Critique Welcomed A Blog - COTiP (Cleaning Out The iPhone)

[Gary Ayala]

The image of The Getty Villa besieged by fire is shocking. I have not seen pictures of Sunset Boulevard, I know that the house where David Lynch lives has been evacuated. For the sequoias, I am sad.

Don't be sad for Sequoias ... be amazed. Sequoias are so huge that most fires (before man) only singe their massive trunks. Giant sequoia cones are serotinous, which means that fire on the forest floor causes them to dry out, open and release their seeds. This adaptation ensures that the tree times the release of most of its seeds to coincide with fire, which creates ideal conditions for regeneration success.

Because nature has designed fire into California ecosystems ... every few years a fire will sweep through an area.The fires are fast, quickly consuming fuel left from the previous fire. But man's interference has disrupted this natural cycle. Now the fuel piles up for decades ... the fires no longer sweep but stays in one place fed by an accumulation of fuel and the flames ignite the entire tree instead of singeing the base. (In the case of Los Angeles ... ignite the homes.)

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Don't be sad for Sequoias ... be amazed. Sequoias are so huge that most fires (before man) only singed their massive trunks. Giant sequoia cones are serotinous, which means that fire on the forest floor causes them to dry out, open and release their seeds. This adaptation ensures that the tree times the release of most of its seeds to coincide with fire, which creates ideal conditions for regeneration success.

Because nature has designed fire into California ecosystems ... every few years a fire will sweep through an area.The fires are fast, quickly consuming fuel left from the previous fire. But man's interference has disrupted this natural cycle. Now the fuel piles up for decades ... the fires no longer sweep but stays in one place fed by an accumulation of fuel and the flames ignite the entire tree instead of singing the base. (Cn the case of Los Angeles ... ignite the homes.)

View attachment 21273

Interesting informations.

 

[Gary Ayala]

I been fighting the Flu for the past five days. I received the Influenza vaccine in October ... but this Flu still kicked my ass. I had Covid, this Flu is worse than Covid. Today the Flu seems to be over, out of my system and I'm resting in recovery mode. I've been glued to the news covering the SoCal fires. The devastation is not limited to homes and businesses ... furniture, clothing, cars ... peoples lives have been devastated. Thousands of families have no homes, no schools, no jobs, no neighbors.

Imagine a school being destroyed overnight ... and ... the homes of all the families who attended that school ... and the businesses who supported those families ... entire communities have been wiped out ... many, many schools are gone.

The fires have destroyed lives of entire communities.

 

[Gary Ayala]

Back to COTiP (Cleaning Out The iPhone - in chronological order):

1)

Gary has memberships in many vineyards up and down California. On this day three wine shipments came in on the same day. Maggie is dutifully guarding the vino.

2)

Prepping backyard herds and peppers for some bread.

3)

Viola! Gary's bread.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I been fighting the Flu for the past five days. I received the Influenza vaccine in October ... but this Flu still kicked my ass. I had Covid, this Flu is worse than Covid. Today the Flu seems to be over, out of my system and I'm resting in recovery mode. I've been glued to the news covering the SoCal fires. The devastation is not limited to homes and businesses ... furniture, clothing, cars ... peoples lives have been devastated. Thousands of families have no homes, no schools, no jobs, no neighbors.

Imagine a school being destroyed overnight ... and ... the homes of all the families who attended that school ... and the businesses who supported those families ... entire communities have been wiped out ... many, many schools are gone.

The fires have destroyed lives of entire communities.

I can only imagine how an event like this can scar you for life.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Back to COTiP (Cleaning Out The iPhone - in chronological order):

1)
View attachment 21289
Gary has memberships in many vineyards up and down California. On this day three wine shipments can in on the same day. Maggie is dutifully guarding the vino.

2)
View attachment 21290
Prepping backyard herds and peppers for some bread.

3)
View attachment 21291
Viola! Gary's bread.

Wow! It looks excellently leavened. What system do you use? I do not bake bread at home, my wife tried years ago with sourdough, but the result was good for pizzas not loaves of bread. And, do you really put all those herbs (and pepper) in a loaf of bread? It looks delicious.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Gary has memberships in many vineyards up and down California.

You never cease to amaze me. But who is 'Gary'?

 

[Gary Ayala]

Wow! It looks excellently leavened. What system do you use? I do not bake bread at home, my wife tried years ago with sourdough, but the result was good for pizzas not loaves of bread. And, do you really put all those herbs (and pepper) in a loaf of bread? It looks delicious.

System? I don't know about system. The first book I read about making bread was 'Tartine Bread'. This an excellent book and provided a bread making basis ... now on I sorta keep the percentages about the same ... but every loaf is different. I use multiple flours and mix them. I was making sourdough for a while, but the constant upkeep of the starters became overly tedious. (I had a regular and a rye starter.) I also use other books for different recipes. Recently, I purchased a bread making machine. It does a good job, but the proofing isn't quite to my liking. So now I use the bread machine for kneading the bread then proof and bake in a countertop toaster oven.



