Reverse...

Never a dull moment, especially when you'd really like one.  Yesterday was on track to be a well-rounded collection of 24 hours when a lady backing up in a parking lot slammed into the back of my car.  No one was hurt and she was extremely kind and apologetic.  My car's going to need a new fender/bumper thingy, but hers is going to need a bit more work I'm afraid.  When I told her my name she looked crestfallen and said, "Please don't tell me your last name is Rueffert".  My inner, starving comedian wanted to respond with something clever like: "No, I'm just one of the many people named Hans in Jasper Georgia on my way to the annual Hans convention", but I just smiled and said "Yes".  She'd just read an article about me in Georgia magazine and told me that she'd just told her husband the night before that she couldn't believe what a rough year I've had.  She was afraid she was contributing to that long laundry list of calamities, but I assured her that compared to the rest, this was truly just a fender-bender...a mild inconvenience at best.  The police arrived, insurance notified and the whole ordeal ended with a kind hug and farewell.  Another interesting bump in an already interesting year.

I had an opportunity to speak to a group in Woodstock at Fox Tale book shop on Friday the 3rd and was beside myself with the enthusiasm there.  People are genuinely interested learning about solid, local foods as well as their health benefits.  Great group of folks all around.  The shop itself  is a great example of small business doing things right and I highly recommend it or if you're not in our neck of the woods, another locally owned and operated book shop.  The event was a great way to transition into a great 4th weekend filled with good food, friends, family and, of course, fireworks.

A root canal today, a spot on Better Mornings Atlanta tomorrow (sometime between 5 and 7 AM!), a GSU alumni event on Thursday and hopefully lots of rest in-between.  I'm still battling some wicked headaches and an increasing number of dizzy spells, but things are manageable.  I remind myself each day that things could be worse...things HAVE been so much worse.  My body and its collection of aches and pains and frailties still continues to be a big source of frustration.  The memory of my former strength often trips up the reality of my "new normal", leaving me a bit deflated at times.  Sometimes I feel like I'm the one driving backwards in the parking lot, but then again I remember being confined to the hospital and think that backwards is better than no-wards.  Despite the odds, I'm still here and there are increasingly more good days than bad, and that's a great source of comfort and inspiration.

The root canal awaits.  Be well...Gesundheit!

Hans

LA...part 2

After an amazing visit with my friend and fellow gastric cancer survivor Travis Davis (and his beautiful family), it was back to food adventure with Michael and his brother Sean.  Sean and Michael are professionals when it comes to eating in LA and were kind enough to accommodate their half-stomached guest by sharing larger portions with me.  Quality...not quantity.

First stop was a quick jaunt over to LAMill Coffee for a "glorious" cup of coffee.  Michael had sent me a half pound of beans from there before and I was in heaven...truly superb.  Their menu consists of selections of small-batch coffees from all over the world.  Some of the beans are so limited that they may only have enough beans for a few days and then when they're gone, they're gone.  It would be dangerous if I lived closer to LAMill...

The next stop was at Langer's Deli for a hand-carved pastrami sandwich.  Perfectly marbled with just the right amount of fat and piled high on dense, chewy, caraway-studded rye.  There's a reason the place has been in operation since 1947...delicious.

After a stroll on Venice Beach it was over to Titos Tacos for an authentic hard shell taco.  Nothing fancy here, just solid, crunchy, perfectly seasoned tacos.  There's always a line, but it's worth it.

On our way over to partake in some Ethiopian food, we heard that Michael Jackson had just died just minutes from where we'd just been.  Strange.  One of those "I remember where I was" moments in life that, for whatever reason, is just haunting.  I've never been a Jackson fan, but you can't deny his contribution to pop music.  But we didn't let current events halt the eating and enjoyed a platter of mixed lentils, cabbages, collards, and stewed meets served atop a spongy, yeasty, dense crepe. It was my first foray into Ethiopian cuisine, but it certainly won't be my last...perfectly spiced and hearty.

