Ahhh...spring skiing in Utah!!!

We just returned from a week of skiing in Utah! We skied with Paul, Sean, Jeff, Liz, Chris and Kieran for a week just outside Salt Lake City. We skied at Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton ski resorts. The conditions were terrific. ... spring skiing at its best with warm 65 degree sunshine and plenty of soft snow underneath our skiis and snowboards.
We had rented a house in Holladay, 15 minutes from the resorts. It was wonderful with 5 bedrooms, a hot tub and a pool table! The gourmet kitchen hosted our evening meals which we are took turns preparing.... Liz and Sean created a Fajita feast and Chris fried up terrific chicken wings. Anna prepared lasagna, tonkatsu chicken and spareribs and we all went out to eat one night at a terrific Italian restaurant that Paul knew about. We drank wine and Liz's delectible concoctions and skied/snowboarded till we dropped. A hot soak every night mellowed the bones and muscles! We never were out late! Too tired....
One day we took off to visit Paul at his fire station where Liz and Sean slid down the fire pole and Kieran sat in the fire engine!
We visited the Tabernacle at the Morman Temple and downtown Salt Lake City.
We all had a terrific time.... but missed Ren, Hiroko and Chikage... perhaps when the new baby is a little older we will all get together.
Here are pix to enjoy!

Love Anna and Myron

Masks at the Milonga

Even though it was the Saturday night after Fat Tuesday, we had a Mardi Gras milonga. We wore beads and masks and Tangoed until 1 am.!!! It was simply a wonderful evening with great music, great friends and fun dancing. We have been lucky to have a Milonga a week so we can Tango and enjoy the company of some really terrific people. This past Saturday I bought 2 new dresses so I wasn't boring everyone with the same ones alternating each week. I can't wait to wear them....

Tanguera Anna and Tanguero Myron

Yes I am turning Japanese...and I like it...

A trip to the Asian Market in CARY, NC ( Containment Area for Relocated Yankees) opened up a new world of culinary delights. Myron bought me a Japanese cookbook for Valentine's Day. Reading it is like reading the anthropological undertakings of Margaret Mead. It isn't about recipes, even though half the book is recipes, it is about the harmony of the Japanese kitchen , the indigenous foodstuffs, the visual presentation and the pleasures of the senses.

The book, Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen, by Elizabeth Andoh is more of a journey through the Japanese kitchen than a cookbook. I have learned that when one incorporates 5 colors in the meal, all necessary balanced nutrients are satisfied....so much for the Southern cuisine of Baked Mac and Cheese followed by Banana pudding! I relish the fact that my dishes don't have to match each other! Instead they must complement the food served in them. Rustic ceramic dishes in odd shapes do not clash with traditional blue and white porcelain. I can't wait to purchase some odd shaped ones to add to my rather dull collection.

Vegetables have unique and exquisite flavor! Miniscule dried sardines crackle in the fry pan providing calcium and a briney flavor. Miso soup can be made in minutes that tastes great and doesn't even register points in Weight Watchers! Red Snapper filleted at the fishmonger, bought home and simmered in Sake, Soy and Mirin is to die for and took only 10 minutes. Rice cooks great when left alone and pickled ginger cleanses the palate....

Of course, I have to learn how to use the proper utensils and acquire appropriate crockery, but I am on my way to creating delightful and sensual meals. The picture is of my homemade Miso soup with shitake mushrooms, tofu and marine vegetables. I apologize for the boring soup bowl... I had to make do.
The song I am Turning Japanese by the Vapors.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mO4mJA3MYs
Love
Anna and Myron