Merry Christmas!!!!!

Merry Christmas from crazy California!

(my neighbor's cactus)

Melting Pot Cooking - Hot Dog Maki, Weenie Royale, and SPAM Musubi

This picture just in from Betty in Portland:

Great picture!! And great timing because it reminds me of a fascinating report I heard on NPR a couple of days ago.

The report is a Kitchen Sisters episode on the impact of the internment on Japanese American cooking. The episode is called "Weenie Royale" and is named after a dish still served and eaten today by many people.

The prisoners in the internment camps, forced to eat what was provided to them, cooked weenies, bologna and many other things in ways that made the odd and foreign food more palatable and comforting to them. You can read the episode here:

Weenie Royale: Food and the Japanese Internment.

Weenie Royale Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 white or yellow onions, chopped

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 hot dogs

3 eggs

Cooked white rice

Saute the chopped onions with a tablespoon of soy sauce and cook at medium to high heat until they are caramelized. While you wait for the onions to caramelize, cut the hot dogs in julienne slices and beat the eggs. After the onions are caramelized, add the hot dogs and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the beaten eggs to the onions and hot dogs until the eggs are done. Serve on top of cooked white rice.

Speaking of odd cultural combinations, we go to Kauai in a few days and I can guarantee that we will see a lot of this:

Spam musubi is one of Hawaii's favorite snacks. Spam was introduced to Hawaiians by American soldiers who were stationed there. The Hawaiians did what most cultures do when introduced to a new and unusual food...they made it uniquely theirs.

Ornaith Murphy - SF Bay Area mystery

Today is the six-year anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of Bay Area single-handed sailor Ornaith Murphy. This is what the Oakland police department web site has to say about the mystery:

"Ornaith was last seen in Oakland on December 16, the day after her estranged husband's disappearance. She owned a 1980 39-foot fiberglass auxillary sailboat named Sola III. The vessel has dark blue circular emblems with one gray swirl painted on both of her sides. Ornaith normally berthed the boat at the Oakland Marina in the Jack London Square area of the city. The vessel disappeared on the same day as Ornaith; it has never been located. The boat was captured on a video surveillance camera pulling out of the Oakland Marina at 8:36 p.m. on December 15. It had about one week's worth of food on it when it disappeared, and no safety or foul weather gear.

Kieran and Ornaith planned to meet on the day of his disappearance to discuss legal issues. Ornaith was seen working on her boat that day. A man fitting Kieran's description was seen near the boat on the evening of his disappearance, but it was never established that the man was in fact Kieran. Witnesses reported hearing loud banging sounds coming from near the Sola III the evening he disappeared. The witnesses could not be sure that the sounds were gunshots, however.

The next day, December 16, Ornaith called her niece from the Sola III. She said she was in a marina in Berkeley. Ornaith's niece invited her to breakfast, but Ornaith declined the invitation. She has never been seen or heard from again.

Ornaith and Kieran are described as a witty, intelligent couple who enjoy reading classic literature. They amassed a small fortune through real estate speculation and have two sons together. Their marriage crumbled after Kieran had an extra-marital affair. Kieran was living in an apartment in the Nob Hill area of San Francisco when he disappeared; Ornaith resided with her niece near Jack London Square in Oakland, near her boat. Both were the defendants of a lawsuit at the time of their disappearance; one of the buildings they owned had caught fire and a child had been badly burned.

Ornaith's family reported her as a missing person from Oakland. The estranged couple may be traveling together aboard the vessel. Another theory is that Ornaith shot Kieran and committed suicide shortly afterwards. There has been no evidence to support this, however, beyond the noises heard by witnesses.

Kieran was supposed to vacation in Mexico shortly after he disappeared. He and Ornaith's sons say it would be uncharacteristic of them to leave without warning. The Sola III was not equipped for an extended cruise and Kieran did not know how to sail it. The United States Coast Guard has been involved in the search for Kieran and Ornaith, but no evidence has been discovered. Neither of the couple's credit cards or bank accounts have been used since their disappearances. Their cases remain unsolved, but their disappearances are considered suspicious."

Ornaith was very well-respected by the local (and international) sailing community for her able seamanship and her ability to handle tough situations. She was known for assisting other sailors in trouble and for her single-handed trip around Cape Horn where she lost her rudder but managed to pull through. I only met Ornaith once or twice but my friend Synthia was a pretty good friend of Ornaith's. Ornaith was instrumental in Synthia's own single-handed sailing career and she went so far as to loan Synthia her Cal 39 Sola III so that Synthia could sail it in her first single-handed Farallones race. I was on the race deck for Synthia's finish and proudly watched Synthia and Sola III cross the finish line.

Sometimes I think of Ornaith and wonder what happened to her and her soon-to-be-ex husband Keiran, will we ever know what happened to them? I suspect this mystery is one that may never be solved.

Back on the blog

It has been a long time since I've posted, and here are the reasons:

1) My dear father died and I felt I should do a post on him, but every time I tried to write something it upset me too much, so for now I think I'll remain mute on the subject until it feels right.

2) I started a new job and I have to commute. The commute there is fine, but the commute home is dreadful and it's pointless to leave before 6:00, 6:30 is even better. Compared to my prior job where, including my commute, my entire work day was 8:15 - 5:15 (9 hours total), my current entire work day, including commute, is approximately 12 hours, give or take a half hour. Blech.

3) I've been addicted to two Mexican telenovelas. These shows have a life span but they are on every weeknight. The second one just ended, but it was replaced by a new one, Pasión, that's even better. It's so good that I don't fast-forward through it like I did the other one. Pasión stars Fernando Colunga. He is my all time favorite telenovela star and in Pasión he plays a pirate, so basically this show is irresistable. Do you blame me?...

And my favorite:

I wanted to name my new boat 'Fernando Colunga' so I could say things like "I need to spend the weekend cleaning Fernando Colunga's bottom," or "Fernando Colunga rides much smoother when I keep a firm hand on the tiller," or "Have you noticed that Fernando Colunga has the tallest mast in the marina?" Alas, my boat partners voted against me.