25 Aug, 2008
It was a long weekend in the Philippines, so we headed out of town for a few days, hence the relative quiet on the blog. Despite the dreary, grey monsoon weather in Manila, we managed to get a day and half of brilliant sunshine at the beach, just a few hours away, with…
22 Aug, 2008
Yes, that is a hungry bee (or is it a wasp) feasting on the nectar of this prolific white rose bush in the center of Istanbul. As soon as we left the Istanbul airport on the drive into town, we passed thousands upon thousands of rosebushes on roadway islands and beside major streets….
21 Aug, 2008
I cooked for my birthday dinner at home last night. Many folks would opt to eat out, but I actually enjoy the cooking and a home setting is so much more conducive to eating exactly what you like and in the amounts you desire. And with just four of us sitting down…
21 Aug, 2008
I was looking up definitions of all kinds of feeding choices and was totally amused by this tongue-in-cheek article by William Safire in the New York Times, it is worth a pause and a read before you continue with this post and hopefully vote in the accompanying poll…
20 Aug, 2008
Today is my birthday, as several readers have kindly remembered, and have already started leaving greetings on previous posts, so many thanks to all of you! I am taking the rest of the day off from blogging… Nothing fancy is planned today, just a simple dinner at home, with a once-a-year Thomas…
20 Aug, 2008
We have been doing an unusual amount of entertaining in the past couple of weeks. Back to back dinners usually mean we can stretch flower expenses into arrangements that are used several times. In this post, six bunches of red roses from Dimasalang anchor centerpieces for two dinners, and a present… …
19 Aug, 2008
Stunningly well marbled, with an incredible proportion of flavorful fat, Kurobuta is the porcine equivalent of Kobe Beef. Kurobuta literally translated as a “black pig,” is actually the Berkshire breed from England that was given as a diplomatic present to the leaders of Japan several hundred years ago. Trust the Japanese to…
19 Aug, 2008
Several weeks ago I was invited to attend a taste the products of Snake River Farms at a public relations event at a Makati restaurant. Snake River Farms is a very well known premium brand of meats, based in Boise, Idaho. About a decade or more ago, they imported the Wagyu breed…