Month: May 2010

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a hand is a link to someone’s heart

I wanna hold your hand

I noticed that  one of Laura’s blogs “I wanna hold your hand” was getting a lot of interest lately, I recognized it and it made me smile. Laura discussed how it was a simple means of communication and a sign of affection. She also hinted at how some people view it as ‘control’ and ‘oppression’, which might be the case in dealing with a 2 year old trying to run in a crowded airport… but less so here.

Personally, I have always found walking holding hands to be relaxing, a silent form of communication and comforting. Laura said that she had noticed more and more folks holding hands and viewed this as a good sign for relationships and I agree. On reflecting, I do remember when Laura first held my hand, it was on our first date in 1969 at a USC- UCLA football game and she sighed that her hands were cold. I held her right hand with my left as we walked and we both felt warmer and I could feel her pulse….  I knew her statement was ‘a line’… but it was a good one!

Over the years, I have found walking and holding hands to be a link into someone’s heart. Because, if you walk holding hands with someone for 30 minutes, you know all about them.

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Karla makes me smile

karla makes me smile

Sometimes. Karla just gets to the root of something… possibly without meaning to, but her humor is priceless. Karla ( who has autism) drew two pictures and sent them to me via email (she likes this medium). The first is of her older sister Kristin who loves to do adventurous things ( she is a ‘lioness’ as everyone knows!) and the scond is a drawing of old dad having a battle with the evil minions of Google.

In any event, she made me laugh!

Roger

PS. click on the picture and you’ll see more of her work.

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boiling your own grape leaves

Ah... growing your own grape leaves makes all the difference!

Most recipes for preparing grape leaves for consumption have the following characteristics:

1) Pick only the young leaves in late May or early June (however, this depends entirely on the variety and the time of the year they begin to grow)

2) Bundle in groups of 10 or 20 with the stems at one end and fold once or twice and tie with string

3) boil in salt water ( I throw in some lemon)

4) pack tightly in jars and pour hot salt water over them

Personally, my leaves seldom last very long so I save them flat in my fridge and use as needed!

Here is my recipe for Greek Dolmades!

Bon appetite!

Roger

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it’s picnic time

when you get folks together, you have to have room!

In California , the weather is starting to normalize and that means eating outside! This is the time when many people — who haven’t done much cooking all year begin to dust off their recipe card files and cookbooks and get ready to make some family favorites. Baking season is known to start in October, but the barbecues and the smokers are already firing up and this is an entirely different kind of cooking!

For us this means making our own corned beef and pastrami, smoking a salmon or two and cooking various cuts of beef over hickory and mesquite. It is a good time.

Preparation means serving either buffet or family style. Personally, I like to have a separate table just for the food, iced down troughs for the beverages and wine on the table. It’s the old keep it simple system. Personally, home baked rolls ( baguettes) and pies help add some diversion too the meal. And what isn’t a barbecue without garlic bread and your favorite recipe for baked beans ( with a secret ingredient or two from the liquor cabinet)!

Here is a few of what I like to prepare!

So, with summer just around the corner… plan a picnic!