The last stop before heading to the airport was at the infamous Pinkberry.  I'm always eager to de-throne over hyped food products and I've heard nothing but praise about this particular variety of frozen yogurt.  I've always been a huge fan of "fro-yo", but the craze surrounding Pinkberry seemed like just a fad.  Well...count me in!  The stuff is absolutely perfect.  It's not yogurt pretending to be ice cream, but true yogurt with that trademark twang. And the consistency is, as Michael described it, like eating a frozen cloud.  Now, can we please get on in Georgia??

If you're visiting LA, go out and eat and me know what you find.  I'm already thinking of my next food adventure with Michael and Sean.

Gesundheit!

Hans

LA...part 1

When the rest of the world thinks of the U.S., they instantly think of either New York or Los Angeles.  I've spent a fair amount of time in both and love them both for very different reasons.  NY is compact and edgy vs. LA's sprawling, laid back nature.  Both are amazing places to visit, but I don't think I could live in either.  I've been visiting LA every year or so for the last dozen years to visit with friends and steal away a bit of culinary inspiration.

After spending a fantastic day with my friends Clive and Robb, my eating adventure began with dear friend and fellow Next Food Network Star contestant Michael Thomas.  The boy knows every good restaurant in the city and was determined to introduce me to as many of them as my little "stomaphagus" could handle.  Drop the top on Michael's little Honda convertible and away we go.

Our first stop was an unnamed Vietnamese restaurant for a plate of Bun, a cold vermicelli concoction with spiced beef, sprouts, fish sauce, lime, and handfuls of fresh, minty herbs.  Insanely delicious.  In iced Vietnamese coffee muddled with sweetened condensed milk was the perfect way to wrap things up, and I'm not sure I can drink coffee any other way now.

The next stop (the next day) was the famous Zankou Chicken in Pasadena.  Michael described it as a middle-eastern KFC, but I don't think the comparison does the place justice.  The chicken (un-fried) is beautifully moist and aromatic, served with a variety of pickles, hummus, pita, and a smoky eggplant dish called muttabal.  And if all of that weren't enough, the garlic sauce (more like a paste) is truly spectacular.  I simply couldn't stop eating it on everything.  I'll have to deconstruct that one and see if I can recreate it at home...

From there, a trip through Huntington gardens.  No food, but an amazing collection of plants including succulents, bromeliads, water plants, bonsais and palms.  In addition to the greenery, the garden houses an amazing collection of artifacts and art, including  an original Gutenberg bible and the original Blueboy by Gainsborough.  I'll leave you for now with Michael Thomas posing like the Blueboy.  More food stories soon...

Be well...gesundheit!

Hans   

My day...

A spray of fennel firework blossoms surrounded by a frenzy of tiny wasps greeted me this father's day morning...a beautiful thing.   A new shirt, a haircut, a late afternoon nap and Peking duck with the family.  Very nice!

Happy Father's Day to all.  Enjoy your families...

Gesundheit!

Hans

Like thistledown...

Finn and I stopped by the side of the road the other day to cautiously collect some thistle blossoms for the girls.  Thistles are quite possibly the meanest plants ever to grace the banks of a country road and easily one of the most beautiful.  It took a bit of determination and an old hacksaw blade to wrestle the blossom stems free from the spike-heavy plant, but the smiles those purple crowned monsters produced on our arrival made the pain seem worth it.

This morning we we discovered that our dear Moxie had passed away.  Our neighbors found her curled up as if she was asleep.  The short walk across the backyard to collect her body felt like miles.  She was our constant companion...our shadow.  It hit us all pretty hard and still makes my heart thump to think of it.  I didn't shed a tear when the doctors told me I would probably die, but I cried like a pinched baby this morning.  I maintained a semi-strong facade for Amy and the kids, but as I drove to bury her on the grounds at the Inn I was simply overcome.  She was my nap buddy, the fetcher of socks, a menace to folded laundry and a world champion purrer.  Her life was short, but she was deeply loved...and deeply missed.