A fun little bread making book:


Out of the Bread Machine:


Yes, I load up my breads with a ton of herbs along with sweet and hot peppers. Harvesting, washing and cleaning the herbs and peppers takes more time than mixing/kneading the dough.

I cook a lot. I use a lot of herbs in almost everything. I found herbs will lift the food flavor an entire level up.

 

[Gary Ayala]

You never cease to amaze me. But who is 'Gary'?

Mary Lou and I love wine. There are world class wine areas up and down the entire state. Pre-Covid, around once a month we would visit a different wine area (AVA) and explore new wineries and chat with the vintner. When we discover an exceptional wine ... we become a member of the winery. Membership provides a significant discount but requires purchasing a minimum amount of wine (usually 12 bottle per year). (I even purchased a car for touring the vineyards.) Post Covid, we discovered we can enjoy wine at home.


Sarah's Vineyard


A taste of Simi Winery. (Hint: You'll get a longer pour if you shoot it.)


Vintner Stephen Ross of Stephen Ross Wine Cellars.


Enjoying a glass in the back.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

System? I don't know about system. The first book I read about making bread was 'Tartine Bread'. This an excellent book and provided a bread making basis ... now on I sorta keep the percentages about the same ... but every loaf is different. I use multiple flours and mix them. I was making sourdough for a while, but the constant upkeep of the starters became overly tedious. (I had a regular and a rye starter.) I also use other books for different recipes. Recently, I purchased a bread making machine. It does a good job, but the proofing isn't quite to my liking. So now I use the bread machine for kneading the bread then proof and bake in a countertop toaster oven.

View attachment 21292

A fun little bread making book:
View attachment 21293

Out of the Bread Machine:
View attachment 21294

Yes, I load up my breads with a ton of herbs along with sweet and hot peppers. Harvesting, washing and cleaning the herbs and peppers takes more time than mixing/kneading the dough.

I cook a lot. I use a lot of herbs in almost everything. I found herbs will lift the food flavor an entire level up.

Thank you for your answer (and recipe)!

 

[Gary Ayala]

COTiP (Cleaning Out The iPhone (back to chronological order):


Leaves on the sidewalk.


Wall

Okay this is sorta odd ... I had jury duty a while back. This is the cafeteria of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. What a horrible color. This color was selected by the Architect Of Record (AOR), most likely after consultation with an interior designer than approved by a couple layers of County officials ... and that's the color they all picked and approved. (Food was okay.) Conjures up that "a camel is a horse designed by committee". Okay, got that out of my system ...

The fires continue. Fire Fighting support from 11 other states, Canada and Mexico are activity fighting the fires. More than 15,000 fire fighters, law enforcement and emergency medical personnel are on the ground.


Satellite image of Altadena - Maxar Technologies

Pacific Palisades Fire - Jonathan Alcorn/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock


Pacific Palisades Fire - AP Photo/Ethan Swope

 

[Gary Ayala]

COTiP (Cleaning Out The iPhone):

Yesterday was a good no-work day. Maggie, Mary Lou and I strolled along Creek Park for a three to four mile walk.

Gary's first Sweet Pea blossom.


Strolling along Creek Park with its concrete creek which Maggie loves to gallup through and slide into the mud. Maggie shaking off water after a romp in the water.


The tunnel under a six lane highway dug for horses and pedestrians.


Maggie washing up her face on the way home.


Nothing like a clean face.


Wrapping up the walk with a chicken nugget snack for Maggie and a glass of wine for Mary Lou and Gary.

15,000+ steps yesterday. A good day.

 

[Gary Ayala]

COTiP (Cleaning Out The iPhone - in chronological order):

Cookin' Something ...

1)

Basil plucked from the back, (looks like Gary is making pesto).

2)

Basil ready for the blender.

3)

Stuff for the noodles.

4)

A bit of sautéing.

5)

Add noodles ... Violla!

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Interesting. I don't want to question your culinary skills (I'm sure the recipe turned out very well), but let me tell you, as an Italian, how I see it, and by this I don't want to appear a purist or a defender of local traditions, things that don't interest me, when one cooks one can do what one wants.

1) In Italy these are not noodles, they are tagliatelle. Usually here tagliatelle are made with soft wheat with eggs, but we (my wife and I) sometimes make them with durum wheat semolina and no eggs.

2) There are many varieties of basil and the most commonly used in Italy is the one with large, ‘’bollose‘’ leaves. In Liguria - the home of ‘pesto alla genovese’ - they often use the small-leaved variety (my favourite). For the past few years, a variety with medium-sized, flat, serrated leaves like the one you use has also been sold in markets, but it is not very tasty and tends slightly towards minty.

3) Preserved artichokes? I would never use them in cooking, at the most as an appetiser.

4) What mushrooms did you use here? I can't recognise them. Are they perhaps that variety of champignons that (at least here in Italy) they call ‘Portobello’?

5) If one really wanted to be picky: in my opinion, Americans put too much seasoning in pasta, as in pizza, perhaps because they don't like pasta (and pizza).

