once an ethnic Eastern European food, challah has become as mainstream as bagels. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year Festival and is always held in September. This year it's September 18th-20th and the Cheeseboard in Berkeley made a fruited loaf for the holiday. It sold out early on Friday so I was first in line on Saturday the 19th. I love their special holiday offerings--my favorite is their saffron bread sold at Christmas. They're very nondenominational.

Mid-August Lunch at Belotti

 

Lattuga ( living butter lettuce, toasted pine nuts, lemon dressing) plenty for 2

          

            To celebrate International Left Hander's Day, I took Dean out to lunch at Belotti in Oakland

This could be Italy but it's College Avenue in Oakland

Casoncelli Bergamaschi

Dean ordered casoncelli, a scrumptious, rich pasta dish that the chef describes as "my mom's Bergamo style stuffed pasta with beef, prosciutto, pork shoulder, grana padana, smoked pancetta, butter and sage."

 Dessert - an americano with a rich version of tiramisu. I had a traditional espresso

     Speaking of mid-August, I love this Italian movie. It's the perfect entertainment for hot summer nights! I saw it in the theatre a few years ago but it's now available from Netflix, so I sent for the DVD  and watched it again (and again!)

Happy Times at the Ferry Building

Simone and Giulio outside the Ferry Building

This colorful couple appeared at Book Passage in San Francisco one morning when I was working, and I was impressed. I figured they were foreigners, so we struck up a conversation. I found out that Simone Fougère is a DJ from New Zealand and her companion Giulio Cavallo is Italian. Anyway, they were headed back to their home in New Zealand from Spain where they live in the winter. I asked if I could take their picture and they were delighted to model. It was always fun meeting interesting visitors at the Ferry Building, which was a destination for tourists, when there were tourists.  Click HERE  here for a sample of their show.

Paris--- Place D'Italie Friday Morning Market

I'm gazing at the Figues de Barbarie (prickly pears) in drizzling Paris, remembering sunny Sicily  

Farther along (this market goes for blocks) I admired a basket of African bracelets. I only bought 3, what was I thinking!

A Fruit Market in Cefalù, Sicily

                   A colorful scene in Cefalù, Sicilia from a memorable trip in 2009. Click HERE

Woven Straw bag from Ecuauador

I'm showing off the brightly colored straw bag that my sister in law Ricki brought back from Ecuador a few years ago. I finally got around to cutting and tying the long strings to the desired length, so now it can lend a pop of color to drab days. 

Zoom Exercise Classes Make My Day

Here are some of my favorite athletic teachers, direct from the Berkeley Rec Sports Department. Since the Shelter in Place order they've offered classes on Zoom with these inspirational teachers and I don't even have to go to the gym.  As an added bonus I get to see their home workout spaces, which is part of the fun. It's amusing when a dog or cat flits through the room. Here is a link to the workfit zoom schedule, and Cal Rec Sports encourages anyone to join: Just click on the class you like and you're in free.

                  I took these photos on my computer so they're a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea

   Polly stretches after her invigorating "SimpleStrong" class on Monday.  Her space is actually outside so we can see the weather changing as the class progresses.

             

           
              Polly cooling down after her 30 minute Upper Body Blast at 8:30 Tuesday mornings.

             My sister in law Ricki loaned me some of her weights so I wouldn't need soup cans

Tracie wins the prize for the most stunning living room. I've taken her yoga classes at the Cal gym but of course never appreciated her talent for artistic home decoration

Tracie on another Monday morning in front of her altar 

Bianca is one of my favorite Pilates teachers. Here she uses her bookshelf as a barre during her Barre Fit class on Friday afternoons.  She's a talented Flamenco dancer in her other life

Bianca again in her morning barre express. Cal provided her with longer ethernet cables so now she can teach outside in the sunny summer weather

Here's Rio, king of power yoga. He appeals to the younger, stronger set, but I can't resist his charisma-- and his new puppy

Randy  is the only guy to teach his strength class in the kitchen!

I exercise in our office, looking at the computer. There's room for a mat, and a chair serves as a barre. I've seen dancer's on You Tube moving in many unusual configurations. Here are some thrilling examples