Springtime in Brooklyn

Tartine Bakery and Saison Restaurant

I just wanted to wrap-up photos from my trip out to the Northwest last week.  On Saturday we all went to Tartine, Katy's favorite bakery in the whole wide world.  There was a line out the door that stretched all the way down the block.  It moved quickly and before long these gorgeous gorgere popped into my vision.  They were bigger than tennis balls.  I resisted only because we had had some at Chez Panisse the night before as an amuse bouche.  We all shared a croissant and Katy and I decided they were the best croissant we'd had outside of Paris.  They were also three times as big as any croissant in France but America just does things big.

John pointed out that the coconut cream cakes look like West Highland terriers and are about the same size as well.

This is my gruyere and jambon Tartine sandwich with pickled carrots.

Later that evening Matt, Katy, and myself went to Saison restaurant and although we had many gorgeous dishes this one stood out.  It's greens from the broccoli family (broccoli rab, brussel sprouts, etc) toasted in their wood fire oven.  Some broth is ladled over and the tiniest poached egg sits on top.  It was one of the most delicate and gorgeous things I've eaten.

San Francisco

I arrived in SF yesterday straight from Maun two days before. Surprisingly, jetlag hasn't been an issue.

My brother, his new girlfriend, two cousins, and myself had dinner at Chez Panisse last night. Not surprisingly it was gorgeous. We had lots of wine though and that made getting up a bit difficult this morning but after a good workout I'm feeling better.

We started dinner with a champagne cocktail with kumquat syrup followed by a crawfish salad. Risotto with choritzo and peas next then squab with bitter lettuce leaves. Dessert was a bit disappointing for me. It was a rose jelly with sorbet. A bit too retro for me.

We all had a fabulous time and I'm very much looking forward to Tartine for lunch and then some serious shopping!

Maun Grafitti

BBL Girls

Last weekend I helped supervise a large group of Bana Ba Letsatsi girls at Audi Camp.  They go with a counsellor to talk about sexual abuse and violence and how to deal with it in their lives.  Then they have fun in the pool and eat a big lunch.  It's a wonderful program and the girls are so much fun.  

The day we went was cold and overcast with lots of drizzling rain.  That hardly kept us out of the pool and before I could stop the girls they were all naked splashing in the water even though we provide bathing suits for them.  I was quite grateful then for the clouds and rain that kept all the tourists away from the pool area.  I didn't want any mangy European men ogling the girls.  

So urine is now environmentally unfriendly?

Boro 1 Happenings

As I was driving home on my scooter Saturday afternoon, I saw a group of men doing something in the government cattle kraal near my house.  Naturally I stopped to investigate and saw that they were slaughtering two cows.  I thought this was wonderful.  I think, too often, modern, health conscious consumers don't take into consideration how an animal dies.  Just as cows should be raised on small farms and fed a ruminant-friendly diet, so should they be slaughtered on the farm to minimize stress and save on transport costs.

These neighbors of mine had selected one cow and one bull to slaughter.  They cut the carcass on its own skin and that worked quite well to keep the meat clean and sand-free.  Then they loaded the meat onto a very clean tarp in the back of a pick-up truck.  The man who owned the cows and the butchery the meat was going to proposed marriage to me when I told him I was teaching English here in Maun.  He thought I was making big bucks and wanted in on this and apparently wasn't afraid to tell me so.  I asked him what he could offer me in return and he said, "babies," and I told him that just wasn't good enough.

Please don't think these photos are gory.  These two cows lived happy lives in Boro 1.  They weree completely free range and roamd the bush munching on acacia trees, sage brush, tall grass and even the occasional vegetable patch.  Too often Americans are disconnected from our food.  We know what lamb, beef, and poultry look like wrapped in saran wrap at the grocery store but don't want to know how a cow becomes a sirloin steak.

I believe in what my friend Dan calls, "happy meat," and even though these photos may not be pretty, they are just that.

cow testicles (I did not ask to see these.  He just pulled them out.)

two boys helping

to the town butchery!