 

[Gary Ayala]

Interesting. I don't want to question your culinary skills (I'm sure the recipe turned out very well), but let me tell you, as an Italian, how I see it, and by this I don't want to appear a purist or a defender of local traditions, things that don't interest me, when one cooks one can do what one wants.

1) In Italy these are not noodles, they are tagliatelle. Usually here tagliatelle are made with soft wheat with eggs, but we (my wife and I) sometimes make them with durum wheat semolina and no eggs.

2) There are many varieties of basil and the most commonly used in Italy is the one with large, ‘’bollose‘’ leaves. In Liguria - the home of ‘pesto alla genovese’ - they often use the small-leaved variety (my favourite). For the past few years, a variety with medium-sized, flat, serrated leaves like the one you use has also been sold in markets, but it is not very tasty and tends slightly towards minty.

3) Preserved artichokes? I would never use them in cooking, at the most as an appetiser.

4) What mushrooms did you use here? I can't recognise them. Are they perhaps that variety of champignons that (at least here in Italy) they call ‘Portobello’?

5) If one really wanted to be picky: in my opinion, Americans put too much seasoning in pasta, as in pizza, perhaps because they don't like pasta (and pizza).

1) I used the term 'noodles' as the generic/all encompassing name for unleavened dough which is stretched/rolled cut/extruded into long strips or strings (first invented/developed in Asia). Yes, each different cut of noodle has a specific name. (I also make fresh noodles, but not lately.) These were store bought spinach noodles ... which are not nearly as good as homemade spinach noodles ... which are lighter and fresher tasting than store bought.

2) Yes, there are many varieties of Basil. I grow a few different types. These are from an African Basil variety, which is a perennial, shrub-like with lightly wooded stems. The African Basil provides leaves all-year-round and is great at attracting bees and other pollinators. (This is winter, yet the brush is full of bees.) This variety has a Camphor scent. In Spring I usually plant Genovese Basil, which is an annual. The African Basil provides fresh leaves in winter. The leaves are on the small size, about 1+ inch in length.

3) In winter, it is tough to get fresh artichokes. I grow artichokes and for a month or two, we eat fresh artichokes nearly every day. I agree with preserved versus fresh for cooking ... but in winter what are you going to do?

4) These are 'Baby' Portobello.

5) You're being picky . Being of Latino ethnicity, we prefer spicy over bland ... bold over boring.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I bow before so much culinary knowledge! Gary, you amaze me more and more every day.

On the use of the term ‘noodles’ I misspoke, because after all it is an English term and I don't know how it is used in English speaking countries. Surely you are right.

On basil, I almost wanted to propose sending you some seeds from Italy, but I see that you are already well supplied! I have to think a bit about whether African perennial basil tends more towards mint or camphor, but given your knowledge I'll take camphor.

On the last point (bold over boring), I too am of Latin origin of course, but we perhaps have two different traditions. I like simple recipes (which does not mean they are easy), with a few well-tuned ingredients. But I realise that this debate, while it may be interesting for us, is not interesting for those who are into photography, and especially we should discuss at the table because flavours are not captured in photos.

 

[Gary Ayala]

COTiP (Cleaning out the iPhone - in chronological order):

1)

Somewhere in Orange County, outside of a tiered parking lot, this monument stands.

2)

Somewhere in Los Angeles County, soupe du jour is Whiskey.

3)

No description.

4)
Cooking up a Cassoulet.

5)

Took two days to cook.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

The Cassoulet looks amazing.

 

[Gary Ayala]

I bow before so much culinary knowledge! Gary, you amaze me more and more every day
On the use of the term ‘noodles’ I misspoke, because after all it is an English term and I don't know how it is used in English speaking countries. Surely you are right.

On basil, I almost wanted to propose sending you some seeds from Italy, but I see that you are already well supplied! I have to think a bit about whether African perennial basil tends more towards mint or camphor, but given your knowledge I'll take camphor.

On the last point (bold over boring), I too am of Latin origin of course, but we perhaps have two different traditions. I like simple recipes (which does not mean they are easy), with a few well-tuned ingredients. But I realise that this debate, while it may be interesting for us, is not interesting for those who are into photography, and especially we should discuss at the table because flavours are not captured in photos.

"I bow before so much culinary knowledge!"
Oh Please ... I just like to eat.

While the word noodles is English ... the word was borrowed in the 18th century from the German word Nudel.

My African Basil is definitely not minty. (I'd be happy to send some cuttings for a proper examination.)

While we both have Latino roots ... mine stem from Mexico/California ... the uncivilized and wild American West, where you ate with your utility knife and unwashed hands. While your roots are in civilized Europe ... Italy ... home of Roma and Florence, DaVinci and Galileo, the Renaissance and the first European region to adopt the "Fork".

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with simplicity ... I truly enjoy using the fruits of the backyard. Incorporating and enhancing simple dishes with the fresh flavors of the yard.

Our discussion is rooted in photography.

 

[Gary Ayala]

The Cassoulet looks amazing.

It was delish.