I returned from laying little Moxie to rest and found that one of the thistle blossoms had bolted, producing a shower of delicate seed "feathers" that take flight on the slightest breath, beautiful and weightless.   In my melancholy, I couldn't help draw a connection between the thistles and life.  We all sprout and grow, set roots and blossom, but in the end, life leaves every living thing like thistledown on the wind.  I suppose we have to enjoy the blooms for as long as we can and Moxie was a rare bloom indeed.

Gesundheit.

Hans

Rainbow food...

The South has a reputation of cooking vegetables to within an inch of their lives, stripping them of all color, flavor, and even texture.  It's as if there was some reward offered to the first person who could make all food look, smell, and taste exactly the same.  If you've ever eaten at Cracker Barrel, you may have noticed this...the pale beige, formed plastic plate perfectly matching the meat and two resting upon it.  I've cooked okra for folks who've made the comment "I didn't know okra could be so green!"  That's sad.


So yesterday's class at the cancer wellness center was a celebration of colorful foods.  Shayna Koma, the registered dietician at Piedmont, likes to remind folks to "eat from the rainbow" because those high-color foods are full of the things our bodies need to maintain proper health.  I won't get into the nuts and bolts of it here (you'll have to attend a class for that), but I think it just makes sense.  Overcooking food leaches out the vitamins and nutrients, so imagine that as the color fades, so does the "good stuff".  Of course if you're one to light up a cigarette after a meal...well...never mind.  I'll refrain from ascending my soapbox.  

We had 45 attendees at the class yesterday, all of them with a plate full of green kale, orange carrot-ginger vinaigrette, purple cabbage, and pink salmon.  After that, fresh blueberries, red strawberries, and fresh minted yogurt.  Not bad, eh?

I had the opportunity to meet a fellow gastric cancer patient who is having a bit of a health hiccup at the moment.  An infected node has been found near his heart...inoperable.  He's going through radiation now and the prognosis seems good, but it's still tough to hear.  It's the thing we survivors fear the most.  He's seeing the same radiologist that just a week or so ago told me he can't believe I'm still alive.  Neither can I.


The residual swelling inside my skull is still giving me fits and dizzy spells.  I think things are improving overall, but I can't make it through the day without a serious nap and headache meds.  It can be somewhat worrisome at times (and I'm not a worrier by nature), because headaches and dizzy spells can be a sign of improvement or a sign of infection.  I'll assume the positive until an MRI proves otherwise.  


Enjoy the day...do a rain dance. Gesundheit!


Hans

Kitchen Favorites: Mint

As we were pulling rogue Bermuda grass from the garden one day, the children asked me "what exactly is a weed?"  They were a bit confused (and rightfully so) because we encouraged the growth of the very same grass in the yard less than a foot away, yet we were ripping it out by the roots around the base of our tomato plants.  The best definition of a weed that I could concoct was this: a weed is any plant growing where you don't want it to.  It may not be dictionary-quality, but it works.

So under that definition, I suppose mint is (or at least can be) a bit of a weed.  While the Bermuda grass is planning ways to infiltrate the sanctity of our garden, the mint has already successfully escaped.  It springs up in our lawn from snaking, underground runners...often surprisingly far from the mother plant.  We have so many escapees now that mowing the lawn has become an exercise in aromatherapy.  Once you have mint, you'll always have mint.  

But that's a good thing!  We probably have a dozen or more varieties of mint and find new uses for the stuff every day.  Smash it up for mint pesto, rip it up and toss it with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, in tea, etc.  The kids just eat it straight from the garden as a quick pick-me-up on hot days.  It's also great tossed in a salad as a way to punch up boing greens.

And should you find yourself needing more mint in the garden (or lawn), snipped stems can be easily rooted in a glass of water and then set out in even the poorest of soils.  Of course it makes a beautiful addition to any landscape and will push forth an inspiring array of white or purple blooms for the bees to enjoy.  I wonder if mint blossom nectar gives bees fresh breath?

Much to do!  Eat well, be well...gesundheit!

Hans