Jenga Piles, Lobster Rolls and Killer Foods

One of the questions that came from the blog of a couple of weeks ago is what sort of art does Jon do? I think they were wondering if he did anything like an art installation. He does a lot of graphic arts like the covers for Sybaritic Press titles and for my web pages. He hasn't done any sculpting since art school save for the things he creates while doing the dishes. Most women I know would do a huge load of dishes in shifts or wash and dry and then do more. Oh no, not my Hubs. He likes to build intricate piles of dishes, pots and pans. As you can see in the photo, some of these masterpieces are so precarious that I worry about a vibration from closing the refrigerator door will bring the thing crashing to the floor. I never put the dishes away. I look at that Jenga pile with great trepidation. I figure I should leave that to the builder. This is Jon's main outlet for sculpting. I think he could sell the dish Jenga as an art installation.

Killer Foods

I really wanted to try the lobster roll at a very famous gourmet food truck here. And on Thursday, the truck was a ten minute bus ride from my house. We have a gathering of such trucks every day at a parking lot across from Sony Pictures. I was so excited. And then I looked up the price of said lobster roll. It was $12! When you factor in the bus fare and a drink, we're getting close to $20, US! A twenty dollar sandwich should come with a good looking nearly naked man. Unfortunately for the truck, lobster tails were on sale for $5 at my local market and I had a recipe. I made it on Saturday along with some tangy slices of fried green tomato. The new development of our local market selling green tomatoes in the summer has filled me with joy. I should whip up some collards and have them sliced up in a bowl as my Dad liked. Very tangy. At any rate, I completely get the appeal of a lobster roll. It was tender and sweet and a little tangy from the lemon and the onion. It had that wonderful, soul satisfying affect on me that only good shellfish has. I was dancing in my seat. There were no photos, alas. I was eating the thing before I could sit down. Next time. And there will be a next time.

For every cooking success, there is a food out there that I believe is trying to kill me. In July, I became convinced that mangoes meant me ill will. No matter how I tried to imitate the allegedly simple way of getting the mango flesh away from the skin and the big ol' seed, I always ended up coming close to slipping with the very sharp knife and injuring myself. I work with very sharp knives. This month, it's a Kabocha, a Japanese pumpkin. That thing was tougher to take apart than a butternut squash. I won't even try to do more than split one of those. I roast those things halved to get at the flesh. That was the first and last time I try to peel and cut a Kabocha. I'm also certain that I can't just fry pieces of that thing like I saw in the video. It's way too hard to be at all tender by the time the outside is golden brown. I'm going to have to par boil or pre-steam it if I'm going to try to fry it. That's on the agenda as part of Sunday dinner. I'm trying to broaden Jon's vegetable palette or actually have him develop a vegetable palette.

Alas, I must make this blog short and sweet. I have a lot to do today in advance of a very busy week. There are some film meetings on the horizon. I have a new doctor to meet. No worries though. This is some stuff and nonsense that my medical insurance requires – though I do plan to give him an earful about my ongoing symptoms from chemo. And, I'm actually entertaining. Yes, I know you all find me entertaining (silly, fake laughing). I mean, I have someone coming by to partake of food and other refreshments. No worries, I shall tell all next week. I'll also have an update on The Secret Cancer blog sometime during the week. I'll post a link on on this blog as well.

Stay tuned.