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

I did it! I purchased new Tango shoes! 4 inch stilletos from Comme il Faut... the premium Tango shoe maker in Buenos Aires... I danced in them last night at the Milonga and found them to be comfortable! Amazing... They are beautiful but did not make me a better dancer... that will only come with practice, practice, practice and the most difficult contra-body movement I doubt I will ever master!

We do love Tango!
Anna and Myron

Valentine Breakfast!

A dozen red roses, a Japanese cookbook, and Michael Crighton's book, "Next" rounded out a fabulous Valentine Breakfast ... broccoli and cheese omelet, bacon, and chocolate covered strawberries.

75 and Sunny in February!

We love North Carolina! This weekend was spectacular....sunny and warm in the low 70's.

Birds were singing and we even saw small buds on trees. To celebrate, we barbecued a Porterhouse steak, made Weight Watchers Broccoli and Salad, drank some red wine and enjoyed the sunshine.
On Saturday, after our 90 minute workout at the gym, we headed to the State Park for a wonderful walk in the woods.

On Sunday, after another 90 minute workout and sweating at the gym, we took Oma and Opa out for a walk in Durham at the American Tobacco Campus, which was the Lucky Strike factory in the past.

All in all, time spent outdoors in early February was sublime.

Spring has arrived here, but we have a ski vacation in March in Utah approaching....

Anna and Myron

Freezing in OBX

Never to ignore an opportunity to go to the beach....we climbed in the faithful Vibe, loaded with foodstuffs and winter clothes, picked up our friend Pam after work in Raleigh and hit the road for a 3 hour trip to OBX... ( The Outer Banks of North Carolina) on the Friday of the Martin Luther King 3 day weekend. After watching the weather forecast for the entire week, we knew we were in for cold but sunny weather. Why should cold be daunting? Pam was ready for a change of scene and we were interested in speaking to a builder about a possible addition to the beach house for the increasingly larger family and host of friends. We got to the house just after the sun sank in the west, it was 24 degrees but still and clear. The heat pump was working overtime to just keep the house at 60! It was never designed to keep the house warm in those low temperatures. We hauled all the stuff in the house and then headed out to Prime Only for much need wine and some good grub. We polished off 2 bottles of wine and ate well. Back at the house we started a roaring fire in the fireplace and went patrolling for hot tubs that were on. Luckily we found one and knew that we would be able to enjoy it on Saturday night.
Saturday dawned cold and clear at 17 degrees!!! Way too cold for the beach.... but we kept the fire going and mostly relaxed, walked the beach, visited the Bodie Island lighthouse, shopped at Nags Head Hammocks, and cooked. The sun on Saturday was terrific but Sunday was overcast and breezy. Myron had picked up 5 videos prior to our leaving Durham and they were really terrible. We couldn't finish one, suffered through 2 more and finally found one half way decent one. The final one we dared not start.
We witnessed the procedure for moving a house back from the ravages of beach erosion and the picture speaks for itself.
We returned home on Monday around 3pm to ready ourselves for the major ( 2 inch) snowfall that paralyzed the State!. NCSU was closed for the day and Myron and I both worked from home on Tuesday enabling us to watch the inauguration.
Love to All
Anna and Myron

OBX PIX